TRPM 46

chapter 46

It was enough to simply crush the various criminal organizations that had sent spies to the Iron Blood Guild.

After all, they were outright criminals.

But the White Wolf Guild was different.

They committed crimes like smuggling behind the scenes, but officially, they were a legitimate guild, so it was difficult to attack them openly.

That is, in normal circumstances.

‘The Artist, however, is a criminal.’

Although few people actually thought that way, I was officially a criminal with a bounty on my head.

A criminal who had committed the crime of private justice.

I decided to use that fact to my advantage.

I had shown Kim Baekrang, the leader of the White Wolf Guild, that I could cross the line if necessary—and that I could even take away the power they possessed.

‘…Of course, taking that power required making a deal with the system.’

Turning an awakened person into a non-awakened one required points that would take me a week to accumulate.

Saying it would take me a week might sound trivial, but for an average awakened person, it would take several years to gather that much.

And that was the minimum required; the stronger the awakened person I wanted to turn into a non-awakened one, the more points the system demanded.

Still, since they were strong awakened individuals in top ten guilds, the amount of points the system required was substantial.

‘Kim Baekrang will probably want to keep today’s events a secret…’

But he wasn’t the only one present.

Most of the White Wolf Guild members were subdued and forced to watch everything.

In one way or another, word of what happened today would quietly spread.

And people would come to understand that opposing the Artist was a foolish move.

“Is it over?”

When we stepped outside the White Wolf Guild’s building, Yeon Mirae, who had been waiting nearby, asked.

Of course, she used an artifact similar to mine, so others wouldn’t recognize her.

“Yes. It’s over here.”

Kim Baekrang was a competent awakened individual who had run the White Wolf Guild for a long time.

He wasn’t a brilliant politician, but he had become guild leader due to his personal combat strength. Even so, with his experience, he could normalize his guild.

He might temporarily fall behind in the top ten guild rankings, but strong individuals like him were rare, so recovery would be quick.

However…

“The others still have a lot left.”

Fortunately, among legitimate guilds, only the White Wolf Guild had sent spies to the Iron Blood Guild. However, other criminal organizations and foreign spies remained.

Yeon Mirae and I planned to go around tonight and smash all of their hideouts.

“…It’s going to be a long night.”

Yeon Mirae said that in response to my comment.

“Meow!”

“…Why does she act like she’s being left out?”

“She probably feels that way.”

Yeon Mirae and I laughed as we looked at Sarang, who wanted attention too.

The three of us roamed the city at night, following the awakened system’s guidance to crush various criminal organizations.

After that day, no one dared send spies to the Iron Blood Guild.

The criminal organizations that had sent spies to the Iron Blood Guild were completely destroyed, and it turned out that the most dangerous criminals in those groups had even lost their abilities.

Though not officially revealed, those in positions of authority became cautious once they learned the truth.

Especially the high-ranking individuals who had tried to expel me by framing me as a criminal—they quietly kept their mouths shut.

And rightly so. Based on the Artist’s actions so far, he was not someone who feared law enforcement.

‘If he feared law enforcement, he wouldn’t have attacked not only criminal organizations but also guilds that officially committed no crimes, or the mansions of influential people.’

Considering the Artist’s known abilities, he could have eliminated influential people without leaving a trace.

Some of those influential people, fearing the Artist, even began fleeing overseas.

After all, they had caused him a lot of trouble in the past.

Separately, more and more foreign students and cadets were coming to Korea to study recently.

Well, it wasn’t completely separate.

The Artist was one reason foreign students were coming to Korea.

‘Not just the Artist, but also his companions: the youngest Aura Master, Yeon Mirae, the pioneer of manifestation powers Ryu Ah-young, and Ryu Ah-min.’

Exceptionally strong awakened individuals appeared en masse in Korea.

Seeing this, foreigners believed something was happening in Korea and sent their children of age to study here.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

Thanks to the Artist and the Iron Blood Guild, criminals in Korea had almost disappeared.

Korea’s law enforcement was already considered safe, but now it had become even safer.

