GWTM 04
“Mm….”
It was midnight when Renok, who had been groaning from a burning thirst, opened his eyes.
The room was already shrouded in darkness, making nothing visible.
Clutching his throbbing head, Renok barely managed to get up. He fumbled along the wall until he found the light switch.
Only then did the room light up brightly, revealing the hotel room.
He found the sink on the small kitchenette and drank water frantically.
Just as the thirst was quenched and he took a breath to stand up, a wave of nausea rose, making him grab the sink again.
“Ugh!!”
Since the only thing he had consumed all day was the smoke from the tobacco, only acrid stomach bile came out.
Clutching his splitting headache, Renok finally collapsed back onto the bed in the middle of the room.
His head was pounding madly, and the muscle aches throughout his body felt like his joints were being torn apart.
His whole body was trembling violently, and his limbs jerked in strange directions. Abdominal pain and churning that wrung his body like a rag continued to assail him.
“….Is this the side effect?”
Considering that he was never this tormented even when he was struggling to the point of death while working at the factory, this had to be it. He had never used drugs in his life, but the aftermath was probably something like this.
Even as the ceiling spun, Renok instinctively knew that he would not be able to let go of this tobacco for a while.
He couldn’t afford to give up the only means that allowed this meager body to temporarily move like a normal person.
Once he regained his senses, his stomach, which had gone over twelve hours without anything, ached with hunger.
Renok crawled over, opened the refrigerator door tucked in the corner of the room, and ate all the contents of a canned food he found inside with his bare hands.
It was an ambiguous taste, like finely ground meat, but it was a feast compared to the food he was given at the factory.
As his stomach filled up somewhat, sleepiness poured over him again.
The sleepless nights of insomnia had been severely eroding his mind.
Ultimately, Renok was only able to wake up when the hotel phone rang loudly the next day.
[Your scheduled check-out time is in one hour. Would you like to extend your reservation?]
“….Yes.”
[Two nights accommodation is 200,000. The consommé-flavored canned food you consumed yesterday is 20,000 Cell. The total is 220,000 Cell. You paid 100,000 Cell in advance, so please pay the remaining 120,000 Cell at the counter today.]
A single can of food costing 20% of a day’s accommodation was an absurd level of overcharging.
Renok let out a hollow laugh and tossed the phone away.
He had spent an entire day sleeping, and his body was still heavy, but it was much better than when he first escaped.
Renok struggled out of bed and counted the money he had.
“130,000 Cell… Only 10,000 Cell will be left after paying the hotel.”
Although he had known about this world’s currency unit for less than 24 hours, he had a rough sense of its value. He also knew he couldn’t do anything with just 10,000 Cell.
Realizing he couldn’t even stay for one more day in this state, Renok immediately stood up.
His first goal after escaping was set.
He needed money.
.
Securing Funds
He went into the shower and scrubbed his entire body. This was the first time he had washed since waking up here.
After soaking himself thoroughly, he stood in front of the sink. Only then could Renok properly face his own reflection.
“…….”
Hollow eyes and straggly black hair. Deep dark circles and pale lips. Skin so white his veins were visible.
Perhaps it was a relief that his nose bridge was sharply defined.
Renok let out a hollow laugh, looking down at his emaciated body, thin as chopsticks due to lack of proper nutrition.
His condition was so poor that it was hard to recognize the person he had created in the character selection screen.
He picked up the razor blade lying on the sink and cut off all his straggly hair.
With his hair completely trimmed, his appearance changed drastically from gloomy to nervous and edgy.
Renok stared at the mirror for a moment and nodded with satisfaction.
Even with just this, it would be difficult for the foremen to recognize him. He felt he had already shaken off any pursuit, but he still needed to be cautious.
Renok, wearing the loose foreman’s casual clothes he had picked up, laid out all his belongings on the bed before moving.
About 130,000 Cell in cash. A pistol and five rounds of ammunition. A dozen or so bundles of tobacco stolen from the foreman’s quarters.
He had long since changed out of the worker’s uniform, and he had thrown the car key inside the abandoned car, so this was all Renok had.
Renok sat on the bed, deep in thought.
What did he need to survive in this world he had randomly fallen into?
The first thing was already decided. Money.
But there were many problems to consider before earning money.
“No matter how I think about it… it’s impossible to earn money legally.”
In this world, Renok was nothing more than an illegal immigrant with no proper identity.
He didn’t know if there was a legal way to become a citizen in this city, and even if such a means existed, it would all require time and money. An action close to a luxury for Renok, who lacked even tomorrow’s accommodation fee.
Ultimately, the things he could do were limited.
