The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 197

"Hmm…"

Merlin, who was sitting cross-legged in the air, tapped the choker on his neck a few times and then shook his head.

"The signal is still not showing up. It seems he's planning on keeping it in his inventory and not taking it out."

"Sigh, well, it's not like he's a fool, so there's no way he'd be wearing it."

Oz said that and moved [Clear] to slowly descend.

Oz, who had come down from the sky to the ground, walked with light steps and looked at the place where Lee Shin and the unidentified person had disappeared, engulfed in shadow.

"How is it? Are there any traces left?"

"No, there are no particular traces. I can see a trace of a magic circle being used, but it's not a format that assists teleportation magic, but a magic circle that simply uses the magic power of a magic stone to increase the output of the magic."

"Hah, so that's how it is…"

At Oz's words, Crowley also approached the spot and looked at the remaining traces, including the magic circle, one by one, and then muttered as if he were dumbfounded.

"Then what we saw just now wasn't a scene shown through a trick like an illusion, but something that really happened in reality."

"Yes, we really saw them disappear to another place using teleportation."

"What's that? You mean he found a 4th circle level mage other than you guys and is getting his help?"

Diz, who was a little far away, came down on the wind and muttered in annoyance.

"What kind of trick did he use to get a mage of that level? Although there are many players whose levels have risen due to the recent dungeon break, it's not easy to find a 4th circle level mage and ask for cooperation."

"No, it's probably a little different from what you're thinking right now."

Oz shook her head and denied Diz's words.

"What part is different? Are you trying to say that he didn't ask for cooperation, but is using him through threats?"

"No, I'm not saying that part is wrong, I'm talking about before that. The part where you said he was a mage of the same level as us."

"…You're saying that part is wrong?"

"Yes."

Merlin said, tapping the remaining traces on the spot with his staff.

"Well, since we have the experience of reaching a much higher level, if we put our minds to it and prepare, it's more than possible to teleport several people at once like this. But…"

Tuk-

"No matter how much help he got from the magic circle, it's impossible for a normal 4th circle mage's ability to show this kind of ability. No matter how many magic stones were plastered on this magic circle, the limit would be to move within a 3km radius."

"For your information, I checked with my detection magic, and Lee Shin is not within a 7km radius."

Diz quietly closed his mouth and listened to the two's words.

Through many experiences, he had learned that if he interfered when a mage was explaining about magic, he would only get tired, and he was putting that into practice.

"But this guy not only went far beyond my detection range, but he also used teleportation on multiple people, including Lee Shin. A 5th circle mage wouldn't even be able to attempt this with ordinary talent."

"Hmm, so… wait a minute, if what you're saying is true, then could it be…"

Diz, who was about to nod his head roughly at the two's words, realized what their words meant and his eyes widened.

"Yes, as you thought, that guy from a little while ago… was definitely at least a 5th circle level mage."

"…Is something like that possible? To reach LV. 5 already while being bound by the level system?"

Diz's question was natural.

The level system was a sharp fang that gave the people of Earth the power to fight monsters, but to them, it was no different from a chain that bound their wings.

Because it was a heavy shackle that made rapid growth impossible unless they defeated an enemy.

Therefore, they had contemplated ways to escape the system's interference, but that was impossible even for Lee Shin, who always surprised them with things beyond their imagination, or Cheon Yuhwa, who had a lot of information through regression.

But now, Merlin was saying that there was a guy who had escaped the system's influence and had risen to LV. 5.

"That's right, it's practically impossible for a guy who is affected by the system to have already risen to LV. 5. Then the answer is simple, isn't it?"

Merlin, who was speaking in a playful voice, said with a grin.

"That guy from a little while ago is a guy who is not affected by the system's influence from the beginning."

"How can such a guy exist?"

"He can. He told us today, didn't he?"

Diz, who had realized something at Oz's words, muttered inadvertently.

"Is it that spy guy."

"Yes, it probably is."

Oz said with a smile.

"I thought he had caught the spy as a prisoner or tortured him when he said he had caught a spy, but to think that he was cooperating with Lee Shin. That guy must be a real charmer~"

"Can you find out the coordinates of where he moved to?"

Cheon Yuhwa, who had been listening to their conversation from a step away, quietly asked Merlin and Oz.

A normal mage would have looked at Cheon Yuhwa with a dumbfounded face, as if to say, 'do you think that's possible,' but Oz and Merlin nodded their heads as if it were nothing at Alice's words.

"The moment the teleportation magic was activated, I tracked the flow of its magic power. If I want to, I can do it right now."

"He painstakingly smudged the coordinates because he didn't want to reveal his location, but if I somehow trace it and then combine it with the information Oz has, I'll be able to find out."

Merlin, who had said that much, said with a chuckle.

"Well, it's a method I can't recommend at all."

The limit of being able to teleport without a preparation process such as drawing a magic circle or using a reagent was one person each for Merlin and Oz.

In other words, the number of people who could track was only two.

And that was the problem.

"Even if it's just Lee Shin alone, there's a risk of being ambushed by him, so I would have told him not to do it, but now there's even a spy with him. We can call people with the choker, but if we're not careful, we could be subdued as soon as we're transported."

On top of that, it was a problem even if Lee Shin wasn't there when two random people went.

