Chapter 1447

<Chapter 1447> 1447. Dark Moon

I couldn’t help but gawk as the female ninja vanished in the blink of an eye.

She was definitely living up to the ninja name—unbelievably fast. I immediately cast a Detection spell to scan the area, but there wasn’t a single trace of her presence. She had completely disappeared in that fleeting moment.

“The power ninjas use… I wanted to ask her about it.”

I knew she wouldn’t give me a straightforward answer. Still, curiosity got the better of me, and I opened my mouth without thinking.

“That’s definitely a magic-related power.”

It wasn’t the same kind of magic I used, but it was undoubtedly based on magic.

“Ninja characters are rare even in the original game, and here one shows up.”

Ninjas were one of the jobs players couldn’t choose. There were rumors that they’d be added later as DLC content. That’s what I believed.

I turned around. The bodies of the gang members she had wiped out lay scattered across the floor, pooling with blood. Despite the acrid smell, I felt a small sense of relief.

“I didn’t even know she was nearby until she revealed herself.”

If she had entered my sensory range, I would’ve noticed her instantly. But the fact that I didn’t detect her until just before she killed those gangsters was quite shocking.

“I don’t know her exact skill level… but she’s probably stronger than me right now.”

I checked the four transparent barriers surrounding my body. With these barriers, I could withstand a few attacks.

“The problem is, I can’t walk around all day maintaining barriers out of fear of assassination.”

I needed a proper countermeasure against assassins. An idea did come to mind, but implementing it immediately would be difficult. Even though my magical talent was genius-level, I hadn’t mastered every spell yet.

“Compared to other 5th-class mages, I know far fewer spells.”

As I walked out of the building, I hesitated and glanced back at the scattered corpses. My original plan was to brutally kill the gang members and leave them on display as a warning. But the female ninja interfered. Would leaving things as they were cause any trouble?

“It should be fine as a warning. Still, I should talk to Rose about this.”

She might know something about ninjas.

Instead of heading home, I entered the X-Zone Labor Office.

The sun hadn’t fully risen yet. In front of the labor office, workers stood in line waiting. These weren’t mercenaries like me—they were laborers sent to factories to earn money. They completely ignored me, and I didn’t bother addressing them either.

Eventually, Rose appeared. She glanced around briefly before assigning tasks to the workers.

“Don’t cause accidents on the job.”

“Haha… I wasn’t in my right mind because I was drunk that time.”

“Don’t drink on the job. I’m warning you, this is your last chance.”


Rose exchanged a few words with the workers. Rough words were exchanged. The workers all disappeared, and she flicked her finger at me.

“Come in. What brings you here today? A job request?”

“It’s personal business.”

I sat across from her in the office. Rose furrowed her brow as she listened to my explanation.

“You’ve caused trouble… but it seems we’re in the right here. The Fraxion Mercenary Group won’t get involved in something like this. They aren’t that stupid. The Harvus Gang… they could be a problem though. Those guys sometimes don’t think things through. You should be fine for now. As far as I know, Jupiter is pretty busy right now anyway.”

“Do you know anything about ninjas? Something called Invisible Blade?”

“What’s with that ridiculous name? You’ve gotten yourself mixed up with some strange people.”

“It’s not a ‘he,’ it’s a ‘she.'”

“…An even stranger woman then. I do know a few ninjas, but I’ve never heard of ‘Invisible Blade.’ Is she supposed to be skilled?”

“I’m not sure exactly how skilled she is, but it’s definitely beyond normal.”

“A skilled one like that wiping out a gang like Harvus… must just be building a reputation. She’s probably new to the city.”

“Do you know much about ninjas?”

“I know a few famous ones operating in Neo London. I’ve heard their roots are from Unbelievable Japan or something.”

Unbelievable Japan.

An ancient country that existed around 800 years ago. It no longer exists.

“Do you know anything about the jutsu ninjas use?”

“Not really. Why are you so curious?”

“To my limited knowledge, ninjas use hand seals when performing jutsu. But this kunoichi performed jutsu without using any.”

“Wizards use hand seals too. And you use Shadow Blade. Is it really that surprising?”

“Ninjas and wizards are different.”

“You must’ve been pretty shocked seeing a ninja.”

“Shocked. It was a full-on Ninja Reality Shock…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a thing.”

“Anyway, sorry, but I don’t know much about ninjas.”

“Alright.”

I stood up from my seat.

“Aren’t you going to request a job? There was one sent to you yesterday.”

“I’m too busy for that. Anyway, what kind of job is it?”

