190. First work (1)
“You said you came to find me?”
Inside the building of the illegal martial arts stadium. At the bar there, Joe ordered two drinks.
“I asked where exactly Joe was, and the director said he was here. Then I asked if he was interested and I said yes.”
“under·····.”
Joe made a gurgling sound.
During the conversation, the bartender with a cut on one side of his face spoke to Joe, pouring an unknown drink.
“Did you say the game was hot today?”
“shut up.”
“okay!”
Joe offered Oliver a glass of wine, with an expression of disapproval and emotion.
“I didn’t know you were interested in ssambaak.”
“Yes?”
“You said you came to watch the fight? no?”
“ah·····. Well, that’s not wrong. But, rather than fighting, I came to see the place itself.”
Oliver answered, scanning the inside of the building.
“why?”
“Are you curious?”
Joe frowned silently and looked at Oliver. It’s like seeing something you don’t understand. It wasn’t that strange.
Oliver’s behavior was quite different even in the afterlife, where all kinds of geeks and villains were gathered.
It was surprisingly rare, but there was no characteristic sullenness, and although it was cruel, it did not feel strangely malicious.
So I couldn’t figure out my intentions. Or, did you have no intention of stalking it?
Anyway, Oliver’s attitude like that made me feel like I was looking at another creature.
“····· So, has the curiosity been resolved?”
“To some extent. The director told me about the community or something. It was a good study.”
“Chief? Where are you?”
“Oh right····. It’s long, so to speak, but where did you go when you said you had something to talk to with a warlock you know…? Should I find it?”
“Well····. No, this is the manager’s business, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Before that, he was a yangban who took good care of his body, and there is no need to find it. How was my fight before that?”
Joe asked me about his fight earlier.
Although he didn’t seem to like the fight itself, he wanted to hear Oliver’s opinion.
To know if your efforts are going in the right direction.
“Yes, that was great.”
Oliver answered frankly, recalling the fight back then.
By applying black magic in the form most suitable for his current use, Joe not only drew the highest efficiency, but also made use of all of his unique melee combat skills and senses.
In the first charge, despite being able to press down with enough force, Joe avoided with a unique step for an efficient attack, attacked the leg for an opening, suppressed mobility, and finished the match with an accurate blow.
He had crushed his head without even feeling any pain, and considering the amount of black magic he had administered, it was an appropriate measure.
It was such an awful sheep that it would keep stomping on it until it stopped breathing.
‘The opponent was in a state that was not strange even if he died soon anyway…’
After hearing the answer, Joe asked.
“okay?”
“Yes, you did your own research and write the best method that works best for you. great. I never thought I’d write it that way.”
Like Oliver’s compliment, Joe drank without a word.
Meanwhile, a hunk passed by and talked to Joe.
“article! I watched the game before. That was awesome! Where did you learn it?!”
“go away.”
“yes!”
As Joe said, it’s a cool size.
As soon as he was about to go out, a woman approached Joe and suggested that they have a drink with him, but Joe responded without even looking at his face to turn it off.
Everyone seemed to have a certain affinity for Joe, but Joe didn’t like even that, so he drank without hanging out with anyone.
Oliver looked at him like that and asked.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“What?”
“I know that if I participate in a match, I get fight money, but how much do I get?”
Joe narrowed his eyes.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Are you curious?”
Joe was silent for a moment.
“It’s different for each game. It’s usually received as a percentage of the stake, but it’s only a rattle, but when the stake increases, it’s pretty cool. Especially here.”
“okay. So, how much does Joe get?”
“I’m a bit picky about it. as much as other things. But, why? Would you like to participate too?”
“No, I was just curious. Joe seems to be treated well here, and the pay is decent, but he doesn’t seem to like it.”
“Then why are you curious? Don’t just say you’re curious because you’re curious.”
Joe asked with a vigilant look.
It was necessary to soften this vigilance in order to get a proper answer.
Oliver wondered how to explain it. Could there be a reason for the question?
But in order to get an answer, I had to come up with a pretty convincing reason. I needed spontaneity to get a good answer.
Oliver slowly opened his mouth to organize his thoughts.
“uh······. I grew up in an orphanage.”
“What?”
“I said I grew up in an orphanage. No matter how much I try to remember, that’s the first memory I have.”
“········.”
“And I got a job in the mine.”
“A job?”
“Yes, the head of the orphanage said so. I am no longer a child, so I have to make a living with my own hands.”
“········.”
“After that, I worked in mines. Quite a long time. It was difficult when I think about it now, but thanks to you, I was able to meet the owner. You taught me black magic… Black magic is so much fun.”
“········.”
“Maybe that was the first time I felt it was fun. It’s black magic. So I also learned the letters and numbers needed to learn black magic. I wanted to do well. After that, things have happened over time, and later, I came to Landa to learn about the world.”
“Why are you talking like that?”
“Yes? oh····. To answer the question of why I am curious. I can’t explain it exactly, but curiosity is my biggest driving force, and it’s a joy… It’s a great pleasure to clear your doubts or find out what you don’t know.”
“What the hell are you so curious about?”
“At first, I was only curious about black magic and emotions, but I also became curious about other things. Why are the areas in front of and behind Landa so different? Why are the rich and the poor born? What is the essential difference between magic and black magic? What is belief? What is the devil’s true identity? What is God? Just curious about everything. Some of them are about Zone X.”
“…you are so weird. I can’t quite understand it.”
“People seem to have a hard time understanding each other. So I talk. like now.”
It was nothing more than a long story with no convincing power to do so, but, strangely, Oliver’s words had the power to convince people vaguely.
Joe pondered over those words and fell into thought. he opened his mouth
“I just don’t like it.”
“yes?”
