Chapter 66: Tiger's Daughter (3)

After getting out of Chae Tae-won's car, I relaxed my wrists and ankles for a moment and lightly stretched, then put the skateboard I had brought with me on the ground.

There was no need for explosive auxiliary propulsion.

[Agility of the Fox]

[Invisible Hand]

The black hoodie I wore began to shimmer with intricate patterns of light. The magic circle which was designed more for practicality than visibility or symmetry appeared as a random and chaotic scatter of doodles or graffiti.

The spell to compensate for my lack of agility and to aid in posture control was complete. I stepped onto the board and rolled my feet with ease. In response, the board surged forward with fierce acceleration.

Then came the [Leap].

A silver magic circle that resembled a crack formed on the seemingly ordinary board. And without any other precursor, the board shot into the air as if bouncing off the ground, and with it, I too soared quietly through the cold night air before effortlessly vaulting over the high wall.

Whoosh, thump!!

The surrounding scenery changed rapidly.

Beyond the wall that frustratingly obstructed my view lay a meticulously maintained garden, the sort one might expect to find in an old mansion.

There, three burly figures in black suits stared at me with shocked expressions.

For a moment, they seemed to have forgotten what to say... Ah, perhaps they didn't expect someone like me to show up?

"I came here through Vasilisa's mediation. Aren't you going to lead the way?"

"Wh-What did you say?"

One of the big men blurted out in disbelief. Clearly, they were unprepared. Just as I was about to speak again, a bald gangster who seemed to hold a slightly higher rank among these similarly imposing men, shouted at his subordinate who had spoken out of turn.

"Ah, no, wait! Make way!"

He then bent slightly towards me with an awkward smile.

"We've been expecting you. Please excuse our surprise."

"Ah, yes."

"Please come this way."

Without much talk, I followed him while holding the still-shining board at my side.

Cheong-ho's house was a vast and splendid mansion; its size was difficult to gauge at a glance.

But just like the chaotic situation outside, the interior was... quite a mess.

First of all, a large cabinet had fallen over.

It must have been a cabinet for storing dishes, but as expected, the dishes that had been stored inside the cabinet were spilled out and smashed to pieces.

Looking at the fragments, they were luxurious plates that appeared to be more for decoration or collection purposes than actual plates for use.

The room was in disarray, with items that could be thrown scattered and smashed all over the place. What must have been a living room filled with luxurious decorations now resembled the aftermath of a rampage by a crazed gorilla with eight flailing arms.

I passed by the servants of the mansion standing outside the living room while muttering helplessly to each other and stepped inside. There, amidst the chaos that matched the disorder of the room, stood a figure that could only be described as deranged.

He was wearing what could be called a formal suit, though its buttons were torn off and the stitching on the left shoulder was completely ripped open. Remarkably, he still wore shoes amidst the chaos.

Even though he looked like a madman, this man in his early fifties was Cheong-ho, one of the three leaders of the Triad.

The scene suggested a brawl with kidnappers, but that was not the case. As if he had guessed what I was thinking, the burly man who had guided me whispered in my ear.

"This was not the work of kidnappers, but our chairman himself."

"You're saying the person who trashed the house and beat up the chairman was the chairman himself?"

"Yes, he couldn't contain his anger..."

It seemed clear enough. Cheong-ho who had his daughter kidnapped right in the middle of the day at his mansion must have been unable to accept the fact and lashed out in a frenzy.

"Who are you?"

Cheong-ho roughly swept his disheveled hair back and looked this way.

As he did so, the large scars crossing his forehead and the area around his eyes that were previously hidden by his hair were revealed.

Now that I took a closer look at him, I could see longer horizontal scars engraved across his body beneath the torn shirt. They looked almost like brutal stripes.

"He is the fixer who came through Vasilisa's mediation."

The burly man who was guiding me responded.

"A mage?"

"That's right."

"...Ah, this is driving me crazy. Is he any good?"

After seeing this reaction twice in a row, I began to miss the gentle and polite Chae Tae-won. While I was thinking about the polite Chae Tae-won, Cheong-ho slowly began to approach me, all the while glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

Ah, I remembered that a disastrous event could unfold here if I didn't handle this situation carefully.

"Let's stop this, shall we?"

"What?"

"Aren't we in the middle of a crisis? This isn't some old martial arts film. Wouldn't it be better to focus on finding your daughter instead of wasting time testing me by attacking?"

"Huh... this bastard..."

However, Cheong-ho didn't halt his advance. The air became prickly due to the threateningly elevated magical power and killing intent he radiated. Sounds of people collapsing could even be heard from behind. Yet, it wasn't enough to affect me significantly.

I could stand there forever without any reaction, but that seemed like it would take an eternity. I had no choice but to slightly increase my magical power and slightly push away his own magical power. At that moment, a vein throbbed on Cheong-ho's forehead and he began to seriously gather his magical power.

This won't do.

I extended my magical power and influence in earnest and pushed it against the magical power rising from his body. I could potentially twist his magical power core entirely... but since he was a client, I opted to create a wave of energy opposing his before starting to neutralize the rampant magical power he had summoned.

