I, The Manga Artist, Became the Tragic Overpowered Protagonist

Chapter 4: [Disguised Identity]

　　Ange’s heart had never beaten so fast before.

　　Since living in District 13, I rarely experienced such gazes filled with malice. Even in the Bounty Hunter market, I was seldom targeted.

　　I had no money on me, nor was I a Spell Seal holder, so why would someone target me?

　　I subconsciously glanced back, the approaching footsteps making me increasingly nervous.

　　The Bounty Hunters with inverted triangle tattoos were tracking me not far away, and the people around, perhaps noticing this, gradually distanced themselves from me, fearing involvement.

　　The only thing to be thankful for was that, fortunately, Aaron had separated from me earlier...

　　If Aaron had been implicated, I really wouldn’t know what to do.

　　“Hey, you’re from District 13, right?”

　　A hand suddenly slapped my shoulder, I subconsciously flinched, but the other party grabbed my arm.

　　“What are you doing?” I instinctively tried to pull my hand away, but found my body suddenly couldn’t move.

　　“Hey, come with us for a bit.” The lead Bounty Hunter showed a malicious smile, “We have some things to ask you.”

　　·

　　The City’s rules were based on the law as a standard, with the Prosecutor agency responsible for maintaining order, their lackeys suppressing discordant voices to uphold [City]’s rule.

　　But this set of laws did not apply to the Dark Alley.

　　The silver-haired boy gently moved his fingers, tears welling in his blue eyes, he struggled to curl up in the corner, but found his entire body unable to move.

　　It was a poison-type Spell Seal holder...

　　Although only E-level, it was more than enough to deal with an ordinary person like me.

　　“Just this little money? People from District 13 are indeed poor.” One of them clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, weighing the money pouch in his hand.

　　“You just targeted him because he looked easy to bully, right? This guy doesn’t look like the Spell Seal holder that guy mentioned.” The man with sunglasses said helplessly.

　　“Who cares, grabbing some money on the side while completing the task isn’t bad. We got the task funds, whether we find him or not depends on luck.” The tall, thin man sneered, “But this matter can’t be leaked, the person still needs to be dealt with.”

　　“Hey, the Prosecutors in District 13 won’t say anything, right? I don’t want to provoke those troublesome big shots.”

　　“No, just a dead civilian, who would care?”

　　Yeah, who would care?

　　I just wanted to live, that’s all.

　　我 had already lived so carefully, but even so, I still couldn’t escape such a fate.

　　Why couldn’t I even be granted the right to survive?

　　……

　　Click, click.

　　Clear footsteps gradually approached from not far away. Although I had lost the strength to struggle or resist, I vaguely heard the sound of someone approaching.

　　Who was it??

　　The three Bounty Hunters also noticed the strange footsteps, and when they became alert and followed the sound, a eerie figure quickly appeared in their field of vision.

　　It was a tall, slender man, a ghostly robe draping from top to bottom, wrapping his entire body, like a mass of black flames burning on him, the red flame tails outlining gorgeous ripples, adding a touch of extraordinary beauty.

　　The most striking thing was the mask on the man’s face.

　　A mask stained with blood, outlined with intricate golden patterns.

　　This beauty, as if steeped in ancient witchcraft, could not arouse anyone’s desire to admire it, more like those brightly colored poisonous creatures, unrestrained and flamboyant.

　　He merely stood there silently, already making them feel an intense sense of oppression.

　　They would die!! They would absolutely die!!

　　“I... I can’t move, big brother...” One of the Bounty Hunters’ legs trembled, yet he felt that mask had some special attraction, his gaze unable to leave it.

　　“Idiot! Don’t you know who that mask belongs to!” The man with sunglasses was so terrified he nearly bit his tongue, his breathing almost stopping.

　　“The mask of the Red Magic Troupe, this guy’s no ordinary person.” The tall, thin man lowered his voice, “Don’t provoke him, anyway, it’s Sara who wants to find him! It’s none of our business!”

　　The Red Magic Troupe, once known as the most powerful organization of Spell Seal holders. They came and went without a trace, sometimes performing impromptu shows in the corners of the City or Dark Alley, with no spectators surviving.

　　It was said they were the strongest mental-type Spell Seal holders, but no one had seen their true appearance, or rather, almost everyone who saw them was dead.

　　The only thing known was that members of the Red Magic Troupe all wore a strange mask, exactly like the one on the man in front of them, combined with the eerie aura around him, they almost unanimously realized his identity.

　　That existence wandering at the edge of legend... had returned!

　　“We, we mean no harm!!” The lead man stammered, “We’re just following Sara—the District 13 Prosecutor chief’s orders to find you!! He wants to meet you and make a deal...”

　　“A deal?”

　　The man finally deigned to speak, and though his face couldn’t be seen, everyone could imagine the highly dangerous smile behind the mask.

　　“Yes! So please spare us... we really don’t plan to do anything!”

　　The three unlucky Bounty Hunters were on the verge of tears.

　　They hadn’t even hoped to actually find that mental-type Spell Seal holder, they were just loafing around in [Pyramid], occasionally robbing to get by, who would’ve thought they’d actually run into a big shot!!!

　　“It’s not impossible to consider.”

