Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 13
"Boss! It's been a while since we've had a big fish!"
In a secluded alley of Chinatown.
One gang member ran up to Yip Moon-cheol, the 9th Action Squad Leader of the Black Snake Gang, who was leisurely lying on a hammock, and prostrated himself.
Yip Moon-cheol scratched his forehead with the back of his short sword and said.
"Explain."
"Yes, we've found prey that's perfect for plucking. He's wandering around Chinatown's streets and is clearly a beginner, and judging by his attire, he seems to be a rich young master."
At the gang member's report, he raised his eyebrows.
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. We even confirmed he was buying magical herbs worth thousands of gold at the medicine shop without hesitation. If we follow him and rob him, we'll get several times that amount. Hehe."
"A beginner who bought herbs worth thousands of gold, you say."
Yip Moon-cheol repeated the gang member's explanation and quietly closed his eyes.
'There are occasionally guys like that.'
Bookworms who don't earn money from the Tower, but instead pour their outside money into the Tower.
Yip Moon-cheol asked.
"He bought magical herbs?"
"Yes. The robe he was wearing was also for mages. It was pure white and looked newly bought."
"A rich mage, the best kind of prey."
Being a mage is the worst profession for making a living - they can't earn money and have high maintenance costs, so most beginners avoid this profession.
But this doesn't apply to rich young masters from wealthy families from the start.
For dark organizations like the Black Snake Gang, they're the optimal prey.
Having organized his thoughts, Yip Moon-cheol vigorously got up from his seat.
"Good. Let's go collect."
This is good news when business hasn't been going well anyway.
Rather than just robbing him once, he should find his weakness and periodically threaten him to turn him into a money bag.
"Where is he now?"
***
And currently.
Just when Yip Moon-cheol and the gang members surrounded their 'prey' Seo-jin and were about to have a conversation.
"Where are you going in such a hurry..."
CRACKLE—!
Before the gang member could finish speaking, lightning shot out from Seo-jin's hand.
The gang member who took a direct hit from the Black Lightning immediately foamed at the mouth and collapsed, writhing on the ground.
"GURGLE, GURGLE."
The gang member lay face down on the ground, twisting his body this way and that, his muscles apparently paralyzed due to the residual current.
'This level is perfect for subduing without killing.'
Having confirmed the appropriate power of Black Lightning, Seo-jin continued to emit electricity in all directions.
CRACKLE—!
Waves of Black Lightning spread out like a spider web with Seo-jin at the center.
"AAAAHHH!"
Most of the gang members caught up in the current foamed at the mouth and rolled around on the ground.
"EEK."
Yip Moon-cheol barely avoided the attack by using a gang member as a meat shield, but the situation wasn't good.
'What, what is this, damn it. We've really messed with the wrong person.'
What rich beginner.
This level would be a strong person you'd only see on the 5th floor or above.
He and his gang, who stayed on the 2nd floor doing thug work, were absolutely no match for such an opponent.
He quickly made a decision.
'First, I'll escape from here and request support from the gang.'
No matter how strong that guy is, he'd be nothing to the Black Snake Gang's super experts.
It's regrettable that he can't monopolize the prey, but he needs to survive first.
Yip Moon-cheol shouted at Seo-jin, intending to induce the enemy's carelessness.
"You, you cowardly bastard! Attacking before the words are even finished! Don't you know the rules of combat!"
"?"
Seo-jin tilted his head.
'Do I have the wrong understanding of what cowardly means?'
He didn't realize that throwing the first punch at robbers who came to kill people and steal money was considered cowardly.
'I still have a long way to go.'
The title of Mad Mage is wasted on me.
Just as Seo-jin was shrugging his shoulders while gaining some kind of enlightenment.
'Now's the time.'
Yip Moon-cheol, who had been timing his escape, immediately turned around and fled backward, abandoning his subordinates.
But Seo-jin wasn't one to let that slide.
WHOOSH—.
A thread of black mana extending from Seo-jin's hand wrapped around the fleeing Yip Moon-cheol's ankle.
"Ugh?"
Then, when Seo-jin pulled the mana thread.
