Genius Warlock

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“Can everyone keep what just happened a secret?”

Following his discussion with Puppet, Oliver approached the Mura family, the Kimbell family, and Jane, just as Puppet vanished.

Fortunately, they promptly agreed to Oliver’s request.

This was to be expected.

Puppet, a being of equal stature to the Human-meat Chef, had caused a disturbance in the capital of Galos, one of the foremost superpowers among the selected national rights. Yet, Oliver had engaged in a conversation with Puppet on equal terms.

Initially, it may have appeared that Oliver was excessively deferential, but those with discernment could discern that Puppet was also showing respect towards Oliver.

Without mutual respect, such a conversation would not have occurred in the first place.

Perhaps Puppet’s decision not to harm anyone and depart was an extension of that respect as well.

Honestly, there wasn’t much to be certain about, but Lucian and Murphy, who were sharp-minded, instinctively heeded Oliver’s words, realizing it was the safest choice.

Upon hearing their responses, Oliver remarked,

“Thank you, everyone. Now, I will guide you to a safe place… relatively speaking.”

Oliver amended his statement, considering the city’s situation. Depending on the circumstances, the entire city might be unsafe.

As Oliver glanced at Jane, he recollected Kevin, Terence, and Yareli, who had accompanied him to the city. Perhaps now, there was an even stronger incentive to thwart Human-meat Chef.

With his thought concluded, Oliver swiftly retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it onto the ground.

He then activated a spell, harnessing the stored mana in his body. The magic infused in the paper emitted a purple light, forming a portal in mid-air.

“A scroll?”

Someone exclaimed in astonishment. Space magic was challenging, making scrolls relatively rare.

“Well… something like that. Could everyone please enter here? It’s connected to Rokuri University.”

Oliver’s words held true.

During his prior visit to Rokuri University with Kevin, he had discreetly embedded several pieces of paper, just in case.

Fortunately, the need for them had now arisen.

Upon Oliver’s instructions, Murphy and Lucian led their families through the portal without hesitation.

One by one.

Then, it was Jane’s turn. She remarked, appearing impressed,

“The scroll must be of good quality. I know Rokuri University is quite far from here.”

Oliver understood Jane’s implication.

Portal magic, a form of space magic, was challenging even for seasoned wizards.

The number of individuals who could use it solely with their own power, without auxiliary devices, was limited to two or three out of ten, and that number dwindled based on the distance and the items being transported.

Scrolls were no exception to this rule; transferring between cities necessitated presetting coordinates and installing stable auxiliary devices, which entailed considerable effort and expense.

Anyone familiar with this could recognize that Oliver’s portal magic was rather exceptional.

Simply using a piece of paper as a conduit to transport dozens of people over a considerable distance.

Considering the performance of conventional portal magic, it was quite remarkable. Oliver was aware of this.

However, irrespective of that fact, Oliver didn’t know the precise reason.

“Do you study magic?”

Jane nodded.

“Yes… If you make friends in a Magic Tower, you have to put in that effort. To not be disregarded.”

“I’ve never disregarded Miss Jane.”

Jane smiled faintly.

“Heh… I know. It was just a joke.”

“Ah… Anyway, you’re impressive. Busy with work and still studying magic. I don’t have time to explain right now, but can I explain later? It seems more important to go in now.”

Oliver pointed to the purple portal, and Jane nodded.

“Yes, that’s necessary… Zenon, no, Dave. Can I call you Dave? It’s just us two now, right?”

Oliver scanned the surroundings and nodded.

“Yes. That’s fine.”

“Thank you… Are you going to stop Human-meat Chef, Dave?”

“Probably. That’s my job.”

Upon hearing his response, Jane displayed a mix of worry, concern, anxiety, and a strong desire to dissuade him. These emotions were so intense that they nearly escaped her lips.

However, she tightly shut her eyes, reining in her emotions, revealing trust and determination instead.

“…Then, can you promise me one thing?”

“A promise?”

“Yes, try not to get hurt and come back safely.”

“Hmm… That might be a bit difficult. Mr. Human-meat Chef seems to be stronger than we thought.”

Oliver recollected the encounter with Human-meat Chef in the basement.

At first glance, he seemed like a robust adult male, but he possessed an unimaginable, vast, and concentrated life force, along with proportionate mana and emotions.

Undoubtedly, centuries of existence and the consumption of humans and creatures from other realms must have contributed to this power. That explained the quantity and quality of his energy, which surpassed imagination.

Just by sensing the energy, it felt like a being that had transcended humanity.

‘But in essence, it’s still human.’

Upon hearing Oliver’s explanation, Jane suddenly chuckled. When asked about her laughter, she responded,

“No, it’s just… It’s so like you, Dave. Normally, people would say something reassuring in this situation.”

“Ah…”

Oliver sighed again. He remembered the advice from the ladies at the Angels House.

When a woman is frightened, a gentleman should hold her gently, pat her back, and even boast if necessary to provide comfort.

