3.
With a delighted expression, Plinky, his luxurious long hair swaying behind him, walked along the Trin Riverbank, stretching with a satisfied smile and muttering to himself.
“Whew. That was really fun.”
It had been a long time since anything had been this enjoyable.
No, it was one of the top experiences in his life.
Such tremendous magical power to already show such impressive strength.
Truly remarkable.
Thinking back to that moment, how thrilling it had been.
His face, still flushed as if the explosion was happening before his eyes, Plinky spoke.
“Should I say... the Lord of Lords? It was truly amazing. Now I understand why even our ancestors and the legendary heroes couldn’t defeat it, no matter how hard they tried.”
Such overwhelming power was something that couldn’t be admired enough.
Even though he was called the heir of the sage, it was clear that replicating such strength would be extremely difficult.
Though his power was similar to Seong’s, Plinky had no confidence that he could pull it off.
Even if his level increased, he wasn’t sure.
He couldn’t make any promises.
But the fact remained—it was extraordinary power.
As Plinky walked for a while, a group of people appeared, surrounding him.
They were elderly individuals with a shabby appearance, dressed in luxurious clothes, much like Plinky.
“Heh, I was having so much fun, and now the elders show up and ruin everything.”
“P-Plinky! Ah, you really shouldn’t go alone like this.”
“At least give us some kind of warning before you go…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Once the word "elders" came out of Plinky’s mouth, it was clear these weren’t ordinary people.
They were the elders of the Alchemist’s Magic Tower.
And these elders were indeed the ones in question.
But Plinky, as if it didn’t matter, sighed and said,
“Hey, what can you do?”
“We are truly grateful for your understanding.”
“We thank you.”
“So, are you going to enjoy another rest now?”
In response to the elders’ question, Plinky shook his head.
He seemed utterly unenthusiastic.
But his next words took the elders by surprise.
“I’m going to see Luke after a long time.”
Everyone was shocked by Plinky’s words but didn’t show it.
They simply lowered their heads and followed his lead.
“Understood, my lord.”
“We will head to Luke immediately.”
“We’ll prepare to leave right away.”
“We’ll contact Luke as well.”
As all the elders agreed, Plinky smiled contentedly and then shared something he had forgotten.
“Oh, right, I gave my seal to the person who helped me earlier, so if they come to the Tower later, you need to call me immediately! It’s really important!”
“…?”
“Understood.”
“We will do so.”
Had Plinky ever spoken this forcefully?
Looking back, no, he hadn’t.
He even gave his seal to someone for just helping him.
What had happened here?
Although the elders were curious, they refrained from asking.
They simply bowed, acting as if they were loyal servants who would obey their master’s commands.
‘I must definitely inform Luke.’
With a smile on his face, Plinky stepped onto the magic circle the elders had set up and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving the plains as if nothing had ever been there.
4.
‘This is bad. Really bad. This is a huge problem.’
Lee Won-sang’s expression, heading toward Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong to report about Seong, was one of pure dread.
His face was darkened, resembling a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.
Although he knew Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong’s personality wouldn’t lead to severe scolding, the very act of reporting made him anxious.
How should he handle this?
No, could it even be handled at all?
‘Why did Plinky suddenly show up there!?’
An alchemist’s Magic Tower disciple and the heir of the sage.
One of the highest-tier named NPCs in Eternal World.
And now, by some coincidence, such a person had crossed paths with Seong.
Something unusual was bound to happen.
He had to stop it.
But could he?
If he had known ahead of time, maybe he could have reduced Plinky’s movements somewhat.
However, as an NPC manager, it was nearly impossible for Lee Won-sang to know the exact location of named NPCs.
It was an unavoidable situation, but would the company understand?
If "unavoidable" excuses worked, who would write the report?
His ancestors?
That wasn’t going to happen.
And this wouldn’t end with Plinky alone.
‘At least I need to stop Plinky from going to Luke.’
To do that, he had to report it.
NPCs weren’t Lee Won-sang’s responsibility.
He would first report to Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong and...
Though he really didn’t want to face that person.
What else could he do?
He had to do his job.
As Lee Won-sang reached the vicinity of Ji Hye-jeong’s office, he suddenly felt an unexplainable chill crawl up his spine.
Before long, that voice was heard.
“Ahhahaha!!! The Overlord has appeared! What a disaster~!”
It was a voice that sounded as though it didn’t care at all.
As soon as Lee Won-sang heard that laughter, he knew immediately who it belonged to.
A voice that sent chills down his neck.
It couldn’t be.
It wasn’t too late to delay the report.
He could still get scolded, but it would be better than what was coming.
That thought surged countless times in his mind, but...
The situation was too serious to back out now.
With his eyes tightly shut and his body trembling, Lee Won-sang suddenly found himself facing the towering figure of a burly man standing in Ji Hye-jeong’s office.
The man flashed a mischievous grin and looked directly at Lee Won-sang.
“Hey, Lee Won-sang~~?”
With a mischievous and brazen voice, Lee Won-sang opened his eyes.
A man appeared in front of him.
He was in his late 30s, but his appearance still made him look like someone in his early 30s, with healthy, tanned skin standing out.
Lee Won-sang, upon seeing the man, felt dizzy.
“Oh, long time no see, Deputy Manager Lee Jae-kyung.”
“Hahaha! Oh, oh, Lee Won-sang~ It’s been a while~”
“Haha... ha.”
