Chapter 116

Chapter 116
## Chapter 116

### Harbinger (1)

“No, I am telling you, I require far more precise details! What am I supposed to achieve with a mere map? Do I appear that naive to you just because I have been compliance itself with every directive? One of these days, I swear I am going to…”

Knock, knock—

Andrew Weber, the fair-haired man who had been venting his frustration, instantly clamped his jaw shut at the unexpected tapping.

“Ahem, enter.”

The doorway unlatched without a sound upon his consent.

A servant stepped inside noiselessly, beginning to arrange a tray of tea and light refreshments upon the table.

Before she could depart after completing her duties, Andrew casually addressed her.

“By any chance, is Lady Siana present in the estate at this moment?”

“No, she has not yet made her return.”

“Hmm, very well. It is of no consequence. You may leave.”

“Understood.”

He watched the servant, who offered a respectful bow before exiting, and then threw himself back into his seat, popping a treat into his mouth.

His irritation began to ebb away, replaced by a resigned sigh, recognizing that there was nothing to be done about it.

‘Tsk, but I suppose I have no choice but to give it a shot.’

What alternatives did he have when his superior issued a direct command?

The directive leveled at him demanded that he investigate the monumental collision of power that had recently transpired within the northwestern mountain range, utilizing his “Trajectory Observation”.

‘My talent is hardly that effortless, where I can just witness whatever strikes my fancy!’

The solitary clue provided to him was a coordinates marker on a chart, a desolate zone completely lacking in comprehensive data.

There were supplementary files regarding the native flora, atmospheric conditions, beast territories, and the like, but such general overviews were utterly useless for pinpointing the exact spot.

The most effective approach was always to view the target or territory firsthand with his own eyes, and the secondary option was to deeply acquaint himself with as much explicit information as possible, even if it were merely documented text…

‘I am not even demanding a photograph; at the very least, provide a rendering of the environment.’

Furthermore, if the individual responsible for the event was suspected to be the Immortal King, he would be largely ineffective anyway, given that he could not perceive him due to the sheer disparity in their status.

‘Naturally, they assigned me this chore with that exact reality in mind.’

He was left with no option but to at least demonstrate to them that he was putting forth his utmost exertion.

It was solely due to this specific gift that he had been permitted to advance so comfortably and enjoy such elevated treatment.

Andrew buried himself deeper into the cushioned seat and unleashed his specialized capability, “Trajectory Observation”.

Unable to instantly conjure the location of the occurrence, he initially scanned the outer perimeter, where data was abundant, and attempted to gradually advance his perception inward.

‘Eh? There are individuals venturing into the ridges in the middle of all this turbulence?’

He managed to catch sight of Harley’s group, who had accepted a mission at roughly the same hour and were making their way northward.

However, he could not track their path for an extended period, as their outlines quickly grew faint, as though shrouded in dense mist, the moment he began to penetrate further.

‘…Just as I anticipated. There is a strict boundary to scrutiny when deprived of context.’

He might manage it if his rank were greater, but this represented the absolute ceiling of his current proficiency.

He made several additional attempts, but predictably, he failed to comprehend the site of the kinetic collision.

‘Ugh, I have expended my energy for nothing. They will simply berate me… Wait?’

Precisely as Andrew was preparing to terminate his “Trajectory Observation”,

He noticed the party that had ventured into the wilderness making their return journey.

That in itself was not bizarre…

‘What is this? Why are they so indistinct?’

In stark contrast to their outward journey, their figures were not sharply visible on their path back.

The distortion was not as absolute as with the Immortal King, whom he could not glimpse whatsoever, but it was far more obscured than even a True Blood vampire, whom he could normally monitor through indirect means.

No matter which participant of the gathering he attempted to scrutinize, static manifested simply due to ‘someone’ being in close proximity to them, rendering clear sight impossible.

‘An alteration has occurred. I must scrutinize this developments far more intently.’

As Andrew commenced his probing into their activities, he discovered that they had taken on a quest from the local ruler to salvage a Dwarf stranded within the peaks.

‘Is there something unusual regarding that Dwarf? Or was that a deceptive assignment, and they harbored an entirely different, concealed objective?’

