episode_0139
by fnovelpiaEpisode 139 – Welcome to Yeon-guk 2 –
What happened in Yeon-guk was shocking.
On the contrary, I felt okay considering that I had been vaccinated in the beginning.
The economy has completely collapsed, and anyone can produce currency.
Therefore, there are not many ways for a physically weak woman to survive in a place that is not much different from bartering.
“Don’t worry too much. Surprisingly, that guy. Because he’s a good person.”
“… Yes?”
“First of all, you kept your promise. Otherwise, there is no reason to keep your promise. no. There may be a backsliding.
In any case, women will never become one with alchemy, so don’t worry.”
The economy has collapsed, but there is no way public order can be ok.
Either men are nice or women are mean.
If either of these two things is not met, the man has no obligation to keep his promise.
Just kill and steal it and that’s it.
“You have become one with alchemy?”
“Ah. It is a metaphor for death in Yeonguk. Alchemy using magical power is not effective against creatures that emit aura. Because corpses are different.
However, you don’t have to just use that. “He just passed away”. I died in battle. Because it has a strong public feel.”
“Ah… ”
Are customs solidified in language?
I don’t know if language creates customs.
You can get a glimpse of the culture of that culture by looking at its language.
Even corpses are considered valuable alchemy ingredients.
No, where you have to do it. Yeon-guk.
He spoke words of comfort to the healing saint who was depressed by the misery of the land.
“You will be fine in the end. Did I tell you? They say that in Yeonguk, you have to respect older people.”
“… Why?”
“It means that you have lived that long. In the Empire, if the reason for your lack of skill is old age, it will be taken into account, but that doesn’t work here.”
In some ways, it is a place where extreme elitism prevails.
Because the world runs entirely and extremely solely on ability.
Although it goes back to the logic of survival against enemy death.
It has become so extreme that the law of the fittest has become survival of the fittest.
Yeonguk, a land abandoned by the economy.
Lucas must have been amazed by this land he had never seen before.
He smiled and expressed his impressions.
“… I can’t see the sky.”
“It’s not like it doesn’t exist. It’s definitely up there somewhere.”
“It’s no different from nothing.”
“If you say something like that carelessly, you’ll be in big trouble, right? Among those living down here, there will be some who will try to go to the sunlight someday.
If you decide to do it here, there is no way to stop it. The only way is to get out of the country as fast as possible, so be careful.”
A space without roads or buildings.
And above it stood another building.
Someone once commented that the apartments were close together like a chicken coop.
People like that should see this.
At least the apartments adhere to certain standards.
This doesn’t even have such a standard.
“So. Where should we go?”
“First of all, do you know how the country is formed?”
“Yeon Guk? Isn’t it actually a semi-lawless zone?”
“Humans live together, but a lawless area cannot exist. It is just within the territory of a country, but it is not subject to the laws of that country, so it is called a lawless zone.
In reality, there are new laws created by other people. Even in lawless areas of other countries, criminal organizations have created their own rules.”
There is no such thing as a lawless zone in the true sense of the word.
There was one, but I already destroyed it.
Because the Evil God Church no longer exists.
“I’ll explain as I go. The road here is complicated, so you can’t find it unless you go around destroying buildings, so you must never fall.”
“I understand.”
After asking the healing saint not to wander around.
As we passed through the damp slums, I explained about Yeon-guk.
“Yeonguk maintains an unprecedentedly unique state. In this land where all resources are virtually depleted and immigration is impossible, it is impossible to continue life without stealing from others.”
“The situation is so bad that it is difficult to survive without looting, so public order has collapsed.”
“That’s right. But if the darkness is clear, there is also light.
There is only one thing in this land that cannot produce anything on its own and only covets what belongs to others. There is a facility that produces something.”
If those who only consume become the mainstream, the country will collapse.
A representative example is militarism.
The military is a group that cannot produce but only consumes.
The moment such an army becomes the country’s number one priority, the country’s downfall is certain.
Unless there is over-technology like Hwasubun.
Yes, unless there is over-technology like Hwasubun.
“The central dome where the Emperor was created after the fall of the Yan Empire in the past. Supplies are provided randomly there.
I don’t know what might come out, but they were all things with incredible technology.”
“I know that much. So, it seems like the Empire also tried to plunder the goods coming from Yeonguk until the building was built to this extent.”
“That’s also true. After several attempts, a security device was created that massacres imperial citizens the moment they approach the supply.
Anyway, the Yeongu people were able to survive by using that technology. And those who gained tremendous technology during the diffusion established a company of sorts.”
corporate nation.
Although it can be said to boast tremendous efficiency, the reason corporate states do not exist in this world is very simple.
How can a company achieve that level of efficiency?
Because it is not a country.
