-A Lull
When we went down the alley, there really was a car parked there that looked as good as new.
“It’s been repaired beautifully, hasn’t it? Dwarven craftsmanship really is something. Gil, this car is ours now.”
“What? But we borrowed it from that person back then, didn’t we?”
In truth, it would have been more accurate to say we had taken it by force and driven off, but Gil asked in the gentler terms he could manage.
He was probably asking why we weren’t returning it.
“Vanaheim told me to fix it and use it. When I said it got wrecked while we were dealing with the tentacle monster that day, they said they’d just write it off as a loss.”
“Wow! They’re just letting us use a car this nice? Big companies really are different.”
As we talked, I remembered the proposal Han Dain had made. What could the new job she wanted to commission be?
I had to track down Yashin and the divine mage, and with the Wizard World Championship and all kinds of disturbances throwing everything into chaos, taking on Vanaheim’s work as well might be too much. And yet, perhaps precisely because things were like this, I felt that I should accept the job.
Vanaheim had joined hands with black mages and carried out biological experiments. What were they plotting now?
Was the development of the Golden Apple really all there was to it?
Moreover, she had said this commission was related to the chairman of Vanaheim.
If you wanted to catch a tiger, you had to enter the tiger’s den.
“Now that we have a car, tell me if there’s anywhere you want to go. Where have you always wanted to visit?”
I asked Gil lightly as I drove slowly toward home.
“Somewhere I wanted to go? Hmm…”
Gil sank into thought, but an answer did not come easily.
“There wasn’t anywhere you wanted to visit all this time?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it. I’ve almost never been outside Itaewon. Still, sometimes I took the subway and went to other neighborhoods in Seoul.”
At Gil’s answer, I quietly nodded.
It seemed he really had never once thought about wanting to go anywhere.
A life in which he had never even dreamed of something like travel.
I knew that kind of life well, too.
You couldn’t even think of going for a drive, searching for delicious food, or going to see beautiful scenery.
It was a life where simply being alive day after day felt strange in itself.
That was life on the streets.
“Should we go on a trip together sometime? If you don’t have anywhere you want to go, can I decide?”
“A trip?”
“Yeah, a trip.”
“Wow!”
Gil only let out a short exclamation and could not say anything more one way or the other.
I silently focused on driving.
It was not a situation where we could go on a trip. But there was somewhere I needed to visit.
Danyang. The place where Samir’s magic tower was presumed to exist.
If I failed to find Yashin, I was thinking I would go to Samir’s magic tower myself.
Even if I could not face Samir alone right away, it would be necessary to confirm where the black mages’ stronghold was.
‘Samir, just wait. I’ll find you, no matter what.’
My anger toward him had now become cold and hard.
I would not fly blindly into the flames like a moth, as I had in my previous life.
This time, I would fight a battle I was certain to win.
Even as I thought of Samir, my mind was not swallowed by rage; rather, it became clear.
* * *
Several days passed quietly.
It was definitely a lull. Yashin was surely lying low while recovering from his internal injuries.
Of course, I knew very well that this state was only temporary.
The terror Yashin had foretold would not end with a brief blackout and the appearance of a swarm of rats.
There had been small disturbances.
The orc protesters who had secretly entered the country were eventually tracked down by the police and mages, and all of them were caught. The government said they would investigate them and then deport them.
The minor acts of terror caused by biohackers continued as well.
However, for now, the strange creatures they released were only genetically modified cats or pigeons, and there were not many of them, so they could not cause great harm to people.
For the moment, it was still at a level where government-affiliated mages could maintain order.
There were signs of disaster, but nothing major had erupted just yet.
During that time, I went to the Hall of Magic, testified about the on-site investigation at Neo Forest, and promised to participate in the Wizard World Championship.
The world championship was now only three days away. More and more foreign mages were entering the country.
And yet, from the Incheon Port explosion and the orcs’ rampage, to the tentacle monster and virus-infected zombies, the explosion at Neo Forest, and the swarm of rats…
For some reason, the Hall’s investigation into the series of terror incidents had been nothing but sluggish.
There was no clear analysis or announcement of results.
‘Why are they dragging their feet like this? Terror could happen again at any moment.’
I was cooperating with the Hall of Magic, but my distrust of them had not been washed away.
At the very least, I had the feeling that some members of the organization were involved in suspicious affairs.
That did not mean the government was trustworthy either.
‘The only one I can trust is myself. And Gil and Cheon Danbi.’
We were taking time to reorganize.
I frequently spoke with Cheon Danbi over the phone, checking whether any information about Yashin or the divine mage had surfaced.
So far, there had been no noteworthy information.
I went in and out of the magical space, piecing together fragments related to Bruno.
Since the only divine mage I knew was Bruno, I thought that if I investigated him, some point of contact might emerge.
I did not forget training either.
Training in the magical space was helpful not only because of the abundant mana within that space.
