What I handed over included Baek Cheol-su's safe location, bank accounts, and other documents, USB drives, and so on.
These were things I had received from Jeong Jin-su not long ago.
"Why are you giving these back…?"
"I just took them for a moment to check. Now I'm returning them to you, so make good use of them. There will be a lot of places to spend money soon."
Jeong Jin-su's eyes widened.
Of course, he knew that the person in front of him was a member of the Sungmuiga family and that he was now expected to pledge his loyalty. But he had assumed he would be assigned to work in the shadows.
"What makes you trust me with this? This money no longer has an owner. Aren't you worried that I might take it and run?"
It wasn't enough to start something huge, but for one person, it was an enormous amount of money.
I smiled lightly.
"Why? Are you planning to run?"
"No, that's not it…"
"Of course, I don't trust you. You haven't shown me anything yet."
It would be reckless to trust Jeong Jin-su now.
We hadn't spent enough time together, nor had we shared any deep conversations.
"But I do trust the situation you're in."
Jeong Jin-su was currently tied to two circumstances.
First, his daughter still needed ongoing treatment from the Sungmuiga family. She had improved significantly, but she wasn't completely cured.
Second, regardless of his true feelings, Jeong Jin-su had once been entangled with the Baekgolpa organization.
He had only been freed through my deal with my seventh elder brother. If he tried to disappear, his past could easily be used to shackle him again at any moment.
"That should be enough of an answer."
"…Yes."
Jeong Jin-su understood the meaning behind my words, and his expression stiffened slightly.
"But it's just that I don't trust you yet. I hope that one day, I can."
His gaze, which had been lowered, slowly lifted to meet mine.
"Whether it's through deals or circumstances, I hope that someday, we can trust each other without thinking about complicated matters."
I want to trust Jeong Jin-su.
So I won't manipulate him with the weaknesses I hold over him.
The moment I use those weaknesses to control him, I become no different from Baek Cheol-su. And if that happens, Jeong Jin-su's loyalty will be lost forever.
"Why does he trust me enough to be this honest?"
Jeong Jin-su felt conflicted.
He had assumed Lee Cheol would be just like Baek Cheol-su, using his weaknesses to control him.
Lee Cheol did draw a line by calling it a "deal," but in the end, their relationship had been shaped into one where Jeong Jin-su was indebted to him.
And yet, at this moment, Lee Cheol's demeanor made it seem like he truly saw them as equals.
"I understand. Thank you for trusting me. I'll do my best to deliver results."
"Good. I'm looking forward to it."
"I'll prove myself, one step at a time. It won't take long."
Jeong Jin-su's eyes gleamed.
For a brief moment, I saw a glimpse of the Seolgeom I had once known—the man who had stood by my third brother's side, pressuring my eldest brother—rather than the man who had lost his luster under Baek Cheol-su.
"I'll be expecting great things. I mean that sincerely."
I flashed him a grin.
After adding a few more instructions, I stood up.
"Keep your contact info the same. We'll need to be able to reach each other when necessary."
"Where are you planning to go now?"
"South."
I packed my things as I spoke.
***
After receiving an account for operational funds from Jeong Jin-su and gathering my equipment, I returned to Seoul Station.
It was time to head south, just as I had planned.
The moment I stepped inside the station, I could feel people's subtle glances.
"I guess I stand out after all."
I had concealed my original equipment inside a golf bag, but since it wasn't a specialized case, not everything was covered.
Parts of the equipment—handles and edges—were sticking out here and there.
A middle-aged man caught sight of it, glanced at me, and subtly put some distance between us.
A young man's eyes lit up in curiosity.
An elderly man waiting in line at the ticket booth gave me a look of concern.
Among them, a small child widened their eyes and stared at me without hesitation, speaking with innocent curiosity.
"Wow, Mom, look at that! That guy must be a warrior! He's so cool!"
"Where did you learn to say things like that? Come here, now."
"Can I say hi to him?"
"Shh! No, you can't. Come here right now."
I let out a small, amused chuckle as I watched the mother hastily pull her child away.
Curiosity, admiration, fear, pity.
The emotions in the gazes directed at me were varied.
That was the typical reaction to warriors or hunters in South Korea.
'I was planning to look around a little before leaving, but I should just get on now.'
Though there was still time before the train departed, I headed straight to the platform.
The train I was taking was an express train reserved for a select few passengers.
Even though it was just a train, the ticket cost nearly as much as a first-class plane ticket. It was something Jung Jin-su had arranged for me, saying it would make the journey more comfortable.
"Welcome aboard, sir. May I see your ticket?"
"Here it is."
The seat I was guided to resembled more of a private cabin than a regular seat.
It was small but had a bed, and even a bathroom for a quick shower.
Sitting on the bed, I checked the bank account Jung Jin-su had provided.
The deposit was around a hundred million won.
It was more than enough as an initial fund. If needed, I could always get more, so there was no financial burden.
'I wonder what kind of performance Jung Jin-su will show.'
I sipped the tea provided in the cabin and thought about him.
Jung Jin-su was not yet Seolgeom.
In my previous life, he had become my third brother's right-hand man and demonstrated incredible strategic skills, but right now, he was not at that level.
If he were the Seolgeom of that time, he would never have lived quietly under someone like Baek Cheol-soo.
'But his talent has already been proven.'
How many people in this world could use mere wanderers—who were no better than thugs—to attract corporate chairmen and wealthy elites?
'I should let him act freely for now.'
That was why I hadn't given him any complicated instructions.
'If he starts slacking off or if his execution skills decline compared to what he showed in the future, I'll step in. But I doubt that will happen.'
