Let You Down, Part 6

I arrived in front of the corporate headquarters Jeka had recommended. It was one of the tallest buildings in downtown Raynos.

"Halt."

A security guard blocked my path. Not only his eyes and limbs, but even parts of his torso were cybernetic prosthetics. At this rate, he was more machine than human.

I handed him the business card.

"...Please wait a moment."

He communicated with someone through his comms, then stepped aside.

"It is the seventy-seventh floor. Have a pleasant day."

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 77th floor.

Ding.

The moment the doors slid open, a secretary greeted me.

"Right this way, please."

It was an executive office.

Inside, a man stood looking out the floor-to-ceiling window. I also took a moment to gaze past the glass.

Advertising drones darted back and forth, projecting holograms; air taxis carrying VIPs zipped through the sky; and neon signs of every color flashed in a chaotic, sprawling cityscape. It was vastly different from Earth, yet it felt like a world born entirely from Earth's imagination.

"Ah, you've arrived."

The man turned around to face me.

"Pleasure to meet you."

He was a sharp-looking man. His hair was neatly parted and slicked back with pomade, his suit was immaculate, and in a world where cybernetic eyes were the norm, he uniquely wore a pair of rimless glasses.

"I am Seer, the Raynos branch manager of Estin Corporation. Please, have a seat."

Seer gestured toward the sofa. I sat down without a word.

"Your name is Ha-woon, correct?"

"Yes. I heard you had something to discuss."

"Indeed."

He sat down across from me.

"As you may know, Estin Corporation is one of the leading conglomerates in NaN."

NaN. The name of this world.

I spoke to him.

"You can skip the pleasantries."

I didn't exactly have time to waste.

"Very well. I will get straight to the point. We are planning to expand our operations into the outskirts of Raynos. Business expansion, so to speak."

He placed a USB-sized video chip on the table. Whir. A hologram began to play.

"However, for some time now, scavengers have been swarming our construction site. I suspect someone is pulling the strings."

The footage showed masked assailants conducting guerrilla sabotage.

"Because of them, construction has been delayed, costing us astronomical sums."

I tilted my head.

"Can't you just deploy your own security forces?"

"Our security forces are currently tied up elsewhere. Splitting our forces is likely exactly what our opponent wants."

"I take it you know who your opponent is?"

"Yes."

Seer nodded. I leaned back, pretending to ponder.

"And you want me to handle these wild dogs all by myself?"

"To be precise, we are looking for a spellcaster with the capability to do so."

"..."

I quietly scanned the office. Suddenly, a beautifully packaged bottle of alcohol on the shelf behind him caught my eye. I gestured toward it with my chin.

"Do you like alcohol?"

Seer followed my gaze.

"No, not particularly. It was a gift."

He stood up and picked up the snake wine. He was incredibly quick-witted.

"If you are indeed a spellcaster of the caliber I believe you to be..."

Thud. He set the snake wine down on the table.

"I can offer this not as a down payment, but as a personal gift."

I stared at the Labyrinthin named Seer.

My first impression of him was that of a finely honed blade. A businessman to his very core. An executive skilled at hiding his true self. He was the type of person you should never easily trust, but...

I wanted this snake wine way too much.

This was the exact reason I had held off on opening my random boxes. Luck was a stat that fluctuated wildly depending on specific consumable items or locations.

Drinking this snake wine would boost my Luck by 5 for three hours. That was the difference between pulling a Rare instead of a Common, or a Unique instead of a Rare from a random box.

"Well, if you insist on giving it to me as a gift."

No risk, no reward.

A dark construction site. A half-built heap of steel frames that didn't even resemble a building yet.

I stood right in the middle of it. A desolate wind swept through. Acrid smoke and tiny stone fragments brushed against my gas mask and scattered.

Thump.

Soon, a heavy rumble signaled the start of construction. The labor was entirely left to machines.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Robots of shapes never seen on Earth moved of their own accord, digging the earth, carrying steel beams, and erecting pillars...

Leaning on my cane, I looked up at the sky. The full moon was clear. Countless stars burned like cigarette embers.

Whirrr. Rumble. Bang. Bang.

Just as the roaring din of the construction site echoed from all directions...

Multiple presences registered in my ears.

An ambush.

I lowered my gaze. The mana in my nervous system reacted instantly. Time slowed down. My field of vision expanded. My hearing sharpened.

I saw what should have been invisible, and heard what should have been silent.

Their number was fifteen.

Armed with mana-bullet submachine guns.

No, they had already fired.

Countless mana bullets surged through the air toward me.

A pitch-black spell formula followed close behind. Dark mana clung to the asphalt, writhing like shadows.

I perceived the space around me.

First, I formed a mana barrier in the path of the bullets. Dozens of rounds ground to a halt three paces in front of me.

Now I understood how Kim Se-jin had blocked my mana bullets back then.

It was simple.

If you perceived it slowly enough, you could easily counter it.

I released my mana, reversing the trajectory of the captured bullets.

Next, I analyzed the spell formula rushing toward me. It was a type of curse. A rather troublesome variety that projected the caster's malice.

But dismantling it was easy.

All I had to do was peer deeply with my eyes to observe the formula, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠burn away its core.

Sssss!

The curse dissolved, scorching the asphalt.

Next, I recalled the enemy's spell. My amplified nervous system perfectly remembered the visual data, allowing me to replicate and fire the exact same curse back at them—with far greater speed and overwhelming power.

...Sequence.