My magical power control flowed effortlessly, without the need for strain or focus. Even though I was manipulating not my own but my opponent's magical power, I managed it with perfect precision... But, honestly, this whole ordeal was starting to get on my nerves.

In a moment of impulse, I unleashed my magical power in an instant, grabbed his magical power, and twisted it.

"Aaaaagh!"

Thud.

Cheong-ho fell back and his face was ashen with shock. Judging by his expression alone, one might think I had twisted his nose or ear rather than his magical power.

"Wh-what are you?!"

"Just as I was introduced earlier, I am a mage and a fixer brought here through Vasilisa's mediation."

"No, fu*k, not that! How did you do that just now!"

"Seriously... I came here upon hearing that the chairman's family had been kidnapped. If I am at the wrong place, then I shall take my leave."

"N-No, wait! Just a moment! I'm sorry! I apologize! Please, find my daughter, my Hyun-ah! I've been out of my mind worrying about my daughter, and I was rude to you!"

I seriously considered turning back or causing a scene, but for the sake of what was to come, I decided to hold back.

"If in the future you want to ask for more than what was proposed in the request, be prepared to offer corresponding compensation."

"Ah, I understand, I understand! I promise I won't do it again! I'm truly sorry!"

Cheong-ho who was still seated on the ground approached me in a semi-kneeling position as if pleading.

Seeing an elderly man, who was respected as a legend in his field, rolling on the ground and begging me was... well, satisfying in a way, but also distasteful and somewhat awkward.

"Enough with the pleading; I'd like to discuss the job now."

Yet, Cheong-ho couldn't quickly rise to his feet, and it was only after a bit of a commotion, with his subordinates helping him up, that we could start a normal conversation.

Or so I thought. It was premature to call it normal. Cheong-ho, seemingly overtaken by urgency again, began to blurt out his words in a disorganized rush.

"Please, you must find my daughter! She's been kidnapped! Those damned brutes...! How could they, in broad daylight, and from her own room...! How could this happen when she had over 40 guards?!"

"I can't understand a thing you're saying..."

At my response, Cheong-ho started hitting his own head in frustration.

Thump! Thump thump thump! Bang! Crack!

It wasn't a sudden turn to self-harm. That's just how he was. After a while of beating himself up, Cheong-ho finally managed to articulate his thoughts more coherently.

"What can I do for you? I'll help in any way I can. If you need more people, I'll provide them; if you need a down payment, I'll give it."

"I'd like to see your daughter's room first."

"Ah, right. This way, please."

Cheong-ho's daughter, Hyun-ah's room was on the second floor. If my memory serves me correctly, Hyun-ah was a high school student. The room's interior seemed fitting for her age; though not as messy as Cheong-ho's living room had been, it was still quite a mess.

What stood out the most was the completely shattered window.

"My daughter, Hyun-ah, what has she done to deserve this?"

Well, the daughter herself wasn't to blame. However, had she not been Cheong-ho's daughter, she likely wouldn't have been kidnapped.

I slowly approached the window. This quest, being time-sensitive, had several fixed clues placed around, unlike other quests where the clues varied according to a few patterns. Naturally, the perpetrator and the location of the kidnapping changed according to these variations.

Players are meant to gather the clues scattered around the room within a limited time, like in an escape room game, to deduce where Hyun-ah was taken.

"It was an inside job."

"What did you say?"

It might seem trivial, but the shards of the broken window were scattered outside, not inside. This meant it wasn't an outsider who had broken the window.

I could have slowly revealed each clue one by one while putting on a grand display of deduction, but the thought of doing so felt embarrassingly over the top, so I simply cut to the chase.

"There must have been people who disappeared amidst the chaos."

"How could this be... Are you saying there's a kidnapper among my men? What could they possibly gain from this!"

Hmm... That part is rather cumbersome to explain.

"Anyway, I will soon locate your daughter using magic, so please be patient."

Though it would actually be my memory, not magic, that would find her, the result would be swift either way.

Among the items scattered randomly on the floor, I picked up a piece of paper that stood out due to its unusual shape. It looked like a book cover, but there was no book, just a single cover page.

Fortunately, among the possible locations for the kidnapping, this one was nearby.

"I've got it."

"What did you say? Where is it? Just tell me the location, and I'll handle the rest!"

Well, that's one approach. If I just take my fee and leave... I'd be off the hook easily, while Cheong-ho and his men would rush in and cause chaos and havoc, which would eventually lead to Jeong Hyun-ah's death.

In the long run, this approach would likely cost me Cheong-ho's trust and any chance of earning additional bonuses based on the success of the mission.

I wasn't enduring this unpleasant situation and engaging in conversation with Cheong-ho just to earn a quick buck.

"Having too many people involved won't do any good. Your daughter will end up as a hostage."

"Please...! Then what should I do?"

I paused to pull up the quest window and check the remaining time.

[! Time Limit: Jeong Hyun-ah will die in (2) hours !]

"The task is to find and safely return your daughter, so I'll bring her back. All I need is someone to drive the car."