59 Billion 460 Million
The slums were usually quiet. The only sounds were lamentations and sighs. That was inevitable. Most people who washed up here carried heavy burdens—stories too painful to share with anyone. So they kept their mouths shut by unspoken agreement. Speaking only ended in complaints anyway. Better to stay silent.
But today the slums were different. Deep in a remote corner of the outer settlement, a car pulled up. Men in black clothes poured out, and a fight erupted without warning.
—What the hell is going on?
—Should we call the guards?
Residents hiding in the shadows whispered among themselves. Far away, giant snakes and towering figures were attacking the black-clad men. Something dangerous was clearly happening. The residents agreed they should fetch the guards at once.
Then one casual remark changed everything.
—Wait… isn’t that Lord Enoch?
—What? Don’t be ridiculous… Wait, it really is him?
—Haven’t seen him around lately. Must’ve gotten dragged into some trouble.
Enoch’s name carried weight in the slums. The tall man who secretly left food and necessities behind. Without his quiet generosity, many wouldn’t have survived the brutal winter. The moment his name was spoken, their thoughts shifted to protecting their benefactor. Black-clad strangers? Who cared if they lived or died?
—If it’s Enoch, it should be fine, right?
—He’s probably closer to the guards than we are. The fact he didn’t report anything means he has his reasons.
—Oh, someone just went down over there. Or… is he still alive?
—Drag the body over. Take what’s useful and get rid of it quietly.
The residents moved silently, dragging the fallen black-clad man closer. Surprisingly, he was still breathing.
“S-Save…”
—Thud!
They stabbed him repeatedly with broken blades. Short screams and convulsions followed, then faded. A familiar scene in the slums.
@
A steel snake lashed its tail. A black-clad man was crushed against the white metal.
—Urgh!
—Crash!!
The tail turned red with blood. Another man stepped on it and launched himself at Enoch.
—Swish
“Die!”
—Clang!
The charge was blocked. A Ruby Knight nearby raised its shield. The knight had been born from Enoch’s gem ring.
—Crack!
Spiderweb fractures spread across the shield. The knight thrust its sword forward.
—Clang!
The black-clad man parried, retreated, and hurled a dagger instead. The blade flew toward Enoch—only to be blocked as the snake twisted its body, shielding him.
“Damn it, how—”
—Boom!!
A steel giant struck. The man shattered into pieces. His final words were a pathetic curse.
‘This is going smoothly.’
Enoch watched from behind the snake’s protection. He had summoned five constructs in total. The enemy’s main force consisted of three Scroll-level mages, one Domination-level leader, and the rest barely above Clown rank. They had some training, but only by civilian standards. This world didn’t reward relying on raw physical skill alone.
—Clang!
Another ambush. A black-clad man slipped through a gap, threw his Ranselnak dagger, and triggered a hidden switchblade from his wrist.
—Swish
—Clang!
The blade was stopped by a long stiletto. Enoch had summoned a sword and deflected the strike.
‘Where did that come from?’
“Where did it come from? Right here.”
Enoch pointed to his finger. It wasn’t a lie. Just as he had used real-world items as mediums earlier, he had swapped the ring and weapon positions using the equipment-setting function.
‘You can’t micromanage every hero like in the game. But one is enough for me.’
Enoch thrust the stiletto.
—Clang!
The man blocked with his gauntlet and retreated. Enoch’s stiletto vanished instantly. The man braced for the next attack. Sword? Dagger?
“No. A gun.”
—Bang!
A bullet tore through his chest. The man collapsed without understanding what had happened. Enoch brushed away the smoke and holstered the pistol. One MM-1 Lightshot round inscribed with magic missile was more than enough for someone below even Clown rank.
‘The fight’s almost over… No. With that kind of confidence, they must still have one last card.’
Enoch aimed his pistol and scanned the battlefield. Most had fallen. Only five remained.
—Boom!
Another fell to the giant’s strike. Four left: three Scroll-level and one Domination-level.
‘So that’s what they were doing—preparing magic.’
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gun fired again. A shield shattered, and one black-clad man toppled backward.
“Urgh!”
—Thud!
“…Captain! The preparations are complete!”
“Do it now!”
The remaining Scroll-level mages urged their leader. He nodded once.
“Understood.”
The leader extended his left hand. Faint mana coiled around his fingers. Then he spoke.
“Bend.”
—Crack!
With that single word, magic activated. All five fingers of his left hand snapped at once. This was the price. In exchange for the caster’s body, grotesque giants had surrounded them. The giant, the snake, and the knight—all twisted and shattered simultaneously.
—Clang! Clang!
—Boom!
—Crash…
The giants collapsed one after another. At the same time, the Scroll-level black-clad men coughed blood and fell.
