Chapter 248: Max, the Museum Manager (4)
I probably wasn’t the only one who had received the quest.
Since the task was to save the continent, even the members waiting for me outside would probably have gotten the same system message.
Shortly after, the expedition members began to enter the administration room and settled in.
Seeing that some unfamiliar faces were visible meant that they had successfully managed to save the isolated survivors.
‘They’re in better condition than I thought.’
I had expected this.
In the beginning, staff Max was not actually a named monster but a magic aggregate classified as a dungeon guide. There was no reason why he would persecute them in the first place.
‘He kind of has a pushover personality as well…’
Anyway, I could see that everyone harbored absurd expressions. They seemed to be asking me as to what the hell I was doing here.
They seemed confused as to how different the scenery now was. Compared to the previously screaming Max, they now saw me skillfully handling devices I had never before seen in my life, all while drinking the coffee the blond boy himself had made. I knew it was necessary to explain.
It was Park Yeon-joo who couldn’t resist her curiosity any longer.
“What… is going on?”
“We made a deal. I said that I would fix the seal of the Ancient God.”
“I-I see. And how do these devices…”
“I am not sure, but it is a system that is easier to understand than you think. In fact, at first sight, I thought I knew how it worked, so I proposed the deal. There are several noticeable errors. I’m pretty good with machines…”
“So this can be solved because you’re pretty good with machines?”
Doubt filled Yeon-joo’s voice, and I couldn’t tell her it was because I had my Mind’s Eye attribute that I was able to understand right away.
Even Kim Hyunsung looked surprised, but soon enough, his expression shifted to one of pride.
Once again, he had begun to appraise me as if I was a rare treasure he was glad to have gotten his hands on. Contrary to his subtle expression, Park Deokgu was more direct.
“I told you our Hyung-nim is a genius! Whoa! Hyung-nim is awesome!”
“It’s not like that.”
“Well, didn’t you say that you knew just by looking at it?”
“…”
To be precise, I didn’t have a good brain, but good eyes. If I didn’t have Mind’s Eye, none of this would have been possible.
However, due to Park Deokgu’s cheers, the Black Swan members had begun to see me in an entirely new light. In the first place, I had already managed to get into their good graces by creating the perfect formation for the expedition.
Park Deokgu and Kim Hyunsung once more looked triumphant, and Jung Hayan began to look wary once more, perhaps because of the way the Black Swan members were now looking at me.
Though I wanted to bask in their attention, now was not the time. The preliminary program in itself would not be able to handle the Ancient God’s Fragment.
In the main protective device’s case, the Crack Guardians’ arrangement was a system that moved by itself, while the reserve was a system which must be moved manually to catch him.
I could understand why Max was desperately holding onto it.
‘You have to keep it tied up.’
The Fragment of the filthy Ancient God had not yet been completely sealed. Not only was he constantly wriggling, but he was struggling to cut down the preliminary program in one way or another.
Right now, the image reflected in the video was simply that the blue magic power was holding him around, but this seemed to be a little more complicated than I thought.
I needed to keep injecting magic power into the holes that Ancient God had made. It meant that I have to empower every side where he would attack.
In short, it would be like playing a game wherein I would have to avoid all the bullets coming my way.
Of course, the operation would be much more complex than simple game controls. That was why this would be a difficult task.
In summary, I had to focus on this task and this task alone. I could not afford to get distracted.
In an instant, the noisy atmosphere gradually became quiet, perhaps because of my serious expression and fumbling hands.
As time passed, the only sound I could hear was the sound of the magic circles running and Max desperately pacing back and forth.
Anyone might think that things were not going well.
Upon noticing my turmoil, Kim Hyunsung spoke up.
“Can I help you with anything?”
‘Ah… the only one who gets me.’
“Hmm… Yes. I think it’ll get easier if I get more pairs of hands.”
I needed more workers for this thing to be successful.
“Staff Max, handle this for a moment. Don’t inject magic power into useless places… It won’t take long, so just keep the things the way they are.”
