A Dangerous Deal

“…Help us. We will not forget the promised support funds.”

It was a visit from Commander An Sang-ik.

I clicked my tongue at the fact that I had been meeting high-ranking people often lately.

“If it had been before, you would not even have looked my way, but you must be very desperate.”

“I have no choice. On top of that, do you think we can protect the relic you agreed to provide?”

“You must have swallowed a lot of fear because of the laboratory.”

An Sang-ik let out a sigh.

“Was it not said that even an 8th Circle mage died silently?”

At the time, while I was tracking Kim Jin-pyo, I had quickly moved away from the place where the incident occurred.

If I had intended to grasp the flow, I certainly would have had no problem grasping it.

But they had slipped through a gap and caused a problem, and as a result, figures who accounted for about twenty percent of the mage forces died.

Thanks to that, the National Magic Research Institute had taken a serious blow and was in a state where its research would suffer a major setback.

Also, the Magic Tower had suffered damage as well, so bad news had overlapped in many ways.

“She may target us as well.”

“I know. I know well enough that black mages will also be in danger. However, if you do not move, the operation itself cannot proceed because of the opposition from other countries.”

“Are you saying you chose not to disclose it because of the anxiety?”

“That is right. It is an unknown factor to them as well. The Gate could shake and run wild at once, so would you readily allow it?”

But I laughed because it felt as if the talks had progressed quite a bit.

Seeing An Sang-ik wonder why I was laughing, I said,

“When did you reach the level where you could talk so amicably with Japan?”

There had been two invasions. Moreover, both times, we had not even received war reparations, and we were still struggling while supposedly restoring the damage they had suffered.

So the fact that we were giving help to secure safety on their land felt laughable.

Even if it was not a battlefield I had personally run through, there would be severe backlash, so the government’s thinking in allowing this was absurd as well.

“How about waiting for them to collapse and then dealing with the monster that appears from the Yellow Gate?”

“…If Japan were the only one with a problem, all of East Asia could step forward, but China’s situation is also urgent. They say they expect a Break to occur in about fifteen days.”

‘Did they say three months?’

That was what China had announced on a large scale.

The time it had taken for France’s Yellow Gate to run wild was only a little over three months. It was certainly a very long time to conquer a single Gate, but because nothing existed inside, they were unable to gauge what they had to do.

Moreover, they had dug down hundreds of meters, tracking the Gate Core that might be below, but because the core did not exist anywhere, the confusion had only intensified.

Current China was empty for hundreds of kilometers around Chengdu.

That was because no human wanted to stay in a place where they did not know when they might die.

“It is an age of great chaos. To the point that we can count ourselves fortunate that the Cultists of Ruin are no longer active in our country….”

“But a Saintess exists. She will be more dangerous than any Cultist of Ruin.”

The Saintess I had actually faced was a monster with that much powerful strength.

The strength hidden within her was so immense that I wondered whether she was truly human.

I thought there must certainly have been a reason she withdrew without fighting me to the death, but the frustrating part was that I could not determine what it was right now.

‘In the midst of that, leaving my home empty is out of the question.’

“I told you that me handing over the artifact was the best option, and that fact has not changed.”

“…I know it is because of the people around you. You were that kind of person.”

An Sang-ik spoke as if he knew everything about me. However, I had no particular intention of saying anything about it.

It was an individual’s thought and judgment. It was enough if he judged me that way, even if only like this.

“I will not see you out.”

“Tsk. In the end, you are telling me to take only that.”

The egg-shaped artifact placed beside me. So I pointed at it and said,

“I have overlaid a barrier and worked on it, but if a problem occurs, a Psychic Awakener will have to make up their mind and break this egg.”

“I understand. I will keep that in mind.”

Commander An Sang-ik withdrew. Then Go Yu-jin and An So-mi, who had been listening to the conversation with anxious hearts, asked me questions.

“Are you really thinking of sending it away like that?”

“That’s right. You said that was an incredible relic, didn’t you?”

“If it is useless, then no matter how incredible it is, it is of no use. On top of that, they say if you keep an object full of negativity, bad luck clings to you.”

An So-mi looked as if she could not understand.

Then Go Yu-jin spoke.

“If it’s because of us, go. We can endure well on our own too.”

“It is not because of you, Yu-jin. It seems Commander An Sang-ik’s words are weighing on your mind, but I hope you understand that it is absolutely not because of that.”

“Then why?”

Go Yu-jin had a persistent side at times like this.

“Why are you not answering?”

“Because there is something I must do.”

She looked puzzled. Her expression showed that she did not understand the fact that I had something to do.

However, the current me was in a ‘Beginner’ state.

