Advance Preparations (1)
I quickly wrapped up matters on Earth.
Hans strengthened the nightly patrols in search of any possible remnants of the Beoncheonhoe, while Heinz made contact with the moderates and entered negotiations.
“I have no intention of giving any particularly unreasonable orders. All I want is to maintain peace and order, and to uproot every last bastard connected to the ‘Beoncheonhoe.’”
“Do you not think those two goals are at odds?”
“That depends on where you set the standard.”
By his standards, punishing evil was also part of maintaining peace and order.
And it was self-evident that power was necessary to do so.
The woman seated across from Heinz, Aria, the leader of the Blood Alliance’s moderate faction, offered no particular rebuttal to his words.
She merely sat in her chair with her eyes closed, just as she had when they first met.
“Very well. I will help Mr. Heinz absorb the hardliners.”
And she accepted our proposal more readily than expected.
I had even considered resorting to a little coercive force, so this turn of events was somewhat bewildering.
“…It feels a bit late to be asking this now, but what exactly are you trusting that you can accept this without much hesitation?”
“This is the conclusion I reached after sufficient deliberation. It benefits both of us, so is there any reason to refuse? And what am I trusting…? Myself, of course.”
Aria answered with a slight smile.
Her eyes remained closed.
“If you intend to work, you will need someone to serve as a bridge in the middle. Take Soran with you. I will speak to her separately. I will also look into whether there are others on our side who wish to follow Mr. Heinz.”
There was a limit to one individual forcibly subjugating an entire organization.
It would not be impossible if one steadily expanded their power through force, but it would take a great deal of time.
That was not what we wanted.
So I had intended to reveal our plan and threaten her slightly, but she was more cooperative than I had expected.
She even showed sincerity by saying she would personally persuade Jin Soran, who was an executive on the moderate side.
‘Does she have some sort of ability? Can she read thoughts? Or simply discern the other party’s disposition? Surely she can’t read the future, can she?’
I wanted to forcibly subjugate her and find out what on earth she was thinking, but it was unreasonable to treat her that way when she was the leader of a faction in her own right.
The subordination of the “Refined Blood Crystal” did not have the effect of brainwashing the mind.
She would obey the orders given to her, but it would show somehow, and that would be no help at all in swallowing up the Blood Alliance.
And since she was being this cooperative, there was no reason to make an enemy of her.
“Good. Then I’ll leave spreading the word among the moderates to you. Shall we talk about the plan to absorb the remaining hardliners now?”
“Let’s. To do that, first we need the neutral faction…”
The beginning was to absorb the remnants of the hardliners and become the leader of a new faction.
Thus, the takeover of the Blood Alliance was proceeding smoothly.
***
In order to smoothly carry out Operation “Home Theater: Demon King and Hero,” the more competent pieces I had that moved according to my will, the better.
It was true that Hans and Heinrich as the leading actors, and Heinz as the supporting cast member in a support role, felt insufficient.
Because of that, the biggest issue at hand was how to strengthen “Harley,” who had yet to even decide on a path, as quickly as possible.
[Hooh, this is quite interesting.]
And just now, among the materials cherished by the Beoncheonhoe’s research director, I had found a fairly decent method.
Hans had taken out their research materials in a place far away from my residence, and was in the middle of examining the results and gradually absorbing them.
Even if he could not use them directly, the concepts alone were helpful enough, and above all, thanks to the research director, the materials that had been “in the middle of research” remained intact from beginning to end.
[An experiment transplanting parts of an inhuman demon’s body into someone else, is it? This is no different from chimera procedures. Ordinary people naturally failed… and even Awakened ones suffer severe side effects.]
Under the influence of “Path of Magic,” Hans now displayed outstanding insight in other fields as well, but even so, his specialty could only be black magic.
And “chimera research” was a field very closely related to black magic.
‘In a way, it’s a blessing in disguise. Even if I had taken advantage of the time difference in Auterica and focused solely on “Forbidden Knowledge,” I wouldn’t have grown this quickly by now.’
Quality over quantity.
By experiencing the techniques of various worlds and breaking out of his own framework, Hans had laid the foundation to become stronger even faster.
[…But this wasn’t simple chimera research. Cast away what is lacking, accept only superior elements, and constantly pursue evolution… Is the final goal to create a perfect evolutionary life-form?]
Perhaps because it was still a subject under research, not only the data but also the bodily tissues used in the experiments had been preserved together.
[Hooh, is this dragon blood? It looks like melted gemstones.]
Even the core material, “dragon blood,” was there.
The violet liquid contained in a small bottle swayed this way and that depending on the angle, scattering a brilliant light.
[Heh… If I mix these materials with the knowledge from my skill, I think I can get a useful result… Evolution through “Adaptation” to external tissue, huh.]
