“Euaaaaheuuuk.”
“Aheuuuck⋯⋯.”
Selvier and I trudged along the path, groaning in exhaustion. A week had passed since we set out on foot, and for two frail wizards unused to physical strain, it was absolute torture.
Our calves throbbed, hardened by calluses, and our feet were completely numb. Every step was exhausting.
If someone asked what had happened to the carriage we had definitely left the Red Tower with, all I could say was that an unfortunate accident had occurred. The full explanation would take an entire night to tell.
But, as with most misfortunes, the summary was depressingly simple.
If I stripped away the details and my personal feelings, it boiled down to this: a frenzied human sacrifice ritual orchestrated by heretical fanatics tied to Mima fragments.
We went through all sorts of trouble to escape from that madness. We lost the horse, the carriage, our coin pouches, our supplies⋯⋯ I even lost a wisdom tooth. At that point, what more was there to say?
The only silver lining was that, in the chaos, we had managed to secure a few additional fragments—our hard-won reward for surviving.
And so, the two of us, delicate and weary wizards, continued walking until our sweat-soaked robes clung to us. I missed Yuri. If she were here, she could carry me and run for three days straight without breaking a sweat.Beside me, Selvier let out a sigh, her voice utterly drained.
“⋯⋯How much more do we have to walk? We’ll reach the city today, right?”
“I have no idea. All we can do is hope we get there before our legs give out⋯⋯ huh?! Wait—do you see that? That’s a rooftop!”
It was as if salvation itself had descended upon us.
That artificial-colored roof—there was no mistaking it. A sign of human civilization. As we staggered a little further, we could confirm it clearly. It was a city!
“Th- that’s not a mirage right? We can finally take a bath⋯⋯?!”
“Yes! We’re finally back in civilization! Let’s go, Selvier!”
Hope surged through us. We bolted toward the city, driven by the sheer promise of relief.
And thus, we arrived at the Empire’s southern city of Elpiris.
But⋯⋯
Reality was cruel.
“No money, no service. Ah, but if you sell that robe you’re wearing, it might fetch you a night’s stay and a bucket of bathwater.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
We were utterly broke.
Left with no choice, I hastily sold my robe. That got us one meal, one room, and exactly one bucket of bath water.
Yes—one. For two people.
But⋯⋯ if we squeezed in together, it might just work.
After some careful thought, I made a suggestion.
“⋯⋯Wanna bathe together?”
“Are you cra⋯⋯! Eu, euuuuu⋯⋯ of course not!”
The fact that Selvier even hesitated for a second before refusing only proved just how dirty we were.
In the end, like a true gentleman, I gave up the bath to her.
But damn, I wanted to wash too⋯⋯.
===============================================================
Elpiris was famous for its proximity to the Great Elven Forest, its breathtaking natural landscapes, and its high-quality lumber. Now that I saw it in person, it lived up to its reputation.
Should I call it a sea of trees?
From an elevated vantage point, I could see an endless expanse of dense forest stretching to the horizon. The canopy shimmered with a refreshing green—just looking at it made me feel cooler.
Fortunately, our destination, the Purple Tower, was in a different direction. At least we wouldn’t have to wander through that wilderness.
Anyways.
Once we replenished our supplies, we had a long, grueling journey ahead of us. That was⋯⋯ not good. Not just because of how long it would take, but because of the suffering involved.
I learned with both body and soul that traveling on foot wasn’t just a journey—it was a pilgrimage of pain.
We needed horses. A carriage. Warm meals. Soft beds. But to afford any of that and live like proper humans, we needed money. And right now, we had none.
Given our situation, I turned to Selvier with a proposition.
“How about we somehow earn some money first, buy what we need, and then continue our journey?”
Sounds good. I’ve had enough of walking too⋯⋯ I never knew carriages were such precious things.”
“Me neither. So, what kind of jobs could two veteran wizards even do in a city? Research contracts? I’m not sure.”
“⋯⋯I have no idea. All my expenses were always covered by Tower funding, soo⋯⋯.”
I had only known how to live off Tower funding.
Selvier and I, both members of the elite class in this medieval fantasy world, had no idea how ordinary wizards who weren’t affiliated with Magic Tower earned money.
Wasn’t money something that naturally flowed from the Imperial family⋯⋯ or appeared whenever I whined to Yuna?
After putting our heads together and piecing together various testimonies we had overheard in passing, we concluded that adventurer or mercenary work was likely the best way to earn money.
After all, wasn’t there always a demand for violence, no matter where you went?
And with a fresh, young, beautiful wizard like Selvier—who had already reached Metamorphosis—by my side, we had nothing to fear. Orcs? Ogres? They’d all be cooked into well-done steaks under Flame Angel.