-Okay!
As soon as I got up, he hurriedly went to take my place. I then shifted my focus onto the expedition members who were now giving me their full, undivided attention.
After launching a magic hologram, I started a briefing about the situation.
“I’ll explain the situation for a minute, as concise and fast as possible.”
“Okay.”
However, before I could get right into it, Park Yeon-joo began to speak.
“Excuse me. Excuse me, can I ask you a quick question? Kiyoung-ssi?”
“Yes. You can speak.”
“Before that… Didn’t you say that the Ancient God’s Fragment entered the rest phase?”
“Yes. He definitely entered the rest phase. Dialugia judged to be that, and when Manager Max heard the story, he said he thought the same thing.”
Of course, this was a lie.
“I tried to reseal the guy who went to rest at the museum, but the current situation was that the Fragment of the Ancient God noticed the activity of the preliminary program and started to resist. I’d like to explain it in more detail, but I don’t have the time right now…”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Of course, you will be in doubt. At this point, almost all the parts are now sealed. However, as you can see, cracks are starting to form in the seal. What staff Max is doing right now is to cover the hole using the magic power stored within the preliminary program.”
“Hmm…”
“Fortunately, I’ve got some spare magic from somewhere else, and I’m keeping it the way it is. However, my judgment now is that I need other means to keep the guy still. I also need another worker to handle things if anything happens.”
“I see.”
“Certainly, if I knew this would be dangerous, I would not have asked you for help. Of course, this doesn’t come without any risk…”
“It’s not like it’s going to kill you.”
“No. I’ll block anything before you get in danger. The preliminary program exists for that reason, too.”
“I think I know… what you mean.”
“If it is judged that things are not going well, we will not only open a retreat but also put your safety first.”
“Then if the seal is broken…”
“It was me who broke the seal in the first place. There must be some way to fix it.”
Truth be told, there was no way to fix it. This meant that if the seal breaks, the continent will collapse after 30,000 years.
Honestly, I didn’t care about the continent’s existence, but the sad part was that I would have something to lose this time around.
‘My museum…’
These control devices will not be able to be used again, nor will they even be available. All functions would cease to work.
‘It would be better to block the seal.’
I nodded and spoke again, this time with a slightly heavy voice.
“We will move while giving importance to our survival.”
“Yes. Okay.”
“Because Hyung-nim said such things, I am strangely relieved.”
“Ahem. And I have something to say, which may seem out of character…”
“You can speak.”
“Everyone must have received the quest.”
I knew they have.
[Checking the legendary-grade quest.]
[Quest: Continental Salvation (0/1) (Legendary)]
In fact, I could see everyone looking at their status window.
“Actually, I am someone who would rather prioritize your lives than the existence of the continent. It was also because of my selfishness that made things more complicated than it already is. Receiving a quest in this manner made me feel a little strange.”
Actually, it did not feel strange at all.
“A strange sense of responsibility began to manifest itself in me. Oh, of course, it’s not because of the stats attached to the titles that come as rewards. Haha.”
As soon as I laughed a little, everyone did the same. Of course, there was no sense of responsibility for me. I just wanted the reward. Gaining another point for my magic stat meant a lot.
“We’ll have to do our best in this quest, of course, with no one dying in the process.”
This was for the museum!
“This is for our descendants who will live in Lindel in the future.”
Cho Hyejin, who knew my true nature to some extent, and Dialugia, who couldn’t seem to forget my previous reactions, showed their confusion at the bullshit I had just spouted out, but most of the members nodded in response to my words.
In particular, Sun Hee-young and Ahn Ki-mo seemed to like my speech.
“Let’s go.”
At Kim Hyunsung’s words, all the members of the expedition nodded and began to move.
Dialugia looked at me with a perplexed expression this entire time, and although it pierced my consciousness, we were at least moving to save the continent now.
‘Let’s show the power of humanity to the Fragment of the dirty Ancient God!’
And thus, the battle began in earnest.