novelraw Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11. A Body of a Different Kind (2)
Still, I felt the need to test it one more time.
I drank another 20ml of the blue potion.
Shushushushu-
The surrounding mana was sucked in again.
A considerable amount of mana filled my body.
But that was it.
Shuuuuu-
The mana that had been sucked in escaped from my body again in an instant.
It was impossible to hold onto the mana that had entered.
It was like pouring water into a bottomless jar.
After trying it twice like this, I could tell for sure.
'This body is incapable of storing mana at all.'
This was seriously strange.
Magic was fundamentally activated by refining and accumulating mana in the body, and then utilizing that mana.
In other words, if mana couldn't be stored in the body, it should be impossible to use magic at all.
But…
[Discharge]
Crackle-
Black electric shock flowed from my fingertips.
I could still use magic.
Even though with a body like this, it should be impossible to use magic.
Why on earth was it possible to use magic?
'Is the mechanism by which this body manifests magic different?'
I had to know.
The peculiarity of this body needed to be identified.
Only then could I figure out how to grow and develop this body.
I sat cross-legged again and closed my eyes.
Then, I revived the sharpness of my suppressed senses.
And through those senses, I began to thoroughly examine the inside of my body.
Sssshhh-
Inward, inward.
I turned all my senses inward, sinking endlessly into the deepest part of my body.
What was the true nature of this body?
How was it possible to use magic without storing mana?
Soon, my five senses began to fade.
And only my own interior began to emerge clearly.
My own body, where not a single speck of mana could be felt.
I carefully activated [Discharge].
Simultaneously with the activation of the magic, mana flowed into my body.
The mana was constructed through calculation and manifested.
And I carefully tracked the entire process.
Crackle…
Black electric shock flowed from my hand.
At the same time, I understood the principle by which my body used magic.
'…What is this body?'
The principle was ridiculously simple.
My body was absorbing mana and simultaneously activating magic with it.
But…
'This makes even less sense?!'
Mana was an extremely rough, unrefined energy.
Therefore, a refining process was necessary for its utilization.
You could think of it like petroleum.
When petroleum is refined, it can become various forms such as fuel, plastic, and fiber.
But in its unrefined state, it's just black water.
Mana was the same.
That's why mages spend a considerable amount of time accumulating refined mana.
On the other hand, my body performed the mana refining process at an ultra-high speed, simultaneously with its absorption.
There was no reason to accumulate mana.
And in the first place, mana accumulation itself was not possible.
'Wait a minute, then with this body, I won't have to experience mana depletion shock?'
When one's mana ran out, a strong sense of exhaustion and dizziness would set in, and this was mana depletion shock.
But for someone like me, whose mana reserve was always at 0, a shock couldn't occur.
In other words, it was a body that could spam magic without worrying about depletion.
Of course, fatigue would build up in the body, but it was nothing compared to the risk of mana depletion.
When my reasoning reached this point, another question was automatically resolved.
The reason the mana detector didn't go off when I entered the Noksan Junkyard.
It didn't go off because my mana was always maintained at 0.
“…Hoo.”
I opened my eyes and began to organize my thoughts.
'Training to increase mana capacity is completely useless for this (different kind) of body.'
Then, what other methods were there to increase the output of my magic?
'I need to widen the diameter of the blood vessels through which mana flows.'
So that more mana could flow faster.
The current state of my blood vessels was not very good.
Was it because of the long imprisonment?
Like blood vessels that had suffered from arteriosclerosis for a long time, my blood vessels were narrow and clogged with a lot of impurities.
I had to remove these impurities and make the blood vessels stronger and wider.
Then, what was the most effective training for this?
It was simple.
I just had to use a lot of magic.
In a word-
'I need to fight.'
And intense fights at that.
Because the more intense the fight, the more frequently I would use magic, which would clear the clogged blood vessels.
It meant that I couldn't just pursue efficiency in my hunts like I did today.
Because the more I pursued efficiency, the less frequently I would use magic.
'In a word, it's better to engage in direct confrontations often.'
Direct confrontations weren't my preference, but it didn't matter.
To gain freedom, I had to fight anyway, and the more I fought, the stronger I would become.
'It's not a bad cycle.'
I took out the note with the names of the escaped convicts from my coat pocket.
First, I drew a long line through 'Choi Young-go'.
And then I looked for my next prey.
A guy I could fight to some extent, and who was also manageable with my current specs.
“You're it.”
I circled the name 'Alex'.
The next prey was decided.
* * *
The next day.
A shopping district in Seoul.
At the end of the long shopping street, there was an old commercial building.
The 5th floor of that building.
The atmosphere there was unusual.
Four people kneeling with their wrists tied.
And surrounding them were men with menacing looks.
In the hands of these men were firearms, swords, steel pipes, and the like.
On the other hand, the kneeling people were all in a battered state.
Looking at the bloodstains on the steel pipes, it was not difficult to guess who had hit whom.
But the most important person in this space was not them.
“Aigoo, why are our esteemed Merchant Association executives kneeling so politely? Have you finally learned what manners are?”
A man approached the kneeling people.
A huge man over 190cm tall, with a noticeably thick neck.
Unlike the other menacing men, he was not holding a gun or a sword.
Completely bare-handed.
But the ones holding guns and swords hastily straightened their posture the moment this man appeared.
