Chapter 21: Potato Sprouts Carry the Beat (2)
Click?
A clear, delicate sound echoed across the entire world.
It was the sound of the Ice Spirit Core activating properly.
At the same time, the upper surface of the cube-shaped Ice Spirit Core lit up. The display screen turned on. Complex symbols in an ancient language appeared. Translated into modern language, it meant: [Please input the unlock pattern].
At the sight of that, Kim Jangcheol closed his eyes slightly, a bubbling thrill rising within him.
‘Haa. Nice.’
Thank goodness.
His memory had been correct.
Suddenly, it came to him.
The game he had played countless times—Paladin of Blood. The cinematic cutscene he had seen nineteen times over the course of nineteen playthroughs, showing the Ice Spirit Core activating.
It still played vividly in his mind.
‘This was the cutscene that automatically played after clearing the First Star Lord boss fight…….’
Click, clack, clatter—like assembling a cube, it was the cutscene where the Ice Spirit Core entered control mode in response to the First Star Lord’s destruction.
The entire process had been shown in great detail.
And he had seen it nineteen times.
Thanks to that, he could memorize the entire sequence.
Just like now.
Slide!
Kim Jangcheol’s hand moved swiftly.
His finger tapped the top panel of the Ice Spirit Core. He traced a complex unlock pattern. Two spaces to the right, one down, one to the left, then right again, left, up, down, up, up, down.
And finally……
Chwaaang!
A burst of light poured out from the entire Ice Spirit Core. On the upper panel appeared an extremely welcome symbol in ancient language.
Translated, it read: [Control mode activated].
‘Got it!’
He had done it.
Then now?
It was time to shut it down.
‘Deactivate!’
As soon as he confirmed that control mode had been activated, he moved his hand. He pressed the lower of the two buttons on the right side of the screen.
Click!
The response was instantaneous.
[Ice Spirit Core is shutting down.]
……Kiiiyuuuuuung…… gloom……
The light that had been bursting from the Ice Spirit Core vanished. The cold air that had been gushing out so powerfully it made you want to keep it as a family heirloom in your room instead of an air conditioner in midsummer—also stopped. The core had shut down.
Simultaneously, the powerful binding force that the Ice Spirit Core had exerted over the ghost soldiers of the First Star Legion vanished.
The ripple effect was immense.
“……Kahaak?”
“Krghaaaang……?”
Every ghost soldier of the First Star Legion, who had been charging toward Kim Jangcheol and the Agricultural Corps, suddenly came to a complete halt in midair. And without exception, each of them thought the same thing at the exact same moment.
‘Who…… am I?’
A question rose in their minds.
Something felt strange.
They were confused.
Who were they, where had they come from, and where were they headed? Why were they wandering here in this vast universe, having lost their physical bodies? Was this right? Was this the natural order? Why must pineapples be put on pizza? What was the reason strawberry jam shouldn't go in soybean paste stew? When would they finally escape the curse of eternal singlehood? So, which came first—life or death? The world goes round and round. Still, they were born and had once breathed air, so let’s have a drink. Sweet, so sweet—an espresso double shot zero makgeolli wouldn’t be too bad either.
‘So…… I……’
‘Am dead. That’s for sure.’
‘But then why…… haven’t I reincarnated yet?’
‘Aah…… I really need a career counseling session with the Lord of Hell.’
‘Alright, then…… shall I go……’
Srrr……
All the ghost soldiers of the First Star Legion finally realized.
That even in death, they had been drifting through the heavens. That they had failed to return to the natural cycle of reincarnation and instead had been wandering aimlessly in this strange place.
And so, it was only right that they should pass on and ascend to peace.
‘Hoo... It was a life full of regrets…….’
‘Next life, I’ll definitely try dating…….’
‘But first, it’s time to reincarnate…….’
‘Let’s gooooo…….’
The confusion subsided.
Peace filled their hearts.
They closed their eyes gently.
They let go of all their anguish, attachments, and regrets. Rising softly into the sky, they looked forward to a fresh new life, clean and unburdened.
It was the process of enlightenment leading to release and ascension.
But then—at that very moment.
‘Oh ho? Trying to ascend, are you? Not so fast!’
Kim Jangcheol, who had been watching the sudden “spiritual transformation” of the First Star Legion soldiers, reached for the Ice Spirit Core again. He tapped the darkened panel twice. The screen turned on. Then, with great precision, he pressed the upper button of the two on the right.
‘If you all pass on, hey, who’s going to sprout the potatoes, huh?’
Click?
[Ice Spirit Core is activating.]
……Kiiiiiiing! Smile!
The Ice Spirit Core, which had been shut off, burst back to life in a flash of light. The cold air surged forth in such overwhelming volume that even Willis Carrier, the founder of the air conditioner and praised as the singular god during the sweltering heat of summer, would have given a standing ovation.
At the same time, the binding power over the ghost soldiers of the First Star Legion was reactivated.
“……Kyahaak!”
“Khagaghak!”
The ghosts who had briefly regained their identities fell once more into chaos. They were forcefully dragged out of the state of ascension. Their transcendence was canceled.
‘……Kuh, kuhek, I, I……?’
One ghost soldier shook his pounding head violently. He couldn’t pull his thoughts together. Just now—briefly, but surely—he had felt immense peace. And yet, he couldn’t understand what that had been. Or why it had happened.
‘I was just……’
He had simply been following the First Star Lord’s orders, charging at the intruders. Oh. Right. Charge. But then—why had he stopped? Hurry……
‘I need to charge……’
Just as he barely recalled his mission—
“Strike team!”
A loud voice rang out from somewhere.
It was a voice he recognized from memory.
That terrifying and awe-inspiring First Star Lord?
