The Cursed Wizard: A Game Made Real

His face, from which all the black magic had drained away, was pale and haggard, as if he had aged twenty years. 

Leo, who had extracted all the black magic remaining in the man's body, stood up. 

"Kill him." 

"….yes?" 

"It'll be okay now." 

The mercenaries looked as if they couldn't understand, but Leo didn't care. 

Just now, Leo succeeded in directly touching another wizard's magic power using only his pure magic control ability. 

'What should I do with this?' 

Although the black magic was extracted, it was impossible to keep it in this state for a long time. In order to store the magic, a special container manufactured for the purpose was needed. 

Leo hesitated for a moment, but eventually threw all of his black magic into the air. He thought that holding on to it for too long would only drain his magic power, and that it wouldn't be of much benefit. 

He went to the back of the rooftop and released a mass of pitch-black magic into the air. The magic scattered into a hazy mist and quickly dissolved into the air and disappeared. 

It's a shame, because if I could keep it, I could take it and have a chance to dig into the dark magic. 

I quickly shook off my regrets about the past and turned around, when suddenly I heard a voice from next to me. 

"You are truly amazing." 

"… ..?" 

When I asked who it was, it was Wayan, who had been subdued by the scavenger's man and collapsed. 

I thought he was still unconscious and hadn't woken up, but he seemed to have regained some energy after leaving the combat zone. 

He looked up at Leo, leaning his back against the rooftop wall, clutching his wounded abdomen. 

"Is it really something like genius?" 

"genius?" 

"Yes. I saw you moving your magic from afar. I've never seen such magic control in my life. You must have realized just how pathetic the magic I use is." 

Wayan laughed self-deprecatingly as he said that. 

"… … " 

Leo listened to him and stood still, lost in thought. 

There were quite a few other people in the Kreamgal Mercenary Office who could handle magic, but Wayan was the only one who said he had seen Leo scrape away dark magic. 

If what he said is not a lie, it means that Leo was able to accurately capture the process of moving his magic power even from such a distance. 

That was proof that Wayan's magical sensitivity was innately extremely sensitive. 

Perhaps his talent lay not in the vanguard but in the profession that dealt with magical powers. 

"I've seen many people who pretend to be wizards, but there's no one who can control their magic as precisely as you. If I copy even a little of your movements, I think I can become stronger here too." 

As he muttered, he looked down at the two completely shattered tonfas lying next to his thighs. 

result 

A complex expression, completely different from the refreshing impression I had when I first saw him. 

Leo could guess what was going on in his mind as he was helplessly overpowered by the enemy, but unfortunately there was not much he could say to him. 

From Wayan's perspective, Leo may seem like a talented person, but Leo himself is also obsessed with his talent and is busy trying to get through each day. 

No matter how hard you try to adapt and appear calm. 

Still, Leo was just a stranger wandering the back alleys of this strange city. 

"Do you want to be a wizard?" 

"Well, I used to think that just working for this mercenary group was enough… but now I'm not so sure." 

As he spoke, Wayan looked at Leo with a look of expectation, but Leo did not even raise an eyebrow. 

Leo is not so clueless as to not know what the boy who just lost his boyishness wants. 

He was not a man well off enough to take someone else with him to teach him. 

Leo has no time to relax as he is constantly plagued by fatigue, headaches, weakness, and insomnia. 

Giving false hopes is nothing more than useless rambling. 

Leo took out a cigarette and replied, flicking the sparks between his fingers. 

"Dray Krimgal seems like a pretty nice guy." 

"… … ." 

"At least he can give you better advice than someone like me. Starting your own business isn't easy." 

Leo let out a long puff of smoke and laughed inwardly. 

It was contradictory that he was saying such things when he had only escaped from the factory and arrived in this city for less than three months. 

But if Wayan is truly struggling to find his own path, he should seek advice from the leader he trusts and follows, not from a mediocre stranger like Leo. 

"If you've made up your mind about how to protect yourself, it might be a good idea to go see Jenny. She's not the type of woman to force you to do something you don't want to do." 

Can Wayan change? No, does he want to change? 

