Chapter 18 – Mage Isolin

Ｒｅａｄ​ ｏ​ｎ​ ＫａｔＲｅａ​ｄｉｎｇＣａｆｅ

The day after I learned the harsh lesson of gambling, I was soothing my bitter feelings with wine when the little girl, Isolin, came running up to me.

“Help me with my class quest!”

“Class quest?”

“Yeah. There’s an NPC mage who’s like my mentor, and he asked if I wanted to learn a new skill.”

“So, to learn that skill, you have to complete a quest?”

“Yep!”

“Well, if it’s not too hard…”

I nodded at Isolin’s suggestion and stroked my chin. The beard I had grown for style was gone, but habits from the real world still lingered, reminding me of who I was.

“What’s the quest condition?”

“Bring back the flame sacs of fire lizards!”

“Fire lizards…?”

I had never heard of such a monster. Up until now, the monsters I had encountered were wolves, deer, rabbits, red foxes, and bears. The only real “monster” I had faced was a goblin.

And now, out of nowhere, a lizard with “fire” in its name appeared.

It seemed a little, no, very dangerous.

“Wait, are they the kind that spew fire or something…?”

“The fire-spewing organ is inside their mouths. Apparently, the fire they spew is only at the level of a candle flame, so it’s not that dangerous.”

“Hmm… How big are they?”

“About the size of my palm?”

I looked at Isolin’s palm. It was small, cute, and soft, wriggling around as if mimicking the lizard’s movements.

The anxiety that had begun to take hold of me vanished in an instant. I crossed my arms and gave a confident smile.

“Alright. I’ll help you!”

“Yay!”

Lizards like that should be easy enough for me to handle. Just in case, I asked Isolin:

“Do we need any other party members?”

“He said it’s possible to do it alone, but since we need to collect a lot of flame sacs, it’s better to have one companion. So, we don’t need any other party members.”

“Got it. Do you know where they are?”

“Yep.”

Our task for the day was set. Isolin and I headed toward the city gates, following a winding path like a fox’s tail.

Clatter—!

Once we left the city, we ran endlessly. Since we never got tired, most players ran at full speed when traveling long distances.

Of course, Isolin and I weren’t that fast due to our short strides.

We ran across the wide-open fields, the wind carrying the scent of grapes and blowing through our hair and clothes.

-Oh dear. Kids, if you run like that, you’ll fall!

NPCs working outside would often say things like that when they saw us. The polite 12-year-old priest, Supreme, would always respond with a smile.

“We’re fine!”

Clatter—

This world had a strangely realistic side to it. I wish they had brought over the entire game system.

There was no teleportation function in this world. Getting to hunting grounds always depended on the players’ legs, and occasionally, we could hitch a ride on an NPC’s carriage.

Of course, high-level mages could use teleportation skills, but no player had acquired that skill yet.

Still, I was satisfied with this life. If we could travel long distances instantly, we wouldn’t have the chance to enjoy these beautiful landscapes and lose ourselves in thought.

Clatter—

We ran across the fields with the wind. Of course, we couldn’t outrun the wind, so we were just chasing after it.

When the long grass swayed in the wind, creating waves, Isolin and I dashed across it, savoring the refreshing sense of speed.

Even with our short strides, running nonstop made us quite fast. We reached the cave where the fire lizards were said to appear before sunset.

“I didn’t know there was a place like this in this area…”

I stared blankly at the large cave entrance. The wide-open mouth of the cave looked eerily like a lizard’s head.

Surely, it wouldn’t snap shut like a lizard’s mouth if we approached, right?

I couldn’t shake my suspicion and kicked the cave’s sturdy walls with my foot. Of course, my foot hurt, so I stopped quickly.

“The cave near Foxtail, at the end of the river. And the entrance shaped like a lizard’s mouth. It matches the NPC’s description perfectly.”

“Alright. Let’s go teach those fire lizards a lesson.”

Isolin and I laughed boldly and stepped into the cave.

Strangely, the inside of the cave was glowing faintly. I was about to pull out a lantern but instead smiled awkwardly and looked around.

“Why is it glowing like this?”

“Probably because of the phosphorescent stones. The NPC said there are stones here that emit light naturally. That’s why the lizards here can spew fire.”

