Chapter 37

Chapter 14. Mamet Outlaw Zone (2)

Before the regression, right after being expelled from the Garden of Swords.

Jin had a history of wandering from country to country, homeless and aimless, for a while. After his expulsion, he had lost his life's purpose and lived like a cripple for some time. This continued until he met his magic mentor.

During that time, Jin had encountered many derelicts haunting the back alleys.

Thieves, robbers, beggars, alcoholics... They lived like dayflies with no tomorrow, always indulging in their immediate desires.

'Among them, the most extreme were the drug addicts.'

Drug addicts.

They are people who cannot survive a single day without drugs. Without drugs, they foam at the mouth with hollow eyes, and if given drugs, they would even offer their hearts in exchange, a foolish habit they possess.

Ten out of ten, a hundred out of a hundred, a thousand out of a thousand!

Among the drug addicts he had encountered on the streets, there was not a single exception.

While some people can recover to a normal life with superhuman willpower, such cases are extremely rare.

To Jin, Alcaro Chen was certainly not a person with that much willpower.

"Damn it! Please, please, I beg you. Okay? I can't even last an hour without it. I'm begging you, please..."

Alcaro, who had collapsed and started rubbing his palms together.

The guards escorting him had calm faces, but Jin did not miss the hint of disgust in their eyes.

"I told you, it's not possible. Our top priority is to protect the young master, not to indulge his whims. If you continue to cause trouble, we will have no choice."

"Aaaah! I don't want to hear it! If you don't give me the drug, I have my own thoughts! Damn it, when our master returns, you'll all lose your heads! Lose your heads, I swear!"

"Hah."

"Tsk! Did you just sigh? Do I amuse you? You scum? Filthy commoner brats! I am Chen..."

Thud!

Suddenly, one of the guards punched Alcaro's abdomen with all his might. Alcaro trembled and fainted.

"Damn it, how long do we have to keep watching this trash?"

"It would be better if he just died from his addiction. Why is he even kept alive by that person..."

"Quiet. We just do our job. Personal feelings are forbidden."

The guards carried the unconscious Alcaro over their shoulders and returned to the room.

Watching this scene, Jin couldn't help but feel as if he had found a treasure trove.

'The relationship between the guards and Alcaro is at its worst. Moreover, Alcaro might do anything to get drugs tomorrow.'

Hmm.

While sipping the beer served by the waiter, Jin quietly thought that assassinating Alcaro wouldn't be too difficult.

The young master, a drug addict, would only cause more trouble as time went on. If such incidents continued, there would be multiple opportunities to assassinate him in a single day.

Whether using hidden weapons, magic, or spirit energy, killing him would be as easy as eating cold porridge.

'But the problem is what happens after killing him. I need a way to eliminate Alcaro and escape the guards safely.'

This was the biggest challenge of this solo mission.

It was impossible to kill him openly in the inn and then escape. The guards were all 6th-rank or higher, far superior to Jin in physical strength.

Poisoning was also out of the question. If Alcaro were lured with drugs and then poisoned, the entire Mamet would be turned upside down.

In this lawless city, there is nothing more serious than breaking the unwritten rules.

Thinking this far, Jin's head already ached. Assassinating Alcaro secretly in the Moonlight Well, a hidden room, was impossible with conventional methods.

Thud.

Jin, who had finished the beer served by the waiter, put down the empty glass with a loud thud.

'I've made my decision.'

Jin's judgment was this:

Using magic to terrorize the Moonlight Well from his room.

The Moonlight Well is where the kings of Mamet gather.

An inn where the most notorious criminals in Mamet, the worst of the worst, gather. As soon as the terror begins, the kings inside the inn will start retaliating and hunt down the culprit.

They would be confident that the attacker was at least a 6th-rank mage.

'By combining my 4th-rank magic with my spirit energy, I can achieve 6th-rank destructive power. Enhancing Lightning Summoning would be appropriate.'

But how many people would actually believe that a mere fifteen-year-old was a 6th-rank mage?

None.

Even Veradin Jif, the next head of the Jif family, who is three years older than Jin, had just recently reached 6th-rank. It's natural.

Firing 6th-rank magic at fifteen is an impossible feat even for the geniuses of the Jif family.

'This wasn't a problem that required much thought. By filling the room with spirit energy to hide the generation of mana...'

Anything surrounded by spirit energy becomes less noticeable.

Jin had once used spirit energy to coat a dagger and easily killed 4th-rank warriors during a beginner mission. Mana and aura are no exception. He was confident he could cleanly hide 4th-rank mana using spirit energy.

Therefore, the guests of the Moonlight Well would have to assume that the terror started from outside.

If such a large amount of mana suddenly appeared inside the inn, the kings of Mamet would have noticed it.

