Episode 125 – Vacation (3)

Vacation (3)

[At Your Service: Look up at the sky. Surprisingly, the world may not be interested in us.]

[A: It’s not about the world. It’s a personal matter. Between individuals. There was a bit of a misunderstanding.]

[At Your Service: What kind of misunderstanding?]

[A: Ah; well……;]

I’m walking and replying on my smartphone.

It’s not entirely wrong advice.

[A: Just a moment. I need to prepare my mind… I’ll contact you again later.]

I had ‘directly memorized’ the specialized books on psychiatry that I borrowed from Akane into my 「Notepad」, just like Latinel.

Because of its specialized knowledge, it almost took up 10 units of storage.

I’ll delete it as soon as the consultation is over.

─Move out of the way!

Vroom-!

A skyboard whizzed over my head. It was a board that had been modified with a Magic Spell attached to the engine’s tail, producing more power than the original output.

It’s quite a dangerous and annoying mode of transportation, but no one on the street finds it strange. They don’t get annoyed or angry. If you did that in the capital, you’d be in handcuffs right away.

This is Trick City, a city where common sense is different.

Right now, I’m wandering around Trick City not as Shion Ascal, but as ‘Dale Kal’.

To practice the training method Akane taught me, and to look for a job.

─Woohoo~!

I glared at the still buzzing engine of the skyboard with my SZX-9500. Then, the Magic Spell that was invisible to the naked eye was revealed.

A level 3 Magic Spell. If I had to name it, it would be something like 「Acceleration」.

I opened my 「Notepad」.

■ Memory

■ Magic Spell

A new [Magic Spell] folder I made under [Memory].

If I recall the actual Magic Spell I just observed here, the Magic Spell is directly turned into a file and pasted.

■ Magic Spell

└Acceleration

If I save it like this, I can use it whenever I want without having to fumble through the memory. Of course, as long as my magic power allows it.

Kwaaaa───!

I turned to the sudden roaring sound. It was a fierce flame. A mushroom-shaped pillar of fire erupted and then subsided.

─Look. This is the performance of the level 5 Magic Spell ‘Lumir Cube’. You can purchase it right now at a discounted price of 5,999 Ren from ‘Trinity Industry’.

The flame was level 4, and the cube was level 5. I put their Magic Spells in my 「Notepad」 similarly.

And that’s not all.

The Magic Spell was installed on the chimney to purify the smoke. A puppy robot whose entire brain is made of Magic Spell. A broom that moves freely in the air and sweeps the floor, and so on…

Trick City, seen through the eyes of the SZX-9500, seems to be alive and breathing with magic. The formulas that sprout without any regulation approach me like ‘particles’.

Suddenly, I realize Akane’s insight.

Just walking the streets of Trick City is a learning experience for me.

She was right.

Such a variety of formulas and free movements of magic piled up at the bottom of my 「Notepad」, and the Database would grow with them as nutrients.

“…Ah, my head.”

Pain surged. It was a side effect of staring at magic for too long. I turned off the SZX-9500, pressing my temples.

The world returned to its original state.

Before I knew it, I had reached my destination.

[Section D-44]

Section D-44.

The area closest to the underworld in Trick City. Accordingly, it has a dark atmosphere, with neon signs and power lines tangled above the buildings.

The streets are filled with the corpses of monsters, many stalls selling illegal Artifacts, and the pedestrians are far from ordinary. Masks like gas masks, modified mechanical limbs, and tattoos all over the body are commonplace, and at times, even the aura of a ‘monster’ is detected.

The reason I came to such a place was for a bar.

[A Glass of Whiskey]

A neon sign glows.

I opened the door to the place. It was quiet inside as it was daytime. There were only a few customers sprawled on the tables, drunk, and the owner at the counter.

I approached him.

“New face in the morning. What can I get you?”

A middle-aged man named Gustav Berenzo, easily over 2 meters tall. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen him, so it’s nice.

“If it’s your first time, how about ‘Tears of Baras’, the bartender’s recommended menu item?”

He’s a good guy. Although his past isn’t so great.

“Work.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m trying to find some work.”

Gustav looked at me silently. Soon he hardened his relaxed expression and poured beer into a large glass.

“Young man. Have a drink and go back.”

“Not beer. Do you have ‘Rail’s Sigh’?”

