D.I.O

—Of course, the Merlin Corporation decided not to sell the artificial spiritual pathways in countries that didn’t enforce the patent law.

—What! That’s bullshit!

—Bullshit?! Ha, that’s rich. Your country won’t enforce the patent laws and protect intellectual property rights, so why should they sell artificial spiritual pathways in your country?

Although there was some media backlash, Eunhye was able to wade through the difficulties and complete her work in getting artificial spiritual pathways to market. Merlin’s name value and Yongno’s popularity as the Great Mage made her work much easier. The world was changing because of artificial spiritual pathways, and national leaders weren’t blind to these changes.

“Oh, it seemed like the Chinese side was going to do something. They acknowledged the conditions and let them be put in place, but it seems they’re generally dissatisfied,” Eunhye stated.

“They’re probably burdened by the thought of Korea, their next-door neighbor, growing too big. Their voice in the political arena is weakening because of people like me and Seyoung,” Yongno commented.

The case was similar for Japan. If Japan were in a normal state, they would have tried to check Korea at every corner. However, having been vehemently defeated by Seyoung, Japan was now living in a sort of dark age, so it didn’t have the means to make such political moves.

‘Even if Japan were operating normally, what could they do? A public appeal won’t work, media play is useless, and since Yongno operates DIO, any political pressure would only result in firm counterattacks.’

Yongno was a major transnational force that couldn’t easily be reckoned with. His military and technological power transcended the existing systems of the world, so he was relatively free from any pressure.

Of course, if the national powers were to make the decision to murder Yongno, they’d probably be able to hatch some sort of plan to do it. Nonetheless, how could they move recklessly when they knew that extraterrestrial beings existed outside of Earth?

“Oh, and this.”

“A Level 2 artificial spiritual pathway… Whoa. This isn’t one of mine, right?”

Yongno opened his eyes wide when he saw the black jewel that Eunhye took out. Miho, who was still eating cheesecake while sitting on Yongno’s lap, tilted her head.

“Is it that surprising? You’ve already publicized the artificial spiritual pathways recipe, so others can start making them now, right?”

“Right, but I didn’t expect anyone to be able to make a Level 2 one yet. It’s normal for the first few prototypes to fail, and even if they eventually succeeded, I expected that it would be after at least a month’s time… Is there anyone other than me who has learned mana amplification? If it could be done so easily, Leighann wouldn’t have made such a fuss about getting a patent…”

Yongno was able to quickly create artificial spiritual pathways because he could amplify mana by colliding magic power and internal energy, a reaction that caused mana amplification.

Nevertheless, it took quite some time, even for him, to create an artificial spiritual pathway. He was only capable of mass-producing artificial spiritual pathways because of Pathway to Hell, which was an abundant source of energy. Hence, Yongno found it immensely surprising that others were already able to create them despite the large amount of energy required to produce Level 2 artificial spiritual pathways.

“Perhaps it might be possible if a person consumed their own innate Genuine Qi—or in other words, their true qi… But no one would be foolish enough to take such a step to use their own true qi, right? In the end, it’s necessary to condense and create with recoverable spiritual power, but the amount of energy required is tremendous…”

“What if several people are making it together?”

Yongno shook his head after hearing Miho’s question.

“Even if a group of people learn and practice the same type of internal energy technique, it’s impossible to make the same artificial spiritual pathway unless they’re all the same person. Eunhye, who made this? Is it someone I know?”

“No, you don’t know them. I looked them up; it seems like they’re twins who both practice martial arts.”

“Twins? Ah…”

Looking at Yongno, who was surprised at the unexpected response, Eunhye explained, “Of course, they’re not just normal twins. Even twins can’t do everything identically. But these two are twins who are virtually the same in every way, even their mentality and psychological state.”

“Yeah… Certainly, if that’s the case, they’d be able to operate an even and identical production process. Even if one of them reaches a limit, the other could take over. They could take turns working, having one work while the other takes a break and recuperates. Since the recipe is open to the wider public, it seems like all sorts of novel approaches are being taken.”

Yongno frowned. He would have never thought of such an idea, but it seemed that the effects of this novel approach could have greater applications if it were properly applied.

