Choi Kangjoong returned home after a long time.
He had some time to spare, as it would take ten days for the Apocalid Dimension to reach the territory of the Black Dragon.
The Titans and Super Titans were pushing hard, but they were inherently slow, making it difficult to shorten the time.
“I should leave a Central Unit at home.”
If he left a regular Apocalid behind, it would act on instinct when Choi Kangjoong wasn’t around.
A Walker would create a Soil Pit and gather surrounding organic matter, while Scouts and Warriors would perform Consumption after scouting.
“A Central Stealth Scout would be appropriate. Since it can stay hidden, there’s no risk of it being discovered. Actually, does it even matter if I’m caught now?”
The fact that Choi Kangjoong was an Outer Mind was already widely known.
There wasn’t a single Guild that didn’t know his home address.
People were too afraid to actually ring his doorbell, but there were those who loitered nearby, hoping to recruit him.
They were extremely careful not to look like they were spying, but because so many people were doing it, the number of people walking the once-quiet streets had increased significantly.
Choi Kangjoong summoned a Central Stealth Scout.
Its Abyssal Claws were small, and it stood a little over two meters tall. Since that height was only reached when it fully extended its legs and waist, it wouldn’t go around destroying the house.
“Sleep in the garage.”
The Central Stealth Scout went to the empty garage, curled up, and entered hibernation.
This way, he could come and go from the house comfortably without needing to provide it with food.
Choi Kangjoong also summoned Lutal and cast Shrink Magic. The shrunken Lutal crawled up Choi Kangjoong’s body and perched on his shoulder. It was a strategic move to secure a high field of vision.
“The one I sent to Duke Akirif is doing well, too.”
The Central Stealth Scout he had intentionally let Duke Akirif’s subordinates take during the battle with Duke Royal was well-hidden in the banquet hall, the place where the Duke spent most of his time.
It was a noisy space of pleasure where everyone was out of their minds, so there was no worry of being discovered.
There, the thing Duke Akirif said most often was that he would give a great reward if anyone could bring him more of the Outer Mind’s summons.
Not only that, but he was also instigating war. Naturally, it was to obtain more Apocalids, and Archduke Ventresca and Archduke Luderlock were showing considerable interest.
Even now, envoys sent by the two Archdukes were enjoying Duke Akirif’s party while listening intently to his words.
“So the wealthy Greed Legion provides the funds, and the Chaos Legion and the Immortal Legion fight. They’re bringing in the Ruin Legion as mercenaries.”
The Demons of Ruin loved mercenary work. It was killing two birds with one stone, as they could earn money while engaging in the acts of destruction they naturally enjoyed.
“Should I just organize an expedition fleet and send it to Duke Akirif?”
If he did, he could obtain nutrients and Evolution Points using the Greed Legion’s money. Since Demons gave a lot of Evolution Points, it seemed like it would be quite profitable.
“To do that, I need to open the Hive Class quickly. How many Evolution Points did I get?”
[Evolution Points: 58,687,954]
“If I catch the Black Dragon and fight that dragon named Rotiaon, it’ll exceed 100,000,000.”
Ladespina contacted Rotiaon frequently, so Choi Kangjoong was aware of his existence. He was curious about what was keeping Rotiaon from leaving his lair, and he planned to go see for himself later.
“As the number of Apocalids increases, there are more things to worry about.”
His head feeling cluttered, Choi Kangjoong put on some clothes and headed outside. He went to a nearby park and sat on a bench, feeling a cool breeze.
“It’s peaceful here.”
People walked around with carefree expressions. Children were running and playing. It was a scene that stood in stark contrast to the distant Dimensional Sea, where a great battle would soon take place.
Countless dangers lurked in the Dimensional Sea. Monsters and Pirates roamed in search of prey. Sometimes, a Queen who had broken away from a massive IANT swarm would lead numerous IANTs to invade. As for the Orcs, they were a race obsessed with fighting, so one could see them every day while serving at a Dimensional Fortress.
