From the moment he escaped the factory, Lenok had been constantly thinking about his finances.
Though he'd been lucky enough to steal some money from the supervisors on his way out, surviving on that alone indefinitely was impossible.
In the end, it meant he'd need to find some way to make money. But with no knowledge of this world and a frail body, Lenok didn't have many options.
He'd have to rely on his magical talent.
For someone like Lenok, with no proper identity, finding a respectable job in the open was out of the question.
Ultimately, the path he chose was to head back to the shadowy, mana-drenched District 49.
'I prepared for this by listening to that man.'
Recalling the directions from the man he'd saved from thugs, Lenok navigated the winding alleys toward the basement of a shabby gambling den.
There, even at dawn, a small bar glowed faintly with dim lights.
As Lenok stepped inside, his face had somehow shifted into that of a languid-looking young man.
Perhaps because the night had ended and dawn was breaking, fewer than three patrons remained in the bar.
At the center of the bar, an elderly man leisurely mixed drinks, lifting a glass with slow movements.
Lenok sat slightly off to the side from the old man and ordered a cocktail. Without asking further, the old man mixed something haphazardly and set it down.
Only after placing the glass did Lenok speak to him.
"I'm looking for work a wizard could do."
An underground job agency. This was the place the man had told him about, where he could find work.
If they'd arranged suitable jobs even for that older man who'd been helplessly beaten by thugs, it shouldn't be too dangerous for Lenok either.
Hearing Lenok's words, the old man paused briefly, then wordlessly tapped his glass four times.
Silence followed, and from the back of the bar, someone emerged, yawning as they walked out.
"Ugh… Hey, we're past business hours. I was just about to sleep—what's this about?"
A sharp-featured woman with damp hair, as if it had been soaked, brushed it back and glared at Lenok.
Wearing a loose, unbuttoned shirt and pitch-black leather pants, she exuded a mix of laziness and menace.
To put it mildly, she didn't exactly fit the image of a typical bar worker.
The old man standing nearby spoke up for the first time.
"He says he's a wizard."
"…You're a wizard?"
From Lenok's experience, wizards weren't treated poorly in this world.
Perhaps sharing the same thought, the woman's annoyed expression shifted to one of suspicion.
"Hmm, you look more like a patient than a wizard… You're not some experiment that escaped from a lab, are you?"
Even under the dim lighting, Lenok's complexion must not have looked great.
When he didn't respond, she seemed to convince herself and hopped onto the counter across from him.
"Well, whatever. That stuff doesn't matter. You can never have too many skilled wizards. I'm Jenny. You?"
He couldn't give his real name.
Lenok planned to use this magically crafted face along with a new identity for working here.
After some thought, he gave the name of the first man who'd spoken to him at the factory.
"…Ban."
"Alright, Ban. I don't know who told you, but it's not exactly a big secret that our bar hooks people up with jobs, so let's skip that. You're looking for work a wizard can do, right?"
"Yeah."
Lenok kept his answers short on purpose.
He judged that giving away information before figuring out who this Jenny was could be risky.
Hearing his reply, she narrowed her eyes sharply.
"Then we'll need to know what level of wizard you are. That way, we can find you work that matches your skill, right?"
"Level, you say?"
"Well, you don't have to reveal what unique magic system you've mastered… but we need to know what type it is."
"…"
Perhaps misinterpreting his silence, Jenny's expression turned menacing for a moment.
"It better not be the case, but… if you've learned something like cheap street magic and are passing yourself off as a wizard, this won't be fun."
Lenok silently released the glass he'd been holding and spread both hands.
He strongly visualized the image while drawing up his mana.
As a bright glow of mana illuminated the three faces, Lenok's magic took form.
*Crackle!!*
"…A lightning-type wizard, huh? My apologies."
Seeing the blue electric current sparking between Lenok's palms, Jenny spoke awkwardly.
Attribute-based magic was known for its raw power and straightforwardness, but it took years to master and was notoriously difficult to adapt, making it a high-difficulty field despite its prestige.
