Ch.1Discovered. I’m Quitting. (2)

Franz, unable to control his speed, crashed into the wall but quickly got back up, ignoring the warm liquid flowing from his nose. He used all his strength trying to break through the barrier blocking their path.

But no matter how much he punched and kicked, the wall wouldn’t break—instead, his hands and feet were becoming a bloody mess.

Lael’s sword, Derin’s dagger, Elin’s arrows that arrived shortly after.

Even my magic was insufficient to destroy the wall.

The giant lizard seemed to be enjoying the situation, flicking its tongue as it slowly approached.

The once-triumphant A-rank party, now facing death, continued repeating the same futile actions despite knowing they were useless, driven by primal fear.

When the distance between the lizard and us narrowed to less than 10 meters, everyone stopped resisting and slumped to the ground.

Everyone except me.

I sighed, turned to face the lizard, and took a step forward while drawing a dagger from my waist.

Derin had once asked me about it.

“Why does a mage carry a dagger?”

I realized my mistake then.

Normal mages don’t carry daggers, not even kitchen knives.

Fortunately, she backed off when I made up an excuse.

Otherwise, I would have been exposed as a Warlock.

I raised the dagger in my right hand and stabbed the palm of my left hand.

The sharp blade tore through my palm and emerged from the back of my hand, blood dripping to form a puddle on the ground.

A burning pain surged through my left hand, contorting my face.

I’d done this dozens, no, hundreds of times, but the pain never became easier to bear.

Yet the ache in my chest grew stronger, gradually numbing the pain in my hand.

Now that they’d discovered I was a Warlock, I couldn’t stay with them anymore.

But I had no regrets.

If I could save them, that would be enough.

I pulled the dagger from my bleeding hand and pointed it at the lizard, channeling my mana into it.

Ominous black mana flickered around my body as the blood puddle gradually shrank until it completely disappeared.

As if it had never existed.

When the mana absorbed the blood, fulfilling the condition, I cast the highest-level Black Magic.

“Instant Death.”

A stream of black mana with red streaks shot from the tip of my dagger and struck the lizard.

Its disgustingly flicking tongue hung limply from its mouth.

The legs that had been slowly advancing stopped, then lost strength as the creature collapsed sideways.

The leader that had threatened our party was now dead.

While the other party members were still visibly shaken, Franz’s reaction was different.

“Heh… hehehe… You mage. No, Warlock. The Goddess put me in this wretched party to expose heretics like you! By reporting you to the Church, I might become a High Priest… or perhaps even a Bishop?!”

Having used almost all my mana, I struggled to maintain consciousness as I staggered toward Franz.

The dagger in my hand no longer had black mana or crimson blood on it, but its sharp blade was still deadly enough.

Franz, who had been smiling at having survived and exposed a Warlock, grew increasingly terrified as I approached.

“W-what? You vile Warlock! Are you trying to kill me? The Church! The Goddess will be furious!”

“The Church… the Goddess? They framed me, what have they ever done for me?”

“Y-you insolent bastard!!!”

Despite his harsh words, Franz was trembling like a leaf.

He looked like he might wet himself if I scared him any further.

I finally reached the priest.

Rather than apologizing or submitting, he spewed increasingly vile words as I got closer.

His behavior was completely unbecoming of a priest.

“You son of a bitch! Stop! I said stop! You lowly scum!”

As I raised my dagger high, disgusted by his grating voice, someone stepped between us.

Red hair, damp with sweat.

Expensive armor covering her entire body.

“Lael, is that your choice?”

“Y-yes.”

Lael, our party leader who now blocked my path, was trembling.

She had begun to see me not as a party member but as a Warlock.

I was deeply disappointed in her.

Though I knew I had to leave, I had secretly hoped she would stop me.

If I killed the priest and they just kept my identity as a Warlock secret, we could have returned to how things were.

But they chose that wretched Church priest Franz over their longtime companion.

