Drug-Eating Genius Mage - Chapter 18

Miguel looked at Lennok with a puzzled expression.

“What are you looking at?”

At Claria’s words, Miguel turned his head.

The honorifics he used, at least formally, disappeared as soon as Lennok got away from him.

She said with a grin as she fidgeted with the magazine of the rifle she was holding.

“One annoying stumbling block is gone. They say it’s annoying when one insectivore sticks to it.”

“that’s right. It’s annoying just thinking about joining the subjugation team, but I can’t afford to pay attention to such a weak guy.”

Eriksen stepped in to help Claria.

“After wandering around a bit alone and tasting the bitterness a few times, they’ll crawl into the city on their own.”

Miguel’s party didn’t throw out Lennok without any reason to believe.

A subjugation team that was formed after it became known among the mercenary community that extermination of contaminants was a good way to earn money.

It was promised in advance that about 10 people would gather to speed up the subjugation and reduce the risk.

Fortunately

, things went as easily as he wanted, but… Miguel couldn’t easily erase the uncomfortable feeling.

It was because it bothered me that Lennok chose to part with the party as if he had waited.

Just as Miguel and his party broke up with Lennok without hesitation because they had a corner to believe in, wouldn’t Lennok choose to break up without any hesitation because he had similar convictions?

And if that corner of belief was his own magic ability itself.

Miguel might have missed a very valuable relationship right in front of his eyes.

“Miguel?”

Of course, these two ignorant mercenaries with him seemed to have no idea.

“Nothing. Let’s start slowly.”

“okay. I need to hurry up if I don’t want to be late for my appointment.”

Miguel evaded his words and started walking in the lead.

It was just a useless thought for a while, and there is no need to leave unnecessary regrets by telling them about your guess.

If, as he speculated, Lennok wasn’t a really skilled wizard, it might be difficult for him to survive the battle with the Pollution… but what does that mean?

It is a place where you have to take care of yourself.

Until then, Miguel had nothing to worry about.

He forcibly brushed off his thoughts and moved on, holding on to the shaking equipment.

Pajijijijik!!

[Keeeeeeeee!!]

“It looks like this. Seeing it in person, it seems even more gross…”

Lennok stroked his chin as he watched the taint tumble in the blue lightning that rained down from between his fingers.

After hearing this and that information from Dylan in advance, I know roughly how the contaminants are formed and how they work, but it is the first time I have seen it with the naked eye.

‘Black Consumer’, a large-scale biotoxic weapon experiment project that was conducted in an undeveloped district about three years ago.

Externally, it was concluded that it was the work of some plague magicians who were conducting human experiments, but there are many rumors that high-ranking officials of the city government were behind the scenes.

Explosively increasing cell regeneration by controlling the direction of a viral factor with strong proliferative power with a technique… The experiment to confirm the possibility of the so-called ‘death’ ended in a terrible disaster and gave birth to the disaster of contaminants.

Since the experiment itself was discontinued in the initial concept, it is rare for higher life forms such as humans to be contagious, and mammals such as rodents are relatively less likely to be contagious—- but once infected, the cells of the whole body proliferate explosively and bizarrely swell

. The exploded and raged corpse repeatedly wanders in search of living beings while shedding black fog, the remains of the spell.

This contaminant that fell in front of Lennok was also in a state where it was swayed around by the black mist that flowed through its body with its appearance collapsed to the extent that it was impossible to guess what kind of creature it was originally.

Can we call these things living things?

No, can humans really obtain the dream of immortality through this kind of experiment?

Lennock was skeptical, but it was unlikely that the higher ups in city government felt that way.

From the corpse of the fallen contaminant, I took the eyeballs of the contaminant, which is evidence of the subjugation, and put them in a plastic bag I received from the guard post.

The contaminants were transmitted in different ways and through the body, so there are not many things in common, but the blackened eyeballs, which were evidence of contamination, were enough to be evidence of subjugation.

The annoying thing is that you have to bring a pair of eyeballs to count as the number of times you defeated one, so you have to take two eyeballs every time you kill one.

After harvesting, Lennok straightened his back and immediately spread his mana all over the place.

If you maintain a sense of magical power that covers a radius of 2km, no matter how many contaminants there are, you will be able to catch one or two.

To avoid overlapping the path with other mercenaries who come and go from time to time, or before that, deal with the contaminants found and collect the eyeballs.

Lennok may not move very fast, but there is no one around here that covers an area as large as that.

It was not difficult to catch the player even at a slow pace if he first identified the location and moved.

Quaang!

Lennok nodded as he poured the electric current he was holding into the contaminant’s mouth.

After dealing with them for the fourth time, I begin to get a sense of how to cook.

The speed and power of the pollutants are quite high, but the movement itself is very straight.

They do not look around because they depend only on the longing for living life.

Sometimes it changes direction and runs away, but that must be because it senses other life forms nearby and moves.

If you pay attention to this point and get the timing right to strengthen your shield, it’s not difficult to deal with.

And Lennok was confident that he wouldn’t allow even a single moment of error when it came to his sense of mana handling.

Kwajijik!!

