Chapter 9

Chapter 9

9. Artifact (3)

“Anyway, really thank you! Thanks to you it seems all the guys have been processed! Now we can report to the police!”

The situation ended.

Whether all the guys were processed could not be known.

However, it was certain that there were no guys around the factory.

Accordingly Jaewon ended the request.

“Had you not contacted the police yet?”

“Ah, we did long ago. But they said what can we do when the guys haven’t even come. Contact then when the guys come···.”

“That’s nonsense. If you report then it’s already after they hit and ran, what use is coming late!”

Employees added words to the boss’s complaints.

Well, Sillim-dong is like that too, but basically the attitude of the police is this way.

‘They said they show a tendency to try not to get involved as much as possible because magic-related crimes are a headache··· it’s quite severe.’

Still, shouldn’t they help with things like this?

It seems too neglected.

“Well now it doesn’t matter! If they see the scene they will have no choice but to acknowledge. I employed you for self-defense to live.”

The boss laughed heartily as if his insides were refreshed.

In the meantime, Jaewon came up from the lower floor.

Seeing him, he coughed emptily.

“Cough. Why did you lie? You’re not a fire-type mage. If you knew how to use [Lightning Strike] you should have said so earlier.”

“Anyway we didn’t reveal to each other so what.”

“······.”

As if awkward he kept scratching his head.

“Ah! Anyway since you processed it cleanly, I should also do what I have to do. I heard one person wants an artifact, and one person wants cash? Then please tell me the magic account a bit. I will immediately deposit the request fee of 50 million won!”

At that time, the boss started organizing the compensation.

Jaewon cash 50 million won, he artifact.

But.

“Ah, give half of the 50 million won to give me to this guy.”

“···Yes?”

“This field is originally like this. You receive as much as you do. This guy processed more than me. Give me only half, and give this guy half plus the artifact.”

“Ah, yes yes.”

Huh, why is this bastard like this?

Originally not this kind of character?

Jaewon turned his head and didn’t meet eyes.

But what···.

Since he says he will do that himself.

“Yes. Please give it to me.”

“Ha, haha! Yes, okay.”

Ding! Ding!

Soon the magic account notification sound was heard.

Exactly 25 million won deposit complete.

···How much did he earn in less than a month.

He almost earned as much as a small-medium enterprise annual salary.

“Now, and I should give this too.”

Even his reward is not the end of this.

Because there is also the artifact.

Swoosh—.

The boss handed him a T-shirt.

A black short-sleeve T-shirt.

Just by looking it’s very ordinary, but is this an artifact?

“This is an artifact we made together with technicians. The technician’s skill and the factory’s technology combined. If you wear the T-shirt it automatically absorbs surrounding mana, and you can take it out and use it when you want.”

Good, very good.

Especially too good for him.

···Because he’s mana premature.

“Yes, I’ll use it well.”

“Once again I express my thanks! Hahaha!”

Like that the first joint request ended.

Outside was still a dark night, but the fires of the vehicles still blazing brightly illuminated the surroundings.

“I thought it would end at least when the day brightened··· this is the first time a request ended so quickly. But what school are you?”

While walking, Jaewon’s question thrown out as if indifferent.

He asked him about the magic school.

···It’s not even a month since he learned magic, how could there be something like that.

“School? I don’t have something like that yet.”

“What? You don’t? But you used something like that?”

Stop!

At his answer Jaewon stopped and turned his body with a whoosh.

“Insane. A nobody without a school uses that [Lightning Strike]? You hurry and join a school first. For a mage, after the school is the real thing. Depending on which school you choose, the path of your magic changes.”

“···School.”

“Even me alone is the Lightning Speed School of the lightning type, the Body Speed School of the body type. Both are schools that maximize movement and mobility. For you it seems like the ‘Lightning Bird School’ that focuses on widening the lightning type range might fit···.”

Jaewon advising this and that.

Looking at such Jaewon he recalled the guy’s build.

Learned two kinds of magic and the school also unified.

Literally a magic build all-in on ‘speed’.

‘You can grow in that way too.’

He thought for a moment.

