The Cursed Wizard: A Game Made Real

Fortunately, things went as smoothly as he wanted, but… Miguel couldn't easily shake off his uneasy feeling. 

Because it really bothered me that Leo had chosen to split up with the group as if he had been waiting for it. 

Just as Miguel and his group broke up with Leo without hesitation because they had something to believe in, Leo may have also chosen to break up without any hesitation because he had similar convictions. 

And if that corner of belief was your own magical powers. 

Miguel might have missed out on a very precious relationship right before his eyes. 

"Miguel?" 

Of course, the two ignorant mercenaries accompanying him didn't seem to have any thoughts. 

"It's nothing. Let's get going." 

"Yeah. I have to hurry so I don't get late for our appointment." 

Miguel mumbled something and started walking ahead. 

I just had a fleeting thought, so there's no need to tell them my guess and leave them with useless regrets. 

If Leo really isn't a skilled wizard as he suspects, he might have a hard time surviving the battle with the Corrupted One... but so what? 

It is a place where you have to take care of yourself at least. 

Up until that point, Miguel had nothing to worry about. 

He forced himself to shake off his distracting thoughts and walked, holding onto the shaking equipment. 

# 

Phage, phage, phage!! 

[Keeeeeeee!!] 

"It looks like this. In person, it looks a bit more disgusting… ." 

Leo stroked his chin as he watched the taint roll around in the bright blue lightning pouring from between his fingers. 

I had heard various information from Dylan beforehand, so I had a rough idea of what the contaminants looked like and how they worked, but this was my first time seeing them with my own eyes. 

'Black Consumer', a large-scale bio-toxic weapon experiment project that took place in an undeveloped area approximately three years ago. 

Although it was concluded externally that it was the work of some plague magicians conducting human experiments, there were rampant rumours that high-ranking officials of the city government were behind it. 

The experiment to confirm the possibility of so-called 'immortality' by controlling the direction of a virus factor with strong proliferative power and explosively increasing cell regeneration ended in a terrible disaster and gave birth to the disaster called the contaminated body. 

The experiment itself was halted in its initial concept, so it is unlikely that higher life forms such as humans will be infected, and mammals such as rodents have a relatively low risk of infection. 

Once infected, the cells in the entire body multiply explosively, swell up in strange ways, and explode, and the tattered corpse repeatedly wanders in search of living beings while releasing a pitch-black fog that is the remains of the spell. 

This contaminated entity that collapsed in front of Leo was also so disfigured that it was impossible to guess what kind of creature it originally was, and it was being swayed here and there by the black fog flowing through its body. 

Can this be called a living thing? 

No, can humans really achieve the dream of immortality through experiments like this? 

Leo was sceptical, but he doubted the city government's higher-ups would think so. 

I collected the eyeballs of the contaminated being as evidence of the subjugation from the corpse of the fallen contaminated being and placed them in a plastic bag I received from the outpost. 

The contaminants were transmitted in different ways and through different bodies, so they didn't have much in common, but the blackened eyes, which were evidence of contamination, were enough to serve as evidence for subjugation. 

One annoying thing is that you need to bring a pair of eyes to count as the number of times you've defeated one monster, so you have to bring two eyes every time you kill one monster. 

After finishing the harvest, Leo immediately straightened his back and stood up, then spread his magical power in all directions again. 

If you maintain a magical sensory sphere that covers a radius of 2km, you will be able to catch one or two even if the number of contaminated objects is not that many. 

Sometimes, you have to deal with the contaminated objects and collect their eyeballs before they cross paths with other mercenaries who come and go. 

Although Leo may not move as fast, no one around here can cover as much ground. 

If you first identify the location and then move, it is not difficult to catch the player even at a slow pace. 

Boom! 

Leo nodded as he directed the filament of electricity he was holding into the mouth of the polluted being. 

After dealing with the fourth one, I'm starting to get a feel for how to cook it. 

Although the contaminant's speed and power are considerable, its movement itself is very linear. 

Because we depend solely on our longing for living, moving life, we do not look around. 

