After I left the store, I met up with Otto outside. Together, we traveled from place to place and destroyed as many of the places we could. I stole their money, of course, but I stopped being nice about it. I killed a lot.

Some of the places had more people, and I almost got into a bind a couple of times, but I made it through pretty well. I also tested my magic out on a lot of them.

Non-attributed magic was extremely useful. Using it, I was able to finally guide my magic where I wanted to, and control it from a long distance. The water cord thing I had just developed was now mostly useless. I had a much higher degree of control and could finally make water into a blades. 

Darkness magic. Its effects aren't obvious at first. After looking at my burned hand for a while, I realized it had a hidden effect I didn't notice. Darkness magic makes the magic persist for longer. I could feel little bits of electric magic in my hand still being supplied by the darkness magic. Using non-attributed magic, I figured out how to get rid of it, so now my hand can heal normally.

This warranted further study.

In order to figure out how it worked, I left a ball of dark magic in the middle of the room, and tried to observe it with my mana sensing abilities. It took a while, but I figured out how it worked. Darkness magic's principle is absorption. It absorbs light, magic, and if it's strong enough, maybe material. By using darkness magic in tandem with other elements, I can continually supply spells with magic from the atmosphere. It seems pretty economical, but casting dark magic seems to use more magic than normal, so it's a waste most of the time.

I figure that this must be the kind of magic most people would use to curse others, as it would last until someone dispels it. I imagine that if I were to combine it with poison magic the right way, it could cause people permanent damage. Maybe the blindness is permanent for all I know. 

After figuring this out, I thought that maybe light magic had an opposite property. I created a ball of light and continually supplied it with energy only to discover that it didn't. I couldn't figure it out. I observed it for a while but couldn't come to a conclusion until I started tossing other magics into it.

While it is possible to dispel magic using non-attributed magic, light magic does the job better. Light magic seems to disrupt or destroy other magics with minimal effort. It's probably going to be super useful if I get into a fight with a fellow magic user, but I haven't met any so far. I hope I'm using magic better than them at least. Hopefully, my cheat applies to that as well.

All in all, the two magics do have opposite effects. They can cancel each other pretty well, darkness magic being able to absorb light magic to weaken it, and light magic dispelling dark magic at the same time. If I find one, I'll use the other.

Anyways, back to the destruction of the drug ring. After the mess I had where I destroyed a wall, I decided to involve Otto a little more. So far, he hadn't really been doing much. I didn't really need him for much, but I decided that I should take my life a little more seriously when dealing with these fuckers. If I died, and these guys didn't, they were going to still be around. Before, I figured I would rob them and make them a bit upset, but I'm not going to be satisfied with that anymore. I was going to smash their organization, and I couldn't do that if I was dead.

So, I would rush in to quickly beat them up, and Otto would take care of any that I missed. It worked pretty well. We found a couple more basements where people were being kept, but we never found one where they were beating their captives like they were doing in the other one. That's the only comfort I felt while doing this.

After I freed one group of girls, I decided I needed some information on how they were captured, so I decided to ask.

Apparently, most of them were traveling. They would enter town, find an inn, and would be kidnapped in the middle of the night.

...

I'm really sad I didn't kill that one other innkeeper.

And if that Adventurer's Guild asshole sent that dumb girl to those two inns...

Yeah, he's next on my shit list.

After I pick up my ID, I don't think anyone else will be able to get one.

Yeah, he gonna die.

When I was going through each of the places, I made sure to rob them. Overall, I've amassed a small fortune. Maybe a large one. I'm not sure how currency works here, but I've got a lot of gold. Hopefully, I'm rich. If not, I'll rob some more. 

Maybe I shouldn't even bother with being an adventurer. I doubt I'll make this much as an adventurer, and there are probably a lot of obligations to the guild, like helping out when they're in trouble.

...

Yeah, fuck that. Thief route it is!

Right now, I've killed my way through most of these bases, but I haven't seen major amounts of Clover Leaf. Hopefully, one of these places will have the main supply. That will probably be the main base.

So, Otto and I are moving onto a new place. This one is an abandoned warehouse between the slums and a merchant district. It looks a bit under the weather, but it's on the list. Frank wouldn't lie to me.

Okay, Frank would totally lie to me. But if he did, I know where I left him. I think. I wish I had tied him up with his clothes, though. That will have to be remedied.

So, coming across an unfamiliar environment, it was time for magic experiment no. 28. Developing new spells in order to accomplish my goals is not an easy feat, but I'll figure it all out.

Experiment no. 28 is simple, but I don't know how well this will go. Experiment no. 25 was the same thing, but this time I need to check the target audience.

For experiment no. 25, I decided to make a search spell. I did this by creating small waves of non-attributed magic, sending them out, and trying to read the feedback I would receive. That was not easy. I knew it was possible, kept at it, and eventually got a skill called mana scanning, so I think I did well. Using it, I could detect whenever the magic would hit another source of magic, how far away it was, and what direction it was in.

I realized it was source of magic, because I tried using it on a darkness spell I left on the ground for experiment no. 26. While it did eat up most of the wave I sent at it, it also gave a reaction.

Now, experiment no. 28 is what we like to call "Planning ahead." I don't do that much, but for this operation, I'll make an exception. 

Experiment no. 28. Results: Success (?)

I wanted to see if people could detect my magic. I used my mana scanning skill by sending out waves of mana across the building. I didn't notice any of them suddenly running, or heard anyone say anything, so I think we're in the clear.

This time, Otto and I will have our work cut out for us.

There were 21 sources in the building which I decided to assume were people, as the only other source I had found were sources I had created. There were nine on the first floor, seven on the second floor, and five in what appeared to be a basement. 

Time to get to work.

