Chapter 1587: A New Normal (42) |
“Take it easy, Commander. He's a valuable sample,” I said.
86. This was the bastard’s Internal Energy stat. Surprisingly, it exceeded most mages. Of course, swordsmen who reached a certain level could sometimes attain stats like that as well, but it was by no means a common sight. What was especially encouraging was the fact that he reached that level without the aid of any items.
Considering that Ito Sota's Magic stat had only been 75 when I first met him, it was an extremely high number. And on top of that…
'Advanced Energy Manipulation Knowledge?'
He even had Advanced Energy Manipulation Knowledge as a class effect. It was probably equivalent to our side's Advanced Mana Manipulation Knowledge. It was precisely the factor that separated upper-tier adventurers from mid-tier adventurers. It was a class effect that had to be upgraded if one wished to climb any higher.
Seeing him possess it with my own eyes naturally left me astonished. Nowadays, quite a few adventurers had Advanced Mana Manipulation Knowledge, and this was all thanks to the fact that the overall level of adventurers across the continent had risen.
Even so, when one considered that only around twenty percent of all adventurers had access to it, anyone would understand just how rare it was. He even had Advanced Swordsmanship Knowledge on top of that.
The rest of his status window was full of techniques as well. Of course, his Strength and Endurance stats were somewhat low, but I felt like he was similar to those with exceptionally high Magic and was compensating through the support provided by his Internal Energy.
There was no telling what would happen next, so…
Yeah, this was practically a gift from heaven. First, we needed to figure out what exactly Internal Energy was. We had to determine how it differed from Mana and how it functioned. Most importantly, there was one crucial question. To what extent could Internal Energy resist Mana? How much magical resistance could it actually provide?
'The biggest difference between them and us is obviously the existence of mana and holy power.'
Naturally, he couldn't resist Commander Jin's spells. Commander Jin's Magic was 97 the moment I first met him, and now, it was a staggering 108.
Looking at Commander Jin's status window for the first time in a while, I did find myself wondering why someone with Advanced Summoning Knowledge had never actually used summoning magic, but there was probably a reason befitting him.
Perhaps he had some ridiculously cute panda as a familiar and thought summoning it would ruin his image, or some other pointless reason like that.
“You figured it out immediately,” I said.
“I merely sensed that his mana felt impure. There’s no way the Internal Energy of someone claiming to be from Mount Hua would be that tainted,” Commander Jin said.
“Commander Jin, have you been reading Murim novels, too?” I asked.
“Not really,” he answered.
“So you have read them. Commander Jin, do you like Mo Gongbing too? You know, the tsundere young girl from the Sichuan Tang Clan who wears a qipao?” I asked.
“That has absolutely nothing to do with whatever that monkey was reading,” he said.
“Ah... is that so?”
“Quit your bullshit, Lee Ki-Young.”
'Come on, what did I even do to deserve that response?'
It felt like I'd been cut off before any more pointless nonsense could come out. He clearly had no interest in talking with me about Murim novels. Judging from his expression, though, I wasn't the only one interested in this mysterious power.
He looked curious about things like internal energy cultivation methods, Plum Blossom Sword Arts, Violet Haze Divine Arts, and those kinds of things.
He even seemed to exhibit a childlike joy at the idea of knowing more about those, but unfortunately, it was hard to tell whether that came from having grown up reading murim novels or just simple curiosity about an unknown power.
"So the place where all that internal energy is gathered is called the dantian, right?" I asked.
"Probably," Commander Jin answered.
"Looks like we'll have to open up his stomach, too. We should examine all the other areas while we're at it. The odds are low, but his organs could be located differently from ours, or they might function differently. Honestly, there's no guarantee he's even human. He could be some unknown species that just happens to look like us," I said.
"..."
"We need to conduct other experiments before we start cutting him open. More than anything, we should begin with endurance testing. He doesn't seem to possess much mana... or rather, internal energy, but figuring out his level of magic resistance should be our top priority. Elemental magic and—” I stopped myself upon recalling something. “Ah, we should test mind-type spells too. We'll need statistics on exactly what rank of spells he can resist.
"We have to prepare for the possibility of coming into conflict with people from his world. Recovery tests are also essential. From what I've heard, internal energy increases natural healing abilities," I continued.
"Even if you hadn't said it, I was already planning to handle all of that myself," he said.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Commander. I'm just mentioning the priorities. Maybe I should assign a capable priest to assist you. Hee-Young is especially experienced with this sort of thing," I suggested.
"I refuse," he declined.
'Those two are still awkward around each other.'
"Ah, and before all that, we should probably evaluate his overall combat capabilities. What's the best way to do that? Should we have him fight monsters? He seems too weak to put up against Xiaolin.
"Considering his age and stats, he'd probably be considered a rookie even in his own world. If we compare him to someone here, maybe Belier's? Does the Republic have any promising youngsters that have the potential to become the next Five Tiger Generals?" I asked.
"You've mentioned quite a few names, but I'm not convinced that such an experiment would have any meaning," he answered.
"Of course it would. We need to squeeze every last bit of data out of him, no matter how insignificant it seems. We're also going to test his resistance to potions. Alchemy is probably unfamiliar in his world. Well, I've heard the Sichuan Tang Clan researches poisons, but strictly speaking, that's a different field," I said.
"..."
"Still, your Magic stat is so high that he can't resist you at all. You're controlling the output right now, aren't you? It's just a simple binding spell, but he isn't even trying to push it away," I said.
"I was controlling him with that in mind. He probably doesn't know how to deal with it. This is likely the first time he has experienced something like this. If that's not the case, then we can assume internal energy provides no resistance to magic,” he said.
