The Merchant Nation (2)
The rune ᚦ(Thurs) turned white. The fusion of magic and magic had succeeded. Summon Cloud layered itself over the mandala where ᚦ(Thurs) had been deployed. Perhaps combining it proved easier than the freezing beam because fewer spells were involved. Or maybe the two magics simply meshed well. The braided elf who once taught me Summon Cloud had mentioned it could be paired with Sleep. Recalling that, I unleashed the fused spell forward.
Fwoooosh—!!
【Wh-what the—?!】
【Clouds? It’s a smokescreen! Don’t panic—】
Steam billowed out like several fire extinguishers discharging at once. Thuds followed as bodies hit the ground. The thugs who inhaled the sleeping gas had fallen into deep slumber thanks to ᚦ(Thurs).
【It’s poison gas! Don’t breathe it!】
【What are you on about? It’s just a nice aromatherapy nap.】
Calling it poison gas was a bit rude. Not every druid traffics in toxins and plagues. Please stop the druid hate. Still, the volume was greater than expected. I hadn’t used Summon Cloud for anything besides compressed blasts in ages, so I’d misjudged the output. My mana reserves had also grown absurdly fast lately.
‘Did I really have this much steam stored up from all those attack buffs?’
That much vapor explained why the Munge-Munge Gun packed such a punch.
Whooooosh…!
While I was thinking, wind stirred inside the mist. A fierce gust swept the sleeping gas away, and the low-output Summon Cloud scattered with it.
‘—A mage?’
Eyes half-lidded, I spotted two thugs manipulating mana. So this wasn’t an ordinary street gang.
【That son of a bitch!! Kill him!!】
【He’s holding a spear but he’s a mage!! Don’t give him time to pull any tricks!!】
The thugs, who had started the fight, were now screaming after taking the first hit. It was an ugly sight, but I was glad for it. Even if they’d hesitated, it meant they were killers at heart.
‘If this isn’t murder but just taking out the trash, my conscience can stay clean.’
I shouldered my spear as the defiant thugs approached. The gap in skill was so wide that I felt no tension at all.
“Larilura. Protect Hela. Franc, keep an eye on the surroundings whenever you get the chance.”
“Oka~y!”
“Got it.”
After their reliable replies, I raised my fists.
【Hundredfold Fist Gale Fang.】
—Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
I drove a rapid jab combo, boosted by Beast Regression, into the jaws of five men. To anyone unskilled, my shoulders would have looked like a low-frame camera blur.
【Guh?!】
【Wagh!!】
【Duhh!!】
Three dropped unconscious from direct chin strikes. Only two had the reflexes to track my movements.
【Bwah!!】
【Kiyaaah!!】
One still lost his front teeth trying to dodge. The other managed to raise his sword in time, but it didn’t matter.
—Crack!!
His reaction was decent, yet the weapon shattered on impact. Shards embedded in his face as he danced like a fool.
【Kiyaaaaah?!】
【A thug who can handle mana. That’s a rare specimen.】
The memory of my desperate fight against the Walking King Gorani surfaced, stirring a brief sentimental mood. I kicked the one spitting broken teeth unconscious and clubbed the one with a face full of metal fragments using my spear haft.
—Thud-thud-thud!
Thirteen men lay defeated in an instant, including those already napping from the sleeping gas. Since I could subdue them without killing, I held back on lethal force. I could always finish them later if needed.
【D-damn it!!】
When I casually neutralized their comrades, the mage thugs in the rear screamed curses.
【Flames of the south, heed my call—!】
They began chanting with mouths wide open. Their response was clumsy. If they had any real skill they would have used silent casting or split roles—one binding my feet while the other attacked. Instead—
—Tatat!
They left themselves open to a direct approach. I analyzed the situation coldly and dashed toward the mages.
‘Lightning Missile interception won’t work.’
Magic tended to splash. A ranged duel risked hitting Hela. The safest way to avoid collateral damage was to draw all the aggro myself. They wouldn’t ignore a combat expert charging straight at them.