No one knows whether he can turn the feeble promise he just muttered to Leo into his own future. 

I felt like I had spoken out of turn, so I quickened my pace. 

Behind him, Wayan seemed to want to say something more, but Leo refused to listen and headed towards Dray. 

While I was away briefly spreading my black magic, everything that had happened on the rooftop had ended. 

The corpse of a man lying limp, seemingly dead at the hands of mercenaries, and mercenaries busily inspecting power lines and power plants. 

And even those who closed their eyes with a calm expression while receiving orders in battle. 

Dray was moving busily among the mercenaries, quickly organizing the surrounding situation. 

"Oh, wizard," 

As soon as he saw Leo's face, Dray stopped what he was doing and bowed his head. 

"I was really rude earlier." 

The attitude was completely different from when we first met. In a way, it was natural. 

In fact, in the end, Leo alone overwhelmed the enemy and even killed them. 

Kidel, who was standing next to him, also looked at Leo and lowered her head quietly. She must have seen the cigarette in Leo's mouth, but she said nothing. 

"It's unfortunate that there were casualties." 

"… … There's nothing I can do about it. Isn't this something that always happens when you work here?" 

Dray smiled bitterly as he said that, but it was clear that he didn't mean it. 

Kidel's eyes, standing next to him, were also slightly red. 

They are colleagues who have shared life and death together in the same office. They say that in order to survive long-term, you have to not get attached to others, but is that something that can be done just as one pleases? 

It was natural to feel depressed, even if you didn't break down in grief. 

Leo chewed the end of his cigarette in silence. There was nothing more he could say about this. 

"Is the work done?" 

He nodded at Leo's words. 

"Yes. We have confirmed that the computer server is safe, and we are currently calling in our hired programmers to back it up. It should be over in about 20 minutes, so as long as no more scavengers show up in the meantime, it should be over." 

As he spoke, Dray patted the corpse of the man who had fallen on one foot. 

"I checked this person's background and found out that he was an executive in the Scavenger District 51. He said that the three branches had conspired to plan this together, and it seems like he was directly supervising and managing the situation on site." 

"I see. I also tried extracting the magical power of the drug he used, but it didn't yield much results." 

"Well, it's not the first time that the warlocks have gotten involved in something like this. We're just going to dispose of this body and wrap things up." 

That's not wrong. 

Dray Krimgal was merely a mercenary who was paid to retake the building and protect the server, and had no obligation to investigate how the Scavengers were connected to the Warlocks. 

Leo also had no interest in the dark magicians' collusion, but the drugs they used were a different story. 

"Good. Then, before you dispose of the body, can you take some blood and send it to Jenny?" 

"yes?" 

"I would rather do it myself, but I don't have any tools right now." 

As Leo spoke and raised both his hands, Dray nodded hurriedly. 

"Ah… Of course. If you wish, I will do so. By the way, I haven't paid the deposit yet." 

As he took his cell phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it a few times, Leo's cell phone also rang. 

It said that 20 million cells had been deposited into Leo's account. 

"I sent a separate fee to Jenny, so could you please tell her to check?" 

When he nodded, Dray finally smiled bitterly and started moving with the mercenaries again. 

Leo sat on a corner of the rooftop and looked down at the outside of the building to see if there was anything unusual. 

All the scavengers inside the building have already been wiped out, but if they send more troops from that side, Leo will have to use his magic once more. 

As he silently burned the cigarette, Leo mentally reviewed the harvest he had gained from this undertaking. 

'Success bonus of 20 million cells... I guess I won't have to worry about living expenses for the time being.' 

Considering that the factory demolition fee offered by Balitz was 50 million cells, the Krimgal Mercenary Office paid a very high price to hire a wizard for this job. 

Jenny said that the unit price was raised in order to save the wizard in a hurry, so she probably received a slightly higher salary than average. 

But that wasn't the real reward Leo got from this job. 

'The power of shooting assistance magic is better than expected.' 

Leo grinned, slowly blowing out the smoke that was escaping his throat. 

This time, I bought a revolver at a gun shop. The effect of the shooting combo I used by casting auxiliary magic on the firearm was beyond my imagination. 

