Black Mage Hunt
When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I realized was that I was nestled in Kim Ha-yeon's arms, clutched like some kind of security blanket. Fortunately, she wasn't gripping me too tightly, so a little wiggle was all it took to slip free. Compared to Yoon Seol-ah, who sometimes rolled over in her sleep and ended up sprawled on top of me the next morning when she eyed my bed, this was downright civilized.
"Hey. Kim Ha-yeon. Wake up."
"Five... just five more minutes..."
She mumbled in her sleep, insisting on more rest while her hand fidgeted around, groping like it was searching for something. Wait, is this girl even looking for me in her dreams? ...Who knows. Girls just lose it over cute things, I guess. It was a little creepy, but nothing worth making a fuss about. Not when I had a packed schedule ahead.
I freshened up quickly, flipped open the tent flap, and stepped out into a blast of intense sunlight.
"Ugh, it's scorching."
I pulled a vial of heat-resistance potion made from my shed scales out of my gear bag and downed it like a morning vitamin. A warm energy spread through my body, and suddenly the desert heat vanished completely.
Prep for desert ops was done. Now...
"...Where do I even start tracking this Black Mage?"
There'd been nothing around those puppets yesterday. I had no idea how far the Black Mage's necromancy reached, but it wasn't close-range, that much was clear. If I had some magic-trace tracking skill, it'd be easy, but right now, I had to hunt for tiny clues. A scouting drone would be perfect for this...
...Wait. Scouting drone?
Oh yeah. I did have a living one.
I called out to Ina, who was grooming herself meticulously inside the tent.
"Ppi?"
Unlike me, she was finishing up her primping with fine attention to detail before approaching. Seeing my exact likeness acting all girly was a bit weird, but damn if it didn't suit her perfectly. No reason to stop her. Cute is cute.
I was about to tell her to track the Black Mage when I remembered the crucial detail I'd overlooked.
...What does the Black Mage even look like?
I'd never laid eyes on one climbing the tower so far. No way I'd know offhand.
If I wanted intel on tower NPCs, best to ask the tower NPCs themselves. Leaving sleepy Kim Ha-yeon behind, I headed for the Resistance Commander's tent.
The commander was sipping coffee outside his tent and greeted me warmly upon spotting my approach.
"Ah, Dragon-nim. I trust you slept well?"
"Yeah, thanks to you. Anyway, I'm about to start hunting that Black Mage..."
"No need to worry about that."
He explained that his scouts had reported several villages suspected as the Black Mage's hideouts last night. The villages themselves didn't scream "evil lair," but suspicious figures had been spotted occasionally.
"Here—the robes the Black Mages wear."
He showed me two sheets of slightly aged parchment. One depicted a figure in a pitch-black robe trimmed with purple, hood pulled low to obscure the face. The other was a map centered on the resistance camp, marking nearby villages with suspected Black Mage hideouts.
I took the parchments and held them out for Ina to study closely.
"Got it? Check those marks for anyone dressed like this. Stay hidden—no getting spotted!"
"Ppi-!"
She nodded vigorously like she understood, spread her wings wide, and soared off toward the nearest mark on the map.
Following her master's orders, Ina soared high into the sky for a bird's-eye view of the village. Her mission: locate the Black Mage's hideout using the description provided. Unlike her master, who ballooned to massive size in dragon form, Ina was bird-sized—perfect for reconnaissance.
She was leisurely surveying from above when...
"What is that? A bird?"
"Idiot, you blind? No bird looks like that."
"True... It's weird-looking. Then what?"
"Duh. Look at it. Gotta be some kind of fairy."
"Ppi...?"
If Ina had been drone-tiny, she could've infiltrated stealthily. Sadly, she was magpie-sized. And these villagers—descendants of Mongols or something?—spotted her hovering high up while two farmers paused their work.
Stealth mode activated. Ina swooped low over rooftops, checking the houses her master had indicated.
"Mom! There's a fairy at the window!"
"Fairies again? You think you're an elf or something? Quit yapping and help with chores!"
Not this one. Ina dodged a wide-eyed boy pulling out a net, who stared at her in fascination.
...Almost became that kid's pet fairy, she thought, cold sweat beading on her brow.
A few more houses checked: empty or normal folk. Mostly ruins or nothing. After a long flight, Ina perched on a railing to rest her aching wings.
"Ppi..."
Where the heck is it? Tears welled up at the thought of failing her master.
"Ppi?"
Then she sensed it—a sticky, dark aura oozing from the house beneath her. Peeking inside, she found a shocking scene in the gloom: a little girl dead with a serpentine dagger plunged into her heart, surrounded by a creepy crimson magic circle. Red candles dotted around amplified the sinister vibe.