Lenok had just cast the spell without any incantations or hand signs—something only a veteran wizard with decades of experience in the field could pull off effortlessly.
Even the old man beside them nodded quietly in approval, but Lenok had no intention of stopping there.
While he should refrain from revealing his full abilities, he needed to prove his exceptional skill among the countless workers passing through this bar.
Focusing his mind, he gently manipulated the mana flowing through his grip.
The moment Lenok twitched his fingers, the expressions of the old man and Jenny shifted dramatically.
"…!!!"
The current running along his fingers split into five streams, gracefully weaving together to form a small pentagram.
A feat impossible without centimeter-precision mana control.
Both of them clearly understood this, and their gazes toward Lenok changed rapidly.
Only then did Lenok extinguish the mana and pick up his glass again.
"As you can see, I'm confident in my skills, so I'd appreciate it if you could introduce me to some decent work."
"…For someone showing up at the crack of dawn, you're a pretty solid catch. I like you."
Jenny grinned as she replied.
"But we can't just hand you an important job right away either. We need to work together a few times, build some trust, and then we can connect you with decent clients. In that sense, the work you can do for now is pretty much set. Is that okay with you?"
"I understand."
"Good. Then let's draw up a contract."
Once the two reached an agreement, things moved quickly.
After signing a flimsy employment contract that bound neither party with real freedom or responsibility, Jenny brought out a thick file folder from behind the bar.
"Shall we get started? Since you've crawled your way here, I'll assume you're not picky about the work."
"As long as it doesn't involve harming civilians."
He wanted to avoid getting tangled up with the police or military by hurting innocent people.
Jenny shook her head as if the idea was absurd.
"You can rest easy—there's rarely any need for that. Take a look at this first."
She opened the folder and shoved a stack of papers toward Lenok.
Profiled records on various sheets. Dozens of photos of men and women of all ages were attached to each page, with large, mysterious numbers printed in the center.
Lenok stared at them for a while before realizing what the numbers meant.
"…Bounties?"
"They're easy to access, simple to judge results for, and the rewards come in fast. There's a reason bounty hunters exist."
Jenny said this as she pulled out a single sheet and handed it to Lenok.
"It's a perfect filter for weeding out the riffraff. Interested?"
"I haven't been in the city long… I'm not in a position to be choosy."
Lenok said this while closely examining the face in the photo.
A young man with dry, flaky skin and a nervous expression. His faded brown hair was swept asymmetrically to one side, and he was smoking a cigarette.
"Name's Taylor Evans. A scavenger by trade. Three days ago, he's suspected of attempting to steal security equipment from Achilles Corp being transported in District 31's harbor."
*Tracking*
"So it ended as an attempt?"
"There's no way gutter trash could breach Achilles' security. The other scavengers he planned the heist with were all gunned down, but this guy managed to escape. Achilles washed their hands of it after that and left the trash cleanup to us."
From her words alone, it seemed there was a massive power gap between the Achilles Corporation and the scavenger group.
"Since the scavenger branch he was with already cut ties, you don't need to hold back—there won't be any repercussions."
"Hmm…"
"The bounty's 3 million cells. Not a huge sum, but decent enough for catching a rat. What do you think?"
Three million.
To Lenok, who'd been scraping by with a few tens of thousands of cells just a week ago, it was an astronomical amount, but he hesitated to accept right away.
'It's too vague.'
Having spent a week in this city, Lenok had a rough sense of how vast it was and how many different types of people mingled here.
Even just District 49, where the entertainment hubs were, felt like a completely different world from the bustling area with the library.
Finding someone with just a photo in a place like this seemed like it would take too much effort. As he flipped through the file for useful info, Lenok spotted something and pointed at it.
"It says here they collected a blood sample."
"Huh? Well… we do have it, yeah."
"Can I have it?"
"I can give it to you, but it won't be much use."
With a dubious expression, Jenny had the old man fetch the sample from behind the bar.
