TRPM 111

chapter 111

After finishing my thoughts, I held out my smartphone to Ryu Amin, who was sitting beside me.

“Hmm? Why?”

“Can you convert all the energies coming into my smartphone into magic power?”

Ryu Amin was a conversion-type psychic. She could convert any type of energy into another.

“Alright, I get it… but why are you doing that? Won’t you get hacked if you do something like this?”

Ryu Amin asked me this. Indeed, if all the energies coming into my smartphone are converted into magic power, the risk of hacking does increase.

Nowadays, smartphones communicate not only via electromagnetic waves but also using various energies like magic or spirit energy.

This means that to intercept calls or hack a smartphone, one would have to interpret not just the waves but all the energies, including magic and spirit energy. In other words, multiple types of energy are used for security purposes.

“I don’t care.”

Even so, it doesn’t completely prevent hacking. It just makes it harder—it doesn’t make it impossible. But…

“Hacking my smartphone is impossible.”

Hadn’t I just said that? To hack my smartphone, one would need to interpret all the different energies applied to it.

But what if… energies unrecognizable to others were applied to my smartphone? What if energies similar to my inner power were applied?

“Unless someone like me or Yeon Mirae, who uses martial arts, appears again, hacking attempts will be completely impossible.”

That’s why I had no concern about my smartphone being hacked. Ryu Amin didn’t know this, so she hesitated a little before speaking.

“… Even if it gets hacked, I wouldn’t know.”

With that, Ryu Amin used her conversion ability on my smartphone.

“… Good. That’s enough.”

I sensed the magic she had converted, wrapped it with my inner power to secure it, and ran my inner power over my smartphone.

During that short moment, I could feel magic surging from my smartphone as if someone had tried to hack it, but I didn’t care.

“Is that it?”
“Yes. It’s enough.”

The magic I secured—the magic that had been sending information to my smartphone in real-time—could no longer provide accurate information in this state. That’s because multiple energies like electromagnetic waves and spirit energy had been forcibly converted into magic.

Moreover, the original owner of this magic was probably just a regular magician working for the company running the forum, so I couldn’t pinpoint the location of the person flooding the forum with posts about the Regressor with this magic alone.

“But I can do something interesting with this magic.”

After all, it was important that this magic was used by the company operating the forum. Thinking that, I asked Ryu Amin for her understanding and went to a less crowded area outside. Once I confirmed there was no one nearby…

“Synchronization.”

I quietly used verbal magic. To become as close as possible to the owner of this magic.

This wasn’t just ordinary verbal magic.

“It’s also a type of ritual magic.”

Homologous ritual. A magic based on a principle described in The Golden Bough, a book influential in anthropology, religious studies, and mythology, which states that similar things influence each other. Using this, I temporarily became the magician working at the company running the forum.

Of course, that didn’t mean I truly became that magician. Without proper preparation, you can’t expect full results from an improvised ritual. But I achieved my goal.

“… The administrator’s ID and password…”

I could read a bit of the magician’s memory. Immediately, I input the ID and password into the smartphone I was holding.

A familiar interface appeared, similar to the forums I often visited, but with the ability to delete posts or post announcements.

“Of course, I have no intention of deleting posts or posting announcements.”

I checked the posts flooding the forum about the Regressor. I also confirmed the IP address of the person who posted it. Copying it, I entered it into an IP tracking website and obtained an approximate location.

“Fortunately, it seems they didn’t use a VPN. Even so, I can’t get the exact location…”

Still, the range had narrowed significantly. This was enough to check in person if necessary.

Almost no one believed the self-proclaimed Regressor’s claims.

The Iron Blood Guild even captured him and clearly announced that he wasn’t a Regressor. Yet, stories about the Regressor persisted, because someone kept fueling the fire.

“Ugh… I’m dying here.”
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s someone arguing about whether my post is from a paid commenter. My neck hurts from countering him by asking if he’s the Iron Blood Guild’s paid commenter.”
“Whoever that is, they’re quick-witted.”

We were technically paid commenters, after all. One young man made that remark, and the young man whose neck hurt denied it.

“We’re not paid commenters. We’re just regular employees doing what the company asks us to do.”

Even if our actions were no different from paid commenters. He said this, chuckling. The young man shaking his head murmured:

“I don’t get it. I didn’t join Korea’s top guild to do stuff like this…”
“But isn’t it convenient?”
“That’s true…”

They grabbed canned coffee from a vending machine and went straight to the office. Though the office was just a place to write posts that the guild wanted.

