CH 160

“Here you are.”

After entering a room, Merlin approached a middle-aged man seated at a desk. There, he gave the man a red gem and an approximately thirty-page thesis for his research paper. The man seemed to be surfing the internet, but when he saw Merlin’s offerings, he let out an exclamation.

“Oh, the results came out quicker than expected. Let’s see.”

The middle-aged man had well-kept blonde hair, and he was a great mage that realized the essence of the heavens and earth and could launch tens of different spells simultaneously. His name was Leighann Bennett. The library-like room that Merlin and Leighann were in was the highest floor in the Magic Tower of Babel, a holy land for all magic users.

Flip.

Leighann calmly read through Merlin’s thesis. Of course, he looked calm outwardly, but he rushed through the entire paper in less than five minutes.

“Oho, this is such a novel idea. There have been many attempts to crystalize mana, but to bring out such an explosive force from magic power….”

As he whistled in appreciation, Leighann picked up the gem Merlin had placed on his desk.

“It’s a model prototype.”

“I don’t have many fully operational gems at my disposal.”

It took two weeks to create a Howling spell gem. Someone might want to steal it, so Merlin didn’t take the gem out if he didn’t need to.

“Is a gem an ingredient?”

“When the creator’s ability is low, an energy tank is needed. A gem would be best, but any container-type item would probably work. If mana can be crystalized, then a gem or vessel wouldn’t be needed, but the manufacturer needs to be able to use both internal energy and magic power.”

Leighann nodded. Since he was a sage, a great mage, and had reached a realm where he nearly understood the essence of everything, Leighann almost entirely comprehended the system that Merlin had ‘invented.’ He also knew the value of such a breakthrough.

For tens of thousands of years, it was well-known that an explosive reaction occurred when pure magic power and internal energy collided. Yet, the crystallization and stabilization of mana in Merlin’s revolutionary new approach was something that no other world or dimension could conceive for the past tens of billions of years.

‘Humans are fascinating creatures. How could they come up with such a novel approach?’

Of course, this discovery wouldn’t impact human society or a human’s daily life. Even if Merlin’s method was made public, no one could crystallize and stabilize the explosive force that arose from the chaotic collision of magic power and internal energy. However, a transcendent being would be able to utilize this approach in an almost infinite number of ways. For instance, using the volatile interaction between magic power and divine power, the demonic dragon race tried to create a spiritual vessel that produced infinite magic power. Yet, they only succeeded in destroying their home planet. To them, humans were seen as inferior beings. So, if they knew that a human had discovered a plausible solution, they would foam at the mouth and lose their minds.

‘Of course, it’s still not possible to combine divine and magic power, and the overall power levels that are outputted from this process aren’t that great in the grand scheme of things… but this novel new approach is tremendously alluring due to its stability.’

After finishing his thoughts, Leighann turned his attention to Merlin with a satisfied smile. Perhaps he felt he had come across an invaluable gem by pure chance.

“Let’s make a contract.”

“Contract? I came here because-”

“Forget about the test.”

As soon as Leighann answered, a wall of text appeared before Merlin.

/You have succeeded in your Occupation quest!/

/Your Occupation has changed from ‘Commoner’ to ‘Howling Archer’!/

/You now qualify to challenge for the acquisition of the Master skill, ‘Regeneration’!/

/You now qualify to challenge for the acquisition of the Master weapon, ‘Olympos’!/

Merlin sensed a feeling of fullness throughout his body. He had expected a change, but this enhancement was beyond his expectations. Merlin had so much magic power that he could launch several AOE attacks without any worries about depleting his magic power capacity. With this, Merlin opened his status window and reviewed his new occupation.

[Title: Howling Archer

Description: An increase of 150 magic power points and 50 Willpower points.

Based on the novel spell-casting approach created by Merlin, you can launch a singular, ultimate strike with Olympos, which contains the Howling spell.]

“Oh, not bad… hmm?”

While appreciating the rise in his stats, Merlin furrowed his brow. He realized that he felt something strange.

‘Weird. Normally, the stat window is just a numeric quantification of my abilities and skills, but this time, my stats changed before I felt their effects. This means…”

Merlin was about to fall into thought, but Leighann soon spoke up as if to deter him.

“Don’t concern yourself with those minor details. Read this.”

“I came here for the title, so it isn’t exactly a minor detail.”

