Chapter 10: Witch

Café Vasilisa was a spacious café with a noticeably clean interior compared to the streets it was on.

At first glance, the customers occupying the seats appeared to be ordinary people who were engaging in small talk over cups of coffee.

Everyone here is hiding something.

Most were concealing weapons or concealing their magical powers. They were all professionals connected to Tudor in some way.

A bulky man who was scooping up parfait at a table near the door noticed me and smirked before he turned to speak to a gloomy woman seated opposite him.

"Looks like we've got a new di*khead today."

"Yeah, Tudor will be pleased."

There was no need to pay attention to such petty squabbles. Fighting here would yield no benefit.

Since I showed no particular reaction, their interest quickly waned.

That was to be expected. Wearing a mask might hold people's attention in any other place, but not in this café.

Here, there were people even more bizarre than me.

Just look at that man taking orders at the counter!

His body was clearly human. He was an attractive guy with a nice, well-toned body that would remind you of a model or PT trainer.

He dresses well, too. He was neatly dressed in a white dress shirt and tight black apron.

But his head!

On his head wasn't a human head but a large, old-fashioned CRT monitor.

And the monitor on his head was actually functioning properly.

Displayed on it was a large, green dot graphic of a single eye that was moving around.

Though it seemed impossible for him to have vision in that eye, he often blinked or moved the eye image and he made "eye contact" with people.

No matter how unusual a mask I wear, I can't top that.

Those unfamiliar with him might mistake it for headgear, but it was not merely a monitor worn over his head; it was actually his head.

His name was Orb.

Once you got to know the place a bit, you would learn that his name "Orb" actually came from "object head".

I waited for a customer, who had been choosing a drink, to find a seat before approaching Orb to speak.

"I'm here to see Tudor."

I knew where Tudor was, but bypassing Orb and going straight there would displease Tudor so this step was unavoidable.

The monitor-headed Orb twitched momentarily, then rolled the eyeball in the large eye image displayed on his monitor. Was he trying to be cute...?

Depending on your actions with Orb here, you could unlock various responses and small but entertaining events.

But I had already enjoyed the story of [Cthulhu World] enough as a game, so that was fine. I needed money immediately.

"Hey, Orb. I'm looking for work that a mage can do."

Upon hearing his name, Orb displayed a large [!] on his monitor.

Then he opened his mouth... well, he doesn't have one. Anyway, he emitted a strangely truncated synthetic voice from somewhere around his face.

-Go. Over. There.

As he said this, he extended his hand to point to a corner of the café.

A [☞] symbol also appeared on his monitor screen.

In the direction he pointed, there was a space hidden behind several large potted plants.

In that secluded area was a white sofa bed, said to be made of monster leather, reserved for Tudor's use only.

Tudor usually spends her time lounging around on that sofa bed.

As I approached the sofa bed, I saw Tudor as expected, half-reclining there as she read some boring novel.

She was clad in a dress with a wide fit and flowing decorations, not in a modern style but more reminiscent of a medieval witch's attire.

There was even a tall pointed witch's hat that was placed on the table beside the sofa.

This wasn't just a costume.

Tudor was a witch. An original witch.

As I got closer, Tudor under her long red hair, tilted her pale face upwards to look at me.

Though it would have looked great if she was holding a wand in the hand that was not holding the novel, what she was holding in her hand now was not a wand but a long, ornately decorated tobacco pipe.

"This isn't lit."

She was referring to the pipe. She seemed to have noticed that my gaze was fixed on it.

"I know."

"It's a bit of an interesting... taste, isn't it?"

Now she was talking about my mask. Tudor liked such things. That's why she employed someone like Orb as a clerk.

As always, Tudor didn't ask how I knew to come here. She seemed to always be aware of everything happening in the shop, even when she appeared to be just lounging around.

She must have already known about my conversation with Orb and that I had known Orb's name from the start.

With a playful smile, Tudor put down her book and stood up from the sofa bed. She was... oh, much taller than I had expected.

In the game, it was hard to tell how tall someone was, but she was at least a head taller than me.

But that didn't mean she was bulky or overly tall. There was no awkwardness or disproportion in Tudor's physique.

Her body structure, starting from her limbs, was exceptionally well-proportioned.

I knew she was a character with a pretty in-game illustration, but seeing her in person, she's really imposing... Is this the dignity of charm level 20?

This wasn't just about being pretty or not. Charm up to level 18 falls within human limits, but at level 20, it's almost like magic in itself.

Sure, she was beautiful, but this was beyond human limits.

So much so that...

[System: The unique trait 'Madness of the Abyss' has been activated]

It activated to protect my mind. But wait, that doesn't make sense. She's pretty, but she's not a mythical creature, is she?

"Stop with the weird stuff. I'd like to be introduced to a job that requires a mage."

With an exaggerated, almost theatrical gesture, Tudor shrugged as if she didn't know what I was talking about and withdrew her [Charm] spell.

I often engaged in such antics in the game as well.

"You're quick-witted, aren't you? And possessing something like this... This is my first time seeing it... It makes me wonder how much power it contains."

Tudor momentarily showed a surprised expression, then quickly smiled and licked her lips. It seemed like she was impressed with my magical power.

I bet she would be even more surprised if she knew I was suppressing most of my power.

My mana core contained a vast amount of magical power, more than I could comfortably handle.

I was doing my best to conceal my power, but given Tudor's perceptiveness, she seemed to have some inkling that I was hiding my true strength.

"Well, alright. I have plenty of work for a mage like you. I'm Tudor. And your name is?"

