Junhyuk left Elise and Eunseo and went to see Sungtae on his way home. He wanted to tell Tirot to submit a budget proposal and he also wanted to talk to Sungtae.
With Maxâs mask on, Sungtae greeted him, and they went into Ganeshaâs control room.
âGanesha, I need information on monster areas,â he said calmly.
[Do you mean the information thatâs been gathered so far?]
âRight. Can you delve deeper than the news?â
[Of course.]
He could have asked Elise, but he didnât want to be a burden to her, so he told Ganesha to do it instead. If there were any problems with the monster areas, he would know right away.
Junhyuk hoped the areas wouldnât grow too fast, and he turned to Sungtae.
âWith the appearance of monster areas, the world will experience a revolution.â
âI know.â
Sungtae knew this event was revolutionary. Dimensional tears had appeared all over the world, and armies were in place to blockade them, but those armies were unable to go inside the tears.
The monsters remained within a certain limit.
âTo deal with these monsters, Tirotâs Bioengineering Lab has to work properly.â
âWe arenât making iron soldiers?â
âNo. The iron soldiers have limitations.â
While dealing with dimensional tears, the iron soldiers had shown their limitations. Their weapons were limited by the laws of physics. However, powered people broke the laws of physics.
In the end, they would fight with objects made out of monster bodies rather than use iron soldiers.
âSo, letâs make the necessary equipment. We should register the Bioengineering Lab and make the resulting equipment official. What do you think?â
Brian could get them the stuff that they needed, but within secrecy, Brian had his own limit.
Sungtae took a moment to think and said, âThatâs possible, but Brian wonât like it so much.â
âDonât worry too much about it.â
âOK.â
He continued calmly, âI will move the Bioengineering Lab to a place not far from here.â
âThe buildingâs inner construction is not done yet.â
âEven if it takes more time, we will move the lab. It is too small now.â
They had bought a nearby building and started construction, but the building could only grow so much. Junhyuk wanted to increase the space, so it would be best to move the lab to a nearby province and get a larger lab.
âIt wonât be difficult to get a larger space, but construction will take time.â
âIf possible, weâll do it fast. We also need a bigger security team.â
A single security team was enough for now, but when he moved the lab to the Gyunggi province, he would need more security.
Sungtae nodded in agreement.
âIâll ready that myself and make reports on the progress.â
âDo it.â
When Junhyuk finished talking to Sungtae, he went over to Maxâs building. Sora was staying in that place, and it wasnât hard to find her. She was in the private training facility, where she could use her massive speed at will, swinging a sword.
As Junhyuk watched her, he clicked his tongue. She didnât have any special attacks or powers, so she was probably having a hard time picking up equipment from enemy heroes.
She had to work diligently to get herself equipment and she might have to purchase Bebeâs basic equipment like he had. Her power would be enormous against ordinary humans, but she couldnât do much against people with their own equipment.
Junhyuk walked over to her as she trained, and Sora put down her two-handed sword and gathered her breath, smiling at him.
âYou came!â
He bowed slightly and said, âLetâs have coffee together.â
Sora wiped her sweat with a towel.
âCan I wash first?â
âSure. Come to roof garden when you are done.â
He got two cups of coffee from a vending machine and went to the garden on the roof, where he sat looking at the sky, relaxed. Sora might have used her powers to get herself ready because she showed up only a moment later.
Her hair was still wet, and she took a seat opposite of him. He gave her a cup of coffee and said, âYou should have taken more time bathing!â
âIâve formed a habit of doing things fast.â
She meant she used her power frequently, and he became curious of something.
âHas your power evolved?â
Sora smiled.
âThe active time has doubled!â
Her power used to last for only one second, but now she could keep moving for two. That meant that the distance she covered had doubled as well.
âThatâs nice!â
Sora raised her arm. She was wearing the bracelet, and his eyes beamed.
âIâve been wearing this while training. Whenever I use my power, I feel it absorbing mana, which is how my power finally evolved.â
Junhyuk already knew mana was good for the body, but he hadnât known that it would help in a powerâs evolution. Would everyone have a different way of generating mana? He came up with explanations of his own, but he couldnât reach a definitive answer. Her power had increased, and that was a good thing.
âThere are monster areas appearing all over the world, so countries will start gathering their own novices,â he said.