“But is this really okay? No matter how top our guild is in Korea, the other side is connected to Artist Yeon Mirae.”
“So what? Did we personally slander Yeon Mirae? We just suggested the Regressor’s claims might be true.”

Moreover…

“It’s not just our guild posting about the Regressor. The firepower wouldn’t be this high with only our guild’s comment team.”

Indeed, other guilds were also posting about the Regressor. Yeon Mirae, known in society, was practically a flawless Aura Master. Those trying to find flaws in her outside of battle often ended up backfiring. When the opportunity arose to indirectly undermine her, guilds wanting to counter the Iron Blood Guild began helping the self-proclaimed Regressor.

“If Yeon Mirae and the Iron Blood Guild sued everyone posting about the Regressor, they’d have to sue all major Korean guilds.”

So, they could post in defense of the self-proclaimed Regressor without worry.

“Rumor has it that our guild’s upper management is considering another possibility.”
“What possibility?”
“That the self-proclaimed Regressor captured by the Iron Blood Guild might actually be the real Regressor.”

The young man frowned.

“We’re posting that the Regressor stories might be true, but isn’t that nonsense?”

But the upper management of our guild actually believes that?

“… I wouldn’t dare tell those paying our salaries, but what are these people thinking?”

Does having high ability and social status make you lose your mind?

“I have no idea.”

Muttering this, they sat down to continue writing posts defending the Regressor.

Meanwhile…

“Long time no see, sir. I almost forgot your face.”
“Yes, it’s been a while. You could’ve at least called to ask how I was.”
“Why did you summon me? I’m already busy.”
Sigh… so tired…

Among Korea’s awakened, excluding exceptional individuals like the Artist, four of the most influential people had gathered.

“Lately, the world’s been noisy because of this so-called Regressor.”

The elderly man sitting at the head. Kang Gun-hyung, leader of the Taeguk Guild, ranked first among Korea’s top ten guilds, which had continued since the appearance of the Black Mist.

“Oh, that? Honestly, I don’t believe it at all…”

A middle-aged man beside him. Shin Chae-gun, leader of the Knight Eagle Guild, which, like the Iron Blood Guild, mainly handled criminals.

“Get to the point, or I’m leaving.”

The man opposite Shin Chae-gun. Yoo Won-hoon, leader of the Legionnaires Guild, which had the most awakened members among Korea’s guilds.

“… Huh…”

A woman sitting opposite Kang Gun-hyung, half-asleep. Song Eun-ji, leader of the Cleaner Guild, unmatched in dungeon clearing frequency.

“Eun-ji, I know you’re tired, but if you’re going to sleep, at least listen to the story first.”
“Yes…”
Ahem!

Kang Gun-hyung cleared his throat. The other three’s eyes turned to him.

“Lately, the world’s been noisy because of this Regressor.”
“You don’t have to repeat yourself, sir.”
“Noisy.”

He cut off Shin Chae-gun and addressed the three.

“I’ve called you here to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
“… Worst-case scenario?”
“Yes.”

In case… though the probability was extremely low…

“To prepare for the possibility that the one captured by the Iron Blood Guild is the real Regressor.”
“……”
“……”
“……”

The three had similar thoughts: was this old man losing it with age?

“… I, Ji Hyung-man, leader of the Iron Blood Guild, have met that person myself. He’s sharp and smart. He would have verified whether the person is the real Regressor or not.”
“I agree… That man, though weak, is qualified to be a guild leader.”

Yoo Won-hoon and Song Eun-ji said this in turn. Even though Song Eun-ji considered the veteran awakened Ji Hyung-man weak, no one else there pointed it out. By the standards of these four, unless one is an Aura Master or Grand Magician, everyone else is weak.

Hearing their words, Kang Gun-hyung said:

“So?”
“… So what?”
“Have you personally met the Regressor captured by the Iron Blood Guild?”
“Well…”

Of course not. Yoo Won-hoon and Song Eun-ji shook their heads. People in their positions had no reason to meet the self-proclaimed Regressor directly.

“I have met him.”

But Kang Gun-hyung said he personally met the self-proclaimed Regressor.

“And I’m certain. This guy really is the Regressor.”
“… Really?”

Yet the three looked unimpressed. Kang Gun-hyung’s judgment of people wasn’t particularly trusted. He led the Taeguk Guild only because he was strong and related by blood to the former guild leader. The guild maintained its top rank due to symbolism, not the abilities of its upper management.

Still, the Taeguk Guild remained first, so the other three respected Kang Gun-hyung—but…

“Our Taeguk Guild will side with the Regressor. What about you?”
“……”
“……”
“……”

The three had to make a choice: support the Taeguk Guild’s stance or turn their backs.