IMTDIK 77

Episode 77. Sleep Resistance Contest

Tilda was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and stopped her greeting, stepping aside. After that, Ferda didn’t look at Tilda even once.

Feeling humiliated, Tilda’s face turned bright red, and she left the scene.

Watching her go, Stephan asked Ferda,
“Did you hear the story?”

“What story?”

“She was mocking, wondering if the exhibits could make money…”

“Did she?” Ferda’s expression showed he didn’t care at all. He truly had no idea what had happened.

“Then why were you so hostile toward her?” Stephan was curious. Unless someone overheard her shallow words, no one would be openly hostile to Tilda upon first meeting her. After all, she was a beauty who resembled her mother.

“I didn’t plan to be harsh at first. But after seeing her, my thoughts changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her eyes… They annoyed me.”

“Her eyes? What about them?”

“Isn’t your little sister the type who needs to step on others to feel satisfied?”

Stephan’s eyes widened in shock.
“H-how did you know that?”

“She had that exact look in her eyes.”

Ferda had seen too many people he hated. To direct his hatred properly, he had categorized different types of people. Some traits remained vividly in his memory.

Tilda Pascal was the type Ferda hated the most—

People who had no talent yet had greed beyond their limits.
People who treated others like toys, playing with them in their hands.

Realizing that Ferda had seen through Tilda’s true nature at a glance, Stephan was impressed.

But he changed the subject. They were in the middle of preparing for the exhibition and had no time for idle talk.

“Did you meet the Marquis?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you place the magic stone?”
“Can’t we exhibit it tomorrow? Everyone seems busy today, and I don’t want to disturb them.”
“Well, alright. Then we’ll make it seem like we’re hiding the main attraction on purpose.”

Stephan muttered under his breath that at least the magic stone should be displayed to attract attention.

But the exhibition itself wasn’t that important. It was just a side event. The real focus was the main presentation. And the key items of that presentation were the magic stone—
And the magic engineering rifle hanging there.

Ferda and Stephan looked up at the rifle.

“Regent, have you seen that in action?”
“I’ve seen something similar.”
“What do you mean?”
“It didn’t look like that back then.”

Magic-powered rifles were once much larger and more complex. The current model, despite being simpler, still looked cluttered.

“What do you think of it?”
“You mean my opinion?”
“You and the other merchants.”
“Well… Hmm…” Stephan scratched his head.

Tilda had looked at it and wondered if it could make money. The other merchants reacted similarly. Even Stephan had the same thoughts. Since he was sponsoring this place, he couldn’t openly criticize it.

“If the design were sleeker, the evaluation would improve.”
“So, you’re saying it looks ugly.”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s true.”

Ferda agreed. Right now, it looked more like an art piece than a functional machine.

For Ferda, this magic engineering rifle was the most important thing.

“If we can use this to gather both northern and southern merchants, that would be good…”
“I’ll do my best to gather the northern ones.”

Stephan didn’t mention the southern merchants. His eldest brother, Merchant, was still a major obstacle. There was no need to be greedy right away.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Scholars who spent their lives buried in books were often called intellectuals. People mocked them, saying they were like frogs in a well. But there were times when those intellectuals were absolutely necessary. Especially for handling information, filtering and processing it was crucial.

Black Bandana didn’t overlook that fact.

Black Bandana. A secret organization spread across the Serdes continent, collecting and selling information.

To efficiently manage their information, they needed the intellectuals of Escolaya. That’s why Garnet, a member of Black Bandana, had come here.

“Hmmm.” She was dressed like a noble lady from the south, with fancy accessories and a revealing outfit. Her ash-gray hair contrasted with her tanned skin—a perfect disguise for pretending to be from the deep southern deserts.

But there was one problem.

“Are you alone, miss?”

Men swarmed around her like flies, drawn by her sensual outfit.

“Huh?”

“I just wanted to offer my escort, but… cough!”

The moment their eyes met, the man coughed awkwardly. Then, he suddenly backed away in fear.

