Chapter 219
Chapter 219
‘Huh? What just happened?’
Dristan Moses thought he had mastered magic when he recently became an 8th-level wizard. However, the wizard who appeared before him completely shattered that belief.
“What the hell is going on…?” Derrick Moore, who had collapsed on the floor, looked at the man with purple hair in astonishment.
‘Wait… So that means he’s not a wizard hired by Derrick Moore?'
Dristan tried to get his bearings on this situation.
'I mean… If that’s the case, he either appeared here by chance or was hired by another family...'
Dristan tried to think of another faction who could have hired Lee Shin. He shook his head.
'No, wait… If someone had the power to summon someone like this wizard, they would have already used him a long time ago.'
Dristan wondered whether these people just arrived by accident, but the truth is, there were very few people who knew the location of this archaeological site.
'Wait a second… Could this be done by Lex?’
The next moment, Dristan thought that if it were the giant conglomerate, Lex, it would not be that surprising for them to have information about this site.
'Well… Then were they trying to weaken two of the Five Great Families and take the opportunity to shove themselves in place?’
As his thoughts began to entangle, Dristan reached a conclusion.
'Lex... those bastards must have betrayed us. First, we need to get out of here.'
When Dristan looked at Derrick, he thought Derrick’s expression was truly comical. Well, he must have been shocked too. The mana control the wizard Lee Shin had just shown was beyond their common sense. However, what was more shocking was that there were no visible Circles on the wizard's body.
'No matter how much mana I send to him to detect Circles, I can’t find any of them.’
Dristan just could not understand. It was incomprehensible for him. How could a wizard reach such a level of mastery without having any Circles?
'...Oh I see. Maybe he's not a wizard, but a Superhuman who can use an artifact.’
Then, Dristan started to think that Lee Shin must have surely used an ancient artifact with extraordinary powers to display such unbelievable abilities.
"So are you using an artifact?" Dristan asked Lee Shin with conviction.
"An artifact?" Lee Shin retorted, because he did not know what Dristan was talking about.
"You’re quite amazing...! I didn’t know there was an artifact that could exhibit such abilities!" Derrick nodded in amazement upon hearing Dristan's question.
"But, even if you were using an artifact, it wouldn’t have been possible to exhibit that kind of an ability in such a short time," Dristan smirked, looking at Lee Shin.
Lee Shin furrowed his eyebrows at their incomprehensible gibberish and concentrated mana on his fingertips.
??"I have no idea what nonsense you guys are talking about, and we don't have much time to deal with you," Lee Shin replied.
"You have quite the arrogance!" Dristan rotated his Circles once again.
The eight Circles spun rapidly, generating an immense amount of mana.
"Look! This is the power of an 8th-level thundermancer, hahaha!” Dristan shouted and laughed at Lee Shin.
The next moment, a golden dragon emerged from the tip of his wand. The ferocious dragon made up of thunderbolts opened its mouth and charged toward Lee Shin.
"Hahaha! Die already!" Dristan shouted at Lee Shin, laughing at him.
"You are so foolish," Lee Shin replied.
Seeing Dristan do that, Lee Shin shook his head and extended his hand into the air. As if he was pulling something out of thin air, a spear of black thunderbolt emerged in his grip.
"Is that black... thunderbolt...?" Dristan gasped because he was surprised to see this skill.
As Dristan uttered his question, the spear of black thunderbolt in Lee Shin’s firm grip shot straight toward Dristan's golden dragon and collided.
Babababam—!
The spear of black thunderbolt pierced the mouth of the golden dragon that was wide open, raced forward and struck Dristan's body.
"Krahaaararararak!" the golden dragon roared in pain.
The next moment, the golden dragon exploded before Lee Shin’s eyes and disappeared. Dristan, who had been shaking, broke out in cold sweat and collapsed to the ground.
"F-forgive me... Krahaaah!" Dristan shouted in fear.
Terror filled Dristan's face as he covered his head. It seemed like the fear of facing the power of death mixed with black mana was even more terrifying than the damage he had suffered from the spear of black thunderbolt.
.
"I-I-I won't challenge you ever again! I promise! So please, just..." Dristan begged Lee Shin for his life.
Ignoring Dristan, Lee Shin approached Derrick. He then took out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, showing a drawing of a young Elf.
"Do you know this Elf? Her name is Seyna," Lee Shin asked Derrick.
Derrick tried to quickly think of who this Elf could be. He furrowed his eyebrows as he was in deep thought, but he could not recall seeing such an Elf.
"I don't know sir," Derrick replied to Lee Shin.
After hearing his response, Lee Shin went over to Dristan and showed him the drawing.
