Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Retrieval (2)
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As the sun vanished beyond the horizon, Oliver dispatched a minion that shared its vision to secretly scout the magic brew workshop.
The thugs, steeped in boredom, merely patrolled mechanically. The lazier ones didn't even bother, opting instead for booze or card games.
Forrest's words that the thugs weren't worth worrying about rang truer than ever.
Occasionally, a rickety old truck rumbled by like it was on its last legs, loaded with about twenty boxes presumed to be magic brew. Production seemed pretty impressive.
Having realized his need for cash thanks to the Black Market, Oliver even found himself curiously wondering just how much one of those boxes might fetch.
Time passed, and as the scouting wrapped up, the sun had fully set, blanketing everything in darkness.
Oliver rose from his spot in that state and pulled a test tube from his pocket to extract the emotions.
Then, he cast no fewer than three black magics on himself.
Eraser Exit
Suppresses presence
Shade Cloak
Blends into darkness
Sneak Step
Silences footsteps
Black magics that muffled his presence, cloaked him in shadows, and silenced his footsteps— a combination that should fool most people completely.
Oliver didn't stop there. He infused his quarterstaff with Deep Sleep.
Not a one-time use, but a sustained effect with a hefty dose of emotion. It took a bit of effort, but he managed to load it fully without issue.
Preparations complete, Oliver began moving slowly.
En route, he released minions again, stationing them at key paths around the magic brew workshop.
A low-probability scenario, but just in case the target noticed and bolted.
Oliver approached the workshop stealthily, shrouded in darkness.
Focusing his vision slightly revealed the emotions of the stationed thugs everywhere. Despite the recent shift change, their concentration was as lax as during the day.
All they wanted was to clock out and satisfy their urges.
Thanks to that, Oliver could tackle the mission and practice with relatively low pressure.
Thud, thud. Someone approached from Oliver's direction.
A patrolling thug. Oliver pressed himself flat against the shadowy wall beside the alley, regulating his breathing. Calmly...
Moments later, footsteps drew near, and the thug appeared— oblivious to Oliver right in front of him, turning to head the opposite way.
Even with the thug's low focus and Eraser Exit plus Shade Cloak hiding his presence and form, it was still surreal up close. This trio might be even more useful than he'd thought.
Oliver kept his composure, raising his quarterstaff to tap the thug's back lightly.
The Deep Sleep stored in the staff seeped into the thug's body, and he crumpled forward like a puppet with cut strings.
Thud.
Oliver swiftly caught the falling thug.
Other thugs were nearby; any noise could ruin everything.
Oliver hoisted the unconscious thug and carried him to a spot he'd scouted earlier, laying him down.
A filthy, inconvenient place the thugs rarely patrolled. No one would find him there.
"Hm..."
Oliver gazed at the downed thug, pondering.
What to do? He wouldn't wake till sunrise, probably, but just in case... maybe kill him?
But offing someone already subdued felt off.
Not a conscience thing— more because of Cant's words.
"In this line of work, violence and killing are inevitable. But please, don't abuse it. Stick to the line. This is a personal request."
"Hm..."
Oliver groaned, mulling just where that "line" lay.
Back then, he'd just nodded without much thought, but now it struck him as terribly vague.
Should've asked for specifics.
Ignoring Cant entirely was an option, but... it felt wrong.
Disregarding Cant's request left a nagging itch.
So Oliver settled on a neutral compromise.
Extract some of the thug's life force. It'd lower the odds of waking early— maybe never.
Even if he did, he'd be too drained to move properly for a while.
In short, no interference with Oliver.
Pretty solid idea.
Safety, Cant's request, and free life force all in one.
Triple win.
He filled the spent test tube with life force, then moved on.
Patrolling thugs moved in ones or twos, without any set pattern, just wherever— perfect for picking them off one by one.
Like the first, Oliver circled stealthily, hiding in shadows when they passed, tapping them out with the quarterstaff.
Then dragging them to quiet spots, siphoning life force.
Soon, his test tube brimmed with it.
"Hm... From now on, this is how I'll top up any shortfalls in life force or emotions. Not bad."
Oliver thought that after smoothly taking out about a dozen patrolling thugs.
But it was short-lived.
With a dozen vanishing in short order, the thugs started noticing something off.
"Hey, where the hell are all the guys who went on patrol?"
"No clue, why you bitchin' at me?!"
"'Cause you're the only one here, dumbass... Hey? What about your side?"
"Somethin' fucked up over here too? Fuck, all our patrol guys vanished."
"Son of a bitch, for real... What the hell."
Oliver inwardly sighed.
Idiots. The thrill of the method and free life force had made him careless.
Should've thinned them faster, but he'd dawdled, letting them catch on.
Not a disaster, but the regret of failing the objective stung.
"No. No."
Oliver shook his head, refocusing.
Cant had said: Don't dwell on mission failures.
Half the time in this world, things didn't go as planned.