A torn piece of cloth stained with blood.
As Lenok tucked it into his coat and stood, she spoke.
"What's your plan?"
"It'll help."
"You'd better not be thinking of hiring a blood mage. Those money-grubbing bastards charge upwards of 5 million cells per job—you'd lose more than you'd gain. Unless it's for identity verification, that sample's useless."
Ignoring Jenny's shrug and her comment about Achilles not handing it over for nothing, Lenok stepped out of the bar.
She'd mentioned blood mages, but Lenok had no intention of seeking them out for help.
He knew a bit about blood-based unique magic. It was simple to prepare and powerful, but the backlash was severe—a type of magic that constantly carried the risk of shortening one's lifespan.
In the game, that was no issue, but in reality, it was a different story.
Since it demanded life force as a price, it made sense that blood mages charged exorbitant fees.
But there was no need to borrow their help just to catch a petty thief.
Avoiding prying eyes, Lenok found a suitably secluded spot, crouched down, and placed the torn cloth on the ground.
"…[Bloody Chase]."
As he infused his will with mana, a magic circle about a meter in diameter began etching itself into the ground around the cloth.
*Vrrrrrm!!*
Glowing with a vivid red light, the circle absorbed the bloodstains from the cloth, humming softly before transforming into a thin red thread that slithered across the ground like a snake.
Lenok stood and followed the thread.
This common magic was a favorite among hunter-type classes in the game, often used to track missed prey or pursue targets.
Its duration was short, it couldn't track properly if the blood was mixed, and it only indicated direction rather than distance—easily countered by simple disruption magic—but it seemed his target lacked such countermeasures.
After walking for a while in the direction the thread pointed, the crowds thinned, and the air grew lighter. The scent of people faded as he approached an abandoned railway area beside an unnamed construction site.
Rusted rails stretched out, but instead of trains, people in tattered rags lay sprawled across them.
None had a healthy complexion, and the bizarre stench of indiscriminate waste pierced through his mask.
The city's light and shadow. A place where outcasts, unwelcome anywhere, sought sleep.
Spotting the thread fixing itself toward a man leaning against a wall in a corner of the railway, Lenok approached and stood before him.
"Taylor Evans?"
"…"
Looking down at the man, who lay still as if dead, Lenok sighed.
Maintaining a safe distance, he pulled out the cutter he'd taken from the thugs.
They'd said it was a modified Dyke Corp product, right? Pressing the two buttons on either side of the handle simultaneously, a bluish glow shot out from the blade.
"Oh, this is…"
It's like a tiny lightsaber.
As Lenok quietly marveled and moved to stab the light into the man's thigh—
The man, who'd been motionless until now, suddenly twisted his body and bolted away at a frantic pace.
"…"
Watching Taylor flee without even looking back, Lenok shook his head.
He'd been fully prepared to counter an attack, but he hadn't expected the guy to run without even resisting.
Despite his scrawny frame, Taylor's speed was impressive, and he'd soon vanish from sight.
In that brief moment, Lenok's mind raced.
He held complete control of the situation, and his options were plentiful.
He could chase him down himself or, like before, cast Silence and shoot.
But running with this body would require a cigarette, and he wasn't confident he could hit a target that far with a gun.
So, Lenok chose a third option.
Drawing up his mana in a surge, he swung it toward the air. With clear intent and strong will, a faint wave spread from his left hand.
*[Sound Wave]*
*Boom!!*
With Lenok's incantation, an intangible shockwave rippled forward through the air, spreading like a wave.
Traveling at the speed of sound through its medium, the invisible force raced ahead with terrifying momentum, catching up to the fleeing target in an instant.
*Thud!*
It took less than three seconds for the frantically running Taylor to lose his balance and collapse.
Lenok walked slowly toward where he'd fallen.
After leaving Jenny's bar and walking for so long, his stamina was starting to wane. If he didn't pace his breathing, he'd have to rely on a cigarette again.
Having smoked constantly during his magic research, he was down to fewer than five left.
