The Cursed Wizard: A Game Made Real

I quickened my pace while staring at my opponent, who was tied up tightly with a purple whip, without wavering. 

After walking a few hundred meters and reaching the wilderness where the ice Leo had laid down was slowly melting, it was only then that I could see the other person's face clearly. 

A bizarre posture, with one arm tied up strangely behind him, as if trying to pull out the shotgun he had on his back. 

Both feet were frozen solid on the ice as if they had been completely engulfed by Leo's magic, and the tank top that exposed her stomach was shivering in the chilly air. 

A fierce impression with dark blue hair tied back in a ponytail. 

She spotted Leo and sighed. 

"Fuck… I had to get caught by this monster." 

Was it cursing from the start? It seemed like he had a really foul mouth. 

Leo looked at the woman with a blank expression and then lightly snapped his fingers. 

Pfft! 

"Ahhh!! Go easy on me!!" 

I hit the woman's back with a shock spell, causing the shotgun on her back to fall to the ground, causing her to scream. 

Leo snorted. 

"Why me?" 

"What did I do wrong!!" 

"He hid so suspiciously that anyone could tell and then ran away when he was caught." 

"That's… I just didn't want to bother you. I didn't want to interrupt the wizard's comfortable hunting." 

"How persuasive." 

The woman slumped down as if she had given up on Leo's indifferent response. 

"Haa… Okay, so can you just clear this ice? My toes are starting to get cold, and I think I'm going to get frostbite." 

"I saw you doing it." 

On the outside, it seems like they have completely given up resistance, but it is unknown what is going on inside. 

Leo already knew that this woman's movements were extremely graceful, and he did not want to rule out the possibility that she might suddenly pull out a hidden weapon and charge at him. 

Of course, I thought that [Gravity Bind] alone would be enough to subdue one mercenary, but it's another matter to not let your guard down. 

The woman who saw Leo handling the revolver spoke hurriedly with a slightly pale face. 

"D, Dylan!!" 

"What?" 

"… ...I work with Dylan. I'm just a regular mercenary named Naburang." 

The woman's earlobes turned bright red, as if she felt embarrassed at having revealed her colleague's name. 

But Leo frowned with a rather unpleasant expression. 

"How did you know I knew Dylan? Did he talk about me?" 

"….oh." 

"… … … " 

Leo sighed deeply as he watched the woman shut her mouth with an expression that said she had made a mistake. 

Despite his outstanding physical abilities, he seemed like a somewhat shallow person. 

"If you work with Dylan, you'll be part of the Antares office." 

"Yeah, that's right." 

"Why were you spying here? And tell me how you were able to hide from my magical power detection." 

Leo never thought his magic detection was perfect, but he didn't think it was that shabby either. 

For warriors who fought by strengthening their bodies with magical powers, this detection method, also called Kigam, seemed to work in a very primitive way, but its effectiveness was quite significant. 

This detection method, which operates as a sixth sense different from the simple five senses, greatly enhances human perception ability in a very intuitive way. 

Especially for Leo, who had an exceptionally high magical sensitivity, this magical sensitivity was like a powerful weapon that could not be compared to the weak and dull senses of the flesh. 

If it was possible to hide one's body for a moment in Leo's sphere of senses, it would be more reasonable to assume that it was not because Leo's detection ability was lacking, but rather that there was some other means. 

Especially if it's working the same way it did when it caught Taylor Evans. 

"No, I wasn't hiding to do anything to you. I just didn't want to get swept up in it, so I just hid for a bit." 

The woman saw Leo's expression and quickly began to make excuses. 

"And if I really wanted to kill you, I should have struck first a long time ago. Honestly, I had plenty of time to do that." 

"… … ." 

"And what could be hidden from your magical power detection is really nothing. It's just the power of money." 

"The power of money?" 

"This. Do you see the amulet hanging from my waist?" 

As she says, a small dark green amulet appears hanging on the side of her leather belt. 

At first glance, the design is so ordinary that you might pass it off as a simple accessory. 

Leo also had no strength left, so much so that he would have passed it by without a second thought if she hadn't said anything. 

"It's a fairy tale amulet made by a high-ranking druid. It's expensive, but it's worth the money. If you're a mercenary who's made a lot of money, you'll basically… Hey, give me that!" 

Leo ignored her screams and snatched the amulet from his waist, examining it closely. 

The druid's natural magic is strictly speaking separate from magic. 

Although they share the same major branch of sorcery, nature sorcery does not have any energy that can be called a power source, unlike magic that uses the most general-purpose energy called magic as a power source. 

Their power comes from a strong belief in the existence of nature and the power contained within it, and for that reason there are no outward signs or traces. 

The failure to notice the power of the Druids was also due to the principles of such natural magic. 

'There may be some overlap in terms of mental abilities, but... the talents I took at that time were almost all related to magical powers.' 

Leo believes that non-magical spells are less likely to yield the same results as before. 

That's why I've barely touched anything other than magical knowledge, but because of the existence of this talisman, I feel like I should study related knowledge a little more. 

Leo, who was holding the talisman and turning it around, nodded. 

'I guess I have an idea how it works.' 

It doesn't just hide your presence by possessing the talisman, but it also works to activate natural magic when certain conditions are met. 

Right away, Leo also stood still in his spot, and after some time, he felt his own presence gradually fading away and his breathing calming down. 

'This is an item that is only useful when hiding in place. It is not an item that can be used for a surprise attack or pre-emptive strike.' 

Moreover, from the moment Leo began to benefit from the amulet's effects, one of the lines decorating the amulet began to fade. 

In light of this, it would be closer to a consumable item that has a limited number of uses. 

It seemed unlikely that the woman had any intention of attacking Leo, unless she was lying in wait and attacking him. 

The woman, who was looking at Leo with an anxious expression, said. 