The more I trained, the more clearly the memories and training methods of Odin, which had lain dormant, gradually came back to me.
I made Gil train as well.
“Read this carefully and train according to the methods written here. You have to keep practicing until you can completely control your mana.”
I handed Gil a spellbook I had brought out of the magical space and urged him to train every day.
“Yes. Thank you. I’ll work hard.”
“And for now, let’s not inform the authorities that you’ve awakened as a mage. Once you register as a mage, you’ll be called around here and there, and there’s no need to deal with that for nothing. Let’s focus on training first.”
“I prefer that too.”
My decision not to register Gil with the authorities reflected my distrust of the government and the Hall of Magic.
Gil, who had an introverted personality, agreed with me.
He did not like standing in front of people, and seemed to think a glamorous organization like the Hall of Magic did not suit him.
“Mage, I’m really going to train hard. I want to become a mage who can do my part. Until now, I didn’t really have anything I wanted to do or anywhere I wanted to go, but now I do.”
Gil, holding the spellbook, spoke with a slightly flushed face. Curious, I asked.
“You’ve found somewhere you want to go?”
“Yes. Danbi noona said there are places like Neo Forest overseas too. Places full of sacred mana where mysterious life-forms live. I want to visit places like that.”
“Oh my. You said there wasn’t anywhere you wanted to go, and now you’re suddenly asking for an overseas trip?”
I replied playfully with a laugh. Gil looked flustered and waved his hands.
“Ah, I don’t mean I want to go right away. It’s just a dream. A wish. Maybe I could fulfill it someday, right?”
“Of course. We can go. Why wouldn’t we be able to go just because it’s overseas? Actually, I’ve never been abroad either, so let’s make sure we go together.”
“Really? Yes, let’s all go together as a team.”
I was glad that Gil seemed to have gained a goal.
Gil was a child with tremendous potential. A goal would give him motivation and direction, further accelerating his growth.
And so Gil immersed himself in magical training.
With a little more time to spare, I set about doing something I had put off. I had decided to accept Vanaheim’s commission.
When I contacted Han Dain and conveyed my decision, she was delighted.
[I was waiting, as it happens. You made the right choice. As I told you before, please come to the company for the contract. I’ll send you the directions by text.]
A new probing battle had begun.
* * *
Vanaheim’s headquarters was located near Samseong Station. It was a hundred-some-story building with massive displays attached to its front.
The tall, sophisticated building looked as if it pierced the sky, and simply gazing at it was impressive. One could feel at once just how much money and power the company possessed.
I arrived around the end of lunch hour and was swept along by a tide of office workers in shirts returning after their meals as I entered the building.
The lobby was sleek and clean. It seemed somewhat bustling because there were so many people, but the sight of everyone moving like flowing water toward their own destinations gave the impression of modern art.
To go further into the lobby, one had to pass through a security gate. It was structured so that you could pass only after scanning a card, as in the subway. Of course, it would not be a transit card but an employee ID.
As I approached the security gate, Han Dain quickly appeared.
“Mage, welcome. It’s even nicer to see you at the company.”
Han Dain greeted me in a lively tone and handed me an access card.
“It’s a visitor card. But we’ll soon issue you an employee one.”
“An employee one? Even if I sign a contract, I won’t be an employee here, will I?”
“While you’re working with us, you’re no different from an employee. But don’t worry, we won’t force you to fulfill employee obligations. You won’t have to clock in and out.”
Han Dain made the joke and laughed briefly. She treated me as if we were on very friendly terms.
Even though the reason she had first commissioned me to track Ren was because she had tried to use me to find her.
In any case, Han Dain certainly seemed to be a valued employee at Vanaheim.
She was competent and brazenly composed. She looked as if she would handle anything and everything deftly for the sake of the company.
“This way, please.”
After we passed through the security gate, Han Dain led me to the elevator.
From here on, this was the tiger’s den.
After taking the elevator and getting off on an upper floor, I immediately sharpened my senses. And soon, I realized that mana detection was impossible here.
They had put up a barrier.
‘Well, I suppose even with a security gate, it’s not as if outsiders never come in. They would have installed security measures.’
Han Dain looked back at me.
It seemed she had also immediately noticed that I had detected the barrier.
“You won’t be able to use magic here. I ask for your understanding. It’s company policy. You understand, right?”
“Understood.”
As we walked down the corridor, I glanced at the offices on either side, but I could not see inside at all.
This was a place where not only magical detection but physical observation as well had been made impossible.
We entered a conference room located at the end of the corridor.
It was a small conference room with a table that could seat about ten people. On the opposite side was a floor-to-ceiling window, through which the Han River could be clearly seen below.
The view offered both comfort and authority.
“Please, have a seat. Shall we look over the contract first?”
Han Dain said to me with a picturesque smile.
On the table lay a contract inlaid with gold leaf.