Chapter 845: Handover (13)

The darkest hour before dawn.

Lennok stood deep within the damp forest, where the night dew still clung.

In the middle of a steep mountain crossing between Sector 35 and Sector 36.

“For a research institute directly under the City Council, they’ve picked quite an odd location.”

Lennok mumbled, manipulating the earth beneath his feet to effortlessly ascend the mountain.

“It’s a gray zone that overlaps with Whitestone National Park in Sector 35, yet isn’t officially part of the park. It might have been a deliberate measure to hide a research facility like this from the start.”

[Here, it’s hidden so completely that its coordinates don’t even register on satellite maps.]

Davi responded, as if echoing Lennok’s thoughts.

[It’s only visible through old map scans that haven’t been updated on the central network, so I think Master’s guess is probably right?]

“The City Council must be controlling real-time map data updates. It’s not difficult if you borrow the power of spellcraft… We’re here.”

As Lennok spoke, the round silhouette of a research institute, exquisitely hidden on the outskirts of the mountain, began to emerge.

Strange, dome-shaped structures, as if inverted hemispheres, were irregularly built along the mountain ridge.

One wouldn’t notice it from above, but ascending the mountain, its appearance was so ambiguous that even Lennok had to concentrate just to discern it.

Even if a hiker lost their way in the national park and stumbled upon this place, most would likely descend without even realizing the institute’s existence.

And for those few, highly improbable individuals who did succeed in discovering the institute……

Click!!

A dark muzzle suddenly emerged from the bushes.

But Lennok, unfazed, calmly raised his hand and brushed it aside.

It was a machine gun resting idly on a stand, with no one operating it.

From the start, it was a perimeter defense device designed to automatically fire upon approaching objects without human intervention.

And any weapon tied to such a system held no meaning once detected by Davi’s eyes.

With the help of the Cybernetic Spirit, Lennok easily bypassed all sorts of other perimeter defense devices, subtly hidden among the bushes and tree trunks.

[They’re all just shoddy security devices.]

Davi, poking her head out from Lennok’s pocket, snorted with a smug expression.

[They dared to build a research institute using Master’s name, and this is all they could manage? I should teach them a lesson!]

“Could you hold back for now?”

Lennok could no longer imagine what a complete mess this institute would become if Davi were to ‘teach them a lesson’ as she put it.

First, he needed to find out what was going on inside the institute to even begin thinking about how to handle it.

Instead, something else caught Lennok’s eye.

“This institute. It’s not a recently established facility.”

[Huh?]

“The perimeter defense devices installed here. While the equipment itself is state-of-the-art, their mounting stands have been here for quite some time.”

Lennok said, kicking aside the bushes beneath his feet and looking at the spot where the stands were embedded.

Moss that had grown beneath the bushes naturally covered the machine gun’s mounting stands.

“The perimeter defense system itself, designed to protect this place, was completed a long time ago. Only the equipment and systems have been recently updated.”

Lennok checked the machine gun’s serial number, entered it into the Deep Web to investigate its manufacturing year, and then nodded.

“Perhaps there was a different facility here before, not a research institute.”

[Ah, Master. Look over there.]

Davi wriggled her front paws from his pocket and abruptly raised one.

[The light source over there looks very impure.]

“Impure?”

He turned his head, but he couldn’t discern what she meant with his naked eye.

With his mana perception deliberately turned off, Lennok’s inferior physical abilities couldn’t grasp what she was referring to.

[That, what was it……]

Davi tilted her head slightly in thought, then tapped her tail.

[Ah, cigarette embers! It’s cigarette embers!]

“…………”

[There are several of them gathered.]

The choice of words made it clear what Davi thought of the tobacco Lennok usually smoked.

From a Cybernetic Spirit’s perspective, it wasn’t strange for such tobacco to seem utterly useless.

Although her description was a bit odd, he immediately understood what Davi was referring to.

