Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Request (2)
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As soon as he answered, Oliver's shadow shot forward and surged upward in an instant.
The shadow stake grazed past the right side of Joseph's face.
Red blood and sticky sweat splattered across the floor.
Joseph's eyes widened enormously.
"Th...!"
He focused black magic energy into his legs and swiftly retreated backward.
Oliver's shadow pursued him, moving even faster than before.
The surging shadow stakes herded him like a beast in a roundup hunt.
Joseph, frantic just to dodge, failed to notice the shadow tendril targeting his ankle and got caught.
Crunch-!
"Damn...!"
In that instant, Oliver cast two black magics simultaneously with one hand.
Creepy Scream, which inflicted mental damage on the opponent through a horrific shriek.
Thrust, which converted negative emotions like hatred and rage into shockwaves.
Oliver fused these two black magics into one and fired it at Joseph, whose ankle was ensnared.
[Outcry]
Fused Creepy Scream + Thrust
A wave of black emotional energy tangled together in front of Joseph, morphing into countless enraged faces.
It resembled Creepy Scream, but unlike the wailing faces of that spell, these were furious expressions.
Utterly furious faces, in fact.
"Gaaarrrraaaagggghhhhh————!!!!"
The roar of rage clawed at the ears and mind no less than Creepy Scream, and it packed physical impact as well, striking Joseph directly.
With his foot immobilized, Joseph couldn't use his signature evasion techniques and took the hit head-on.
"Guh...!"
Joseph went flying, swept up in the shockwave.
Nearby glass shattered, cracks spiderwebbed across the walls—the devastation indirectly revealed the spell's power.
A pretty solid combo. Might use it a few more times later.
"Hm... You okay?"
Oliver watched as Joseph staggered to his feet and asked.
His condition wasn't great.
He'd instinctively covered his ears to mitigate the auditory damage, but blood still trickled slightly from his eyes and mouth—he hadn't blocked it entirely.
Most people would have been knocked out cold or surrendered by now, but Joseph still struggled to rise and fight.
His tenacious will to battle shone brightly.
And that light... it was quite beautiful.
"Ah, still...?"
Thud-thud-thud-
Oliver charged. Remembering Joseph's demand to come at him properly.
Mimicking Joseph's style, he boosted output to his legs for explosive speed, then leaped forward with his knee extended.
Even with unfocused eyes, the staggering Joseph raised both arms in defense.
Crack——!
A massive sound echoed through the ruins.
It resembled the earlier clashes of metal, but this time, one side shattered.
"Kuhk...! Gruuuhhh..."
Ultimately, Joseph's exhausted guard collapsed, and he fell. But Oliver spun in midair and slammed down his quarterstaff.
Boom-!
Right next to Joseph's face. The quarterstaff embedded into the ground.
Joseph panted, staring at the staff piercing the earth beside him.
Shock, terror, then resignation flickered in his eyes.
"...Want to keep going?"
"Haa... No, enough. I lost."
Joseph closed his eyes and answered.
Something felt off, but Oliver helped him up instead of asking.
"Hm... Good thing. No major injuries. Your life force is strong, and your body's incredibly tough."
Joseph stared at the consoling Oliver as if he were something utterly bizarre, beyond mere eccentricity.
Maybe it was inevitable.
He'd begged for a fight first, attacked like he meant to kill moments ago, and now was helping him up. It was behavior far from normal.
The bigger issue was that it was starting to feel natural.
"Hoo... Ungh..."
Joseph forced his aching body to move and leaned against the wall.
His stylish suit was torn and dirtied from the fight, but he didn't seem to care.
He even looked relieved, like someone whose curiosity had been sated.
"...You said you were curious why I asked you to fight?"
"Yes."
"I wanted to check... how big the gap between us really is. Sounds weird, maybe, but do you remember when we first met?"
He remembered.
The first time he'd met Joseph was when retrieving former Magic Tower vice professor Herbert, who'd broken his contract with Murphy.
