Episode 11
Episode 11
Emul slowly opened his eyes. A stream of water flowing like a brook entered his field of vision.
A sewer untouched by human hands. Aside from the wear and tear caused by the passage of time, the only thing that had changed was himself.
Closing his eyes again, he observed his inner self.
In a world where only infinite darkness lingered, a shape began to faintly emerge.
A small world that looked like a kind of vessel, and the entirety of what constituted a human being.
This sensation was not the first time.
When he witnessed Chadric raising his mana.
When he first used Aero Bolt.
And half a day ago, when he wove three types of magic together in front of the fence's shop.
In the past, there hadn't been time to savor that achievement, but now he had the leisure.
The total amount of mana had increased slightly, but a change on a more fundamental level had occurred.
The space that had been cramped due to the magic spells originally filling it had become spacious, as if it could finally breathe.
'Feels like I've grown... Could it be that my level went up?'
In games, the number of skills one can use increases according to the character's level.
The 'Mimic' class he possessed wouldn't be an exception, right?
He didn't fully understand how the in-game system worked in reality.
The point is that Emul is also bound by those laws.
'I have a hunch about what I need to do to level up.'
Things he hadn't attempted before were becoming experience points.
Feeling mana and casting magic was impossible for 'Emul'.
And casting three spells simultaneously was impossible for the 'Gamer'.
'That magic from yesterday... it was definitely a skill from another class.'
The reason he could melt other classes' skills into magic. The origin lay in his abnormal proficiency with every character.
His instincts were telling him so, and there was no other way to explain it.
"...Well, I'll know once I go and shoot it."
Ending it simply, he took out his terminal and operated it.
It was to check the latter half of the message he received from Camellia yesterday.
Soon, an additional paragraph appeared when he pressed the 'Read More' button.
[ ...Due to restrictions on fund management, it seems difficult to make additional advance payments for the time being. Fortunately, there should be no issues with other magical knowledge or arranging your status in Academy City, so please do not worry. Sincerely, Camellia El Antera. ]
One corner of Emul's mouth twisted.
'Giving away 50 million chips for free, and then claiming restrictions on fund management. It's a shame I can't squeeze more out of her, but... I can just earn money.'
She pretended to have let go of everything, but she probably couldn't hand over all the initiative.
She doesn't seem that naive about the ways of the world. Emul, who had been evaluating her, sent a message.
[ Confirmed. ]
Pulling his hood down, he walked out along the waterway.
The gently winding current rippled, wetting the edge of the waterway.
A water droplet that splashed up from a curve tried to touch his hem but bounced off as if blocked by a transparent wall.
Watching that scene, Emul muttered.
"Red droplet...."
Was it because his vessel had grown? A clue he couldn't even grasp before was coming to mind on its own.
The incomplete magic that the student named Camellia had shown.
The mana condensed within the complexly woven spell formula generated a strong repulsive force.
It was a powder keg that wouldn't be strange if it exploded at any moment, but there was no spark to ignite it.
'In the end, it's a structure that only activates when it explodes. I know that much, but...'
He was still in the dark about how to complete it.
Paradoxically, Emul's understanding of magic was a result of experience, not theory.
It was a special case created by the intersection of his knowledge from his gamer days and his fundamental abilities.
'...If it doesn't work, then it can't be helped.'
Accepting the deal in the first place didn't stem from confidence that he could complete that magic.
He felt sorry for her, but it was closer to a pawn he would use to his advantage based on a misunderstanding and then discard.
Humans are creatures that live on anticipation.
If he added firewood little by little, the flame of hope would burn without going out.
She might be swallowed by that fire, but she should be prepared to burn brightly at least.
He had said goodbye to a cozy life when a mysterious syringe was stuck into his neck.
Today, too, he exited the sewer, quietly harboring a sharpened blade.
*
'It's definitely increased.'
He hadn't counted the heads every time, but the density of gazes fixed on his back had clearly changed.
That must mean the things Emul had done had attracted the attention of the hunting dogs.
The partial destruction of the abandoned high-rise building.
Since there must have been witnesses when he cast magic, rumors were bound to spread naturally.
That attention wasn't necessarily bad. Rather, it was closer to an increase in wariness.
The bugs that had been cautiously watching him until now didn't even come near. Should he be grateful that troublesome things had decreased?
As Emul pushed open the shop door, a wave of heat rushed in, perhaps due to the temperature difference between inside and outside.
"Ah. I forgot to change the doorknob. Since there's someone here first, later... Huh?"
The camera with its characteristic noisy microphone alternated between showing Emul and the customer.
The customer had already turned around and was staring intently at Emul.
"I apologize for coming in without checking. Have a good trade."
The moment Emul, who had readily admitted his mistake, stepped back, a low and heavy voice was heard.
"You, do you have an affiliation?"
As Emul raised one eyebrow, the customer nodded.
"Ah, my apologies. I didn't introduce myself."
His hand headed into his chest.
Emul stepped back two paces and raised his mana, intending to flee at any moment.
"You don't need to be so guarded. There are no idiots around here who would start a fight."
Having said that, the customer floated a transparent plastic card in the air.
He didn't know what kind of trick it was, but for now, he read the engraved letters with mana focused in his eyeballs.
[ Rahul's Mercenary Office ]
It was a name he felt like he had heard somewhere, but he couldn't remember exactly.
As Emul was ruminating, the customer said as he passed him.
"Mages are valuable. I'll match the commission as much as possible, so come anytime."
Left alone in the shop, Emul approached the card that was still hovering in the air.
He reached out his hand, and the business card was picked up without any resistance. At least it wasn't magic. Except for being slightly warm, he couldn't find any traces of mana.
