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Chapter 129

This guy must be a part of the supported group, thought Se-Hoon.

Currently, Victor was glancing back and forth between the one-handed sword and Se-Hoon with slight tension. He likely didn’t fully understand the nature of his task, as he had likely only received it moments ago. If that was the case, the gap he showed in his stance just now made sense.

Seeing how the layer over the real surface of the blade restored itself immediately, it must be some sort of seal that will unlock under certain conditions. The real purpose of the sword is likely for ceremonial usage rather than combat.

It was likely that Victor was supposed to play a supporting role when Offering made their move next week. Taking that information, Se-Hoon mulled over the different strategies Offering had utilized before.

Then, like nothing had happened, Se-Hoon nonchalantly said, “What a pity. It was supposed to be a decisive move on my end.”

“Haha. It was terrifying, though,” replied Victor, breaking out into a cold sweat. 

If Se-Hoon had shown any signs of attacking while rushing forward, Victor would have responded immediately. However, since Se-Hoon had walked forward and intentionally allowed himself to be “stabbed” by Victor’s sword, Victor had been caught completely off-guard and hurriedly pulled back his sword, forcing him to allow Se-Hoon’s next set of attacks to land in vain.

The timing of his moves was too perfect to be a coincidence.… What a scary guy.

He had already heard that Se-Hoon was a promising young blacksmith, and now, judging by the recent exchange, it seemed he also had exceptional combat skills.

Now I understand why my client advised me to keep an eye on him at all times.

With that much talent, he sort of understood why his client was so greedy for the student known as Lee Se-Hoon. 

Victor glanced at his one-handed sword.

This won’t break mid-battle, but it might raise suspicions if it’s too tough.

Revising his strategy to block as much as possible while keeping impacts to his weapon at a minimum, Victor calmed down.

“Shall we try again?”

“Sure.”

Agreeing to Victor’s suggestion, Se-Hoon sprang up and swung his Five-Flamed Sword, aiming for a surprise attack.

It’s a bit too slow.

While the timing of Se-Hoon’s attack was good, unfortunately, the speed of it was lacking. Victor easily parried it by swinging his sword and slightly twisting the blade, deflecting the Five-Flamed Sword to the side.

Clang!

With absolute ease, Se-Hoon’s attack was cleanly deflected. However, Se-Hoon didn’t bat an eye and followed up with a hammer swing.

His movements made Victor\'s eyes flash.

I knew you\'d do that…!

Having predicted that Se-Hoon would persistently target his weapon, Victor infused his fist with mana and swung it at Se-Hoon’s hammer with all his might.

Thud!

Upon contact with Victor’s fist, Se-Hoon’s hammer bounced back, leaving his chest wide open.

And seeing that, Victor kicked off the ground and rapidly thrust his one-handed sword forward.

Whoosh!

In a magnificent display, the blade stopped right in front of Se-Hoon’s neck.

“…I lost.”

Lowering his weapons, Se-Hoon gazed at the tip of the blade lingering right in front of his neck with a bitter smile.

“So you weren’t that easy of an opponent after all.”

“I didn\'t become an A-rank just for show. Nice try, though.”

Feeling as if he had made up for his earlier mistake, Victor happily sheathed his sword and looked at the other three.

“Shall we continue?”

“Well, unlike me, they\'ve had a lot of duels today… so, what do you guys think? Want to give it a go?”

The three exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

“I think I\'m a bit too tired.”

“Me too; I\'m done for today.”

“Not really interested.”

Unlike when they were all eager to step up just moments ago, they were all now backing out together. It made Victor lift his shoulders higher, thinking they had been intimidated and were trying to avoid him.

“Alright then, I\'ll make sure to prepare properly for the next time I challenge you.”

“Sure, you can challenge me anytime,” said Victor with a grin before leaving the training ground satisfied. 

Meanwhile, the other students, who had watched the entire battle unfold, sighed.

“Ugh… so the winning streak is broken here.”

“Wait, but the ones fighting weren’t those three, so shouldn\'t we exclude Se-Hoon\'s loss?”

“Shut your trap and pay up.”

