The Novel's Extra-Chapter ss4: Side Story 4 – Dream in a Dream (4)

I, Kim Hajin, did not procrastinate or neglect my training. I had earned enough to last a lifetime, so I had a lot of free time now. I decided to train since I couldn’t die of sickness and only djinns or monsters could kill me.

I continued to survive. Sometimes, I told myself to quit playing the hero if I had to go through this all over again.

“Seup… Hooo…”

I kept thinking while working out. I could no longer return to my world. It happened quite suddenly. I wouldn’t be in such despair if I did something wrong or if someone interfered and caused me to remain here. However, I just woke up one day and found multiple notifications.

[The Tower of Miracle has manifested!]

[The Tower of Wish has been resolved!]

[Baal has disappeared and the world is now safe.]

[All episodes have been completed.]

[You can now stay in this world forever.]

[Congratulations!]

Congratulations my ass… I felt like the sky had fallen.

What did I do to make Baal disappear? I wanted to ask the system, but it no longer replied after that day. Fortunately, my gifts and status intervention remained. Nonetheless, I still felt devastated. I only kept my sanity all this time because of the hope to return home.

Ding!

A notification rang from my smartwatch.

[Rocalist has sent a request to Xtra]

[Distanced Escort to the General Assembly Hall]

— Client: Vice Leader of the English Royal Court, Rachel.

— Reward: 300 Million Won for Pathfinding (100 Million Won Advance Payment), 300 Million Won for Escort and Protection (100 Million Won per month), and a 100 Million Won Bonus Upon Successful Completion.

— Warning: The Vice Leader should not be aware of your presence.

[Please confirm the specifics with Rocalist.]

I received a request through Violet Banquet from none other than the English Royal Court guild.

“Hmm…”

It seemed one of their guild members wanted to hire me behind Rachel’s back. A Dr. Fmin contacted me last week through Violet Banquet and asked if I could escort their vice leader. However, I already lost interest in mercenary work 4 years ago. They did catch my interest when I heard Rachel’s name.

I’d been greatly indebted to her and she would always be a key figure in my story.

“Should I do it or not?”

I would have to protect Rachel from any threats and safely escort her to the general assembly hall. Then I would have to continue protecting her until the event ended. My reward for all this would be a measly 700 million won.

“Seven hundred million…”

I subconsciously scoffed while looking at the ground. Rows of state-of-the-art equipment with manatech that featured holograms and gravity control aided in my workout sessions. I called this place Kim Hajin’s Training Room and it looked even better than most gyms owned by guilds.

It took me around 3 billion won to set all this up. The 700 million won the English Royal Court offered seemed like chump change. The dumbbell with manatech I just used cost more than 600 million won.

The training room doors flung open and someone cheerfully called.

“Hajin!”

I turned off my smartwatch and turned around.

Evandel entered with her friends. I counted 13 of them. They all looked cheerful and innocently giggled together.

“Hey, look at this. We just met Terrain unni just now.”

Evandel excitedly ran over and showed me a picture of her standing between a man and a woman. Evandel’s face flushed red and she nervously squirmed.

“It looks like you had a lot of fun.” I smiled at her.

“Yeah! It was really fun!”

A VIP screening of Magic Girl Terrain, Evandel and her friends’ favorite movie series, just premiered on the 47th floor of this building. Evandel attended this private screening today with all her friends. The two main protagonists immediately agreed to come when I offered them a hefty sum for a meet-and-greet.

I spent a normal life with Evandel after dropping out of Cube.

“It’s not bedtime yet. Is there anything else you want to do?”

“Hmm… Whatever my friends want to do!”

“Oh, you’re such a good kid. Evandel’s friends, what do you all want to do? Do you want to go to the waterpark?”

“YESSS!” they enthusiastically replied.

I felt like working at a kindergarten.

“Alright then, Manager?”

“Yes, I understand.”

The man standing behind the kids like a shadow replied with a bright smile before leading them downstairs.

“Have fun!”

“Okay!”

I stood in the middle of the training room after sending them off with a smile.