"How about you?" Lee Shin asked.
Trembling, Dristan looked at the drawing and slowly nodded as he recognized the young Elf in the drawing.
"I… I-I know this Elf! I've seen her!" Dristan replied.
His words made Sevrino’s eyes open wide. He quickly approached Dristan and grabbed his arm.
"I-is it true? Have you really seen this child?" Sevrino asked, eyes starting to well up with tears.
"Yes, I have. I’ve seen her," Dristan replied.
"Is the child... alive? Where did you see…?" Sevrino asked again.
"I don't know where she is now, but two years ago, she was definitely alive. At Requear..." Dristan continued.
Dristan’s account flowed smoothly and naturally. As Sevrino listened, his eyes became red, and tears began to fall. How much must he have wanted to find his daughter?
Until this point, Sevrino had not shown any signs of impatience or attempted to disrupt his agreement with Lee Shin, always quietly focusing on his own tasks. However, seeing the tears streaming down Sevrino’s wrinkled cheeks, Lee Shin felt a pang in his heart.
"I can help you find her. If you come with me—" Dristan said to Sevrino.
"Just shut up." Suddenly, Alice jumped in and cut him off.
Dristan furrowed his eyebrows at Alice's sudden interruption.
"Huh? What do you mean?” Dristan asked Alice.
Alice smirked as she could sense him suppressing his anger in his voice.
“Ha! You know what I mean! I’m basically telling you not to lie," Alice replied, and laughed at Dristan.
Despite Alice's mocking laughter, Dristan remained composed and nodded.
"I totally understand. I know it's hard to believe me easily. But think about it, my words can also be true. If I ask someone from my family, I can show you the evidence," Dristan explained, trying to convince Sevrino and the group.
"Oh, how audacious. How do you plan to create evidence that doesn't exist?" Alice replied to Dristan in a cold voice.
"What do you mean I’m creating evidence that doesn't exist…? That's..." Dristan muttered, trying to understand what was going on.
As Dristan continued to make excuses, he suddenly noticed that the atmosphere had changed.
‘Huh? What’s going on? Why did the atmosphere change so suddenly with just one comment from that woman?’
Even the elderly man who had been shedding tears a moment ago now wore a completely different expression—anger. Dristan could not understand what was going on.
"Hey! Just because of baseless suspicions like that—" Dristan tried to make excuses again.
"Shut up," Lee Shin said.
His voice was colder than ever.
Pizz—!
The next moment, a thunderbolt struck Dristan's body.
"Kaaaah!" Screaming, Dristan writhed on the ground.
While Alice watched him do this, she cursed at him.
"You worthless piece of trash," Alice muttered.
"Don't worry too much. Seyna will definitely be somewhere here,” Lee Shin comforted Sevrino and reassured him.
"It's alright. I didn't think we would be able to find her so easily anyway," Sevrino replied, forcing a smile and trying to look calm.
"I... I will help you guys find her," Derrick spoke with great effort.
Lee Shin stared at him without a word.
"Dristan and I are each the head of one of the Five Great Families in Velster. Therefore, in terms of influence, we're among the top five at least. We'll definitely be of help," Derrick explained to Lee Shin and the group.
"Is that right?" Lee Shin asked.
Lee Shin asked Alice instead of Derrick, and Alice nodded in response. Derrick, seeing this, vaguely sensed that Alice had the ability to discern the truth.
"What's the name of your family?" Lee Shin asked.
"We are the Moore family," Derrick replied.
"Alright. Then I'll ask for your help. And I’ll make sure to reward you properly for that,” Lee Shin added.
“Okay! Just rescuing me and leaving Dristan in that state is more than enough of a reward!" Derrick replied.
"Well, you can decide on that later..." Lee Shin replied.
As Lee Shin looked at the people who lay on the ground around them, Derrick picked up on Lee Shin’s thoughts and spoke.
"Our people will come here to clean these up. Would you like to come to our family first? We'll offer our hospitality," Derrick said, looking at Lee Shin and the group.
"Alright then," Lee Shin replied.
"Are you sure?" Sevrino asked, looking worried.
"Yes, it will be fine," Lee Shin replied.
"I mean… What is there to worry about? He’s Lee Shin,” Alice added.
Alice's words brought a light smile to Sevrino’s face. He nodded.
***
This archaeological site was one of the sites scattered across this world where legacies of the past were hidden. The relics found here were known to grant people abilities beyond imagination and possess extraordinary functions that did not exist anywhere else in the present. This was why those in power sought to monopolize these relics, leading to a conflict between two of the Five Great Families, each vying for control.
"To be more exact, our family was betrayed by the Moses family," Derrick spoke bitterly.
