Chapter 4

4. Temporary Disciple (1)

Oliver spent the night with his eyes wide open.

After leaving the inn, he had spent several nights without sleep, unable to fall asleep easily despite the fatigue accumulated from long-term travel.

However, it wasn't because there was something wrong with his body or he had worries. On the contrary, it was quite the opposite.

Back at the orphanage and the mine, each day was the same, and he had no interest beyond survival, so he could fall into a deep sleep at any time. But now, each day was a continuous stream of joy, making it hard for him to fall asleep.

He recalled it several times a day, no, dozens, even hundreds of times.

The moment he extracted the emotions of the rushing employee and fired a 'Hey Bullet.' That mysterious yet familiar sensation was like having wings and flying in the sky.

Every time Oliver recalled that moment, he relived the feeling and the aftertaste.

But at the same time, he felt a bit regretful. If he had only focused a little more at that time, he could have extracted the emotions faster and in greater quantity.

If he had suppressed his excitement and paid a little more attention, he could have fired not just one but several 'Hey Bullets' simultaneously.

No, even before that, he could have performed a more advanced form of dark magic, not just a mere imitation!

Oliver went over these regrets one by one. To ease his regret even a little, he did mental training in his head.

He tried to extract emotions faster and in greater quantity, fire more 'Hey Bullets,' and increase the speed, accuracy, and power. Eventually, he even gave it a unique transformation that made it hard to call it just a 'Hey Bullet.'

Although it was just an imagination in his head, it didn't matter. Oliver had the confidence to apply it in reality.

If it weren't for Joseph's words, he would have extracted his emotions and experimented right away.

"From now on, don't practice dark magic until I give you permission."

"Why...?"

"Extracting emotions to form shapes is fine as long as others don't see it, but proper dark magic can be seen by everyone. We're about to reach our destination. If people accidentally see someone using dark magic, it could cause some trouble... Besides, using your own emotions to perform dark magic is something only the lowest of the low do."

"Why is that?"

"A true dark mage must use the emotions of others, not their own. Emotions are a limited resource. If you use them recklessly, your soul will be drained, so you should save your own emotions unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Then, can I extract emotions from others when I meet them to practice?"

"Hmm... No, you must get my permission to extract emotions and practice dark magic. At the inn, you said you would obey me, right? Then, obey without question. If you do, I will teach you."

Because of this, Oliver could only practice dark magic in his head. It was frustrating, but he had no choice.

Joseph demanded obedience, so to receive his teachings, Oliver had to obey as much as possible, at least outwardly.

The sky, which had been dark, gradually turned gray and then blue as the sun rose again. Joseph also got up to match the rising sun.

"Ugh...! Sleeping outdoors is never pleasant. Huh? You're already up? No, you didn't sleep at all."

Seeing Oliver's pale complexion and dark circles, Joseph said. He then went to a nearby stream to wash his face and rinsed his mouth with mouthwash.

Gurrr, spit!

After spitting out the thick mouthwash, Joseph said,

"Are you naturally sleepless? Or are you intentionally not sleeping? If you get tired halfway, I won't carry you."

Oliver, sensing Joseph's mood, replied,

"I'm sorry, Master... I couldn't sleep because I was too excited about reaching our destination soon."

It wasn't a complete lie. Oliver wanted to get to the place where he could learn dark magic as soon as possible. It was a feeling he had rarely experienced in his life, and he couldn't control it easily.

Joseph, seemingly not disliking Oliver's enthusiastic appearance, said in a gentle voice,

"Well, I can't blame you. All the other kids were the same."

"Other kids?"

"Why? Do you think I've only met you, the only talented child, in all my life? There are several other talented children besides you."

Oliver saw a glint in Joseph's eyes. The light was subtly distorted, meaning it was half true and half false.

"Of course, not all of them are talented... Anyway, there are several other kids. If you're from an orphanage, you know how to behave, right?"

"...I'll behave properly."

"Good, you're the new junior, so you should act like one. In our society, hierarchy is important. According to our family's custom, you start from the bottom when you first join."

Oliver nodded. It wasn't much different from the orphanage and the mine.

The weak or new members had to do the hardest work and sleep in the worst spots. To escape such treatment, you had to be stronger than the other kids or befriend a strong one.

Until now, Oliver had been content with staying quiet, but now...? At that moment, Joseph warned,

"What did I say last time?"

"...I said I would obey your words and follow the family's rules."

"Exactly. If you want to learn, follow my rules. Rules are order."

Oliver nodded. After a light breakfast of bread, Oliver and Joseph started walking again.

As they approached their destination, the trees gradually thinned, and the artificial smell of the city became noticeable. Soon, a small town appeared at the foot of the hill.

"That's Wainham."

Master Joseph said. Oliver's eyes widened at the considerable size of the town. More accurately, it was because of the many people in the town and the intense emotions they emitted.

"It's not a big city, but it's not small either. What do you think?"

"...It seems lively."

