The Cursed Wizard: A Game Made Real

If you were to stall for time, are you planning on firing all the security guards? 

It seemed like the confidence he showed before starting work wasn't entirely in vain. 

Swish… 

The noise that had been ringing in my ears out of the blue began to die down, and only the soft groans of the guards who had been cut down by Dylan began to linger. 

Only then did Dylan calm down a bit and catch his breath before he began walking out of the factory. 

Leo, who saw that sight, was about to leave the factory. 

Teardrop!! 

The solid iron door shattered and fell upon Dylan. 

Dylan easily dodged the crumpled iron gate flying at him at a speed too fast to be seen with the naked eye, but his body was frozen solid. 

Leo, who turned his head to follow his gaze, could understand, just a little, why he was reacting. 

"Kuuuuu… I made a real mess of it." 

A gigantic creature that easily looks over 2 meters tall, with thousands of scales covering its entire body. An unrealistically long, protruding snout and sharp teeth hanging inside. 

And even the long tail that swings leisurely between the legs. 

It's not that I saw it wrong. 

A crocodile-headed giant covered in blue scales walks slowly into the factory. 

He rolled his long, vertically slit eyes around, then found Dylan and smiled. 

"You're a familiar face. How is that Antares kid doing?" 

"… ..I'm alive and well." 

Surprisingly, Dylan and the crocodile giant seemed to recognize each other. 

"Hmm, when you were talking about starting a business on your own, I wondered how much guts you had… But it seems like you have some talent." 

"The boss is a bit of a troublemaker." 

The giant bared his teeth in response to Dylan's polite answer. 

"Do you know what the situation is? It happened like this." 

"How much did you get paid?" 

"1 billion." 

"Fuck… ." 

Dylan lowered his head helplessly, as if he had given up on everything. 

The giant spoke to him as if comforting him. 

"Look at Antares' face and I will kill you painlessly." 

"… I won't die easily." 

Dylan responded by grabbing both swords and drawing up his magical power. 

Leo, who had been watching the situation from afar, hardened his face at the serious attitude that was completely different from before. 

It looks like the crocodile giant has agreed to repel those who invaded the factory in exchange for 1 billion cells. Given the astronomical amount of money and the fact that Dylan has no intention of running away and is acting like that, it must be a terrifying monster. 

Should I raise my hand here or run away? 

Even at this very moment, gas is rising in the basement, and the timer for the ignition magic circle is approaching. 

'2 minutes and 17 seconds... It's close.' 

Leo's body clock is accurate to within a second. 

It is not difficult to accurately estimate the remaining time even without being conscious of it. 

After a brief calculation, Leo was able to increase his magical power stealthily enough to avoid being detected by the crocodile giant. 

'Just do as much as you can, and then let go.' 

While he was steeling his resolve, the human and the crocodile clashed. 

Fierce battle 

Dylan rushes in with all the magic power in his body, and the giant takes it all on his own. 

Dylan's two sharp swords in each hand, a javelin hanging from his shoulder, and two daggers stuck into his ankles all flashed sharply as they stirred through the dust of the factory. 

Five faintly flashing blades simultaneously rushed towards the crocodile-man's limbs, twisting their trajectories and quickly closing the distance to within arm's length. 

Kagagagagagagak!! 

The slash that passed by mocked the defence of the crocodile giant that raised its arm, and at the same time, the bright blue scales were scratched off, and bright blue sparks flew out. 

Dylan unleashes his next attack without even caring if he's landed a valid hit. 

A sinister murderous aura filled and overflowed the factory floor. 

Only after seeing that sight could Leo guess that Dylan was a warrior of extraordinary strength, beyond his average level. 

Every moment your feet touch down, you twist your direction, and even the time to catch your breath is mixed into the category of swinging your weapon. 

It is elegant yet hazy, secretive yet lightning-like. 

Doo doo doo doo!! 

The moment Dylan's fierce, almost brutal sword strikes made the crocodile giant take a step back. 

Leo, who did not miss the gap, assembled all the magical power he had accumulated so far and created magic. 

A large amount of blue electricity gathered above my slightly bent right arm and began to form a sphere the size of my head. 

Phage, phage, phage!! 

It is a magic that gathers and condenses dozens of [volt]-sized electric shocks. 

Of course, the amount of magical power consumed was enormous considering the magical power Leo had now, but he gritted his teeth and completed the magic. 

[Lightning Bound] 

The magic shot at will pierced through the reaction speed of the two monsters and struck the bottom of the giant's leg. 

Jeez, jeez, jeez!!!!1 

The moment the sphere made contact with the ground, dozens of condensed electric currents burst out with a twisting noise that sounded like the air was being torn apart, and they fell upon the giant. 

The crocodile giant seemed completely unaware of how secretive Leo's magic was, and for a moment, it wiggled its tail greatly. 

Dylan, who did not miss the brief moment when the giant's body froze, this time pushed forward with all his might. 

"Whoop…!!!" 

All attacks that pour out using the entire body become huge waves and greatly cover the crocodile giant. 

The cold blade stretches out for countless moments, once, twice, three times, until it finally passes through the giant's hard scales and touches his skin. 

The crocodile moved. 

He raises his trembling hands, paralyzed by the electric shock, and picks out only the blades aimed at the eyeballs, and uses his tail to take the rest. 

The tail, which moved in a completely different way from the giant's body, swung in all directions dozens of times in the blink of an eye, completely erasing Dylan's attacks. 

In the meantime, he grabbed Dylan's neck as he was closing the distance and threw him towards the wall of the factory. 

Pfft ... 

A circular shockwave erupted from the crocodile giant, accompanied by a sonic boom that was so loud it felt like my eardrums were going to burst open. 

Dylan's body, thrown like a bullet, falls through the wall and out, and the wall of the factory, unable to withstand the force, collapses. 

