Chapter 36

– I won’t be able to come for a few days.

I told my master and the elders that I wouldn’t be able to log into Doomsday for a while, and the place I found was the third floor of the Infinite Tower in reality.

The monsters that appear on the third floor, which has a rocky mountain and forest terrain, are goblins, kobolds, and beast-type monsters.

I enter the rocky mountain, defeating goblins and beast-type monsters.

“Fly.”

The runes combine, and my body floats gently.

Focusing on mana control, I slowly fly higher. After rising about 10 meters from the ground, I move forward. At first, the speed is slow, but as I get used to mana control, the speed gradually increases.

I have spent a considerable amount of time investing in Fly magic and Invisibility while climbing the Infinite Tower with the Sixth Elder in the world of Doomsday.

I have managed to mimic the Fly magic of the fifth circle, but I have not yet completed the Invisibility of the sixth circle.

“Hehe, this is nice.”

Enjoying the sense of liberation and freedom felt while flying, I head deep into the rocky mountain.

I quickly move to the place I had seen in the Infinite Tower of Doomsday. The depths of the rocky mountain are rarely visited by awakeners.

Even at the entrance of the rocky mountain, the number of kobolds is considerable.

Kobolds are not worth hunting as their corpses or by-products do not fetch much money, so the area around the rocky mountain is almost an abandoned hunting ground.

So, I plan to create my own laboratory here.

After arriving at the peak I had seen earlier, I descend to the ground and cancel the Fly magic.

“Oops.”

I stumble for a moment, unable to keep my balance, but fortunately, I don’t fall.

As I climb halfway up the rocky mountain, I see the entrance to a cave hidden discreetly behind a large rock.

This is the place I had seen earlier.

“The wizard’s secret laboratory. Hmm, it has a certain feel to it.”

The cave in the rocky mountain has two types: tunnels dug by kobolds and natural caves. The cave I’m entering now is a tunnel dug by kobolds. But there are no kobolds here.

It seems they gave up digging the tunnel because they didn’t find any minerals they were looking for.

Fortunately, like the Infinite Tower of Doomsday, the inside of the cave is empty. I illuminate the surroundings with light magic and go deep into the cave.

I set up magical traps along the path to the spacious area that will be used as a laboratory. Alarm magic to alert intruders, magic that shoots sharp ground spikes when stepped on, and mental magic that causes temporary confusion are installed throughout the passage.

As expected of a tunnel made by kobolds, the passage is not wide, making it difficult to avoid the magical traps.

“Arrived.”

I arrived at the space that will be my magical laboratory for a while. It seems to be a place where the kobolds took a break or used as a midway stop while digging the tunnel.

After cleaning several times with clean magic, I open the infinite bag.

“This goes here…”

A considerable number of items pour out from the infinite bag.

A folding table to be used as a research table, beakers, glass tubes, gas lamps, and artifact-making materials.

I also neatly organize the food made for convenience on one side. It’s enough food to last for more than a month.

“It’s really nice that the infinite bag is big.”

When I reached level 10, the size of the infinite bag increased from 1*1*1 to 2*2*2, eight times larger.

I hang the handmade magical lamps at regular intervals and install the aqua artifact.

After roughly organizing, I sit down and take the carving knife.

I enchanted the carving knife I used before with enhancement magic and sharpness magic on the blade to make it an artifact.

“All set!”

I will stay here until I complete the mana drain artifact.

– You said there was no mana in the world you live in, right? Then it’s better to practice or research magic inside the Infinite Tower. The mana concentration inside the Infinite Tower is likely to be higher.

This is the advice my master gave me.

Partly because of my master’s advice, but also because I plan to learn magic like fly, invisibility, and illusion while making artifacts here.

The reason I want to learn illusion magic is to make a mask that my master gave me as a gift to commemorate my entry into the tower. To make it, I need runes used in illusions such as distortion, transformation, and mirage.

These are runes that have not yet opened their hearts to me.

“Let’s start.”