It had been three against one, but even setting that aside, Joseph's close-quarters combat style had been tricky.
Unlike other disease-affinity black mages Oliver had faced, he didn't over-enhance his body, moving with sleek agility instead.
He concentrated black magic only when needed, fighting with ruthless efficiency.
And he incorporated martial arts, making him tougher than typical disease black mages.
Well, it had helped him refine his Black Suit, at least.
"I remember."
"Back then, it felt like we were pretty evenly matched, so how did the gap widen this much?"
Oliver fell silent for a moment before replying.
"...You've gotten a lot stronger too, Joseph."
"Compared to you, it's like I've been standing still. Even when we met in the contaminated zone, you'd grown leaps and bounds, but now... even holding back, I can't lay a scratch on you... Fuck."
A torrent of emotions laced that final word.
Jealousy, anger, frustration, admiration, envy.
But Oliver felt no joy. Those paled next to Joseph's beautiful struggle to keep fighting.
What was it... His interest was cooling rapidly.
"...Is that all?"
"Hah... No, let me make a deal."
"A deal?"
"Yeah. Teach me that black magic of yours. That Black Suit thing."
"........."
Oliver raised an eyebrow slightly. Teach him black magic...
It was the first such request since leaving Joseph's Family.
And it wasn't a casual ask.
Even overwhelmed by fear of rejection, the humiliation of begging, shame, jealousy, and rage, he'd pushed through to ask.
Driven by desire to improve, unbreakable resolve, and the courage to face refusal and mockery.
It was intriguing. Very much so.
But Joseph misinterpreted Oliver's silence and spoke cautiously.
"Of course, I'm not asking for free. I—"
Grrrooowl.
Incongruously, a stomach growled loudly amid the ruins.
It came from Joseph, who squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment.
"Ah, damn... They say it always happens after a fight."
Oliver checked the time. After shopping at the Black Market and fighting, evening had arrived unnoticed.
"Hm... Would you like to grab a meal with me, by any chance?"
"What?"
"Dinner. I make a point of eating properly. My treat—want to join?"
Joseph stared at Oliver like he'd spotted something truly alien.
"...Sure."
They left the ruins and headed to a nearby tavern-cum-restaurant that Joseph led the way to.
The place was rugged overall, and the patrons were rowdy and lively.
Evidence: midway through a card game, two started swinging bottles at each other, yet the other customers didn't even flinch—they just kept to their business or watched with amusement.
The surging emotions weren't unpleasant.
Then, a scrawny guy, losing the brawl, came flying toward Oliver.
Just before impact, Joseph blocked for him.
"Who the hell...? Jo... Joseph?"
Joseph. At that name, fighters and onlookers froze, turning to him.
Tension and fear lit up their emotions in unison.
"I'm not here for work. So keep doing what you were. But no noise near me."
Joseph said, bruises dotting his body.
It didn't quite fit, even seemed awkward, but no one laughed.
Those who'd been at each other's throats moments ago started tidying the mess discreetly.
As they sat at a corner table, Oliver asked.
"You know them?"
"Eh, recently... I come here for a drink after jobs, got noisy, so I broke an arm or two."
"Ah..."
"They asked for help with some trouble later, so I did. That's why they act like that around me. Most folks around here are the same."
Oliver nodded, unsure what "folks around here" meant exactly.
"Hey, long time no see."
A woman approached. An employee, in a rolled-sleeve shirt and jeans, with short black hair.
"You look rough today. Don't tell me someone beat you up?"
"Cut the crap and bring food."
"Whoa... Calling a lady crap. Manly, I like it. What'll it be?"
To the deadpan woman's question, Joseph glanced at Oliver before answering.
"Steak and the biggest beer. You...?"
"Uh... Same for me?"
Oliver, unused to ordering, said so.
She nodded and headed to the kitchen.
"You sure? The steaks here are so-so taste-wise, but huge."
"Ah, I've never really ordered food before."
It was true.
