Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114 Interlocking
Tattoos covering Riman's entire body.
These were not tattoos for aesthetic or ostentatious purposes.
No, well, they could be for such purposes, but that wasn't important.
Since he didn't engrave them himself, he couldn't know now anyway.
The important thing was that Riman's tattoos were composed of symbols and characters constructing magical grammar.
Although Riman didn't know much about the overall meaning and effect of these tattoos.
But he knew one way to utilize them.
Magic is an art of images, symbols, and emblems.
Therefore, if he connects and intertwines the symbols, characters, and emblems engraved on this body well...
“...Done.”
He could utilize them as magical constructs.
WHIRRR!
Riman interlocked the <Boots of the Pilgrim> and <Gloves of Byeokjam> he was wearing.
By connecting the characters on his body, he installed a temporary mana circuit connecting from his feet to his hands.
Through this measure...
‘Interlock the boots and gloves magically.’
After installing the mana circuit like this, he wove the characters around the circuit for adjustment and added an auxiliary logic structure.
With this, the connection structure between the two magic tools was completed.
He had interlocked two magic tools with absolutely no relation to each other through magical modification.
‘...It was something impossible in the game.’
In the game, he could use magic.
But he couldn't understand magic.
Because magic in the game was just a shell existing only as skill buttons and general descriptions.
But inside this world, it was different.
Magic was a ‘study’ with a logical system as complex and robust as physics or mathematics.
Riman accessed and learned the details and depth through the virtual library of the Sanhae Magic Tower.
Deep information that could never be known just by playing the game.
As a result, it became possible to implement even things absolutely impossible in the game system.
“Where are you, Leman...”
At that time, the man's voice was heard in Riman's ears.
Riman quietly raised his body.
It was time to reveal himself.
“Here.”
“...!”
Seeing Riman revealing himself calmly all of a sudden, the man muttered as if dumbfounded.
“This dog-like bastard...”
“Let’s make one thing clear, shall we? You guys attacked first. I only responded.”
“This...!”
“Why get angry? Did you think I would just sit quietly and die for you then?”
When a person has nothing to say, they curse.
And when they have no curses left to spit, they start swinging their fists.
This man was exactly like that.
WHOOSH!
The man swung his fist toward Riman.
The mana concentrated in the fist was instantly converted into shock and discharged.
BOOM!
A shockwave was fired along with a heavy sonic boom.
A shockwave enough to break concrete walls and crumple steel doors.
It was invisible.
But the dust scattering explosively and the wind pressure being pushed away represented its power indirectly.
The shock sprinted toward Riman.
And Riman did not dodge.
He didn't deploy a barrier either.
Just standing still, he only extended his gloved palm forward.
Soon the shock made impact.
WHOOSH...
And nothing happened.
Precisely, just a strong wind blew for a moment.
The shock disappeared.
The man froze just like that.
“Wha... What did you say...?!”
If he had dodged the shockwave, he would have understood.
If he had blocked and endured the shockwave, he would have understood.
But...
“The shock itself was annihilated...?”
However, there was a fallacy in choosing the word annihilation.
The shock was not annihilated.
It was absorbed.
Currently, Riman's gloves and boots were in an interlocked state.
Therefore, the shock applied to the gloves was absorbed into the boots.
‘The shock absorption efficiency of the gloves is slightly lower than the boots.’
But even if efficiency drops, it's a fact that it absorbed most of the truck-level shock.
This much was sufficient to operate without difficulty in actual combat.
“You bastard, what did you do just now...!”
“I’ll return it.”
“What?”
“Take it.”
WHOOSH-
Riman opened his opposite palm toward the man.
The shockwave he absorbed from the man just a moment ago and stored in the boots.
That burst out intact from the glove.
THWACK!
Fired shock.
That shock ran toward the one who created it.
And hit.
The shock exploded.
BOOM!
“Kuaak...!”
The man rolled on the floor taking the shock with his whole body.
Riman calmly stated his impression watching that scene.
“Sturdy.”
He thought at least a whole-body fracture would occur, but to think it stopped at the line of becoming bloody.
“Th... This...!”
“You intend to keep fighting? It’ll be hard.”
“Kill... you...”
“I can absorb all shock coming to me with these gloves and discharge it again. So... it’s a perfect counter to your ability.”
“H... How can such...”
“I made it. Just a moment ago.”
“......”
An overwhelming gap in talent.
One who realizes that gap falls under a curse where everything they have feels trivial.
But the man could not accept that curse.
He could neither accept nor acknowledge this gap.
If he does, all the effort poured into making these hands would become in vain.
It was power obtained by enduring surgery of pain like cutting raw wrists for hours and being tied to a bed for three months for neural network adhesion.
Therefore, that power was his pride and reason for existence.
And no one could easily discard their pride and value.
“Can... not...”
“What?”
“I can... not... back down...!”
Team members were annihilated.
His power was denied.
There was only one path a human who tries not to crumble even in front of such a situation would choose.
Desperate struggle.
He knew in his head it was useless, but his fist was already moving.
BOOM!!
His fist spewed shock toward Riman.
Of course, the shock was instantly absorbed, then returned to himself again.
BOOM!
The man is thrown away again.