Scratch- Scratch-

Only the sound of the carving knife cutting metal is heard regularly inside the wizard’s secret laboratory.

*

Park Dong-hyuk gets out of the car and enters the first-floor lobby.

“Have you arrived?”

A member of the Dark Merchant’s Korean branch runs out and bows.

“This way, please.”

“No.”

He briefly responds to the guide and walks straight ahead.

“We’ll do it by the book.”

“Pardon? Yes! Understood.”

First, he passes through the security checkpoint. It’s more advanced than the ones installed at airports. After passing through the checkpoint, security personnel from the Dark Merchant, all awakened beings, conduct another search.

Only after four rounds of searches can he reach the lobby desk.

Park Dong-hyuk hands over his ID, and the desk clerk begins the inspection. They verify the authenticity of the ID and the visitor’s history.

After retrieving his ID, he walks towards the elevator, observing his surroundings. Security personnel, all awakened beings, are stationed everywhere. They appear unarmed but are ready to arm themselves in case of an emergency.

Inside the elevator, CCTV cameras are installed on all four sides. The facial recognition program installed will filter out those on the Dark Merchant’s blacklist.

Ding-!

The elevator stops.

As he steps out with his assistant, Dark Merchant members are standing there. Most of them are security personnel, but some are there to handle the medical equipment to be installed.

Only those who have perfectly passed the Dark Merchant’s verification system will handle the medical equipment.

He looks around the space where the treatment will take place. It resembles a hotel suite room. A large bed is in the center, surrounded by various pieces of furniture.

“Nice.”

Park Dong-hyuk says briefly and steps outside.

“What about the waiting room, the recovery room, and the inpatient room?”

“All perfectly completed.”

“Security first, security second. You know that, right?”

“Yes, Chief. The security system is more thorough than the White House in the U.S. You don’t need to worry.”

He steps outside the building and surveys the exterior.

He smiles brightly, thinking about what will soon be installed at the top of the building.

– The Tower of Kraksha Treatment Center.

The Tower of Kraksha Treatment Center will perfectly cure mana poisoning, an incurable disease that the world has yet to solve, or even find a clue to.

The Dark Merchant’s Korean branch purchased a 20-story building in the heart of Samseong-dong and also acquired a nearby hotel that was up for sale.

“How’s the hotel?”

“It has the same security equipment as the treatment center.”

“The rooms must be prepared thoroughly. The world’s wealthiest will be flocking here.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

As soon as he got into the back seat of the car, it started moving.

“How is the data collection going?”

“It is ongoing.”

The Dark Merchant is constantly gathering information. He collects data on the powerful and the wealthy, using it as leverage in dealings with them.

However, the information being collected this time will be used for a slightly different purpose.

“It’s going to get noisy again.”

“It seems so. In the 21st century, collective punishment… it might seriously affect the operation of the treatment center.”

“Hmph! Nonsense. I know that politicians, conglomerates, and prosecutors have strong power in Korea. But do you think people struggling with mana addiction exist only in Korea? What if the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom put pressure on them? Do you think those powerful people can withstand it?”

The Dark Merchant, already spread across the globe, is secretly contacting the powerful in each country.

“Everyone in the organization treated me like a madman.”

There were several concerns within the organization about giving too many benefits to an unverified person.

Even after seeing the mysterious items brought by the Tower of Kraksha.

They slandered, saying that since it was obtained by chance, it would soon lose its value.

But Park Dong-hyuk did not bend his will.

As a result, he gained the trust of the Tower of Kraksha.

The Mana Addiction Treatment Center.

This place will become the most important facility in the world.

The world might even unite to force the disclosure of the treatment method.

But he is not too worried.

– Mr. Dong-hyuk, do as you see fit. The world uniting? Let’s take on the world.

Recalling the master’s mischievous smile, Park Dong-hyuk also smiles. Seeing his face in the rearview mirror, his smile resembles that of the master.

“Yeah. Let’s take them on. Bring it on, you b*stards.”

