Chapter 30
Chapter 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Chapter 7 Murderer (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“I was thinking you might want to join the NIS.”
The comment caught Kj off guard, and his body twitched visibly.
I took in his reaction calmly while reflecting on why I'd made the offer.
If the bounty mission went off without a hitch, it would at least establish a minimal working relationship with the government.
Then I could send Nam-gyu their way.
‘They’d take better care of him than I could.’
It would also be easier to separate him from his alcoholic father.
They had the public authority I lacked.
Still, sending the kid off alone felt risky.
That’s when Kj’s party came to mind as I mulled it over.
‘Joining myself would be a loss.’
Even if I cleaned up Han Chang-sik, I’d nearly died by his hand, and he’d have acquaintances among the dead.
My actions only served to soften prejudice and wariness toward Players.
It wouldn’t fully assuage the victims’ or their loved ones’ emotions.
No need to walk into that mess and face sharpened glares myself.
Unlike Nam-gyu, I could fend for myself without their protection.
So I’d come up with attaching a guardian or watcher aside from me.
‘That way, I could get intel from inside the NIS too.’
That was why I’d gone out of my way to meet Kj here.
In a sense, I was asking him to bear the brunt of suspicion and surveillance in my stead, so showing sincerity by coming in person seemed appropriate.
I tried to predict Kj’s response.
The USB contained the full support plan from the NIS side.
‘Professional military training included—that’s a pretty enticing perk.’
I’d only skimmed the basics in my rounds, and my body had already transcended human limits, so it didn’t appeal much to me.
But Kj’s situation was different, so the odds were good.
“If you could pass along internal perceptions and any news you hear, that’d be great.”
I hoped Kj would take the deal.
Even in our chats, his affability had exceeded expectations, and meeting him in person confirmed it.
With a decent head on his shoulders, he might play a bigger role than anticipated.
I waited briefly, hoping for the answer I wanted.
“Then… what do I get out of it, hyung?”
Kj said, swallowing hard with a gloomy look.
No one could see it, but the corner of my mouth curled up slightly.
“Good to know you catch on quick.”
I manifested mana in my hand and grabbed Kj’s arm.
His body jolted in surprise, the reaction vivid under my grip.
“What the…!”
Before he could finish, I pulled my hand away, and a bewildered expression floated across his face.
If he helped me as an informant, it was only fair to offer him something in return.
“It’s mana. If you join the NIS and feed me info, I’ll teach you mana operation and manifestation.”
“…”
“I’ll share any intel I get quickly too. Think of it as an employment contract. How’s that?”
“…”
“Can I talk it over with my party members first?”
“Sure, contact me once you decide. And…”
I trailed off for a moment.
On second thought, no need to mention it.
It’d be wrapped up by tonight at the latest, tomorrow morning at the earliest.
“Just… don’t run any missions tonight or tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“I’m off.”
“W-Wait, you’re leaving already?! Let’s at least grab coffee and talk…”
“Next time.”
Leaving Kj behind, I opened the bounty mission window.
‘Check location.’
Clicking the button brought up an unfamiliar screen—a map marking the target’s position.
The red dot denoting the target sat boldly on the outskirts of Namyangju City.
I hurried my steps, taking in the same scene I’d noted when leaving the PC bang.
‘Let’s go.’
I planned to head near his location first and prep what I needed en route.
‘Can’t have him slip away if time’s running short.’
While heading to catch an intercity bus, I began analyzing Han Chang-sik’s capabilities.
First, his words and actions from the footage.
- Antidote? Ah, looks like you need that down there?
His reaction to the antidote suggested he might have cleared the promotion exam.
Assume beta or alpha rank for now.
Next, estimate his mana pool.
He’d full-cleared the tutorial and killed three Players with 100+ mana, plus over ten civilians.
Rough mana estimate: 600 to 700.
‘But that’s the floor.’
If he’d killed animals or others in the past few days to absorb mana, it’d be higher.
Possibly over 1,000.
No other Players besides me had cleared level 2 missions yet.
‘Skipping missions and just farming mana in reality?’
Scanning the mission completion list for confirmation chilled my blood.
「01-09(1/10) - Closure Contributor: Giant」
「01-10(1/10) - Closure Contributor: Giant」
「01-12(1/10) - Closure Contributor: Giant」
「01-14(1/10) - Closure Contributor: Giant」
I’d spotted someone soloing level 1 missions since June 22.
Checking the records with a chill, the details popped up.
‘Average entry: 5-7 people.’
Yet only the Player codenamed Giant had emerged after clearing.
‘Four level 1 missions cleared by him.’
If that was Han Chang-sik’s work and he’d killed Players on top of monsters in those sites…
His mana would easily top 1,000.
‘Still stuck at level 1, though.’
My level 2 clear was the only one.
With over 1,000 mana, he couldn’t linger at level 1—this was obvious.
‘Bastard bought something from the shop.’
Too many variables muddled my head.
‘What’d he buy?’
