Chapter 98
Chapter 98: Collection (7)
When Erik was Park Ji-hun, there were certain beings he felt compelled to respect.
'People who became family despite not being blood relatives.'
Perhaps it was envy.
He recalled memories from Earth after a long time.
'The love of family, huh....'
Park Ji-hun was the third son of Gwangmyeong Group, the number one conglomerate in South Korea.
'And the child of the third wife.'
His mother was not his father's legal wife in name, but Park Ji-hun was undoubtedly his biological son.
Right after he was born, his father demanded a paternity certificate from his mother.
'The old man never changed his ways.'
Divorced from the first wife. Remarried to the second wife. Had an affair with his mother, the third wife.
Park Ji-hun's biological father at that time boasted of a glorious career.
'He had no interest in his children whatsoever.'
The chairman of Gwangmyeong Group was remarkable as a businessman, but as a family man, he was nearly the worst kind of human being.
'Still, he at least treated me like a son, didn't he?'
Family dinners where the third wife and her son attended together.
Sending Park Ji-hun abroad to study, then making him manage a foreign branch like some unwanted baggage.
'I suffered all sorts of humiliation at family dinners...and at the foreign branch, I was treated like a parachute hire.'
They were days of shame.
At family dinners, the legitimate wife envied, resented, and tormented his mother.
In response, his mother monopolized his father's love with her exceptional beauty and mocked the first wife.
Caught between them, young Park Ji-hun was thoroughly ignored.
'A family that didn't feel like family.'
However, such painful days were resolved after he went abroad to study.
Life in America was different.
Materially, he wanted for nothing, and blessed with his mother's beautiful appearance.
'As the saying goes, old habits die hard....'
He lived somewhat extravagantly.
Yet despite meeting so many women, he never felt satisfied.
He felt bored with everything in the world.
Park Ji-hun was always hollow.
'And so I became a game addict.'
As a result, he was born in this world as Erik's body.
'Here too, my parents passed away right after I was born.'
Truly, he had a miserable family fortune.
Lost in these complex emotions, Ruelle grabbed his arm from beside him.
Erik turned his head to look at Ruelle.
"Erik, what's wrong?"
Her cyan eyes wavered.
"Ugh! Ruelle, your hand again!"
After that, as he pulled away Ruelle's arm, pure white silver hair fluttered into view.
'Still....'
Erik looked at Riferoze and Ruelle.
'I found solace here.'
Looking at the two of them, his complicated thoughts became perfectly organized.
Despite hardships and adversity, this place was truly his homeland.
"Sigh, I was just remembering old times for a moment."
Having composed his emotions, Erik naturally gazed at the Duke Raffin's son.
'They say the Duke Raffin has only one child....'
The Imperial Duke had lost everything to protect the man before his eyes.
'Does this even make sense?'
He was not his biological son.
Moreover, he wasn't even adopted—he was a child whose soul had been switched.
The existence that made Erik, uncharacteristically, become sentimental was hiding among the Black Mages.
"M-My Lord!"
"It's fine."
A lanky man appeared among the Black Mages armed with all sorts of magical tools.
While Erik had been deep in thought, he too had composed himself.
"Kim Jung-hyuk.... Certainly, that is the name I used on Earth."
Erik examined Jabor Raffin, the Duke's successor and possessor Kim Jung-hyuk.
'He's dying.'
A pale face as if from illness.
A body so emaciated that bones showed without flesh.
Even his voice sounded like it was fading away.
"However, now I live as Jabor Raffin."
Yet his tone alone was firm, carrying resolute determination.
"Is that even possible?"
Erik nodded, indicating for him to continue speaking.
He showed a kind of respect to the being that had reminded him of old memories.
Looking at Erik, the possessor Kim Jung-hyuk opened his mouth.
"I suppose I should start from my body's origins."
His flesh was born thirty years ago on a battlefield.
He was an only child born between Momokin, a legion commander of the Black Mages, and General Jenedik Raffin, the supreme commander.
"Originally, the previous owner of this body passed away right after birth."
Also, it was a body that fundamentally could not live.
It was a battlefield where black mages rained death.
A child who should have perished along with his mother right after birth.
