How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game

I don’t know if I should consider this fortunate, but it wasn’t someone I knew.

That meant he wasn’t a Named. It shouldn’t be too much trouble to deal with him.

“Aron! Aron!”

“Colossus!”

“Lefford! Lefford!”

Cheers loud enough to make one’s ears ring filled the fighting pit. A lot of people were cheering for Lefford.

Lefford must be a famous figure in the fighting pit, with many people betting on his side.

Speaking of which, Colossus?

He was just big in stature but didn’t look particularly strong. It was a lofty nickname for a fighter in this underground fighting pit.

His thick, crude iron armor might intimidate ordinary folk, but not me.

Aron was steadying his breath and glaring at Lefford.

‘How will he move?’

The moment I thought that, Aron stomped the ground. A straight-line charge. Clang! The sword and axe clashed.

Lefford used that force to press his axe down on the sword.

Aron slid his sword under the axe blade and twisted his wrist. A clever technique.

Unable to withstand the rotational force, the axe slipped from Lefford’s hand and flew into the air.

A victory in the technique battle.

But the aftermath left Aron’s front wide open. Lefford didn’t just stand there either.

With his iron-gloved hand, he grabbed Aron’s sword and twisted it in a similar fashion.

With his other hand, he grabbed Aron’s clothes and lifted him up. Aron, who had lost his sword, flailed helplessly in the air.

‘Careless.’

After knocking away Lefford’s axe, Aron should have somehow created distance, considering the obvious weight difference.

Aron chose to hastily attack after gaining the upper hand, resulting in him getting caught.

Being overpowered was not a good situation. Lefford’s fist struck Aron’s face.

Thwack! The heavy sound was distinct even amid the cheers.

As Lefford drew back his fist to strike again, Aron bit into the hand grabbing his collar.

“Argh!”

Lefford let out a scream and released Aron, but Aron didn’t let go of Lefford.

His eyes were filled with viciousness from biting down.

As Lefford shook off his hand, blood sprayed. Aron’s bite force had torn off one of his fingers.

Stupid fool.

The colossus stared dumbfounded at his severed finger. That’s something you don’t do in actual combat.

Aron charged forward and leaped up, grabbing onto Lefford’s body and headbutting him.

Thunk! Thunk! Lefford staggered.

“Woooah! Aron! Aron!”

“That idiot Lefford! Kill him! Kill him! What are you doing!”

In an instant, Aron bit into Lefford’s nape. One second. When Aron lifted his head, flesh was hanging from his mouth.

Blood gushed from Lefford’s neck. The giant lost his balance and fell.

Aron immediately mounted the giant. He rained punches down on the half-conscious Lefford’s face.

Thwack! Thwack!

Aron’s fists were stained with blood. Lefford’s face grew even redder.

But Aron’s punches didn’t stop. Lefford’s face was already unrecognizable.

“….”

For a minute, people fell silent as Aron continued pummeling what was now a corpse.

An eerie phenomenon.

Aron finally stood up and raised his fist. Cheers erupted.

“Woooooah! Aron!”

“Aron! Aron! Aron!”

“F**k! I lost money but it was a fight worth the price!”

“He was like a mad dog!”

“Aron the Mad Dog!”

“Mad Dog? Fitting!”

“Sorenson’s Mad Dog! Aron!”

So the Mad Dog nickname was just created. What a coincidence.

But aside from that, I felt a bit sickened listening to the shouting crowd.

The Mad Dog of Sorenson nickname wasn’t given for no reason. It was a frenzy that silenced even the fighting pit.

You couldn’t see such graphic details in games. Maybe this was the cruelty the fighting pits cultivated.

‘Still, I can’t give up.’

As long as I help him, he’s someone who would never betray me. If that ferocity is directed at the devil worshippers.

Then, I sensed a devil worshipper quietly slipping out amid the excited crowd.

Since I had more or less confirmed Aron and his brother’s locations, I should follow that guy first.

I followed behind as well.

Of course, I didn’t forget to collect my winnings on the way out. The payout was a whopping 12.3 times.

I had already placed Winds on the devil worshipper. He was checking around furtively as he walked down an alley.

“You won big.”

“Got lucky.”

I put the plump money pouch in my robe. Didn’t seem like he had backup around, just in case.

He kept looking around cautiously as he entered what seemed to be his lodging – a place with a pub and inn combined.

I monitored him solely through Winds from the back alley, to avoid getting spotted.

As soon as he entered his room, he started scribbling something on paper.

I could technically read the contents through Winds, but there was a risk of him detecting it.

Since I planned to deal with him anyway, I could check the contents later.

‘The question is how to deal with him.’

It was a bit of a dilemma.

If there were other devil worshippers in this city, it might be worth tailing this one to catch them too.

But that would require more time. For now, there didn’t seem to be any others nearby.

Hmm. Carelessly trying to follow him could complicate things. In the meantime, there was a chance I could lose Aron.

It would be better to just deal with this one now.

I made my decision. Now the method remained. A frontal approach was inadvisable.

I had to consider the possibility that he had some hidden trick up his sleeve. I needed to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Knocking him out with Winds was risky. He likely wasn’t as low-level as Gorivan’s soldiers or mages.