Now that things had turned out this way, time suddenly felt precious.
I had obtained enough from Earth, so it would be nice if I could now take my time and devote myself to research in Auterica.
‘But the Order is the problem…’
To be precise, it was because of the Saintess, who was still working every day to find the Immortal King’s successor.
‘Still, I did obtain a clue that might help.’
The time it took Hans to seclude himself on a mountain and complete “Contagious Servitude Magic Final Version_Revised_Second_FINAL(3)_ReallyLast” was about three weeks.
And that was the same amount of time it took for the Order to sense Hans’s existence and begin searching for him.
‘They detected Hans’s existence right away, but because he had surrounded himself with all kinds of concealment barriers, they couldn’t pinpoint his exact location. That means the Saintess’s detection isn’t perfect.’
On top of that, Hans had become far more adept at hiding his identity than he had been back then, and he had obtained not only greater achievements in magic, but even “Path of Magic.”
‘If that still makes me uneasy, I can just use Heinz’s “Concealment” and “Mystery of Blood” as well.’
Since I could also grasp the Order’s movements in real time through Heinrich, I became confident that this much would be enough to deceive the Order’s eyes.
Though that, too, would only be possible once Heinz’s takeover of the Blood Alliance was more or less settled.
‘But I can begin the advance preparations even now.’
***
《Transfer to the Auterica dimension has been completed.》
Once the transfer was complete, Harley carefully looked around.
It was inside an alley adjacent to a main road, but due to the structure, it was a secluded corner where no light entered.
This was one of the cities Heinrich had passed through on his way to the Holy Land, a large city in the Kingdom of Tulk, located in the western part of the Ion Continent.
“Whoa! You scared me! When did this guy get here?”
When he moved his feet and emerged from the corner, a shabby man crouching in the alley and smoking a cigarette jumped in surprise.
Harley ignored the blinking man and walked past him onto the main road.
‘Tarak, the County of Aonia in the northern part of the Kingdom of Tulk. Fortunately, it’s still daytime.’
The sun was blazing, so there seemed to be no need to wait until the next day to move.
Tarak was a place Heinrich had found impressive during his preliminary survey.
Mercenaries carrying weapons strolling throughout the streets, and robed mages visible here and there.
Even merchants moving with large carts piled high with all sorts of goods.
It was the ideal fantasy world itself.
‘It was a fantasy world before too, but… this side is more typical.’
This place, as though embodying every stereotype, was a city where the mercenary industry thrived thanks to the many different monsters in the northern mountain range.
A great city prosperous enough to even have a temple despite being located near the kingdom’s border.
It was the last place where one could make preparations before heading to the “Steel Fortress,” which guarded the northwestern foothills of the enormous northern mountain range that stretched across the entire north of the continent.
The Mercenary Guild for accepting monster-hunting requests, the Merchants’ Association that transported carcasses, and even a branch of the Magic Tower that researched them.
Thanks to that, the city was bustling and overflowing with energy from all kinds of people.
‘Trade looks even more active than I expected.’
It seemed there would be no great difficulty in acquiring goods.
Of course, later on, I would have to hire escorts or something for safety.
Rare materials, monster byproducts with magical value, and even magic tools that might help with research.
I would be using a considerable amount of money from now on.
‘Now that I can earn as much money as I want, saving time comes first. I did bring as many valuables as possible in the subspace I brought with me, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough.’
It seemed I would have to head to the Magic Tower branch and first acquire additional subspace magic tools.
“Welcome~. This is the magic tool shop of the Rocafelli Magic Tower’s Tarak branch. Is there anything you’re looking for~?”
At the shop attached to the Magic Tower branch, a man who gave more of an impression of being a merchant than a mage was handling customers.
“You’re looking for subspace magic tools? You’ve truly come to the right place! The products of our Rocafelli Magic Tower are masterpieces that boast a spatial efficiency difference of a full twenty percent compared to other Magic Towers…”
“I see, that’s impressive.”
Since I intended to use them for a long time anyway, I had deliberately come to a Magic Tower with a good reputation.
As the monster industry was developed here, mercenaries also made frequent use of subspace magic tools when going out to hunt, so products of all kinds of specifications were traded.
“Among them, this product grants a preservative effect to the items inside, allowing for more long-term…”
“That function does seem necessary.”
Of course, since the prices were murderous, they were often operated jointly by large-scale mercenary corps or high-rank mercenary parties.
“And that is not all! It has undergone special processing so it will not break even in extreme situations, so no matter what remote region you go to…”
“Ooh, how much is that?”
After nodding along in a daze to the magic tool merchant’s eloquence, before I knew it, all the valuables I had brought in the existing subspace had disappeared, leaving only a few magic tools sitting forlornly in my hands.
