MAEPG: Episode 48

Episode 48 Preparation (2)

Southern Seoul Branch of the Korean Returnee Association.

Knock, knock—Click!

“Branch Manager, regarding the installation of a snack bar within the branch that you instructed… Branch Manager?”

The secretary, who entered the branch manager’s office with documents for approval, stopped for a moment.

Branch Manager Yoon Ji-yoon was frowning and staring intently at the computer screen.

“Ah, Secretary Kim, you’re here? Bring it here.”

Her gaze was still fixed on the screen.

“Branch Manager, did something happen at the meeting today?”

Today was the day of the regular virtual meeting for branch managers and above, and Secretary Kim had come straight here after hearing that it had ended.

“It’s an incident, but… it’s a bit ambiguous.”

“Ambiguous, you mean…?”

“You know the Blood Alliance?”

She took her eyes off the computer screen and looked at the secretary.

Secretary Kim nodded.

“Yes, the organization where Korean vampires gather. I heard they haven’t caused any major trouble yet… Don’t tell me the hardliners finally did something?”

“It’s a big deal, but it doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Probably?”

“What?”

“The moderates won. They eliminated the hardliners’ executives and are in the process of absorbing the remnants. Alpha’s whereabouts are unknown.”

Secretary Kim looked at the branch manager with a puzzled expression.

“Is that even possible? I heard the power difference was quite significant.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Something must have happened.”

The Returnee Association, in other words, the Guardians, had been keeping an eye on the Blood Alliance for a long time.

It was only natural for those who maintained public order.

So they knew more about them than expected, and they were able to quickly notice this incident.

“We’ll have to try to talk to them. We’ve helped them a lot.”

Actually, the Returnee Association had been secretly supporting the moderates through blood supply from blood banks.

The Supernatural Ability Management Bureau, a government agency, wanted to control them, but from the perspective of those who maintained public order on the front lines, it was better to maintain a friendly relationship with the moderates.

They could reduce the number of potential enemies while they were already short-staffed, and it also had the effect of keeping the radical hardliners in check, so it had been an effective method so far.

They didn’t know what would happen in the future, but it was better than the hardliners gaining power.

That was all they could hope for now.

“I hope things don’t get any busier…”

“Tell me about it…”

Otherwise, their already heavy workload would only increase.
____________________

Heinz the Second quietly opened his eyes.

A familiar yet unfamiliar forest greeted him.

The lush forest was unchanged.

Only he was different from back then.

“This place hasn’t changed.”

This was the place where he first arrived in Auterica.

The monster forest that was his starting point.

‘This is the most suitable place to hide and do research.’

The Oath of Heaven’s Defiance bastards had completely disappeared from the vicinity, and the vampires didn’t have the time to care about the forest after losing Azantu, the closest city.

And the Church had also left it alone after searching it once, so it was practically no man’s land.

‘It’s impossible to monitor this entire vast forest. The surrounding monsters will be natural fences, as well as test subjects, so there’s no better place to do research quietly.’

Heinz flew towards the depths of the forest.

The surrounding monsters couldn’t even sense his presence, so he was able to move comfortably.

‘It feels like a lifetime ago. I think I almost died fighting a single monster back then.’

Was it a black panther he fought back then?

It was nothing more than a house cat to Heinz now.

He flew for a while.

He finally stopped in front of a cave and looked around.

“This should be good.”

A location that wouldn’t be easily noticed, the distribution of monsters living nearby, a cave with a spacious interior suitable for research.

It was perfect for setting up a secret laboratory.

“First, I should ask the current residents for their understanding.”

Heinz confidently entered the cave.

And a while later,

He was able to set up a barrier, generously using his abundant blood.

A barrier built with “Blood Mystery”, imbued with the energy of “Concealment” throughout.

The initial preparations were complete.

A few days passed…

Whoosh—

Inside the cave, the walls were covered with grotesque patterns made of blood.

A shadow momentarily fell in the center of it all.

[Whew…]

A figure shrouded in a black robe, scattering pitch-black energy.

It was Hans.

[Hmm, I need to hurry.]

Hans moved as soon as he was transferred.

He was already wearing a concealment field to hide his presence, but setting up a barrier was more certain.

He carefully manipulated dark magic power and drew a new shape on the floor of the wall where the blood patterns were engraved.

The barrier construction proceeded quickly.

Heinz, who was waiting inside the cave, also joined in and added the power of “Concealment”.

All sorts of barriers, including dark magic power concealment, space distortion, perception reduction, and detection immunity, filled the cave.

As proof of their growth, they were much more effective than before, thanks to “Path of Magic”.

[I think we’ve done enough. We’ll have to see how it turns out.]

He was confident since it was a collaboration between Hans and Heinz, who had done their best, but they didn’t know the Saintess’s limits, so it wasn’t time to relax yet.

But they could quickly find out the results because they had the best informant.

It only took a day.

“Greetings, Saintess. You don’t seem to be in a good mood today. Did something happen?”

“Ah… Hello, Sir Heinrich. Um… something’s bothering me. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

They were able to confirm the Saintess’s reaction through Heinrich and learned that she hadn’t been able to locate Hans.

She only had a slightly troubled expression and didn’t show any signs of summoning a subjugation force.

‘She’s amazing. It seems like she sensed Hans’s existence itself, even though we blocked it so thoroughly.’

It seemed like she only felt that Hans was in Auterica and couldn’t even pinpoint his general location.

Their efforts were worth it.

‘Anyway, we can start the real research now. If anything changes, we’ll know through Heinrich.’

Hans immediately took out the materials and started his research.

Now that they had time, he examined them carefully without rushing.

There were many things to consider when initially deciding on ‘Harley’s’ path.

The top priority was for him to walk the path of a Devil, like the other two avatars.

It was a natural choice because that path allowed for faster growth.

‘The first thing we considered was a werewolf.’

A werewolf, or Lycanthrope as it was officially called here, whose potential grew by ripping out and eating the heart of its prey.

But there were many ways to circumvent ‘directly’, so it wasn’t a bad option.

Their excellent seniors could help them somehow.

‘But even though their potential grows, the growth rate isn’t as dramatic as a vampire. And their tendencies seem to overlap too much. So we put it on hold for now.’

And in Auterica, Lycanthropes were a minority ostracized for their ferocious nature, unlike beastmen, so there were bound to be restrictions on their activities.

While they were contemplating, they discovered this research data.

It was called the ‘Perfect Evolution Creature Project’.

It had many similarities with chimera research, but its goal was on a different level.

It wasn’t just about forcibly attaching different body parts, but about continuously evolving the body by absorbing only superior genes.

‘And it can even transform like a werewolf!’

Transformation was an element they couldn’t give up.

It was a groundbreaking discovery that allowed them to retain the romance… no, the advantages of a werewolf while eliminating its disadvantages.

‘And the basis of that is this ‘dragon blood’.’

Hans took out a glass bottle containing a purplish gem-like liquid and shook it.

The blood of a Predatory Dragon from the Lauveda Dimension.

Predatory Dragons were among the top predators in Lauveda, a dimension where countless dragons and dragon hunters existed.

The worst kind of dragon, manifesting the characteristics of the opponents it devoured and continuously evolving.

The longer it survived, the more it evolved, eventually becoming a top predator with no natural enemies.

‘…That’s what the research report said.’

Heaven’s Turn Society started research to utilize the characteristics of Predatory Dragons through their blood.

[The amount of blood is a bit small, but the important thing is the characteristics contained in it, so it doesn’t matter.]

When he searched the lab head’s brain, there was also information about competition with other branches, so it seemed like they distributed the blood to several branches and conducted research simultaneously.

The problem here was whether Hans could achieve the goal that even Heaven’s Turn Society, who were masters of countless spells, couldn’t achieve.

Completing this research was a difficult task, even for Hans who had all sorts of skills.

[Hehehe… Of course, I have no intention of completing the research.]

Yes, he didn’t need to perfectly ‘complete’ the research.

His goal was only to strengthen Harley, so he just needed to make it usable.

He acknowledged their combination of various spells.

But he had the research logs that went through that process, and Hans’s “Forbidden Knowledge” contained all sorts of information that even Heaven’s Turn Society didn’t know.

And decisively…

Thump, thump—

Harley, who suddenly appeared from one side of the cave, walked over.

The cooldown had ended, and he was able to use the transfer formation again.

Harley was wearing a large backpack, a crossbody bag, a necklace, a bracelet, and all sorts of subspace magic tools.

They were filled with countless materials he had obtained from Tarak.

