Fizzle…!!
Taang!!
“…….”
It was late at night.
Within Lennok’s house lay a specially prepared enclosed lab.
Over time, the once gaping window had been covered with a solid iron grid, while the walls, once surrounded by old wallpaper, were now shielded by thick metal plates.
As Lennok spent more time in the lab conducting his magic research, the investment in the lab’s equipment and environment gradually increased.
Feeling a sense of accomplishment with each passing moment was crucial to him.
It reassured him that his efforts were not in vain, that the sweat and time he invested now held meaning and significance in the present.
Lennok’s dedication and belief in his magical talents went far beyond mere obligation.
Yet, creating a new form of magic remained an arduous challenge.
“It’s not going as planned……” Lennok sighed, glancing down at the small motorcycle model on the floor.
The model wobbled unsteadily with its wheels firmly attached to the ground.
The reason the motorcycle model maintained balance without any physical support was one thing – Support Magic for Riding.
Lennok had been developing a magic that would be essential for him to handle means of transportation like bikes in the future.
He acquired practical know-how about unique magic through studying Eden’s research journal.
While his theoretical knowledge improved through discussions with Aris, elevating his magic to the next level, it still incorporated existing magical laws into his system.
Dealing with unfamiliar magical concepts or creating entirely new unique magic was a complex and rough estimation.
Given Lennok’s current mana and assets, it proved to be an inefficient task.
However, Support Magic, being relatively limited in use, consumed less mana and had simple principles.
He pondered whether he could enhance the shooting support magic and create a new form of support magic.
‘It’s not practical enough.’
Though he successfully disassembled and remodeled the magical principles used in shooting support magic, Lennok realized that the two aspects of shooting and riding didn’t mesh well together.
Shooting support magic focused on enhancing shooting abilities, and Lennok’s improvements also emphasized that advantage.
On the other hand, riding support magic needed to focus on basic balance, safety control, and speed regulation to help Lennok’s body during transportation.
Delving into this part would exceed the scope of support magic.
In other words, the cost-performance ratio was not favorable.
Pouring mana into it might make it work, but using up all his mana while riding a bike defeated the purpose.
To put it bluntly, it was no different from riding around while spilling mana instead of fuel from the exhaust pipe.
If transportation was the goal, it would be much more profitable to catch a taxi instead of wasting mana on inefficient support magic.
“You can’t fill up with just the first spoonful.”
Regardless of his transcendent talent and astonishing intuition in manipulating mana, Lennok’s resources were finite.
The fact that no suitable answer came to mind despite pondering was proof that his current knowledge and assets could only take him this far for now.
He didn’t let disappointment or hesitation cloud his mind, even if he couldn’t find the perfect answer.
The infinite curiosity and endless patience for magic were among the talents he possessed as a wizard.
With a tinge of regret, Lennok organized the stacks of notes on his desk.
His magic research, which initially consisted of just three notes when he first escaped the factory, had now grown to a vast collection that couldn’t be contained in a single notebook.
***
“Please, take a seat.”
“Alright.”
Upon Dray’s invitation, Lennok obediently settled on the opposite sofa.
A woman with glasses swiftly brought two cups of coffee and then stepped back.
Lennok recognized the woman standing before him as the same person who had accompanied him during the hunt for the Scavenger. She was Kidel, the one who provided long-range support with a rifle. However, at this moment, her name was not of great importance.
“Thank you so much for your help this time,” Dray said, bowing his head. He still appeared pale, as if he hadn’t fully recovered from the curse. It was clear that he had narrowly escaped death, and Lennok could understand why Weian was desperate to find him.
However, there was a glimmer of life in Dray’s eyes, indicating that his health was no longer a major concern.
“Ah, Kidel, this isn’t coffee. Why did you bring some strange medicine?”
“Just shut up and drink it. I’m going to ban everything like caffeine until you’re fully recovered,” Kidel replied firmly, taking care of Dray’s well-being.
Observing the two causing a commotion, Lennok interjected, “There’s no problem because I got paid for what I did.”
“I heard you helped us out despite having a backlog of tasks. From my perspective, as someone who benefited from your help, it’s not something I can just let go,” Dray said with appreciation.
With that, he took a small wooden box from his pocket and handed it to Lennok.
“Please take it.”
Inside the box were five small pills wrapped in a piece of paper.
“This is a potion called Headrock. It’s a medicine refined through resurrection alchemy, capable of healing various internal and external damages.”
In other words, it was a more advanced version of the red potion.
“My team members collected it to help with the curse, but since you, a wizard, have solved the problem, I think giving it to you is a way to repay your kindness.”
Lennok didn’t refuse the gift, understanding the value of the potion from Dray’s confident words.
Although he considered declining it to avoid unnecessary debt, he suspected that Dray had his own motives for offering it.
‘There’s more to this than meets the eye. Dray Krimgal probably has his own calculations.’
