Chapter 31.
“The Twin Dragon Swords? Could they be the ones used by Admiral Yi Sun-sin…?”
Chairman Kang muttered, a question forming in his mind.
“Yes. Precisely those Twin Dragon Swords.”
“…But isn’t that a treasure known to have vanished without a trace?”
“That is how the story went, yes.”
I answered and looked toward Song Yun-sik.
I had no idea how he had come to possess the Twin Dragon Swords, whose whereabouts had been unknown, whose very existence had been uncertain. All I knew was that Song Yun-sik had held that treasure, and that he had used it to fight against Awakeners who had flocked from all directions.
“….”
He hesitated for a moment.
And for good reason—he must have been bewildered. He had suffered cruel torture at the hands of the Black Moon, who had suddenly descended upon him, and even his wife had died. Even if he shared a close bond with Chairman Kang, realizing we had come for the same purpose must have stirred complicated thoughts within him.
“…It is the only legacy my late father left behind.”
After a brief pause, he opened his mouth.
His gaze was directed at Chairman Kang.
It was because he trusted the man that he had found his voice even in this complex situation.
“I do not know whether my father acquired it or how. I only know that what he left behind were the Twin Dragon Swords used by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and he told me to keep them safe for a future connection.”
*A future connection?*
I could well understand if he had coincidentally come to possess a treasure like the Twin Dragon Swords. But what raised a question was the part about *for the future*.
*It was as if he knew something. As if he knew the end was coming and was preparing for it.*
It seemed necessary to dig deeper into that father figure.
But.
“Keugh!”
Watching him cough up black, congealed blood, there seemed no room for further thought.
There was no time.
Though he had recovered some strength with the Gongjin Pill, that was merely buying a little time. Song Yun-sik, his body already ruined, would soon reach his death.
Before that happened.
“If it is not too rude, might I ask where the Twin Dragon Swords are being kept?”
It was not merely rude. It was outright impudence.
But it was something that absolutely had to be done.
“….”
Song Yun-sik, who had briefly looked my way, turned back to Chairman Kang.
A nod.
That nodding figure showed trust directed toward me.
“I have just one question to ask.”
A trembling voice.
Death was imminent.
“The Twin Dragon Swords. Why do you want them?”
That was his natural right. He had kept his mouth firmly sealed despite the cruel torture and his wife’s death.
Why?
Because he had known.
That the Twin Dragon Swords were an important key.
And that they would play a crucial role in humanity’s future.
“At the very least, I can tell you one thing.”
This was my sincerity shown to one who had tried to protect the Twin Dragon Swords until the very end.
“If you entrust the Twin Dragon Swords to me, I will use them to benefit the world.”
These were not empty words spoken to claim a treasure.
The Twin Dragon Swords were a heritage-type Treasure, one that existed in scant numbers. They were relics that had originally existed, having become Treasures not through the trials that would occur at the end times, but because they were already present. Therefore, their value was something no one but myself could fathom.
My claim to benefit humanity was by no means an exaggeration or empty boast.
“Benefit humanity…?”
Of course, the judgment was his to make. If my sincerity did not reach him, or if he harbored even a shred of doubt and refused to hand over the swords—
*That, too, must be the weight of fate I must bear.*
So I waited.
For the decision of Song Yun-sik, who should have been the rightful owner of the Twin Dragon Swords.
“Yun-sik.”
Chairman Kang, who had kept silent until now, opened his mouth.
“Yes.”
“I will ask a favor of you for the first time.”
With those words.
Thud.
He fell to his knees.
“What in the…!”
“You lost your spouse before your very eyes, and even suffered cruel torture. How could I possibly fathom your state of mind?”
He spat out each word with excruciating effort, as if his blood were boiling.
“I know how shameless it is to ask for the treasure you endured such pain to protect.”
“….”
“You must have sprouted the bud of distrust. Everything must seem hateful, everything suspect. But I tell you, young Yoon Chan’s words—his promise to benefit humanity, that he will not use it for his own selfish desires—are true.”