If cigarette embers were gathered in a secluded part of the institute, there was only one reason.

“A smoking area.”

A secluded space, which couldn’t be openly placed in front of the institute’s main facilities, must have been specially set aside.

As he surmised, a small garden where Lennok arrived had several people sparsely gathered, smoking cigarettes.

They wore crisp white lab coats, their hair greasy, and their faces etched with exhaustion.

Their appearance, utterly drained not by physical toil but by mental fatigue, would have been strange if they weren’t researchers.

However, instead of walking directly over and subduing the researchers, Lennok found a suitable spot nearby to conceal himself and eavesdrop on their conversations.

“……When are we getting reinforcements for the third experimental research?”

“I overheard the team leader’s call earlier; he said not to expect any.”

“Damn it, and they still expect us to proceed with development on schedule?”

“We can’t just bring in anyone and use them. We need someone with at least research or consultation experience in mana theory.”

The quiet exchanges were filled with weary voices.

It seemed they had already completed several experiments and just stepped out for a short break.

“They’re not asking us to bring in only geniuses like Professor Vylun! Someone capable of assisting with research would be enough!”

“It seems the higher-ups want more than that. They probably want to reorganize this place into an elite research institution with this opportunity.”

“Ha, no matter how good the situation is, aren’t their expectations too high?”

The researchers grumbled with all sorts of complaints, but overall, there wasn’t a strong atmosphere of rebellion.

It was a familiar sight, as if they had, from the start, accepted the current situation to some extent before joining the institute.

Someone among them quietly mumbled, as if to themselves.

“Perhaps… Professor Vylun should be here, after all?”

“…………”

A hushed silence fell among the researchers.

Lennok silently observed the atmosphere, which felt uncomfortably heavy.

Other researchers, who had been smoking with strange expressions, made an effort to lighten the mood and stood up.

“Alright, let’s just try out the new format we discovered yesterday. I’ve thought of a plausible pattern.”

“What are you talking about? After we finish smoking, it’s the whole research wing’s recruitment schedule. They said we have to attend a lecture.”

“Ah, they did say they invited a specialist to assist with the research. So that’s starting with a lecture?”

“They said he’s a highly respected scholar in that field. Apparently, we need to understand his theory first before we can integrate anything…”

The researchers, grumbling as if annoyed, stood up and left one by one.

The researchers dispersed, scattering towards the rear entrances of the various research wings.

Lennok waited quietly, then stood up only after all the researchers had left.

“The research wing where the lecture is taking place will be empty. That works out well.”

[Should I hack the research wing’s internal system to find out the lecture time?]

“No, let’s try touching that later.”

Lennok said, glancing at the cigarette butts the researchers had left in the smoking area’s ashtray.

Lennok roused his mana to inspect the discarded cigarette butts, then withdrew his hand and turned away.

“Independent networks used by research institutions like this often shut down completely once an intrusion is detected. We might only get one chance to easily interfere with the network.”

[Even if an independent network like this shuts down, I can smash it with my own power……]

“By paralyzing the entire institute’s systems and servers?”

[……I’m just diligently doing what I do best.]

“Or perhaps, what you find most amusing.”

Lennok, holding Davi’s truly impertinent mouth with both hands and stretching it, headed towards the nearest research wing’s rear entrance.

The moment he grasped the doorknob with his bare hand, red lettering flickered above the door.

Beep!!

[Biometric pattern mismatch. Please try again.]

It was easy to be misled by the researchers’ seemingly unguarded reactions, but the institute’s security was far from lax.

Not only did the door instantly engage full lockdown upon closing, but the system also required researchers’ biometric information to reopen it.

As soon as it detected an unauthorized user, a red warning light flashed, repeating an intense warning message.

[If a valid pattern is not recognized within 5 seconds, security forces will be summoned. 5, 4……]

A stern declaration to immediately summon security forces after a single pattern mismatch. It was clear just how thoroughly the institute’s security was maintained.