Once this was over, he'd need to ask Jenny how to get more of these.
Taylor Evans was trembling, clutching both ears with his hands.
Bright red blood streamed between his fingers.
The common magic [Sound Wave]. A spell typically used to detect surrounding objects through sound vibrations, much like a bat, but when its output is increased, it can produce this kind of power.
As a magic gunslinger, Lenok couldn't even attempt anything beyond the prescribed methods, but with his talent, simply visualizing the spell clearly while casting it was enough.
The guy's eardrums—and likely his cochlea too—were probably completely shattered.
He wouldn't be able to hear anything, let alone walk properly.
"Hmm."
Lenok looked down at Taylor, trembling and fully subdued, lost in thought.
After completing his research on common magic, the first thing Lenok had considered was protecting himself.
He knew how crucial it was to shield his body not just from physical attacks but from all sorts of threats that could endanger his safety through various means.
If he couldn't properly protect his senses, he could end up suffering the same fate as Taylor.
His fragile body wouldn't withstand even a single attack like this.
As he pondered this and grabbed Taylor's ankle to turn him over—
Bang!!
A gunshot rang out, and a mana barrier around Lenok flickered and shattered.
A bullet from somewhere had triggered the barrier spell he'd prepared in advance.
It was a passive barrier that activated once cast, but it was fragile enough to break from a single shot.
Still, it bought Lenok just enough time to react.
The moment the barrier broke, his mind and mana moved in sync, weaving a new force field.
In a mere instant, he completed a barrier dozens of times stronger than the last.
This one could probably hold up against an anti-tank rocket for a moment.
Once he was certain of his safety, Lenok lit a cigarette and quickly spread his mana outward to detect any presence.
The sluggish fatigue that had built up in his body faded, and he felt lighter.
Even after being sniped in the blink of an eye, his mind remained eerily calm.
The worries that had cluttered his thoughts about his future and livelihood cooled in the face of a life-or-death situation.
Pushing aside emotion and fear, the rationality and mental fortitude of a wizard rose to the surface, filling Lenok completely.
'Nothing.'
Even after unleashing his increased mana reserves to sweep a 1-kilometer radius, he sensed nothing but vagrants.
Either the sniper had taken the shot from beyond that range, or they'd used a method sophisticated enough to evade simple mana detection.
Either way, it was a hassle.
But was this trembling man, clutching his ears, really worth that much effort?
As Lenok's eyes lingered on the fallen Taylor, they suddenly fixed precisely on his head.
'Come to think of it, the shot hit the lower part of the barrier. I initially thought it was just to take me down…'
What if it had actually been aimed precisely at the head of someone already on the ground?
The moment he formed a rational hypothesis, deductions followed swiftly.
The conclusion came in an instant.
'They're trying to silence Taylor Evans.'
Probably the scavengers. Was there some aftermath they didn't want reaching Achilles Corp's ears locked away in his head?
That would explain why the sniper struck after Lenok found Taylor.
If a bounty hunter was on the target and they got taken out, most hunters would just claim the body as their achievement and call it a day.
Even the fact the scavengers wanted to cover up would be buried along with it.
But Lenok had no intention of letting a sniper who'd openly fired at him in his presence walk away.
From the moment he took on a job, he'd handle it decisively and ruthlessly.
At least, he intended to shape "Ban" into that kind of person. The more he was known as a cruel and cold figure, the fewer people would interfere with his money-making.
With his resolve hardened, Lenok pulled a pistol from his coat and shot Taylor in the head.
Bang!!
With a harsh gunshot, the twitching Taylor died instantly.
Jenny had said she preferred live captures when possible, but that also meant it wasn't strictly necessary.
Of course, this meant whatever "aftermath" was in Taylor's head would be lost forever… but Lenok didn't care about such secrets.
What mattered to him now was finding and punishing the sniper who'd aimed a gun at him.
That was all part of the process for his sake.
'Found you.'
The moment Lenok killed Taylor, a faint ripple of disturbance.
