Chapter 50: Seed
“Here is the promised settlement.”
After the meal ended, River held out a Qubit card to Diesel and Herja.
“W-waaaah……! Th-thank you so muuuch……!”
“With this, Lady Herja has successfully completed her first team assignment. Good work.”
“Hehehe……! It’s all thanks to Sir Diesel…….”
After giggling, Herja suddenly let out a biiig yawn.
“Haaam……. After eating, I’m getting sleepy again…….”
Then, like a doll whose batteries had run out, she nodded her head forward and back, and before anyone could say a word, she slumped onto the table and slid straight into sleep.
“…….”
“I’ll lay her down in the bedroom.”
Chae Seol-ah lifted Herja into her arms and headed toward the bedroom.
Watching her back, River spoke softly.
“She’s really pure, isn’t she. Lady Herja.”
“Well…… yeah. Whether that’s in a good way or a bad way.”
As I replied, I fixed my gaze steadily on River’s face.
She smiled.
“It seems you have something you want to ask.”
“I do. A lot.”
“I can’t answer everything.”
“Fine. Then I’ll ask just one.”
“Yes.”
With an unusually serious expression, I posed my question.
“The Shadow Sword, Hrunnd.”
“…….”
“Who is she?”
“As expected, you always strike at the most troublesome spot.”
River traced a finger along the desk before answering.
“I should warn you in advance—this is extremely dangerous information. Are you sure you’re fine with that?”
“Why ask something like that?”
“Very well. Then…….”
She stood up from her chair and gestured for me to follow.
“Let’s talk properly upstairs.”
The second floor of River’s house was nothing like a normal residence.
Inside a room where not a single ray of light entered, high-performance cyberdecks and servers were scattered about, along with yellow talismans attached to machines and various decorations of Shamanism strewn in disorder.
Those objects, which looked utterly mismatched with one another, seemed to serve the purpose of protecting this place from the Electrosphere and spiritual projection.
“It’s a bit messy, isn’t it? I installed everything in a hurry, so I didn’t have time to organize.”
After asking for my understanding, River offered me a chair.
“Hrunnd. May I ask how you came to know that name?”
“I heard Gnar muttering it.”
In truth, it was information I had obtained first from my older brother’s memories, but there was no need to mention that.
“I see. Then you must at least know that she is a Valkyrie.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you perhaps also know about the ‘Grand Exorcist Allied Forces’?”
“It was a multinational army formed long ago. Lee Hamin served as its commander.”
“That’s correct. But there’s one more thing you need to add.”
“…….”
“Warriors from other worlds.”
River continued in a calm, measured tone.
“When ghosts invaded this world long ago, it wasn’t only the races of our reality that fought them. Many other races from different worlds also feared the ghosts and risked their lives to help, as if it were their own battle.”
“Why?”
“Because the end of the reality world would have meant the end of their worlds as well.”
Otherworldly races feared ghosts.
Up until now, I had never heard any story of ghosts invading other worlds beyond the reality world.
“At the time, there was a hypothesis that is now accepted as established theory. It stated that ghosts cannot directly cross into other worlds aside from the reality world. However, if it was through the reality world…….”
“They could cross over?”
“Yes. That is why the core of the hypothesis was that once the reality world was occupied by ghosts, their next targets would be other worlds.”
Some criticized this hypothesis as a kind of propaganda devised to encourage the participation of otherworldly races.
But even setting that background aside, it was a fairly well-grounded claim.
After all, not only ghosts, but movement from one other world to another—such as direct travel from the Celestial Realm to the Fire Faction—was impossible.
That was why the otherworldly races helping in the war against the ghosts invading the reality world was, in a sense, also an act of saving their own worlds.
There was no way beings like ghosts, filled with seething desire, would stop after devouring only the reality world.
“The Valkyrie Shadow Sword Hrunnd was a savior who came from Nord.”
River continued with a serious expression.
“And she was also one of the ‘Seeds’ known to the world.”
“…….”
Seed.
The keyword the Witch of the Electrosphere had murmured to me.
‘So this is how it connects.’
I subtly concealed my surprise.
But the next words out of River’s mouth shattered that composure at once.
“Additionally, your great-grandfather, Lee Hamin, and Archmage Lee Hayun were also ‘Seeds’.”
“…….”
Both my older brother and my younger sister were Seeds as well.
If that was the case, I could understand why the Witch of the Electrosphere had thrown that keyword at me.