"Let go! Let go of this thing!"
The fleeing Yip Moon-cheol collapsed on the ground and was dragged toward Seo-jin.
Recalling the sight of his subordinates who had become electric grilled chicken earlier, Yip Moon-cheol grabbed at the weeds around him and resisted being dragged, but it was useless.
Having dragged Yip Moon-cheol right to his feet, Seo-jin stepped firmly on the guy's head and said.
"...I was just trying to quickly go up to higher floors, but because of you guys, bad memories came back."
The mad black mage and one of the Tower's frontline strategy teams.
Not only that, but even Seo-jin, who had made a name for himself as a savior after the Collapse incident, had his beginner days.
'Early tower climbing. I couldn't properly change classes and stayed on the 2nd floor for over several months.'
Seo-jin couldn't use magic due to cardiac vessel occlusion, his body wasn't that sturdy, and he had no aptitude for close combat.
That said, he wasn't proficient in black magic like now, sprinkling lightning everywhere.
As a result, early Seo-jin had lived day by day, earning just enough to eat by beating up low-level monsters with sheer grit and stubbornness.
But that alone wasn't enough to maintain his livelihood, and eventually Seo-jin ended up turning to loan sharks.
But who would have known that it happened to be an 'illegal loan shark' targeting beginners like Seo-jin who had no money and no connections.
Due to the murderous interest rates, his income was snatched away as interest as soon as he earned it, and he suffered many hardships due to debts that snowballed.
Being dragged to alleys and beaten was routine, and later he was even dragged to demon caves and forced into hard labor mining magic stones.
Well, in the process he did grasp the essence of black magic and walked the path of a proper black mage, but even so, it was never a beautiful memory.
As Seo-jin spewed curses and went on about his story, Yip Moon-cheol, who was pinned under his foot, spoke in a much more humble tone as if trying to appease Seo-jin.
"Ah, it seems the great hero has had troubles with loan sharks in the past. I'm not in charge of the loan shark business, but I can guide you to the person in charge."
Seo-jin opened his eyes wide and asked back.
"Oh. Really? You didn't do loan shark business?"
"Of course. I'm innocent."
"Innocent, this bastard."
Anyone listening would think robbery is a clean business.
STOMP STOMP—.
"ARGH!"
Seo-jin stomped on Yip Moon-cheol until his anger subsided, and the guy couldn't endure it and fainted.
Seo-jin had no choice but to kick him aside, then pointed at another gang member nearby who was groveling after being hit by Black Lightning.
"Your boss fainted. You guide me to the Black Snake Gang."
"I, I can't do that. Then the higher-ups will kill me!"
"Then I'll kill you."
CRACKLE—!
"AAAAHHH!"
Seo-jin hit the gang member who refused to guide him with Black Lightning once more, then turned his gaze to the gang member next to him.
The quick-witted gang member immediately prostrated himself in front of Seo-jin.
"I will serve you courteously."
***
A short while later.
Seo-jin stood in front of a magnificent gate with black snakes coiled around pillars on both sides and looked up at the nameplate.
Black Snake Gang.
'Right, this was the place.'
He remembers the gate being grand despite it being a thug den.
"Sleep well."
Seo-jin knocked out the gang member who had faithfully guided him and tossed him in front of the gate.
Then he put his hands behind his back and shouted loudly.
"Receive your guest!"
After a brief silence.
Two gang members with fierce expressions came out from inside the gate to meet Seo-jin.
The muscle masses, each a head taller than Seo-jin, came close and scowled.
"What is this crazy bastard?"
Seo-jin faced them and answered calmly.
"A guest here."
"A guest?"
"Debtor? Creditor? Or a business associate?"
At the gang member's question, Seo-jin briefly stroked his chin and answered.
"You could say all of the above."
He had debts in the past, has debts to collect today, and from now on plans to cause major disruption to their business.
The masses who had been staring down at Seo-jin looked at each other and said,
"What should we do?"
"Just beat him up a few times and send him back."
To this, Seo-jin replied.
"Alright."
CRACKLE—!
Having knocked out both masses instantly with Black Lightning, Seo-jin crossed the gate and entered inside while talking to himself.
