# 068. Artificial Emotion (2)
—
He was aware that certain actions could elicit emotions from others.
Praise would fill a person’s vessel with joy, the sight of money would stir up greed, and pressing a blade against one’s throat would incite fear.
However, such actions were not always effective and often required considerable energy or came with significant risk.
But what if he directly infused mana into a person’s vessel?
“……”
Why had he only thought of this method now?
Perhaps because he had never needed to concern himself with others’ emotions in the past.
Regardless, he focused on his task.
Golden mana, formed at the boy’s fingertips, floated into the air.
“I’m sorry. That was… quite the disgraceful display.”
The golden mana reached Skyle, who was hastily tidying up with a sobered expression.
More precisely, it reached the space in front of his vessel.
‘His vessel is already full of other emotions.’
There was no room for more.
But that could be solved.
Like driving vagrants off a bench in the streets.
Ray concentrated.
The golden mana, which had been wandering aimlessly without a place to settle, forcefully pushed its way into the mix of emotions within the vessel.
A struggle ensued.
The golden greed mana desperately sought entry, while the existing emotions in the vessel resisted, unwilling to yield their space.
However, because the emotions within the vessel were of various kinds, their cohesion was weak.
Eventually, greed succeeded in forcing its way in, settling at the center.
‘It worked.’
An equivalent amount of other emotions was pushed out like defeated soldiers.
The greed that had been lurking in a corner of the vessel was drawn toward the newly infused greed, merging into a single entity like magnets attracting each other.
“So, if you were to sign a contract with our mercenary group….”
Skyle, who had been enthusiastically talking, suddenly trailed off.
His gaze flickered toward the expensive paintings on the wall and the decorations on the table.
Tap. Tap.
His fingers, which had been idly tapping the table, subtly shifted toward a small ornament, quickly grabbing and pocketing it.
“……”
“…So, if you decide to join us, we will provide you with full support.”
Skyle continued speaking as if completely unaware of his own actions.
Ray slid a coin across the table.
Snatch!
The coin, along with Skyle’s hand, disappeared into his pocket.
Ray then pushed a gold-rimmed goblet toward him.
Snatch!
Gone.
A small wolf-shaped figurine.
Snatch!
Gone.
Next, a silver candlestick—much larger this time.
“……”
“……”
Ray stared at Skyle, whose eyes were trembling.
After a brief silence, Skyle hesitantly reached out, struggling to stuff the bulky candlestick into his coat.
Then, holding an awkward posture due to the stolen item, he continued speaking.
“To find a proper mercenary office, you’d have to go up to at least Sector 45. Those who come down to these remote sectors are almost always….”
He seemed completely unfazed by what had just happened or his current state.
No—more than that, it was as if he was entirely unaware of it.
Ray assessed the situation.
‘Did my artificial manipulation break the balance of emotions in his vessel?’
It resembled mana addiction.
Walter came to mind.
His case was slightly different, but in the end, one overwhelming emotion had dominated his vessel.
That emotion was rage.
Ultimately, the pressure of his uncontrollable rage shattered his vessel.
‘…And he became a puppet that only followed his singular goal.’
It would be troublesome if something similar happened again.
Skylr was an important guide until they encountered the blue-skinned Rock deer.
He needed to be careful.
To prevent his vessel from shattering.
But… Ray couldn’t deny his experimental curiosity.
“As for the types of support we can offer….”
Tuning out Skyle’s words, Ray focused on his work.
The golden mana continued expanding within the vessel, pushing out other emotions.
It now occupied more than half of the vessel—an abnormal volume that would never naturally exist.
“So if you decide to join us, Mage….”
Skyle suddenly felt his heart pounding.
He couldn’t shake thoughts of money from his mind.
His breathing grew ragged.
‘Damn it, what’s wrong with me? The alcohol should’ve worn off by now. Sure, I always think about money, but….’
Not to this extent.
No matter how much of a money grubber he was.
Was it lingering intoxication?
He didn’t know the exact reason.
But at this moment, that didn’t matter in the slightest.
Seated before him was an invaluable individual he absolutely had to recruit.
‘I must secure him. No matter what.’
A mysterious voice rang in his head.
It echoed like hypnosis.
It urged him not to miss even the smallest profit.
Of course.
If he could increase his wealth, he had to take action.
And this wasn’t just any opportunity—this was a mage who could elevate the entire mercenary group’s value!
‘Money. Yes, money. He will undoubtedly bring immense profit.’
Beyond just boosting the mercenary group’s worth, having a mage as an ally would drastically increase the chances of success for “that plan.”
Then—
Ray sensed that the expansion of the golden mana had halted.
‘It won’t go in any further?’
Even after repeated attempts to push more mana inside, the remaining emotions refused to yield.
As if they were defending a final stronghold.
Ray bit his lip.
A rare sense of impatience crept in.
He had to find a way.
If left alone, the golden mana he had worked so hard to cultivate would all seep out again.
Then, a flash of inspiration.
“If I join the Skyll Mercenary Group, can I make a lot of money?”
Skyll’s mouth fell open.
The golden mana, which had been at a standstill, rapidly expanded.
A broad grin spread across Skyll’s face, and his voice burst out with excitement.
“Haha! Of course! With your skills, it’s only a matter of time before you’re swimming in wealth! Ah, ah! Of course, my business acumen will also play a part!”
Then he added,
“I knew you had a desire for money! I could tell from the moment you shook me down in the wasteland! That scam—no, no! That doesn’t matter! Hahaha! Money is the most important thing in life, isn’t it?”