He didn't miss the subtle fluctuation of mana that stirred in response.
Observation
The distance was roughly 600 meters. His guess that the sniper hadn't fled beyond 1 kilometer but was using some special method to avoid detection had been spot on.
The instant he pinpointed the location, Lenok drew up his mana, spinning it around his right hand.
Vrrrrrm!!
With a strange sensation as if the mana was inverting, it leaped through space and scattered into the sky.
He knew it in theory but had never used it before.
Among common magic, it was one of the most powerful, a lightning-based spell symbolic of the type.
[Thunder Calling]
The moment he sensed a flash of blue mana in the air, a single bolt of lightning tore through the dry sky and struck down.
Thunderstrike.
BOOM!!
A vibration shook the ground. A belated clap of thunder accompanied the flash of blue light.
Lenok gazed at the scene with intrigued eyes.
Seeing other wizards use it in the game had left him unmoved, but witnessing a lightning strike manifest in reality stirred an odd sense of awe.
It exceeded his expectations. It was more than enough to claim he wielded lightning magic.
Was the sniper dead?
If they hadn't noticed and fled the moment it struck, there was no way they could've dodged it.
Lenok headed straight to where the lightning had hit, but aside from a 2-meter-wide crater, there was no trace of a body.
Had they bolted the moment he'd drawn up his mana?
Lenok considered pursuing the sniper further but decided against it.
This was warning enough for anyone else secretly watching.
It wouldn't fall short of spreading the name of the lightning wizard "Ban."
He didn't ask for much. As long as pointless interference or obstacles like this didn't disrupt his work, that was enough.
Of course, acting this way would likely draw more people digging into his background… but wasn't that why he'd donned this new face?
Lenok trusted his magical talent. A heaven-defying gift forged at the cost of his lifespan.
He didn't know how exceptional the wizards of this world were, but his talent would never fall short.
Without that belief, there was nothing he could do.
Suppressing faint unease with firm rationality, Lenok collected Taylor's body, stuffed it into a prepared sack, and hoisted it over his shoulder.
Perhaps because he'd smoked a cigarette to prepare for potential close combat, he didn't feel too strained.
Though once the smoke's effects wore off, he might suffer muscle pain, he refrained from enhancing his strength with mana.
To him, mana was his greatest weapon and final bastion. Unless facing an enemy directly, he needed to conserve it as much as possible.
He retraced his steps back to District 49.
Blood dripped from the sack, but no pedestrian around here was sensitive enough to care.
Arriving at Jenny's bar inside the area, he found the shutters closed.
After a moment's hesitation, Lenok banged on the shutter.
Soon, an aged voice came from inside.
"Business hours start at 8 PM."
"I've caught Taylor Evans."
A brief silence followed. The old man, grasping the meaning a bit late, sighed and replied,
"…There's a back door behind the building. Come in that way."
Sure enough, as the old man said, there was a small side door at the rear.
Opening it and stepping inside, Lenok found a scene similar yet different from the earlier bar.
Beyond a counter divided by a glass pane, the old man stared at him quietly.
Seeing Lenok enter with the sack over his shoulder, the old man said,
"From now on, use this entrance when discussing work. We should've told you when you first came, but both Jenny and I forgot."
"Understood. Let's check this first."
Lenok replied, placing the sack on the table.
Thud!
"This is Taylor Evans himself."
"Wait a moment."
The old man let out a low hum, put on gloves from under the counter, and began inspecting the sack's contents.
His expression didn't waver even as he examined the corpse up close—clearly, he wasn't an ordinary person.
"Cause of death: gunshot. Less than an hour dead. Signs of ear damage before the head wound, and judging by his poor nutritional state, he hasn't eaten in days. No signs of mana tampering, and all organs are intact, so it's definitely him."
Lenok was inwardly amazed at how the old man deduced so much just from the crumpled body in the sack.
"Were you a coroner or something?"
"Something like that. Want to take the bounty now?"
