LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 25 - The City Government's Blade
Chapter 25 – The City Government’s Blade
The woman turned her head and left behind words as cold as frost before walking away.
Her steps, curiously devoid of weight, made no sound as she advanced a few paces—
And when she reached the dark clearing, where not a single streetlamp stood, she placed her foot midair as if stepping onto an invisible platform.
—Shwooooong—
A sound like an engine defying gravity roared, and in an instant, four blue flames, magnified nearly a hundred times over like an overpowered turbo lighter, ignited simultaneously.
From the darkness emerged a translucent blue silhouette—a wingless helicopter, its contours appearing where nothing had been just moments before.
—Zing—
The door opened on its own, and the woman stepped inside.
As the door slowly closed, her blue-white eyes seemed to glance in his direction.
Then, with a gust of wind, the craft lifted off and vanished beyond the night sky in an instant.
Jin, who had been watching the entire scene in a daze, let his jaw drop.
“…That’s insane.”
It was his first time seeing an aerial vehicle (AV) this close.
Until the engine roared to life, he hadn’t even realized it was there.
This was optical camouflage technology—
A type of over-technology that, in Jin’s homeland, had been the subject of rumors for over a decade, debated as an American development but still considered far from reality.
Jin, who didn’t know much about such things, could only think of a paper plane consuming 150 minerals and 100 gas.
Wow.
Cloaking Race.
He was lost in pure admiration, but only for a moment.
As his tension eased, the excruciating pain from his body, which he had barely managed to endure, came crashing down on him.
Without realizing it, Jin collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
It seemed the impact from his fall had been severe.
In fact, he had no memory of the moment right after he hit the ground.
Was it another reconstruction or whatever they called it this time?
At this rate, he might as well have died and come back to life.
As he sat there drenched in cold sweat, recovering, Jin suddenly turned to look at Mikel.
“…”
Lifeless eyes.
A sword pierced through his head.
Come to think of it, he never even knew the guy’s name.
Not that he wanted to.
The man would just remain in his memory as “the seller”—a face Jin might forget in just a few days.
He stared at the corpse for a while.
Then, once he had regained enough strength to move, he took the ring from the dead man’s hand.
***
Everyone has probably experienced something like this at least once:
“XX is out to get you.”
Either you’ve heard it, passed it on, or listened in from a distance, intrigued.
Something along those lines.
Most often, these experiences are tied to the stormy years of adolescence.
Depending on who XX is, the listener might feel fear—Why me…?—or seething rage—Who the hell do they think they are?!—so much so that they might even take the initiative to confront them first.
In Khalifa’s case, neither reaction applied.
She simply smiled faintly—
Interesting.
Her murmured words scattered into the air like cigarette smoke.
Jin, who had delivered the news and briefly felt like a tattletale, was relieved by her nonchalant response.
Had she been deeply shaken or furious because of his words, he would have felt uneasy.
At the same time, another thought crossed his mind—
I chose the right linker.
“What do you think that woman was? The AV was seriously cool.”
“She was probably an enforcer for the city government. Lost City’s definition of public property is arbitrary at best, so when they decide something needs reclaiming, they take direct action. Even so, it’s strange. Even if it were authentic, it wasn’t something the city government would normally have an interest in…”
Khalifa trailed off, brushing her bangs back with a hand.
Then, as if suddenly reminded of something, she turned to the side and asked:
“Po. Disappointed?”
The bartender, who had been inspecting the ring with a monocle-like magnifier, clicked the lens cap shut and lifted his head.
“Not at all. While it’s unfortunate that it isn’t genuine, at least this piece is undeniably from that era. That alone is a small success.”
Khalifa raised her eyebrows as if to say, See?
Jin, watching the exchange, grabbed a cookie and commented:
“The Age of Light and Roses must’ve been pretty insane.”
“Oh, Jin.”
At that, Khalifa pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know? Well, I suppose that’s possible. But you…”
“I what?”
“Just from your appearance, you look no different from a purist.”
…? What does that have to do with looks?
Jin wondered, puzzled—until suddenly, his internal radar blinked.
He remembered exactly what purists revered.
“Oh, then the Age of Light and Roses?”
“That’s right. The era before humanity faced the great upheaval of cyberspace. It’s also the homeland of the heart that purists long for.”
“Artifacts are treasures that were lost during that period. Their value varies, but even the lowest-grade ones still go for at least a hundred million.”
Poe naturally joined the conversation, adding to Khalifa’s explanation, which she then picked up again.
“That’s why there are quite a few treasure hunters who specialize in finding artifacts. Many of them even come with real phenomena attached. For example, the ‘Eternal Dawn’ that the Marzie family has been searching for over centuries—its reward isn’t money. It’s the position of the next family head.”
Jin’s pupils widened slightly.
Maybe he should ditch going solo and become a treasure hunter instead?
Of course, that thought remained just that—a thought.
Ever since his snot-nosed childhood, he had been hopeless at treasure hunting.
Whenever he searched, there was never anything.
But when someone else did, something always seemed to turn up as if by magic.
So, he figured he should just stick to what he was already doing.
As he munched on his cookie, feeling like he had gained at least a half-penny’s worth of knowledge—or common sense—Khalifa suddenly spoke up.
“So, how does it feel to have passed through the filter?”
Jin shrugged lightly.
“Eh, it’s just whatever.”
“Well, I suppose it’s nothing special for you.”
With that, Khalifa leaned forward.
She then placed a black bag, shaped like a suitcase, on the table.
“Thirteen million credits. I added a little extra to the promised base pay.”
“Three million? It’s a counterfeit. What’s there to appraise?”