'I will enhance Lightning Summoning with spirit energy and drop it into the Moonlight Well. I will be affected too, but with Orgeal's pendant, I should be able to endure it.'

Orgeal's pendant can mostly neutralize 5th-rank or lower magic attacks. It's somewhat dangerous from 6th-rank onwards, but it's not completely ineffective.

'With my current mana and spirit energy, I can use Enhanced Lightning Summoning four times. Dropping it four times in succession around the room will turn the Moonlight Well into chaos in an instant.'

During this time, Jin would pretend to be injured, wander through the chaotic room, find Alcaro, and complete the mission by killing him.

It would be even better if Alcaro were struck and killed by a random Lightning Summoning.

'Being too young sometimes annoys me, but it unexpectedly helps in situations like this.'

Lightning Summoning, as the name suggests, is a magic that strikes and ends in a flash. The moment it manifests is almost instantaneous, so it would be difficult to recognize even if mixed with spirit energy.

Even if someone recognized the black aura mixed with the lightning, they would likely assume it was a variant magic. Spirit energy is a little-known power, while there are countless variant magics in the world.

Regression, spirit energy, and innate talent in magic.

The Moonlight Well terror would be impossible without any one of these.

'There's no need to wait for days. With the unpredictable actions of the drug addict, it would only create more variables. I'll execute it around noon tomorrow.'

It would be more effective to carry out the attack in broad daylight rather than in the early morning or night when everyone is asleep.

The more people who witness his Lightning Summoning as 6th-rank magic, the better.

* * *

10:30 AM.

Jin went down to the lobby and ordered a late breakfast. It was well-baked bread, boiled eggs, and soup.

This was also a deliberate act. Starting the day normally like other guests of the Moonlight Well.

Five of the kings of Mamet were having breakfast in the lobby. They smiled at the faint aura they sensed from Jin.

"Kid, you seem to be quite advanced for your age, but relying on that won't do you any good in this neighborhood. Causing trouble will be a problem."

One of the five spoke to Jin.

"Thank you for your advice. But I have someone to find. I'll make sure not to cause any trouble for the guests here."

"Hehe, they say you killed the bar brawlers in one strike yesterday. Now you're acting like a gentle lamb."

"They are different from you. I know my place."

"Your manners are acceptable. I like it. You can stay here for a few more days."

"Thank you. I won't forget the kindness of the kings of Mamet when I return."

Jin lightly bowed and left. The kings of Mamet found him quite adorable and chatted among themselves.

"Mamet is done for. To have kids like him coming and going..."

"Well, he'll probably leave after a few days. Or be killed by the riffraff."

"Still, he seems to be quite a good seed. I'm considering whether to take him into our organization as a junior member."

"Ha, he'll end up crippled by your subordinates. He looks half-decent, though."

Hahaha!

The kings of Mamet burst into laughter simultaneously.

'Acceptable manners? What a bunch of ridiculous trash.'

Back in his room, Jin burst into laughter. It was absurd for these human scum, who had committed all sorts of atrocities outside, to talk about manners, and it was also enjoyable to think about dropping lightning on their heads soon.

Jin sat cross-legged in the center of the room.

Closing his eyes and releasing his spirit energy, a dark aura began to seep out from his entire body. To attack at noon, he needed to start preparing now.

'I'll cover the room tightly with spirit energy to ensure no trace leaks out.'

In a small room, it would take only an hour to fill every tiny gap.

This hour was the most crucial. If someone came to the room, it would be a disaster.

Footsteps continued in the hallway outside. The sounds of the staff cleaning the corridor and guests moving around.

'Well, I have to take this risk.'

Jin began to release his spirit energy. As the black aura seeped out, the small disturbances from outside quickly faded, giving him a sense of stability.

After the planned hour, the room was completely dark, as if filled with ink. Objects like desks and beds had no discernible outlines, creating absolute darkness.

The only thing with any color was Jin himself.

'I did it, and it's perfect.'

Phew.

Jin took a few deep breaths and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Now, he just needed to generate mana and prepare to chant Lightning Summoning.

'I'll use the spirit energy accumulated in the room to eliminate the last lightning. Then, I'll scream and go out to check on Alcaro’s condition...'

Brutal but excellent.

Jin, who evaluated his plan this way, began to gather mana in his hands.

Zap! Zap!

A bright blue current flowed through Jin's hands, making a loud noise. As expected, no one detected this situation.

Next, the spirit energy was released like black threads into the current.

'Lightning Summoning.'

Boom!

The first lightning strike tore off half of the Moonlight Well's roof.

"Ah!"

Before the screams of those struck by lightning could end, before they could reflexively look up at the sky.

A second bolt of dark blue lightning struck the Moonlight Well. People were escaping from the room that had instantly turned into charcoal.

"Crazy... I picked the wrong day."

And a girl who was just about to enter the Moonlight Well could only tilt her head at the scene.