The direction the camera was pointed at was captured exactly, and Leo's face was staring blankly in that direction.
#
[The reaction is not bad.]
Jenny's voice can be heard over the phone.
Leo listened to her, lying helplessly in the middle of the one-room apartment.
As soon as I realized that I had overdone it, I went straight home to rest without even stopping by the bar.
It would be nice if he could take another 100 million won elixir at a time like this… but unfortunately, the only money left in his wallet was the 20 million won he had received as a down payment for this request.
[It seems that Paul Ackerman had quite a bit of money here and there. For those who had been receiving investment money from him, it was like their money suddenly stopped flowing.]
Beyond the voice, an unknown echo is heard, supposedly to prevent wiretapping.
Jenny's opinion was that if you absolutely have to talk about work on your phone, you definitely need a safety device like this.
Leo couldn't understand why she said that just putting on some background music like this could prevent wiretapping, but he couldn't help it.
[Of course, the fact that he messed with the Juice Master's subordinate may have played a part, but the drug lord wouldn't be moved by something like this, so the strange atmosphere flowing through District 48 right now must be due to this.]
"Did Dyke say anything else?"
It happened overnight, but it was an eventful one.
Two dead, one escaped, and one was hit in the back of the head.
If it weren't for Leo, there wouldn't have been any failures like this.
It wouldn't be surprising if an enraged Paul Ackermann turned it around and harassed Dyke Corporation.
In this situation, if Dyke Corporation is thinking of just throwing out a success fee of 20 million cells and wiping its mouth, Leo has no choice but to change his mind.
When Leo asked, recalling the drone camera that had captured it at that time, Jenny answered right away.
[I already received a long message apologizing for what happened during this operation. They must be getting all worked up over there. They asked me to visit headquarters again.]
"What do you think?"
[I think it's better to ignore it.]
Leo smiled faintly at the answer that pleased him.
[I don't know how you saw this floor and stepped in, but it's strange to expect cooperation in the future while planning an operation like this. It's not too late to make a move after confirming the additional compensation they're offering.]
"How much can you take?"
Considering that Leo took control of the operation that was betrayed by one of the team members who had been directly airlifted from Panoa and somehow turned it into a success, the stakes that Leo has to take are not small.
Since it was revealed that they didn't even conduct proper testing when selecting team members, it was meaningless to even discuss collaboration in this state.
If there is no clear feedback in this area, there is no need to trade any further. In fact, there should not be any trade at all.
[They probably know that fact well, so they probably won't just give it to me. No matter how little it is, I think they can get a lot of money out of me.]
"I wish that were so… … "
Leo replied, burying his face deep in the pillow.
Since I had replaced the entire bedding last time and bought a new one, there was still an unfamiliar fabric smell.
[… … It looks like you had a really hard time this time.]
Although she had already heard Leo's explanation once, it seemed that the sight of Leo looking tired was more realistic to her than hearing about who had betrayed her and who had been killed.
It made sense, since Leo had never shown himself struggling before.
To begin with, Leo had never told anyone that his body was weak.
The fact that I spoke to her today was partly a calculated effort to get her to squeeze as much out of her deal with Dyke as possible.
"I'm a little tired."
[Well, that's what being a freelancer is like. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do. But if you're feeling sick, at least tell Jordan. I heard he used to touch a scalpel.]
"… That's a bit surprising. Was Jordan a doctor?"
[I heard he didn't officially get a license, but he's not a quack if he says so himself. I don't know the details either.]
"… … .."
Now that I think about it, I remember when Leo first brought me Taylor Evans' body, he could tell something strange just by looking at the body in the bag.
At the time, I just thought he was a talented person and passed him over, but when I thought about him as someone with a medical background, it made sense.
"If I get the chance later."
[Are you saying you won't accept it?]
Leo ignored Jenny's sharp remark, hung up the phone, and buried himself in his bed.
market
"Ugh… ."
My skin is still pale from the bruises on my stomach.
I did buy something similar to ointment and apply it, but it didn't seem like it would be possible to expect the recovery speed to increase significantly.
Leo lay down carefully, making sure his stomach did not touch the floor, lost in thought.
'I think it would be better to refrain from trying to break the situation in this way in the future.'
It was a reckless choice to use the shotgun recoil as a booster to escape when the shield was in danger of being destroyed.
Even more so when I think about the fact that I was groaning and couldn't eat for almost a day after the medicine wore off.
I had prepared several countermeasures in case the shield was breached, but I was unable to use them because the shield was not only shattered, but almost buried in the ground.
Of course, considering Leo's combat thinking ability, it was likely the most rational decision in that situation... but Leo doesn't need the rationality of sacrificing his body.
The most important thing is to somehow get this weak body back on track.
"… … .."
After a while, Leo thought about the usefulness of the shield, sighed, and straightened his posture.
Let's put our worries aside for later.
Anyway, even after my body returned to normal, I had plenty of time to think.
Now, as always, he was thinking of doing what he had to do while he was resting.
Phew!
He spreads his magical power in all directions and unleashes magic from both hands.
Crackle crackle crackle…!!
Blue current jumping out of my hand.
Lightning series common magic [Lightning Bound].
Up until now, he had simply focused on implementing this flow in his hand and striking his opponent… Leo concentrated his mind and very slowly moved his magical power to stop each rippling strand of electricity.
Phage... sizzle...