It’s a code meaning ‘I came on someone’s recommendation’. Of course, there’s no such introduction.

“…Hmm.”

Gustav scratched his sideburns.

“What… Do you know about Darkweb? Seems a bit advanced these days.”

“EasyCash.”

I immediately said my ID. Gustav checked it on his smartphone.

“Level 11… You’re an early adopter, as expected from a young man?”

Most of the experience points came from selling department store gift certificates, but level 11 would be quite high in the D district.

“I won’t ask who the intermediary is. What job should I introduce you to?”

I answered straight away.

“Mage.”

“…”

Gustav blinked his eyes.

“A mage… A common yet rare job.”

It means many fraudsters are pretending to be one.

“What’s your name?”

This bar, Gustav, is a broker. He introduces suitable people to illegal or lawless requests.

The reason I specifically sought him out was because of a lesson I learned from S-class monster Grawl— who was supposed to become Derek’s collaborator in the future.

“…Kal.”

Even if Shion Ascal rises high within Libra, there might be a limit if the manpower and bonds of Libra are as strong as before the regression.

Therefore, some ‘pruning’ will be necessary to weaken them from the outside.

Just as I preemptively excluded Grawl.

“Dale Kal.”

Dale Kal is a persona created solely for money and revenge.

“……”

Gustav flicked his finger with a crude expression on his face. A blue barrier appeared around us.

“Was it you, the mage Kanya mentioned?”

I nodded. Kanya is a street rat from the outskirts of Trick City. After all, she owns 51% of this bar.

“I wonder why you would take on such a job while selling formulas… but everyone’s circumstances differ. I happen to have a job that needs a person.”

Gustav pulled out a file from a drawer under the counter and handed it to me.

“Do you know the notable figure ‘Ramil Bara’?”

“The maintainer of the B Section. Isn’t he preparing for an election now?”

“Exactly. Some crazy hyenas have grave-robbed his grandfather’s tomb. They even massacred the gravedigger and the guards, taking away the corpse.”

For reference, ‘hyena’ is a general term for armed organizations in Trick City.

“The Bara family has hired a mercenary group for now, and some jobs have dropped in the bars. There are more than one or two guys to catch.”

I quickly scanned the file.

“Our bar got one guy, this ‘Miller Adams’. He says someone cut off the hand from the grandfather’s corpse and took it. Whether you kill him or capture him alive, it’s 10,000 DP. If you find the hand and return it, it’s 40,000 DP.”

Miller Adams. A man with a shabby impression. A skinny, low-ranking bartender, 183cm tall and weighing 65kg.

I don’t know him.

“That’s expensive for a first job.”

“Any leads?”

“The car he drove was found on the outskirts of our Section. We’ve already searched it, but if you want, I can give you the address.”

“Please do.”

I returned the file. As Gustav put it back in the drawer, he asked,

“Do you have a vehicle?”

“……”

I silently gestured to one side of the counter. A skyboard was leaning next to the jukebox.

“May I borrow it?”

It looked quite fun to ride when I saw it earlier.

______________________________________________________________________

Vroom-!

I stood up the skyboard.

Gustav gave me the coordinates. There was a car abandoned in the middle of a forest path. The area was chaotic with footprints, indicating many people had already been there.

I opened the car door right away. The interior was ordinary, but I sat in the dusty back seat.

Hoo……

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Slowly, I explored the past contained in this car. I rewound the Memory of the space using the 「Notepad」.

─I’m leaving!

At some point, a desperate voice rang out, and I opened my eyes.

─Fuck that! Tell the boss, that bastard, to answer his phone!

Miller Adams in the driver’s seat. The man with the same face I saw in the file was furiously on a call.

I quietly watched him from the back seat.

─I’ve buried a hand for now. I’ll take it when things calm down.

He rambled on, wiping the constantly flowing snot and sweat.

─Why the fuck should I tell you the location, how can I trust you! I didn’t even know this was going to happen in the first place!

The car stopped. Vroom- He pulled up the handbrake.

─Why the fuck is ‘Paradise’ involved! I thought I was just killing people and digging up graves!

Miller Adams got out of the car.

─Listen well. I won’t say a word until my safety is guaranteed……

Thud-!

The car door closed, and the Memory ended there.

I rewound time a bit more.

Not to the place where the guy ‘got out’ of the car, but the place where he first ‘got in’ the car.

