Chapter 80

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- A new 'Skill' is granted upon meeting special conditions.

Hyun-wook stared blankly at the message before getting up. His body was drenched in cold sweat, having been asleep for dozens of hours with his 'Internal Furnace' running at maximum capacity.

He checked the details of the newly acquired skill.

- Name: Insight Lens

- Rank: D

- Effects:

1) System Analysis: Can interpret hidden 'System Information'.

2)千里眼 (Thousand Mile Eye): Vision is greatly enhanced. (+300%)

* Skill rank improves upon meeting hidden conditions.

Since he had possessed this skill in his previous life, Hyun-wook was very familiar with its functions.

'This was the best utility skill I had in my previous life.'

Utility skills, while non-combat related, had a wide range of applications.

Hyun-wook slowly got up.

"…Talos, how long have I been lying here?"

「You have been in this state for 28 hours and 48 minutes.」

"28 hours…"

Hyun-wook looked at the spherical mechanical device hanging from the ceiling, Talos.

Then, a system message appeared before his eyes.

- Talos: Non-Combat Mode (LV. 130)

* This NPC is friendly towards you.

The NPC's name, level, and disposition were information that was usually hidden.

This ability allowed him to see the basic information of monsters—NPCs.

'Anyway, Talos being level 130… it's much higher than I thought.'

While 'level' wasn't an absolute measure of strength, it was the most common standard.

In that sense, Talos, at level 130, could be considered very strong.

Considering that the Orc King Stornax was level 175 and dragons were between levels 180 and 200, Talos was indeed powerful.

'Of course, without his bronze giant body, he can't fully exert his power.'

If he could activate Talos' 'Combat Mode' someday, it would be a formidable weapon.

At that moment, the door to the Order Tower opened, and Jun-mo Park stumbled in.

His hair was somewhat wavy for some reason.

"Ah! Captain Hyun-wook, you're awake?"

"Jun-mo, how was it? Did the lightning strike well?"

"Ah… Yes… It struck much more than I expected."

His voice carried a hint of complaint.

He then explained that while Hyun-wook was asleep, he had been struck by lightning 11 times.

As a result, he experienced a rapid growth, increasing his original stats fivefold.

"Is that so? That's good. Then I should come here whenever I have time."

"…"

At that moment, something caught Hyun-wook's eye.

- You can 'interpret' this item.

The location was near Jun-mo's waist, and it was a black wand.

While he couldn't see the 'player profile,' he could see the 'item information.'

'Interpret it.'

- Interpreting item information…

After a moment…

- Name: Dark Wood Wand (Rare)

- Effects: Total Mana (+100), Casting Speed (+10%)

This way, he could know the information of items others possessed without touching them.

'…Most importantly, it will be a great help in protecting myself.'

Just by looking, he could know the functions of the items others had, which gave him valuable information to predict what potential enemies might do.

This was Hyun-wook's secret defense system that had helped him thwart countless assassination attempts.

"…By the way, where is Team Leader Kim?"

"Ah, if he's not here, he's probably at the surreal training ground."

It seemed that while Hyun-wook was asleep, Kim Se-hee had been training non-stop.

'Kim Se-hee… he has talent, but he's also a hard worker. If the environment is right, he will grow on his own.'

After drinking the cold water Jun-mo brought, Hyun-wook approached the window.

The view from the top of Laputa was the best, making any hotel seem inferior.

At that moment, his pocket vibrated.

- Mana Messenger (Encrypted Model): Receiving…

This Mana Messenger was connected one-on-one with another Mana Messenger that shared the same encryption.

The recipient was, of course, the Holy Maiden, Emilia Mueller.

- Finally, I got through! Why didn't you answer? I thought you might have been assassinated before me!

Her voice was slurred, indicating she hadn't given up drinking.

"Did you set up a secure communication network just to call me while drunk?"

- Oh, you're misunderstanding this big time? I called for business purposes.

"Is that so? What's up?"

- The people in the field of magic engineering that I mentioned last time, I found them. About 9 people.

She had been looking for researchers in the field of magic engineering as Hyun-wook had requested and had finally found them.

Of course, Hyun-wook planned to meet them personally to judge if they were trustworthy.

