Past Life Returner

“You are here.”

Jonathan was waiting for me. When I returned to the headquarters from the orc’s continent, the dwarves were busy moving parts through the gate. There was a device that seemed to be completed among them, heavy enough for ten dwarves to lift it up, but it was actually just another part.

It took three days to disassemble the device from the underground kingdom, make some enhancements, and bring them here. When I arrived, a giant part, which was undoubtedly the core of the device, was being moved. It was as big as a forty-foot container box.

Not only was it large, but everything from the geometric pattern engraved on the outside of the parts was also incredibly intricate. People who were covering their mouths to prevent gasping were everywhere. Jonathan was the only one who was not surprised.

“There was a leak. They took a picture and spread it,” Jonathan said as he stared at the executives of the association who were watching. It was such a big project, and there were preparations required by Foyer, so it could not be kept completely secret.

“It was one of those guys, but I did not kill the person in question. I was disgusted by them for showing such mercy.”

Jonathan pointed his chin towards the executives. Somehow their attitudes and vibes were weird. Although he was covering his face with a hood, the only one who could stand beside Jonathan on this earth was me.

The executives became even more stiffened when they felt my gaze. They were the ones I had hired by myself. There was a person recognized for their abilities in international organizations like the UN, a retired diplomat, and a person who had served as a chief in a national security agency for more than five years.

To operate the super legal power that came from an agreement between the association and UN member countries, we needed experienced people who had dealt with similar powers in the past.

Nonetheless, it was not surprising that a snitch had come out from among them. They must have done so to create a situation advantageous to them in the internal power struggle or to act on their own beliefs, like Jessica did.

When I asked about the reason for the leak, of course, it was the first case. Therefore, Jonathan was even more pissed than usual. He was so mad that he even mentioned that Yeon-Hee should verify their ideologies.

The atmosphere was heavy due to the incident that had broken out the day before yesterday, but that was only internal to the association. That had nothing to do with the dwarves.

The core device was placed on the ground. Foyer lowered his head and looked at it.

He spoke from afar, “I will bring the magic engineers.”

There was a clear distinction between the privileged classes in the world of the dwarves. Foyer himself was skilled in magical engineering. The technology left by Cassian was limited, but the dwarves had been researching its origins for generations

For instance, it was impossible for the technology that Saint Cassian had left to create a barrier throughout the underground kingdom or to repair the cracks.

The dwarves that had been mobilized to move the parts so far were mere laborers, but the newly arrived dwarves were the privileged class who had been ruling their world, monopolizing magical engineering.

It was obvious that they had been dispatched from across the kingdom as the differences in their clothing styles were noticeable. On the other hand, the laborer dwarves covered their bodies a lot and wore clothes made of relatively strong fibers. The colors that dyed their clothes were also not monochrome and did not look outdated even from a human perspective.

The executives’ gaze on the dwarves changed dramatically. It was due to the awe-inspiring atmosphere created by the power brokers of the dwarf world entering all at once.

Soon, they all lowered their heads toward me. I made a gesture towards them to start.

***

They came as engineers, but the first thing they did was to dig the ground as per Jonathan’s orders. It had nothing to do with the size of the defense device. I had never planned to expose it to the surface in the first place. The device would be installed four hundred meters underground.

As they started to drill the tunnel from the point when it was twenty meters, the vibrations didn’t stop.

Thud! Thud!

With each swing of their hammers, loud noises exploded. Jonathan was closely watching the scene, specifically at the hammers embedded with mana stones. More precisely, his gaze was fixed on the circuits engraved on the hammer. The energies harbored in the mana stone soared up and wrapped around the hammer with each use, exerting specific functions.

“That is obvious. They must have beaten my people with those.”

His evaluation of the magic engineering hammer matched mine. Jonathan’s perceptible realm could only go as far as that. Although his Sense had reached the Ender section, he could not feel how the used mana stone’s energy was being dispersed in the air afterward. It was a realm that could be only acquired through training.

I said, “Try to focus by elevating your Sense as much as possible. It must be difficult now, but the more this experience accumulates, a tipping point will come at one point.”

“What tipping point are you talking about?” he asked.

I responded, “Mana, the life force imbued in the mana stone, and our power. It’s about the flow of all energies. If you can feel the flow, then you should get used to the composition of the inner world through immersion. The abilities displayed on the status window are not the end all be all.”

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I continued, “Once you are familiar with the flow of the outside and the composition of the inner world, then you will be able to freely control my inherent energy. In other words, you will be able to enhance or create new skills without depending on the system. You can also remove the skill and focus the energy solely on pure ability, depending on the situation.”

I paused and then said, “However, Jonathan, it takes a lot of time to reach there. You will need an environment without time constraints. You will also need a mental guide. Bring in the person you need as soon as the work is done.”