"The guest service here is still terrible."
***
Less than an hour after Seo-jin crossed the Black Snake Gang's gate.
CRASH—.
Gwak Pae-cheon, the Black Snake Gang's 2nd floor branch leader, rolled on the floor.
Since he was someone who managed the 2nd floor, he could withstand a few hits even with adjusted firepower.
But that was only enough to avoid fainting. Gwak Pae-cheon, charred by Black Lightning, screamed at Seo-jin.
"Kuk, do you think loan shark business will disappear just because we're gone? This is meaningless!"
Even while rolling on the floor, Gwak Pae-cheon glared at the mysterious person in front of him with bulging eyes.
To this, Seo-jin picked his ear and tilted his head.
"I don't think that at all."
"What? Then why on earth?"
The Black Snake Gang operates quietly only within their territory under the protection of the Thief Guild, so they shouldn't have any grudges with other rankers.
Why on earth did that mysterious person attack our Black Snake Gang?
"Because I feel like it."
"..."
It would be a grave mistake to think Seo-jin did this to stop the Black Snake Gang's vicious loan shark business.
'I just came to rob the Black Snake Gang while getting some revenge for the past.'
Since he won't have occasion to visit this place again once he goes up, shouldn't he take everything he can take now?
And
'This much to subdue these guys.'
Seo-jin glanced at his mana circuit that had turned his fingertips black, then dusted off his hands.
He had been facing only strong enemies until now, so he couldn't grasp the accurate and detailed mana distribution amount, but now he understood it perfectly.
Based on this information, if he trains the Primordial Unity Technique, he can expect much faster growth.
"Do you have more to say?"
Gwak Pae-cheon contorted his face and shouted at Seo-jin.
"Don't get cocky. Do you think the Black Snake Gang only exists on the 2nd floor? The rankers from the main gang who hear today's news will soon tear you to pieces."
The Black Snake Gang isn't just any ordinary organization commonly found in Chinatown.
It's a huge gang that exercises influence up to the 20th floor. There are over three rankers above level 200 within the gang alone.
A reckless lightning bug like that guy would become a corpse immediately if caught by the Black Snake Gang's force unit.
However, Seo-jin chuckled and said.
"Black Snake Gang rankers, my ass. Even the Association can't find me."
And
"Your boss is my underling, you bastard."
The spiritual pillar of the Thief Guild, which is the Black Snake Gang's parent organization.
Shadowless Flying Hero Nam-gung Cheon.
He and this free spirit were like sworn brothers in his previous life.
More precisely, he was closer to a poor younger brother that Seo-jin arbitrarily bossed around.
"Well then, sleep."
CRACKLE—.
"GURGLE."
Seo-jin finished knocking out Gwak Pae-cheon and moved to find the safe at the back of the inner quarters.
SLASH—.
Then Seo-jin cut open the safe with Black Thread and swept all the high-grade magic stones inside into his inventory.
High-grade magic stones are used as energy sources in reality and also serve as currency for trading with the Tower's natives, so they have high liquidity.
"They sure scraped together a lot."
Looking at the quality and quantity of the magic stones, if he sold them all, it would be worth hundreds of thousands of gold.
Having secured his side income, Seo-jin destroyed and burned all the recording magical devices and ledgers stored in Gwak Pae-cheon's inner quarters, completely erasing all loan shark records.
WHOOSH—.
Seo-jin looked at the loan shark ledgers burning together, then quietly closed his eyes.
While Seo-jin doesn't know the detailed circumstances of other debtors, he deeply empathizes with their situation and feelings.
With this, some will be freed from the Black Snake Gang's debts.
Then, after rummaging through the inner quarters, Seo-jin found a skill book.
[Flying Heaven Step]
'A movement technique that flies through the sky. How grandiose.'
It was a martial artist-exclusive skill, so it was of no use to Seo-jin. But since it would be worth money if sold, he decided to keep it for now.
Not stopping there, Seo-jin continued searching through Gwak Pae-cheon's inner quarters and soon discovered an unexpected item.
'What? Why is this here?'