The time passed quickly.

Lenoch, having confirmed that the side effects of the newly purchased tobacco were much less severe than the previous ones, took a few days to rest thoroughly.

There were many things he could do while resting. Now that he could handle mana, researching magic while lying in bed was entirely possible, and his rapidly growing talent provided him with ample time to immerse himself in magic.

As he continued to study magic, the casting time became shorter, and the number of spells he could apply increased.

By combining several known electric-type spells, he created new spells. Lenoch, deeply engrossed in the fun he couldn’t even attempt in the previous WORLD game, researched magic without any interference and stabilized his body.

Once he felt somewhat revitalized, he stopped resting and went back to work.

He repeatedly visited Jenny’s tavern to pick out wanted criminals.

Jenny might have chosen this task simply to test Lenoch’s abilities, but for Lenoch, who was in dire need of money, it was a rather decent income.

Tracking was not difficult with just a trace of the criminal’s blood, and subduing them was even easier.

Although there weren’t many tasks that guaranteed a reward as substantial as the first one with Taylor, the income he earned in a day was quite significant.

From the time he captured the third wanted criminal alive, Jenny subtly tried to assign Lenoch other tasks, but he continued to focus on chasing bounties.

Before starting his work, he smoked a cigarette, captured the wanted criminal, and handed them over to Jordan.

After receiving the bounty, he returned to the hotel and slept as if dead. He rested for about three days, researched magic again, and once his body stabilized, he went back to work.

Repeating this process, Lenoch eventually managed to accumulate close to ten million Cel.

In the process, the name “Van” seemed to have become known in several places, but as long as he wasn’t directly involved, it was not a concern.

Lenoch thought that being known as a capable bounty hunter was not a bad thing.

One day, a month after he began researching magic and earning money.

“………”

Lenoch opened his eyes, receiving the sunlight streaming through the window directly on his face.

He grabbed his throbbing head and sat up.

The two cigarettes he smoked in succession while chasing a wanted criminal the day before were still bothering him.

He fetched water from the drinking fountain, drank a whole bottle, and washed his sweat-soaked body.

Lenoch had become so accustomed to this lifestyle that he could find the towel hanging on the rack with his eyes closed.

After showering, Lenoch’s gaze turned to the corner of the hotel room. The ten million Cel he had earned by capturing wanted criminals were piled up there.

Bundles of ten thousand and hundred thousand cell bills. It was a significant amount of money, but it was certainly not appropriate to request room cleaning with it piled up conspicuously in the corner of the room.

As a result, Lenoch hadn’t been able to change the bed sheets for over a week.

It was uncomfortable, but it was better than blatantly showing ten million Cel to strangers.

“I should open a bank account….”

There was no other way to store the money securely than to open an account, but it was absurd for Lenoch, who lacked proper identification, to visit a commercial bank.

There was an anonymous bank in District 49 for people in situations similar to Lenoch’s, but the exorbitant fees, which even beggars avoided, had long deterred Lenoch.

Ultimately, Lenoch had only one option.

He would buy a new identity. He would purchase the identity of a missing person and completely rewrite the information.

The cost required for the transaction with a dealer selling forged identification was twenty million Cel.

If not for Jenny’s mediation, it would have cost him an additional ten million Cel, so he owed her a considerable debt.

Especially since Lenoch had recently realized how inconvenient it was to be without a legal identity, he planned to create a new identity as soon as he gathered the funds.

After lying down for half a day due to the lingering side effects of the medicine, Lenoch finally got up, dressed with difficulty, and went outside.

“Whew…!”

Without a cigarette in hand, even walking out of the hotel was incredibly challenging.

His frail body broke into a cold sweat just by being exposed to sunlight for a long time, and walking for extended periods raised his body temperature, causing headaches.

Lenoch himself couldn’t understand how he had managed to endure three days in the factory and escape.

His hand instinctively reached for the cigarette butt in his pocket, but smoking on a non-working day would not only waste money but also harm his body.

Even though he had obtained medicine with fewer side effects, it didn’t mean it didn’t strain Lenoch’s weak body.

With unsteady steps, he headed to a small market near a residential area.

Despite the intense midday heat, the market was bustling with people setting up tents and buying and selling various fresh ingredients.

The reason Lenoch chose to visit such a neighborhood market instead of purchasing goods from a mart or store was, of course, the price.

While the freshness or storage conditions might be slightly inferior, most of the ingredients were sourced or produced directly by the sellers.

Moreover, the prices were relatively lower than those of stores that went through distribution companies, making it ideal for Lenoch.

Of course, when he first started buying without knowing anything, Lenoch often ended up spending tens of thousands of Cel on hotel breakfasts and getting ripped off at expensive restaurants without knowing the prices, but now it was different.

After realizing that the civilization of this world was slightly more advanced than that of Earth, he significantly reduced such wasteful spending.

He sometimes bought single-use lunch boxes from convenience stores and occasionally chose cheap fast food.

However, recently, Lenoch had been focusing on buying ingredients from the market and cooking himself.

His body’s condition was entirely different from before.

While he had no choice but to smoke to work, reducing the side effects and managing his body’s basic nutritional state were things Lenoch could certainly do.

Taking care of his health and ensuring his body didn’t deteriorate was crucial.

The other day, Lenoch had even squeezed his limited budget to order a set of comprehensive nutritional supplements online for the first time.

