The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero

Chapter 237: Merger (5)

[A fledgling teleport zone of the Serpent Bearer has been created.]

[Total Capacity: 100,000]

It was a feast of light. The scene looked as if the lights were swirling in the sky.

Then, a hole made of light appeared in front of them. It was clearly the light of teleportation, the light of the teleport zone. This surprised everyone.

‘That is something only the Zodiacs can make!’

Of course, humans could make it in theory. However, that required processing a massive amount of information, so no one even attempted it.

If one had to make a comparison, it was something only a high-end computer could accomplish. The coordinate value had to be compared and calculated to teleport people. The setup was very complicated.

‘This was why all the teleport zones around the world were made by the Zodiacs.’

Of course, the Gemini Saint Heiji could make it, but the teleport zone would be unstable. This was why she didn’t make one herself. It was that lofty of a territory.

‘He made it in one go?!’

‘He just needed one measly hint??’

Every magician gathered here was an elite magician of the Gemini temple. Therefore, they could appreciate how great an item Chun Sungjae had made. They could tell at a glance.

‘I-I’m sure of it. With that much power, he can move ten thousand by himself.’

No, ten thousand was the minimum! He could probably move everyone within the castle by himself.

This was why the magicians had a mental breakdown.

‘Is the teleport zone supposed to be created like this on the first try?’

‘Are you playing with me? There is no way that’s true! Did you forget about everyone failing?’

‘That’s right! The only success was a ten-man evacuation teleport zone!’

The magicians suddenly had a realization.

‘The Korean general did tell us to never give any magic recipe over S rank to Chun Sungjae.’

‘This is why he didn’t want us to show it to Chun Sungjae!’

At the time, Sungjae’s faith had been low, thanks to his fanboyism of Lee Gun. So the magicians had assumed he couldn’t be told because he would leak it to outside sources!

Everyone was abuzz.

However, Chun Sungjae scoffed. “I wondered what kind of amazing technique was used on this. You guys charged that much for a single use?”

Goat’s mouth fell. “It… It is simple? I heard the twelfth dimension has to be calculated. I heard a rumor that a thousand people have to be used if—”

“No way! Thousand is too much. Anyway, something is off. Why can’t they do something so easy?”

Goat was silent. When he thought about it, Sungjae resembled his mother, who was a researcher. When he had been five, he could solve high-school math problems.

That was why he could learn magic by studying on his own when he was with the Gemini temple. It was as if his brain had developed so much that his height had suffered. Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.

“Let’s hurry up and move to the teleport zone!”

“Yes! How much will the Serpent Bearer charge for it?”

“Uh? The fee will be…”

When Chun Sungjae looked at him, Lee Gun laughed. “It’s fine. I’ll be considered a bully if I receive anything for the first ride.”

If everyone was being honest, the bullies were the Gemini magicians, who were trying to barter in this current situation. Of course, it wasn’t as if Lee Gun was receiving zilch in return for this.

[Faith toward the Serpent Bearer has risen.]

However, the people cheering had other ideas.

“Lee Gun! Take what you deserve! You even killed the monsters in the ocean!”

“That’s right! By designating Drachma as your holy ground, you regenerated everyone!”

The culprit behind Drachma’s fall was Abyss, and Lee Gun had killed it. So from the perspective of the people within the castle, he was their savior.

“Let us compensate you!”

Of course, the Zodiac Saint of the Serpent Bearer wasn’t someone to turn down free offerings. Quick on the uptake, Sungjae used flame magic to write Lee Gun’s bank account number in the air. He also didn’t forget to throw the business cards he had made beforehand into the air.

[Great Lee Gun-nim’s Donation Account]

[XXXX-XXX-XXXX ㅇㅇBank]

“Oh! Put it away for now! Let’s go!”

Goat glanced at Hugo when he saw all of this.

Hugo’s brows were furrowed. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing. I was wondering if subordinates of a Zodiac like that eat well…”

“What did you just say?!”

At that moment, the people within Drachma cheered as they moved toward the teleportation hole.

This frustrated the Gemini magicians to no end. If the Serpent Bearer succeeded in running a teleport zone, it would put them in a difficult situation.

“P-Please do not fall for it! It is a teleport made by a temple other than the Gemini temple!”

The magician’s shout annoyed everyone.

“What about it? It looks to be functioning properly.”

“Don’t say that! You’re about to do a trial run with your lives on the line! Even we would be too afraid to get on it!”

“!”

They exchanged glances.

“We’ll call for more teleporters. That’ll solve a multitude of problems. We’ll be able to move everyone. That is why—”

The magicians who were already trying to go and get more teleporters from outside froze in place.

