Murphy appeared at Oliver's call.
“Huh, … did Mr. Warlock catch him?”
"Yes."
“The explosion was so loud… how the hell?”
“I beat him with the quarterstaff. Rather than that could you help me now?”
“Oh, yes… tell me what can I do for you.”
“Can you hold him as a hostage?”
"Pardon?"
" Maybe it will be helpful if we hold him as a hostage.”
Oliver said with certainty. As proof of that, the wizards who were standing away from the warehouse were not attacking this place even though they were in a very angry state.
Their emotions fluctuated with displeasure, shame, embarrassment, and anger, but at the same time, they also had concerns and fears about the situation of the Explosion wizard captured by Oliver.
They were thinking that the Explosion wizard got caught because he was overconfident and attacked the place recklessly.
It seemed like they never expected that they would be caught here. It was not because they were courageous, it was because they were not afraid.
In other words, they were not prepared to deal with a situation where someone gets caught.
"They won't be able to attack the warehouse as they did before if we have the hostage."
Murphy and other workers who were previously soldiers, immediately understood what Oliver was trying to say and nodded.
“Well then…”
"In the meantime, I'll be dealing with the wizards outside."
Oliver answered as he handed over the wizard.
Contrary to the calm demeanor Murphy had shown so far, he treated the wizard carefully as if he was dealing with some kind of beast. All the people working in the warehouse were once soldiers, so they had a certain amount of courage, but when it came to wizards, they were scared to death.
‘Um… Is it because they saw the power of wizards on the battlefield?’
Awe and fear were reflected when they talked about them.
Oliver felt, maybe this was the reason why wizards go to the army. They wanted to demonstrate their powers and instill fear in people.
It seemed like a groundless thought, but from the attitude of the workers, it didn't seem wrong either.
Well…, that wasn't important right now
Oliver told Murphy, who was still uneasy.
“Mr. Murphy.”
“… Yes, Mr. Warlock.”
"I'm sorry to ask the client this…but I have no choice but to ask you. We need Mr. Murphy's strength to protect the warehouse."
At those words, Murphy’s agitation slowly started calming down. Oliver added a few more words to give him relief.
"I've broken a few of his ribs, so it will probably be hard for him to move even when he wakes up. So don't worry too much. I don't know why, but the other wizards seem to care quite a bit about this wizard right now."
“I think I know the reason.”
"You know?"
Instead of answering, Murphy pointed at the Explosion Wizard's cuff button.
The button was engraved with a picture of a roaring lion.
“This is the symbol of the Lore family. It's a prestigious military wizard family."
“Are they war wizards?”
“Yes. As a prestigious family with many wizards, they actively participated in the colonial and continental wars and made many achievements. They also seem to be moving towards politics these days."
"Um……."
Oliver sighed and nodded his head.
“But why did they come here?”
"I don't know… Wizards have a very eccentric side to them.”
“It’s not eccentric. It’s to save the Assistant professor.”
A strange voice along with a huge noise interrupted the conversation between Murphy and Oliver. As they turned their heads toward the direction where they heard the sound, colorful mana floated in a square shape.
"This?"
“It’s a communication magic [Speaker]. It delivers the will and voice with magic power….”
"Ha…you seem pretty smart for a gangster."
Unlike before, the noise was much reduced, and the voice was heard clearly. It seemed like a very young voice.
"I know you have kidnapped our Assistant professor. So release him right now, and also release John. If you do that, we'll leave without causing any more damage."
It seemed like the name of the Explosion Wizard was John.
Everyone hesitated at the sudden words of the wizard, even Murphy kept his mouth shut.
In an instant, fear rose in Murphy’s heart. Nevertheless, in the corner of his heart, he also showed courage and was carefully calculating what would benefit him.
Oliver looked at him without saying a word and observed.
“…”
The wizard spoke again.
"Can't you hear me, Scums? Release Assistant professor and John right now. If you refuse, I'll wipe every single one of you. But, if you follow my request, I'll leave everyone alive."
Whether it was because of the one-sided notification or the voice that was young, his way of speaking made him look quite dignified.
It's not just a simple pressure, it gives off a feeling that resonates with people's minds and bodies, creating a strong mental and physical pressure.
For some reason it didn't work on Oliver, but, the workers in the warehouse were quite agitated by the wizard's remarks.
It wasn't strange for them to show such a demeanor. Although they blocked the attack once, the magic missile and explosion magic were still life-threatening.
The firepower the wizards showed before was enough to blow up the entire warehouse.
Oliver looked at his employer, Murphy. Since he was the owner of the business, Oliver decided to do whatever he asked, but as Murphy looked around the mess, he felt more and more troubled.
He was conflicted about whether to retreat or fight the wizard.
To be honest, objectively speaking, the latter seemed like a nonsensical thing.
The firepower on both sides was the same, but the range was not matched. After being unilaterally attacked, it felt obvious that this side would eventually fall out first.
Black magic seemed less likely to win with limited emotions as raw materials.
It certainly seemed that both in resources and firepower, the black magic was lacking compared to the real magic.
Oliver looked at Murphy as he struggled. He was still in conflict.
Oliver wondered whether he would back down or fight back.
It seemed interesting because he was fighting a sense of humiliation, and frustration, as he would miss the chance of making money.
At that moment what Murphy said a while ago came to Oliver’s mind.
– In this damn country if you don't have money, you are a corpse.
