74
In Eternity, there exists the [Growth-Type Villain]. Villains who grow alongside the player’s growth.
If I leave them alone, they’ll only grow stronger over time, making them harder to catch.
As a member of the Seven Sins, the slothful Mind Georg was also one of these growth-oriented villains.
He’s strong now, but he’ll become even stronger later on.
“I should seize the opportunity when it arises.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean I could defeat Georg as I am now.
I couldn’t even sense his presence, let alone catch up to him. In reality, now wasn’t the time to catch Georg.
What I was attempting to do was akin to hunting a monster that should be caught in “Stage 3” while in “Stage 1.”
“It’s just madness.”
But just because it’s madness doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Alone, I was outnumbered, but I had many tricks up my sleeve to capture him.
Those who had crossed paths with Georg and formed a vendetta against him were scattered all around.
People who couldn’t find him or didn’t know how to kill him were still pursuing revenge.
Apart from Mind, Eun Hoseong was known to be one of the most knowledgeable about Georg.
“It’s well known that Sir Gaju has repelled Georg’s doppelganger three times.”
Eun Hoseong gained the title of Haegum (Sea Sword) and became known as one of Korea’s top ten swordsmen precisely from slaying Georg’s doppelganger.
Whenever the topic of Haenam came up, this story was always mentioned.
However, Eun Hoseong’s expression turned peculiar upon hearing my story.
“The first two are well-known, but I’ve never told anyone about the third… Your intelligence is remarkable, Hae Sol.”
“…Ah, no one knew about the third?”
Because I didn’t know about such detailed settings, I fell silent for a moment.
Eun Hoseong seemed to accept my silence, nodding his head.
“If it’s difficult to disclose, you don’t have to say.”
In truth, I didn’t mention how I knew about Eun Hoseong’s fascination with the Ama Seed, or why I was aware of Georg’s tactics and the Berserker’s appearances in advance.
Since it was an experience in the game, I couldn’t reveal it.
Although Eun Hoseong seemed curious about these aspects, he didn’t seem inclined to ask unless I brought it up first.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“hahahaha, there’s no need for thanks. I didn’t say it, but it wasn’t really a secret either.”
Eun Hoseong clapped his hands and asked, “So, what are you curious about? To be honest, I don’t know much about Georg either.”
“I’m curious about how you manage to keep finding him.”
Georg was a massive pig-like creature, almost unrecognizable.
But he didn’t always appear in that form.
Sometimes he was a woman, an old man, or even a child.
Since both his main body and doppelganger were the same, it was known that unless Georg revealed himself, there was no way to find him.
The methods I used in the game to capture Georg were far from finding him.
“I just destroyed everywhere that was suspected to be his whereabouts.”
In fact, that was the easiest and quickest way. But that was only possible in the game; in reality, it would cost more than one’s life.
Unlike me, Eun Hoseong had managed to find Georg’s doppelganger multiple times and even made his main body escape.
In a one-on-one, Georg could never be a match for Eun Hoseong.
From Noble mtl dot com
The lad had gone so far as to use the precious seed of the Amaranth he cherished to exclude Georg from the Hae Shin-yeon.
When I asked for a way to find Georg, Eun Ho-sung’s eyes widened slightly.
“You, are you trying to catch the Seven Devils or something?”
“If it’s Georg, it seems worth a try.”
“Worth a try? Georg?”
“Yes.”
“hahahahaha!”
Eun Ho-sung, finding amusement in my affirmation, chuckled, tapping the table. Soon after, his laughter subsided, and he tilted his head slightly.
“Sorry if my laughter offended you. It was just too amusing.”
“I understand.”
It would have been laughable from Eun Ho-sung’s perspective to hear that an Academy student was going to capture a Mine Association executive.
If I were in Eun Ho-sung’s shoes, I would have probably just scoffed.
But surprisingly, Eun Ho-sung seemed to take my words seriously.
It made sense; after all, I had proven my worth by quelling the ‘Rage of the Spirits,’ a feat that even Eun Ho-sung struggled to contain.
“By the way, about finding Georg…”
As if recalling an old memory, Eun Ho-sung swirled his glass in thought, then chuckled softly.
“I’ve never found Georg. No, there was no need to.”
“Yes?”
“He has a trauma.”
“A trauma?”
“Yes. It’s related to why he hides his true form and wanders only in his avatar. That’s…”
Eun Ho-sung began recounting an anecdote about Georg’s hidden trauma.
A smile tugged at my lips as I listened to the story.
It was now certain.
A way to find Georg.
“I have heard you well.”
“I also enjoyed sharing an interesting story after a long time.”
Eun Ho-sung smiled and extended his hand.
“Take care and be well. You may not know, but that child was born different from the others.”
I understood Eun Ho-sung’s words perfectly.
For Eun Gae-ye, who had magic running wild, using magic like others was a challenge.
Even simple spells or spirit magic were difficult, and the swordsmanship felt like wearing clothes that didn’t fit due to uncontrolled magic. Perhaps that’s why there seemed to be a distance between him and the household members.
Well, now he was mastering the broadsword, so things would gradually improve.
“Since he’s found his path, there’s no need to worry.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I told Eun Ho-sung that Eun Gae-ye was developing his own swordsmanship.
Despite abandoning the family’s swordsmanship, Eun Ho-sung’s expression brightened noticeably, showing no discomfort.
‘It seems you were quite worried.’
Well, he did leave home on his own and entered the academy, so it was natural to be concerned.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
As I left Eunho Castle, the outside had turned into a pitch-black night. However, with Anastasia’s eyes in my possession, even in the darkness, I could clearly distinguish my surroundings.
