Chapter 594: Eraser in my Head (1)

It was a bit dark, but the interior was still neatly organized. Rather than a dungeon, it would be more appropriate to say it looked like a laboratory.

Just turning my gaze slightly and looking around was enough to make me feel admiration.

‘There must be more to take here than I thought.’

I thought it would have almost nothing. I was relieved since it didn’t seem like that was the case.

The size was also bigger than I expected. I needed to take a closer look, but I could already see a couple of useful things through the Mind’s Eyes.

There were items that could be used as catalysts, and research logs were all over the place.

Black-magic-based artifacts were all over the place, and there were even traces of biological experiments using monsters. The ratings classified as Hero-grade were common. The sight encouraged me to explore even more.

‘Well, I guess it’s natural.’

It was impossible to summon a Corps-commander-level demon with an ordinary talent.

Recalling that it was unusual that we managed to summon Belial, it would be impossible for those with no special talents to summon a demon of the same or even higher caliber.

The reason they were able to release such a being was due to their researches. Of course, negative emotions such as insane obsession and feelings of inferiority and anger also contributed to the outcome, but if we all could summon a demon of that magnitude using only such emotions, the continent might’ve already turned into the demon’s world.

‘Does that mean that they’re talented after all?’

Whatever the method, they had already achieved what they aimed for, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to consider them belonging to such a level.

Most reactions coming from the expedition team revolved around surprise. In the end, Park Deokgu spoke up as if he couldn’t hold it back.

“In its own way, it’s amazing. I knew it wouldn’t be small, but it’s still bigger than I expected. One year is enough for even a country to change, but this is way more jaw-dropping.”

“They must’ve taken at least ten years to do this.”

“A year or ten years, results depend on how one uses the time they have. That’s not my point, so just let it slip. Gosh, hyung-nim. Honestly, I don’t know much about this, so I can’t say anything, but I can easily see how deep those demon contractors had planned. How does it look in your eyes?”

“I feel the same. It must have been a short period of time, but to do this much in a year… honestly, it’s incredible.”

“They must have been preparing for it even before we came to the North. The research was still ongoing, and I guess we can think that at some point, they moved their home base.”

“I think the Yuno’s right… I’m not wrong, after all. There doesn’t seem like there’s something great in there based on the atmosphere. Should we still keep going?”

“Yes, and keep your guard up as a precautionary measure. I think it would be better to take a look at each room. Anyway, let’s move. I’m telling you this before any accident happens. Don’t touch anything recklessly. I’ll check everything myself. If you find anything interesting, please report it immediately… the two rangers, please, start scouting from a distance. If you detect any danger, inform us immediately without alerting it.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What are you doing? Let’s keep moving. I want to look around all this until noon. Let’s start with the room on the right. Deokgu.”

He nodded and entered the room first with his shield held up. Watching the burst of light continuing to pour out from him, it seemed to me that he was preparing for any possible situation, but there was no reason to be that alert.

Rather, it could be said that the problem was that the avant-garde didn’t have much to do.

“It’s clear. Feel free to come in and start working right away. There are a lot of strange things in here. I don’t know anything about black magic, so I don’t know what’s it used for, but it’s full of things that look rare even for the untrained eye.”

“Sora.”

“Yes, Vice Guild Master.”

“See if there’s anything useful.”

“Okay.”

“If there’s anything that comes to your mind, Yuno Kasugano, please tell me right away.”

“Understood.”

After briefly giving them orders, I also joined the treasure hunt in earnest. I felt a little bothered about Cho Hyejin’s gaze at me, but she didn’t seem to be particularly interested in the job.

Han Sora was scanning the place with her eyes wide open.

I was forced to nod when she looked at me as if asking me if it was really okay.

On the other hand, Jung Hayan didn’t look to be in a good mood. The incident of the 27th Corps crisis must’ve led her to resent the demons.

‘I forgot about that.’

She was looking around with her lips pouting as if she was extremely dissatisfied even though she was the one that summoned a demon twice in the continent using her own volition.

I wondered if she wanted to burn everything in the hideout with the temper she had.

I could understand her, considering I always woke up alarmed every time I thought about Limur and Ronove.

“If there is anything that bothers you while you’re investigating, report it immediately.”

“Yes, yes. I-I will, so you don’t have to worry.”

‘Don’t discard it for no reason. These are all treasures…’

Of course, most of them couldn’t be used right away. While some books looked a little rare, things with little value were starting to stand out.

[Principles of Intermediate Demon Contract Executions (Rare)]

[High-Ranking Demon Contract Notes (Rare)]

‘This is useless.’

[How the Plaguelord and a Genius Swordsman Love (Legendary)]

‘Why is this here? What the hell.’

[Introduction to Dark Magic (Heroic)]

‘This one is worth taking.’