Even in the dire situation of having no money for food, Renok’s brain diligently derived methods and suggested rational possibilities.
If a legal job wasn’t necessary, there were countless ways to get money.
There was much he could do that was outside the law, yet still within the bounds of what his morality and consciencewould allow.
With his magic, it wouldn’t be difficult to apprehend criminals wandering the city’s gutters and relieve them of their cash.
“It’s the most sensible plan for the current situation.”
It would be difficult to establish a fixed source of income, but it was adequate for immediate fund procurement. Having made up his mind, Renok immediately stood up from the bed.
To catch a fish, one must go where the water is plentiful.
Renok, who swept his belongings into his clothes, left the room, went down to the lobby to pay for the day’s accommodation, and stepped outside.
He walked into the shade to avoid the intensely blazing sunlight.
His head started to feel dizzy and he became short of breath, but Renok firmly suppressed the urge to smoke the tobacco.
‘I have to endure it.’
If he made a habit of smoking the tobacco every time he felt strained, there would be no way to prevent his body from being destroyed in the long run.
Furthermore, starting to smoke now would be like setting a time limit until the side effects returned. If it wasn’t urgent, he had to refrain from smoking as much as possible and move with a clear mind.
After watching hundreds of people move along the streets from the shade, Renok turned his head. He hadn’t known where to go, but a direction felt right as he sat there.
‘That way.’
Amidst the constant intersection of countless life signals in the city, Renok’s innate talent caught a faint thread of Mana.
A dank, sticky smell of Mana rising from one corner of the city.
It was a sensation he had never felt before, but Renok instinctively realized it was the Mana of those hiding in the shadows.
The Mana of criminals who parasitized the city, sucking the lifeblood of others from the dark.
It was the perfect place for the current Renok.
Following the trace of Mana, he arrived at a chaotic street mixed with a massive entertainment district, gambling dens, various street vendors, and abandoned construction sites. A sign reading Sector 49 was carelessly discarded in a street corner.
Neon signs that hurt the eyes and flashy lights enveloped the area, and a pungent mix of strong perfume and acrid smoke wafted from everywhere.
This street, shrouded in deep shadows even at midday, was full of people trying to avoid eye contact.
Renok was not particularly surprised by the atmosphere, which was entirely different from the bustling city center of Valcan.
There was no need to try to understand the side effects and pitfalls that existed in the shadows of the growth of a megacity that embraced various industries and capital.
Just as flies gather where money is concentrated. It was a common occurrence in the world Renok came from too.
An attitude of completely avoiding each other and not caring about others beyond just ignoring them was palpable everywhere.
Occasionally, groups of people would gather and chat in secluded spots, but most simply disappeared into buildings of unknown purpose.
However, there was a way to eavesdrop on their conversations. Especially for Renok.
He took a suitable spot in a corner of the street, drew up Mana, and focused it on his earlobes. The entire process was very natural, even without being taught.
His hearing instantly became acute, and he began to pick up sounds from all directions.
In that state, Renok leaned against the street wall and focused on every sound coming from inside the buildings.
“They’re looking for an agency to lobby for the selection of a construction company for the 17th development zone. The condition is an 8:2 split.”
“An engineer inspecting a malfunction in Palmuth’s new AI, which was unarmed, has gone missing. They’ll hire a replacement soon.”
“I want to put in a request to a Druid to participate in the Greenbelt reduction plan. Planning to smuggle out a T9 endangered species.”
Several stories, dangerous and sounding like they involved a lot of money, were exchanged, but Renok had no intention of jumping into situations he didn’t immediately understand.
He quickly filtered out the unfamiliar words and widened his scope.
As Renok intended, his senses quickly expanded, instantly drawing in sounds from the entire street area.
It hadn’t even been a week since he started using magic properly, but Renok’s Mana control ability already vastly exceeded his perception.
He skipped over stories that seemed ridiculously dangerous and conversations that were too complicated. Occasionally, there were spaces shielded by barriers where Renok’s Mana couldn’t penetrate, but he didn’t even look at them.
What he needed was an incident that was simple enough for Renok to intervene in, wouldn’t leave any loose ends, and was profitable.
It was about fishing for capital in the city’s jungle, far removed from law and regulation.
When his Mana reached a certain damp alleyway where the street and the sewers intersected.
[I told you to bring the stolen money quickly. Can’t you hear me?]
“….Found it.”
Renok’s eyes flashed, and he quickly changed his pace.
A nameless back alley filled with moisture. Water flowed down the floor, and between the secluded gaps of factories where the exhaust fumes from ventilation fans never dissipated.
