Chapter 27

Pharmaceutical company.

It's a word that strongly captures Lennok's interest, who has recently become more interested in medicine.

Prompted by his curiosity, Lennok immediately unlocks his phone and browses the internet.

He has been frequenting a particular website more often than before, despite initially only visiting it occasionally for news updates.

This website is the official online auction site operated by the city government, known as Auction. It is the largest network market in the city, with an abundance of rare treasures and artifacts of unknown origins listed for sale.

Occasionally, it also features consumable items such as elixirs that boost one's energy and health. Currently, Lennok has his sights set on the first-class manufactured elixir called "Stemonia" by the Stania Pharmaceutical Group, which is priced at approximately 100 million cells.

This elixir combines regeneration magic, engineering techniques, and primal spells to enhance the human body's energy most efficiently. Although it is considered a mass-produced product, its actual efficacy lies in invigorating physical strength and preventing energy from dissipating. It is still a rare item that is seldom listed on such a popular auction site.

At present, Lennok cannot afford to be picky. He needs to earn money not only to improve his standard of living but also to strive for a better life.

Saving money by cutting down on expenses here and there was also for this purpose.

"One more request... No, at least two more."

To secure a winning bid for Stemonia at the auction, Lennok realizes that 100 million cells is not enough.

He is determined to spend a significant amount of money to find out one crucial fact: can an elixir improve his frail body?

Without an answer to this question, Lennok feels stuck and unable to move forward.

He needed hope- The hope that even if it's not a unique time magic, consuming such elixirs could alleviate the penalties that fill his body.

Among unique magic, artifacts, and elixirs, elixirs are the most accessible and likely to be purchased with his saved capital. Even if he doesn't see immediate results, it's essential to determine whether similar elixirs can have positive effects on his body.

Lennok is willing to spend a considerable amount of money, despite the effort it took to save up that amount.

Suppressing his excitement, Lennok turns the page calmly,

"Amnac Pharmaceutical Company..."

Although it wasn't a well-established company like Stania, and it was closer to a startup founded in the 30s district, it was important that they were manufacturing medicine.

Although he might not gain anything special just by taking on one request, it would be good to learn about that industry.

Even if it's not a miracle drug, it might provide a hint to solve the problem of sleeping pills that gradually lose their effect.

"I don't want to switch to a stronger drug just like that...."

Despite his desire to find a solution for his sleeping problems, Lennok realizes that taking more than the recommended dose of cheap sleeping pills could result in never waking up from sleep, so for the time being, he had to endure it like this.

With this in mind, Lennok makes a decision to focus his efforts on his next client: Amnac Pharmaceuticals.

With determination, Lennok briefly reviewed the request overview, which mentioned the pharmaceutical company's secret dealings related to new drug development.

It appeared that these dealings were causing conflicts with political powers in the area, although the specifics were unclear.

As it was close to bedtime, Lennok decided to contact Jenny and arrange a meeting with the client later.

He took a sleeping pill with a glass of water, turned off the lights, and immediately lay down on his bed. Although he had been unable to maintain a regular sleep schedule recently due to his immersion in magical research, he tried to maintain a regular sleep time as much as possible.

As he waited for the cheap sleeping pill to take effect, Lennok picked up his phone to pass the time.

There were times when he felt like nothing had changed as he lay down and stared at the display.

Like back then, when he would crawl under the sheets and giggle as he looked at his phone.

Perhaps the only thing that had changed was that he no longer looked at sports or entertainment news.

Scandals about unknown athletes and singers no longer held any interest for him.

Browsing the news on the internet, Lennok clicked on the "Breaking News" headline at the top of the page.

[Confirmed visit of Philenom Autonomous Region's delegation to Vulcan. Scheduled for two months from now... A response team will be assembled to discuss specific schedules]

[City Government. They have consistently maintained a no-compromise position, but will this opportunity change their stance?]

[Despite companies' promises, there is still no progress in the Aro-night production process.]

Autonomous region... It's a word that feels somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar. At least it's not a word easily heard on Earth.

It's difficult to understand the details, but judging by the tone of the news headlines, there will be a significant meeting in Vulcan in two months.

Is it big news that Lennok should be concerned about? He wanted to think about it a bit more, but sleepiness hit him in an instant.

He put down his phone and fell asleep as he lay down.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

A week had passed.

During that time, instead of immediately accepting the request Jenny handed to him, Lennok postponed it while he went on a few hunts for wanted criminals.

The reason was to separately check if he still had any unutilized shooting support magic left for real combat.

Lennok made a conscious effort to limit his use of magic to shooting support spells, excluding the [Bloody Chase] spell he used for tracking wanted criminals. He also avoided using lightning magic, binding spells, or destructive magic.

Although Lennok had grown accustomed to handling fugitives and didn't feel much pressure without relying heavily on magic, it was still a possibility.

The results were satisfactory.