‘Does that mean I’m a Seed too?’
“Since we’re already on the topic, I suppose I can give you the additional compensation I promised the elder.”
“…….”
“Information about Seeds.”
River took a hologram projector out of her pocket and placed it in front of me.
After manipulating it, several different silhouettes appeared.
“You naturally know about the origins of Ghostcatchers, correct?”
“Yeah. As the name suggests, they’re armored warriors meant to eliminate ghosts.”
“Exactly. In the past, unlike now, only those with exceptionally strong minds capable of cutting down ghosts could become Ghostcatchers. However, being a Ghostcatcher didn’t mean one could slay every type of ghost.”
Ghosts themselves came in an astonishing variety of types.
The ones I had encountered were White Breeds—the weakest, Grade 9 ghosts.
“Most Ghostcatchers struggled just to deal with Red Breeds or Vermilion Breeds, which are one rank above White Breeds. As such, those capable of facing Grade 5 or Grade 4 ghosts—Green Breeds and Blue Breeds—were extremely rare.”
If even the lowest-class ghosts carried that level of pressure, I couldn’t imagine how powerful those several ranks above them must be.
“And to kill a Grade 1 ghost, a ‘Black Breed,’ it required several truly outstanding Ghostcatchers working together.”
Up to this point, this was all information I already knew.
The first appearance of Black Breeds occurred roughly a year after the ghost invasion began.
Later scholars speculated that the reason China chose the extreme measure of isolation was likely due to the emergence of those absurd ghosts.
“Even so, the Grand Exorcist Allied Forces found a way. A small number of powerful Ghostcatchers combined their strength, and with the help of increasingly advanced weapon technology and magic, it began to look as though there was hope in the war against the ghosts. But…….”
“…….”
“When ‘that thing’ suddenly appeared, all plans became meaningless.”
River took a deep breath before continuing.
“The Ghost of Destruction.”
Perhaps even speaking the name sent chills down her spine, because she shuddered slightly.
“A ghost with overwhelming power that made the Black Breeds—once thought the strongest—feel like children. Not only that, but it commanded other ghosts, employed strategy and tactics, and grew stronger with each battle through thorough learning. A nightmare of an existence.”
Among my older brother’s memories, the ones concerning the Ghost of Destruction were the only ones I absolutely couldn’t recall.
I knew for certain that those memories existed, yet every time I tried to bring them up, my thoughts grew dim, as if my mind were filled with thick fog.
“And ‘Seeds’ are…….”
River looked straight at me.
“Those who possess the ‘possibility’ to kill that Ghost of Destruction.”
Those who possessed possibility.
That added phrasing clearly carried meaning.
I recalled the gap between the strength shown by Hrunnd, my brother’s comrade from his memories, and the power displayed last night by the two Valkyries—Herja included.
‘So being a Seed doesn’t mean you can definitely kill the Ghost of Destruction.’
“The Plundering Shadow.”
“…….”
“It’s the name of the ability that the Valkyrie Shadow Sword Hrunnd possessed.”
Completely new information.
Just what kind of ability was it?
I recalled what had happened that day.
The fierce waves and storm that the giant Gnar had summoned from Nord.
All of it had been sucked into the shadow Herja created.
Then that shadow was absorbed into Herja’s body and manifested as another form of power.
“One of the Seeds in the past, Hrunnd, was able to absorb the power of others through an ability called ‘shadow.’ And by strengthening her own shadow with the power she absorbed, it’s said she could use various techniques.”
“The same power Herja has now.”
“That’s right. Lady Herja is also a ‘Seed.’”
River smiled.
“Though she’s still quite lacking.”
From that smile, I could read something.
‘Was this job meant to test Herja’s ability?’
Somehow, it seemed exactly like something River would do.
I asked her another question.
“Just one more thing.”
“Yes. Elder.”
“You.”
“…….”
“What’s your goal?”
At that, River looked at me with an expressionless face.
“I believe I already told you that on the first day we met.”
The first day.
I clearly remembered River—no, Lee Hyena, my older brother’s great-granddaughter—asking me for help back then.
-Please help me establish justice in this land.
But that wasn’t a sufficient answer.
“No.”
“…….”
“I’m asking what your purpose is in doing all this.”
Trying to contact the Archmage Lee Hayun.
Confirming the existence of beings who might be Seeds.
And trying to keep those Seeds on her side.
