Overkill
Normally, the standard procedure would be to incapacitate the guy and find out why he was targeting me. But I had no idea how to hold back my power like that. Since he was throwing hidden weapons with the clear intent to kill, I saw no reason to show him any restraint.
I raised my staff toward the direction the projectile had come from and prepared a Magic Missile. Five mana orbs formed in quick succession. They immediately converged into a single, larger sphere. I repeated the process.
‘This is my first time stacking twenty.’
The small mana spheres merged and swelled like a growing snowball. Even at fifteen stacks it had felt quite heavy, but this time the sheer size was on another level. Just holding it steady while aiming created noticeable wind pressure around me. Maintaining it any longer for precision was already straining.
I fired it straight at the spot on the ice wall where the hidden weapon had struck.
Boom!
The recoil hit me like I’d physically launched a cannonball.
Magic Missile Lv.29 (Multi-Stack Cast)
A mana shell causes a massive explosion, reducing the surrounding area to ash.
The fired mana sphere roared like a true missile. It shattered Haley’s ice wall in front with nothing but its pressure wave, then obliterated the surrounding bushes and trees as it flew. Massive trees were sent flying in every direction like bowling pins struck by a giant ball.
And then—
Kwaaaaang—!
‘It’s a bit too flashy, though.’
The mana sphere reached its target and erupted in a massive explosion, just as expected. With this much power, there was no way whatever was over there could have survived. The entire area had been completely demolished.
“Whoa……”
Haley’s eyes sparkled like she was watching the most spectacular fireworks display, reflecting the brilliant white blast.
You have eliminated the Cult contractor ‘Roman’!
The system message followed right after. The one who had been after me belonged to the Cult—the main villains of the game. Since I couldn’t remember the name, he was probably just a low-ranking grunt. If so, that was relatively fortunate. The Cult wouldn’t pay much attention to a mere underling.
At this point in the story, the Cult was focused on expanding its influence in the underworld rather than moving openly. Tailing people, killing them, and accepting assassination contracts were all part of their operations. Haley hadn’t done anything yet that would earn her a death mark. If events followed the original plot, she never would.
On the other hand, I had definitely earned someone’s grudge. And that someone had enough wealth to commission a hit.
Come to think of it, that bastard had gone out today, hadn’t he?
“So cool……”
Haley murmured to herself as she stared at the devastated landscape. Calling it “cool” felt like a massive understatement. A colossal path had been carved through the forest along the trajectory of the Magic Missile. It looked like a giant had rolled a troll into a ball and gone bowling. At the end of that path was a vast crater, as if a real missile strike had landed. If someone looked down at the forest from the sky, it would probably make for quite a sight.
“What was that? How did you do it? What kind of magic was that?”
Haley, who had been staring ahead in awe, turned to me with sparkling eyes. Even though she had just been attacked by an assassin and was still covered head to toe in mud, her expression was bright and innocent. Maybe I shouldn’t have shown her.
That thought crossed my mind, but she had already seen this once before, so it probably wouldn’t change much.
“About what happened today……”
“I won’t tell anyone! It’ll be our little secret!”
She was clearly dying of curiosity, but she didn’t seem like the type to blab. Still, I’d have to keep an eye on her for a while. As long as the Cult didn’t catch wind of it, everything should be fine.
The Cult’s Roman, who had taken a direct hit from the Magic Missile, was already dead. There was no worry that word would reach them anytime soon. Dead men tell no tales, after all. The Cult wouldn’t launch a full investigation over a single low-ranking member, so I wouldn’t draw attention for now.
‘As long as I handle the client properly.’
Having decided on my next move, I tried to stand up.
Whoosh.
Because I had used up all my mana, my body had zero strength left. I nearly lost my balance. Haley quickly got up and supported me.
“A-are you okay?”
Her voice trembled slightly, as if she was genuinely worried about me. I nodded vaguely that I was fine and pulled out a mana potion to drink. Since I hadn’t overdone it to the point of using an emergency recharge potion, my mana would gradually recover.
Leaning on Haley’s support, I slowly began walking.
“By the way, who was that person who attacked us just now?”
“I don’t know either.”
