Chapter 44

Chapter 44

‘This is bad.’

Kim Soo-kyung felt utterly devastated.

Everything had gone awry due to the unexpected situation.

They had taken his younger brother hostage to use as a test subject, but due to Dojae’s unknown ability, they themselves had become the hostages.

‘If only Park Do-hwan hadn’t acted so rashly.’

Park Do-hwan, Kim Soo-kyung’s superior and the commander overseeing MID.

Obsessed with the idea of obtaining the Transcendence Stone as quickly as possible, Park Do-hwan had conducted the operation too carelessly.

Kim Soo-kyung tried to stop him, but all she got was a flying vase smashing her forehead.

‘Not only did we fail to retrieve the Transcendence Stone, but we also angered Lee Do-jae.’

Realizing that if things continued this way, Do-jae might truly rescue his brother and then do something unpredictable to them, Kim Su-kyung made the swift decision to return her brother.

She didn’t care if she died here, but her family was another matter.

No, Dojae hadn’t said he would kill them.

His words about not letting them see a good end could mean torture or suffering.

‘Even setting aside Nana and the family…’

Do-jae also knew about MID’s members, the ten elite agents.

He knew their exact names, hidden from all records.

No matter how special or uniquely trained they were as operatives, they were still human.

Having threatened not him, but his family, if they remained unmoved, they weren’t human—they were monsters.

‘What should we do now? Given how things stand, we must turn Lee Do-jae’s heart toward us….’

Kim Soo-kyung’s mind was in turmoil.

If they had obtained sufficient information on Lee Do-jae as she had originally planned and proceeded with a better method, retrieving the Transcendence Stone might have taken a little time, but it could have been possible.

If only Park Do-hwan hadn’t been so impatient and foolish.

Kim Soo-kyung swiftly devised a plan to break the deadlock.

‘Forget the Transcendence Stone. We have no choice but to focus on the Mana Accelerator.’

If securing the Transcendence Stone was impossible, she had to find the next best alternative.

That alternative was the mana accelerator.

According to the intel, using mana accelerators to draw out an awakened one’s abilities had fewer side effects and greater versatility than using transcendence stones.

Kim Soo-kyung believed such mana accelerators were more effective than Transcendence Stones.

It’s far safer and can be mass-produced.

From Kim Soo-kyung’s perspective, who didn’t particularly support Transcendence Stone research, Park Do-hwan’s insistence on clinging solely to Transcendence Stones was neither understandable nor agreeable.

However, in a situation where they couldn’t obtain Transcendence Stones, stubbornly clinging to them would achieve nothing.

Even if it meant getting thoroughly beaten by Park Do-hwan, she had to bring something salvageable to keep her position.

‘First, let’s create a situation where Lee Do-jae can bring the mana accelerator.’

Moreover, using Lee Do-jae to secure the Mana Accelerator would give him leverage against Park Do-hwan.

If Lee Do-jae dies in the process, that’s even better.

If he brings the mana accelerator, we can use it to strengthen the expeditionary force. If he fails, we can retrieve the transcendence stone and resume research.

‘If Lee Do-jae refuses… then we’ll have no choice but to deal with Park Do-hwan…’

Kim Soo-kyung waited to broach the subject with Do-jae, who was holding his younger brother.

***

“Brother!”

Lee Do-young leapt toward Do-jae and threw his arms around him.

Do-jae held Do-young tightly.

In the heavy atmosphere filled with black suits, it must have been unbearable for a child who was only an elementary school student.

Admirably, though tears welled up in his eyes, he held back and nestled into Dojae’s embrace.

“Were you really scared?”

“No! I believed you’d come to save me.”

“You little rascal, pretending to be brave.”

Dojae and Doyoung’s reunion was brief.

Dojae briefly pushed Do-young away and opened the pocket dimension.

“Doyoung, look at this.”

Golems burst forth from the pocket dimension.

