Chapter 4: The Necromancer(4)

The base of the looter group was the headquarters of a bankrupt distribution company.

Since it had a warehouse and garage, it seemed convenient for managing stolen goods, which is why they had set up here.

“The site isn’t as big as I expected.”

Comet looked through binoculars at the base from the rooftop of the building near the back entrance.

A car entered through the front gate, and a few looters were seen wandering around.

“Perhaps the main warehouse is outside the city?”

Dan Ga-yeon, who was also looking through the binoculars, responded.

Comet nodded and set the binoculars down.

She then unfolded the architectural blueprints handed over by the police.

Dan Ga-yeon turned to look when she heard the sound of the paper unfolding.

“I don’t think we’ll have a chance to enter.”

“That’s a shame. I was hoping that Officer Dan would use the power of the law to persuade them effectively.”

“Haha… But since we got permission for the back entrance wait, isn’t that something?”

Dan Ga-yeon laughed awkwardly.

Comet gave Dan Ga-yeon a playful look and smiled.

“That’s true.”

Comet snapped the folds of the blueprints loudly.

She examined the plans to identify where the looter group’s necromancer might be staying, but it didn’t provide much help.

It was disappointing that the police would be confiscating the necromancer’s artifacts.

“Officer Dan, what’s your assimilation rate?”

“Up to 14%.”

Comet leaned her arms on the railing and rested her chin on her hands.

“Martial arts should be nice. Just swinging a sword recovers your stats.”

“By that logic, magic should be even easier.”

Dan Ga-yeon responded with a somewhat disgruntled tone.

A sheathed sword at Dan Ga-yeon’s side swayed slightly.

It seemed she was unhappy about needing to carve out training time amidst a busy schedule.

“Absorbing mana means you don’t sweat, and you don’t need to shower.”

“That’s right. Being a wizard is convenient.”

Comet nodded.

“I don’t understand why they live so comfortably.”

Necromancers, who handle spiritual energy instead of mana, needed an environment filled with death, where significant events that produce numerous souls occurred.

“But don’t you have high stats even with just the basic assimilation rate, Comet?”

“It’s high, but if you compare it with the same top-ranked players, it’s not that impressive.”

“I can’t relate to that…”

Comet found Dan Ga-yeon’s whining a bit amusing and smiled.

Dan Ga-yeon stared at Comet for a moment before raising the binoculars again to keep an eye on the front.

Before long, the awaited signal arrived.

A white flag was fluttering small on a rooftop near the looter base.

“Comet!”

“Yes, I see it too. Let’s get ready.”

Comet double-checked if she had her knife and soul orb securely.

Seeing Dan Ga-yeon focusing on the back entrance, Comet turned her binoculars to casually watch the police entering.

Armed police surged over the fence, and a police car broke through the front gate to enter.

However, there were no police at the back entrance; she heard that they left an escape route to prevent total annihilation, as that wasn’t the main objective.

A looter, likely an awakened one, was seen trying to cast magic but fell under relentless gunfire.

“How scary…”

Comet desperately wished for high stats.

“What?”

“Oh, I just hope the necromancer can escape safely through the back entrance.”

Some perceptive looters had already slipped out through the back entrance.

Comet held the soul orb, observing for any reaction, but when there was none—perhaps because the looter necromancer had already claimed it—she put it back into her pocket.

“They’re out!”

Dan Ga-yeon exclaimed as she switched between the binoculars and her camera.

“Let’s go.”

Comet gripped the railing and jumped off the rooftop.

With a brief sensation of floating, her black bobbed hair fluttered, and her dress billowed.

Her slip skirt was exposed momentarily before being hidden again.

The sound of her landing echoed on the roof.

She left intermittent footprints as she passed over the rooftops.

Comet executed a flip in the air and landed in front of the necromancer, who stopped running with a stunned expression.

Comet straightened her disheveled hair and clothes and spoke in a friendly tone.

“I noticed a fellow practitioner while passing by, so I came to help. Would you like assistance?”

The necromancer hesitated for a moment before furrowing his brow.

“What nonsense is this? What kind of crazy necromancer has a sense of camaraderie?”

The necromancer quickly blurted out and then glanced around before fleeing toward the looters.

Comet scratched her cheek.

That was a fair point.

“Where’s the necromancer?”

Dan Ga-yeon arrived a moment too late.

Comet pointed with her finger at the necromancer, who had already hidden behind the looters.

A man stepped out from among the looters.

“I didn’t know the great Comet had become a dog of the government.”

From the looters’ reactions, it seemed he was some kind of organization boss.

The boss’s casual demeanor made Comet pause, as if they were acquainted.

A strange silence hung in the air, and the boss’s brows furrowed as he opened his mouth to speak.

Comet quickly raised her palm, gesturing for him to hold on before she retraced her memories.

Now that she thought about it, his face seemed somewhat familiar, yet not entirely.

