There is a fascinating story tangled within the basement of the Cheong-Am Euthanasia Center. In the past, there was a plan to build a new subway line in Old Seoul, but it was cancelled due to the embezzlement of construction funds, and it was abandoned because there was no money left even to demolish it.
An investor, unaware of this, built a building on top of it. Only after discovering the truth did he commit suicide. Later, Yu-Han bought the abandoned building for dirt cheap.
Anyhow, the basement of the Cheong-Am Center, which was once intended to be a subway tunnel, was incredibly spacious. That meant it was suitable for use as a training room. All employees of the Cheong-Am Center were currently gathered in this basement.
"There are differences in magic aptitude for each individual. Based on the fact that it is similar to the properties of a light spectrum, the concept of a 'Mana Spectrum' emerged. The conclusion is, it is important to widen the range of your spectrum and make the existing spectrum brighter."
"Huh~ So there was somethin' like that?"
Yi Rang spoke as if she found it interesting. Alice genuinely wondered how Yi Rang, a supposed career sanctioner, didn't know this basic concept.
"First, you find your aptitude by directly using the four major magics."
At the mention of the four major magics, Alice raised her hand enthusiastically and answered. Finally, a topic she knew about had come up.
"By four major magics, you mean Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth magic, right!?"
"...What kind of ancient primitive worldview is that? Obviously, it's Statics, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, and Electrodynamics magic!"
"Director. You didn't know that?"
Not only Yu-Han, but even Yi Rang looked at Alice with eyes that said she was a bit pathetic. Alice bit her lower lip in embarrassment and frustration. The comics and animations she watched definitely said so...
Anyway, Yu-Han showed them a list of magic with high usage rates in actual combat. He also emphasized the importance of high-purity Mana energy once again. Afterward, he made Yi Rang and Alice wrap themselves in their own mana and take turns sparring.
"Yi Rang. Why is your mana yellow?"
"Ugh... I didn't choose this color."
Yu-Han cut in and explained teasingly.
"Maintaining the purity of mana isn't easy, you know! Otherwise, it ends up lookin' like that yellow piss color."
"Yo!! Callin' it piss color is crossin' the line! At least call it gold or somethin'!!"
While Yi Rang and Alice trained like that, Kim Ga-Eun wiped away tears.
"I'm truly moved, Yu-Han C... To think I'd make a female friend! Being alone with Yu-Han C is good too, but handlin' all your nonsense by myself was really hard, you know!"
"Shut up. Just turn into a monster already. We're doing the usual."
Yu-Han picked up a blunt wooden training sword and began sparring with Kim Ga-Eun in her monster form. Seeing him acrobatically dodge Kim Ga-Eun's attacks and strike her head cheaply like a mosquito made even the onlookers angry.
However, Yi Rang and Alice fell into a sense of deprivation comparing their own training to theirs. Especially Alice, who had taken a beating from Yi Gyu-Chan yesterday.
'Damn it... will playing house like this really work?'
"Ha, Yu-Han. Ridiculous. Gathering in a place like this to play house with girls?"
At that moment, as if reading Alice's thoughts, a distinct voice echoed through the basement. The owner of the voice was a sturdy Elf young man with platinum hair, whom Alice was seeing for the first time. Yu-Han openly frowned upon seeing him.
"That is Lee Sang-Deok."
"You aren't going to say it's another 'old grudge'?"
"Can't you tell by looking?"
Lee Sang-Deok looked around, sneering with an intellectual but frivolous air.
"Tsk tsk. I came all this way, a simple 'thank you' would suffice. By the way, aside from the monster, are a bot and a pet the new members?"
Hearing that, Yi Rang flared up.
"Yo! Watch ya mouth, ya hear?! I'm a damn human!!"
"I can't quite understand what it's barking. P.E.T."
"You bastard!!"
Enraged, Yi Rang rushed at Lee Sang-Deok. However... something snatched her ankle and lifted her into the air.
Tree roots sprouting through the floor hung Yi Rang upside down, binding her entire body in a bizarre M-shaped spread-legs pose.
"You rotten bastard!! Put me down right now!!"
"Noisy."
A tree root gagged Yi Rang's mouth, leaving her unable to even groan properly. Kim Ga-Eun shook her head from side to side.
"Alice C. Lee Sang-Deok C is... equal to or stronger than Yu-Han C."
"In combat power? Or in craziness?"
"Maybe both."
"Hmm, birds of a feather flock together."
At Alice's words, Lee Sang-Deok glared with dissatisfied eyes.
"What a cheeky bot. I'm only helping because I lost a bet. I am clearly stronger and wiser than this guy."
"'Defeated in the match' would be more accurate, right? And of course, I, who won the match, am stronger and wiser. Reality proves it."
"You used a dirty trick... Want to try again?!"
To stop the two from growling at each other, Alice changed the subject.
"So, why did this novel Elf Nim come to such a shabby place?"
"...Well, a collaborator. For the work we're about to do."
"Work?"
"We're going to kill Yang Jin-Mu."
"!?"
Yu-Han seemed puzzled by Alice's reaction.
"Why are you so surprised? To become a Grade 3 National Contributor, offering the head of a terrorist of that level is the fastest way."
"No, that's true, but I need mental preparation..."
"Why is a robot talking about mental preparation? Most events in life happen without preparation."
At their conversation, Lee Sang-Deok laughed loudly.
"Yu-Han, to set up such a cowardly bot as the Director. So, bot? You just guard the house and do the chores."
Lee Sang-Deok's arrogant remark triggered Alice's competitive spirit once again.
"...Fine, Elf. Let's see how well you fight!!"
"Ha! Worry about whether your warranty period has expired!!"