Chairman Kang had seen through the current situation with perfect clarity.
The one who could give Song Yun-sik trust here was not me, but him.
Only he could move Song Yun-sik’s heart.
“The world will change. An era of upheaval that cannot be expressed merely as ‘change’ is coming. Who knows, humanity may experience hell because of it. The one who will save humanity from that hell—”
Chairman Kang’s gaze turned toward me.
“—is young Yoon Chan. None other than this young man shall bear that heavy burden.”
If anyone else had said such a thing, he would have scoffed.
“Hmm….”
But these were Chairman Kang’s words.
Song Yun-sik, who had assisted him for decades, would know.
That these seemingly absurd words were all true.
“Yun-sik.”
“…Yes.”
“You were a more upright person than anyone I have ever met. You achieved countless accomplishments, yet retired because you could not endure the filth of the business world. Because you are such a man, I ask. Can you not hand over the treasure you protected, for the sake of humanity?”
He bowed his head while still kneeling.
“Unexpected.”
A single word fell after deep deliberation.
“To think the day would come when Hyung-nim would kneel for someone.”
The title “Chairman” had changed to “Hyung-nim.”
“Yes, if Hyung-nim thinks so, then even if it is a lie, I must believe it.”
The shadow of doubt that had hung over Song Yun-sik’s face vanished.
“…Come close.”
I brought my ear near enough to feel his breath.
“My father said it. If the Twin Dragon Swords were to fall into the hands of one who would bring harm, great misfortune would befall the world.”
“….”
This made it certain.
*He had known something.*
Song Yun-sik’s father had definitely known something about the end.
I did not know how that was possible.
“Honestly, I am still not certain. That the world will change, that you will save the world. But the fact that the upright Chairman knelt, and that I see no falsehood in your eyes….”
Come to think of it, it was a stroke of heavenly fortune.
What if Song Yun-sik had not been close to Chairman Kang?
What if I had come here without bringing him?
If even a single element had been missing, Song Yun-sik would never have trusted me.
That was why I could be certain.
*I cannot stop the apocalypse with my strength alone.*
Chairman Kang, who possessed no trait or ability whatsoever, had provided decisive help right away.
I had thought I would have to bear everything alone for at least half a year—I could not help but reflect on that.
“The Twin Dragon Swords are….”
And he began to divulge the secret location known only to him.
A secret place that no one could find.
“Thank you.”
After hearing that location, I offered my sincere gratitude.
“May the suffering of my wife and I not be in vain….”
Tuk—
His head fell limply.
“….”
Chairman Kang’s hands trembled as he embraced the cooling body of his old friend.
“There is no time to delay.”
But grief would not wait.
The Black Moon, an Awakener organization shrouded in mystery.
If it was them, they had likely noticed this incident by now, so we had to hurry.
*
Chairman Kang’s secret villa.
“….”
I stared intently at the swords, feeling their heavy weight.
A pair of massive ring-pommel swords spanning a full three meters.
“The Twin Dragon Swords.”
Swords said to have been used by the legendary Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
But to me, they were not merely the swords of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. They were a treasure imprinted as a heritage-type Treasure that existed in scant numbers.
Srring—
When I gripped and drew them, blades suffused with killing intent revealed themselves.
*They are certainly no ordinary swords.*
Though it was my first time seeing them in person, I could realize at once that they were extraordinary. And for good reason—they were swords from the Joseon era. Ordinary swords would have chipped or rusted by now, but not these. They harbored such killing intent that they could serve immediately as actual combat weapons.
*《Appraiser’s Eye》*
I activated the Appraiser’s Eye, the talent permitted to me.
At that moment, the abilities of the Twin Dragon Swords unfolded before my eyes like an information window.
*『Twin Dragon Swords*
*Classification: Sword*
*Grade: Lowest-grade Treasure (Sealed)*
*Durability: 50/250*
*Unique Effect: ???*
*Description: Forge the Twin Dragon Swords, a thousand ages of spirit yet heroic. The oath sworn upon mountain and sea—loyal wrath is the same in ancient times and today.』*
*As expected!*
I could see a grade field that had never appeared on any item I had strengthened before. This was definitely the Treasure that had caused controversy before my regression.
