Chapter 633: Defection

The name of the man asking Oliver to spare him was Walter. He was a Dark Magic user from the central continent.

“The central continent?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The man kneeled and replied with his head bowed.

His posture and response were as natural as a slave serving a master or a vassal serving a king.

Oliver didn’t like it.

“I have a lot of questions, but for now, could you please stand up? I don’t like anyone kneeling in front of me.”

“I’m sorry. Where I’m from, this is customary. I apologize for any offense I’ve caused.”

The man calmly apologized and stood up.

He seemed calm, but on closer inspection, that wasn’t entirely true.

While his outward appearance might have been composed, inside, he was extremely tense and anxious, as if his deceit had been uncovered.

Despite his outward calm, it was a greater fear that kept him steady. He was trying to avoid making Oliver uneasy by trembling or stuttering.

Driven by survival instinct, fear had suppressed fear.

Oliver wasn’t an expert on such matters, but one thing was clear. This wasn’t the kind of behavior one learns in just a day or two. It’s something shaped by one’s daily environment.

‘It might be possible if it’s the central continent…’

Oliver thought about the central continent. He didn’t have much personal connection to it, but he had heard things.

An inland that the blessings of industrialization hadn’t reached.

A chaotic land, torn apart into countless petty kingdoms.

Because of that, public power was weak, and many wizards had also left. As a result, Dark Magic users were dominant there.

Considering that Dark Magic users usually congregate in large cities, it was quite an unusual structure. That’s why he was curious.

How did a Dark Magic user from the central continent cross the sea and come to find Oliver, and that too in fear?

To resolve that curiosity, Oliver spoke up.

“Mr. Walter, could you lift your head and take off your hood?”

This time too, Walter obediently complied with Oliver’s request.

Thanks to that, Oliver was able to see Walter’s face. He was quite young, considering his demeanor and speech.

Perhaps in his mid-to-late twenties?

After confirming his face, Oliver politely introduced himself.

“Thank you for complying with my request. I’m Dave, a Fixer from T-District, No. 30 in Randa.”

“I am Walter Meyer, a Dark Magic user affiliated with the Meyer Family.”

“Your surname is the same as your family name.”

“Our family is made up of blood relatives.”

“Ah…”

Oliver let out a sound of realization. He had encountered a fair number of such people when he was dealing with the Dark Magic users from the central continent who had crossed to Gallos with the help of the Holy Knights.

The families formed by bloodlines, villages.

It was rare to see such a structure in Randa and Gallos, so it was easy to remember.

“On behalf of our family, it is an immense honor to meet a new Finger.”

“I’m not a Finger, at least not part of Black Hand.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“No, I didn’t bring it up for an apology. I’m just curious why you called me a Finger.”

Although Oliver had an idea of the reason, he still asked because there was something bothering him. As expected, his guess was correct.

“I’ve heard that you fought evenly with the Puppet, helped defeat the eternal child Fen and his sea monster… But most importantly—”

This seemed to be the main point.

“—you survived a battle with the Pied Piper. At least, that’s how we see it.”

As he thought.

Oliver had refrained from much outside activity due to his recovery, but he could feel the influence of his being heralded as Randa’s hero after driving off the Pied Piper.

Just as the influence of the shadow had shrunk, Oliver’s own presence had to be hidden to the same degree. When people recognized him, the whispers were nothing like the past.

Driving away the Pied Piper was indeed something of value. At that moment, Oliver sensed a subtle sense of alienation.

“Did you say I survived?”

Fixer Dave had been reported to have driven out the Pied Piper. At least officially. When Oliver pointed this out, Walter explained.

“I’m sorry to say this, but no one really believes that he was driven away. At least not in the Central Continent.”

“Oh… and why is that?”

“The Pied Piper… Imagining that someone could stand against him is unimaginable.”

Oliver couldn’t help but nod slightly. Such was the overwhelming power of the Pied Piper. He was in a league of his own compared to other Fingers.

But even more frightening than the power was the will of the Pied Piper. An immense anger, boundless like the ocean itself.

Oliver found the Pied Piper’s rage more terrifying than his power.

“Please don’t take offense. We live close to the Pied Piper’s domain, so unlike here, we experience his fear firsthand.”

Oliver wanted to ask what had happened to him, but he swallowed down his question.

He was curious, but not as much as he used to be. Besides, there had been an agreement with the Pied Piper.

‘In exchange for backing off, I promised to stay out of his matters.’

With the overwhelming gap in power, the situation, and Oliver himself wanting it, it was an agreement he accepted. But suddenly, Oliver grew curious.

Why had the Pied Piper made such favorable conditions for Oliver?

The Pied Piper didn’t seem like the type to back down without a fight, even if he wasn’t eager.

However, Oliver soon stopped pondering it. It wasn’t something he could understand by thinking about it, and he didn’t need to know.

He just wanted to distance himself from the Pied Piper, both in reality and in his mind.

Focusing on the matter at hand, Oliver made a guess based on his conversation with Walter.

“It seems you’re not here because of the Pied Piper.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then what’s the reason for your visit?”

“Please protect us from the Holy Knights.”

***

Walter, the Dark Magic user from the central continent.

He said he crossed the sea to find Fixer Dave because of the Holy Knights.

They had suddenly appeared in large numbers in the central continent, indiscriminately slaughtering Dark Magic users.

To be honest, it wasn’t all that surprising.

After all, one of the primary duties of the Holy Knights is to hunt Dark Magic users. It was actually quite natural.

“But, he said they’re different from usual… Do you have an idea?”

Oliver asked Marie as he taught her a spell in the underground basement prepared in X-District.

The spell he was teaching was Ptah’s Assistant, a spell that combined Pure Magic Faction and Life School magic.

