Special Subspace (2)
[S-Grade Gate (Mana Hornet) Destruction Rewards]
→ “Faster and Even Faster” (Enchant Soul) <Unique> / 81.7 kg of Intermediate-Grade Magic Stone / 112,344 Mana Hornet Wing Fragments / 12 kg of Mana Beeswax / 22 Mana Hornet Poison Stingers
[S-Grade Gate Stage 4 Announcement Additional Rewards]
→ 1 Top-Grade Magic Stone / 20 kg of Intermediate-Grade Magic Stone
Seon Yul had already checked the reward list.
But seeing it again made him marvel once more. That was just how extravagant the list was.
A Unique-grade Enchant Soul was an item that shone simply by existing, and the intermediate-grade magic stones from the two mails combined amounted to well over 100 kg.
In Korean won, that was roughly 10 billion.
And on top of that, although there was only one and no seller existed to even set a market price, there was the immensely valuable top-grade magic stone… It felt like winning 100 lottery tickets all at once.
“Of course, I earned this purely through my own ability.”
Naturally, this wasn’t the result of luck, but entirely the result of Seon Yul’s own capability.
“First, let’s check the Unique-grade Enchant Soul…”
[Faster and Even Faster (Enchant Soul) <Unique>]
[Only faster, faster than what you perceive as fast.]
[Base Effect]: None.]
[Skill: Acceleration and More Acceleration (Passive) Triples the attack speed of the enchanted target.]
[Penalty] The consumption rate of “Cost” increases in proportion to the accelerated amount.
“Oh… this isn’t bad at all?”
There was no base effect, but the skill was passive… and it enhanced attack speed, one of the top-tier offensive options, by a full three times.
At this level, buyers would probably line up to get it.
“People who already use fast-attack weapons would go crazy for…”
“Wait… this might actually…”
While reviewing the detailed effects of the Enchant Soul, something suddenly occurred to him.
“It genuinely seems possible… but if it fails, I’ll lose a Unique-grade Enchant Soul.”
A method had surfaced in his mind.
It certainly seemed plausible, but he couldn’t be 100% certain it would succeed.
“Sss…”
Seon Yul fell into thought.
His deliberation lasted quite a while. After all, a Unique-grade Enchant Soul was an item that could practically command any price.
It could easily sell for tens of billions of won… possibly even hundreds of billions if bidding escalated. Of course, he hesitated.
“Whew… Fine. I can always earn money again.”
In the end, he made his decision.
He resolved to attempt it boldly.
***
Inside Absolute Space, Seon Yul stood holding his phone, deep in thought.
Although he had decided on a bold attempt after checking the rewards, he wasn’t putting it into action immediately.
The reason was simple.
If he was going to attempt something this bold… he wanted to do it under the best possible conditions.
And for that, he needed a new item.
What Seon Yul intended to attempt…Was applying the Enchant Soul to a firearm, specifically to a Vulcan-type weapon.
For reference, this wasn’t the first time someone had tried applying an Enchant Soul to modern weaponry.
Naturally, there had been such attempts… and all of them had been complete disasters.
Modern weapons were extremely vulnerable to mana, and the very act of enchanting involved infusing an object with the power of mana.
As a result, every weapon subjected to such attempts ended up ruined.
There were no exceptions.
In the case of firearms, enchanting the gun itself had technically succeeded. But the moment it absorbed mana, any ammunition inserted afterward would instantly rot.
After several publicized failures, no one ever used Enchant Souls on modern weapons again.
It was tantamount to throwing an expensive Enchant Soul onto the ground.
So why would Seon Yul attempt it knowing all this?
The reason was simple again.
Absolute Space.
He trusted in the power of this magnificent Absolute Space.
Even under the application of a powerful blow, firearms could be used and did not break.
Which meant that even if mana permeated the ammunition, the power of Absolute Space prevented the gunpowder from rotting.
If that was the case, then enchanting a Vulcan cannon and using it exclusively inside Absolute Space… it might function properly.
Of course, he wasn’t 100% certain.
He didn’t yet fully understand the limits of Absolute Space’s ‘condition maintenance’ setting.
So he estimated the odds at fifty-fifty.
If it failed, he would lose a Unique-grade Enchant Soul… an item so rare that even offering enormous sums of money wouldn’t guarantee obtaining one.
But he believed it was worth trying.
And for that reason, he wanted to attempt the enchantment on the strongest Vulcan cannon possible.
“A minigun wouldn’t be bad… If it works, instead of 4,000 rounds per minute, it could unleash 12,000 rounds per minute…”
Naturally, applying it to a minigun wasn’t a bad choice.
But while browsing online, Seon Yul discovered something even better.
GAU-19.