I brushed past Lael’s shoulder and started walking toward the cave exit.

In truth, I was fleeing.

With my mana depleted, I couldn’t win if they seriously came after me.

With a grimace, I left the cave and looked back.

Just in case, just maybe, someone might follow me.

But of course, no one was there.

I could understand Lael and Derin, but I thought at least Elin would follow.

After all, I saved her from being taken by illegal slave traders.

As irritation began to surge, I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

I was the one who told her to live her own life, that she didn’t need to repay any debt.

What was I thinking now?

The pain from stabbing my palm after so long must have weakened my mind as well.

I sheathed the dagger at my waist and began channeling what little mana I had left.

With the small amount remaining, I couldn’t perform a full healing, but emergency treatment was possible.

As I concentrated mana in my right hand, pure white energy flowed out.

Holy Magic.

The same magic used by that damned priest and most Church members.

Though my limited talent only allowed for simple healing spells, it was enough considering most people had no talent at all.

When I placed my right hand over my left, the bleeding stopped and the hole began to close.

It wasn’t completely healed, leaving deep scars on both my palm and the back of my hand.

“Sigh… Let’s go now.”

I needed to leave before that damned priest reported to the Church.

My destination… yes, the Royal Capital where my master lived.

I didn’t want to visit under such unfortunate circumstances, but I had no choice.

With barely any mana left, I forced my dizzy mind to focus and started walking.

After walking for quite some time, I reached the town and headed straight for the Adventurer’s Guild.

My mana had recovered somewhat during the journey, so I was actually in better condition than when I started.

Of course, my hand was already treated.

The Adventurer’s Guild was quiet in the middle of the day.

Most parties were out on missions due to the recent monster incidents.

I approached the receptionist quickly but naturally.

The receptionist, wearing the adventurer’s emblem of two crossed swords on her chest, greeted me with a bright smile.

For the guild, an unexplored labyrinth was a troublesome matter, so it was natural for her to welcome me back safely.

But when she noticed no one following behind me, her face filled with concern.

There was only one reason why someone who left with a party would return alone.

Death.

“Um… well…”

Reading her expression, I spoke first.

I didn’t have time for a lengthy conversation.

“The party members are safe. The labyrinth exploration is complete. The others will probably bring back the Labyrinth Core.”

Only after hearing this did her face brighten with a smile.

I wished the women I adventured with had smiled at me like that too.

But the past couldn’t be changed, so I stopped dwelling on it.

Now I barely had enough time to focus on moving forward.

“Thank you so much! But why did you come alone…?”

She stopped mid-sentence and covered her mouth.

Asking personal questions to adventurers was considered extremely rude.

I knew this but had no desire to make an issue of it.

“My master is gravely ill. I need to withdraw my savings and head to the Royal Capital.”

“Oh! I’ll prepare it right away!”

While the receptionist was away, I scanned the guild bulletin board.

To reach the Royal Capital as quickly as possible, I needed to take a carriage, but since this was a remote area, there weren’t many available.

However, merchants heading to the capital occasionally posted escort missions, which is what I was looking for.

Found it…!

C-rank mission: Escort a carriage to the Royal Capital.

When I was in an A-rank party, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance, but now it couldn’t have been more welcome.

As I was tearing the mission details from the board, the receptionist returned with a pouch.

“Sorry for the wait. Here’s all the money you deposited with us.”

“Ah, thank you. And this.”

I took the pouch she offered and handed her the paper I was holding.

After quickly scanning it, she returned it to me.

“This is a C-rank party level mission… but since you’re a B-rank adventurer, Crow, you should be fine taking it individually.”

“Then, I hope to see you again.”

Though that was unlikely.

With the request form and money in hand, I bowed politely to her and left the Adventurer’s Guild, heading straight for the client’s location.

I had quite a few belongings left at yesterday’s lodging, but I couldn’t spare the time to collect them.

Besides, taking them might only remind me of today’s events.