Chapter 34

With meticulous mana distribution, Lennok relentlessly attacked Guile's vital points, resulting in overwhelming firepower that instantly revealed the extent of the damage. Guile's body was left in tatters and slowly collapsed, emitting a deafening sound as it hit the ground.

Lennok had been restraining his mana, anticipating interference during his fight with Guile, but he turned his head towards the wizard upon realizing there was no counterattack. He wondered if the wizard was still casting a spell, and if so, Lennok was eager to see what he had in store.

Grime, who made eye contact with Lennok, flinched, but quickly began to emit the prepared magic, proving that he was not just idling around.

Paaaaaat......!!

In an instant, the wand in his hand emitted magic that illuminated the surroundings. Although it appeared to be a dazzling light at first glance, its texture was already complete.

'A circular shockwave magic centered on oneself. It has a long casting time, but its power is considerable... Was he quietly casting this while leaving the hard-headed one behind? It's not entirely unreasonable.'

Deciphering the principle and structure of Grime's magic came easily to Lennok. It was a shock-type magic, popular among players who chose to play as a wizard in WORLD 2.0 due to its decent power and visible intimidation, despite its difficulty to learn.

Grime chose to exclude himself from the direction and swept the entire area in front of him, likely planning to reset the situation. But Lennok had no intention of allowing that to happen.

Uwoooong......!!

As Grime's mana unfolded before his eyes, Lennok began to grasp and control its flow with ease. He penetrated and seized all of Grime's control, changing the direction entirely in the blink of an eye.

In that moment, Lennok had complete control over all the movements of mana in the warehouse. He redirected it, causing the shockwave to escape Grime's will and shoot above his head, vanishing futilely through the gaps in the warehouse roof destroyed by [Thunder Calling].

The exchange between them was one-sided, with Lennok demonstrating clear superiority. It took a considerable amount of time for both of them to fully understand the outcome.

"Hehehehehe....."

After a long silence, Grime burst into a sinister laugh.

"Is it an artifact?"

".....What?"

The wizard sneered at the dumbfounded expression on Lennok's face.

"I knew it from the moment I first saw you. There's no way a drifter who just handles the aftermath of a pharmaceutical company could have such power......!!"

"......"

"You must have found an incredible relic by chance, but I'm not fooled. By now, your pathetic mana must have run out... Now it's my turn."

Lennok carefully considered whether Grime was spouting nonsense in an attempt to deceive him. Did Grime really believe that the power of a treasure, such as an artifact, was what caused Lennok to summon lightning and turn Guile into a lump of meat?

'But... his expression... he isn't lying.'

Upon careful examination of Grime's face, Lennok finally understood the true meaning behind his words. While Grime may have initially believed that Lennok's power was that of an artifact, now he was certain it wasn't.

Despite Grime's arrogant tone, Lennok could see the cold sweat streaming down his forehead, and his eyes were shaking wildly. Even if Grime had looked down on Lennok's magic before, he would have no choice but to doubt it after witnessing the recent battle.

If the lightning that was just cast on Guile's head is the true extent of his abilities.

If the shock spell, which unexpectedly soared into the sky against his intentions, was not merely an accident.

He tucked away these questions in a corner of his mind, but his certainty still eluded him, leaving him filled with anxiety.

No, he was filled with fear.

The moment this realization dawned on him, the odd sense of triumph previously blazing within Lennok's chest evaporated as though it were a mere lie.

A proficient wizard? He had been wrong.

The person standing before him was merely a fool who lacked the ability to fully trust his own senses and judgement.

An outcast, imprisoned by bias, not even attempting to understand his opponent, only instinctively looking down on others with an inexplicable sense of belonging and superiority.

It seemed there was no point in listening any further.

Whoosh!

Lennok remained silent as he caught the mana he had prepared in advance with a blank expression, tilting his palm. The magic he had prepared solely for dealing with the gang leader's head activated, stirring up darkness inside the warehouse.

The shadow cast by the dim moonlight writhed and bound the wizard's limbs, cutting off both of his wrists before he could even react. The staff he had been gripping tightly fell to the floor with a pitiful metallic sound.

CLANG!

The wizard stared at his empty wrists in disbelief and screamed in agony.

"Ahhh! Ah, ahhhh!"

Lennok calmly reloaded his revolver and placed his finger on the trigger, ready to finish the job.

Grime, struggled as he watched Lennok slowly walking towards him. His face was filled with bewilderment as he finally faced the reality he had been ignoring until now. There was no need to drag it out any longer.

"Uh, ugh...! How, how can this happen...!"

Unknown to both Grime and Guile, Lennok had been preparing his move since they chased him into the warehouse.

He had been readying his shadow magic, [Shadow Raid], which was most effective in deep darkness but required a demanding condition for a low-level Dexterity user. The magic could only manipulate the caster's own shadow, and its deployment speed was slow. However, in a warehouse almost completely blended with darkness, it was the perfect ambush.

Grime's prejudice, convinced that Lennok was a lightning wizard, and Lennok's skillful use of the surrounding environment aligned perfectly, resulting in the battle ending in just an instant. Grime might have thought he had fully assessed Lennok's abilities, but to Lennok, that was far from the case.

Lennok had secretly expected an intense battle and struggle from the moment they entered the warehouse. The quick conclusion was a disappointing end to what he had been anticipating.

Click.

As Lennok pressed the gun barrel against Grime's forehead, his face finally showed vivid fear. It was at that moment that Lennok realized why he hadn't wavered during the battle and how he was able to achieve such a one-sided victory.