Seeing the light of frustration, anger, and resentment, Oliver replied.

"Hmm, maybe. A few large factories that supported the city are moving to 'Landa.' Everyone's emotions are naturally active, though not in a good way."

Oliver didn't fully understand the meaning, but he understood that the departure of the factories was the cause of the turbulent light.

Joseph started walking again. Oliver followed and soon arrived at a dilapidated factory on the outskirts of the city.

The building, with a roof slanted to one side, had a sign with a smiling pig and sausage hanging on it.

"Here...?"

"Officially, it's a small, insignificant sausage factory. Unofficially, it's our family's base."

Joseph said and went inside, and Oliver followed.

After entering through the entrance, the interior of the factory became visible. There were chunks of slightly spoiled meat, a large meat grinder, carts for moving ground meat, and young workers.

Although they were older than Oliver, they all looked to be in their late teens to early twenties.

When Joseph appeared, they stopped their work and bowed.

"Master, you've arrived?"

"Welcome, Master."

"Good to see you, Master."

They all exuded the smell of spoiled meat and rancid sweat, but they flattered Joseph to look good. Joseph, used to such a scene, pushed Oliver's back and said,

"This is a new kid. He'll be living with us from today, so teach him well."

The kids' faces brightened with smiles, as if they were happy to have a new younger brother. At least, outwardly.

"Yes, understood, Master."

As soon as they answered, Joseph left Oliver behind coldly.

Oliver didn't understand what was happening, but he was suddenly left alone... No, not alone. The workers surrounded him, glaring fiercely.

They frowned like angry dogs and said,

"...What? Don't you understand the situation? Hurry up and get ready for work!"

And so, Oliver's new life began.

***

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

In the morning, the sound of a dented frying pan being hit rang out.

To the painful metallic sound, the children, who had been sleeping on damp mattresses, slowly got up. If anyone slacked off, the children in charge of supervision would shout fiercely and threaten them.

"What are you doing! Stop being lazy and get up quickly!"

Knowing that a punch or kick would follow the shouting, the children hurriedly got up. Among them, the first to rise was none other than Oliver.

A week had passed since he arrived, and Oliver was quickly adapting to life here. Adapting quickly to any environment was his talent.

In the morning, they came out of the warehouse, which they called their living quarters, and cleaned the factory interior briefly. After cleaning, they had a simple breakfast of bread and soup.

The bread, though hard and old, was quite a good meal compared to the thin gruel he used to eat in the mine. After breakfast, they started work at the factory.

The work was simply turning the meat that came in each day into sausages, so it wasn't particularly difficult.

The smell of spoiled meat was strong, but it wasn't a big problem for Oliver, whose senses of taste and smell were dull. Compared to the heavy labor in the mine, where there was no sunlight, it was a pleasant play.

The workload varied from day to day but was generally light, and there was nothing to complain about.

What was difficult, however, was not physical but mental.

He had expected to learn dark magic when he came here, but contrary to his expectations, Joseph just left him here and went away.

Oliver wanted to ask what was going on, but his experiences at the orphanage and the mine, and Joseph's desire for obedience, prevented him from asking. He just endured.

Working wasn't a problem, but he wanted to know when he would learn dark magic. If he had to keep working at the factory without learning dark magic, Oliver wasn't sure he could handle the disappointment.

At that moment,

Slap!

A sharp pain hit Oliver's face, and he fell backward. As his vision, shaken by the impact, cleared, he saw a man.

A fierce young man with a thick build, he stepped on Oliver's chest and said,

"You damn brat... Did you move all the meat?"

The man was a supervisor in charge of the workers.

"Yes... I did."

Oliver answered, his voice slurred from the pain. Displeased with his response, the supervisor stepped on Oliver again.

"You brat, you're so frustrating... Hey, you need to properly educate this brat! I'm about to leave, but I can't stand having such a frustrating guy in the place I've been working. This damn brat isn't lacking in anything..."

The workers and other supervisors around him nodded. They all seemed to be watching the supervisor who had hit Oliver.

The supervisor, emboldened, grabbed Oliver by the collar and said,

"Hey, you newbie. I'm warning you, if you want to stay here as a worker, get your act together. Pretending to be stupid won't help. If you catch my eye once, I'll put you in that grinder and turn you into sausage. Got it?!"

Oliver, as he had lived, nodded. When someone got angry, he would humbly submit. The supervisor's face twisted with contempt.

"Hmph! You damn brat... As punishment, you'll clean up the back by yourself today!"

Oliver nodded again. Only then did the supervisor let go of his collar. At that moment, another supervisor intervened.

A woman with pale skin and short, unnatural purple hair.

"Hey, you can't just pass your work to someone else. You're supposed to clean the workshop today."

Everyone's attention focused on them. The supervisor who had hit Oliver frowned, and the woman crossed her arms defiantly. Everyone held their breath, and Oliver had only one thought.

When will you teach me dark magic?