Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 80

Weapon-Eating Bastard 80

Valerie took me back to the lab shortly after we entered the training grounds.

“This is going to be a long story, so have a seat.”

Valerie placed green tea in front of me and coffee in front of herself before continuing.

“First, before I explain, you need to understand the basics about the Evil Eye. First of all…”

She took a sip of coffee and began to speak.

“You need to know that my Evil Eye and other people’s Evil Eyes are different concepts from the Mind’s Eye that monks or warriors who have cultivated attain through enlightenment.”

“I know that.”

I’ve never attained the Mind’s Eye, so I only know it through theory.

In short, the Mind’s Eye signifies the expansion of insight, intuition, or the ability to perceive magical power, or so I learned.

It’s called the Mind’s Eye, but in reality, it’s not visual but closer to a mental state.

Valerie nodded.

“This is a bit difficult to explain, but on the surface, it looks like a simple enhancement of vision. However, it can’t be explained as just an enhancement of absolute vision. No other ability that enhances the senses can give you something you didn’t have before. Even if magic visualizes something similar to what the Evil Eye sees, it’s still seen through human eyes…”

“…Could you explain it in more detail?”

Even though she speaks Korean fluently, I couldn’t understand the context when she used professional jargon.

At my words, Valerie’s forehead furrowed.

“Haa, Korean is really difficult…”

Valerie muttered a curse in French under her breath.

Then, she crossed her arms, tapped the floor with her toes, and pondered.

A moment of silence.

Then, Valerie’s eyes flashed for a moment.

“Okay, let’s explain it this way. My Evil Eye can understand and interpret everything just by looking at it. To be precise, it reads the thoughts that went into creating or writing it… Ah, anyway, that’s it.”

“One more thing,” Valerie said, raising another finger.

“And there was a high monk in Southeast Asia who had an Evil Eye called Clairvoyance. That person could clearly see the shape of something, no matter what was blocking it or how tightly it was covered.”

Listening to those examples, I felt like I vaguely understood what Valerie was trying to say.

“Are you saying that we gain senses that humans don’t originally have?”

“Uh, that, that, exactly.”

Valerie stuttered, seemingly embarrassed.

She hadn’t expected me to understand after hearing just these examples.

Hmm, Valerie cleared her throat again and continued.

“Humans don’t sense objects with ultrasound like bats, or see infrared like snakes. That’s because they evolved that way and don’t have such organs in the first place.”

“But the Evil Eye is different. The Evil Eye allows you to see things that humans can’t see given their physical structure. No, things that no living thing can see.”

No living thing can read the minds of other living things, see through what is hidden, or interpret and read what is concealed.

But the Evil Eye sees it.

That’s why it’s dangerous.

“How is that possible?”

“That’s why it doesn’t make sense. It’s really unscientific. It doesn’t make sense even with magic.”

It cannot be explained by any academic means.

If I had to say, it was closer to the concepts of spiritual phenomena and superpowers.

That’s why the Evil Eye is special.

As technology advanced, many aspects of abilities were revealed, but the Evil Eye is still almost entirely unknown.

Valerie took out a cigarette again and put it in her mouthpiece.

“Actually, I had an fMRI [functional magnetic resonance imaging] taken while using the Evil Eye.”

fMRI.

She was referring to a brain activity measuring device called Functional MRI.

“It was when I couldn’t control the Evil Eye. The moment I activated the Evil Eye, the blood flow in my brain increased dramatically, and my nerves became overactive.”

“So that’s why people who use the Evil Eye feel pain when they can’t control it.”

“That’s right. Because the brain has to process senses that humans don’t have.”

Naturally, I understood why the Evil Eye went out of control.

And why the Evil Eye couldn’t be properly controlled.

It has the power to make the impossible possible, so it naturally goes wild.

“Wait a minute. Then what about the Evil Eyes that other races or monsters often awaken? They don’t feel pain, do they?”

“That’s not an Evil Eye. It’s just a characteristic of other races that looks like an Evil Eye from a human perspective. Among them, the characteristics unique to other races are strongly revealed, and humans call them Evil Eyes. For example… it was just an ability of the sensory system from the human perspective.”

The fact that other races or monsters see special things just meant that they had different organs from humans.

