Chapter 202: Larzien  

The bookie was bewildered after receiving 500,000 points from Lee Shin. He looked at Lee Shin with his eyes wide. Behind those pitiable eyes was a great sense of anxiety. It seemed like the calculator in his mind was malfunctioning due to the unexpected situation.

"Oh my, oh my, did he just say 500,000 points?"

"Does that challenger really have so much confidence in himself?"

"But he doesn’t look that impressive though, appearance-wise."

"Should I give it a shot too?"

"Well... Maybe he’s just a wealthy person with lots of points to spare?"

This caused quite a stir among the spectators, and the bookie, noticing it, raised his eyebrows and started to take in bets.

“Wow! We’ve never had a challenger who was so confident to stake 500,000 points! This is the first time! This might be the moment the Weeping Sword Scrap is drawn!" the bookie shouted to draw more people’s attention.

"Should I bet my points?”

"Here you go. I'll bet 10,000 points."

"Me too! I'm putting in just 5,000 points."

"I’ll put in 100,000 points! It may really be successful this time!"

"Me too! I want to bet too!”

"Hey, look over here! I said I want to bet too!”

Was it simply a different atmosphere than before, or was the influx of bettors right at the beginning a catalyst for others to place their bets too? The bookie smirked due to the overflowing betting points.

‘This is interesting.’

The worn-out sword in front of Lee Shin had remarkable durability, contrary to its appearance. Immense mana was emanating from it. When Lee Shin turned his head slightly, he could see people lying down like beggars in the distance. It was as if they found something interesting to watch and were peering through the crowd as well.

"Alright then, let's stop now—" As the bookie tried to stop taking in more bets, he was interrupted.

"1 million," said a man.

"Pardon?" The bookie could not believe what he just heard.

The man walked out from the crowd, raising his hand. He had bandages covering his rough skin, so it was hard to see his face clearly.

"I will put down 1 million points. So, how many points can I get?” the man asked.

p>

"With 1 million points, and 2.1 times... Hahaha, looks like there are quite a lot of big bettors this time." The bookie could not hide his nervousness.

‘Ha, that lunatic… When did he get here?’

The man was Cain, the Leader of the Platinum Group. He must have figured out that Lee Shin was here and chose to reveal himself. Anyways, he was a man who had an uncanny ability to obtain points.

"Alright then! Let's close the bets now and see if the Weeping Sword Scrap can be pulled out! Please give it a shot!" the bookie said, looking at Lee Shin.

As soon as the bookie finished talking, everyone's gaze turned toward Lee Shin. Glancing around, Lee Shin could see that Cain was also looking at him with a slightly uneasy expression.

"Hmm..."

When Lee Shin grabbed the sword himself, its strength felt even more palpable. He infused his mana into the sword and read its flow.

Zap!

At the same time, sparks of mana crackled on the surface of the sword.

‘Just as I expected.’

There was a powerful force pulling in the sword. It connected the ground and the sword seamlessly, and the links of mana resonated with each other, creating a strong bond.

‘Somebody has made an artificial magic circuit.’

Solving this magic circuit was far more intriguing than just pulling a sword out. The magical proficiency to craft this had exceeded his expectations. A brief encounter was enough to sense how deep and refined the theories of the wizard who employed this magic were. Furthermore, Lee Shin could tell how much time the wizard had invested in honing his skills in this field.

When Lee Shin poured his mana into the sword, it soon enveloped the entire sword and revealed the hidden foundation.

Pizz— Pizzz—!

Crackling sparks continued to appear, but Lee Shin was focused on deciphering the intricate mana circuits. The convoluted circuitry had been woven to form defensive mechanisms that vehemently barred any external intrusion. Real-time data flooded Lee Shin’s senses but they were all neatly organized in his mind.

‘It is complex for sure, but still manageable.’

Oddly, it was more effective to interpret and unravel the magic step by step, rather than relying on intuition to try breaking through it quickly.

Creak—

Lee Shin could feel that the strength needed to pull the sword was diminishing in his arm, little by little. With each circuit unraveling, the constraints for pulling out the sword faded bit by bit.

"Huh...?"

With the bewildered voices of the crowd in the background, Lee Shin eventually pulled out the Scrap. "Wow! That challenger managed to pull out the sword!"

"Damn! Is this happening for real?"

"How did this happen? How could someone with such a frail body manage to do this...?"

The people who stood around to watch were surprised and there were exclamations from all directions. The bookie, who had received an immense amount of points in bets, fell down to his seat with a face full of despair. The people who had already lost significant amounts in bets earlier rushed toward the bookie, demanding their money, and among the crowd was Cain.

[Scrap]

This is a sword made by Cyclops the blacksmith and is capable of withstanding the formidable power.

# It will not break.

# It will not rust.

# It has very high mana conductivity.

This sword was not an ordinary sword. It was one made by the Cyclops blacksmith which was an unexpected gain for Lee Shin.