Two men were ruthlessly kicking a person lying on the ground.
Thud! Thud!
“….What did I tell you?”
The man who was kicking the hardest lit a cigarette with a trembling hand.
“I said everything would be fine if you did this one job right. But why are you spewing that bullshit about losing the money after successfully stealing it, huh?”
“I-It’s not a lie…. It really, really disappeared along the way…”
WHACK!!
The older man, who was making excuses with a bloody face, had his head violently turned.
Another man standing next to the one who was flailing his limbs in anger shook his head.
“Hopeless. We needed to add the money he brought to make this month’s installment payment.”
“Hoo, hoo… This is the third time. The little dwarf bastard won’t let this go this time.”
“Let’s do this.”
The man’s eyes glinted dangerously.
“Let’s take one of them out and sell their organs.”
His colleague grinned.
“We’re on the same page.”
The gazes of the two men simultaneously fell on the man lying on the ground.
The moment the man, who understood the implication, turned pale.
“Ugh, g-g-g-g-gh!!!”
“A-A-A-A-agh!!”
Suddenly, the two men’s eyes rolled back, and their bodies began to tremble violently.
Renok’s head appeared from behind the men, who had foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
A cigarette was already dangling from his lips.
“Hmm.”
A blue current of electricity flashed from both of his hands.
“It’s quite effective.”
It was the most basic Volt spell, but it was more than enough to stun two people.
Renok ignored the gaze of the man who was staring up at him blankly and began to search the pockets of the two fallen men.
If they were normal people, perhaps not, but he felt not a shred of guilt about robbing the wallets of men who were attempting organ trafficking.
He took all the cash from both their wallets and ruthlessly collected the watches and accessories hanging from them.
Finally, while searching their clothes for anything else useful, he felt something hard in the pocket of the man who had been kicking the victim most actively.
“What is this?”
As he pulled it out, the older man was startled and quickly threw himself back down on the ground.
“Heeek! P-Please don’t point that this way!”
It was a metal object designed like a fountain pen, and when he pressed the button in the center, he heard a whirring sound, like an engine turning inside.
Moreover, a faint magical light leaked out from the circuit-like patterns engraved on the surface, indicating it was no ordinary object.
“It’s a Dike Corp. laser cutter illegally modified. It’s a monstrous thing that can cut through steel plates. If it hits a person, they’ll just be sliced up, sir…”
“Hmm…..”
Do the thugs in this world carry weapons like this?
‘If the goal is to cut, using magic would be more convenient…’
Renok hesitated but ultimately put the pen-like cutter into his pocket.
The pistol he had only had five rounds left. It was always good to have more means of self-defense.
Having collected everything, Renok stood up and looked at the man who was still there, not having run away.
He had chosen an incident that seemed the most simple and least likely to have repercussions among the events happening on this street, but should he still completely eliminate the witness?
“Will being stunned make him forget?”
As Renok muttered that and generated a current in his hand, the man trembled.
“I will never tell anyone!!”
“That’s easy to say.”
The man asked with a terrified face at Renok’s cold reply.
“I-If you have a request….”
“I haven’t been in this city for very long, you see.”
Renok grinned.
“I’m looking for a job.”
.
The Library
Renok composed his tired expression while watching the man hurriedly disappear down the alley.
He had considered killing him to silence him, but even though Renok was calmer than before, he wasn’t cruel enough to kill an innocent person.
He had felt no hesitation in killing the foremen who had brutally abused him at the factory, but this was a different case.
He had taken his business card, so if this incident caused any trouble, it wouldn’t be too late to track him down then. The anger of the awakened thugs would be sky-high, but that was not Renok’s concern.
Exiting the damp alley, he took out the stolen money and counted it.
“…Not bad.”
They had claimed they were short on money for their installment payment, but they seemed to have been holding a considerable sum.
The total amount the two men had was approximately 700,000 Cell in Renok’s hand.
This was enough for him to stay in the hotel for about four more days, even after deducting various expenses. It was a decent haul for robbing a couple of back-alley thugs.
Renok took the money and immediately left the entertainment district to buy new clothes at a nearby clothing store.
The clothes he was wearing were ill-fitting and unnecessarily drew attention to him. A simple shirt and jeans. He figured he wouldn’t stand out with this attire.
Returning to Sector 49, Renok circled the area and found a shabby pharmacy with barely a sign.
When the door opened, a slovenly pharmacist weakly raised his head to check the customer.
“Sleeping pills. How much for a week’s supply?”
The pharmacist replied slowly.
“150,000 Cell.”
Renok’s brow twitched at the unexpectedly high price, but he calmly handed over the money and received seven bags of pills.