“It’s bodyguard work. Dark Moon is coming up soon. The pay is pretty good. Are you interested? You’ve got plenty of time until Dark Moon.”

“…I’m not really into bodyguard jobs.”

“Why not? Sometimes you can do nothing and still collect the money.”

“I’ve done a few bodyguard jobs before… none of them ended particularly well.”

“Got it. Then I’ll decline that job. Thanks for telling me about what happened today. Not that there’s much I can do, but some people just cause trouble and don’t say anything.”

I bid her farewell and returned home.

I closed the shop earlier than usual, hid in the alley, and kept watch on the opposite fish and chips shop. I quietly tailed the shop owner, John Clark. He was hunched over, glancing around nervously, clearly showing his unease.

‘So he’s heard about the Harvus Gang.’

He knows the details of the incident, so he probably suspects my involvement. He fears retaliation.

John’s residence was in Zone F. Commonly known as an upper-class area. Though it’s on the edge of the upper-class district. A neighborhood for newly rich moneybags.

‘This guy who runs a fish and chips shop lives here? Ridiculous. Did he make a big score while in the gang and buy a house?’

I confirmed him entering his house after unlocking the door.

[Detection]

Magic


The bodyguard scans the surroundings.

There were no bodyguards in sight. Instead, unmanned security robots patrolled both the garden and interior of the house, cleverly concealed from plain view.

I assessed the situation and sprang into action. Back in the military, I’d done countless missions infiltrating past security robots.

Robots are machines. Unless they’re high-end magitech models, they’re always vulnerable to electric currents.

[ELECTRIC FIELD]

Electricity surged outward from my feet across the ground. Of course, I carefully modulated the output – just enough to disable the robots without causing unnecessary collateral damage.

Moving forward, I found the camouflaged robot in the bushes completely neutralized, lying motionless.

Having successfully infiltrated, I casually placed a hand on John’s shoulder as he lounged on the sofa watching TV with a beer in hand.

“You’re enjoying quite the film there. Planetarium, right? It’s an interesting movie, though it does get a bit steamy.”

“Y-you…!”

John Clark leapt from his seat in shock, dropping his beer can which left a yellow stain spreading across the floor.

“Thanks to you, I didn’t sleep at all last night. Staying up all night like that after so long really put me in a bad mood during work today.”

“I-I was only trying to get the recipe! Honest!”

“Is this how far you’d go for a chicken recipe? What if I hadn’t been able to defend myself? Would I even be alive now?”

“N-no, I wasn’t going to kill you! I just wanted the recipe and then I was going to let you go!”

“Hah, even dogs wouldn’t believe your lies. Once someone’s been kidnapped by a gang, their fate is already sealed – common knowledge around these parts.”

Woooom.

Mana swirled as a magical circle materialized in midair. Seeing the circle, John immediately dropped to his knees, frantically bowing and wiping the floor.

“I’m sorry! I truly apologize… Just this once! Please spare me!”

From beneath the couch, he suddenly produced a hidden pistol and fired directly at my head.

Ting!

His bullets failed to even scratch my barrier.

“Seven weapons hidden in the living room alone – under the sofa, behind the TV, inside the drawers. You must have had quite the eventful life.”

“G-guards! Intruder! Why aren’t you responding?!”

He pulled the trigger again. The hail of bullets did nothing to penetrate my defenses.

Zzzt.

The completed magic circle flashed brilliantly before vanishing. A deep sense of despair washed over his face – showing him the circle had served its purpose.

“This movie ended with the protagonists breaking up, quite tragic. And now, allow me to demonstrate my original spell.”

[MICROWAVE]

His body began to swell rapidly before exploding with a loud bang.

Whether he felt pain in that instant is unknown, but the sight was undeniably grotesque. Blood and internal organs splattered everywhere. Had I not manipulated the barrier, it would have covered me as well.

Taking care to leave minimal traces, I made my way back out.

Five days later, Rose called.

“Been busy lately?”

“Not particularly. What’s up? Another job?”

The shop has stabilized.

I’ve hired new kitchen staff to replace myself, and now I’m mainly dealing with franchise inquiries. Beyond that, my time is entirely my own, which I’ve been dedicating to studying magic.

“It’s a direct request specifically for you. Related to Jupiter. Details are still unclear due to their strict confidentiality requirements. They’ve stated they’ll only disclose everything once you accept the job.”

The keyword has been dropped.

Jupiter.

Whoever commissioned this knows about my connection to Jupiter, Havens, and myself. They might even be part of Jupiter themselves, or perhaps linked to the ninjas.

“I’ll take it.”