They say when you pass 2nd Rank everyone joins a school.

But does he need to do that?

‘Anyway I can learn variously with card draws···.’

What is the reason for joining a school?

To learn the magic techniques of a specific school.

For example one of the fire-type schools, the Fire Net School.

A school focused on maximizing range.

What was the philosophy.

「Flames must spread.」

「Burn ten people rather than one.」

···Or something?

But range?

If a range-related card comes out he can learn it.

It means he doesn’t necessarily have to join a school.

‘But··· in my current situation, learning magic separately would of course be possible too, right?’

Thinking about it, yes.

Although learning with card draws is the basic.

Wouldn’t it be possible to learn by himself like other mages?

The problem is that learning is not easy.

If there is only a way to learn, it would be possible.

‘Then learn with card draws, and also learn by myself.’

This is completely honey.

The problem is that the learning method is inefficient compared to the tuition fee···.

“I’ll look into it once.”

He answered like this for now.

Because looking into it seems good.

“Yeah. You hurry and join. Even now it’s that level, if you join a school too it will really change. Ah and···.”

Seo Jaewon who even gave advice out of the blue like that.

The guy suddenly acted shy.

···Why is he like this unfittingly.

“Give me your phone number a bit. If there’s a chance later let’s do it together once more. Isn’t all this fate? You don’t know what help that fate will be later.”

“······.”

“And sorry about before. I made a mistake again. A mage shouldn’t judge unless he experiences it directly.”

Is it because he saw [Lightning Strike].

Or is he originally this kind of guy.

Suddenly he completely lowered his tail.

“Okay whatever.”

So he handed over the number too.

Basically he seemed to have skill too. Unlucky but looking at the current attitude he doesn’t seem like a strange guy either.

How to say, a personality that acknowledges what should be acknowledged?

Moreover the guy’s words are also right.

Who knows what help this fate will be later.

* * *

Future City Construction, Special Business Department.

Special Business Team Leader, Park Junhyeok’s shout spread.

Because the Mana Robber they commissioned, Oh Jaehyun, suddenly died.

“That guy is uncertified, but he wasn’t a guy who would be easily done in! Moreover we even prepared an artifact for him. Whose doing is it!”

“···Sorry. It has not been grasped yet.”

Whoosh—.

Smack!!

“Kuh!”

Junhyeok’s fist struck the secretary’s face.

In an instant the secretary wrapped in a black form quickly raised his staggering body.

“You this bastard. Not doing the work properly?”

“···S-sorry!”

“If you make a mistake like this one more time know that you’ll really die. Got it?”

“Yes, yes!”

Hoo, Junhyeok sat in his chair and continued speaking.

“We don’t know when the mana vein will become active. If that becomes active mana will overflow in Sillim-dong, and then the government will also immediately notice!”

“Yes, yes! That’s right!”

“Then shouldn’t we obtain it quickly before that! Isn’t that right!”

“That’s right!”

The secretary bowed his head while fully tense.

Special Business Team Leader, Park Junhyeok.

A person famous as a black mage.

If caught wrongly he will also be used as one material.

“You take a few kids right now and go to Sillim-dong.”

“···T-to Sillim-dong you mean?”

“Yeah. You go directly and find out what happened and come. If you can process it, process it directly. Got it?”

“Yes! Understood!”

Kim Cheolho, the direct secretary of the Special Business Department team leader, headed to Sillim-dong.

* * *

Screech—.

He took the bus and arrived at Sillim-dong.

As soon as he got off, the high slope was visible.

Shall he start climbing?

“Hoo.”

This damn slope doesn’t adapt no matter how many times he walks it.

Is there no magic that solves something like this?

Something like levitation!

‘···If it comes out I’ll definitely learn that first.’

He ground his teeth.

Rattle, rattle!

At that time, something sound came from the side.

A grandfather climbing the slope like him was visible.

That grandfather was pulling a cart that looked heavy with all kinds of junk loaded.

‘Let’s help.’

Isn’t this affection.

He immediately pushed the back of the cart and climbed.

“Uh, oh my. Y-you don’t have to help···.”

