Chapter 1464 – 1464. Dark Moon
Area E.
If you were to compare it to Korea, it would be like Myeongdong in Seoul.
You can see countless tourists and wealthy customers. Especially in this area, you can often see nobles shopping.
What you need to be careful about is not staring at the nobles. If you make eye contact, it could actually lead to a situation like, “How dare a mere commoner look me in the eye?” When looking at nobles, you should glance at them as if you’re not interested. It’s best to not show any interest at all.
Even in Neo London’s most sophisticated downtown area, darkness existed. In stark contrast to the dazzling lights, the particularly dark street is called Aira Street.
It was a street created by the descendants of Aira, who was once a hero of Neo London, as they started businesses. The nobles also respect Aira, so they are subtly lenient towards Aira Street. Of course, in reality, it’s just that they don’t bother with it because it’s a place where the nobles’ dirty money is involved.
As soon as I stepped onto Aira Street, I felt gazes from all directions. Wary eyes.
Here, you can’t flinch at the stares. Even if it’s just a bluff, you have to look strong. That’s the only way to avoid getting into unnecessary trouble.
“Hey, punk. You’re reeking of money… Are you trying to tempt us on purpose?”
Three black men approached, chuckling. Their arms and legs were mechanical.
“……”
I raised my hand and touched my face. I didn’t expect to get into trouble within a minute of being on Aira Street.
‘Does my face look like a pushover…? I wasn’t even hiding my strength.’
I looked around.
The mercenaries nearby were looking at the black men with pity. They recognized the power I possessed.
‘So, the guys in front of me are just ignorant morons.’
As I was speechless with disbelief, they seemed to think I was intimidated, and they became even more arrogant.
“We’re in a tough spot because we’re out of money right now. We had some drinks, and the bill turned out to be outrageous.”
“Damn it. It’s because you called a girl.”
“And you didn’t even get to bang her.”
“Shut up, you bastards. Anyway, the point is, we need money. Lend us some money. 100,000 credits will do.”
Should I kill them?
I could kill them in an instant.
But there were many eyes watching us. They had no intention of helping; they were just watching with interest, as if a fun spectacle had appeared.
‘Why isn’t anyone reporting this to the police?’
I was starting to doubt if this was really Area E. I would have believed it if it was Area X.
‘Killing is absolutely out of the question. There are too many eyes watching. As much as it sucks, this is Area E. Murder is crossing the line.’
But I couldn’t just ignore them and run away either.
Run away from these guys because I’m scared? Forget about my pride, my reputation would plummet. Who would hire a mercenary who runs away from guys like these?
“Hey, what’s with this guy, is he retarded? Why isn’t he saying anything?”
“Is it that hard to ask for money?”
“Should I smack his head a bit? My TV gets fixed when I hit it.”
Whoo-oong.
Mana moved. A magic circle was drawn in front of my hand. The men’s eyes widened.
“Oh, shit!”
“It’s a mage!”
“Help me!!”
As soon as they saw the magic circle, they ran away in a panic. They split up into three directions so quickly, it seemed like they had done this before.
I retracted the magic. This was Area E, and there were many eyes watching. I had to restrain myself.
“Spineless bastards. I thought I was going to have some fun, but…”
“Back in my day, whether the opponent was a mage or a knight, we’d pull out our guns first. These days…”
“Bullshit. You knelt and begged in front of that knight back then.”
“You little shit. Acting like you weren’t the same.”
The crowd that had gathered also dispersed. Perhaps because they confirmed that I was a mage, some of the wary gazes disappeared.
“What’s a spellcaster doing here?”
As I was walking, the owner of a shashlik stall spoke to me. He was a middle-aged man.
“Do I have to report that to you?”
“I know you’re upset about what just happened… but don’t be so prickly. I’m trying to help you. You’re new here, right? Do you know your way around?”
“…I’m looking for Gomez Clinic.”
“A mage looking for Gomez Clinic? That figures. Your mana road must be messed up, huh? But you’re still able to use magic. How did you end up like that?”
“Don’t cross the line.”
“I’m just curious. If you tell me, I’ll give you a free shashlik. You can just give me a rough idea.”
“……I ended up like this while taking down a bastard.”
“Personal revenge?”
I nodded.
He chuckled and handed me a shashlik skewer.
“Gomez Clinic is straight down that road, you’ll see a blue pillar. Go right from there, and you’ll see a building that says Gomez Clinic.”
“I know. Did you think I came here without knowing anything? And this shashlik is awful.”
“Hmm. So shashlik with plum sauce is not good… Developing new menus is hard.”
I threw the shashlik I was holding back at him and headed towards Gomez Clinic. The guy selling shashlik was probably an informant. He was probably trying to sell my information to an information broker. I don’t know how much they would pay for that kind of information though.
I arrived at Gomez Clinic. A woman with a bright smile was sitting at the counter.
“Welcome, customer. Is this your first time at our clinic?”
“I want to see Lana Gomez.”
“The director? I’m sorry, customer. The director only sees special guests.”
“I’m a 5th-grade mage.”
“……You are a special guest. I’ve sent a message to the director. Ah, it seems the director is free. Please go up to the 4th floor.”
I took the elevator to the 4th floor.
I sniffed the air. It smelled like a typical hospital. I knocked on the director’s office door.
“Come in.”
I opened the door.