Sometimes it changes direction and runs away, but that is also because it senses other life forms nearby and moves. 

If you just pay attention to this point and time your shield strengthening correctly, it won't be difficult to deal with. 

And Leo was confident that he would not allow even a single moment of error in his ability to handle magic. 

Kwajijik!! 

Another contaminant rushing in from behind. 

The sharp teeth rip the shield into long strips and peel away the flesh inside, but that flesh is just another shield. 

Boom! 

After casting a couple of auxiliary spells and pulling the trigger of the revolver, the lower part of the chin was crushed and the contaminated being fell down with a thud. 

Don't forget to use silencer to reduce noise. 

Leo easily plucked out the tainted being's eyeball by striking it with shock magic as it flipped over and fell. 

Five of these. 

Since you said one million cells per head, in terms of net profit, you have already secured 5 million cells. 

It's not a bad deal, having earned twice as much as you could by chasing down a single criminal in less than half a day. 

But at the same time, Leo also realized that this expedition was not something he could do for very long. 

Dylan mentions this as if it were a passing joke, but he himself had his own reasons for staying away. 

'Originally, finding the contaminant itself would have been an extremely cumbersome task.' 

Leo simply scans a vast radius with his absurd magical powers to accurately find and wipe out contaminants. 

Other mercenaries must rely on their own weak magical abilities to find and destroy the contaminated entities themselves. 

It might be a little better if there's a wizard in the party, but unless you hire a magician of the colour-based series, it's unlikely to show the same efficiency as Leo. 

'And the contaminants are not as weak as you might think.' 

There is a reason why mercenaries are sent in groups of four from the outpost to the undeveloped area. 

Leo thought that the fighting ability of the contaminated entities was a bit too much for mercenaries like Miguel and Eriksen to handle alone. 

Did Miguel and his group know this when they sent Leo away alone? 

If so, it means that they thought Leo was a weak wizard and left him to die. 

"… … … " 

It was an idea that naturally made my heart sink, but it was not an impossible story. 

Even if you don't have the decency to go that far for a complete stranger, not even giving them a warning is beyond indifference; it's reckless. 

There was no need to keep it for a long time, but there was also no reason to completely forget it. 

Leo scattered the flames from his hand, making sure to reduce even the corpses of the corrupted to ash. 

Since the cause of these contaminants was a virus-based plague technique, it was better to make sure that the aftermath was dealt with properly. 

Leo was lost in thought as he walked through the ruined construction site. 

'The target amount for this project is at least 20 million.' 

Amount required to secure stable bids for Stemonia, a medicinal product of Stania Pharmaceutical Group. 

Considering that Leo currently has just under 100 million in his possession, replenishing 20 million cells would more than cover the market price. 

That means you'd need to catch at least twenty and collect forty eyes to get a decent amount of money... 

If it's a lot, ... and if it's a little, it's a little. 

At this pace, it seems like he could achieve his goal within two days, but from Leo's perspective, who doesn't want to waste time, he wonders if it wouldn't have been better to take on a request that comes with a down payment. 

'It took me two days when I received Amnak's request… There's no use regretting it now.' 

If it weren't for Jenny's words that it would be good for him in the long run, I wouldn't have bothered breathing in the dust in a place like this. 

It can't be helped now. 

As Leo passed through the collapsed forklift, three new contaminants began to enter his sensory sphere. 

There were occasional cases where they would move in groups like this, but up until now, they had been picked off by other mercenaries who arrived first. 

I couldn't miss it this time either. 

Leo, his eyes shining, drew up his magical power and pulled out a large amount of electricity from both hands. 

Phage, phage, phage!! 

The electricity that shot out from Leo's hand suddenly gathered together and immediately transformed into three fox shapes. 

Following the transmitted will, the foxes ran through the ruins, and the electricity emanating from the three forms resonated with each other, forming a net of electricity. 

This is the result of roughly following the principles of summoning magic that I saw in the library. 

Although we can't grant free will to each fox, we've gained some insight into the persistence of summons. 

Although it is inferior to [Chain Lightning] in terms of range and power, it is superior in terms of duration. 