“Tell me you don’t like it. being treated as a spectacle. It’s unavoidable to fight for a living, but even there there is a minimum of dignity. I personally don’t like fighting for spectacle like zoo monkeys. I have an appointment with the director, so I’m participating now, but I’ll get my hands on it soon.”
Oh, and that reminded me of the promise I made with Dinklage to rent the gym basement.
It wasn’t extreme disgust, but, like I said, Joe didn’t like this place.
Then a question arose. For Joe’s negative remarks, there were quite a few players.
“It’s definitely a way to make money here. Well, there are a lot of people who are forced to be dragged.”
“Like the person I fought with Joe earlier?”
“Yeah, the crumbs falling here are huge. Some of them use slave players who have been brainwashed with drugs or black magic to participate in the game. Stadium managers don’t care if it’s a hit… I don’t like that. It’s okay to lose someone who wants to fight voluntarily, but it’s a little uncomfortable to lose someone who doesn’t.”
Oliver could see why Joe really hated it.
The group had no resistance to fighting or killing itself, but apart from that, they had their own rules.
It was interesting.
Oliver opened his mouth involuntarily out of curiosity.
“Then, do you have any plans to leave this place?”
“What else do you mean?”
“No, just. I think Joe must have made quite a bit of money too. I heard that he and I captured the Kell Free Independence Army and that he was also active during the jailbreak. If you have the skills of Joe, you won’t have to worry about making a living even if you get out of this place and go to work as a solver. Is there any special reason for not leaving this place?”
At that moment, Joe’s extreme vigilance lit up, then softened again.
Then he looked up at Oliver, thought deeply, and opened his mouth.
“There are mouths to be accountable for here.”
“A mouth?”
“Nico, big chin family….”
It was a long time ago, but they were all names Oliver knew.
“If it’s Nico-san and Big Chin, aren’t you and Joe the people who fought with me?”
“Yeah, and he’s dead.”
It was. In the process of retrieving former Associate Professor Herbert on Murphy’s request, Oliver fought Joe, Nico, and Big Jaw, and killed them in the process.
At the time, he was not a suitable opponent to deal with.
It was about a year ago, but Oliver remembered them.
“uh·····. sorry?”
“done. After all, everyone who came to this floor is risking their lives to work. There is no end to resenting each other. We just worked together as you said.”
Oliver nodded in agreement.
It could have been somewhat brazen for the murderer to do this, but Oliver wasn’t in any particular malice.
Oliver was just doing his job, and while they were trying to kill each other, Oliver killed them first.
“But what about family, why? Maybe a brother… ah! Are you talking about the community?”
“Yeah, because they and I are in the same community, so I have to take care of them to some extent.”
“okay.”
Obviously, if there were a lot of family members, leaving the area was a completely different matter.
Even if Joe had saved up all the money, it would have been close.
Oliver, too, has significantly increased his fame and income compared to the past, but moving to a more livable area was quite difficult.
Money is money, and I had to be careful not to be scammed.
But apart from that, I thought it was really great.
You know what a community is, but you’re trying to protect it to the end. Just as I was about to tell Joe about this, Joe spoke first.
“Then, can I ask a question this time?”
“Yes? oh····. Yes. Please tell me.”
“It was said that until recently, you worked as a problem solver, is there any big deal? I know you don’t work that way.”
“It’s not a big deal, it’s just a personal situation and it’s just being dealt with.”
“okay?”
“Yes, I can’t tell you the details due to circumstances… I think you have something you want to say, could you please tell me?”
Joe said without hesitation.
“Aren’t you thinking of joining our fighter crew?”
“Yes?”
“Because our boss is interested in you.”
***
It was an unexpected offer, but Oliver politely declined it.
As always, it was because belonging to an organization did not suit him.
Fortunately, Joe asked if he was serious or not, and he did not recommend any further. Oliver and Joe shared a few more words and parted.
Afterwards, Oliver asked Cocona Angel’s House, Forrest, and found a good real estate company or real estate agent to find a house to move into.
In his spare time, he prepared to make Invoice Doll – Rags 2 by trimming the materials he obtained last time in the basement of his current residence.
Rag 2 maintains the existing performance, but due to the difficult condition of maintaining the appearance of an ordinary person in normal times, instead of going into production right away, the design drawings were drawn up.
This was also a difficult task, but it wasn’t entirely without a way.
There was a solution to this in the book I got from the auction house mission.
It was quite labor intensive, but it was a sure method by processing the body of the corpse doll itself into a prefabricated type and attaching a mechanism that could change the inside and outside.
In addition to that, I had to think about how to use the corpse of a pure magic school wizard that was torn in half.
The damage is so severe that it would be difficult to fully use it as a mortuary doll.
“By the way, where should I go from here?”
Oliver, who arrived at the tower with his ID and the stolen magic bag, looked around and murmured.
tower. tower. The tower…. People talked about it and expected it to be different, but seeing it in person was different from what I expected.
As we entered through the high wall without walls or other bars, another city came into our eyes.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
No, I will correct it. It was more like a gigantic machine than a city.Buildings large and small were built geometrically like parts around the tower in each section, and the buildings were connected by bridges like a chain of cogs.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Not only that, but it’s own power plant and huge cogwheel building continued to move, providing power to the entire horse tower.Oliver marveled at the overwhelming scale, but at the same time was confused as to where he was going.
Had I known this would be the case, I would have asked specifically where the Elementalist Tower is.
I tried to ask for directions, but everyone here was busy, so even if I talked to them, they didn’t respond easily.
Still, I can’t just give up.
Oliver kept talking to passers-by to ask for directions, and each time people were warned and ignored.
“Are you curious about the road?”
By the time the inquirer was about to hit double digits, someone answered Oliver’s words.
It was a woman with silver curly hair tied back and thick glasses.
“Yes, can I ask where you need to go to get to the Elementalist Tower?”