“Thank you for your purchase~! If you ever need anything else, please look for Charlton of the Rocafelli Magic Tower’s Tarak Branch Magic Tool Shop anytime!”
Leaving behind the words of the merchant, who bowed at a ninety-degree angle to see me off, I blankly stepped out of the shop.
It felt as though I had been possessed by a ghost.
Subspace magic tools with all kinds of functions, including a large-capacity bag type.
I quietly stared at the new items, then shrugged.
‘They were things I needed anyway. At the very least, even if I just resell them on Earth, I’ll make several times the profit.’
It did feel somewhat like an impulse purchase, but considering their value, it was not a bad thing.
Given the characteristics of this city, buying them here was also cheaper than elsewhere.
‘More importantly, since I spent almost all the funds I had, I’ll have to go back to Earth one more time.’
The only troublesome point was that I had to return to Earth again to replenish my empty funds.
‘I should also consider gathering wealth through trade with Earth altogether. What could be brought into another world and make money? Would something like spices work?’
Thanks to that, I had also thought of a new business idea, so there was no denying it had been a satisfying deal in many ways.
***
Crack— Snap!
“Hup, haa…”
Along with the sound of bones twisting, a sigh leaked from Jin Soran’s mouth.
Due to the catalyst introduced from outside, the vampiric factor within her body slowly began to evolve.
Her muscles became tougher and more flexible, her bones hardened, and her senses sharpened.
The amount of blood mana had not increased, but her ability to operate it and its maximum output had risen, allowing her to exert power more stably.
‘It doesn’t feel like my body! It feels like I’ve been reborn!’
Once the changes in her body stopped, Jin Soran looked over herself with an awed expression.
With power boiling up inside her, it felt as though her combat strength had increased severalfold.
“Hmm, with this amount of ‘Refined Blood Crystal,’ this level seems to be the limit. If I increase the quantity a little more, I’ll have to keep observing how far it can evolve.”
Of course, what she felt was quite literally just her imagination.
The “Refined Blood Crystal” administered to her did not have that much effect right away.
According to the result confirmed through “Insight,” at best, the strengthening effect was only about thirty percent.
‘Of course, the fact that Jin Soran’s combat power, as a level 6, increased by thirty percent isn’t something to take lightly.’
Jin Soran had gladly accepted Aria’s proposal and entered Heinz’s command.
To be precise, it was a concurrent post meant to serve as a bridge to the moderate faction, but she had accepted the 「Refined Blood Crystal」 and become subordinate to Heinz.
Having personally experienced the friction between factions, she seemed to feel that someone was needed in the middle to coordinate things so the same thing wouldn’t happen again.
‘It’s convenient for me if there’s someone to coordinate matters on their own. As long as I place suitable restrictions on her, there’s no need to worry about betrayal either.’
Heinz waited until Jin Soran had recovered her strength to some extent, then opened his mouth.
“Once you’ve adjusted, we’ll move right away. There’s a lot to do from here on.”
“Yes! Understood. Lord!”
“…Lord?”
“Yes? Yes! Lord. You’re practically the ‘King’ of a new clan now, after all. Do you perhaps dislike the title?”
Come to think of it, Nocturnia, the dimension Jin Soran came from, divided vampire ranks according to chess pieces, didn’t it?
Since a new subordinate relationship had been formed through blood, it meant she would treat Heinz as the clan lord, the progenitor of the bloodline.
“Hmm… No, it doesn’t matter.”
It didn’t feel bad at all.
It even felt like he was being treated with some respect.
“Speaking of which, Lord! Doesn’t this mean a new lineage has basically been created on Earth? Then I think it needs a new name befitting it. Have you perhaps thought of one?”
She spoke with a lively smile.
Even if she treated him as her lord, it seemed her original personality hadn’t gone anywhere.
“A name…”
It was unexpected, so he hadn’t really thought of a name.
But considering things like a sense of belonging and loyalty, it would be better to have a plausible name.
‘I suppose I can name it after some distinguishing characteristic.’
The strengthening through 「Refined Blood Crystal」 was a process of mutating other vampires, using the vampire factors within Heinz’s body as a catalyst.
It made them be influenced by a “hybrid” that had already accepted dominant traits from all kinds of worlds and evolved as far as it could.
The degree of mutation differed depending on the quality and quantity of the 「Refined Blood Crystal」 administered, but no matter how much they changed, the fact that they would become far more advanced than before remained the same.
As he thought along those lines, a word happened to come to mind.
“…Let’s call it Heterosis (hybrid vigor).”
“Heterosis! I’m not sure what it means, but it somehow sounds nice!”
It was the moment Heterosis, which would become the most elite combat group within the Blood Alliance, was born.
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