“Gah… urgh…”
“I see. Word magic. A lineage mage, not from the Tower.”
Enoch watched with interest. Those who learned directly from reclusive mages rather than the ivory tower of the Magic Tower. The black-clad leader was a lineage mage.
“Quite skilled, unexpectedly. Though the risk seems substantial.”
“……”
Enoch smirked at the man, who clutched his broken hand in pain. It wasn’t just the broken fingers. His subordinates had fallen too, suggesting additional unknown risks.
“…This isn’t the time to be pleased, is it?”
The black-clad man staggered to his feet.
“Your magic is all dismantled now. You can’t activate such magic multiple times.”
“It’s a skill, not magic.”
“Shut up.”
The man drew a gun from his coat—a pistol-type magic tool that fired inscribed bullets, just like Enoch’s.
“I don’t want to hear your nonsense anymore. Die quietly.”
“Really? You’ll regret it.”
“Shut up.”
The man cut him off and fired.
—Bang!!
“……Huh?”
The man came to his senses too late. He had attacked, yet it was he who was rolling on the ground, not Enoch.
‘What… what happened—’
He struggled to rise. His left arm and one leg were gone. Using his remaining right hand, he pushed up, only to hear that irritating voice.
“Your magic was quite impressive. The risk is high, but the power is certainly deadly.”
“…You bastard.”
“But that’s all it is. Living targets must require even greater risk. That’s why you targeted the machines first instead of me. Am I wrong?”
‘Wouldn’t have worked anyway.’
Enoch approached. The man finally realized what had attacked him. It was the snake. The white mechanical snake that had been destroyed earlier was restored to its original state.
—Rumble…
“…How is this possible? I saw it shatter with my own eyes…”
Enoch smirked and pulled out a pocket watch. It was the same type he had thrown into the bushes at the start. Notably, there wasn’t just one or two watches.
Enoch’s ability was magic yet not magic. It was a combination of skills, traits, and passives. Perhaps that was why it carried a gambling-like risk: performance varied by medium. But he couldn’t explain that to otherworlders. Explaining skills would be tedious. So Enoch shook the watch and gave a vague answer.
“As long as I have the medium, I can use magic as much as I want. That’s all you need to know.”
The man glared murderously at the swaying watch. After a moment, he squeezed out words.
“No, that’s impossible. Human mana isn’t infinite. Unless you’re at least a Tower Lord level—”
“You seem to be mistaken about one thing.”
Enoch interrupted. He pointed to himself boastfully.
“I don’t use mana at all.”
“…What?”
“Just as I said. I don’t have mana to begin with.”
Players in this world mainly used resources other than mana for skills—for example, limited uses per turn or cooldowns. But Enoch wasn’t satisfied with that. So he cheated a bit. Instead of waiting for cooldowns, he vastly increased the number of skill slots.
‘It wasn’t easy. But it wasn’t impossible either.’
The function to enhance hero equipment. The inscription function to imbue magic. And the player’s skills. Enoch combined them. He used the inscription function to inscribe the player’s summoning skill onto specific items as if it were magic. The experiment succeeded. The status window recognized each medium as a distinct skill. Global cooldowns weren’t shared at all.
‘Can’t explain all this.’
Enoch chuckled and shook his head. Then he tossed the watch behind him. Two mechanical snakes rose anew.
—Uoooo…!
“Believe me now?”
“……”
The man fell silent. When he raised his head again, his eyes gleamed with malice.
“…Dangerous. Too dangerous.”
“What is?”
“You. I must kill you here, no matter what.”
—Crack!
The man’s fingers snapped again. The snakes coiled protectively around Enoch. With a shattering sound, one snake’s head was severed.
“…I have to eliminate you. For the sake of the future plan… I must…!”
“How touching. You only have two fingers left. What’s next? Your toes?”
“If necessary, anything.”
The man answered firmly. Enoch scoffed shortly.
“Well. Even all your fingers and toes combined won’t be enough.”
“What?”
The man’s eyes trembled slightly. Enoch pointed at himself dramatically.
“There’s one thing you don’t know. I’m rich. Extremely so. Whatever amount you imagine, it’s probably far more than that.”
As he spoke, Enoch rummaged through his coat. From the inventory in the status window, countless accessories poured out.
—Clatter…
“The minimum cost to create one snake. That’s this watch. The price… was about 370,000 Kro, I think?”
Enoch lifted a watch and clenched his fist. Combining magic inscription and skill, he created another medium.
“Congratulations. You’ve successfully emptied my pockets.”
“……”
“What are you doing? Keep up that momentum from before. Now you only need to die about 5,946,000,000 more times.”
Enoch taunted, shaking the watch.