D.I.O

“Anyway, that old man came alone?”

After hearing Yongno’s words, Youngmin nodded. “He’s beefed up his body. That person… I think he’s installed an artificial spiritual pathway for a Level 3 life force in his body.”

“… Well, that makes sense. I predicted that people would widely adopt and use artificial spiritual pathways. Seems like my prediction was correct. Surely that’s the reason why his physique has improved so much over such a short period of time. If he’s attained a Level 3 life force, that means his body has essentially returned to its prime.”

If an artificial spiritual pathway had a restricted low-level ceiling, what spiritual ability would be the most effective and popular on Earth?

The answer was life force.

“Oh! You’re here!”

A muscular man sitting with a flushed face got up from his seat with a smile when Yongno entered the reception room.

The man looked like he was in his mid-to-late 40s because of his taut skin and tight muscles, but Yongno, who knew the man’s real age and original appearance, was mildly surprised by the old man’s current appearance.

The man’s name was John Kingsley. He was the current U.S. Secretary of Defense and sixty-three years old this year. In the past, he had been a veteran of multiple special forces, but at sixty-three, he had been just another obese old man with a sagging neck. He had been so morbidly obese that he couldn’t look down and see his toes.

“I’m Yoon Yongno.”

“Yes, Mr. Merlin! I used your artificial spiritual pathway, which is being sold in the US, and the effect is amazing! I wondered why you only released a limited inventory of artificial spiritual pathways specialized for life force, but now I see why you made that choice.”

John raised his right arm with an excited expression, showing off his considerable bicep muscles. The suit John wore swelled up like it was about to tear and burst at the seams at any moment. John’s muscle fibers were like reinforced bars bundled together, and there were popping sounds coming from those flexed muscles.

“Well, of course. Life force is the most optimal spiritual power to [ingest] or take in external energy. As a superpower, life force consumes mana, but it also consumes calories to exert power. It’s possible to restore one’s strength and life force by consuming food and the calories that come with it, so one can easily burn fat this way.”

This was an element that bothered life force users in DIO. After a prolonged fight, a life force user needed to eat a large amount of food, so how could it not be bothersome?

However, the life force characteristic of having to consume calories to operate took on a completely different meaning in reality.

“This is tremendous and groundbreaking. It’s amazing to see how all my flabby flesh has turned into muscle; I never thought I’d look young enough to seem like I’m in my 40s ever again. Of course, I also went through a rigorous training regiment, but… Regardless of how hard that regiment was, for me to be able to look like this in a week… I feel like I may look even younger if I continue…”

It was an era where there was an overflow of people who risked their lives to lose weight. With the advent of this artificial spiritual pathway specialized in life force, the concept of food overconsumption and caloric intake would no longer be a topic of conversation.

In addition, life force spiritual power, which made a user’s body into the [ideal] form, allowed users to quickly develop their muscular structure through training. So, even if a life force user was old, the user would gradually return to his or her physical prime.

This characteristic wasn’t experienced very well in DIO because the system there maintained a user’s appearance, but in reality, this opportunity to become healthier and younger was nothing short of a miracle.

This characteristic might not make someone immortal… but for most people, this sort of opportunity would essentially be looked upon as providing them with immortality—a power that humankind has longed for in their dreams.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was too excited and got ahead of myself. I’m here to purchase artificial spiritual pathways in bulk. I want to make sure that America purchases more of them than any other country.”

Originally, John, as the US Secretary of Defense, had no reason to come and make a request in person. Nevertheless, John had no choice but to go directly to the source because of his personal experience with the artificial spiritual pathway and his realization of the enormous value the artificial spiritual pathway would have on people.

Just as the emergence of gunpowder weapons reconfigured the existing forms of warfare, which were initially conducted with blunt metal weapons, the artificial spiritual pathways would create a large class of people with special abilities in reality. These people would undoubtedly have a tremendous impact on modern warfare and society.

‘If we don’t keep up with these changes—no, if we don’t get ahead, America may lose its current position as the top world power!’

The manifestation of Master-level users—users who were Level 10 or higher—made these users superhuman and impervious to even modern weapons. Even so, these Masters were a minority and had to deal with the critical shortfall of a manifestation time limit. Though the value of Masters as tactical weapons was great, they had clear limitations.

However, if there were a hundred thousand or a million people with superpower abilities, even with the level limitations…

‘The landscape of power and war will completely change!’

Even John, who only possessed power commensurate with a Level 3 life force user, could deflect a rifle bullet if he was focused and determined enough to do so. The strength of his bones had become stronger, so his skeletal structure possessed enough strength to deflect a bullet from hitting even his skull as long as it was not a direct hit.

Of course, this defensive capability was due to the unique defensive characteristics of the life force spiritual power. Yet, what if bullets—no, large explosions couldn’t hurt one’s forces? And how much more powerful would those forces be if they were fully armed?

“We were planning to start selling the artificial spiritual pathways anyway. That was why I sent you a prototype.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about that, but I just want to hear the terms accurately. What would be the price and quantity available for purchase?”

