Chapter 84

The Akashic Page.

In the modern era, it's used for technological advancement, but according to Ariel, it's a tool that strengthens supporting gifts.

Because corporations couldn't obtain this item, its price was astronomical.

'I've heard that a completed Akashic page is worth hundreds of billions.'

Fragments of Akasha, necessary to make the Akashic page, could probabilistically be acquired starting from the Platinum League.

Since the minimum price was 10 billion, players regarded it as even more valuable than winning the lottery.

How could a mere video editor possess such an expensive item that requires the collection and combination of 25 Fragments of Akasha?

'Something's fishy.'

Up to now, Joo Eunji just seemed like an ordinary woman, neither more nor less.

Though there was a static shock when signing or attaching the microphone,

'I had just thought of it as mere coincidence.'

'Could it be… she knows how to use the Akashic page?'

'I thought only Ariel, an extraterrestrial being, knew, but could there be someone on Earth who knew as well?'

'If so, the Joo Eunji before me wasn't just an ordinary person but a player with a supporting gift.'

[Master, should I restrain her? Or should we observe?]

[Let's watch her for a while and see what she's up to.]

Although uncertain of what Joo Eunji might do and wary of potential risks, Seong Jihan felt confident about handling the situation now that he suspected her motives.

[Understood. If anything happens, I'll burn that diary. Even though the Akashic page has been used and is disappearing, burning the remains will weaken the amplification of its power.]

While Seong Jihan was nodding slightly in response to Ariel's advice,

Swoosh!

Joo Eunji, who briefly opened and then closed the diary, approached Seong Jihan with a flustered expression.

"Ah! Sir, I think we need to adjust the microphone settings again…"

'She's constantly trying to get close.'

'Is physical contact required to use her supporting gift?'

"Yes, understood."

On the outside, he acted calm,

But Seong Jihan was on high alert, observing Joo Eunji's every move.

As Joo Eunji approached, reaching out towards Seong Jihan's clothes,

Zap!

[System Alert: Detecting a covert attempt to access the user's system…]

[System Alert: Player 'Ito Shizuru's' avatar is attempting to edit the user's system.]

A system message appeared in Seong Jihan's view.

'Ito… Shizuru?'

Ito.

If Koreans were asked about this surname,

A year ago, most would have thought of Ito Hirobumi.

However, now it's different.

The surname that Sword King adopted, Ito Ryuhei.

Now, more people think of the Sword King when they hear the name Ito.

But…

For the surname Ito to come from Joo Eunji…

'Could it be…?'

[Ito Shizuru's avatar has added the 'Enchantment' status to the user. The target of the Enchantment is Ito Shizuru.]

[Ito Shizuru's avatar has added the 'Submission' status to the user. The target of Submission is Ito Shizuru.]

[Ito Shizuru's avatar has added the 'Blind Devotion' status to the user. The target of Blind Devotion is Ito Shizuru.]

Unlike previous encounters…

To Seong Jihan, states of Enchantment, Submission, and Blind Devotion were added.

"You…."

"Yes?"

Joo Eunji, who was adjusting his microphone, blinked her eyes.

To others, it might have sounded like an ordinary reply.

But just by hearing her voice, Seong Jihan felt a shiver run throughout his entire body.

How could such a beautiful sound come from a person's mouth?

And her appearance, which seemed ordinary just moments ago, now seemed more beautiful than anyone in the world.

"…"

"Mr. Seong Jihan? What's the matter?"

Seong Jihan stared intently at Joo Eunji's face.

To him, her face reflected not just a goddess of beauty but also a face he recognized.

Not from this life, but from his previous one.

'Apostle of the Apocalypse, Succubus Queen.'

Just before humanity's extinction.

When Earth was on the brink of being demoted in the Space League.

As a penalty, different apostles of apocalypse appeared in the remaining 20 countries.

Among the 20 apostles, the one that appeared in the USA, where Seong Jihan was, was the Succubus Queen.

She had Los Angeles entirely under her control.

She was the worst monster, spreading a widespread state of fascination to numerous players.

The US government eventually dropped a nuclear bomb on LA, eradicating the followers of the Succubus Queen. Only after the American forces all united could they suppress her.

But now, he saw the semblance of the Succubus Queen in Joo Eunji.

Seong Jihan remembered Ito Shizuru from the name that appeared in his status window, reminding him of the Sword King.

The Sword King, who had a life in Korea without envy, enjoyed life with many women.

Suddenly, he fell for a Japanese woman, changed his last name to Ito, and went to Japan.

The reason for this was now clear in front of him.

'Ito Shizuru. Was she a citizen of Japan? Yoon Sejin might have been deceived by her.'

If there hadn't been a warning about the Akashic Page.

If he hadn't been mentally prepared, he might have been majorly fooled by Ito Shizuru's tactics.

'And the reason I was affected this time, despite not being affected before…'

It must be because of the Akashic Page, which amplifies the power of the supporting gift.

If he burns that diary, he can immediately escape from this status anomaly.

And if he goes further and eliminates Joo Eunji entirely, there won't be any concerns left.

But there was something bothering him.

'The system message clearly said she's an avatar.'

