Genius Warlock

“Thank you for your hard work, Dave.”

In a suit with a subtle shine and styled hair, Murphy, who had transformed unrecognizably, spoke politely.

He had become a completely different person.

When they first met, he tried to set up a magic wine factory in a warehouse, but before he knew it, he turned into a wealthy businessman and grew high enough to open an office in one of the few tall buildings in District T.

It was all thanks to the magic wine. Business seemed like a truly remarkable thing.

"If you hit the jackpot, your life changes. Of course, if you fail, you can lose everything and end up in ruins."

Murphy smiled as if he had read Oliver's thoughts and offered him the magic wine from a crystal bottle on the table.

Oliver drank the wine and nodded his head.

"Thank you. It's a new product we've made for export. It's an honor to hear that you like it."

Murphy's appearance has changed, but his attitude toward Oliver hasn't changed much.

Of course, it wasn't pure goodwill. There was a calculated emotion that linked Oliver's abilities to his own business.

Even so, kindness is kindness, so Oliver responded politely.

“Here, take this.”

Oliver handed him an old notebook. It was a recipe for a magic wine that he had obtained while raiding the magic wine factory.

The fast-talking Murphy's eyes sparkled with delight.

"This is…?"

"It's the magic wine recipe you asked for. I obtained it while subduing Mr. Audrey."

Murphy was delighted.

“Oh…. Thank you. I just wanted to ask… Did you find anything else?"

"I obtained a magic bag, money, magic books, and research journals, but I want to keep those for myself."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry. My questioning was improper. I was asking if there were any other recipes. As for other things, of course, that's your legitimate right, Dave."

"Thank you for understanding. This magic wine recipe is all I got."

“I see… then the magic wine factory?”

"As you requested, I blew it all up."

"Haa… I see. I can relax for a while. Thank you for your hard work. I will make sure to provide you with the promised reward for mission success and an additional reward for bringing the recipe within the agreed time."

Oliver nodded. The harvest was pretty good.

The money for the mission success itself was quite large, and now there was an additional bonus on top of that. There were also other items that he had obtained as well.

However, that wasn't his real goal for this commission.

"By any chance, could you tell me what happened to the request I made?"

When Oliver asked the question. Murphy nodded, as if expecting it, and pointed to the black wooden table with his hand.

"Yes, of course, I investigated it. It might take a little while to explain, would you mind taking a seat?"

Oliver sat down at Murphy's suggestion.

Accepting this commission was due to several factors such as good compensation, a chance to test the corpse dolls, and his personal connection to Murphy. However, the most important factor was none other than information.

Regarding Intruders 1, 2, and 3, whom he met at the Subreptor Museum.

Oliver had met Marie there and had put them on the back burner, relatively less interested, but he had not forgotten them.

It wasn't easy to forget the bizarre black magic they used.

He took samples of decayed flesh, but wouldn't it be a shame if he couldn't find out anything?

So, instead of accepting Murphy's request, Oliver asked Murphy to investigate them. After all, being an insider of the Crime Firm would make it easier to investigate.

Murphy spoke seriously.

“First of all, please note that I cannot say that the information I researched is 100% true. The atmosphere isn't good these days, so low-ranking people like me have to take care of themselves, so there are restrictions on the investigation. I ask for your understanding.”

"It's okay. I didn't want you to push yourself too hard. So what happened?"

"There is always something happening in this business. Just when we thought the city's intense crackdown was over, the paladins caused a commotion and arrested warlocks who were trading with us. The auction was also canceled… Everyone involved in the distribution industry has suffered greatly."

"Oh…"

"Moreover, the city has established an ominous security agency called the Security Bureau to ensure the city's safety from above, and non-affiliated gangs are establishing themselves below them, making it increasingly difficult for us righteous gangs to survive."

Oliver looked at Murphy's emotions and asked. He meant to be funny rather than lying.

“… Is that a joke?”

"I'm half serious. We pay our taxes, though sloppily."

It wasn't a lie. Laundering a massive amount of black money was one of the Crime Firm's main businesses. In the process of laundering, they had no choice but to pay massive taxes.

"Um… is it a funny joke?"

"All my friends laughed."

"Um…"

Oliver remembered the joke.

"Then, let's get back to the main topic. There's a lot to talk about."