Regardless, it was undeniable that something was highly irregular.

Though he had fallen short of acquiring the intelligence he had initially set out for, he rose from his place with a satisfied expression, having stumbled upon something highly questionable.

He had at least secured a thread of evidence, meaning he now had something to report to his superiors.

“Excellent! I have performed sufficiently for today. The remainder can wait for another occasion.”

He exited the grand residence with self-assured strides, boarded the waiting carriage, and directed his course toward the entertainment quarter.

Amusing oneself at the estate had its merits, but how could a person spend their entire existence cooped up indoors?

‘They rarely trouble me so long as I execute my assignments adequately, so there is truly no superior environment to work in.’

Coupled with lavish material provisioning, his career contentment was at an absolute zenith.

It would be grander still if they would refrain from tossing preposterous challenges like this current one his way.

While Andrew was traveling in serenity inside the cabin,

Swoosh—

An entity was noiselessly trailing behind his vehicle, devoid of any perceptible essence.

The intangible presence possessed only the dimmest awareness of identity, entirely free of fixation or intent.

It merely observed his movements in total silence.

—

“…He operates swiftly.”

Heinz, who had arrived within Heterosis’s workspace, clicked his tongue as he advanced the display using the wheel of his mouse.

It constituted merely the initial outline, encompassing only the fundamentals, yet it was remarkably structured considering it had been compiled in under twenty-four hours.

“It was an extraordinary command from the Lord, who descended after a lengthy absence. We mobilized the entirety of the faction, even putting pressure on the Blood Alliance!”

Jin So-ran smirked with immense satisfaction, thrusting her chest out in response to his praise.

She felt fully rewarded by his astonished expression, especially since she had gone so far as to suspend her personal streaming sessions—which she maintained as a pastime—to dedicate herself to this project.

Heinz skimmed through the compiled data.

Iterating from the abstract concepts, beginning with the attributes of metallic substances, all the way to the hands-on execution, commencing with the proper grip on a mallet.

The documentation, which even featured photographic records and video clips, was essentially the premier introductory manual for smithing, guaranteeing rapid advancement provided one dedicated themselves to reviewing it thoroughly.

‘Naturally, absorbing and mastering it entirely will be no simple feat.’

Regardless of how elementary it might be and how straightforwardly it was laid out, it was not knowledge an average individual could effortlessly duplicate.

And how much more challenging would it prove if they were forced to educate themselves purely through abstract principles, stripped of any instructor?

It would require a vast span of time merely to truly digest this initial segment, and yet…

Howard the Dwarf was no ordinary individual.

The information, which appeared as nothing more than a catalog of facts to Heinz, was instantly dissected and comprehended by Howard’s intellect.

The traits of diverse ores, the methods for regulating the intensity of the furnace, the distinctive impacts of alloying elements, the core logic dictating each stage of production…

The abstract concepts became etched into his very reflexes, and he was able to instinctively mimic the posture shown in the visual recordings.

‘I am eager to test this with my own hands.’

Howard’s palms tingled with anticipation upon absorbing this fresh expertise.

No matter his innate talent, there remained a boundary to what could be accomplished through theoretical understanding alone; he required practical execution to adapt what he had discovered and mold it to his physical form.

‘I have already activated the relocation array today, so Hubert can oversee the assembly of the workshop while the cooldown period expires.’

It was a simple matter for Hubert, who currently managed a significantly large mercantile enterprise within Tarak, to set up a smithy for Howard.

As Heinz was structuring his upcoming plans,

“Ah, that brings to mind another matter I must convey to you, Lord!”

Jin So-ran, who had been beamimg happily before him, suddenly adopted a solemn expression.

“We have maintained a continuous watch on the faction you indicated previously, the Heaven’s Turn Society… and we have detected indicators of them initiating contact with multiple factions.”

It felt as though a vast epoch had elapsed owing to the temporal variance with the alternate realm, but in reality, barely more than a month had passed since they had ceased their operations back in Korea.

Yet, they were already demonstrating signs of testing the waters.

“It remains strictly at the tier of superficial communication, as if they possess no immediate design to shift into full action, so we are currently maintaining an observational posture and tracking their coordination.”