【Flame Arrows!】
As expected, offensive spells flew my way. Weaker in power but faster and wider than normal arrows—the flame variant of Arrow magic.
—Whirrr!
I activated the ᚦ(Thurs) magic item in my accessory slot. It was an amulet inscribed with an anti-magic rune. Up close, I could see the masked mages clearly. They were plump women who had clearly neglected exercise in favor of magical research. Their aim was sloppy, yet their killing intent was that of hardened murderers. It was almost comical.
Huuuup—!
I drew up my mana and roared.
【Rebuke! Denounce!】
Rebuke upon rebuke!
【—Rebuke and Denounce!!】
—Bang!
The flame arrows that struck me scattered like duds. The mana of the neutralized spells flashed and vanished.
【What?!】
The mages stared in disbelief. Whether they believed it or not, this was reality. Their magic was weaker than the gunpowder in those toy pistols sold at stationery stores when I was a kid—the ones you slammed against a wall to make sparks fly. The smell of that battlefield, the flavor of gunpowder! The spirit of Pax-Koreamericana, spending pocket money on fleeting explosions. With overwhelming odds now in my grasp, I sank into a nostalgia only my peers could understand.
Memories rose. Friends charging with leaky thousand-won water guns. The time I borrowed a thirty-two-thousand-won water rifle from an older acquaintance and drenched everyone. Summer vacation water fights on the school field with ice-chilled water. Fire and ice. Gunpowder pistols and water guns. The song of fire and ice that marked the end of my childhood had stirred a whirlpool across the sea of my neurons.
—Did the memories of youth shape a creature’s life? If so, could childhood trauma absolve future evil? When a bear cub, meant to be doted on by its parents, had its family stolen by bastards, and devoted its body and soul to slaughtering every last one of them in this world—who bore the responsibility? The bastards who harmed its mother? The corrupted cub who sought to harm innocents? Or was it simply cruel fate? It was unknowable. Everyone turned away from others’ suffering to improve their own lot. That was the harsh truth of an individualistic, competitive society.
Crackle……!
The realization strengthened me. Without even chanting the spell name, my hands had grown cold. Perhaps the spirit of the Earth hero bearing the bear’s power resonated with the cub’s sorrow. By ruminating on the world’s cruel reality, I had awakened the ability to cast Freezing Hand silently.
—Crunch.
I grasped that icy reality in my palm. When even the hand extended to others was this cold, perhaps we truly lacked the luxury to care for anyone else.
【—Ice-White Divine Palm.】
Crack—!!
I discarded my spear and unleashed a double-handed hook. Palms brimming with extreme cold shattered the two mages’ shields and struck their bodies.
【Kkyaaaaah!!】
Hit with freezing punches to the solar plexus, their bodies flew like paper. They slammed into trees like stones from a slingshot, trembled like aspens in the cold, and passed out.
—Thud!
Thus I stood face-to-face with the man who appeared to be the client. Like a champion meeting a challenger in a title match.
【……I underestimated you. My eyes have grown dull.】
The man in turban and mask drew two swords as he spoke.
【Dual-sword bug, huh. A man who appreciates style.】
I called my spear back into my hand. Everyone knew dual swords were equipment reserved for washed-up tryhards.
【But when amateurs high on their own hype try dual-wielding, it’s nothing but a clumsy Arirang dance.】
Even as I taunted, I raised my guard. Provocation was one thing; the fight was another. If this bastard’s technique included something like Nefertiti’s Desert Serpent whip arts or Gertur’s special anomalies, it could be dangerous. What if he possessed a technique on a completely different level from ordinary martial arts, like Gertur’s spinning windmill defense?
‘Better avoid close combat.’
After all, martial arts followed the credo of “if you don’t know it, you die.”
The dual-sword turban man spoke in a mocking tone.
【What’s wrong? You mocked my beloved blades, then suddenly got scared?】
【Vertical.】
【Uwaaah?!】
—Fwoosh!!
