Hammurabi Style - Chapter 36

**

After Sangki Beak guaranteed his good idea and left the meeting room, Jinbum frowned in front of Mr. Jo.

“What is he going to do? Is he going to cause more trouble?”

– It’s going to be better if he stays out of it.

“That’s what I’m saying… Oh.”

Jinbum’s hand was too shaky to grab a cup and split it.

He shivered his body while wiping the desk, then threw the cup.

“Fuck!!”

Crash-

A sharp crashing sound came out of the monitor, but Mr. Jo was silent.

Ha, ha.

Jinbum gasped for breath and his phone rang.

He put his phone next to his ear.

“Yea.”

– The research is done.

Jinbum’s face became brighter.

“Ok. I’ll be there.”

Jinbum hung up the phone and looked at Mr. Jo.

“Let’s finish it here. Take care of the things. You know what to do, right?”

– Yes, chairman. You’ve gone through hardship.

Jinbum looked at Mr. Jo bowing deeply, turned off the monitor, and left.

‘Finally… Finally!’

Creek.

He wore a mask-type artifact and turned a return stone.

Light wrapped him around.

**

“This is it.”

“This is…..”

Jinbum stared at a pill on his hand lovingly.

“I know you’re already aware of the research…, but let me explain the risks to you one more time.”

“Forget it. I’ve heard enough about ‘magic power’ and ‘pollution’.”

“Ok. I remember that I already told you many times about why human beings can’t be a monster when other living things become monsters and also why a skill user’s dead body doesn’t disappear and an energy stone doesn’t come out when he dies if he corresponds to a monster.”

“Yea, yea. I know all that. Only human beings have an organ to filter the magic power pollution. That’s why an energy stone doesn’t come out of a skill user.”

In plain language, the decisive difference between a human being and a monster was the existence and nonexistence of the purification organ that filtered the polluted magic power.

“That’s right. And there is one more organ that is needed. It’s a magic power accumulation organ. Only living things that have the organ can get qualified to be monsters. This part is similar to humans. Only humans with the organ can become skill users.”

Jinbum thought about it deeply and realized that what the manager said was reasonable.

If the reason why a human didn’t become a monster was the purification organ, it was understandable that the other living things became monsters because they didn’t have the organs.

However, there had to be one more thing since that wasn’t all.

Just like what the manager said, there had to be an organ that accumulated magic power.

“The lab made a conclusion that the pollution in the organ becomes an energy stone.”

“So what you’re saying is that a human with the purification organ is an ordinary person and a human with the purification organ and the accumulation organ is a skill user.”

“Right. Everyone has the purification organ, but the accumulation organ is…”

“Only for chosen ones.”

“Yes, sir. We’ve been through so many experiments on human bodies with the hypothesis, and we finally got the result.”

The result was the pill on Jinbum’s hand.

Jinbum stared at it and looked at the manager.

“Then this pill is…”

“Yes, it forcibly generates the accumulation organ.”

“Yea. So, it makes an ordinary person become a skill user if I take it.”

The manager hesitated for a moment.

“Well… I can’t say that.”

Jinbum frowned.

“What are you talking about? Then the research isn’t done.”

“No, it’s done. This is our best.”

Jinbum became beset with troubles.

“If a human takes it, it can break his or her purification organ..”

What if it breaks the purification organ?

The accumulation organ that is made by the pill will become full of polluted magic power.

“Then it means that a human will become a monster?”

“This also had been through so many experiments… They didn’t become monsters, but died.”

“What was the death rate?”

“It was about 40%.”

‘40%…’

It was higher than his expectations.

After Jinbum looked at the pill bitterly, he wrapped it in his handkerchief carefully and put it in his bosom.

“Never mind. This is enough. Thank you.”

***

“Have you checked the energy stones?”

“Yes, I did.”

Kimin hadn’t absorbed them but finished checking the subspace pocket.

“By the way, how are you going to hunt Sangki Beak with them?”

“I have several ideas…., but I’m still planning on it. I’ll let you know when it becomes more clear.”

‘I’m sorry, Sera.’

He couldn’t disclose the fact that he became stronger with them.

He only smiled and quibbled his answer.

“Still, we have a possibility to hunt Sangki Beak. Now, we have to figure out something.”

Kimin thought about the ruler’s meeting.

‘When the rulers’ fight came to a lull, there was something weird.’

Saehun Choi calmly drank water while not caring about angry Sangki Beak.

It seemed like Sangki might curb his temper since he left quietly with a stiff face.

‘I tried to open a status window for everyone.’

However, Kimin thought that Sagnki Beak’s window was odd.

He was looking at it when Sangki was confronting Saehun in the small lobby and there was an odd abnormal status.

‘It was something about a maze… a key… side effect…’

It was a very short moment, but Kimin troubled his mind.

‘It’s something important for sure.’

