Chapter 115: Preparatory Work

I didn't even know that guy's real name.

He was just someone who could be called "Nameless Thug 1 from the Cheong-ho Faction".

"What's with all the come and go? Branch leader, isn't this a bit too much?"

Chae Tae-won's expression hardened.

"Excuse me. I'll handle this immediately."

I felt the activation of his magical power.

He had always shown a calm demeanor, but Chae Tae-won was a man who lived by violence and fear.

If left unchecked, it would turn into a scene from a noir film. Not the kind that ends with just a couple of punches, but something much more violent. I grabbed Chae Tae-won.

"Branch leader, just a moment."

"Yes?"

"Who is that guy?"

"Director Goo Jin-cheol left him with a team."

Oh, he left him to stir up trouble?

Goo Jin-cheol, this guy is really meticulous, isn't he? Judging by the expressions on their faces, it seemed like about five of the less than thirty people here had been influenced by Goo Jin-cheol.

"Then, can I have a little chat with him?"

"That might be... no, alright."

Ah, it seemed like my involvement with the Cheong-ho faction was deepening. But no matter what, it wouldn't be easy to get through tonight with those people around.

I approached him slowly and spoke.

"Hey, big guy? Didn't you have dinner? Why are you so angry?"

"What? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

Somehow, from his appearance to his way of speaking and his huge build, he reminded me of Kwak Dae-yong who I had seen before.

His entire body's magical power was well activated. He was still lacking, but he seemed confident enough to act boldly in front of Chae Tae-won.

"No, who's fighting? I'm a guest; it'd be embarrassing to hurt the host's people in front of the host."

"Looks like the branch leader has spoiled you a bit, but even if you're a mage, you're nothing if you take a hit at this close range, you know?"

"A hit? What kind of hit?"

"Ha, really, you're so small I can't even beat you up..."

With that, he subtly turned his head.

He wasn't avoiding eye contact. Naturally, he checked Chae Tae-won's location and instantly lifted one of his feet. He was aiming to hit my shin at an angle that was difficult for Chae Tae-won to see.

[Grasp of the Dead]

But the magic I had prepared beforehand activated first.

A ghostly hand rose from the ground, grabbed his ankle, and pulled him with tremendous force.

"What? Whoaaaa—!"

Thud!

He let out an incredibly embarrassed scream as he fell clumsily.

Due to his large build, he fell with a grand thud. It was quite a funny sight, even to me. Snickers erupted from all around.

"Ahhh! This guy suddenly used magic!?"

"Huh? Didn't you say a hit from close range wouldn't be a big deal?"

"You! You started it!"

What? Hey, you were the one who tried to kick my shin first! Honestly, if his foot had actually connected, my leg bone would have snapped instantly.

But it seemed that cause and effect no longer mattered. He leaned back and curled up, then tried to spring to his feet.

No, there was a killing intent in his movements. This wasn't just an attempt to stand up. He sprang up and attacked me.

Or at least, that seemed to be his plan.

Until I activated my second spell.

[Chains of Domination]

Do not move.

"!?"

"Hey, look at your stance! If you jump up with your foot extended like that, you'll kick me, right? You had no idea that would happen?"

"!?!?"

"If you want to jump up, don't do it at that angle. Jump vertically. Vertically! Here, I'll help you."

[Leap]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

Jump vertically.

It was an extreme leap that exploited a game glitch.

I had never tried it on myself because it was too dangerous, but as soon as he broke free from the forced restraint, he soared into the sky while defying physical laws with absurd force.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...!"

His voice faded away until it was no longer audible. I looked up, but it was hard to see anything because it was night.

"......."

He didn't come down.

Even though everyone gathered here was looking up at the sky in unison, he somehow didn't come back down.

Could he have flown into space? I did use a lot of magic power. Does he have no magic resistance?

Just as an uneasy murmur started spreading around, we finally heard a welcome sound.

"Look over there! There he is!"

"Thank goodness! He's coming back!"

Yeah, thank goodness. At least he didn't break through the atmosphere!

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...!"

His scream started growing louder again.

That fellow seemed to have more talent for slapstick comedy than being a thug.

At the critical moment, I cast a [Feather Fall] spell on his body.

The large man was trembling and crying. I didn't know how far he had flown, but I felt a bit sorry for him.

"Come on, big guy. Let's get up."

"What? What? Whaaaaaat?!"

"Well, like you said, it would be a shame to call all these busy people here just to send them away. You and, um... you there? No, not you. From here to here."

I pointed to the ones left by Goo Jin-cheol.

"U-Us?"

"Yes. It would be great if you could help me. We have some digging to do."

"Digging?"

It was best to keep them in sight to prevent any unnecessary actions.

With Chae Tae-won's permission, I slightly adjusted the troops' positions and then went out beyond the wall with Goo Jin-cheol's subordinates to start digging.