"However, my father brought the body back to life."
There was a helper.
An existence whose name, age, and gender were unknown—they made the dead child's body functional.
"This body grew up empty, without a soul."
Only physical growth continued in a massive mana tank.
In that situation, the phenomenon of possession occurred.
"My father truly desired to see me as his real son."
To have kept only the body of a dead child alive for decades...
It would be natural for near-madness and obsession to develop.
'The madness of a 9-Circle mage....'
Erik understood this too.
However, it was difficult to accept.
"But how did you come to see him as your father?"
"I, Kim Jung-hyuk, was a parentless orphan."
Kim Jung-hyuk, who grew up in an orphanage and became an adult without being adopted.
"You are my son. Never doubt this fact."
He possessed the empty body.
And he found family.
"That I, who used to do odd jobs and live in a shabby 3-pyeong monthly-rent room, became the son of an Archduke. That the Duke regarded me as his biological son and showed me love....'
The Duke spent years building a father-son bond with the possessor Kim Jung-hyuk.
"It felt like I received salvation from an empty life."
After hearing this explanation, Erik could only nod in agreement.
'Salvation from an empty life, huh.'
Because he could empathize with that feeling.
Kim Jung-hyuk—no, Jabor Raffin was truly no different from the Duke's real son.
'I wonder what Ruelle and my teacher will think.'
So Erik was about to ask a question of the two women beside him.
But before that—
"Brother! Brother! We don't share blood, yet we became brothers and sisters! Why shouldn't parents be the same?! If you hear such a touching story and your heart doesn't move, you're not a man!!!"
Before Erik could say anything, Jang Du-sik suddenly shouted.
At that, Ruelle muttered with pity, 'Of course that thug would say something like that.'
And Riferoze's eyes narrowed like a bow.
"This bastard! You've been deceiving me!"
***
Erik had a brief moment between teacher and disciple.
Jang Du-sik and Janson had suffered irreparable serious injuries and were waiting in the reception room with the Duke, while Ruelle, already frightened, had hidden her presence and disappeared somewhere.
The rest of the group was kept outside the Magic Tower.
'I can't show the automated factory to the possessors.'
Erik began a tour of the factory interior with Riferoze.
"How is my factory, Master?"
"Hah! It's a rare thing to wander through a Magic Tower without its master...but is this really reality?"
Whiiiing! Click! Thud!
All sorts of automated equipment were manufacturing attack magical tools for the Imperial Army.
At that sight, Riferoze exclaimed in admiration.
"Magical tools are being made without a single person....'
"Didn't I tell you repeatedly?"
Whiiing!
From the automated equipment, a long scroll was pulled out, and a machine with an embedded blade cut the scroll at regular intervals.
"But surely the engraving of magic still requires people to do it, doesn't it?"
"Look over there, Master. The magic circles are also engraved automatically."
The scroll moved along a long conveyor belt.
After that, a machine with a staff installed automatically engraved magic circles using the magical power of mana stones.
"If common people just heard about the attack scrolls made here, a million-strong army would be born."
"Oh! You finally understand!"
Erik was delighted at Riferoze's words.
'Indeed, seeing it, they understand.'
It had been quite frustrating to be treated like an idiot every time he explained Earth's technology.
Finally, real conversation felt possible.
"On Earth, the guns I mentioned served a similar function. Once guns appeared, knights and such all disappeared into the pages of history."
"Hmm. That iron fragment-shooting thing seems useless even if a million-strong army used it."
Of course, there was still a long way to go.
However, Erik was not impatient.
'This is how we gradually make them understand.'
For now, it wasn't about discussing gun performance.
Erik's purpose was clear.
"What if a million-strong army fired sacred magical tools?"
"Oho...even common soldiers could handle at least disaster-class descents."
Riferoze also grasped Erik's true meaning.
'Truly a unique way of thinking.'
While Erik had substituted Earth's technology by Earth's standards, the master saw it as the disciple's competence.
Thus, she offered some advice.
"I think those capsules could be made from that material...?"
"Yes."
"I have a memory of seeing similar materials at the 20th floor of the Labyrinth. That's where I first met that slayer Luke."
Erik tilted his head.