Eventually, the four left the basement, chatting noisily. ...However, they seemed to have forgotten someone.
"...!! #&^%!!"
Yi Rang had to stay tied up in that somewhat obscene pose for quite a while...
***
Yang Jin-Mu was leaning against the railing on the rooftop of an abandoned building with his eyes closed. He slowly opened his eyes. They were full of firm resolve, yet looked somewhat bitter.
"...Are you Yang Jin-Mu?"
At that moment, Lee Sang-Deok appeared behind him.
"You found me well, Elf."
"Nature told me."
"...I don't feel even a bit of nature in this city. Does the power of nature work for Elves even in this place filled with artificial objects?"
"Ha! What a stupid thing to say. Just as an anthill built by ants is a natural object, artificial structures made by humans are naturally part of nature...!"
"That is a very interesting perspective."
"Want to see something more interesting?"
At that moment, Lee Sang-Deok summoned something heavy and pulled it out. The metal object was... a flamethrower.
"This is Nature's Judgment—!!!"
In an instant, Yang Jin-Mu was engulfed in flames. Of course, these flames were enhanced by magic, powerful enough to melt even steel in seconds.
"Behind you."
To Yang Jin-Mu, who had already moved behind him, Lee Sang-Deok spoke.
"I know! The spirits of the concrete already told me!!"
Lee Sang-Deok delivered a back kick, accurately hitting Yang Jin-Mu who was behind him. Pushed back, light began to gather at Yang Jin-Mu's fingertips.
"Gamma Ray-Magic!!"
Lee Sang-Deok was exposed to the gamma rays carrying massive energy. It was power far exceeding a lethal dose that would cause a painful death.
"Hey, shining a light for me is fine, but invisible rays are useless as lighting, you know?"
"Nonsense...!"
"You seem to not know the true origin of the Elf race."
Records of a race with pointed ears remaining in literature all over the earth. They were called Elves, possessing the ability to love nature and purify it, appearing in various creative works. But it was never revealed where they came from.
"—But I figured it out! Elves are mutants who survived in high-radiation zones! The fact that the number of Elves increased exponentially after the nuclear war supports this!!"
"What did you say...!?"
"Still don't get it? These pointed ears aren't decorations! They are antennas for detecting radiation!"
Lee Sang-Deok opened his palm toward Yang Jin-Mu.
"Here is your refund."
Lee Sang-Deok released the radiation absorbed into his body back toward Yang Jin-Mu. Elves, who love and purify nature, could of course absorb radiation. And theoretically, it was also possible to release that radiation back at the opponent!
Receiving the massive energy, Yang Jin-Mu's clothes and body became tattered. However, Yang Jin-Mu... was alive, with his whole body twisted and full of holes. He even moved his mouth slowly in that state, as if feeling no pain.
"Excellent. If I still held my doctoral degree, I would want to turn your hypothesis into a thesis right now."
"Don't mention it. One should live helping inferior races."
Yang Jin-Mu's damaged body was unnaturally restored.
"However! I think I need to kill you first!!"
Yang Jin-Mu activated another magic. The rooftop floor where they were standing disappeared in an instant.
"...! It didn't disappear. The matter... turned into waves...!?"
"I praise you, Elf student. I can use magic that 'converts between matter states and wave states.' The floor has just turned into a standing wave with zero velocity!"
As Yang Jin-Mu gestured, the rooftop floor was restored. Lee Sang-Deok smiled with madness.
"Quite interesting for a human...! I'd like to discuss nature with you more intimately... but that seems impossible."
And appearing from behind were Alice and Kim Ga-Eun. Yang Jin-Mu released gamma rays at the two, but it didn't work on them, as they weren't human.
"This robot, did she even prepare for radiation? Thorough indeed..."
Torn apart by Alice's beam sword and Kim Ga-Eun's claws, Yang Jin-Mu became tattered again, to the point where his cross-sections were visible. His body was restored again, but the speed had noticeably decreased.
"Only three? Where is our bloody rat-like friend, Yu-Han hiding?"
"Right here, asshole."
Suddenly, the floor shattered, and Yu-Han soared up from the floor below. Wrapped around his entire body was heavy scarlet mana...! Yang Jin-Mu 'dodged' an attack for the first time in this battle.
"To use 'that'. Do you want to kill me that badly? Like back then!!"
While Yang Jin-Mu dodged Yu-Han, he was pierced by one of Kim Ga-Eun's tentacles. He didn't die, but the damage continued to accumulate, pressuring him... And that pressure was also a magnificent distraction.
Alice was still muttering, chanting the spell. However, the spell that was supposed to take an hour was on the verge of completion in less than 6 minutes. The method was simple. Alice's robot vocal cords chanted at 10 times the speed of a human.
'Now... it's complete!'
The moment Alice was about to utter the last syllable... Yang Jin-Mu was looking exactly at Alice.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
What fired from Yang Jin-Mu's hand was a super-heated ray. It was heat that not even Alice could withstand.
At that moment, a massive hand blocked Alice's front and took the ray instead. As the monster's arm began to burn, the monster hesitated not a moment to amputate its own arm. And in the blink of an eye, new flesh and bone sprouted from the stump, regenerating the arm as if nothing had happened.
"You guys... let's settle the score next time. I don't like this place enough to make it my grave."
"Endure it even if you don't like it!!"
Yu-Han swung his blade, but he had already transformed his body into high-velocity waves and fled.
"Yu-Han... we will meet again. Just like back then, try to kill me... If you did it once, you can do it twice, right?"
"Yu-Han, what on earth does that mean...!"
Alice asked, her voice filled with confusion.
Looking at the spot where Yang Jin-Mu left, Yu-Han remained silent for a while. And finally, he opened his mouth.
"You don't need to know."