It was extremely delicate, so difficult to even activate, let alone use, but Oliver was guiding Marie by manipulating the flow of magic as he made contact with her body.

Marie assembled the extracted mana delicately, creating a mechanical hand that was thin as a needle and sharp as a scalpel.

“You’ve done well.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to your direct guidance, Dave.”

“Shall we proceed with the operation, then?”

Oliver pointed to the operating table in the middle of the basement, where a human-shaped wooden model was laid out.

The wooden model was carved, and a sharp eye would notice it wasn’t carved, but rather the wood had grown into this form resembling a woman’s body.

The model had been detached at the joints, with bundles of nerves resembling tree roots partially connected in between.

The reason they were only half-connected was because Oliver had stopped working on them to let Marie practice.

After all, nothing beats practice for learning quickly.

“You saw me do it earlier, right? Give it a try.”

“Is it okay for me to touch it? This is your work so far, after all.”

“It’s fine. Even if you make a mistake, I can fix it, so don’t worry.”

With Oliver’s encouragement, Marie gathered her resolve and began manipulating the magic mechanical hand she just formed.

She started connecting the nerve bundles one by one, imitating what Oliver had done.

Each nerve bundle had a match, and if any mistake was made, she would have to start over from the beginning, but Marie didn’t make such errors, though her movements were a bit awkward.

This was proof that she had observed and learned from what Oliver had shown.

As Oliver continued to believe in her and support her, Marie gained confidence and calmly connected the root nerves one by one.

“Good. You can keep going.”

With renewed courage, Marie cast away her last remaining hesitation and continued with the work, making reasonable progress.

Even though Oliver had shown her the trick, her level of skill was better than he expected. She might have more talent than he initially thought.

“Could you tell me what’s different?”

Marie suddenly asked a question in the middle of her work.

“What?”

“Didn’t the Dark Magic User from the central continent say that something was different? What is it?”

While casual chatter was discouraged during lessons, Oliver chose to respond instead of scolding her.

After all, Oliver had started the conversation, and Marie wasn’t asking for no reason.

“Hmm… Originally, the central continent wasn’t of much interest to the Holy Knights. But for some unknown reason, the Pater Church has dispatched a large number of Holy Knights there, not just eliminating troublesome Dark Magic users but also hunting down those that are keeping to themselves. It’s almost a massacre.”

Oliver didn’t bother to explain that unknown reason. It would be too much, too complicated, and too petty to describe.

“Couldn’t they just come to our branch in Gallos?”

The Selectors in Gallos. Currently, that place housed Dark Magic users who had been promised survival under the supervision of the Pater Church.

This was a result of the deal between Armand, the Archpriest, and Oliver, where Oliver proposed cooperation for safety and order and dealt with those who refused accordingly.

Thanks to this, after the demise of the Flesh Cook, the number of rampant Dark Magic users had drastically decreased, and now it was managed by some of the Selectors under Marie and Child-Force.

“He said the Holy Knights have blocked the pathway. The reason given was to prevent chaos caused by refugees, but Mr. Walter claimed it was just to annihilate Dark Magic users.”

“So, the reason they’re asking for help…”

“They came directly, asking me to mediate with the Holy Knights.”

“May I ask what you told him?”

“…I refused for now.”

It was both a predictable and surprising answer.

“My collaboration with the Holy Knights only applies to Gallos. To be honest, the Pater Church itself hasn’t fully clarified their stance.”

Oliver revisited his current situation with the Pater Church.

It was true that Oliver had the backing of the Pater Church, but it was highly localized and limited.

The only one supporting him was the Archpriest Armand.

Of course, thanks to the Archpriest’s powerful authority, he received various direct and indirect help.

Without the support of the Pater Church, the proposal to establish a Dark Magic faction at the Tower of Magic wouldn’t have even been considered.

However, that didn’t mean Oliver could go around meddling in everything.

Even in Gallos, Oliver was merely doing what Armand had orchestrated rather than leading the effort to organize the Dark Magic users himself.

Oliver’s influence was strictly limited to his domains in Randa and Gallos, so he refused Walter’s request using that reason.

“Besides, I have things here I need to take care of… Does that seem too heartless?”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of right or wrong. It’s simply a decision that Dave has made. I intend to support whichever decision you make.”

Marie’s words seemed to comfort Oliver, and they indeed did.

“Did the Dark Magic user Walter say anything after that?”

“Ah, he accepted it more calmly than I expected and just retreated.”

That was true. After Oliver refused, Walter showed intense sorrow and regret inwardly, but he didn’t try to push it any further.

It was likely another survival skill from the central continent. That’s what made Oliver more concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. What’s done is done. Let’s focus on the task at hand. Have you finished the work?”

Marie nodded.

Indeed, all the root nerve bundles of the human-shaped model were well-connected. It was good enough.

After checking the root nerve bundles one by one, Oliver affixed the joints and completed the human model before slinging it over his shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

“Where do you mean?”

“To the Tower of Magic. This is for use there.”

“Ah… Are you going to go with it like that?”

Marie asked as she looked at the wooden human model on Oliver’s shoulder.

It was understandable. As mentioned, the model was based on a woman’s body, and thanks to Oliver’s aesthetic sense, it was made exceptionally well.

Of course, the human model was completely naked as well.

“Yes.”

“Ah, okay.”

Marie, pressed by some unknown force, couldn’t say any more and just followed along. A short while later, the Tower of Magic plunged into chaos twice.

The first time was when Randa’s hero appeared carrying a female body model on his shoulder,

“Whoa, what is that?”

And the second time was when an Archpriest from the Pater Church visited the Tower of Magic.

He came to ask for help in sweeping away the evil Dark Magic users flooding from the central continent.