As Deputy Manager Lee Won-sang and the man known as Lee Jae-kyung exchanged greetings, Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong, pleased with the timing, spoke to Lee Won-sang.
“Perfect timing. You came to report, right? About the Seong user.”
“Ah... yes.”
“Well, come here, I have something for you to hear.”
Despite Lee Won-sang’s still grim expression, no one paid attention to his face.
Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong then asked Lee Jae-kyung to repeat something he had heard earlier.
They began sharing the information they had gathered.
“Can you tell me again what you mentioned earlier, Team Leader Lee Jae-kyung?”
“Ah, of course. It seems that the NPC we’re managing on our team received information about the Overlord.”
“Pardon?”
Information about the Overlord?
Could it be?
A bad feeling crossed Lee Won-sang’s mind.
Plinky was already involved, and now an NPC they managed had received Overlord-related information?
No way, he thought, but one thing was clear.
“Right, as you know, Lee Won-sang, 'Hero, Luke' got information related to the Overlord. And this morning, there was a report in the Team Leader’s report about the Overlord, so I came to check. We were hoping to learn more about the Overlord user.”
“Ah, I see.”
This was getting out of hand.
It didn’t matter if he stopped Plinky now.
Luke, the Hero, had already figured out Seong’s existence.
Things had gotten complicated.
It was as if the situation had gotten more tangled than a pocket full of earphone cords.
Regardless of the unpleasant expression on Lee Won-sang’s face, Lee Jae-kyung continued.
“The report was excellent. It really shows that you’ve earned your position as team leader now.”
“Thank you. But what information did Luke, the Hero, receive?”
“Well, here’s the thing…”
“Hmm, it seems that Luke received the information about the Overlord’s birth in something close to a prophecy, so he wasn’t entirely certain yet. That’s a relief, but I’m not sure if we need to intervene.”
As Lee Jae-kyung spoke cautiously, Lee Won-sang’s face turned ashen in real-time.
Seeing the confused looks of both Lee Jae-kyung and Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong as they glanced at him, Lee Won-sang, feeling awkward, spoke up hesitantly.
“Well... just now, Seong the user and the Sage’s heir, Plinky, just met.”
“…What??? We didn’t get any such report…”
Zziing—! Zziing—!
The repetitive vibrating sound.
At the sound, Lee Jae-kyung, looking as if he were in a horror movie, opened his smartphone.
The caller was Lee Jae-kyung’s subordinate.
And it just so happened that one of the NPCs managed by his subordinate was Plinky.
After swallowing his saliva, Lee Jae-kyung answered the call.
“Ha... Damn it.”
With a blunt curse, Lee Jae-kyung’s brows furrowed tightly.
Quickly massaging his furrowed brow with his finger, he sighed heavily.
Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong, too, let out a deep sigh, her voice full of frustration.
“Hoo... This is bad, isn’t it?”
“Ha...”
“...”
Seeing the two superior officers in distress, Lee Won-sang, unsure of what to do, struggled not to make any noise as he held his breath.
The situation was dire.
Luke, the Hero.
And the Overlord.
Although it had happened in past generations, the bitter connection was not something easily explained.
Because of that, it had to be stopped somehow.
“I need to return to my post and see if I can control Luke and Plinky.”
“…We can’t really handle Seong the user, but do you have any means to stop them?”
At Team Leader Ji Hye-jeong’s question, Lee Won-sang hesitated for a moment.
Should he say it? Or shouldn’t he?
But given the worst-case scenario...
“Yes... I do have a means.”
“Oh? You have a way to stop both the current Hero and the Sage at the same time?”
Lee Jae-kyung looked at Lee Won-sang as if challenging him.
Lee Won-sang swallowed and nodded.
Having been through it once, he knew how to use it.
And Lee Won-sang was one of the top people who could do that.
“What if we use the Overpalace?”
“You want to stop a bomb by detonating a nuke?”
The analogy of stopping a bomb by detonating a nuke was spot on.
No matter how powerful the organizations that the Hero and Sage were associated with, they couldn’t compare to the Overpalace.
However, considering the Overpalace’s movements...
It could lead to unimaginable consequences.
For example, they wouldn’t kill the Hero and Sage, but Seong could gain a tremendous advantage.
This could upset the balance of power significantly.
That’s why moving cautiously with the Overpalace was crucial.
But to suggest using the Overpalace?
If it could be controlled, it might be a great idea, but...
If things went even slightly wrong?
Seong, already strong, could become overwhelmingly powerful.
Just remembering how the restrictions of the Overpalace had loosened, allowing him to receive Ad More...
But to actually do that?
“This is a damn stupid idea, isn’t it?”
It wasn’t surprising that Lee Jae-kyung cursed.
But after cursing, Lee Jae-kyung smiled broadly and extended his hand toward Lee Won-sang.
Then, giving him a thumbs-up, he said,
“Let’s do it now!!!”
The decision to activate the Overpalace was final.
5.
The distance from the upper part of the Trin River to Serdin Village was quite far.
But for Seong, riding on Anemore, it wasn’t far at all.
He reached the village in no time.
The quest conditions were completed, so now he headed to the Green Hill Inn.
Since he had collected all the gills, he decided to wait there.
Finding the inn wasn’t difficult.
As soon as he entered, the friendly innkeeper greeted him warmly.
“Welcome!”