I fired a freezing beam from my fingertips. A triple fusion of Beast Regression, Freezing Hand, and Summon Cloud! Considering the risk of injury, this was the smartest approach. The turban man who had been taunting me rolled across the ground in an ugly heap. When the stray freezing energy iced over the grass, he instinctively froze in place, sensing that a direct hit would kill him.
【Y-you bastard!! Fight fair and square!】
【Suuuure thing~.】
I mocked his pronunciation while firing vertical beams in rapid succession.
—Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh!!
Two freezing projectiles per second! The turban man, focused entirely on evasion, was soon gasping. With mana reserves rivaling most mages, I was spamming the cost-effective freezing beam. Dodging alone would drain his stamina fast.
【You damn—!!】
Enraged, he swung his swords at empty air.
“Worr-rrrrr!!!”
At that motion, the mother bear that had been crouching sprang into action. The sword in his left hand must have been a magic item. The bear wasn’t joining our fight—it charged straight at Larilura.
【Wh-what?! You stupid beast!! Help us instead—】
【Vertical.】
—Thud!!
Distracted, the turban man took a freezing beam (physical) to the face.
【Kahak!!】
His torso caved in from the gas pressure, and frozen blood mist sprayed out. Spitting icy blood like a kicked flowerpot, the turban man collapsed.
《sA ra imn-m-Hat mAa-xrw Dd.fm wpt mAat. Dd.f xa m nTr.》
Franc chanted and summoned a golem. A massive clay golem larger than the bear rushed forward.
“Sorry. Just stay still for a bit.”
“Wooooorgh—!!!”
—Thud!
The mother bear, locked in a contest of strength with Ringling 3.5, was pinned to the ground and restrained. That side was finished without my help.
‘We’ve long since outgrown struggling against one or two bears.’
Larilura could have handled it alone if she hadn’t been worried about the cub. The mother bear had probably charged that way after catching the cub’s scent.
I left the mother bear to my party and turned to the turban man.
【Huff, huff, huff……!!】
His chest, struck by the low-temperature gas, looked like pork hanging in a freezer—ready to be hooked to the ceiling.
【You’re done for. Should’ve invested in defense.】
I kicked him over.
【Hey. You’re a foreigner too, right? What now? Out of fellow expat solidarity, I could go easy on you. Answer honestly and I’ll make it painless.】
【……Don’t talk nonsense! Even if I die, I won’t spill information!】
【Ah, figured as much.】
I knew he’d say that.
【Kill him! That kind of scum deserves to die!!】
Hela, who had been quietly leaving the fight to us, suddenly shouted in fury—perhaps from past experience with ambushes during commissions. She stamped her feet, nostrils flaring.
【That man is definitely a thug sent by the Trustas Trading Company! They must be trying to seize the dye market!】
【Yeah, I thought so too.】
The dye market touched alchemy, blacksmithing, tailoring—countless fields. Even in the twenty-first century, premium dyes were absurdly expensive. In a world where mass production was difficult, the cost was painful to even mention. These bastards planned to eliminate natural dyes like Worr Grass, monopolize the market with their own products, and rake in massive profits.
【……Hmph.】
The turban man maintained his silence even as death approached. Yet that very silence only lent his refusal more weight.
‘That’s probably why they used wild animals.’
If they claimed animals had ruined the fields, who would suspect anything? They intended to drive out natural dyes by controlling the mother bear, then jack up prices after monopolizing the market. Even in Korea, telecom companies and public utilities had shown the terror of monopolies. Before Wi-Fi, the fear of that internet button in the middle of every phone screen was something everyone shared. A single minute of connection could cost thousands of won. Damn it.
The turban man, knowing he was dying, only grew more defiant.
【No matter what you say, you won’t open my mouth. Torture me all you like.】
【Yeah. I will.】
—Thwack!!
I smashed his crown with my spear and killed him. Then I deployed the rune mandala. I laid ᚨ(Ansuz) on the ground and used ᚦ(Thurs) with my hand.