“Hmm… commendable effort. Do not involve yourselves directly; restrict your focus entirely to information gathering for the time being.”

“Understood, sir!”

The Heaven’s Turn Society.

Naturally, he had not erased them from his mind.

Was not the entire purpose behind expanding his dominion in this manner to utterly eradicate them?

‘In truth, I suspect Hans by himself would suffice to handle the majority of them.’

The collective might of the Heaven’s Turn Society already surpassed what he could confront using his solitary capability, and they were so meticulously concealed that merely uncovering their locations proved troublesome.

Furthermore, Hans could not carelessly intervene due to the specific essence of his power, as he ran the risk of provoking the incorrect adversary…

‘There is no requirement to act precipitously. Let us be meticulous. I shall accumulate additional intelligence regarding them and subsequently pulverize them completely.’

Time was stacked in his favor.

While he had been cultivating his dominion for roughly ten months…

A mere single month had slipped away back on Earth.

—

“Pardon me? Could you repeat that once more?”

Talaria, the sovereign seat of the Talia Kingdom.

A dispute was unfolding at the primary entrance of the Bright ducal family’s estate, the most illustrious aristocratic household within the realm.

The catalyst for the disagreement was a dark-haired woman who had materialized without warning and attempted to gain entrance with complete certainty, only to find her path blocked by the sentries.

“I have come to see Mulo.”

“This residence belongs to Duke Bright. It is highly probable you have arrived at the incorrect location…?”

The sentry stationed at the primary gateway of the estate faltered, speaking to her with visible caution.

Under ordinary circumstances, he would have dismissed her without a second thought, but he was inadvertently cowed by the peculiar aura radiating from her person.

“…Uh, do you possess a scheduled meeting?”

“Hmm… no? I simply arrived.”

The sentry, attempting to decipher a solution to the impasse, began to perspire heavily, yet the female standing before him merely cocked her head in a vacant fashion.

“This presents an issue—. My apologies if I have caused an interruption.”

She whispered softly to herself, her true objectives remaining completely opaque.

“…I shall send word within. Under what title should I announce your presence?”

“Me? Inform them that ‘Briki’ is here.”

Ultimately, he chose to pass the ultimate decision to the residents inside.

Should she turn out to be a complete nonentity, he would face the wrath of the majordomo and his status would suffer, but if she happened to be an influential figure and he slighted her, he might quite literally forfeit his life.

And that proved to be an incredibly astute choice.

The moment her identification was delivered to the interior, a head servant personally emerged at the threshold to investigate her identity.

“My, this child as well. What on earth has transpired here?”

That constituted her initial remark the second her eyes fell upon the bloodless face of the majordomo who had emerged from the grand house.

“I shall guide you within. Kindly follow this path.”

The head servant deferentially steered her into the interior.

Predictably, the route they traversed was heavily fortified with all manner of mystical wards and defensive mechanisms—a zone strictly forbidden to ordinary visitors.

As they moved down the corridor, ‘Briki’ silently observed the figure directing her, a Pureblood vampire.

She was capable of sensing the modified lifeblood within his form, a phenomenon she had already encountered on multiple occasions during her journey to this destination.

‘It is peculiar. The core essence remains unaltered, yet there are far too many incomprehensible mutations.’

She had already captured a Fledgling along her path, analyzed the scent of his vital fluid, even sampled a drop of it, and verified the condition through numerous evaluations, yet…

She remained unable to ascertain the origin of this transformation.

‘And even the individual carrying it appeared entirely ignorant of the specific causes.’

Diversified paths of ‘evolution’ that stood vastly more sophisticated than the primal archetype, triggered by elements she could not even begin to comprehend.

That was the precise motivation for her personal visit to this location.

The Master would undoubtedly possess superior comprehension regarding the catalyst.

Knock, knock—

“Lord Mulo, I have escorted her to your presence.”

They at long last converged within the absolute center of the estate’s private quarters.

Reunited with Mulo Brokoslack, the preceding Clan Lord.

“It has been quite some time, Mulo.”

“Welcome, Lord Brokoslack.”

The prime ancestor of the lineage, the Sacred Blood ‘Brokoslack’.

She had finally reached her destination.