Chapter 1268

< Episode 1268 > 1268. Dark Moon

Brrrrrr.

The pocket watch I had stashed away began to vibrate.

With the calm demeanor befitting a gentleman, I pulled out the pocket watch and checked the caller—it was Rose, the director of X Temp Agency. I answered the call.

“It’s me.”

-Ah, yeah. It’s you, alright. Talking about being a gentleman, yet here you are acting like a barbarian.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I let out a dry cough.

“The job’s done. Has the payment been deposited?”

-The deposit has been confirmed. After deducting the 1 million credit fee, 4 million credits will be transferred to your account shortly.

“Did you call just to tell me that?”

-Apparently, you stormed into the dark sorcerer’s workshop who created the contamination, right? Where are you now?

“I was just about to leave after dealing with the sorcerer.”

(The sorcerer was already dead, and I encountered a demon—but there’s no need to report every little detail. Besides, this wasn’t even an official commission; it’s all wrapped up on my end.)

-You’re still near Wayway Village, huh? Should we consider this fortunate?

“…What’s the matter?”

-The client has issued a new commission. The task: rescue Wayway Village from the rampaging biker gang, Fracker.

“Being attacked by the bikers, huh….”

-Under normal circumstances, it would’ve ended with some looting, but today’s different. A new leader has risen after the old one’s death—this is their coronation ceremony. In the worst case, over 100 casualties could occur.

Fracker biker gang. No doubt the ones who attacked earlier today.

I sat on my bike and started the engine.

-Are you going to take the job? You got enough stamina for this?

My stamina is… barely holding up.

I used quite a bit of mana when countering the demon.

The wise choice would be to flee toward Zone W. The payment has already been deposited, so there’s no need to risk my life dealing with these bikers.

But those bastards pissed me off. They attacked me earlier, so I want to settle this while I’m here.

“How much is the reward?”

-8 million credits. This is a pretty urgent situation.

“A reward too good to pass up.”

-That’s unexpected.

“What do you mean?”

The bike roared to life as I gazed toward the village. I could see lights circling around it—the headlights of the bikers’ motorcycles. I turned off my own lights and sped ahead, not wanting to reveal my position to them.

-Most people in your situation would back out. No matter how good the money is, nothing beats preserving your own life, right?

“I simply judged that I can handle it.”

-Ah, I see. Good luck then. Work hard!

The call ended.

I tucked the pocket watch back into my coat. Gunshots echoed from the village. The villagers had gathered at the town hall to fend off the bikers.

The bikers were setting up cannons, apparently intent on blowing the town hall to pieces.

There were seven of them—perfect timing for a wide-area spell.

[Fire Rain]

From Heaven, a rain of fire descended upon them. Panicked, they abandoned their cannon and tried to flee, but the flames ignited the cannon, causing a massive explosion.

KABOOOOM!

All of them were caught in the blast.

“Shit!”

“There’s a mage! That mage is over there!”

“That’s the guy who killed our former boss! Boss! That bastard is our sworn enemy! We must avenge him!”

“Alright! I’ll cut off his head to honor the spirit of our former boss! Follow me! KYAAHHH!”

“KYAAHHHHHH!”

About twenty of them screamed wildly as they chased after me. Leaning forward on my bike, I…


The biker increased their speed. The top speed of 300km/h had already been reached long ago. Yet, the distance was closing in.

“It’s the difference in machines.”

The bike I’m riding is something I borrowed casually from a shop. On the other hand, those guys are on illegally modified bikes. It’s natural that my performance would fall short.

“You actually thought you could pull off a death race with that junk?”

“I’ll give you credit for your guts, wizard!”

“KYYYYAAAHOOO! DEATH RACE!!”

Missiles and bullets fly through the air. Thanks to the barrier, the bullets are somewhat manageable, but the missiles are annoying.

“[Gravity]”

The flying missiles and bullets slam into the ground. The missile exploded, sending two street racers flying. Shockingly, they rose about 20 meters before falling back down. Their necks twisted in despair-inducing angles. Instant death.

“Idiots!”

“We’ll run for all of you too!”

“Run ahead in hell first! KYAAAAAAHHHOOO!”

The bikers’ morale doesn’t drop. Instead, they get even more excited at the sight of their comrades’ blood.

And finally, one of them catches up. A guy sticking close to my right holds the handlebar with one hand while raising a crowbar with the other.

“Hello there, wizard sir! Don’t you see my beauty? I’m about to shove this beauty into your precious bike! We call it… bike rape!!”

“Crazy bastard.”

The crowbar in his hand glows red. It’s aura.

“HahahaHAHAHA!”

As the madman laughs, he attempts to stab the aura-filled crowbar into my bike. BANG! A gunshot rings out and his head explodes.

His bike loses balance and crashes.

KA-BOOM! An explosion sounds from behind.

‘That’s a sniper shot from the village side… Max, maybe?’

Follow-up bullets fly to cover me. Unfortunately, they don’t hit as accurately as the first one.

‘Even so, the covering fire was helpful.’

I take a deep breath.

Judging by my current mana, I can only cast 2~3 more spells. Meanwhile, nearly 20 bikers are still chasing me.

‘.…There.’

Rocky terrain comes into view. A place filled with jagged rocks. If I drive in there at this speed… I’ll probably crash into a rock and die.

I turn the bike towards the rocky area.

“Aaah? Did you suddenly go crazy?”

The surprised bikers hesitate and slightly reduce their speed.

I look at them and smirk.

“What was all that talk about a death race? Afraid when death gets close?”

The provocation works perfectly.

