“That was amazing! Every time you swung that shovel, the examiner got pushed back, and people were super surprised!”
Millia shouted as she tried to mimic my actions, swinging her arms around like a toddler. I let out a chuckle at her childlike behavior and said, “You’re weaker than I expected.”
I wasn’t just putting on a show; it was true.
The examiner was weaker than Renny, who was high on drugs. The examiner had better physical abilities than I did, but there were hardly any people who had tussled with monsters longer than I had. There was a time I’d wrestled with monsters for a solid 24 hours straight.
Of course, the uniqueness of using a shovel as a weapon helped a bit.
A tool that can stab, cut, and swing around. Who has ever met a human who uses a shovel as a weapon? In my world, the shovel was a garbage close-range weapon that had actually been used by the military, but here it’s pure fantasy.
Here, people wield swords and spears; nobody swings a shovel.
It was only for the past ten years that I’d been using a shovel for combat to utilize my abilities, so I was probably the only one in this world seriously using a shovel as a weapon.
Or maybe not.
“Still, it was a pretty interesting place.”
“Everyone had such strong muscles! Do you think using swords makes everyone like that?”
“If you use a sword, you’ll end up like that too.”
The members of the Warrior Guild were seasoned warriors forged in life-and-death battles, so it was natural for both men and women to be muscular. Swinging weapons naturally builds muscle.
“Then I don’t want to use a sword!”
“Good. Don’t use one.”
I wasn’t expecting anything anyway, you mascot.
We carried on chatting as we busily moved our feet. The next destination, the Mage Guild, was on the opposite side of the Warrior Guild, so we had to walk for quite a while. While I chatted with Millia, I replayed my thoughts about the Warrior Guild.
The Warrior Guild was originally the place I was supposed to visit first with Elena. The students from the Knight Department would receive requests from the Warrior Guild to hone their skills. But I thought there would be no reason to visit since Elena was dead. Who would have thought I’d end up visiting it like this? It was nostalgic to visit a place I’d often frequented in the game this way.
Now the Mage Guild we were headed to was also a location from the original story, so we could expect to see some familiar sights upon arrival.
“Johann, what kind of test do you think they have at the Mage Guild?”
“They probably have a Magic Exam.”
“Can you use magic, Johann?”
“With my skill, it’s not much different from magic, is it?”
“Hmm, I suppose that’s true?”
It was a vague description—a skill that was seemingly lacking in power compared to actual magic, but I had to deal with it. Still, on the surface, it appeared to be earth-based magic. I planned to pass off my skill as magic.
Earth magic comes out of the ground, and my skill comes from the ground—what’s the difference?
Sure, I wasn’t using magical power, but if I said I was borrowing the skill’s strength, that should be enough to pass.
Among the hundreds of skills in this game, there were ones that assist magic, so I could argue my skill was one of those.
“I want to try magic too~”
At Millia’s sudden exclamation, I looked over at her. She genuinely seemed to want to use magic. After all, who wouldn’t have a longing for magic in this world? It’s natural to dream of using magic at least once.
And this world was truly one where magic could be used.
Not just fantasy—it might actually be a place where magic could be used.
…But would I be able to?
I guess I’d have to try to find out, but magic was probably one of those extreme talent-based subjects. They say only one in ten thousand is born a natural magician. I repeated the ideas I had in my head and spoke to Millia.
“There might be a way to check for magical talent at the Mage Guild, so I’ll look into it.”
“Thank you! I’ll do my best!”
If Millia could use magic—especially if it was useful magic—it would be a huge help in achieving the true ending. I grabbed Millia’s head as she vigorously shook it as if it would fall off at any moment from her excitement.
Even if her hair was banded, at that intensity, it might actually come off. I adjusted her slightly askew hair before letting go. I just couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“Hehe. Magic, magic~”
“What magic would you want to use if you could use it?”
“Umm, magic that helps Johann? Hehe…”
“Magic that helps, huh…”
“I want to shoot fireballs and fly in the sky! And also…”
Millia was off to the races with her imagination next to me.
