D.I.O

“Hmm… he’s equipped with a Level 3 internal energy artificial spiritual pathway. It would be difficult for guards to buy a Level 3 or higher artificial spiritual pathway, so it’s probably the case that Yongno distributed artificial spiritual pathways to his guards. Or at the very least, he sold it to them with a steep discount.”

Artificial spiritual pathways were selling like hotcakes and were spreading throughout society rapidly. They weren’t cheap, but since it cost three to seven million won to purchase a Level 1 artificial spiritual pathway, it was still a price that most ordinary people could afford. A Level 0 civilian who wasn’t equipped with an artificial spiritual pathway couldn’t compare in terms of power, efficiency, and a plethora of other metrics with a person equipped with a Level 1 artificial spiritual pathway. Essentially, having an artificial spiritual pathway became a social necessity.

‘However, the situation is completely different for Level 3 artificial spiritual pathways.’

Twenty million Level 1 artificial spiritual pathways that had been produced and put out in the market, but only one million Level 3 artificial spiritual pathways had been produced and made available worldwide. Moreover, the price for these Level 3 artificial spiritual pathways ranged from three hundred million won to seven hundred million won a piece.

Yongno’s first production run had sold out in an instant, and even though the artificial spiritual pathway recipe had been made public for others to produce, the additional production couldn’t keep up with the overwhelming market demand. Additionally, the price of three hundred million won to seven hundred million won for a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway was just the starting price.

Many wealthy people, who were able to install a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway, didn’t even consider equipping a Level 1 artificial spiritual pathway and only sought a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway. Due to this, the price of a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway skyrocketed.

Above all, the problem was that only the Great Mage could currently create a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway; in other words, there was a bottleneck in the production. Even though the manufacturing recipe and method had been spread widely, there were few people who could make a functioning Level 2 artificial spiritual pathway, let alone a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway.

“Ugh… but didn’t those other people go inside earlier?”

“They are guests, not reporters, so please step back. If you continue to camp at the entrance like this, I will have to call the police.”

Since Yongno’s house was guarded by such powerful security guards, it was close to impossible to break into Yongno’s house. Above all, the walls surrounding Yongno’s mansion were equipped with all sorts of defensive magic and crime prevention systems, so one had to pass through the main entrance.

“Excuse me.”

“Mr. Yongno is not taking any interviews… Hmm?” Sukhyun, who calmly tried to block the other’s approach, momentarily hesitated, and corrected his posture once he saw and felt who he was speaking to.

Just as Taewoong had felt Sukhyun’s spiritual power earlier, Sukhyun now felt Taewoong’s spiritual power, which was at a Level 3 state. Sukhyun knew that a person with a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway wasn’t an ordinary citizen unless he or she received [preferential] treatment like himself.

However, instead of Taewoong, it was Boram who answered.

She spoke up, “Uhm, you see… A few days ago, my brother and I called and said we were coming to visit. We’re here to see Yongno.”

“You speak his name so openly and indiscriminately…” Sukhyun said. For a moment, he frowned with displeasure, but he soon had a realization and straightened his posture. “Ah. Please wait a moment!!”

Boram, who was taken aback by Sukhyun’s sudden shout, saw Sukhyun turn his head back toward the large wall. Sukhyun started mouthing some words without any sound.

“Oh, he’s using Thousand Li Speech.”

“Thousand Li Speech?”

“Yeah. It’s a way to transmit one’s voice over a considerable distance… But being able to use it so easily with just a Level 3 artificial spiritual pathway means that the guard is quite an advanced internal energy user. His level in DIO must be at least Level 8. Yongno’s using such a talented person as a security guard?”

While Boram was still feeling bewildered, the entrance door opened. The size of the door they had entered through earlier was considerably large as it was a door that led someone into an enclosed area the size of a city. However, the door that just opened was a relatively small one and would only allow a few people to enter at a time.

Sukhyun, who had kicked out the reporters earlier, spoke while manipulating a palm-sized metal plate.

“If you wait in the waiting area, someone will come by shortly and take you to the Magic Tower.”

“Magic Tower?”

“Ah yes. That’s the name of the place where the Great Mage resides. It will take about two minutes to get there.”

Boram had trouble understanding Sukhyun’s words. “Two minutes? But I don’t see any tower nearby… Will we be getting in a car to get to the tower?”

It was a natural question. Yongno’s [mansion], which occupied one-third of the huge plain that had formed after razing an entire city, was close to fifteen kilometers in diameter. Considering that a horse traveled fifteen kilometers an hour and that the average human’s walking speed was only three to five kilometers per hour, this meant the area was large enough to take someone several hours to walk across.