"Didn't you say you captured him from the highest floors?"
"That bastard escaped to the highest floor."
"You must have had a hard time."
"So what do you think?"
"At the 20th floor, even the possessors should be able to manage it."
Erik thought of the practical use of the possessors.
The Labyrinth conquest was operated by forming a separate conquest party, while mining teams were formed separately to farm materials.
'If they mine well, they get included in the conquest team.'
It was similar to how it was operated in the guild in the past—running a pseudo-workshop.
After hearing this explanation, Riferoze added a comment.
"Use that Luke bastard in the conquest team. He's a crazy one. He's very suited for the tank you mentioned."
"Didn't the Pope take him away?"
The slayer Luke was taken by the Pope.
It was said that because he was the first possessor, there were things to verify by comparing with scripture.
"Once I finish some investigations, he'll return."
"I'll think about the details after he returns."
It was a pleasant time between teacher and disciple after a long while.
"Well, is the tour sufficient?"
"It was a very interesting time."
Now what was needed was payment collection.
'How much of these magical tools did they sell?'
While Erik showed Riferoze around the factory, he confirmed the substantial amount of materials piled up in the warehouse.
Most were empty boxes.
The ones being produced now would fill those empty boxes and be sent to the Empire.
In any case, it meant they had sold that much.
"Master, let's ride. This is something like the elevator I mentioned."
Erik boarded the magical elevator to meet Jabor Raffin, who would soon inherit the Duke's position.
Uuuung!
The ultra-high-speed elevator.
The destination was the top floor of the Magic Tower, formerly the office used by Duke Raffin.
Shuffle!
"Oh, you've arrived."
Janson, with a broken leg, greeted Erik and Riferoze respectfully.
Jang Du-sik lay on the sofa like a vegetable, only blinking his eyes.
The supreme divine power enveloping both their bodies prevented any healing phenomena from occurring.
Jang Du-sik's body contained an enormous amount of divine power.
Yet he couldn't recover?
"Du-sik has divine power in his body, but how exactly did you do it, Master?"
Erik asked about the secret.
Riferoze laughed heartily and revealed the secret.
"If you block the tendons and meridians with a stronger force, it works."
"I see."
This was also a learning opportunity.
After confirming his subordinates' safety, Erik approached Jabor Raffin inside the office.
"Huegh...!"
He was very frightened.
Because he had directly witnessed Jang Du-sik and Janson being beaten right beside him.
'Good.'
Erik was pleased that he could skip the lengthy process.
So he smiled wickedly and asked Jabor.
"I'll be demanding a share of the profits from the magical tools you've sold."
Even by market standards, even considering the cheapest market price.
'It's at least a billion.'
The factory's production volume was no joke, so they must have earned tens of billions.
And for good reason.
Wasn't the Imperial Army their customer?
***
After finishing his business, Erik left the Magic Tower.
His next destination was the Elven Autonomous Territory at the southern edge of the Empire, which was quite close to the Magic Tower.
Unlike the departure with thousands of knights, the party heading to the Elven Kingdom was small in number.
"Janson, for the next few days, manage as best you can."
Shuffle!
Janson became lame again.
The divine power wrapped around his broken leg refused any treatment.
Still, he was relieved.
'At least I didn't end up half-paralyzed like brother Du-sik.'
Jang Du-sik was slung over Erik's shoulder.
He showed no sign of movement, as if dead.
Only his eyes blinked.
He had paid dearly for toying with Riferoze.
Erik too suffered similarly.
"Ugh."
"Erik, I told you to make Jang Du-sik a human, yet you've created an ogre-like Fenrir with just quick wit."
"I put in so much effort......"
Erik felt intense pain for the first time in a while.
He'd been hit with two flicks on the head in succession, and it felt like his head would split.
As he rubbed his forehead, he felt a soft hand.
'Ruelle? How much stronger has her personality become?'
Even her master only looked around in confusion.
"Where the hell is that thief Ruelle hiding?"
But she was actually sitting on Erik's shoulder, yet no one except Erik knew this fact.
"I feel like I'm about to get the hang of it though......"
As Riferoze was concentrating to find Ruelle, a trembling sound came from behind.
