I Became a Disaster-Class Sorcery Genius

How to Win Without Fighting. (2)

The narrative of Sorcery Killing Technique basically progresses with several side stories and a main one.

Of course, since this is a game with a certain degree of freedom, it's not necessary to play the unimportant side stories.

Even so, around the game's midpoint, the way the story unfolds might change a little depending on the choices the player makes, but the essential story flow follows a similar order.

Here, what is called "the main" refers to the 'evil spirit' that must be dealt with in Sorcery Killing Technique.

If so, what about the side stories?

They are segments where the player grows stronger in order to deal with the main boss.

Whether they want to or not, before reaching the main boss, players are given several side narratives.

At this time, there are two useful items that can be acquired from the bosses that appear: the first is the spiritual tool.

'Especially, the spiritual tool you can get from the side is free of charge, and since it's extremely useful against the later main boss, it's a must-get item.'

And the second is 'money'.

'Of course, you can't get enough money to buy other spiritual power tools.'

Still, since the amount was quite substantial, Kim Dojun was satisfied with it.

After all, as long as he gathered enough money, there was always a way to earn more.

That was why he was out on a weekend leave, aiming to clear the very first side narrative of Sorcery Killing Technique.

"Should I drop you off here?"

"Yes."

Currently, he had taken a taxi out to Hongcheon in Gangwon Province.

The moment Kim Dojun got out of the taxi, he was greeted by a very bleak scene.

The road was barely maintained, but every building nearby was clearly unoccupied for quite some time, showing no signs of upkeep.

In fact, moss and green weeds were crawling through the cracks of concrete debris from certain buildings.

Some buildings were so completely overrun by moss and plants that if someone saw only those, they might wonder, 'Did the world end?'

"...."

After checking the sights of Hongcheon, Kim Dojun recalled the information in his mind.

'The first side story in Sorcery Institute is about dealing with a criminal group, 'Three-Headed Dragon (三頭龍),' who use the 'Koteo HOTEL,' one of the abandoned buildings in Hongcheon, as their base.'

Kim Dojun's mission here was to wipe out all the criminals using that location as their stronghold.

Thinking this far, he began searching for his target, wandering the deserted streets lined with abandoned buildings—an environment caused, in the setting, by chaotic incidents involving possessed bodies.

It wasn't long before—

'Found it.'

Kim Dojun managed to find a building that looked very much like the one he'd seen in the game.

On the far left end was a building with the 'Koteo HOTEL' signboard.

Outwardly, it appeared to be a completely abandoned building, but already having played Sorcery Killing Technique, Kim Dojun knew that this was the hiding place of the Three-Headed Dragon.

The job now was to enter the hotel, defeat the Three-Headed Dragon inside, collect the loot—spiritual tool and money—and walk away coolly.

However, Kim Dojun didn't rush into the hotel.

'Just stepping inside would be a headache.'

Even without considering that it was the Three-Headed Dragon's lair, this was by no means an ordinary hotel—it was a 'fortress' rigged with dozens of sorcery formations.

Not just any fortress, either, but one inappropriately vicious for a first side episode in Sorcery Killing Technique.

'On the hotel's first floor is an infinite labyrinth that causes perception disorders.'

And that's not all.

This hotel, which had five floors, featured multiple debuff-type sorcery formations on each floor, installed specifically to torment players.

That, too, meant the worst possible kind of sorcery formations for someone like Kim Dojun, who couldn't use sorcery.

Of course, the developers of Sorcery Killing Technique never intended to see a mass exodus of players at the very first side episode, so they had included a self-correcting setting.

'Originally, by the story, an S-rank sorcerer who happened to be on a mission to deal with the Three-Headed Dragon would neutralize all sorcery formations, leaving only the fighting to the player.'

But this was reality.

There was no possibility that, while Kim Dojun just sat here, an S-rank sorcerer would pop up out of nowhere to handle the Three-Headed Dragon.

In other words, he would have to break through this unfair hotel all by himself.

However—

Kim Dojun had not come to this place without a plan.

By nature, he tended to charge in first if no solution presented itself, but at the very least, he had come up with two somewhat reasonable plans this time.

"Hm...."

Kim Dojun went over his plans in his head, nodded to himself in satisfaction.

'Flawless.'

He immediately proceeded to execute the first plan.

"I know you're hiding out here, so come on out."

At those words—

Uuuung-!

As if his remark were a trigger, a sorcery formation instantly appeared before Kim Dojun.

Soon—

[Who are you?]

A human figure materialized above the sorcery formation.

His entire body wrapped in torn black cloth to the point that his face was invisible, but Kim Dojun was sure: this was the boss of the Three-Headed Dragon.

"I've come to strike a deal with you, boss of the Three-Headed Dragon."

[... Doesn't look like you're a dog of the Association or from the Thousand-Gods Temple, but how did you learn of our secret organization?]

Ah, so that was part of the setting, Kim Dojun recalled, but it didn't matter.

