D.I.O

‘Seyoung is that case.’

Most countries, including the United States, adhered to the policy of absolute appeasement towards the Heaven above the Heavens because no one wanted to [become] the second Japan.

Of course, even if that wasn’t the case, Yongno had already become an untouchable existence the moment he acquired the authorization to operate DIO.

“Come to think of it, what is Cruze doing these days? Strangely enough, I haven’t heard any news about her,” Seyoung said while quenching his thirst with the drink prepared on the table.

Though he spoke at a normal volume, none of the others seated around him could hear what he was saying. Seyoung’s words only reached Yongno’s ears.

‘He’s utilizing some sort of polyphonic communication. Is it a modified version of speech using internal energy?’

After checking the pattern of Seyoung’s internal energy polyphonic speech to possibly utilize it later on, Yongno answered, “She’s been doing what she’s always been doing. She has potential and remarkable skills, but she’s not very interested in developing that potential through training and hard work. It’s as if…”

“As if?”

“I guess you could say she’s more like a normal person.”

Cruze, like Yongno and Seyoung, was an Irregular, but her temperament was extremely ordinary.

Her talents were so great that she had reached a level of excellence even with such a temperament, but in the end, she couldn’t develop any further.

No matter how much talent a person had… their talent wouldn’t naturally grow and bloom without effort and hard work.

A goal [line] wasn’t always readily present and observable, but to cross that invisible [line], a person had to work extremely hard or be so interested and infatuated with the process that they continued pursuing it even when they faced a barrier.

‘But Cruze doesn’t have that interest, so she’s just like a normal person.’

Eunhye, a black-haired beauty who wore a men’s suit that had a snug fit around her body like a bodyguard or secretary’s uniform, laughed inwardly after hearing the exchange between the two geniuses.

Many socially and economically successful people often gave lectures and life-changing advice.

These people had overcome hardships and adversity and lived comparatively successful lives, so their words of advice were like gold.

Nevertheless, not everyone would change after hearing such wise words.

In the first place, what these socially and economically successful people stated in their lectures was not a great secret.

Upon reflection, one would say that their words of advice were [natural] universal principles, which everyone already knew.

The only difference was in the degree of application. In other words, anyone could become a better existence if they tried.

Even a student with a low IQ could go to the university they wanted if they studied every day with such firm determination and belief that they would die otherwise. Moreover, anyone could succeed in a diet if they desperately exercised and controlled their food intake.

Hence, these words of advice that successful people gave were usually [normal] principles everyone understood and lived by unless they suffered from illness or a disability that prevented them from practicing these principles.

Likewise, if a person found something that they really liked and enjoyed, they could produce results that surpassed their talent. Even if they hit the limit of their talent and faced a barrier in their growth, they would be able to keep going if they derived pleasure in the work itself. This would in turn present them with opportunities for further growth in the future.

However, most people didn’t derive pleasure from their work. Regardless of talent or constitution, most people were just normal human beings.

“You’re saying her talent is extraordinary, but her willpower is not extraordinary?”

“It’s hard to see it as just a matter of willpower. To be honest, I don’t have much willpower either.”

It was difficult to say that Yongno’s willpower was at the same outstanding level that could often be seen only when he went on adventures or when he conducted research. Perhaps one might say that Yongno’s willpower was just a bit above average.

Merlin had never lived a firmly structured life revolving around focused training for even a week, and he had never endured the pain that came with such a rigorous program. Whenever he came up with a new idea, he conducted experiments, proved various hypotheses, and tried new things.

“Hmm, that makes sense. It isn’t easy to find a job one loves… Huh?” Seyoung, who had been muttering quietly, suddenly stopped.

This was because a fox with soft silvery fur had stood up on the table.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to stay home?”

“Hmpf. You were planning on having all this fun without me, eh? I’ve already learned to speak Korean fluently, and I’ve learned how to use magic power in this place as well.”

Miho wagged her six tails. She was the seed of conflict that Tan, the previous top operator of DIO, had sown to make Arthur and Merlin, who were the top two DIO users, fight against each other…

Despite that, Tan’s conspiracy fell apart when Merlin completed the Editor Blade and seized DIO’s operating rights, so Miho was now just another being living in reality.

“What is this? A six-tailed fox? It doesn’t look like she’s a summoned being, but how can she be here?”

“She’s able to be here because of a deal I made with Tan.”

It was a general and simple statement, but Seyoung roughly guessed the situation.

Seyoung too had seen how Tan cured his mother’s incurable disease after striking a deal with him.