Once he approached within shooting range, he could simply fire two shots, hitting both of the fugitive's thighs, rendering them unable to do anything but crawl on the ground.

Lennok found that using the [Aim Correction] magic, along with his revolver, made it easy to capture fugitives alive and deliver them to Jordan. Additionally, the [Silence] magic allowed him to subdue targets without anyone noticing.

This simple yet effective combination allowed Lennok to earn an extra 10 million cells in just ten days. However, there were limitations to the shooting combo.

Despite upgrading the gun's specs with supporting magic, the combo could only improve the speed and strength of the bullets, rather than adding extra effects. Furthermore, the supporting magic was limited in number and efficiency, causing problems.

To overcome these limitations and maximize the shooting combo's efficiency, Lennok needed to specialize in one aspect of the gun's specs, rather than trying to improve every aspect.

However, achieving better performance with an ordinary revolver was difficult. Lennok needed a better gun or more powerful supporting magic to achieve better results.

Even if he could invest money in a better gun, he would still need a unique magic system to obtain more powerful supporting magic.

Would it even be possible to obtain a unique magic system with the money he had, even if it was a relatively low-value supporting magic system?

And would it be worth it?

"...I need to look up related cases."

Lennok was lost in thought as he walked down the street.

In WORLD's magic system, shooting-related supporting magics only existed within the common magic system.

It was only natural, as the profession of Magic Musketeer couldn't learn unique magics in the first place.

Therefore, Lennok planned to acquire a powerful supporting magic system and then modify the shooting supporting magics he knew within the common system.

But what if the unique supporting magic system in this world was different from what he knew? What if there was no room for modifying shooting supporting magics?

"I have to think about this as much as possible."

There were no guarantees. That's why he needed to be even more cautious.

While it was important to understand the power of shooting supporting magics, he couldn't afford to become too attached to them.

There was a lot to balance in his life at the moment, and he struggled to maintain that balance. One misstep could cause him to fall without being able to resist.

As he entered the bar, Jenny was waiting for him, smoking a cigarette.

When they first met, she didn't have anything in her mouth, but these days she's constantly smoking.

She seemed to have refrained from doing so until she became somewhat acquainted with Lennok.

When their eyes met, Jenny slowly got up from where she had been leaning.

"Hey, you made it! How was your vacay?"

She said this while extending her hand as if asking for something.

"Amnac Pharma, yeah? I'm in a rush, so spill the beans."

"How did you know?"

As Lennok took out the documents from his bag and handed them over, Jenny laughed.

"That's the last thing due today. You're kinda weirdly into pharma stuff, so it's right up your alley."

"Hmm..."

Lennok nodded quietly since it wasn't an incorrect statement.

"Anyway, contact them for me. Do I need to set up a separate appointment, or can I get a briefing right here?"

As he sat down in an empty chair at the bar and asked, Jenny immediately picked up the phone.

"Hold up a sec. A representative will probably come over here."

"Is it that urgent?"

Lennok mumbled, but Jenny already seemed busy talking to someone on the other end of the phone.

With no other choice, he opened a bottle of liquor on the counter, and someone sitting across from him started talking to him.

"So, you're the new client Jenny mentioned."

A gentleman in a suit with a serious expression. He looked younger than Jordan but had a heavy, experienced face.

Staring at the man who straightened his back and tilted his glass, Lennok asked,

"Do you know me?"

"Of course. Aren't you the lightning wizard everyone's talking about? In this underground world, you're already famous. They say you're a ruthless bounty hunter, chasing down petty criminals for the reward money."

"........"

It's true that he had repeatedly made money by tracking down and capturing criminals with bounties on their heads, so he couldn't argue with that.

Compared to the many abilities Lennok had, catching criminals with bounties was relatively easy and not very demanding, and above all, it had the advantage of being able to choose his targets himself.

Avoiding getting involved with large organizations and chasing down those with satisfying bounties on their heads seemed to have spread such rumors.

"It's not a bad thing. In the first place, there are two main types of people in this city with bounties on their heads."

"Two types?"

"Small fries who would be missed if they disappear, or big shots who don't even care about people trying to take their lives."

"That's quite extreme."

"Right. People in between try to live by maintaining a certain line. The 49th district is the same. Murders and robberies occur almost daily, and there's never a day without the sound of gunfire, but everyone still tries to maintain that line. Am I wrong?"

Indeed, there are several unwritten rules that you can feel without having to speak in this place.

Complete indifference, the existence of freelancers who move for rewards, various requests made through brokers.

The man's words had a light, cheerful tone, but the content was serious enough to make you think about it at least once.

"So, who are you?"

"You ask quickly."

He smiled faintly, took out a business card from his pocket, and flicked it with his finger.

Lennok absentmindedly raised his hand to catch the card, but hesitated...

The business card flicked by the man was slowly floating in mid-air.

(TO BE CONTINUED)