A monstrous Vulcan cannon composed of three barrels arranged in a triangular configuration, rotating to fire 12.7×99mm NATO ammunition at 1,300 rounds per minute.
Although its rate of fire was much lower than the M134 minigun, the power of each round was incomparable.
This weapon possessed enough destructive force to tear apart armored vehicles. It wasn’t typically used as a personal weapon, but mounted on helicopters as heavy armament.
However, there were versions built with wheeled mounts, meaning that if he could obtain one, Seon Yul could use it.
It was certainly not a personal firearm, but awakened users with drastically enhanced physical abilities could handle it.
“The problem is… I can’t get one.”
He scoured the market, but no one was selling it.
“I really want to get it…”
Now that he knew about it, he couldn’t stop thinking about it, which made him hesitate to use the Enchant Soul on the minigun.
In truth, Seon Yul already knew exactly how to obtain a GAU-19.
The answer was the Management Bureau.
Since the Bureau was connected to each nation’s government, acquiring such a weapon wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
The problem was that he would have to contact the Bureau directly and make the request himself.
For various reasons, Seon Yul had been trying to avoid direct contact, so reaching out wasn’t easy.
“Let’s do it. I was planning to contact them for other reasons anyway… I’ll just negotiate directly.”
Having made his decision, he resolved that if he was going to do it, he would do it properly… and obtain the GAU-19.
***
When Seong Hyeon received a message from Seon Yul… or rather, AbsoluteSafetyFirst, he was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected AbsoluteSafetyFirst to reach out first.
In fact, Seong Hyeon had been contemplating what kind of offer he could make to initiate direct dialogue.
But unexpectedly, Absolute Safety First contacted him first, and they ended up speaking on the phone.
“So, you’re requesting the GAU-19, correct?”
[Yes, that’s right.]
“Then… may I ask something frankly?”
[Yes. Go ahead.]
“You’re able to use firearms within a mana field, correct?”
By this point, it was almost 100% certain, but Seong Hyeon believed confirmation from the person himself was an important step.
[That’s correct.]
Seon Yul did not deny it. From the moment he requested the GAU-19, he had expected the other party to infer this much.
“That’s impressive.”
[It’s just a somewhat unusual awakened ability. And I want to fully utilize it—that’s why I need the GAU-19.]
Seon Yul mixed truth with deception.
He intended to let the Bureau believe that his awakened ability was merely the ability to use firearms within mana fields.
“Then is it an ability that alters the weapon itself? Or one that protects the weapon from mana?”
Seong Hyeon subtly crossed a line with his question.
But Seon Yul had no intention of answering.
[Let’s stop discussing my awakened ability. Can you tell me whether the GAU-19 can be obtained… and if so, by when?]
He cut off the inquiry and redirected the conversation.
“Ah, my apologies. I got overly excited and overstepped. My awakened ability is ‘Enhanced Intelligence,’ so I have trouble suppressing my curiosity… Ahem. In any case, the GAU-19 can be obtained fairly quickly.”
Seong Hyeon casually mentioned his own awakened ability to lighten the atmosphere.
“I believe we can acquire it within three days and send it to you via community mail.”
[It will likely be quite heavy… I will cover the mailing cost.]
Community mail wasn’t free.
Once a user sent an item as an attachment, they couldn’t send another attached item until the previous one was claimed in reality.
Furthermore, when receiving an item, the recipient had to pay a certain amount of magic stones based on its weight.
For lightweight items, it wasn’t a big issue. But heavy ones required considerable payment.
Living beings couldn’t be attached. And items that were too large or too heavy couldn’t be attached either.
Interestingly, as a user’s level increased, the attachment limit gradually increased as well.
“That won’t be necessary. We can cover that cost without issue. And since we’re sending it anyway, we’ll include ammunition as well.”
[Thank you for your consideration.]
There was no reason to decline goodwill, so Seon Yul accepted gratefully.
“In return, may I make one request?”
Seong Hyeon spoke carefully. Seon Yul thought this was only natural.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
[Yes, please speak freely.]
“It’s nothing special. The Management Bureau simply wishes to maintain a close cooperative relationship with you.”
Seong Hyeon had no intention of extracting something prematurely.
His first goal was building trust. In particular, he had analyzed Absolute Safety First’s behavioral patterns to understand what kind of person he was.
So this time, he intended to grant the request without imposing any conditions.
“Our objective is to continue a good relationship and support you as much as possible.”
[…Please send plenty of requests. As long as they aren’t unreasonable, I will prioritize requests from the Management Bureau.]
Believing nothing came free, Seon Yul found himself offering goodwill first.
Seong Hyeon’s strategy of maintaining a humble stance worked to some extent, and the conversation ended.
And exactly two days later…
The long-awaited GAU-19 was finally placed before Seon Yul.
Comments (0)