“I see. Be careful. It’s a little funny for me to say this of all people, but… people like Tan don’t give things out without expecting something back in return.”

“Of course.”

Although Yongno had only been thinking of reviving Miho in DIO, he had still been suspicious of the fact that Tan sent Miho into reality, which could only be done through a very complicated process.

Since Yongno was now the top operator of DIO, he understood just how laborious and complex it was to obtain a permanent body for a DIO NPC so that the NPC could exist in reality. Even with their vast resources, the Noblesse couldn’t have found it easy to do.

“Yongno, it’s time.”

“Alright. I should start getting ready. Well, actually, I’m not sure if this can be considered a meeting. Oh, Seyoung hyung, just follow my lead and support me, yeah?”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Well, simply…” Yongno smiled and stood up from his seat.

Feeling the eyes of various influential people, including the presidents of each country, focus on him, Yongno said aloud, “A large-scale system patch.”

After that, he made his way to the podium.

There was a large screen and several chairs and tables that he needed to maneuver around to get to the podium, but Yongno cleared these obstructions in an instant.

Rather than a gathering, the conference room soon felt like it had become a lecture hall.

“Nice to meet you all. My name is Yoon Yongno.”

As he said this, Yongno raised his right hand.

Bam!

When Yongno clicked his middle finger against his thumb, a strange wave spread out, and people started exclaiming:

“Huh?!”

“What?!”

“Ack!”

With a calm expression, Merlin continued, “As stated beforehand, it is forbidden to record today’s meeting. There are a few things I’ll say today that’ll create quite the stir if word gets out.”

The people in attendance realized that Yongno had just destroyed all the recorders and cameras that had been secretly placed throughout the conference hall. Yongno had rendered all those devices useless with a single snap of his fingers, which was why the attendees had groaned and exclaimed aloud.

‘He’s using magic openly.’

‘So, the reports about Yongno being able to use supernatural abilities without manifesting are true.’

‘I’ve also heard that he knows of some way to allow people around him to be able to use their superpowers without manifesting.’

The gazes of the heads of state, who had already heard about and knew of Yongno’s ability to use his powers on Earth, became even more serious while looking at Yongno. They noticed that Yongno, who usually didn’t care about others, was going to explain something important. The act of destroying the tape recorders and cameras gave support to this line of thinking.

“Hmm. There’s a lot to explain… For starters, let me start with something light,” Yongno said.

It wasn’t necessary for Yongno to use the large screen behind him. He simply continued to speak with everyone’s eyes on him.

“I’m thinking of creating an organization for the mass production of talented people.”

“A talent development program… I don’t think you’re talking about Masters.”

The one who spoke aloud had a face that Yongno was familiar with.

The speaker wore a suit that clung to his well-trained body, and his light brown hair was neatly swept back. He was Christian Michael Bay—the eldest son of the chairman of Mega Giant, a huge movie and broadcasting company, and now a member of the U.S. Congress.

With his enormous wealth, Christian Michael Bay—who had the DIO ID Bruce Wayne—was Merlin’s main customer in DIO, and because of their constant engagement, the two had built a considerable friendship.

Since Christian had spent over tens of billions of won in purchasing so many of Merlin’s reinforced items, it would be weird if the two didn’t know each other.

“It’s impossible to develop Masters that match those in the DIO system. The DIO system’s development structure is much too well organized to compete against.”

That wasn’t all. The best physical body for development was provided by the DIO system for all users, and more than tens of thousands of complete books and aids, which were hard to find even in the entire universe, were provided in DIO’s libraries.

Moreover, the system was structured in a gamified way to guarantee motivation and fun, so the learning effect over time was beyond one’s imagination.

“Are you saying there’s a way to activate Earth’s barren spiritual pathways?”

At Christian’s words, Yongno gave a small exclamation, “Oho. Yes, that’s right.”

In truth, no one denied the existence of supernatural powers.

To try and sustain the status quo, a few religious organizations had made absurd claims and had gone as far as to issue public joint statements against the existence of supernatural powers. Nonetheless, Masters openly manifested in reality and used their magic and other spiritual powers, so there was no way the public would believe such absurd religious claims.

No matter how unrealistic magic power and martial arts might seem, there were many people who were using such powers right in front of the public’s eyes.

Since this was the case, they could understand why they were unable to become Masters, but why was it that earthlings were unable to use superpowers at all? There were many ‘normal’ people who had this question.

This was an obvious line of thought.

Why weren’t there people with supernatural abilities born on Earth?