Murphy opened a secret compartment in the table and took out an envelope containing papers.

"This?"

"This is a summary of the requested information and related information. I thought you might be interested. I was going to explain it in words, but it's too much, so I've put together the details on paper. Don't get your hopes up too much though."

Murphy told with humility, as if it was nothing, but his emotion told a different story. He seemed to have some pretty good information.

Oliver read the papers.

There was a part from the first page that caught his attention.

“Are the intruders from the Black Hand?”

Black hand. A huge, secretive criminal organization made up of warlocks.

Murphy nodded.

“Yes, it seems to be the Human meat Chef faction.”

"If it’s Human meat Chef…"

"A finger of the black hand, and a high-risk criminal."

"Um……"

“After investigating based on kitchen knives, disease-type black magic, and bad temper, we were able to get some information from the Gallos Police Department. They're not direct disciples, but rather disciples' disciples."

“The Gallos police department?”

"Yes.…. Oh, you don't know. Human Meat Chef's primary domain is Gallos, not the United Kingdom. I marked it on the materials handed over.”

"Um..…."

Oliver read the material. There was information about cannibalism, empowerment through it, organized crimes for secular purposes, and so on.

"It's information from the police department, so you can trust it to some extent."

Oliver nodded and asked.

“… … By any chance, Does Crime Firm plan to fight against Black Hand?"

Since members of the Black Hand raided the Crime Firm business, Oliver asked just in case.

Murphy shook his head.

“Looking at the current situation, I don’t think they will fight. I agree with that.”

“Is there any reason?”

“Crime Firm and the gangs under them are gangs only in name, most of all they are businessmen. They use violence if necessary, but they don’t enjoy it.”

It was half a lie, but Oliver didn't bother to argue.

“No one wants to ruin the business by waging a needless war in the middle of a recession, especially when the other party is across the ocean.”

"I see."

"But they said this to save face, in truth, they are just scared."

"…..?"

“Crime firm’s businesses are meant to make a profit, but the Black Hand is honestly hard to gauge. There are more unknowns than known about size, location, members, and purpose. They don't want to risk it. It's better to use the back money to move the other organizations.”

“Other organizations?”

“The police, the army, or the paladins. Everyone has to make a living, so if you show kind words and sincerity, they will grant our request.”

"Um…. I see."

"Yes. Yes, because the crime firm's biggest interest is profit, i.e. money. However, the atmosphere is changing these days."

“What are you talking about?”

"Since the city also creates a security bureau, there is talk that crime firm should also have their own armed force. Of course, Crime Firm do have fists, but they are not very systematic.”

Murphy said and smiled.

He seemed to have something to say, but Murphy didn't speak about it, similar to the people peeping at this place from behind the wall.

Murphy pondered silently for a moment before abandoning his thoughts and redirecting the conversation.

"Is there anything else you'd like to inquire about?" he asked.

? ? ? ? ? ?

After a brief exchange of words with Oliver, Oliver left and Murphy sat alone in his office.

However, it wasn't long before a secret door in the office opened and Aunt Maggie, along with cousins Morrison and Morgan, emerged. They were all members of the Kimbell family and held executive positions within the family's organization, which was managed through traditional nepotism.

Despite being somewhat less severe than criminal organizations or corporate gangs, the Kimbell family's management structure was still orthodox.

"Why didn't you tell him?"

Maggie, the aunt, and financer of the family asked quietly. There was a hint of regret in her voice.

"What?"

“Dave… don’t you want to recruit him to the family.”

Instead of answering, Murphy produced a small storage device, which contained a video he had received a few hours before his meeting with Dave.

FLASH-!

When Murphy pressed the small button on the device, the mana in the device circulated, and a video appeared in the air.

"Is this…?"

“This is the magic wine factory I asked Dave to take care of. It’s no longer there.”

Before Murphy played the video, his cousin Morrison opened his mouth. Unlike Morgan, who was in charge of security with an honest personality, he was a salesman who pioneered a market with a flexible mind.

He was flirtatious and insincere, but he was a resourceful man who helped the magic wine business penetrate overseas markets.

"Brother, was it really necessary to destroy that place? It seems like we could have made a lot of profit using that equipment,"

"On the surface, that might be true. But that magic wine factory was built entirely on debt disguised as investment. It was a problem. Destroying it was a clean solution in many ways," Murphy explained, and Morrison nodded in agreement.