Fire, water, lightning—maybe she could handle multiple elements. The way she imagined it was childlike and made me smile effortlessly. The people around us were also looking at Millia with warm expressions, finding her adorable.
“I want to swim underground…”
“Millia, we’ve arrived.”
“Huh? Already?”
Millia finally spotted the sign for the Mage Guild ahead and gasped. With a neon sign sparkling like a modern city, the Mage Guild had a completely different atmosphere from the other guilds.
While the Warrior Guild reeked of sweat and places like woodworking and architecture felt solemn, the Mage Guild had a bizarre atmosphere that permeated the air.
It had a neon sign next to a fake bird tappedancing—what was that even made of? There was some lunatic stuffing paper into his mouth right by the door, and mohawks were comically coming in and out. The most ridiculous part was the people passing it all by as if it was completely normal.
How long had it been for them to ignore such crazies?
Wait, was this place always like this? In the original story, it was a bit eccentric, but there was still some common sense to it, right?
“Wow…”
Was Millia feeling the same as I was? She couldn’t keep her mouth closed and stared blankly at the Mage Guild.
Should I just give up?
Maybe it’d be okay to give up just this one time.
After all, as a bodyguard, I didn’t need a Mage Certification.
If I went in there looking for the Mage Certification, I felt like I’d just get caught by those weirdos and face some absurd misfortune.
“Millia, let’s skip the Mage Guild today and—”
“Oh, what’s this! Is that a visitor to the Mage Guild?”
…Visitor?
I turned to the person who called out to me with that strange pronunciation and was blinded by their appearance.
…A wild, blue mohawk was scanning me with curious eyes. I felt chills run down my spine.
“Who are you?”
“Who am I? Of course, I’m a magician!”
“No, who are you?”
“A friendly magician just passing by!”
“Just leave, don’t mess with my head.”
I sighed and narrowed my eyes as hard as I could. I intended to scare away the mohawk with my killer gaze. But the mohawk kept on talking, ignoring me.
“Johann, let’s go in! We can’t just turn around after coming this far!”
“Right, right! It’s not a dangerous place, so don’t worry and come on in!”
Even with that avant-garde hairstyle, they had no persuasiveness, my dude.
“Yeah, let’s turn back… what?”
No, Millia. What are you even saying?
I sighed as I watched Millia follow the mohawk inside. It probably wouldn’t lead to anything serious. I entered the Mage Guild after her, filled with unease and worry. Inside the Mage Guild… it was pure chaos.
“This magic formula should be written like this…”
“You’re doing it wrong! It’s supposed to be written like this!”
“Look! My rainbow dye magic!”
Is that a gaming mohawk? I gave up trying to make sense of the rainbow-colored mohawk glaring at me.
“Hehe, is it a bit dizzying? But they’re all nice people!”
Can you maybe stay like a bit further away?
I barely swallowed the expletive threatening to jump out and asked the friendly blue mohawk, “I came to take the level 3 Mage Qualification Exam. Where do I go?”
“Oh! Level 3! You can sign up over there in that line!”
Looking at the line the mohawk pointed to, I turned to Millia, who was wandering around the Mage Guild.
“…Millia, let’s head back.”
“Huh? Why? The exam?”
I’d rather head back than face a line full of mohawks!
“I don’t think there’s any need to be scared of something a bit strange. Those kids just did it so they could get the level 3 certification!”
“…What does a mohawk have to do with passing?”
“It’s just a hairstyle chosen by the grand sage Kullin to bring luck this month! They all want a little bit of luck, you know! The passing rate for the magic exam is less than 10%, right?”
I honestly hadn’t heard of that before.
“Johann! Why don’t you try that hairstyle too?”
“Absolutely not.”
I’d rather shave my head.
“…Millia, I’ll go take the exam. You just watch.”
“Oh, are you watching?”
“I can’t leave empty-handed after coming this far.”
The Mage Guild’s certifications have a great reputation compared to others.
I took a deep breath and set my feet toward the end of the line of mohawks.
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