"Kim Shin-hwa."

"Hmm... It's a good name, I suppose."

Fixers don't use their real names. Most of their work treads in semi-legal areas. They use nicknames, often referred to as "fixer names" and change them quickly if there's any trouble.

But hearing a name like Kim Shin-hwa all of a sudden seemed absurd to her.

Without any identification, what difference did it make if a name was real or fake? If a name became problematic, I could simply change it.

For reference, my last warrior character was named Kim Shin-hwa 1788. If I had the chance to name the "mage gazing into the abyss" character, it probably would have been Kim Shin-hwa 1789.

"Okay, Kim Shin-hwa. It's been a while since someone came to me like this without any introduction, so I'm a bit hesitant..."

Tudor tapped her cheek with her finger, trailing off. It was clear she was still uncertain about trusting me.

Originally, there would have been several choices to select from, and I could pick a pre-set dialogue... but now I had to speak for myself.

I should probably say something that got a good response before.

"I'd like to get to know you better, sooner rather than later."

This was a way of saying I wanted a good job quickly. And before Tudor could say anything more, I continued.

"If you have any troublesome requests, I can handle them right away. Even those that have already cost a few fixers their lives."

When I said that, Tudor's face lit up with a playful expression as if she was wondering where such a character had sprung from.

"Quite an interesting taste you have there. A powerful mage like you would definitely be interesting, but I can't just assign a big task right from the start. After all, this industry operates on credit and trust, you know?"

She spoke almost exactly as she would have in the game.

Although my words had appealed to Tudor, this was the kind of response expected to be given to someone either of low level or who had arrived without an introduction.

I hadn't expected to receive a great task right from the start, so I wasn't disappointed.

"The first and most important criterion is how trustworthy you are. Skill comes third."

And the unspoken second criterion was "to be interesting enough to catch Tudor's fancy".

"Still, I can't just turn away a mage like yourself. Alright, come this way. Let's build trust and get to know each other slowly."

With a smile, Tudor pulled back a curtain on one wall.

Beyond the curtain was a door marked "Staff Only". Tudor explained that it led to her office and ushered me inside.

Now that I think about it, the office was a space that was not depicted back in the game...

Usually, at this point in the game, a close-up of Tudor would appear, followed by a dialogue box to click for tasks.

The first thing that caught my eye in Tudor's office was the large mahogany desk at its center.

It was as big as two regular desks put together, cluttered with a messy array of papers and miscellaneous items.

Cleaning was Orb's responsibility.

But seeing that the desk alone was in such a state, it seemed like Orb was not allowed to touch it.

Tudor dragged a chair from a corner of the room and seated me in it.

"Sit here. I have a feeling you'll show something interesting. I'll offer you a very favorable contract."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a few sheets of paper scattered on the desk flew up and landed in front of me.

The contract was filled with long-winded prohibitions, clauses about non-interference with each other, and various other stipulations regarding confidentiality.

It was mostly a formality anyway, with nothing particularly noteworthy.

"Great, the contract is complete. I don't know how you found out about this place, but you did well. Let's get along well from here on."

"I agree. And I'd like to get straight to business."

"Hmm, I thought you might say that. Take a look at this."

Tudor handed me a bounty hunting mission as an introductory task. The document she presented contained the personal details of a certain individual.

"A bounty hunt, then."

"As I said before, I can't entrust you with the type of work that directly connects you to the client until you prove sufficient trust."

A bounty hunt boils down to simply capturing the target and delivering them.

There's no need to interact with clients, and if I fail, they can simply send someone else.

This makes bounty hunting a good task to be assigned as a test, which is why it's typically the first assignment given, regardless of where you go.

Alright, the contract is signed... Somehow I made it this far.

Up to this point, I could control the situation.

Which broker to meet.

What kind of contract to sign.

But which target Tudor would assign was random.

If you think outside the game logic, it's understandable.

Tudor must be constantly managing people, so depending on when I arrived, the available bounties would vary.

In short, it was like a bounty gacha.

It was a gacha where the difficulty level changed depending on who was chosen. I hoped it would be an easy one...

Looking at the photo attached to the document, I recognized a familiar face.

It was a man with a dragonfly tattoo under his eye and he looked to be wildly excited as if the photo was taken right after he took some hallucinogen.

"His name is Lee Chang-hyuk. His occupation... he claims to be a rocker or a singer, but in reality, he's just a guy who occasionally performs in bars. His main job is closer to that of a fixer or a thug. He even has a fixer name; was it Victor?"

Of course, I had never met him in real life. But I had encountered him often in the game.

Lee Chang-hyuk was almost a dud in terms of the gacha.

Seeing my grimace as I read the document, Tudor seemed to misunderstand and smiled as if amused.

"Right. He's got the skills to survive in the back alleys."

"...that's not a problem."

Since I couldn't tell Tudor that I knew Lee Chang-hyuk from the game, I answered by pretending to look at the part of the document where Lee Chang-hyuk's specifications were written.

Lee Chang-hyuk's abilities were nothing special. To me now, he was just "a guy called Chang-hyuk" nothing more. There were two reasons why he was a problem.

"He was hired by a company called Helistic to escort a research sample. Turns out, it wasn't just any item, but an artifact smuggled in from a special region. Bold as he is, he swallowed it and fled. That's why he's now a target."

Helistic is a biotech company that develops things like cancer treatments. In Paju, they had several research projects including Helistic's headquarters. One of them was... the [K-3675 Secret Research Facility] I escaped from.