Davi, dangling from one of Lennok’s hands, wriggled her six tails ostentatiously.

[For my innocent Master, it seems I have no choice but to step in.]

“Wait.”

[?]

Lennok ignored Davi’s confusion and instantly drew up mana.

The moment a transparent liquid flowed from Lennok’s fingertips, gripping the doorknob.

[Biometric pattern matched. Welcome.]

Hiss…!!

With a crisp chime, the lock disengaged, and the door swung open.

Lennok, flexing his slightly damp right hand, immediately stepped into the research wing’s corridor.

[That’s an uncharacteristic direct approach for Master. What’s gotten into you?]

“It’s quite hard to get the hang of it if I don’t practice in real situations like this.”

[The hang of it?]

“Hermes Orokhnier’s Mass Spellcraft.”

Lennok replied, shaking his hand as if feeling a bit queasy.

“Instead of altering mana, I created it by replicating artificial biological material.”

The method Lennok used to bypass the research wing’s security wasn’t overly complicated.

He analyzed the biometric information from the discarded cigarette butts, adjusted it with Mass Spellcraft, and created biological material sufficient to pass security.

“The expected process should be simple, but it’s still overwhelming… Creating something is never easy.”

Hermes’s Mass Spellcraft was a miracle that mimicked real mass using mana.

Mimicking creation that is unimaginable under the physical laws of this current world was possible because he, as an Ascendant of the Old World, had obtained answers equivalent to the world itself.

Even though its efficiency and mana consumption were drastically reduced because it was a power that didn’t align with this world’s laws, the potential and possibilities of Mass Spellcraft were truly boundless.

Alongside the Libra of Fate, Five Ultimate Arts, it was one of the supreme high-level magics that Lennok still struggled to use properly.

“Since it’s not a magic based on my own Mind Imprint to begin with, it’s harder to control. It feels like the foundational sense itself is jumping around erratically.”

If used well, it could yield absurdly good results with simple application, as seen now, but the process itself was extremely difficult and fickle.

It was undoubtedly because it strongly reflected the temperament and character of Hermes, the Mass Spellcraft’s original owner.

It would be stranger if a spellcraft embodying the life of an eccentric who lived as a chancellor of a nation, then became an Ascendant as a war proxy trampling civilizations, were simple and intuitive.

[What Master just created, it mimicked the biological material on a cigarette butt, didn’t it?]

As Lennok thought that and looked around, Davi, who had been lost in contemplation, mumbled.

Davi’s fur bristled slightly, a look of dismay on her face.

[So, isn’t that just like using the saliva of a completely unknown organism……?]

“Did you really have to point that out and make me feel gross?”

[Squeak! Squeak!]

“Quiet.”

Lennok stuffed the spirit, which was shrieking like a nightingale to avoid his damp hand, back into his pocket and began walking down the research wing corridor.

Indeed, everyone seemed to have gone to the auditorium, as no sound could be heard in this research wing.

The problem was that all the rooms on both sides of the corridor were securely locked, preventing entry.

When he tried a door, a red warning message immediately began to flicker above it, just like when he entered the research wing.

[You could just smear your hands with organic saliva again and go around touching all the doorknobs.]

[Please don’t call me until it’s all over.]

“That’s the plan.”

Lennok replied, walking across the corridor towards the lobby located in the center of the research wing.

Several corridors crisscrossed the research wing, connecting to a central hall.

Lennok, naturally picking up a white lab coat draped over a chair by the desk, fell into thought.

‘The structure of the research wing itself isn’t difficult to grasp. The problem lies elsewhere.’

Aside from areas with specialized facilities or equipment, the structure of other research wings probably wouldn’t be much different.

The important thing was where he should head to investigate the purpose of this institute.

What Lennok wanted wasn’t to destroy this institute, which bore Evan Vylun’s name, but to figure out the intentions of the Central Council who established it.

