Chapter 16: The Angel Prepares (2)

Episode 16: The Angel Prepares (2)

“Isn’t this illegal?”

A voice filled with displeasure rang out. The owner of the voice was Yumari, the illegitimate daughter of the Yu family head. The man fiddling with the monitor replied with a smile.

“…Miss, there is no such thing as ‘illegal’ in our family’s affairs.”

“Ah, of course.”

A boy was reflected on the monitor.

He was huddled under his blanket, battling some kind of nightmare.

“Who exactly ordered this investigation?”

“It was the madam’s children. They said they were curious about a boy who was being praised by all the students who passed the entrance exam.”

The madam’s children.

That referred to the legitimate sons and daughters of the Yu family head.

The enemies who had taken away her mother…

“Ha… to go as far as installing cameras…”

“There were orders to investigate thoroughly.”

‘Why are those bastards curious about Leffrey? And thoroughly? Could it be…?’

Yumari couldn’t help but have dark thoughts. Just like those damned bastard had done to her mother, they would use Leffrey, abuse him, misuse him, and then dispose of him…

Such dark thoughts.

Yumari bit her lip.

‘I should have made him fail.’

That’s right. It was all too late now. How could she get him out of this? Leffrey was obviously a boy who wanted to succeed as an awakener.

Moreover, he hated her. So persuasion wouldn’t work. And he was also talented enough to become the top scorer. Although he had yielded the position to her… Anyway, petty tricks wouldn’t work either.

“Sigh, what’s this data?”

“It’s the initial investigation data on the boy.”

Data with brief information about the boy.

Yumari carefully looked through the data.

And without anyone knowing, she made a sad expression.

*

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There was a place once called the DMZ. Now it was called the Gate Special Zone. Why? Because the world’s largest Gate was floating in the sky above it. (DMZ. The Korean Demilitarized Zone)

It was originally an uninhabited area, but now it was a metropolis teeming with nearly ten million people. Half from the another world, half from Earth. And among them, another half were foreigners.

In the heart of the city, there was an area called the Old Citadel.

As the most important area, home to various dungeons producing rare items and the ancient dwarven workshops, it boasted an overwhelmingly high population density even within the already crowded special zone.

2,500,000 people/km²… the worst density humanity had ever seen. And the unbelievable wealth that allowed this density to be maintained.

There was a beast folk tribe that monopolized this wealth.

People respectfully called them the Mooncat Tribe, the ones who ruled the Old Citadel with violence and fear.

“So, you succeeded in entering the academy?”

And the leader of that tribe, Jeokwol, flicked her cigarette ashes and sat facing her daughter.

“Yeah. It was a piece of cake.”

“But you lost the top spot to the illegitimate child of the Yu family.”

“Not that again!”

Jeokwol was a cat beast folk who exuded a seductive charm. Her red hair was like a burning flame, and her body’s curves seemed to mock even her daughter’s, which were nothing to scoff at.

And the dozens of men surrounding her.

Hongwol, despising such a sight, twitched her tail in displeasure.

“You haven’t changed.”

“What?”

“Hating men.”

“…I don’t hate men. I just ignore them.”

Jeokwol shook her head as if amused and stroked the man smiling next to her. The man fawned over her and snuggled into her arms.

“Why would you hate something so good? You’ll have to give birth to a daughter someday too… this is a bit of a problem.”

“Ugh, that’s not important right now.”

“Huh? What’s more important than continuing the bloodline? Ah right, the Central Academy is co-ed anyway. Have fun while you’re there.” (Co-ed essentially both men and women can attend the same school)

As Jeokwol made a lewd gesture, Hongwol turned away, yelling,

“What’s there to enjoy! Seriously!”

“Ahahaha. This is why virgins are pathetic, pathetic.”

Phew- After Jeokwol took a long drag from her cigarette. She momentarily revealed her vertical slit pupils, showing seriousness.

“But you know, right? Men are meant to be something you own. If there’s a man you want… make him completely submit. And never give him your heart.”

Hongwol couldn’t answer.

It was something she had always answered with a “of course” before.

But now that she had a man she truly wanted, she couldn’t readily agree to those cruel words.

She didn’t want to say it even as a lie.

“Answer.”

“…”

“What are you doing in front of your chief? Answer!”

As Jeokwol revealed her anger, the dozens of men surrounding her immediately bowed their heads to the ground. Some even started trembling and muttering something.

Hongwol averted her eyes away from them.

“I understand.”

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

Phew- Jeokwol took another drag from her cigarette and gestured for Hongwol to come closer with her finger.

“The location of the Holy Sword has been confirmed. As we suspected, it’s sealed in the basement of the main building of the Central Academy…”

“I’ll definitely steal it.”

“Hongwol, if you fail to steal the Holy Sword, our tribe will have no choice but to join the demon army and invade this world again. As you know… this is a matter of our tribe’s survival.”

“I know.”

Jeokwol rubbed cheeks with her only daughter, Hongwol, and said,

“I believe in you.”

Jeokwol watched her daughter leave until she was out of sight. As her daughter left, she whispered in a quiet voice towards the shadows,

“Siwon.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“It seems like that child has a man, doesn’t she?”

“…I think so too.”

And she muttered in an annoyed voice,

“Damn it, even we can’t infiltrate that damned academy… I hope she hasn’t given her heart to a man.”

*

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The Central Superhuman Academy had a special rule. If you collected 3 recommendation letters from professors, you could get one legendary-grade artifact owned by the academy.