With extremely delicate magical power management skills, the range of lightning activity is restricted and the flow is stopped.
Leo, who confirmed the current that had hardened between his fingers as if time had stopped, pulled out the magical power development pattern inherent within that current.
Woohoo!!
As a magic circle suddenly appears in the air, the bolt magic flowing in your hand disappears without a trace.
Just like I did in the factory before, I succeeded in extracting the formula for the magic circle in reverse from the bolt magic.
"hmm…."
Leo, who was watching the magic circle slowly rotating in the air and the pattern of magical power flowing through it, took a notepad lying nearby and started writing something down.
My handwriting is crooked because I was writing with a pen while lying down, but that doesn't matter.
Anyway, Leo was a naturally bad writer with terrible pen skills, so it wasn't much of a difference.
"Magic three times. Rotation seven times. Compression twice… .. Should I draw the pattern separately?"
He mutters and scribbles letters and numbers that he cannot read, without taking his eyes off the magic circle.
In his recent personal research, Leo has been engrossed in the task of dissecting each and every common magic he uses and quantifying it according to his own standards.
In fact, modifying public magic itself is not that difficult for Leo.
It is possible to refine the magic you already know to make it more efficient, but increasing the capacity of the magic itself while reducing its efficiency is a completely different matter.
The research we are doing now aims to go one step further.
It is entirely possible to simply increase the power of [Thunder Calling].
All you have to do is just blindly throw magic power at it to expand its range and firepower.
However, Leo was not satisfied with that and was thinking of a way to drastically increase power while reducing magic power consumption.
It would be icing on the cake if we could eliminate the weakness of lightning magic, the omen right before casting, but… it's not easy.
The boundary that Leo was worried about now was one of the gateways from common magic to unique magic.
'Maybe one day I'll have to make magic on my own.'
Leo was not a fool, and he already felt deep in his bones how difficult and complicated it was to obtain the unique magic system.
It's not something that can be done simply by having money or by receiving a difficult request.
Unless you gain more fame, more power, and more connections than you have now, you won't even be given the chance to see such things.
For Leo, climbing higher than he was on this floor was not a matter of choice.
Go up until you get the item you want.
That was all Leo could do.
'It's not like we can make any groundbreaking improvements right now.'
It is possible to refine the magic you already know to make it more efficient, but it is a completely different matter to increase the capacity of the magic itself while reducing its efficiency.
In short, it was nothing short of creating a truly new magic.
But what if it becomes difficult to obtain the unique magic system, or what happens when you only get items that do not meet Leo's standards?
That's when you might really have to give it your all.
Rather than relying simply on intuition or talent, an analysis based on theory might be more helpful.
Since I cannot ignore that possibility, I am collecting data like this whenever I have time.
In fact, the only source of data on public magic was Leo himself.
"… … ."
It's frustrating and hopeless, but what can I do?
It was the path he chose, and it was what he wanted.
In the room that was gradually getting darker, only a dim magical light was shining.
The light that illuminated Leo's face without realizing the passage of time stayed by his side for a long time without going out.
As if he had a hope that he never gave up on.
#
Time has passed.
Leo went to the market after a long time, his body tired.
For a while, he was so busy with work that he had no choice but to make do with instant food, but Leo never gave up on his dream of a healthy diet.
He's still clumsy at cutting and even measuring seasonings is a mess, but these are problems that can be overcome with effort, regardless of Leo's devastating athletic ability.
Leo knew very well that in the end, he had no choice but to move on his own to get the nutrients he needed.
It had been a long time since I had seen a woman with green eyes.
"It's been a while."
"Oh, yes… ."
City government agent, Evelyn.
A woman with insane power and status, but also a simple hobby of growing vegetables and selling them at the market.
I haven't been to that market once since I met her, so maybe she moved her mat too.
Even if you're unlucky, it's not like this.
The moment Leo noticed her presence, he quickly changed the magical pattern that had been changed until then back to its original state.
This was the magic pattern I knew when I first met her at the market.
It was unclear whether Evelyn remembered Leo's magical patterns, but it couldn't hurt to be careful.
Evelyn, who had been staring blankly at Leo from beyond the dozens of vegetables spread out on the stall, tilted her head.
"hmm….?"
"Why are you like that?"
"It seems like the magic pattern has changed slightly, hasn't it?"
"… … … ."
"No, I don't think so. I guess I was a little mistaken because I've been so tired lately."
"Probably so."
When he gave a rare, friendly smile and nodded in agreement, Evelyn nodded in agreement as well.
I don't know what kind of eyes she has, but she really is a woman who can't let her guard down, to notice the short gap when Leo changes his magic pattern.
Leo, who was slowly looking down at the vegetables with a smiling face, kept thinking over and over again in his head.
'He is a skilled fighter who can fight against Croken. You have to be careful… Be careful… .'
Contrary to his feelings, Leo, with a relaxed expression, picked out the vegetables he had thought of in advance and put them in the basket, then took out money from his wallet and handed it to Evelyn.
She diligently counted all the bills and gave me change according to the price.
Even if it's something you do as a hobby, are you meticulous in this regard?
Leo thought about that and very naturally greeted her and turned around.
Just getting out into the market is a success.
The moment I took a step forward with that thought, I heard Evelyn's voice behind me.
"Hey, wait a minute."
"....yes?"
"What is your name?"
Evelyn asked with an incomprehensible expression on her face.