“Hmm?”

Lennok’s gaze, deep in thought, shifted to a monitor set up on one side of the desk.

Something was moving on multiple split screens, which seemed to be CCTV feeds of each research wing.

The image of a researcher scratching his shaggy white hair, holding coffee in one hand and yawning.

He walked down the corridor, muttering to himself like a madman, then abruptly entered a lab without even closing the door.

“…………”

Given the white lab coat, he was indeed a researcher, but his demeanor seemed extraordinary in many ways.

If he remained in the research wing so conspicuously while other researchers were dragged off to the lecture, he must undoubtedly be a high-ranking researcher.

Lennok immediately identified his target and moved.

Clunk!

He abruptly opened the half-ajar lab door and stood beside the white-haired researcher.

The researcher, who had been sitting at the experimental bench manipulating a microscope, unaware the door had opened, sharply turned his head.

His expression was blurry and unfocused. He held coffee in his hand, but he looked as dazed as if he were drunk.

“Huh? Who are you?”

“I am……”

Lennok pondered for a moment, then, instead of answering, smiled faintly.

Since he had come here using Van’s face anyway, there was no reason to hide or hold back anything.

“I’m the person who entered here today.”

“…………”

At that peculiar, yet not untruthful, answer, the researcher wore a blank expression, then seemed to catch on and nodded.

“Aha, I see. You’re the new researcher who just joined, aren’t you?”

“Indeed.”

“Team Leader 2 mentioned they were going to reinforce the research institute’s staff last time~ So they found a candidate.”

Lennok also smiled calmly at the overly natural acceptance.

“My apologies for the late introduction.”

“Alright, I’ve seen your face, so you can go now.”

“Go where, sir?”

“Ah, didn’t you hear? They’re explaining the necessary mana theory through an invited lecture. All the other researchers will be there, so go and listen to the explanation.”

The researcher, seemingly uninterested in the newcomer, gave a perfunctory explanation and waved him off.

Lennok pretended to hesitate for a moment, then asked.

“Um… Senior, aren’t you going?”

“Me? I’m fine.”

Just as Lennok was about to choose his next words at that calm reply, the young man spoke in a light, almost dismissive tone.

“Lectures like that are for idiots who don’t even know what they’re researching.”

“…………”

It was a sharp answer, ill-fitting of his easygoing demeanor.

The young man, perhaps realizing he had spoken too harshly, subtly shifted his gaze towards Lennok.

“Well, I suppose it won’t make sense no matter how I explain it. If you’re curious, why don’t you come over here for a moment and take a look at this?”

The young man, pulling Lennok to sit in front of the microscope he had been looking through, spoke.

“The mana-structuring pattern that forms the foundation of the Universal Magic System. A rare masterpiece created by Professor Evan Vylun, an invention capable of changing the continent’s history.”

“…………”

“They say it’s based on very old, ancient magic, but there’s something here that can’t be explained by that alone. This research institute is a garbage internment camp, built to study it and spout more plausible nonsense.”

“…That’s quite an aggressive statement.”

“Why, do you think you’d be any different?”

“…………”

“Since the Universal Magic System was announced, I haven’t missed a single day studying this magic system. And I’ve discovered that this mana pattern hides a secret completely different from what was previously known.”

The young man gave Lennok a knowing glance, a wry smile on his face.

“Everything I just told you is clearly visible in that microscope.”

“…………”

“Check it. If you’re useful enough to work in this institute, you’ll know it the moment you see it. No, you must know it.”

“What happens if I don’t know?”

“If you don’t?”

The young man’s gaze, fixed on Lennok, instantly turned cold.

“Then there’ll just be one more idiotic failure to discard next quarter.”

“…………”

For someone left alone in the research wing, idling away, he seemed to have a rather chilling personality.

Lennok shrugged and leaned his eye to the microscope, and the young man immediately activated the equipment’s switch.