"Hey… You'll return it properly, right? That's a bit expensive. It's really expensive." 

"… … I can't guarantee that." 

"Hey!" 

"Don't worry. I'll write it well and leave it to Dylan." 

"Fuck… That kid walks around without even caring what's in his wallet." 

Although the woman grumbled, surprisingly, she didn't complain much about Leo taking the amulet. 

I guess he thinks it's not a bad deal for the price of his life. 

Leo really intended to study the workings of the amulet and return it, but she seemed detached, as if she had already given up on the amulet. 

As the magical power that formed the ice rink dissipates, the ice shards that were binding her feet quickly melt away. 

It wasn't a magic that lasted long to begin with, and it didn't contain much magical power, so its duration wasn't long. 

Only then did the woman start jumping up and down, shaking off her frozen feet. 

"Oh, shit. There's a ton of water in my boots. What am I going to do?" 

"Does it matter now?" 

"What else? I told you I really didn't plan on doing anything to you? … … There are things I want to do together, though." 

Only then did Leo snicker at the woman's words, who was secretly revealing her true feelings. 

I picked up my phone and immediately called Jenny. 

'I have no intention of letting her go just because I hear the name Dylan.' 

At least, wouldn't it be possible to properly confirm whether she is affiliated with the Antares office by verifying with an acquaintance? 

[… ...blue hair…? That…. crazy… exists… . There…. I… met… .] 

The call quality is terrible, probably because we're somewhat outside the city. 

They say that magnetic storms often hit the area outside the city limits. Could this be the effect? 

Although I couldn't hear Jenny's voice properly, I was able to confirm the crucial details. 

Leo nodded, turning off the phone that was no longer connecting and only making strange noises. 

He asked as he released the gravity bind that was tightly binding her upper body. 

"What's your name?" 

"Camilla. Just call me Mila." 

She replied, twirling her arms. 

Croken is also a binding spell that binds you for a short time. If you were tied up with a whip like that, your body wouldn't be able to move properly. 

"Do you usually shorten it like that?" 

"It's my name, so what does it matter? You're half? I've heard a lot of stories." 

Mila opened her mouth as she picked up the shotgun that had fallen on the ground and slung it on her back, glancing at Leo's expression. 

"Anyway, you came here to subdue the contaminants too, right?" 

"Isn't that the same for you too?" 

"Well, that's right. I need some quick cash these days, so I've been taking on any work that comes my way, but my boss said that since he is doing deep web stuff, it is going to be a loss for me to take on any more requests for the time being. That is why I came here to make some extra money." 

"… … .." 

"What? Is something wrong?" 

"… ..It's nothing." 

Leo looked away, his words trailing off naturally. 

Because the circumstances she just told me were quite surprising. 

Even if it were true that she had been commissioned to subdue the contaminated entities for remarkably similar reasons to Leo, listening to her, it was clear that she too was at a stage where her value was fluctuating as she was accumulating achievements at an extremely fast pace. 

Strictly speaking, she had come this far by successfully completing quests of a similar difficulty to those that Leo had done so far… Surprisingly, Leo had never heard her name even once. 

'This floor is really wide, it's so dirty it's wide.' 

At the same time, it was revealed that Leo's information gathering ability was poor. 

Clients who place orders on this floor or brokers like Jenny may have access to such information, but for Leo, the gap was far too large. 

Up until now, I had relied entirely on brokers like Jenny to gather information, but it seemed like I needed a way to get information on my own. 

Sibi 

'It would be nice if there was a separate community for this…' 

If we think about our experiences on Earth, we can get an idea of how a networked society might function. 

In light of Leo's common sense, it seemed likely that there would be a community somewhere on the network exchanging this information, even if it were quite difficult to access. 

I listened to Mila's words, thinking that I should ask Jenny once I got back after finishing this work. 

"Anyway. Assuming you cooperate, there is a way to catch all the contaminants at once. It will save time and bring home a bunch of money. Let us split the money between us 50-50. What do you think?" 

"7 to 3." 

Leo replied calmly. 

Mila jumped up and protested. 

"Hey! Then what am I supposed to eat to live!!" 

"Listening to what you say, isn't it my job to sweep away the contaminants? Otherwise, you would not have been waiting here, waiting to work with me. It seems like I have more work to do, but that is only natural." 

"What… No, I was the one who produced the idea! And this is to save face for the person who originally planned it. Let us not do anything that goes against business ethics and just do it cleanly. Okay?" 

"Who was the first to break commercial ethics?" 

Mila flinched at Leo's cold answer and swore loudly. 

"… … 6 to 4. I cannot give in anymore. This is a really great idea." 

"I do not know how brilliant the idea was, but… Okay. 6 to 4." 

No matter how angry Leo was at Mila, he had no intention of eating 7 to 3. 

It would have been enough to take just a little more than half. 

I did not have high expectations for her anyway, but since she was a member of the Antares office and had the same level of skill as Leo, I thought it would be worth hanging out with her at least once. 

Mila smiled brightly when Leo nodded, then immediately turned away. 

"Okay! Then let us go right away." 

"Are you walking?" 

"No. I found some good stuff at the construction site here. Let us take it." 

What Mila, who had said so, led Leo to be an old forklift that was so rusty that it was almost leaking. 

"… … .." 

Leo, who had climbed onto the forklift with a blank expression, opened his mouth quietly as he looked at Mila, who was holding the steering wheel. 

I never imagined that my first drive with another person in this world would be on a construction site forklift with sand flying around in the air. 

Fluff fluff fluff! 

"… ...It's going better than I thought." 

"Right? I just dusted it off and reconnected the tangled wires, and it started up. It is so nice not having to bother walking." 

Instead of responding, Leo drew up his magical power and fired a lightning fox straight ahead.