Lennok stirred from his slumber, his parched throat and dry mouth urging him to open his eyes. He blinked several times, but the room was shrouded in darkness and he couldn't see a thing. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly rose from his seat, his hand instinctively reaching for his throbbing head.
Fumbling around in the darkness, Lennok searched for the wall until he found the switch. With a flick, the room illuminated, revealing the modest hotel surroundings. His gaze immediately fell upon the sink in the small kitchen, and with a sense of urgency, he rushed towards it, turning on the tap and inhaling frantically.
As the cool water slaked his thirst, he took a deep breath and tried to rise, but the urge to vomit suddenly overtook him, and he doubled over the sink, moaning in agony.
“Oooh!!”
He retched and dry-heaved, the only sustenance he'd had all day was cigarette smoke, and now bitter gastric juices writhed and churned within him.
Holding onto his fragile head, Lennok finally staggered over to the bed in the center of the room, collapsing in exhaustion.
His head throbbed relentlessly, and his muscles felt as though they were being torn from their joints. His body trembled uncontrollably, his limbs splayed out in grotesque angles. The stomachache and nausea continued to ravage his insides, squeezing his body like a wet rag.
"…Is it a side effect?"
As a factory worker, Lennok thought he knew what it was like to suffer, but he never imagined that it would be this excruciating. He'd never dabbled in drugs before, but he was certain that this was what it felt like to experience their devastating after-effects.
As the room spun and his mind reeled, Lennok realized with a sickening certainty that he wouldn't be able to give up smoking anytime soon. It was the only way he could keep his ailing body functioning, albeit temporarily.
When he finally regained his senses, his stomach was gnawing at him, having gone over twelve hours without any sustenance. Crawling over to the refrigerator in the corner of the room, Lennok yanked it open, his trembling hands pawing at the canned food within.
Tearing off the lid with his bare hands, he devoured the contents, the flavor resembling that of finely ground meat. Compared to the meager rations he'd received at the factory, it was a veritable feast.
Sated, he collapsed back onto the bed, his eyelids growing heavy. The past few nights had been an endless blur of insomnia, and the toll it had taken on his body and mind was weighing heavily on him.
The shrill ringing of the hotel phone jolted Lennok awake. He groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he struggled to sit up. It was only when he heard the automated voice on the other end that he fully came to his senses.
[There's an hour left until the scheduled checkout time is left. Would you like to extend your reservation?]
Lennok hesitated for a moment before answering. "….I do."
[Accommodation cost 200,000. And 20,000 cans of consommé flavor that the customer ate yesterday. Totally it’s 220,000. You paid 100,000 cells in advance, so please pay 120,000 cells at the counter within today.]
A can is equivalent to 20% of the cost of a day's lodging, so it even crossed the line of being called a rip-off.
Lennok chuckled and threw the phone away.
He was still feeling heavy after a full day of sleep, but it was much better than when he first ran away.
Lennok struggled to get out of bed and counted the money he had.
“130,000 cells… After paying for the hotel, only 10,000 cells remain.”
It hasn't been more than 24 hours since he learned about the monetary unit of the world, but he had a rough idea of how much it will be.
You can't do anything with just 10,000 cells, either.
Lennok knew he needed a plan, and fast. He needed to get his hands on more cash, but how? He stood up, taking a deep breath before stepping into the shower. As the water cascaded over his body, he realized it was the first time he had truly bathed since arriving in this strange new world.
Once he was clean and dressed, Lennok turned his attention to his appearance. He gazed at his reflection in the mirror, taking in the dark circles under his eyes, the pale complexion of his skin, and the long, unkempt hair.
At least, his nose was sharp, so he should say it's fortunate.
Lennok looked down at his bony body, skinny like chopsticks because he couldn't eat properly, and let out a blank laugh.
It was hard to recognize how bad the condition was, to the point where he wondered if this was the guy he had created in the character selection window.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a razor blade and cut off all of his wavy hair.
When he completely shaved off his head, his impression of himself completely changed from the first time, and he began to look nervous rather than gloomy.
