I Was Mistaken as the Novel’s Hidden Boss

Mana bombs. Created by using a combination of Sheprea fur, burned it a little. A Trachea nail, Phoenix fire, five milliliters of nitrogen, and low tier mana recovery potion. Tweak a little of this and that, then combine. With that, you just have created your own explosive. Ryeo Haneul stuffs ten of this vial of makeshift explosive into his bag. Along with other equipment and his beloved sword. 

 

Today is the weekend, a period of time where academy student's could leave their dormitory to spend time with their respective family. Most students delightfully use this chance to go on vacation with their family, or just hanging out with them. Others are quite indifferent. Opting to stay in dorms instead, to further enhance their skills and study more in private. Ryeo Haneul, on the other hand, has an entirely different schedule. 

 

Determination along with nervousness paint his face for the first time. Today is the day, he thought. His heart beating fast as anxiety spread to every blood cell in his body. Hands clenching and loosening, feeling damp caused by excessive amounts of cold sweat. Seeing that, he chuckled.  

 

"After all of that bravado and plans, I'm still afraid in the end." 

 

It may sound self-depreciating, but if one knew the context, no one would blame him. 

 

Despite being an orphan, Ryeo Haneul opted for vacation leave. There's only one reason why. 

 

On this day, I would start to alter the future. 

 

His plan is nothing but simple. One, he has to infiltrate. Using his knowledge about one weakness of the master of that place, Haneul buys a hidden artifact from a covert auction place. Fortunately, other than the existence of the Busan disaster, no other events deviated from what he knew. Unless he, an anomaly, touched it, all the past events will stay the same. 

 

With this artifact, which contain a fifth tier illusion spell, he could now sneak in without consequence. After that, he would plant these bombs in a key location inside. Additionally, he buyed a Moonstone that could absorb any curse. Of course, no one knew about the secret ability of this Moonstone, since its correct use would be discovered three years later. And with this, he would use it to the only human pawn under that vile bat.    

 

Her detection ability is valuable for tackling other gates. And I honestly pity her, as her siblings would become a feast for the Witches Party, a courtesy from that vampire for his first guest, Witches of the Decay. Since I'm going there to destroy that bastard's castle, why don't I recruit a prospective ally? I'm going to act like a hero anyway, so I should do something to match that title. 

 

Unexpectedly, thinking about saving someone from their impending doom fuels his heart with a warm feeling he never knew he could feel. After checking the preparation one more time, Haneul finally took his first step, leaving the motels. To the undetected red gate, home to the culprit of the first disaster, Count Herbring. 

 

***

 

In the middle of Busan, two S-class heroes were now scouring the aftermath where a massacre took place. It was from a civilian call at first, telling the authorities there was a fight taking place in the neighborhood next to them. But the police were scared to go there because that alleyway is the home to a notorious gang. Their existence is a vermin to the locals but definitely a threat. A raid was actually almost successful to weed them out when all of a sudden, the whole team was wiped out. Dead. 

 

The investigation launched to search for the one who killed their raid team but to no avail. That gang also went hiding. Then resurfaced after a while. The police tried another raid, and the result was the same. It was then they concluded to postpone this agenda and they basically left the locals to fend for themself. 

 

One of the reason for the postponement was also because the gang activity was negligible. Almost passive since the surveillance didn't catch anything other than some narcotics movement. 

 

And now, there's a call because a fight suddenly erupts in that alleyway. 

 

Then, one detective who is currently active in a different case, has an epiphany and presents his hypothesis to his superior. Linking the case he currently work on, to this new case. 

 

"What if, the vigilante who is currently going on a rampage, is now having his sight on that gang?" 

 

Leric then showed the compiled file he bought with him. His boss opened the thick, brown file and scattered the contents on his desk. One by one, he read it, while Leric passionately explain his motives, and asking for permission to act. 

 

"As you know, this new vigilantes are quite brutal. The bodies of criminals who caught his eyes were burned to ash. And some even got mutilated by hands. He spares no one. Not even a woman. So, I believe this guy would march by the front door to that gang. If he could root them, then good. If not, then I would like us to offer our assistance."

 

"Leric, I understand what you mean. I truly do, but we don't have much power here. It's not like those hunters would want to come here and help us. They would rather raid the gates and further amassing their wealth rather than helping us manage this pigpen. Two times is enough. I don't want to lose a promising young man like you too." 