“Think of it as a token of goodwill. The job turned out to be more complicated than expected, and we did spring it on you suddenly. Anyway, the request—”
“Wait!”
Before the words ‘request completed’ could be spoken, Jin hastily raised a hand and took a deep breath.
“Give me a moment to prepare myself.”
“…?”
Khalifa exchanged glances with Po, clearly puzzled.
But Jin was serious.
This was only his third job.
That meant the quest would naturally be completed.And the reward?
A whopping 10,000 XP.
He had no idea how much dopamine was about to flood his brain.
Just in case, he had even visited the restroom before coming to Anekdote.
Wouldn’t want to lose control in the excitement.
“Alright. Now, say what you were going to. The request—?”
Jin twirled his raised hand twice and gestured for her to continue.Khalifa stared at him for a moment before letting out a chuckle.
“Honestly, you’re impossible to figure out… Completed. The request is complete.”
At that exact moment, a status window popped up in front of his eyes, glowing with the word (Completed!).
[ (Unknown) Story has been unlocked. ]
Suddenly, the world shattered.
What the—?
Jin flinched, his head darting around in alarm.
The world split apart.
Again.
And again.
Until finally, a lattice-patterned universe was born.
A chaotic grid of countless intersecting horizontal and vertical lines.
At its center, a hollow pit formed, pulling Jin in.
He couldn’t resist.
Before the gravitational force that swallowed his entire existence, he was utterly powerless.
Thus—
A torrential downpour of incomprehensible random numbers,
An infinite passage, welcomed him.
At first, he was too overwhelmed to make sense of anything.
But as the sensation of endlessly falling persisted, he gradually managed to observe his surroundings.
As he cautiously reached out toward the erratic waves of numbers streaming past his vision—
A tiny, millet-sized light in the distance began to expand, growing in sync with his falling speed.
And before he could even process it—
His entire field of vision was engulfed by a blinding radiance.
In his fading consciousness, he thought he felt someone’s hand touch his cheek.
“Ugh!”
Jin gasped as if expelling a breath he had been holding for years, his eyes snapping open.
His hands instinctively roamed over his face, shoulders, and body, making him look every bit like someone who had just woken from a terrible nightmare.
Alarmed, Khalifa shouted.
“Jin? Jin! What’s wrong?”
“…Huh? Oh, no. It’s nothing.”
Snapping back to reality at her voice, Jin’s eyes darted around.
Everything was as it had been—the cookie he had yet to finish, the half-full glass of milk.
Only then did he release a sigh of relief.
What the hell was that?
The bizarre experience, so indescribable in words, was already fading like a distant memory.
Trying to shake off the lingering haze, he vigorously rubbed his face.
Watching him, Khalifa asked,
“Did something happen?”
“No, I’m just feeling a little dizzy.”
“Hm.”
Khalifa, folding her arms, didn’t seem too pleased with Jin’s response as she continued.
“How about taking a good two weeks off? No, scratch that. Just do it. Think about it—first Crow, and now the city government’s agent? This is getting ridiculous. It’s not like you’re cursed or anything, but even strong luck against misfortune has its limits. At this rate, next time you might… No, never mind. I won’t say it. Just go get some rest. And don’t bother coming back before the two weeks are up—I won’t give you any work until then.”
“You should do as the manager says, Jin.”
“Ah… uh.”
Caught off guard, Jin could only nod.
It almost felt like he was about to be shoved out the door with a bag of cash right that moment.
Before that happened, he asked the question he had been meaning to.
“Just one thing before I go. How much would it cost to get proper identification?”
He couldn’t keep living with the burden of carrying around untraceable cash forever.
If he could stop being an undocumented resident and at least open a bank account, it would be worth looking into.
Po answered his question.
“If you’re talking about forged identification, the price usually falls around thirty million credits. Would you like me to connect you with someone?”
***
After a chaotic day, Jin collapsed onto the bed as soon as he arrived at his motel.
His terminal buzzed.
Two messages had come in.
One was from Po, containing the address of the document forger.
The other was from Jeckie.
[You okay?]
Jin replied that it was nothing serious and that they’d see each other next week, then let his arm drop to the side.
He was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep just yet.
He had enough experience points to illuminate at least two paths in the Star’s Trail.
Closing his eyes, Jin’s consciousness expanded inward, revealing a vast night sky.
“…”
He cast a sidelong glance at a constellation shining brilliantly in the shape of a clenched fist.
Then, he turned his gaze to a much larger yet dimly lit cluster of stars.
[Mana Circuit]
The second constellation Jin had chosen.
At first, he had thought it looked like a staff.
But looking more closely, it resembled a tree.
Its towering trunk branched out endlessly, splitting off into so many offshoots that it felt overwhelmingly dense.
It made him wonder—was it even possible to light up all of it in reality?
Of course, Jin didn’t have that many choices available just yet.
Before he could grow his abilities into unique and varied branches, he needed to solidify the trunk that would serve as his foundation.
But that led to another question.
Wouldn’t that make magic-based characters too much of a late bloomer?
Yet, according to the guide he had read, the Family had the highest firepower in the early game.
(While the Vagabond was the most stable, and the Corporation was the wealthiest.)
That meant there had to be something he was missing.
Damn it, his head hurt.
He should’ve read the guide more carefully.
Jin’s nose twitched slightly as he lay there with his eyes closed.
But whatever.
He would just do his own thing.
Without hesitation, he connected the Star’s Trail.
[Mana Circuit (Lv2)]
A passive ability that increased both the total amount of mana and its output—an absolute necessity.
Next, he poured experience points into the next star.
Yes, this was the key.
Teleportation—always ranked high in the most desired superpowers.
…Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite teleportation, but it was still something anyone would envy.
[Blink]
Jin opened his eyes.