No.
‘Demon Lord, Credos……’
It seemed like his voice.
But—strike team?
What did that even—
‘What does that mean?’
He looked up reflexively in confusion.
Thanks to that, the ghost soldier saw it.
The object coming straight down for his forehead—a cranial extractor, or head crusher, commonly known as a pickaxe.
Crack!
The pickaxe pierced the ghost soldier right between the eyes.
It had been coated in mana specifically to strike ghosts.
“……!”
A massive impact swept over him like a tsunami!
The ghost soldier’s consciousness was erased in an instant.
Driven to the verge of annihilation, he was reduced to critical condition. His entire body turned crimson. Violent tremors began. It was the beginning of Possession Spirit transformation—a desperate passive skill triggered when the ghost soldiers of the First Star Legion faced extinction.
“……Kahaak!”
Rational thought vanished.
Only a ravenous instinct remained.
He had to replenish his diminished life force.
His greedy gaze scanned the area for any living beings.
Then, it happened.
“Throwing team!”
Another voice rang out.
At the same time—a hefty object came flying in.
Thwaaang!
A wild potato, about the size of a ping pong ball, struck the Possession Spirit square on the side of the head.
At that moment, the Possession Spirit felt it.
Ahh. The scent of life that struck my temple.
Yes.
That was undoubtedly life.
For the first time, someone had reached out to him—him, who had become a Possession Spirit and surrendered reason to savage instinct. That warm vitality.
How could he reject it?
How could he push it away?
The fragrant compassion of this potato.
‘……Grrrrk……?’
From that moment on—
Driven by instinct, the Possession Spirit responded to the life force that had so readily made contact with him.
He merged with the potato.
He absorbed the potato’s life force.
He rapidly aged the potato.
A sprout popped out of it, pokk↗
Tok, tododok...
The sprouted potato rolled across the ground.
Having drained the potato’s life force and broken free from the Possession Spirit state, the ghost soldier transitioned into a Plant Ghost state and collapsed with a peaceful expression.
And the number of ghost soldiers who experienced this transformation all at once?
Exactly 150.
“What in the world…!”
The remaining First Star Legion soldiers were stunned.
Just moments ago, they had been grappling with a fierce identity crisis, and now that they'd finally come to their senses, 150 of their comrades had gone wham, thwaaang, tododok—and were left powerless in a Plant Ghost state.
But Kim Jangcheol gave them no time to assess the situation.
‘Off again!’
Click!
[Ice Spirit Core is shutting down.]
“……!”
Chaos descended once more.
The process of release and ascension resumed without fail.
But Kim Jangcheol’s filthy resolve didn’t allow that final step.
‘Now ON!’
Click!
[Ice Spirit Core is activating.]
“……KahaAAAK!”
“Strike team!”
Crack!
“Throwing team!”
Thwaaang!
Another 150 sprouted potatoes, freshly produced.
From that point on, Kim Jangcheol repeated the same cycle endlessly.
Turn the Ice Spirit Core off, then back on.
Plant a pickaxe in the foreheads of the dazed First Star Legion soldiers, and just before they transformed into Possession Spirits, hurl a potato at them.
Each time he did, sprouted potatoes multiplied in bursts.
150, 300, 450, 900, 1500…
Kim Jangcheol grew happier and happier.
But didn’t someone once say?
You might be able to bear your own sadness, but you can never bear your enemy’s happiness.
“Credosssss……!”
So it was with the First Star Lord.
Sensing that his legion was collapsing in an utterly absurd way, the First Star Lord charged forward with fury. As if to stop the tyranny of the Ice Spirit Core wielded by the Demon Lord. Grim and determined, he stood just a few paces from Kim Jangcheol.
And without wasting a breath, he unleashed his secret technique.
“Ta-hat!”
He stretched both hands forward.
Formed finger guns with his thumbs and index fingers.
Crossed them to make a rectangle.
‘Please—let it work in one shot……!’
The First Star Lord shouted inwardly, focusing through the rectangular shape he’d drawn with his fingers, locking onto his enemy—Kim Jangcheol. His concentration hit its peak.
And with mana, he captured Kim Jangcheol’s form.
Click!
‘Got him!’
A cruel light flared in the First Star Lord’s eyes.
Immediately after, his body began to transform.
Wobble...
His entire form rippled.
His body melted and sloshed like liquid.
But only for a moment.
With a spark of immense mana, he stood back up.
Now in the form of Kim Jangcheol—or rather, the form possessed by Credos.
“……KHAHAAAK!”
The First Star Lord, now a perfect replica of the Demon Lord’s body, let out a savage roar. His gaze brimmed with wild exhilaration and vicious confidence.
‘I did it. I finally did it, you dumb Credos! KHAHAHA!’
Victory was now his.
The First Star Lord was certain.
And the reason was simple.
‘The moment I copy an opponent, I maintain their physical condition at 100% capacity—at all times!’
That was his secret technique.
And the terrifying aspect of it.
‘But Credos! You can’t possibly maintain 100% condition every moment! That’s not how it works—not for anyone!’
No being could do that.
But him?
He could.
And if he fought in that state?
A guaranteed win.
‘There’s no way you got stronger in those few seconds. So, even if you got your hands on the Ice Spirit Core, even if you somehow learned to control it, the fact that you let your form be copied in that brief moment of carelessness—that alone means your defeat!’
The First Star Lord, now in Demon Lord Credos’ body, laughed triumphantly. Seeing that, Kim Jangcheol smiled warmly in return.
And he thought,
‘Yeah, nope.’
Click.
Kim Jangcheol casually opened the system menu.
And he selected it.
The Happy Point Usage menu.
More specifically—the Stats Purchase menu.