The Firestarter’s Redemption

An ordinary person would have been unable to endure it and would have fallen off long ago, but ironically, the innate fire resistance of the pyrotechnician has kept him alive until now. 

Leo clicked his tongue briefly and slowly released his hand. 

It wasn't because the man was pitiful, but because his grip strength was so weak that it was difficult to withstand his kicks. 

There really wasn't a single body that was so weak. 

As soon as Leo let go of his hand, the man took off his leather jacket and began to roll around on the floor frantically. 

"Turn off the lights!!" 

"If you move to the warehouse, it's over!!" 

The others came to their senses in a startled manner, drew water from the tap inside the warehouse, and began to pour it on him. 

Cheeeeek!! 

"It hurts! It hurts!!" 

"Wake up, you punk!!" 

As the crowd gathered and caused a commotion, Leo opened the driver's door and spoke to Sage. 

"If you stay here, nothing will work out. You should go now." 

"Oh, I see…." 

Leo checked the time as he watched Sage's car quickly drive away as if he had been waiting for those words. 

7pm. 

From now on, one and a half days. The time I have to hold out is until the morning of the day after tomorrow. 

Assuming that the patent office opens at 8 a.m., we need to protect the samples from gang raids at least until then. 

Considering the vast warehouse area, it seemed like a very difficult task, but Leo calmly collected his thoughts without wavering. 

'All you have to do is protect the new drug sample and take it to the patent office.' 

Leo's position is completely different from that of the other people hired to guard the warehouse. 

The pharmaceutical company had only one condition for him: to retrieve and submit samples before the patent office opens. 

Although clashes with gangs in the process are now inevitable, it is true that you can relatively avoid being caught up in other things. 

The warehouse where the samples were stored was not a problem. In the worst-case scenario, even if the entire warehouse was given away, it would be enough to protect the samples. 

Speaking of which, Leo immediately headed inside the warehouse to confirm the existence of the sample. 

The people around him flinched and stepped back as he passed, but he didn't care. 

They are people who can't even be a proper force anyway. It would be better to just treat them like they don't exist and let Leo do his job. 

I opened the dusty door and entered the warehouse, where I was greeted by boxes full of pharmaceutical samples in pristine white boxes. 

Covered in clear plastic, the sample doesn't appear to be damaged, but it doesn't seem like a good environment to store and manage something in. 

Amnak Pharmaceutical Company must have also been suffering from pressure from the district Councilor, so they had no choice but to hide their samples in this warehouse that was not even properly managed. 

Since Sage had told him about the name in advance, Leo had no difficulty finding the sample of the new drug they had spoken of. 

A blue liquid contained in a small test tube-like bottle. Three bottles of samples in liquid form. 

It seems that only a minimal number of reserves were left, taking into account what had to be hidden in the warehouse. 

Leo held it for a moment, pondering it, then finally picked up all three test tubes and shoved them into his bosom. 

It seemed better to just keep it to myself than to trust other people who were still out there raving about spraying water. 

I can roughly guess what kind of people these are. 

People who don't want to belong to an organization and do dangerous work but can't give up the temptation of money that comes and goes and wander around. 

It seems like the pharmaceutical companies hired them to squeeze out the money they were missing and make up the numbers, but they were completely wrong. 

It was obvious that no one other than the pyrotechnician he had just faced would be of much help. 

"I'm not good at leading people…." 

What kind of speaking skills and leadership would Leo, who has lived as a gamer, have? 

Although his wizarding talents allowed him to make much more rational and reasonable decisions than before, leading people he had never met before and dealing with an organization was a completely different story. 

'It would be better to run away with the sample…' 

If they hide like this and wait for the patent office to open, no one will be able to find Leo, but that is not the outcome that Amnak Pharmaceuticals wants. 

Moreover, Leo decided to tolerate clashes with the gang and did not demand more advance payment. 

Even if the place and time were not set, it was necessary to eventually hit them at least once and break the gang's power. 