However.
*Sealed. It must mean the seal is still active.*
The precursor phenomenon for the Treasure’s power had not yet begun, so it was displayed as sealed.
Swords that could not demonstrate any power right now—merely sharp.
Of course, later, once the precursors began, they would demonstrate incredible abilities, but right now they could exert no influence whatsoever.
*As if that mattered.*
The reason I had sought the Twin Dragon Swords so desperately was not to plan for the future. Above all, the Twin Dragon Swords were necessary to prepare against the Black Moon, to which countless Awakeners belonged.
“Then….”
Shall I begin?
Honestly, I still hesitated a bit, but it seemed there was no more time to hesitate.
Holding the Twin Dragon Swords, a pair of blades, in both hands.
*《Dismantle》*
I manifested Dismantle, one of the Enhancer’s abilities.
Hwaaraak—
A pure white light erupted and enveloped the Twin Dragon Swords.
Crack.
A fissure formed on the swords.
Though they were mere cracks at first, they soon expanded—
Shatter!
The pair of swords broke into pieces.
What would Chairman Kang have said if he had seen that scene of them scattering into particles of light?
Tuk!
After a brief thought, what fell to the ground were various materials obtainable through Dismantling, and a fist-sized orb emitting a brilliant three-colored light.
“Finally!”
I picked it up, overwhelmed with emotion.
*《Orb of Evolution》*
A very special treasure that could evolve one’s current Trait by a single stage.
*Something you obtain when dismantling a Treasure for the first time.*
The Orb of Evolution.
Literally, a rare treasure that evolved a Trait, obtainable only by fulfilling a special condition.
Ordinarily, deciphering that specific condition would be extremely difficult, but I had a weapon called experience.
The method for an Enhancer to obtain the Orb of Evolution.
Simply dismantle a Treasure for the first time.
Of course, the Twin Dragon Swords had not yet undergone their precursor phenomenon, so the Treasure’s abilities had not manifested. However, the information window seen through the Appraiser’s Eye had classified it as a lowest-grade Treasure, and therefore I had been confident the Orb of Evolution would emerge.
And that confidence had produced the current result.
*With this, I have definitely pulled ahead.*
Though I had lost the Treasure called the Twin Dragon Swords, it did not matter. Because the Enhancer ability obtainable through the Orb of Evolution—that power—was what I needed more right now.
Therefore.
Crack!
I crushed the Orb of Evolution in my hand.
Seuseuseu—
A mist-like white energy leaked from within the orb.
“Seup!”
Taking a deep breath as if partaking in a drug, I absorbed all that energy through my nose.
Htssss!
The energy entering my body.
Though unfamiliar to me now, it was extremely familiar from before my regression.
That was the proof of evolution.
The Strengthening Trait had passed its beginning and entered the next stage.
What that meant.
While others were at a level where they could only crawl, I had obtained the driving force to leap.
*Shall I begin preparing?*
I had obtained the Orb of Evolution and achieved my Trait’s evolution.
But it was not over yet.
The Twin Dragon Swords’ dismantling materials rolling on the ground.
All of them remained intact, excluding the Orb of Evolution.
What to do with this?
*《Restoration》*
The ability to return dismantled items to their original state.
Of course, the Orb of Evolution was missing, but that didn’t matter.
Because the Orb of Evolution was an additional item that appeared upon fulfilling a specific condition—dismantling a Treasure for the first time.
What lay on the floor were all the Twin Dragon Swords’ dismantling materials.
Because they were intact, I could manifest Restoration.
But the probability was 25%.
An incredibly slim chance, but it was fine.
Because I had Great Fortune.
Thanks to Great Fortune, the probability of Restoration became 50%.
A whopping fifty percent.
Hwaaaak!
A golden light from Restoration began to leak out.