Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: First Day on the Job (1)
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"You came looking for me?"
Inside the building hosting the illegal fight club. Jo ordered two drinks at the bar set up there.
"To be precise, I asked where you were, and the gym master told me you were here. Then he asked if I was interested, and I said yes."
"Ha..."
Jo let out a deflating sigh.
As they talked, the bartender with a knife scar on one side of his face poured them some unidentified liquor and spoke to Jo.
"Heard today's match was intense?"
"Shut up."
"Got it!"
Jo, wearing a displeased expression, handed Oliver one of the glasses.
"Didn't know you were into brawling."
"Pardon?"
"You came to watch the fights, right? Or not?"
"Ah... Well, that's not wrong. But more than the fights themselves, I wanted to see this place."
Oliver replied while glancing around the inside of the building.
"Why?"
"Because I was curious?"
Jo furrowed his brow and stared at Oliver without a word, as if looking at something incomprehensible. It wasn't all that strange.
Oliver's way of doing things stood out even in the underworld, where all sorts of weirdos and villains gathered.
He was remarkably rude, yet lacked that peculiar sleaziness. He was brutal, but strangely, no malice could be felt.
That made his intentions impossible to pin down. Or perhaps he had no intentions to pin down in the first place.
In any case, Oliver's demeanor gave the impression of observing an entirely different species.
"...So, has your curiosity been satisfied?"
"To some extent. The gym master told me about the community and all sorts of things. It was good learning."
"Gym master? Where'd he go?"
"Ah, right... He said he had to talk with a black mage he knows and headed off somewhere. Should I go find him?"
"Hm... Nah, this is one of his business spots, so no issues. He's the type who takes good care of himself anyway—no need to track him down. More importantly, how was my fight earlier?"
Jo asked about his own match from before.
He didn't seem thrilled about the fight itself, but he wanted Oliver's evaluation.
To know if his efforts were heading in the right direction.
"Yes, it was excellent."
Oliver answered honestly, recalling the fight at that moment.
Jo hadn't just applied black magic in the form most suitable for him right now to maximize efficiency; he'd also fully utilized his unique close-combat skills and instincts.
In the initial charge, even though he could have crushed the opponent with sheer power, Jo dodged with his signature footwork for efficiency, targeted the legs to neutralize mobility during the opening, and finished with a precise blow.
He'd smashed the skull before the guy could even feel pain—a fitting measure, given the amount of black magic he'd been dosed with.
The opponent had been the stubborn type who'd keep coming until his last breath.
'The other fighter was already in a state where dying soon wouldn't have been surprising anyway...'
Jo, having heard the response, asked back.
"Yeah?"
"Yes. The most impressive part was how you researched and used the optimal method tailored to yourself. Impressive. I never thought of using it that way."
Jo, pleased by Oliver's praise, drank his liquor without a word.
Just then, a burly man passing by called out to Jo.
"Jo! Saw your match earlier. Killer stuff! Where'd you learn that?!"
"Scram."
"Right away!"
The burly man scurried off as ordered.
No sooner had he left than a woman approached Jo and suggested they drink together, but Jo replied without even looking at her to get lost.
Everyone seemed to have some fondness for Jo, but he wasn't pleased by even that and drank alone, avoiding company.
Oliver watched him and asked,
"Mind if I ask one question?"
"What?"
"I hear you get fight money for participating. How much do you make?"
Jo narrowed his eyes.
"...Why do you wanna know?"
"Because I'm curious?"
Jo fell silent for a moment before answering.
"...Depends on the match. Usually a percentage of the pot. It's peanuts at first, but gets decent as the stakes rise. Especially here."
"I see. So how much do you get, Jo?"
"...A fair bit. About as much as from other gigs. But why? You thinking of joining?"
"No, just curious. You seem pretty well-treated here with good pay, but you don't like the place."
"That's why I'm asking—why are you curious? Quit dodging."
Jo asked, eyes flashing with wariness.
To get a proper answer, Oliver needed to ease that suspicion.
Oliver pondered how to explain. Did even curiosity need a reason?
But to hear the answer, he needed something plausible. Spontaneity required a good hook for the best response.
Oliver organized his thoughts and spoke.
"Well... I grew up in an orphanage."
"What?"
"I said I grew up in an orphanage. That's my earliest memory, no matter how far back I dig."
"......"
"Then I got a job at a mine."
"A job?"
"Yes. That's what the head of the orphanage called it. Said I wasn't a kid anymore and had to earn my keep."
"......"
"After that, I worked in the mine. For quite a while. Looking back, it was tough, but that's how I met my master. The one who taught me black magic... Black magic was fascinating."
"......"
"I think that's when I first felt something was fun. Black magic. So I learned the letters and numbers needed for it. I wanted to get good. Over time, I went through various things, and eventually came to Landa to learn about the world."
"...Why tell me all this?"
"Pardon? Ah... To answer why I'm curious. I can't explain it perfectly, but curiosity is my biggest driving force—and my joy... Satisfying it or learning the unknown is a huge pleasure."
"What exactly are you so curious about?"
"It started with black magic and emotions, but then other things too. Why the front and back districts of Landa differ so much? Why the rich and poor exist? The fundamental difference between magic and black magic? What is faith? What are demons? What is God? Everything. Including stuff about District X."
