Genius Warlock

After receiving tentative approval for his request, Oliver promptly applied for leave to Kevin without divulging any details.

Kevin didn't ask for any specifics and quickly approved Oliver's request, telling him not to bother with submitting an official leave of absence application and to come back to work when he had the time.

“The request for time off draws attention. Anyway, whether employees come to work or not, it's not the concern of Tower. That's under the jurisdiction of the Labor Board. So just come back when you have time. We've already agreed with Master about this issue."

As Kevin said, he had already pre-arranged with Merlin about this issue. Still, Oliver expressed his gratitude sincerely.

Because Oliver wasn't so ignorant that he didn't know that this was a huge favor.

Kevin said it wasn't a big deal, seeming annoyed, but he asked Oliver to help him with his research later if he was truly grateful.

Oliver accepted willingly and immediately returned to his warehouse to wash away his worries and focus on his job as Dave, a solver.

He started by reviewing the materials Forrest had given him, which were of high quality and well-organized. They contained details and pictures of the raid, including the ruins of the secret warehouse of the Crime Firm and the scattered corpses.

The photos showed the gruesome condition of the corpses, with some cut into pieces, others crushed, and some even as dry as dried fish. The most striking among them was a corpse whose whole body was rotting like rotten vegetables, indicating that it was disease-type black magic.

"This is a disease type, and that’s weakening… This must be an exceptional skill."

Oliver made the decision based on the knowledge he had accumulated over the years.

Disease-type black magic was divided into two major categories: enhancement class, which temporarily makes one stronger by consuming Life-force, and weakening type, which weakens the enemies' bodies or causes an artificial disease.

Although the former seemed stronger, in reality, it was the exact opposite.

It was by no means ignoring disease-enhancing black magic, but when compared only by the level of black magic, true disease-type black magic could be said to be weakening.

Although it was difficult to learn and complex compared to disease-enhancing black magic, its power was incomparable depending on the level of skill.

No, depending on the case, it could be more dangerous than any other series such as disease-enhancing series, as well as firepower, manipulation, and creation.

Theoretically, it could create a huge plague and wipe out small villages and even large cities.

"Undoubtedly, achieving such a level is an arduous task," Oliver asserted with confidence.

The utilization of disease-weakening black magic was not a skill commonly encountered by those who operated as Solvers. Oliver himself had been in the profession for over a year and had yet to encounter an opponent who wielded such a power. However, now, he has to face an enemy possessing such an ability.

Perhaps, it was not an entirely unfavorable situation. It presented an opportunity for Oliver to expand his knowledge. "But this is not the only thing I need to concern myself with," he muttered, flipping through the next document.

The thieves who had absconded with the auction items were not solely affiliated with the Black Hand. There were other culprits involved, the notorious gangsters of District Y.

The revelation came as a shock to Oliver. District Y was a lawless zone, an area abandoned even by the city's governing authorities. The district was isolated from the rest of the city by dams and walls. Even the underworld's big shots avoided them.

Oliver's mind raced, trying to establish a link between the Black Hand and the gangsters of District Y. However, it was a futile endeavor. He had to focus on his current problem: finding the stolen auction items, which were probably hidden in District Y, the only safe haven for them.

"Hmm…"

Oliver had a premonition that this case could prove to be more perilous than he had initially thought.

Given that the client was the notorious Crime Firm, it only heightened his suspicion. He had a feeling that he was about to be entangled in a messy and complicated situation between the Crime Firm, the District Y gangsters, and the Black Hand.

Nonetheless, he could not give up. He had already informed Kevin that he was taking the day off, and he could not renege on his promise.

Oliver had to prepare himself for the worst-case scenario and brace himself to face the situation head-on.

He stood up and made his way back to the Gray Market and the newly reopened Black Market.

? ? ? ? ? ?

Oliver was uncertain about how things would unfold, so he took measures to prepare for the worst possible scenario.

He quickly purchased a set of black magic experiment kits, which he had planned to buy later when he had a more stable laboratory. He also prepared to defend himself against the disease series and created a new corpse doll to aid him in monitoring the disease outbreak.

While he was in the middle of his preparations, Forrest called him.

[Dave?]

“Yes, Mr. Forrest.”

[How are you?]

“Yes, I’m doing fine. I've been preparing for the job."

[That's good to hear.]

“Thank you for saying so. May I help you?”

[As I mentioned a few days ago, I informed Jonathan that you would be accepting the job. He was pleased to hear it and the deal has been formally sealed. He has something to discuss regarding the job and would like to see you today. Do you have time?]

He had enough time. It wasn't everything, but he was in a state where preparations were almost finished.

Oliver replied while looking at the new corpse doll he was working on.

"Yes, I have plenty of time. By the way, have you discussed the compensation for the job?"

[Yes, I have. It turned out better than expected. However, Jonathan would like to discuss the details with you separately.]

Things went well… Although he didn't know the details, Oliver decided to believe in Forrest's words.

He always did a good job at what he did.

"Okay. Where should I go?"

? ? ? ? ? ?

The meeting spot was one of the safe houses owned by the Pinkman Office located in District T.