"Huff, huff..."

"Ugh..."

Real digging, I mean. Digging the ground.

"Uh, um, uh, mage, nim?"

"Yes?"

"How long do we have to keep digging?"

"You have to dig as much as I have."

"As much as you have dug, but so far...?"

"Yes, I'm going to dig more now. Just a moment."

[Upheaval]

Boom, boom, boom!

With a tremendous earthquake, soil and rocks surged upwards.

A vast expanse of land was overturned in an instant.

"Um, I am really, really sorry to ask this..."

Now that I noticed, he had become very polite.

"What is it?"

"Couldn't you just use magic to dig here too...?"

"Ugh... Magic can't do everything at will."

"......."

I said that, but I did ease up a bit at a reasonable point.

After all, I didn't keep them here and make them dig just to torment them.

If it were simply about picking a fight and causing trouble, that would be tolerable, but leaving them unsupervised could lead to sabotage in unexpected places.

Moreover, there was a genuine reason to dig the ground.

"Alright, let's lay it down to the maximum extent."

If nothing comes after all this, it would end up being just digging for no reason, but that would never happen. Besides, excessive preparation is a meaningless concept.

Huge magic circles started forming around my body and on the ground, turning in all directions.

Didn't they say no one else would come today anyway?

Considering my magical power recovery speed, I constructed the most extensive and grand magic possible.

At first, I was enthusiastic and made all sorts of things, but later, I became so exhausted that I ended up in a worse state than Goo Jin-cheol's gang, who were actually digging trenches.

"Ugh... What kind of luxury am I aiming for?"

Having gone this far, if that bastard Goo Jin-cheol didn't attack, I felt like I'd go and beat him up myself.

"Anyway, is this enough for now?"

Who would have thought I'd end up working so hard voluntarily in the middle of the night?

Even so, the preparations to safely get through tonight were not yet complete.

Dragging my exhausted body, I headed back to the mansion.

Back to the third floor.

Why didn't this mansion have an elevator? With this size, wouldn't it have been a good idea to install something like an escalator?

"Mage-nim! You were outside?"

"Huh, young miss?"

Jeong Hyeon-ah was standing in the hallway on the third floor.

Right in front of the reception room that Cheong-ho had given me to use.

Jeong Hyeon-ah stared at me with wide eyes for a moment.

"...?"

I wondered what on earth this young lady wanted to say, so I looked at her for a moment.

"Ugh..."

Soon, Jeong Hyeon-ah wore a dizzy expression and pressed her forehead.

The bodyguard next to Jeong Hyeon-ah shouted in alarm "Young miss!!!" but she half-ignored him and spoke.

"Mage-nim, do you always wear that mask?"

Ah, it seemed she was trying to make eye contact.

I often heard this question, and I always had a response ready for such inquiries.

"Because I am a mage."

It's almost a catch-all answer.

It resolves 90% of bothersome questions.

"Because you're a mage..."

Although it was a completely meaningless answer, she pondered my words seriously. In some ways, it was a typical high schooler's reaction. If she were a middle schooler, she might have reacted more intensely.

"Do mages always have to wear such masks?"

Hmm, a variation on a common question. I heard that one quite often as well.

I fiddled with the mask for a moment before answering.

"Not necessarily. Mages don't have to wear masks, but I need a mask, and part of that reason is because I am a mage."

"I see."

Jeong Hyeon-ah answered quickly but wore a puzzled expression.

Of course. In truth, I was just saying whatever came to mind. But it would be odd to say I wore the mask because I had a mental illness.

That aside, let's see... It's already 2 a.m.

It wasn't a good time for a young girl to be wandering around. What could she possibly want to say to me at this late hour?

Jeong Hyeon-ah soon regained her composure and spoke.

"Oh, I came to talk to you for a moment. If it's okay with you...?"

Oh, something to say? What could it be? It's getting dangerous late. I hoped it wasn't an event that would take up too much time.

Well, I also had business with Jeong Hyeon-ah, which was why I came to the third floor.

After glancing around for a moment, I spoke.

"In that case, it's not ideal to talk here. Shall we go inside?"

I pointed to the reception room door.

"Oh, thank you."

It wasn't my house but hers. I shrugged my shoulders casually.

The bodyguard tried to stop Jeong Hyeon-ah, but she brushed him off by saying, "I'll be out soon."

The young guard wearing sunglasses looked uneasy and fussed, but in the end, he compromised by standing guard at the door.

Don't worry, nameless NPC guard.

Unless my skull was split into five pieces, I had no intention of engaging in a pointless affection event with a minor. And besides, there were no such events in [Cthulhu World] to begin with.

To emphasize once again, even if it wasn't Jeong Hyeon-ah, there were no heart-pounding affection events of that sort in this world.

If anything like that did happen, it would only be a prelude to some Cthulhu mythos disaster.