Sighing in disappointment, those who had bet on the winning streak lasting longer began taking out their wallets while others busily typed on their phones to spread the news.

By evening, everyone in the academy would likely be gossiping enthusiastically about Se-Hoon\'s defeat and the anticlimactic end to their winning streak.

This should be enough.

After scanning the crowd’s reactions, Se-Hoon stepped down from the training ground and called out to the others. 

“Let\'s go.”

Without another word, the three left with Se-Hoon.

A while later, upon confirming that there was no one around, Jake quietly asked, “Why did you tell us not to fight him earlier?”

Contrary to his earlier action of asking if they wanted to fight Victor back in the training area, he had actually signaled the three with a glance not to step up.

To Jake, it didn’t make sense. If Victor had been extremely strong then it would have, but truthfully, Victor wasn’t that formidable.

His movements were pretty clunky even though he’s supposed to be an A-rank…

In fact, Victor’s movements had been fine at first, but when Se-Hoon struck Victor’s sword with his hammer, Victor’s fighting style became far too defensive, to the point where it opened up numerous gaps in his defense instead. 

Still, given his rank, it wouldn\'t be an easy fight, but Victor was certainly someone they could win against. So why had Se-Hoon told them not to fight?

“I already roughly figured out everything during my battle. There’s no point in destroying him any further,” explained Se-Hoon.

In the end, the only reason Se-Hoon had gone up to fight in the first place was to find clues to what Offering was setting up for next week—and he had discovered that they were disguising their own weapons as training weapons. The next step now was to just pull them out by the root. 

Now that I know how they’re smuggling in their weapons, I can narrow down their men by seeing if they show similar reactions. After that, it’s a matter of finding out who within Babel provided them with those weapons.

If the training weapons had simply been switched during all of the preparation processes, it would be hard to pinpoint who had done so. But, if they had been switched out after Babel had finished preparing the weapons, it became a lot more feasible to locate and uproot the ones collaborating with Offering from within Babel.

Having decided on his next course of action, Se-Hoon began theorizing who those individuals within Aqar Quf could be. Before he could make much progress though, his attention was then brought back by Luize, who had been listening from behind. 

Hesitating, Luize cautiously asked, “So… do we not have to say those embarrassing lines anymore?”

The look she gave him was borderline pleading. 

The sight made Se-Hoon chuckle, and after a moment, he nodded. “Yeah, that can also stop.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. Are my words that untrustworthy to you?”

Considering that everything Se-Hoon had been instructing them to do was all part of his tactic to lure out the other side, there was no need to continue any longer now that the bait had been taken.

“Phew…”

Seeing Luize’s sigh of genuine relief at finally being freed, a light bulb went off in Se-Hoon’s head, and he belatedly added, “But let\'s keep up the whole advertisement thing.”

“…What?”

“Hmm, shouting doesn’t really work if it’s not a live stream, so how about sashes? We can write something like ‘Owner of Lee Se-Hoon’s Equipment’ on it.”

All Luize could do was stare blankly at him. Then, her eyes abruptly glinted blue, and she lunged at him. 

“Go to hell!!!!”

Grabbing his collar, she pounced on him like a predator would with prey. Her wild demeanor startled Jake, making him take a few steps back.

“What the…”

Still taken aback, he decided he needed to intervene, but then he noticed Se-Hoon, who, despite the fact that he was being choked and shaken, had a sly grin on his face.

Ah, he\'s just teasing her.

With mixed feelings, Jake watched the two who had a good, albeit strange, relationship. Then, he unexpectedly heard, Sung-Ha, who had been standing quietly, suddenly mutter, “Wearing sashes and deducting the debt every month doesn’t sound like a bad idea…”

“…”

Hearing that mutter, Jake became certain of one thing: There wasn\'t a single normal person here except for himself.

***

It was a Saturday morning. Having received a call from Lan Fei, Se-Hoon arrived at the exhibition hall of Borsippa and simply gazed at the building in front of him. 

This place is insanely huge…

The building was so enormous that it couldn\'t be fully seen at a glance; in fact, it couldn’t be fully seen even from a distance. 