'That Erik, beating him....'
Park Chang-ho, Nishida Ryo, Kang Pung-ho.
Three possessors.
All had pale faces and looked terrified.
Seeing them, Riferoze muttered dismissively.
"How am I supposed to use such weaklings......"
"Didn't you say, Master? That possessors are also called here by divine will."
"Those bastards don't seem to buy that."
Nishida Ryo let out a scream of 'Ugh!'
At that, Erik sighed and added an explanation to Riferoze.
"Like the High Elf Yuren or the slayer Luke, if we teach these guys aura or magic on their possessed bodies, wouldn't that work?"
"That's easier said than done...haven't these bastards only been possessed for less than a few decades? And even Janson took 20 years to reach that level."
"This time is different. These guys are affected by divine power, aren't they?"
"Oho—"
Interest deepened in Riferoze's eyes.
Until moments before, they had been eyes that saw them as something to be disposed of.
They changed like someone who found an interesting toy.
'Is it good?'
'Seems like it?'
'Phew.'
The three possessors exchanged glances.
Erik smiled mischievously at them.
'Let's see how you squirm.'
One reason Erik had become so strong was that he possessed a body not rejected by divine power.
All possessor believers in his temple would receive the same training as Erik.
'Infinite Recovery Training.'
Erik recalled the training method he did as a child.
He rolled around until he nearly died in his small body.
After that, his injured body and exhausted spirit were healed.
Right after recovery, he rolled around again until nearly dead, repeating this until nightfall.
Thus, "recovery" was a very apt expression.
'It was grueling training, but the results were overwhelming.'
It was because he endured such difficult times that he was reborn as the monster paladin he is now.
Efficiency was the baseline, and the results were overwhelmingly absurd.
So Erik started to broach the subject of making Riferoze the instructor for the possessors.
"If you teach the possessors the way as you taught me, Master...they too would be reborn as contributors to this world."
"Erik, possessors trained like you...that would be very amusing!"
Riferoze was also eager.
"As expected, Master is the best!"
"Hahaha!"
Teacher and disciple laughed heartily together.
As they walked laughing, the World Tree began to appear very large.
It seemed they had gotten quite close in distance.
Before getting closer to the World Tree, Riferoze enveloped them in divine power, blocking out all sounds from around them.
"So, Erik. You've earned a total of 6 billion. What do you plan to use it on?"
Erik had taken 3 billion Gold from the tower left behind by the Black Mage Group and received 3 billion Gold from Duke Raffin.
Swhooosh!
[Erik - 4th Tier Divine Power]
[Possessed Skills: Creation, Wings of Radiance, Meteor Shower, Judgment]
[Possessed Gold: 13,581,888,500]
Combined with his existing funds, he possessed a total of 13 billion gold.
Moreover,
[Divine Management]
[Possessed GP: 2,133,230]
He had accumulated up to 2 million GP, enough to plant an extra-large pot.
"I have two major plans for now."
Erik calmly recited his plans.
"So, you plan to repot the World Tree to your temple and expand the number of possessor believers to begin serious Labyrinth conquest."
As Erik thought about it, the World Tree was definitely a major factor in gaining GP.
'Otherwise there would be no reason for it to exist in the divine administrator window.'
The greatest evidence was the World Tree's behavior, claiming that he belonged to Erik and spouting crazy words.
Of course, he wouldn't know for sure until he tried it...
Then it was.
Whoosh!
Riferoze suddenly reached out toward Erik's shoulder.
"Eek! R-Riferoze!"
Ruelle, who had hidden her presence, was caught by Riferoze as she struggled.
"Right, Ruelle. There's much I wanted to hear from you. I've held back for Erik's sake, but"
She seemed very angry.
So Erik quickly separated the two and changed the subject.
"Look over there."
Ssssssssssss!
The World Tree, the Earth Mother Goddess, twisted her entire body and sent a fierce wind toward Erik.
The sight of the massive tree twisting was bizarre...
"That World Tree, something about its movements seems alluring......"
"Really? I get an unpleasant feeling about it?"
It was effective in drawing the attention of both of them.
However, one concern remained for Erik.
'Was it really the right choice to drag this into a three-way battle?'