As soon as Lennok caught a glimpse of the scene, he swiftly pivoted his body in a new direction, away from Dylan's position.
It had been agreed at the bar that they would execute a diversionary maneuver.
Dylan would breach the factory through its poorly guarded back entrance while Lennok would take a more circuitous route via the logistics warehouse situated some distance away from the main entrance.
This warehouse served as a central hub for the transportation of goods produced on all three floors of the sprawling manufacturing complex. It boasted a direct connection to each floor, ensuring smooth and efficient movement of products.
Perhaps the commotion caused by Dylan's daring infiltration had drawn all the workers away from the warehouse. When Lennok arrived, there was not a soul in sight except for three mammoth trucks, waiting silently to be loaded up with goods.
From his pocket, Lennok produced a laser cutter and deftly depressed both of its buttons. With a sudden burst of blue flames, he plunged the cutter into the lock of the management office that was sealed shut within the warehouse. The lock disintegrated instantly, granting him access.
Kicking open the door, Lennok strode into the room, his hand extended toward the scowling security guard who stared at him with a startled expression.
[Nature Sleep]
"Who…!!… Ughhhh…"
Despite the guard's desperate attempt to defend himself with a gun from his waist, he collapsed into his chair, his head slamming against it with a dull thud.
Spells that impede one's mental or physical faculties might not be very effective against those with mana, but they remain potent tools for subduing regular people who lack any magical abilities.
With a flick of his fingers, Lennok conjured a strand of mana and attached it to the guard's arms and legs before manipulating it to secure him in place.
[Marionette]
As if controlled by unseen strings, the unconscious guard stumbled outside the factory, his body swaying like a marionette.
While this unique magic system allowed for more complex tasks and manual control, the [Marionette] spell in common magic was limited to making unconscious people walk like puppets.
Nonetheless, it was sufficient for their purposes. They could not afford to arouse any suspicions about the factory, which could explode at any moment.
Passing through the management office, Lennok found himself facing a somewhat dingy corridor that led to a staircase. As he gazed at this familiar scene, his face seemed to blur a little.
He recalled the shabby factory where he had first opened his eyes, the memory still vivid in his mind. If he had not immediately resolved to escape and had remained there, he might have perished from exhaustion.
In moments of extreme duress, life and death often hang by a thread.
Although Lennok's current situation was far more favorable than it had been back then, he could not afford to become complacent. To survive in this unfamiliar world, he needed to give his best effort every moment he drew breath.
Shaking off his contemplation, he began to move. The control room, which monitored all the factory's systems, was located on the third floor. Nevertheless, Lennok descended the stairs without hesitation.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In the distance, the sound of gunshots rang out as the security forces began to use force to repel the intruders.
"Ahhhhh!"
The panicked screams of production workers running for their lives could also be heard clearly.
Despite the chaos, Lennok knew that this was not a bad thing. Unlike the Triple Eight Security Company, there was no reason to harm the workers who toiled away in this factory.
His task was to finish the job while Dylan kept the security forces busy.
As he descended into the factory's basement, the warmth dissipated, and a cold breeze blew over his body.
The server room, located in the basement, was equipped with a cooling system to prevent the designated power supply room from overheating. The cooling facility that managed this system was also situated in the same area.
Dozens of gas pipes snaked along the basement walls, filling the air.
Lennok turned every valve on the pipes, one by one.
Sssssssss
Initially, the sound of gas escaping was barely audible when only one or two valves were opened. However, as he opened them all to their maximum limit, the sound of gas hissing and escaping became more pronounced.
Typically, simply opening all the valves would not result in a gas leak since gas shut-off devices should be installed two or three times to prevent such safety accidents.
However, the manufacturing facility was newly constructed, and it was put into operation without proper safety inspections due to pressure from the government. Moreover, Charlotte Corporation was not a company that invested heavily in on-site safety. Hence, the possibility of a gas leak could not be dismissed.
Baritz Corporation had gathered all this information and provided it to Lennok and Dylan, specifying even the method to execute their plan.
"Baritz is so meticulous, specifying everything down to the way we should proceed," Lennok mused, remembering how Jenny had brought the factory blueprint and provided them with the plan as requested by Baritz.
Whether Jenny was proficient at her job or not, the gas had been released, and all that remained was to ignite it.
Placing his palm on the cold basement floor, Lennok unleashed his magic.
[Ignite]
It was a rudimentary spell that he often used to light his cigarettes. However, now he had to cast it in a different way, not just by igniting the flame between his fingers.
There was a time when Lennok had become complacent, thinking he could use almost all the common spells, and he had neglected his research for a while.
However, since the incident with the vegetable store woman, he had been trying to modify and apply the spells he already knew. Recently, he achieved some remarkable results.
He unleashed the spell that had been etched in his mind in a formal, structured manner.
Through countless experiments, Lennok had come to realize how incredible his talent was. It extended beyond just using and applying magic. He had an instinctual ability to reach out to unknown knowledge and dive into the unknown depths.
With a creativity stat of 30 selected during character creation, Lennok's intelligence had reached a threshold that could only be described as pure talent.