[72nd Corps Manual (Legendary)]

‘This is far better than the previous one.’

“I think m-most of the things here are books. This room was probably like a library that was used as a conference room.”

“I think so too.”

“T-There is a lot of data. They all seem to be useless, though…”

‘It won’t be bad to train a black wizard.’

I thought it wouldn’t be bad to do it properly.

‘It’s definitely a good idea.’

It could be a good blow to the pigeons, and the black magic’s advantage of being able to grow fast in the early stages could also increase the firepower that we lacked. If I told Han Sora about leaving the place to her, who had been so eager to move out, she would nod with all her might.

Even at the expense of her own life, she would most likely dive into her endeavor to achieve results. When I glanced at Han Sora, she seemed surprised and tried her best to avoid my gaze.

It bothered me because it seemed like she was conscious of Jung Hayan, who was next to me, but really, it just caused more nuances. Regardless, the expedition continued to progress.

There were no special safety features, except for a chimera popping out of the biological laboratory and starting a small battle.

After the Rangers reported that there were no other hazards, the expedition’s alert level dropped by about two levels, and the investigation naturally gained momentum. We found a laboratory with data on magic circles, and there was also a physical enhancement laboratory that seemed to focus on drugs and black magic.

There were many useful things, but what impressed me the most was the biological laboratory.

‘Chimera.’

An artificial creature that could be made through black magic. The alchemists had even researched Homunculi.

‘At the time of the attack…’

Since they didn’t use it, it seemed that they didn’t gain positive results from the study.

‘Because this is a completely different matter from demon summoning.’

It seemed like they had dug about it, probably thinking that there was a possibility at first, but creating an artificial being was difficult.

It wouldn’t have been easy even for me to handle a homunculus and even a chimera, which I only heard about in stories. In the end, I could see at which point they decided to change the route.

As the reactionaries’ budget was limited, they would’ve had to postpone all the research that couldn’t produce results.

‘I wondered where my money went, but it was all here. Fuck, thank you, bastards.’

I was no different from them either.

Although I had conducted several experiments, Homunculus studies were now completely excluded, and the same could be said about chimeras.

Researching while tending to my works in the administration and major fields was already overwhelming. There was no way I could fit in those types of researches.

In that sense, the achievements they studied deserved a nod.

“I can use this.”

“W-What did you just…?”

“No, Hayan. I was talking to myself.”

“Ah… yeah.”

It was a little late, but it was heartwarming news that I couldn’t help but feel good about.

They couldn’t produce any results, but the data and infrastructure they had built up wouldn’t go to waste.

There were plenty of equipment and research materials that could be immediately put into experiments. Wouldn’t I be able to catch a strand since I had a related Semi-Mythic class? That thought refused to leave my mind.

‘This is sweet. No, it’s safe to say that this is the real deal.’

My external appearance was serious, but I was having a hard time holding back a smile.

The room itself was a huge achievement for me. I thought it would be better to stay there for more than six months if the conditions allowed me.

The leaked money was heartbreaking, but if I thought about it in a way that I just bought the studies they spent years on, it was safe to say that I instead had a huge gain.

‘I want to see this in more detail…’

I even wanted to set up living quarters in it. Had Cho Hyejin not looked at me differently than usual, I would have done a simple experiment.

‘She should just do her job. Why does she keep looking at me?’

“This also seems to have been cleared up. We should leave.”

“Yes.”

‘I need some time alone. I want to take a look at it a little more closely.’

I couldn’t stop myself. It was easy to make a good excuse anyway. And so, I spoke right before we went to the next room. My train of thought was pretty simple.

“Oh, I’ll go back to the biological laboratory for a moment. I remembered that I didn’t clear some parts. And I also left things there. I’ll just follow up after I finish.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Do not come along, you bastard.’

“No, you don’t have to. It’s nearby anyway, and it’s been cleared… Hyejin and Deokgu should proceed with the rest of the staff. The guards are in the hallway, so they can respond if anything happens.”

“Still…”

“You confirmed for yourself that there was nothing back there. With this time, I could have gone and come back already. I’ll come back quickly. Hyejin, lead the party.”

It was better not to hear the answer.

I didn’t say anything and immediately went into the room, and as I rummaged through the materials that I couldn’t look at before because of the others, I started to have fun.

I didn’t have fun with the research itself, and I didn’t think I was talented in that part, but feeling my heart pounding, I seemed to identify with it.

I took a seat in earnest and unfolded the forbidden research results.

“When did it start?”

A bitter voice came from behind.

My body tensed up.

‘Cho Hyejin? Was she following me?’

Perhaps Hyejin was suspicious of me, and the word I heard just as I was getting anxious was a spectacle.

“When did you start to lose your memory like that?”

“…”

“…”

‘What is this nonsense now?’

At that moment, I had no idea what direction and how far the conversation was going.