Leo, who had been holding and releasing the new drug sample, finally made a decision. 

"You can just sweep it all away here." 

Ultimately, what the gang is after is likely a sample of the new drug, and as long as the sample is here, they will come to this warehouse instead of going all the way back. 

If we can handle them, it's much easier to bring them here instead of running away. 

Bounty hunting, fighting Croken, and a series of fights with the Scavenger Chieftain gave Leo confidence in his own fighting ability. 

Due to their lack of physical strength, which can be described as weak, their mobility is extremely lacking, but their firepower is second to none. 

It felt much more comfortable to just drive away the gang that came looking for me, leave no trace of them, and then take the sample to the patent office. 

"I guess I should get moving right away." 

I had an idea in mind ever since I heard the story about the warehouse from Sage. 

If you do it right, you might be able to see quite an interesting sight. 

Night guest 

People who saw Leo walking out in a slightly excited state suddenly hesitated and approached him. 

There was no one who ignored Leo anymore. There were only those who forced themselves to walk while hiding the faint fear at the corners of their lips. 

"What's going on?" 

"I… what should I do?" 

Of course, they have no plan or method. 

I was hired by Amnak simply because of the lucrative pay, and I came running with no idea what I was doing, armed with a weapon that could save my body. 

And it was only natural that these people would cling to Leo, who seemed the strongest here. 

'I see why Jenny said that.' 

Did you make me guard an important item called a New Testament sample without even explaining the circumstances? 

The internal situation was extremely urgent, but the handling of the matter was extremely sloppy. Jenny realized this just from the amount of money she had offered Leo. 

Working with a client like this more than once is actually a loss. 

Leo replied, holding back a sigh. 

"How many people are there?" 

"I, including the guy who just came to his senses, there are about fifteen of us." 

"Block the entrance to the warehouse and patrol. It'll take longer than you think. Divide the personnel into three shifts and monitor the situation outside the warehouse. If anything goes wrong, report it immediately." 

"Okay. Then, the wizard…?" 

"I have other things to do." 

When Leo made that assertion, the people meekly nodded and backed down. 

As I watched from behind, they split into groups and began to divide their roles into guarding the entrance, patrolling, and resting. 

Still, he didn't seem to be oblivious, considering he was working in this field. 

Leo passed them by and headed towards the lot outside the warehouse. 

A desolate industrial area. A quiet site that is not easily seen, hidden by the traces of an old construction site that has become grimy. 

The walls around the warehouse are covered in all sorts of low-quality graffiti, including spray paint, and sometimes you can even see dirt on them. 

I guess the sample was hidden in a place like this, so it wasn't discovered until now. 

Walk around the warehouse and check if there's anything particularly unusual. 

The wall itself was quite high and did not seem easy to jump over, but there were several cracked and gaping holes in it, indicating that it was a very old facility. 

Leo sat down in front of the now-defunct wall, placed his hands on the floor, and drew on his magic power. 

Phew! 

'The principle itself is the same.' 

Ignition magic used to blow up the factory. 

Here, I will describe the know-how I realized while setting up the magic circle by calculating the magic spell in reverse. 

[Claymore]. As the name suggests, it is a landmine magic that is designed to explode on the spot when certain conditions are met. 

It is a common trap-type magic that is commonly used by hunters. It has a weak range but considerable firepower when used against people. 

This is the only trap-type magic that Leo remembers, so there's nothing he can do about it, but it's not a very good magic in the current situation where he's dealing with an organization called a gang. 

But that wasn't a problem. 

If you only know one magic, you can just modify that magic entirely. 

'Change the conditions.' 

By projecting magical power onto the floor, the previously known [Claymore] idea is erased and rewritten. 

Changed the condition of approach to when pressure is applied, and instead of reducing the single-shot power, expanded the range to inflict damage to as many places as possible. 

Putting aside theories, knowledge, and experience, we proceed with our work relying solely on intuition and talent. 