“Anyway, the Evil Eye is that dangerous. That’s why control is necessary. If you can’t control it, it’s a very, very dangerous power that can go out of control and kill you or drive you crazy.”

Valerie’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s why none of the Evil Eyes I’ve found so far have had complex abilities. Clairvoyance, interpretation, mind reading, precognition, etc… It’s simple and clear, so it’s absolute in that area. But…”

Chijik!

Valerie stubbed out her finished cigarette in the ashtray.

“How many things can your Evil Eye do now? It can predict the opponent, analyze phenomena, see special powers, and even read formulas.”

My eyes see too much.

I didn’t open my mouth and just listened silently.

Valerie looked at me with slightly trembling eyes.

“And one more thing. You said you awakened that eye through the Sungmoo Lee family’s ritual? That’s strange too. Usually, people who awaken the Evil Eye start seeing strange things no later than around the age of 5. It’s a kind of mutation. It’s speculated that the brain developed that way in the first place. But what about you? Have you ever seen anything before that ritual?”

There were signs.

But even that was at the naming ceremony at the age of 11.

“So I want to ask you something. Has there ever been anyone in the Sungmoo Lee family who awakened the Evil Eye like you?”

There wasn’t.

I was the first in the history of the Sungmoo Lee family.

When I said that, Valerie gave a bitter smile.

“Do you know why I was so serious?”

“Yes, I understand.”

I was also in a complicated mood.

I came to find out about the stone tablet and heard an unexpected story.

“But I’m controlling the Evil Eye.”

“Hmph, you won’t be able to control it in a battle situation.”

“…”

“What’s with that expression?”

“I’ve used it countless times in battle situations.”

“What…?”

Valerie’s eyes widened.

“I feel pain when there are too many energies intertwined, like in downtown Gyeongju, or when there are too many visible things, like in this workshop. But as you saw earlier, I recover quickly once I adapt. My control is also getting better and better.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration; it was actually true.

“That… doesn’t make sense? Even if the Evil Eye has only two or three functions, it’s a huge overload. You might have died or gone crazy from a cerebral hemorrhage a long time ago. But you’re controlling it while seeing several more things?”

Valerie looked at me as if she were seeing a mysterious phenomenon.

“But I’m actually doing it.”

“You felt a lot of pain earlier.”

“But I quickly adapted and got better, didn’t I?”

Valerie chuckled and stared at me silently.

“…There’s no exception like this.”

A strange light flickered in her eyes.

It was the same look she had when she first saw me in the alleyway, as if she had discovered something interesting.

“I think we need to do something.”

I had a bad feeling.

I unconsciously pulled my body back, but Valerie’s eyes sparkled even more dangerously.

* * *

Several days have already passed since I entered Valerie’s workshop.

The daily routine in the workshop was simple.

Valerie interpreted the stone tablet until dinner.

Her interpretation seemed to vary depending on the amount of knowledge she had, and she devoted herself to the interpretation, gathering all kinds of materials and accumulating knowledge.

In fact, that had happened in the past as well.

At the time, I was living in hiding away from the Sungmoo Lee family, so I didn’t know the exact process, but I remembered the general procedure.

The Sungmoo Lee family, after discovering the existence of the stone tablet and starting the pursuit, recovered the stone tablet from Baek Cheol-soo and immediately began interpreting it.

The problem was that the work continued for several years under the leadership of my eldest brother, but the decoding was difficult.

Around that time, it was revealed that Valerie was staying in Korea, and my eldest brother asked her for help.

Valerie succeeded in interpreting the stone tablet using the Evil Eye, and the Sungmoo Lee family discovered ‘a certain place’ indicated by the stone tablet and opened it and entered.

Perhaps Valerie’s interpretation was more advanced at that time, so it would take some time for the current Valerie to interpret it.

Still, success in the interpretation had already happened in the future, so there was no way it would fail.

While Valerie was interpreting the stone tablet, I was doing ‘some training’ in the attached laboratory next to her.

That training was….

“Ugh….”

It was to squeeze my Evil Eye to the limit to find out its nature.

“Kuh-heuk!”