So, with absolute confidence, we walked into the Adventurer Guild but—
“Newly registered adventurers are not permitted to accept high-rank quests.”
“What’d you say?”
“The Adventurer’s Guild serves as a guarantor. If we send out someone whose identity and reliability haven’t been verified, and they cause trouble, it would be the Guild’s responsibility, so⋯⋯.”
But would they still say that after seeing our brilliant specs? I I jabbed a finger toward Selvier, who stood idly beside me, and declared in a booming voice,
“How dare you! Do you have any idea who this is? She’s the first disciple of the Tower Master of the Red Magic Tower, a top-tier Academy enrollee, a prodigy who has already reached Metamorphosis! Not to mention, she’s beautiful, adorable, and absolutely──”
“⋯⋯Stop it!”
Bonk.
Selvier promptly smacked me over the head with a book, cutting off my gushing monologue.
Still, I had already said everything important. My message had been delivered loud and clear—
Do we really need all this bureaucratic nonsense when we’re Metamorphosis-tier powerhouses?
“No.”
Yet, the Adventurer’s Guild insisted that strong people needed to undergo trust verification. That rules were rules.
It was proof that the city was well-governed and at peace.
If an undead army were marching toward the gates, they wouldn’t be worrying about reliability. They’d be throwing weapons at anyone capable of fighting.
Let’s look at the bright side.
For once, even with my fate of running into incidents and accidents whenever I visited a city, I was getting a brief moment of peace and rest.
“Whatever. Let’s just pick something easy. There’s no rush anyway.”
“⋯⋯Well, I don’t mind.”
“Because you get to spend more time alone with me?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Selvier turned away with a slight blush and remained silent. I grinned at her reaction, but the receptionist clicked her tongue in annoyance, as if the sight was irritating.
I walked up to the bulletin board and picked the highest-paying low-rank quest available—goblin village extermination. A classic.
“We first met over goblins, didn’t we?”
“⋯⋯That’s right. At least, as far as you remember.”
Back then, Selvier had been quite inexperienced⋯⋯ and I hadn’t known much either. But things were different now. The crazy wizard who could only blind people with illusion-based flashbangs was long gone.
I had been reborn—a blazing magician, armed with Fire Magic!
At that moment, the receptionist interjected sharply.
“That’s a four-person quest.”
“The two of us are more than enough to handle it.”
“Rules are rules. There happen to be other new adventurers in a similar situation, so I’ll form a party and introduce them to you.”
“⋯⋯Miss Receptionist, you’re just mad because we were being lovey-dovey in front of you, aren’t you?”
“I’m not angry.”
She definitely was.
And so, forced party matchmaking began.
While waiting, Selvier and I earned some pocket money by taking on minor requests—like catching runaway cats. After about three hours, we were informed that our party was assembled.
When we gathered at the meeting spot, I could immediately sense the receptionist’s lingering resentment toward couples.
Because our teammates weren’t your average bastards.
“⋯⋯Heut. Two wizards huh⋯⋯ Wizards are creatures that are most vulnerable at night⋯⋯.”
A rogue leaned casually against a pillar, arms folded, a creepy grin plastered across his face.
“Hmph! I’m a Silver-medal mercenary! Unlike you rookies, I’m built different! My credit rating hasn’t been updated since I just arrived in this city, but back in the capital, everyone knew the name Joe the Godfather!”
A bearded warrior boasting about his career from the moment he opened his mouth.
Their first impressions weren’t the only thing concerning.
“You must absolutely bring rope when you’re hunting goblins. And thick rope at that. Because goblins fear this type of rope!”
“⋯⋯Kinda never heard of that before.”
“Are you questioning a Silver-medal mercenary?! I’m right! Just shut up and follow my expert advice if you want to be carried!”
He pushed for the purchase of completely unnecessary equipment, spouting nonsense with the confidence of a seasoned veteran.
Then there was the rogue.
“Mr. Rogue? Mr. Rogue?! The hell, that bastard ran off without paying!”
When we went to buy camping gear, he conveniently vanished right before it was time to split the bill.
“Mr. Rogue, I won’t say anything about skipping payment. But at the very least, shouldn’t we all share the burden of carrying the equipment? Even as wizards, Selvier and I are carrying backpacks.”
“⋯⋯Heung. Sounds like not my problem ⋯⋯.”
And with that, he simply walked away. I was genuinely moved.
Such fascinating specimens of humanity.
And I wanted them to experience this feeling too. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
If this was how they wanted to play… then maybe it was time I adopted the “Too Much Talker Wizard” persona and made them suffer accordingly.
Selvier, however, snapped first.
“Everyone, let’s talk for a moment. Are you seriously going to act like this?”
