“Of course, I don’t intend to be that shameless.”
“……”
“But it’s true that I want to hire Ban. I need the power of a skilled mage.”
“Hmm…..”
It wasn’t Lennox who was pondering with his chin in his hand, but Jenny.
She had a rough idea of what Lennox was doing right now, and she also knew that he didn’t have much room to focus on anything else.
If Weian’s matter was resolved quickly, it wouldn’t be a problem, but if it unexpectedly dragged on, it would start to interfere with Lennox’s original work.
That was something neither Lennox nor Jenny wanted.
“Hey, Weian.”
And in this kind of situation, it was her job as a broker to gently steer the client back on track.
“Do you remember how long you’ve been working with Ban? It’s probably been over a year, right?”
“………”
“Well, you saw how much of a monster Ban is back then, so I won’t bother explaining it. But at this point, you understand how much Ban’s value and reputation have risen without me having to say it.”
“…….I will pay properly.”
Weian said through gritted teeth, but Jenny shook her head.
“That’s not it. I’m saying that he has a prior commitment. And freelancers can’t break those commitments.”
“It’s a matter of the captain’s life…!!”
When the young man didn’t back down and retorted, Jenny’s expression naturally turned cold.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. Are you the only one in this business who risks their life?”
“………”
“If you’re living in a place where you could fall at any moment and didn’t expect this kind of situation, then I guess I misjudged you.”
Being able to approach anyone like a friend, yet having such a cold expression when necessary, must be her nature as a broker.
The ability to make rational judgments, excluding emotions at crucial moments.
Regardless of how unfortunate Drey’s situation was, Jenny judged that taking care of Ban’s prior commitment was more important.
“It’s not that I won’t take your request. It’s just that I need some time due to scheduling. In the first place, if he’s in a coma, you should go to a hospital, why are you looking for Ban?”
At her words, which left no room for argument, Weian glanced at Lennox.
After confirming that there was no change in his expression, the young man lowered his head and replied.
“He’s cursed. I’ve taken him to a curse remover, but they couldn’t find a suitable method. I thought that a talented mage like you might know something…”
“……A curse?”
“Yes. It was a request to deal with an unidentified pillar that appeared near the Scavenger branch… He was directly exposed to the mana that flowed out from inside, and ever since then…”
Leaving Weian, who couldn’t continue speaking, Lennox fell into thought.
The ways someone can be cursed, especially those with mana, mostly come down to two categories.
The first is like the curse caster he briefly worked with during his collaboration with Dyke.
The second is, as Weian just said, a curse delivered through a specific artifact or item.
In the case of a curse cast by a curse caster through a deliberate ritual, the principle is difficult to understand, and it is extremely dependent on the person’s compatibility and constitution, making it difficult to activate and remove.
However, surprisingly, imbuing an item with a curse itself is possible in various magic systems.
To put it simply, if Lennox refined his enchantment magic for a long time and imbued an item with a burning spell, it could also be considered a curse.
Therefore, by analyzing the mana at the time of the curse, it is possible to guess which system of magic was used for the curse.
Other mercenaries, who are close to being ignorant of magic, might simply think of it as a curse and move on, but if Lennox’s extremely sensitive mana perception is added—
Woong..!!
He lightly raised his mana and quickly scanned Weian’s body.
If he was next to Drey when he was cursed, there would surely be traces left on Weian’s body.
He captured, dismantled, and analyzed all the countless traces and mana that were unknowingly on his entire body.
What made this possible was Lennox’s precise perception, as well as his powerful intellect and sharp intuition that could correctly see through the information he received and find the answer.
And after 5 seconds, Lennox, who realized the identity of the mana stuck near Weian’s left shoulder, faintly frowned.
“………”
“What’s wrong?”
The familiar presence he had felt at the Palmer Research Institute.
It was dark mana.
“It’s the work of a black mage.”
“What? But, there aren’t any in the city right now…”
Lennox knew what Jenny was about to say.
With the city government’s inspection still ongoing, there were hardly any black mages properly active in Vulcan.
Seeing Jenny pout as if she had realized something, Lennox nodded.
“That’s probably right.”
“…….Could it be?”
Since the enchantment faction, who had just decided to cooperate with the agents, wouldn’t do such a thing, there was only one answer.
The practical faction was up to something in the city.
“Where is it?”
“……District 55. Near the No. 4 floodgate of the southern underground waterway.”
That much information was enough.
Lennox immediately grabbed his coat and got up from his seat.
“Seriously…”
Jenny shook her head as if she couldn’t help it.
Weian’s face brightened as he realized that the gesture meant acceptance.
“The curse isn’t my area of expertise. Going to Drey won’t help.”
Lennox said as he took out a cigarette from his pocket.
“But I can break the spell of the item that contained the curse and remove it.”
Only then did Weian’s face brighten as he realized the meaning of Lennox’s words.
“…….Thank you. Really.”
If it hadn’t been for the traces of black magic he mentioned, he wouldn’t have stepped in, but there was no need to tell Weian the truth here.
Instead, Lennox chose another way to leave a stronger impression on his memory.
His indifferent eyes looked down at Weian’s face, which was flushed with excitement.
“Your ability to hide your presence with mana has become quite skillful.”
“R-Really…?”
“You have talent. Study your strengths a little more.”
He had felt it when they worked together on the request, but Weian’s mana sensitivity, in other words, his ability to feel and react to mana, was very developed.
