전생검신 88권 06화

After helping Lee Hwan-woong explain the situation, Vishnu and Shiva seemed to get it. Vishnu reached out a hand and created a space in the vicinity, pulling something out of it.

“Here, what about this?”

I gulped as I laid eyes on the ominous-looking dark iron mace. I muttered, “Yama’s Mace…”

“Wow! To recognize the treasure’s identity on sight, impressive. I haven’t shared this with anyone other than my brothers so far.”

“……”

How could I not know? It was because this mace had brought death to Wei Zhi-hun at the hands of the divine avatar, Arjuna.

‘That thing places an immense death curse on the target… it’s on a whole different level compared to regular treasures.’

Thinking of Wei Zhi-hun fading away while facing the Divine Avatar Arjuna stirred a sense of melancholy in me, but I shook it off and said, “Your Avatar’s favorite treasure must be something even more powerful than this Yama’s Mace, right?”

“… Are you talking about Gandiva? I can give it to you if you need it.”

Swipe

Without delay, Vishnu extracted a bow called Gandiva from the space.

Kugung!!

Once Gandiva appeared, I felt a distinct pressure, suggesting it was indeed the strongest weapon Vishnu possessed. During my first fight against Vishnu back in the era of Takrok, he had aimed it at me. We had paused the battle then, so I never truly experienced Gandiva’s might, but had it been unleashed, neither I nor Heuk Woong would have escaped unscathed.

‘This must be an item on par with the top-tier divine artifact, Sabre Sword…’

Even I felt envious of Gandiva. I assumed it was a weapon that grew stronger the greater the divine power wielding it.

‘It’d be great for me… or giving it to a companion would also enhance our power dramatically.’

When I gazed at Gandiva with a hint of greed, Vishnu added, “Gandiva’s usage is tricky, unlike Yama’s Mace.”

“Tricky, how?”

“Yep. You need to resonate all ten magical sigils engraved on it and master more than ten related spell methods. Plus, when casting, you have to control the flow like playing an instrument. While its power surpasses Yama’s Mace, if you can’t use it properly, it’ll be less than an ordinary treasure.”

“……”

“If it were up to me, I’d recommend Yama’s Mace, which just requires you to swing it with no conditions.”

It seemed he wasn’t eager to give me Gandiva. There had to be a good reason for such strict limitations on a supreme weapon. I pondered for a moment before nodding.

“Alright, let’s go with that.”

A weapon with high upper limits and complications might look good, but when you need it, it could end up being useless. Right now, I preferred a simple, versatile weapon.

Swish

As I took the Yama’s Mace from Vishnu, I felt a chilling energy at my fingertips. Although that chill was fleeting, since I didn’t feel anything overpowering, I swung it a few times and said, “Not a bad weapon.”

“Haha, indeed. Even most divine beings would struggle under the death aura of Yama’s Mace…”

“Really?”

Vishnu was impressed, but I thought little of it, since although the death aura was strong, compared to the malice of the Desert of Isolation, it felt lacking.

‘That being said, it’s still quite a heavy weapon for a mortal. I’ll probably need to seal it before my companions can use it…’

While I was lost in thought, Shiva casually chimed in, “I already gave you the token of the Blood Alliance. Is there really a need for more investment?”

“Hmmm…”

I glanced at Shiva, and Lee Hwan-woong politely interjected.

“Lord Shiva, that’s your freedom as the great one. However, the treasures invested in our corporation won’t disappear. If you keep them, you will receive dividends and interests according to their value later on. If you’re confident that our company will thrive, it would be to your advantage to leave even more collateral.”

“What a smooth talker. But it could just flop at any moment, right?”

“The great Three Sovereigns might need greater power in the future, wouldn’t they? Even if Baek Woong and I become blood allies, he can’t solve everything on your behalf. How about considering the time we might need to fight with the divine beings of the otherworld…?”

“……”

After pondering for a moment, Shiva cracked a sinister smile.

“Is a pathetic human relying on Baek Woong to bark like a fox hidden behind a tiger? I can wipe you out in a heartbeat.”

Lee Hwan-woong flinched at that, but he responded with a sly smile, “Given how vast your destruction is, how can a mere Baek Woong shrink from something like this? I would be deeply appreciative if you could show me the vastness of the mighty destruction god.”

“Hoho… you have some guts. I like that.”

Shiva seemed to be amused.