“You’re not going to tell me anything?”
“Nope.”
“Don’t you think you have too many secrets?”
“……”
“Hmph……”
Haley pouted, puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. No matter how much she sulked, nothing was going to come out of my mouth.
“Let’s hurry back. You look like a complete mud monster.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“Yours, obviously. You’re the one who followed me without permission.”
“Hmph……”
Haley pouted again. But this time she quickly broke into a bright smile and added,
“Still, it was fun.”
That wasn’t exactly a welcome comment. In the original story, she was the type who would join the Cult just for the thrill of it. Hearing her say she found that kind of excitement with me left a bad taste in my mouth.
After leaving the forest with Haley, we returned to the village. I parted ways with her, washed up, changed into clean clothes, and headed out again. It was time to catch the client.
Since he was a noble-born spendthrift, it was obvious which inn he would be staying at. I pulled my robe’s hood deep over my face, scribbled a note at the front desk, and left it for him. The note only contained a location and time.
A secluded spot on the outskirts of the village, at the base of a deserted mountain slope with no one around. It was obviously suspicious, but that didn’t matter. If he really was the one who had commissioned the hit, he would have no choice but to show up while waiting for the results of his dirty deed.
There was still a chance he wasn’t the client, but I needed to summon him to confirm that too. I arrived at the meeting place written on the note first and waited.
As the appointed time approached, I saw a figure in the distance holding a magic lantern and heading this way. I decided to test the new skill I had acquired and activated it.
The skill I had obtained in the Shadow Forest today was Stealth. Since the skill level was still low, it only lasted ten minutes and had a long cooldown, so I could only use it once per day. Plus, it would cancel immediately if I started casting another spell or made physical contact with someone. There were many restrictions.
But the fact that no one could see me for ten minutes as long as I didn’t bump into anyone was definitely useful for secretly infiltrating places. I had originally gotten the skill for that purpose, but today I would use it for something else.
The person soon reached right in front of me and began looking around, searching for whoever had summoned him. I moved extremely carefully and crept up behind him.
Using Magic Missile would have been simple, but I really wanted to beat this bastard myself.
Thwack!
I swung the ridiculously sturdy wooden staff and smashed it against the back of his head.
“Hey. Wake up.”
I tapped the face of Lucian, who was unconscious and tied tightly to a tree with my staff.
“Ugh…”
The awakened Lucian looked at me, and his eyes widened in shock.
“Why are you here…?”
“Why? Is there some reason I shouldn’t be here?”
I could have hidden my face with the robe, but I deliberately showed it. He would have recognized my voice anyway.
“U-untie me right now!”
Lucian struggled, his face a mixture of shock and terror. But he was bound so tightly he couldn’t move an inch.
“Why did you order someone to kill me?”
“W-what are you talking about?”
From his reaction, it looked like I had hit the mark. Lucian tried to play dumb, but it was painfully obvious. I had been worried it might not be him, but thankfully it was.
“That guy already spilled everything.”
“……Damn it.”
Lucian glared at me and ground his teeth. It was more convenient for me that he admitted it so easily. I had already wanted to properly stomp him for stealing the money Warren and I had worked so hard to earn. Perfect timing.
“Do you really think you’ll get away with doing this to me? My family won’t let you off the hook.”
It was ridiculous to hear such threats from someone who couldn’t even move while tied to a tree.
“Oh really? Then I guess I’ll have to make sure they never find out.”
“What?”
Thud!
I slammed my fist into Lucian’s face with all my strength.
“Think of this as payback for what you did to Warren.”
“You son of a—!”
Lucian straightened his head, which had been knocked to the side, and glared at me while panting furiously.
“Of course, you also need to get beaten for what you did to me.”
Whack!
“Ugh…!”
This time I struck him in the stomach with the staff. The impact sound and his reaction were far more satisfying than punching him. I didn’t have a hobby of randomly beating people, but this guy had crossed the line far too many times.
“I-if you let me go now, I’ll pretend none of this ever happened… Aaaagh!”
Whack! Whack!
I appreciated Lucian’s offer, but I politely declined by swinging my staff. After all, I planned to beat him so badly he wouldn’t even remember what happened today.