When he approached closer, he saw a massive electronic board displaying the exhibition’s schedule. 

So the Hextech Expo and the exhibition are being held together…

Given the size of the building, he suspected it wouldn’t be too cramped, but regardless, both events being held at the same location meant that more caution was necessary.

The scale of what they might be planning might be even larger than I thought…

While carefully surveying the surroundings, he spotted Luize, who had arrived earlier and was waiting for him near the entrance.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“…”

Compared to normal, Luize just squinted her eyes and curtly replied, “Yeah.” 

Giving him just that short response, she turned around and entered first, her body language clearly indicating she was upset. 

Did I tease her too much?

Perhaps showing her the shoulder sash he had jokingly made yesterday pushed her patience to its limit. Still, she probably wasn\'t that angry since she had waited for him at the entrance. If he prodded her insensitively again though, she would definitely explode. 

Thus, Se-Hoon decided on the spot that he would behave today before following her inside. When he entered, he noticed Luize standing still, waiting for him. 

“…”

Meeting his gaze, Luize immediately started striding ahead again. Her behavior was identical to Sung-Ha’s back then, making Se-Hoon snicker as he quickly caught up to walk by her side.

“I see you\'ve arrived.” 

Spotting them from the entrance of Borsippa’s exhibition hall, Lan Fei approached them.

“Both of you, put these on,” said Lan Fei, handing them lanyards with entry passes and staff jackets. 

Once Se-Hoon and Luize put them on, Lan Fei pointed inside. “I\'ll explain everything while showing you around. Follow me.”

Together, the three entered the building, revealing its vast interior. The lights on the ceiling illuminated the space brightly, revealing various control devices that regulated the environment within the hall. 

And on the hall floor were the booths of various companies, each neatly arranged at regular intervals, all of them a familiar name. 

“What are you doing there? Move it!”

“Yes, sir!”

Everywhere one looked, company employees were busily installing and inspecting various devices, most of which appeared to provide supporting features for the exhibits. 

Knowing it would take some time before they arrived at the main exhibits, Se-Hoon took the time to observe his surroundings. 

It seems they really did put more focus on security.  

“Is that…” said Luize suddenly with a gasp, pointing to a spot with an astonished expression.

Clank, clank-

Following her finger, a white steel automaton could be seen walking through the hall. Standing about two meters tall, it had smooth, curved armor and moved very naturally.

“Ah, that is the new automaton from the Marionette Factory.”

“It seems quite different from the previous models.”

Compared to earlier automatons which resembled steel puppets, the new model before them had such smooth movements that it almost seemed human-like. 

“They optimized its movements by integrating an artificial spirit into its internal engine. They call it the G-series, and its specs are pretty impressive.”

Unlike Luize, whose eyes sparkled at Lan Fei\'s explanation, Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes and examined the new automaton more closely. 

Marionette Factory, huh…

Currently, they were famous for developing golems, but Se-Hoon was more familiar with them as a prosthetics company. They had honed their skills by creating their flagship humanoid golems, the automatons, and then shifted to creating prosthetics that even high-ranking heroes could use. 

Those prosthetics were of considerable help during the war.

Thanks to the Marionette Factory providing prosthetics to heroes who had retired or weakened due to injuries, they could return to the battlefield once again, alleviating the manpower shortages on the battlefield. 

They were attacked and destroyed by Tuner in the end, though.

Despite their unfortunate end, they nonetheless made a significant contribution to the Human Alliance. Hence, Se-Hoon was quite familiar with them, yet the automaton before him felt somewhat alien. 

G-series… I don\'t think I\'ve heard of it before.

Perhaps that line had faced significant issues during commercialization after being unveiled at the expo—but that was just a guess; he hadn’t served as a hero in the current period before the regression after all. 

They use artificial spirits, too…

Like the life forms they were based on—spirits—artificial spirits were made of elemental mana, something akin to half-monsters. And since researchers had been studying them from the emergence of mana, the eventual creation of artificial spirits was inevitable.

I heard they were specifically created to assist autonomous magic.

