Chapter 78: Electronic Witch (2)


    Meeting the Electronic Witch was tricky from the start.


    Her physical body didnt exist in the real world.


    She was, literally, a witch living in the world of electronicsthe Electronic Witch.


    I stared at the screen as white letters vanished and then reappeared.


    Youre Veritas, right?


    I quietly typed  on my phone.


    A short answer. Arent you surprised? Well, it seemed like you knew of me.


    So, how was it recognizing me using The Overlord?


    Sorry about that. I have too many enemies, so I had to be cautious.


    I sent a message through my phones chat.


    Instead, Ill take care of various things for you.


    Rather than that, I want to meet and talk.


    Meet?


    The witch responded with a surprised emoticon.


    You, who know my secret? I can eliminate you in virtual reality, you know?


    She held absolute influence in the electronic world, having renounced her physical body in the real world. Only transcendents or the highest ranks could respond to her attacks, and even they could barely manage.


    Those below the highest ranks could end up mostly crippled or have their brains wiped clean if she decided to target them.


    But thats what Im counting on.


    The Electronic Witch wasnt that malicious.


    Is there a virtual reality capsule room nearby?


    If youreing, youll have to detour a bit, is that okay?


    Detour?


    Yes, theres a Mine hideout nearby. Its better to be cautious in advance.


    Now that I thought about it, this area was indeed a Mine hideout. Filled mostly with riffraff, but they were at a manageable level.


    I nced at my status window.


    A new feature appeared when the Conceptual Stat Energy of Defying Heaven reached 30: Retrieval. I was eager to test it out.


    Just wait a bit.


    First, I had to capture all the nearby Mines.<hr>


    South Korea had fundamentally excellent public order.


    This stemmed from a giant spirit vein beneath Korea, which produced many strong heroes, but due to the same spirit vein, there were also many strong viins and Mines.


    The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.


    Thus, in Korea, dangerous ces were truly perilous, while safe ces were exceedingly secure.


    In the profound gloom of a dim alleyway,


    I traversed that ce, my figure concealed by a hooded sweatshirt with the hood drawn up, and the Mask of Deception adorning my face.


    Whats with him? Whys he wearing a mask?


    Dont mess with him. Those types are usually trouble.


    A cursory nce was enough to confirm theycked the distinctive magical aura of Mines.


    Someone like Tak Yoon-il, being of high rank himself, could conceal it, but these men were readily detectable.


    Just to be safe, though.


    Crack.


    I unleashed a st of condensed Energy of Defying Heaven with Nyeom. It struck the thugs necks, and they dropped to the ground, unconscious.


    Retrieval.


    The Energy of Defying Heaven that had struck the thugs necks returned to me fluidly.


    I paused for a moment to assess how much Energy of Defying Heaven had been drained from the ck Energy.


    100%?


    To my surprise, the Energy of Defying Heaven remained exactly as it was before I had used it.


    But this was only because the foes were weak.


    In a sh of strength, the power typically diminished during battle.


    Yet, the potency was still frightening.


    Maybe I should abandon all other talents and skills and just focus on bolstering the Energy of Defying Heaven.


    I opened the status window and selected the Energy of Defying Heaven.


    [Would you like to increase the Conceptual Stat Energy of Defying Heaven? The total cost will be 15,000p.]


    It appeared I would have to dy this enhancement. The Energy of Defying Heaven required an excessive number of points.


    Well, that figures.


    I had obtained it quite early on, but Conceptual Stats were, in essence, the governing force of the concept they represented.


    -The owners mastery over Energy of Defying Heaven resembles that of the former master.


    ck Heavens words echoed in my memory.


    Mymand over Energy of Defying Heaven matched that of the previous Heavenly Demon.


    Thats absurd.


    Judging by the trajectory of the Heavenly Demon, she must have achieved transcendence. To say that my control over the Energy of Defying Heaven was simr to hers was absurd.


    I considered the Mine hideout nearby. It seemed that I would need further experiments.


    Sa, save me!


    In a dim, abandoned factory,


    A space where viins and Mines converged, a viin was fleeing, tears streaming down his face.


    Damn, damn, damn, damn.


    Living as a viin, he knew there might be danger.


    Heroes always loathed them, but Lee Sang-hyeon found that natural.


    Viins disrupted order, acting for their own pleasure.


    Although they were less serious than Mines, who wished for humanitys extinction, evenparing them was problematic.


    But the worst he had anticipated was to rot in jail, subject to legal judgment.


    Thats what he thought.


    Argh!


    A scream echoed.


    Click-ck.


    Footsteps followed the scream.


    Damn, damn, damn.


    Lee Sang-hyeon trembled and copsed, unable to muster any strength.


    The being stood at the entrance, having in his organizations members, enshrouded in something ck.


    The ck entity tore a drunken member who was opening the door to shreds in a single strike. The image of the member, torn to shreds, screaming, and scattering into ck ash, was vividly imprinted in his memory.