Just how far could Jung Jin-su go when given full autonomy?
'Someone like him should be enough to help me build my foundation of support.'
I wasn't aiming for the foothills of some random hill—I was setting my sights on the towering summit of a great mountain.
I couldn't afford to spend time on every little thing along the way.
To walk the path to the top, I needed a Sherpa—someone who could handle things on my behalf.
'And if it's known that I have such a foundation behind me, I won't have to deal with unnecessary suspicion in the future.'
That was the most important thing.
I would be actively using my knowledge from my past life from now on.
I needed to uncover things that were still hidden or obscured at this point in time.
So far, I had been lucky to obtain Mujin, Heukya, the Coffin of Beginnings, and the Slate. I could make those acquisitions seem plausible.
'But there are plenty of things I'll achieve that would be impossible without knowledge of the future. If those events keep stacking up, people will start to suspect me.'
I had no intention of becoming a Cassandra.
From now on, everything I accomplished had to seem like the result of rational deduction and prediction.
And for that, I needed data.
With modern society's rapid advancement, it was becoming harder to conceal information. At the same time, truly hidden information was becoming exponentially harder to uncover.
If I suddenly produced absurd results by piecing together concealed information, unwanted attention would follow.
'But if Jung Jin-su grows in influence and it becomes known that I have an organization behind me, I won't have to worry about that.'
I wouldn't need to prove how I obtained my intelligence.
Only the results would matter.
Whether Jung Jin-su would be useful to that extent remained to be seen.
'I'll keep receiving reports, so I can afford to be hopeful.'
Maybe I was expecting too much.
But knowing what Jung Jin-su would become in the future, I couldn't help but be excited.
—The train will be departing shortly. This train will depart from Seoul Station and…
'Rather than Jung Jin-su, I should focus on my own tasks first.'
I carefully opened the case I had brought along with my golf bag.
Inside, an old stone tablet was revealed.
The first item I had sought out after beginning my life as a warrior—an artifact more valuable than any treasure found in the black market.
English Translation:
At first glance, this old stone tablet seemed insignificant.
But it held a secret.
"The traces of that place are hidden right here."
Sweeping a hand over the edge of the tablet, eyes gleamed with excitement.
***
Humanity had advanced both science and magic, uncovering mysteries once deemed unknowable and revealing countless secrets that had been shrouded in veils.
Yet, not everything had been unveiled.
One such mystery was Yi Hyul-hyeon, the founder of the Sungmu Clan.
Yi Hyul-hyeon was an enigmatic figure in many ways.
Most accounts of him were passed down orally, and the few historical records that existed were highly unreliable.
He didn't even have a tomb.
On Sungmu Mountain, the ancestral burial site of the Sungmu Clan, only a shrine bearing his ancestral tablet remained. His remains were nowhere to be found.
His traces were so difficult to uncover that some scholars even speculated that he might have been a fictional figure.
Then, in a past life, a relic site connected to Yi Hyul-hyeon was unearthed.
"That was where records of Heukya were discovered."
The site had been found in a place once called the "Thousand-Year Ancient Capital" and now known as a stronghold of shamans—Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
As soon as I entered Gyeongju, a stabbing pain spread through my eyes, as if something were crushing them.
"Ugh…"
My Mystic Eyes were acting on their own, trying to absorb magical energy and perceive the world.
"This hasn't gone out of control since my training on Cheonwi Mountain…"
Perhaps due to Gyeongju's unusual energy, my Mystic Eyes suddenly became highly sensitive.
Suppressing them with effort, I scanned my surroundings.
Gyeongju was a tangled web of all kinds of energies.
"I expected this, but I didn't think it would be strong enough to trigger my Mystic Eyes."
With every step, the flow of energy changed, and even within the same space, the currents of magic twisted unpredictably.
"An artificially balanced mystical land."
That was how shamans described Gyeongju.
It was a place where countless chaotic energies miraculously maintained equilibrium.
The reason was simple.
There were too many artifacts and ruins in Gyeongju.
There was a saying: "Dig anywhere in Gyeongju, and you'll find a relic."
It was a land where the ancient and the modern coexisted, brimming with the lost mysteries of past civilizations.
Objects with long histories retained power, and that power manifested as an unknowable force in the present day.
To make matters worse, Gyeongju was shaped like a basin.
It was a geography that trapped energy rather than allowing it to dissipate.
With so many relics exuding power in such a confined space, the land naturally became a spiritual nexus.
And to add to that, shamans had gathered here, establishing their own domains to harness Gyeongju's spiritual energy—making the place even more complex and bizarre.
"There's no way shamans would just ignore a place like this."
I let out a dry chuckle as I watched shamans in strange attire walking casually through the streets.
"If it weren't for my Mystic Eyes, this wouldn't have affected me much."
To other warriors, this place might have simply felt like a land rich in magic. But because of my Mystic Eyes, I was unbearably sensitive to its energy.
Throb. Throb.
The pain continued as my Mystic Eyes kept activating and deactivating on their own.
"Haa… It's finally calming down."
I leaned against a wall in an alley, gathering my magic.
"Hey, kid."
A voice suddenly called out.
Instinctively, I snapped my head in the direction of the sound.
"What are you?"
A woman, exhaling a puff of smoke from the cigarette between her lips, approached with a playful grin.
"Well, isn't this interesting? My detection spell picked up something strange, so I came to check it out."
She blew out another cloud of smoke.
Through the dissipating gray mist…
"You've got the same kind of eyes as me, huh?"
In the woman's eyes, I could see a familiar energy.
It was the power of Mystic Eyes.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]