Clients lied, allies screwed up, or plain bad luck tangled everything.
This time it was Oliver's slip-up, but regardless— prioritize recovery over wallowing.
So he focused his vision, checking if the target was fleeing and mapping thug positions.
"...Huh?"
Oliver voiced aloud, staring at the wall he hid behind.
Something approached rapidly. Then a massive something burst through the wall, attacking.
Boom—!
Fortunately, Oliver swiftly deployed Black Shield to dodge the direct hit, but the sheer mass sent him flying back.
And that wasn't the end.
Hate Bullet x12
Barrage of hatred projectiles
Amid the dust from the shattered wall, twelve hate bullets rocketed toward him.
Tap-tap.
Oliver tapped the ground with his quarterstaff, raising Black Shield.
The hate bullets slammed into the black veil simultaneously, shaking it.
Luckily, Oliver's skill outmatched theirs; the shield held.
"Good! He's a shield user! Push him!"
With that shout, something burst through the dust.
A monster with a chain around its neck, enormous in size. On closer look, a familiar face from Forrest's photos— the third one.
Fighter Crew's mutant, Big Jaw.
In person, his bulk and muscles dwarfed the photo, but most intimidating were the grotesquely developed jaw and fangs.
More beast than man, one bite looked fatal.
"Bite him! Big Jaw! Bite!"
Nico, the black magician riding Big Jaw, yelled.
Oliver debated dodging.
His reflexes made it iffy.
Even if he did, the rider would counterattack.
So he chose another path.
Swinging the quarterstaff through the air, dispersing the stored Deep Sleep.
"...!"
"Guh...?"
True to their combat-specialist rep, Nico reacted fast, leaping off Big Jaw.
He narrowly escaped, leaving Big Jaw to take the Deep Sleep hit. For Oliver, that sufficed.
Neutralizing the frontal charge was enough.
As he prepared to pour firepower on the now-ally-less Nico, a third voice rang out.
"There he is!"
"Fire! Blast him!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sudden thug reinforcements opened fire on Oliver.
He threw up Black Shield in haste and counterattacked with Hate Bullets.
"Argh!"
"Hide! Get under cover!"
The thugs scattered. Then hate bullets flew from the side again.
"Damn..."
Oliver raised Black Shield once more to block, only for the thugs to pepper him persistently.
Sloppy teamwork, but annoying. Intriguing, too.
Individually harmless, yet combined... potent.
Reminded him of the puppeteer fight. Might use it himself someday.
Then—
Whoosh!
Something exploded from the thugs, closing in on Oliver.
Ignoring bullets and hate bullets alike, it stuck close and swung a fierce fist.
Crack—!
Oliver saw it: his Black Shield cracking from one punch.
"Oho... Pretty tough, huh?"
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The close-range assailant was Fighter Crew's Knuckle Joe from Forrest's rundown. Doped with black magic, he relentlessly hammered with knuckled fists.
As if acknowledging his prowess, the gunfire and hate bullets paused.
In sync, Knuckle Joe swung murderously.
Crunch... Shatter—!
The onslaught finally broke the Black Shield. Seemed weak to melee.
Or maybe melee just outpowered ranged overall.
Instinctively, Oliver backpedaled. Something seized him.
"Gotcha."
Knuckle Joe glared from under his buzzcut.
His eyes screamed seasoned killer.
"Minion."
"...?"
At Oliver's word, the hidden minion burst out, mouth agape.
Unleashing a shockwave.
Thrust. Black magic to repel or shatter foes.
Thrust
Repel / shatter shockwave
Knuckle Joe took a hit but not crippling; the shockwave hurled him far off, with collateral on the thugs.
Nico fired Hate Bullets instantly, but Oliver was faster this time.
Wrath Boom x5
Anger explosions / dust cloud
Wrath Booms detonated, kicking up dust.
"What?!"
"Where'd he go?!"
"Damn it, he slipped away!"
Oliver fled while his mind raced.
Like with the puppeteer, black magicians fought in such varied ways.
Some puppeteered dolls safely from afar,
others juggled multiples for impossible solo feats,
or like now, true black magicians synergizing— covering weaknesses, amplifying strengths.
Disorienting, but exhilarating.
Now he truly felt why Cant insisted on mastering diverse styles, beyond mere theory.
If Knuckle Joe, Nico, or Big Jaw had been a tad sharper, Oliver might've fallen without showing his full hand.
Like if Big Jaw bit instantly,
Nico pierced his shield with heavy firepower,
or Knuckle Joe shattered it in one punch.
A huge stroke of luck for Oliver.
The vague "why learn everything" crystallized right then.
Essential to survive the Black Market and this underworld.
Oliver halted, turning back toward his pursuers.
Midnight dust had them flustered, slowing the chase.
In that gap, he pulled two test tubes.
One with emotions, one with life force.
Just in case he'd extracted them— perfect timing.
Oliver felt truly lucky.
Black Suit ver. 2
Enhanced black magic armor