Even if Seong Jihan burns the Akashic page here and kills Joo Eunji, if the main body remains, it's pointless.

On the contrary, learning from the failure of the avatar, the main body might employ another trick.

In that case…

'Pretend to be deceived for a while, extract more information about Ito Shizuru, then eliminate the main body.'

With that decision, Seong Jihan calmly composed himself.

To pretend to be deceived, he couldn't stay as he was now.

States abnormalities of Enchantment, Submission, and Blind Devotion.

While Enchantment might be acceptable, Submission and Blind Devotion were statuses he couldn't afford to keep.

Seong Jihan circulated the energy of the three dantians.

Nameless Divine Arts

Heart Method

Mind Creates All

Mind Creates All.

Meaning everything is a construct of the mind.

In the Nameless Divine Arts, it functioned as a method to overcome delusions and mental contaminations.

'Submission and Blind Devotion are removed.'

These two are too detrimental to be left untouched.

Seong Jihan used his inner technique to remove the two abnormal states that had entered him.

If he hadn't detected their intrusion, he wouldn't have known, but since he already knew, it wasn't difficult to remove them.

"Enchantment… I'll leave a bit of it."

If he removed all the Enchantment,

It would be challenging to pretend to be "somewhat affected."

Seong Jihan reduced the effect of the Enchantment by about half.

"If I didn't have the experience of defeating the Succubus Queen in LA… This wouldn't have been easy."

The Succubus Queen was the most troublesome boss monster that appeared just before humanity's downfall.

In some ways, she was even more challenging than Behemoth, the monster of the apocalypse.

Whether it was Barren, who was ranked first in the world, or Sophia, ranked third, all were captivated by the Succubus Queen's charm, and in turn, tried to attack Seong Jihan.

'If I hadn't endured with the technique of the Nameless Divine Art, I might have become her slave.'

If Seong Jihan didn't have the Nameless Martial Art, the US might have been destroyed by the Succubus Queen before even Behemoth.

'I need to recall my past experience.'

Seong Jihan remembered the time when he pretended to be charmed by the Succubus Queen, deceived her, and then stabbed her in the heart.

'Speaking of which… she really does look a lot like the Succubus Queen.'

The face of Joo Eunji that he sees now.

After removing Submission and Blind Devotion and leaving only half of the Enchantment, her divine beauty was rapidly returning to its original state…

But due to the Enchantment effect showing his ideal type, the goddess mode Joo Eunji he glimpsed earlier looked identical to the Succubus Queen.

'Is this really a coincidence?'

Meanwhile, Joo Eunji looked up at Seong Jihan with a puzzled gaze.

"Owner?"

Her expression seemed innocent,

'It's not enough.'

Inside, a cool judgment was taking place.

If the set of Enchantment, Submission, and Blind Devotion had properly settled in, he should already be courting her.

But,

"… No, let's proceed for now."

Seong Jihan did not show that level of reaction.

Instead, he slightly avoided Joo Eunji's gaze.

Tilting his head as if he doesn't understand why, his cheeks reddening slightly.

Compared to when he usually showed no particular emotion towards her, this was quite a different response.

There was a definite change, but for Joo Eunji, it wasn't satisfactory.

'… Even after using the Akashic Page, it hasn't fully taken effect?'

Even though she enhanced the abilities of her clone.

She had used the Akashic Page, but this was all the effect it had?

'Should I be satisfied that it at least took effect to some extent?'

Still, it was clear that the Enchantment was somewhat in place.

Maybe because of the broadcasting camera, Seong Jihan was trying not to show it.

But Joo Eunji, who had often used Enchantment, could definitely notice his change.

Wondering to himself, 'Why am I like this?'

Yet, without understanding, he occasionally glanced at Joo Eunji.

The way he now looked at Joo Eunji, who was holding the camera with a peculiar heat in his eyes, was evidence that Enchantment had taken effect.

'Right. At least some of it worked.'

Even during the time of the Sword King, initiating the effect wasn't easy.

Only after various contacts could she cast the Enchantment.

But once affected, the Sword King couldn't escape from Ito Shizuru's grasp.

'Seong Jihan, soon you'll be the same.'

Even though the effects were less than what she had invested, it wasn't a big deal.

In fact, the mere fact that Seong Jihan, who was only at Silver Rank, could resist to such an extent was proof of his value as a player.

And after the filming was over, as they were cleaning up the place, Seong Jihan approached Joo Eunji.

"Ms. Joo Eunji… is that right?"

"Yes, Owner."

"I have some matters to discuss regarding editing. Can you give me your contact information?"

Exchanging contact information for editing purposes seemed reasonable.

However,

'From what I've seen of Seong Jihan, he's not the kind to do this.'

If he had something to discuss about editing, he'd simply call through the guild's direct line, not ask for a personal number.

Yet, here he was, with sparkling eyes, slightly restless, asking for her number.

'Heh… as expected, you won't be able to resist my charm.'

Although she hadn't achieved complete Submission, feeling the value of investing the Akashic Page, Joo Eunji smiled brightly.

"Oh! Yes, Owner. I'll give you my number~"

* * * * *

Then, two days later,

[Owner~ Are you free today by any chance?]

The first to reach out was Joo Eunji.