　　The man’s next words made everyone relax, but in the next second, light blue chains fastened onto each of their wrists unnoticed, and Ange, curled up at the back, carefully observed this, his pupils slightly contracting.

　　“Crash——”

　　In just an instant, the three Bounty Hunters’ bodies stiffened simultaneously, as if under a spell, completely losing their self-awareness.

　　This was... a mental-type Spell Seal!!

　　Ange noticed the man’s bandaged hand, a blue glow flickering at his wrist, chain-like forms circling around it.

　　“Hand over your Spell Seals.” The man’s voice was as cold as ever, impossible to analyze his tone.

　　The three Bounty Hunters raised their hands dully, obeying the command without any hesitation. As the bindings of the Spell Seals were voluntarily released, three intricate patterned emblems floated in the air, soon landing in the man’s hands.

　　Poison-type Spell Seal [Purple Mist], Fire-type Spell Seal [Blaze], Enhancement-type Spell Seal [Iron Drive].

　　The three patterns quickly merged into the pattern on his hand, and the Spell Seal depicting chains became even more complex than before, even spreading upward slightly.

　　The man seemed in a good mood, apparently quite satisfied with this harvest.

　　“Go back and tell Sara, I’ll be waiting for him at Green Bar. As for when... that depends on my mood.”

　　“Yes.”

　　The three moved with extremely stiff steps, staggering outward, looking as if they planned to walk all the way back to District 13.

　　When the figures of the three men disappeared from Ange’s view, he belatedly realized the weakness in his body was starting to fade. As the Bounty Hunters’ Spell Seals vanished, the poison effects on him began to dissipate.

　　But this didn’t mean he was out of danger.

　　The masked man walked step by step toward him, Ange struggled to sit up, silently leaning against the wall, his eyes lowered, not daring to meet the other’s gaze.

　　—Would I be killed?

　　Having heard the entire conversation, Ange didn’t think the other would let him go.

　　But the man in front of me emitted no malice or killing intent, which made him somewhat uncertain.

　　“Don’t tell anyone anything about me.” The man spoke in a low voice, slightly bending down to place something on the ground, “This is a deal, those who violate the contract will receive my punishment.”

　　“Okay, okay...”

　　He didn’t use a Spell Seal?

　　Looking at the man’s disappearing figure, Ange blankly stared at the small bottle on the ground, soon realizing it was an antidote.

　　Not only did he choose not to kill me to silence me, but he also promised me a deal.

　　It felt unreal, like a dream...

　　***

　　After coming out of the corner, confirming no one was tracking me, I took off my mask.

　　The black flames on my body instantly dissipated, as if blown away by the wind. The tall man turned back into a thin boy, everything like an unreal dream.

　　The mask shattered the moment it was removed, cracks spreading like snakes, and that eerie beauty vanished instantly, as if it was an ordinary mask from the start.

　　“Ah, it broke.” I felt a bit regretful.

　　After all, it was a disposable item, and I couldn’t maintain this state for long, there was no helping it.

　　I removed the bandage on my hand, and as expected, my Spell Seal looked more complex than before, [Lock of Logos]’s level also slowly climbed one level.

　　To change the essential nature of a Spell Seal, I would need to fuse A-level or higher Spell Seals. E-level ones could probably only be used as experience packs.

　　[Host, you were too reckless.] The System was somewhat shaken, [Fortunately, there were only three Bounty Hunters, if their accomplices came, you wouldn’t be able to control so many people.]

　　“Of course, I made sure no one else would come before acting, otherwise, Ange wouldn’t have been injured.” I said lightly.

　　[You actually spent the remaining twenty points to buy an antidote for Ange... he’s just an ordinary NPC, isn’t he?] The System kept muttering.

　　“The poison he was hit with would leave severe aftereffects.” I unfolded an intelligence report, when I left earlier, I spent some money to buy information about [Pyramid] members, and also learned about the Spell Seal ability of the person who attacked Ange,

　　“If the antidote isn’t taken in time, even if he doesn’t die, he’ll end up half-paralyzed. I don’t need a chess piece with mobility issues.”

　　[Really? You’re not actually concerned about him??]

　　“My primary goal is to survive.” I said lightly.

　　I opened my panel, two of the original three tasks had been completed, the remaining task was to obtain intelligence and methods to go to the City.

　　This was simple, when brushing past those three Bounty Hunters earlier, I conveniently took their money pouches, now I wasn’t short of money at all, I could buy intelligence related to the City.

　　As for what those three Bounty Hunters said...

　　“Didn’t expect the Prosecutor chief to actually want to meet me? Interesting.” I raised my brows, “It’s worth meeting him once, but going in person is indeed too dangerous.”

　　[Could it be, Host, you’re thinking...]

　　“Maybe I can start with Sara? There’s more than one way to enter the City, I can try them one by one.”

　　The mall had a substitute item [Proxy Doll], a disposable Proxy Doll needed one hundred points, after buying the City-related intelligence, I would get two hundred points as a reward, the remaining points would be more than enough to buy another mask.

　　Didn’t expect those three to mistake me for a member of the Red Magic Troupe, though I don’t know what this Red Magic Troupe is, from their expressions, it’s probably an urban legend-level existence.

　　No big deal, a mysterious masked person impersonating a Red Magic Troupe member, what does that have to do with me, Lin Ge?