She couldn’t recall where she’d seen him, but he might have been a guild leader.

Comet tentatively probed with a hesitant voice.

“Guild leader…?”

“…I was part of the guild that came to kill you during the Empire’s extermination orders.”

The boss added a clarifying statement as if he had sensed Comet’s inner thoughts.

“Oh. I think I remember. You had top-notch combat skills.”

Comet fabricated a vague compliment to match his follow-up.

The necromancer hiding in the back admired his boss.

While many guilds had received extermination contracts, a guild leader would likely be considered a top-ranked player.

“I’d like you to step aside if you understand.”

The boss turned to look at the base they were in.

Gunfire continued, but it was gradually subsiding.

“Are you hoping for a desperate showdown?”

His voice suggested he believed he had an advantage in stats.

Since there was a necromancer among his subordinates, he likely expected Comet’s assimilation rate to be low.

Comet twisted a strand of her hair in silence.

She then glanced at Dan Ga-yeon.

“Why are you still here?”

“Uh…?”

Dan Ga-yeon, who had been quietly observing, trembled as attention suddenly turned to her.

She swallowed dryly and moved closer, whispering,

Dan Ga-yeon trembled.

“What should we do?”

“What should we do, Officer?”

“Can you win?”

“Yes, but isn’t it not my responsibility? Even if I’m an external supporter, I’m still a civilian.”

“Ugh.”

Dan Ga-yeon’s hands, gripping the sword hilt, shook.

As Comet waited, she heard the boss cough uncomfortably, prompting her to stop spectating and whisper to Dan Ga-yeon.

“Let’s just let them go. To be honest, it’s not your responsibility either. The police will handle it. They said they’d deal with the looters who fled through the open retreat route.”

Dan Ga-yeon brightened at the suggestion to pass the responsibility to another department. It was a very bureaucratic response.

“Is that really okay? But what if someone like a ranked player breaks through the encirclement and escapes?”

Comet patted Dan Ga-yeon’s shoulder without saying a word.

Dan Ga-yeon, deep in thought, took a few steps back to create some distance.

It seemed like it was hard for her to verbally suggest letting them pass, as she bowed her head.

Comet also leaned in and pointed the way with one hand, urging her to hurry and let them through.

“Go now!”

The boss began to lead the looters past them.

As Comet watched the fleeing scene, she spoke just as the boss brushed by her.

“By the way…”

The boss paused and turned around.

His expression was filled with irritation and tension, as if to say, “Are you challenging me now?”

Comet visibly toyed with a knife.

“I’m curious if the necromancer committed murder at the convenience store. As the boss, you must know your subordinate’s actions, right?”

The boss stared blankly at the necromancer who had been following him.

“…Are you asking if my subordinate killed someone at the convenience store?”

“Yes.”

A look of disbelief flashed across the boss’s face.

That necromancer seemed like someone who preferred to stay holed up in a corner.

The boss seemed to grasp Comet’s intentions and then looked back at Dan Ga-yeon.

At first, Dan Ga-yeon seemed puzzled but then watched the boss with curiosity about his answer.

The boss turned back to Comet.

Comet, out of Dan Ga-yeon’s sight, discreetly moved the knife, aiming for the officer’s side.

The boss’s expression changed.

“Of course he did.”

“It must be because of the soul, right?”

“Yeah. I remember now. I heard him boasting about how harvesting souls at the convenience store allowed him to snack as well.”

“Me?!”

The boss casually added a lie.

Thanks to Comet’s earlier assumption that he was acquainted with the boss, he had avoided embarrassment, and this seemed to be a repayment for that.

The necromancer, who had been sold out by the boss, widened his eyes in shock but fell silent under the boss’s arm.

After the questioning ended, the looters departed.

Comet smiled and turned to Dan Ga-yeon.

“You heard the guild leader’s testimony just now, right? Can we use it as evidence?”

“…You attempted a judicial transaction in exchange for letting them go, didn’t you?”

Since it was a transaction between a criminal and a criminal, it wasn’t judicial but rather a private deal.

“That’s up to Officer Dan’s interpretation. So, is it possible to accept it as evidence?”

Not really sure… but it seems like the suspicion has solidified! We can just wait for the police to come and arrest them! You did well!

Dan Ga-yeon grabbed Comet’s hand.

“This is all thanks to you, Officer.”

Comet also took her hand.

Dan Ga-yeon’s expression brightened at Comet’s compliment. She seemed like a fresh-faced rookie.

However, it didn’t take long for Dan Ga-yeon’s expression to darken.

The police, having completed the cleanup at their base, came looking for Officer Dan and began to press her for responsibility.

Instead of shifting the blame, Dan Ga-yeon flailed around, apologizing.

Comet watched this unfold, then returned to her room after hearing the news that the encirclement had been breached.

It was a good day.