“Um… Mr. Murphy, may I say a few words as an employee?”
“Yes, what…”
“First of all, what the wizard was saying is not true.”
“…?”
“They’re going to blow up this warehouse the moment you release both of them.”
It wasn't very good news, so soon, Murphy and other workers in the warehouse were agitated.
The speaker was silent and seemed to be listening to Oliver.
Meanwhile, Oliver ordered the minions he had laid around to gather the emotions he had planted throughout the warehouse. He still had to drag a little longer.
"I don't know why, but they seem to be so angry that they don't want to just back off. Rather, if you release them, then they will attack you even more actively."
At those words, Murphy's eyes, which had been clouded with confusion, started to gain clarity.
The speaker intervened.
"Are you saying that I'm lying?"
“I don’t know, but your emotions and words are very different. You keep using your magic power to spy on this side.”
"Ha…! A mere Warlock who works as a Solver feels the magical power of a Wizard. Do you think anyone would believe that? How dare a fuc*er like you say that you can see the wizard's emotions? That's too much even for a bluff!"
"… It isn’t a bluff. Anyway, that's my opinion. The choice is Mr. Murphy's. All I can say is, if you want to protect the warehouse, you must never let them go."
“……”
Murphy was silent as if he had decided something.
The speaker said
“Hey, faker!! Do you think you can win just because you were lucky enough to beat one person?”
Everyone looked at Oliver.
"It's true that I was lucky. But, it’s my job. If my employer wants to keep fighting, then I'm going to keep fighting, too. Well, what are you going to do, Mr. Murphy?"
For unknown reasons, Oliver's words encouraged Murphy and other workers.
“… Mr. Warlock. You just want me to take this wizard as a hostage, right?"
“Yes, that’ll be enough.”
The speaker shouted.
"Hey, YOU DUMPSTERS! Do you think we'll care about the hostage?!”
“Yes, you seem to care a little. Of course, if you are very angry, you will just ignore him, but….. We're in a difficult situation. As long as you try to save the hostage safely, won’t the warehouse will remain safe?”
“……”
"Why don't we do this? I will go out of the warehouse, and I'll fight you outside. If you can take me down, why don't you go and negotiate with Mr. Murphy again?"
At that moment, Oliver felt a cold rage simmering from the wizard far away.
“…do you think that you, a FU*KING WARLOCK can defeat the Wizards of the great Magic Tower?”
"I think it's going to be hard, but wouldn’t it be okay if I put some effort into it?”
The wizard was furious, and Murphy's men covered their mouths in surprise.
‘Did I make a mistake?’
A heavy, awkward silence engulfed the surroundings.
Oliver was silent on the outside, but inwardly he placed the minions that had finished collecting emotions at the designated points.
He has to play tricks like this to increase his chances of winning.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
The silence grew longer, and as the tension reached its peak, a calm voice was heard through the speaker.
"Okay… Then I'll play with you, come over here. I'll let you know the difference between a wizard and a pest called a warlock."
Oliver replied.
“Thank you for the offer. You are such a kind person.”
The speaker was silent but filled with anger. Soon, the signal disappeared, and the communication was cut off.
Oliver, who saw it, took out three test tubes, each with Life-force and emotions.
[Black suit ver. 2]×3
He put on three layers of black suit and then pulled out more test tubes.
He brought them with a considerable amount of money, and the end of each test tube was already visible. He might die if he didn't do this right.
[Animal Build Up]
[Burning Life] x 3
[Muscle Up] x 2
[Endurance Skin]×3
Oliver used the emotions in large quantities to add all kinds of disease magic to his black suit so as not to die.
Thanks to this, Oliver's body was surrounded by translucent darkness, and dark red energy floated above it.
It was like a living shadow, and everyone in the warehouse felt nervous just looking at it.
“… Mr. Warlock?”
“Yes, Mr. Murphy. What's the matter?"
At Oliver's innocent question, Murphy nervously swallowed his saliva.
“… Can you defeat the wizard?”
"Well? I guess I'll have to figure it out. I won once in the past, but that time I was just lucky too."
"…. Thank you for your help."
“Well, it’s a job that I’m doing for money, so it’s fine. More than that…”
"What?"
"People trying to change something… I don't hate it. Can I ask you something?"
"Yes, go ahead."
“If this wizard is from a prestigious family, is there a high probability that the wizards out there were also from the same family?
“… That's probably right.”
"Um… Then we'll be in trouble if they die, Right?"
“…… Honestly yes. It is much more profitable to catch them alive.”
“Um… I see. Please hold on to that wizard."
"All right."
As he was about to leave the warehouse, Oliver turned around and said.
"Um, by the way, don't worry about those things."
Oliver said while pointing at some of the minions that had suddenly settled near the workers.
It was only then Murphy and the workers recognized the minions and were surprised.
"Ugh…! What is this…"
"Don't worry about it. I left it for safety, so don't touch it."
The workers could hardly calm down after looking at the minion's ugly appearance, which looked like a meatball. Then, Murphy said.
“Yes, I understand. We will do as Mr. Warlock said.”
“… thank you.”
Oliver greeted Murphy and walked out.
When he came out, he could feel the wrath of the wizards in the distance, and the wizards seemed to be ready to fight just like Oliver.
RUMBLE RUMBLE
Oliver muttered as he looked up at the pulsing sky.
“… Lightning?”
A blue light flashed upon him.
(To be Continued)
