Chapter 430

My eyelids began to tremble before I even realized it.

Why is this here…?

I remembered it clearly.

Immediately after the Sichuan Blood Tragedy—after the Western Heaven Demon Lord had nearly killed me several times—I had followed the Sect Leaders of the Qingcheng and Emei Sects to a cave in an unnamed cliff.

The space hidden behind the Mystic Gate Formation had been vast, with an enormous formation carved into its center.

The same formation filled with strange patterns and symbols that was now printed in color on the paper in my hand.

But… could the thing the Sect Leaders of Qingcheng and Emei had named the Moving Formation even be called a formation anymore?

I hurriedly thrust the paper toward Magic Johnson.

“Johnson. This—what is this?”

“Huh? What?”

“Why is this here…? No, where the hell did you get it?”

Taken aback by my sudden reaction, Magic Johnson answered with a bewildered expression.

“It’s a magic circle discovered in the city the Arch Lich used as its base.”

“A magic circle?”

“Yes, a magic circle. I was already in the middle of researching it… What’s wrong, Jin? Have you seen it somewhere before?”

“Are there more?”

“Of course. Every sheet of paper I was looking at before you came in is related to it.”

“What?”

Then everything piled on the desk had been related to it?

I looked at the dozens of sheets of paper scattered across the floor.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Jin? Jin?”

“Has he finally gone mad? How tragic, you vile and ugly human.”

I ignored Magic Johnson’s flustered calls and the Skeleton King’s nonsense.

My lips pressed firmly together, I rapidly skimmed through the stack of printouts.

Each sheet bore a different set of patterns and symbols. By the time I had examined them all, I had realized one thing.

This is…

There was no mistake. The strange patterns and symbols were identical to the ones I had seen in Murim, only arranged and oriented differently.

And if I assembled all these sheets like pieces of a puzzle, they would form one enormous magic circle.

What the hell is going on?

I felt as though someone had smashed me in the back of the head with a sledgehammer.

I stared silently at the papers for a long time before finally speaking.

“You said this was discovered at the Arch Lich’s base, right?”

Magic Johnson had a cigar between his lips by then. He blew out a cloud of smoke before answering.

“That’s right. I didn’t know anything like this existed at first, but apparently it was discovered shortly after the investigation team went in. The coalition forces sent it to me on the second day.”

“They sent it to you?”

“They wanted my opinion. They couldn’t figure out exactly what the magic circle did, either. They probably contacted the other two as well.”

The other two were probably the Grand Mages besides Magic Johnson. They were the greatest mages alive and true experts in the field.

Which meant this magic circle was something entirely new—something that had never been seen before.

“So, has your research turned up anything?”

“Nothing conclusive yet, but I have a general idea of the magic circle’s purpose.”

“Its purpose?”

“Yes. Fortunately, I have a friend who knows quite a bit about that sort of thing.”

I was just about to ask who he meant when an arrogant voice cut in.

“That would be this very body. The universe’s most insanely handsome man, born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Known as Stone-King.”

Right. How had I forgotten about this bastard?

He was a native of the Demon Realm and a Named Monster to boot, so he was bound to know something.

I pressed the Skeleton King for answers as he continued spouting nonsense.

“Cut the bullshit and tell me what you know.”

“Call me Mr. King from now on, and I shall consider it.”

“Mr. King, my ass. You kumquat-looking bastard.”

“Fucking Korean.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“Whoa, whoa!”

When I raised my hand, the Skeleton King instinctively scurried backward and shouted in alarm.

“All right! I said all right!”

“Talk, asshole.”

The Skeleton King regarded me warily before speaking.

“It appears to be a magic circle for absorbing life force.”

“Absorbing life force?”

“Indeed. It seems the Arch Lich used it to absorb other humans’ energy and amass power. With all that magical power at its disposal, it could control countless legions of monsters and open Gates.”

China was a vast continent.

Even after suffering staggering casualties during the Great Cataclysm, it was still home to one-fifth of the world’s population.

And approximately eighty million people lived in Sichuan Province alone—according to the official statistics, at least.

The monster wave had caused millions of casualties. Add those who had yet to be officially counted, and the number would rise to truly staggering proportions.

And a great many of them must have been sacrificed to provide magical power. Considering the scale of what that bastard did, it all adds up.

I bit down hard on my lip and asked the Skeleton King again.

“Are you sure?”

“It is merely my personal inference. I cannot guarantee it.”

“Why not?”

The Skeleton King clicked his tongue.

“Vile human. Can you determine the meaning of magic circles used by other humans simply by looking at them?”

“That’s…”

“Of course you cannot. This body is no different. I can raise and command soldiers according to the abilities granted to me, but I cannot wield dark magic like this.”

Damn it. He was completely right.

Just as Hunters and monsters were classified according to their respective traits, the Skeleton King only possessed the abilities specific to him.

His answer wasn’t what I had hoped for, and I could feel the strength draining out of me. But one important question remained.

“Then how did you guess that it was a life-force absorption magic circle? Can only monsters recognize patterns and symbols like these?”

If the Skeleton King understood these strange patterns and symbols—if he could teach me what they meant—I might finally be able to identify the formation I had seen in Murim.

I looked at him expectantly, only for his answer to dash my hopes a moment later.

“I do not know what those things mean. I could guess what the magic circle was for only because I’m undead.”

The Skeleton King pointed at Magic Johnson and continued.