Leo went around the warehouse site several times, installing and modifying claymore spells in areas that seemed relatively undefended. 

Strictly speaking, it is the same as the act of 'bestowing' magic on a place such as the ground or a wall. 

How effective and powerful would it be if these enchantments could be used not only on locations but also on items that can be carried around? 

If you can go beyond simply granting temporary magic and mass produce magical tools, it wouldn't be a dream to sit on a pile of money in the blink of an eye. 

Leo knew this fact all too well, so he continued to try to enchant objects while conducting his research, but the problem was that the difficulty was transcendentally difficult. 

Beyond simply having a different area to enchant each time, it was incredibly difficult to enchant an object whose location information changed every time it was moved, even for a short time. 

To solve this, there seems to be no answer so far other than having a strong will close to madness and precise particle-level design capabilities or calculating real-time location information every second and casting new magic. 

"Oh, my lord…." 

"…...what?" 

By the time the work was finished, the sun was already setting. 

He straightened his back, put another cigarette in his mouth, and turned around, only to find a man waiting for him, shivering. 

It was the pyrotechnician who had picked a fight with Leo earlier and was covered in flames in return, rolling around on the floor. 

He was engulfed in flames and rolled on the floor, so he had almost no clothes left and was covered in ashes and dust, but surprisingly, his body was fine. 

The fire resistance he was born with seemed to make him highly resistant to its harmful effects, even if it didn't completely block out the pain. 

Just looking at Leo brought back memories from earlier, and he slowly lowered his head while sweating profusely. 

"I'm really sorry about earlier. I was out of my mind for a moment and…" 

"There is no need to apologize." 

"Then, what should I do to make you forgive me?" 

"Forgiveness?" 

Where would Leo have any need to forgive him? 

It was annoying that he had to take action first without understanding what was being said, but Leo knew very well that he would never do that again after experiencing the spicy taste. 

I didn't have high expectations, so I just hoped they'd give me some time to deal with the gang. 

But he must have completely misunderstood Leo's words, because he fell to his knees and began to beg. 

"I'm sorry. I will never speak carelessly to wizards again. Please, if you spare me…." 

"… … ." 

Only then did Leo realize what the man was worried about and why he had come looking for him. 

He was afraid that Leo would kill him after this was over. 

Actually, if you look at the physiology of this side, it's not such a wrong conclusion. 

In a society that revolves around the very strict logic of power, being looked down upon is fatal, as misjudging the capabilities of others can lead to a life-threatening crisis. 

The man must have thought that since he had openly insulted Leo and other wizards among the people, he deserved to pay the price. 

But Leo wasn't interested in such things. 

There's no point in stomping on a man's head and beating him to death here. 

All he can do for Leo is to keep his proud flame burning brightly against any gang that comes his way. 

But there is no need to tell the man that fact straight out. 

And there was no reason to say anything nice. 

Leo approached him, kneeling and bowing his head, and said: 

"You came really quickly. Don't you?" 

"… … ." 

"But it seems like you still have some pride left. Didn't you want to show this side of yourself in front of people? It's quite unsightly." 

"I'm sorry…!! I'm sorry!!" 

As I pressed the man's shoulder, I could clearly feel him trembling. 

You must be recalling the same memories as before. 

Lean down and whisper in his ear. 

"Give me a chance." 

"Well, if there's a chance…." 

"Probably tonight. Guests will be coming here." 

If Leo's thinking is right, the gang will definitely make moves by today at the earliest, or by tomorrow morning at the latest. 

Considering the pharmaceutical company's explanation that information is leaking out easily, the information that they had filed an application with the patent office would have also reached the ears of the former council member. 

You want to avoid having a patent that could be worth a lot of money end up in the name of a pharmaceutical company. 

"Your job is simple. Just light a fire on the shoulders of those guests." 

Leo smiled broadly, holding a cigarette in his hand.