Chapter 122
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The patrol was too boring.
A monotonous time to the point where one couldn’t bear it without engaging in small talk with the person next to them.
Guard, scratching his head, struck up a conversation with the senior next to him.
“Hyung-nim, just finished delivering the goods.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hand over everything without missing anything?”
“Yeah.”
“Ace.”
At those words, the face of the junior guard twisted.
The senior chuckled.
“You disappointed, kid?”
“No, you said we were in charge until next week, so why the sudden fuss?”
“Don’t know. If the higher-ups say so, we just have to follow.”
“Sigh, I was looking forward to some fun.”
The man exaggeratedly bounced his hips.
Relaxed posture and a tone full of laughter.
In their expressions, an unmistakable cruelty couldn’t be hidden.
The senior guard spat on the ground.
“Do you want to be in a unit with those not even human?”
“…Oh, pretending to be clean, huh?”
Laughing and joking, he pulled out the pipe he had tucked behind his ear.
Ashes scattered on the floor.
Evidence of how they were spending their boring time.
“Tsk, what a joke this border is.”
He scanned the surroundings but couldn’t find a single ant.
“There can’t be any big shots aiming for this place.”
With recent business going well, their organization had a firm grip on this area.
More funds.
Better-quality members.
Their organization, now significantly larger, had nothing to fear in Harlem.
“….”
Well, there was one thing.
That crazy nun.
But she was someone with too many people to protect.
As long as you didn’t mess with her first, it was fine.
Ten minutes until the shift change.
The man spoke again.
“By the way, where did they use all those goods?”
“I don’t know. Maybe setting up something in Harlem.”
“For something so secretive, do you not have any info from the boss? I still don’t know who we’re dealing with.”
The face of the senior guard hardened.
“Don’t ask unnecessary questions; focus on the job or construction. As long as we get paid, that’s enough.”
“Alright… let’s quickly finish this and head to ‘Canis.’ Okay?”
Before he could get a response, something hot splashed on his face.
A familiar smell.
The sound of collapsing.
He reflexively reached for his scabbard but stopped.
…Who was that?
“Ah.”
Thunk-
The black greatsword that had knocked down the senior guard resonated through the air again.
The gaze under the robe was of a kind never encountered before.
The man immediately regretted his actions.
“Sec, security artifact…”
It wasn’t working.
Why?
As if it were a broken record, no matter how many times he pressed it, the alarm didn’t sound.
Various mana that should have been aimed at the intruder remained silent.
He slumped down.
“S-spare me…”
Whoosh, the man pierced by the black-hope shouted but couldn’t finish his sentence.
The Hero threw him against the wall, then took a moment to catch his breath.
Whirr-
Aranea, flying from behind, collected the bodies in the alley.
Perfect teamwork.
“Before entering, take another look. The boss of this branch is this guy. He may not be here to oversee the whole organization, but with his black hair and average height, you’ll easily recognize him. Check if you see him.”
Before the assault, the Hero confirmed the appearance of the person he needed to capture through the paper given by Barun.
All inside the building had to be subdued, but this person couldn’t be put down right away.
A sprawling criminal organization.
If they didn’t capture someone at the top of the organization and extract information, they wouldn’t be able to cut off the tail properly.
Perhaps, they should be prepared to repeat this a few times.
‘In the end, it’s a race against time.’
Considering the leaking of information, they needed to move as quickly as possible.
In front of the spiral staircase leading underground.
The Hero took a deep breath and prepared to enter.
▼
Space, would you like to connect to ‘Valber’?
▲
The greatsword hid its form, and a black spear with a sinister aura took its place in the Hero’s hand.
Shadow spear, Umbra.
An artifact that could attack the main body through shadows; there was nothing better in a confined space.
Whoosh-
After sending the signal, the Hero stepped down the stairs.
The stairs were deep, and with each step, the stench grew stronger.
The smell of sweat.
The tangy scent of alcohol.
Even the bitter odor of drugs.
All kinds of smells mingled.
But soon, the lingering scent of monma overwhelmed everything.
Squelch!
The Hero exerted force on the hand holding the spear.
‘…It’s certain.’
The Hero’s hand opening the door at the end of the stairs showed no hesitation.