“Are you talking back to a Silver-medal mercenary?! I’m bestowing upon you rookies the kind of know-how and wisdom that—“
“⋯⋯Heung, how troublesome⋯⋯ Figure it out amongst yoursel⋯⋯.”
“『Flame Angel(焰天使)』.”
Wooooosh .
A small sun ignited before their eyes.
“…Heung. S-sorry…”
“…I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Manners were instilled instantly.
===============================================================
Even an idiot knew better than to pick a fight with the sun.
The moment the warrior and rogue realized that the fierce-looking girl before them was, in fact, a walking inferno, their attitudes improved dramatically.
“This herb is known to have excellent effects on virility, so it──”
“No. That’s a diuretic. And the one next to it is just a weed.”
“I’m ri— keuheum, heum… I see. I can’t believeI was wrong.”
“⋯⋯Heung, smart⋯⋯.”
How peaceful.
Now that they had reverted from damn beasts to damn humans, I could finally get a proper look at them. Up until now, my brain had been automatically applying a mosaic filter.
The rogue was tall and had a slim body, wearing a pitch-black hood. And as if advertising that he was a rogue, daggers dangled from within his cloak.
The warrior, on the other hand, was bald but compensated with a thick, bushy beard. He wore a barbarian-style string top that left his muscular upper body completely exposed. He probably wasn’t wearing it because he wanted to, but more likely because he couldn’t afford anything else.
After all, his axe was quite a masterpiece.
“Let’s go. Mr. Rogue, maintain identification distance. Mr. Warrior, your job is to protect the wizard. If you charge in swinging that axe like a madman, you’ll burn along with the goblins—so act accordingly.”
“⋯⋯Heung⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯Understood.”
And so, we pressed forward, with Selvier ensuring strict discipline.
By the time we had covered about seventy percent of the journey, the sun had begun to set. Rather than forcing ourselves into a nighttime battle, we decided to set up camp and assembled the camping kit.
Dinner was a roe deer I had skewered with a Flame Harpoon while passing by.
As I stared into the fire, watching the deer’s leg roast to a perfect golden brown, Selvier sat down beside me. She hesitated for a moment before asking,
“⋯⋯Hey, uh. Why are you shaking your leg so much?”
“Eung?”
Shaking my leg? Me?
I glanced down. Sure enough, my leg was bouncing restlessly. Even when I pressed my hands firmly against my knees to stop the movement, they kept twitching like a freshly caught fish.
“What, are you cursed or something? Or did that shady rogue secretly poison you⋯⋯.”
“No, no, Selvier. This is⋯⋯ a withdrawal symptom.”
Selvier’s face filled with concern.
“Withdrawal symptoms? Oppa, are you doing drugs⋯⋯?”
Honestly, it wasn’t far off. Especially considering how dangerous it could become if misused.
I knew exactly what was causing my body to tremble like this.
Session Withdrawal Syndrome.
I had spent far too much time immersed in real life—hacking goddesses, rigging tournaments, hunting fanatics. I had been too busy living to enjoy my hobby⋯⋯!
TRPG.
Like realizing the position of your tongue in your mouth, the craving only grew stronger the moment I became aware of it.
A session. I needed a session. Wasn’t there some way to play TRPG here?
Damn it—if only I had studied Illusion Magic instead of Flame Magic⋯⋯ no, not that.
TRPG wasn’t originally played with illusions or holograms. It was actually done with paper, pens, and dice.
And more importantly⋯⋯ I had three players sitting right in front of me. And they were all complete newbies. Suddenly the bitching rogue and nudist warrior looked beautiful.
“⋯⋯Oppa? Your eyes… they’re sparkling a little too much.”
“Selvier, have you ever tried tabletop roleplaying? It’s really fun. Mr. Warrior, and our ever-suspicious Mr. Rogue—come here too. If you’ve got nothing else to do, let’s play together.”
“⋯⋯Heung, I’m not interested⋯⋯.”
“Play, you say? You’ll never reach Silver-Medal mercenary with that attitude! A true adventurer should be checking their equipment by the campfire, not⋯⋯”
===============================================================
No!”
The warrior rolled on the ground in despair.
“Why does this cursed dice keep rolling 1s !!”
“Stop screaming and strategize! Even a fumble would’ve been fine if you had targeted the goblin archer first!”
“⋯⋯This turn, I’ll use stealth again⋯⋯.”
“If you’re going to hide, then at least go for a sneak attack! If you just keep hiding every turn, are you planning to wait until the goblin dies of old age?! You do realize that if you pull this in real life, you’ll have a Flame Angel dropped on your head, right—“
So much fun⋯⋯!
***
https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken