Chapter 121
‘It wasn’t a mistake after all.’
What I took out was the ‘Fruit of Life’ that Satan had personally given me as a gift.
It was the ‘real thing’ that I picked from the Garden of Eden. It looked small and unimpressive because it was freshly grown, but the power inside it was still too much for me to handle easily, even after I became a proxy.
‘But why did the Fruit of Life suddenly react to the natural stone?’
The natural stone. And the one that resonated with the green color, which had the most abundant energy. I felt curious when I saw them. So I brought them closer, and the Fruit of Life trembled more violently.
‘So that’s how it was.’
The Fruit of Life reacted to the turquoise natural stone like a baby desperately looking for its mother’s milk.
Even though it had already fallen from the Tree of Life, it reacted as if it were a living creature. That showed how much the Fruit of Life had a tremendous vitality.
And more than that, the fact that the Fruit of Life reacted to the turquoise natural stone meant.
‘The Garden of Eden. The Trees of Life and Wisdom that were cultivated there were all grown using these natural stones.’
I understood why the Fruit of Life was so eager to react.
It wanted to grow more by receiving the energy of the turquoise natural stone.
‘Hmm. Maybe.’
I stroked my chin lightly and left the Fruit of Life next to the turquoise natural stone.
Then the fruit shook slightly, and the light flowing from the natural stone became stronger.
“Huh?”
“What is this, exactly…”
The three who were watching this scene all reacted with wonder.
It was understandable, since the fruit and the natural stone that I brought out of nowhere reacted.
I explained to them the relationship between the Fruit of Life and the natural stone.
Baek Seoryeon and Kang Hyerim were amazed by the story, and Kwon Jia nodded as if she realized something.
“I see. So that’s why. Now I know why the spirits are so obsessed with the natural stones.”
“Yes. It’s not just Eden. In most great worlds, there are many elixirs of the same level as the Fruit of Life. And what they need to grow them is this turquoise natural stone.”
I saw the value of the natural stone in a new light, now that I knew its clear use.
‘I’ll have to keep at least the turquoise one. No, maybe the other two as well?’
These three natural stones were amazing enough to turn a huge snake into a dragon by leading it to ascension.
Of course, it was unfair to compare them to the ‘real’ ones.
The real natural stones were eaten by the tricolor snake in history, and these ones were just manifestations of the ‘story’ from then.
But still, did that mean they had no value?
‘Even if the spirits don’t know everything, they must have seen their eyes widen. Maybe there’s not much difference in performance between these and the real ones.’
It was more than a windfall.
It was a jackpot.
Of course, there would be a need for discussion on how to use these natural stones with such great value, but for now, let’s just be happy.
‘And also, the Fruit of Life.’
The Fruit of Life seemed to be absorbing the energy of the turquoise one, as its trembling had subsided considerably.
At a glance, it might have been a mistake, but it seemed like the Fruit of Life had grown bigger.
‘At first, I thought I had to use this tiny apricot-like thing right away, but I changed my mind.’
The Fruit of Life was not easy to get. Considering that it was not easily available in the dimensional shop either, it was probably the only thing I could get at my level.
It was too regrettable to consume it in its immature state.
‘If I can grow the Fruit of Life, it will be a different story. Let’s leave it as it is until it fully ripens.’
After finishing my thoughts, I looked at Kang Hyerim and Kwon Jia.
“Both of you. You got rewards for clearing this world of ideas, right? What stories and skills did you get?”
“Hmm. I got a skill called [Form of Rock]. It seems like a reward for catching a spirit made of rock. The ability is, well, my physical abilities become stronger. The [story] I acquired was also similar. It’s called [Energy of Nature], and it allows me to absorb nature’s energy better.”
“I got a skill called [Form of Water]. The ability is that my movements become smoother. The story is same as Jia… sir.”
“I see. I got a skill called [Form of Green Forest]. It gives me a life force like a tough tree. The story is also same. It seems like we each got one of the three attributes that exist inside.”
I thought that the stories suited the people who got them.
Of course, I was a bit surprised that I got the energy of the green forest. But I liked it, since it was a skill related to forests and trees, and it gave the owner ‘a strong life force of nature’.
After all, having a sturdy body was the best.
“With this, our power has risen again.”
I said with a cheerful smile.
Since we were the only ones (?) who could enter the world of ideas, it was a happy thing that our power increased at the same time.
Of course, we were still lacking if we thought about the future, but considering the time we had come, it was an overwhelming growth rate.
Especially, the best part was that we gave a blow to Twilight Curtain and Hanul, who were like thorns in our eyes.
They were both clans that had deep roots in Korean society, so they wouldn’t collapse completely from this incident, but.
‘It will take some time to recover.’
And the other clans that had been maintaining the balance of power wouldn’t just sit and watch these two clans shake.
A clan was ultimately a relationship of competition and predation.
They would have been cautious and not moved much if they were similar, but the story would change if the other side showed weakness.
‘Even if Hanul is like that, especially Twilight Curtain will be more damaged. They and also the Pentagram department that tries to secretly move them behind.’
I couldn’t help but feel exhilarated when I thought of that annoying Agael getting annoyed from now on.
***
Clang!
“What is this, how did this happen! Huh!”
Agael threw something in her [Room of Supervision].
Her assistant and aide Teller sweated coldly at her violent behavior that didn’t suit her small and cute stature.
“Ah, Manager Agael.”
“Why! Why! Why did this suddenly happen!”
Agael usually spoke with a smile, but when she got angry, her story changed. Of course, even when she was angry, her face was smiling. But when she twisted her face like a demon, it meant that her anger was strong.
Her assistant, regular employee Seragan, wished and wished that the arrow of anger wouldn’t point at him.
He knew very well what had happened to his previous assistant Jinpoong.
“Seragan!”
“Yes, yes!”
When Agael’s gaze turned to him, Seragan answered with a lot of strength in his shoulders.
“Tell me how the situation turned out like this.”
“Alright, I got it!”
Seragan explained in detail how Twilight Curtain’s corruption was exposed and how many collectors were arrested at the scene.
“Our supported clan, Twilight Curtain, lost nearly a hundred members in this incident. Of course, there were less than twenty deaths, but the rest were captured by the association. To get them out, we have to go through legal procedures, which will take at least six months…”
“Enough of that! What about the supervisor!”
The man called the supervisor was one of the few collectors that Agael had ‘directly contracted’ with.
He had a neat mask, a cold personality, and a cruel hand.
He treated people like objects, which made Agael think that he was ‘somewhat useful’.
“Him… He seems to be in trouble, since he was directly involved in the incident. And he was seriously injured in the fight with Hanul clan…”
“And the conclusion is?”
“W-well, you might have to give up on the supervisor. And the others too, if they can’t do anything for six months, you might have to abandon them…”
“You son of a bitch!”
Agael spat out a curse, and Seragan flinched. But Agael didn’t vent her anger on him.
After all, this was just an action to express her anger somehow.
After some time passed and she calmed down, Agael buried herself in a cushion that was much bigger than her size.
“Ah, Manager Agael?”
“Seragan. You can go now. I’m very tired right now. You heard me?”
“Yes, yes! I got it.”
Seragan ran away from the room of supervision as if he was escaping.
Agael didn’t care about him and sorted out her complicated thoughts.
‘Phew. It’s one thing to lose a good piece that I thought was decent, but it’s too much to lose so many collectors that we contracted with from our Pentagram department.’
Twilight Curtain was the best bridgehead of the lower world for Pentagram to use. But because of this incident, Twilight Curtain attracted all kinds of attention and pressure, and so did the Pentagram department that used them.
‘Ugh. Annoying. As if dealing with Exodus bastards wasn’t enough.’
What had happened had happened.
Agael knew that it was more constructive to do what she could do right now.
‘I have to find him.’
She swallowed her anger and got up from the cushion.
‘I have to find the one who made us like this.’
This incident wasn’t just bad luck.
Someone from outside caused this.
They stole the vault, and used the data inside it to move the association, Hanul clan, and even the media to create this situation.
It was a sophisticated scenario that made her teeth chatter.
There was no doubt who planned it.
‘There were three people who were suspected of clearing the world of ideas at the scene. They didn’t show their faces, but there was definitely someone there.’
Did they use an artifact that hid their appearance and presence?
That precious thing?
The fact that three people used it meant that they were not ordinary.
Did someone help them?
‘Who is it? Who would benefit from making us, Twilight Curtain, and Hanul clan suffer?’
If there was no evidence, she had to infer the culprit from suspicion.
She was so heated up that she had to do this.
All kinds of enemies passed through her mind.
Other departments that opposed Pentagram, other clans that hated Twilight Curtain, tellers who had personal grudges with her.
Then suddenly, Agael remembered one being.
‘What?’
Why? Why did she think of that annoying Teller Kang Yoo-hyun at this moment?
‘Wait a minute. Come to think of it, why did Hanul move?’
She hadn’t had a proper conversation with that teller yet, so she didn’t remember well, but Hanul didn’t target Twilight Curtain from the start.
They said they were aiming for someone else and accidentally clashed with Twilight Curtain.
Why did Hanul move their third division?
What did they want to do?
And how did Hanul know that location?
As if.
Someone had tipped them off…
“…!!!”
Agael’s expression hardened.
She felt a chill run down her spine and to the tip of her fairy wings.
‘I have to check, I have to check.’
It was an instinctive sense of crisis that Agael had built up as she climbed up to this position.
If she didn’t take this seriously now, something irreversible would happen later.
A beastly intuition that completely excluded reason.
But it barely grabbed Agael’s ankle as she walked unknowingly towards the cliff.
‘I have to make a connection with that teller related to Hanul somehow. I don’t care if I have to suck up or go in hard. A clue, even a small one is fine. I have to find it.’
It was the first time in her life as a teller that Agael acted seriously and desperately on something.
She didn’t even realize how flustered she was.
From the moment she faintly felt the black shadow over her shoulder, she only felt a compulsion to get rid of it somehow, as if she was shaking off a disgusting bug that touched her skin.
‘I have to, I have to find him!’
Agael’s eyes glowed bleakly with her blood vessels bulging.