Depending on how things went, River could very well become my greatest enemy.
“That is something I cannot tell you.”
“…….”
“But if there’s one thing I can say…….”
River put on a seriousness I hadn’t seen from her before.
“I am simply making my own preparations for the coming destruction.”
Preparations of her own.
As I fell silent in thought, River spoke quietly.
“I won’t ask you to help me like I did before, Elder. However, please continue to watch me as you are now.”
Then she added,
“I’ll be watching you the same way.”
‘Hmm…….’
Mutual surveillance.
That made me nod slightly.
‘Maybe her personality resembles mine more than my brother’s.’
As I was muttering that to myself, River spoke again in a low voice.
“From now on, I’ll be devoting myself to restoring the golem’s core.”
The core of the concrete golem.
The only connection to Jeju Island, where my younger sister might be.
“I believe that once it’s complete, there will be something you can do.”
“…….”
“So until then, please do your best to grow stronger.”
River smiled at me.
I returned her smile with a small one of my own.
Late at night, a torrential downpour poured down outside the window.
The brutal sound of rain pounding against the thin glass echoed through the room.
“Why don’t you at least replace the window? It’s so loud there’s no way you can sleep.”
I said that while looking at Kang Da-hee, who was sitting in front of me with her head bowed.
I was in the middle of removing a virus that was gnawing away at her body.
“Ah……. It’s actually okay. I’ve gotten used to it now.”
“How are the seizures?”
“They happened about twice during the day today, but as soon as I inserted the vaccine chip Mr. Meyer gave me, I was fine right away. Could I ask you for a few more, by any chance?”
“Sure. You know each one of those is pretty expensive, right?”
“Yes. I’ll pay together with the treatment fee later. Ngh…….”
Perhaps it hurt whenever I removed the virus, because Kang Da-hee let out a small moan.
After a few more procedures like that, I finally withdrew my hands.
“Alright, that’s it for today.”
“Thank you. Here’s the treatment fee…….”
Her hand trembled as she held out a Qubit card to me.
“Your hands still like that?”
“Yes……. They weren’t before, but ever since that night, they’ve been like this…….”
“Hold on a second.”
“……!”
Suddenly, I grabbed Kang Da-hee’s hand firmly.
She flinched in surprise, but soon held her breath and left her hand in mine.
“Hm……. It doesn’t seem like it’s because of the virus. I think we’d need to run a detailed examination to know for sure.”
“Ah……. Then sometime, I could go to Mr. Meyer’s clinic…….”
“No. Go see another tech doctor later. Once the virus is completely treated, there won’t be any problem going, right?”
“…….”
“It’s late. Let’s start today’s lesson.”
“Yes.”
Kang Da-hee gave a small nod, then pulled out a long jack from the cyberdeck used for matrix access.
Lately, I had been extracting information related to magic from Kang Da-hee.
As I sat down on the chair I had prepared beforehand, she handed me the jack and said,
“There’s something I want to tell you before we connect.”
“What?”
“Well……. I analyzed the mana scan data Mr. Meyer gave me last time for avatar creation, and I found something a bit unusual.”
Something unusual.
I recalled the scan data I had heavily modified, just in case my identity might be exposed.
“What is it?”
“I think that Mr. Meyer…… may possess multiple mana types.”
“Multiple mana?”
“Yes. The resolution of the scan isn’t very good, so I can’t be certain, but considering the texture and coloration, it seems possible that you could manifest mana other than lightning-type.”
The body scan data needed to create an avatar used inside the matrix.
I had deliberately altered it so only the mana channels were barely discernible, yet she noticed even that.
The Kang Da-hee I’d seen over the past few days was a far more analytically capable mage than I had expected.
“This is an extremely rare talent. If you were a student, you could’ve entered any university you wanted through a special admission track. You might have even been scouted by one of those notoriously picky magic towers.”
“Really? Then maybe I should quit the tutoring gig and start preparing for entrance exams even now.”
“Ah……. I mean, that’s not what I…….”
At my joking remark, Kang Da-hee looked utterly flustered.
“I’m joking. Let’s just connect to the matrix.”
“……Yes.”
I plugged the jack pulled from the installed cyberdeck into the port plug.
At once, countless strings flashed before my eyes, and the connection to an isolated Electrosphere space began.
‘Shall we begin.’
The countless pieces of high-level information that the magic universities had kept tightly hidden.
It was time to properly extract them from Kang Da-hee.