Haseol was traveling with Shura in a pickup truck with an open bed.
Outside was a quiet city blanketed in darkness.
Since the signs were full of English, it did not seem to be Korea, at least.
After all, if it had been Korea, it could not have been this dark.
Haseol had been moving busily since morning, but it was still midday in Korea.
He stared intently at the black dagger in his hand.
It was a cursed dagger that could shift between the forms of a shield and a dagger.
"I already have one cursed item. Do I need another?"
"Reverse Life is basically for self-defense. It is better suited to protecting yourself than killing an enemy."
The scenery of a downtown area packed with tall buildings passed by.
Every light was off, and there was no one in sight.
"It is good to have something that kills, too. It is easier."
"It would be, but when you say it like that, you sound a lot like a serial killer."
"That is not wrong."
At Shura's words, Haseol's eyes widened slightly, and he turned to look out the window.
That was probably true.
This was a world of supernatural abilities, where death happened easily.
They were people called kings in that world.
Every one of them was confident in their own strength.
That meant they had naturally experienced actual combat often.
And what did it mean to experience actual combat often?
There was no need to think deeply to reach the conclusion.
"Obtaining another cursed sword will help kill Dictatorship, right?"
"It will."
"Will there be time to practice swordsmanship?"
"No."
At Shura's composed answer, Haseol tilted his head and looked at Shura.
"That is why you have to learn magic instead of swordsmanship."
"Why are we going to get a sword if I am learning magic?"
"Because the King of Mages uses magic with a sword."
"Eska?"
"Yeah."
"I have never seen her use a sword."
"She probably has not had any reason to use one yet."
Haseol looked ahead again, still not fully understanding.
"You said I have no talent for magic. Is that all right?"
"Even so, learning magic is the fastest way."
"Please explain."
"Trying to understand things with your head like that is what suits magic best."
"Ah?"
"A vampire is an obsession with life, a mage is a pursuit of truth, a werewolf is striving toward the body's ultimate limit, and a fairy is harmony with nature."
"So?"
"Raising a vampire's power requires instinct. Raising a mage's power requires knowledge. Raising a werewolf's power requires training. Raising a fairy's power requires nature's acknowledgment."
"Yes."
"A vampire's power is the realm of instinct, so it is not something the person can control. A werewolf's power needs time for training, and a fairy's power needs nature's acknowledgment, so there is nothing you can do about those right now."
"Only a mage's power can be raised quickly by understanding theory?"
"That is right."
"Can I understand it?"
"I do not know. Even so, if you want to get strong quickly, that is the only possibility."
"I have to understand magic to defeat Dictatorship......"
Haseol's expression became rather serious.
"What magic do I have to learn?"
"The King of Mages will decide, but it will probably be magic related to speed."
"Speed?"
"What do you think is the ultimate end of truth that a mage wants?"
"Something like immortality? In novels, the strongest magic is usually an attack spell that drops a meteor."
"The ultimate end of truth a mage wants is always time."
"Time......"
"Mages see controlling time as the solution to the most difficult problem in this world."
"That is why speed?"
"Yeah."
"Because of the theory that you can go to the past if you can move faster than light?"
"That is right."
"Is that actually possible?"
"How would I know? Ask the King of Mages."
"Hissss."
Haseol tilted his head with a troubled expression.
"There is already magic cast on me that lets me reach top speed, right?"
"I know."
"But I do not think I will understand the theory at all. What should I do?"
"Give up."
"That is a little......"
"Then charge in while you are incomplete and die."
If he could not grow stronger from here, there were no other outcomes than those two.
Dictatorship's method of attack was simple.
It forced people to obey commands, then fired missiles.
Simple.
But that made it more difficult.
Perhaps it was something he would never be able to solve.
Asha had told him not to come back.
And the Rootstreams for Haseol were incomplete, but prepared.
There were no Rootstreams at the moment, but it would not be strange if one appeared again at any time.
That meant the correct choice was probably to give up on Asha and postpone the fight against Dictatorship until later.
However, Shura had shown him a path.
Obtain a weapon.
Learn magic from Eska.
That was the path with the greatest possibility of defeating Dictatorship.