Another taint attacking from behind.

Its sharp teeth tear the shield into long strips and peel off the inner flesh, but that flesh is just another shield.

Tung!

When I applied a couple of sub-magic spells and pulled the trigger on the revolver, the lower part of my chin was crushed and the contaminants fell out.

Don’t forget to use a silencer to reduce noise.

Lennok easily plucked out the eyeballs of the pollutant as he threw shock magic at the shape of the pollutant that had flipped over and collapsed.

five of these.

I said a million cells per bird. In terms of net profit, it has already secured 5 million cells.

It wasn’t a bad punishment, as it made up twice the amount you could earn by chasing a bounty within half a day.

But at the same time, Lennok also realized that this subjugation request was not something he would do for a long time.

There was a reason Dylan mentioned this as if he were talking about a passing pastime, and then he left behind.

‘Originally, finding the contaminant itself would be a very cumbersome task.’

It’s just that Lennok is accurately locating and wiping out contaminants while detecting a vast radius with his ridiculous magic control ability.

Other mercenaries have to work hard to find the contaminants themselves, relying on their own weak magical abilities.

It might be a little better if there was a wizard in the party, but it would be difficult to show similar efficiency to Lennok unless you hired a scavenger-type wizard.

‘And contaminants aren’t weaker than I thought.’

There is a reason why mercenaries heading to undeveloped districts are sent in teams of four from the guard post.

In Lennok’s opinion, the contamination’s fighting ability seemed a little too much for a mercenary like Miguel or Eriksen to deal with alone.

Did Miguel’s party know this when they sent Lennok alone?

If so, that means they thought Lennok was a weak wizard, but let him die.

“………”

It was an idea that made my heart feel cold, but it was not without possibility.

Even if he has no loyalty to do that for a stranger, not even giving a warning is a room beyond indifference.

There was no need to keep it for long, but there was no reason to completely forget it.

Lennok scattered the flames in his hands, making sure that even the corpse of the contaminant was reduced to ashes.

As the cause of this contaminant was the virus-based plague technique, it was better to make sure that the post-processing was done.

Strolling among the ruined construction sites, Lennok was lost in thought.

‘The amount set for this day is at least 20 million.’

Amount to receive a stable bid for Stania Pharmaceutical Group’s elixir Stemonia.

Considering that the amount currently in Lennok’s hand is a little less than 100 million, supplementing 20 million cells is enough to set the market price.

In order to crave a satisfactory amount, it means that at least twenty must be caught and forty eyeballs must be collected

.

At this pace, it seemed that he could achieve his goal in two days, but from Lennok’s point of view, which was a waste of time, he wondered if it would have been better to accept a request with an advance payment.

‘Even when I received Amnak’s request, it took two days… It’s useless to regret it now.’

If it hadn’t been for Jenny’s words that it was good for him in the long run, I wouldn’t have suffered breathing dust in a place like this.

It is unavoidable now.

Three new contaminants began to enter Lennok’s sensory sphere as he passed between the collapsed excavators.

Occasionally, there were several groups of them, but until now, the other mercenaries who arrived first had taken the lead.

I couldn’t miss it this time either.

Lennok, whose eyes were shining, raised his mana and drew a large amount of current from both hands.

Pajijijijik!!

The electric currents emanating from Lennok’s hands rapidly coalesced and immediately transformed into three foxes.

The foxes ran through the ruins according to the intentions that were immediately transmitted, and the electric shocks emitted from the three shapes resonated with each other to form a net of electric shocks.

It was the result of roughly copying the principles of summoning-type magic that I saw in the library.

Although it was not possible to grant free will to each fox, the result was obtained by digging into the persistence of summoned animals.

Its range and power are lousy compared to [Chain Lightning], but its duration is superior.

Aaaaaaa!!

Lennok’s gaze, which had been gazing at the blue current net that was stirring the ruins as it was, suddenly changed to a menacing one.

Whiik!

Apparently, something suddenly broke through Lennok’s senses at a point 300 meters diagonally in front of him, where he had not felt anything until just now.

It seemed that he loosened his stomach and moved his body to avoid Lennok’s fox magic.

I felt a sense of déjà vu in my head in an instant and followed the afterimage to find the correct answer.

I had an experience similar to this.

The day I first received a request from Jenny.

The sniping the moment Taylor Evans was caught.

It was exactly the same as the strange sense of incongruity that Lennok felt at the time

.

He raised his mana immediately, captured his movements, and materialized his intentions.

What I use is the sound magic [Soundwave] that I used to catch Taylor Evans that day.

If that opponent is the sniper Lennok remembers, it would make a very appropriate reunion.

Whoops!!

In an instant, waves of sound formed in Lennok’s grip and rushed forward.

A shockwave shot at the speed of sound surges toward the fleeing opponent.

The trajectory and route are perfect. Considering the speed, evasion was impossible.

Quaang!

direct hit.

However, instead of covering both ears and collapsing like Taylor Evans at the time, the opponent staggered for a moment and then started running.

Lennok clicked lightly and prepared his next spell.

Because the disadvantages of sound-type magic were like this, Lennok didn’t use magic like [Soundwave] that much.