National defense, health, welfare, and education.
That’s because you don’t have to worry about anything else, just pursue money.
A corporate nation must make extreme assumptions.
It is a system that can never be achieved under normal circumstances.
How can a country exist that does not need national defense, education, or welfare?
however.
“Corporate states are generally impossible. It doesn’t matter much on this earth. Because no one is coming in anymore.”
National defense?
Among the items made by Changjae, there is a technology that prevents the invasion of foreign enemies.
Health?
People here don’t care about that anyway.
education?
People who despise life cannot care about that.
welfare?
Needless to say.
Since we don’t care about people, there is no need to worry about running out of human resources.
Because technological development can be solved by coming from the creative dome.
A company that is not so royal.
A land ruled by shareholders, not kings, was born.
“Companies established in that way have created a kind of territory. And each party gives each other money to make requests.
If you want to meet Changje, you have to at least meet the company presidents. Or spend a lot of money and become a shareholder.”
“There is no reason to allow problems to arise just because they are companies, right?”
“If it’s strong, it’s out of the question. If they are weak, just give them some money and let them fight. If you are strong, they will either drag you to their side or bow down to you.”
In a normal country, there would be a huge backlash against using terrorists as a force.
These are companies.
I don’t care about that.
“Then… Why is Yeonguk called the sacred place of alchemists?”
Why is Yeonguk called the sacred place of alchemists?
This is very simple.
“The only people who pursue extreme efficiency are alchemists.
Even knights sometimes lose money due to psychological warfare, and wizards make extremely inefficient investments in pursuit of extreme justice.”
“Alchemists don’t have anything like that… ”
“To be precise, alchemists do not rule in an environment that pursues efficiency. Since the environment was set up, I went up on my own.”
“Then what about black magic? Didn’t black magic also sacrifice countless humans in pursuit of efficiency?”
“Black magic had no basis at all. In the kingdom of Feyre, which was the kingdom of Yan, alchemy was a national industry.
Because there was no one to teach black magic techniques.”
“Couldn’t we learn from the other side?”
“Is there any power that can teach you black magic? Lion Legion, Evil God Church, Empire, Principality, Holy Emperor, Heukju, etc.
Why are you passing on all the skills here?”
“Ah… ”
Technology is basically an asset.
There is no way you can carelessly give your assets to others.
And that’s not going to help in this country either.
Trudging~
Nothing much was said after that.
No one said anything in particular.
Even horses were a luxury in this land.
There was no life in the people walking along the road.
Surprisingly, the undead controlled by the Lion Corps seemed to be more lively.
The only difference is that it is truly alive.
A place where people who look more like corpses walk around.
A place so ruined that the only thing less like a corpse than a real corpse is that they are actually alive.
The saintess held my hand and closed her eyes tightly as she saw the infinite reality of constantly breaking through low points.
It was a result of my choice because I didn’t want to look, but I didn’t want to get lost.
Fortunately, the period during which the saintess closed her eyes was not that long.
“ character. We’ve arrived now. Pickpocketing is extremely common here. Everyone, be careful. Don’t start a useless fight. Just stay still. Please stay still.”
“Here… Where is it?”
“Here?”
The healing saint looks around.
A completely different landscape unfolded than before.
It would be appropriate to say that the previous time was a human hell like Kowloon Walled Wall.
This place was like another magical city where a factory complex and a shopping center were combined.
“Workshop.”
The name of such a space is workshop.
A free market for alchemists.
A place that is absolutely essential when coming to this country.
That’s where we ended up.
“Uh… ? Like here… Is it a place… ?”
The Holy Virgin of Healing was taken aback when she saw the workshop.
This may have been because it looked very different from before.
“It’s a little different from before… ? Until a little while ago, they were all close together like chicken coops… ”
“It is a living space. This is an industrial space that needs to use the sun, so it was separated.”
“Then it means there is space left, so why…? ?”
“Companies charge rent for specific spaces. The areas that are not assigned are on the outskirts, so there is nothing but a forest of buildings on the outskirts.
Those people have to come to places where people flock to do business, so they pay taxes to do business here.”
Even if there is a loss, it is right to take the loss if you can gain more profit.
Even if the debt costs 10 million won in interest, it is right to borrow if you can earn 10.01 million won.
That is the mindset of a businessman.
“This is the only place in this country where people like us who are not shareholders of the company can come into contact with alchemists.
In other places, it’s difficult to do anything carelessly because they all belong to the company.”
“Why did you come to the alchemist? Can’t you meet alchemists in other places?”
“Exchange with other countries is fundamentally blocked here. Imperial alchemists cannot make useful alchemy tools or magic tools here.”
It is possible to enter the country from another country.
It is impossible to go from one country to another.
