Chapter 496
believer (2)
Drakal, a free city located in the south-central part of the Aeon continent..
It is no exaggeration to say that this city, where the headquarters of the mercenary guild is located, is truly a small country for mercenaries..
All economic and social systems revolved around the mercenary industry, even the mayor of the city was elected according to the will of the mercenary guild, and external diplomacy was also completely focused on that..
The person at the top of such mercenaries was the Mercenary King..
In Dracal, the power and authority of the mercenary king was such that it could not be replaced, and the position of secretary-general, who carried out direct work directly under him, was no exception..
Patrick, the secretary general of the mercenary guild, is no different than the prime minister of a small country called Dracal..
The powerful man went to his office as usual today and performed the ritual of announcing the start of the day with a solemn expression..
It's been an activity that's already been going on for over a year, but I can't help but feel nervous every time I do it..
“···Damn it, why is there no cure for hair loss in this world??”
Because as each day passed, the condition of my hair in the mirror was getting worse day by day..
So much so that I can't just ignore it and move on..
‘Isn’t magic meant to be used in times like this? What on earth are those damn alchemists doing?!’
Even if I stopped brushing and let out the accumulated anger, nothing changed..
All you have to do is realize your helplessness and accept the cruel reality..
And if you think about it, the direction his anger should have been directed was not at his weak roots or at the alchemists who were neglecting their duties..
Isn’t there a separate source of stress that causes hair loss??
“Again, again! Where the hell have you gone! This damn mercenary king—!”
Harley, the new mercenary king.
It wasn't a day or two that his boss with a wanderlust suddenly disappeared, but he had no choice but to take stomach medicine to soothe his sore stomach as he had to take on all the responsibility every time that happened..
No matter how symbolic the mercenary king was and even though he was entrusted with all authority, there were limits..
It took a great deal of effort to get people to follow his instructions, as he had secured his position through personal connections in this barbaric mercenary world where force was the top priority..
In that situation, there was no way everything would work out as planned, and then he would have to take responsibility for everything and clean up after it.···.
‘You damn bastards, you won’t even be able to give a shit when he comes back, so why are you fucking with me??’
Patrick, who was ruffling his brown hair, stopped and carefully lowered his hand..
I couldn't subject the children, who were already weak from stress, to any more abuse..
“···Should I go back now??”
He quietly closed his eyes and let out a small sigh..
In fact, I had already collected the karma needed to return a long time ago, so I could go back whenever I wanted..
‘But it's a waste. The upcoming war with the Immortal King will be a tremendous opportunity for me as the secretary general of the mercenary guild..’
A mercenary's true value is revealed on the battlefield..
Then, if he were to subdue the real Immortal King... No, even if the Mercenary King Harley died during the war, there would be no harm to him..
All I had to do was take care of everything and then quickly throw it away when I thought things couldn't be done..
‘Has it been over fifteen years since I came here? I'm starting to think a lot..’
Patrick Brown, Earthman from Ireland.
His unique skill was “parallel thinking,” which allowed him to split his thoughts into multiple parts..
If used well, it was an incredible ability that could manifest dozens or hundreds of high-level magic at the same time.···.
“Phew, if only I had a little more talent.”
Unfortunately, he really didn't have the talent for magic as much as an ant's eyes..
It's so miserable that you wonder if a person could be like this..
In the first place, the study of magic had a lot to learn and a lot of aptitude, so it was a particularly difficult field to move up among mysteries..
No matter how much you strengthen your status and add system corrections, there are limits..
However, I wasn't confident in fighting, so in the end, the only thing left was the administrative job I had been doing since Earth..
The fact that he was recognized for his abilities and was quickly promoted to this position was all thanks to his transcendental work-processing speed using “parallel thinking.”.
‘···Okay, let's hold on just a little longer. This is nothing compared to the hardships I've experienced so far..’
Even though it was stressful, there was a lot to be gained from it..
The moment when Patrick, lost in thought, looked back on the past..
Kwaang—!
The door to the Secretary General's office opened wide with a loud noise..
Roughly, as if someone had kicked it.
“Hahaha! It's been a while, Patrick.!”
“···Harley?”
There was only one person in this mercenary guild who could do such a thing..
Harley, the current mercenary king who has just taken office..