"Hmm, that's good. I was just about to check out the place where they will work."

- Huh? Um— could it be Laputa…?

Knowing that Hyun-wook was the manager of Laputa, she quickly figured it out.

"Yes. I went up there for the first time yesterday, or the day before."

- Wow… I really want to go there someday. It must be as safe as here, right?

"Yes, you can visit someday, even if not now."

Hyun-wook also considered the possibility of moving the 'Saint Dome' to Laputa.

'If the Holy Maiden comes to Laputa instead of the Chad Republic, it would be a huge advantage.'

Of course, if that happened, the Chad Republic would be in chaos, as one of the elements that made the land valuable would be completely taken away, leading to inevitable political disputes.

In other words, it was not a decision to be made hastily.

'But eventually, I will make it happen. This country will ultimately become the last stronghold of humanity…'

He planned to concentrate all the resources to counter the villain in this single point, Laputa.

Two hours later, the group prepared to descend to the ground.

「(^_^) If you go down to the 49th basement floor, you can use the wide-area descent device!」

Laputa, which encompasses the entire city of 'Seoul' as a 'zone,' allows for teleportation to any part of Seoul using one of its convenience features, the 'wide-area descent device.'

The group took a high-speed elevator to the 49th basement floor, the lowest level of Laputa.

It was a completely empty space, with no objects or walls.

「Now, I will activate the wide-area descent device!」

Woo—

The entire 49th floor became transparent, revealing the view of Seoul. A large magic circle appeared at the center of the floor, emitting a deep blue light.

- Wide-area descent device: Set the teleportation coordinates.

This way, Laputa allowed for quick teleportation to any part of Seoul.

Hyun-wook chose a quiet place on the outskirts of Seoul and immediately teleported there.

"Alright— obviously, where we went is a secret."

"Hmm, but… are you going to keep hiding the fact that you're the manager of Laputa?"

In response to Kim Se-hee's question, Hyun-wook shook his head.

"No, I will reveal it soon."

At least, he needed to disclose this fact to Woo Sung-moon.

'To provide all the resources needed for the development of Laputa.'

However, there was something he needed to handle first.

"By the way, Team Leader Kim, you said you had something to do today?"

"Yes, I'm going to introduce my AMT classmates to the Hope Guild."

Kim Se-hee's AMT classmates had decided to join the Hope Guild.

As she had once led them as a squad leader, they would become core members when the Hope Guild's 'strategy team' was formed.

"If that's the case, Team Leader Kim, go do your work, and Jun-mo, you're coming with me."

"Huh? What, this, this time, where are we going…?"

Jun-mo couldn't hide his uneasy expression.

Hyun-wook raised his head.

"Today, we're going to scout a staff member to manage Laputa."

"…What?"

"I can't just leave that amazing thing unattended, can I?"

To operate such a massive facility, a lot of manpower was needed.

And at this point, many talents and potential items were hidden in the shadows.

Hyun-wook planned to bring them out a bit earlier and send them to the sky.

***

Incheon has long been known by the nickname 'Demon World.'

This was a half-joking name given due to the frequent violent incidents in the area.

However, it has now become a reality.

"Captain Hyun-wook… who exactly are we looking for in the Demon World?"

Jun-mo looked around the alley in Incheon's Nam-dong district, known as the Demon World, with an uneasy expression.

"Someone who lives in a place like this… must be scary…"

The gray, half-ruined city, the alleys littered with trash, the roads cracked and overturned like a spider web…

And armed men with items, guns, and knives stood in the alleys, glaring at passersby. The weapons they held were not for show but were often used on humans.

Facing a scene reminiscent of Harlem in a Hollywood movie, Jun-mo instinctively shrank back.

"Moreover, I heard that even player police don't come here…"

Thus, the southern old town of Incheon had become a lawless area.

In the early days of the world turning into a game, four gates opened simultaneously in this area.

However, due to the lack of forces to handle them, they could not be suppressed, and eventually, a 'barrier' was installed around the perimeter to isolate the entire area.

It took two years for a few guilds to successfully attack, but…

'This place had already suffered irreparable damage and was abandoned by everyone.'

And the types of people who ended up in such abandoned areas were limited.

Criminal organizations, wanderers,