Chapter 266
Chapter 266
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 266
Chapter Title: Everyday Life (2)
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"Sorry about this. It's just business."
Oliver apologized as he swung his quarterstaff.
There was a BAM!! as the sound echoed out, sending the enemy mercenary flying far away. Unnaturally so.
"Ha... There really are no easy jobs, huh."
Oliver muttered to himself, thinking back on this mission.
The job was none other than protecting the residents being evicted for redevelopment in Sector S.
More precisely, it was stopping the mercenaries hired by the demolition company—ones called Pounders.
'They said they came to me specifically because of that guy.'
It had been a sudden request, but the pay and timeline were the best he'd seen, so he'd accepted. Now, Oliver was reminded once again that there was no such thing as easy money.
The mercenary called Pounder had taken Oliver's attack head-on, softened the impact by rolling back, and even used a burst of mana in midair to reposition himself advantageously.
They'd said he was a veteran mercenary who'd fought in double-digit wars, and it showed—he was incredibly seasoned.
Oliver clearly had the firepower advantage, yet he couldn't pin the guy down and they were stuck in a standoff. That was proof enough.
"Your name's Dave?"
Pounder asked from where he'd landed on a rooftop higher than Oliver's.
"Yes."
"I heard some punk was the second coming of Shamus and figured people were full of shit, but looks like I owe you an apology."
"You're too kind."
"Nah, nah, I'm serious. It's been forever since a warlock pushed me back in close quarters."
Pounder kept the conversation flowing naturally while carefully manipulating something through his golem prosthetic arm.
Oliver watched closely as he replied.
"Thank you for the praise."
"Heh! Polite, too... What a shame!"
"What do you mean?"
"Having to kill a polite young man like you with my own hands."
As he spoke, Pounder raised one prosthetic arm. At the same moment, Oliver sensed mana flaring to his right.
A small cannon—ten centimeters wide and fifty long—swiveled toward him, powered by mana.
The moment Oliver detected it, he fired a Hate Bullet, neutralizing the cannon.
BAM!
"Making your prep guy look bad!"
Pounder didn't panic at the failed attack. He thrust both golem prosthetic arms forward and unleashed a barrage of mana bullets like a machine gun.
Oliver deployed a Black Shield to block the shower of shots while countering with Hate Bullets of his own.
Pounder kept up the assault but used his golem prosthetic legs to leap to the adjacent rooftop, easily dodging Oliver's fire.
He was clearly at home in ranged fights.
Proof was in how Oliver's shots missed entirely, smashing harmlessly into railings, doors, or stray mana bullets.
Those mana bullets exploded like fireworks on impact with the Hate Bullets, illuminating the battle below between the demolition crew and the residents-labor union alliance.
The demolition company Pounder worked for was pushing forward with golems at the forefront, while the residents-labor union alliance desperately held them back with their specialist fighters.
"Your employer's putting up a good fight down there, but it's only a matter of time."
Pounder taunted, trying to rattle Oliver and gain the upper hand.
Intent aside, the words rang true.
The demolition crew had brought golems and were shoving ahead.
A golem's innate defense and mass made it a threat just by moving, and without firepower to counter them, the residents-labor union could only retreat step by step.
All they could do was buy a little time.
If Oliver didn't join soon, they'd be overrun.
"Need me to help them out quick? You won't get paid if they lose!"
Pounder kept provoking, waiting for Oliver to slip in his impatience.
Oliver responded.
"...I agree they need help soon. So I should wrap this up."
With that, Oliver compressed his emotions into his hand and unleashed them explosively, firing dozens of simultaneous Hate Bullets.
Like a shotgun blast.
The bullets spread in a fan-shaped barrage.
"Useless!"
Pounder vented mana from his prosthetic arms and legs, maneuvering in midair to evade.
But that was fine. Oliver hadn't aimed to hit from the start.
"Huh?!"
The fanning bullets passed Pounder on all sides—left, right, above, below—then detonated.
Just firework-level blasts, but that was all Oliver needed.
Targeting
Hate Bullet
A wave of emotion stretched out, painting a dartboard on Pounder's body. Then came the compressed Hate Bullet.
THUD!
A heavy sound cut through the air as the Hate Bullet flew straight for the bullseye.
"Cheap trick!"
Pounder didn't falter. He jetted mana from his prosthetic leg, twisting diagonally to dodge.
Just like before. But not this time.
As the dartboard shifted, so did the bullet—subtly correcting course.
Straight-shot nature meant it didn't hit dead center, but it clipped one of Pounder's prosthetic legs instead.
THUNK!
The impact killed his propulsion. Pounder plummeted, tumbling across the rooftop.
Black Dart
[Rage Bomb-loaded black blades]
Oliver pressed the advantage, launching over a dozen black blades infused with rage bombs.
Targeting still held, so they homed in precisely, varying only in angle.
Pounder threw up his arms like shields, deploying a mana barrier from his prosthetics. The blades clashed against it.
KABOOM!
The explosion rocked the building, kicking up thick dust.
Oliver scanned Pounder through his warlock sight.
'Life force and prosthetic mana are weakened, but he can still fight.'
Oliver pointed and poured Hate Bullets into the dust cloud, pinpointing him via emotion, mana, and life force. Easy shooting.
Pounder raised another mana shield to block.