Murphy moved the video by pressing a button.

The magic wine factory and surrounding facilities exploded, and when the gang panicked, an intruder came in from the front.

Thanks to additional processing on the video, the outline was clearly visible even though it was filmed at night.

“What is that? It has multiple arms, right?”

"It's a corpse doll. I've seen it when dealing with a warlock picking up corpses on the battlefield."

The video continued to move.

The eight-armed corpse doll handled multiple guns at the same time and pushed the gangsters away in an instant.

Even though it was only one, it had the firepower of ten people, and it was quite threatening because of its high accuracy.

The proof was that the gangsters collapsed without even showing slight resistance.

When someone tried to get its ankle, it tore the enemy apart with a sawed-off shotgun held in both hands.

BANG-!! BANG-!!

It was more powerful than a small cannon than a gun.

FLASH

Murphy manipulated the button on the device to change the image.

This was not the only video he wanted them to see.

This time it was the video of a bald corpse doll with tonfa in hand, and a four-armed warlock corpse doll that sneaked into the back of the magic wine factory.

“That too?”

“Yes, it must be corpse dolls.”

The two corpse dolls quickly subdued the gangsters who had their eyes on the front door without a sound.

When the corpse doll-Warlock blocked the vision with black magic, the bald corpse doll ran to the enemy and killed them in one blow.

It might be dismissed as just back-alley trash, but according to Murphy's research, there were a few talented people among them.

It was because one of the investors who invested in Audrey secretly planted useful ones among his subordinates in order to prevent an accident, but surprisingly, all of them died meaninglessly in front of the intruders.

In other words, the story that the corpse doll itself was very strong was true.

In fact, even in Murphy's eyes, each of the corpse dolls had outstanding skills. So much so that it can't even be compared to a normal Solver. As if to prove this, the magic factory, which consisted of about 80 gangsters and wizards from the Magic Tower, was occupied shortly after.

After that, Dave walked. He didn't even have to look any further.

Click-!

When the screen stopped, Murphy opened his mouth.

“… Did you see? He took over the factory without lifting a finger. How do you scout someone like that?”

Everyone shut their mouths, including Maggie, who spoke earlier.

It meant they agreed with Murphy.

Even if many organizations wanted a strong person, it was limited to the line they could afford. But Dave has gone far beyond that level.

Up until just a few days ago, he was just one of the many dark horses in Landa, but now he has passed that stage.

He possessed a force strong enough to be called a one-man organization, and if he wanted to, he had the ability to secure an executive position in any organization. Still, he doesn't seem to be aware of it.

‘Or were you not interested… … .'

“How did you get it?”

Murphy answered Maggie's question.

“Heimdall. I got it by asking one of the brokers. Options such as barrier hacking, video storage, and editing cost quite a bit, but as you can see, it's well worth it.”

Maggie, meticulous about money, nodded.

Information was as important as money on this floor. This was a place where even a small piece of information could make a difference between life and death.

"…It seems to be beyond imagination."

"Yes, it's beyond imagination… I know what aunt was thinking when you asked to bring him in. We might have grown beyond recognition…"

Murphy paused for a while, then resumed.

"But Dave is not someone we can handle. There is also the auction house incident… We can't afford him. If you want a force, we can build it. Let’s just be nice to him and maintain our relationship.”

Maggie silently agreed with her nephew's words. But she was also sad.

"I'm still worried. The auction house will raise the name value and recruitment calls will come in from all over the place. What if someone snatches him? We should also strengthen our power."

Strengthen power. It was the current primary goal of families with some power.

This mad city was getting more and more uninhabitable. Even for gangsters. Aside from the fact that the Kimbell family has recently become as wealthy as a board member of Crime Firm, they were no exception.

The number of veterans in the organization increased, and the organizational power was excellent, but there was no strong force. This was quite urgent.

There had to be a force that would make others not cause a dispute just by being there.

"Don't worry too much. Dave doesn't seem to belong anywhere."

“What, do you have anything to believe in, Brother?”

Morgan, who was in charge of security for the Kimbell family, asked. He seemed to be very impressed with Dave.

"No, I just don't think there's an organization in this city that can contain him."

(To be Continued)

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