Chapter 151 : Purse (1)
Purse (1)
Control Room of the Demonkin Containment Facility.
'How spectacular.'
Ian nodded in satisfaction as he watched the screens.
On the screens were images of demonic humans whose limbs had been severed and whose frontal lobes had been excised, having their mana extracted.
There were a total of sixteen.
One Demon Cult's Deadly Sin Cult Leader. Two unit leaders. Thirteen bishops.
All of them were high-rank demonic humans, so the amount of magic power being extracted was considerable.
Each day, the amount produced was equivalent to that of one lower late-stage Grandmaster.
'But it's still not enough.'
To prepare for war with the seven dukes of the demon realm, this was nowhere near sufficient.
To reliably protect this land and its people from their invasion, practically infinite magic power would be necessary.
He would need many, many more magic power pouches than now.
'First, I'll have to capture all the other Deadly Sin Cult Leaders from the Demon Cult.'
And also, he needed to capture all the unit leaders and bishops under them, without exception, to use them as magic power pouches.
'If there have already been any greater demonkin or devils summoned, I'll have to capture those guys too.'
Someday, if possible, he even wanted to catch the dukes of the demon realm and lock them away here.
If he succeeded in capturing just one of them, he could extract an enormous amount of magic power every single day.
If he managed to imprison all seven dukes of the demon realm, he would quite literally obtain magic power nearly equal to omnipotence.
With that much power, he could essentially become a god: enabling every human on this land to live a life of leisure forever, and even evoke an eternal paradise of pure pleasure and peace.
It would mean manifesting the ultimate ideal world that Yuria once dreamed of in his previous life.
'But... for now, it's nothing but a dream.'
The dukes of the demon realm were far too powerful to be isolated in this facility.
Each one was on the level of a demigod like the Heavenly Sword Lord.
Strictly speaking, they were maybe one or two levels below the Heavenly Sword Lord, but even so, they were far beyond what a mere mortal could hope to challenge.
Even Ian, who had now reached the peak-stage Grandmaster rank, couldn't take on a single duke of the demon realm alone, even if he used all his authorities and armaments.
'Which makes it all the more...'
The information inside the Sin of Greed Cult Leader's mind was crucial.
That guy had dared to seal away the Heavenly Sword Lord, intending to use her as a sacrifice to summon a duke of the demon realm.
That meant there must have been some means of subduing the Heavenly Sword Lord, one of the highest rank demigods.
'If I can just learn what that is...'
Then it might become possible to capture the dukes of the demon realm and use them as magic power pouches.
"Young master Ian."
At that moment, someone called Ian in a polite tone.
Turning his head, he saw the manager of this containment facility.
She held out a wooden box respectfully with both hands.
"This is the blood of the demonic humans you requested."
― Clack.
Inside the box, flasks full of red blood were neatly arranged.
Each one carefully labeled with a nametag.
Ian nodded.
"Thank you for your efforts."
The manager bowed and withdrew.
"..."
She could have been curious about why he was drawing their blood.
Yet, true to her status as Aris's loyal subordinate, she didn't ask any unnecessary questions and simply followed orders.
― Swish.
Ian tucked the box away and left the containment facility.
He took the temporary warp gate nearby and finally returned to Sunshine Castle.
"Ian!"
"Young master!"
Yuria and Sophia, who were doing nighttime training in the training yard, immediately ran up to Ian like puppies and welcomed him.
Listening to their cheerful daily chatter, he filled his stomach with a simple late-night snack, then moved to his office.
― Click.
Ian sat at his desk and opened the wooden box containing the blood.
It was now time to extract all the information held by the Sin of Greed Cult Leader and his top brass.
* * *
A few weeks later.
"This is insane..."
Having read all the memories contained in the blood of the Sin of Greed Cult Leader and his subordinates, Ian discovered a great deal.
The biggest revelation was the Sin of Greed Cult Leader's authority.
'Dimensional Shop...!'
Who would have guessed the Sin of Greed Cult Leader possessed such an outrageous authority?
It immediately explained how he could own so many divine objects.
Without a doubt, this authority was in no way inferior to the Authority of Projection.
'Mobius of Greed... Such a total fool.'
To think he had such a transcendent authority, yet let himself be hunted down so easily.
Granted, the expedition team was strong enough to even catch a duke of the demon realm, and they quickly ambushed Mobius before he could prepare, but still...
'If it were me, I wouldn't have wasted such a great authority like that.'
The way Mobius used the dimensional shop was the worst.
It was pure greed.
Always aiming for the ultimate gain, he hoarded his dimensional currency excessively.
He wouldn't buy very useful items unless they were on sale, and even when he absolutely needed something, he hesitated, obsessing over cost-efficiency, and constantly lived with risk.
As a result, Mobius barely ever used the authority, having been too stingy with his dimensional currency.
'But even so...'
Mobius used this authority to break through to the level of an 8th-circle great mage, and became the Sin of Greed Cult Leader.
'That's how broken this authority is.'
Even used in such a sloppy way, it still elevated its user to the ranks of the world's top powers...
'I absolutely must claim this, whatever it takes.'
Copy it with the Authority of Projection?
No. That wouldn't do.
As soon as he learned of the dimensional shop's existence, Ian rushed to the containment facility to try it...
'3,976 days...'
It would take Ian precisely 3,976 days to project the dimensional shop.
