Wizard Gallery (3)
After wrapping up the meeting, we were touring the factory when a monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I couldn't just stand by and watch, so I smashed it flat. But then, belatedly, a wizard showed up and spouted some rude nonsense at my wife.
Hubby... punish that jerk...
No matter what, I'll beat him to a pulp.
Shin-nim was utterly dejected after the insult. Hearing her voice like that made my rage and mana surge twice as fiercely as usual. That bastard who dared call a god an evil spirit—I'd make sure to crush him.
Deep Sea Tentacles, attack that fool.
Shrrrrk!
I immediately manipulated the tentacles and launched them at the guy. Black tentacles spreading in all directions—an overwhelming attack that could pierce concrete and bend steel.
...But it seemed like a bad matchup.
"Flames! Burn my enemy to ash!"
Water beats fire, sure, but sea creatures just get delicious when they meet flames. At this rate, my tentacles would end up like dried squid. Of course, I had a counter ready.
Primordial whatever-the-hell deep-sea whatever.
"Wh-what?!"
I slashed my wrist, manifesting a massive magic circle. Seawater erupted from it, flooding the area in an instant and turning it into a miniature ocean. At the same time, my tentacles got a buff. Like adding a water element to pure physical damage, I guess?
They punched straight through the flame spray and surged toward the wizard.
"Guh!"
Shrrrrk!
The wizard desperately dodged the tentacle assault. Realizing this wouldn't cut it, he blasted boosters and flew up to the rooftop. Probably figured the roof would be easier to fight on than the waterlogged ground.
Shrrrrk!
"Flames! Rise up!"
I fired tentacles to block his ascent, but a wall of fire stopped them. I was holding back a bit, but still hitting pretty hard. Looked like this wizard had some real skill.
"Haha! What now, minion?!"
"...."
"Your field magic was impressive, but it won't work anymore!"
He wrung out his soaked robe and shouted confidently. Escaped the sea, huh? Floating fireballs in the air, blathering about surrender—honestly, I wanted to say something.
"Work on your composure first."
"What'd you say?"
The deep sea's explosion leaves nothing behind.
I chanted the spell, and suddenly a beeping rang out from somewhere. The source was under his robe. He glanced down nervously, spotting the sea urchin bombs I'd stuck on him moments ago.
Didn't even notice those.
I'd slapped them on amid the chaos of the flood, and he hadn't caught on even while yapping from the roof. A little composure and he might've spotted them. Too bad.
But he won't die.
Originally, it's a spell summoning pufferfish packed with mana and poison, but I toned it down to sea urchins. Probably not even a tenth of the power.
Boom~
"N-nooo!!!"
Bwoom! Pshhhht!
I snapped my fingers, detonating the urchins and spraying poison spines everywhere. Blasted once by the explosion, twice by the spines—he was reduced to a ragdoll.
That good enough?
Yep! Totally satisfied!
If Shin-nim had said it wasn't enough, I'd have taken an arm or something, but luckily she seemed pleased. More precisely, thrilled that I'd avenged her... but same difference. Thanks to her mercy, this punk got off light.
"Thank Shin-nim, you worm."
"Ughhh..."
I kicked the writhing heap on the ground a few times, then dropped back to earth. Now just dispel the magic and head home...
"Red alert! Neutralizing the evil god's wizard immediately!"
"Move and we'll blast you with spells!"
"Damn it."
I was trying to tidy up and leave when the barrier shattered again. Five more wizards appeared—blue, yellow, green, pink, a full rainbow squad.
What to do.
I pondered while eyeing them. Beat 'em down or bail. If I had to pick, bailing felt more appealing.
How many more are coming?
The Ma Tower floated above Ansan right now. Hundreds of wizards inside, some grand wizards I couldn't beat. Dropping these guys would be annoying but doable; the reinforcements after? Problematic.
Plus, they're not enemies.
I hadn't just pummeled that illegal wizard for no reason. Sure, his rudeness pissed me off, but I respected wizards. He'd attacked to protect civilians, after all. Whatever misunderstanding this was, running seemed smarter.
"Hmm..."
I was about to dispel and slip away when something flew in from behind, landing right between me and the wizards.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"Poison gas! Evade!"
"?"
Green mist spread everywhere. The wizards panicked and cast barriers, but I stood still after checking with my magic eyes. It was just green tea fog.
"Mr. Kim... over here..."
"???"
Then a familiar voice from behind. I turned to see Kim Gwa-jang peeking out from inside the factory, beckoning. I dashed in, and he led me somewhere.
"Where to?"
"You'll see..."
Not hiding in the factory or fleeing outside the barrier. Up to the second floor—a tough spot to escape from. If it weren't Kim Gwa-jang guiding me, I'd suspect a trap.
...Could still be a trap?
I glanced back to see him grinning creepily. I'd never seen anyone smile that sinisterly in my life. My trust evaporated, suspicion bubbling up.
"Let's go in here..."
"Oh."
How far did we go? Just as the wizards would start scanning with detection spells, we reached a small room in the corner of the second floor. A plain wooden door. Seemed ordinary at first, but compared to the others, it stood out.
Why's this one different?
The other doors on the second floor were semi-transparent glass. Why this one? The mana it held gave it away.
"Should I go in?"
"Together..."
Kim Gwa-jang opened it first and stepped through; I followed. A slight dizziness hit, the surroundings blurring like watercolor before sharpening again.
"Wooow~ Escape success...!"
Clap clap.
Definitely not the factory anymore. Looked like a single room in a commercial building—we'd busted through the siege. Kim Gwa-jang struck a pose with a V-sign; I clapped and added,
"So, how'd you do it?"
"It's a secret..."
Like always, today too. Kim Gwa-jang showed off something extraordinary but never revealed his true nature. Not that I was any different.
"Heh heh heh."
"Ehehe..."
Like that idiom about blindfolding someone to eat an oyster. No one's fooled, but the fooling goes on. Didn't matter, though. We got along fine despite the secrets.
"Work done for today...?"
"Yeah, time to clock out."
Anomaly at the factory killed the contract for today. The owner—our client—was probably getting his memories wiped live. Best to email about recontracting in a week or so.
So, day over—quitting time.
"My treat tonight."
"Yaaay~"
Thanks to Kim Gwa-jang today, dinner was on me. Company card, of course.
A few days passed after that first meeting. I handled various tasks—meetings at other factories, scouting new contract sites. The work itself was straightforward, but the travel was intense. Low-stamina Kim Gwa-jang tapped out on day three.
"I'll go alone."
"Sorry..."
I roamed Ansan everywhere, and true to my unlucky streak, got dragged into all sorts of messes. Minor incidents, anomalies—a few more times. But the real headache? Wizards.
"Evil god cultist! I'll punish you!"
"Villain, halt! This wizard's here to end your evil!"
"This is insane."
With the Ma Tower hovering over Ansan, I kept running into wizards everywhere. Like Pokémon trainers—bump into one, fight breaks out.
"Ugh, so stressful."
Even the Cheonma Singyo days were better. I ambushed them, and killing them caused no issues. Wizards? Opposite. So my options: beat 'em senseless and subdue, or run.
"Hey, know anything about this?"
"Hmm..."
Still nearly three weeks left on the trip. At this rate, no way to finish properly. I asked Kim Gwa-jang for help. He probably didn't know either, but my gut said he did.
"Try asking here..."
"What's this?"
He pondered my question, tapped his smartphone a few times, and sent me a link. I clicked—it led to a community site.
"Wizard Gallery?"
What the hell was this?