He had a magic phrase that could get him past anything.

"No need for you to know."

[...]

At Kim Dojun's words, the man paused, speechless, but Kim Dojun continued nonchalantly,

"The point is, I want to make a deal with you."

[... You think I'd do such a thing with someone whose credentials I can't even verify?]

"You'll have to."

[What?]

"If not, every one of you will die here."

####

The boss of Three-Headed Dragon had, exactly three years ago, murdered 32 sorcerers from the Association in a most gruesome way and fled—a class one criminal.

That earned him the nickname 'Extractor'.

That name, infamously cruel, was due to his peculiar habit of extracting the eyes of the sorcerers he killed, a man as brutal in his sorcery as his moniker implied.

"If not, every one of you will die here."

He let out a dry laugh looking at Kim Dojun, who spoke so calmly.

It would've seemed ridiculous for someone called Extractor to hear such a thing, but Three-Headed Dragon was not some pushover organization.

There were over 50 members just inside this hotel alone.

And? Every single member was a class one criminal, and the hotel interior was full of sorcery formations.

Even if an S-rank sorcerer barged in here right now, they might be able to handle it.

Yet here was this obvious kid, standing alone and proposing a deal.

A brat who didn't seem part of the Association or the All-Gods Temple or any group.

It was so absurd that The Extractor, still smirking, answered,

[What utter nonsense.]

"Regrettable that you feel that way."

[Well, suppose I humor myself for once and listen to your proposal, then.]

"It's simple. Hand over your spiritual tool and all of your money to me."

[... What?]

"Then I'll just leave without doing anything."

At Kim Dojun's words, the Extractor involuntarily opened his mouth.

[... Are you serious?]

"I'm serious."

[You're insane.]

The Extractor stared at the man before him.

What he saw in Kim Dojun's face was composure.

Seeing that, the Extractor realized Kim Dojun was indeed being sincere, so he scrutinized him closely for any anomalies—but no matter how carefully he searched, he found nothing special.

Just a fairly normal-looking brat.

Nothing to raise Kim Dojun's evaluation above that.

For a moment, he thought of coming out and dealing with this insolent brat personally.

'No, no.'

He soon dismissed that idea.

Of course, as far as Extractor was concerned, Kim Dojun was just a brat.

Even if he was supposed to use sorcery, there was no spiritual power to be sensed, so he must be a nobody.

Still, the Extractor decided to be careful.

'Surely he didn't just stroll up here without a plan.'

Reasonably speaking, if he'd come all this way, he had to have something up his sleeve. The Extractor figured there might be a hidden card.

'He could be bait.'

The Extractor thought that the kid in front of him could be bait.

Bait to provoke and lure him outside.

[Hmph.]

Considering that, the Extractor smirked, then concluded,

[No deal. Brat.]

So said the Extractor.

####

"That's unfortunate."

Honestly, Kim Dojun had half-expected the first plan to fail.

He didn't really have the gift of the gab to persuade someone anyway.

Even so, the reason he tried the first plan was a 'just in case' mentality. After all, the second plan to follow could prove a bit troublesome.

[So, are you going to kill me now?]

"Since the deal failed, I have no choice."

[How will you kill me? As you probably know, what stands before you is not the real 'me', but a clone.]

"I know."

[Heh, so you plan to fight your way up to the fifth floor to kill me yourself?]

The Extractor's words.

That was rather out of reach for Kim Dojun at the moment.

Entering a building full of all sorts of sorcery debuffs in his current state, ignorant of sorcery?

That would be the height of foolishness.

There was no need to fight on unfavorable ground.

"No."

He hadn't come here to fight in the first place.

"I'm not going up the hotel."

The Extractor openly snickered at Kim Dojun's statement.

[What, are you suddenly scared of killing me?]

His voice laced with open ridicule and mockery.

"No, my words remain the same."

[Then you'll have to make it to the fifth floor, unless you have some killer instinct or special talent.]

The Extractor chuckled.

"It doesn't matter if I don't have such talent."

With that, Kim Dojun took a step toward the front of the hotel.

Regardless of how the first plan went, the second was a strategy he'd pulled off many times in such situations—one that, to this day, had never failed.

As he approached the hotel, the Extractor said something, but Kim Dojun ignored his words and walked toward a pillar by the entrance.

Once he reached the front of the hotel—

"Did you know?"

[?]

A way to win without fighting.

"The people inside a building—"

His second plan, which had a 100% proven success rate.

"If the building collapses, they die."

[???]

Kwaaaaaang!!

He put it into action right there, on the spot.

[W-what the hell! What is this...!]

The very stronghold of Three-Headed Dragon, the den of class one criminals and location of hundreds of sorcery formations created to deal with intruders, the Koteo HOTEL—

[Uwaaaaaaah!]

Collapsed completely, boss Extractor and all.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.
Very apt to describe Dojun's Methods.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】