Chapter 415: World of Dark Energy
"Assistant Manager Kim. How the hell are you going to get things done? Is getting married all you think about? Is that where your life ends?"
"I'm sorry, boss. Due to lack of time and budget…"
"Hey! Stop making excuses! From today on, even after staying up all night… you're still…"
"Boss?"
"… I have to find him."
"Find who?"
"Him! He's telling me to find his brother."
"Huh?"
"Assistant Manager Kim. From now on, you're going to find his brother with me. If you make excuses again this time, don't expect your punishment to end overnight."
"Got it!"
"Haha! Manager Park is doing everything right. I'm going as well!"
"Even the boss?!"
I had instructed thousands of demon worshipers on Earth.
Most of them mistakenly thought they were taking a rejuvenation pill, not Dark Energy, so they unintentionally became addicted to it, but that was the same in Fantasy.
The only people who took it knowing what it truly was were those who had developed mental protection skills or had been pushed to the edge of a cliff.
There was only one payment I demanded from those who had been rejuvenated and reinvigorated.
"Find my brother."
If he were hiding on Earth, he would definitely be caught.
It would be a different story if he were in an uninhabited desert or seabed, but that would make him easier to spot anyway.
While it was difficult to find red marbles in a glass bottle full of pink marbles, red marbles in a box of white sand were easy to find because they stood out even stronger despite the wider search area.
I didn't even do this myself.
"Sociology Teacher."
Pop!
Utilizing my position as the Fantasy Institution President, I summoned an employee of mine.
"You called, sir?"
Sociology Teacher, who had grown thinner after suffering at the hands of Director Bakery, politely greeted me.
I couldn't understand the situation.
Shouldn't it be much easier to manage the school now that it had been reduced to a single dimension?
"Your work seems to be harder than it used to be. If you have something to petition, now's your chance. I'll keep it a secret from Bakery."
"Ah! Thank you!"
"You have nothing to be thankful for. I'll benefit from this as well anyway."
"Yes. The Heroes who lived as the protagonists of their own separate worlds became normal again when we unified the dimensions. There are more of them than there are mercenaries, but those who couldn't accept their new reality withdrew away from their duties because they couldn't adapt to society. That's why I'm so busy raising pets to comfort them…"
It seemed that the Heroes who had been suffering from 8th-grade syndrome down to their core had now returned to becoming socially maladjusted.
That was really annoying.
"We'll discuss that with Director Bakery soon."
"Thank you!"
"Let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we? I called you here because a family member of mine is missing."
"Oh, my…"
"If you have a pet that specializes in finding people, lend them to me."
"This is a really huge predicament, but don't worry. Picking me among the many teachers out there was an excellent decision. It is my job to find people who have hidden away from society, after all."
"… You're very talented, aren't you?"
In work related to social misfits, he seemed to be close to an all-rounder.
"Thank you for the compliment! Then, since this is urgent, I'll get started right away."
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Sociology Teacher waved his hands in the air, summoning his pets.
"Maaang!"
"Gaaang!"
Familiar dogs appeared.
Cow-sized black wolves with red and blue flames surrounding their heads like a lion's mane.
"These are… the hellhounds father-in-law raised."
"That's right. I'm saying this because it's already in the past, but I helped him too. The length of his imprisonment mentally exhausted him, so I recommended he take care of pets. I took custody of these two after they lost their owners and resorted to wandering aimlessly."
"Maaang!"
"Gaaang!"
They wagged their tails, showing affection.
"Great."
They were no more than sources of experience for me in the past, so this was a new feeling for me.
"Since they're of hunting dog descent, searching for something or someone exhilarates them. However, it takes them a bit of time if space leaps are involved since traces of those often break."
"I see."
It couldn't be helped.
How could one find a human who had disappeared without leaving even a single thread of hair behind, let alone footprints?
But these dogs simply said, 'it'll take time.'
That meant they could find even someone who could escape by leaping through space.
That alone should be enough to say that these Fantasy hunting dogs were the best of the best when it came to tracking down a target.
"Give me your brother's belongings, and we'll start immediately. Ah! The red one's Manggu, and the blue one's Ganggu. Their previous owner insisted on calling them strange names, unfortunately."
"Right."
Simply put, these were pets around level 900.
It seemed they had always been extremely well-trained by Sociology Teacher. However, my father-in-law couldn't maximize their potential since he didn't call them by their names properly.
"Maaang~"
"Gaaang~"
"Oh! They find the Dark Energy the president is exuding quite pleasant, possibly because it smells the same as their previous owner. Call them by name, put the missing person's belongings under their noses, and they'll swiftly begin searching."
"They're smart."
"They say the best breeds have the best trainers."
His tone depicted his pride in his work.
"If they find it, I'll make sure to reward you in addition to your work adjustment."
"I'd be very happy if you can take care of these two, now that they're ownerless. If you don't like them after you've taken them with you, please return them to me instead of abandoning them."
"You're amazing."
I couldn't even imagine how hard it was for him to let go of pets he loved truly.
"Hahaha! I'll be taking my leave now!"
Pop.
Sociology Teacher returned to Fantasy, leaving behind the two dogs with me.
He was probably really busy.
"Maaang."
"Gaaang."
"… Hmm. Manggu, Ganggu."
"Maaang!"
"Gaaang!"
Following their trainer's instructions, I held out the hat that my brother often wore, allowing them to memorize its scent.
Sniff sniff.