He did not know what percentage that highest possibility would be, but a path was still a path.
All he could do was run diligently along the path Shura had shown him.
After driving down the dark roads, they arrived at a large hotel with every light completely off.
Strangely, there were many parked vehicles.
"Let us go."
"Yes."
Haseol and Shura got out of the truck.
Shura naturally handed the keys to the valet and walked on.
Shura and Haseol opened the doors of the dark hotel, whose lights were off, and entered.
But the inside of the hotel was bright.
The chandeliers shone beautifully, and everything was visible as clearly as though it were morning.
Haseol turned his head and looked at the windows.
There were no curtains drawn, yet not a single bit of light leaked outside.
"Huh."
Haseol followed behind Shura in fascination.
Shura arrived in front of the reception desk.
"Shura Klissen."
Shura stated a name, and an employee checked something on a computer.
"Your identity has been confirmed. Please go up to the eleventh floor."
"Let us go."
Shura headed for the elevator, and Haseol followed.
"Shura."
"Yeah."
"Now that I think about it."
"Yeah."
"Do I really have a reason to come along here?"
Haseol asked with a puzzled expression.
"It is not that I am tired or do not want to, but could you not have come alone and bought it?"
"You have to be beside me."
"Why?"
"It is better for you to be beside me when it is won at auction."
"Why?"
The elevator arrived.
Shura and Haseol entered it and continued their conversation.
"This ability gear tests and chooses its owner."
"So?"
"When we buy it, if you are not here, it will not recognize you as its true owner."
"Even if it does not recognize me, will it not still eat my growth?"
"Eating your growth is the basic part."
"Yes."
"On top of that, it will try to kill you."
"It goes that far?"
"It needs to eat growth, but if its owner has no potential, it has to abandon them."
"Ah~. I understand."
Haseol nodded.
"But if an owner has potential, would they not avoid using a weapon that eats their own growth?"
Haseol immediately voiced his doubt.
"That is why it is abandoned. It is a cursed weapon."
"Ah~~."
Understanding at once, Haseol nodded.
"Who makes cursed weapons like that?"
"Most of the time, someone tries to make it by adding a certain function, but too much goes into it during the process."
"Can an intention to kill the owner get put into it that way?"
"It comes into being. The creator intended to give birth to a loyal dog, but what was born grew into an unfilial child who wants to eat its parent and grow."
"That is kind of scary."
"It is only a sword. There is nothing especially frightening about it."
"Yes."
Haseol nodded with a somewhat tense face.
"Haaah."
Then he immediately stretched as he let out a breath.
"Are you tired?"
"Yes."
Haseol nodded honestly.
"I have resolved several Rootstreams since dawn, met Dictatorship, and gone to the Fairy Realm."
"You have been busy."
"Exactly. I think it would have been a little better if I had not gotten up early in the morning."
Haseol spoke as he rubbed his eyes.
"It will improve once your predecessor's work is over."
No matter how it ended, the nature of the work would change.
Whether Asha died or survived.
"......I suppose."
The elevator doors opened.
A large hall appeared.
Tables with flowers on top.
Simple drinks and small snacks.
It seemed more like a place for a social party than an auction house.
"Are you Shura Klissen?"
An employee in a neat suit approached Shura and spoke.
Shura nodded.
"Please come this way."
They moved under the employee's guidance.
As they walked, Haseol slowly looked around.
People were seated at tables throughout the hall.
Their outfits were all different.
Some wore neat suits, some had their hoods pulled low, while others wore white T-shirts and jeans or masks.
Their ordinary clothes varied so wildly that it felt strange instead.
Normally, a place like a party would have outfits that suited it.
Haseol and Shura sat in the seats they were shown.
Shura immediately put a cigarette between her lips and lit it.
"Can you smoke here?"
Haseol asked.
"I do not know."
Shura was utterly unapologetic.
"......"
Haseol decided to pretend not to notice.
It was not something he could deal with yet.
Perhaps the one fortunate thing was that no one seemed to care about Shura smoking.
After a while.
A man in a neat suit went up onto the stage and began the auction.