Naturally, this rule applied to both current students and incoming students, and students worked their asses off to get the professors’ recommendation letters… well not really.

Why? Because the professors at the Central Academy were famous for being extremely strict with their evaluations. Even if you did something exceptional, it would only end with praise, and they only give you a prize if you achieve something unbelievable.

But a recommendation letter?

Three of them?

Most students at the academy thought it would be more likely to get a legendary-grade artifact by challenging an S-rank dungeon.

“The treasure vault is opening?”

That’s why the students couldn’t help but be surprised.

Who on earth had collected 3 recommendation letters?

“Even the student council president only has two. Is it Yu Si-hyun?”

“…If that annoying woman had gotten one more, rumors would have spread. I don’t think it’s her.”

“It can’t be, but…”

One student muttered,

“It’s not a freshman, is it?”

“What are you talking about? They haven’t even enrolled yet.”

Who exactly had collected 3 recommendation letters and opened the Central Academy’s treasure vault?

“The sound is quite something.”

“It’s unavoidable due to security.”

Naturally, it was Leffrey. He thought as he watched the huge door of the treasure vault open,

‘A legendary-grade artifact… not many of them even appear at auctions, but if they do, they boast astronomical prices, those legendary items…’

“Kid, hurry up and go in. Remember, you’ll be automatically expelled after 30 minutes. And there are a lot of good gauntlets in there, especially the OPG…”

“I don’t have time, so I’ll go in now!”

“Wait a minute!”

Leffrey couldn’t stay lost in his thoughts any longer.

As soon as he entered, he saw countless swords, spears, and armor. Each and every one of them was a top-quality item with immeasurable value.

‘Ugh, it’s a shame. But what I need most right now is…’

However, Leffrey had something else in mind.

He headed as quickly as possible to the depths of the treasure vault. Past the weapons, past the shields, and past the armor.

From there on, it was a place where miscellaneous items were gathered, things that were classified as legendary but were half-abandoned because they were useless.

Legendary greeting machine, says hello in a legendary unlucky way. Legendary water bottle, never runs out of water, but it only trickles out. Legendary card that shines legendarily…

Things like that. No one thought there would be any important items here.

‘That cheat artifact is definitely here.’

And Leffrey finally found it.

A large stone.

It was gray and rough, but it had been cut into a rectangular shape. It was exactly as he remembered it.

‘This is it…!’

A woman watched as the boy walked out carrying an unremarkable stone. She wore a nun’s habit and was even called a saint by some. (Nun’s habit is basically your typical nun’s clothing)

Her name was Rebecca.

She was the divine power professor at the Central Academy.

“To think there was someone who recognized the value of that stone… the vice principal’s words were true.”

So just what kind of ability did this stone possess? What kind of ability could make Leffrey and Rebecca so excited?

The name of this legendary stone is Corestone. Literally, it served as the cornerstone of a building.

Of course, that wasn’t its only ability.

‘Corestone: Restores a collapsed building and transfers ownership of the building to the owner of the stone. Can be used only once.’

It was a shame that it was a consumable artifact, and its ability wasn’t that great either.

Restore a building and take ownership? It was an ability suitable for a real estate agent.

But…

‘There’s a ruin at the Central Academy. A ruin left behind by a religious group that fought against the demon army until the very end. That ruin, whose value will be rediscovered a year later, was said to have been protected by all sorts of ancient technology and single-handedly held off the demon army’s invasion for over ten years.’

A single building holding off the demon army’s invasion? For 10 years? Naturally, people tried to restore it, but it was impossible with current technology.

That’s where the Corestone came in.

‘But to think someone would steal the Corestone and run away. I need to prevent that from happening this time.’

However, in his past life, someone who had sided with the demon army stole the Corestone and escaped to another dimension. That’s why people couldn’t restore the facility until its destruction.

There were many who said that if the facility had been operational, humanity wouldn’t have fallen so easily.

‘Actually, the more important reason is… I need that building for my comfortable and quiet life. I need a safe place to live. Not a studio apartment where it feels like someone is watching me…’

And so, Leffrey came out carrying the stone.

Lusa looked very disappointed.

“…What is that?”

“It’s a stone.”

“No, I know that. Why did you bring that?”

“To use it.”

Lusa fumbled for her cigarettes.

“Is that so…? Ha, fine. If you need it, I can’t…”

“Professor, I have a question.”

“Yeah, ask away.”

“What happens if I come to own land within the academy grounds?”

“Owning land? Why? Are you going to make a club or something?”

A club could be considered a guild formed by students. In fact, these clubs managed funds like guilds and owned land within the academy.

“Oh, is it okay for clubs to own land?”

“Yeah. They need a place to rest and sleep too.”

Before they knew it, the two were now standing on a plain on the west side of the academy. It was a reed field with scattered piles of collapsed stones. A cool breeze blew, making it seem desolate somehow. The word ‘ruins’ was fitting.

“There’s so much land going to waste anyway, it’s better to use it somehow.”

“I think so too. I really do!”

And as Leffrey placed the stone on the ruins, a cathedral suddenly appeared. It wasn’t that big, but it was clearly imbued with a powerful divine power that made it seem very sturdy.

And Lusa instinctively felt it.

That the owner of this cathedral was Leffrey.

“…So, how do I apply to create a club?”

“What is this…”

Lusa dropped the cigarette she was smoking.