If I had become a user who could freely use 8th Circle magic, I certainly would have acted according to the difficult situation.

But I did not think that if I went there with my current abilities, I would be able to provide proper help when something went wrong.

“I intend to grow stronger. I must raise my realm.”

“How…?”

I opened sub-space and reached my hand toward the two puzzled women.

Then, seeing the book I took out, Go Yu-jin immediately tried to stop me.

“Don’t do it! This is not a method!”

“It is a method. The Necronomicon is a cursed book that grants the contractor’s desires precisely according to their state. Aside from the fact that one must pay a price, it is the best method to grow stronger.”

The decisive reason I had been able to reach the level of a 7th Circle Master was the deal with the Necronomicon that Han Sang-gil possessed.

I knew that in order to gain the power to protect everything, I had to yield some things, and the tool needed for that was also already prepared.

Go Yu-jin hurriedly reached her hand toward the book.

But the problem was that the book rejected Go Yu-jin’s hand.

Her hand was blocked at a certain distance. Then the book opened its eyes and sent Go Yu-jin a sharp, chilling gaze. In response, I pushed mana into the book and said,

“If you act hostile toward Yu-jin, I will tear you to pieces.”

Kuaaah, how dare you threaten me!! -

The book screamed, but that sound was audible only to me. Go Yu-jin and An So-mi probably only saw the book twitching and trembling as it exposed things like tendons.

So I calmly looked at the Necronomicon and said,

“I need your help, and I know that you must take something from me in order to maintain your current self. Let us help each other.”

Do you know what I will demand from you when you say that? -

“Conversely, do you know what I will demand?”

The thing was silent for a moment, and that was when it happened.

“No. Absolutely not. Don’t do it.”

It was Go Yu-jin’s firm voice. However, after hearing this, the Necronomicon, displaying a form that seemed to be sneering, answered.

I will take your desire. Because the magnitude of what you want must be beyond what I imagine. -

My desire. The desire I possessed was extremely large and varied.

However, my head grew complicated at the fact that I had to hand it over, but all I had to do was continue growing something called desire, and perhaps it would rather help me restrain myself.

After going through many thoughts, I reached a conclusion.

“Good. I will make the deal.”

“Geum Seong-chan-ssi!!”

A firm shout rang out, and Go Yu-jin pushed through the resistance created by the Necronomicon somehow and came to snatch the book away from me.

Her mana surged so much that I could immediately tell how strong and fierce her effort was, but after I turned the book behind my back, the strength went out of her at that moment, and she suddenly fell into my arms. I held her and said,

“I am sorry. To protect what I want, I have no choice.”

“This is something everyone can accomplish if they try. Everyone!”

“That’s right. If you cannot bear it alone, Geum Seong-chan-ssi, then you just have to trust other people and lead them, don’t you?”

An So-mi also added a word, but I shook my head at the two women and said,

“There are beings I must face, and there are beings the people around me, like you two, must stay by my side and face in other ways. Please take care of them.”

When I first became an Awakener, I realized that I was not the protagonist of this world.

There were far too many humans who were great and exceptional, and even if they had started from the same starting point, most of them were people heading toward lofty heights that could not even be compared to mine.

In conclusion, there were only a few silhouettes from that time who had survived until now, but now that I had even surpassed those people, I had no choice but to think again.

The reality that perhaps there was no protagonist in this world….

That was why. The reason I desperately struggled to become stronger, the reason I had no choice but to rely on this cursed book to the bitter end even after what was precious to me had been taken away, was that clear reality.

“I am not the protagonist. That is why I must try even harder and crawl desperately. How nice would it have been if I were in a position where I could move forward with everything I could give up held in my grasp?”

“That does not mean you need to sacrifice yourself, does it?”

She was right.

“Because there are things only I can do.”

I lightly reached out, stroked Go Yu-jin’s cheek, and met her gaze.

Go Yu-jin looked as if she was clenching her teeth and suppressing some emotion. I could not understand right now the torrent of emotions she must have been feeling.

That was because even those emotions had all been taken away from me, leaving me dulled.

If someday I became able to cast off the curse the book had made me shoulder, everything from this moment would come rushing back to me all at once, but for now, I was merely grateful that I could understand it only with my head, not with emotion.

‘If that were not the case, I would be swayed by the emotions of this moment and would not be able to force through my choice.’

“There is something I want to ask of you two.”

Go Yu-jin’s body trembled. She was suppressing a great deal of emotion.

“While I am away for a short time, please take good care of the Academy. And please give my regards to old man Han Sang-gil as well.”

It was sudden, but I had already made up my mind.

Because I was certain that with ordinary methods, I could not look toward a place higher than my current position.