Chapter 335: Private Meeting (1)

The day after meeting Aris.

Lennok began to take care of his postponed errands, one by one.

These were appointments he had put off after receiving Aris’s call.

He had cleared his schedule, prepared to give her extensive explanations about the current situation, but things don’t always go as planned.

“……”

Aris’s decision slightly surprised Lennok, but he didn’t dwell on it.

The Aris Richellen Lennok had known was someone keenly aware of the weight of her duties and responsibilities.

If such a person temporarily stepped down from her professorship to return to the Magic Tower, there must be a significant reason.

If it was merely postponed, Lennok could wait. Aris had waited much longer for his answer, after all.

“Potion crafting is done, alchemy lab reinforcement, business plan review, equity transfer approval… Davi, what else is there?”

“Reviewing the lab relocation plan, replenishing used medicinal ingredients, and making extra pills for the New Year. Equipment maintenance is all that’s left.”

Davi, lounging in the circuit breaker box, could handle the role of a scheduler without Lennok even having to specifically order her.

Lennok leaned back on the workbench, lost in thought.

“Considering the schedule, moving right now would be impossible, and I already ordered the medicinal ingredients. Making pills can be done anywhere, but…”

“Where are you going?”

“The rechargeable shotgun I gave Palmer for customization. It’s about time I pick it up.”

As he became more skilled in alchemy, combining ingredients to make pills was no longer difficult for him to do alone.

It was still hard to say he had found a perfect prototype for Lennok, but he had succeeded in replicating effects similar to commercially available products.

Not much was left to do.

He immediately went to Palmer’s workshop to observe the completion of the shotgun he was working on.

Palmer grumbled, but faithfully assembled and completed the shotgun parts Lennok had personally carved and crafted.

“Where on earth did you get these materials?”

Kwooong!!

The rechargeable shotgun placed on the workbench emanated a weight entirely different from before.

“For something not made of metal, it’s surprisingly durable, but it’s insanely heavy. To use such a material for shotgun parts, you must be out of your mind too.”

“There’s no other way, is there?”

As Lennok chuckled and lifted the shotgun with one hand, Palmer’s expression strangely changed.

“To boost its power without complex processes, the only way is to enhance the gun’s durability itself.”

“Hmph, that shotgun’s power is already complete. How could you possibly extract more firepower from it?”

“It’s not difficult. I can apply Property Transformation three separate times to cause repulsion.”

Click-clack!!

Lennok lifted the rechargeable shotgun, which was lightened by magic, and imbued it with mana.

Whoooosh!!

Three different types of mana began to rotate simultaneously inside the shotgun’s barrel.

“Controlling their direction perfectly is difficult and inefficient, but merely forcing them in the direction the muzzle is pointed…”

Kugugugugu!!

At that moment, the air inside the workshop began to swirl and rotate around the shotgun Lennok held.

Unidentifiable equipment hanging on the walls clattered to the floor, and the window frames rattled, threatening to shatter.

Palmer nodded, his face pale.

“Alright, alright, I get it! Stop it, you madman!”

“It’s perfectly possible, as long as the barrel and cylinder can withstand the shock.”

As Lennok said that and quickly dispersed the mana, Palmer shook his head and slumped into a chair.

“If you want that much power, why don’t you just carry a cannon?”

“I’ve considered it, but it would require constant maintenance all the same. In that regard, I quite like this shotgun.”

Lennok smiled as he applied a shrinking spell and stored the shotgun in his sleeve.

“The rechargeable system itself is quite efficient, and there’s a lot of room for utilization depending on the user’s capabilities. It’s an item worthy of being called a custom product from the Machine City.”

“……Right. Fine, just go. I’ll calculate the estimate and send you the bill.”

Palmer waved his hand, his face weary.

Afterward, Lennok purchased various other equipment from Palmer’s workshop, such as wires, daggers that could be stored on wrists, and camping kits, before leaving.

Following Lapis’s summons, his next destination was the Northern Continent’s snowy fields.

It was clearly a region where he would likely be camping frequently.

“What else do I have left to do? Ah, right.”

Before heading to his final planned stop, Lennok simply bought a large pile of fresh vegetables from a nearby greengrocer.

“Did Evelyn like celery? I think she often ate carrots and cucumbers.”