As if I were undergoing a biological experiment, my arms and legs were restrained, and all sorts of brainwave measuring devices were attached to my head.

And I had to look at the complex and bizarre magic formulas, spell structures, ley lines [alignments of places of spiritual significance], and artifacts in front of me with my Evil Eye.

This was just training.

It definitely had to be.

Probably.

“Huff, huff….”

The experiment… no, the training, in which the values were automatically recorded by telekinetic magic and machines, was over.

It was okay at first, but the difficulty was gradually increasing.

Now, under the pretext of checking how much direct stimulation I could withstand, they were even holding a complexly intertwined mass of magical power in front of my eyes.

The reason for restraining my arms and legs was to prevent me from moving my body unconsciously in pain.

According to Valerie, it was to prevent even the slightest error from occurring.

So, in extreme cases, even blinking was restricted.

“How’s it going?”

Then Valerie took a break from her interpretation work and came to me with a smirk.

That smile looked like a mad scientist.

I groaned in pain as if a needle were poking my head.

“Surely, Valerie. You said that when you use the Evil Eye… it puts a strain on your head….”

“Don’t worry. This magic machine stops right when it’s about to overload, so it won’t put a strain on you.”

Looking at Valerie’s refreshingly bright face, I felt murderous.

Tududuk!

I gave strength and lifted my arm.

I was restrained, but it was only for the purpose of fixing my body, and I could release it myself.

“Kkeueung….”

I released both hands, pressed my eyes hard, and groaned.

“Such a fuss for a boy.”

…This woman is crazy.

I could say for sure.

I kept comparing her to my aunt, but I felt sorry for my aunt.

“Still, we’re gathering better data. We’re figuring out the limits and properties. Anyway, the Evil Eye develops like a muscle if you use it a lot, right? The way I controlled the Evil Eye is similar to this. You’re feeling it too, right?”

“…That’s true.”

It was so painful that my eyes and head felt crushed because I had used it too much, but as Valerie said, my ability to control the Evil Eye was definitely improving.

If that weren’t the case, I would have quit this training right away.

“But do we really have to go this far?”

I thought I was used to enduring and persevering through various trainings, but I couldn’t get used to this pain that felt like my insides were being churned.

“Your Evil Eye is special. You need to know the nature of the Evil Eye clearly to determine the direction of development. It’s also training at the same time. So, suffer a little more. It’s really not much left now.”

“I understand.”

“Then take a break and start again. The sooner it ends, the better for you, right?”

“…”

I wonder if I should check if he’s being a good test subject.

Valerie hummed and muttered in a low voice in French.

I guess she doesn’t know, but I can speak French to the level of everyday conversation.

I thought about it earlier, but that woman is definitely crazy.

“Hmm, hmmhmmhm~♪.”

Valerie hummed and headed towards the machine where Lee Cheol’s information was being recorded.

‘…Huh?’

And Valerie’s eyes widened as she looked at the contents being displayed on the monitor.

‘What. Am I seeing this right now?’

It was a machine to understand the nature, characteristics, limits, and methods of Lee Cheol’s Evil Eye.

It automatically checked Lee Cheol’s condition and was set up with magic formulas to automatically increase the difficulty or level.

The process of the experiment itself was done with magic, and precise measurements were done by the machine.

It was a very expensive machine, and she had engraved the formulas herself, so there was no way it could malfunction.

‘Surely that’s the case… What is this? It’s not malfunctioning, is it?’

Valerie checked the automated magic formula and held her breath.

The graph was shooting upwards like crazy.

‘How can the adaptation speed be this fast…?’

I finally understood why he was in so much pain.

He had already reached the highest level that had been applied in advance.

I thought the growth rate would be fast, but this didn’t make sense.

‘No, this isn’t growing, it’s like….’

Adaptation.

Yes, it’s closer to adaptation.

A feeling of regaining what he could originally do.

There is a big difference between a person who has never exercised before exercising and making a body like an athlete, and an athlete who has not been able to exercise for a while due to an injury and regaining his original body condition through rehabilitation.

Valerie put aside the interpretation work and looked at the magic formula in more detail.

She turned on the interpretation and analyzed all sorts of values and contents.

‘Could it be….’

In an instant, Valerie’s eyes widened.