Although it is difficult to evade as it shoots at the speed of sound, the actual power itself is not strong, so it often does not work when used against high-level magic users.

Moving on to unique magic, not only simple power but also advanced applications such as manipulating the opponent’s mental state were possible, but it was a distant story for Lennok, who had not studied the sound system.

“Whoa…”

He sighed deeply and gathered his mana again.

The greatness of common magic.

Overwhelming versatility that makes it possible to respond above average in any situation.

I was afraid of useless misunderstandings and prejudice, so I wore the title of a lightning wizard and did not show it, but there is no reason to try and hide that specialness.

The vivid images blended seamlessly with the movements of magical power, and a chilly air engulfed his forearms.

It hardens the mass of mana that exudes cold air so thick that even the air around it becomes chilly, forms a long spear, and shoots it straight into the sky.

[Icicle Burn]

Paaaang!!

The spear of cold air, which was shot at high speed while drawing a gentle trajectory, rushed toward the shadow that was about to disappear beyond Lennok’s field of vision.

The opponent, noticing Lennok’s second attempt, twisted with all his might.

Dongbyeongsangryun

Wheein!!

Although the speed of the javelin itself was very fast, it still could not exceed the speed of sound.

And as if the opponent was very accustomed to projectiles of that speed, the evasion was also natural.

Although the feeling of relief flashes in the shadow’s eyes that he successfully escaped.

As the spear of cold air sank into the ground and began to turn the surrounding land into a field of ice, his expression changed drastically.

Awesome…!!

Like a water balloon exploding, it spreads the cold air it was holding in, turning a radius of tens of meters into a frost hell in an instant.

Moisture caught by the cold air in the air swayed back and forth and froze, biting its tail like a blazing fire, creating a pure white field.

‘I can’t hold it for a long time.’

I just saw that series of evasion moves and was convinced.

Quite a high level of skill. At least, it seems certain that he is engaged in a job that uses his body.

Without being vigilant, they scattered magic in succession.

In order to avoid straining his body by using magic in succession, he had studied shooting assist magic, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

I couldn’t miss the opportunity to break through Lennok’s magic detection and find out the secret of the hiding person.

Finally, after hitting the [Gravity Bind] accurately, Lennok slowly started walking towards it.

He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“Huh…”

After inhaling some smoke, the fatigue is forgotten and I feel energized.

Staring unwaveringly at the opponent who had been tightly bound by the purple whip, she accelerated her steps.

After walking a few hundred meters to the wilderness where the ice sheet Lennok had laid was slowly melting, he finally saw his opponent’s face properly.

The bizarre posture of being tied up with one arm grotesquely raised behind, as if trying to take out the shotgun strapped to his back.

Both feet are frozen solid as if they had been hit by Lennok’s magic, and the tank top that exposes the abdomen is shaking.

A ferocious impression with dark blue hair tied together.

She found Lennok and sighed heavily.

“Fuck… Even if I had to get caught, I got caught by a monster like this.”

Was it insulting from the start? It looked like it had a bit of a mouthful.

Lennok looked at the woman with an expressionless face and then lightly flicked his finger.

Fain!

“Ah!! Take it easy!!”

I hit her on the back with shock magic and dropped the shotgun on her back to the floor, causing her to scream.

Lennok snorted.

“why me?”

“What did I do wrong!!”

“I was hiding enough to be suspicious to anyone, but when I was caught, I ran away.”

“That’s… it’s just that I don’t want to disturb you. I didn’t want to disturb the magician’s comfortable hunting.”

“You’re very persuasive.”

At Lennok’s plaintive reply, the woman drooped down as if giving up.

“Haa… I see, so can’t you just clear this ice sheet? My toes are starting to get cold and I think I might get frostbite.”

“See what you do.”

On the outside, it seemed like they had completely given up on resistance, but what was inside was unknown.

Lennok already knew that the woman’s movements were very graceful, and he did not want to rule out the possibility that she would suddenly pull out a hidden weapon and attack him.

Of course, I thought [Gravity Bind] alone was enough to subdue a mercenary, but isn’t it another matter to be vigilant with that?

The woman who saw Lennok fiddling with the revolver said hurriedly with a slightly bluish complexion.

“Dee Dylan!!”

“what?”

“…..I work with Dylan. It’s just an ordinary mercenary.”

The woman’s earlobes turned bright red, as if she felt ashamed of herself for selling her colleague’s name for an instant.

But Lennok frowned in displeasure.

“How did you know I knew Dylan? Did Dylan even talk about me?”

“…..oh.”

“………”

Lennok let out a deep sigh when he saw the woman who kept her mouth shut with an expression of mistake.

Compared to the excellent body movements he had, he was somewhat of a blunt person.

“If you work with Dylan, you must belong to the Antares office.”

“That’s right.”

“Why were you peeping this way? And tell me how you were able to hide from my magic detection.”

Lennok had never thought of his magic detection as perfect, but he didn’t think it was that lax either.

For warriors who fight by strengthening their bodies with magical powers, this detection method, also called kigam, seems to work in a very roundabout way, but the effect is considerable.