He finally came back after a long outing..
“Hey, the door is broken again. I just lightly pushed it with my hand. The name is the Secretary General's office. Why don't you change the door to a sturdier one? What will others think when they see this??”
“You said that last time, so I replaced it with a solid alloy.···.”
Because of this, the forearms of Patrick and those who came in and out of this office were getting thicker by the day..
Should we call this life training?.
A weak subordinate who couldn't even open this metal door couldn't come to report to him..
“Ugh, so?”
“···Let's look for a craftsman. If you look, you may find a way to make it stronger..”
The Free City of Drakal had as many mercenaries as it had many skilled craftsmen..
If we apply the technology used to make weapons and armor, wouldn't it be possible to make a door for Harley's castle??
···I still don't know why I have to do this..
“But then again, I got a call from you because you went somewhere... Huh, no..”
If you ask anyway, they won't answer.
Now that he knows enough about Harley, Patrick decides to just be happy that he's back..
“···yes?”
Until he handed over a new task..
“Oh, I mean! My name is that I am the king of mercenaries.?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“But after looking at it recently, it seems like something is lacking, right? Over there, Hubert Trading Company is doing something grandiose in the name of the trading company owner, and I thought it would be good for us to do something like that too..”
“No, why is the mercenary guild···.”
“Uh- huh, listen carefully. To be honest, our mercenary guild doesn't have much influence over the entire continent, right? How great it would be to show something here and take the initiative! I don't think so?”
Patrick closed his eyes tightly at that incomprehensible argument..
And then I let out a desperate scream that I couldn't let out..
‘Why on earth does the mercenary guild have to compete with the company that is its main customer?!’
In the end, isn't this a call for mobilizing all the power of the mercenary guild to spread one's reputation??
Moreover, it was Harley himself, not anyone else, who suggested keeping the mercenary king inauguration ceremony simple..
But now that you're saying things like that,···.
“···Okay, then let's make a plan right away..”
“Kahahaha! It's Patrick after all. You believed it from the beginning? Then please as soon as possible!”
But what he could say was already decided..
As he watched Harley leave with a big smile on his face, he once again suppressed the temptation to write a letter of resignation in his heart..
‘We'll see. I'll definitely give it a shot before I leave the company..’
Patrick didn't know.
From the moment you are selected as a talented person, you are already falling into a quagmire from which you cannot escape..
‘He's definitely a friend with very good abilities. I'll have to start scouting as soon as I get to Earth..’
As soon as he returned, Harley handed over all the work to his subordinates and stopped by the mercenary guild's restaurant for the first time in a while and started a great meal..
‘The form of faith does not necessarily have to be faith. Diana gave me a good example, so I'll try everything I can..’
Just because Hubert's work was going smoothly, we couldn't just let this great advantage go unnoticed..
The more diverse the supply and demand routes for divinity, the better..
“ah! Harley! You are here!”
The moment I completely devastated the mercenary guild restaurant and came out..
Harley meets an unexpected person.
A woman flew like a butterfly and hugged him..
A beautiful woman with healthy bronze skin typical of Southerners, brown hair in several braids, and black eyes that shine like obsidian..
“Ah— these perfect muscles... hehehe!”
“Ugh? Misty?”
“···Hot! iced coffee! Harley! I really wanted to see you.!”
She was Misty, the great sorcerer of the Chalcos Tribal Alliance and the daughter of the former warchief..
She, who was supposed to be in the south, came all the way to Drakal, where the mercenary guild is located..
“What is the lady doing here??”
“Oh, indeed. Harley too. What could be more important than helping Tuwang by his side? The work you instructed me to do was finished, and I ran a long way to report the status..”
“instructed?”
Harley blinked for a moment before suddenly lowering her head..
Come to think of it, I was entrusted with the task of clearing up the southern part, which had been thrown into chaos due to the former warchief Pantheon's rebellion, and reconnecting it systematically..
Since we were away all this time, I completely forgot about it..
‘Huh? Come to think of it, isn’t this an opportunity??’
He stroked his chin and tilted his head..
There was a branch of the Hubert Company in the Tribal Federation area, but due to the closed nature of the area, the effect was not as great as in other areas..
However, if you have the authority to fight,···.