Our building in the center of Seocho[1] had 107 floors and stood out the most among all the skyscrapers in the area. The walls featured floor-to-ceiling glass with a 360 view of Seoul and the Han River.

All of this belonged to me, Kim Hajin.

“I certainly earned a lot of money…”

I solely dedicated myself to making money for the past 5 years and tried to fill my empty heart when I couldn’t return home anymore. I devoted myself like a madman to at least live comfortably in this world.

I made money quite easily since I already knew the future. Honestly, I only needed the single fact that Essence of the Strait would skyrocket. Couple that with something called leveraging and I began minting money with no end.

Of course, simply knowing the future might not have sufficed. Yoo Yeonha made the first move and sought me out. She didn’t personally visit, but contacted me through my Truth Agency.

Most high-profile people knew about the Truth Agency these days.

[We Know Everything…]

This simple, yet powerful motto boosted us to the top of the industry. People requesting our services reached the billions. Even famous guild masters and conglomerate chairmen did their best to be humble and respectful when dealing with the Truth Agency.

— Hajin-chan.

A familiar voice rang out from my smartwatch. It came from the Truth Agency’s co-founder, Kim Hoseop, the chubby guy who stood next to me during our military agent graduation.

“Ah, you called at just the right time. I have something to tell you,” I immediately replied.

— Hmm? What is it nyang?

“I received a request from the English Royal Court.”

— Oh, is that so nyang?

“It’s related to their vice leader, Rachel. I plan to accept it, so investigate the surroundings and let me know if anything comes up.”

— Alright!

I ended the call and headed to the basement where Evandel and her friends went when something reflected the moonlight and briefly blinded me. I blinked a few times and looked out the window to find a flock of gargoyles in midair.

“This is why I can never grow fond of this world,” I grumbled and sighed.

They hovered in front of the full moon and their skin shone like metal. They seemed to be looking for an opportunity to crash into the skyscraper.

Heroes would probably be deployed soon, but I wouldn’t wait since all the land and buildings around here belonged to me.

I took out the Desert Eagle and reinforced it with aether. Then I transformed it into a vicious sniper rifle. I opened the window and aimed at the gargoyles.

Click… Clack…

I immediately pulled the trigger. Six streaks of light shot out and flew in different directions before striking the gargoyles. They all died in midair after my bullets crushed their hearts.

I watched as their corpses fell and called the custodian.

“There are some gargoyle corpses outside. Please retrieve them.”

***

— The general assembly in Central Asia will finally begin in two weeks…

Rachel watched the news while waiting for the selection process to begin.

— La Guild Lumière from France, Panzerburg from Germany, Reisl?ufer from Switzerland, and Legiones from Italy have been selected to represent their respective countries…

The entire world focused on the general assembly these days. Lancaster chose to send his warning because of this. He knew better than anyone else that England didn’t have a future if they failed to join the general assembly.

However, Rachel remained steadfast and didn’t fear his threat. She would sacrifice herself if it meant resolving the animosity between Lancaster and England.

“Vice Leader, we will be starting soon.”

Rachel turned off her smartwatch and looked up. They had renovated the training ground as a stage for the selection process.

“We’ll keep the spectators back.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

The commoners began to enter. These people had purchased tickets to watch the English Royal Court’s selection process. They sat in the spectator row away from the dirt ground protected by an invisible barrier.

The VIPs consisting of conglomerate chairmen, celebrities, and even the prime minister sat on a higher level as if watching an opera. Their fancy attires indeed made it seem like an opera.

The English Royal Court had an old tradition of opening the selection process to the public, so those applying could show their worth and garner support.

The host’s voice rang out from the speakers on the roof.

— The English Royal Court’s long-awaited selection test will begin in 15 minutes.

The first test allowed participants to freely demonstrate their abilities. Each of the 12 participants had 5 minutes to showcase their abilities.

— Please be aware that a variety of summoned creatures will appear during the test.

Rachel closed her eyes to communicate with her spirits. They confirmed that no threats lurked in the area.

Even Lancaster wouldn’t be stupid enough to attack this place at the center of their territory.

Tak… Tak… Tak…

The lights suddenly turned off and darkness descended in the hall.