Forrest had mentioned that the Pinkman Office had multiple safe houses in every district to carry out their mission. This was quite remarkable, given the exorbitant real estate prices in Landa.

Knock knock-

Oliver knocked on the door of a regular residential building. When the door opened, a woman in her thirties peered through the crack and showed her face.

From the outside, she seemed like an ordinary housewife, but to a warlock who could see emotions and an experienced solver, she was anything but ordinary.

"Who are you?"

The woman asked calmly, and Oliver replied.

“My name is Dave. Mr. Forrest gave me this address. May I come in?”

She quickly scanned Oliver and put on the smile of a businesswoman. The woman then swung the door wide open and greeted Oliver.

"Sure, the team leader is waiting for you."

The first floor of the house appeared to be an average residential space, but that was where the ordinariness ended.

As Oliver climbed the stairs to the second floor, a completely different scene greeted him.

Efficiently arranged chairs and tables, a huge map of Landa with portraits of people, and diagrams connected by thread adorned the walls.

"Hey, Dave! Glad you could make it."

Jonathan, who was in the midst of a meeting, welcomed Oliver as he approached the second floor.

His colleagues who were in attendance also looked up at Oliver.

Although Oliver had assumed that people like Jonathan and Duncan were the only members of the Pinkman Office, to his surprise, each of their colleagues had a unique personality.

The only thing that they had in common was that they all wore pink suits.

Despite the brief encounter, Oliver and Jonathan's colleagues took notice of one another. At that moment, a teenager in his late teens with a tattoo on one eye spoke up.

"Is this the famous Warlock we've been hearing about? He doesn't look like one to me.”

Oliver gazed at the tattooed teenager, ignoring the question. Upon examining the amount and flow of mana in the teenager's body, he realized that he was not just a simple mana user but a wizard.

‘Is he from spatial school?'

"What do you mean when you meet someone for the first time? Don't be arrogant to the new guy."

The muscular man, who looked like a seasoned veteran, lightly tapped the back of the tattooed teenager with his beefy arm, unintentionally producing a dull thud.

"Ouch… hey, old man don’t recklessly use your strength…!”

"Come on, everyone. Stop with the jokes and go down for a moment. Don’t go around embarrassing in front of the guest."

When Jonathan spoke, his colleagues made their way down to the first floor, leaving Oliver and Jonathan alone.

“Thank you for accepting this job.”

“No. I accepted it because I wanted to do it, so you don’t have to.”

"Yes, I heard that you were interested in obtaining the book about Demons. Is that correct?"

It was rather unpleasant for a warlock to seek a book about demons, whether in the light or in the shadows, but Jonathan brushed it off as if it were no big deal. He made a gesture indicating that he did not care.

"First of all, I want to make it clear that neither Pinkman Office nor I care about what Dave wants. It's the rule of this floor."

His words were genuine.

"Fortunately, we don't want that book either, and since the Crime Firm hasn't traded it yet, there shouldn't be any big problems with handing it over."

"That's good to hear."

"However, apart from that, rumors about this may spread and cause unexpected problems. Even if the floor seems strict, rumors spread easily. I'm not trying to pull anything, I'm just sincerely worried."

This too was genuine, and Oliver nodded his head.

"So what should we do? Mr. Forrest mentioned that you had something to say about this.”

"Yes, Dave, if you don't mind, how about we take over the book for you and hand it over later?"

"Pardon?”

"I asked if we could receive it on behalf of Dave and give it to you later. That way, strange rumors won't spread and Dave won't have to deal with any trouble."

“Um…” It wasn't a bad suggestion. Accepting the Book about demons from the Crime Firm, handing it over to Oliver later.

"I see. But wouldn't that put Mr. Jonathan in trouble?"

"No, not necessarily. I'm not a Warlock, so I can say that it's either expensive merchandise for sale or a gift for wealthy guests."

"Is that so?"

“Yes, since Pinkman Office deals with diverse clientele, we occasionally handle items like these, so no one would find it strange.”

Once again, his words were genuine.

"So… Do I need to receive and deliver the item Mr. Jonathan wants?"

"No, that won't be necessary. The terms of the deal will remain the same. Dave can request two items he wants."

"Really? Then, won't Mr. Jonathan be at a loss?"

Jonathan hesitated to answer, as if he was getting to the main point now.

"…Actually, I have a special request for Dave. We need your help in capturing a member of the Black Hand alive during this job."

"Capturing a member of the Black Hand alive?"

"Yes, that's right."

“Why?”

"I'd rather not answer that question. Just know that we don't have any more interest in Dave than necessary."

“Um…” With that being said, even curious Oliver couldn't ask any more questions. Jonathan was now proposing a trade.

Oliver pondered and nodded.

Although he was personally curious about why Pinkman Office wanted to capture the Black Hand member, it was more important to safely obtain the Book about Demons at the moment.

"Okay, I understand."

"Thank you for your cooperation. Now, I will share the information we have obtained. We appreciate Dave's assistance, so please take care of us."

(To be Continued on Apr 10(MON))

OR

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