Player Who Returned 10,000 Years Later

Chapter 84 – You believe me, don’t you? (Part 1)

A goodbye gift from Cherish.
(9/10)

Editor: Cherish

— Wha… what is this? Why did it suddenly disappear?! — Young-ju’s expression portrayed utmost bewilderment.

The black stone discovered by Kang Yu.

The one thing that could provide clues about the Devil’s Teachers began to dissipate in the air until it eventually disappeared.

— I have no idea.
It started to disappear as soon as I picked it up… — Kang Yu feigned surprised, staring down at his hands in awe.

But in fact, he knew well that not a trace remained of the stone because he’d used the Devourer’s Power on it, which, of course, he could not reveal.

Just like he concealed the fact that he had already lost his humanity long ago; that he was a demon who’d lived in Hell for ten thousand years and became its ruler.

Young-ju was visibly disappointed.

— I wonder if this is just the way Magi works?

— If that’s true, then it makes sense why Orias’ body turned to ash and disappeared last time, — Hyun Mo pointed out.

‘Right.’ Kang Yu’s eyes flashed, recalling what happened last time.

Young-ju nodded her head thoughtfully.

— Hmm… Seems this really was a special feature, then, possibly because Magi was involved.

— First, we need to find out if El Quero is the only one with this stone, or if there are other monsters with this implanted in their heads.
If these stones are in the heads of other monsters, then we must obtain them before it becomes a problem, — Hwa Yeon said.

If implanting these black stones into monsters’ brains was part of the Teachers’ plans, then it was unlikely this act was limited to one creature.

Among the many monsters all over the Gates, there certainly had to be those with the same stone.

‘If I get all that pure power…’

He shivered with excitement.

If he absorbed all the power within those black stones, then he could disrupt the Teachers’ plans and, at the same time, gain great benefits for himself.

In this situation, it was perfect to say ‘kill two birds with one stone.’

— But this stone disappears the moment you touch it.
Even if we find monsters with stones, can we get it and deliver it for analysis? — Young-ju asked doubtfully.

This question was directed at Kang Yu, who was lost in gleeful thought, but the guy was not taken aback and immediately replied:

— I think everything will be fine as long as you do not touch it with your hands.
I’d say it’s best to store it in a bag.

— Hmm.
Ok.
I’ll instruct my guild members to search for stones.

Hwa Yeon nodded in agreement.

— And I will give the same order to the Hwaran people.
It’s a black stone inside the monsters’ brains, right?

— Yes, — he said.
— And those monsters will likely show signs of outside interference.
—

— Got it.

With the Red Rose Guild and Hwaran Squad, if everything goes exactly as Kang Yu imagined, he could harvest a huge amount of pure power.

The guy could hardly restrain himself from letting out a scream of joy right on the spot.

Echidna, quickly returning to her human form, approached him and tilted her head to one side.

— Kang Yu, you look happy.

— Is that how it seems? But how could I possibly have fun in such a difficult situation?

She stared at him in confusion.
Since they were spiritually connected, she could roughly sense the guy’s mood.

And right now, he was radiating excitement and joy.

Seeing her perplexed facial expression, Kang Yu immediately changed the subject.

— You really helped us a lot today.

— Really? I was able to help you?

— Yes.
As expected of Echidna.
Let’s go home and do whatever you want.

Steam flew from her nose with joy.
Her thoughts were immediately filled with various requests she could ask for as a reward.

The guy smiled widely as he stroked her head.

‘I should look for it, too.’

From only one stone with pure Magi, he was able to get many times as much Magi as he did from killing a hundred giant orcs.

And because of the Level 59 crisis, experience points were not so important at the moment, so he thought it would be much more useful to try finding more stones with pure power.

‘And thanks to them helping with the search, I’ll be able to catch some sleep.’

He still hadn’t passed Level 59, nor did he learn about the last condition of achieving the highest degree of demonic form.

But now, thanks to the timely appearance of the Devil’s Teachers’ shenanigans, he had the opportunity to cast aside those thoughts and search for stones instead.

You could say he was grateful to them.

Even with the thought of how much pure power he could gain, his hunger vanished.

Imagining it, he burped.

— El Quero… was caught.

— What did you say?

It was in a dark room.

The mysterious being wearing a red demonic mask continued in his low voice:

— How could this have happened…?

— We don’t know either.
We went to the Gate to test the pure power, but the stone was gone, and everything in the area was covered with El Quero’s blood.

The masked man slammed the table with force.
The table, made of dense wood, crumbled under his hand.

— And the rest of the monsters?

— We’re still checking.
However… I think our plan has been discovered, and they are also being hunted.

— Dammit…

El Quero was an undefeated monster that has existed on Earth for five years.

But now, just as they were beginning to put their plan into practice, this terrible monster was caught and killed.

In this short period of time, he managed to feel a whole range of emotions: anger, breakdown, despair.

— How is our plan progressing?

— Because of what happened, we’ve been delayed…

He narrowed his eyes.

Even behind the mask, the gleam of his eyes was intimidating.

— What if we switch to a different method?

— Ca… Cardinal?!

— I’m not saying to do it immediately.
But you need to check everything in advance.

— If we start using that method now, we should make it in time.

— Hmm…

— But… Cardinal, if we do that, we won’t be able to cope with the consequences.
There’s a good chance that the World Rankers will react to such actions.

