Chapter 67

Cutting through the cold morning air, Renock headed towards Jenny's bar. As he buttoned his coat and took a step, his face faintly frowned.

'...Already ten minutes.'

Someone was following him. More precisely, ever since he entered District 49, someone had been trailing him discreetly.

The surprising fact was that even with Renock's magic sensing ability, it was difficult to identify who it was.

Magic sensing merely extended the range of information his senses could receive. There were plenty of ways to block or obstruct detection. Until now, Renock had used his powerful magic control to block such interferences, so he hadn't felt any particular regret.

If the person following him had an artifact as powerful as Renock's or a skill to conceal their presence, it wouldn't be surprising that they could interfere with his detection.

With a vexed expression, Renock took out a cigarette from his pocket and quickly fell into thought.

'It’s better to deal with this here.'

He had to find the shotgun Palmer had left for him today and visit Jenny's bar. He didn't know who was following him, but it seemed necessary to confirm their intentions here.

After making his decision, Renock's presence vanished from the street like smoke.

The person following him from behind suddenly burst out onto the street, clearly flustered. They seemed to have relied more on magic sensing than their senses to track Renock, and now they were frantically looking around.

A rather naive response, seemingly without any hostile intent. And most importantly, it was a face Renock already knew.

Sighing, Renock walked up from behind and placed a hand on the shoulder of the person who had been tailing him.

"Huh...!!"

"Wei'an, it's been a while."

Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, Renock spoke. The young man, Wei'an, who had been caught off guard, finally looked up with a slightly pale face.

Confirming the trembling in his eyes, Renock pointed towards Jenny's bar and said, "Shall we go inside and talk?"

A familiar face, Wei'an.

A member of the Crimson Mercenary Office led by Drey Crimson, Wei'an had worked with Renock on a building reclamation operation against the Scavenger Branch Manager some time ago. The talent he displayed then, especially his impressive magic sensing ability, left a relatively clear impression on Renock.

However, he hadn't expected to meet again in such a manner.

"Drey was injured?"

Jenny, who had been fiddling with a cigarette, only said that much after hearing Wei'an's explanation. Jordan, who was drying glasses with a dry towel, also turned his head, seemingly curious.

"While on a mission..."

"Figures, I was wondering why I hadn't heard from him. Who did he get into a fight with?"

Jenny's indifferent words made Wei'an bite his lip and mumble, "He's been in a coma for a week. I need help."

"......"

The severity of the situation left her speechless. Jordan's slightly critical gaze made Jenny mutter, "I thought he had bullet holes or something."

"For a mercenary like Drey to suffer such severe injuries, what happened?"

Although it had been quite some time since they worked together, Renock still remembered the members of the Crimson Mercenary Office clearly. Drey Crimson, in particular, was quite young but had impressive tactical skills, leaving a strong impression on Renock. His clean and efficient work style, despite being a former soldier, was commendable.

Thinking he would rise quickly, Renock never expected this to happen.

While Renock and Jenny stared at each other, Wei'an continued, "The injury the boss suffered is quite critical, and we need to resolve it quickly. His condition is getting worse."

"Well, if he's been unconscious for a week, that's to be expected."

Jenny shrugged.

"So, why have you been following me? You didn't think I'd help just because you followed me around, did you?"

"......Of course not."

"......"

"But I do want to hire you. I need the help of a skilled mage."

"Hmm......"

It was Jenny, not Renock, who fell into thought. She knew roughly what Renock was up to and that he didn't have much room to take on other tasks.

If Wei'an's matter could be resolved quickly, it wouldn't be a problem. But if it dragged on, it would interfere with Renock's original plans. Neither Renock nor Jenny wanted that.

"Hey, Wei'an."

As a broker, it was her job to handle clients well and send them away smoothly.

"Do you remember how long you've worked with Renock? It's been over a year, right?"

"......"

"Well, you saw how monstrous Renock is back then, so I won't explain. But you should understand how much his reputation and value have increased since then."

"......I'll pay properly."