“Is this really nice?”
With eyes like hers, it seemed unlikely that I would fall into darkness.
And so, with a satisfied smile, I walked through the darkened corridor.
Splash. Splash.
“?”
At the sound of water splashing, I looked up to see Eungaye sitting at the corner of the corridor, throwing pebbles into the pond.
“Awake?”
Perhaps due to the rather firm tap on the back of her head (and that was twice), Eungaye seemed to have been unconscious for quite a while.
She even had her eyes closed until we entered Eunho Castle in the evening.
In response to my question, Eungaye lifted her head, setting aside the pebbles she was about to throw into the pond.
“Yes, just now.”
As she lifted her head, Eungaye frowned, as if in pain.
“Well, look…”
“Don’t touch. It’s swollen.”
When I reached out to touch her head, Eungaye grimaced.
In the next moment, a small blue flame flickered from my hand.
Whoosh.
Feeling the pain in her head subside, Eungaye opened her eyes wide.
“What did you just do?”
“Treatment.”
“No, I mean…”
As Eungaye tried to continue, she let out a heavy sigh. I prompted her, “What were you going to say?”
“Never mind, you won’t tell me anyway.”
Understood.
Seeing me smiling as if I had figured out the pattern, Eungaye changed the subject.
“But what were you doing out so late to have this conversation?”
“Talking about you taking the awakening potion.”
“What?”
Eungaye initially looked surprised, then shook her head.
“Don’t joke about that.”
“I’m not joking.”
I also mentioned going to the black market on a weekday and giving up electro-swordsmanship. Oh, and failing all the rune note exams.
Since she complimented my swordsmanship during the founding ceremony, it should be fine.
I just told her the truth.
Splash.
Sitting down next to her, I picked up a pebble and tossed it into the pond, then asked, “So what are you doing here?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to come out.”
“Me?”
Could it be because of the fainting incident?
As I prepared myself to dodge an attack, Eunga-ye dodged my gaze and replied.
“···Thanks. For helping. Except for hitting me on the back of my head.”
“Oh, okay.”
Even though the kid’s pride is strong, she knows how to be grateful.
As I chuckled, Eunga-ye grimaced and handed me something.
“Take it.”
“What’s this?”
My eyes widened as I looked at what Eunga-ye handed me with a tilted head.
“Huh? What’s this······”
“What, you don’t know what it is?”
“······.”
Ignoring Eunga-ye’s question, I simply stared at the round golden badge.
A badge with the face of Hae-tae, who wards off disasters. The badge Eunga-ye handed me was a valuable item even to her.
‘The Guardian Badge.’
It was a protective badge that could withstand even the attack of the Seven Evils once.
Although it became useless after one use, its value was immeasurable, as it was akin to risking an extra life. I turned to Eunga-ye in astonishment.
“Can I have this?”
“Stop doing strange things all the time, so carry that around at least.”
“Thank you.”
“······.”
Eunga-ye, avoiding my sincere response, suddenly got up and left.
“···Ah, it’s getting cold sitting here. I’ll go in first, so come when you’re ready.”
“I’m coming too, right?”
Without answering, Eunga-ye swiftly disappeared around the corner.
“?”
What did I do wrong?
Smiling contentedly as I looked at the Guardian Badge, I thought, ‘This comes in handy.’
Perhaps I might need that extra life soon.
Glancing at the moonlit pond, I slowly rose from my seat.
***
······At that moment, a mansion somewhere in Gangwon Province.
“Ahh!”
The boy sitting at the table reading a book suddenly grabbed his head and screamed.
“Yujong! What’s wrong!”
At the sudden scream of the boy, a man who seemed to be his father hastily opened the door and rushed in.
“It’s nothing, father. I just pinched my hand with the book.”
“Do not push yourself too hard and go to sleep quickly.”
“Yes, I will read just this and then go to bed.”
The man, who let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the boy smiling faintly, closed the door and left.
As the man left, the boy, who had been smiling, twisted his face into a wicked expression.
“Norton, that damn bastard…”
Crack─!
The corner of the table Georg was holding broke off.
‘My memories are not intact.’
Frowning as he recalled fragmented memories scattered here and there like broken shards, Georg realized the limitations of exchanging memories.
While the doppelganger could act independently, there were constraints on sharing memories. Memories could not be exchanged in real-time between the doppelganger and the main body during its activity; only after the doppelganger completed its task could the main body receive the memories.
Even then, due to some reason, if the doppelganger was destroyed, only partial memories would be transmitted to the main body based on the extent of its destruction.
And in this case, Georg had the least amount of memory distortion since he started using the doppelganger.
He was certain that he had been attacked by Norton, but he couldn’t properly understand what had happened.
‘This is the first time such an incident has occurred since the Unification.’
Georg trembled as he recalled past memories.
Rubbing his throbbing head as if it would shatter any moment, he called out to someone.
“Aegon.”
“Yes, Evil Lord.”
Instantly, a man in a black suit appeared where no one had been before.
“What happened to the Surveillance Network?”
“…I’m not sure.”
“What?”
Georg frowned.
How was it possible not to know when he had sent out five ‘eyes’ as a precaution?
Was that even plausible?
“It seems like someone has interfered.”
Crash!
“Gah!”
The man called Aegon vomited blood and hit the wall.
“Find out what happened.”
With no response, Georg left the room, his face once again calm with a faint smile.
─Oh my, there was a noise inside just now. What happened?
─A book fell, so I tidied up and came out, Mother.