“I’m sorry. I just forgot for a moment. I don’t like to lie to friends.”

“That’s somewhat nice to hear.”

Oliver hesitated and then awkwardly extended his arms.

In an attempt to practice the Angels House’s teachings, Jane seemed to understand his intention and raised her hand, subtly indicating her decline.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass for now. It’s not good for my heart… Could you just promise to come back safely? I’d like to repay my debt.”

“Debt?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, Dave, I was able to negotiate well with Lucian and find a way to invest. Since I can’t help you right now, I want to repay you later.”

Oliver, who had awkwardly extended his arms, withdrew them and gave his assurance.

“I’ll try my best.”

“That’s enough for me.”

With that, Jane swiftly entered the portal.

She didn’t want to take up more of Oliver’s time.

As the last person entered, the purple portal, reflecting the sorcerer’s will, completely vanished into thin air.

Oliver retrieved the now powerless piece of paper and placed it in his pocket. Then, he focused his eyes, activating the eyes of a warlock.

His goal: to discover where Human-meat Chef was preparing the ritual.

Puppet hadn’t provided this information, but Oliver didn’t find it too challenging to ascertain.

At the end of the undercurrents of madness, chaos, anger, and fear coursing beneath the entire city, he would locate the site.

Oliver concentrated on the warlock’s eyes’, expanding its range.

10 meters, 100 meters, 1,000 meters, 10,000 meters… until he locked onto his target.

Although it was dizzying and strained his eyes due to the unprecedented scale, Oliver’s vision soon encompassed the entire city. He identified a location where torrents of emotions congregated, much like water collecting in a sunken basin.

It was right at the city’s heart, within Sector 1, characterized by a chaotic structure reminiscent of serpents entwining.

There, the drained emotions of the entire city were converging into a colossal tower.

An intriguing sight.

However, this intriguing sight was not the only thing to behold.

While Oliver had been in the sewers, the wizards of Rokuri University, after making a certain decision, had emerged in large numbers to confront Human-meat Chef’s minions.

Oliver identified them, including Kevin, Terence, and Yareli, by their emotions and auras, which he had roughly memorized.

All of them, the wizards of Rokuri University, the police, and the military forces, were joining forces to combat the rampaging minions of Human-meat Chef.

While Rokuri University coordinated systematically with the police and military, the Chef’s faction, seemingly focused on sowing chaos in the city, moved chaotically, allowing the university’s side to gain the upper hand.

However, there were exceptions, as always.

Surprisingly, some of them, fighting with a degree of organization, were pushing the Rokuri University contingent into a crisis.

The issue was that Yareli was among them.

“First, this side.”

Oliver retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket and threw it.

As before, the paper created a purple portal, and Oliver swiftly leaped into it.

With the abrupt transition, the surroundings changed from underground to above ground.

Oliver beheld the frozen ground and blazing buildings, lifeless Rokuri University wizards, and Yareli fiercely battling amidst them.

Having already expended a significant amount of mana, she fought without her glasses, her eyes and the surrounding area showing signs of damage.

Her opponents were defectors from Rokuri University’s life alchemy department, now aligned with Human-meat Chef’s side. They were deeply bewildered by Oliver’s sudden appearance.

It was as if an intruder had materialized just as they were about to capture their prey.

Amid this brief moment of confusion, Oliver instinctively reached out and gently placed his hand on the back of Yareli’s head.

Yareli was taken aback, but Oliver, following his instincts, stabilized her eyes, which were on the verge of losing control.

He didn’t comprehend the underlying principle.

It was an automatic reaction upon seeing Yareli, whose eyes had turned bloodshot from overexertion.

Fortunately, Oliver’s action proved effective as Yareli’s eyes quickly regained stability.

As evidence, the blood pooling around her eyes receded, and the previously uncontrollably surging power was now properly concentrated, shattering the fire barrier erected by the opposing wizards and freezing them solid.

Crack━!!

The wizards from the life alchemy department were instantly encased in ice.

Yareli promptly closed her eyes, soothing her strained orbs.

Her eyelids and the area below her eyes were cracked and minutely wounded due to the cold. Oliver produced a salve for wounds and handed it to her.

“Are you alright?”

“How… how did you do that?”

Yareli, unusually surprised, stuttered in her inquiry.

Her reaction was understandable, as even her family’s research hadn’t uncovered a method to stabilize her unique eyes (peculiar constitution) through mere physical contact.

There were instances where magic was employed to treat the side effects of a peculiar constitution, but this was unprecedented.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Instead of offering an explanation, Oliver politely excused himself. Then, unexpectedly, he wrapped his arm around Yareli’s waist.

Yareli was startled by Oliver’s abrupt move, forcing her sore eyes open to see what was happening.

A colossal figure, over 5 meters tall, was bursting out of a burning building and charging toward them.

The creature had a hairless head, small eyes, elongated arms, hunched shoulders, a misshapen jaw, and a body bulging with muscle and fat.