Wei'an clenched his teeth, but Jenny shook her head.

"That's not the point. There are prior commitments, and a freelancer can't break them."

"It's a matter of life and death for the boss....!!"

The young man's refusal to back down made Jenny's expression turn cold.

"Don't get the wrong idea. There are plenty of people in this line of work who risk their lives."

"......"

"Living in a place where you could fall at any moment, if you didn't anticipate such moments, I must have misjudged you."

Her ability to remain cold and rational in important moments, despite being able to approach anyone with a friendly demeanor, was a trait of a good broker. The backbone to make rational decisions without letting emotions interfere.

While feeling sorry for Drey's situation, Jenny judged that taking care of Renock was more important.

"I'm not saying I won't take your request. I just need some time due to my schedule. Why are you looking for Renock when the boss is in a coma? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

Her words, devoid of any emotion, made Wei'an glance at Renock. Seeing no change in his expression, the young man bowed his head and replied, "He was cursed. We took him to a healer, but they couldn't find a proper solution. I thought a talented mage like you might know something..."

"......A curse?"

"Yes. It was a request to deal with an unidentified pillar that appeared at the Scavenger Branch. After being exposed to the magic power flowing from inside, he's been like this ever since..."

Wei'an's inability to continue made Renock fall into thought.

There are two main ways to curse someone, especially those with magic power. The first is through a curse caster, like the one Renock briefly worked with during his collaboration with Dyke. The second is through a cursed artifact or item.

While curses cast through rituals by curse casters are complex and highly dependent on the individual's constitution, making them difficult to activate and resolve, it's relatively common to imbue items with curses in various magical systems.

For example, if Renock refined a magic enchantment to make an object burn anyone who touched it, that could be considered a curse.

Therefore, it's possible to analyze the magic power at the time of the curse to determine the type of magic used.

While other mercenaries might simply think it's a curse, Renock's extremely sensitive magic sensing ability would allow him to—

Hum!!!

He lightly raised his magic and quickly scanned Wei'an's body.

If Wei'an was next to Drey when he was cursed, there would definitely be residual traces on his body.

He meticulously detected and analyzed the countless traces of presence and magic power on his body.

This was possible due to Renock's precise sensing ability and his powerful intellect and sharp intuition, which allowed him to correctly interpret the information and find the answer.

And in five seconds, Renock frowned as he identified the nature of the magic pressed into Wei'an's left shoulder.

"......"

"Why?"

A familiar presence, one he had felt at the Palmer Research Institute. It was dark magic.

"The work of a dark mage."

"But, in the city now....."

Jenny understood what he was getting at.

With the city government's inspections not yet complete, there were almost no active dark mages in Balkan.

Seeing Jenny's realization, Renock nodded.

"Your guess is probably right."

"......You don't mean?"

Since the Enchantment faction, which had just decided to cooperate with the agents, wouldn't do something like this, there was only one answer.

The Practical faction was up to something in the city.

"Where?"

"......District 55. Near the 4th gate of the southern underground waterway."

That information was enough.

Renock immediately grabbed his coat and stood up.

"Anyway...."

Jenny shook her head, seemingly resigned.

Realizing the gesture was an agreement, Wei'an's face lit up.

"Curses aren't my specialty. Visiting Drey won't help."

Renock took out a cigarette from his pocket and said, "But I can break the enchantment on the cursed item and help neutralize it."

Wei'an's face brightened as he finally understood Renock's intention.

"......Thank you. Really."

If it weren't for the traces of dark magic, Renock wouldn't have gotten involved, but there was no need to tell Wei'an the truth.

Instead, Renock chose a different approach to leave a stronger impression on him.

His indifferent eyes looked down at Wei'an's excited face.

"Your ability to hide your presence with magic has improved."

"R-Really...?"

"You have talent. Study your strengths more."

When they worked together on a mission, Renock noticed Wei'an's highly developed magic sensing ability, which allowed him to react to and feel magic. His ability to hide his presence from Renock's magic sensing was a result of this talent.