A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 209 : Declaration of the Beastkin Nation (14)

“How is it…?”

A prototype, completed after weeks of sleepless nights.

Holding out the fruit of her labor, Emily asked cautiously.

“Hmm.”

To be honest, the appearance was quite different.

So much so that I couldn't find any trace of the mana-engineered firearm I had used pre-regression.

The shotgun I had used before had a slightly longer barrel, and I remembered the muzzle and the grip being made of different colors and materials.

This one, however, looked like it was cast from a single block of iron.

Thanks to that uniformity, it looked much sturdier, but it was true that it felt plain and crude compared to the one I had used before.

It was only natural.

The Emily from back then and the Emily of now had different experiences, and the advice I had given was also different.

There was no connection in the circumstances, nor was there a specific motif, so the appearance was bound to be different.

Besides, even if it wasn't bad, it was a fact that the environment was relatively poor.

But.

That wasn't a very important part.

Whether it was Seo U-jin, Seo Jin-woo, or U Seo-jin.

Just like I am still me even if I change my name.

What mattered was the substance inside, not the shell.

‘…The name that can be named is not the eternal name.’

Just like that phrase the old man in the bamboo hat used to mutter habitually, saying that the essence is what's important.

“The appearance is different from what I expected… but that's not the essence. The bullets?”

“Here.”

As I brought up the bullets, Emily held out her hand as if she had been waiting.

In the case of the bullets, the appearance was the same.

It was only natural, of course, since the entire process was just engraving a mana circuit onto a standard-sized bullet.

“…Shall I give it a try.”

I had a good feeling.

I focused my mind while holding one of the bullets she handed me, and a system window appeared before my eyes.

[ is activated.]

[Mana circuit activation detected.]

[Analyzing mana circuit pattern…]

The method of applying my unique ability to an external object wasn't much different.

Just as it was difficult to mutate circuits the further they were from the core of my body, transferring power to a separate, external object required a high degree of concentration.

But it was something I was already used to.

The bullet felt like a part of my body, with no need to deliberately close my eyes or focus my mind.

And then.

[Forcibly implementing according to the sync rate.]

[Warning! Applied at 80% of maximum power.]

[Warning! Maximum casting time is limited to 3 minutes.]

A cold frost formed in my hand.

When I lightly opened my hand, a faint sky-blue color shimmered on the bullet.

Clack-

I opened the chamber and loaded the bullet.

Clink-

I aimed at a boulder I had placed ahead of me and pulled the trigger at the same time.

KWANG-!

As if to prove it was a shotgun, a massive report, disproportionate to the size of the muzzle, rang out as the bullet was fired forward.

The bullet left the muzzle and flew straight toward the boulder.

And upon impact.

Fshhhhhh-

A chill like a biting frost spread over the boulder.

“…Nice.”

The amount of power it could hold was a little disappointing, but for now, this was excellent.

At a glance, there seemed to be no problem with its durability either.

Since it was just a prototype and not the final product, the significance lay in getting the direction right rather than its immediate perfection.

[Forcibly implementing according to the sync rate.]

[Warning! Applied at 80% of maximum power.]

[Warning! Maximum casting time is limited to 3 minutes.]

Clack-

KWANG-!

And at this level, it seemed there would be no problem using it right away.

* * *

The Saintess's Execution didn't lose public interest in an instant.

At first, the news that the Saintess had been put on trial for blasphemy was shocking enough to turn the entire Order Territory upside down.

The chaotic atmosphere of that time had such a huge impact on the Order Territory that it was still talked about.

This was also why the Order hadn't carried out the Saintess's execution, even though more than a decade had passed since she was put on trial for blasphemy.

They had expected a significant reaction, but they likely hadn't anticipated it would be to that extent.

The very fact that they had postponed the final decision on a trial that should have ended in one go, taking it through a retrial and even an appeal, showed just how sensitively the Order had reacted to the public's response to the Saintess's execution.

Naturally, the Order, realizing the gravity of the situation, proceeded with greater caution and put effort into handling the Saintess's execution.

Accordingly, the public's reaction to the Saintess's execution also began to gradually subside.

At first, one might have thought it impossible, but isn't it said that humans are creatures of forgetfulness and adaptation?

As time passed, the Saintess's execution gradually became an 'old story,' and some among the younger generation didn't even know what she really looked like.

Of course, it couldn't be said that few people remembered her clearly, but as time went on, their numbers inevitably dwindled in relative terms.

Furthermore, the three trials reinforced the justification for her execution.

Most people within the current Order came to perceive the Saintess's execution as something 'unfortunate, but unavoidable.'