Even with the peak-stage Grandmaster's magic power, it would take over 3,976 days.
That showed just how high the tier of the dimensional shop authority was.
'I can't possibly spend over ten years just for this.'
To get this authority through the Authority of Projection, he'd have to sit in front of Mobius, dazed, for almost 11 years straight.
If he did that, even Aris would think Ian had lost his mind and would shut down the magic power extraction business.
Furthermore, he couldn't possibly just sit idle for eleven years when he was currently competing with the dukes of the demon realm over the fate of the world.
'... Thank goodness. Mobius knew a much better method.'
Fortunately, in Mobius's memories there was a better way.
It was Mobius's memory of being granted this authority by the Duke of Greed.
With the oracle, "Build your foundation with this authority," the Duke of Greed gave him a corpse.
The heart of that corpse from the demon realm contained the dimensional shop, embedded in magic power.
Mobius extracted the mana from that heart and inherited the dimensional shop.
'...'
That memory stirred déjà vu in Ian.
'An authority acquired from a corpse...'
His own Authority of Projection was also gained from a corpse in an ancient ruin.
A mummy sitting cross-legged atop an altar.
Its eyes crumbled away, and the authority was passed on.
'Hmm...'
Similar-tier authorities. Similar acquisition methods.
Was this just a coincidence?
'Well, there's no way to know for sure right now.'
It was just idle speculation unless he could verify it.
If he were curious, all he had to do was capture the Duke of Greed.
He could draw out the memories from his blood.
'For now, let's steal the dimensional shop.'
To take the dimensional shop, he needed to extract Mobius's heart.
He didn't need to remove the whole thing—just open up the chest and expose the heart.
'Let's do it immediately.'
His decision was quick, and so was his action.
Mobius was immediately put on the operating table; with his brain already completely scrambled, there was no need for anesthesia.
The procedure was performed by Ian alone, inside a compartmentalized space shielded by all sorts of barriers and reinforced walls.
The moment Mobius's heart was exposed, it would emit a tremendous amount of Demonic Energy, making it unbearable for any being that did not have Demon-Infused Constitution.
If he made a mistake, the outcome would be a catastrophic explosion, comparable to a volcano.
Demonic Energy, compressed inside the heart like a mountain, circulated with unimaginable force.
If he severed the mana circuit connected to the heart incorrectly, monstrous Demonic Energy would burst out through even the smallest gap and explode.
That's why Ian placed Vladiark nearby and equipped all the protective artifacts before proceeding.
"..."
Inside Mobius's heart, the strange golden glow of mana squirmed.
That was the dimensional shop.
Calmly and cautiously, Ian touched his index finger to Mobius's heart.
The first step was to sever the connection between the dimensional shop and the mana circle.
With the mighty aura of a peak-stage Grandmaster, Ian securely tied down the mana circuit to prevent it from rupturing.
Then, using holy power as his scalpel, he cut the connection between the mana circle and the dimensional shop.
After that, he very delicately and carefully extracted the dimensional shop.
"Phew..."
A sigh of relief after extracting the authority.
From then on, things were easier.
Assembly was the reverse of disassembly.
Even if the body was that of a repulsive demonic human, it was an important magic power pouch now, so Ian made sure to close up the wound meticulously.
Then, he re-isolated Mobius.
Since he planned to use him for a long time, Ian allowed several days for recuperation before resuming mana extraction.
'Let's hurry back and try this out.'
Ian immediately returned to Sunshine Castle to test the dimensional shop.
He felt a flutter of excitement, like he'd gotten a new toy.
He'd acquired an authority every bit as powerful as the Authority of Projection.
'Let's see what I can do with this.'
He spent roughly a day researching the dimensional shop.
And what he realized stunned him—and filled him with immense joy.
'Incredible... Can this even be real? This is so broken, it's absurd.'
He already knew the basic functions and catalog, having gone through all of Mobius's memories.
But what Ian was most curious about was whether he could sell items in the dimensional shop that he'd copied with the Authority of Projection.
If he could do that, it would quite literally be money-copying.
He wouldn't need to trouble himself with troublesome dimensional commissions to earn dimensional currency the way Mobius did, nor would he have to scour the world for treasures.
Given time, he could purchase everything available in the dimensional shop.
And then—
'Ha...'
[You have sold the Thunder Emperor's Sword Astrape Lv. Mythic.]
― Chaarararak!!
With the sound effect of gold coins pouring, his dimensional currency soared at a horrifying pace.
A replica of the Thunder Emperor's Sword was naturally sold in the dimensional shop.
'This is insane...! Completely insane!'
Ian covered his mouth with trembling hands, grinning.
With such authority, preparing for war with the dukes of the demon realm would become absurdly easier.
Whether it was armaments or artifacts, there was now no need to risk danger to acquire them.
With the Authority of Projection, he could copy as much dimensional currency as he wanted and acquire anything, right then and there.
He would no longer be constrained by this world's limited resources or treasured items.
With the dimensional shop, he could fetch resources and treasures from other worlds as much as he liked.
Even if he had to conduct operations in the harshest wilderness someday, he'd be completely free from supply worries.
Whenever and wherever, he could use the dimensional shop to resupply indefinitely.
'Truly amazing.'
Now, what should he do first with this?
Ian's delightful contemplation grew deeper.