No escape this time—definitely leg damage.
Keep the pressure, and victory was straightforward.
Then—
Something burst from the dust.
A bomb. Not a standard grenade, but one infused with warlock energy.
'That—'
BOOM!
It detonated midair, flooding the area with thick black smoke.
Black Mist—a warlock fog of emotion and life force that could blind even warlock eyes.
But Oliver was fine. If emotion and life force failed, mana worked.
'Especially Pounder's unique prosthetic mana—easy to track.'
Oliver focused. He sensed something and raised a Black Shield.
Just in time—a flyer shot from the mist, blasting laser-like mana bolts at him.
ZZZIIING!
It was a part detached from the prosthetic arm, breaking off during the mist to strike directly. Impressive.
Oliver blocked the lasers with his shield, admiring the high output—it would've hurt bad.
The mist seemed less for defense, more to set up a counter.
Admirable, thinking offense amid defense.
THUD—BOOM!!
A heavy impact shook the ground. Something massive had dropped in.
Pounder.
"You caught me off guard!"
He'd jetted across from afar with his good leg.
The leg looked intact? No—right one had a hole, grinding audibly.
Still, he prioritized Oliver, detaching another flyer from his shoulder to laser from both sides while limping in for a punch.
Tied up blocking dual lasers, Oliver spiked shadows to intercept Pounder.
The spikes nearly impaled the prosthetic, but Pounder yanked back and smashed them with a swing.
Oliver countered with shadow tentacles. Pounder tracked their paths keenly, dodging and destroying the dense spikes.
Oliver sped up spike generation, but Pounder whipped his prosthetics like overclocked engines, shattering them all.
"Raaagh!!"
Not without cost, though.
Destroying spikes drained mana; the detached flyer stopped firing and reattached.
Hands free, Oliver aimed fingers for spikes and Hate Bullets.
Pounder had to reach his limit soon.
Ping!
Another bomb tossed.
Flash!!
A stun grenade. Blinding light nullified Oliver's shadows and vision.
Pounder lunged, channeling mana into his prosthetic for a decisive punch.
Earth Thorn
Crunch!
Dense cement spears erupted from the floor, shattering the offense-focused prosthetic.
Pounder recoiled, stunned, retreating without immediate response.
"How...? Your eyes were...!"
"I've been practicing mana emission to scan surroundings. Nice to test it in real combat."
Oliver rubbed his dazzled eyes.
Countering the veteran's counter felt good.
"Tch...!"
Pounder detached shoulder parts again, sending more flyers.
ZZZIIING!
Intense dual lasers.
Oliver thrust his quarterstaff forward and chanted.
His Black Suit morphed, toothless mouths forming along the staff to slurp up the streaming mana bolts.
Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.
Pounder gaped at the sight but charged, lasers tying Oliver down.
Relentless spirit. Impressive.
"Minions."
At Oliver's word, two minions from his pocket flew out, blasting Hate Bullets at close range to down the pressure flyers.
Explosions freed his hands. Oliver raised his staff against the charging Pounder.
"Vomit."
As he slammed down the clustered mouths, a massive blast rocked the rooftop.
BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed from a redevelopment site in Sector S.
So loud nearby buildings shook, debris raining from the blast site.
"Scatter!"
The demolition crew and residents-labor union, locked in deadly combat moments ago, panicked and split to evade the falling chunks.
Wise move.
From pebbles to head-sized cement blocks.
Plink. Thud! Clang! Patter—Boom!! Bang! Plink—Crash! Boom!!
Dirt, stones, rebar, cement pouring like rain.
The ominous sight made everyone swallow hard. Then, something descended from above.
Oliver.
He landed softly via warlock magic, quarterstaff in one hand—his signature weapon—the other gripping a bisected corpse by the lower half.
"This one's... no good."
Oliver said, holding the legless body upside down like a fish.
Casual words, but the spilling guts made them chilling.
Everyone wondered whose it was. They soon found out.
Oliver ripped off the golem prosthetic leg and pocketed it.
"Pounder...? Pounder's down?"
"No way. The guy who killed a field mage."
"But that leg..."
The demolition crew gaped in horror at Oliver.
The residents-union, emboldened, cheered.
"We won! Dave did it!! Victory!"
"Haha! Serves you right, thugs! We won!"
"Fuck yeah, hell yeah!!"
The alliance rejoiced wildly.
The demolition contract was expiring. The now-desperate construction firm would have to accept their terms, meaning huge payouts.
Some from the failed demo company, sure.
Moment of triumph.
Then, the statue-still golem's eyes glowed, gears whirring back to life.
The demo boss barked orders.
"Crush 'em! If we fail, company's bankrupt!! Fight for your lives."
Desperate cry.
The 4-meter golem hefted a house-sized hammer toward Oliver per command.
Oliver mirrored, pulling back his staff to swing.
Rebar-like Black Armor layered dozens thick at the tip, forming an iron mace.
"No way...?"
People gasped.
A warlock pitting strength against a near-4-meter golem?
Absurd, but real. Then—
————!!
A deafening roar dwarfed the prior blast, shockwave shattering nearby windows. Everyone shut eyes, plugged ears.
Ziiing! Ringing in ears.
They looked. The golem lay toppled, unable to withstand. The warlock inspected it closely.
The warlock asked quietly.
"Mind if I take this golem?"