âTo attack those monster areas?â
Junhyuk shook his head.
âThey may be able to decrease the number of monsters within it, but they canât destroy them.â
If they sent people to destroy the tears, they wouldnât be able to escape unless someone was able to warp like that infected women could.
âYou may get other offers.â
Things were happening all over the world, and Guardians was also gathering novices. Guardians might want Sora to join the company.
Soraâs eyes widened.
âDo I have to go?â
Junhyuk shook his head.
âDealing with monsters is a good way to train. When your life is in danger, you may activate other powers, but right now, itâs too dangerous.â
âI feel confident that I can run away.â
âAfter you use your power, youâll be helpless.â
While she had greater health than normal people, she was still a novice. After some thought, she asked, âWhat should I do?â
âI am making new equipment by using monster bodies. When the equipment is ready, you could wear it and go to a monster area.â
Soraâs power was high-ranking even at the Dimensional Battlefield, so she should train within monster areas. However, Junhyuk couldnât let her go practically naked. It would be like letting a baby swim in a lake.
Looking nervous, Sora nodded.
âSure, but I have a question.â
âWhat is it?â
âWhen I become an expert, do I get better treatment?â
He smiled at her.
âIâll pay you three times more.â
Sora pumped her fists, and Junhyuk smiled and drank his coffee.
âYouâll still have to use the weapons they give you at the Dimensional Battlefield. You should prepare for becoming an expert, so train with dual swords,â he said.
âDual swords?â
Junhyuk nodded, and Sora raised her two-handed sword.
âThis is good enough.â
She had been training with a two-handed sword for a long time, so it might be better that way. Nevertheless, she should have a nice one. Junhyuk had requested that Eunseo look for antiques, and if she found a two-handed sword, he would give it to Sora.
âBy the way, is the narcolepsy incident over?â
Junhyuk shook his head.
âNo. Right now, the Dimensional Battlefield is in recess, but theyâll call again.â Sora grimaced, and Junhyuk continued, âThis is a secret, so donât tell anyone.â
âSure.â
He got up first and said, âFocus on your training. Sounds like you earn mana when you use your power. Use your power willfully to get more mana.â
âI will.â
They said goodbye, and Junhyuk walked out. He was heading to his house in Seoul when his phone rang. When he saw the number, his eyes widened.
After Junhyuk had moved to Seoul, he hadnât seen Jeffrey, so he picked up the phone.
âLong time, no see.â
âYou didnât tell me you were moving!â
âI havenât really moved. Iâm still looking for a house. Whatâs up?â
Jeffrey was silent for a moment before saying, âI have a chance to get stronger. Can you help?â
âWhat do you mean?â
âThe monster areas have monsters that are stronger than the ones I possess. I want to capture some.â
Junhyuk smiled bitterly. Because he didnât fully trust Jeffrey yet, he hadnât invited him to his training facility. But now, those monsters had appeared in the wild.
The monster areas were filled with B-ranked monsters, while A-ranked monsters stayed within the dimensional tears. Jeffrey wanted to tame some. B-ranked monsters would be able to attack heroes.
Junhyuk refused Jeffrey.
âIâll help you in South Korea, but I wonât go abroad.â
âWhew⦠OK.â
âWhat are you going to do?â
âIâll ask Doyeol. The army can capture some monsters.â
Jeffrey wanted to tame monsters without going to the monster areas. There was a lot of danger in going straight there, but Jeffrey could summon up to three monsters.
âBe careful. Donât die outside of the Dimensional Battlefield.â
âAre you worried about me?â
âI am. Be careful.â
Jeffrey was an expert, so he wouldnât get killed easily. On top of that, his equipment focused on defense.
Junhyuk hung up the phone.
âIf Jeffrey can summon three B-ranked monsters, he will be much stronger.â
He knew Jeffrey was strong, but after meeting Lujet, he stopped thinking that summoning was a weak power. Lujet was called a Vampire Lord, and he was able to summon a demon far more powerful than Junhyuk could have imagined possible.
It was a power of the absolute highest rank.
Thinking about Lujet, Junhyuk shook his head.
âIâll make Jeffrey an ally.â
Junhyuk was thinking about making a team, and he put Jeffrey in the column of potential human heroes. But, he had yet to trust Jeffrey completely.