Chapter 487: Change (1)
Western Continent, Saryun Desert.
In this desert, known as a place where life could not survive, there was one particularly unique feature.
The Tower of the Full Moon stood tall there.
People believed no one could settle here, as hundreds of giant worms swam beneath the desert sands. Yet, when Hae Seong-Wol built a tower in this very place, the world was left in awe.
"This really is unbelievable."
Elthman shook his head as he strolled above the corpses of dozens of giant worms and walked effortlessly through the air.
The worms’ bodies had already begun to rot, suggesting they had been dead for several days, yet not a single fly buzzed near them.
Who—or what—could have killed these giant worms?
The answer was, in fact, obvious.
The Saryun Desert that stretched before Elthman’s eyes could hardly be called a desert anymore. Rocks and boulders littered the landscape, making it unrecognizable. For creatures like the giant worms, which survived by consuming and burrowing through sand, this sudden change in terrain was nothing short of catastrophic.
’I came to check after hearing that the terrain had suddenly transformed, but...’
Who could have done this?
Hae Seong-Wol? No, not him.
Hae Seong-Wol treated the giant worms as mere guard dogs for the Full Moon Tower. Besides, no matter how powerful the magic, covering the entire desert in rocky mountains couldn’t have been accomplished overnight.
That left only one answer—
A Persona Gate, one that even Hae Seong-Wol had failed to detect, had synchronized with reality.
It was a truly bizarre event.
A Class 9 mage had failed to notice a Persona Gate opening right in front of him?
’Does this mean their technology is improving?’
Elthman had a rough idea why Persona Gates were being opened repeatedly, even while evading the detection of mages.
And he knew it was almost time.
The only thing that caught him off guard was how fast everything was progressing.
’...This is bad.’
At this rate, the movements of the Dark Mages were too fast for them to respond.
At the very least, they needed enough time for the Children of Destiny to grow stronger.
He turned his head to gaze at the towering pillar that stood tall in the middle of the desert.
Up until now, he had tried his best to avoid interfering with worldly matters, no matter what happened.
But this was different. This couldn’t be ignored.
’Even if I have to step in personally, I’ll stop them.’
He closed his eyes and quietly took in the scent.
It was sticky, nauseating. The mana stench exuded by the Dark Mages.
His hyperspatial senses couldn’t detect long distances, but they were more precise than any other detection system. That’s how he had managed to pick up traces of the Persona Gate—something even the Full Moon Tower’s technology had failed to detect.
Flash!
When Elthman opened his eyes, light poured out of them.
’Found one.’
The next moment, Elthman vanished from the spot.
The chilling wind swept through the area, leaving almost no trace of the desert sands behind.
***
Southern Continent, Lotus Inn on the Waning Moon Plains.
Wearing a dress she wouldn’t normally be caught in, Jeliel sat through the Starcloud Trading Company’s executive meeting, bored out of her mind.
"Three days ago, there was a terrorist attack."
It was quite a serious topic.
The attack had been carried out by a mage.
"They completely destroyed the artifact factory. We still don’t know what grievance motivated them to do it, nor have we been able to track the culprit... But the collapse of the factory is a major problem."
"We’ll repair it soon enough, won’t we? It’s just a mass-production artifact factory, after all..."
"And that’s exactly the problem. Why not take this opportunity to reduce the number of artifact factories?"
"I agree. Artifact sales this quarter have dropped by over 20%, while the demand for custom artifacts has risen by the same margin. Consumers just don’t want mass-produced artifacts anymore."
"It must be because of items. The artifact business has clearly had its day."
"We’ve already secured contracts for item trading rights, so there’s no need to cling to artifacts, is there?"
At this, Jeliel shook her head and let out a sigh.
"Ordinary people still don’t prefer expensive items. Many consumers prioritize cost-effectiveness over performance, so artifacts remain an option for them. Moreover, the recent surge in item sales is only a temporary trend. Due to their durability, once an item is purchased, it’s rarely replaced—like buying a home appliance you never need to upgrade."
This was precisely the problem. Items were too perfect. They were durable, rarely broke, and hardly ever needed replacing. From Jeliel’s experience, such perfection was bad for business.
Appliances needed flaws.
If they broke down or required replacement every 2–3 years, companies wouldn’t go out of business.
Take, for instance, the company that once produced a flawless air purifier artifact. Despite their groundbreaking product, they didn’t last long. Once the purifiers were widely adopted, demand dropped, and the company closed.
That didn’t mean Jeliel intended to deliberately create defects in items.
Instead, they would limit mass production of appliances and furniture based on item technology.
This wasn’t just Jeliel’s personal opinion. It had already been proposed by Team Item, a group of senior executives responsible for handling the Alterisha School’s business operations.
Although Alterisha had vehemently opposed intentionally limiting the potential of such perfect items, she had eventually given in.
It was absurd—limiting technology not because of technical challenges, but due to market realities.
’Still, a terrorist attack?’
In fact, the factory that had been destroyed was already slated to be converted into an item factory in secret.
It wasn’t even part of a business plan. It was intended as a donation to society.