“When I first saw it on paper, I could not tell what it was. But when I visited the site with that human I’m grateful to, I sensed it clearly. The stench of countless deaths hung over the place—more deaths than even I could begin to estimate. That was when I realized what it was.”

“Oh…”

I could not hide my disappointment.

If neither Magic Johnson, a Grand Mage, nor the Skeleton King, a Named Monster, could understand them, then deciphering those patterns and symbols anytime soon would be practically impossible.

Damn it.

What the hell was going on?

The formation carved into the center of the cave. The patterns and symbols that had appeared in the magic circle discovered this time. The bizarre phenomena I had witnessed during my battle with the Blood Lord and the Western Heaven Demon Lord…

I desperately tried to deny the ominous thought that flashed through my mind.

That can’t be. It’s impossible.

Was this a coincidence? Or was it fate?

And if it was fate, what did this connection that had appeared out of nowhere mean?

After pacing silently around the suite for a long time, I abruptly spoke.

“I need to see it for myself.”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“Johnson. I can visit the site that bastard went to, right?”

Magic Johnson thought for a moment, then nodded.

“It’s classified, but you should be able to get in, Jin. However, only the two of us can be seen. We’ll have to carry our friend in an extradimensional pocket, just like last time.”

“That’s fine. Let’s leave right away.”

“All right, let’s do that. You seem to know something too, Jin.”

Just as Magic Johnson and I were about to leave, the Skeleton King cut in with a dignified voice.

“I apologize for interrupting, humans, but this body has pressing business. You two may go without me.”

“……?”

“……?”

“The woman at the hotel’s front desk is exceptionally beautiful. Though concealed beneath human skin, the curves of the skeleton within are exquisite.”

I quietly asked,

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? I am informing you that I shall be spending the night out. Now, I must go arrange a date with the beauty… But, vile human.”

“What?”

“May I ask why you suddenly took out a spear?”

“Ah, this?”

I casually waved White Flame, which I had somehow already drawn from my Inventory.

“It’s nothing. I was going to stab you when you turned around.”

“I see.”

“Exactly.”

“……”

“Why aren’t you leaving? The employees will be getting off work soon. You should hurry over and ask her to dinner.”

The Skeleton King hesitated, an awkward smile tugging at his lips.

“Now that I think about it, I suppose I can take my time trying to win her over.”

“Wow, then you’ve got some free time. In that case…”

I smiled brightly and pulled out one of the extradimensional pockets I had acquired to conceal the existence of my Inventory from other people.

“Get in, asshole.”

“……Okay.”

The Skeleton King answered dejectedly and slipped inside the extradimensional pocket.

The moment I saw the magic circle with my own eyes, I understood what the Skeleton King had meant.

Or perhaps it only seemed that way because I had heard his explanation immediately beforehand.

Either way, the sight overwhelmed me, and a single word rose unbidden to my mind.

Death.

The enormous dark magic circle dwarfed the one I had seen in the cave.

Although its magical power had been cut off and it had lost its original function, even the traces of death left behind by the countless lives it had once claimed had not disappeared.

And… that was all I could sense.

“Jin. What do you think? Do you have any idea what it is?”

“No. None at all.”

The patterns and symbols, arranged in an incomprehensible order, remained impossible to decipher.

Just as it had in Murim, the System remained silent. After wandering around the site for hours without learning anything, I had no choice but to turn back.

“Mr. Johnson, Jin. We’ve prepared an escort to ensure you encounter no inconvenience on your way back…”

“We’re fine.”

“Yes, sir. Then I hope we meet again.”

We left the head of security and his guards behind after they snapped off razor-sharp salutes.

Once he had made sure no one was nearby, Magic Johnson quietly moved his lips.

“Jin. You knew something, didn’t you?”

“…A dream. I think I saw something similar in a dream.”

“Hmm.”

“Johnson. Can I look around by myself for a while?”

“Of course. How long do you think you’ll be?”

“I’ll be back soon.”

I began walking slowly through the ruins.

Although it was well past midnight, the city was as bright as noon, and countless people and machines were working to clear the wreckage.

The same work was probably underway in every city caught up in the war.

It must be the same in Sichuan.

China’s Sichuan and Murim’s Sichuan belonged to entirely different worlds. Murim was not the modern world’s past, nor was the modern world Murim’s future.

But now a connection had appeared between those utterly different worlds—and it was not the first.

The capsule.

Everything surrounding me had begun with the junk capsule I had picked up at a recycling center.

How? Why? For what reason?

More questions crowded my mind with every step, leaving my thoughts in complete disarray.

“Phew.”

At my deep sigh, the Skeleton King—whom I had quietly moved from the extradimensional pocket into my Inventory—asked,

“Are you all right, vile human?”

“Are you worried about me now?”

“No. If you are all right, let us hurry back to the hotel. Johnson told me a few days ago that there is a club nearby with a great crowd.”

“……”

Give me back my touching moment, you lunatic.

I considered telling him that the club Johnson had mentioned was a gay bar, but held my tongue.

“Forget it. What did I expect from you?”

“So, when are we going back?”

“I’m going, asshole. I said I’m going!”

At that exact moment—

“Where are you so desperate to go? Hell?”

At the sound of the voice—harder and colder than ever before—I slowly turned around.

Without realizing it, I must have ventured deep into the ruins. Beyond the relatively dark ruins, a familiar figure was making his way through a collapsed building toward me.

“Hell is where your old man went. If I die, I’m going to heaven.”

The eyes of Go Jun—Lee Jungryong’s Disciple and Head of Security—turned ice-cold.