It was different for those who had received direct help from the Saintess, but for others, the immediate threat of the Demon King's Army and their own survival were more important.

The fate of someone they had never met was bound to fade from their interest.

That was why it was possible to lower the attention on the Saintess's execution using the Beastkin as a keyword.

[Breaking News. 4th Great Migration of the Beastkin Occurs. A Pan-Order Territory event, not confined to the east, west, south, or north of the Order….]

The attention-lowering operation, enacted under the strong assertion of Ludwig Allegro at the Inverted Cross meeting.

Just as intended by the so-called 'Kill the Saintess' operation, articles related to the Beastkin drew public attention away from the news about the Saintess's execution.

The groundwork the Order had laid for over a decade and the push for news about the Beastkin met and created a synergistic effect.

The keyword itself was also appropriate.

‘Beastkin.’

The collective movement of the Beastkin, who were treated as synonymous with slaves, drew public attention in itself, and the mysteriousness of the phenomenon sustained the news coverage.

In addition, the resentment towards the ruling classes of various nations who tacitly used slaves despite the Order Territory's prohibition also played a part in raising the attention on this keyword.

Such news articles leveled up when a report came out that the Order had granted a guild permit for the first time in 100 years.

[Guardian Cross Order, Permits Guild Establishment for the First Time in 100 Years.]

The final destination of the migrating Beastkin groups was identified.

Just as interest was gathering on why they were congregating in a corner of the Order Territory, a mere wasteland next to Kunlun, the Order had granted a guild permit to a Hero residing in that area.

Naturally, people couldn't help but connect the sudden mass migration of the Beastkin with the guild permit granted by the Order for the first time in 100 years.

And their thoughts naturally converged on one conclusion.

‘The Order is trying to revive the power of the Beastkin.’

It wasn't clear whether the Order was leading the initiative or simply providing support to accelerate the ongoing phenomenon.

But at the very least, everyone commonly speculated that the Order welcomed the current formation of a new Beastkin power.

People's thoughts on the matter were varied.

[New Beastkin Power, Voices of Concern Over Potential for New Conflict.]

There were quite a few who thought that the Beastkin Nation, remembered more by the keyword 'hegemon of the neutral zone' rather than as part of the Order, would seek its own place instead of being naturally absorbed by the Order.

[A New Vanguard in the War against Demons, the Beastkin Power Emerges as a New, Lost Strength.]

There were also those who thought they could add to the forces, leading the stagnant War against Demons to a victory for the Order's coalition.

Besides the two major opinions, divided into pro and con, people's thoughts on the Beastkin power were diverse.

That diversity itself served to raise the buzz around the Beastkin power.

The point at which news about the Saintess completely disappeared from articles was a certain exclusive report that officially came out after that.

[Breaking News. News of the Survival of the Beastkin Nation's Royal Bloodline.]

[Announced that a coronation ceremony will be held at the end of this month and the new Beastkin power will be re-established.]

With the news of the survival of Valencia, the daughter of the last king of the Beastkin Nation, Allen Tigris III, people's mere speculation that a new Beastkin power would rise became a reality.

Once the date of the coronation was confirmed, slaves throughout the Order Territory, who had been hesitant and unable to decide their course of action amid rumors of the Beastkin Nation's reconstruction, began to cast off their positions one by one and seek out U-jin's Guild House.

Just as U-jin had predicted, even the Beastkin who hadn't budged at any other news were moved to lift their heavy behinds at the keyword 'King'.

Thus, the entire Order Territory was swept up by the keyword 'Reconstruction of the Beastkin Nation,' gathering public attention.

All the gazes that had previously been on the Saintess shifted to the newly rising 'Beastkin power'.

Naturally, U-jin couldn't escape those gazes either.

The fact that the one who had earned enough trust for the Order—which hadn't permitted a guild's establishment for a whole 100 years since Isaac Einstein—to readily grant permission was a mere 1-star Hero, and one who had only recently been released from prison for the crime of killing a fellow Hero, was in itself newsworthy enough to be made into an article.

As U-jin's past deeds, which he had tried so hard to hide, were revealed one by one, the attention on him, who had been relatively underestimated, was also raised, though it was nothing compared to the news of the Beastkin's reconstruction itself.

However, despite the efforts of many people who searched for U-jin, the official guild master, they couldn't even get a single interview with him.

The reason was simple.

U-jin was not at the Guild House.

At the height of public attention on the new Beastkin power and his guild, U-jin was…

“…Are we really allowed to do this?”

“Hmm. I guess not, right?”

…heading towards the Order's secret prison where the Saintess was confined.