Chapter 68: Artificial Emotions (2)
He knew specific actions could induce emotions in others. Praising someone filled their vessel with joy, flashing money made greed surge, and pressing a knife to their throat made fear bloom. Yet these methods weren't always effective, often requiring substantial energy or carrying risks. But what if he directly infused mana into another's vessel?
"......"
Why had he only thought of this now? Had he simply never needed to care about others' emotions before? Shaking off the thought, he focused. Golden mana coalesced at the boy's fingertips and shot through the air.
"My apologies... You shouldn't have seen that."
The golden mana arrived before Skyle - more precisely, before his vessel - as the mercenary soberly tidied his surroundings.
'The vessel's already packed with other emotions.'
No space remained. But couldn't he create room? Like forcibly evicting vagrants from a park bench. Ray concentrated. The golden mana, having wandered aimlessly, began burrowing violently between the vessel's emotions.
A battle of wills erupted. The golden greed strained to invade while existing emotions fought to keep their ground. But their disparate natures made their alliance fragile. Finally, the greed breached the vessel's center.
'Success.'
An equivalent volume of other emotions spilled out like routed soldiers. The original greed in the vessel's corner magnetically fused with the new arrival.
"So if you contract with our mercenary group..."
Skyle's enthusiastic speech faltered mid-sentence. His pupils darted between an expensive-looking wall painting and table ornaments.
Tap. Tap.
His drumming fingers crept toward a small decorative piece before snatching it into his pocket.
"......"
"...Should you join us, I intend to spare no effort in supporting you."
Skyle continued smoothly as if unaware of his own actions. Ray slid a coin across the table.
Snatch!
The coin vanished into Skyle's pocket with his hand. Ray pushed forward a gold-rimmed goblet.
Snatch!
Gone.
A wolf figurine.
Snatch!
Gone.
A silver candlestick. Bulky.
"......"
"......"
Ray stared at Skyle, whose eyes now trembled. After heavy silence, the mercenary grudgingly stuffed the candlestick into his pocket, posture comically distorted as he resumed:
"Proper mercenary offices require reaching at least Sector 45. Those coming down to these outskirts are mostly..."
He showed no concern for recent events or his current state - no, seemed genuinely unaware of them. Ray analyzed the situation.
'Disrupted emotional balance from my manipulation? Resembles mana addiction.'
Walter's face surfaced in memory. Though different circumstances, he too had been overwhelmed by a single emotion - rage - until his vessel burst, leaving him puppet-like.
Skyle needed to remain functional as their guide until encountering the blue-skinned Rockdeer. Caution was vital, yet Ray's experimental curiosity burned.
"The support we offer includes..."
Half-listening to Skyle, Ray focused on swelling the golden mana. It now occupied over half the vessel - an abnormal mass of emotion impossible under normal circumstances.
"Thus if you join us..."
Skyle's heartbeat oddly raced. He couldn't shake monetary thoughts, breath growing ragged.
'Damnit, why now? I sobered up. Sure, I always think about money, but...'
This was excessive. Had residual drunkenness lingered? Not that it mattered. Before him sat a golden goose needing capture.
'Recruit him. At all costs.'
The compulsion echoed through his skull. Never miss even specks of profit. Wealth demanded barefoot pursuit, especially from a mage boosting the mercenary group's value!
'Money. He'll bring mountains of it.'
Beyond group elevation, securing a mage ally would exponentially boost "the plan's" success rate.
Ray sensed the golden mana's expansion stalling.
'No further ingress?'
It barely filled two-thirds of the vessel. Ray wanted complete saturation.
"......"
Repeated mana pushes proved futile. The remaining emotions clung like last defenders. Ray gritted his teeth - an unusual impatience gripping him. Without intervention, his hard-won mana would leak away.
A spark of inspiration.
"If I joined Skyle Mercenaries, could I earn much?"
Skyle's jaw dropped. The stagnant golden mana exploded outward. Soon he grinned ear-to-ear, excitement raw in his voice:
"Haha! Knew it! With your skills? You'll be rolling in gold! Ah! Though my expertise'll help too!"
He added hurriedly:
"Figured you had money drive! Knew when you squeezed cash from me in the wastes! Blackmai- No! Doesn't matter! Hahaha! Money's what makes life worth living, right?"
New emotions stirred in Skyle's vessel - camaraderie, solidarity, kinship merging into fellowship. Ray played along to stoke them:
"True. More money's better."
"Now you're speaking sense!"
Skyle beamed. With each agreement, the golden mana grew until it flooded the vessel.
Ray felt satisfaction. He'd filled the cup to brimming. Mental exhaustion brought dizziness and drenched him in cold sweat, yet exhilaration surged - like completing artwork. Not matching Veronica's White Sun, but decent.
"......"
Then he spotted it - a nail-sized emotion lingering in Skyle's vessel. Hostility from their wasteland encounter. This flaw in his masterpiece displeased him.
Focusing anew, Ray trickled minimal golden mana into the vessel.
'Precision required.'
Like adding the final drop to an overfull goblet. One misstep could shatter it like Walter's.
As the golden mana's boundary subtly expanded-
Vwoom.
The last hostility vanished.
Skyle spoke:
"Magician. Ever considered making a real fortune?"
"That old man guards his life fiercely. Holes up in hotels, never goes out without a dozen bodyguards."
Skyle's plan crystallized - lure client John Grid to the wastes, capture him, and seize his entire fortune.
'So that's why he held hostility at the hotel.'
Ray finally understood. No ordinary employer-employee relationship explained such emotion.
"Guess his worth? Hundreds of millions. Maybe billions. Once an industry legend, though he burned cash reviving his failing company. Still, massive funds remain."
Billions. The sum felt unreal. Ray first imagined physical weight.
"He wouldn't carry that. Separate storage?"
"Of course."
Skyle produced a card:
[Bank Ignis]
Black plastic embossed with golden text.
"They say Citymorgan for legitimate banking, Ignis for shadows."
Banks didn't exist in Sector 50, but Ray knew the concept.
"Ignis' edge? Pay the fee, they safeguard any money, no questions. Saw John use an Ignis card during our contract."
"Need the PIN, but easy. Knife to the throat loosens tongues. The miser loves his life."
Golden mana in the vessel quivered.
"Need biometric verification too, but professionals swarm the upper sectors. The money's as good as ours!"
"Due diligence's done. Company dissolved two years back, family ties severed. Public forgot about Kernel Water. Disappearing in these outskirts? No one will notice."
The golden mana stilled.
"One problem - the young mage glued to the old man. Major variable in combat."
Mikhail. Skyle listed failed attempts to separate him from John:
"Tried everything. He attends that fossil like the perfect son."
Conclusion: Lure all bodyguards together for mass elimination.
"Handle Mikhail, and the rest falls. Twelve guards vs my thirty-eight. Numbers don't lie, even against trained elites."
"Mages require mage opponents."
"......"
Ray wasn't surprised - just impressed by the plan's thoroughness. Another thought surfaced:
'Are mages that rare? Couldn't find anyone before me?'
Likely Skyle's greed delayed hiring until unavoidable.
Regardless, Ray only cared about unobstructed access to the blue Rockdeer. Gunfire or brawls meant nothing unless requiring his direct involvement.
'Their promised reward? Probably a cut of John's wealth.'
Unappealing. Ray pressed further:
"How lure John beyond the sector?"
Skyle smiled victoriously, sliding a photo across the table.
"See for yourself."
A blurred shot of stationary Rockdeer herd. One blue-skinned specimen stared at the camera, forehead gem glowing matching azure.