'That certainly seems likely...'
I glanced at the guy and saw a terrified gaze staring back at me. It was understandable. To him, it probably felt as though his body had completely shut down, but what frightened him the most was most likely our conversation.
He had come from another world, but he could definitely read the room. He had probably realized that he was a laboratory animal trapped behind iron bars. Mind-type spells, endurance testing, dissection, and more. Even I had to admit that the things we were discussing sounded rather terrifying, so there was no way he wouldn't be terrified.
Commander Jin slowly raised his hand toward the young man, who couldn't even force out a sound.
"Try resisting."
“...”
"If you do not resist, you will die," Commander Jin warned.
"Commander, I told you not to kill him!" I yelled at him.
"I've already reduced the output by more than half compared to before. If he can't resist even this amount of mana, then conducting experiments on him is meaningless to begin with. It would be foolish to consider people like him a threat," he said.
"Mmph... mmph... mmph!"
A violet spear formed above the young man, who sprawled out helplessly on the ground. It was a simple and straightforward spell, but it was more than enough to make him feel threatened. Anyone could tell that it was a dense amalgamation of mana.
As expected, cold sweat ran down his hair.
"Show me this thing called internal energy. I've adjusted things so that you can resist adequately. I'll count to three," he ordered.
"..."
"One."
"..."
"Two."
"..."
"Three."
"Ah... I said don't kill him!" I shouted.
The violet spear shot toward him in an instant. I opened my mouth wide, worried that this idiot could actually end up killing our precious sample.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed throughout the room, and the invisible force binding him suddenly exploded apart. He tried to defend himself against the spear descending toward him, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time.
In the end, all he could do was alter its trajectory with both hands.
KABOOOOM!
"Huff... huff... huff... huff..."
Of course, his hands were completely mangled. Worried that he could suddenly charge at me, I quietly stepped behind Commander Jin, but the young man didn't even dare think about escaping or resisting.
He had undoubtedly felt the overwhelming difference between us. He could struggle, but there was no way he would get out of here.
'He knows there's no way out.'
He was standing before one of the strongest individuals in this world. Xiaolin, who killed that Star-whatever-his-name-was, was already considered a powerful figure on his continent, but Commander Jin was on a whole new level.
He looked like someone who spent his days getting cupcakes thrown at his face, but he was strong enough to rank among the top five on the continent.
It wasn't surprising at all that the young man immediately prostrated himself.
"Please spare me," Woon Hyun begged.
"I told you, we're not going to kill you. There’s a lot of work we need you to do for us. Why would we kill you?" I reassured him.
"Please... spare me..." he muttered.
"I’m serious. We're not going to kill you," I repeated.
"I can explain everything," he said.
"..."
"..."
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Baek Ri-Hyun, successor to the true teachings of Demon Lord Star Swallower."
'At least that wasn't a lie this time.'
"You seem awfully calm considering how your master is now dead. I heard the relationship between master and disciple is very special in your world," I said, pointing something crucial out.
"It would be more accurate to call him my enemy rather than my master. Demon Lord Star Swallower was the butcher who attacked the village where I lived as a child. I was captured by him, and he forced me to inherit his teachings against my will. I've always wanted to end him one day, but..." He trailed off.
'Yeah. Honestly, something felt off about that story from the very beginning.'
Once I checked his status window, I figured out his identity immediately, but to be honest, I found parts of his story suspicious from the moment Xiaolin introduced me to him.
While the Republic's rookies were dying, the so-called righteous group from the Mount Hua Sect was absent. In addition, he didn't have a single injury on him. He probably never had any intention of stopping Demon Lord Star Swallower in the first place.
'The moment he said he was his disciple, everything made sense.'
"That's certainly a tragic story, but unfortunately there's no guarantee you're telling the truth. You've already lost our trust, so it doesn't seem like you have many options left. As you just heard, it'd be faster for us to crack open your skull than to trust the words of someone we can't believe," I said.
"..."
"Of course, having your cooperation would have its advantages as well..." I added.
"I can be of assistance in any way you require. I’m not saying this because I fear death. Demon Lord Star Swallower may have died here, but there are still debts and grudges I must settle," he said.
'Damn it, it's always the same cliché. Why do these people have so many enemies?'
"The Blood Cult."
'What the hell is the Blood Cult? Stop trying to sound dramatic.'
"Demon Lord Star Swallower was a member of the Blood Cult. Though in the end, they discarded him and cast him into the Bottomless Abyss..." he revealed.
"Wait... what did you just say?" I asked.
"The Blood Cult. It's a heretical organization made up of the most vile and revolting people imaginable. In some ways, they’re even more dangerous than the Heavenly Demon Palace—"
"No, not that. The Bottomless Abyss?" I clarified.
"That’s right."
"You were in the Bottomless Abyss before you came here? What the hell kind of place is that?" I asked.
"It’s a prison where enemies of the martial world are confined; a prison where escape is impossible and a hellish place where countless demonic cultivators and ancient monsters remain imprisoned even now..." he explained.
"So you're saying you were in that damn Bottomless Abyss and then got transported into the dungeon?" I asked.
"Yes, that's correct. To be more precise, I was beneath the Bottomless Abyss when I was exposed to a strange red light. I’m certain all of this is part of the Blood Cult’s scheme..." he answered.
"I don't give a damn whether it's the Blood Cult’s scheme or not. Do you think it's possible that the others got dragged over here, too?" I asked.
"I'm sorry?"
"You said countless demonic cultivators and ancient monsters are imprisoned there! I'm asking whether there's any chance that some of those bastards got swept over here, too!" I shouted.