They were the three strongest among those Dojae had summoned.

Do-young’s eyes widened in delight at the sight of the golems.

“Metallic Heroes?”

Dojae pulled the magic stone out of the pocket dimension.

He placed it in Do-young’s hand.

“Doyoung, you’ve always said you wanted to be a Metallic Hero, right?”

“Yeah!”

“Just wait.”

Grrgrrrr-.

Dojae cast the Golem Summon spell.

Simultaneously, he deployed the golem’s neural network, summoning it atop Do-young’s body.

In the form of a golem armor identical to his own.

“Wow…”

Do-young admired his own arms and body.

Dojae positioned three golems around Do-young as guards before sending them outside.

Then he walked back to the desk and sat down.

Thud.

“Where is the remaining half of the Transcendence Stone?”

Dojae inquired about the half of the memory sealed within his left foot.

His ultimate purpose for joining the expeditionary force was to resolve this matter now.

“We have secured that half.”

“Good. I wish you’d give me that half too.”

“……”

Kim Soo-kyung couldn’t continue.

Do Jae waited silently.

In this situation, Kim Soo-kyung had no choice.

The fact that she let Do-young quietly slip out was proof enough.

Her mind would be swirling with complex thoughts, and she would never consider attacking Dojae.

Even just seeing her state through the golem’s eyes, Dojae could tell Kim Sookyung’s spirit was completely broken.

Pressing further here could have pushed Kim Su-kyung toward a dangerous thought, so Dojae let the time pass in silence.

And finally, Kim Su-kyung spoke.

“Mr. Dojae. I have one request.”

“A favor?”

“Do you know what a mana accelerator is?”

Do-jae shook his head firmly.

He had only learned about the Transcendence Stone and the ability to become a Golem Sorcerer after obtaining it; there was no way he would know about a mana accelerator.

Especially since Dojae was only an F-rank, he was completely irrelevant to such matters.

“It’s a drug China started developing a few years ago. It temporarily makes an awakened individual several times stronger.”

“Similar to the Transcendence Stone, then.”

“Yes, while the Transcendence Stone provides a semi-permanent effect of reawakening Awakened Ones, the Mana Accelerator only works for a short time. However, the success rate for Awakened Ones using the Transcendence Stone in experiments is extremely low, affecting only a tiny fraction. The Mana Accelerator, on the other hand, shows an effect regardless of success or failure, simply by being administered. It also has almost no side effects.”

“So?”

“Could you possibly procure a sample of the Mana Accelerator for me? Then I’ll give you the remaining half.”

Dojae stared into Kim Sookyung’s eyes.

Kim Su-kyung would eventually hand over the remaining half to Do-jae somehow.

But Kim Soo-kyung was using the remaining half as leverage to negotiate with Do-jae.

‘She’s quick to make decisions. She let Do-young go easily, and now she’s using the memory fragment from my sealed left foot as leverage to make a deal with me.’

Do-jae pondered.

Which would be more efficient: granting Kim Su-kyung’s request and retrieving the half, or taking it by force in his own way?

And before long, Dojae reached a conclusion.

“Fine. I’ll retrieve it for you.”

Do-jae chose the former method.

Rather than agonizing over which was simpler or faster, he wanted to create a debt for Kim Soo-kyung.

He intended to use Kim Su-kyung, the team leader of MID.

As members of the Intelligence Command carrying out secret missions, they would be skilled with information, and having such an organization backing him would be a huge advantage.

“Really? Thank you.”

Kim Soo-kyung offered her thanks without expression.

But Dojae knew he was deeply relieved.

His state had just shifted from ‘tension’ to ‘relief’.

“And this is a personal request…”

Kim Soo-kyung spoke quietly to Do-jae.

Low enough that the other agents couldn’t hear.

After she finished speaking, Dojae replied to Kim Sookyung.

“I’ll think about it.”

Surprisingly, what Kim Soo-kyung had said was a request for him to help deal with the captain.

