Chapter 1268 – 1268. Dark Moon
Brrrrrrrrr.
The pocket watch I kept inside my coat vibrated.
With the composure befitting a gentleman, I leisurely took out the pocket watch and checked the caller. It was Rose, the head of the X Manpower Agency. I answered the call.
“It’s me.”
-Oh, yeah, it’d be you. You act all gentlemanly, but you’re like a barbarian in these situations.
Feeling embarrassed, I cleared my throat.
“The job is done. Hasn’t the payment been deposited?”
-The deposit’s been confirmed. 4 million credits, minus the 1 million credit commission, will be deposited into your account shortly.
“Was that all you called about?”
-The client said you stormed the workshop of the black mage who created the pollutants? Where are you now?
“I was about to return after dealing with the black mage.”
The black mage was already dead, and I had encountered a demon. There was no need to report every single detail. This wasn’t part of the request anyway, and I had already taken care of it myself.
-So, you’re still near Weiwei Village. I guess that’s a relief?
“…What’s going on?”
-The client has requested a new job. The request is to rescue Weiwei Village from the biker gang, the Prackers.
“They’re being attacked by a biker gang….”
-Normally, it would just end with some looting, but today is different. The old leader died, and a new leader has risen. This is the new leader’s initiation. In the worst-case scenario, there could be over 100 casualties.
The Pracker biker gang. They must be the ones who attacked earlier today.
I sat on my bike and started the engine.
-Are you going to take the job? Do you have the energy?
My energy was running low.
I had used a lot of mana when I fought back against the demon.
The smart thing to do would be to run towards Zone W. The payment was already deposited, so there was no need to risk facing the biker gang.
However, these bikers had gotten on my nerves. They were the ones who attacked me earlier, so I wanted to take care of them now.
“What’s the payment?”
-8 million credits. It’s quite urgent.
“A payment I can’t pass up.”
-That’s unexpected.
“What do you mean?”
The bike started moving. I looked towards the village. I could see lights moving around the village. They were the bikers’ headlights. I turned off my lights and rode. I didn’t want to reveal my position to them.
-Usually, people would back out in this kind of situation. No matter how good the money is, the most important thing is your own life.
“I just judged that I could handle it.”
-Oh, is that so? Good luck. Do your best.
The call ended.
I put the pocket watch back in my coat. Gunshots rang out from the village. The villagers had gathered at the village hall and were fighting the bikers. The bikers were setting up cannons, as if they were trying to destroy the village hall itself.
There were seven of them gathered. It was the perfect time to use an area-of-effect spell.
[Fire Rain]
Rain of fire fell from the sky onto them. The panicked bikers tried to abandon the cannons and run, but the fire fell on the shells, causing a massive explosion.
KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG!
All of them were caught in the explosion.
“Shit!”
“It’s a mage! There’s a mage over there!”
“That’s the guy who killed the former leader! Leader! That guy is our Pracker’s enemy! We have to avenge him!”
“Alright! I’ll take his head and comfort the former leader’s spirit! Follow me! KYA-HOOO!”
“KYA-HOOOOOOO!”
About 20 of them screamed and chased after me. I leaned forward and increased the bike’s speed. I had already reached the maximum speed of 300 km/h. Even so, the distance was getting shorter.
‘It’s the difference in the bikes.’
The bike I was riding was something I had borrowed from a shop. On the other hand, those guys had bikes that were covered in illegal modifications. It was natural that their performance was superior.
“You’re going to have a death race with us in that piece of junk?”
“I’ll give you credit for your guts, mage!”
“KYAA-HO! It’s a death race!!”
Missiles and bullets flew towards me. Thanks to the barrier, I could withstand the bullets, but the missiles were annoying.
[Gravity]
The missiles and bullets that were flying towards me crashed into the ground. The missiles exploded, and two bikers were swept away. Surprisingly, they were lifted at least 20 meters into the air before falling to the ground. Their necks were bent in a hopeless direction. They were instantly killed.
“You fools!”
“We’ll run for you guys too!”
“Go run in hell first! KYAAAAAA-HO!”
The biker gang’s morale didn’t drop. Rather, they were even more excited after seeing their comrades’ blood.
And finally, one of them caught up to me. The guy right next to me on my right was holding the handlebars with one hand, and with the other, he was holding up a crowbar.
“How are you doing, mage! You see my pretty girl? From now on, I’m going to shove this pretty girl into your precious bike! It’s going to be bike rape!!”
“You’re crazy.”
The crowbar in his hand glowed red. It was aura.
“Heh, heh heh ha ha ha ha!”
The guy who was laughing maniacally was about to shove the aura-infused crowbar into my bike when BANG! A gunshot rang out, and the guy’s head exploded. His bike lost its balance and fell over.
KWA-ANG! I heard the sound of a bike exploding behind me.
‘It’s a sniper shot from the village. …Is it Max?’
Then, bullets flew to cover me. Unfortunately, they didn’t hit as accurately as the first shot.
‘Just the cover is helpful enough.’
I took a breath.
Judging by the amount of mana I had left, I could only cast two or three more spells. On the other hand, there were still nearly 20 bikers chasing me.
‘…There.’
I saw a rocky terrain. A place full of jagged rocks. If I drove through there at this speed… I would most likely crash into a rock and die.
I turned my bike towards the rocky area.
“Huh? Did you suddenly go crazy?”
The surprised bikers hesitated and slightly reduced their speed.
I looked at them and raised the corners of my mouth.