Overseeing it all: a robed figure matching the parchment sketch perfectly. He chanted in some guttural, alien tongue, and black smoke began seeping from the girl's corpse.
The necromancy was so horrifying that startled Ina let out a chirp.
"Ppiit...!"
"Hm? What's that noise?"
Realizing her mistake, Ina bolted. Mission accomplished—find the Black Mage's location. She flew straight back to her master's scent.
"...Nothing. Just my imagination."
The Black Mage scanned around for the intruder but couldn't spot the already-fled Ina.
Waiting near the village where the Black Mage supposedly lurked, I spotted Ina zooming back in a panic, like she'd fled something terrifying. Looked like a find... but hopefully not tailed.
"Ppi-! Ppi ppiit-!"
"Got it. House at the end of mark three... Yeah, yeah."
Kim Ha-yeon stared at me blankly, baffled that I understood Ina's chirps.
"How do you even get that...?"
"Why wouldn't I? Anyway, let's move!"
Catching the Black Mage meant extra rewards. No telling if his puppets might drop dead suddenly, so haste was key.
Kim Ha-yeon and I dashed into the village, heading straight for Ina's tip. Locals eyed the outsiders suspiciously but didn't block us.
"Hey! We know everything—don't bother denying it! Come out!"
The house looked normal outside, but my draconic senses picked up foul magic leaking through. Still, the Black Mage stayed silent.
I wasn't one for drama, but we couldn't waste the day. Time for brute force.
Bam!
Crash!!
Body Enhancement skill amped my fist, and I smashed the wooden door to splinters with a crack! Inside, the Black Mage stared in shock, having waited quietly for the intruder to leave.
Beside him: a cold child corpse and an obvious sacrifice ritual circle.
"B-but I warded it with black magic..."
"Your black magic sucks."
Now be a good boy and turn into extra reward material without a fuss.
As I strode in triumphantly, villagers who'd heard the commotion swarmed, yelling at me and Kim Ha-yeon.
"Outsiders smashed the sage's house!"
"Militia! Get the militia!"
"Destroying the sage's home—what blasphemy!"
Sage? What?
Clearly, the Black Mage had the villagers brainwashed. In that split-second distraction, he cast some obscure spell, shrouding the interior in darkness.
So fast...!
Without proof of his corpse-magic villainy, they turned on us, binding us with ropes.
...These knots were annoyingly tight.
Body Enhancement would shred them easy, but...
NPC reputation carried across floors. I'd heard hunters suffer from bad fame. Better play nice if they weren't outright killing us.
Kim Ha-yeon had said just barge in and grab him, but now... I shot her a look demanding answers.
"I-I don't know! No issues on layer 12. Mystic's different, right...?"
"How's it different? Something changed, and that's why we're here."
"Layer 12's Black Mage wasn't called 'sage' by the people..."
"..."
So, not some special trap—the issue was trying to snatch him mid-village. We got nabbed instead. Normal difficulty's layer 12 Black Mage seemed different; here on Mystic, he was revered as a village sage.
...Conclusion: Sloppy recon was our downfall.
In a US lab, things were buzzing around Captain Yard, the S-rank hunter.
"Calculations show 'Yonggari Chicken's' layer 1 clear score is impossible."
"...You think that makes sense?"
Captain Yard scowled at the researchers. This lab's mission: engineer top hunters via science. He himself was a product of the super soldier project.
Yet some comet-like no-name topped score rankings, identity and method unknown?
"Reverse-engineered with our score formula—still impossible. Even fulfilling every NPC demand instantly wouldn't cut it."
"Bonus conditions maybe?"
"Our findings: 'Yonggari Chicken' is a Korean frozen processed meat product name."
"Korean hunter then?"
"Doubtful..."
Hunters were money wars. Korea punched above weight, but not against GDP giants.
"Maybe Korea uncovered a secret training method?"
The idea of a Korean gov super-serum got shot down fast.
"White Tower regional ranks help narrow it, but borders aren't exact."
'Yonggari Chicken's' zone spanned to parts of Russia.
"Northeast Asia likely. China hiding something with a fake name?"
"Figure out the score first. By any means."
In this era, top hunters equaled national power. That intel was key to world dominance.
Who was Yonggari Chicken? It was a global mystery.
Unfortunately, Kim Ha-yeon and I were in no position for visitors. Locked in a desert village jail.
Sunny spot, soft straw bedding—not awful, but I hated it. Tempting to polymorph to dragon and smash out...
But NPC rep across tower floors? No dice.
...Or would they just fear me as the rampaging psycho dragon? Someone show up and bail us out already.
"Wish someone would come get us."