‘This didn’t happen before my regression…’

Before my regression, foreign students did come to Korea, but when I attended the academy, only about 10 out of 1,000 students were foreign. Now, it was around 100 out of 1,000.

Competition had grown intense.

‘We elementary students don’t feel it, but for high school students or academy cadets, it must be brutal.’

There were suddenly many more people to compete against.

Moreover, some of the foreign students were already highly skilled prodigies endorsed by major foreign guilds, so overall rankings were pushed down.

‘By the time I attend the academy, the composition of cadets will be completely different from before my regression…’

The butterfly effect of my actions.

The increase in foreign students also implied a certain possibility:

‘Could I influence the future of foreign countries too?’

I had focused on preventing humanity’s destruction, not interfering abroad.

My influence didn’t reach other countries.

But what if I used foreign students?

As mentioned, foreign students were mainly promising talents.

If I could utilize them…

“Master?”

“Oh, sorry.”

I realized I had been distracted and possibly interfering with Yeon Mirae’s training.

“No, it’s fine. But could you increase the weight a little more?”

“Uh, sure.”

I pressed down on Yeon Mirae using the technique of the Thousand-Kilogram Weight.

She was doing push-ups in a prone position, with me on her back.

“Is this enough?”

“Yes…!”

Her arms trembled violently, but she repeated the motion, insisting she was fine.

The pressure she bore was likely in the hundreds of kilograms, even though she hadn’t enhanced her body through internal power.

Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend such extreme training, but she wanted to rapidly develop her external skills.

Though strengthening bones and muscles to balance internal and external power was ideal, this method still felt somewhat unnatural.

‘If she overdoes it, her body could break.’

I intervened at appropriate moments to prevent overexertion.

“…Why are you practicing external skills all of a sudden?”

I asked her. Yeon Mirae gritted her teeth and answered:

“…I lost in sparring.”

“?!”

I was shocked. Lost…? And to you, Yeon Mirae?

“Of course, I didn’t use internal power—purely swordsmanship…”

“That’s hard to believe too.”

Her swordsmanship talent surpassed mine, yet she lost in pure skill.

“Who was your opponent?”

“…A boy who came to study from England. His name was Arthur, I believe…”

A peer of hers, presumably.

“…Arthur?”

Isn’t that obviously a reference to King Arthur?

“His real name?”

“I don’t know. He only called himself Arthur…”

“Hmm…”

Perhaps he understood the concept of story-based power.

[The awakened system grants abilities—magic, aura, psychic powers—which derive from the narrative world people know as fantasy.]

[Those who claim to be reincarnations of heroes or gods have likely sensed this narrative power.]

I had explained this to Yeon Mirae before, and she remembered.

Arthur likely utilized narrative power, allowing him to face Yeon Mirae with swordsmanship alone.

“You might think so, but no.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. It’s not swordsmanship that can be learned by borrowing another power.”

Pure swordsmanship, developed from one’s talent, was how Yeon Mirae assessed Arthur’s skill.

‘True, the name Arthur is common in the English-speaking world, so it’s not certain he used narrative power.’

Yeon Mirae’s sword talent was extraordinary. I had never seen anyone in Korea surpass her.

Globally, there might be swordsmen stronger than her.

Arthur was likely one of them.

“I’m curious.”

“…Then…will you come to our academy this Friday?”

“Friday?”

“Yes. She will spar with him again. Internal power won’t be used this time either.”

I pondered briefly. My main body had school classes, but my puppet could attend. Observing the sparring would be easy.

“Are you asking me to sneak into the academy?”

“With your skills, master, it’s possible, isn’t it?”

“Possible, but…”

The academy’s security was fortified with barriers by the archmage principal, making penetration difficult. But I could bypass it.

Normally, offense is easier than defense in such cases.

The principal has to protect the entire academy, while I only need to infiltrate one spot.

“So, sneak in and cheer me on.”

“…Alright.”

I chuckled at her half-serious request and agreed.

Occasionally watching a disciple grow wasn’t a bad thing.