Despite his hangup on Leighann’s words, Merlin took the paper handed to him and then widened his eyes in surprise. While Merlin possessed a wild imagination, he had never thought that a document like this would be presented to him.

“A… patent application?”

“Yeah. It’s a patent application for your gem production process. Read it closely and let me know if there’s any part that troubles you; although, since this patent has been used for thousands of years, I don’t think you’ll find any errors.”

“What the hell….”

Merlin was dumbfounded, but he perused the legal application document nonetheless. He narrowed his eyes when he reached a specific clause, which read [Based on the patent law denoted in Union Law Chapter 12, Section 231, Clause 4….]

“W-wait! Did the Noblesse send you here? I don’t know what they told you, but this is clearly a violation of the Union Agreement!”

Merlin recalled what the researcher said when he infiltrated the research facility to free a being named Lucy. The researcher expressly mentioned the words Union Law.

“Union Law… can you explain to me what this is?”

Yet, contrary to his expectations, Leighann shook his head.

“Sorry, but I can’t. You’re not in a position, nor do you have the qualifications to know such things.”

“But-”

“I swear. I swear upon my name that you’re not suffering any losses. This will be an absolute profit.”

“What if I say no?”

Leighann smiled softly.

“Then it can’t be helped. I’ll take your research and label it as my own.”

Leighann’s straightforward words didn’t leave Merlin any room to doubt Leighann’s intent and sincerity. Moreover, Merlin didn’t know anything about Union Law or where to even submit a patent application.

“… Then, what’s with this 20 percent agent fee?”

“Obviously, that’s my fee. Your idea isn’t half bad, but you don’t have the social standing, prestige, or ability to submit a patent or defend your invention, right? You absolutely need my help and standing.”

After hearing Leighann’s straightforward explanation, Merlin nodded.

“I feel like I’m being taken advantage of, but whatever. Based on the wording of this contract, it seems I’m on the lesser side of the power dynamic. Since I’m unfamiliar with all the technical terms and aspects, I’ll have to rely on you, Mr. Leighann.”

“I also don’t want you to enter this contract on the basis of blind faith. A multidimensional contract like this patent application shall be overseen by the god of wisdom and justice, Tort.”

“The god of wisdom and justice?”

“Tort is also often referred to as the god of contracts.”

As soon as Leighann finished speaking, substantial pressure fell upon them. It wasn’t a pressure that came from a being’s mere presence or suppression. It was a type of pressure that originated from….

“A glance?”

“Right, based on an ancient oath, Tort turns its attention and glances. Amongst the top gods, Tort is one of the few who does such things for the lower dimensions.”

The [Glance] moved from Merlin to Leighann before it landed on the contract.

Whoosh!

“The contract….”

“Don’t be surprised. It’s an official process.”

“But… we didn’t sign it….”

Leighann shrugged.

“A contract substantiated and upheld by the gods doesn’t require such a thing. As long as we possess the will to uphold the terms, Tort takes care of the rest.”

Though he explained this in a deadpan manner, internally, Leighann was surprised.

‘So quick. The contract wouldn’t be finalized unless both sides fully understood the terms.’

Leighann was surprised that the contract burnt up before he had the chance to explain further. Of course, the contract was only a few pages long, so it wouldn’t take that long to read. However, the ‘fully understanding’ requirement was an entirely different matter; one didn’t ‘fully understand’ just by memorizing or reading something. A user shouldn’t have known or understood many things, but Merlin had easily ‘fully understood’ the contract. This carried a poignant meaning.

‘This guy, he’s already thought of and made some assumptions.’

However, Leighann didn’t trouble himself on the matter. DIO possessed many aspects that made it hard for any thoughtful being to simply conclude that it was just a game. It would be more surprising if there weren’t any humans who questioned these things.

‘Of course, the eventual realization was always part of the plan… but this is too fast. Tan, what the hell are you thinking?’

Leighann shook his head to clear the image of Tan, the Noblesse who was also the head honcho of the DIO operation. Though Leighann was also a Noblesse, he was not Tan’s equal. As those on the cusp of transcendence, beings like Leighann and Tan were like senior professors at a university, but Tan was akin to a dean, so the two couldn’t be compared. Moreover, Tan was more powerful. As he gave a somewhat defeated smile, Leighann raised his right hand.

Crackle.

“What?”

Merlin had been watching Leighann’s movements when he audibly took a deep breath as he saw the crystallized gem in Leighann’s right hand. Surprisingly, Leighann made a magic stone using Merlin’s process. Though it took Merlin two weeks to properly process and produce a working core, Leighann had made a magic stone almost instantly.