[Teleportation Failed]

“…!”

In truth, they had told a lie, saying they couldn’t use teleportation. It all had to do with Lee Gun. They had done it to screw over Lee Gun. In reality, they could freely use teleportation. So what was going on now?

‘The Teleport skill isn’t activating!’

They soon figured out the reason.

“I’m not sure about this, but I think the reason is the portal made by Chun Sungjae!”

“It seems their side is using the coordinates in advance, so we can’t use it! Our skill unravels before it can form…!”

The exact reason behind it should be analyzed at a later time. Something else was more important right now.

‘Shit! We won’t be able to exit this place without Chun Sungjae’s Teleport!!’

That was right. They also had to rely on the Serpent Bearer.

“W-What should we do?”

“What else! We should—”

It was as if he had overheard their conversation.

“Oh. Is that so? You guys can’t escape from this place?”

“!!”

Lee Gun laughed. “What? Do you guys want to use this teleport zone, too?”

“N…No. That is…”

In the end, several of the Gemini magicians laughed.

“I think we will have to use it….”

“No way we will use it!”

Chun Sungjae and Lee Gun laughed when they heard the commotion.

“Don’t worry. We don’t plan on letting you guys die.”

The magicians let out sighs of relief.

“That means…”

“However…”

“!”

“We won’t do it for free. Earlier, you guys wanted a fee and recompense for our lives in exchange for teleportation.”

“…!!!”

Chun Sungjae’s eyes flashed as the calculator in his head worked. “How much are you willing to spend?”

* * *

An indeterminate time had passed.

[Lee Gun rescued 50 thousand people within Drachma.]

[The teleport zone was a monopolized product of the Gemini temple, but the Serpent Bearer can use it now.]

[The power of the Taurus was sent toward the Serpent Bearer.]

[Ten Star Joseph of the Taurus temple is preparing an official statement.]

[Thirteen Zodiac temples ▶ 12 Zodiac temples? Did the temple merger actually happen?]

[Drachma became the Serpent Bearer’s holy ground. “Is this ok?”]

The world was past being in an uproar. It was stunned.

On the other hand, Hugo sighed as he looked somewhere. He didn’t care what was going on in the world.

“Is your stomach ok? You ate meat after you ate the Taurus. Doesn’t your stomach hurt?”

Lee Gun clicked his tongue. “Don’t look down on my ability to digest things. My stomach became sturdier when I leveled up.”

“Ah. Is that so?”

If his body was fine, that was all there was to it.

Moreover, Hugo could clearly feel it after Lee Gun had absorbed the entirety of the Taurus temple’s power.

‘He might be able to rule over the Taurus disciples with what he got.’

Of course, they could receive only Lee Gun’s abilities if they developed faith toward the Serpent Bearer. However, that shouldn’t matter.

‘Even I’m using Gun’s power.’

If they could reach 80% faith like him, wouldn’t they all be able to use it? That shouldn’t be too difficult of a bar to pass.

Then there was Ivan, who Yong Yong had chewed up. Thankfully, Yooha had brought him. However…

[Yong Yong has completely damaged its chew toy.]

[Yong Yong is depressed that the texture of its chew toy has changed.]

Hugo gripped his face when he remembered the Taurus Saint, who had turned into a piece of meat. If he was being honest, he had a grudge against Ivan, so he didn’t care if Ivan died or not.

“Shit! Gun won’t be able to extract data from Ivan if he is in this state.!”

Thanks to the incident at Drachma, Lee Gun had obtained the rights to the Nameless Land that Abundance had possessed.

“You won’t be able to make your defensive gear! I’ve been looking forward to the defensive gear!”

His reaction was understandable since the Taurus Saint had turned into mush. Red Eye had chewed him up so much that Super Regeneration could only put him back into something with the consistency of a pudding. That was the limit.

Lee Gun cackled at Hugo’s words. “I remember you saying that you would never use an item with a Zodiac and Zodiac Saint as ingredients.”

“No!! I don’t want to use it, but— Ahk!”

It was like someone who knew the taste of meat. Hugo had gotten a taste of the EX rank through his bow. He despaired.

‘The real culprits that tried to kill Gun within the Devil’s Tower were Zodiacs.’

The monarchs were aiming for Lee Gun too.

‘Regular equipment won’t cut it.’

Moreover, the dream of completely driving out the unknown civilization wouldn’t be out of reach if they had equipment of that rank.

“On the other hand….”

Lee Gun laughed when he saw this. “Don’t worry. I can make EX-rank defensive gear without him.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. I acquired the power of the Taurus. Well, I have to transfer it to the Serpent Bearer’s temple. Anyway, I’ll be able to imbue defensive skills now.”