"...You're really weird. Beyond my understanding."
"People are hard to understand each other, it seems. That's why I talk. Like now."
It was just a long ramble without much persuasive power, but oddly, Oliver's words had a way of convincing people vaguely.
Jo, mulling it over in thought, was proof. He spoke.
"I just don't like it."
"Pardon?"
"Don't like it. Being treated like entertainment. Fighting to survive is unavoidable, but there's a minimum dignity even there. Fighting like monkeys in a zoo for gawkers? Personally hate it. Only participating now because of a deal with the gym master—planning to quit soon."
Ah, now Oliver recalled: to borrow the gym basement, there had been that deal with Dinkleji.
Not utter disgust, but as Jo just said, he clearly disliked the place.
That raised a question. Despite Jo's negativity, there were plenty of fighters.
"Reliable money here. Plus, plenty get dragged in forcibly."
"Like the one who fought you earlier?"
"Yeah. The scraps here are big, so some use drugged or black-magic-brained slave fighters. The managers don't care as long as it draws a crowd... That's what bugs me. Fine beating volunteers, but non-volunteers feel off."
Oliver now understood why Jo truly hated this place.
Jo had no qualms about fighting or killing per se, but he had his own rules separate from that.
Interesting.
Curiosity slipped out before Oliver knew it.
"Then, have you thought about leaving?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just... You must've made good money. Heard you took down Kel's Free Independence Army with me and shone in the jailbreak. With your skills, you could be a fixer anywhere without worries. Any special reason not to leave?"
At that, Jo flashed extreme wariness before easing it.
He stared at Oliver thoughtfully, then spoke.
"Got mouths to feed here."
"Mouths?"
"Nico, Big Jaw's family..."
Old names, but ones Oliver knew.
"Nico and Big Jaw—weren't they the ones who fought me with you?"
"Yeah, and they died."
Right. While retrieving former Magic Tower vice-professor Herbert on Murphy's request, Oliver had fought Jo, Nico, and Big Jaw—and killed those two in the process.
They weren't opponents he could take lightly at the time.
About a year ago now, but Oliver remembered them.
"Ah... Sorry?"
"Forget it. Everyone in this line risks their neck. No end to grudges. Just business, like you said."
Oliver nodded in agreement.
It might seem brazen coming from the killer, but Oliver held no special malice.
He'd just done his job, and in a mutual kill-or-be-killed, he'd struck first.
"Family, though? Siblings...? Ah! The community?"
"Yeah. Same community, so I look after them somewhat."
"I see."
Definitely, leaving with a big family made it a whole different issue.
Even if Jo had saved up, it'd be tight.
Oliver himself had far more fame and income than before, but moving to a better district was still tough.
Money aside, you had to watch for scams.
But beyond that, it was impressive.
He knew what a community was, but sticking to it till the end? Oliver was about to praise Jo when Jo spoke first.
"Then, can I ask a question?"
"Pardon? Ah... Yes. Go ahead."
"Heard you were swamped with fixer jobs lately. Big score or something? Thought you didn't work like that."
"Not a big score—just personal circumstances, so I cleared them all at once."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Can't go into details due to circumstances... but you seem to have something to say. Feel free."
Jo didn't hold back.
"Ever thought of joining our Fighter Crew?"
"Pardon?"
"Our boss is interested in you."
***
It was an unexpected offer, but Oliver politely declined, as always.
Affiliating with an organization just didn't suit him.
Thankfully, Jo wasn't too serious about it; he asked once and dropped it. Oliver and Jo exchanged a few more words and parted.
Afterward, Oliver asked Cocona, Angel's House, and Forest about good real estate agents and went to inquire about moving.
In spare moments, he prepared the materials from last time in the basement of his current place, getting ready to make Shroud Doll—Rag 2.
Rag 2 needed to maintain prior performance but appear as a normal person in peacetime—a tricky condition. Rather than jumping straight into making it, he started with design blueprints.
Tough work, but not impossible.
A solution was in the books from the auction house mission.
Make the shroud doll's body modular, add mechanisms to switch internal and external states—labor-intensive, but reliable.
Besides that, he had to figure out the use for the pure mana school's mage corpse, torn in half.
Too damaged for full shroud doll use, probably.
"Anyway, where do I go from here?"
Having grabbed the ID Merlin gave him and the looted magic bag, Oliver arrived at the Magic Tower and muttered while looking around.
Magic Tower. Magic Tower. Magic Tower... He'd expected something grand from the talk, but seeing it beat expectations by miles.
Passing high walls without battlements or anything, another city appeared inside.
No—correction. It was closer to one massive machine.
Towers in each sector anchored geometrically arranged buildings like components, linked by bridges like gear chains.
Plus, its own mana power plants and huge gear buildings kept the whole thing powered, constantly moving.
Overwhelmed by the scale, Oliver admired it while floundering, unsure where to go.
Should've asked exactly where the Elemental School Tower was.
Even asking directions, people here were too busy to respond properly.
Couldn't just give up, though.
Oliver kept asking passersby, only to get suspicion or dismissal.
"Directions?"
As the number of asks hit double digits, someone finally answered.
A woman with silver curly hair tied back and thick glasses.
"Yes. Could you tell me how to get to the Elemental School Tower?"