Isolin and I chatted lightly as we ventured deeper into the cave.

The fire lizards, about the size of a palm, started appearing just as the light from the entrance completely disappeared. They were tiny baby lizards, just as Isolin had described.

[Level 3]

[Fire Lizard]

Even their level was only 3. I immediately pulled out my mace and swung it through the air.

“Ahaha! You little guys, stay right there!”

“Stay right there!”

Isolin and I started playing whack-a-mole, or rather, whack-a-lizard. Every time my heavy mace or Isolin’s staff struck a lizard, the little creatures dropped flame sacs and flattened into pancakes.

Living as an adult in society often meant bottling up frustration. Sometimes, that frustration needed to be released through destruction. Now was one of those times.

“Hyah!”

“Eeek!”

Whoosh— There was no need to use skills. These lizards were one-hit wonders anyway.

One hit, one lizard, and flame sacs rained down.

[Flame Sac]

The flame sac of a fire lizard.

A fire-spewing organ used as a magical material.

Just as players came in all shapes and sizes, so did monsters. Some were much larger than average, while others were much smaller.

Naturally, their stats varied too. The items they dropped were a bit special. Players called these unique creatures “elite mobs.”

The fire lizards also had elite mobs. I found one that was a handspan larger than the others.

[Level 5]

[Fire Lizard]

Its level was higher than the average fire lizard. This one was definitely an elite mob. But a lizard was still just a lizard. I raised my mace high and struck it down.

Thud—!

The fire lizard, hit hard, crumpled. But unlike the others, it was still alive, flicking its tongue in and out.

“This guy…”

I was about to deliver a merciful final blow when the lizard suddenly lifted its head and spewed fire.

Whoosh—!

“Ah, hot hot hot!”

Was it because it was an elite mob? The flames it spewed were quite intense. I quickly stepped back to avoid the scorching heat.

“Ugh…!”

The flames had caused significant damage—not to my body, but to my armor. I looked at my shoulder with a grimace. The once beautiful and cute white priest’s robe now had a gaping hole.

It looked like someone had burned it with a cigarette.

Thankfully, the fire lizard’s flame attack seemed to have a significant cooldown. Or maybe it used up all its mana in one shot.

Either way, I approached the arrogant fire lizard and delivered the final blow.

Crack—!

About 30 minutes had passed since we entered the cave. We had beaten quite a few lizards, so we must have gathered a decent number of flame sacs.

I asked Isolin:

“How many more flame sacs do we need?”

“Hmm. About 20 more.”

We had already cleared out the lizards in this area, so we had to go deeper. Isolin and I ventured further into the cave.

We divided the area and started hunting again. Since there were no dangerous creatures here, we didn’t need to worry about each other’s safety. I lost myself in my cool demeanor, swinging my mace wildly.

How much time had passed? Suddenly, I realized the sound of Isolin’s strikes had stopped.

“Isolin?”

She couldn’t be tired already. I tilted my head in confusion and looked back.

“Uh…”

The first thing I noticed was a large, glossy body. Its sleek form closely resembled the lizards we had been hunting, except it was much, much larger.

[Level 12]

[King Lizard]

Isolin was caught in the king lizard’s mouth. Her lower body was sticking out, flailing wildly. She seemed safe for now, as her health was still at 100%.

Gulp—

I swallowed hard. Faced with this giant creature, the only thought in my mind was to run.

But my legs wouldn’t move. I tightened my grip on the mace and widened my eyes.

“Y-you!”

I shouted and stomped my foot, hoping the loud noise would scare the lizard away.

But the king lizard just blinked its large eyes and didn’t move.

“Y-you…”

When people panic, words don’t come out easily. That was me right now.

One second passed. I thought about running. Another second passed. I still thought about running. When the third second passed, I took a big step toward the lizard.

“Let Isolin go!”

Whoosh—! I swung my mace hard, striking the lizard’s snout.

Thud—!

Squawk—!

“Pwah!”

Isolin was freed. I grabbed her, dripping with sticky fluid, and ran out of the cave as fast as I could.

“Ruuun!”

Clatter—

Thud thud thud—!

The king lizard started chasing us.