‘Convenient not having to draw runes on the floor every time.’
The application technique I received from the prophet’s avatar had been quite helpful. The soul leaving the turban man’s body widened its eyes.
—Th-this can’t be!
The soul, struck by ᚦ(Thurs), grew hazy and unfocused. It would answer questions honestly, like someone dosed with truth serum. This would be easier than interrogating the ogre last time.
Shouldering my spear like a teacher from the seventies or eighties demanding bribes, I asked:
【What’s your boss up to?】
Time to hear what those port-city gangsters were really doing.
***
I extracted information from the now-compliant turban man—his name was Salgarlanda—and returned to my party.
“Franc. Let her go. I’m going to smash that bastard’s head in.”
“H-Hela! This isn’t like you! Please calm down!”
Hela gripped the morning star she had brought for self-defense, eyes blazing. Franc was trying to stop her, and I felt awkward intervening. Both Hela’s anger and Franc’s restraint were justified. I left it to Franc and went to Larilura instead. In a contest of strength, Franc wouldn’t lose to Hela anyway.
“Ah, sunbae!”
Larilura, who had been wearing a gloomy expression, brightened upon seeing me.
“Why the long face?”
As I asked, I took in the situation and understood. My junior was showing the cub—captured by Ringling 3.5—to the mother bear.
“Byaaaooo…… (Mommy…….)”
“Grrrrr……!!”
But the mother bear didn’t recognize her own cub. Eyes bloodshot, she bared her fangs. If Franc’s golem hadn’t pinned her down by the head, she might have killed her own child.
Larilura stamped her feet in distress before turning to me.
“Sunbae. Can you talk to her? Why is she acting like this?”
“No need to ask. They fed her stimulants. To make her easier to control.”
I showed her the pouch of medicine I had taken from the turban man. It was a leather bag containing a murky blue powder. The thugs had used it to excite the bear and strip away its reason.
“They call themselves the Fangs of Shadow or something. Just some flashy-sounding underworld group. Since they were subcontracted, he didn’t even know who hired them.”
Though the turban man had apparently guessed it involved the dye market. For reference, I had already sent him to the afterlife. If hell existed, that’s where he went. All he left behind was a bit of money and the medicine pouch. I abandoned the dual swords; selling them would only invite pursuit.
“Th-then, can medicine or healing magic fix this?”
“No. Ordinary medicine won’t work. It’s clearly addictive, so we’d need a dedicated antidote or spell for this specific substance.”
Healing magic and potions weren’t omnipotent. If every illness could be cured by medicine or treatment, temples wouldn’t have a reason to exist. There were limits to how much they could extort through medical fees.
“You can’t fix it…… Then these poor things……”
Larilura’s eyes welled with tears, as if empathizing with the cub. Though I spoke of it as someone else’s problem, I felt the same pity for the tragedy that had befallen the bear family. Even as a veterinary student who constantly reminded myself that humans ranked above beasts, the instinct to feel compassion for other living creatures was something every living being possessed.
“Unless someone researches a specialized vaccine, commercially available items or common healing magic won’t—”
As I spoke, a thought flashed through my mind like lightning, and I fell silent. If it was a substance that interfered with the mind, even an addictive drug would contain some magical component.
‘In that case, couldn’t ᚦ(Thurs) treat it?’
ᚦ(Thurs) was the rune of peace and protection. The rune Veronica had once used in my dream to shield against being swept away was also ᚦ(Thurs). This rune carried mental protection effects as well. After all, its forced sleep and confession effects stemmed from dream-related properties.
‘Worth a try.’
There was no harm in testing it. Thinking so, I raised a ᚦ(Thurs) mandala in my palm just as before and aimed it at the mother bear.
—Flash!
It felt as though the mother bear’s mind unfolded in my brain like a 3D map. I scouted through it as if flying a drone and discovered something unsettling, my eyes widening. Within that mental inner world burned something eerily similar to what I had seen during my own rampage. The black sun that had appeared above the ancient god’s mana.