“Fine, then I’ll invest this in your company.”

Wuwung!!

A big eye suddenly appeared above Shiva’s palm and slowly flew toward me. As I caught the eye, Shiva declared, “I never expected you’d take such a huge leap.”

“What is this?”

“My third eye. It contains half of all my powers, the source of my divine energy.”

“……?!”

“An eye that can destroy anything.”

Wha, what?!

Half of your power?!

At that shocking revelation, I, along with Lee Hwan-woong and Vishnu, looked at him wide-eyed. I stammered, “Wh-Why are you giving me something so good?! What if we lose it…?”

“I would then lose half my power forever.”

“Insane… is it really okay?”

Shiva crossed his arms and calmly replied, “I trust you since you hold the token of the Blood Alliance. Plus, I want to prove I possess a large capacity.”

“……”

This guy… he might be a lot simpler and nicer than I thought?!

As I carefully stored Shiva’s third eye into the subspace, I said, “Thanks! I’ll make good use of it!”

This feels like it might be useful somehow!

Vishnu watched this unfold with an annoyed look and said, “Baek Woong, if we end up in danger while fighting, you must come to help us immediately.”

“Uh? Ah… right.”

Since it’s practically the same as Shiva losing half his power, that makes sense.

Nodding my head, Lee Hwan-woong said, “Then let’s wrap this up and get going.”

Pa-at!

Lee Hwan-woong and I headed straight to Takrok Village. When we arrived, we witnessed everyone training in martial arts, and soon enough, we ran into the Thief Gang, Subori, Dongfang Sak, Yeolsan, Cheongyang, Yu Mang, Sang Ah, and a young girl.

As soon as the former Thief Gang, now known as the Eight Parts of the Divine, saw me, they knelt and shouted, “My Lord!! You’ve returned!”

“Yeah. How have you all been?”

“Everyone is doing well day by day!”

“Hmmm.”

Given the timelines of Takrok, it hadn’t been long since I’d left, so there didn’t seem to be any major changes from when I was collecting initial shareholder signatures in the village. I gathered all the key characters of Takrok Village in a large open area and addressed them.

“The reason I’ve gathered everyone here today is… to share some special power with you.”

“Power?”

“Now, everyone take one of these.”

After a moment, I used my divine energy to create several large gold coins. I handed one to each person, and as everyone received their coin, I turned to Lee Hwan-woong. He began to explain on my behalf.

“The coins distributed just now were created with the ability of [Power of Trade]. Everyone except for Lee Kwang, the ten initial shareholders, will receive them.”

While I decided not to hold a grudge, Lee Kwang could wait a bit, since I wasn’t particularly fond of him.

“What’s the significance of these coins?”

“A special dividend.”

Lee Hwan-woong said that with a smile and nodded at me, and I pressed the section labeled “dividends” on the Power of Trade with my ability.

Guguugu!!

“……!!”

“What, what is this?!”

Moments later, unknown spirit energy burst forth from everyone’s bodies, pouring out like a dam breaking. Especially in the case of the Thief Gang, he struggled to contain the power and momentarily transformed, unable to hide his true form, the Magi Body.

[Wahhh! This level of power…!!]

Kugugu!

Seeing the Thief Gang’s magical power suddenly multiply several times over, he seemed to have risen at least a couple of ranks as a Demon King. Additionally, the other characters also showed various reactions suggesting their abilities had drastically increased.

Among the initial shareholders, the ones who had shown little change were Heuk Woong and Yu Mang. They both seemed unimpressed, wearing nonchalant expressions, which made me think.

‘Hmm. It seems I can’t grant much power to those already at the divine level.’

Well, Heuk Woong and Yu Mang were already among the top divine beings in the universe. If I could give them power worthy of their astonishment, then [Power of Trade] would be ridiculously overpowered.

As I was contemplating this, Lee Hwan-woong, after stabilizing his suddenly enhanced power, spoke up.

“What we just did was a dividend of pure strength based on the future worth of the assets blessed upon you by Baek Woong.”

“Dividend?”

“Correct. It’s a prepayment of potential profits. Thanks to this, you now possess tremendous power that you wouldn’t normally obtain. Such an event typically only occurs when a high-tier divine being grants favors to their apostles or avatars, but Baek Woong managed this without consuming any significant cause-effect energy, thanks to [Power of Trade].”

Lee Hwan-woong smiled.