Clunk-
…The uninvited guest has arrived.
First, the vibrant and spacious interior entered the Hero’s sight.
Followed by scattered piles of cards, bottles, and ashtrays in every direction.
Men adorned with chaotic tattoos stood up like armor.
“What the hell, that guy.”
“How did you get in?”
“The attire… looks suspicious as hell.”
Some impatient ones had already drawn their weapons.
Whether to talk or not, the Hero first shot a detection spell.
‘There’s a secret space inside.’
The scent of monma from there was the strongest.
Must be where the boss is.
As the thugs gathered in front of that room, the Hero felt more and more of them approaching.
“Well, doesn’t look like someone from the trading partners…”
“Trading partner? We delivered all the goods today, why are they here!”
“Hey, who are you!?”
Twenty in total.
Approaching while asking questions.
Instead of answering, the Hero reached for a light stone embedded in the wall.
The thugs’ patience finally ran out at this mysterious action.
“No, someone’s asking a question.”
“Still, what an impertinent guy in this neighborhood.”
Three increased their speed, while the rest hadn’t moved yet.
A relaxed attitude.
Probably relying on numerical superiority.
‘I don’t have time.’
Before dawn today, meaningful clues needed to be obtained.
These guys were just a part of the underworld organization manipulated by the Demonic Church.
To reach the main body, several more organizations needed to be exposed.
‘So, I’ll go all in.’
Chi-ji-ji-jik-
A blue ripple rose from the Hero’s feet.
Only now did the thugs at the back sense something and start rushing.
One, too late.
Dispel.
A light spread, and all the light stones inside the hideout lost their function in an instant.
“Uh, uh!”
The interior was shrouded in impenetrable darkness in an instant.
No light from outside in this deep underground.
The only light source was the light stone that the Hero had pulled out in advance.
“manaian! Don’t let him get away!”
“Stick together! Quickly!”
“If we stick close, he can’t do anything!”
Thugs rushed towards the Hero.
Their movements were agile, and the edges of their weapons were sharp.
To him, who activated Nova, they seemed like stationary targets.
‘Just a little more….’
Because a human body has volume, it’s impossible to pierce through several at once.
But…
‘Shadows are different.’
Wooooong-
Waiting for them to get close enough, the Hero raised the light stone.
In an instant, light spread, and the shadows of the organization members overlapped.
Quajik-
The first thrust from the stationary position pierced eight shadows.
Screams erupted from various directions.
“Uwaaah!”
Quajik-
Next were five.
Now it was a chaotic battle.
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Quaang-
The charging Hero thrust his spear towards every shadow in his field of vision.
The various weapons wielded by the organization members couldn’t even graze his body flowing with energy.
After several fierce charges.
Quaaaaaang-
The Hero’s fist tore through the wall.
It didn’t take long for a hole big enough for one person to pass through to appear in the wall.
“Uuee….”
Entering the dim room.
One man was trembling.
The Hero recalled the description of the organization boss that Barun had mentioned.
‘Black hair, average height, beak-like nose.’
The Hero grabbed his hair without bothering to engage in conversation.
“It’s you.”
There was no need for a conversation.
He was already intoxicated by Enoch’s miasma.
The mental barrier was already in a shredded state.
▼
‘Derilium’ manifests
▲
Even with an incomplete ability, it should be able to thoroughly explore the mind.
* * *
Meanwhile, Rosenstark was gradually regaining the lost peace and vitality.
The sight of students laughing and heading to the correction seemed to signal the end of the strenuous midterms.
…Unfortunately, the extreme kids had no time to enjoy it.
Gathered in the indoor training ground, the kids occasionally screamed and shot their swords in all directions.
“Uwaaaa!”
“No, how are we supposed to do this!”
“I’m trash.”
“Sure, something went terribly wrong.”
They remembered the challenge the Hero had thrown at them a few days ago in the reinforced ward.
With words that would ignite their enthusiasm (although it had now dwindled).
“Passing this assignment will be the minimum qualification to train in Felson’s detection technique.”
After finishing speaking, the Hero took something out of his bag.
With dozens of flasks containing a shimmering transparent liquid and hundreds of white papers whose purpose was difficult to guess, the children wore puzzled expressions.