Yareli realized that the creature before her was an extinct ogre from the past.

The ogre hoisted a building column with one hand and swung it downward. Oliver, with Yareli by his side, swiftly evaded the attack.

As gleaned from books, the ogre possessed incredible strength; upon impact, the ground erupted where the column struck, sending an earthy pillar shooting upward.

Blocking it might have left Oliver unscathed, but Yareli would have suffered a severe jolt.

Yet, they couldn’t let their guard down.

Krowlang━━!!

A werewolf with jet-black fur burst through the dust cloud raised by the ogre, following Oliver.

Though not as massive as the ogre, the werewolf, standing over 3 meters tall, displayed agility defying its size, rapidly closing the gap and directing its black-magic-enhanced, blood-red teeth and claws at Oliver and Yareli.

“Minion.”

Upon Oliver’s summons, two minions concealed within his coat swiftly emerged, firing bullets aimed at the approaching werewolf’s eyes.

Whisk! Whisk!

The timing was impeccable, but the werewolf, displaying unbelievable reflexes, evaded the attack and raised its elongated arms.

It was on the verge of striking down to tear them apart.

At that precise moment, Yareli opened her eyes and froze the werewolf’s legs.

Crack!

The sudden freezing of its legs caused the werewolf to topple forward due to its momentum.

It seemed they had successfully overcome another crisis, but Oliver remained vigilant.

He had already ascertained the presence of more foes in the basement.

As this thought crossed his mind, the earth ensnared Oliver’s feet.

The ground, manipulated by magic, consumed Oliver’s feet like a bog and then solidified.

Following the magic embedded in the ground, Oliver observed several wizards, presumably from the life alchemy department, working in concert to imbue the ground with mana.

Half of them were primarily focused on immobilizing Oliver’s feet, while the other half cast defensive spells to counter his attempts to erode the magic.

A well-coordinated effort.

Oliver instinctively glanced skyward.

To his astonishment, a substantial quantity of blood hovered in the sky, resembling clouds.

[Impalement]

A woman’s voice reverberated through the air.

As the voice echoed, the mass of blood suspended above Oliver’s head rotated around a central point, taking the shape of a stake, and descended from above.

Witnessing this, Oliver flung the quarterstaff he held in one hand high into the sky.

[Black Javelin]

The quarterstaff, cloaked in a dark shroud, soared toward the descending blood stake, collided with it, shattered the stake into fragments, and vanished into the heavens.

The blood, disrupted by the Black Javelin, transformed into a crimson rain, falling to the ground. The onslaught of attacks momentarily ceased, almost as if captivated by the spectacle.

Seizing the opportunity, Oliver addressed the woman standing beyond the werewolf and the ogre.

“Hello, Ms. Desijeh Duranse.”

The woman, who had evidently augmented her power even further since their previous encounter, possibly with Gretel’s assistance, approached with an immense magical aura enveloping her.

“Do you know me?”

“We briefly met at the Lake Village social gathering. You are Desijeh Duranse, the dean of the life alchemy department, aren’t you?”

The woman nodded.

As per Oliver’s recollection, despite her youthful appearance in her early thirties, she was actually 64 years old.

The woman, appearing far younger than her true age, spoke.

“It’s an honor that the wizard who defeated Theodore remembers me.”

Desijeh was likely aware of Oliver’s victory over Theodore, possibly having heard it from Gretel.

Oliver replied,

“I was just lucky.”

“I agree. Without absorbing the mana of the lake, could you have even stood a chance against Theodore?”

Oliver nodded in agreement. He acknowledged that without the lake’s mana, he would have faced significant challenges due to the vast difference in firepower.

“Well, absorbing that vast amount of mana is unbelievable too… In that sense, I’m quite lucky today. Anything I capture in this city, I can consume. Not just the eyes of the Issai family but even you.”

“Uh… I promised to return safely, so could you perhaps let me go? I just came to help Miss Yareli.”

“Talking as if you can win? Do you think I’m a joke because you beat that old man Theodore?”

“No.”

Oliver responded earnestly, but it appeared his intent didn’t quite convey to the woman before him.

“I’m also one of the representing wizards of the university. Plus, unlike with Theodore, you don’t have a vast amount of power to absorb… Where’s this confidence coming from?”

“It seems there’s a misunderstanding. I don’t underestimate you, Ms. Desijeh. And it’s not true that I have nothing to absorb. Frankly, there’s quite a lot.”

As Desijeh looked perplexed, Oliver demonstrated his point through action.

He released some of the mana stored within his body and incanted a spell.

[Ptah’s Assistant]

As Oliver chanted, mechanical hands comprised of magical particles materialized next to his arm.

In this state, Oliver transferred a portion of the black suit enveloping him to the Ptah’s Assistant, forming a hand.

A colossal hand crafted from highly advanced mana and emotions.

Quietly, Oliver commanded,

“Extract.”

(To be Continued)

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