Chapter 25: The Wizard Who Has Ventured Out Of His Backyard
Senior Scarface briefly explained our route.
“It’s a five-day journey, including travel time. We’ve heard about an unexplored dungeon nearby. We’ll cross the forest, camp at the dungeon entrance, explore the dungeon, and then return.”
“Are there any changes to our target?”
“No. The goal is to gain experience for Illusion Magic. You just need to take care of any monsters we encounter along the way. As per the contract, there will be additional incentives based on the number of battles…”
Beauty Mark Gay meticulously checked the contract terms. Looking at the archer and the rogue lazily lounging in the back, it seemed Beauty Mark Gay was handling all the annoying and complicated tasks.
Just when the discussion seemed to be wrapping up, he started grumbling about “How much will you pay us for emotional damages in case of personal insults during the explanation?” It didn’t look like this was going to be resolved in ten minutes, so I decided to empty my head.
The archer had long ears adorned with various ornaments, indicating she was an elf. The rogue, with a long tail protruding from her hotpants wrapped around her thigh, was a beastkin.
A mixed-race party, huh…
Born in a rural village where we only farmed potatoes before self-canning at the Purple Magic Tower, this was my first real-life encounter with different races. I had heard of them and learned about their ecology and habits from encyclopedias, but seeing them in person was a whole new experience.
Is it really true that elf ears are erogenous zones? I wanted to ask, but refrained for fear of catching an arrow to the forehead.
As I observed them for modeling purposes, I accidentally made eye contact with the beastkin rogue. She lazily opened her eyes and sent me a simple hand signal.
Pointing to herself.
=> I am.
Pointing at Beauty Mark Gay.
=> His.
Making a hand gesture that clearly needed censorship.
=> Girlfriend. (A significantly toned-down version, might I add.)
It was a warning not to flirt with her since she already had a man. I nodded to show that I understood, and then used hand signals to ask the elf archer if her situation was similar.
She signaled back that it was. Lo and behold, this party was a harem party.
I looked at Beauty Mark Gay—no, Beauty Mark Guy—with newfound respect. He might have been handsome enough to attract one woman, but I never expected him to be such an alpha to have two in his arms. Were there really no love quarrels?
I asked through hand signals whether their relationships were harmonious.
They replied that there was an order in this tribe, one where they respected each other and maintained strict schedules, thus preventing disputes.
Things just got a whole lot more interesting.
I was about to ask if all three of them ever got involved together when Senior Scarface whacked me on the back of the head. The beastkin rogue was also getting scolded by Beauty Mark Guy.
It seemed the beastkin rogue was eager to brag about her male partner and I was very interested in collecting this data. Even though I was interrupted by Senior Scarface, I knew we’d get another chance to discuss this later…
===============================================================
Adventuring turned out to be more boring and strenuous than I expected.
We walk through the forest, then rest. Walk, then rest. Walk, then rest…
The journey consisted solely of the elf archer leading while the rest of us trailed behind like a bunch of obedient ducklings. It would have been great to collect data from monster encounters, but even monsters aren’t fools.
They know it’s hard to mess with a group of about five people.
Observing the scenery was nice for the first few hours, but seeing the same trees, the same rocks, and a butterfly that kept circling me got old real fast.
Thus, most of the adventure was spent walking… and engaging in mind-numbing chatter. Senior Scarface had instructed me, “Esteemed Junior, keep your mouth shut!” So, I couldn’t join in the dismal conversation.
But it was quite fun to secretly exchange hand signals with the beastkin rogue while watching Beauty Mark Guy and Senior Scarface engage in what felt like veteran-level dialogue.
By the time I found out the color of Beauty Mark Guy’s underwear (which I didn’t want to know) and the elf archer’s (this one I did want to know), we finally arrived at the dungeon entrance.
And there, pacing at the entrance, was an ogre.
A hulking mass at 3 meters, broadly built, wielding a club haphazardly made from nearby tree trunks. In many fantasy novels, ogres are the classic newbie gatekeeper monsters. I guess it was the same here.
In a small village without any knight deployment, an ogre was as terrifying as a natural disaster. Just one ogre could easily wreck an entire village. Back in my childhood, we were constantly warned by adults, “If you don’t work hard, the ogre will come get you!”
Yet, to a second-class adventurer from the Imperial Capital, it appeared to be an easy foe.
“Time for a little warm-up. Just watch me, and I’ll finish this in ten minutes.”
“UUUUUUUUUAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”
Beauty Mark Guy, equipped with a shield and longsword, stepped forward. An ogre roared and charged at him. I began collecting data after casting Motion Tracker Magic on Beauty Mark Guy.
Now that I think about it, Senior Scarface…
“Yes, Esteemed Junior?”
“How strong is a Second-Class Adventurer?”
“They’re on the verge of Metamorphosis. If they succeed in it, they earn the title of First-Class.”
When this sudden jargon popped up, I maintained a composed “I have no idea what that means” expression, expecting Senior Scarface to explain it kindly.
“Has the Tower Master not explained this yet…? Well, I guess it’s better to be blissfully ignorant.”
“There are two ways to make someone angry, you see—”
“There are levels that all living beings with souls can reach. By going through Metamorphosis and then Sublimation. I heard the First Princess has undergone Metamorphosis, and the Tower Master has completed Sublimation.”