This detection method, which works with the 6th sense, which is different from the simple five senses, greatly enhances human perception in a very intuitive way.

In particular, for Lennok, who had a superior ability to detect magic power, this sense of magic power was like a powerful weapon that could not be compared with the weak and dull senses of the body.

If it was possible to hide for a while in Lennok’s sensory sphere, it would be more reasonable to assume that there was some other means rather than Lennok’s lack of detection ability.

Especially if it’s working the same way it did when catching Taylor Evans.

“No, I wasn’t hiding to do something to you. I just hid in moderation because I didn’t want to be swept away by my side.”

Seeing Lennok’s expression, the woman quickly made excuses.

“And if I really wanted to kill you, I would have beaten you first. Honestly, I had plenty of time for that.”

“…….”

“And being able to hide from your magic perception is really no big deal. It’s just the power of money.”

“The power of money?”

“this. See the amulet on my waist?”

As she said, I see a small dark green amulet hanging on the side of a leather belt.

At first glance, the design is ordinary enough to be thought of as a simple accessory.

Lennok, too, had no strength flowing through him, as he would have passed by without her words.

“It’s a fairy tale talisman made by a high-ranking druid. Expensive, but well worth the money. Among the mercenaries, those who earn a little are basically… Hey, give me that!”

Ignoring her screaming, Lennok snatched the amulet from his belt and studied it closely.

Druid’s natural magic is strictly speaking in a different position from magic.

Although they share the same main branch, magic, which is the most versatile energy, is used as power, unlike magic, natural magic does not have the energy itself that can be called power.

Their power comes from a strong belief in the existence of nature and the powers contained within it, so there are no signs or traces of it outwardly.

Not recognizing the power of the druids was also due to the principle of such natural magic.

‘There may be some overlap in terms of mental ability… but at that time, almost all of the talents taken were magic-related abilities.’

In Lennok’s opinion, there is little chance of achieving the current achievement in a spell that does not use magical power.

For that reason, he had barely touched any knowledge other than magic, but it seemed like he needed to study the related knowledge little by little because of the existence of this talisman.

Lennok, who was holding the amulet and turning it around, nodded.

‘I know roughly how it works.’

It does not hide its presence just by possessing a talisman, but when certain conditions are met, it works so that the magic of the natural world is activated.

Immediately, Lennok, too, stood still in place, feeling that his own presence gradually faded and his breathing subsided as time passed.

‘It’s an item that will only be useful if you’re hiding in place. It’s not something that can be used for surprise attacks or advance attacks.’

In addition, from the moment Lennok enjoyed the effect of the amulet, one of the lines of the pattern decorating the amulet is gradually fading.

In light of this, it must be something close to a consumable item that has a number of uses.

It seemed unlikely that the woman had any intention of attacking Lennok, unless it was to be used as an ambush to catch her off guard.

said the woman, who had been looking at Lennok with a worried expression.

“Hey… are you going to return it properly? that’s a bit expensive It’s a bit expensive.”

“……I can’t promise.”

“hey!”

“do not worry. I’ll write it well and leave it to Dylan.”

“Fuck… that bastard goes around not even paying attention to what’s in his wallet.”

The woman grumbled so much, but unexpectedly, she didn’t complain too much about Lennok taking the amulet.

Do you think it’s not a bad deal for the price of life?

Lennok really intended to study and return only the operation principle of the spell given to the amulet, but she seemed aloof as if she had already given up on the amulet.

As the magical energy that made up the ice sheet ran out, the pieces of ice that bound her feet quickly melted.

It wasn’t a long-lasting magic from the beginning, and it didn’t contain a lot of mana, so it didn’t last long.

It was only then that the woman jumped up and down as she shook off her frozen feet.

“Oh damn. You got water in your boots. What are you going to do with this?”

“Is that important now?”

“What else? You really didn’t mean to mess with him? ……There are things I want to do together.”

It was only then that Lennok laughed at the words of the woman who secretly revealed her true feelings.

I picked up my cell phone and immediately called Jenny.

I have no intention of releasing her just because of the name Dylan.’

At the very least, it is necessary to go through two-way verification through an acquaintance so that it is possible to properly confirm that she belongs to the Antares office.

[…..Blue hair…? It’s… crazy… it exists… There…..I met…]

Maybe it’s because I’m out of the city to some extent, the call quality is messed up.

It is said that magnetic storms often rage around the outskirts area, so is that the effect?

Jenny’s voice was barely audible, but I roughly confirmed the important information.

Lennok nodded as he turned off the phone, which no longer connected and made strange noises.

I asked while loosening the gravity binds that were tightly binding her upper body.

“name is?”

“Camilla. Just call me Mila.”

she replied, waving her arms.

Croken is also a very short-lived bondage magic. If he was tied to such a whip, his body would not be able to move properly.

“Is it usually shortened like that?”

“It’s my name, what does it matter? Is that half? I have heard many stories.”

Mila opened her mouth as she picked up the shotgun that had fallen on the ground while glancing at Lennok.

“Anyway, you and Ban came here to subdue the pollutants. Right?”

