Genius Warlock

"You came to see me.”

Inside the illegal fighting arena building, Joe ordered two drinks at the bar that was set up there.

"I asked where Joe was, and Instructor told me you were here. And he asked if I was interested, and I said yes."

"Haa…" Joe let out a sigh.

The bartender, with a scar running down one side of his face, poured a drink for Joe and struck up a conversation.

"I heard today's match was hot," the bartender said.

"It was noisy," Joe replied flatly, handing Oliver a drink with a displeased expression.

"I didn't know you were interested in martial arts match," Joe remarked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Pardon?" Oliver looked at him quizzically.

"You said you came to watch the fight, didn't you?"

"Um…it's not entirely wrong. However, I came here because I wanted to see this place rather than fight," Oliver answered, glancing inside the building.

"Why?"

"‘Cos I'm curious?"

Joe fixed his eyes on Oliver, perplexed by the latter's demeanor. It was as if he was observing something inexplicable.

But it wasn't entirely unexpected. Oliver's conduct was unlike any other character Joe had encountered in the treacherous underworld. He was remarkably mercurial, yet there was no hint of malevolence, no sign of malice.

Joe was left struggling to comprehend Oliver's motives, or lack thereof. The way he carried himself, it was as if he didn't have any plans, any ulterior motives. Oliver's peculiar behavior was so bewildering that Joe felt like he was looking at a different species altogether.

“…So, have you satisfied your curiosity then?”

"To some extent. Instructor taught me about the community and everything there is to know about this place. I've learned a lot,"

“Instructor? Where is he?”

"Ah, that's… It's a long story, but he said he had something to talk to a warlock I know. He went somewhere… Do you think we should try to find him?"

"Hmm… No, this is the Instructor's turf, so there should be no problem. He's the type to take care of himself, we don't need to find him. By the way, how was my fight earlier?"

Joe inquired about his fight earlier.

Despite not appearing to enjoy the fight itself, he wished to hear Oliver's assessment.

He wanted to know if his efforts were headed in the correct direction.

“Yes, that was great," replied Oliver, honestly recalling the fight.

Joe utilized black magic in the most suitable form for his current use, maximizing its efficiency while also utilizing his unique close combat skills and senses.

During the first charge, Joe could have easily knocked down his opponent with brute force, but instead, he avoided it with a unique step for a more efficient attack. He then targeted the opponent's legs to suppress their mobility before landing an accurate blow to finish the match.

Joe crushed his opponent's head without feeling any pain, which could be seen as an appropriate measure given the amount of black magic used.

It was a terrible amount which would have made the opponent fight until he was out of breath.

‘It wouldn't have been strange if the opponent died soon anyway….'

After hearing the answer, Joe asked, "Really?"

"Yes, you used the optimal method that suits you best by studying on your own. That was truly remarkable. I never thought of using that kind of approach myself," replied Oliver.

Perhaps Joe appreciated Oliver's praise, as he drank without saying anything.

Meanwhile, a large person passed by and spoke to Joe, "Joe! I saw the match earlier. It was amazing! Where did you learn that?!"

"Get lost."

"huh!"

After dismissing the large figure with a cold response, a woman approached Joe and suggested they have a drink together. Joe replied without even looking at her, telling her to leave him alone.

Although everyone seemed to like Joe, he did not like anyone and preferred to drink alone.

Oliver looked at Joe and asked, "Can I ask you something?"

“What is it?”

"I understand that participants receive something called ‘fight money' when they compete in a fight. How much do you receive?"

Joe narrowed his eyes and asked, "Why are you curious about that?"

"Just curious," responded Oliver.

Joe remained silent for a moment before answering, "It varies from match to match. Usually, we receive a percentage of the betting amount, and even though it's not much, it can add up if the betting amount is high. Especially here."

"I see. So, how much do you get, Joe?"

"I get a decent amount, like when I do other jobs. But why do you ask? Are you planning to participate too?"

"No, I'm just curious. It seems like you're treated well here and the pay is good, but you seem to dislike this place."

"That's why you're curious? Don't just say you're curious without a reason," said Joe, with a hint of caution.

In order to receive a satisfactory answer, Oliver needed to let his guard down a bit. He struggled with how to approach the subject and wondered if there was a good reason for his curiosity.

But he knew that in order to get the answer he was looking for, he needed to come up with a convincing reason for asking. Being genuine and forthcoming was the key to hearing a good response.

Oliver gathered his thoughts and began to speak, "Um… I grew up in an orphanage."

Joe looked at him quizzically, "What?"

"I said I grew up in an orphanage. No matter how much I try to remember, that's my first memory."

"……."

"And then I got a job at a mine."

"A job?"

"Yes, the director of the orphanage said that. Since I am no longer a child, I have to earn my living with my own hands."

"……."

"After that, I worked in the mine for a while. It was pretty tough looking back, but thanks to it, I was able to meet my master. He taught me black magic… It was really interesting."

"……."

“I think that was the first time I felt that something was fun. So I learned how to read and write, which was necessary for learning black magic. After experiencing various things over time, I wanted to learn more about the world and ended up coming to Landa."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Um? Oh… it's my answer to your question about why I'm curious. I can't explain it exactly, but curiosity is my biggest driving force and joy… It's a great pleasure to satisfy my curiosity or to learn about something I don't know."

“What are you so curious about?”

"Initially, I was only interested in black magic and emotions, but my curiosity extended to other things. Why do the Districts in Landa have such a significant difference between the front and back of the alphabet? What is the reason for the existence of the rich and poor? What is the fundamental difference between magic and black magic? What is faith? Who is the demon? Who is God? I'm curious about everything, including things related to District X."

"You're really weird. I can barely understand you."

