Chapter 1448 – 1448. Dark Moon
-We haven’t even talked about the commission yet. Isn’t it too hasty to accept just because it’s related to Jupiter?
“I have to settle things with Jupiter one way or another. I thought Jupiter would contact me first as time passed, but… it’s been almost a week and there hasn’t been a single call.”
-Ah. You thought it might be a contact from Jupiter? What if it’s the opposite?
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the opposite. Unless the client is an idiot, they wouldn’t have specifically requested me for no reason.”
-The commission is 100 million credits. As I said before, the details of the request will be revealed after you accept it. But just looking at the payment, you can roughly guess what kind of job it is, right?
“If it were a simple job, the payment wouldn’t be so high… It’s a request to attack Jupiter.”
-Will you do it?
“I will. Are you going to stop me as a broker?”
-On the contrary, I highly recommend it. You’re a 5th-grade mage. Most of the requests you’ve done so far were not up to your level. It’s time for you to move up. Come to the office in five hours.
“Not right now?”
-I need to do some research too, don’t I? It’s my job as a broker to assist you by providing accurate information.
Click.
The call ended.
I got up from my seat and checked my body and equipment.
•••
“After looking into it, Jupiter is in a much more serious situation. Jupiter’s business is a casino in District L, and it’s currently shaking.”
“Shaking? Are they in a war with another faction or something?”
“That would actually be better. In District L, two representative councilors are in conflict over the casino.”
The Neo London Round Table Council.
It can be seen as the government of the city-state of Neo London. There are two councilors representing each district, but the true rulers of the city are only the 12 who sit at the Round Table.
Of course, that didn’t mean the councilors’ power was weak at all.
“One side is trying to maintain the casino for the sake of District L’s economy, and the other side is arguing for the closure of the casino for the sake of public safety.”
“The latter will be dominant. Citizens want safety more than the economy. Even if you have a lot of money, you wouldn’t want to live in a place where there are many robbers.”
“That’s right. But does Jupiter care about that? Jupiter is throwing money around to prevent the casino from closing. It’s quite enormous. It’s almost as if they’re throwing away the money they earned from the casino.”
“Is the client the councilor who is arguing for the closure?”
“The request came through a broker. But there’s a 90% chance that it’s that councilor, right?”
“What are the details of the request?”
“In three days, the casino will be temporarily closed for investigation. They’ll call in the casino’s figurehead owner for questioning. That’s when you’ll have to subdue the gang. It’ll be reported as a battle between gangs on the surface.”
“Is it okay to handle things like that?”
“Don’t you know this city yet? Almost everything can be covered up. From the citizens’ point of view, a dangerous gang disappears, so they keep their mouths shut even while guessing the truth. Oh, this request isn’t just for you. They’ve hired other mercenaries too.”
“They’ve already hired other mercenaries, but they requested me…”
“I asked casually, and it seems someone strongly recommended you. Can you guess who it is?”
Invisible Blade.
The female ninja came to mind. Considering how ruthless she was with the Havers gang, it seems she did some preliminary work for this. If I investigate, some of the gangs belonging to the Jupiter Alliance will probably be gone already.
“Is there anything I should be careful about?”
“Don’t act too cocky just because you’re a 5th-grade mage. The leaders and executives of the Jupiter gang are much stronger than the Havers. Earning a lot of money in this city also means they can become incredibly strong. The opposite is also true.”
“I understand.”
“I’ve prepared the information on the Jupiter gang. You have to memorize it all here since it needs to be shredded.”
Thump!
Rose placed a stack of documents over 30cm high in front of me. I stared at the overwhelming amount in astonishment.
“I’m working overtime today too. You’ll stay with me, right?”
“……”
•••
Three days later. I entered the old warehouse in District L, the meeting place the client had mentioned. As soon as I entered the warehouse, over 30 pairs of eyes were fixed on me. They were all armed, regardless of gender. And they were all mana awakeners. Although most of them were around 2nd grade.
“You’re right on time. You’re the 5th-grade mage who was supposed to come?”
A man with spiky green hair sticking up. His hairstyle reminded me of a green onion. He had a total of four swords, two each on his back and waist. The shape of his compressed muscles could be seen through his black spandex suit.
He didn’t hide his level. With the power and momentum I felt, he was a 5th-grade warrior.
“I’m Eugene Meyer.”
“Mons. The lone swordsman of Neo London.”
“……”
I looked around.
A 5th-grade warrior and mage. And 30 2nd-grade mercenaries.
It seemed like the forces were insufficient to deal with that gang. At least one more strong person above 5th grade was needed.
“Are you ignoring me? That’s a little hurtful.”
“Is this all of the personnel?”
“There’s one more person joining us on site. A ninja, no less. You know, that ninja who throws shurikens. Aren’t you excited to see a real ninja?”
“I don’t know.”
Clack, clack.
The sound of shoes echoed. When I turned around, a woman in a suit was entering the factory.
“Everyone’s here. I’ll brief you on the operation on behalf of the client.”
It was a predictable operation.