The fact that he hid his identity from Lennox’s mana detection was also the result of making full use of that talent.
Whether he knew about his own talent or not, if he became aware of it and started using it, he would be able to aim for higher places than he is now.
“Hmm…”
“Wow…”
Turning his head at the strange exclamations coming from the side, he noticed that Jenny and Jordan were looking at Lennox with slightly surprised expressions.
Jenny was one thing, but even Jordan, who rarely lost his composure, was making such an expression, which was unexpected.
‘Come to think of it, is this the first time I’ve praised someone’s talent in front of others?’
If Lennox, who had never expressed any particular feelings while working with top-tier freelancers or superhumans, suddenly praised Weian’s talent, it would feel all the more impressive.
But conversely, it was also proof that Weian’s mana sensitivity was at an unusual level in Lennox’s eyes.
If it was enough to catch Lennox’s eye, he could probably aim for a much higher level than he is now, even if he just focused on that one talent.
Seeing Jenny’s gaze towards Weian instantly turn friendly, Lennox chuckled and immediately left the bar.
“The underground waterway…”
He didn’t even want to imagine how that damp place would be in this cold winter, but what could he do?
First, he should stop by Palmer’s workshop to get his shotgun and then go in.
Lennox thought so and moved through the crowd.
#
District 55. The No. 4 floodgate of the southern underground waterway.
Even in the 50s districts, most of which were abandoned in the city government’s development plan, District 55 was said to have been planned to be developed as a new water source for the city.
Because of that, most of the district was designed around a vast underground waterway, and even now that the development plan had been suspended, the traces of it remained clearly.
He walked along the water that wandered aimlessly without anyone to manage it.
He passed through a desolate site where a chilling wind blew and found the entrance to the sewer.
When he grabbed the steel ladder with his gloved hand, a faint chill was transmitted.
A damp sewer with frozen moss. A metal ladder as cold as if it would freeze if you touched it, and a chill that stung the tip of his nose.
In the darkness where not even a small light could enter, except for the entrance in the ceiling.
Only the flame of the cigarette in his mouth faintly illuminated the scenery right in front of him.
Using mana detection would eliminate the limitations of the five senses, but he decided to wait a little longer until his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
It was such a desolate environment that he wondered if he had entered a dungeon rather than a city.
A normal person wouldn’t be able to last a day in a place like this, but the convenience of public magic was where it showed its true value.
Just by making the surrounding air warm and dulling his sense of smell to some extent, Lennox’s physical sensation improved considerably.
With a shield added on top of that, there was no chance of the warmth escaping.
Tap, tap!
Only after tapping the sewer floor with his boots did he slowly move his feet.
The floor was quite slippery because the damp moisture had settled and frozen.
“They said it was an unidentified pillar…”
Thinking back on what Weian had said, it was highly likely that what Drey had suffered was a kind of barrier spell placed on that pillar.
It would prevent intruders from rashly touching the pillar, and it would be a type that would curse a designated person when a specific action was taken as a condition.
It was extremely suspicious.
The fact that such a pillar appeared at this time when black mages were lying low.
And the fact that a request related to the pillar came to the mercenary office at this exact time.
Were they intentionally leaking information? Or was it the design of someone who wanted to prevent danger in advance?
How would this problem, which was accidentally discovered in the power struggle between the city government agents and the black mages, turn the situation around?
“………”
There was no answer to be found by worrying alone.
First, he couldn’t decide on his next action without directly confirming that pillar.
‘I’ve already contacted Evelyn. If I have it recovered and investigated, I might be able to find something out.’
Lennox thought so and slowly raised his mana and spread it out widely.
The mana that flowed through the complex underground waterway and became Lennox’s senses quickly read the path and engraved that information directly into his brain.
Confirming the scenery of the underground waterway that was drawn like a map in his head, Lennox slowly moved his feet.
Weian remembered where he had received the request, but he didn’t know where he had found the pillar.
Perhaps it was because he had quickly left the place after Drey was injured, and his memory was confused.
Of course, Lennox wouldn’t forget anything in such a situation, but he couldn’t think of other people according to his standards.
Rather, it was right to see the dedication of the office mercenaries who safely brought their team members out of the situation without any additional losses.
In the end, Lennox had no choice but to find it himself, either by checking within the range of his mana detection or by running around on foot.
[Kiiiii…]
[Shaaaaa…!!]
Of course, dealing with the gnats that swarmed in the process was also Lennox’s job.
The underground waterway.
Bang, bang!
[Reload Acceleration]
He quickly loaded six bullets into the cylinder and raised his revolver.
The three unidentified shadows that were rushing towards Lennox were instantly shot down by the flames that erupted and rolled down to the other side of the sewer.
“Haa…”
The fact that a request had come to the mercenary office meant that there was something left inside that needed to be dealt with.
And the target to be dealt with was not just the pillar.
Corpses and machines of unknown purpose abandoned in the underground waterway.
The thick evil energy and resentment mixed within them combined to give power to those that had already lost their lives and engines, and raised them up.
As a result, the specters that roamed the current underground waterway had such bizarre appearances that even Lennox’s strong reason couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
Just looking at a corpse… something similar to a ghoul… that was approaching while swinging its rotten arm that didn’t move well in the cold air, made him feel tired.
Even using mana was a waste.
Before they could even approach the shield, he shot them in the head, and those that were pushed down into the sewer once never returned.