Saturday morning, 5 days before the negotiation.
Today was a free day. It was a day Minori had cleared out of any predisposed activities in order to focus on a few errands that he had to run.
All of which of course were in preparation for the operation on the Djinn.
Whether it was out of paranoia of the highest degree or trauma built from his experience from the heart of the enemy camp, Minori had decided to be extremely cautious when dealing with Djinn.
And more so, The White Clad cultists associated with Vatz.
Only an idiot wouldn't suspect those people. Especially not after how easily they let Minori off the hook after failing his second job for them. They planned- no they were preying on his failure. They wanted something, and they succeeded, but Minori had no clue what that could be.
Even in the first mission, the troll subjugation, Minori's help was entirely unnecessary but they let him help out. Not only that but aside from the normal payment he was given two extravagant gifts with no strings attached.
It was ringing bells everywhere yet Minori let it be.
He got stronger after every exchange, received gifts and benefits and managed to gain the favor of the number one troll blood supplier in the world.
It was simply too good to be true! And it really was!
Because at some point after the Masquerade, something had changed and now they wanted their due.
His body. He was sure they were after that. For some reason they wanted his corpse.
So much so that they were willing to betray humanity and employ the help of Djinns.
He didn't know what was swimming under the surface but it was bound to bring a storm.
So he had to act. To get a leg up and a deeper look at the situation's core, he constructed this situation, employing the help of Hajin and Yeonha as a fail safe in case anyone got away from him by accident.
Of course just two cadets with unknown amounts of experience wasn't going to cut it. Even if it was, having such a thin safeguard left a horrible taste in his mouth.
In other words… It was time for his first errand.
…
It was another busy day in the Myeongdong district. Loud commercial adverts blasted from billboard holograms, vibrant colours assaulted the eyes of any who dared gaze up, and more importantly, thousands of people were roaming around like ants.
People shopping, people having fun, cops on patrol and every so often a hero would pass by greeting the citizens with a brilliant smile.
But that isn't the focus.
What we're taking a look at on this bustling city square is a man dressed in rags, wearing a black cap and hugging a duffel bag. Limping across the road, the man let out a flem filled sigh, stood up straight and fished around his bag before producing a missing poster.
He stared at it for a moment, his pale eyes filled with unblinking insanity before shoving the thing against the wall, sticking it without much problem.
"There…t-the last one…"
A grin crossed his ugly bearded face before he turned away, stumbling as he went. His steps were hurried and desperate.
He waded his way through the crowd, bumping into people left and right before all but tumbling into a dark alleyway.
"I did it! I g-got the job done!" The hobo scratched his forearm with a manic gleam in his eyes.
His voice echoed off the walls before reaching the ears of a pale eyed boy. His figure was warped and unrecognisable, like some sort of ghoul would be. A crooked smile crossed his lips before breaking out to show pearly white teeth.
"Good job." The boy's voice was calm and relaxed, not at all reflective of his nightmarish visage.
Tink..tink—
The sound of metal bouncing on the floor resounded behind the grubby man.
"T-Thank you so much s-sir! Thank you! Thank you!"
The man got onto his knees to pray to the monstrous deity before turning to find several bolts and nails on the floor.
He crawled towards them with fervour before grasping them and shoveling them into his mouth.
The man didn't seem to mind eating metal, or rather it seemed as though he couldn't comprehend the fact that he was. And indeed that was the case, the hobo wholeheartedly believed he was munching down on a delectable piece of bread.
"T-Tank, gyuuo!" The homeless man continued to thank the pale eyed monster as he shook and choked on nuts and bolts.
If anyone were to witness the sight they would be mortified by the sound of crunching and gagging that followed.
Yet the pale eyed boy only smiled and raised a small crystal skull, its shape reflecting light from the sun and more so the purple embers burning deep in its socket.
"...So that's how it works… interesting…"
The boy looked away, towards a distant highrise apartment before reaching out his palm and yanking the space towards him.
For a moment it seemed as though the sky itself was swirling towards the boy. But then it wasn't.
The boy had vanished without a trace.
…
After confirming both the potency of the crystal skull he stole in Paris as well as setting up a distraction of sorts with the help of a beggar, Minori had done all he could to increase the amount of time he could allow for the operation.
Now, it was time Minori turned his gaze towards increasing personal power.