    Hmm, is this still not enough?


    A voiceden with static rang out. It was impossible to discern whether it was male or female.


    Lee Sang-hyeon turned his head.


    Everything was a blur. It surely had to do with talents.


    Yet, something was discernible.


    A white mask amidst the darkness, resembling a demon that had crawled up from hell to im their lives.


    Swish!


    The figure, cloaked in darkness, lunged in an instant and pierced through another door.


    Argh!


    Crunch, crunch, crunch.


    The sounds of something being brutally torn apart mingled with screams.


    Lee Sang-hyeon shuddered and observed the figure.


    Slowly


    The harbinger of death drew nearer to him.


    You.


    Yes, yes!


    Is this everyone in your organization?


    Yes, yes! Th-th-thats right! And I-I know the location of the vault that the b-b-boss of this organization cherishes.


    Really?


    The demon seemed intrigued by his words. Lee Sang-hyeon saw a glimmer of hope for his survival.


    I-I know, too!


    A woman, biting her tongue, knelt beside him and spoke.


    Theres n-n-nothing much in the vault! The b-b-boss is a very suspicious character. I know where his house is!


    Hmm, I dont have time for this.


    I-I will break into the b-b-bosss house for you!


    What makes me trust you?


    Thats!


    As the woman hesitated, a sneeringugh echoed.


    This is a mark.


    Corrupt.


    A ck energy formed a circle. The demon blew it onto the womans forehead.


    Ugh.


    The woman began to tremble, herplexion turning pale.


    This is a mark. It will settle in your mind, and the moment you defy my will, it will blow up your head.


    Yes, yes, yes!


    The woman nodded, tears streaming down, as the demon gestured for her to hurry and then turned to the man.


    The man had long since fainted.<hr>


    Something smells stuffy.


    Was it that scary? This was a bit shocking.


    Well, it didnt matter. I already know the location of the vault.


    The efficiency is higher than I thought.


    A mark.


    I didnt have a simr skill. I simply controlled the Energy of Defying Heaven to draw the pattern and blew it onto her forehead.


    I quickly retrieved it after inserting it because it started to shake the womans mana and was about to destroy her dantian.


    As expected, Energy of Defying Heaven is almost poisonous to those with mana.


    It made sense.


    Energy of Defying Heaven was a corrupting force. But I didnt understand why it belonged to thews of power.


    And its strong power against extraterrestrial forces. Although I know most things about the game, there are parts I dont know.


    That unknown power was the Energy of Defying Heaven.


    Well, lets check the vault first.


    I walked towards the vault.


    Thud! Thud!


    I turned every obstructing wall into ck energy, grateful for its absorption properties.


    Since I could theoretically use ck Energy indefinitely, I flew upwards andnded on the floor above. Then


    Crack.


    I forced open the vault. Inside were a few documents and a gold bar.


    The documents appear to be property deeds and high-interest loans.


    I stored the gold bar in my subspace and set fire to all the documents.


    Dealing with such matters was too cumbersome, and there was a risk of exposing my identity if I wasnt careful.


    I have no need to worry about money.


    My funds were increasing in real-time, approaching the 100 billion mark.


    I scanned the area again for any Mines.


    But there were none.


    Despite hunting about ten Mines, my Energy of Defying Heaven had only increased by one.


    The requirements are too stringent.


    Conceptual Stats conferred immense power, yet they were difficult to increase.


    Disheartened, I entered a nearby capsule room.


    To safeguard against unforeseen threats, I entrusted my Energy of Defying Heaven to Eternal Heaven, enabling it to cast a protective spell over me.


    After making the payment, I settled into the capsule.<hr>


    Upon entering the virtual space beneath a blue sky, the Veritas avatar greeted me.


    Connecting brought immediate confusion.


    Firstly, my chat was overwhelmed with 999+ messages, and so was my mailbox.


    Well, it was expected. The Electronic Witch might protect personal information, but messages and mails sent to my ID were easily traceable.


    I stepped outside.


    Hello.


    A girl seated on a bench waved at me.


    With her blue hair and eyes, and dressed in a casual blue tracksuit, she seemed quite at ease.


    Hello. Did youe here to meet me?


    Yeah, sort of.


    The Electronic Witch paused for a moment before pping her hands.


    A door materialized before her.


    Should we start with the story first?


    Sure.


    Who revealed my secret to you?


    It came from you.


    Me?


    I smiled. The difficulty had altered, and the Mines had grown stronger, but one thing remained constant.


    Itsrgely conjectured how the people in this world once lived or what befell them.


    It might be a bit of a cheat, but if it helped avert a disastrous or fatal future, then its a win-win for both parties.


    My name is Lee Seo-ha. Im a seer who foretells the future.


    What?


    I approached you because a future version of you implored me to save you.


    The witch merely gazed at me with an empty expression.