Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Test Passed and Magic Tower Infiltration
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Hearing the knock, a puzzled look crossed Felix's face.
‘Who could that be?’
Today was a rare day when everyone had gathered, partly to build camaraderie.
If it were Lena, who had stepped out briefly, she would have just opened the door without knocking.
Which meant no one should be visiting the request office at this hour—especially not through the back door.
Except for one person.
‘Could it be… that mage?’
The thought crossed his mind, but he checked the clock and shook his head.
‘…Impossible.’
It had been just over two hours since that guy left the office.
Mages already had low mobility, so returning this quickly didn’t make sense.
Besides.
‘He did say it was just some local thug…’
In truth, Shane was no easy catch.
He abused artifacts, took hostages, used illegal stations—whatever it took to escape. That was Shane.
His nickname “Fugitive Expert” wasn’t for nothing.
“I’ll get it.”
Concluding it couldn’t be the mage, Felix strode over and opened the door.
Clunk.
But there stood the man he thought it absolutely couldn’t be, casually waiting.
With foam at the mouth and passed out on his shoulder.
“Back again.”
‘How…?’
Felix panicked for a split second before regaining his composure.
He still didn’t know what happened, but he remembered the discussion with the crew.
“…Come in.”
The plan would proceed without a hitch.
To protect his and the crew’s livelihoods.
***
Thud!
After dumping the guy on the table, I immediately checked the clock.
‘Two hours.’
Sticking to deserted paths had kept me from running into patrols, thankfully.
Shane wasn’t that hard to subdue either.
I’d had to knock him out again a few times when he woke up and tried something stupid on the way…
But overall, not bad.
Enough to leave a solid record of my existence.
The problem was the black-haired woman who could verify it wasn’t here.
“The woman?”
“…Stepped out for a bit.”
“Yeah?”
I leaned back in the same chair I’d sat in before and glanced around.
“Ahem…”
The guys who met my eyes quickly looked away.
Suspicious reactions, no doubt.
‘What’s with the atmosphere?’
It had been lively before I walked in.
As I thought that, one man sat down next to me.
The one who’d picked a fight earlier.
Name was… Felix, right?
“What?”
To my wary question, Felix scratched his head awkwardly and extended his hand.
Like he wanted a handshake.
“Hey, mage. Sorry about earlier. Didn’t know you were this skilled and ran my mouth.”
…Suddenly apologizing?
Something felt off, so I scanned Felix’s face.
Still a rough mug with stubbly beard and a forehead scar.
“If you want an excuse… a lot of cocky newbies have died coming in here. It was sorta concern. Nosy, maybe.”
But his expression was genuine.
Pure as could be, no hint of malice, smiling brightly.
“We’ll be working together from now on… let’s get along, yeah?”
And from my experience, guys with faces like that are all trash.
See? My heart’s pounding like crazy right now.
Thump! Thump! Thump…!
-
Entering Awakening State.
I stared at his outstretched hand—specifically, the blade hidden in his sleeve.
What a damn world.
Now they’re pretending to apologize just to ambush me.
“This concern too? Or… nosy?”
“What?”
It didn’t take him long to understand.
But it was enough time for me to strike first.
Crackle!
In the blink of an eye, my fingers charged with electricity.
Gently touching his neck.
“Grrraaagh!”
He convulsed backward from the shock, and that was the signal.
The others who’d been waiting pounced.
“You bastard…!”
“Raaagh—!”
About… twelve in total.
Fire, water, earth.
I hurled mana orbs laced with each element, taking out the front-runners.
The request office turned into a battlefield in seconds.
Whoosh!
“Gaaah!”
The one hit by the fire orb screamed and flailed wildly.
Splat—!
The earth orb victim groaned once and blacked out.
The water orb victims… shook their heads with sour faces.
“You son of a… what the hell?”
But they didn’t stay upright long.
My electricity arced through the puddles around them.
“Ggggrrr!”
“You damn… dog!”
They flopped like fish out of water.
“Fuck. Knew it felt off from the start…”
“…Monster bastard. How many elements is he handling alone?”
A few quick ones had escaped unscathed, but their fighting spirit was gone.
“That bearded guy said let’s get along… I didn’t reply.”
I looked them straight in the eyes.
“Likewise. Looking forward to it.”
“…Urgh.”
That’s when the door burst open.
Clunk!
“Huh…?”