When Lenok nodded, the old man immediately pulled out cash and placed it on the counter.
"2.7 million cells, minus a 10% fee. If you want it in another form instead of cash, there'll be additional fees."
"Another form?"
"There are several options. Some want it deposited into a shell account, others request money laundering for more complex jobs, and plenty exchange it for bonds or stocks."
So the financial system in Vulcan worked similarly to Earth's.
As Lenok mentally filed away the old man's info, someone emerged from behind the dark curtain at the back.
"Huh? You're back already?"
Jenny, looking tired with messy hair, yawned as she brushed it back.
"Yaaawn… I wondered who'd come at this hour. Were you that desperate for cash?"
Lenok nodded plainly at Jenny's crooked smile.
"I did it because I could."
"Well, you've got skills worthy of a wizard, I'll give you that."
Jenny pulled up a chair next to the old man, propped her chin on her hand, and asked,
"Usually, bounty hunting takes way longer to track down than to kill, so what trick did you use to nab this rat so fast, Ban?"
"Just got lucky."
Jenny smirked at Lenok's obvious dodge.
She didn't seem to expect a real answer either, quickly changing the subject.
"If you can bring results in half a day, that means you can handle yourself. Looks like we can keep working with you."
"I wouldn't mind if you lined up another job right now."
He'd have to come back to District 49 for more work anyway.
He'd rather avoid making the trip twice, but Jenny shook her head.
"No chance, so head back for now. We'll pass the results of this job to Achilles Corp's contact and check the scavengers' movements before wrapping it up."
"One job isn't enough?"
"You catch on quick. We need to see how well you handle things a bit more. That way, we can keep matching you with deals suited to your level."
"Hmm…"
'That's not the only reason, I bet.'
Jenny's words rolled off her tongue smoothly, but Lenok didn't take them at face value.
Her reasons sounded plausible enough, but often those neat excuses meant nothing at all.
Still, instead of nitpicking her words, Lenok quietly took the cash the old man offered.
"Then I'll see you next time."
"…Wait, I've got one more question."
"What?"
He'd been wondering where to find similar items, and she might have a decent answer.
Turning back, Lenok pulled a cigarette from his coat and set it in front of her.
"I'm looking for a place that sells stuff like this. It doesn't have to be cigarettes—I'd prefer to see a variety of products."
"…"
She didn't say anything, but Lenok didn't miss the quick glance exchanged between Jenny and the old man.
Jenny slowly picked up the cigarette, examining it carefully.
Her demeanor was as if Lenok had handed her a bomb.
She inspected its appearance slowly, then brought it to her nose to sniff.
Her head twitched for a moment, but she quickly relaxed.
Only then did Jenny set the cigarette down with a relieved sigh.
"Phew… I thought it might be some new electronic drug or something."
"You know what it is?"
At Lenok's question, Jenny nodded.
"Just a common recreational item. I don't know the brand, but I can guess the ingredients. Ground melotis and alpina leaves mixed with plant oil."
Returning the cigarette to him, she added,
"But for a wizard, don't you like pretty cheap stuff? Keep smoking this junk, and it'll mess with your head."
"Your head, you say?"
"Yeah. The mix is stupidly simple, and the stench is so crude it's obviously trash. I get that a wizard like you might enjoy it, but if you're gonna smoke, buy something expensive—less side effects."
"…"
Fair point. What he had was something pulled from a factory supervisor's pocket.
It wouldn't be surprising if it was cheap but effective, with harsh side effects.
"Anyway, if you like this kind of thing, check out Plumber's Orchard. They cater to smokers like you with a full spread and run a legit business. You'll probably find something you like."
She gave him a rough idea of where "the Orchard" was located.
Lenok listened to which district it was in and nodded.
"Thanks for the tip. I'll come back later."
"Yeah, see you."
As Lenok turned to leave, waving off Jenny, he suddenly stopped.
"Wait, one more thing I'd like to ask."
"What?"
"Could I get a similar rundown on health supplements?"
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