*

Seventh day in the research lab on the third floor of the Infinite Tower.

After being holed up in the lab for ten hours straight, engrossed in artifact creation, he takes a break to fly in the sky.

Flying low, then suddenly soaring up, flying slowly, then quickly.

He flies through canyons formed by the boundaries of mountains, making sharp turns.

As a result of practicing the Fly spell whenever he had time while creating artifacts, he can now show quite a decent flight.

Never stray beyond the rocky mountains while flying. There’s no benefit in catching the eyes of other Awakened. It was when I was flying around the outskirts of the rocky mountains, about to return to the lab.

“People have come this far?”

Far away, at least 500 meters away in the forest, some people were fighting goblins.

There were six Awakened in total. Two of them seemed to be porters. Four Awakened were fighting more than ten goblins.

“Zoom in.”

The ‘Eagle Eye’ spell, which enhances vision, was modified in my own way to create the spell ‘Zoom In’.

Twenty-three runes were used, so it could be said to be a spell on the boundary of the 4th and 5th circles.

The objects in front of me are pulled closer. It feels as if my body is rushing forward at an incredible speed. The first time I used the Zoom In spell, I almost vomited from nausea.

“They’re fighting well.”

The battle is very stable, as if they have been a party for a long time.

The tank binds more than half of the goblins, and two archers reduce the number of goblins. A female Awakened, who seems to be a mage, shoots a Fire Bolt at the goblin’s head.

“Definitely weak.”

The goblin hit directly by the Fire Bolt used by the female mage falls backward. But soon it gets up and charges with a dagger.

If it had been a properly powerful Fire Bolt, the goblin would have died on the spot.

Judging by their activity on the 3rd floor, their level is not high yet, so the power of their magic might be weak.

Seeing that the Awakened are not in danger from the goblins, I withdraw the Zoom In spell and return to the lab.

And three days later.

The Mana Drain Artifact was completed.

The world was turned upside down by news from a small country in Asia, Korea.

– A treatment center that can perfectly cure mana addiction is opening.

A place called ‘Kraksha’s Tower of Magic Treatment Center’ will officially open in five days, and in the meantime, they announced that they will experimentally treat three severe mana addiction patients.

The news that mana addiction could be perfectly cured was surprising, but the next piece of news turned the world upside down again.

What shocked the world was the information about the treatment cost.

The Dark Merchant Korea Branch, which is in charge of operating the treatment center, announced that they would divide the patients into ten grades and charge different amounts for treatment.

Grade 1.

The extremely poor, recipients of livelihood protection, independence patriots, national patriots, and social contributors, etc., free of charge.

The Dark Merchant announced that they would treat them for free if there were no disqualifications after re-verifying the applicants.

Grade 2 is for those who are not extremely poor but do not have economic leeway.

As the grade goes up, the treatment cost is set higher.

Those classified as Grade 10 included politicians, businesspeople, legal professionals, high-ranking officials, and conglomerates, and the treatment cost they had to pay was set at 1 billion won.

Although numerous media outlets raised issues about the different treatment costs based on grades, Dark Merchant didn’t bat an eye.

Instead, they made an announcement that caused an even bigger stir.

– The Tower of Kryaksha Treatment Center refuses treatment for those who fall under the following categories.

→ Politicians and legal professionals, high-ranking officials who have committed corruption.

→ Wealthy individuals such as conglomerates and businesspeople who have accumulated wealth through dishonest means.

→ Those who have committed pro-Japanese and anti-national acts.

→ Those who have committed crimes and have not received appropriate punishment.

Numerous items were listed.

And at the very bottom of the list, the following phrase was written.

– Those who fall under the above categories, including their immediate family and relatives up to the fourth degree, will be refused treatment.

– However! Treatment will be allowed for those who acknowledge their sins and pay for their crimes.

“Anyway, they do a clean job.”

Turning off the TV after watching the news, I get up from my seat.

Lying on the bed, I close my eyes.

“It will be noisy for a while.”

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