The 2nd-grade mercenaries would kill the Jupiter gang members, the 5th-grade warrior Mons would take on the Jupiter executives and boss. I, the mage, would provide fire support from the rear. And when the battlefield was somewhat subdued, I would help Mons.
“We’ve prepared two large buses for transportation. Now, everyone. Do your job as much as you’ve been paid.”
The buses sped towards the casino.
As if they knew about our attack, the casino welcomed us with gunfire, rockets, and missiles. The shield machines installed on the buses started operating. A translucent barrier enveloped the buses.
Bang! Boom!
The impact that the barrier couldn’t completely block hit the buses. The buses shook violently. I, sitting in my seat, tried to keep my balance by grabbing the seat in front of me.
Screech!
The buses stopped in front of the casino. As if they had been waiting, the mercenaries smashed the bus windows and jumped into the casino. Bullets rained down, but no one was afraid. It was comfortable just not having rockets and missiles flying at us.
I tapped the radio I had on my ear and said.
“I’ll take care of the guys shooting rockets and missiles from the roof.”
-There were quite a few of them, won’t it take long?
“Three minutes is enough.”
I opened my astral.
My senses expanded, and I could feel the mana flowing smoothly within me. 34 mana rods were activated, excluding the 16 mana rods that were unusable. I constructed mana into spells according to my will.
I quietly chanted the completed spell.
[Lightning Spear]
Five long spears of lightning flew towards the roof of the casino building. Compared to real lightning, they were infinitely slow, but they were much faster than the speed of a missile.
As soon as the lightning spears hit their targets, they exploded brightly enough to illuminate the dark night for a moment, scattering lightning around them.
“You son of a bitch!”
Ignoring the fact that the casino building was being destroyed, they fired a rocket at me.
Bang!
The rocket hit the bus’s barrier. The surface of the barrier cracked and developed fissures. It seemed like the barrier would break after two or three more rockets.
[Lightning Spear]
I threw five spears of lightning with an expressionless face. Maybe it was because my condition was good, but it felt particularly easy to hit the targets.
[Lightning Spear]
I threw lightning spears in succession. There were no more enemies left on the roof. Most of them died without being able to dodge the Lightning Spears, but some went inside the casino building.
I nodded my head up and down and scanned the casino building.
[Detection]
The number of enemies detected near the windows was 42.
I flicked my fingers. Crackle. Electricity flashed and became magnetic, pulling the spent bullet casings scattered everywhere towards me. There were over 500 of them.
“I’m warning you. If you’re near the windows, move away. If that’s difficult, duck below the windows.”
-It seems our mage is about to do something. Understood.
[Shape Transformation]
The shape of the 500 bullet casings changed into cone-shaped spikes.
[Electric Area]
It was a spell that partially modified the electric field. Instead of the ground, I laid down electromagnetism in the surrounding space. The bullets floating in the air trembled as if they were about to be fired at any moment.
‘In other words, this is a railgun with greatly reduced power.’
After finishing setting the direction of the bullets, I fired them without hesitation.
The 500 bullets shattered the windows of the casino building and pierced the bodies of the enemies near the windows. Broken pieces of glass fell down with a patter. The building looked as if it was crying.
-That’s some proper fire support, huh? You just killed about 30% of them with that. Hey guys. Do you need more fire support?
-No, we’ll take care of the rest ourselves.
-Eugene. Come to the VIP room. We’re going to catch the Jupiter brothers.
“I’ll be there soon.”
I entered the casino building. It was a mess. From the entrance, there were corpses of gang members everywhere. Without hesitation, I went up the stairs in the right hallway. I had completely memorized the structure of the casino building before starting the operation.
The gambling rooms for VIPs were luxurious, even from the doors. The surfaces of the doors were carved with naked women and men. In the case of the female carvings, their breasts were full. Even their vaginas were expressed in detail. I deliberately avoided looking at the male carvings. I opened the left door with the female carving and went inside.
Mons, holding swords in both hands, was fighting two men alone. The enemies in suits were equipped with spears and gauntlets, respectively.
“You’re here!”
Mons shouted happily at my appearance. The enemies he was fighting took a step back and became wary of me.
“Reinforcements?”
“Looking at that unlucky face, it seems like the mage we were told about? Do you want to take him on, brother?”
“You take him.”
“Thank you for letting me have the fun of killing a mage, brother.”
The one wearing gauntlets grinned and looked at me. I stared at him and asked Mons.
“They’re the Jupiterrain brothers. Where is Philip Jupiterrain, the boss of the Jupiter Alliance?”
“When I arrived, I saw him quickly go down a secret passage hidden behind that table. I think he went to stop the ninja.”
I used three consecutive 2nd-grade support spells on Mons.
[Strength]
[Haste]
[Iron Body]
These were support spells that temporarily enhanced strength, agility, and physical durability.
“Ooh! I hate doping, but if it’s perfect doping without any addiction like this, it’s a different story! The dungeon swordsman is going out!”
Mons, with his green onion hair fluttering, ran towards the Jupiterrain brothers.
Bald Jupiterrain, wielding a spear, rushed towards Mons.
Kayson Jupiterrain, wearing gauntlets, ran past Mons and towards me.