Moreover, the Revive skill would be able to bring back the Taurus Saint. Although Ivan might not look like a human, he could be regenerated to an extent.

‘I’ll have to recover this bastard somewhat, so I can upgrade him as Yong Yong’s chew toy.’

That would perk up the depressed Red Eye.

“Anyway, I never knew you were so covetous about equipment. You nagged me a lot when it came to the Pisces. Are you worried about me?”

Hugo flinched at those words. He scoffed. “Thanks to the magical energy of the monarchs, there are fewer and fewer lands available for humanity to live on. We have to take back the land of humanity. Then there is the thing that the unknown civilization has been looking for since the old days…”

Hugo realized his mistake as he looked at Lee Gun.

“What is the unknown civilization looking for?”

“That’s….”

At that moment…

Koo-goo-goong!

Hugo screamed when he heard the sound of an explosion coming from his living room. “Ahhk! My house!”

Hugo knew the culprit very well.

[Death grumbles. It says it wants to reach the fourth stage first.]

[Death will be the first one to become human-like. It will pounce on its master.]

[At that point, you will have no choice but to throw away Life. You will awaken as the god of Death.]

The one to destroy Hugo’s living room was Death, who had developed arms and legs.

Hugo looked at his destroyed living room and despaired.

‘Mortgage… I still haven’t paid off the mortgage…’

Lee Gun furrowed his brows. “What grievance does it have? Why is it protesting like that?”

At those words, Death skipped toward Lee Gun and rubbed its face on Lee Gun’s foot.

[Death says it wants a name.]

“I already gave you one. It is Blackie.”

[Death doesn’t like the name of a pet!]

It really demanded a lot of things.

“What about Jun?”

As soon as he spoke, Death’s face brightened.

[Death is ecstatic. It says it has received special treatment with this. It boasts Master will choose it.]

[Life snorts. It says that name is the name of an actor. The name is from a movie that Master watched yesterday.]

[Death despairs.]

While it might like its owner, Death was a nefarious bomb. Hugo didn’t like it. It could become a threat to his friend’s life. And although he didn’t show it outwardly, Lee Gun seemed to have read his expression.

Lee Gun laughed. “Don’t worry! When I ate the Taurus, Life leveled up too. Since it’s the ‘Defense’ temple, it reacted to Life.”

Hugo looked relieved as he gazed at Lee Gun. “Does that mean Life will rise in level if you eat another Zodiac related to Life?”

“Hmm. Are you referring to a Zodiac like that bastard?”

“That bastard…?.”

Hugo became surprised when he saw the TV, which Lee Gun had pointed at. An unexpected piece of news was being shown on the TV.

– Please listen closely. A nefarious rumor is going around in recent days, and it’s harming the prestige of the Capricorn temple.

– The Capricorn and the Genius Workshop have a deep history as a workshop. We have made royal holy items for numerous Zodiac Saints, including Lee Gun’s Heaven’s Punishment. It is a storied temple created by our Zodiac.

– There are more and more instances of people asking Lee Gun to make their weapons. This hurts the prestige of the Genius Workshop. From our investigation, it takes at least four weeks for Lee Gun to make an SS-rank weapon.

– There is no way he can mass produce it. He’s an amateur.

– The Capricorn has worked hard for humanity, and its feelings are greatly hurt. From this moment on, we will transition to a membership system. Only members may put an order in with the Genius Workshop.

– Any temple that puts in an order with Lee Gun will never be able to use the Genius Workshop. That is how we will run it.

The words left Hugo dumbfounded. He looked for his phone. “I’ll have to tell everyone that the bow I used at Drachma was made by you.”

However, Lee Gun stopped him. “It is fine. It’ll be quicker to show them how I make it. At that point, they won’t be able to say anything.”

“What? You’ll show them? What is going on?”

Lee Gun acted as if the answer was obvious as he looked sideways at Hugo.

“The ingredients for S-rank, SS-rank, and EX-rank weapons are very expensive. Also, the shape of the items that I can make with the ingredients I possess is limited. If I go to their workshop, it should be full of expensive ingredients, right?”

“?!”

Did he plan on stealing all the ingredients while saying it was a demonstration?

“What happened to all the money that Stevens gave you?”

“I already used it all.”

“What? Where!”

Instead of answering, Lee Gun laughed as he held up his hammer. Aside from those ingredients, the Capricorn was someone Lee Gun needed since he had business with the Time monarch.

Why?

‘I need a certain item that the Capricorn possesses.’

Also, didn’t Life evolve when he ate the Taurus? What would happen if he ate the Capricorn?

“I’ll just merge it since it’s useless to me.”