The crowd noisily murmured, but died down when a spotlight shone on center stage.

A man wearing a formal suit stood there and signaled the start of the selection test.

— LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

— You may find the list of knights participating on the pamphlet distributed earlier.

Rachel took a look at the pamphlet as well.

“Finley will be up first. Maybe we should’ve changed the order a bit.”

Dake whispered since Finley seemed better suited as the finale. Rachel didn’t seem to care.

“Vice Leader, please don’t worry. After all, we’re in our territory right now. Our guild members are working hard alongside security to prevent anything from happening. We have fully vetted everyone here. Not to mention, I also prepared… Ehem… Ehem… Ah, look. Finley is coming out.”

Dake faked a cough when he almost exposed everything. Thankfully, Rachel didn’t seem interested in what he said.

— Now, the first participant you’ve all been waiting for! The knight who calls himself the royal family’s shield, the brave lionheart, James Finley!

The doors opened and James Finley from Lumière walked out. His handsome looks sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Finley saluted the judges before taking a few steps back and infusing mana into his hands. The large concentration of mana turned into a gigantic shield.

“Ohhhh!”

The crowd seemed very impressed.

Clack!

A large steel cage opened from the other end and 12 giant wolves appeared from the summoning device. Finley stood firm and waited for them to make the first move.

— Grrr! Grr!

The wolves kicked off the ground and attacked. Finley faced them head-on. A pack of wolves against one human, but the flow of battle showed who had the upper hand.

The giant wolves couldn’t break through Finley’s shield. The ones he bashed with his shield whimpered in pain and retreated. Finley didn’t give them any time to regroup and slammed his shield on their heads. The crowd roared at his wild and brave display.

Boom… Boom…

The ground shook after he subdued all the giant wolves.

Boom… Boom…

The crowd held their breaths.

Boom… Boom!

Finley looked up in an exaggerated manner like the protagonist of a movie.

A rank 3 giant tiger had been summoned this time and caused the ground to shake. It prowled around while observing Finley.

“Seup…”

Finley gritted his teeth and lowered his stance.

The crowd noisily murmured and thought he had given up. However, Finley proved them wrong by releasing all his mana.

“Keuh!”

He groaned as the amount of mana continued to increase. It enveloped his entire body and turned into an aura. Even Rachel, who busily looked around for potential threats, noticed his powerful aura and acknowledged his potential.

“Oh, so he can do something like that.”

“I was a bit worried when he asked for a giant tiger. Who knew he had such a skill under his sleeves?”

Finley shot forward like a bullet while everyone admired him. Then a ray of light suddenly flashed and disappeared. Everyone saw it, but no one could identify it.

However, the mystery would soon be resolved.

“Huh?”

An old man in the crowd broke the silence first. His vision had deteriorated because of old age and he didn’t notice the ray of light. Only he had kept his eyes on Finley the entire time and fully witnessed Finley’s lifeless body twisting in the air like a ragdoll.

Shhheu…

A faint black smoke rose from Finley’s forehead. His body remained motionless on the ground and his eyes lost focus.

Everyone finally realized what happened. An assassination. The rowdy crowd just a minute ago turned dead silent.

The eerie silence continued before people began screaming when they saw blood flowing from James Finley’s forehead.

— Kyaaaah!

— What? What’s going on? What is that?

— Dead! He died! He died!

— A djinn! It’s a djinn!

Chaos ensued as those running for the exit shoved others blankly standing around. People trying to escape pushed the staff trying to restore order. A stampede broke out and some got trampled over. Screams and crying filled the area.

Rachel froze in her seat as the surroundings descended into utter chaos. She couldn’t hear anything in her daze.

Reality seemed to slip through her fingers and grew further away. Only the lifeless body on the stage entered her vision. That enthusiastic and talented young man had been so eager to become a hero.

“Princess! Hurry up and evacuate the Princess!” Dake shouted.

However, Rachel shoved him back and ferociously ran forward with Windy flying behind her.

Kwawoooosh!

The spirit released a fierce wind that seemed to reflect Rachel’s anger.

1. Seocho is one of the posh areas within Gangnam. ?