He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but it was probably a reaction to failing to recover the Transcendence Stone.

Without knowing her true intentions, Dojae couldn’t give a definite answer.

‘I’ll decide whether to help based on how capable Kim Su-kyung is. If she’s insignificant, I’ll stay quiet. If she’s got something, I’ll get a reaction.’

Dojae slowly rose from his seat.

Depending on what Kim Soo-kyung showed him, Dojae planned to help him secure the position of MID leader.

That would mean Dojae would gain a useful intelligence network.

“Then please contact us once you’re ready.”

With that, the MID agents vanished into the darkness.

***

Incheon International Airport.

Do-jae sat in the departure lounge, waiting for his flight to depart.

‘It’s a relief Eun-hee agreed to take care of him.’

Do-jae had asked Eun-hee to watch over Do-young while he went to procure the mana accelerator.

Just as he finished talking with Kim Soo-kyung and stepped out, Eun-hee had arrived.

He had texted her the location before entering the warehouse, so she was able to arrive quickly.

‘Golem! Dojae, are you okay? I’ll take care of this right away!’

Eunhee attacked Dojae’s golems the moment she stepped out of her red sports car.

She wore stiletto heels that looked well over 10cm, yet her movements were incredibly swift.

If Dojae hadn’t emerged at that exact moment, Do-young might have died at Eun-hee’s hands instead of MID’s.

‘I’m sorry… I didn’t know you had that kind of skill, Dojae… But wait, you’re Do-young! Nice to meet you, I’m Jung Eun-hee.’

‘Hello, Eunhee-noona!’

“Oh my, do I look like an older sister? You’re handling social situations well for a kid!”

“No, I mean it. You really do look like an older sister. But is that your car?”

Fortunately, Eun-hee took a liking to Do-young.

Doyoung also followed Eunhee without any hesitation.

Do-jae summarized the situation, and Eun-hee readily agreed to take care of Do-young.

Thanks to that, they could breathe a sigh of relief and make plans.

Swish-.

Do-jae opened the bag Kim Soo-kyung had prepared, which he carried in his coat pocket.

The bag contained various items.

The first thing Dojae checked was a stack of over a dozen A4 sheets.

<Mana Accelerator Seizure and Acquisition Plan [Top Secret]>

The plan’s title was written large and centered on the first page.

The words “Top Secret” were written in red ink.

A small memo was also attached.

– Please shred or incinerate this document after review.

Rustle-.

Dojae quickly flipped through the documents one by one, skimming the contents.

To an outsider, it might have looked like he was just skimming, but every word and diagram was etched clearly into Dojae’s mind.

As his mental stats rose, his reading comprehension and memorization skills improved, allowing him to grasp everything just by glancing.

Riiing-.

Next, he pulled out his smartphone.

It was a brand-new smartphone, completely empty except for the default apps that came pre-installed.

Except for one single contact already saved.

Other than that, it seemed like a simple burner phone with no other notable features.

Along with this, there was a passport with an unfamiliar name, several bundles of yuan banknotes, and…

‘Earrings?’

Why on earth would someone put earrings in there?

Dojae examined the small gem attached to the earring closely, checking it with the Golem’s eyes.

[Equipment Info]

Name: Translator

Category: Accessory

Description: Earrings enchanted with translation magic. Immediately, all languages heard by the wearer are transformed into a language they can understand.

Effect: Translation

Skill: Translation Lv. Max

‘More thoughtful than I expected.’

Dojae put the earrings back into his bag.

While language was a concern, this translator wouldn’t be much help for his activities.

He needed to move secretly to retrieve the mana accelerator sample, and for smooth operations in China, he required someone fluent in Chinese and well-versed in the country.

And just then, the perfect person was emerging from the restroom.

“Chief Shim. Why did it take so long?”

The most suitable person Dojae could think of.

That person was Shim Young-jin.