“No! I’ll help!”

“Hehehe··· thank you!”

Rattle, rattle.

Like that he pushed the cart and climbed the slope.

It was certainly a harder path, but how much more so for the grandfather.

“Phew.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you I climbed easily. Hehehe.”

“No. If I see you next time I’ll definitely help!”

“Hehehe, thank you. The junk shop below over there is my shop, if you need something later stop by anytime. Looking at it you seem to have a quite usable artifact.”

Swoosh.

The grandfather lightly scanned his clothes.

···Huh?

He recognizes this at once?

‘Actually just by looking at the outside it would be ordinary clothes or gloves?’

He has good discernment.

“Ah, surprised that I recognized the artifact? The things in the cart here are also all artifacts. Hehehe.”

“···Yes?”

“Yeah, if you need something stop by!”

“······.”

What.

Was he an artifact junk shop owner?

So he recognized at once.

Just as the grandfather was about to go like that, he suddenly turned back and brought out meaningful words.

“By the way you. You’re handling magic in a somewhat peculiar way?”

“···Yes?”

“Hehehe, no. Because I felt it for the first time curiosity arose for nothing. Originally mages are all like that, right? Even when old like this it’s meddlesome. Hehehe.”

“······.”

What, just now?

Did that grandfather notice about my ability?

While he was blankly flustered for a moment, the grandfather had already gone far.

‘They said Sillim-dong gathers all kinds of people.’

That grandfather also seems not ordinary somehow.

Parts he passed by carelessly before learning magic, after learning magic Sillim-dong started to look different.

That aside.

‘By the way why isn’t mana filling so much?’

He lightly examined the T-shirt.

They said that artifact has two engravings.

[Mana Storage] that absorbs surrounding mana.

And [Mana Release] that releases the absorbed mana.

Even to the point of being distinguished by percentage.

The time he had been wearing until now was about three hours.

The mana that filled in the meantime was 10%.

It seemed a bit slow perhaps because surrounding mana was insufficient.

Well, this is also grateful.

Anyway.

After doing a good deed after a long time he immediately came home.

Then one phone call came.

It was Mr. Sangcheol.

-Wow, what on earth did you do and come? That Jangwon guy was quietly praising you with a trembling voice? It seems the mage who went together praised highly.

“That guy?”

-Why? Did something happen? He even said he was thankful for connecting the joint request with you?

Huh?

It was that much?

-Anyway, that Jangwon guy also seems to like you. If it’s okay he said to connect with him too. If there is a request to ask separately he wants to. This guy doing this is rare.

Fate continues to occur.

-That Jangwon guy is on the quite famous side in this field. I only act in this side’s field, but that guy is nationwide. There will be no loss receiving that guy’s requests.

Somehow it looked like that.

Looking at that unlucky Jaewon guy following without complaint.

“Yes, of course it’s good for me. If there’s a chance please tell him to contact me.”

-Hahaha, okay.

One more request office increased.

* * *

Three days flowed from then.

In the meantime he progressed requests without rest.

There were no requests at the level of the factory request, but he processed several small ones.

“Now, this is the compensation for processing this request.”

The compensation received so far was six mana stones.

However, even with this it was insufficient.

‘In the meantime the mana vessel seems to have grown quite a bit.’

At first he leveled up with even one.

Now even pouring in six he couldn’t.

If he uses this time it’s a total of seven···.

Wooooong—.

Mana seeping in immediately.

He feels it filling steadily.

But unfortunately···.

‘It didn’t work.’

This time too level up failed.

How much has it increased in total.

At this rate he has to do requests that receive bigger mana stones.

‘Shall I use this?’

Fortunately there was another means.

Because there is the mana of the T-shirt piled up little by little in the meantime.

‘Currently 78%.’

Not 100%, but quite filled.

Then?

Wooooong—.

He transferred the T-shirt’s mana.

Mana entering steadily.

And.

[Leveled up.]

Level up.

But something else appeared.

[Became 10th level.]

[Magic school selection is possible.]

···Huh?

This is also possible?

Isn’t it something you have to learn?

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