“Hahaha! Okay, then I guess I'll have to stop by the South again soon.!”
“oh! Really? I'm sure everyone will be happy! We all worked hard together so as not to offend Harley.!”
“okay? Surprisingly. Normally, in things like this, there are bound to be people who make a fuss. I guess there were no such guys?”
“Ah... these are the servants who don't listen and run wild.?”
With those words, Misty's eyes suddenly became cold..
But as quickly as it appeared, that look disappeared as if it had been washed away..
She casually clung to Harley and smiled brightly as she answered in a bright voice..
“It was a bit noisy at first, but it's okay now! We caught up with me once and had a serious ‘conversation’, and everyone understood what we meant..”
“Ohh? I thought I would just talk about this, but it's surprising.?”
“Hehe! I can't give Harley trouble for no reason..”
Harley smiled in satisfaction at her words..
If traffic control has already been completed, it won’t take that long..
“Haha! I like it very much! I should at least give this a prize?”
“It's a prize...?”
Misty blushed as a large hand stroked her hair..
She swallowed her saliva without realizing it, but Harley was already busy reviewing her future plans..
‘Yeah, the mercenary world and the South aren't bad at all. It may not be as big as Hubert Company in terms of scale, but the purity of faith will be higher..’
It is not a trust based on financial gain like Hubert, but a trust based on the value of the name Mercenary King and King of Fighting..
That was the asset Harley had built up to this point..
“Oh, I feel it! Today is a meat party all day long! Hey Misty. Bring all your friends from the south with you! Because I'll shoot them all! Hahaha!”
“oh! yes yes!”
Harley, who was in a good mood, stopped breaking the stamp only after he had run down a total of five restaurants that day..
It was a declaration of war announcing the return of the king, more certain than any other publicity..
***
“anomaly?”
“Yes, just in case, I have verified the information through various routes, and I think it can be considered certain at this point..”
A building owned by Heterosis built in the middle of Seoul.
Two people were having a conversation in a space surrounded by a blackout curtain to block sunlight from entering..
“Recently, the number of reported awakenings in the country has increased to more than three times the usual number. The Transmission Investigation Department of the Ability Management Bureau is also taking the situation seriously. But I don't think this is just our country's problem..”
“This is a phenomenon that is occurring all over the world.?”
“Yes, that only counts the number of reported cases, so in reality, it should be considered more than that..”
“Hmm.”
Upon hearing Jin So-ran's report, King Heinz II lowered his chin with a stern expression..
I had just returned from Outerica and visited this place without much thought, but my mind became confused when I came across an unexpected report..
‘I was planning to focus only on increasing believers for the time being. What is happening all of a sudden?.’
Of course, creating followers for Heinz II was a piece of cake..
No, strictly speaking, it should be said that everything was already finished without any need to do anything..
‘In the first place, the one who stands at the top of all vampires is the new blood, Heinz II..’
The world of vampires was a strictly hierarchical society..
However, the entity that is not the Seonghyeol, the progenitor of the existing bloodline, but the vampire of the new blood that reigns over it.···.
Beyond the standards, he was literally a god himself..
‘The immortal king Hans was in a similar situation..’
And only to a different degree, Heinrich, the angel and saint of the main god, High Elf Harris, the representative of the World Tree, and Hela, the 16th Demon Lord of the Demon World, did not need any special help..
‘Wait a minute, now that I think about it, this is when things started happening.···.’
Suddenly, a hypothesis flashed through his mind..
The time when he sprouted divinity, contacted the secrets of the world, and observed ‘the existence’ coincides with the starting point of this abnormal phenomenon..
Is this really a coincidence??
‘That can't be possible.’
something is happening.
But there were limits to what he could do right away..
In the current situation, the best thing to do was to develop divinity as quickly as possible in preparation for the future ahead..
“hmm?”
But at that moment.
Heinz's eyebrows twitched as he felt something..
“load? What's going on??”
Jin So-ran, who was nearby, asked cautiously, but he was already deeply immersed in something and did not answer..
I just look somewhere far away with cold, sunken gaze..
‘This signal is···.’
A response from one particularly thick person among the complex and tangled strings of divinity..
Just recently left for another world.
It was a crisis detection signal delivered from Kang Tae-san..
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