“Isn’t that the same for you?”

“What is it? These days, I needed urgent money, so I shut up and got everything as soon as work came in, but the boss said it was a loss to receive requests for the time being while working as a deep web machine. So I came here to earn pocket money.”

“…….”

“What? Is there something wrong?”

“…..Nothing.”

Lennok naturally slurred and looked away.

It was because what she had just said was quite unexpected.

Even if it is true that she received a request to subdue the contaminant under very similar circumstances to Lennok, it was clear that she was also in the stage where her ransom was fluctuating as she was also accumulating performance at too fast a speed.

To put it bluntly, she had come this far while successfully completing requests of similar difficulty to those Lennok had done so far… Surprisingly, Lennok had never heard of her name.

‘This floor is really wide, so it looks dirty.’

At the same time, it was revealed that Lennok’s ability to gather information was poor.

Clients who place requests on this floor or intermediaries like Jenny may have known such information, but to Lennok, the gap was vast.

Until now, I had completely relied on brokers like Jenny to collect information, but it seemed like I needed a route to get information on my own.

Right,

‘It would be nice if there was a separate community related to it…’

Considering the experience on Earth, it is possible to guess how a society with active networks will work.

In light of Lennok’s common sense, although the difficulty of access could be considerable, it seemed highly likely that a community exchanging such information would exist somewhere on the network.

I listened to Mila, thinking that I should ask Jenny once I get back from this job.

“anyway. Assuming that you cooperate, there is a way to drive away the pollutants at once. You’ll save time and save a lot of money. Let’s split the money earned like that in a 5 to 5 ratio between the two of us. how is it?”

“7 to 3.”

Lennok replied plaintively.

Mila jumped up in protest.

“hey! Then what am I supposed to eat!!”

“Listening to what he said, isn’t it what I have to do after all to wipe out the contaminants? If it wasn’t for that, there’s no way I would have been waiting for this because I wanted to work with me. It looks like I have more work to do, and that’s natural.”

“What bullshit… No, this side came up with the idea! And this kind of thing saves the face of the original planner. Don’t do anything that goes against common morality, and let’s do something neat and tidy. huh?”

“Who was the first to break commercial morality?”

Mila flinched at Lennox’s chilly reply, then spat out a strong double curse.

“……6 to 4. I can’t concede any more. This is a really cool idea.”

“I don’t know what kind of ingenious idea it was, but… Okay. 6 to 4.”

No matter how angry Lennok was with Mila, he had no intention of going 7-3.

It was enough to take just a little more than half.

I didn’t expect too much from her anyway, but I just thought that if I belonged to the Antares office and had the ability to raise my ransom similarly to Lennok, I would need to hang out with her at least once.

Milla immediately turned her back in joy when Lennok nodded.

“good! Then let’s start right away.”

“Are you walking?”

“no. I picked up some nice stuff here at the construction site. Let’s ride this.”

Having said that, Mila took Lennok and guided her to an old forklift truck that was rusted to the brink of running down.

“……..”

Lennok climbed onto the forklift with a dazed expression and opened his mouth quietly as he watched Mila at the wheel.

I never imagined that the first drive in this world would be a forklift at a construction site blowing sand and dust.

hairy hairy!

“…..It’s rolling better than I thought.”

“yes? After roughly brushing off the dust and reconnecting the twisted wires, the engine started. How nice it is not to have to bother walking.”

Instead of replying, Lenok raised his magic power and sent a lightning fox straight ahead.

Pajijiji!!

“…….”

Mila frowned, perhaps remembering the moment before, but drove the forklift without a word.

It wasn’t long before one of the taints began to twitch and twitch with its tongue out.

Lennok asked as he got down, took the taint’s eyeballs, and climbed back onto the forklift.

“So where exactly are you going?”

“I don’t know about you, but contaminants are usually chasing life reactions.”

“know.”

“…Anyway, then where would the most contaminants gather?”

Mila didn’t seem to expect an answer from Lennox, but Lennox quickly found the answer in his words.

An area where large-scale bioreactions are likely outside the megalopolis Balkan. It’s not a difficult problem.

“It seems that there is a residential area where vagabonds live nearby.”

“uh? Did you know this too?”

“no. But I guess.”

It wasn’t that Lennok didn’t know about the outcasts and didn’t go looking for them.

If it’s the nature of pollutants that chase living things, the damage to the vagabonds wandering the undeveloped district will be the most serious.

In fact, the fact that the city government pays mercenaries expensive money and entrusts them with subjugation is also mixed with the intention of preventing excessive deaths of these vagrants.

However, it was close to a waste of time in and of itself to search for the residences of vagrants whose exact location was not known, and crucially…

“Didn’t you think that other mercenaries would be similar?”

The problem was that it was such an obvious idea that there was a very high possibility that other mercenaries would follow a similar path.

It was because Lennok had calculated that it would be better to search for the pollutants with his vast magical power sensing ability than to go alone to the area where the contaminants were flocking and fight with other mercenaries.

“If you don’t have any plans, drop me off soon. I want to fill the quota by myself and go back.”

“Hey hey. Wait a minute. Why is a wizard so impatient?”