He would most likely meet Evelyn in the Northern Continent.

Since she had headed there almost a month earlier, the probability of her having fresh vegetables would be low.

Since he was already taking various items, bringing a gift for Evelyn wasn’t difficult.

Lennok thought so, focusing on buying vegetables that were easy to cut into small pieces and convenient to store, then simply cut them, put them in a container, and packed them.

“I always think that Agent has very strange eating habits.”

“……”

“To maintain nutritional balance, you need a good balance of meat and vegetables.”

“You can say that again. Though, that’s rich coming from you.”

Lennok sighed, looking down at Davi, who, not content with siphoning electricity from the circuit breaker box, was now munching on Lennok’s phone battery.

Lapis’s summons indicated tomorrow. Time was running out.

Lennok looked down at his pre-packed luggage, checked his watch, and stood up.

Before heading to the Northern Continent, there was one last place he had to stop.

Beep-beep-

A large hospital located in Sector 20.

Specifically, a VIP room on the top floor.

The figure of a bird-headed giant, lying on a spacious single bed, was visible through the window.

Felix’s body, with his eyes closed, was in such a terrible state that it was hard to find an uninjured spot.

Despite being bandaged head to toe, blood seeped through, indicating severe injuries.

His normally straight beak was cracked and shattered, exposing raw, bloody flesh.

Next to Lennok, who stood silently outside the window, Dylan spoke calmly.

“They said it would take about a month for him to regain consciousness.”

“……”

“I heard the story. The old crocodile put our director in this state, didn’t he?”

Dylan chewed on his lips behind his wrestler mask.

“Damn it, Mila and I should’ve gone with him too.”

“Director Felix’s judgment wasn’t wrong.”

At that moment, a woman who walked into the room answered Dylan’s words.

She had a cold, short bob haircut. A beauty with a neat appearance, but her stiff expression gave her a strong, chilling impression.

“You two have been called to various places recently under the Director’s orders, so we needed to save some strength in case of an emergency.”

“Deputy Director…”

“Or, are you saying you don’t trust my judgment, which approved his decision?”

“Haha…”

Dylan, sweating profusely under the sharp gaze of the woman called Deputy Director, subtly backed away.

“Come to think of it, I forgot Felix’s get-well present. This is going to be a problem. I’ll be right back.”

“What?”

Lennok didn’t even have time to stop him.

The Deputy Director ignored Dylan, who had vanished from the room in an instant, and immediately turned her gaze to Lennok.

“Adamant Thunder. Is that right?”

“……”

She didn’t wait for Lennok’s answer and extended her hand first.

“Stella Green. I’m the Deputy Director of the Antares Office. I’m managing the office in place of the absent Director.”

“Van. Freelancer.”

“Thank you for remembering to visit our member. I never thought you’d come for a visit; you’re a much more compassionate person than I imagined.”

“……Rumors, originally, are not to be trusted.”

Lennok said that, subtly turning his head towards Felix.

Visiting him was planned, but he hadn’t expected Felix to still be unconscious.

The battle with Croken had been intense, but considering there were no serious injuries during the fight, he had thought his condition would have improved by now…

Considering Hina, who was severely injured, had recovered enough to walk around when he visited the Agent headquarters before coming here, the situation was unnatural.

What he could think of was…

“Croken Asylus.”

Stella, who had been looking up at Lennok’s back, spoke.

“You came to hear about that old man, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Shall we sit and talk?”

Stella said so, crossing her legs and sitting on the sofa placed against the hospital room wall.

She pulled out a pill from her pocket and casually put it in her mouth.

Just as Lennok faintly furrowed his brows, Stella spoke defensively.

“It’s an e-cigarette. It only emits vapor.”

Come to think of it, it wasn’t something that was lit and burned in the first place. Its appearance seemed closer to an electronic device.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“……”

Lennok, who sat opposite Stella, whose lips were tightly sealed, asked.

“The warhammer Felix carried. Are these injuries due to the mana contained within that hammer?”

“……What?”

“Croken Asylus called that mana ‘of the Coming’. And the name ‘Coming’ was…”

After returning to the city, he had invested time trying to find out about that name.

If Croken was interested enough to obtain it himself, it was certainly knowledge Lennok should also know.

The fact he learned as a result was that a person using that epithet existed more than 200 years ago.