“I-I apologize! I’ll be on my way now.”
“…Huh?”

Garnet raised an eyebrow as she watched him scurry off. She had no idea why he even approached her in the first place.

Then, a man dressed in northern attire approached.

“Oh, come on, boss. Smile a little! Did you come here to kill someone? We’re not an assassin group.”

He spoke casually. He was also a member of Black Bandana, here to find an information handler in Halim. Which meant he was here for business.

Garnet glanced at his face, then at the glass in his hand.
“You’re drinking while on duty?”

“Drinking is essential for undercover work. To persuade someone, we need to loosen up. For northern warriors, alcohol is a must!”

“To manipulate a weakling, a knife works better than that glass. Are you trying to hire another backstabbing informant like last time?”

“Ugh, that time was a mess. But I dealt with it, didn’t I?”
“That’s because you were drunk. If you take another sip, I’ll reach into your throat, pull out your stomach, and squeeze it dry.”

Garnet’s threat was deadly serious. She always meant what she said.

“Geez, you’re scary. Smile a little! Women look best when they smile, not when they’re ready to kill someone.”
“Shut up and do your job. I’ll handle my own work.”

The northern man just laughed and lifted his glass before disappearing again.

Garnet sighed and covered her mouth with a silk fan.
‘I hate this noble lady act.’

She was pretty enough to wear fancy clothes, but that was it. Her life had been filled with battlefields of blood and flesh, not flower gardens. Her eyes were fierce, and her behavior was naturally rough. These annoying, jingling clothes that exposed too much skin—she never wanted to wear them again. But she endured it and came to Halim for a reason.

Because of one person.

Garnet decided to move without delay. The presentation was about to start. It was being held in an opera house—a place with good acoustics and enough space to hold a large audience.

Garnet entered. Pretending to find her seat, she quickly scanned the room.

‘There.’

The closest seats to the stage—two whole rows were reserved, surrounded by bodyguards in full security mode.

Garnet whispered a name in her mind.
‘Ferda Valdrova.’

Her first investigation had started with Hellus. She had been hired to find his kidnapped young daughter, and through that, she had learned about Ferda Valdrova.

‘The more I dug, the more interesting he became.’

Hearing that Valdrova had a fiancée was shocking enough. But as she kept digging, her curiosity only grew. Information from the Far East was updated weekly, and every time, new surprising developments emerged.

‘And now, he’s here in Halim.’

Garnet had wanted to see him in person. And now, she finally did.

He had gray hair like hers and a tall frame. Though hidden by his slim uniform, she could tell he wasn’t physically trained.

‘Nothing stands out about his appearance, but…’

His aura was different. Though he was just sitting in a chair, only his back and neck visible, he carried the dignity of a seasoned elder. A calmness unshaken by youthful impulses. It made sense why so many women admired him.

‘I heard the head of Escolaya gave him the main spot in the presentation.’

The main presentations took years of strict screening to qualify for. Even the head of Escolaya had to compete for a place. If he had given up his spot for Ferda, it meant he was betting his reputation on him.

‘This is worth investigating further.’

Muttering to herself, she took out a notepad and started writing. As the greatest information broker on the continent, she always did her duty.

It was time for Ferda to see for himself how good the Regent’s judgment really was.

Meanwhile, Ferda was receiving greetings from many nobles. He had rented the entire front-row section, so no one was supposed to pass through. But people still deliberately walked by to greet him.

“I greet the consort of the Guardian of the Far East. I am the owner of the Jade Stone Merchant Guild…”
“I greet the great Regent of the Far East! As for me, I am currently working as a mercenary…”

It wasn’t just scholars. Knights, nobles, and merchants all tried to introduce themselves and catch his attention.

For those who had both status and wealth, this was the best way to stand out. Normally, nobles would prevent such situations by blocking the path. One or two people could be ignored with a smile, but when dozens lined up, it became annoying.

Yet, Ferda allowed them to continue. He was hoping to see a familiar face. However, to his disappointment, none of them were people he knew.