[We have the perfect test subject here.]

Even if there were problems during the experiment, he could endure with his tenacious life force through “Adaptation” and “Super Recovery”, and he would definitely cooperate with any harsh experiment and never go mad.

Since the experimenter and the subject were mentally connected, he could immediately grasp even the subtle changes in the subject’s body and reflect them in the experiment…

‘There’s no need for a universal result. It’s fine as long as it can be used only on Harley.’

It was also very satisfying to be able to steal their research results and use them first.

[Well then, shall we begin?]

Thus, Hans and Harley began their collaborative work as researcher and test subject.
____________________

A sunny afternoon at the Roselia Cathedral.

“…A sword and shield that protects the Church, I hereby appoint Heinrich Landguard as a holy knight of the Main God Church.”

Heinrich’s knighting ceremony was held in one of the chapels.

He received the surname ‘Landguard’ from the Church during the process and became ‘Sir Heinrich Landguard’.

Beautiful sunlight scattering through colorful stained glass windows, the benevolent atmosphere of the solemn chapel.

Even the Archbishop, with a benevolent smile, placing the holy symbol that signified a holy knight around his neck.

It was a sacred scene, as if painted in a picture.

《The individual meets the conditions and gains enlightenment. You have acquired the special skill “Blessing: Leap”.》

Until the sudden system message blocked his vision.

“Hmm? Oh—! Grace! A blessing bestowed at the knighting ceremony! The Main God is watching over us!”

Holy power surged from Heinrich’s body in an instant.

The Archbishop, who had placed the holy symbol around his neck while he was kneeling, exclaimed in admiration.

And then he looked up at the sky, closed his eyes, and started to pray.

Naturally, the other people who were observing the knighting ceremony also joined in, and the event suddenly turned into a prayer meeting.

Except for me.

‘…When can I get up?’

It was great that he was knighted as a holy knight and received a new blessing, but he didn’t know how to react because the order of the ceremony was disrupted.

And it was awkward to just stay like this, so he stealthily clasped his hands and assumed a praying posture.

“…The Main God watches over the earth and guides the unfortunate…”

And he organized his thoughts, using the Archbishop’s prayer as background music.

There was one very special thing about this blessing.

‘It was only for a brief moment, but I definitely felt the Main God’s will.’

It was surprising enough that the Main God directly bestowed a blessing at the knighting ceremony, but he was momentarily connected to the Main God, just like when he first received baptism.

Although it was a much shorter moment than back then.

Thanks to that, he was able to realize that the Main God was still interested in him.

‘Why? Because I’m from another world? It’s not just simple curiosity. I didn’t feel any human emotions like that.’

Actually, even ‘interest’ was just my subjective interpretation of what I felt.

His vast will was overwhelming just by experiencing a fragment of it.

-Individual Name: Heinrich

-Common Traits: “Mind Hub”, “Persona”, “Super Recovery”, “Clear Mind”

-Individual Traits: “Holy Baptism”, “Blessing: Fortified Body”, “Blessing: Leap”, “Martial Bones”, “Holy Warrior Combat Arts”, “Auterica Holy Magic”

-Special Notes: Holy power is continuously growing, exceeding the level of a high priest. Can use a wider variety of holy magic more skillfully. Body has become even stronger due to the influence of blessings, and can now leap through space.

But…

He was preoccupied with the Main God’s will and realized its effect belatedly, but the newly acquired blessing was extraordinary.

‘Wait! Leap through space? This is a teleportation skill!’

He didn’t know how many times he could use it per day or what the distance limit was, but…

Teleportation itself was a top-tier ability!

And since he could improve the ability through training, it was also an ability that Heinrich desperately needed, considering his future plans.

‘To think he gave me such an ability as a gift. As expected of the Main God. There’s a reason why the people of the continent worship him!’

It was a quick change of attitude.

He had to show his gratitude, so Heinrich corrected his posture, which he had been holding for show, and prayed to the Main God with sincerity.

Filled with the desire to receive more, if possible.

And at that moment,

The Archbishop, who opened his eyes to conclude the ceremony, smiled contentedly at Heinrich’s passionate prayer filled with longing.

‘Hahaha, what a devout young man. He’s also very capable, he’s a talent who will become a pillar of our Church.’

The knighting ceremony, which everyone was satisfied with, ended successfully.

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