I looked around in all directions. Giroult's laughter was continuously echoing in the air… but he himself was nowhere to be seen. This… was a matter of concern. Suddenly, his voice was heard from all four directions at once, "How… can you run away like this?"
There was a hint of amusement in his voice… but far more arrogance.
"Trying to leave the Black Market… without my permission? My rule runs here. And you… want to turn away from me and escape? Ha… ha… this is absolutely laughable. What will people say? That a novice magician… escaped from Giroult's hands?"
I calmly extended my hand forward. The very next moment— flames began gathering in front of my palm, compressing into the shape of a sphere.
Then— boom!
I fired two fireballs straight toward those two women.
But… They moved aside with unbelievable ease. And then… the fireballs stopped in midair.
As if they had collided with an invisible wall and frozen there. My eyes narrowed slightly.
"I understand…" I said in a low voice.
A faint ripple passed through the air… and slowly, a figure began to appear.
Giroult.
A transparent body… which now became fully visible. I gave a slight smile and said,
"Oh… now I get it. You can make your body transparent with your magic. That's how you manage to steal so easily. So… this is your secret."
Giroult burst into laughter.
"Ha ha… you figured me out very quickly. I must admit… you are clever… and experienced."
I responded with only a faint smile.
And the very next moment— I moved straight toward those two women. I threw my punch.
But… just as my hand moved forward, I deliberately aimed two inches higher.
I knew— Giroult would step in while being invisible. And that was exactly what happened.
Bang!
My punch landed directly on his face. In an instant, his magic broke… and he fell onto the street, gasping. Both women were stunned for a moment.
But the very next second, they attacked me. Fighting them with bare hands… wasn't difficult.
I played with them for a while. Their bodies carried a fragrance like roses… there was delicacy in their movements… a strange kind of charm.
For a moment, a thought crossed my mind,
"I wish… they weren't enemies…" But reality was different.
I suddenly increased my speed. And delivered a powerful punch into Giroult's wife's stomach. She also fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Giroult roared in anger, stood up… and charged at me. Now the real fight began. His speed… was greater than mine.
His combat technique… proved better than mine. Within moments— all three of them began attacking me continuously together.
Punches… kicks… elbows… magical strikes…
But… something strange was happening.
Whenever their attacks landed on my body— the pain… was felt by them.
It was as if my body wasn't affected at all. Like… punching a rock.
Shock spread across all three of their faces.
Giroult growled, "What… kind of body is this? Why are we getting hurt instead?! Is there some invisible magical armor?!"
I laughed, "Oh… you will never understand this."
Inside, I was thanking that old man… because of whom I had obtained this body.
Surely… the one whose body is now mine— must have once been an S-rank hunter.
That is why this body is so extraordinarily strong.
But… the truth was also this. At that moment, I had no weapon. Nor did I have as much magic as Giroult. Nor his speed. Nor his stamina.
And then… the intent to kill flashed in Giroult's eyes.
He clenched his teeth and said, "I didn't want to kill you… I only wanted to capture you alive."
His voice became heavy, "But… now you will die."
Saying this, he moved his hand behind his back… and pulled out a small… but extremely sharp dagger.
A faint blue glow shimmered along the blade— Clearly showing… this was no ordinary weapon. And at that very moment— For the first time… I felt… real danger.
Giroult gritted his teeth and said angrily,
"You… have ruined my mind tonight! I thought of you as a friend… but you turned out to be an enemy."
I let out a faint laugh.
"Enemy?… Fine, let's say I'm your enemy. At least… I'm better than a thief."
My words were like pouring fuel onto fire. The anger in Giroult's eyes flared even more. He tightened his grip on the dagger and was about to step toward me when—
Suddenly, a voice came from behind,
"Hey!… you're here!"
I immediately turned my gaze. It was… Leo. And with him—his sister, Elisa.
An unconscious faint smile appeared on my lips. The situation might have been dangerous… but seeing familiar faces brought a strange kind of comfort.