It was an absolute necessity to deal with the insomnia that plagued him at night. Renok had realized how painful the sleepless nights at the factory were and had no intention of going through that torment again.
He had confirmed that chain-smoking the tobacco could make him fall into a deep sleep, but it was foolish to endure the side effects and chain-smoke just to sleep. While he was doping out of necessity, he had to avoid overburdening his already weak body as much as possible.
With the necessary funds secured and a means to properly sleep, Renok’s mind felt more at ease.
Renok left Sector 49 and immediately headed for the central busy area where the most people gathered.
Asking for directions from people he encountered, he arrived at a large-scale library located at the end of the busy area. It was a 10-story building used entirely for storing books and data.
Renok dusted off the ingrained smell of smoke and took a seat inside the library.
The first thing he needed to look for was knowledge about magic—not general information about this world.
‘The important thing is to maximize my magic ability. Everything else can wait until after that.’
Many things had happened since he woke up here, but Renok clearly remembered the penalty he had inflicted upon this body.
The various negative traits he had used to dump extra stat points into his magic talent using the Karma system.
Among them, the most fatal: ‘Ephemeral Talent (才人薄命)’ (Literally: A talented person’s life is short).
An extreme trait that slashed his entire lifespan in exchange for talent, turning his life into a ticking clock.
‘Now that I think about it… it was strange that such a trait even existed.’
A lifespan-related trait applied to a game character that had no lifespan—would anything have changed if he had noticed the strangeness there?
It was meaningless to regret it now.
Because of it, Renok’s goal had been singularly defined: Survival.
He had to find a way to extend his time, which was melting away like a short candle.
And the talent closest to that solution was already in his hand.
‘Time-related magic… there might be a way within the highest-grade unique magic (Sinister) category.’
Unique magic, which he couldn’t learn as a ‘Magnum Shooter’ in WORLD 2.0.
Renok knew very well how powerful and remarkable his magical talent was, and he could guess the process needed to properly utilize it.
Fortunately, the category related to magic used an entire 8th floor, with various books and data organized there.
Renok pulled out all the books he suspected were introductory texts and began to read them voraciously.
‘How to sense Mana, the principle of storing it in the body, the dangers of Mana control ability, the fifteen preparations needed to use magic….’
These contents were meaningless to Renok, who had awakened his Mana and started using magic in three days.
He skipped them boldly.
He read the books frantically, turning dozens to hundreds of pages at a rapid speed.
The pages that fluttered with the sound of rustling paper stopped abruptly at the final chapter.
‘Mana Pattern. There was such a concept.’
It was a concept Renok knew of but never had to worry about while playing the Magnum Shooter character, so he concentrated and read the book.
From the moment a mage awakens their Mana, a Mana Pattern is created, which is left behind like a trace every time magic is used.
According to the book, the pattern is called the ‘Mage’s Fingerprint’ and is said to be impossible to change once solidified.
‘However, for Great Mages of Level 8 or higher, it becomes meaningless as they can adjust Mana particle by particle…. What level is Level 8?’
In WORLD 2.0, which Renok played, the level of mages was categorized not by level but by the grade of ‘Sinister’ they could use.
Therefore, it was difficult to grasp exactly what Level 8 meant in this world.
In any case, since this was unfamiliar knowledge he hadn’t seen in the game, he needed to examine his own Mana Pattern.
‘Open the palm, place the index finger of the other hand in the center, and channel Mana through it.’
As he moved the Mana as instructed in the book, the Mana flowing through his finger spread across his palm and indeed began to form a regular pattern.
Renok, who was watching three intersecting spirals swimming across his palm with a look of wonder, had his expression turn bizarre.
The spiral flowing across his palm flipped completely the moment he moved the Mana slightly, changing into dozens of diamond shapes.
“…….”
When he moved the Mana to the side again, countless concentric circles appeared, saturating his palm.
In a short time, Renok realized that he could freely change the pattern of Mana as he imagined.
This state alone, regardless of the exact level, was proof of having the Mana control ability of a Great Mage.
It was an unbelievable fact, considering it hadn’t been three days since he had awakened his Mana.
‘The talent is certainly there.’
Yes. Since he was given such a weak body, shouldn’t his talent pierce the heavens to be normal?
Finding a strange comfort in that fact, Renok tossed all the introductory texts he had brought into the library’s return bin.
He had only looked at one book, but he could guess the contents of the entire introduction. Renok’s excellent memory already perfectly recalled most of the content as if it were a photograph.
From now on, he planned to select and examine only books on Common Magic and Unique Magic.
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