However, the government treats technology as an asset and does not try to publicize it.
There is no way that other people could make products that incorporate Yeonguk’s technology.
People around us looked at us because our conversation seemed a little loud.
And when they saw something hanging on our chests again, it was obvious that they were paying even more attention.
Lucas became anxious and asked me.
“Hey. Abraxas… Other people over there keep looking at us?”
“That’s because I’m an outsider. If you have that pass, you can make real money, right?
It’s okay because we have a saint. There isn’t much of a problem.”
The Imperial Pass is only useful when escaping to the Empire.
The reason this was issued was due to a unique situation.
I can sell this if I’m in a hurry.
“What if I lose it? and. You can sell it?”
“To be precise, if you have a saint, you can escape to another country safely. The only countries without a cathedral are principalities, federations, and republics.
As long as you go to another country, show the saint’s miracles, and get certified, you can return to the empire even without a pass.”
The reason why a pass was issued despite these circumstances is simple.
There are a lot of people aiming for this.
This can be sold expensively.
If you sell it when you are in a hurry, you will definitely make a big profit.
“We sell just the right items! I have everything except what I don’t have!”
“Hey. Who wants me to fix my bike!? Start from 2kg!”
“2kg in that junk? Just buy a new one!”
“Director Nam. So you won’t fix it?”
“Of course I have to fix it. It’s just better if you buy a new one!”
There is a different atmosphere than before.
Before, it was a space for dying people.
This place had a pub-like atmosphere.
Ignoring the looks of people around us, we slowly find the building we want.
There is no need to look for a fancy building.
“That building just now… The interior was nice… ”
Even if it’s a normal company, it doesn’t matter.
A true alchemist does not need such a building.
Since their skills are usually average, their intention is to make more money through publicity.
The truth is that they make a lot of money without promotion, so they don’t necessarily spend money on promotion or interior design.
Just like here.
“Excuse me.”
The place I stopped was a very shabby barracks.
It looks like nothing but wire and crude iron plates.
The screws were even on the verge of breaking in some places.
Looks extremely worn out.
Lucas and the healing saint said in confusion at that sight.
“Is it really here…? ?”
“Is this right? Is something strange?”
“That’s right. Usually places like this take pride in their skills. You didn’t forget what I said, right? There is no one who has become an adult in Yeonguk without abilities.
Even though it’s a mediocre design, it’s survived until now because it’s capable. Now, follow me.”
So we entered the small tent.
Lucas and the healing saint followed me even though they were suspicious.
We entered the small tent.
And inside, there is a human who is presumed to be the owner of this tent.
It’s not at the level of becoming one with alchemy.
After it had turned into a handful of ash.
Exactly.
The clothes, still intact, were reduced to ashes.
“Hey… Abraxas… What is this?”
“I don’t know either? But is there something strange? Since this is Kakill’s workshop, if there is a body, there will definitely be a funeral.
But why is the body… No, before that, why is this situation like this?”
A normal corpse could never be in this state.
Even if it is burned, the bones remain.
But this body was clearly a corpse.
There was no such thing as such conditions at all.
Let’s think about it.
Find something similar in my memory.
If it’s somewhere between ash and porridge like this…
“Homunculus? Why is the homunculus here?”
Swish~
Everyone looks at me at those words.
Towards a small tent that looks very shabby.
Burdened glances are exchanged.
Homunculus.
When that word was mentioned, everyone around us looked at us.
The square, which had been noisy until now, became quiet.
Among the people around us, there were also people who had picked up weapons and were preparing to attack us.
And I immediately realized what the situation was.
The atmosphere becomes even more heightened.
An imminent situation that could lead to a fight with all the people on this land.
What I could do in that situation was simple.
“Saint. Are homunculi human?”
“Yes? What?”
“Are homunculi human?”
A homunculus is a human being created through alchemy.
To put it simply, it’s an android.
An imitation human created without sexual intercourse, which is the method of creating humans given by heavenly gods and evil gods.
And what if it were a world without a soul?
In this world with souls, homunculi…
“That can’t be a human, right? No matter how well the homunculus imitated humans. You can’t be human because you don’t have a soul.”
It wasn’t human.
Rumblingly~
After hearing that, the other people go back to their jobs.
The atmosphere from before was so sudden that it was impossible to find anything.
Fortunately, the atmosphere relaxed, so I explained the story properly to the saint and Lucas.
“Saint. I think you really need to be careful.”
“Yes? Why is that so?”
To be honest, I tried to tell you step by step.
Because I didn’t know we’d meet each other already.
“There are people who kill people and live their lives instead.”
One of the biggest enemies in the WFS’s empire.
Body Snatcher using a homunculus.
There are people who imitate humans even though they are not humans.
0 Comments