Sniff sniff.
The two hounds immediately mobilized as soon as they were done.
Out of town…
"Ah! We're in a maritime city. What should I do…"
Splash! Splash!
Splash! Splash!
These dogs looked like they were willing to cross the Pacific Ocean if that was what it would take to reach their targets.
If possible, I wanted to move them to dry land, but their swimming speed was so fast I thought it would be best to leave them alone.
"But, my husband."
"What is it?"
"If you were going to do this, wouldn't it have been better to get Manggu and Ganggu from the beginning instead of disrupting the people's daily lives first?"
"You're wrong."
My demon followers scurrying from all directions limited my brother's actions, thus making it harder for him to leave his hiding spot. As a result, this has become a simple game of hide-and-seek, not tag.
"I see."
"This is the method I used when I received a request from King R to find the princess who ran away from home."
"Did you find her?"
"Of course. She locked herself up in a luxury inn so she wouldn't be found out."
"That's pathetic."
Having entrusted my work to 100 million taggers and two dogs, I came home earlier than I promised.
Why?
"You're home earlier than I thought."
Because my mother, dressed in tennis attire, was waiting for me.
"As I should."
"You still have a good sense of humor."
"Without it, I wouldn't have been able to survive in Fantasy."
I wasn't kidding.
If it hadn't been for my ability to read the room, which I learned from her, I never would've been able to finish the first round.
Strength wasn't everything.
After all, no one was strong right at the beginning.
It was only through growth that a person could become more powerful than they started.
"So you're powerful now, huh?"
"Haha. I don't lose anymore."
Pop.
I summoned a tennis racket, a replica of the one I used when I was still in high school, in the air.
I built it based on memory.
"You're confident."
"I'm no longer the same person as I was in high school. I had poor physical strength then."
"We'll know about that when we play, won't we?"
"You're right."
I decided to go easy on her.
I had the physical ability to catch up to light itself. That alone infinitely converged my chances of losing to 0%.
I used this as a way to reminisce about the past instead.
*****
"I… Lost?"
Since I was a filial son, I was planning to lose from the beginning.
But I didn't expect such a devastating defeat at all.
It was as if she was possessed by a demon.
"Your body, which was of poor quality, has definitely improved."
"I don't feel much better now, though…"
"That's because a million years is still too early for you to defeat your mother. Huhuhu~"
"…"
Of course, I played with a good conscience.
I played with a good conscience, but even so, I was still superior to her in every way… Yet the result said otherwise.
I was speechless.
"Now that your game is over, let me give you a piece of advice. Your moves are too honest."
"Too honest…?"
My father, playing with his grandson, gave me guidance.
That was ridiculous.
I specialized in abnormal movements so much that I had never failed to grasp my opponent's spine.
But my moves were still… too honest?
I wanted to deny it, but I couldn't since I had just lost. I would sound like a sore loser.
"Are you still suffering from 8th-grade syndrome despite how old you are, son? If you think you're the only one that's grown over the past 25 years, you are terribly mistaken."
"Then…"
I couldn't retaliate against her sermon.
I knew.
No, I was certain others developed in their own ways as well.
In Fantasy, the Demon Lord remained dormant while waiting for the Hero, but that wouldn't be the case in reality.
Everyone progressed.
To Heroes, others might seem like they're walking in place since they enjoyed a 5x multiplier to their experience, but every person still developed or degraded nonetheless.
Nobody just stood still.
Still, logically speaking, it was only natural for my growth to be overwhelming after living for 250 years.
But this result stated otherwise.
"Tennis is not a game where you can win just because you are in good shape. It's a very profound sport."
My father gave me another piece of advice.
"Well, people who have worn out their knee cartilage tend to retire to playing badminton."
"That's common sense!"
Regardless, defeat was defeat.
As I pondered over his advice about my predictable movements, I carefully looked around the indoor tennis court, the interior and facilities of which were different from the outdoor ones I used to go to with my parents.
But the people who used it were the same everywhere.
"Oh. Hanjin's mother. Weren't you depressed because he ran away? What has happened since then?"
"My eldest son returned. It's that guy who looks like a black bear."
"Oh my goodness. His physique is so different from your youngest that I didn't even think he's yours. I thought he was your cousin."
"Hohoho! Please play with him later when you have time. I've been teaching him tennis since middle school, so he's pretty good at it."
"Really? Then why don't we give him a little test now?"
I probably looked easy since I already lost once.
Hence, I played tennis several times with my local aunts and uncles.
And won every single match!
I didn't even have to use my divine powers.
"Oh my goodness. You play really well! Just like your mother!"
"I know you're ten years younger, but even so!"
"Haha! I'm just healthy! Thank you for the compliment, though."
"I got too careless this time. Let's have another match next time."
I hadn't played tennis in so long, so my skills were a bit lacking, but I solved it by mixing my overwhelming physical ability with Z-rank Swordsmanship and a 'cut through the ball!' mindset.
None of my victories helped me understand how I was defeated by my mother, though…
"This is strange."
Nevertheless, I still felt happy when I heard my mother boast about me in excitement, saying, "My son went to a first-class university!"
Well, she wasn't wrong.
I regained my position, which had been taken away by my missing brother, little by little.
"This is great."
This was a much more important mission than saving Fantasy a hundred times.
Five days later.
'Maaang!'
'Gaaang!'
The two hellhounds I borrowed from Sociology Teacher sent me a signal.