And that man had failed in his Ascension and returned to ash and dust.

The ‘Coming’ mentioned by Felix and Croken was, in fact, the epithet of a 9th-level Ascendant who was now dead.

“If these are the after-effects of using the posthumous mana of such a being as a weapon, then it makes sense that Felix is still suffering from lingering issues. And also why Croken, who isn’t particular about weapons, would obtain that hammer.”

Stella, who had been looking at Lennok with a slightly surprised expression, muttered.

“That old man seems to have gotten quite loose-lipped when I wasn’t looking. I knew Felix knew, but I never imagined even you would know that fact.”

“……”

“Before settling in this city, I traveled.”

Stella said, exhaling puffs of vapor.

“There were people who wished to see all the mysteries of this world with their own eyes and confirm the coming conclusion.”

“……”

“Many things happened during that long journey. And everyone changed.”

Silence fell.

“Those who sensed the end was near as the seemingly eternal Arsnover crumbled began to move. They saw and heard many things, but the answers they arrived at inevitably diverged.”

“And your answer, following Antares, is this mercenary office, you mean.”

It was clear without words.

The mana rising from Stella’s entire body, as she sat elegantly with crossed legs and flicked her e-cigarette, was more powerful than any words.

An 7th-level Archmage who had completed the seven Hierarchies and become an avatar of Self-transformation.

It was impossible to guess how long that momentum, which had settled so deeply it resembled the currents of the deep sea, had been endured and refined.

But at the end of the current, flowing as slowly as if time had stopped, there was a faint, distorted trace of mutation rising.

Had she already found her own answer on how to take another step forward?

The Deputy Director of the Antares Office was a possessor of military might comparable to the Cartel’s executives.

The Antares Office, possessing Antares, Stella, and Felix, would be no exaggeration to say their power rivaled that of The Triad.

But if there was a reason why they had remained silent as a mercenary group instead of operating openly in the shadows until now…

“The posthumous mana of the Coming is one of the ancient artifacts obtained during such travels. Weapons crafted by processing the remains of a renowned berserker from centuries ago… they possess power desirable even to a 7th-level Archmage, but their after-effects are also formidable.”

She glanced towards the window, muttering.

Her gaze, as she looked at the unconscious Felix, was filled with undisguised worry.

“So you lost such an item to Croken Asylus…”

“Naturally, the Director and I opposed the use of that artifact. Felix claiming that hammer as his own was his way of trying to overcome an unavoidable situation, like that time.”

Stella’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Adamant Thunder, didn’t you feel indebted by that fact, which is why you sought us out like this?”

“I feel a sense of guilt.”

“……”

Stella, struck by the truth, bit her lip.

“You don’t need to show me such feelings. I didn’t come here to reprimand you. If the physical after-effects are the issue, I also think I should respect Felix’s choice.”

“Then…”

“But I need to hear what Antares wants and hopes for, and why he’s been waiting for his moment until now.”

Lennok’s and Stella’s gazes clashed in mid-air.

“I only faced that man once. It was before I even completed the Hierarchy.”

“……”

“With such power, what is he still waiting and hoping for? What does he intend to do and where, after leaving the mercenary group he created?”

Lennok said, feeling the left sleeve of his coat.

“He once asked me what answer I desired on the day the sky opened. Now, I shall ask him.”

“……That’s a request I can’t grant.”

Stella shrugged.

“You know what kind of person Antares is. I only see him a few times a year. What can you expect from someone who wanders somewhere on the continent all the time?”

“……”

She nodded, seeing Lennok’s silent expression.

“Since you said you want to set up a meeting, I’ll pass on the message when the Director arrives. Antares seems to like you too, so you’ll probably hear from him soon.”

“No.”

Lennok shook his head despite Stella’s answer.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have much time either. I need to talk now.”

“But the Director is currently…”

This was his final destination before answering the summons. He hadn’t come here just to visit Felix.

If not today, such an opportunity wouldn’t easily come for either him or Antares.

The 8th-level Extreme Rank Ability User. The leader of one of the top mercenary groups in the city’s underworld. A being who remembers much and waits for his moment.

Lennok intended to have another private meeting with Antares and confirm his true intentions.

“Do I have to say it myself, that Antares is here right now?”