If Lee Shin had used several teleportations in sequence to escape, it would be impossible for Oz and Merlin to chase him even if they sent Cheon Yuhwa and Diz here.

Although there was a way to call Oz and Merlin using the choker, even if they used that method, they would eventually lose Lee Shin.

Because the time difference between the side that could just run away and the side that had to trace the tracks would not narrow, but would only widen.

'Checkmate.'

Oz, who had thought that, looked at Cheon Yuhwa and asked.

"Alice, what are you going to do now?"

"Hah, what can I do in this situation. I have to withdraw, I guess."

Oz was puzzled when Cheon Yuhwa showed a completely different reaction than she had expected.

"What, is it okay to let him go so easily? You're usually so anxious and worried about anything related to Lee Shin."

"Well, it'll be fine this time."

Cheon Yuhwa said that.

"He told me in a mental message at the end to see him later in China."

Cheon Yuhwa said, fanning her face with her hand to extinguish the remnants of her still-unabated anger.

"I don't know what he's planning to do there, but judging by the fact that he told me the location so clearly, it seems he wants us to be there."

"Yes, you're probably right."

At the sudden voice, everyone's heads naturally turned in the direction the voice came from.

"What? Weren't you reading a book?"

There, Yeonhwa was walking with an indifferent expression.

"I've read and memorized all the incantations of the heart method he gave me."

"Uhm, alright. But why did you come here? If you were going to talk, you could have just used the choker's function."

"I came to give you something."

Yeonhwa said that and held out a piece of paper to Cheon Yuhwa.

"When I finished reading, there was something like this on the last page of the notebook."

Cheon Yuhwa quietly took the paper Yeonhwa held out and read it.

And after looking at the contents of the paper, she let out a bitter laugh mixed with annoyance.

On the paper, the word 'invitation' was written in large letters, and below it was written that they should become stronger by fighting for their lives for two weeks and then see him there.

"Judging by the circumstances, it seems that 'that place' is the China you mentioned, Alice."

"Yes, probably. By the way, this guy…"

Kugit-

"It seems he was planning on telling us the information from the beginning, but he was just playing with us."

At the very bottom of the paper was written that he would tell them everything he knew after this incident was over.

Cheon Yuhwa crumpled the challenge, which was named an invitation, and said, putting it in her pocket.

"First, let's go back to [Meister]. It seems there will be a lot to talk about with the other people."

The moment Cheon Yuhwa was about to take out her wings of light, Yeonhwa said in a low voice.

"Crowley was looking for you. It seemed he had a lot to say, just as you said."

"Hah, really."

At Yeonhwa's words, Cheon Yuhwa let out a deep sigh, put away her wings of light, and walked towards the direction of [Meister].

◎ ◎ ◎

"Hoo, oppa, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere or feeling nauseous?"

"Alright, alright, I'm fine, so stop shaking me. I'm starting to feel a little sick."

"Uhm, okay, oppa."

Raven, who had confirmed that there was no particular problem with Lee Shin, let out a small sigh of relief.

'At the last moment, I blocked the light attack and avoided the mage's interference, so the coordinates were almost messed up, but thanks to my quick response, it seems there's no big problem.'

While Raven was wiping her cold sweat inwardly, Lee Shin looked at her for a moment and then said.

"Thanks, you saved me this time."

"Uh, huh?"

"Probably, if I were alone, I probably wouldn't have been able to get out of there. Thank you so much, it's all thanks to you."

"Ah, that… uh, uhm."

As Lee Shin looked at her straight and thanked her, Raven, in a strange embarrassment, avoided his gaze by slightly lowering her head.

Although her face was a little red from embarrassment, it didn't seem to be a bad feeling, as her lips were slightly curled up.

"Ah, and oppa, take this."

"Hmm? What's this?"

Lee Shin took the small phone and looked at it.

"While you were there, I confirmed that Gaudi and Jahangil had moved. I've marked their locations over time."

On the screen Raven was pointing to with her finger, a map with a few small circles drawn on it was displayed.

The circles were gradually moving away from where they had first been and were moving towards China, and with this, he could be sure that they had properly taken the bait he had laid.

"That's amazing. It must have been difficult, how did you take this?"

"It was surprisingly easy, oppa."

Raven tapped the phone.

"Those two, they're wary of artifacts and people, but they weren't wary of machines like CCTV at all."

"Really? Well, come to think of it, that makes sense. It seemed there were no machines in that world."

'If Raven hadn't received my memories, would she have even had a proper idea of what a machine was?'

Thinking that, he felt that it was fortunate that his memories had been passed on to Raven.

-You're going back and forth, it's a mess.

'What can I do? That's just how my thoughts flow.'

Lee Shin said that and quietly checked the harvests he had brought this time.

He had diligently packed not only items, but also consumables such as spears, potions, and food.

On top of that, he had unintentionally learned the incantations of Yeonhwa's heart method, so he had quite a lot to do for the next two weeks.

'I sent the invitation well, so they'll be busy moving on their own over there.'

Lee Shin, looking forward to their next meeting, took out Yeonhwa's notebook from his inventory and began to read it quietly.

Since he had a mountain of things to do right now, there was no time to rest.

(End of Chapter)