It was a moment that revealed to whom the power in this space was tilted.
This bare-handed man was the boss of this organization.
The kneeling people were the executives of the Merchant Association here.
The boss approached the chairman among the Merchant Association executives and squatted down.
The two men's eyes met.
One with ridicule and cynicism.
The other with anger and hatred.
The boss asked the chairman in a mocking tone.
“I heard you didn't pay the protection money while I was away, Mr. Chairman.”
“Because there was no reason to pay.”
“No, if you receive protection, you have to pay the price. You pay your taxes diligently, but if you treat us like this, I'll be very sad, you know?”
“We don't need protection.”
“Hmm?”
“The only ones who are harassing us are you guys.”
“That's right! That's it!”
The boss slapped his knee and said.
“If you pay us protection money, we'll protect you from us! You're a quick learner, Mr. Chairman!”
“What kind of nonsense…!”
The Merchant Association chairman was at a loss for words.
“Now that you seem to understand, let's make a contract. First, you'll have to prepay the overdue protection money. And then…”
“Why!”
“Hmm?”
“It's money we earned! Money we earned with our sweat without a single speck of help from you! By what right do you…”
“Because I want it.”
“…What?”
“I want it! That precious money you earned by shedding blood and sweat and grinding away your lives! I want to put all of it in my pocket without lifting a single finger!!”
A desire of such pure vulgarity erupted from the boss's mouth.
Hearing those words, the chairman was completely speechless.
'…He's not a human being.'
It was just desire taking the form of a person; that thing couldn't be called a person.
The boss held out a piece of paper in front of the Merchant Association chairman and said.
“Now, if you're going to sign, I'll untie your hands. If you sign, I'll let you go from here altogether.”
“……”
The chairman looked down at the contract.
It contained the absurd content of handing over 60% of the shopping district's revenue.
On top of that, the unpaid protection money was to be collected separately.
The chairman decided.
“Ptooey!”
Splat!
Bloody saliva spattered onto the contract.
Seeing that, the boss let out a long sigh.
“Haah…”
Yank!
Then he grabbed the chairman's hair.
“Gack…!”
“I gave you a chance, Chairman.”
At that moment.
Mmph-
The boss kissed the chairman on the mouth.
Seeing that, the boss's subordinates all covered their ears and closed their eyes.
And a moment later, when they opened their eyes.
The situation was over.
“……!”
The chairman's upper body was gone.
The other executives kneeling next to him were covered in blood and flesh.
Of course, the boss's face was also soaked in blood.
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
“H-huaaaak!!”
The other Merchant Association executives screamed as if they had lost their minds.
They had no choice.
Because the blood they were covered in was their chairman's blood.
Meanwhile, the boss's subordinates were grinning as if this situation was amusing.
“Puhuhu.”
“Kikikikiki.”
Similarly, the boss was also smiling with his blood-stained face.
The boss looked at another Merchant Association executive and asked.
“Do you want to kiss me too?”
“I'll sign the contract! I'll sign the contract!!”
They hastily signed the contract, which was so stained with blood that they couldn't even see what it said.
After the contract was signed, the boss let them go.
And he said.
“Go and tell the people clearly. That Alex has returned.”
The boss's name was Alex Boyman.
An escapee from Mugan, and my second prey.
* * *
An hour later, at the entrance of the shopping district.
I stopped walking, looking at something.
It was because of what was hanging at the entrance of the shopping district.
“…You crazy bastards.”
The lower half of a human body was hanging high up.
'That bastard Alex, has he already started to move?'
Something quietly boiled up inside me.
But I quietly suppressed that emotion.
Because there was nothing as useless in a fight as emotional turmoil.
Tight-
I gathered my long, flowing hair and tied it with a string, steeling my resolve.
'I didn't come here to take revenge. Nor did I come to deliver retribution. I certainly didn't come to enact some kind of good or justice.'
I'm just…
'here to dispose of waste and get paid.'
I am a hunter, a cleaner.
I knew that if I didn't have this mindset, my inner demons would only deepen every time I
dealt with a wanted criminal.
Thud, thud-
I walked across the shopping district.
Soon, a gray commercial building came into view in the distance.
That was the place.
That was the hideout of Alex Boyman's gang.
I awakened my suppressed senses.
Ssssss-
At the same time, I circulated mana through my blood vessels and warmed up my body.
Slowly, my body began to optimize itself for killing.
* * *
The main gate of the hideout.
Two men were standing guard with rifles.
In a completely slouched manner.
Although they were performing the important duty of a sentry, no seriousness could be felt from them.
In the first place, there was no one who dared to approach this building.
“Hwaaaam…”
One of them opened his mouth wide and yawned.
At that moment.
Whoosh-
A black electric sphere that flew from somewhere went right into his mouth.
The erupting electric shock directly fried the inside of his mouth.
Zap!
“Kuugh…!”
As he collapsed, the one next to him hastily raised his gun.
“Which son of a… Kuaak!”
Zap!
Another electric sphere exploded on his side.
[Electric Bullet]
A magic that shoots a lump of electric shock like a bullet from a distance.
I approached the sentry who had collapsed, clutching his side.
The sentry tried to shout to call his comrades inside.
But my casting was faster than that.
[Incision]
Slice!
A blade of compressed air cut the sentry's neck.
With this, the main gate was cleared.
The war had begun, very quietly.