"People naturally have difficulty understanding each other. That's why we talk, like we're doing now."

Although not very convincing, Oliver's words had a vague power of persuasion.

Joe, lost in thought, spoke up, "I just don't like it."

"Pardon?"

"I don't like being treated like a spectacle. We have to fight to survive, but there should be some dignity even in that. Personally, I don't like fighting like a zoo monkey. I'm participating now because I have a promise with the Instructor, but I'll be leaving soon."

‘Ah,’ Now that he thought about it, he remembered the promise Joe made with Dean Cleary to use the gym basement.

It was clear that Joe didn't like this place, although his emotions weren't extreme hatred.

"Because there's a certain way to make money here. There are a lot of people who are forcibly brought in."

“Like the guy who fought with Joe earlier?”

"Yes, since the debris falling here is big. Some guys use drugs or black magic to participate in the game using slave players. The stadium managers don't care if they get money… I don't like that. It's okay to beat someone who voluntarily wants to fight, but it's a little uncomfortable to fight against those who are not willing."

Oliver could see why Joe really hated this place.

Joe had his own rules, although he had no particular resistance to fighting or killing.

It was interesting.

Oliver opened his mouth involuntarily out of curiosity, “Then, do you have any plans to leave this place?”

“What do you mean?”

"No, it's nothing. I just thought you must have made quite a bit of money catching the Kell Liberation Army people with me and I also heard that you played a part in catching the fugitives who escaped prison. With your skills, you could easily become a Solver and make a living without worrying about survival. Is there a special reason why you're not leaving this place?"

At that moment, Joe showed extreme vigilance, but then he relaxed again and looked at Oliver intently before opening his mouth.

"Well, there are mouths to feed here."

“Mouths?”

"Nico, Bigjaw’s family…"

It had been a long time, but Oliver knew those names.

“Isn’t Nico and Bigjaw the people who fought with me along with Joe?”

“Yes, and died.”

At Murphy's request, Oliver fought Joe, Nico, and Big Jaw to retrieve the former associate professor Herbert, and in the process, Oliver killed the two of them.

At the time, they were not an opponent that could be adequately dealt with.

It had been about a year since then, but Oliver remembered them.

“Um… I’m sorry?”

"It's okay. Everyone who came to this side made their resolve to risk their lives. There is no end if we start resenting each other. We just did what we had to do for work. Like you say, it’s part of the job."

Oliver nodded in agreement. It might seem a bit shameless for the killer to agree with his words, but Oliver really did not have anything against them.

He was just doing his job, and while they were trying to kill each other, Oliver killed them first.

"But why their family? Are they… Oh! Do you mean the community?"

“Yes, they are from the same community as me, so I have to take care of them to some extent.”

"I see."

Certainly, leaving the area was a completely different matter if there were a lot of family members. Even if Joe had saved up money, it was still going to be tight.

Oliver had also seen his reputation and income increase significantly compared to the past, but it was still difficult to move to a better District.

Money is also an issue, but there is also a thing about not being scammed.

However, apart from that, he thought it was truly remarkable. He knew what a community was, and to try to protect it to the end was something else. At the moment when he wanted to tell Joe how impressive it was, Joe spoke first.

“Then, may I ask a question this time?”

“Um….. Yes. Please tell me.”

"I heard that you've been doing a lot of Solver work recently. Is there something big going on? I know you don't work like that."

"It's not a big thing, I just had some personal reasons and had to handle them all at once."

"What is it?"

"Um, I can't go into detail because of certain circumstances… but it seems like you have something else you want to say, feel free to speak your mind."

Joe said without hesitation, "By any chance, do you want to join our Fighter Crew?"

"Pardon?"

"Our Captain is interested in you."

? ? ? ? ? ?

Oliver politely declined the unexpected offer, as being a member of an organization was not his thing.

Luckily, Joe didn't seem to take it too seriously and they chatted a bit before parting ways.

Later on, Oliver asked Coco, Angel House people, and Forrest to help him find a good real estate agent to search for a new home.

In his free time, he worked on creating a corpse doll- Rags 2, using the materials he had collected from the basement.

Rags 2 had to maintain its existing performance but had to appear as an ordinary person during normal times, so instead of immediately starting production, he worked on designing the blueprint from scratch.

This, too, was a difficult task, but not entirely without a solution.

He found a solution in the book he obtained from the Auction House mission that suggested building the body in a modular way with a mechanism to switch the inside and outside. Although it required a lot of work, it was a reliable method.

In addition, he also had to consider how to use the body of the wizard from the School of Pure Magic who had been torn in half and killed.

It seemed like it would be difficult to fully utilize him as a corpse doll due to the severe damage.

"Anyway, where do I go from here?" Oliver muttered as he looked around the Magic Tower, after taking the ID Merlin had given him and the magic bag he had purchased.

The Magic Tower was expected to be massive, but seeing it in person was a completely different experience. After passing through high walls without bars or gates, another city came into view. Or, to be more precise, it was more like a giant machine than a city.

Large and small buildings were constructed geometrically like parts around the tower, and the buildings were connected by bridges resembling chains of gears. Additionally, the self-contained magical power generator and the huge gears continued to move, providing power to the entire magic tower.

Overwhelmed by its colossal size, Oliver was at a loss as to where to go. If he had known it would be like this, he would have specifically asked for directions to the School of Elemental Magic building.

He tried to ask for directions, but the people here were too busy to respond easily, and they showed caution and indifference when he spoke to them.

Nevertheless, Oliver persevered, continually asking people passing by for directions.

Finally, after asking nearly ten people, someone answered his question.

"Are you looking for the Elemental School building?" asked a girl with silver curly hair tied back and thick glasses.

"Yes. Can you tell me where it is?" Oliver replied.

(To be Continued)

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