"Where are you going?" Cain asked Lee Shin as he was about to leave, despite not having received his points yet.

"I have something to attend to," Lee Shin replied.

When Lee Shin turned his head, he noticed that the beggars who he had seen earlier were not around anymore. He approached the spot where the beggars had been. A note was left there.

- Come to the Genius’ Pub in the East.

The name, Genius’ Pub, was ridiculous, but Lee Shin knew exactly where this place was, because he had been there in the past. He immediately headed straight to the East. Passing through the dusty, neglected streets between shabby buildings, Lee Shin spotted a sign that seemed familiar to him.

[Genius’ Pub]

The sign was there, but there was no door. This meant that without the skill to open it, one could not even enter this place.

‘What a stubborn old man.’

He was the type of person who did not wish to interact with those who were only ordinary, not geniuses. Lee Shin immediately placed his hand on the wall and infused mana onto it. Compared to the mana circuits that were set up in the Scrap, it was not that difficult to solve this.

The next moment, semi-transparent symbols appeared one after another. As Lee Shin decoded each of these formulas, the stones on the wall began to shift, revealing the hidden door.

Thud—!

Upon entering the door, a lavish interior greeted Lee Shin’s eyes. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling, luxurious carpets adorned the floor, a piano was placed on one side, and the wall was lined with high-end spirits. It was a stark contrast to the shabby exterior of this pub.

"Wow, you came rather quickly," said a man.

Sitting on a plush sofa, the man was sipping wine. This man was one of the beggars who had been at the scene where Lee Shin was pulling out the Scrap.

"Larzien," Lee Shin said, looking at the man.

"Oh! Do you know me?" Larzien replied to Lee Shin with excitement.

"Aren’t you the Master of Psychokinesis?” Lee Shin asked.

This man was the author of the Larzien’s Basic Psychokinesis Magic Book, which Lee Shin had bought on the 20th floor. The mind behind this book was right in front of Lee Shin.

"I learned about Psychokinesis through the magic book you wrote, Mr. Larzien,” Lee Shin replied.

As Lee Shin spoke, he moved the small cubes that were placed on the table, creating a formation resembling Larzien.

"Wow..." Larzien was amazed to see what Lee Shin was able to do.

"I came here to say thank you to you, because I was able to master Psychokinesis because of you,” Lee Shin replied.

"Oh… so that was why… Because I wondered how you could decipher my magic so well," Larzien said.

The next moment, Larzien got up from his seat and poured wine into a glass that was beside him.

"Do you want a drink? This wine has an exquisite flavor." Larzien offered Lee Shin a glass.

"Yes please," Lee Shin replied.

As Lee Shin sat down and took a sip of the wine, a tangy taste stimulated his palate.

"How is it?" Larzien asked for Lee Shin’s opinion.

"This is excellent," Lee Shin replied.

"Just as I expected, geniuses know things well." Larzien’s face was filled with a satisfied smile.

He looked at Lee Shin with his sparkling eyes.

"Do you want to be my successor?" Larzien asked Lee Shin.

"Sorry?" Lee Shin was surprised to hear that.

Lee Shin really did not expect to get such an offer from Larzien so suddenly. Besides, they had only met just a while ago. Therefore, he wondered what led Larzien to make such an offer.

"I’ve never seen a genius like you. It feels as if I'm looking at myself in my prime," Larzien said, looking at Lee Shin.

“Could you give me the money first? I've bet 500,000 points. Haha." Lee Shin said.

"Wow... are all geniuses like this? You are so quick-witted," Larzien replied with a satisfied smile.

Lee Shin was already aware that from the point when magic had been cast on the sword, the bookie and Larzien were in cahoots. Therefore, Lee Shin knew that he had to go to the owner to receive the money.

"Here you go," said Larzien.

Then, Larzien handed Lee Shin a 1 million-point voucher from his pocket. Lee Shin could not believe that he carried around 1 million points. From that, he could get a sense of just how wealthy Larzien was.

"And this too," said Larzien.

From his pocket, he took out the intermediate and advanced Psychokinesis magic books and placed them on the desk.

"If we try to assess these books by their value, they are books that are easily worth several million points,” Larzien said.

“Hmm… So you are saying that if I agree to become your successor, you will give these books to me for free?” Lee Shin asked.

"Yes, that's right. And the 1 million voucher is yours to keep, so take that," Larzien said.

"Alright then. I’m okay without these books," Lee Shin replied. Lee Shin stood up from his seat with only the 1 million voucher in his pocket. As he tried to leave, Larzien also stood up with a surprised look.

"Are you seriously rejecting these books? Do you even know how many wizards want to be my successor?" Larzien could not believe that Lee Shin rejected his offer.

“No, I don’t know anything like that. I am a busy person, and so I don’t have the time to waste being someone's successor," Lee Shin replied with a cold voice.