Kwaaaaahhhh!! 

Leo's gaze, which had been watching the blue electric net swirling around while running through the ruins, suddenly turned menacing. 

WHEEK! 

This was because something suddenly appeared 300 meters diagonally ahead of Leo, clearly piercing his detection barrier. 

It seemed that he had let his disguise slip and moved his body to avoid the fox magic that Leo had used. 

I felt a sudden sense of foreboding in my head and chased the afterimage to find the answer. 

I had a similar experience. 

The day I first received a request from Jenny. 

The sniping shot that struck Taylor Evans the moment he was caught. 

It was exactly the same as the strange sense of discomfort I felt at that time, escaping Leo's detection. 

At the time, I had no choice but to blame it on my own lack of ability and move on, but things are different now. 

He immediately drew up his magical power to capture movement and concretize his thoughts. 

The sound magic used to capture Taylor Evans that day is [Soundwave]. 

If that opponent is the sniper Leo remembers, it would be a very appropriate reunion. 

Phew!! 

In an instant, a wave of sound took shape in Leo's grasp and raced forward. 

A shock wave fired at the speed of sound rushes towards the fleeing opponent. 

The trajectory and path were perfect. Considering the speed, evasion was impossible. 

Boom! 

Direct hit. 

But instead of covering his ears and falling down like Taylor Evans did back then, the opponent staggered for a moment and then started running. 

Leo clicked his tongue lightly and prepared for his next spell. 

Because of this shortcoming of sound magic, Leo didn't use magic like [Soundwave] very often. 

It is difficult to dodge because it is shot at the speed of sound, but the power itself is not that strong, so it often does not work when used against high-level magic users. 

If you move on to unique magic, it is possible to use it in advanced ways, such as controlling the opponent's mental state, in addition to simple power, but it was a distant story to Leo, who had not studied the sound series. 

"Phew… ." 

I took a deep breath and gathered my magic power again. 

The greatness of public magic. 

Overwhelming versatility that allows you to respond better than average in any situation. 

I didn't show off my title of Lightning Wizard because I was afraid of unnecessary misunderstandings and prejudices, but there was no reason to bother trying to hide that specialness. 

The vivid imagery blended fluidly with the movement of magical power, and a cold chill ran through my arms. 

He solidifies a long, thick mass of magical energy that emits a cold aura thick enough to chill the surrounding air, shapes it into a spear, and shoots it straight into the sky. 

[Icicle Burn] 

Paaaaang!! 

The spear of chilly air, which had been shot at high speed while drawing a gentle trajectory, was now rushing towards the shadow that was about to disappear beyond Leo's sight. 

The opponent noticed Leo's second attempt and twisted his body with all his might. 

Sympathy for one another 

Wedge!! 

The speed of the javelin itself was extremely fast, but it could not exceed the speed of sound. 

And the opponent seemed to be very accustomed to projectiles at that speed, and his evasion movements were also natural. 

A brief moment of relief flashed through Shadow's eyes as he successfully escaped. 

As the spear of cold slammed into the ground, turning the surrounding land into an ice field, his expression changed. 

Tsk tsk tsk...!! 

It spreads the cold air it had been holding in like a bursting water balloon, instantly turning a radius of several dozen meters into a frost hell. 

The moisture caught in the cold air in the air swayed here and there, freezing and biting its tail like a blazing fire, creating a pure white plain. 

'I don't think I can hold onto it for long.' 

I was convinced just by seeing that series of evasive manoeuvres. 

A person of fairly high skill level. At least it seems certain that he works in a physically demanding job. 

He continued to scatter magic without letting his guard down. 

I studied shooting support magic to avoid putting a strain on my body by using magic in succession, but there's nothing I can do about it now. 

I couldn't miss the opportunity to find out the secret of my opponent who was hiding his body by penetrating Leo's magical detection. 

Finally, Leo, who had hit the target accurately with [Gravity Bind], began to slowly walk towards it. 

He took a cigarette out of his arms and lit it. 

"Huh…" 

After taking a little breath of smoke, I feel like my fatigue has disappeared and I feel energized.