“You shouldn’t be surprised. From time immemorial, surprising breakthroughs or inventions all possessed value in their uniqueness or creativeness, not their specific utility per se. Also, in terms of our background civilization and power levels, you and I aren’t comparable.”

Merlin stared at the diamond that Leighann had created. It didn’t possess that much magic power, but the purity level of Leighann’s gem was much greater than any of Merlin’s.

“That’s true, but… if you’re not familiar with martial arts, it shouldn’t be easy to contain the chaotic nature of the product.”

Leighann possessed more than enough magic power to directly crystallize a fully operational gem, but he had chosen to use spiritual power instead. This meant that Leighann had used internal energy, the other component necessary for the opposing reaction of two forces. However, Leighann shook his head.

“Being a practitioner of internal energy is not necessary to use it. Internal energy and magic power aren’t the smallest units that comprise the world.”

“The smallest units that comprise the world… what are those?”

“Force, essence, and ether.”

Merlin had never heard of this concept before. In his mind, he’d always thought that the world was comprised of mana and that the different uses were based on how mana was accepted and applied. Merlin’s knowledge was based on what most mages knew. Yet, the truth was closer to what Leighann had just mentioned. Leighann’s theory was something that only great mages knew of, as they understood the essence of the heavens and earth.

“Then….”

“That’s all I can say for now. Didn’t you mention that you were planning on participating in some event to gain gem points?”

Leighann knew about gem points. In fact, it was likely that he knew the reason they existed better than anyone else.

“I might as well offer you some advice while I’m dropping so many hints. You’ve probably already figured some things out yourself, so I’m not sure if this’ll be news to you, but gem points will be usable even after the conclusion of this event. The main reason for this event is to raise interest in the New Continent and lower the barrier to accessing it. However, make sure to put some attention into creating your flying shuttle. I’m not sure if they’ll give you the option of breaking through the atmosphere, but the ability to fly in outer space is a must.”

“Flying in outer space… is it a must?”

“That’s all I have to say.”

Leighann gave a soft smile as Merlin’s surroundings changed. Soon, he found himself somewhere on the outskirts of the Magic Tower of Babel.

“Hmm. I feel like I somewhat understand.”

Merlin turned around as he mumbled to himself. Various theories regarding DIO and the basic elements of the world sprung into his mind, but above all else, Merlin was pondering why his physical condition changed moments after he had received the Master title and its increased stats.

In contrast to when his stats increased after he trained and developed, this time, his stats had risen before his body reflected the spiritual power changes. Through simple reasoning and conjecture, Merlin realized that this change belied a much deeper meaning. The bonus point system was probably also based on this principle.

‘About those bonus points….’

Unlike Yongno, Merlin knew about bonus points. It was impossible not to overhear other users talking about bonus points in the bustling city streets, just as how someone couldn’t be blind to the plethora of forum posts and videos on the topic.

Let alone a genius, even a normal person could learn about bonus points, but Yongno really didn’t know. On the one hand, it could be stated that Yongno’s ability to focus and concentrate was extreme. However, it was also true that Yongno didn’t know how to read a room. If Yongno wasn’t interested in something, he shut himself off.

‘This knowledge might help me exploit a bug.’

The thought popped into his mind, but Merlin soon shook his head. Merlin was sure that he could gain an advantage or profit if he exploited a bug, but he wasn’t confident in exploiting the bug without the developers noticing. The ‘complete play’ Merlin was planning to do during the next event was different, as it fell within the rules of the game. So, at worst, he’d only receive a warning. However, the bug exploitation he was thinking about now might cause his account to be locked or terminated.

‘Well, since I’m unsure, let’s leave my bonus points alone for the time being. If I don’t have enough bonus points on hand when a chance presents itself, I won’t be able to exploit the bug.’

Since anything that Merlin said would be shared with Yongno, Merlin kept all these thoughts in his mind. From sight to sound, Merlin and Yongno had the same five traditional senses, as well as a special sixth sense, although they didn’t share their internal thoughts or, to a certain point, their past memories. This was how they were both able to coexist.

“Well, I guess it’s about time for the event to start.”

After checking the time on a clock that was visible in the corner of his eye, Merlin teleported. Soon, Merlin would execute the most ‘impolite’ play ever seen in DIO.