Chapter 141 – Amon Family (One)

The merchants gathered at one corner of the market whispered among themselves as they watched the hooded boy disappear into the distance.

“A kid who doesn’t know anything.”

“Shouldn’t we have told him? That what he’s doing right now is incredibly dangerous.”

Just moments ago, the item the hooded boy had shown along with his question was a Black Card.

And not just one, but two.

“Where should I go if I want to modify the pattern on this card?”

Upon seeing the card, the startled merchants all evaded the answer in unison.

“W-we don’t know anything about that.”

“Right. We’re just guys who sell stuff.”

The intense conflict between the northern Nostra Clan and the eastern Amon Family was a fact known to everyone in the black market.

Especially the recent mass killing of Card Technicians—it was impossible not to know about it.

One stall owner fidgeted anxiously and said,

“We should at least say something. Tell him to get out of here quickly if he doesn’t want to get hurt.”

The moment he tried to step forward.

Thud!

Others immediately grabbed his arm.

“Are you crazy? What if you get caught up in it and get hurt for no reason? Just pretend you didn’t see anything.”

“That’s right. Don’t meddle. The Amon kids are completely on edge these days.”

The man who had been about to chase after the boy couldn’t argue back.

Because he knew it too.

The fact that life was too harsh to perform good deeds without considering the circumstances.

To offer pure goodwill.

Without being influenced by the situation.

Such things were only possible for children who were still untainted by the world.

“……”

The man, burdened with too much to easily take a step, could only watch.

The boy disappearing at the far end of the market.

With troubled and apologetic eyes.

“Eat this and gain strength! Selling a miraculous panacea that lets you live comfortably up to 200 years old!”

‘Live up to 200 years old?’

Ray reflexively stopped his turning head.

He consciously tried not to listen to the surrounding sounds and quickened his pace.

‘…It’s about time for a reaction to come.’

It had been 20 minutes since he started asking about cards in the Amon Family’s main area of activity.

A short time, if you considered it short.

But given the organization’s scale of two to three hundred members and the system that inevitably accompanied it, he thought it was enough time for a report to reach the higher-ups.

In fact, there had been several instances of presences carefully observing him before disappearing.

‘But there’s no reaction, not yet.’

Should he be more proactive in drawing attention?

“Selling a megaphone that makes your voice echo loudly all the way to the next numbered sector!”

“How much for that megaphone…”

Just as he was about to ask the price.

Thud— thud— thud—

He sensed multiple presences approaching rapidly.

They weren’t mere passersby.

It was an approach with clear intent.

‘They don’t seem to be from a single group.’

Excitement, thrill, joy.

The gem’s Mana, resonating with the boy’s emotions, quickly spread throughout his body.

Zzzt— zzzzt—

A faint electric current flowed over his skin.

It was a phenomenon that occurred naturally because the purity of the Mana was too high.

Three weeks in Sector 46.

Ray had focused all his time entirely on handling the gem’s Mana, and thanks to that, he had achieved considerable communion.

In other words.

The absolute amount of Mana he could wield at once had increased.

At least more than double the previous amount.

Of course, the fact that he had to focus solely on it while using the gem’s Mana hadn’t changed.

But even considering that, it was true that his combat power had improved by leaps and bounds.

Ordinary people posed no problem no matter how many attacked at once.

The variables were only other Wizards.

And unless they were multiple 2nd Circle Wizards, or skilled 3rd or 4th Circle Wizards, they posed no threat at all, according to Ray’s calculation.

“Excuse me.”

Ray pushed through the crowd and entered the mouth of an alley.

He turned and turned through the alley, maintaining a certain distance so the pursuing group wouldn’t lose him.

Thud.

At the end, he arrived at a deep, open space.

It was an open space with multiple entrances.

Not long after he stopped in the center, burly men came pouring in from the direction he had just entered.

“Kid, let us have a look at you for a moment.”

“Earlier, your wallet looked pretty thick.”

The repertoire of those harboring dark emotions and chasing someone never changed.

However.

‘I don’t see any tattoos.’

He had heard that the four major organizations could be identified by tattoos placed in visible locations.

But these men didn’t have any.

The backs of their hands, forearms, nape of the neck, forehead, inside the nose, etc.

There were no tattoos anywhere.

They were just back-alley thugs unrelated to the Amon Family.

‘The wrong people chased me.’

At that moment, the second group that had been chasing Ray poured in from the opposite entrance.

Their number was ten, the same as the thugs, but their age range was distinctly different.

From mid-teens.

To early twenties.

They were broadly composed of relatively young members.

Moreover, Ring bearers were mixed among them.

One 2nd Circle and four 1st Circle.

The moment he recognized that fact, the sparks crackling around Ray intensified.

“Aah, they’re the Amon brats!”

“Sh-shit! We tried to snatch him quickly while no one was laying a hand on him. What are you doing! Get out! Fall back!”

The thugs hastily fled as soon as they saw the newly appeared group.

Amon brats.

The voice of the Nostra Clan operative replayed in Ray’s head.

“Why, they do exist. Those brats in the Amon Family. They’re Wizards too….”

“……”

The newly appeared group also didn’t bear any tattoos, but circumstantially, they seemed to belong to the Amon Family.

Ray parted his lips.

“You, are you from the Amon Family?”

Although he had been expecting a fight, it wasn’t absolutely necessary.

His goal was solely to meet the Amon Family’s upper echelon and make contact with the Card Technicians.

If conversation was possible, there was no reason to waste unnecessary stamina.

