BCST 05

chapter 05

KWAANG—!

The shockwave reached all the way down the sewer I had jumped into, accompanied by a scorching gust of heat.

“Whoa.”

Kin muttered softly, impressed by the vibration traveling up his legs.

“At this rate, it should be dead, right?”

I stayed silent at Kin’s words.

No signal had come yet indicating that the quest was complete.

Kugung.

Kugugugu…

The sound of the building collapsing from above reached us.

Kin, who had been quietly staring upwards, spoke again.

“That vampire… it’s not coming back to life, is it?”

“Don’t say things like that.”

Having experienced it firsthand, I knew that even saying something like that could suddenly give someone strength.

Kugugugung—.

Fortunately, along with the final collapse sound, the system window I had been waiting for finally appeared.

[Tutorial – Picky Vampire]
A bizarre corpse, unlike anything a human would create, has been found.
Reveal the mastermind behind the incident and eliminate them.
Reward – 4 Ability Points (Completed)

Done.

“Did I really finish it? Did I really?”

Leaving Kin behind, muttering his incantations, I crawled back out of the sewer.

The point was too risky to use immediately due to its nature, so I needed to collect what I could here first.

“Huh?”

I heard Kin’s voice, surprised as I climbed the ladder without hesitation.

Cough.

As I emerged, the scene confirmed it.

Beneath the rubble of the collapsed factory, the vampire lay torn apart, barely recognizable.

It seemed even a dead body didn’t become invisible.

I nudged a ripped tentacle with my foot—no movement at all.

The system window confirmed it; seeing it with my own eyes, the vampire was undoubtedly dead.

At that moment, I heard Kin climbing the ladder from behind.

Wait. Kin?

“Damn it! It’s dangerous!”

I quickly gathered my magic and completed the casting.

He must not notice this!

[Arcane Blast]

KWAANG—!

“Ugh! What?!”

Arcane Blast erupted on the large tentacle right next to Kin.

I kept my hand extended and maintained a calm expression.

“Persistent little thing, huh? Now it’s completely done.”

“R-Really? Vampires really are relentless.”

Kin said, staring at the limp tentacle beside him, looking pale.

“Anyway… if it’s like this…”

Ahem, hmm.

“I win the bet, but I’ll accept the office introduction.”

“Oh! You will? Then maybe…”

I nodded without hesitation.

“Yeah. I’ll drop by soon and make sure to speak well to the handler there.”

“Thanks. Mia will definitely like it too.”

Kin pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to me.

Ah, so it really is Mia.

Mia Dunleavy.

The office director and handler from the personnel agency I often relied on while playing.

My original plan was to build connections there over time, but luckily everything moved smoothly.

“The reward for the bet is as we discussed.”

“Yeah. Remember, you’re doing a mission with me whenever I need you.”

Kin nodded, glanced around, and muttered to himself.

“Still, they must have stashed some money somewhere…”

Money!

While the personnel agency and my connection with Kin were important, right now, money was the top priority.

It had been three days since I had properly eaten or washed.

After finishing the first battle, my desire to clean up and rest surged to the top of my mind.

Luckily, not long after, I found a safe with a distorted frame among the rubble.

Creak—.

Thud.

I pulled the half-open safe door by hand, and it completely came off.

“Strong for a mage, huh?”

Indeed, my body was physically capable.

My magical talent was also good.

Although the picky vampire had high magical defense and limited my strength, normally a black mage going through a tutorial would have no way to deal damage to it.

That the attack worked at all meant my magical abilities were far above average for this level.

By the way, is the tutorial really this difficult?

Now I understood.

There was no normal way to defeat a picky vampire.

Unless several conditions were luckily met, it would have been impossible to complete the mission alone.

We had eliminated only the gang members who were blood packs for the vampire, and the vampire had taken out its boss while a preserved lieutenant joined the fight.

“And Kin, a level 2 resolver, was even here as a helper.”

Glancing at Kin, he was watching me like a dog waiting for food, eyeing the open safe.

Although it was his request, he seemed cautious because he had intruded into mine.

Seeing him like that, I spoke.

“Let’s take some of this. Both of you worked hard.”

Kin lit up at those words.

“Really? No changing your mind later.”

“Sure.”

Money is just a tool for equipping gear and specs.

If there’s a chance to build good connections like this, it’s better to use it generously.

Besides, in these cases, attitude matters more than simply giving money.

Kin happily began taking out items from the safe.

“They really hoarded this, huh.”

Bundles of cash and chipware piled up in front of me.

“The chips don’t seem useful. Better to cash them. Or do you need any of these?”