Mila grinned, clutching the hem of Lennok’s dress as he tried to get himself up.

“I am not stupid. I know all these obvious facts. Of course, I prepared at least one secret that no one else knows about.”

“…….”

In Lennok’s eyes, Mila looked like something stupid, but… Now that she’s come this far, there’s no reason she won’t listen to her even if she says it’s a lie.

“My boss is interested in bums.”

“You mean Antares?”

It is surprising that the mercenary, who must have gone through all the battles before birth, is very interested in tramps.

Is there any special circumstances?

“okay. So sometimes, because of the boss, the offices get together and go out to do free service under the guise of a low-price request.”

“It’s a free service…”

It’s amazing.

Rather than a mercenary the size of Antares caring about vagabonds, the fact that the mercenaries who followed him followed his instructions without saying anything.

Even Mila doesn’t seem to have any complaints about the fact itself.

The mercenaries, who have only money and cans, are obediently obeying his guidelines.

That must mean that the man named Antares has a tight grip on his office.

Is he really a person who treats the mercenaries under his command well, or is he a superman who suppresses even minor complaints with his abilities?

“Anyway, that’s why we recently helped some outcasts relocate. And its location is still unknown to us. How about it? Isn’t this quite tempting information?”

“……..”

Certainly, if you can’t overlap with other mercenaries, it doesn’t seem too bad to go around the vagabond’s residence and subdue the approaching pollutants.

However, if you put together the stories you’ve heard so far, Mila doesn’t just need a lump sum of money…

“It looks like she periodically sends people to check on the homeless. Why does a man named Antares care so much about them?”

“Ahaha, aren’t you too quick-witted?”

Mila scratched her cheek with a puzzled look, but she didn’t answer anymore and drove the forklift in silence.

Looking at her side profile, Lennok silently organized his thoughts.

It is highly likely that Antares’ help for the homeless is not simply pity or sympathy.

Most of the outcasts Lenok experienced were criminals who fled reality or could not live under the loose rules of the Balkans, rather than the irresistible weaklings.

Losers who don’t deserve any sympathy.

The fact that they are helping them to survive in an undeveloped district is probably a hidden reason beyond what appears on the outside.

Whether it was the city government or Antares, it was clear that they knew something that others did not.

“It’s coming soon. This way.”

Passing between the fallen iron bars, between the ruins so complicated that it is hard to know where they are.

However, as soon as Lennok saw the area Mila mentioned, he was able to notice that this place was artificially created to prevent outside invasion.

Although it looks like it is open, it is difficult to easily cross over to the plain on the other side due to all kinds of scattered objects.

There are deep pits spread throughout the clearing that are not blocked by cover, completely blocking access.

It’s hard to see that it’s so thorough, but it’s not like that, but it’s not like that, Lennok spread his magic widely while looking at the hometown of tramps.

There are only about a hundred signs hiding in those ruins.

It’s not a small number.

Mila drove the forklift and made a slow loop around the ruins, looking in all directions.

“I don’t think the Pollutants haven’t found this place yet… It seems that the vagrants are taking care of the approaching Pollutants on their own. Well, I made you such a luxurious house, but you have to take care of that much.”

“Why don’t you go inside?”

“why me? If it wasn’t for the boss, you wouldn’t even want to get close to them. I’d rather hang out with a scavenger.”

After all, wasn’t Milla helping outcasts move their residences along Antares because they liked tramps? In a way, it was natural.

Even now, it was difficult to take a good look at the gloomy eyes constantly peeking at the two of them from among the ruins.

After she said that, she stopped the forklift, let go of the steering wheel, and leaned her back against the backrest.

“good. Let’s wait here for a while. Right now I can’t even see my nose, but if there are contaminants passing around here, I have no choice but to drool in this direction… Hmm?”

Before she could finish her words, Mila suddenly jerked her head away.

Lennok, too, sensed a large amount of life reactions entering his sensory sphere and shifted his gaze.

A group of people were approaching from beyond the horizon where the rough sand wind blew.

“Hmm… I think there are a little over 10 people, but it’s too far away so I don’t know.”

“eighteen. They are all mercenaries.”

“…….”

Lennok replied languidly and rose from his seat.

Mila also let out a deep sigh and got off the forklift.

“I came all the way down here on purpose because I didn’t want to do something like this…”

“For mercenaries who know how to handle magic to some extent, it would have been easy to find them by chance while passing by. I saw it too easily.”

As she said that, Mila raised her eyebrows as she watched Lennok raise his mana.

“What are you trying to open up? We just came first, so we can just tell them to go away.”

“It would be nice if it ended like that, but… there’s someone I know over there.”

“Are you acquaintances? Good for you then. Let’s say it moderately well and send it back.”

“no. We don’t know each other that well…”

Lennok smiled bitterly as he said that.

It was because the three signs that hadn’t been separated for a while were coming this way.

Eventually, the mercenaries approaching from the other side slowly emerge through the sandstorm.

In the meantime, even Lennok’s eyes could clearly see familiar faces.

Miguel Eriksen Claria.