Lennok took a moment to study his reflection, nodding in approval at the transformation.
At this rate, it will not be easy for the supervisors to recognize Lennok.
He thought he had already escaped from the chase, but he still needed to be careful.
Picking up the baggy supervisor's plain clothes, Lennok took out all his belongings and spread them out on the bed before moving.
He had just over 130,000 cells in cash, a handgun with five bullets, and twelve packs of cigarettes stolen from the supervisor's bedroom. It wasn't much, but it was all he had. The car he had stolen had been abandoned, and his work clothes were long gone.
Lennok sat cross-legged on the bed, deep in thought. What does one need to survive in a world where one must hide from everyone? It was a question he had been grappling with since he arrived in this strange place.
His first goal was clear: he needed to make money. However, before he could do that, he had several issues to consider.
"No matter how hard I try, it's impossible to make money legally," Lennok muttered to himself, frustration creeping into his voice. As an illegal immigrant without a proper status, he was at a significant disadvantage. Becoming a citizen legally seemed like an unattainable goal, especially given the exorbitant time and money required.
Both are almost a luxury for the current Lennok, who doesn't even have enough money to stay tomorrow.
In the end, there was only a limited amount of work he could do.
Even in a situation where food expenses are at a loss right now, Lennok's brain steadily derived methods and presented reasonable possibilities.
There were endless ways to get money as long as it doesn't have to be legal.
Even if you get out of the rules, there were many things you can do as long as your morals and conscience allow.
With his magic, it wasn't difficult to beat the criminals wandering around the city and steal their money.
"It's the best plan in this situation.”
It's hard to become a fixed source of income, but it's suitable for raising funds right away. Lennok, who had made up his mind, immediately got off the bed.
To catch a fish, you should head to a place with a lot of water.
Lennok, who swept all the things on the bed into his pocket and left the room, went down to the lobby, paid for today's accommodation, and came out.
He shielded his eyes from the glare, his mind racing with ideas. Though he was beginning to feel dizzy and short of breath, he fought the urge to smoke. He knew that giving in to the temptation could only worsen his already fragile physical state.
"I have to hold on," he reminded himself sternly. Starting to smoke would only hasten the inevitable decline of his body. If he wanted to survive in this world, he needed to be sober-minded and calculated.
? ? ? ? ? ?
Lennok observed the bustling streets, watching as hundreds of people meandered through the city's many intersections.
He didn't know where to go, but as he slowly sat down, he sensed a direction.
"That way," he muttered to himself, following an almost imperceptible trail of mana.
The smell of shady, sticky mana came up from the corner of the city.
It was a sensation he felt for the first time, but Lennok instinctively realized that this was the mana of those who live in darkness.
The mana of criminals living in the city, sucking the blood of others in the shadows.
It was a perfect place for Lennok now.
He followed the faint traces of magic, eventually leading him to a chaotic street teeming with all manner of entertainment establishments, from gambling halls to street vendors to abandoned construction sites. A sign reading "District 49" lay discarded in the corner of the street, amidst a flurry of neon signs and garish lights that assaulted the senses.
The street was crowded, but not in the way of the bustling city center. People avoided eye contact, and the air was thick with the scent of perfume and smoke. It was a place where those who didn't want to be found could blend in, where anonymity was the norm.
Lennok wasn't surprised by the atmosphere; he'd seen the same sort of thing in his own world, where megacities grew unchecked, embracing all manner of industries and capital. He settled himself in a quiet corner and listened carefully, focusing his mana to sharpen his hearing.
Conversations floated in from all directions, and Lennok picked up on them with ease. He leaned against the wall, his ears pricked to catch every word.
"They're looking for an agency to lobby for the selection of a construction company for the District 17 development. It is a condition of sharing 8 to 2."
"The engineer who was inspecting Falmouth's new AI unarmed operation error went missing. In a little while, I will hire a replacement."
"I want to make a request to the druids to participate in the green belt reduction plan. I'm thinking of stealing one of the T9 endangered species."