Choi Kangjoong felt at ease seeing the kind of peace that could only be maintained by blocking all of those threats. He felt like he was doing a good job.
He accessed Dimensionnet on his phone. He couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he last looked at it.
“Han Junghwa is trending.”
On the main screen, a large article was posted saying that Han Junghwa had reached S-Class. Choi Kangjoong quickly clicked on it to check the details.
“Ah, what. It was clickbait.”
The title was a lie; it was a speculative article saying Han Junghwa might reach S-Class soon. The comments were filled with insults. Choi Kangjoong also left a comment asking who had posted such a thing on the main page of Dimensionnet.
“Han Junghwa has been pretty quiet lately. Did that battle help a lot?”
She used to contact him almost every day, asking to get drinks or food, but she had been quiet since observing the battle against Duke Royal.
“Should I ask Yoonseo?”
He sent a message, and a reply came back immediately.
[Choi Yoonseo: You’re asking what she’s doing lately?]
[Choi Kangjoong: Yeah.]
[Choi Yoonseo: She’s stuck in the training room.]
[Choi Yoonseo: She won’t come out, so I’m bored to death.]
[Choi Kangjoong: Do you think she’ll reach S-Class?]
[Choi Yoonseo: No, I’m going to get there first.]
[Choi Kangjoong: Do you even have time to text me then?]
[Choi Yoonseo: –]
[Choi Kangjoong: LOL]
[Choi Yoonseo: But are you fighting a dragon lately?]
[Choi Kangjoong: How did you know?]
[Choi Yoonseo: The Guild Master told me.]
[Choi Kangjoong: ???]
[Choi Yoonseo: I guess the Elves told him.]
[Choi Yoonseo: Must be the Princess.]
‘Iselin told him.’
[Choi Yoonseo: Call me if you need my magic.]
[Choi Yoonseo: I can’t fight a dragon one-on-one, but I can still fight.]
[Choi Kangjoong: I don’t take A-Classes.]
[Choi Yoonseo: –]
The chat ended. She had gone to practice her magic after Choi Kangjoong’s provocation.
‘She wouldn’t even be able to fight alongside me because of the Apocalid World anyway.’
Setting aside Choi Yoonseo’s safety, it was fundamentally difficult to be near an Apocalid. Even Dielka struggled to endure the Apocalid World of the Central Command Giant, so Choi Yoonseo was out of the question.
‘Come to think of it, if I use Root Magic to change someone into an Apocalid just a little bit, would they be unaffected?’
Whether it was Iselin or Dielka, they could each handle one dragon on their own, so it would be a gain if they could fight together. If they could even receive the Apocalid World buff, they would become a much stronger force.
“Should I test it?”
Choi Kangjoong caught an ant crawling on the grass behind the bench and placed it on his hand. The ant had an exoskeleton and was a colony creature, similar to an Apocalid. It bit his palm with its mandibles, but it didn’t hurt.
“Become an Apocalid. Presto!”
Choi Kangjoong unleashed his Root Magic. Source Energy dwelled within the ant, and it died instantly.
“What? Why did it die?”
Choi Kangjoong gave it to Lutal. Lutal quickly swallowed and digested it.
“Should I try with something bigger?”
Choi Kangjoong caught a sparrow and used Root Magic. It died as well, so he gave it to Lutal.
“Why is it dying?”
Choi Kangjoong pondered. As he utilized the brain of the Central Unit, several causes came to mind.
‘Is it because of the rapid change?’
Choi Kangjoong placed another ant on his palm. This time, instead of changing it completely, he used Root Magic very gradually so it would change little by little. If the previous attempt was like pouring water from a faucet, this time was like spraying it with a mist.
“It’s not dying now.”
After using Root Magic like that for about ten minutes, his consciousness connected with the ant.
“It worked!”
As the Source Energy entered the ant, its appearance changed to resemble an Apocalid.
‘It’s a tiny Walker.’
He released the ant Apocalid onto the grass. It began to bulk up as it ate the grass and other ants. In an instant, it grew to ten centimeters.
‘It really is just a Walker.’