"This is a raw gemstone refined with mana. It is made of sapphire and has been refined by the Mutsman Family for three years. We will begin at ten million."
The auction proceeded with explanations of things related to magic.
Items that functioned immediately, like ability gear.
Materials needed for research.
Objects with historical value because famous people had used them.
A wide variety of items went up for auction.
The atmosphere was calm and plain.
"It is rather ordinary, is it not?"
Haseol gave his impression of the auction.
"What is?"
"When it is an auction for supernatural abilities, it feels as though something unusual is likely to happen."
"Only sometimes. If something happened at every auction, the auction house could not operate."
"So something does happen sometimes."
At Shura's composed answer, Haseol nodded.
The auction continued.
BANG! BANG!
The employee struck the gavel twice, making crisp sounds.
"Ability gear, Apocalypse. Its main functions are adjustable length and durability, and it chooses its owner. There may be several side effects, and returns are not possible."
The employee placed a sword on the table.
It was a long saber with a pitch-black blade.
Its scabbard was pitch-black as well, as though it absorbed light.
"That is our target."
Shura told him.
"Yes."
A long saber with adjustable length and a dagger that could become a shield.
They seemed to make a decent combination.
"Both swords I use are pitch-black. They will suit each other well."
"They will."
"I am lucky."
"It is not luck."
"Then what is it?"
"When weapons can be made black, they often are. That way, they are harder to see."
"Ah~."
Haseol nodded in fascination.
Meanwhile, the price continued to rise.
"It is past thirty million."
"Yeah."
"Now that I think about it, I did not bring any money. Is that all right?"
"It does not matter."
If Shura said it was all right, it must be all right.
Haseol nodded casually and looked ahead again.
The auction price continued to rise.
"Next amount, one hundred million. One hundred million. Is there anyone?"
The employee looked around to check.
Then Shura silently pressed the small button in front of her.
"Yes. Ability gear, Apocalypse, has been sold. We will proceed to the next item."
The employee put Apocalypse down and placed the next item on the table.
"Let us go."
Shura rose from the seat.
"We are leaving right away?"
"Our work is over."
"Did we win it?"
"Yeah. Let us go collect the item."
"It did not seem as though there was any competition."
Haseol unwrapped a chocolate on the table and put it into his mouth before getting up.
Following Shura, he rode the elevator back down to the first floor.
Shura walked toward the reception desk.
"Shura Klissen."
Shura briefly gave a name.
"How would you like to receive it?"
"In cash."
At the exchange between Shura and the employee, Haseol felt something was strange.
The employee had asked how they wanted to receive it, so why was Shura talking about cash?
What they were supposed to receive was a sword named Apocalypse, and what they were supposed to pay was money.
"Here is the ability gear you won, Apocalypse."
The employee presented the black long saber.
"Take it."
"Yes."
At Shura's words, Haseol took the long saber.
A heavy, cold sensation passed into his hand.
However, it did not particularly feel like cursed ability gear.
In fact, Reverse Life had also been cursed ability gear, yet he had not felt much from it.
"Even with this one, I do not get the feeling that it is cursed just from holding it."
At Haseol's words, Shura looked at him with a cigarette between her lips.
"That is because you are dull, Si Haseol."
"Ah~."
So that was why.
Perhaps becoming accustomed to having no talent, Haseol nodded calmly.
"Here is one hundred million in cash."
The employee took a large rectangular bag out from under the counter and handed it to Shura.
Shura opened the bag and checked what was inside.
"Wow, that is one hundred million......"
Haseol had never seen a bag containing one hundred million in cash, so he was impressed.
Then he felt something strange again and tilted his head.
The employee was not handing one hundred million to Shura for Shura to pay.
The employee was handing it to Shura.
"Here. It is yours."
Shura even handed the bag containing one hundred million to Haseol.
"It is mine? Why? This cost one hundred million. You did not pay two hundred million and receive one hundred million in change."
"What we auctioned was taking the item away."
"......What?"
Haseol still looked as though he did not understand.
"Simply put, we were paid a disposal fee."
At Shura's words, Haseol remained blankly still for a long moment before opening his mouth.
"Excuse me?"