I decided to interpret this in a way similar to martial arts novels. From what I gathered, Metamorphosis seemed akin to reaching the peak level, while Sublimation resembled reaching the transcendent level. But honestly, it was hard to wrap my head around it fully.
While I understood that the Tower Master possessed extraordinary skills in model sculpting, I had no clue how much destructive power the title of Archwizard held.
Even during that encounter with that… boy knight at the Purple Magic Tower…
To me, the boy knight seemed to be slashing at nothing. Circumstantially, it seemed the Tower Master did something, but I couldn’t comprehend what it was. Was this how a third-rate martial artist viewed the grand world of the Transcendent Realm?
As I pondered these thoughts, Beauty Mark Guy was almost done dealing with the ogre. He expertly followed a methodical approach, first severing its leg tendons to reduce its mobility, causing it to bleed out and weaken.
With just a little support, won’t he be able to swiftly behead it?
Thinking it would be advantageous to cast Illusion Magic on the ogre to make it flail aimlessly, I raised my hand. I gathered mana, twisted it like a Mobius strip, and sent it toward the ogre.
Sparks erupted from the ogre’s skull. The spell I cast was “Blinding Hallucination.” It was an illusion magic that presented a mixed bag of fantasies, entirely obscuring its vision.
“U, UAAAAAAAGH!”
“Why did its motion suddenly change?!”
The ogre began flailing around chaotically, and amidst the confusion, Beauty Mark Guy, who had been reading its movements, had an unexpected random pattern hit him…
Clang!
He was struck by the club, flying about five meters away.
“Ro, ROWILLEN!!”
“…..!!”
The elf archer dashed to help the flung Beauty Mark Guy, while the beastkin rogue charged at the ogre. Senior Scarface also started laying down cover fire with the crossbow attached to her waist.
The battle, which had been flowing so well, suddenly fell apart.
Watching this unfold, I quietly knelt down, raising my hands in surrender.
===============================================================
Crackle, crackle.
As the campfire burned, it produced a sound that somehow soothed the body and soul. The flickering flames pushed back the darkness, painting part of the world a lovely scarlet hue.
How beautiful it was. The rabbit meat sizzling over the fire added to the atmosphere. There was romance in camping.
And…
I had been kneeling with my hands raised for three hours.
My arms… felt heavy. Was this how Atlas felt, who was said to hold up the sky? The weight of the world was truly exhausting. With sweat pouring like rain, I was feeling a chill.
Beauty Mark Guy had broken his arm from the ogre’s blow, and now he had a splint. Thankfully, he’d applied a potion, so he should recover after a good night’s sleep.
Though he was injured due to the antics of a certain mischievous illusionist, Beauty Mark Guy wore a bright expression. It was because I had gifted him a few gems left over from the First Princess as compensation for the unfortunate mishap.
Senior Scarface chuckled bitterly.
“Do you now understand why Illusion Magic isn’t exactly mainstream, Esteemed Junior?”
“Yes.”
Unless Illusion Magic completely shattered the opponent’s mind in a single blow, it had many side effects in party play. After all, I made the ogre blind with an illusion, but instead, Beauty Mark Guy took the hit.
If one must use it, they need to carefully consider its application.
For example, if all party members had ranged attacks, they could bind the ogre with Illusion Magic and rain down arrows from afar!
“That wouldn’t work either. The big and terrifying beasts tend to charge toward the direction of the attack.”
Then how about using Illusion Magic on small, weak creatures for a one-sided beatdown?
“If they’re small, weak, and delicate, a single arrow should suffice. And if they’re small but strong, well, Illusion Magic wouldn’t exactly stick, would it?”
…How about casting something like “Wrath of a Nutcase” over a wide area in a goblin colony?
“That would be useful when there are no kidnapped villagers around.”
So what can Illusion Magic even do?
Even after brainstorming various applications, each time I asked myself, “Is it actually better than a fire arrow?” I found myself increasingly unsure.
This sensation, reminiscent of picking a terribly weak character in an RPG game and being utterly useless… To stylishly sweep away enemies with Illusion Magic, do I genuinely have to achieve the status of an Archwizard?
“It’s notable that you penetrated the ogre’s mental barrier and cast Illusion Magic, but Esteemed Junior, here’s how you actually use Illusion Magic.”
To boost the reputation of the Purple Magic Tower, which had been tarnished by yours truly, Senior Scarface stepped up.
With a serious expression, she pointed to the hard jerky, the dry biscuits, and the water-filled canteens that the party possessed.
“Please tell me what menu you desire.”
!!
The adventurer party, initially unable to grasp Senior Scarface’s words, mulled over them before shaking with excitement as they recognized the underlying meaning.
To pack cost-effective and space-efficient food, one had to choose bland rations that taste like absolute cardboard. Bringing kitchenware for delicious cooking would just weigh them down.
But if there’s an Illusion Wizard present…!!
“The jerky… tastes like steak.”
“Rowillen! This biscuit tastes like cake! Just like the ones we had at that dessert café in Crownhall!”
“…It tastes like home.”
An Illusion Wizard could significantly enhance the comfort of the adventurer party!
That night, Senior Scarface received cheers and applause after demonstrating “Magic That Makes You Not Feel Itchy Even When Bitten by Mosquitos,” and “Magic That Turns Gravel into a Comfy Bed.”
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