‘Poison, perhaps?’

In truth, using poisons wasn’t easy for an intelligence agent. Getting the target to ingest it was quite tricky.

However, having Winds gave me good synergy. It only worked with powders, not liquids, but still.

I was glad I chose Winds. Initially, I had only thought of it for concealment purposes.

I took out a strong sleeping powder from my robe and sent it through the Winds. Soon, small amounts entered his nose.

“Achoo!”

With a short sneeze, he had inhaled a large dose of the sleeping powder. Within 10 minutes, he was staggering and collapsed.

Thud. The sound of him falling was drowned out by the pub’s noise.

‘Just in case, one more minute.’

I brought Winds close to his nose to check if he was breathing steadily.

I didn’t grab his body with Winds yet, as it could still be risky. Some might pretend to be unconscious.

Even for resolving minor issues, one must be thorough. Small mistakes can lead to disasters.

I remained vigilant of my surroundings. Still no signs of trouble.

This should be enough. I stepped onto Winds’ platform and entered through the window.

He was still lying there, dead to the world.

‘Directly touching him is a bit…’

If someone died in an inn, it could cause a commotion, even if the region was in turmoil.

An unexplained death and a homicide were different matters.

I blew some Heavenly Scent into his nose and lifted him onto the bed, arranging him to look like he had died in his sleep.

That should avoid any immediate problems. I rummaged through his belongings.

[…therefore he is worth recruiting. To eliminate the Bedes organization controlling Sorenson’s underworld, I request two additional agents be assigned.]

So this guy had come to scout the rising 16-year-old fighter Aron upon hearing of his fame.

Fortunate timing. If I had been even a few days late, things could have gone awry.

But there was a need to act quickly.

The letter implied they had a network. If I delayed, more devil worshippers would come.

‘Should I just deal with it today?’

I had told Osten to rest up today, so I felt a bit sheepish, but there was no choice.

I promptly went to Osten. When I told him we were leaving, Osten asked with a bit of disappointment.

“Pardon? Now?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I told you to rest up.”

“Oh no, it’s fine.”

His words said one thing, but his expression was dejected.

The journey here must have been no easy feat for a mage cooped up in a research lab.

“Anyway, get ready to depart.”

“Shall I prepare the wingsuits again?”

“Hmm. Can you make two more right away?”

With two more people now, we likely couldn’t use the wingsuits. But Osten nodded.

“I bought some materials at the market earlier for upgrades, using the money you gave…”

“I said to rest.”

“Ah, I didn’t work, just bought materials. It won’t take long to make them anyway.”

“Then make two more, and we’ll talk about the material costs later. I’ll compensate you separately.”

Osten looked surprised.

“But I used the money you gave me.”

“That’s for your employment and research funds are separate.”

“Boss…”

“What?”

His gaze was filled with gratitude. I’d rather not receive such looks from a man…

I quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, make two more. Leave the original ones behind.”

“Ah, not upgrades then. …Are two more people joining us?”

Quite perceptive. I nodded.

“Yeah. We’ll use the originals. Planning to use them near Ricocchi Mountain.”

“Got it!”

Unlike Gorivan’s which had towering spires, Sorenson lacked any particularly tall buildings. That inner city used to be on higher ground too.

For now, using them atop a nearby mountain after rescuing Aron was the best option.

We couldn’t get a carriage at this hour anyway, and even if we had prepared one earlier, we wouldn’t be able to leave the city by dawn.

With more people, it would be better to get a carriage in the next town.

I headed back to the fighting pit. Adjacent to the underground fighting pit was invariably a gambling den.

The now-empty fighting pit was quiet, but the neighboring gambling den was still raucous.

‘Aron is…asleep.’

The earlier fight must have taken a considerable physical and mental toll.

Fortunately, he was alone.

Victorious fighters were usually rewarded with female companionship. The same applied to female fighters.

Compensation for their fight.

Had Aron declined?

No way to know, but at least it saved me some hassle. I entered through the window.

Concealing my presence in the building’s shadows, I swiftly made my way down the corridor.

Knowing the layout and where people were made it possible. Like using a map hack.

‘Nothing to worry about.’

Even if they claimed to rule the underworld, to me they were just a gang of thugs.

Not a difficult task.

It was past midnight now. The thugs guarding key points were half-dozing in their chairs.

I swiftly neutralized them by striking their napes with winds, forcing them unconscious.

It didn’t matter if I was detected. This place would become a mess anyway. I approached Aron and shook him.

Aron woke with a start, immediately on guard. He reached for the sword he had left by his side.

“Looking for this?”

I dangled Aron’s sword in front of him. I had retrieved it ahead of time for a quick conversation.

Aron glared at me.

“Who are you? Did Bedes send you?”

His gaze was sharp. I subtly exerted some pressure. Aron’s expression changed instantly.

“…Who are you, sir?”

“Someone here to help you.”

Aron fell silent. Perhaps he had just woken up and couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

Well, my explanation was a bit lacking too.

“I’m going to help you and your younger sibling get out of here.”

Author's Thoughts

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