This was the first reason why this request was inevitably dood to fail. While Helistic outwardly posed itself as a legitimate corporation, it was one of the malevolent entities steeped in the Cthulhu mythoss madness.
Becoming entangled with these people wouldnt pose an imdiate problem, but depending on the route, I might end up fighting Helistic until the gas conclusion.
If this is a request from a company, it wont just be one or two guys chasing after him, right? When was the bounty issued?
This was the second reason why Lee Chang-hyuk was a dud.
The real serious issue was that finding Lee Chang-hyuk was simply a nuisance.
If luck was not on my side, I could waste days in vain.
Moreover, this quest had a ti limit.
If about 15 days had already passed since a bounty was put on his head, he would successfully smuggle himself out on a ship from Incheon.
No, but usually the ti limit starts after you receive the request, right? What kind of quest has a tir running before you even accept it? No wonder they call it a failed ga.
Therefore, depending on how many days have already passed, there might be no way to resolve this task.
Hes been quite successful at evading capture so far. Today marks exactly two weeks since he fled.
Holy shit.
Exactly 14 days? Or is it about that long?
When I leaned in to ask again, Tudor gave a puzzled look. This was only natural since she wouldnt have considered the existence of a ti limit.
Tudor paused for a mont, then rifled through the docunts.
Um yes, today is exactly the 14th day since then. Midnight tonight will mark the 15th day.
What now?
At this point, requesting sothing else would cause Tudor to lose interest in .
While it wouldnt an I would get no work at all, I would likely only receive the leftovers, the scraps of jobs others had passed on.
So, to establish a stable connection with Tudor, it was better to proceed as planned.
What about the reward?
In truth, there wasnt much more I was curious about. The reward would probably be the sa as ntioned in the ga.
However, I couldnt just not ask about it.
If a new fixer who just signed a contract appeared to know everything about a request from the start, it could arouse unnecessary suspicion.
Tudor looked at my mask for a mont and then continued.
Five million for Lee Chang-hyuks head. And twenty-five million for retrieving the artifact he has.
Its a subtly low price.
And the balance of the amounts was almost laughable.
They dont want to spend too much on such a small fry. Thats why he hasnt been caught yet. If they raised the bounty by just two million more, skilled guys would swoop in and snatch him up, right?
This was exactly like the dialogue in the ga. In the ga, it was just text without voice acting, but hearing it in Tudors languid voice gave it a new feel. His high charisma really did make a difference.
Alright. Ill take it on.
[Youve accepted the quest!
Capture Lee Chang-hyuk who stole a sample destined for a Helistic subsidiarys laboratory, and retrieve the Artifact: Security Bag Containing the Test Subject he took.
! Ti Limit: Lee Chang-hyuk will escape Korea via Incheon in (1) day !
Reward: 50,000XP ( the monetary reward promised by the broker is separate.) Failure: Tudor will be disappointed.]
The quest window appears even when for bounty requests.
I rember when I hovered the mouse cursor over the reward section back in the ga, a ssage popped up saying, Gaining the brokers favor can lead to more rewards.
By any chance, Tudor, can you see this?
I asked Tudor if she could see the ssage window just in case.
Do you have any other symptoms apart from that?
No, thats not what I ant
Despite my attempts to clear up Tudors misunderstanding with several explanations, none of them worked out.
Eventually, I gave up on trying to correct Tudors misunderstanding and left her office.
However, I couldnt depart right away.
There were things I needed to prepare.
I borrowed a pair of scissors from Orb and settled at a secluded table in the caf.
Tudor was sitting right opposite at the table as she watched my actions. She leaned her chin on her hands clasped together, completely relaxed Is she finding this amusing?
What if a seizure suddenly starts? That would be serious, wouldnt it?
Tudor wore a warm expression as if she understood everything about . What does she understand? Shes a witch.
Thanks to Tudor, the gazes of other fixers hanging around in the caf were also drawn to .
Ignore them, just ignore them. I pulled out the straitjacket I was wearing previously from my backpack.
Then, using the scissors, I cut off the dangling straps from the straitjacket.
Was dexterity influenced by my agility stat? With a re agility of 8, which was not helpful for this task, it took longer than expected.
Tudor burst into laughter when she saw that one of the straps had turned almost into rags.
Haah Just bear with it
Eventually, after much effort, I managed to produce six intact straps and two that were nearly tattered.
The straitjacket also ended up almost like a rag, but I stuffed it into my backpack anyway.
Why dont you just whoosh- bang! and capture him? Youre a mage, arent you?
Then the artifact would be damaged too.
Lee Chang-hyuk was a superhuman who developed special abilities due to a condition called magical power hypertrophy.
Thanks to that, he possessed several special abilities along with a decent level of magical resistance.
If the request had been capture and kill, I could have approached him without much thought and finished him off with a single blow.
However, spells like that usually co with excessively flashy effects. To safely recover the artifact he possessed required so careful planning.
I thought about buying so rope, but where was the money to waste like that? There were plenty of things here to tie with.
Tudor, laughing heartily again, bid farewell with words expressing her anticipation about what shape I would return in.
Yeah, laugh all you want. Today will be the last day I play the pauper.
I started by walking and searching through the Geumchon neighborhood.