“Ma’am, I’ll have two Gabi onions, five Senil green onions, and six bell peppers, please.”

Having visited the market once or twice before, Lenoch skillfully selected the ingredients he wanted and requested them from the owner.

Although the ingredients looked and were named differently from those on Earth, it was unthinkable for Lenoch not to remember their names.

“Thirty-four thousand Cel.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing a calm voice entirely different from the owner he remembered, Lenoch looked up to see who it was.

A woman with jet-black bobbed hair was staring at him intently.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the owner of this store.”

Could this tent hastily set up near the market be called a store?

“…..Where’s the lady?”

“She’s someone I hired.”

“Then what about these vegetables?”

“They’re something I grow as a hobby.”

These vegetables, piled up to fill one side of the stall?

It was an excessively large scale to be considered a hobby.

Only then did Lenoch take a closer look at the woman he was conversing with.

She had calm eyes and an expressionless face. Her small but distinct nose and red lips stood out, making her a beauty.

She wore a loose bomber jacket and jeans, sitting crouched, but her unique calm demeanor was impressive.

She was certainly out of place among people buying and selling fruits and vegetables.

“If you grow this much as a hobby, you must be very wealthy.”

“That’s right. I make good money.”

“……”

Without a word, Lenoch paid her thirty-four thousand Cel and took the bag.

Whether her words were true or false, Lenoch couldn’t judge.

But if she did all this as a hobby, she must indeed be quite wealthy.

Lenoch had no intention of taking an interest in her until she spoke to him again as he was about to return to the hotel.

“Your mana is unusual.”

“…..Pardon?”

“Why is a wizard like you in a place like this?”

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“If your pattern is that precise, it should be memorable even to me. Have you not been in Balkan for long?”

Her expressionless muttering sent a chill down Lenoch’s spine.

A New Encounter

She had not only recognized Lenoch as a wizard but was openly discussing his mana pattern.

Lenoch’s mind quickly found the answer.

‘….The barrier was the problem.’

After becoming able to handle various common spells, Lenoch had habitually cast a constant barrier spell whenever he went out, and it seemed the mana pattern emanating from it caught her eye.

Was it possible to not only notice that he was using magic but also read the mana pattern from the magic itself?

She was doing something that even the police could only achieve with measuring devices, which was impossible unless she had innate abilities or was a powerful wizard.

Either way, she was not a particularly welcome figure from Lenoch’s perspective.

Lenoch, putting his hand on the cigarette in his pocket, calmly replied.

“That’s right. I haven’t been in this city for long.”

“I thought so.”

“But how did you know that?”

“Hmm? Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s just one of the things I do.”

“……..”

From the moment her curiosity was satisfied, she seemed to lose interest in Lenoch, lightly shaking her head.

Then she subtly began offering onion-like vegetables to another customer who had approached from behind him.

Lenoch, with a bewildered expression, left the market.

“Whew….”

The city was vast, and there were many peculiar people.

He had merely come out to buy ingredients, yet he hadn’t expected to feel such a chilling sensation.

“I need to pay more attention to magic.”

As he used magic, his mana capacity naturally increased, and his casting speed continued to improve.

Despite the fact that his skills continued to grow without much effort, it was true that he had recently neglected to learn more about magic.

He had thought there was nothing lacking once he could use almost all the common spells he knew, but hadn’t he been seen through by a woman he had never met before?

Even if it was impossible to learn new magic and become more versatile immediately, there was still room for Lenoch to use magic more efficiently from a technical standpoint.

Back at the hotel, Lenoch wiped his sweat and placed the ingredients in the kitchen.

After catching his breath from the fatigue of going out, he washed all the purchased ingredients and stored them in the refrigerator.

Then he took out just the necessary amount of ingredients, placed them on the cutting board, and began cooking.

“One spoon of misutgaru… two spoons of sugar….”

Next to the cutting board was a note with the cooking method written on it. It was copied from a cookbook in the library.

On days he didn’t visit Jenny’s tavern, he often stopped by the library.

It was freely accessible to individuals, contained vast books and data, and he could even use a computer if necessary.

Lenoch had been steadily accumulating knowledge about this world and magic whenever he had time, and this time he had borrowed a cookbook related to healthy eating.

Although it was his first attempt at cooking, Lenoch’s face was utterly serious.

Lenoch understood very well that maintaining his body in a decent state required more than average effort.

The various penalties he had imposed to enhance his magical talent, in addition to the poor physical stats he had decided on when creating his character, were constantly wearing down his mind and body.

While he couldn’t directly address those penalties, there must be ways in this world where magic existed.

He couldn’t rush things.

Lenoch reminded himself as he slowly wielded the knife in his hand.

‘First, I need to create a proper identity and account.’

Although the vegetable resembling a zucchini was being chopped unevenly on the cutting board, Lenoch didn’t mind. From the start, it was unreasonable to expect skill in anything involving physical work.

‘It’s not too late to create a safe channel to store money. Accumulating money and finding a method comes after that.’

The road ahead was long, and there were many things to do.

But he had to be cautious and deliberate.

The environment surrounding him was still unfamiliar, dangerous, and precarious.

To not only survive but to live, he had to be prepared for many things.

And Lenoch believed he was ready for that.

With a determined will to survive, Lenoch extended the knife toward the third vegetable.

It was an evening as the sun was setting.