It was true that identical twins were relatively rare, but weren’t there also cases of identical triplets or even identical quadruplets on Earth?

Of course, the probability of identical quadruplets being born was extremely low, around one in thirteen million. However, if those the quadruplets that were born were all able to reach Level 10, the Master class, as internal energy users…

‘It might even be possible for those people to create a Level 5 artificial spiritual pathway. No, wait, if expectations were to be lowered and some efficiency given up, wouldn’t it be possible for brothers and sisters, not just twins, to synchronize their minds and souls? Should I try this out?’

The novel idea suddenly raised a new set of ideas in Yongno’s mind.

Of course, even if this new avenue of production was possible, it didn’t compare to the [mass production] capabilities of Pathway to Hell. Nevertheless, since most of the motivation for magic research started with [interest], Yongno had the heart to try these new ideas even if they didn’t produce any spectacular results.

However, Eunhye lightly grabbed Yongno’s arm at that moment.

“There is some other business to tend to. I don’t know what just popped into your mind, but it will have to wait till next time.”

“Other business?”

Eunhye calmly nodded. “The guests have arrived.”

*** At the Magic Tower ***

A sports car stopped in an expansive parking lot. A tall woman, with a height of 174 centimeters and long black hair, stepped out of the car with a man, who was 10 centimeters taller than her, was dressed in a neat suit, and had a sturdy body and distinctive features.

“Where is this place? Didn’t you say we were going to Yongno’s house?” Boram commented.

The tall woman looked at the parking lot, which was bigger than a decent-sized soccer field, and the huge wall in front of them with a dumbfounded expression.

On one side of the parking lot was a sizable restaurant as well as various convenience facilities.

“This is his place,” Taewoong answered.

“This is Yongno’s place? Isn’t this a planned city?”

“Yeah, the scale of this place defies all building permit regulations and laws… but there’s no one foolish enough to enforce such laws, especially if it’s against the Great Mage. It’s impossible to try Yongno for violating criminal law, let alone some local building ordinances or rules.”

Although they had virtually disowned Yongno… Yongno’s parents were still alive. Additionally, Yongno had an older brother, who was six years older, and an older sister, who was three years older.

Yongno’s older brother, Taewoong, had set his hopes of becoming a soldier from a young age and later graduated from the military academy, stepping on the path to becoming a typical elite officer. Yongno’s older sister, Boram, had gone on to attend a prestigious foreign university.

In truth, Taewoong and Boram were children any Korean parent would be proud of.

These two people were handsome and beautiful, possessed sincere and bright personalities, and were excellent in academics and sports… They both lived perfect elite lifestyles as if someone had drawn out their ideal lives. They were what was often referred to as the typical ‘mother’s friend’s son or daughter’ that everyone was compared against.

In fact, compared to these two splendid siblings, Yongno had been like an ugly duckling. He had been a typical loser who maintained mediocre grades in a decent high school. Then he later completely crashed and burned on his high school entrance exams and ultimately give up on going to college.

Yet, now—a year later—the situation had completely changed.

“Why? Why can’t we enter?” a reporter shouted near an imposing wall in front of some guards.

“Because this is private property, and the Great Mage has already stated that he is refusing all visitors.”

“Private property! This was previously Cheonan City, a public city! There’s no way all this land is privately owned! Also, does it make sense to build such a large wall on such a vast land and block entry?”

A few of the reporters tried to force themselves into Yongno’s home, but the guards blocked their way with firm expressions on their faces.

“If you’re unhappy, talk to the government. This building was built after paying a sufficient price to the government and obtaining all required permits. And above all…”

One of the guards, Kang Sukhyun, widened his eyes and scanned the surroundings. As he did so, a gentle qi shockwave emanated outward from him.

Kang Sukhyun was an internal energy user, so he was able to materialize qi and create pressure.

Kang Sukhyun continued, “What you stated isn’t a good enough reason to trespass on this area.”

The reporters, who were famous for their blunt voices and harshness, didn’t dare retort. It wasn’t just because of Sukhyun’s overwhelming aura but also the strong will that oppressed their spirits.

Meanwhile, Taewoong, the eldest son of the Chief of Staff and a lieutenant colonel in the army, muttered quietly to himself.