And stands up again, and swings his fist again.
And the situation repeats.
BOOM!
Exploding shock.
The man's body sprawls again.
And gets up, and falls, and gets up again.
Now, having become a bloody mess beyond just being bloody, the man said.
“Kill... you...”
“I agree. I’m going to kill you too.”
SWISH-
GRAB!
Riman narrowed the distance in an instant and grabbed the guy's neck.
“If you become able to discharge shockwaves from your feet too, things like this become possible.”
“Let... go...!”
“I know too. That you guys are pitiful bastards.”
“...?!”
Agents from the Black Orphanage.
They grow up in a meticulous brainwashing environment from a very young age.
In that process, consciousness of obedience to the master is injected, and morality is carefully castrated.
What is completed as a result was a psychopath.
A psychopath who blindly obeys the master, at that.
Like that, they commit immoral instructions of the master without any guilt or hesitation.
Therefore, they were unfortunate ones.
Because their personalities were forcibly modified by others even before their ego was properly established.
They didn't even have the freedom to choose a different form of life.
It was a pitiful thing.
And therefore, it was difficult to hold them accountable for the evil deeds they committed.
Nevertheless, he couldn't let them live.
Because their personalities and characters were already destroyed beyond repair.
There was no way to reverse it.
How could a mind meticulously broken by leading scholars be restored?
Attempting that restoration itself was no different from trying to make a tree out of burnt ash.
And in fact, a bigger problem than these issues.
It was certain that this guy would chase Riman until he died from the moment he was left alive.
Because he was one trained and raised like that.
So Riman squeezed his hand holding the man's neck tightly.
“...A dog that has bitten a person and tasted blood cannot be left alive.”
“Guk... gag...”
“Sorry.”
THWACK!
Riman exploded shock from his palm.
The man's body went limp, and the life reaction disappeared.
Riman put down the man's body and muttered.
“...For now, I dealt with the most annoying ones among the ‘Black Orphanage’ guys...”
For reference, there were more agents from the Black Orphanage besides these guys.
‘But Cha Hak-jun won’t send those guys to me too.’
Since it's obvious they will die again if sent to Riman.
‘So in the end, the only move left for him is to send the strongest card among the remaining cards to me.’
Now the last and strongest card remaining to Cha Hak-jun.
That is exactly the Mugan escapees.
Although the time cannot be certain, the future where they attack Riman was a fait accompli.
‘...I should prepare too.’
Because their power would be on a different level from the guys he fought until now.
Of course, before that...
‘I should take what I can take.’
Riman rummaged through the dead man's bosom.
The first thing he took out was a cell phone.
A phone received from Cha Hak-jun, capable of contacting Cha Hak-jun directly.
But there was nothing particularly noticeable other than that.
Since it was a temporary phone, it didn't contain useful information either.
At least the phone the man originally used would contain useful information.
But that phone couldn't be used.
Because it turned into powder as he was hit squarely by shockwaves repeatedly.
Still, the last item he took out was a bit better.
An orange key.
Riman realized the use of this key as soon as he saw the color.
“...Got a decent side income.”
Riman put the key in his bosom.
At that moment he was about to leave like that.
“Ah, right.”
Riman turned his steps toward the corpses again.
* * *
“Welcome. This is Orange Warehouse. How may I help you?”
When you open the orange main gate and enter, there is an orange information desk, and orange doors are lined up in the corridor behind it.
Handsome and pretty employees wearing orange uniforms were a bonus.
This was a private goods storage service provider, Orange Warehouse.
The fresh interior matching the name was impressive, but the things stored inside were not very fresh.
No, in the first place, the notice posted on the wall was far from fresh.
-Living people cannot be stored. Please contact a private confinement company (02-XXXX-XXXX) for such matters.
-Additional freezing storage fees apply when storing corpses.
.
.
.
It was a phrase he saw in the game too, but seeing it in reality was indeed more eerie.
Well, anyway.
Riman handed the orange key he obtained a moment ago to the employee.
“I’d like to retrieve an item stored here.”
“Understood. Locker T-11... one moment please.”
The employee went into the room behind the information desk.
And asked the senior employee resting there.
“Excuse me, someone came and said they want to retrieve an item.”
“Give it.”
“That, it’s not the owner of the locker but someone else.”
“Is the key real?”
“It is real.”
“Then just give it.”
“...Is that allowed?”
“Our job is simple. If they pay, we store the goods, and if they bring the key, we give the authority to open and close the locker. Who came is not important. Understand?”
“Understood.”
Like that, Riman was guided to the locker.
And opened the locker door with the looted key.
CREAK-
What was inside the locker was a large leather bag.
Riman slightly opened the bag and checked the inside.
What filled the bag tightly were thick bundles of money.
‘...This is a windfall somewhat beyond imagination.’
Riman closed the bag.
This money was the money Cha Hak-jun paid to the agents.
Simply put, the payment for the murder contract of Riman Solaris.
The agents temporarily entrusted this bag here to track Riman immediately after receiving this money.
It seemed they intended to retrieve it after the kill operation succeeded, but eventually, it rolled into Riman's hands.
“Keep up the good work.”
Riman went outside holding the money bag.