Each snippet of conversation sounded both dangerous and enticing, but Lennok had no intention of acting on them yet. He needed more information before he could make a move.
Quickly passing the unfamiliar words that came from around him, he expanded the range a little more.
At Lennok’s thought, his senses expanded rapidly, quickly gathering sounds across the entire street in an instant.
Less than a week has passed since he began to use magic properly, and Lennok's ability to control his magic had already been far beyond his perception.
Occasionally, there were spaces that were completely blocked off and Lennok's mana couldn't enter, but he didn't even bother about it.
He ignored risky stories and difficult conversations and instead focused on finding a simple case to make money without repercussions.
It was fishing for capital in the concrete jungle far away from the shadows of law and regulation.
By the time his mana reached a damp alleyway where a street and a sewer intersect.
[I told you to bring the stolen money quickly. Didn't you hear me?]
"… Found it."
Lennok's eyes flashed, and he moved quickly.
In an unknown back alley full of dampness, wet water flowed down the floor and between the remote cracks of the factories where the exhaust fumes from the ventilation fans did not dissipate. Two men mercilessly kicked a person who had fallen to the ground.
Puck! Puck!
"…what did I say?" the first man asked as he kicked and lit a cigarette with his trembling hand.
“I told you that as long as you do this job well, there will be no problems. But why did you steal the money and then talk bullshit about losing it? uh?" he continued.
"Uh, I'm not lying… it really, really disappeared along the way…” the man on the ground responded with a bloody face.
The old man suddenly turned his head with a jerk as another man standing next to the angry flailing man shook his head, unable to overcome his frustration.
"There's no answer. We have to combine the money he brought to make this month's installment payment…" the first man said.
"Uh, fuck… Third time. This time, the dwarf really won't let us go.” the other man added.
"Let’s do this," the first man's eyes shone dangerously.
The man's eyes shone dangerously.
"Let's sell his organs one by one," his friend agreed.
The eyes of the two were simultaneously directed to the man who was lying down.
The moment the man's complexion turned pale after realizing its meaning.
“Ughgguggguk!!!”
"Uguuuuguuu!”
The two men suddenly rolled their eyes and began to tremble as Lennok poked his head out from behind them. He had a cigarette in his mouth and a current of blue light was flashing in both of his hands.
"It works very well."
It was the most basic volt magic, but it was more than enough to knock two people out.
Ignoring the blank stare of the old man lying on the ground, Lennok began to search the arms of the fallen two without feeling any remorse for stealing from attempted organ sellers. He took the cash out of their wallets and collected their watches and accessories without mercy.
Finally, he searched their arms for something useful and found something hard caught in the arm of the man who had been kicking earlier.
"What's this?"
As soon as he took it out, the older man fell on the ground again in fright.
“Hee! Please, don’t aim this way!”
It was metal with a design similar to a fountain pen, and when he pressed the button in the middle, he heard a rumbling sound like an engine running inside.
In addition, it seemed that it was not an ordinary object, a faint light of mana leaked through the circuit-like patterns engraved on the surface.
“This is an illegally modified Dyke laser cutting machine. It's like a monster that can pierce through steel plates. If a person gets hit, It will just cut them off…”
"Hmm…"
‘Are the bullies of this world carrying these things as weapons? If cutting was the goal, it would be more convenient to use magic…’
Lennok pondered for a moment before ultimately deciding to put the pen-like cutter into his pocket. With only five bullets left in his pistol, he knew that having multiple means of self-defense was better.
Once he finished packing everything up, Lennok stood up and looked at the man who had yet to flee. He knew that he needed to dispose of any witnesses, and wondered if the man's memory would disappear if he were to faint.
The man trembled in fear as Lennok muttered to himself and lit an electric current in his hand.
"I'll never tell anyone!" the man exclaimed.
"It's easier said than done," replied Lennok coldly.
The man begged with a frightened expression, offering to give Lennok anything he wanted.
"It hasn't been long since I came to this city," Lennok grinned. "I'm looking for a job."
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