The three of them, who had joined the other mercenaries and were proceeding with the subjugation, ran into Lennok here.

A similar sense of bewilderment flashes across the faces of the three people who saw him from across the street.

“…….”

There was a very brief lull.

After the time of staring at each other, it was Miguel who moved first.

He broke away from the group and approached Lennok first, bowing awkwardly.

“Mr. Ban. I see you again like this. The undeveloped area seems to be very narrow.”

“okay.”

Miguel flinched at Lennox’s plaintive reply, but he did not give in and continued his talk.

“I wonder if the woman next to you was originally a group…”

“We met by chance while on the way.”

“Is that so? thank god. It’s a bit dangerous to go alone, isn’t it?”

“What do you want to say?”

It’s not even close enough to ask each other’s regards in the first place.

At Lennox’s direct words, Miguel let out a small sigh and glanced back at the group.

All the other mercenaries were also focusing their eyes on them.

With difficulty, he opened his mouth first.

“Because this is the place we first noticed.”

“Is it a seat? Where is your seat?”

Of course, he was probably talking about the right place where the contaminant would find it, but Lennok didn’t blink an eye and pretended not to know.

Miguel and other mercenaries were clearly showing their feelings, but there was no reason to listen carefully.

Perhaps Miguel was a little bit agitated by Lennox’s answer, so his answer slowed down a bit.

“……If it’s not inconvenient, could you move it to another place?”

“Hey are you crazy?”

And Mila, who had been quietly listening to him, interjected with an astonished face.

Jin-ga

“Since you’re listening to this, you’re talking nonsense. In a land without an owner, they are screaming while saying that your seat is mine.”

“It seems that the woman over there doesn’t know, but once the mercenaries who subdue pollutants settle down…” ”

Is this your house? No fuck, and it was us who built the houses for the people who live here in the first place. Is it all just by looking at it?”

“Milla.”

Of course, Lennok had no intention of stopping her.

While pretending to dissuade her in moderation, it only made her more angry.

Originally, it is a human instinct that when a person who curls appears, more heat spreads.

“Don’t dry it. No, the cubs who arrived later than us are claiming the right to occupy the land without an owner.

Clap!

Miguel’s complexion turned blue as Mila, impatient with her words, pulled out a shotgun and snapped the barrel.

Could it be that he did not think that he would use force without hesitation at this place?

But Miguel didn’t just sit still.

“Do it in moderation. Isn’t it because we don’t have hands, so we’re talking about it…!!”

After all, there are only two people on that side, and there are almost twenty people on this side.

There seemed to be nothing I couldn’t do by pressing the numbers.

A situation on the verge of colliding at any moment.

Lennok quickly caught sight of the other mercenaries standing behind Miguel.

There are dozens of people wearing firearms and other equipment, and a young man with small eyes who can’t feel any energy, including magic.

If you go into battle, who should be the first to be defeated?

While he was quickly prioritizing in his head, someone appeared from behind Miguel and put his hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll just go there.”

“……Maoren.”

The small-eyed young man Lennok had just checked grinned at Mila.

“I didn’t expect to see a mercenary from the Antares office here. Nice to see you.”

“what?”

“This is Plato’s Maoren. Unfortunately, I am guiding the mercenaries here today.”

Mila’s face frowned mercilessly after hearing the young man Maoren’s words.

Not surprising. Plato Mercenary Office. Lennok had also heard the name from Jenny.

Recently, the mercenary office that has been most active with Antares on this floor.

Unlike Antares, which operates with a small elite, it was famous for scouting talented mercenaries based on an unknown source of capital.

Maoren continued talking while maintaining a single smile.

“It is well known that Antares has a lot of interest in undeveloped districts. Can we consider the residential area for homeless people created here as part of that?”

Mila didn’t reply, but Maoren nodded as if that was an answer.

“All right.”

“……..”

“A mercenary from the Antares office is here, and it would be shameless to ask them to leave. But would you allow us to rest for a while around here?”

“Are you taking a break?”

“yes. Then, if a contaminant accidentally passes this way, wouldn’t it be enough to take care of it to the best of our ability?”

In the end, it was clear that they were just saying different things, and that they were not going to leave this residential area.

The problem was that if the government took a tougher line than this, it would eventually lead to the use of force.

Mila, too, was burdened with pushing a shotgun against Plato’s mercenary, but in the end, she just turned her gaze away.

Lennok gave a satisfied glance and looked at Maoren, who was moving away, then nodded lightly.

“That’s it. Be well.”

“what? why? No wait!”

Mila hurriedly grabbed and stopped Lennok from turning his back and trying to escape the ruins.

“Once you decide to do something together, you have to keep your loyalty. Where are you going to run away alone?”

“Then let’s compete with them to see who will hunt the Corruption first? It’s much easier to walk around alone than to do such tiring things.”

In the first place, Lennok had no regrets about subjugating this monster called Pollution.

These are not creatures that pose a major threat to the megalopolis of Balkan, but are merely unknown impurities created by some kind of experiment.

Against them, there is nothing other than a simple power supply, including the development of magic or the determination to survive.

There was no need to waste time arguing with him in a battle of egos.