At inns, he ate whatever was served. Right after moving to the warehouse, he'd subsisted on market bread, apples, milk.
Joseph gave him another odd look, like something that refused to become familiar no matter how he tried.
Surprisingly, the steaks arrived quickly.
On massive plates, half-cooked slabs the size of human heads—crude to the point of barbarity.
Matching mugs of beer were enormous too.
Hungry, Joseph carved off a huge chunk, shoved it in, and washed it down with beer.
Oliver followed suit and ate.
Clink. Clink... Joseph suddenly spoke up.
"Ever hear of Fighter Crew?"
Oliver, mid-bite, nodded.
It was old news, but Forest had mentioned it.
A new black mage group, formed recently.
Unlike hierarchical Families, it was horizontal, mercenary-focused, rapidly expanding influence.
Most members battle maniacs, apparently.
Joseph smirked wryly at that. Dismissively.
"No idea why the rumors paint us that way. People love embellishing, I guess."
"You're not?"
"Obviously. We're no battle maniacs. Just clinging to this life to survive."
Joseph's tone was matter-of-fact. He meant it.
"And we're not purely horizontal. Mostly, sure—but not the boss. He's definitely not."
"Boss? Who's that?"
"Dunno exactly. Just showed up one day and founded Fighter Crew."
Oliver's interest piqued. The founder of Fighter Crew.
"What's his name?"
"No one knows his name. Not among who I know, anyway... We call him Boss, outsiders call him the Chef."
"Chef? He cooks?"
"Yeah, runs a restaurant in Y District."
"Y District?"
Oliver echoed.
From what he'd heard, even X District was somewhat beyond Randa's control. Y and Z were Randa territory in name, but lawless zones ignoring his rule.
Havens for criminals too dangerous for daylight or underworld forces to tame.
Running a restaurant there... peculiar taste.
"Showed up one day, wandered X, Y, Z Districts teaching black magic to street punks."
"Why?"
"Beats me. Now folks think it was groundwork for Fighter Crew, but he never said so outright."
Joseph carved another huge bite of steak and chased it with beer.
"Reason unknown, but it drew crowds to him. Including me. Can't pass up learning black magic. Gotta learn something to survive there."
Joseph continued.
Locals disliked the Chef's actions and picked fights, but he slew them instantly with his kitchen knife, proving his strength.
More flocked, and Fighter Crew took shape.
"Then things changed. Started teaching stronger black magic only to those who earned merits for Fighter Crew. Whatever—bring money, spread fame. That's why our guys go berserk. Probably why we're called battle maniacs."
"Ah... So that's why you were hunting books in the contaminated zone."
"Yeah. Failed in the end. Still, gained some rep, got a minor reward."
His words rang hollow; he seemed dissatisfied, even anxious.
"Is it tough there?"
"Not yet. But this setup limits my growth. Too slow. In this world, slow growth means your life's on the line."
Oliver nodded. Lose once, you're dead.
"So you want to learn black magic from me?"
"Yeah. Relying on the group alone's not cutting it... That Black Suit seems body-friendly unlike typical disease types. Think you could teach it?"
Hoh... Oliver admired silently.
To think he'd meet someone asking to be taught directly.
But Joseph misread the silence again and pressed urgently.
"Of course, not for free—"
"—I'll teach you."
"...What?"
"I'll teach you."
Oliver sliced a bite of steak and replied.
Somehow, Joseph stared in shock, speechless.
His emotions swirled in confusion.
As if he couldn't comprehend the situation.
"...For real?"
"Yes. I can't stick around constantly, but I can teach regularly, two or three times a week."
Oliver said casually.
But it was huge. Countless begged and paid fortunes for even minor spells.
"...Not my place to ask since I requested it, but why accept?"
Oliver finished eating, wiped his mouth with a napkin. The massive steak had vanished cleanly.
He pointed at Joseph.
"You want to learn."
Pointed at himself.
"I can teach... Need more reason?"
"........."
Joseph fell silent, staring at Oliver.