"Because we collaborated with them."
Oliver asked again at the female warlock's words.
"The Bathory Family, a research institute under the School of Life Magic… So, you're saying they collaborated with warlocks?"
The female warlock chuckled derisively.
Together with her, other female warlocks who emerged from the pool of blood slowly surrounded Oliver.
"Why? Are you shocked?"
Oliver assessed the emotional states of the female warlocks.
They were in a state of complacency, intoxicated with the pleasure and sense of victory that their plan had gone smoothly.
Oliver continued the conversation.
"I wouldn't say shocked, but it's a little surprising. wizards and warlocks working together, I thought they disliked each other?"
"Only from the perspective of ordinary people. If there's something to give and take, there's no reason not to cooperate. Both wizards and warlocks are ultimately seekers of greatness."
Oliver looked at the person in the iron bars, the Enhanced Human-C03.
"Is this person also for the sake of greatness?"
"To some extent. To become great, you need useful workers."
Workers… Oliver recalled the explanation about Enhanced Human-C03 earlier.
She said they were better workers: stronger, tougher, and more obedient…
"Did you create them as a labor force to replace humans?"
"Oh, aren't you smart? The Life School Division has been dreaming of that for a long time. A systematic society."
‘A systematic society?'
"A perfect society composed of humans designed for specific purposes. We agreed to some extent and had something to gain, so we helped them in exchange for compensation."
"What did you receive as compensation?"
"This and that? Data from human experiments, magic ability enhancement through body manipulation… The Life School has accumulated considerable data in that area, despite their short history. They're also flexible."
"Uh-huh… So, did you only collaborate on chimera research?"
"No, we also conducted other joint research. Regeneration, immortality, things like that. Well, we haven't achieved any significant results yet."
Sincere. Everything said so far was sincere.
"Thank you for the kind explanation."
"Don't mention it."
"May I ask one last question? Why are you explaining all this to me?"
The female warlock raised her hand. As mana gathered in her hand, a sound of air freezing accompanied the formation of an ice dagger was heard.
"I'm charging you in advance."
The female warlock approached slowly, step by step. Oliver retreated one step at a time to match her pace.
"What kind of charge?"
"I'm planning to make you useful. First, I'll skin you alive and use you as bait to lure the wizards here. If the substitute professor causes a commotion, they'll have no choice but to come."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that'll work just by using my skinned face as a mask. There's a reporting system, you know."
"Hehehe… How cute, you worry about everything. We've been occupying this laboratory for over a month, how do you think we haven't been caught yet?"
Come to think of it, it was strange. The security system Oliver had heard of was quite complicated.
There were passwords set for each school of magic, and authentication through the flow of mana.
Such things could not be simply solved by wearing a leather mask or putting on a disguise. The ability to acquire information…
"Ah, can you get information from the target by sucking their blood?"
"Ding-dong. Smart, huh? We can learn about a person's life, knowledge, and information through their blood."
"Heh… I'm a bit envious. Can I learn that too?"
"Sorry, our Mother hates men. Instead, as I mentioned earlier, I'll use you for our benefit. Not just blood and skin, but other byproducts as well. Like the Enhanced human you saw earlier, I'll use you as an experimental subject. You're interesting. Maybe we'll succeed this time. If we do, we'll raise you as our pet. Aren't you grateful?"
Thud.
Oliver's back hit the wall.
"I appreciate your kindness, but I don't want to die yet. Is there any way to avoid that?"
"Death usually comes at an unwanted time. Don't worry too much. If the experiment succeeds, you'll have a second life as our pet."
"Uh… I might be late in mentioning this, but since there's a World Tree in this lab, it might be better not to do it. The Net Navigator could capture our images, right?"
"?… Kya-ha-ha-ha! Is that your means to survive? This is the secret experimental site of the ‘Life School' lab. The World Tree can't see this place because it's already been sealed off. Even if it's captured, it doesn't matter since we can erase that part."
"Oh… Is that possible?"
"Ah, I really don't know… whether you're smart or stupid."
The female warlock said this and aimed her ice magic at Oliver.
First, she intended to freeze his body to capture him.
"It'll be very painful, but don't worry too much… What's that in your hand?"
Oliver looked at the hand the female warlock pointed at and answered. There was a thin thread in his hand. The thread extended from Oliver's hand to the female warlock's feet.
"It's a mana thread."
With the answer, Oliver infused the extended mana thread with his mana and will. The long mana thread quickly moved and entangled around the female warlocks' bodies.
"Hmph! This kind of trick…!"
The female warlocks tried to respond coldly that Oliver didn't have anyone to synchronize his attack with like before.
"Do you think this little trick can save your life?! There's no one to help you!!"
"Ah, don't worry. I'll take care of that."
"What?"
The female warlock paused and asked again. Oliver answered by imbuing the mana thread with an additional spell.
Specifically, Mjölnir School's lightning magic spell.
Taught by Kevin, the ‘magic property change based on spell', Oliver's will transformed the mana thread into electricity in an instant, electrocuting the female warlocks.
"Kku-euk…!"
"?!"
"Kyah…!!"
"……!!!"
The female warlocks, unable to even scream, had their muscles stiffened by the electricity.
Oliver closed the distance at just the right timing and swung his tonfa with all his might toward the head, packed with mana.
Zap-!!!
With a horrifying sound, the head split in two.
Oliver stomped on the head to crush it like a tomato and did the same to another female warlock's head.
Zap-!!!
Zap-!!!
Zap-!!!
When he had taken care of about three more, a female warlock who had somewhat recovered from the damage approached Oliver.
"You damned bastard…!"