“You were talking about a death race, but now that death is near, are you scared?”
The provocation worked very well.
“Scared? Who’s scared?”
“Death is nothing!”
“K-KYA-HOOO!”
They sped towards the rocky terrain.
I felt cold sweat running down my forehead and focused as much as I could.
As soon as I entered between two large rocks, I used a moment.
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 5]
If I continued straight ahead, I would crash into a rock and die. Right and left. The path was on the left. I turned the handlebars to the left with all my might. The bike’s scream made my eardrums feel like they were about to burst.
KWA-ANG! BANG! BANG!
I heard explosions. It was the sound of the bikers crashing into the rocks and dying with their bikes.
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 4]
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 3]
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 2]
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 1]
I used Moment to change direction continuously.
BANG! BANG BANG BANG!
Every time I changed direction, bikers died, and in the end, only one was left. It was the leader of the biker gang. He was smiling with madness.
“This is fun! It’s fun! It’s incredibly fun!!”
The last hurdle was in sight. A large rock was blocking the front. The left and right were also blocked by rocks, so even if I changed direction, I would eventually crash into a rock.
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 0]
[Levitation]
I flew into the sky with the bike. Thanks to Moment, I was able to time it easily. The bike easily went over the rock.
I glanced back. The biker leader was covered in aura and crashed into the rock.
KWA-ANG!
He stepped on the shattered pieces of rock and jumped into the air, trying to ram into me.
“Hahaha! It was a fun ride! Now die! Death Charging!”
Sharp spikes popped out from the front of his bike.
“You’re a fool. Were you too excited to notice?”
“What?”
I pointed to the sky with one hand.
In the night sky, a large magic circle was drawn among the clouds. It was a magic circle I had prepared since entering the rocky terrain. The blue magic circle was slowly rotating, and at its center, compressed lightning was flashing.
The biggest problem was the bikers’ speed. Even for me, it was difficult to accurately hit those who were recklessly speeding.
But now that I was floating in the air, and the bike’s wheels were no longer turning, it was different.
[Thunder Bolt]
Lightning traveling at 100,000 km per second struck him.
He was slammed into the ground and exploded.
I checked the crater in the ground and leisurely moved towards Weiwei Village.
‘Was the speed of sound 340m per second? Then how fast is lightning?’
Just in terms of speed, lightning felt invincible.
However, in this world, simple lightning is not a powerful weapon. And as long as a person is controlling the lightning, there will be limitations. In the case of Thunder Bolt, even someone with a mana affinity of level 3 or higher can sense the signs.
‘In the end, lightning controlled by a person is just a fast bullet.’
Whether it’s the speed of sound or the speed of lightning, it’s difficult for a human to perceive that speed.
•••
“Thank you for helping us!”
Max bowed to me. Starting with him, the villagers thanked me. I waved my hand, stopping their greetings.
“I was just doing a job.”
“Still, thank you. Usually, when a situation like this happens, people just leave. You didn’t.”
“I had a bit of a bad history with those guys, so I dealt with them.”
“Haha. Is that so?”
The villagers, including Max, seemed to have misunderstood something. The atmosphere wasn’t bad, so I decided to just go along with it.
“My bike’s fuel is running low. I’d like to buy some fuel… How much is it?”
“Haha. We’ll fill it up for free. You got rid of our problem, so we can at least do that much. Stay the night. We’ll prepare a grand breakfast for you tomorrow morning.”
“I have to go back right away.”
“Hmm…. Then there’s no helping it. I’ll fill up your fuel, so bring your bike over.”
I followed him. Max filled up my bike’s fuel.
“Would you like a drink? I’ll treat you to my secret liquor. Don’t say anything ridiculous like you’ll get drunk after one drink. Even a dog wouldn’t believe that.”
“…One drink should be fine.”
“Wait a moment.”
Max brought a bottle of liquor and a glass. The bottle was half full.
“It’s a very precious liquor. The last time I drank it was probably 20 years ago… when I was appointed as the sheriff.”
“Isn’t it too old?”
“It’s a family secret liquor. Just drink one glass. I won’t give you any more, even if you ask.”
“……What kind of liquor is it?”
“My late father said it was snake liquor. I don’t know what kind of snake it is.”
I looked at the golden liquid in the glass and downed it in one gulp.
It was cold.
It was so cold that it not only woke me up but also froze me to the bone. And the cold became vitality. My mana rod reacted.
“…My mana has increased a little. Was it an elixir?”
I looked at the bottle with greedy eyes.
“I won’t give it to you, no matter how you look at it. And it won’t have any effect after the second glass.”
“Those kinds of elixirs aren’t common. Thank you. I got to eat something precious thanks to you.”
“Be careful on your way back.”
•••
I arrived home before sunrise.
I entered the password on the door lock.
588274.
With a beep, the front door opened.
And I was startled. Yuria was in the entryway.
“Welcome home, Master. I’ve been waiting for you. Would you like to eat first? Take a bath? Or… me first?”
Yuria smiled seductively and slightly lifted her skirt. Her private parts were barely visible. Instead, a string of sticky fluid hung between her thighs.
“F-First.”
“Yes.”
“A bath.”
“……Did I hear wrong?”
“My body is dirty with sweat and dust. I don’t want to hold you in this state.”
Yuria looked surprised, then smiled brightly.
“I’m sorry. I was only thinking about myself. I’ll assist you with your bath, Master.”
Drip. Drip.
I heard the sound of water dripping nearby.