"Whew. I thought a fight was going to break out. You can't use magic suddenly today, okay? You didn't do anything wrong either. Hey, are you listening?"
The words coming from the camera didn't register in his ears.
'That kind of person is the head of a mercenary office...'
The moment he pushed open the doorknob, a terrifyingly dense aura had surged in.
That was the reason Emul had chosen to flee instead of responding.
He had had some intuition ever since he learned that various ability users existed.
That he couldn't be the only predator in this vast world.
It's just that the feeling is different when you clash directly.
"Mage...-nim? You're not trying to use that strange magic again, are you?"
Emul looked at the camera. The subtle hierarchy with the fence was also power derived from strength.
If he had been a simpleton, the snake-like merchant of the Dead Zone would have picked him clean to the bone.
'They don't give me a chance to get arrogant.'
As soon as he recognized his growth, he faced a towering wall. He could have felt a sense of defeat, but Emul instead felt gratitude.
Confidence and arrogance are a fine line apart, but they determine life and death. These experiences would steadily pile up and become a stepping stone toward his goal.
That was why Emul had visited the fence's shop again after just one day.
"Is the item ready?"
"What do you take me for? Of course I have it ready! Now, look forward to it. It's from none other than Belisco..."
"Forget that. I thought of something I want."
"...Ho, ah damn it. I barely managed to get that! ...You know I'm joking, right? So, what does our Mage-nim want?"
"Combat records involving mages. As detailed as possible... Yes. I'd like them in video format."
The combat manuals of mages that he had thought were necessary after hunting the Dregs Collector.
He was at a loss as to where to find them, but the fence would likely be trading information too. Wasn't it this guy who sold out his identity?
"Sigh. That's going to be a bit expensive. Do you even know how much a camera that can withstand mana costs..."
"...Red Heaven Jade."
"U-um. I'll see what I can do. Since Mage-nim wants it. But if the price is too much to handle, I'll tell you in advance. Can you take out your terminal? Let me get your contact info."
"That's not it. Red Heaven Jade. What is that gem that you made such a fuss about last time?"
Zzzing-.
The camera turned crookedly. The fence, who had been silent for a while, said as if dumbfounded.
"Did you come from some uncharted territory after wall-facing meditation?"
"...Shut up. Just answer the question."
"Yes, yes. Mr. Hermit Mage. With that gem, you can buy a complex."
Emul felt something bitter flowing down his esophagus.
Camellia, a resident of Academy City.
She had left a valuable item worth a whole complex on the floor just because he treated her lips.
'Is it right to see it as something she couldn't help at the time? Even so...'
It was a scale too difficult to handle just to use her.
To spur his conviction, Emul asked again.
"Fine. Then, Academy City status. Something reliable."
"Hey, I can't get that either. In the first place, if I sold that in the outskirts, I'd be caught without a trace."
A prompt answer that it was impossible. Given the fence's personality, if it were profitable, he would somehow get it and put it on the sales stand.
'This is a headache. I'll have to modify the plan slightly.'
Everything the woman named Camellia showed in the sewer could be a lie.
Although he didn't know if she could act out that desperation, even risking undressing, without changing a single expression.
If he wasn't careful, wouldn't his whole body burn up before he could even plant the spark of hope?
'Rahul...Camellia...How is it that everyone I meet is like this. What a fucked up world.'
Emul, grumbling to himself, took out his terminal and shone it at the camera.
"Alright. Like I said before, if it's too expensive, we'll have to change to another item, so......Huh. The contact reception isn't working well, why is this? Is the signal weak?"
"...Don't know."
"I can't hear you well. The speaker is weird too. Hello?"
Emul muttered in a desperate state of mind.
"I don't know. How to send contact info."
"Oh? Y-yeah. You can not know. Yeah......Now, after accessing the program, authenticate, find the ID, and...."
"...Explain it slowly."
Zzzing-.
The camera turned almost at a right angle.
"...You didn't really come out of being locked up somewhere, did you?"
Rahul pushed the damp air of the Dead Zone deep into his lungs.
The cool chill of winter permeated pleasantly.
"As expected, it's best when it's cool outside and warm inside."
He put the tobacco he took from his chest into his mouth.
Pfit-.
As his fingers brushed it, the tip of the cigarette glowed red.
"Hoo."
Exhaling smoke, he recalled the mage he had met a little while ago.
The agile reaction he showed as soon as he reached his hand into his coat pocket.
It would be rude to compare him to a greenhouse flower raised in Academy City.
He possessed the preciousness of wariness that one only realizes after rolling hard in the outskirts.
If it were just that, it would have already been erased from Rahul's memory.
'The guy was different.'
While keeping escape in mind, the mana that secretly extended was facing forward.
A single-minded determination to bite the opponent and die together in the worst-case scenario.
'The total amount of mana itself was just so-so, but the density and compression rate are irrational.'
A deformed mana wave that seemed extremely optimized only for piercing and destroying something in one go.
When that heterogeneous energy was directed at him, a pleasant tension brushed down Rahul's spine for the first time in a while.
"Sss-up. Hoo."
Having smoked the cigarette to the end, he flicked the burnt-out cigarette with his finger.
Whoosh!
The red flame burned it up without leaving even ash.
'But...it's strange that a mage of that caliber can't feel Qi.'
The business card he had floated in the air. He had only imbued it with purely refined Qi, but he treated it like he was seeing a ghost.
That inexperience bothered him, but rather, that freshness was even more appealing.
"Either an unpolished gemstone, or a crazy lunatic who thoroughly hides their presence."
Either way, it's worth it.
A deep arc was drawn on Rahul's scarred mouth.