An ice blade was unleashed towards Oliver.
Oliver imitated Willes, deflecting the attack with the tonfa held like an axe, and then adjusted his grip to stab the tonfa deep into the female warlock's belly.
"Ugh…! Do you think you can kill us with just this?!"
"Nope. That's why I've prepared more."
The female warlock furrowed her brow, not understanding the meaning, but soon found out.
Her belly became hot, and smoke rose.
Through the tonfa embedded in her belly, Oliver cast a fire spell.
"You…! You…"
Fwooshahaha-!
Dark flames erupted as blood, smoke, and oil flowed from the female warlock's mouth, nose, and eyes.
"Cassandra…!"
"……!!!"
"No, don't-!"
The scene was so gruesome that the other female warlocks were unable to avert their gaze, immobilized by terror and bewilderment.
However, Oliver showed no emotion as he lifted the female warlock and threw her towards the other female warlocks.
They reflexively caught their comrade, and at that moment, Oliver activated a spell through the connected mana.
[Firecracker]
With a loud bang, the accumulated heat and flame within the body reacted and exploded.
The flames sparkled in the air like fireworks, and the burning flesh and entrails gradually spread to the other warlocks.
"Kyaahhhhhhh!!! The fire! The fire…!!"
"It won't go out!… It won't go out!"
Of course, it was a fire that mimicked Willes's fire magic.
The other female warlocks rushed towards Oliver as they saw what happened to their comrades, but this time, too, Oliver moved a step faster.
[Freeze]
Centered around Oliver's foot, ice spread out radially along the ground, freezing the feet and legs of the surrounding female warlocks.
"…!! Who, who are you?!!"
One of the female warlocks cried out in horror.
It was a natural question, as they had assumed he was a mana user, but he had used lightning, fire, and ice. To handle magic so freely beyond its nature, one would have to train for decades, which was a rare feat even in the upper floors of the Magic Tower.
Oliver approached her, raising his tonfa, and answered.
"I'm just an employee of the Magic Tower."
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-!!!!!"
In the secret laboratory of the Chimera Research Institute under the School of Life, a scream echoed as if to make one's ears bleed.
The scream, imbued with the energy of black magic, was like a signal announcing a disaster, and soon, one of the walls crumbled down.
Bang! Crumble, rumble…!!
Through the collapsed wall, a woman crawled away on all fours, her face a mix of terror and rage.
It was a pitiful sight, but there was no other choice. Both of her legs were shattered by ice, making it impossible to run normally.
"Wait! Wait…! I'll call my sisters to take revenge! A bloody revenge!!”
The woman screamed with a mixture of fear and rage, and Oliver silently watched her.
"It's not a lie."
Oliver muttered briefly. The woman's words about taking revenge were not bluffs.
Indeed, since the earlier screams, the female warlocks scattered around the laboratory had reacted, and some of them were heading this way.
‘Is the scream a signal for requesting help? There was black magic energy in it, too.'
Looking at it objectively, it was quite an urgent situation. However, Oliver calmly examined the secret laboratory.
In the ruined lab, there were female warlocks with crushed heads or burnt to death, and in the iron bars, there was a Enhanced human-C03.
A new human created by the School of Life Magic, with a human body attached to a cow's head…
It was reminiscent of a monster museum, and he became curious about what the Life School was thinking.
At first, he thought they were an interest group active in medicine and the military field through their technology, but that wasn't the case now.
Although eternal life was a given, this new human deviated from the many greed and its orbit that existed in Landa, both ideologically and in terms of belief.
"Luck is on my side anyway."
Oliver said sincerely.
It was similar to the feeling of picking up money on the street.
Originally, he accepted this job intending to help Kevin, but now his personal curiosity had overshadowed that intention.
Oliver couldn't know how this would end, but he wanted to know more about the Life School, what they had done here, and how they were connected with the Bathory Family.
‘And to do that, I need to meet the leader called Mother.'
Oliver set his first goal and looked over the entire laboratory with the eyes of a warlock
He couldn't find her right away since he didn't know who the leader was, but he could find someone to ask.
The female warlocks of the Bathory Family who occupied this laboratory were gathering not far from here.
Fueled by revenge for their dead sisters, they were also rallying zombies from various parts of the research facility through the pool of blood.
"…A pool of blood?"
The pool of blood in the laboratory…! A good idea crossed Oliver's mind.
Although he had seen it for the first time today, it was worth trying.
With his mind made up, Oliver took out a mana replenishing potion, drank it all, and extracted emotions from the test tube he picked up.
After preparing, he stepped on the pool of blood and checked his current position and the opponent's position with the eyes of a warlock.
Focusing his vision as much as possible, he activated black magic and magic simultaneously.
Oliver fell into the pool of blood, seemingly swept away by the swift current, and then buoyed up by a force like buoyancy, he came straight out.
Swoosh-!
Oliver opened his eyes.
He saw over twenty female warlocks and numerous zombies that seemed to be employees of the Life School. He had successfully teleported.
Of course, the female warlocks saw Oliver too. Their expressions were all twisted in horror.
"It's impossible!"
"How did he come out of the pool of blood…”
"At-attack him!!”
The female warlocks hastily cast spells at Oliver's unexpected appearance, but Oliver, who had been prepared in advance, was faster.
Oliver clasped his hands, filled with emotions and mana, and cast a spell.
[Greed Fire]
Along with it, a small black flame ignited and in an instant, engulfed the entire space.
(To be Continued on June 12(MON))
OR
$5/month6 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$15/month12 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$30/month19 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$45/monthAll advance chap + 6 chap/week