“That power is a mass of possibilities. You can breach barriers in your desired field, be it divine energy, magical power, personal abilities, or techniques, and enhance your abilities accordingly. Simply train as you wish to grow stronger.”

“……!!”

“Incredible.”

Everyone in Takrok Village gasped in amazement. Such privileges like this normally weren’t even conceivable. They gained overnight the kind of power that took hundreds or thousands of years for an immortal to achieve!

However, Yu Mang, being a colossal divine being, seemed unimpressed as he sat cross-armed and then asked, “Baek Woong. But regarding the concept of this so-called corporation… doesn’t that mean we should spread the invested money and share it with others later? If you’re giving us our cuts up front, wouldn’t it make growing the money more difficult?”

“Sir Yu Mang, I’ll explain that.”

Lee Hwan-woong stepped forward to elaborate.

“We’ll definitely need to embark on a significant adventure soon to enhance Baek Woong’s assets. Sir Yu Mang and the people of Takrok Village will need to assist us with that.”

“Is that why you called us? Alright, what kind of adventure are we talking about?”

“Soon, we’ll have to start standing on our own. To do so, we must demonstrate Takrok Village’s strength to the world.”

“How?”

Yu Mang flinched at Lee Hwan-woong’s next words.

“We’ll gather the human races of the Central Plains around Takrok Village and establish a nation they can live in safely. And this nation will declare that it will not fall under the rule of any god or demon clan.”

“Wh… what?!”

“This would be a monumental achievement. In this era of Takrok, where myriad gods run rampant, opening an age for the weak humans would be the foundation and true beginning of civilization. Achieving this would surely be a high-level feat made possible through [Power of Trade], and if we use our abilities well….”

“… it could exponentially increase Baek Woong’s assets!”

“Yes, precisely.”

“That’s a rather idealistic narrative you’re spinning. Do you even understand what you’re saying?”

Yu Mang looked down at Lee Hwan-woong, filled with suspicion.

“To achieve that ability, you’d need to dispel the influences of the five chaotic divine beings led by the Emperor, three order divine beings led by Fuxi, and the neutral figures like the Wheel King and the Underworld. Do you genuinely believe that can happen?”

“……”

“Of course, we are not a force to be ignored, but I think it’s a stretch to assert independence. Especially considering that even Baek Woong, the leader of this venture, would find it extremely challenging to win against their leader, the Emperor, or Fuxi in a one-on-one fight.”

The room fell silent at Yu Mang’s words.

That was true.

For Lee Hwan-woong’s so-called [achievement], we would need to overcome the true divine beings ruling the ancient times of the Central Plains, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors!! And considering that each of those Sovereigns is a powerful upper-level divinity even outside of this puny planet, that might be nigh impossible.

Lee Hwan-woong chuckled softly.

“Well, of course, it won’t work with our current power alone. That’s why we need more help.”

“What do you mean?”

“First, the three divine beings from Tianzhu would be a start. A pact has already been made to align them with us.”

“… Oh, that could be quite… but still insufficient, right?”

“Next would be the Lemuria Empire, the demon path civilization. Baek Woong has already sunk a significant debt to Emperor Lemuria I, so they will become our blood allies. Not only them, but we can also make the Atlantis civilization near the Lemuria Empire our allies.”

“Hmmm.”

“Then we’ll target the Memphis civilization. We should be able to forge a blood alliance with the hundreds of ancient gods over in the Southern Continent. As long as we break Quetzalcoatl’s seal, it’s very feasible. Furthermore, all those countless investors from across the universe who invested in Baek Woong’s corporation… there are also divine beings like the Chulu Dragon and Rainbow Snake, potential allies waiting to happen.”

“……”

“And one more thing. The Wheel King of the Underworld is now pretty much a complete ally of Baek Woong.”

“……!!”

Yu Mang jerked in surprise at Lee Hwan-woong’s last statement. He thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, “Are you saying… you were seriously talking about this?”

“What’s stopping us? If everyone aligns under Baek Woong’s banner, would we seriously be outmatched by any of the Sovereigns or the Three Emperors?”

Lee Hwan-woong clenched his fists.

“A kingdom of humanity for Baek Woong, by Baek Woong! As a third faction that breaks away from the dual opposing forces of the chaotic Emperor and orderly Fuxi… We shall establish the balanced new divine power for a world split three ways!”