Since artificial spirits were created by combining spells with synesthetic mindscapes, they would be able to help set the parameters for any autonomous magic; for example, their initial application of moving golems autonomously. However, the results weren’t favorable. It turned out that artificial spirits—lifeforms composed of mana—would easily degrade under certain conditions.

They can be quite useful in some scenarios if someone is willing to take the risk though, thought Se-Hoon, turning his attention away from the new automaton to glance at Luize.

By this point, Lan Fei had resumed walking, giving an additional explanation as they moved.

“These days, autonomous magic is the trend in the hextech industry, so there will be many devices implementing it. In other words, the chances of accidents occurring during this time’s expo are higher than usual.”

Sighing, Lan Fei pointed to the small devices on the floor near some booths.

“Thus to prevent autonomous spells from rampaging, we’ve included magic-blocking devices and spell-disruption devices. However, applying them indiscriminately throughout the entire hall could cause issues, so we\'ve divided the hall into sections…”

Like that, Lan Fei tirelessly continued explanations, only stopping when Se-Hoon pointed to a booth and asked a question. At one noticeable booth, Se-Hoon pointed and asked, “What does this device do?”

“That should be a fire control device. It automatically regulates the movement of flames to maintain a desired temperature.”

“And that one?”

“That\'s probably a mana distribution device. It distributes the amount of mana according to the inscribed spells, minimizing any loss of mana in between.”

Eventually, the three of them finished touring the entire spacious hall. The tour included various backstage areas which were accessible only to staff, to allow Se-Hoon and Luize to familiarize themselves with the layout. 

And now that it was done, Lan Fei took the two of them outside the hall and said, “That should be enough for today. I\'ll call you again when all the devices are ready.”

“Understood.”

“And…”

Trailing off, Lan Fei took out two small boxes from the void pocket at his waist and handed them over. 

“These contain the compensation I mentioned last time. Take good care of it.”

“Thank you.”

Grabbing a back each, both of them immediately placed them in their void pockets. 

With everything done, Lan Fei glanced at a message on his phone.

“They’re looking for me inside, so I\'ll get going now. Take care on your way back.”

Bidding them farewell, Lan Fei went back inside the building, leaving behind the watching Se-Hoon and Luize. 

“There’s still a bit of time left… how about having lunch together?” asked Se-Hoon, turning to Luize.

“…If you’re paying,” curtly responded Luize with a glance. 

“Sure, sure. I\'ll buy as much as you want—”

“Excuse me.”

A cautious voice suddenly came from the side, cutting off Se-Hoon’s words. The unexpected interruption prompted the two of them to turn their heads to see a man who looked to be in his forties.

Is he an office worker?

The man had neatly parted black hair and was dressed in a tidy suit with an ID badge hanging around his neck. It was clear that he was related to the expo.

He somehow… seems familiar?

On top of his gentle, stubborn-looking eyes feeling familiar, his facial features were also strangely recognizable. The feeling was so strong that Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes at the main, attempting to dig up the reason in his memories. 

Before he could figure it out though, the man spoke up.

“You’re Lee Se-Hoon, right?”

His voice carried both tension and anticipation. 

Just when Se-Hoon was about to answer though, Luize stepped in front of him and glared sharply at the man.

“And who are you?” 

Her blue eyes gleamed with suspicion, and the intense pressure from her unique skill made the man flinch and become flustered.

“No, no! I\'m not some suspicious person. I\'m someone who’s participating in this exhibition… Ah, right! Just a moment!”

The nervous man quickly reached into his inner pocket to hand over his business card.

Upon seeing that he had a card, Luize glanced back at Se-Hoon, who nodded and stepped forward to take the card.

[MT Industry, Director Lee Wen]

Lee Wen?

Like the man’s appearance, his name was also strikingly familiar. Then, right as a memory was beginning to surface in Se-Hoon\'s mind, the man spoke up again.

“Um, it might be a bit informal to introduce myself like this, but…”

The man, who had been hesitant due to Se-Hoon\'s reaction, bit his lip and cleared up the mystery.

“Li Kenxie, the Perfect One, is my father.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om