Jeliel had been so vocal about philanthropy lately that even hearing the word donation seemed to make the executives flinch. She had decided not to bring it up in the meeting, but the factory’s destruction still left her deeply upset.
After about 30 more minutes of discussion, the meeting finally ended.
Feeling slightly drained, Jeliel stepped out of the conference room.
She had a hunch that, once she left, the elderly elf executives, whose average age was close to 100 years, would probably gossip behind her back, criticizing her as too young to truly understand how the world worked.
She had never once enjoyed a favorable reputation.
When she poured insane levels of passion into the business, people called her a psycho and insulted her.
Now, she was being criticized for embezzling company funds. And not for personal gain, but to give back to society through donations.
Still, she thought it was better to be criticized for doing good deeds than for acting like a psycho.
Of course, doing good is better than committing crimes, but more importantly, there was one person who appreciated her actions.
"Miss, a moment, please..."
"What is it?"
As she hurried down the corridor, one of the company’s security agents quickly approached and whispered to her.
"There’s been another terrorist attack."
"If you’re talking about the one three days ago, I already heard about it."
"No, this is new. Reports just came in. Three item factories were attacked simultaneously and have been shut down."
Stop.
Jeliel froze in place.
"Three item factories?"
"Yes. We immediately requested an investigation from the Magic Tower, and traces of dark mana were detected. It seems they tried to conceal it, but this clearly points to Dark Mages as the culprits."
"... Why would the Dark Mages go to such lengths to hide their identity while attacking the factories?"
The agent hesitated. He had no answer.
Of course, Jeliel hadn’t expected one. Her question was more of a thought directed at herself.
Her sharp mind quickly pieced together the puzzle.
"They must want the mass-production technology for items."
But it was a foolish move.
Did they really think attacking a few factories would allow them to steal the core technology behind item production?
If her guess was correct, it meant the Dark Mages desperately wanted items but had no idea where to find the real source.
And once they realized their attacks were meaningless, they’d likely shift their focus elsewhere.
"... The headquarters is in danger."
The Starcloud Trading Company’s headquarters housed alchemists trained directly under Alterisha’s supervision.
Setting aside the massive investment it had taken to recruit them, the fact that they lived within the headquarters made them a prime target.
"What? The headquarters?"
"Hurry. Contact them immediately and order them to tighten security at headquarters."
Jeliel’s expression hardened as she quickened her pace.
Her high heels felt painfully inconvenient at a time like this.
She had an overwhelming urge to rip apart her tight skirt to move more freely, but she resisted, mindful of maintaining her composure.
’The enemy is a group of Dark Mage terrorists.’
They were maniacs who had blown up four factories in their obsession with acquiring item technology.
Although the security at headquarters was robust—stronger than even the Magic Tower’s defenses—she couldn’t shake off her unease.
And that unease soon turned into reality.
— M-Miss! This is an emergency!
The moment Jeliel returned to her office and sat down, her communication phone buzzed urgently.
Her heart pounding, she asked, "What happened?"
— The headquarters... It’s been hit by an airborne magical bombardment!
"What? But the anti-air defense system should’ve been impenetrable!"
— We don’t know! For some reason, the shields were... disabled.
"And the casualties? What about the casualties?"
— Thankfully, there are no reported deaths... but—
The voice on the other end sounded heavy with despair.
— Several of our key engineers appear to have been kidnapped.
"Ah..."
Jeliel set the receiver down with trembling hands, her face filled with despair.
Was it because the high-value engineers had been stolen?
Or because the precious item technology might fall into enemy hands?
No.
The real reason was far more personal.
These engineers weren’t just employees. They were her people.
Ever since the Baek Yu-Seol Incident changed her perspective, Jeliel had fiercely protected and cared for those under her.
And now, some of the people she had cherished the most... Had been taken by the Dark Mages.
The Dark Mages were even more vicious and insane than she had been before she changed.
Jeliel buried her face in her hands, lowering her head.
’I don’t care if I have to give up all the technology—just let them be safe...’
No.
That wasn’t the answer.
Wishing for something without taking action was nothing more than foolishness.
Jeliel snapped her head up, her eyes blazing as she glared at the receiver.
"Eek!"
Her sudden transformation reminded the staff who had followed her into the office of the old, psychotic Jeliel.
They barely managed to hold back from wetting themselves on the spot.
After a brief moment of deep thought, Jeliel immediately made a call.
"Contact the company’s security mage-warrior team. Tell them I’ll be personally leading the rescue mission."
She clenched the receiver so tightly it looked as though it might shatter in her grip.
"Those disgusting pieces of trash who dared to kidnap my people... I’ll tear them apart myself."
Clack!
She slammed the receiver down so hard that her staff flinched and trembled.
"Get my equipment ready. Immediately."
With that order, Jeliel stormed out of the office.
The employees scattered in all directions, their thoughts racing.
’She’s really going to lead the mage-warrior team herself?’
The Starcloud Mage-Warrior Team was an elite force rivaling the best of top-tier magic towers.
Among them was even an class 8 mage—a level that spoke for itself.
And then there was the equipment she had requested—top-grade gear worth billions of credits—designed to make the team practically invincible.
’... Whoever those terrorists are, they’re already dead men.’