‘If my prospect is right by the looks of his skill and the words…!!’

‘It’s going to be possible to hunt him if it works as I expected.’

However, his ability wasn’t enough to handle that at that moment even if everything went well as he expected.

In plain language, there was a very low possibility of a decisive attack on Sangki Beak even if he initiated his strategy.

‘However, not anymore.’

He got an S grade reinforcement stone from Saehun Choi.

His reinforced ability completely changed the situation.

‘I’ve secured energy stones…’

The remaining thing was to check if his hypothesis was right or not.

However, it was too risky to do that.

‘I should get ready thoroughly.’

Kimin opened his mouth while looking at Sera.

“Ms. Sera. I’m sorry, but…”

“What is it?”

“Could you please sound out Sangki Beak?”

“Sangki Beak?”

Sera’s eyes became big, but she just let it go.

“About what?”

“So, it’s going to be…”

*

Sera was talking on the phone in speaker mode to let Kimin hear what the content was about.

– What made you call me?

Sangki Beak’s voice had no feelings.

“Well, there’s new information about you spreading around.”

– Why don’t you text me?

“The topic is too uncomfortable to be sent through text.”

– Anyway. What is it?

“Time Maze? Do you know about that?”

– Oh… it’s my skill’s name. I guess the person has a quite good ability by the looks of him finding it out.

Sangki’s reaction was unexpectedly calm.

‘Definitely!’

Kimin nodded and shined his eyes.

His first expectation was right.

– What’s the information about?

Sera read a note that Kimin wrote.

“It’s a skill that overlays the world… and you need a key to get out of the other world.”

– …

Sangki Beak kept silent for a moment and then opened his mouth.

– He’s figured out quite well. Is that it?

‘Got you!’

His second expectation was right.

He clenched his fist tight.

“No, there’s one more.”

– What is it?

“The key consumes some kind of a special resource… and it’s something like an abnormal status.”

– …

Sangki’s silence was long.

Kimin listened carefully with his nerves because his third expectation about the key was the most important part.

Also, Sangki Beak’s answer would be Kimin’s main strategy.

– Let me know about the source of the information.

Sangki Beak broke the silence and sounded cold.

“Why?”

– So I can kill him.

Unlike Sangki’s voice, Kimin’s face had a bright smile.

“Well… I’ll try my best to track him.”

– Yes, please. Oh, and…

Sangki Beak’s voice had a little bit of laughter.

– Don’t you dare think that you won this time just because you knew about this.

Beep.

“I hate this guy.”

Sera pressed down her temple and Kimin comforted her.

“I’m sorry. He made you unpleasant.”

“It’s alright. By the way, how did you know about the key? We couldn’t even figure out his skills with our detection skills.”

His eyes sparkled.

“The key let me know on its own. The key is a key to hunt Sangki Beak.”

***

“Jinbum. I’ll let you skip the payment ceremony for this month, so come see me today.”

– Pardon…?

Sangki was being so kind these days.

‘When someone does something he isn’t used to, it means it’s time for him to die…’

As soon as Jinbum was about to smile with a bad feeling, Sangki stiffed his face.

“Why. You don’t like it? Do you want to do it?”

– No, sir. I’ll go see you right now.

Jinbum used a return stone and came to the meeting room while trying to figure out Sangki’s whim.

Sangki warmly welcomed Jinbum who bowed to greet.

“Jinbum. You’re trying so hard. The pissants are bothering you these days, right?”

“Haha.. Do you mean the boycott?”

“Just this and that.”

“The overall situation isn’t good.”

It was actually worse than that.

In the meanwhile the skill user hatred spread rampantly, Ohsung was framed that Ohsung was behind the disaster that occurred by the rulers.

That gave a huge blow to Ohsung’s image.

“Right. That’s why I’m letting you skip the payment ceremony. By the way, do you remember?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“I told you that I’m going to solve your problem at once.”

“Oh, you did.”

“I’ll do it for you now.”

A warning alert rang in his head when he saw Sangki smiling, however, there was nothing he could do about it since he was in Sangki’s hands.

He only prayed that Sangki’s solution was normal.

“The reason why Ohsung is shaky is because you’re involved with me.”

“…”

“I’ll show them that Ohsung isn’t related to me. Also, I have an idea to kill that guy at once.”

As soon as Jinbum heard Sangki Beak, ‘No.’

Jinbum thought about the method and shouted to Mr. Jo.

“Get him!!”

Mr. Jo reflectively tried to invoke his ability, but Sangki suppressed him so easily.

“I’ll spare your life for now. Do you know why?”

Sangki looked at Mr. Jo with a smile.

“You have to let people know what I’m going to do to Jinbum to the whole world.”

Sangki turned his head towards Jinbum and smiled softly.

“Jinbum Park. Are you ready for being bait now?”