Just then, a voice spoke out matter-of-factly from inside the waiting room, “A flying disc will be coming soon. Right now, it’s being used to move something to the warehouse.”

It was only then that Boram noticed that others were already in the waiting room.

The one who spoke was a girl with red hair who appeared to be in her late teens, and standing beside her was an ordinary-looking man in his early to mid-twenties. Beside him were two others…

“Eh? Isn’t that Leaf?”

“Hello! I’m your lovable superstar, Leaf!”

Leaf stood at 165 centimeters tall, but because of her small face and perfect body proportions, her body profile looked sleek and tall. She was a beautiful girl who struck an elegant pose.

With blonde-dyed hair and the adornment of a leaf-shaped brooch, Leaf was an idol singer at the peak of her popularity. She was often referred to as Korea’s national younger sister.

“Loveable superstar my ass. No, more than that, why are you here? Are you scheduled to perform here… eh? Mr. Sunghyun? You’re here, too? Did Yongno call you in?”

Seokwoo, who was the current Chief of Staff and the father of Boram and Taewoong, lived in a luxury apartment where many celebrities lived, so he had come across Kim Sunghyun, who was the CEO of SH Entertainment, and Leaf several times in the past. This meant that his Seokwoo’s son, Taewoong, also came into frequent contact with Leaf and Sunghyun.

“I came because I have some business matters to attend to. However, I couldn’t schedule a meeting with Yongno as a lowly entertainment agency CEO, so I’m using Leaf’s friendship to grab a meeting with him.”

“Eh? A person of your stature can’t grab a meeting with Yongno?” Boram exclaimed.

However, Sunghyun just shook his head. “Don’t overestimate me. There’s no way one can enter this place with just the title of a CEO of an entertainment agency. Even high-level legislators can’t come into this place.”

“No, no, wait a minute. What did you just say? Leaf has a personal friendship with Yongno?” Boram suddenly waved her hand and asked a question as she overheard Sunghyun and Taewoong’s conversation.

“Are you hearing about this for the first time? I heard that Yongno wasn’t close with his family, but I didn’t think it was true.”

“Oh, I don’t know why it’s become like this either… Anyway, how did the two of them get to know each other?” Boram asked.

“They met by chance. He helped her when she fell into some trouble. He also wrote [Star on the Ground] for her.”

Yongno had saved Leaf when she faced some trouble with some delinquent male students, and he also helped her gain independence from her exploitative guardians.

“Eh? Star on the Ground was composed and written by Yongno? But that’s an absolute masterpiece!”

Unlike Boram, who was making a fuss, Taewoong maintained a calm expression. In fact, from his point of view, there was nothing surprising about whatever Yongno did.

“Ah, something’s coming.”

“Looking back, he was such an extraordinary guy. Why did he live so quietly when he was young… hmm?” Boram, who was speaking under her breath, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

After meeting two familiar faces, Leaf and Sunghyun, in the waiting room, Boram had forgotten that there were two other visitors present. One of them was an ordinary-looking man with a relatively ordinary physique. He seemed to have an unremarkable presence as there didn’t seem anything special about him. Nevertheless, his body looked relatively firm and trained. The other was a foreigner with red hair, who was not remarkably beautiful but had a slim figure.

“Come to think of it, the guard said a flying disc was coming. What’s a flying disc?”

Though Boram knew what a flying disc was in theory, she assumed that it wasn’t meant literally.

The red-haired girl shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, there’s no need to explain. You’ll see soon enough.”

“What do you mean? Huh?”

“What the…”

At that moment, something shimmered in the distance. It wasn’t emitting a bright light, but it was a vivid color. Then…

Boom!

“Wow… What is this…”

“Is this some sort of UFO…?”

The disk, which looked as small as a firefly from afar, soon reached the waiting room in an instant without making any sound.

The silvery disc was only ten centimeters thick but had a diameter spanning five meters. It seemed to shimmer in the sunlight because of its color and material.

“Now, please get on. We’ll arrive at the Magic Tower shortly.”

“Eh? You want us to ride this? No, rather, it seems to have flown here, but on what principle…”

“Oh, my. Such an abnormal thing flying around as if it’s just a natural occurrence…”

Boram, Leaf, and Sunghyun were all perplexed and dumbfounded as they stared at the flying disc. It was a completely unfamiliar object, so they couldn’t help but hesitate.

However, the red-haired girl and the plain-looking man calmly climbed atop the disc.