It was a waste of time, but not entirely bad. After all, there was nothing to do until the seminar started.

‘There are a lot of people.’

Stefan had arrived earlier and mentioned that the opening seminar had barely filled half of the opera house. But today, the place was packed. People even fought over seats.

Since this seminar featured the most promising and innovative research, both nobles and merchants were on edge. However, the real competitors in this seminar weren’t nobles or merchants—it was the scholars presenting their research.

“I am honored to be here! I am a scholar, and…”

—Drrrrr… —Kuuuuh…

Some nobles and merchants fell asleep just from hearing the presenters talk. Even Ferda, sitting in the VIP seats, tried hard to stay awake. It felt less like a seminar and more like a test to resist sleep magic.

“Malcolm.”
“Yes!”

While others were dozing off, Malcolm’s eyes stayed wide open. Since he didn’t understand anything, he didn’t have to think. And since he didn’t have to think, he had no reason to be sleepy.

“When is Vernel’s turn?”
“I’ll check! Umm… It’s right after Bernard Wayne’s presentation on predicting monster appearances!”
“I see. Keep your voice down. The presenter is looking this way.”
“Huh? Oh!!”

Presenters were sensitive because they were showcasing their life’s work. Malcolm realized his mistake and quickly shut his mouth.

As Ferda half-listened to the boring speeches, fighting off drowsiness, a voice suddenly caught his attention.

“The device I am about to present is the…”

It was the voice of the Chancellor of Escolaya. His turn had come. Just like Ferda, the drowsy audience also perked up.

“To explain it simply, this prediction device detects the unusual mana that appears in the air when a monster emerges. By analyzing this mana pattern, we developed an algorithm and designed a rune formula…”

But his long, complicated explanation drained the energy from the audience once again, putting them to sleep.

‘By the time Vernel presents, 80% of the audience will be asleep.’

Even Ferda, who was sponsoring him, couldn’t endure this so-called “explanation,” which was more like a sleep spell.

Sorry, Vernel. No, actually, he wasn’t sorry. If Vernel didn’t want this to happen, he should just do better.

“Haha, I see that many of you are getting bored. My apologies. I rarely get a chance to speak at such an event. Let me demonstrate instead.”

The chancellor had good instincts and moved on to a practical demonstration. The device he brought was shaped like a metal pillar.

“This prediction device is designed for both magic walkers and mana walkers. By simply injecting mana and activating the formula…”

—Wooong.

“…the device starts working. Haha, now it should be easier to understand. Look here, this is the display screen. Even if you only know basic map reading, you can use it. If a monster appears, the device will make a distinct sound—”

—Beep. Beep.

“Huh? Oh, like this. But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean a monster is actually appearing. It’s just a startup issue—”

—Beep. Beep.

“Wait a moment. This device was built exactly according to the design and fully tested, so why is it—?”

—Beep. Beep.

“Huh?”

Vernel, looking confused, started checking the device, tapping it to find any defects. But Ferda knew. This wasn’t a malfunction.

“Everyone, get ready.”
“Huh?”
“Monsters are coming.”

The blinking point on the screen turned red, and the candles lighting the seminar hall flickered.

“What? What’s happening?”
“Is this an earthquake?”

The audience didn’t realize the danger. But those with battle experience reached for their weapons. Cracks formed in the space around the prediction device.

Inside the swirling, distorted space, something began to push its way out. A wolf’s head. No, a monster with a wolf’s head.

—Kruuuuuh!!!

The beast roared. Screams filled the hall as chairs were knocked over. The seminar was instantly thrown into chaos. More wolf monsters came out of the rift.

At that moment—

“Lightning Spear.”

As soon as Ferda spoke, a spear of lightning flew at the monster coming out of the rift. A bright light swallowed the flickering chandelier and pierced the wolf’s head.

—Pshoo!

The lightning spear shot straight through the monster’s brain and heart. Green blood gushed from its mouth—it was a fatal strike.

Ferda stared at the monster and thought. One down.