His legs were bound and locked by the Bloodthorn Vines.
And his Hunting Blade had been sent flying by a lucky shot from his opponent.
Although Nelson, buzzing in his head, had become a prisoner at the foot of his adversary, he just wouldn't accept it.
"If... he had been off by just a little bit."
"...I could have turned the tables!"
"Damn luck!"
Nelson muttered under his breath, his mouth covered in dust and nosebleed.
"Who sent you here?"
Unlike his own smooth and seasoned experience in battle, his young adversary's voice was tender and immature.
Nelson cracked a smile.
Perhaps the kid was strong, but he was still just a child.
"I just saw that you were young, so... I thought I'd try my luck."
"It's all too common here in Ramore City-State."
"Now, I've lost. You can take anything of value from me."
"Kid, you're young. Don't stray onto the wrong path!"
Nelson spoke as if half in lament, half advising.
Tuck took a deep breath and rubbed his temples.
"I think you haven't realized the seriousness of the situation."
Tuck raised his right hand.
The witchcraft "Bullet Tentacles" activated with his gesture.
With a "bang!"
One of Nelson's ears was blown off.
The pain stimulated tears and snot to smother his cheeks as Nelson, fallen to the ground, wailed.
Unlike his earlier pretense, this time it was a genuine performance.
A full minute passed.
Only then did the wailing gradually subside.
Tuck's voice rose steadily.
"Bloodthorn Vines may not suck blood as quickly or in as large an amount as Vampire Vines."
"But being slow has its advantages."
"You can enjoy watching the Bloodthorn Vines slowly drain your thighs."
"If your life force is strong enough."
"You might even savor the process of it sucking dry your entire body."
"Go ahead and waste time; I don't mind!"
"Also..."
"Your Sleeve Arrow is quite nice, but it will soon be mine."
Tuck's slowly articulated words sent chills through Nelson.
"He's found my Sleeve Arrow!"
"How did he discover it?"
"And, he hasn't come close to me at all since the beginning."
"Even now, he's still keeping a high level of vigilance."
"Is this guy... a demon?"
Nelson, his throat dry, finally began to feel afraid.
"I'll tell you everything if you spare my life," Nelson barely managed to say.
"Bang!"
With the gunshot, Nelson's other ear also blew apart.
"You don't have the right to negotiate terms with me."
"You don't have to speak."
"It will take me a little extra time to investigate, but you... will linger on the brink of death for a long time."
Tuck's tone was as calm and composed as ever.
With both ears blown off, Nelson could no longer hear Tuck's voice.
But now, he had a profound sense of the young demon's horror and brutality.
What was more cruel was that, as his second ear exploded, the wizard had used a third vine to wrap around his arm with the Sleeve Arrow.
Now, he couldn't even kill himself if he wanted to.
Nelson, no stickler for toughing it out, quickly confessed everything he knew once he felt his lower leg had turned into nothing but skin and bones.
...
A quarter of an hour later.
Tuck looked down at the hunter's corpse that had been stripped of everything valuable, and the "Sheriff" who was belatedly approaching from afar.
Tuck threw a Fire Oil Bullet with a flick of his hand.
As the flames roared fiercely over the corpse,
Tuck had already disappeared.
Guided by the light of a fire.
Two sheriffs wearing the official security service uniforms of the duchy soon appeared at the entrance to the alley.
The young sheriff, who had just taken office, saw that it was a burning corpse.
He hurriedly wanted to go up and extinguish the flames.
"Someone wants to destroy the corpse to obliterate the evidence."
The young sheriff wanted to maintain the scarce but present justice in the Ramore Tower City-State.
But he was stopped by the older sheriff beside him.
"It's just an insignificant fire someone set."
The old sheriff said earnestly.
"But..."
The young sheriff still wanted to say something, but didn't know how to start.
He could only watch helplessly as the corpse burned.
"This damn weather!"
The old sheriff shrank his neck, moving closer to the burning corpse.
His eyes carefully scanned both the fire and the corpse.
"The fire is fierce, capable of igniting the Transcendent Characteristics of a 9th Level Hunter, at least it was set by a First Rank spellcaster."
"This fire, it can burn for a long time."
Glancing at the young sheriff, who was somewhat reluctant to get close, the old sheriff chuckled.
"This... is the Ramore Tower City-State, Ashen Land, the more clearly you understand, the longer you live."
...
Underground Nest District, inside a residential passage.
Within a cavern passage that wasn't particularly wide.
The smell of decay and stench permeated the air.
Occasionally one could see a few shadows, all of whom scurried through the cavern passages in a hurry.
Inside a Cave House.
Tuck took off his gray wizard's robe, revealing the chainmail underneath.
This fairly safe Cave House was the only property Tuck's parents had left him.
Looking through the window above ground, Tuck gazed at the deserted passageway outside, pondering the information he had pried from the Hunter Nelson.
The situation seemed more complicated than Tuck had anticipated.
"Who knows which Evil God Organization is treating the Ramore City-State as an ATM this time."
"It's only been half a year since a similar incident occurred."
"Don't they understand the concept of sustainable development?"
"Even I, a weak 9th Level Apprentice Wizard, am not spared."
"Wouldn't it be better to let me develop steadily to Level 100 before coming to die... cough cough... I mean, before coming to hunt me?"
A mysterious organization had reached an agreement with the local Hunter's Guild to which Nelson belonged.
Hunting wizards to obtain Wizard Sequence Crystals.
Whether it's Apprentice Wizards or First Rank Wizards, either was acceptable.
This was the information Tuck had obtained from the Hunter "Nelson".
As a thanks,
Tuck very cleanly blew his head off with a single shot.
It was a painless shot.
"Evil God Organization, local gangs!"
The two powers, not uncommon in the Ramore Tower City-State of the Ashen Land, were obviously not entities that Tuck, in his current state, could afford to provoke.
"A normal wizard's promotion does not require extra Wizard Crystals to strengthen one's wizard framework."
"Since they need them...
"It proves that this is no simple promotion."
"The chances are—it's a Steam Upgrade!"
Tuck's eyes narrowed slightly.
Upgrading from an ordinary [Wizard] to the stronger, more potential-filled [Steam Wizard].
It was the dream of all wizards in this Transcendent Era, an era defined by the roar of steam.
It was also one of Tuck's pursuits.
In the current age of Steam Roaring,
The [Steam Series] as an Upgrade Sequence, has already been profoundly changing, even reshaping the world.
You could say the [Steam Series] is the new era's version answer!
"From Nelson's explanation, this time the mysterious organization is very wealthy and powerful, approaching menacingly."
"Looks like I need to be careful for a while."
"Even though I possess an S Level Transcendent Talent, I'm still just an Apprentice Wizard."
"I'll stick to the plan as before, promote to First Rank first to enhance strength in all aspects."
"Only when strong enough, I will not fear those Evil God Organizations and local gangs."
"Only then can I survive in this turbulent and bizarre Ashen Land!"