Using the fruits of experiment no. 17, I used a cord of water I created to pull myself up the side of the building onto the roof, before activating concealment once I realized I had forgotten to. That was a close call.

I tried sneaking around, but quickly realized that the roof was extremely loud. I would take a step, and it would creak. Shit. 

I'm not actually sure how to fix this.

...

Magic?

Magic solves all problems.

Experiment no. 29. Results: NOPE, FUCK, WHOOPS, THAT AIN'T SMART

I tried to use mana under my feet to cushion them and make my steps softer.

I put my foot down on the floor, and...

My foot went through the ceiling.

Note to self: Magic makes me strong, not silent.

Honestly, I'm surprised that my experiments so far haven't fucked me up yet. Today, I've learned a valuable lesson. Don't fuck up.

I immediately heard someone below me shouting.

Well then. 

Time to run.

I turned around to leap off the roof, took a few steps, and found my other foot going through the roof again. As I put weight on that foot, I fell over, and tumbled off the roof.

Okay, maybe the roof is just bad. I'll figure it out later once I'm not falling from two stories up.

Yeah. This is going to hurt.

I used water magic to try and make a cord to catch myself with, but I missed and it flew above the roof, not wrapping around anything. Fuck.

I hit the ground, expelling the breath out of my lungs as I landed on my back.

"Ow, ow, ow."

I was in pain, but not as much as I should have been in. Cheat status, you didn't fail me. 

I got slowly, before remember the situation I was in. Right, gotta dash.

I ran over to where Otto was on standby.

"Otto, plan B!"

What is plan B?

Improvise.

Otto looks like he wants to kill me as I drag him back towards the building. I wonder how I can read him so well, even though he doesn't have a face. Anyways, we gotta smash em while we can. I can't let any escape. Let's do this.

Status.

Name:	Simon Harmes	Vitality	208	Mana Capacity	266
Race:	Human	Strength	208	Intellect	226
Age:	16	Agility	217	Wisdom	226
Level:	28	Constitution	208	Perception	245
Titles:			Affinities:
Blessed By God (L)			Water
Hated By An Archangel (U)			Light
Automaton's Friend (R)			Darkness
Enemy of Silver Leaf (S)			Poison
			Lightning
			Space-Time

 

Skills: Level: The Chaos of a Joker (U) NA Language Comprehension (R)  NA Presence Erasure (R)  1 Dagger Wielding (S) 8 Electricity Resistance (S) 2 Stealing (S) 4 Dissection (S) 1 Cooking (C) 8 Poison Resistance (C) 5 Short Sword Technique (C) 4 Dashing (C) 2 Dual Wielding (C) 2

Magic: Level: Instant Cast (U)  NA Item Storage (R)  MAX Poison Magic (R) 8 Attribute Fusion (R) 7 Lightning Magic (S) 9 Non-Attributed Magic (S) 6 Water Magic (S) 5 Darkness Magic (S) 3 Mana Scanning (S) 1 Shine Magic (C) 9 Appraisal (C) 4

 

Okay. That should be fine enough.

I grin. Otto doesn't. Let's do this.

 * * *

Well, that venture was a mistake.

I'm now tied up. And gagged. I got no fucking clue where Otto went. 

I was seriously underestimating these guys.

Really, if it was that easy to smash a drug ring, you'd have thought someone else would have done that by now.

I really need to plan more.

Yeah, this entire escapade was impulsive of me. I can learn from that.

Probably.

When the people in the warehouse saw I was running away, they weren't expecting me to come back. They probably thought I was just doing reconnaissance. I was... Kind of. Well, they weren't expecting me to rush into a side entrance and give em a good bolt of lightning. It's so satisfying to have my ranged attacks work. 

While I handle ranged attacks, Otto rushed in with his lute. The plank of wood I got for him broke at one of the other places. Makes me wonder what the hell that lute is made of that allows it to endure more than the plank. I'm kind of scared, to be honest. 

People from the other floors rushed down to take care of us. Fucking hell, twenty people is a few too many for even me. 

This was a bad idea.

Next time, I'll sneak my way back in.

I swung my short sword whenever someone got too close. Focusing on multiple spells at once is rather challenging at first, but once I got the hang of it, I can send a couple shocks at people at once. 

So, now that I'm up against these people, I'm trying to use my magic for something new. Experiment no. 30 is a go.

I tried using magic on the roof to soften my footsteps, but I broke the roof. So, can I use magic to strengthen my blows?

Signs point to yes. 

I swung my sword at the one rushing at me. He raised his sword to block, but, sorry friend. I'm enough as a cheat as is. Cheat plus magic strengthening equals complete and utter bullshit.

He went flying. His sword went flying. 

My sword broke right where I hit his.

Fuck. 

That was the sword glasses gave me.

It was my favorite. 

Whatever, I looted a shit ton before. 

I tossed aside the broken sword and pulled out a new one.

So, if I can strengthen myself, can I strengthen my sword?

I shoved mana into my new sword and pulled it back for a swing at the new guy running up.

Then the new sword broke.

Whoops.

And then the guy reached me, swinging his sword randomly. Now, I may be self taught, but according to every shitty fantasy I've read, you need technique. Aim for the vitals. That kind of shit.

What I'm trying to say is, I'm fucking lucky that he swung his sword at a bad angle, and it went into my shoulder.

I don't think I had been hurt like this since I came to this world. Note to self: Never let yourself get hit again.

Fuck, that hurt. 

I backed up and fell over, gripping my arm. The sword didn't cut in too deeply. I still screamed out before gritting my teeth.

As the guy rushed over I heard someone shout something, causing him to hesitate. Before I could do anything, he tackled me while I was on the ground and knocked me out somehow.

Honestly, not sure how he did it. Hopefully he didn't punch me in the face. I like my face.

Fuck.

Now I'm tied up and Otto is gone.

What now?