The small auxiliary magic that didn't feel that real when playing WORLD 2.0 was a great help to Leo's fighting ability here. 

In particular, auxiliary magic such as [Reload Acceleration] and [Aiming Correction] are abilities that are not very noticeable in the game, but in reality, they are completely different. 

If Leo is properly aware and prepared, it has a tremendous effect that allows him to reload and fire even if the enemy rushes in front of him. 

Of course, it is difficult to see how it would be effective against a monster like Kroken, who moves faster than Leo's cognitive speed, but it is very meaningful just because it can reduce the dependency on magic that consumes a lot of mana. 

If you can conserve your magic power while using it more effectively, Leo's combat endurance will also greatly improve. 

It was a great achievement for something that took only a few days to achieve. Of course, that would have been impossible without Leo's experience as a musketeer. 

'At this point, I could probably invest my money in a better gun.' 

The effectiveness of shooting assistance magic also varies greatly depending on the quality of the firearm. 

When I first bought a gun from a gun shop, I wasn't sure about the effectiveness, so I just picked the most basic products, but at this point, I thought it would be okay to buy a better gun. 

Of course, Leo's talents are more oriented towards magic than shooting, so he has no intention of delving into the musketeers' side again, but until he acquires satisfactory magical capabilities, this shooting magic can be of great help. 

'If I could find and learn the auxiliary series' unique magic, I could increase my power even more than now... But it'll be difficult now.' 

It would be great if he could just get it by chance, but Leo had too many things to worry about right now. 

Right now, I'm busy just investing time into taking care of my health. 

While Leo was killing time with this and that thought, someone approached him from behind and spoke cautiously. 

"Wizard, everything is sorted out here." 

Wayan, who seemed to have regained some energy, was looking down at him. 

After talking with Leo, it seems he was helping other mercenaries. 

Wayan didn't look too happy, but he didn't say anything else when he saw Leo. 

As Leo walked towards where Dray was standing, he saw him looking down at the man's body with a complicated expression. 

A military tag with a dull silver colour was pulled out from around the corpse's neck. It seemed to have been found separately while searching the body. 

"I see you're from the Viper Regiment." 

Dray muttered in a complicated tone. 

"I've encountered this unit several times while moving back and forth across the front lines, but how did the elite from that side end up like this…?" 

He clicked his tongue a few times, took a handkerchief out of his bosom, and covered the man's distorted face with it. It was an act of respect, as a fellow soldier. 

"Are there a lot of retired soldiers?" 

"The numbers are not small. Hasn't the war with Dellinger ended a while ago? Those who can stay will stay, and those who can't will have to return to society." 

Dray shrugged and replied. 

"It seems like this guy can't do that." 

Despite being a fellow retired soldier, Dray didn't seem too excited about his own discharge. 

"… … ." 

It's a war with Dellinger. When I go back, I have to find another keyword. 

Dray nodded and spoke to Leo as he memorized the word. 

"The server backup has been completed, and the power generation facilities have been normalized. Now, once the client is informed of the status and confirmed, the request will be officially completed." 

Dray took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Leo. 

"I was deeply impressed by the wizard's work ability while working with him this time. I hope we can have another opportunity." 

Handing over a business card here essentially signals that Leo has no more work to do and can leave work early. 

Leo accepted the business card he handed him without hesitation and answered with a grin. 

"If there's another chance next time." 

Dray Krimgal is clearly an excellent mercenary and businessman. 

He has calm commanding ability, boldness that does not spare his body, high vision and prudence, and he is also skilled at handling matters without much disturbance even when several of his fellow mercenaries are killed. 

As long as you work on this floor, you are aware that this can happen at any time. 

For a person like this, it wouldn't be strange if he or she wasn't satisfied with a small office and continued to grow the business. It wouldn't be bad to open up his or her network and keep in touch. 

If the opportunity arises, we can work together again. Leo turned his back without any hesitation and walked in the direction of the stairs. 

Kidel, who was watching his back as he walked away, quietly asked Dray. 

"But wouldn't it have been better to just ask?" 

"what?" 

"Do you think you'd like to come into our office…?"