I rapidly listed candidates.
High-end attack skills were out—combat tech started at 5,000 mana minimum.
Way beyond current reach.
That’s why my purchases had been support skills, not combat.
That line of thought recalled the cheap exceptions.
‘One-time skill stones.’
The shop sold permanent skills worth 20-30k mana as disposables for less.
Short-term waste of mana, so I’d skipped them.
No guarantee he had too.
‘Might not be as easy as I thought.’
If that Giant was really Han Chang-sik, underestimating him would be fatal.
“Tch.”
At the terminal, I boarded a bus to Namyangju and opened my inventory.
One item had sat there obediently for weeks.
‘Shop free use voucher.’
Item allowing shop use up to five times my current mana.
Unknown skills or items on Han Chang-sik meant needing versatile countermeasures.
Reason I’d saved the voucher this long.
My current mana: 2248.36.
Best options within fivefold limit were quick to narrow.
[Barrier (10,988 mana)]
• Type: Permanent skill
• Description: Skill protecting user from physical impacts. Barrier hardness varies with mana input.
As the saying goes, best offense is a good defense.
Against unknown power, enter with defense.
Barrier was my top pick.
Regret lingered anyway.
‘Damn, was planning to grab Fireball.’
This accursed bounty mission forced me to shelve it.
Shop listed it formally as Fireball.
Exactly 15,672 mana—clearly a fireball spell.
‘Basic magic in other games, but stupidly expensive.’
So close to owning it, the loss stung.
Couldn’t afford to save the voucher, though.
‘Later.’
Bidding Fireball farewell, I swallowed my bitterness and bought the Barrier.
“Ugh…”
Unfamiliar knowledge scrambled my brain, the invasive sensation nauseating.
Same as my prior two purchases.
I gritted my teeth through it.
After about five minutes, the urge to vomit faded, replaced by a headache.
“Whew.”
Regulating my breath repeatedly, I scowled while reviewing the mana structure for Barrier.
‘Complicated.’
One of this game’s glaring flaws: zero automation.
Activating purchased skills relied on personal skill.
I had to manually operate and arrange mana per the forced knowledge.
Only then did the skill manifest.
Shop knowledge was merely a blueprint for forming the barrier.
A schematic detailing mana amounts, placements, and flows?
Mixed regular and attribute mana, varying quantities per skill.
Sensory Expansion’s was simpler than Mana Detection’s, which was simpler than Invisibility’s.
Barrier’s structure was several times denser and more intricate than Invisibility’s.
‘Lucky I have practice time at least.’
Nine hours left on the bounty mission.
Not enough, but had to make do.
On the bus, I diligently memorized the Barrier’s mana structure.
Knowledge already embedded, but internalization required rote learning.
‘Feels like a HWP file spawned in my head.’
Once I could recite it without peeking, the headache eased.
Having done this with mana operation and invisibility, it took less time than firsts.
Halfway through memorizing when the bus hit Namyangju terminal.
I immediately hailed a taxi.
Destination: hills around the warehouse where Han Chang-sik was presumed.
300m from target point.
Mana Detection picked up mana precariously at my perception’s edge.
“Tch.”
As expected.
A massive mana clump dwarfing anything I’d sensed before.
‘Roughly half mine…’
1,000 mana. Han Chang-sik’s physicals matched mine.
Sighing, I plopped on the nearby ground to keep practicing.
After two hours of tedious memorization and attempts, I finally formed the barrier.
A hemisphere about one meter in radius enveloped me.
“Haa…”
Success soured on my face.
‘Guessed from the structure, but mana hog.’
No tech for casual spam in danger.
With my mana, 10-15 seconds max.
Sole consolation: shrinking area cut consumption.
‘Don’t skimp on hardness.’
Better reduce range than weaken base.
Protecting just me was fine.
‘Master it for flawless real-world use.’
Assimilation and Tenacity traits aiding?
Three hours of focus let me manifest on will.
‘Now application…’
By then, I’d downed five potions to recover practice-drained mana.
Instead of stopping, I pushed further.
Settling for manifestation wasted the high price.
Grasp and adapt the structure for varied uses.
Mana Operation enabled manifestation via adaptation.
Invisibility could extend to others besides me.
Applications endless.
‘Don’t stop at learning—analyze too.’
Would reveal commonalities between structures.
Such systematized knowledge cuts shop reliance, enables self-developed skills.
I obsessed over the structure.
Another hour passed?
Mana nearly restored from seventh depletion.
Dark sky flashed suddenly.
“…What was that?”
Dry lightning? But sky above was cloudless.
Bewildered scan around jolted my body.
Faint ear-tickling noise.
Mana Operation and Sensory Expansion sharpened it.
Click, clack.
Rattle.
Plastic clashing? Metal?
Ambiguous source had me tilting my head.
Then I shot to my feet.
Direction mismatched expectations.
Map confirmed: Han Chang-sik’s position aligned with the sound.
Damn System