“A Level 1 artificial spiritual pathway will average around five thousand dollars. However, even if it is mass-produced, it will be difficult to produce a substantial quantity right now.”

“What about the Level 2 artificial spiritual pathways?”

“I plan to sell it at ten times the price of a Level 1 artificial spiritual pathway. Level 3 will have one more zero added at the end of the figure for the price of a Level 2 artificial spiritual pathway.”

In other words, a Level 1 artificial spiritual pathway would go for around 5 million won, and the Level 2 and Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway would be sold at 50 million won and 500 million won, respectively.

It was a considerable price from the point of view of the general public, but John Kingsley was unperturbed.

“That’s relatively cheap. Have you ever thought about putting conditions on the sales?”

“No. There shall be no conditions.”

“Hmm, rather than selling them openly on the market, perhaps…”

Knowing that artificial spiritual pathways would turn ordinary people into capable people, John was certain that most influential people would want to put restrictions on the sale of artificial spiritual pathways. Artificial spiritual pathways would be seen in the same light as guns or strategic resources—resources that the state would want to control.

However, Yongno shook his head.

“If Earth were at peace, things would be a little different… but right now, it’s more important to raise the power of [humanity] as a whole.”

“You mean… all of humankind?”

“Yes, all of humankind.”

John Kingsley groaned after hearing Yongno describe the scale of sales for the artificial spiritual pathways, which surpassed the scope of any nation’s national interest.

Of course, a person who liked to nitpick another’s words might say something along the lines of: ‘If you’re so concerned about humankind, why aren’t you providing these things for free?’ Nevertheless, John Kingsley wasn’t such a fool. No, rather, he was a competent politician, so he nodded and gave up on pursuing his line of argument.

In the first place, what could he say to a person who said he was doing this for the greater good of humanity? Moreover, Yongno wasn’t even an American.

Additionally, as the United States Secretary of Defense, John Kingsley was a powerful individual and wielded considerable international influence, so he knew that the Great Mage Merlin’s worldwide reputation and power were tremendous.

It was possible for John Kingsley to disappear from the face of the Earth without a peep if Yongno desired it.

“Hahaha. I guess it can’t be helped then since it’s for the sake of humanity. Oh, and if a Level 4 artificial spiritual pathway is created later, would it be possible for me to switch artificial spiritual pathways?”

John’s words seemed to have been prepared and well thought out in advance.

Yongno replied, “If you’re able to fully utilize the artificial spiritual pathway installed in your body, you’ll be able to upgrade to another model, and it would be for less than half the price.”

“Ah, so that’s how it works… All right. First off, we’d like to purchase one million Level 1 artificial spiritual pathways, one hundred thousand Level 2, and ten thousand Level 3s.” John spoke of a huge quantity of artificial spiritual pathways as if it was nothing.

Of course, his request might seem like a small number to buy on a national level, but a purchase of one million, one hundred thousand, and ten thousand Level 1 to 3 artificial spiritual pathways had a total price of a whopping fifteen billion US dollars. In Korean won, that would work out to roughly fifteen trillion won.

‘He accurately sees the value of the artificial spiritual pathways.’

Yongno thought highly of the other party. Perhaps the United States wanted to purchase many more artificial spiritual pathways, but John decided to request an appropriate quantity. It seemed that he was more focused on building a firm relationship with Yongno rather than seeking immediate gain.

“Hmm. If you perfectly master a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway, I’ll upgrade you directly to a Level 4 model. I’m still the only one who can do that after all.”

“Hahaha, that would be great.”

Standing up with a satisfied expression, John shook hands with Yongno. Then after making a few more practical contracts, John left.

“Bro, there are more people waiting to negotiate with you.”

“How many countries?”

Youngmin grinned after hearing Yongno’s question. It seemed that Youngmin found this situation interesting and entertaining.

“Seventeen.”

“Ugh. I’m going to be so busy… Ask them to come in in pairs,” Yongno answered with a sigh.

This was… the beginning of the cataclysm.

***

The sale of artificial spiritual pathways began.

Yongno used Pathway to Hell to burn the other world's evil spirit. He also used magic stone crafting to amplify his own mana and internal power to produce twenty million Level 1 artificial spiritual pathways, five million Level 2 artificial spiritual pathways, and one million Level 3 artificial spiritual pathways. The final price for a Level 1 artificial spiritual pathway was between three to seven million won, thirty to seventy million won for a Level 2 artificial spiritual pathway, and three hundred to seven hundred million won for a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway.

The price differed depending on the type of spiritual power of each artificial spiritual pathway. Among them, life force was the most expensive, while the cheapest was magic power.

Of course, the price wasn’t set because one side had the upper hand; it was set by Yongno based on the productivity and amount of spiritual power that Yongno deemed necessary.

Even the cheapest artificial spiritual pathways—magic power—had a price that ordinary people couldn’t even fathom, which meant that he had released a considerable quantity at once. Yet, even this quantity was insufficient, so the actual market price was treated as 1.5 times the price he set.