A woman was sitting at her desk. The woman, who looked to be in her sixties, was old but didn’t seem worn out. With a sharp look, she adjusted her glasses and said to me,
“So, the exorcist has arrived. Have a seat.”
“……Exorcist?”
“I heard you wiped out all the ghosts in a village two days ago when the Dark Moon rose?”
“The rumors spread already…”
At that time, I had been hunting and killing ghosts until dawn. At first, it was because the ones that attacked me were annoying, but then I got excited while testing my magic. That scene was captured on CCTV, and that afternoon, I received 500,000 credits as a reward from the London Guard.
“Your mana road is the problem, right? The only mages who come to me are those kinds of guys.”
“You’ve certainly figured it out.”
“Let’s get straight to the point. I don’t have the materials for mana restoration. I have all the other materials, but the problem is the Blue Distortion. It’s a flower that only blooms when the Dark Moon rises, so the quantity is limited.”
“The Dark Moon rose two days ago.”
“Blue Distortion isn’t a flower that you can easily get just because the Dark Moon has risen. It’s impossible to cultivate. Do you think there would be many people going around collecting flowers on the day the Dark Moon rises?”
“Still, some quantities are coming in little by little. The guys who came before you are waiting patiently, so just make a reservation and get a checkup. I’ll contact you when it’s your turn. Depending on the situation, it could take more than three months. If you don’t like it, go find another shop.”
I put my hand inside my coat pocket. The air tensed up in an instant. Her hand went under the desk.
“I’m not trying to fight. I’m not planning to threaten you either.”
“Then what is it?”
“Blue Distortion. I have it.”
I took out a box and placed it on the desk. She opened the box and was shocked.
“Blue Distortion petals! You’ve collected this much? It looks like at least 5,000 pieces!”
“Let’s make a deal. I want to get my mana restored right away. I’ll give you 500 Blue Distortion petals in exchange.”
“You’re a real robber. You’re trying to get your mana road restored with only 500 petals? It costs 50 million credits to restore one mana road.”
“The 500 petals are the price for moving up the queue. I’d like to pay for the mana road restoration with the rest.”
“…How many damaged mana roads do you have?”
“Sixteen.”
“A 5th-grade mage with 16 mana roads broken… Why are you so calm? You should be grabbing my legs and begging for help.”
“Enough with the useless talk. Is there a deal?”
“This deal is a loss for me. Sixteen mana roads is 800 million credits. With that much, I could buy 20,000 Blue Distortion petals.”
“If you could buy them.”
It’s because Blue Distortion is hard to get that I went and got it myself.
“……I have a condition.”
“What is it?”
“I want you to take down a gang. It’s not a gang based in Neo London. They seem to be intercepting cargo on the north road of Neo London.”
“Isn’t that something the London Guard should handle?”
“Everyone knows that the London Guard is slow, even the beggars. I want you to take care of them and retrieve the items that were stolen from my daughter. If you don’t want to… go find another restorer.”
Lana Gomez’s expression was firm.
I sighed.
I had no choice but to accept this request. I was the one who was in a bind. She was the most skilled and reliable restorer in Neo London right now.
“…I’ll look into the details of the gang on my end.”
“They don’t have any backing. There are about 30 gang members, and they’re cyborgs.”
“…Is it because I’m an electric-type mage that you’re asking me?”
“And because you have a 100% mission success rate. I judged that you weren’t just some random guy.”
“Anyway, I’ll do some research on my own and let you know if I’ll take the request or not.”
“Okay. But I can’t wait long. Contact me within three days. Get into the examination machine. Let’s check the condition of your mana road.”
Lana Gomez pointed to the examination machine. It looked like a crude refrigerator. I sighed and walked towards the examination machine.
“Do I have to take off my clothes too?”
“I’m not interested in your naked body.”
I went inside the examination machine. A cold chill poured down from above.
‘…This isn’t a refrigerator, right?’
The examination machine door opened after 30 seconds. I came out and approached her, who was staring at the monitor.
A human figure was displayed on a black background. The head was shining white, and blue lines extended down from it to the whole body.
“Is that my astral and mana road?”
“Yes. Your astral is in good condition… and the quality of your mana road is good too. All 34 of your mana roads are circulating.”
“Isn’t it normal for mana roads to circulate?”
“That’s normal. But more than half of the mages’ mana roads don’t circulate. Making them circulate is one of my jobs… Hmm. Did you get some kind of procedure? Your body is unusually clean.”
She was impressed. It was probably because of the mana shower.
“Does it matter if it’s clean or not?”
“Is a mage asking me that? That’s absurd.”
“…I learned magic by myself.”
“A 5th-grade mage who is self-taught? I’ve heard of it a few times, but it’s the first time I’ve actually seen it. Mana roads are, as the name suggests, roads. The cleaner and smoother the road, the faster the mana can run. In that sense, all 34 of your mana roads are in top condition. It’s like a road that makes you want to step on the gas without thinking in a supercar.”
“What about the other 16?”
“They’re so broken that it’s hard to call them roads. They’re blocked, cut off, and burning. It looks like you overworked your mana roads somewhere.”
“I used a lot of power to kill a bastard. Can they be restored?”
“I’ve restored mana roads that were in worse condition than this. It’s not a problem.”
“That’s a relief.”
I got up from my seat.
“I’ll contact you within three days.”
“Okay.”
She answered without taking her eyes off the monitor.