He had a clear goal of purchasing the elixir, and this time he had simply come to make up for the lack of money.

But Mila’s position is different.

She doesn’t have the ability to find other contaminants with her superior sensing ability like Lennok’s, and it’s hard to have an advantage in subjugating contaminants against that number.

If, however, a dispute arises again, it may be difficult to get out of the body safely, even if you do not die.

The saddest person reached out first, and eventually she took out the water.

“Wealth amulet! You have the one you took. I’ll give you that, so please cooperate, okay? I bought that amulet for over 10 million cells.”

At the unusual price, Lennok’s steps paused for a moment, but his resolve did not change.

Even if you sell used items with a set number of uses, you won’t be able to get a higher price than the original price, and above all, shouldn’t you cooperate with her here in order to receive the amulet?

How long can you waste time waiting without a promise until the contaminants appear…

“Huh?”

Lennox’s head jerked as he strained to remove the hem of his dress that Mila was holding on to.

Mila, who was looking at him with a bewildered gaze, also belatedly turned her head in the same direction.

After some time, the other mercenaries also noticed the anomaly.

Dududu…!!

Loud noise that can’t be compared to before.

At the same time, irregular signs rushing towards us from beyond the ruins.

Undoubtedly.

contaminant. More than 20 of them were running towards the ruins at once.

Mila began to annoy Lennok with a wide face.

“hey! Are you going to go see it? Let’s just try it together. You have nothing to lose.”

“……..”

“Mindful love, feed those shameless assholes, huh?”

Lennok took a quick look at the faces of the other mercenaries before answering.

No matter how many life reactions were concentrated in this ruin, it was strange that the contaminants appeared all at once, as promised.

Rather than coincidence, it is rather reasonable to think that there is some reasonable cause and effect.

As expected, among the mercenaries who turned their heads, Maoren could be seen smiling exceptionally confident.

Rather than surprise or delight, a sense of pleasure similar to when what was expected came true.

Seeing that face, Lennok made a decision in an instant.

“good.”

No matter how much arguing is a waste of time, it is absurd to step out of here when so many contaminants are approaching right now.

The shortcut to bidding for the elixir is to gain an edge over the competition right now.

Lennok, who recalled the figure of Stemonia still hanging in the auction house, immediately turned back.

“Run forward.”

“what?”

“I’ll take care of the rest… Just run around. Grab a shotgun.”

Luckily, Mila didn’t ask twice.

Clap!

He immediately took out his shotgun, raised his horsepower with all his might, and jumped out ahead of the other mercenaries.

Before the mercenaries who saw it could move along, Lenok greatly increased his magic power.

Always start boldly and confidently. And to be able to contain the number of goals at once.

Dig up.

[Sink Hole]

Originally, it was a magic used to make a small hole by slightly breaking the ground. It was a magic that was useful for hiding when I was playing as Horse Musketeer.

I pour a lot of mana into it and increase the capacity. Increase firepower and expand range and depth.

Results appear immediately.

The land made of dry sand and dust suddenly disappears.

Woooooooooooo!!

It took an instant for the mercenaries to be swallowed up by a pit with a radius and depth of about 10 meters.

“Oh what..!!”

“What the fuck is this!!”

“Suddenly something…!!”

Most of the mercenaries were floundering in an unexpected sinkhole, but among them, about three quickly regained their senses and looked around.

This is to never rule out the possibility that this pit that has just occurred is not a mere coincidence.

His eyes showed a resolute will to escape by stepping on other mercenaries if necessary.

Maoren and a mercenary with exceptional magical power. And surprisingly, Miguel’s party, Claria, were in that category.

The most responsive is Maoren.

Suddenly, a tremendous amount of magic leaked from his body, which made Lennok startled, and he crouched down and prepared to jump in an instant.

Lennok was slightly surprised by the huge gap between them, but if Maoren was using magic, it would be even better for Lennok.

Just before leaping, it spreads magic power in all directions and spreads it throughout Maoren’s body, disrupting the flow of magic power rotating inside him.

Wheein!!

The experience of dealing with a wizard twice and interfering with the opponent’s magic.

He deepened the senses he felt there and penetrated not only magic, but also magic itself.

Lennok didn’t know what level of opponent this method would work for, but at least it definitely worked for Maoren in front of him.

It breaks his mana flow soaring from head to toe at once.

Kwajik!!

At that moment, Maoren’s head jumped off the ground and jumped out in a completely different direction, and he hurriedly grabbed his balance in the air.

For a moment, shock, bewilderment, and anger appeared on his face.

Needless to say, if he was eaten by Maoren, who looked the strongest among them.

At the bottom of the pit, the mercenaries raise their magic power and break all of their feet the moment they move, interfering with the strengthening of the body by magic power.

Wooddeuk!! Wood Deuk..!!

“No, why is this…!!”

“My magic won’t move!!”

Woowook…!!

Annoyance, embarrassment and fear.

Eriksen is even gagging due to the recoil of being interfered with while moving his magic power.

At any moment, the mercenaries could not come to their senses due to the betrayal of the magical power that followed their will.

Lennok?