Giroult also turned to look at them. That… was exactly the moment I had been waiting for.
Without wasting even a second, I stepped forward and drove a punch with full force into his stomach.
Thud!
The sound of the blow echoed like a hammer striking iron. Giroult's breath stopped in an instant. His eyes widened… and he doubled over, collapsing to the ground right there. My punch truly carried no less force than a hammer.
He began groaning in pain, clutching his stomach. His wife and the other woman immediately ran to him and tried to support him.
I didn't pay much attention to them. I walked straight toward Leo and Elisa.
Standing in front of them, I asked in a serious, authoritative tone,
"What are you two doing here?"
There was concern in my voice… along with a slight reprimand.
Because I knew very well— This place… was not safe for them at all. And yet, they were roaming around like this at night.
Elisa grabbed my hand without saying anything and asked,
"Charger?! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
The tremor in her voice… and the slight trembling of her body… made me a little nervous.
I gently pulled my hand back and said,
"I'm fine. What are you doing here so late at night?"
Elisa spoke in a regretful, trembling voice,
"This is my fault… I sent you into an unstable Teleportation Array… and you ended up here… in this place… where illegal dealings and activities happen in the Black Market."
I replied with a calm confidence,
"I already knew… but there's nothing to worry about. I'm fine."
Taking advantage of the moment, Giroult also fled with his tail between his legs. His female companions ran away with him as well—meaning those two clingy women also disappeared into the darkness along with him.
Then Elisa's brother Leo gave a light cough and said, "If you're done… then shall we go?"
I asked, "Where… where are we going?"
He didn't answer. He simply started walking.
I followed behind the two siblings.
After walking nearly a mile through dark alleys, we reached an old-looking house. Leo opened the door.
Inside, there was a faint dim light—probably small lamps running on some kind of battery, as far as I could understand. Several doors were visible inside, leading to many rooms.
Just then, an old man came out from one of the inner rooms. His beard was long and white, and his body was short and dwarf-like. From the tools and scattered materials around him, it was clear that he was some kind of weapon maker.
The moment Leo and Elisa saw him, they bowed their heads and said,
"Master, it's good to see you."
"Oh… so this is their master," I realized.
The old man stared at me sharply and asked,
"Who is this gentleman with you?"
Leo quickly replied, "Master, he is our friend."
The old man gave no reaction—neither questioning nor commenting further.
"Alright, alright. Why have you come here?"
Leo said, "Master, we came to buy two swords."
"Fine. Sit inside. I'll bring them."
Saying that, he hurried back into one of the inner rooms.
Then the three of us sat together on a bed inside. Elisa was sitting very close to me. At that moment, her eyes fell on my neck—there was a light scratch there, the one Giroult had given me.
As soon as she saw it, she immediately touched my neck and said, "You're hurt…"
There was a clear tremor in her voice. In reality, it was just a small scratch… but now a little blood could be seen coming out of it. I hadn't even felt that injury.
Elisa stretched her hand forward—and the next moment, a med kit appeared in her hand.
Seeing this, I was shocked.
"What kind of magic is this…? Is it some kind of space magic that stores items…?" I wondered to myself.
But more surprising than that was the fact that Elisa was trembling so much… and why she was so concerned about me. I still couldn't fully understand it.
Then a thought surfaced in my mind,
"You saved my life twice…"
"Could it be… maybe… she loves me…?"
"No… no… what am I even thinking…"
My thoughts were interrupted when Elisa spoke,
"You're not hurt anywhere else, right? I'll apply the medicine…"
She gently ran her hand over my neck—and a bandage was already stuck there.
I didn't even realize it… because I was lost in my own thoughts.
I said softly,
"I'm fine now…"
Just then, the dwarf's voice came, "Look, these are the two swords… that I made just yesterday."
He was standing in front of us… holding two shining swords in his hands. They were as long as his own body.