“If you’re from the Amon Family, I’d like to meet your superior and talk.”

No answer came back.

The group was looking at one girl among them, as if waiting for instructions.

‘That girl is the leader.’

She appeared to be around the same age as him.

A single book with a brown cover in her hand.

Indigo-blue hair that reached her waist.

And the only 2nd Circle in the group.

Her face bore no expression at all, giving her a doll-like impression.

…….

…….

In the suffocating silence.

The girl holding the book at chest height opened her palm─

Sssrak─

─and the moment the book opened to both sides.

Taang─!

The two 1st Circle members at the very front kicked off their positions and charged.

The distance closed rapidly.

Wham─! Whaam─! Wham─!

Fists clad in iron knuckles stormed toward Ray’s face, abdomen, and limbs like a tempest.

‘Body Enhancement Magic, close-combat type Wizards.’

Ray similarly drew up Red Mana and used Enhancement Magic.

His muscles writhed.

His pupils dilated.

His heartbeats grew fierce.

Wham─! Whaam─!

Fists that didn’t even graze his collar.

Bewilderment flashed across the enemies’ faces.

Just as Ray was about to draw a knife to respond.

“……”

He noticed something.

The Vessels of the ten opponents in the open space.

Black Mana, malice, wasn’t reflected.

To be precise, it existed but was extremely minimal in volume.

There was no intent to kill.

Unlike the thugs from earlier.

At most, a mindset of subduing the opponent.

The two in front of him were the same.

Technically, they were swinging their fists with all their might, but the psychology behind engaging in combat itself was passive.

Ray knew well when such a dynamic usually appeared.

‘When forced to move by someone else’s orders.’

The hand that had been about to draw a knife from his chest instead went into his bag.

And what emerged from there was.

“A, a book?”

“What the hell…!”

A massive book.

Bound with a red leather strap.

The concentration of tension flowing among the enemies sharply increased.

They had all heard from their teacher.

That there existed a type of Magic that amplified its power through long incantations written in books.

An incantation of that thickness…!

Just how powerful a Magic spell…!

The moment everyone thought that.

Whoosh──!

The Cromwell Encyclopedia split the air.

Thud──!

“Ahhhh──!”

One enemy grabbed his shoulder and rolled on the ground.

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

“W-what kind of Magic is that?”

“He, he shattered the bone in one hit.”

“Could it be ancient Magic from the Ancient Era…!”

The remaining boy still engaged in close combat with Ray─

Whoosh──!

─dodged the blood-red weapon with cold sweat and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“It’s not Magic! He just swung it! You idiots!”

To be precise, Metallization Magic had been used.

So currently, the encyclopedia was no different from a lump of iron that would hurt quite a bit if struck.

Whoosh──!

“You crazy bastard! Getting killed by something like a book, not even a knife or a gun! I’d be too ashamed to even talk about it anywhere!”

He wasn’t killing them.

If they died, they wouldn’t be able to talk anyway.

Thinking that, Ray silently swung the encyclopedia toward his opponent.

‘Probably a year or two younger than me. Around fourteen or fifteen.’

His skills weren’t bad.

Though his physique was small since he wasn’t fully grown, he didn’t seem greatly fatigued by the intense movements, as if he had consistently trained his stamina.

The seasoned quality emanating from his movements of swinging fists and dodging attacks attested to his familiarity with these street fights.

On top of that, the sense to adjust the output of his Enhancement Magic at necessary moments.

‘Not bad.’

A feeling of covering the insufficient Mana capacity of a 1st Circle with other elements.

Also, judging by their matching hair and eye color, he seemed to be the sibling of the leader girl who was currently fusing elements over there.

‘What Magic is she preparing? The element she’s using…’

Just as Ray was feeling his rising interest.

A chillingly blue mass of Mana dripped from the girl’s hand like a tear.

The moment it touched the ground.

Cccrack──!

An ice crystal bloomed.

Cccracklelelelelelele──!

The instantly created sheet of ice began charging fiercely toward Ray.

A sight as if a transparent someone was creating an icy path and rushing forward.

Ray’s interest completely shifted from the boy to the girl.

While increasing the output of his Enhancement Magic.

Whoosh!

He forcefully knocked away the flying knuckle with the encyclopedia as if swatting a bug.

Clang─!

“……!”

The opponent boy, who had been sent flying through the air.

Thud─!

Crashed into the wall of the open space, slid down, and fainted on the spot.

Meanwhile.

Cccracklelele─!

The ice path was right before his eyes.

Ray infused strength into his leg muscles and sprinted across the open space.

Tat-tat-tat─!

Cccracklele─!

The ice path chased after him at high speed like an agile snake.

From the sight of the miscellaneous items in its path freezing solid with thuds, it was easy to predict what would happen the moment he was caught.

Ray momentarily diverted his focus.

He tried to dismantle the combination of elements forming the ice path.

‘As expected, it doesn’t work.’

Was she truly a 2nd Circle?

While Ice Element did possess superior binding power compared to other elements, even aside from that point, the completion level of the Magic itself was high.

But.

Cccracklelele─!

‘The reaction is too slow.’

He couldn’t shake the feeling that the operation of the Magic was immature compared to its completion level.

Each time he changed direction, the ice path turned a beat late.

“……”

Ray shifted his gaze.

Looking at the girl concentrating fully on operating her Magic, he thought.

That.

That’s not how you do it.

Elements gathered above Ray’s hand.

They were exactly the same type of elements the girl had used.