— I know.
— His response was brief.
— What about our reserve of pure power? —

— We still have some.

— Give it to other monsters.
We need to speed up the execution of the plan before we lag behind even further…

He turned to the Disciples with a frightening look:

— You are also involved in this.

— Y-yes, we know! — All present answered with voices full of fear, and bowed to the floor.

— So… who was it? The one who managed to catch El Quero?

— We’re not sure yet, but suspicions are falling on Red Rose.

— The Red Rose Guild?

— Yes.
Traces of Chae Young-ju’s bracelets were found at the scene.

— They’ve already interfered with us twice… — The masked man began to radiate a terrible aura of hatred.

The Disciples, frightened by the power emanating from him, trembled.

— Prepare the Shadows.

— Are you planning to destroy Chae Young-ju?

— Yes.
We must get rid of the one who is constantly disrupting our plans.

— She’s very strong.

The girl was one of those among the Top Players in the country.

In addition, not only did Red Rose have strength, but also power, which would make it difficult to eliminate the girl.

(Editor’s Note: Physical strength/ability plus power to sway society.)

The masked man smiled.

— Chae Young-ju has a rookie she’s protecting.
A smug guy named Oh Kang Yu.
Take him hostage.

— Ah…

— That bastard doesn’t know the way the world works.
So it’s going to be easy.

— Understood.

— Take him captive by all means.
Oh, and there’s some little girl he always walks with.
Grab them both.

— A little girl…?

The masked man nodded.

— I can feel Magi coming from her.
It is necessary to check whether this is the case.

— Yes!

The Disciples rose from the floor and left the room.

— Fuooh…

Left alone in the room, he took a deep breath and exhaled, removing the red mask from his face.

— I don’t like it one bit.

The masked man… No, Baek Kang Hyun put the mask on the table, his face twisted.

***

— I’ve deducted the cost of repairs, this is the remaining balance.

Hwa Yeon had called Kang Yu and Young-ju to Hwaran’s headquarters and handed them an envelope.

— After we sold the mana stones and body, about ten billion was rewarded.
Since this is the first time El Quero has been caught, his body was even more valuable.

— Hmm.
Is that why you’re giving us 50 billion each?

— Yes.

— Why didn’t you leave anything for yourself?

— I don’t need it.
Besides, the two of you put much more effort into capturing the monster.

— You’re like a messenger from Heaven… — Smiling joyfully, Young-ju tucked the envelope into her breast pocket.

Hwa Yeon continued:

— And there’s good news.

— Good news? — Young-ju questioned.

— Are you talking about the stones? — Kang Yu asked, voice filled with hope.

Hwa Yeon shook her head.

— No.
The squad is on the case, but we haven’t found anything so far.
But there’s something else.

— What is it?

— We extracted material from El Quero’s body that’s suitable for creating Legendary gear.
They said a sword can be made from the thorns on his tail.

— Ooooh!

— Wow, we’re really lucky.

Both Young-ju and Kang Yu’s eyes sparkled.

Legendary Elite equipment.

As a high-class Player, possessing at least one such thing is an indicator of their strength, so without exaggeration, it is a highly valuable asset.

In addition, after recently experiencing the power of Legendary gear for himself, a greed has awakened in Kang Yu.

‘Though I don’t use swords like this…’

The guy didn’t use physical swords.
Or rather, he didn’t need to.

After all, he can conveniently create whatever weapon necessary and use it during battle.

But since the equipment would increase his stats, he was ready to try.

— And also, the approximate features that the sword will be endowed with have been determined… Most likely, it will increase either strength or agility.

— Ah…

— Then it’s useless for me, — Young-ju and Kang Yu said at the same time.

Since Kang Yu predominantly used Magi, and Young-ju Maryok, the increase in strength or agility would not play a special role for them.

— Hwa Yeon, can’t you use it?

— Haha.
Unfortunately, I do not fit its terms of unity.

There were cases when certain parameters were set for the unity process with equipment.

These parameters were included in the equipment not at the manufacturing stage, but depended on the source materials.
And this meant that it was impossible to change them.

— What are its conditions?

— You must have a unique aura.

(Editor’s Note: It’s actually ‘life force,’ or your ‘qi energy’ or ‘energy flow,’ but I think aura works better.)

— Aura? Like in the comics?

— Yes.
It is said that Players with such power do exist, but few.
Usually they are Players from China… In Korea, they are almost non-existent.

— Hmm… so it does have some value.
Can you sell it in China?

— I wanted to hear your opinion first.
After all, you put in a lot of effort to catch El Quero.

Hearing this, Kang Yu and Young-ju nodded their heads.

It was true that the greatest role in capturing the monster was played by Kang Yu, with Young-ju’s support.

Of course, the others helped too, but not to the same extent.

— Well, no one in my guild has that much power.
Let’s set the exact cost and sell it.

— I know a buyer, — Kang Yu suddenly said.

— Kang Yu…?

The guy nodded his head.

A unique aura.

He knew one person with this description.

Kim Si Hoon.

The good-natured guy Dae Su had brought in.

A player with outstanding looks and even more outstanding skills.

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‘Though we are not of the same blood, I consider him my little brother.’

It was no exaggeration to say that they have become really close lately.

Soul-bound Players, and this was not just a metaphor.

‘I want to give a gift to my little brother!’ Kang Yu thought, clenching his fists tightly.

***