A new emotion surfaced in Skyll’s vessel.
Affinity. Kinship. Camaraderie.
They coalesced into a sense of shared identity.
Ray continued to stoke Skyll’s emotions.
“Yes. Having money is great.”
“Now we’re speaking the same language.”
Skyle was delighted.
Every time Ray agreed, the golden mana continued to grow, soon filling the entire vessel.
Ray was satisfied.
He had succeeded in filling the vessel to its very brim.
His mental exhaustion left his head spinning, and his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
Yet, he felt oddly refreshed.
Like completing a piece of art.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to Veronica’s White Sun, but it had turned out decently enough.
“……”
Then, in a corner of Skyle’s vessel, a tiny, stubborn emotion remained.
Hostility.
Born from their first encounter in the wasteland.
A flaw in his masterpiece.
Ray focused again, releasing just a trace amount of golden mana into Skyle’s vessel.
‘Concentrate.’
Like adding the final drop to an overflowing cup.
A single misstep, and the vessel could shatter—just like Walter’s.
As the golden mana in the vessel subtly expanded—
*Woong.*
The last trace of hostility was expelled.
Skyle spoke.
“Mage, would you be interested in pulling off a major job?”
*
*
*
—
“That old man is obsessively cautious about his safety. He barely leaves his hotel, and when he does, he’s always accompanied by a dozen or more bodyguards.”
In short, Skyle’s plan was this:
Lure the client, John Grid, out into the wilderness, capture him, and seize his entire fortune.
‘So that’s why he harbored such hostility toward John back at the hotel.’
Only now did Ray fully understand the situation.
No matter how he thought about it, such intense resentment was something that could never arise in a normal employer-employee relationship.
“Can you even imagine how much wealth that old man possesses? At the very least, hundreds of millions. Maybe even billions. According to gossip and reports, he burned through a significant portion of his fortune trying to revive a failing company. But he was once the CEO of a legendary corporation—there’s no doubt he still has an enormous amount of money left.”
Hundreds of millions. Billions.
Ray found it hard to grasp such figures.
His first thought was that carrying it around would be quite heavy.
“I doubt he carries that kind of money with him. He must have it stored somewhere, right?”
“Of course.”
Skyle pulled out a card from his coat.
**[Bank Ignis]**
The black plastic card had golden letters embossed on it.
“They say *CitiMorgan* is the bank of the surface, while *Ignis* is the bank of the shadows.”
A bank—something that didn’t exist in Sector 50.
From his reading, Ray had a rough understanding of its function.
“What sets Ignis apart from other banks is that, as long as you pay the membership fee, they’ll safeguard any money—regardless of its origin.”
Skyle added that he had seen John using an Ignis card when he first took on the job.
“We just need to get his passcode. That won’t be too hard. Stick a knife to his throat, and he’ll have no choice but to give it up. That old man values his life far too much.”
The golden mana inside the vessel quivered violently.
“Besides the passcode, personal authentication is also required to access the funds, but that’s not a problem. As long as we reach the nearest Ignis branch in another sector, we’ll find plenty of specialists for that kind of work.”
Skyle spoke as if the money was already within his grasp.
“We’ve done our research. His company was completely liquidated two years ago, and He has severed all ties with his relatives. Public interest in *Kernel Water* has faded. If he were to disappear in an isolated sector like this, no one would care. No one would even notice. The only issue is—”
The golden mana, which had been swirling, suddenly stilled.
“That young magician who sticks by the old man’s side. He’s the biggest wildcard if a fight breaks out.”
The young magician’s name was Michael.
Skyle listed the various ways he had tried to separate Michael from John.
“I’ve tried everything, but he refuses to leave his side for even a moment. He treats his employer with such devotion—probably more than a real son would.”
After exhausting all possible angles, Skyle came to a conclusion:
The cleanest and most efficient approach was to lure John and all his bodyguards into a trap and eliminate them together.
“As long as you, Magician, handle Michael, the rest won’t be a problem. John has twelve bodyguards. I have thirty-eight men. No matter how well-trained and well-armed they are, that kind of numbers disadvantage is impossible to overcome.”
A magician—someone whom conventional melee weapons and firearms couldn’t easily harm.
“A magician must be dealt with by another magician.”
“……”
Ray wasn’t particularly surprised by Skyle’s plan.
He simply thought, *So they’ve been preparing quite thoroughly.*
At the same time, another thought crossed his mind.
‘Are magicians really that rare? Had they not been able to find anyone else before me?’
Had they hesitated until the last moment to save on hiring costs?
Or had they simply lacked the time to find a collaborator?
Considering the sheer scale of Skyle’s ambition, the former seemed more likely.
‘In any case…’
As long as he could observe the *Rockdeer* up close without interference, he didn’t care what else happened around him.
Gunfire could ring out.
People could fight or kill each other.
But if he had to get directly involved in combat, that was a different story.
Unless there was a significant personal benefit, he had no interest in wasting energy on unnecessary matters.
‘…I can already guess what kind of “benefit” he plans to offer me.’
It was obvious—he would be promised a share of John’s stolen fortune.
But that kind of reward didn’t appeal to Ray.
For now, he decided to probe further.
“What’s the plan to lure John out of the sector?”
Skyle, thinking Ray had already been won over, grinned in satisfaction.
He pulled out a photograph and slid it across the table.
“You’ll understand once you see this.”
It was a blurry image of a herd of *Rockdeer* taken from afar.
One of them had its head raised, gazing in this direction.
Its skin was blue.
At the center of its forehead, something small and the same color as its skin was glowing faintly.