“Chips…”

Seeing the items physically was unfamiliar, but I quickly understood what type of chipware they were.

Support chips like Photo Memory Chip, Flash Running, or Ascended Music Chip.

The only combat-useful one was a True Vitalizer Chip.

All cheap chips in my view.

I shook my head.

“No, I don’t need the chips. You take them, I’ll take the cash.”

I didn’t even have a neural socket anyway.

Unconsciously, I touched the back of my neck, and Kin nodded, handing over all the cash bundles.

“I usually trust security programs, but cash is good too. Since the Cipher War, data cowboys are still rampant.”

Data cowboys refer to hackers who steal electronic wallets.

Given the history of low electronic financial trust here, cash still circulates actively in this fusion-punk era.

For me, that’s perfect.

I wasn’t even sure I had a legitimate identity, so cash is best.

As I stuffed the cash into a small bag lying nearby, Kin hesitated and finally spoke.

“…Hey, mage, what’s your name?”

Name?

I suddenly remembered something I had typed in right before I fell here.

[Ph’nglui Mglw’nafh…]

Damn.

Why did that come to mind now?

“Eddie! It’s Eddie.”

The vein at my temple twitched across my forehead.

I shouted my previous character nickname, trying to stave off the growing headache.

Instinctively, I knew I shouldn’t recall that phrase fully.

“Eddie, huh? Mage Eddie. That went well. I’m Kin. See you at our office next time.”

Fortunately, Kin didn’t seem to notice anything odd and slowly extended his hand.

Clearly a handshake.

A strange feeling surged through me as I grasped the offered hand.

“…Yeah. I’ll drop by, Kin.”

I shook his hand.

After a brief moment, Kin released it and briskly walked away, as if he had no further business.

Watching him leave, I gathered all the cash and moved on.

I had a lot ahead: the personnel agency, the next quest, and point distribution.

But for now, all I wanted was rest.

Pixel Dream Motel

A place where cash payment is enough, no ID required, staffed by AI front desk personnel.

Even in the city, the motel quality was decent, though not luxurious.

People want personal service after all.

“Phew… finally some relief.”

Exiting the steaming shower, I looked out to see the city bathed in sunrise.

For some, it was the start of a new day.

For me, it was rest after almost three days.

I shook my hair and threw myself onto the bed; the soft mattress embraced my body.

Swish—.

Not a metaphor—the smart bed adjusted to my body shape, distributing pressure evenly.

It seemed to have correct skeletal adjustment and massage functions.

A biometric monitoring display on the ceiling showed heart rate, breathing, body temperature, and brainwaves.

Lighting adjusted naturally, and the bed temperature became pleasantly warm.

…I almost fell asleep instantly.

Futuristic tech was really something else.

Even though the Pixel Dream Motel wasn’t expensive, this made me wonder what a high-end hotel would be like.

Suppressing a laugh, I opened the system window.

It was time for rewards.

Snap—.

[Unallocated Ability Points 4p]

At the same time, the areas where I could distribute points appeared in my mind.

Broadly divided into skills and stats.

I first focused on skills.

[Contract Weapon]
[Invisible Hand]
[Weak Poison]
[Frostbite]
…

Several unlearned minor and first-tier spells were visible, but I ignored them all.

Then I focused on: Arcane Blast.

A black mage’s main attack spell.

A reliable, repeatedly used “national soup” skill from start to finish.

Focusing on it, new possibilities appeared.

[Power Boost]
[Chain Damage]
[Reduced Mana Consumption]

Three extensions appeared, but the desired Magic Penetration was not among them.

Well, I didn’t expect it from the start.

Thanks to my traits, my mana pool and power were already good, so my choices were clear.

Moreover, for synergy later, it was essential.

Choosing Chain Damage, related information naturally appeared in my mind.

Arcane Blast would chain to nearby targets beyond the first.

Damage to each subsequent target halved.

Interestingly, unlike the game, there was no 3-target limit here.

Reality seemed reflected in some way.

Total damage decrease was unfortunate, but with further development, it could become a versatile skill.

For example, if I later gained the Knockback trait, dozens of enemies could fall with a single spell.

With Damage Reduction Negation, I could remove penalties entirely.

Unfortunately, more points were needed for the next trait, so I invested 1 point and moved to the next skill.

A first-tier magic skill, [Shield], and a deactivated skill: [Pick & Blink].

Shortened as PickBlink.

A survival skill allowing random movement within 30m.

Essential for me, no need to hesitate—selected PickBlink.

2 points were deducted.

Now, let’s see… 1 point left?

After the vampire battle, I realized something about myself.

Recalling the previous fight, I focused on where to allocate the final point.