Adopting Disaster
chapter-2-1

Handling mana is an innate talent.

Among humans, 80% live their entire lives without any connection to mana.

Even among the remaining 20%, the majority struggle to awaken their abilities.

While some learn how to manipulate mana before they even eat solid food, others only manage to feel mana just before they die.

That's why even a renowned professor once said:

‘Magic begins and ends with learning.’

With the belief that there is no limit, many magicians tirelessly learn and pass their knowledge onto the next generation, continuously advancing the field.

However, Reed disliked such thinking.

He loved the present world more than the afterlife and was a man who believed in his ability to excel in anything, driven by ambition.

But he lacked the most important talent: Mana capacity.

What clearly defined his limits was his amount of mana.

Despite trying all sorts of methods, he could not reach the level of mana possessed by geniuses.

That's why all his magic remained at level 4, not reaching the maximum level of 5.

In the end, he was nothing more than a criminal striving towards genius.

Reed, who had hit his limits, was driven to the edge of a cliff and despaired.

As the desperation and despair strangled him, a chance for rebirth flashed through his mind.

Like drawing water from a high mountain lake, he could link with a person, making them his mana tank.

That was the 'Flower Garden Project', which left disasters for humans.

While everyone has probably thought about this concept once, no one had established it until Read completed "Project: Flower Garden" and established the concept completely.

The longing for genius had given him one last chance.

The project that would bring disaster to humans was finally completed.

"And ultimately, the reason he dies."

As Reed, not Jinhyuk, the critical project that determined his fate was underway.

Considering the timing, all the formulas for the project must have already been created, with only the implementation left.

'The first success turns Reed into a complete monster.'

Project's first subject and the final boss, codename: Cosmo.

Its completion accelerated the creation of other disasters.

Thus, the seven disasters were created, the main bosses of the original game, <Disaster 7>.

'How will they carry out this project...?'

Reed stared intently at the notes Phoebe had organized.

He didn't even want to touch them, let alone open them.

He thought that looking at these notes would be like crossing an irreversible river, just as Adam and Eve touched the forbidden fruit.

The moment the notes touched his fingers.

"Master~."

Phoebe's sticky rice cake-like voice rang out again.

Reed raised his head and looked at Phoebe.

"What is it?"

"Well, a visitor came."

"A visitor?"

"Yes, he said he brought the items needed for this project."

Reed had a rough idea of what those items might be.

If they were items for this project, they would undoubtedly be children.

Young boys and girls with unawakened potential would be used like lab rats.

Original Reed would have definitely objected, but the Reed with Jinhuk's spirit inside was different.

"I don't care..."

His words stopped as he was about to send them away.

He almost made a huge mistake.

'Reed successfully modifies the first subject of the project.'

This meant that he could meet the final boss, 'Codename: Cosmo,' in this event.

"Uh, should I send them away?"

Phoebe, reading his hesitant expression, asked.

"No."

Reed shook his head.

"Tell them to come in."

After instructing them to enter, 10 minutes later, Reed rode the magic stone-powered elevator to the 32nd floor.

There was a reception room on the 32nd floor of the silence tower.

Upon entering the open reception room, there was a man who seemed far from a magician standing there.

No, it was an impression that made one wonder if he was human at all.

"Oh my, hello, Tower Master, hehehe."

A sharp voice that instinctively made one's eyes narrow.

It was a typical line and pose that seemed to say, 'I'm terribly sneaky.'

Reed knew this man well.

The one-eyed rat, Leto.

His protruding front teeth and crooked posture made him feel like a standing rat.

Moreover, he had lost one eye and wore a black eyepatch, earning him the nickname of one-eyed rat.

"Leto... I see."

"Hehehe, you can call me the one-eyed rat if you want. Whether it's one-eyed or a rat, call me as you please. High-ranking people don't call me by the name Leto anyway."

That was true.

Seeing how the surrounding NPCs treated Leto, he was no more than a 'rat,' so that must be what he was used to.

What would a villain say here?

After briefly thinking, Reed replied.

"Don't order me around, Leto."

"Ouch, what order! I'm just a lowly rat."

When Reed displayed a physiological aversion, Leto seemed frightened and hesitated.

If one didn't know him, they might think he was a human with rich emotional expressions, but Reed knew how calculating Leto was.

He lived in the underground of the imperial capital, Hamel, and mainly ruled the underground as a king through information and errands.

Human trafficking, gambling, smuggling, and so on...

Committing heinous acts that couldn't be done under the light and prolonging his life was his daily routine.

He was a bystander in terms of position.

He only moved for money, so he was a man who would sell information to enemies if he was paid.

Whether he was a good guy or a bad guy didn't matter.

‘He's a reliable source of information, and the content itself is trustworthy.’

He was the kind of person to keep close but never get involved with.

Reed moved on to the main point.

"So, have you brought the items you prepared?"

"Of course! These are items that you would like, sir!"

Leto, who had been laughing maliciously and speaking in a high-pitched tone, shouted in a heavy voice from outside the door.

"Come in quickly, you pigs!"

The moment Reed saw the items, he was at a loss for words.

No, he had already anticipated it, but it was a sight that made one hesitate to look at it through civilized eyes.

Children strung together by iron chains like Vienna sausages.

All of them looked haggard, and there was no life in their eyes.

A total of 30 children entered the reception room.

The number of children was quite large for a covert human trafficking operation.

"Oh dear, I apologize, Tower Master. The smell must be quite strong, right?"

"...It doesn't matter."

Leto seemed to think that the expression was due to the stench emanating from the boys and girls.

It was just that Reed was not used to seeing such a scene while being a civilized person.

Leto rubbed his palms together and spoke to Reed.

"How is it? These children can be dealt with without any trouble, as you ordered, hehehe."

"How can there be no trouble?"

"These kids are all troublemakers caught from the kingdom and the empire. They are taken care of for maintaining public order and security."

They were like trash.

There would be many of them even if an orphanage was run.

'In the end, Reed, who uses such orphans, is also trash.'

There was no room for excuses.

Since Reed had allowed Leto to set foot in the tower, he decided to do his job.

'The Flower Garden project targets only those with talent.'

Those without even a hint of potential or those with ambiguous abilities could not survive in the project structure.

The success of such a daring project was thanks to Reed's ability to 'see talent.'

「Talent Appraisal」

Type: Active

You can check the potential of the other person.

You can see the unawakened traits and the level that can be raised.

You cannot check your own potential.

I know how much the other person will grow, and I can watch it happen.

It could be said that this cursed trait accelerated Reed's inferiority complex.

'However, it is because of this ability that he could carry out the daring project called Flower Garden...'

It was what made it possible to create the Seven Disasters and Codename: Cosmo.

If it weren't for his twisted personality, it would have been a talent that could make him a sufficiently shining villain.