Within thoughts accelerated to hundredths of a second, I perceived and controlled every single inch of the area within my sensory range.

Hearing, smell, and even the tactile sensation of the air brushing against the back of my hand. Through all of it, I interpreted my surroundings, reacted, and resolved the situation first—

—before restoring my nervous system to normal.

Dozens of bullets ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surged backward in a blue blur. The very rounds fired at me were wrapped in my mana, piercing the throats of my attackers.

Gack! Urgh! Ack! Argh!

Under the moonlight, a chorus of death rattles echoed in unison.

"..."

I quietly closed my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I calmed my body.

The headache was severe. I pulled out my thermos and poured black tea into the cap.

One sip.

Closing my eyes and savoring it, I felt my mind and body settle.

Two sips.

I drank the tea, enduring the splitting headache and the agonizing pain that felt as if my brain cells were snapping.

The backlash of Sequence, the high-speed spellcasting, was immense. It felt utterly brutal—enough to make me wonder if my tattered, barely rehabilitated body could even withstand it.

Three sips.

That was precisely why I had to become stronger.

I had to become far sturdier than I was now.

The MoMo system I had acquired was not me. It was merely a part of me.

Since it was never truly mine to begin with, I had no reason to rely on a status window.

Ever since I was born into this world, the only thing I believed in was myself.

If I had a religion to blindly follow, it was solely my own human desire.

MoMo was nothing more than a weapon placed in my hands. I must not become intoxicated by it, nor should I lean on it. My limits lay far beyond the status window.

In the end, I am myself.

I am merely Seol Ha-woon.

"...Haa."

With a single sigh, I shook off the overload. My mind and body settled nicely. The synergy between the black tea and my Body Responsive to Medicine trait was undeniably excellent.

Only then did I look at the aftermath of my actions. Bodies lay scattered everywhere.

Fifteen of them. A battle that had likely ended in a mere three seconds.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound of clapping drifted from nearby.

"Perfect."

It was my employer.

In the monitoring room, most of the staff members who pulled all-nighter after all-nighter looked utterly exhausted, but PD Kim A-rang's eyes were sparkling as brightly as ever.

It was all thanks to Seol Ha-woon.

"Wow... he really has a unique style."

The writer beside her marveled. Indeed, Seol Ha-woon's combat style was incredibly distinct.

"Right?"

Seol Ha-woon had simply stood there. He hadn't moved a single step. From that exact spot, he parried every attack, deployed his spells, and wrapped up the entire situation.

In truth, what followed was even more cinematic.

He simply drank a cup of tea. He looked so relaxed. His long hair fluttering in the wind enhanced his mystique as a spellcaster, and while his gaze into the distance seemed to contemplate the flow of mana, his somewhat sorrowful, worn-down expression added a multi-dimensional depth to his character.

"I told you, he's got what it takes to be a high-ranker."

Satisfied, Kim A-rang glanced to her side.

"What do you think, Mentor Yu Yul?"

Yu Yul had arrived at some point. Mentors were permitted to join the monitoring sessions, after all.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Yu Yul spoke.

"He is pushing his body to its absolute limits."

"...Pardon?"

Kim A-rang tilted her head.

"But he's barely moving?"

"In terms of physical strain, moving around would actually be far easier on him."

It was difficult for Kim A-rang to comprehend, but if a high-ranker said so, it had to be true.

"Oh, by the way, Mentor Yu Yul. Did you know? Seol Ha-woon speaks very highly of you."

Honestly, Kim A-rang had found Yu Yul's casting quite surprising. Even she hadn't known who Yu Yul was at first, only accepting her because it was Yoon Sa-hyeok's decision.

"You haven't seen his survey yet, have you? It seems he practically views you as his master."

Yu Yul, of course, lacked the typical flashy outward appeal. In fact, she had a particularly high number of anti-fans among the mentors.

The public was notoriously harsh when it came to looks. People would cry out against lookism when they themselves were judged, yet behind the mask of anonymity, they eagerly became the judges.

"How about you, Mentor? What do you think of Seol Ha-woon as a disciple?"

Kim A-rang desperately wanted to forge a master-disciple narrative between them. Since compelling stories arose from relationships, building up this connection would work in Ha-woon's favor.

"...I have no interest in taking on disciples."

Yu Yul herself seemed entirely indifferent.

"Well then, excuse me."

Yu Yul stood up and left.

Kim A-rang looked back at Seol Ha-woon on the screen.

He was growing at an explosive rate. He was a completely different spellcaster from the one who had played around with a barrier during his very first interview. His daily progress was visible to the naked eye, and his unique individuality was easily among the best across all seasons of explorers.

"A Mage..."

Because of this, she occasionally found herself wondering. Seol Ha-woon was—by his own admission—a spellcaster of only five months.

If he had walked the path of a spellcaster from the very beginning instead of becoming a soldier, could he have reached the rank of Mage?

"...PD-nim. But this time, we're really going to get a cinematic masterpiece. If Seol Ha-woon goes to Seer, and that other guy goes to the opposing side..."

The writer's words snapped Kim A-rang back to reality. Nodding, she quickly jotted down editing notes.

"Tell me about it~"

They had to compress the open-world trials of ninety-six explorers into just three to four episodes. At the same time, they had to keep the storyline engaging and polish the editing to perfection.

Granted, more than half of those ninety-six would probably have their screen time completely edited out.

Kim A-rang focused her attention back on Seol Ha-woon.