I had played countless bounty quests and never failed to capture a target.
Ideally, it would have been better if Lee Chang-hyuk had a fixed hideout, but he was designed as a roaming-type criminal to keep the veteran players from getting bored.
That doesnt an he road aimlessly. If that were the case, I would have just given up.
He didnt stay in a fixed location but appeared randomly at six different sites.
The patterns of his appearances changed over ti, so he could reappear at a place I had already checked, making him an especially troubleso target.
Oh, I dont want to walk!
Once I collect the bounty and stabilize my finances, I should get so mode of transportation. The penalty trait [Weakened Stamina] makes my body feel drained after just a short walk.
But at least the first spot was relatively close.
I looked up at a dirty building. It was a bar without a sign that operated in the back alleys of the Geumchon neighborhood.
According to the setup, it was Lee Chang-hyuks favorite bar, and inside were many delinquents who were on friendly terms with him.
Entering ant that regardless of whether Lee Chang-hyuk was there or not, a big brawl was likely to break out.
Fortunately, I wont need to go that far.
I leaned my hand against the wall of the bar and gathered my magical power.
[Magical Power Detection]
Bright green lines of magic emanated from my fingertips and seeped into the building.
It was like watching tree roots made of neon signs burrow into the ground.
Hes not here.
Lee Chang-hyuk suffered from magical power hypertrophy. Since he never appeared with other people with special abilities, I could skip most of the unnecessary investigation with this simple detection spell.
I still had to visit each location in person, though
It was just a race against ti.
The day was already turning to dusk.
I need to resolve this quickly.
Thinking about Cthulhu-dinsional travel and other matters would have to wait.
To maintain my condition, I needed to wash, eat, and find a place to rest.
I had to catch Lee Chang-hyuk and get the money before the sun rose again.
***
Bingo.
I found him in the third spot.
My luck wasnt entirely bad.
The place where the abnormal magical power unique to magical power hypertrophy was detected was a motel located on the outskirts of the Gwangtan neighborhood.
It was a relief to find him here; otherwise, I would have had to travel much farther.
Once the location was pinpointed, the rest was in my control. His hiding spot was room 304, and my entry thods included breaking down the door, negotiating with the motel owner, entering through a window, or
Delivery~.
This was the simplest thod and the timing was perfect.
Lying in wait at the motel, theres usually a mont when hed briefly step out to collect ordered food. Thats the ideal ti for a surprise attack.
Even though the deliveryman arrived, Lee Chang-hyuk didnt open the door and rely replied back.
Just leave it there.
Enjoy your al.
What did he order? It seems like a soup dish. Im hungry already; maybe Ill eat it after dealing with him?
The deliveryman left the food and went on his way, but the door remained closed for a long ti. He was likely being cautious.
With [Magical Power Detection] still active, I could clearly see what he was up to.
He was pressed up against the door, probably listening for sounds from outside.
Fine, Ill stay quiet. Co on out.
Click.
The sound of the lock opening. This is it. I prepared my spell, timing it with the sound.
Creak
Good. Now!
[Magic Bullet]
I hurled a bullet of magical energy through the slightly ajar door.
Crash!
Aargh!
The door that was hit was completely shattered, and the impact sent Lee Chang-hyuk tumbling backward.
Crash!
He rolled over and scrambled into the room. Ah, trying to grab his bag, I see?
Hey there~, Lee Chang-hyuk~!
I deliberately moved slowly as I entered his room.
Sure, leaping in might look impressive, but with this body, any hasty movent would just make seem retarded.
Instead, it is better to create a sense of fear leisurely.
As expected, Lee Chang-hyuk was holding a large bag in one hand. It was a large silver bag reinforced with tal.
That must be the security bag containing the test subject. In the ga, it was just a quest item, so I couldnt check its contents.
And his other hand was hidden inside his clothing. Hes concealing a handgun.
What, what are you!
What do you think? Isnt it obvious? Just hand over that bag, and I wont hurt you.
Eh hufffffff
He suddenly stopped talking and took a sharp breath.
His upper body swelled up to at least twice the size of an average persons.
He might seem bizarre, but this was actually Lee Chang-hyuks attack stance.
Predicting his next move was simple. Now, to ti it right!
One, two
His mouth opened. Right now is the mont. Three!
Kwaah!
An unbelievably loud sound erupted from his mouth, sothing no human should be able to produce.
But I too had completed my spell just as his mouth opened.
Whooosh!
A magic circle of light appeared right in front of .
It distorted and twisted the sound waves coming from his mouth.
This was my own modified version of the zero-order spell, Transmission.
Should I na it sothing like [Sound Wave Distortion]?
It defied physical laws, twisting the direction of the sound.
Therefore, even though Lee Chang-hyuk, who had the condition of magical power hypertrophy, attacked with his magical power through sound, no damage was inflicted on !
Crash!
Instead, the walls on the left, right and bottom of the motel were shattered and scattered around.
Shit! What is that! What did you just do?!
Seeing his attack fail, he grimaced and let out a shout of frustration.
Still, he moved his hand quickly and took sothing out of his clothes.
Click.
It was a gun.
Die!
Lee Chang-hyuks gun spat fire without hesitation.
Wow, that was quick! But then, this is how one survives in this world, isnt it?
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