“Scared? Who’s scared?”

“Death means nothing!”

“Ki, KIYAHHHHOOOO!”

They charge towards the rocky area.

I feel cold sweat trickling down my forehead while focusing all my concentration.

As soon as I enter between two large rocks, I use [Moment].

[Using Moment (Instant). Remaining stacks: 5]

If I keep going straight, I’ll crash into a rock and die. Right or left. The path is on the left. I turn the handlebar with all my might to the left. The screech of the bike feels like it’s tearing my eardrums.

KA-BOOM! CRASH! CRASH!

Explosion sounds echo. The bikers collide with walls, meeting their end along with their bikes.

[Using Moment (Instant). Remaining stacks: 4]

[Using Moment (Instant). Remaining stacks: 3]

[Using Moment (Instant). Remaining stacks: 2]

[Using Moment (Instant). Remaining stacks: 1]

I continuously swerve using Moment.

CRASH! BOOMBOOMBOOM!

Every time I swerve, bikers die. Before I know it, only one remains—their leader. He’s grinning with madness.

“This is fun! So much fun! Absolutely amazing!!”

The final hurdle appears. A huge rock blocks the front. Both sides are also blocked by rocks, so no matter which way I turn, I’ll eventually crash.

[Using Moment (Instant). Remaining stacks: 0]

[Levitation]

I soar into the sky along with the bike. Thanks to Moment, timing the jump wasn’t difficult. The bike easily clears the rock.

I glance back. The biker leader wraps himself in aura and collides with the rock.

KA-BOOM!

He steps on the shattered rock fragments and leaps into the air, charging at me.

“Hahaha! That was a fun ride! Time to die now! DEATH CHARGE!”

The sharp point on the front of his bike…


Spikes clanged and shot out.

“What an idiot. Were you too excited to sense it?”

“Huh?”

He pointed at the sky with one hand.

In the night sky, a massive magic circle was drawn between the clouds. It was the magic circle I had prepared since entering the rocky area. The blue magic circle was slowly rotating, and at its center, compressed lightning was flickering.

The biggest issue was the reckless riders’ speed. Even for me, hitting those who disregard their lives while speeding is difficult.

But now, floating in the air, with the bike’s wheel rotations being meaningless, things are different.

[Thunder Bolt]

A bolt of lightning traveling at 100,000 km per second struck the guy.

He crashed into the ground and exploded.

I confirmed the crater formed on the ground and leisurely moved toward Wayway Village.

“Hmm, wasn’t the speed of sound about 340 meters per second? How fast was that lightning, then?”

Judging by speed alone, lightning feels unbeatable.

However, in this world, simple lightning doesn’t become a powerful weapon. And since humans handle lightning, there’s always a limit. In the case of Thunder Bolt, anyone with a mana affinity of level 3 or higher can sense it coming.

“Ultimately, human-controlled lightning is just a fast bullet.”

Whether it’s the speed of sound or the speed of lightning, experiencing that kind of speed as a human is difficult.

“Thank you for your help!”

Max bowed his head to me. Following him, the villagers thanked me. I waved my hand to stop their gratitude.

“I merely completed the mission.”

“Still, thank you. Normally, people would just leave in such situations. You didn’t.”

“Just dealt with them because of some bad karma with those guys.”

“Haha, is that so?”

It seemed like Max and the other villagers were misunderstanding something. Since the atmosphere wasn’t bad, I decided to let it slide.

“My bike fuel is almost gone. How much for a refill…?”

“Haha, it’s free. We’ll fill it up for you. After all, you got rid of our headache. Stay the night. Tomorrow morning, we’ll prepare a grand breakfast for you.”

“Hmph… if that’s the case, I can’t refuse. Bring the bike over after refueling it.”

I followed him. Max filled my bike’s tank completely.

“Care for a drink? I’ll treat you to my secret stash. Don’t say any ridiculous stuff like getting drunk from one cup. Not even a passing dog would believe that.”

“…One cup should be fine.”

“Just wait a moment.”

Max brought out a bottle and a glass. The bottle was half-empty.

“This is a very rare liquor. The last time I drank it was probably 20 years ago… when I became the sheriff.”

“Isn’t it too old?”

“It’s the family’s secret brew. Have just one sip. Asking for more won’t get you anything.”

“…What kind of liquor is this?”

“My late father said it’s snake wine. What kind of snake, I don’t know.”

I looked at the golden liquid in the glass and gulped it down in one go.

It was cold.

So cold it felt like my spirit froze to the bone. But the chill turned into vitality. My mana circuit reacted.

“…My mana increased slightly. Was this a spirit medicine?”

I eyed the bottle greedily.

“No way. And it has no effect after the second cup.”

“These kinds of elixirs aren’t rare. Thanks. Thanks to you, I got to taste something precious.”

“Take care.”

I arrived home before dawn.

I entered the door code into the lock.

588274.

With a ‘ding’, the door opened.

And I flinched. Yuria was standing there in the entrance.

“Welcome back, Master. I’ve been waiting. Would you like to eat first? Or take a bath first? Or… me?”

Yuria gave a seductive smile and lifted her skirt slightly. Thankfully, her privates weren’t visible, but a sticky trail of arousal glistened between her thighs.

“Eh… first…”

“Yes?”

“A bath.”

“…Did I hear wrong?”

“My body is dirty with sweat and dust. I don’t want to hold you like this.”

Yuria looked surprised for a moment, then smiled brightly.

“I’m sorry. I was only thinking of myself. I’ll assist you with your bath, Master.”

Drip. Drip.

The sound of water falling nearby could be heard.