─Listen well. I won’t say a word until my safety is guaranteed……

Miller Adams returned to the car.

The car moved backward with the steering wheel gripped.

The interior scene rewound like that, and soon Adams, covered in dirt as if he had buried something, got in the car.

─Those fucking bastards think I’m a fool. If a finger is worth a million Ren, how much is a whole hand……

As he started the car, I looked out the window.

It was a ‘mountain’.

Not far from here, the Gern Mountain in Section D-43.

“……End.”

After releasing the Memory, I exited the car and got on the skyboard.

……

The Gern Mountain in Section D-43.

I was moving up the mountain path. Just in case, I held the wand tightly, closed my eyes, and sniffed as a 「Treasure Hunter」.

The location naturally became known.

I don’t know why, but the stolen corpse itself seemed like a treasure.

Sniff- sniff-

I stopped at some flat ground.

It’s around here.

Specifically…… right here where I’m standing.

I tapped the ground with my foot a few times.

Click- Something was triggered. It was a Magic Spell. It was set to send a signal if someone dug around here.

“……That’s good.”

It seemed to be a safety device, but it was rather helpful. I didn’t have to go looking for it, the 10,000 Ren would come to me.

Before digging the ground, I stood still and waited.

Looking at my wristwatch, 5 minutes.

Yawning, 15 minutes.

[A: Is it too late? It’s been four hours; please open a session agin].

[A: Not agin, again].

While handling [A]’s consultation on my smartphone, 30 minutes.

Tadadadada-!

There was a frantic presence at the foot of the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain. A guy was panting and running towards me.

“Huh…… Huh……”

The guy, soaked in sweat, glared at me.

“Hey!”

“You’re just coming now. If it’s going to take 30 minutes, what’s the point of setting up the formula?”

“You, who the fuck sent-”

The guy immediately pulled out a pistol from his waist. I raised my wand. I launched a rock from the ground with 「Acceleration」.

Bang-!

Kwaaa—!

The rock and the bullet were fired simultaneously, but the rock crushed the bullet itself and blew off the guy’s right hand entirely.

Kua, Kuaaaa——!

The guy, missing his hand, screamed and writhed before fainting.

“……It’s level 3.”

I was slightly surprised.

The performance itself was paradoxical.

I had only manifested the acceleration formula I saw this morning in the same way…

If a 3rd level has this much output, it’s not a lie to say it’s 4th level, no, a 5th level.

– I was thinking such things when…

────Whiiiiii.

The vibration of magic is transmitted through matter. A tremor in the space.

Killing intent.

Instinctively, my Perion surged. The speed of my thoughts dramatically upgraded.

In that state, I stared into the distance.

A blue line of light was closing in. It was a sniping formula, fired from somewhere in the mountain range.

The moment I realized the surprise attack, my R-elix activated. My left arm heated up as if it was on fire. The pebbles on the pavement rose up, forming some kind of shield.

Chrrrrrrrr───!

That stone shield blocked the incoming blue line of light. It forcibly held the rotating object by counter-rotating it.

“……”

I quietly looked at it. It was a bullet condensed with magic.

The bullet, losing its magic slowly after being blocked by the shield, had four formulas embedded.

Thanks to Perion, the entire purpose and principle were quickly deciphered.

「Magic Bullet」,「Rotation」,「Detonation」, 「Tracking」.

I naturally thought of new ways to utilize these formulas.

I reached out my wand to the stopped bullet. I applied the formula 「Acceleration」.

Whirrrrr……

The magic bullet rotates while stuck in the shield, and I re-activate it by blowing magic into the opponent’s still-existing formula.

However, I modified the trajectory and path.

It was simple.

Just reverse the circuits of the formula that I see now.

Krrrrrrk……

「Acceleration」 is becoming too advanced to hold, and the formula I edited changes the bullet’s trajectory.

The same trajectory it took to reach me.

The direction of the shot is reversed.

I anchor the angle and fire it.

──Boom.

The moment I let go of the bullet I had been holding, a strange sense of relief spread throughout my body, and the next moment…

Kwaaaaaaa────!

Blue magic burst through the air. I quietly watched the stem rising like a comet.

“……”

I couldn’t believe it.

I had merely reused the opponent’s Magic Spell and returned it.

But mines was at least four times thicker and larger than his.