Choi Kangjoong sent the Walker toward where Kuongi was and then tried it with a sparrow. He sprayed Root Magic gradually just like he did with the ant, but it died.
‘Is it because it’s a bird?’
He gave the dead sparrow to Lutal and tried again with another sparrow. Only after ten sparrows had gone into Lutal’s mouth did Choi Kangjoong grasp the trick.
‘I have to go with the feeling of just slightly twisting the source.’
After taking a considerable amount of time and being extremely delicate, the sparrow also turned into an Apocalid. Like the previous Apocalid, it pecked at grass and ants before becoming a small Air Walker.
“The efficiency is too low. It’s better to just produce them from a Soil Pit.”
Finally, Choi Kangjoong caught another sparrow, twisted its source just a tiny bit, and then activated the Apocalid World. The sparrow didn’t die and flew around energetically. Having received the buff properly, it was much faster than other sparrows.
“It worked. I wonder if it’ll work on Humans and Elves too.”
He didn’t dare try it right now. If he messed up, they would either die or become an Apocalid. Either way, the original personality would be gone.
‘There will be an opportunity. Maybe I should try it on an Elf the dragons have captured.’
He felt like his conscience would be less burdened if he tried it on an Elf whose brain had been partially destroyed by a dragon.
[You have acquired Evolution Points.]
‘Where did I get those?’
It wasn’t from the Apocalids moving toward the Black Dragon’s territory. There was nothing but Apocalids within ten kilometers of Kuongi.
‘It must be the Apocalid Dimension.’
Occasionally, Monsters or Demons sent by Duke Akirif approached the Apocalid Dimension. Once they entered a certain distance, Apocalid Spores would attach to them. Then, they couldn’t turn back and were eaten just like that. It was a place solely for Apocalids, even more so than the Apocalid World.
The number of people glancing at the spot where Choi Kangjoong was sitting gradually increased. Some people were even secretly taking photos with their phones. They had recognized him as the Outer Mind.
“It’s the Outer Mind.”
“What’s that on his shoulder?”
“Looks like a summon.”
“Should we ask for an autograph?”
With his superior hearing, Choi Kangjoong could hear all of the people’s whispering.
‘I don’t have an autograph… Let’s just avoid this for now.’
Recalling Choi Yunseo practicing her autograph in the past, Choi Kangjoong used Space Severance of the Origin. The people were bewildered, perceiving it as if he had suddenly vanished.
When he logged into Dimensionnet, several posts had already been uploaded saying they had seen Choi Kangjoong. A few articles had already popped up as well.
[The Outer Mind enjoying daily life with a pet in a park.]
“This is why being famous is tiring,” Choi Kangjoong said, but the corners of his mouth twitched. In the past, he would have felt burdened by people’s attention and avoided it, but now his mind was strong enough to even enjoy it.
“I should go home.”
He also took the sparrow that had partially become an Apocalid. He planned to keep it at home and observe what happened.
Krrr.
Lutal looked at the sparrow with a mysterious gaze. It seemed to be contemplating whether to eat it or not, as it felt like an Apocalid but also didn’t.
“You can’t eat it. Understand?”
Krrr.
Arriving in his bedroom, Choi Kangjoong ordered a birdcage and some feed.
‘It’s receiving the Apocalid World buff, but its consciousness isn’t connected to mine. Interesting.’
Chirp!
The sparrow hopped around on Choi Kangjoong’s hand. It showed a level of friendliness that was uncharacteristic of an normally wary sparrow.
“I’m curious to see what happens.”
Choi Kangjoong spent time watching the sparrow. Nothing particularly changed until the Apocalid Dimension reached the Black Dragon’s territory.
‘It would be nice if it could talk.’
He decided to put aside his interest in the sparrow for now and focus on the battle. The Great Magic cast by the Black Dragon, Tmus, was right in front of him.
“Send in the Apocalid Dimension first.”
“Ku-eong.”
The Titans and Super Titans pushed the Apocalid Dimension. Soon, the Apocalid Dimension entered the massive black mist.