Jonathan’s reaction was different from expected. I thought he would look serious, but instead, he seemed to enjoy what he had just heard.

“Okay.”

He was looking forward to the day he would fight with me on the same side.

***

The loud noises and vibrations finally stopped. Dug-out soil and rocks were piled up like a mountain. The dwarves created supports as they dug down the tunnel, and it seemed to serve as a ladder. They repeatedly climbed out of the tunnel, carried parts, and went back down.

The executives were astonished with the speed of their work of creating a tunnel that was four hundred meters long and twenty meters wide in diameter. There was also a lot of whispering about how they handled the underground water veins, which was unexplainable through existing common sense on Earth.

Soon, Jonathan called the executives together and spoke.

“This device was brought in directly by Odin. It will strengthen your safety. Once this device is completed, the attacks will cease. Now you know what this device is and that this is a matter to be handled with the utmost secrecy. I will tolerate some noise between you guys, but if there are any leaks of more specific information to the outside, you will all be responsible for that.”

Everyone was silent.

“Then, I will not consider you guys as humans anymore. I will treat you the same as our enemies.”

The executives appeared to have one thought from Jonathan’s threat. It was only a few days ago that Jonathan’s powers were revealed to the world as he stepped over the melted corpses of the orcs. In the press conference before that, Jonathan had killed an Awakened who did not go to the battlefield despite his warning, and the murderous intent was clearly coming from his gaze looking at the executives right now.

His eyes seemed to get more fierce with each passing day.

“Officially, the king of the dwarves and his group did not come to the mainland. This construction is nothing more than an infrastructure expansion.”

“We will keep that in mind.”

“You guys are good to go.”

Jonathan sent the executives back after finishing his speech. From then on, the executives started preparing the things that Foyer had requested from the association.

The sounds of cars became noisy outside the large screen set up around the area. Mercenaries with battlefield experience brought in pipes themselves.

Around that time, I moved to the side of the tunnel. I could see dwarves stuck to the upper part of the core device below. Foyer was there as well.

“Operate it,” my voice echoed.

The dwarves hastily ascended the supports. Foyer was the last one, and his face was etched with extreme fatigue. After he and the dwarves scattered around, the signs began to show gradually.

Wooong-

The sound of the massive machine starting up resonated, reminiscent of a long-sealed monster awakening from its slumber.

Foyer shouted, “Diar (Now)! Diar (Now)!”

Although the instruction was in the Dragorin language, the mercenaries reacted instantly. They forcefully opened the pipe, and the water gushing out fell like a waterfall into the deep underground.

Swoosh-

I jumped down at the point when steam started to surge upward. The massive machine was indeed crying out with all of its might. Even as water poured down to cool its heat, it instantly evaporated, as if it was writhing in agony. The energy that had been protecting the entire underground kingdom had come together.

By the time the device stabilized, not a single drop of water remained nearby despite so much water being poured into the tunnel.

[The owner of the magic engineering defense device has not been set.]

One of the prophecies Foyer had anticipated appeared as a message. It probably did not appear directly as a message to him, but it was clear that there needed to be an equivalent of an administrator for this device. Foyer from the underground kingdom fulfilled this role.

“Take good care of the mainland.”

I stroked his head, then he cried out once more. Lights were emitted in unison from the delicate patterns on the exterior of the device.

[‘System Administrator, Odin’ has been selected as the owner of the magic engineering defense device.]

[The magic engineering defense device is forming a barrier.]

The energy that exploded from the round part that was open to the surface left me in suspense. I was pushed back and my back was against the wall. I even stopped breathing.

The endlessly surging energies… Although they were not visible to the naked eye, they formed a gigantic column that connected the underground and the sky in my sensory network, just like the light pillar.

Something surged from deep within me as well. I didn’t know if it was frustration or ecstasy… The emotion that I could not immediately grasp left me trembling for quite a while. Even though I was not completely free from the Old One and Doom Kaos, the power I wielded was filling up the sky above the mainland. From here to Seoul, where my parents resided, it rapidly reached as far as my power could stretch in Korea.

[The barrier has been completed.]

I clenched my teeth and fists with all my might. If not, then it felt like I would not be able to escape from the whirlwind of emotions.

Then, it happened. Something spoiled this moment of ecstasy. Doom Kaos!

[Your Almighty Master Doom Kaos has convened a meeting of the lords.]

[Fucking Doom Kaos has convened a meeting of the lords.]

However, there was no force pulling me away. Of course! If he did not intend to invade with all his strength, all he could do was pressure me with messages.

[Please attend the meeting of the lords.]

[Please attend the meeting of the lords.]

[Please attend the meeting of the lords.]

I had been waiting for this meeting as well.