His right hand glowed brightly as he channeled his mana. A small circle appeared, and unfamiliar shapes began to fill its interior.
Going beyond simply using magic without circles or hand signs, Lennok began to create a new magic circle using only chanting.
Within the circular magic circle, shapes and symbols that even Lennok didn't recognize were arranged. He withdrew his mana just before the magic circle was completed, just before the ends of the fence that surrounded the magic circle were biting their tails.
He withdrew his hand just before the magic circle was complete.
"…"
There was no point in completing the Ignite magic circle and igniting the flame right now. To destroy the factory, he needed to wait until enough gas filled the basement before igniting it.
Lennok already knew how to complete the magic circle with a time delay, although no one had taught him. Thousands of variations and applications circled around his mind, and he went beyond the structured order by bending the framework of common magic to create new rules.
"Of course, it's difficult to catch up with the expertise of unique magic, but at least we can imitate it similarly," he thought.
The timer was set for five minutes. After five minutes, when the ignition magic circle completed and activated in the center of the basement, the factory would be destroyed from its core.
If he could escape the factory with Dylan before then, they would split the reward of 50 million Cells.
As Lennok prepared to sneak into the manufacturing room on the first floor to locate Dylan…
BANG!
An explosion shook the building, causing him to fall backward from the unexpected shock. Despite the numbness in the back of his head, Lennok quickly turned his head to assess the situation.
"An explosion? Did the basement explode already?" he wondered, although he quickly dismissed the possibility that his magic circle had failed.
Lennok knew his magic was flawless, and if the server room had exploded, the entire factory would have collapsed. There had to be another reason.
The shock continued, pushing forward with a weak intensity.
Carefully listening to the eerie sounds coming from within, Lennok slowly opened the door leading to the first floor.
Peeking into the manufacturing room, he was greeted by a hail of bullets filling the air. Flashing in all directions, the bullets created a bitter smoke that engulfed the entire first floor of the factory.
In the midst of the storm of bullets, Dylan danced frantically, switching between swords, spears, and daggers that hung all over his body, cutting down security guards with ease.
The movement of a superhuman strengthened by mana was not something that the guards with their guns could counter. Even to Lennok, who had no knowledge of actual fighting techniques, Dylan's movements were smooth, and he easily disappeared amidst the rain of gunfire, only to reappear behind his opponents.
As Dylan concentrated the mana swirling around his body on the weapon in his hand, it glowed blue, and the intense shockwave that Lennok felt earlier sent the guards flying in all directions.
He had been stalling for time, and it seemed as though he was about to finish off all the security guards.
His confidence before starting the job seemed to be well-founded.
The noise that had been ringing in his ears suddenly ceased, and only the muffled groans of security guards defeated by Dylan echoed aimlessly.
At that moment, Dylan seemed to calm down and began walking outside the factory.
As Lennok attempted to follow Dylan, a loud noise suddenly echoed through the factory.
Teerreeeng!!
An iron door suddenly broke apart and hurtled toward Dylan.
With ease, he evaded the crumpled door flying at an indiscernible speed. Despite avoiding the impact, his body tensed up in response.
Lennok observed Dylan's reaction and could somewhat comprehend the reason for his unease.
"Hahaha…. you've made quite a mess."
Standing over two meters tall, with thousands of scales covering his body and an unrealistically elongated snout filled with sharp teeth, the crocodile-headed giant was a sight to behold. His long tail swung leisurely between his legs as he walked into the factory, his blue scales shimmering in the light.
Lennok watched as the giant rolled his vertically elongated pupils around the room, eventually finding Dylan and offering him a smile.
"A familiar face, huh? How's that troublemaker Antares doing?"
"He's doing just fine."
To Lennok's surprise, Dylan and the crocodile giant appeared to recognize each other.
“Hmm, I wondered what kind of guts he had when he said that he would start a business by himself."
“The boss is a little bit sick of the shit.”
In response to Dylan's rude answer, the giant bared his teeth and snickered.
"You know what the situation is, right? That's how it ended up."
"How much did you get paid?"
"Ten billion."
"Fuck…"
Dylan's head drooped weakly, as if he had given up on everything.
The crocodile giant noticed his demeanor and offered some comfort, saying, "In consideration for Antares, I'll make sure to kill you painlessly."
"I won't go down easily."
Dylan tightly held two swords, and his serious attitude contrasted starkly with his earlier demeanor.
From a distance, Lennok observed with a stern expression. It was clear that the crocodile-headed giant was hired for an astronomical sum of 10 billion cells to take down any intruders, and considering Dylan's unwillingness to run away and his readiness for battle, the giant must have been truly terrifying.
‘Should I intervene or flee?’
Meanwhile, the gas continued to fill the basement, and the ignition magic circle with a timer was about to activate. Lennok's internal clock ticked away with precision, counting down the seconds.
"2 minutes and 17 seconds… it's cutting it close."
With a moment's calculation, Lennok secretly pulled up his mana without alerting the crocodile giant.
"I'll do what I can and then escape."
As he resolved himself to action, the human and crocodile clashed in a fierce battle.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