As the spearhead of this operation as well as the one in the most danger, Minori had to make himself stronger. Strong to the point where his survival was all but guaranteed.
Armed with the ability to see mana in its purest essence as well as an almost bottomless well of it, Minori was able to sow mass destruction. But of course, mass destruction wasn't what he needed. In fact he would go as far as to say that subtlety was king when fighting close to civilians. The less people knew, the better.
This of course means no flashy spells, no explosions and more importantly, no screams.
So although he could blow the place up and jump into the sewers, it would place him in a very difficult spot.
'Which is exactly why I'll have to increase my physical power…'
[Blood Poison]
—Poison can only make you stronger. The stronger the poison the stronger your body becomes.
—Your blood contains and maintains the properties of poison.
—You can burn the poison in your body to increase your vitality.
—Overburning leads to sudden illness and iron deficiency.
—You become intoxicated when you drink blood.
Yes, the key to his problems lay in the strange biology of his body. The fact that drinking poison to increase his strength was underutilised as of now. The reason was simple, as a somewhat high profile individual, it was very hard to go shopping without looking suspicious. More so now than ever before.
Minori turned his eyes to his living room window with a hint of suspicion but eventually turned away.
He could never be quite certain that he wasn't being watched. No matter how strong his eyes were or how keen his senses were, Minori couldn't see the man in the mirror without using his seer like abilities. Every time he peered into the future was an extra strain on his brain, and after consecutively using the ability for an hour, Minori had begun seeing things.
Simply put, seeing the future for more than an hour was unrealistic.
So Minori didn't bother. Instead, he got someone else to do it for him.
A quick, "Hey, Suho, if you're visiting the field, could you get me some Bloat Frog Blight? Sorry, I'm really busy right now." Paired with tattered hair and dark rings under his eyes was sufficient.
It's amazing what looking pitiful can get from a nice boy like Suho. It's a shame that he's being taken advantage of so easily.
'Someone should really look out for him… oh wait, that's what I'm for.'
Smirking, Minori opened a small package at his door, and just in case, tore a small parchment.
The little cardboard box seemed to wobble before returning to its natural state.
Minori reached inside and pulled out a bottle of dark bubbling liquid. On its mid section was a bright red label and plastered in white letters were-
"Coca-cola… yes, I love carbonated beverages."
Minori chuckled to himself darkly while looking at the bottle of "Cola."
Unscrewing the cap, Minori's smile seemed to dim, becoming forced. To anyone else, it would seem like Minori simply didn't like coke.
But no, it wasn't really coke at all, no. Inside the bottle was a sizzling dark green liquid that had been harvested from the venom sack of a Bloat Frog.
And Minori had to drink it.
"...How the hell does anyone drink this…stuff."
He grimaced, steeled his nerves and forced the bottle to his mouth.
-And gagged.
Minori felt his throat burn, his eyes watered and his head swam. But that wasn't even the worst part, the liquid tasted genuinely vile. It was sweet to the point it made his teeth feel like their enamel was peeling away. No, that… that really was happening.
He sincerely regretted not learning a spell to alter the taste of something.
But before he could regret it further, he chugged the entire thing and slammed the bottle down.
He cursed under his breath- well, he wanted to curse louder but the burns wouldn't let him.
'Argh, curse it, why did I decide to do this?! What's wrong with me- eugh! I'm gonna hurl, no, no, keep it down.'
The illusion he had cast shattered into a million pieces. His concentration had disappeared along with it.
Then, without warning, he felt his body, which had been tensing and ready to move, float. Though he wasn't floating, he was still sitting on the floor, the package in front of him was still there and he was still holding the bottle, or whatever was left of it.
He had simply become incredibly light, almost weightless.
With a huff, Minori looked at his arms, only to find them paler, to the point where his skin was almost see through. It was like a thin cloth was draped over exposed muscle.
But instinctively he knew it wasn't so. To support this was his other hand, holding shards of a once clear glass bottle, but now held glittering grains of sand.
"Huuu… alright. Guess the illusion really did nothing…"
Minori got up, feeling a little different. It was as though his every move was more responsive, faster, stronger… but somehow less controlled.
But that was natural, he had only been drinking bleach up till now in order to fit in with the other superhumans of Cube, but never anything beyond that. The sharp rise in power was going to take some getting used to.
'...But I expected that. That's what I left five days for.'
Minori glanced at the mess he made and sighed. Leaving the room to go and get a broom.