 

Both of them went silent. The chief with a sad look on his face, and Leric flashing back his memory. The emergence of gates and magic obviously a double edge sword. In one way, it could benefit humanity as they further revolutionize the technology on an industrial level. But on the other hand, the existence of magic, a phenomenon where one could wield a gun without having a gun, further amplified the evil nature in people. 

 

And as a wise man said, the enemy of people is their fellow people. 

 

The emergence of this powerful individual makes the policeman job to be more extreme than before. Every dispatch feels like war. The probability of them dying in the hands of criminals is higher than dying from disease. It's a rooting problem. Even with magical equipment issued to all the policemen, it still fall short compared to the real deal. The situation worsen when the hunters profession took all the promising young men and women with ability. Although the government built a special jurisdiction for catering all the ability users, the burden which the police bear does not decrease at all. 

 

"Chief. You don't have to worry, I'm not alone. The 'Ice Princess' and 'Valkyrie' said they would assist me when needed." 

 

"What?! Why would they…?" 

 

"This is a secret but," Leric then gestures for the chief to lean one of his ears. "Do you remember the disaster four weeks ago? Apparently, they have suspicion that the current vigilante is that monster. The reason being the fire magic and the magical trace it left behind. So they quietly ask for my support, since my detection ability is good and I am also the one responsible for this case." 

 

"... that's crazy. They want to snatch a promising subordinate under my watch?! Do they think they could do anything because they are S-class?!!" 

 

"No, wait, chief— I also volunteered! I volunteer—" 

 

"I gave no shit! If you want to, that's on you, but you are under my care, and bureaucracy still has to be maintained, no matter how shrewd this world becomes!! They must think I'm a fucking moron, ain't they! Look, if you die while following them, those hunters won't be at blame!! And by law, the fault will be on me! I would take the burnt of both losing you and my job at once!!!" 

 

"Rest assured, we have no such hideous agenda." A promise of reassurance suddenly heard from beyond the door. The source of that voice comes from a woman, currently opening the door, and both the man inside could see the two women the chief's ranting about. 

 

"We apologize. The situation is rather delicate, and in our impatience, we contact sir Leric first without going through you, his superior. But you can rest assured, chief. We are here to officially assist sir Leric in his investigation. We hope you would approve." 

 

The 'Valkyrie', Lee Heiran, slid the pile of papers to the chief to read. 

 

Which led to the present situation. 

 

Looking around the crime scene, both Lee Heiran and Lee Siyeon could feel the thick aura of fire. Especially Siyeon, who wields ice magic. They use the term 'crime scene' but honestly speaking, it's more fit to call it a genocide scene. The remains around mainly consist of two things, burn mark and ash. Occasionally, there are also blood and exploded organs but that's rare. 

 

After looking around, both of them approached Leric, who had just finished checking the surrounding using his skill. 

 

"How was it? You found something?" 

 

"... yes." Leric got up from his squatting position, and from both of his palm, a pair of glasses was created. "Use this, and see it yourself." 

 

Without hesitation, both of them equipped the glass, and instantly, their vision changed. The first thing they see, is the color red. Everywhere they look, even to the sky, all painted with faint smoke of red. With the glasses aid, they could see the visual of element of magic. And both instantly deduce the color red represents the element of fire. 

 

"Usually, the visual I see won't even come close to this. The red color is too dominant. I couldn't even see anything else other than red. And that only means one thing." 

 

Overwhelming. 

 

The three of them exchange stares. No one amongst them has a different conclusion. 

 

"How about the identity?" Heiran asks while returning the glass to Leric. 

 

"Obstructed by illusion magic. But if I saw it face to face, I should be able to tell. It's just, there's one thing that bothered me the most. The track was professionally obscured." 

 

"What do you mean?" 

 

"I mean what I said. I couldn't see the track further. Well, it's not like I can't at all, but… y'know, tracing a concealed track is quite difficult without proper equipment, and officially, my help is limited to here. So…" 

 

"We'll pay. Don't worry about the money. Our investigation is funded by the government." 

 

Hearing that, Leric grinned. He was not lying about the difficulty, but it should be fine if he charged a little more than the standard, right? After all, it's government money. Without any delay, he shake her hands. 

 

"Consider it done, senora."