"What are you saying? Did you just say you don’t want to waste your time? You don't even have to spend that much time anyway! You just have to do some research on magic and have small discussions from time to time!” Larzien explained to convince Lee Shin.

"No, I think I’m good." Lee Shin rejected his offer once again.

Lee Shin had hoped to gain some information from him while also coming to claim his points, but it seemed like that might not work out. Anticipating that things would become more troublesome if he were to stay longer, he tried to head straight outside.

Creak, creak, creak!

If only the building's wall did not collapse and block the entrance.

‘Oh man… I should not have come here.’

Lee Shin infused mana into the distorted entrance and turned it.

[Extension]

When Lee Shin caused the mana that was concentrated in the middle to explode, the psychokinetic force dissipated and the walls returned to their original state. After doing that, Lee Shin easily pushed the door open and walked out.

"Oh! This is who I was looking for! He is the successor I've been searching for!" Larzien shouted after seeing Lee Shin solve his magic formula.

However, ignoring the calls of admiration behind him, Lee Shin left the pub. When he went out, there was Cain standing in the square with a discontented look.

"What's the matter?" Lee Shin asked Cain.

"He ran away," Cain replied with a disappointed voice.

"Huh? You let him escape?" Lee Shin replied in a mocking tone.

"There’s no way I would let him escape. I already know his location, so we can go find him and beat him up. However, it might be a bit troublesome if he did not head to where he hid the money," Cain replied.

Clomp Clomp Clomp!

Just then, urgent footsteps could be heard from behind Lee Shin. Sensing the owner of those footsteps, Lee Shin turned around with a sigh. As Lee Shin expected, it was Larzien.

"Who are you?” Cain asked Larzien.

At Cain's question, Larzien glanced at him briefly, furrowed his eyebrows, and turned his head.

"Huh? What's with that face?” Cain said to Larzien.

“Why? Are you offended or something? But still, why should I be concerned about someone like you?” Larzien replied in a cold voice.

“What did you just say? This senile old man is mad," Cain replied with an angry voice.

"Heh heh, says a wretched person like him," Larzien muttered.

Lee Shin shook his head at Larzien’s attitude, which was completely at odds with Lee Shin and Cain.

"Sir, enough of that. You too, stop.” Feeling like a fight could break out at any moment, Lee Shin intervened between the two.

"Fine, if my successor says so, I will hold back this time," Larzien replied, looking at Lee Shin.

"Your successor?" Cain was surprised to hear that.

"I think I already told you that I did not want to be anything like a successor," Lee Shin replied.

Although Lee Shin did not accept his offer, Larzien had arbitrarily decided that Lee Shin would be his successor. Therefore, Lee Shin thought that he should proceed to challenge the 80th floor quickly.

"Besides ascending floors, do you happen to know a way to go to the heavenly realm or to the Demon World?” Lee Shin asked Larzien.

"Why are you talking about that all of a sudden? And how would I know about that?" Larzien replied as if he was confused.

"I need to figure that out. So, if you find out how to go to the fifth district of the Demon World or to the Divine Realm of the heavenly realm, I will reconsider the matter of becoming your successor, is that alright?” Lee Shin said to Larzien.

"Really? Okay, I’ll do that then!" Larzien replied with excitement.

The next moment, Larzien started running urgently toward somewhere with a bright expression on his face.

"Who on earth is that old man?" Cain asked Lee Shin.

"He’s a remarkable wizard," Lee Shin replied.

"That old man is a remarkable wizard?" Cain asked as if he could not believe Lee Shin.

"Yes, that’s right. And, at the same time, he is your financial support,” Lee Shin said.

"He’s my financial support?” Cain clarified, tilting his head with a confused look.

He looked to where Larzien had run off to with his eyes wide open.

"No way…" Cain muttered.

"Yes, that’s right," Lee Shin replied.

Then, he took out the 1 million point voucher from his pocket and showed it to Cain.

"I already received my money, so you do whatever you need to," Lee Shin said to Cain.

As soon as Lee Shin said that, Cain disappeared from his spot.

"Hmm… Now, it’s time for the 80th floor stage," Lee Shin muttered.

It was a stage that he had been thinking about since clearing the 15th floor. Although various things had been on his mind lately, he probably needed to stick with his initial choice.

[You have entered the 80th floor.]

Upon entering the stage, several messages appeared in front of Lee Shin.

[Please select a realm.]

- Heavenly Realm

- Demon World

- Underworld

- World of Death

These were the four representative realms, the largest worlds in all dimensions, and the rulers of these worlds were the supreme deities who also represented its entire dimension. Lee Shin had yet to visit the Heavenly Realm, Underworld and the World of Death. Besides, he was already aware that making a hasty decision could be really dangerous this time. Lee Shin wondered where he should go.

"I will choose..."