"Well yeah, he seemed like a person who would do that. He lies as naturally as he breathes,” Alice muttered, glancing back.
The next moment, Lee Shin’s group left the archaeological site by getting in the Moore family's car, which had been waiting outside. The family members who were unaware of the situation inside, reacted with shock upon hearing about Moses's betrayal. They gritted their teeth as they looked at the people whom they had held as captives.
"Among our family members, we know some specialists who are experts in finding people. We will put in a request to them," said the people of the Moore family.
"Thank you." Sevrino expressed his gratitude, bowing his head.
"And also, there might be some commotion within the family for a while. We will probably end up going to war with Moses. Don't worry about it though. Since the head of the family has been captured, the outcome of the war is basically decided," Derrick explained to Lee Shin and the group.
"Alright, understood," Lee Shin replied.
It was sufficient for Derrick that Lee Shin’s group was inside their building. Their opponent this time was the Moses family, one of the Five Great Families. Although the situation was in their favor, they could not predict when or how the Moses family might act. In such a situation, having a formidable wizard like Lee Shin residing with their family made things much easier.
"This is mine," Derrick said, pointing to a building.
It was a towering structure that one would need to crane their neck far back to see. Derrick proudly introduced his building, but the reaction of Lee Shin and his group was lackluster, having seen far taller buildings on Earth.
"Okay," Lee Shin replied.
"It looks fine," Sevrino replied.
"Umm… Well then… Let's go in," said Derrick with slight disappointment at their reactions.
As Lee Shin and his group entered, they marveled at the interior. Unlike the Korean architectural style that prioritized efficiency, this place was designed with grandeur in mind, and the design exuded a sense of splendor right from the entrance and more.
"Would you like to have a rest first?" Derrick asked Lee Shin.
"Yes," Lee Shin replied.
Elevators exist even in this world. While their way of operating was different from Earth, they worked similarly. After taking the elevator to the 25th floor, Lee Shin and his group entered their rooms.
"Well then, please make yourselves comfortable," Derrick said to them.
As Derrick left the room, Alice flopped down on the bed.
"This is so nice!” Alice exclaimed.
"Hey, we didn't come here to play," Lee Shin replied, looking at Alice.
"Ugh." Alice pursed her lips in response to Lee Shin’s response and then glanced at the entrance where Derrick had just left.
"But you know… It seems like Derrick wants to use us by asking us to stay here," Alice said to Lee Shin.
"I know. I’m aware of that. But, it’s not like he's asking us to go out and fight or anything. So, I think we can do this much for him,” Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin drew the curtains, revealing a panoramic view of the city outside. Tall buildings, cars racing down the streets, and bustling throngs of people could be seen. This place did not look that different from Earth.
"Hmm..." Lee Shin looked at the people.
Right below the building, the people walking about seemed unusually hectic. Luxurious cars were entering the building's entrance one after another, probably because of the incident at the archaeological site and the fast spread of information those in power had.
Thunk!
Lee Shin drew the curtains shut. Then, he sat down on a chair.
"Alice, so you’re saying that if we can confirm the presence of Seyna here, you can locate her, right?" Lee Shin asked.
"Yeah, if we can narrow it down to that extent, it should be possible. But right now, we don't even know if Seyna is here, alive, or dead..." Alice replied.
"I'm not even sure if I can afford to rest like this. It feels like I should do something right now,” Sevrino bit his lips as he felt restless.
“Mr. Sevrino, I’ll find her no matter what. If Derrick’s family fails to find her, then I will bring all the heads of the Five Great Families together to find her," Lee Shin said to reassure Sevrino.
In his mind’s eye, Sevrino imagined Lee Shin storming the Five Great Families, binding the family heads into a single mass, and levitating them into the air. He decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Hahaha... No, it’s alright. Actually, I think it would be nice to take a short break,” Sevrino replied.
"Well, it should definitely be possible if it’s Lee Shin! Should I help you?" Alice offered.
"No, you should stay here and protect Mr. Sevrino. Eventually, you will have to use your unique ability to its maximum, so just rest for now,” Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin got up from his chair and walked in the direction of the entrance.
"Where are you going?" Alice asked Lee Shin.
"Huh? Where are you going?" Sevrino asked.
With each step, blue mana surged from Lee Shin’s feet. The mana quickly turned into bright yellow lightning energy.
Pizz— Zap...!
Lee Shin’s mana extended from his feet and spread forward, extending beyond the entrance.
“I’m going to welcome the guest we have,” Lee Shin replied to Alice and Sevrino.
Faint screams could be heard from outside the study iron door. Lee Shin, wearing a sly smile, forcefully unlocked the door and swung it open.