A woman with deep black hair and tanned skin.
She rolled her eyes over the wrecked shop.
Then.
“…What’s this.”
Her face turned ice-cold.
Not a trace of her earlier kindness.
“…You’ve got some explaining to do.”
***
Lena, the current owner of the request office.
She regained her friendly face only after hearing the full story.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have stepped out. Didn’t expect you back so soon. Or that these idiots would pull this stunt…”
“No need to apologize. I caused damage too.”
Of course, her friendliness was just for me.
Every time she turned, that demonic face from before appeared.
“Faster! You lot!”
Her expression flipped like she was the “demon behind the mask.”
This woman was scary.
“Damn it, why’d I… I said from the start I didn’t wanna…”
“We’re lucky though. Better than the guy with his hair half-burned or the ones still out cold.”
“Hey, Theo. Quit complaining and sweep here. Plates are piled like a mountain!”
“Damn! Damn it!”
Under Lena’s scolding, the crew’s cleanup sped up.
The real scary part? If the misunderstanding hadn’t cleared, I might be mopping too.
“…Don’t take it too hard. They probably just meant to scare you, not kill. Immature and reckless… but not total scum.”
“Don’t mind.”
“Well, good then. Anyway.”
Lena, who’d been fidgeting for a while, finally stood, work done.
She placed a hand on the shoulder of the man in front of her.
“Mmph! Mmph…!”
There was Shane, bound head to toe, gagged.
Handed over like this?
He wouldn’t see good days.
The client was likely family of someone he’d killed.
Clank!
After locking him in the iron-doored room, Lena continued.
“Phew… Your verification’s done. You’re now an official hunter at Athis Request Office. Pick any request you want anytime.”
But her eyes held a sliver of distrust.
Understandable.
Trust and skill were separate.
“When do you wanna start?”
I glanced at the time.
10 PM.
Late, but with Barundel training done, my schedule was free. One more job seemed fine.
Above all, I hadn’t achieved my purpose here yet.
Might enter the magic tower soon, so better wrap this quick.
“Right now?”
“Now?”
“Need cash fast.”
“…No issue, but aren’t you tired? After all this?”
“…”
Come to think of it, my condition was weirdly peak.
Morning training, afternoon verification, evening Awakening State and fight.
Yet no fatigue.
I realized why soon.
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Phase 1 is complete. All bodily imbalances corrected… You’ll feel it soon.
This must be the “feeling” Barundel mentioned.
Training was short, so I hadn’t expected much, but the effect was huge.
Was the [Hammer of Balance] always this level of artifact?
“…No problem. Let’s do it now.”
“Weird guy. Follow me then.”
Lena led me to a cramped space behind the bar counter.
Business must be good—request papers piled everywhere.
Thud!
“Pick from these.”
She dumped the stack on a small round table.
About thirty, roughly.
I scanned for money-makers, but nothing great.
Assassinations, illegal drug smuggling, low-bounty fugitives.
Then.
“This one…?”
Amid the plain papers, one on fancy stock caught my eye.
Lena made an oops face.
“Ah, must’ve mixed it in by mistake. Ignore it. Ridiculous request—gonna scrap it.”
Rustle.
I grabbed her wrist as she reached to take it.
“Wait.”
“Huh? Why. You wanna… do this?”
I read the request instead of answering.
Lena explained reluctantly.
“Infiltration into the magic tower. Risk’s insane. Get caught, life’s over.”
“Who’s the client?”
“Dunno. Just the paper arrived. These kinds usually end bad. I know your skills, but… can’t recommend. Don’t wanna lose a rare mage right away.”
She had a point.
Magic tower infiltration? Risk aside, near impossible.
Fool all those mages’ eyes?
Even stealth assassins would shake their heads.
But that’s for normals.
My situation was different.
“If they just want info gathered… no need to sneak in, right?”
The info requested was on the magic tower I planned to enter as a disciple… ‘Aldeon’.
“…What? What’s that mean?”
Ignoring her, I focused on the end of the request.
The reward section.
Bracelet of Holy Oil’s upgrade.
A ‘Heroic’ artifact boosting Holy Power by 20.
‘Pendant of Holy Oil!’
The mystery client offered that.
Luck struck; I couldn’t help smiling.
“I’ll take it. This request.”
Dangerous as a spy, sure.
But for a Heroic artifact? Worth risking my life.