It wasn’t common for mercenary offices to go out of their way to offer separate rewards after being paid for a job.
Considering Weian had already prepaid for Lennok’s services, Dray’s actions seemed like a gesture to maintain a connection with him.
Thus, Lennok graciously accepted the box.
He held Dray Krimgal in high regard as a mercenary and had some things he wanted to inquire about.
“About the pillar request. Can you tell me who the client was?”
Dray hesitated, saying, “Usually, the trick to survive in this field is to keep quiet about finished tasks…”
He smirked and added, “I can’t do that to a wizard like Van. I’ll tell you.”
He proceeded to explain how Krimgal Mercenary Office had gotten involved in trouble in the sewer. Several similar mercenary offices received requests to find a pillar in the sewer at the same time. The reward was quite substantial compared to the apparent difficulty of the task, sparking competition between the offices.
“The client who handed us the task was just a regular office worker. He didn’t seem to know much and just handed over a bank book before leaving. It looked like he deliberately went through several people to conceal who was backing him.”
“……”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help,” Dray said apologetically.
“No,” Lennok replied, cutting him off and standing up.
With that short clue, he was confident about who had put in the request to Dray.
The meticulous actions, such as using a dummy bank account and going through several intermediaries, pointed to either the dark wizards or Reisen.
‘Reisen asked for information about the pillar first.’
They tried to discreetly investigate it through mercenaries.
‘After realizing that Dray was actually cursed, they knew that the pillar was the work of the dark wizard and attempted to retrieve it through Mad Manson.’
Considering that Manson had arrived at the sewer half a day earlier than Lennok, it was likely that they found out about Dray’s curse after Weian started moving.
‘The problem is how important the pillar is to the dark wizards…….’
If they didn’t attach too much importance to finding the pillar, it might be more advantageous to casually employ freelancers to divert Reisen’s attention. While Reisen was distracted by concerns about the slush fund, they could potentially gain more significant rewards by using encryption keys to track locations and uncover the temporary base.
‘Considering the possibility that the pillar installed on the outskirts of Vulcan could be a bait, it might be more efficient not to invest too much attention in it.’
Having quickly finished his thoughts, Lennok bid farewell to Dray and left his office.
In the corridor, he encountered Weian, who seemed worn out from running around and lack of proper sleep, yet there was a glimmer of determination in his eyes.
Although Lennok didn’t place a high value on camaraderie, he felt he could trust such people more.
“…Thank you for everything this time,” Weian hesitated, looking at Lennok’s back as he spoke.
“If it weren’t for you, the captain might not have broken the curse in time and might have died.”
“…”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the talent you mentioned, but I still don’t fully grasp it.”
Weian sniffled and continued, “Talking about mana reactivity or something, it’s too difficult for me.”
“Is that so?”
“But as I went around trying to save the captain… I felt like I was starting to understand something.”
“…..”
“When I thought about what I wanted to do, why I was so determined about this, I began to comprehend.”
Wooong…!!
As Weian spoke, a slow rotating blue mana emanated around him.
It was vastly different from when he visited Jenny’s bar. It was substantial enough to not fall far behind even compared to Dray’s mana.
Had he evolved so much in such a short time?
“As I started to see the surrounding mana a little better, I found there are more things I can do.”
As he clenched and released his fist, abundant mana surged up like a fountain.
With a calm expression, Weian watched as the mana rose into the sky, forming a dazzling light dragon before disappearing.
He might only be aware of his own talent, mana reactivity, but both the amount of mana he possessed and his manipulation skills were rapidly increasing.
Even if it was a talent that protruded in one direction, if it far exceeded the threshold, the overall mana ability tended to rise accordingly.
This was a peculiar growth that Lennok had rarely seen in others, but he accepted it.
As he had recognized before, it was indeed a unique talent, full of potential.
While Weian might not match up to Lennok himself, he was still a genius awakening his talents in a different way.
“I’m grateful to you. I’ll repay this debt someday.”
“Yes. Just your presence alone is enough to maintain a connection with the Krimgal office. I might claim it later,” Lennok responded with a chuckle.
With that, Weian seemed to relax more and continued talking.
“Come and visit our neighborhood when you have time. It’s in Bellana Street, and there are many good people. Many kids there aspire to do the same job as me, so I can introduce you to them.”
“Isn’t it famous for food? I’ll stop by sometime.”
After having a pleasant conversation with Weian, Lennok leisurely left the office.
He invested a significant amount of time, but it was half a day well spent.
Glancing back at the Krimgal office, he couldn’t help but note that after Dylan, this was his second connection.
Lennok didn’t want to dwell on how far this relationship could go, but he knew that maintaining a friendship with a competent mercenary was not a bad thing.
He pondered how far Dray, who led his office, could climb, and how strong Weian could become.
At that moment, nobody knew how far Lennok would go himself.
(To be Continued)
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