Kwakwakwakwa!! 

'shit…!' 

The [Lightning Bound] that Leo just used is a magic that boasts a powerful firepower that can even melt steel into molten metal. 

The moment he allowed that kind of magic to hit him head-on and he moved around without getting hurt, the outcome was basically decided. 

The moment Dylan was caught by the giant, Leo was already running away without looking back. 

His life or death is unknown, but it is certain that he flew out of the factory. 

I had to watch the scene stupidly until the end, but I had to avoid making eye contact with the crocodile. 

'There are 23 seconds left…!' 

By concentrating your magical power into your legs and applying force, your running speed increases dramatically. 

Because of the side effects of the trait [Mana Addiction], I have been avoiding the act of pouring magic into my body as much as possible, but this is not the time to be picky. 

It would be much more convenient to use [Blink], but it consumed too much magic power, making it difficult for the current Leo to use. 

I ran out of the door that had passed me so quickly that my surroundings were blurry and escaped out of the warehouse. 

Near the back door, Dylan was lying in a bizarre position, covered in blood. His bones seemed to be shattered, and fluid was oozing out of his body. 

Leo hesitated for a moment, but eventually put another cigarette in his mouth, gritted his teeth, and started running while carrying Dylan. 

I pump magical power into my entire body and run with all my might with my enhanced muscles. 

Even if I were to return from here alive today, I would definitely not be able to move properly for a week or so, but now was not the time to be worrying about that. 

"Haak, haak…!" 

The stamina that was left was quickly depleted and his breathing became so short that it reached the tip of his chin. A bitter smile naturally appeared on Leo's lips. 

On Earth, I had served in the military, but here, I feel so weak and sick that I feel like I could collapse at the slightest touch. 

It wasn't strange at all that my lifespan was shortening without me knowing it every time I overdid it. 

Dylan squirmed a few times as Leo moved his trembling legs while inhaling the phlegm, then came to his senses. 

Dylan checked the mask Leo was wearing and let out a hollow laugh. 

"Cough!! Are you smoking right now…? There's a limit to smoking… You're not in your right mind." 

"Haaak…!! I, I can't live without this…!!" 

'2 seconds.' 

The time has come. 

Leo answered with a trembling voice, threw Dylan, whom he was carrying, to the ground, and immediately threw himself down on top of him, putting both hands on his head. 

Immediately after that. 

Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwang!!!!! 

A flame burst out from underground and engulfed the entire manufacturing plant, burning it and turning the sky bright red. 

He hugs the floor tightly and holds on to it so as not to be blown away by the swirling hot wind. 

I could hear the sound of the barrier I had been wearing being broken little by little. 

Leo waited for the explosion to end, frantically continuing to place barriers on himself. 

Originally, all they had to do was check if the factory was properly collapsing from a much farther distance away, but the giant's appearance threw all their plans into disarray. 

As the shock that seemed like it would never end subsided and the shaking of the asphalt subsided, Leo raised his head with difficulty. 

The explosion, which completely destroyed the basement, engulfed Charlotte's factory and destroyed the building. 

Leo slowly sat up, looking at the factory that seemed ready to collapse at any moment. 

"Cigarettes…?" 

I absentmindedly put my hand to my mouth, but there was no cigarette left. 

Did it fly away while enduring the explosion? 

"Here it is." 

"… Are you crazy?" 

Leo looked down at Dylan with the gaze of a madman. 

A cigarette was stuck vertically on the back of Dylan's hand, emitting faint smoke and burning his leather glove. 

"No need?" 

"Throw it away now." 

Dylan, who had just finished wiping out his cigarette with a gesture, slowly got up from his seat. 

"Ugh… I think ten of my bones are broken." 

Although his words were spoken in a calm tone that did not convey the slightest hint of tension, Leo knew that they were not lies. 

The moment Dylan was thrown into the monster by his neck, his body clearly broke the speed of sound. 

It wouldn't have been strange at all if the crocodile giant had swung his arm and ripped his entire spine out. 

It was clear that Dylan was no ordinary human being, as he stood up fine even though every bone in his body was shattered. 

"I thought it was a battle between humans and monsters, but you're no pushover either. Are all superhumans who use their bodies like this?" 

"No, well… there are various circumstances." 

Dylan, who had been vaguely confused, grabbed Leo by the back of his neck and helped him up, as he was unable to get up. 

"If you don't want to fall behind, get up quickly. You have to run away." 

"… … ?" 

Leo looked momentarily bewildered, then quickly realized the meaning of those words. 

"You think that monster is still alive?" 

"Don't just think about it, stay alive no matter what. Don't you know who that old lady is?" 

"I don't have the talent to guess the age of a crocodile by looking at its face." 

In WORLD versions 1 and 2, there were some races that were not completely alien, but there were no races that were so extremely animalistic. 

Dylan shook his head at Leo's answer, then grabbed him and started walking quickly. 

"Croken Asylus. A former war mercenary, he retired and accepted a scout from Pandemonium, where he now serves as an executive." 

"Pandemonium?" 

"It's an international crime syndicate known for extending invitations only to the most dangerous criminals and outlaws. Your Majesty the Wizard, have you really been holed up in the mountains training?" 

"… Let's just say it's like that." 

Pandemonium… If Dylan, who seems to be an excellent mercenary, can say that, then Jenny and Jordan are likely to know that name as well. 

If it was an organization that had such a monster as a leader and not even an executive, it seemed necessary to know this. Especially if you were going to continue working in this field. 

… Of course, that would be after I survive this place. 

Kwaaaaang!! 

A long shadow passes through the storm of flames and falls on the backs of the two people. 

Croken, the crocodile giant, slowly walked out, his whole body wrapped around the rubble of the collapsed factory and the dazzling flames.