Sensing their confusion, the Hero picked up one of the flasks without delay, and as usual, he went straight to the point.
“It’s the venom of a snake infused with mana.”
“…!”
The faces of the five who guessed its origin all instantly fell.
Cuculli, Luke, Evergreen, Leciel, and Ban – they were the ones who had engaged in a pursuit with ‘a snake.’
‘No way.’
‘Is this extracted from that snake?’
“Huh?”
Gulp—
There was no need for further explanation.
The children watched in awe as the Hero drank the snake venom.
The flask was empty in an instant.
Without waiting for the stunned children to react, the Hero casually continued speaking.
“It’s diluted to a minuscule amount, so there’s no burden on the human body. The safety has been verified through several experiments, and according to the assistant, it actually helps… in boosting vitality.”
“S-Safety verified through experiments?”
“Professor Kasim Pierre willingly provided assistance.”
For some reason, Kasim was extremely enthusiastic.
Anyway, after finishing the explanation, the Hero unexpectedly extended his finger…
Tock—
A droplet smaller than dew fell from its tip onto the white paper that the Hero had brought along.
Hwack—
In an instant, the white paper turned as black as ink.
“It’s a marker that reacts to mana.”
The children could now gradually understand what the ‘assignment’ was about.
“It detects and controls the minute amount of mana entering the body and expels it. Considering your growth so far, I believe you’ll produce results by the time I return.”
With those ambiguous words, the children earnestly devoted themselves to solving the assignment.
About a week passed…
“I won’t do it! I won’t!”
Only three managed to pass the assignment unscathed.
Ban, Leciel, and the enrolled student Deindart.
Surprisingly, Cuculli and Luke struggled, and the rest were not worth mentioning.
“Please! Please! This time!”
Cuculli, with an earnest gaze, held the 73rd marker.
There was no miracle change in the color of the paper.
It remained pure white.
Or, strictly speaking, it had become slightly darker.
Watching, Leciel muttered.
“Just blindly using a lot of mana…”
“Ugh.”
“…Help me?”
“Absolutely not!”
Incidentally, Leciel passed on her second attempt.
The first was a recoloring, and the second completely dyed the marker pitch-black.
Ban, needless to say, had no problems.
Deindart, who had attended Rosenstark a year earlier than the rest, proved that it wasn’t in vain.
‘He was the only one selected among the enrolled students.’
In the end, Cuculli’s last hope was Luke.
“Luke~ Want to join forces against those idiots?”
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a playful remark telling her to shut up.
However, he just stared at the marker on the ground, showing no response.
Typically, Luke’s paper remained as white as ever.
No, to be precise, it had become slightly darker.
Watching his blank eyes, Cuculli thought:
‘Look at that expression.’
The moment light returned to Luke’s vacant eyes was when Deindart approached Evergreen, who was grumbling.
“Hehehe, do you have any difficulties?”
“N- No, just a bit…”
“Shall I teach you?”
A universal language.
A man approaching his crush is always a threatening act.
Cuculli amusingly watched Luke’s real-time change in expression.
Sharp, well-defined eyebrows.
Lips pressed into a straight line.
Luke himself seemed embarrassed by those strong emotions.
‘What action will he take?’
With a keen interest, Cuculli watched Evergreen, still oblivious, receiving advice from Deindart while Luke hesitated.
Suddenly, the boy stood up.
When everyone’s attention was on him, a single word slipped out.
“…Drink.”
Certainly, it was not an eloquent choice of words.
It must be a terribly awkward expression.
Cuculli chuckled while observing Luke’s brisk steps as he left.
His slender silhouette disappeared from the training ground in no time.
“Oh, that fool. Tsk, tsk.”
An immature kid who just broke out of his shell would probably be more skillful in romance than Luke.
Filled with interest, Cuculli focused on the 74th paper.
…That was the case until the sound of the door was heard again.
Thud, thud, thud—
Luke, who had been showing an absent expression earlier, was returning faster than before.
…Well, it’s difficult to watch even if he avoids it.
After all, when things go out of sight, they become more anxious.
Cuculli yawned, her eyes drooping as she watched Luke squeezing in the space between Deindart and Evergreen.
…It was early summer in Rosenstark.
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