Although he hadn't experienced it firsthand, he already knew it in his mind. The overwhelming versatility and diversity of common magic that doesn't discriminate based on speed. Strong mental power that could efficiently draw the most effective moves in every situation.

The ability to always have the upper hand, ignoring any advantages or disadvantages in a battle, was an incredibly powerful weapon in a wizard's battle that should be decided by understanding each other's moves and strategies.

"Please..."

Lennok looked down at the wizard with pity in his eyes, wondering if he, too, would face a similar end after the long and arduous struggle for survival. Would he lose all his will to live, so desperately desired, and only hope for mercy from his enemy? Would Lennok, at that moment, be able to cling to the idea of surviving until the end?

It was impossible to know for sure. And because he didn't want to experience such a fate in the future, Lennok vowed to become stronger. He etched this vow, which he had repeated hundreds of times, into his heart, and with it, he covered the wizard's eyes with his left hand.

"Calm down."

"Hee, heeek...!"

Grime shivered, feeling the cold touch of the gun barrel on his forehead while his vision was blocked.

Lennok whispered, "If you answer my questions well from now on, I might spare your life."

"What, what do you want to know?"

"Councilor. Are these all the people he can mobilize? It seems like you brought the entire gang. I'd like to know if he have any other connections."

If the Councilor found out that the gang had been pushed away head-on, there were two options: he could come back even stronger or simply give up and retreat. Lennok wanted to resolve everything right here and wrap up the task cleanly, if possible. Dealing with these people one by one on the way to the patent office would be too tiring.

Fortunately, the wizard assured Lennok that there was a high probability of no further use of force. Grime, feeling immense fear in his limited senses, began to blurt out information that Lennok hadn't even asked for.

"I-I can be of great help to you if you spare my life. As a Level 3 junior wizard, I can support you as a single wizard...! It'll be really useful!"

"Level 3? So, you're a Level 3 wizard."

"Y-yes. You could say it's the beginning of being recognized as a proper wizard..."

As Grime rambled on about the qualifications of a legitimate wizard, even in this dire situation, Lennok shook his head. He wasn't sure what the hierarchy meant, but battles between wizards weren't decided by that. If Grime's words were true, Lennok, who didn't even know his own rank accurately, should have been the one on the ground instead.

But that didn't matter now. Lennok recalled the vow he had made when he first took a life: leave no loose ends. Many things had happened since he escaped from the factory, but his belief remained unchanged.

Lennok applied pressure to the trigger, the muzzle digging deep into Grime's forehead. At that moment, Grime, sensing his imminent end, began to scream like a madman.

"No, please! No, please!! Spare my life, please!"

"I'm sorry."

Would the hollow apology be any consolation at the end?

Bang!

Lennok didn't bother answering that question and stood up from his spot.

To his surprise, Guile, whom he thought he had completely finished off, was writhing again.

Lennok couldn't understand why, as [Thunder Calling] was one of the most powerful spells in the common magic lightning category. Even considering the slight warning and the inability to change the target midway, it was unlikely that Guile could withstand it while sober.

After a moment of thought, Lennok quickly found the answer. He silently raised his head and looked at the sky. The moonlight shining through the hole in the warehouse roof, where a lightning bolt had struck, was gradually focusing on Guile's body.

Lennok realized that Guile was a werewolf, a moonlit beast that harnessed the power of the night sky's madness. The craving to pursue its origin was turning into the driving force to forcibly lift the dying body.

"Tsk."

Lennok clicked his tongue in annoyance and grabbed Guile's head as he tried to stand up, pushing him back to the ground. Although Guile was weak and hadn't regained his balance, he couldn't resist the force, and his head hit the ground once again.

Looking at the half-crazed wolf's head, Lennok shook his head in disbelief. If a half-blood werewolf could demonstrate this level of regeneration when exposed to moonlight, he couldn't imagine how monstrous a pure-blood werewolf would be.

'A proper werewolf wouldn't yield this easily.'

Their race was heavily influenced by bloodline, with the strength of their power being dependent on the purity of their blood. The more mixed their blood, the weaker they became. On the other hand, pure-blooded beasts were known to have cases of terrifying power.

'I'm not sure if pure-blood werewolves still exist in WORLD 3.0...? Should I look for them later?'

Pushing the rising thoughts to a corner of his mind, he drew up mana.

He felt no thrill in dealing with such a low-life wolf.

[Bolt]

Zap!!

Lennok sent a current of electricity through Guile's head, rendering his regeneration impossible, and stood up, straightening his back. It had taken him roughly five minutes to deal with the two who had come after him.

Judging by the noise outside, the fight was still ongoing. Although there was no major threat to Lennok, it felt awkward to ignore those who were fighting on the same side.

As he lightly rotated his mana, intending to leave the warehouse area, he noticed Grime's staff lying next to his corpse. Although the shadow magic had severed his wrist entirely, Lennok was curious and picked up the staff after tidying it up.

Grime wasn't a powerful wizard, but if he was willing to carry the staff despite the inconvenience, there must be some unique advantage. Lennok had previously considered using magical tools, accessories, or artifacts to assist his casting ability, but he had numerous expenses elsewhere and couldn't afford to spend money on them. He also had a realistic calculation that his talents wouldn't benefit much from minor auxiliary abilities.

However, there was no reason to refuse the spoils of battle he had obtained. With a slightly throbbing anticipation, he slowly lifted the staff.

(TO BE CONTINUED)