Chapter 13: The Smuggler, Kikl
by fnovelpia
“Master~”
“Is there nothing else?”
Ria, hugging my waist, asked curiously.
Since she’s never seen flashy techniques like the Water Sword before, it must have sparked her curiosity.
‘I guess later on, when more flashy techniques start bursting out, that curiosity will eventually disappear…’
‘Or not?’
‘Will it still be the same later on?’
‘Since magic in Prophecy RPG mainly developed around practicality.’
‘It’s not exactly something known for being flashy.’
Advanced magic does have grandeur due to its sheer scale.
But when it comes to pure visual appeal, animation techniques are unbeatable.
… I have to admit that.
‘Techniques that can be used inside a carriage…’
‘Ah!’
‘There’s one!’
I clasped my hands together and focused.
‘Gather the water.’
Whirl!
‘Shape it.’
Buzz!
‘Freeze it.’
Crackle!
The water turned to ice, forming into the shape of a bird.
“Ice Sculpture Magic – Kingfisher!”
The completed bird flew through the air, shooting water cannons.
Drip.
To others, it might look more like a water squirt, but…
Anyway.
It shot a blast of cold water.
“Wow!”
“Master!”
“How did you make that?!”
“I combined water magic and fire magic to create it.”
“Fire magic?”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t it ice magic?”
“Nope.”
“It’s definitely fire magic.”
I gave a brief lecture on magic.
Beginner ice mages tend to focus on creating coldness.
But that’s just a novice move.
A true ice mage focuses on extracting heat.
‘Instead of creating cold directly…’
‘Extracting heat to produce cold is far more efficient.’
It’s like how refrigerators and air conditioners work.
They don’t create cold; they remove heat from the surroundings to create a cold environment.
And.
The extracted heat is sublimated into fire magic.
Boom!!!
The ice bird that flew out of the window exploded.
‘It looks like ice on the outside, but…’
‘Inside, it’s actually dry ice.’
Dry ice.
An extremely cold solid carbon dioxide at minus 78 degrees Celsius.
If used properly, it could even make a bomb in Korea.
Put a piece of dry ice in a plastic bottle.
Pour water into the bottle.
Seal the cap.
Done.
If you add metal or stone fragments, you could actually make a lethal bomb.
‘With a little more tweaking, it could even become a timed bomb.’
Ah.
By the way, making this in real life could get you arrested.
So neither good children nor good adults should ever try this.
However.
In a fantasy world, no one will arrest you for making bombs.
So I created the Ice Bird Bomb.
I explained this to Ria in a way that someone from the medieval period could understand.
“Wow…”
“So this is magic…”
“A power that gathers countless spells and knowledge to open a new world…”
Ria spoke, clearly moved.
“Master…”
“Magic is truly beautiful…”
She reacted like a mage who just discovered a profound truth.
Hey.
It’s not that impressive.
Gathering water, shaping it, freezing the outside while centralizing heat to make a bomb on the inside.
Creating individual wing joints for smooth movement.
‘Umm…’
‘Maybe it is kind of impressive?’
The amount of mana or power itself was mediocre, but the intricacy was on a whole different level.
Yeah, it’s impressive.
‘If I use this correctly, I might just achieve that long-lost overpowered dream!’
There’s no need to become stronger.
But.
The title of the strongest in the world is a romantic ideal for men.
Just the challenge itself is beautiful!
I thought quickly.
‘There’s that type of character in manga and novels sometimes.’
‘A character with almost no mana but who resolves everything through overwhelming mana manipulation skills.’
… With that in mind, I started experimenting.
***
“Mana Drain!”
I closed my eyes and concentrated, imagining draining Ria’s mana.
“Urgh!…”
But.
Nothing happened.
‘Then how about this!’
I visualized absorbing the mana of nature to awaken myself.
“Hmph!…”
I could feel it.
I could feel the mana of nature.
The sense of growing stronger by absorbing vast natural mana!…
…Nah.
It felt like I got a little stronger, but it was just my imagination.
In the end, I had only slightly recovered my mana.
‘At this rate, drinking a single mana potion would be more beneficial…’
But.
Natural energy is free.
When there are no potions, it’s a useful method.
Thinking that, I continued absorbing.
And.
I used the absorbed mana to practice more magic.
“Come forth, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”
I summoned that famous ice monster from a well-known card game.
“Come forth, Wargreymon!”
I summoned that ice monster from a popular digital monster anime.
“Battle!”
The two ice monsters glared at each other and began fighting.
‘Oh…?
‘This is actually pretty fun.’
The two monsters clashed, using their respective abilities.
This is the essence of a dream.
But.
Something felt missing.
As I was pondering…
“Master!”
“Me too! Me too!”
Ria recreated the Wargreymon I had made.
“You want a match?”
“Alright!”
“I’ll take you on!”
She summoned MetalGarurumon out of ice.
And.
Wargreymon and MetalGarurumon merged!
Come forth!
My ultimate ice monster!
Omegamon!
Thud!
The ultimate ice monster created by merging the two ice creatures appeared.
Click!
Omegamon drew its ice sword.
Swish!
And charged straight ahead.
“Go!”
“Sword!”
Great Omekamon swung his sword majestically.
Ping!
But it didn’t work.
It didn’t affect Ria’s fake Wargreatmon.
“Piercing attack!”
The fake Wargreatmon stabbed my Omekamon with his claws.
Crash!
KO’d in one hit.
Huh?
KO’d in one hit?
“Yes!”
“First, let’s deactivate the traits.”
“Ah…”
Ria removed the <One-Hit Kill> and <Absolute Invincibility> traits from the fake Wargreatmon.
“Master!”
“I’m ready, so come at me!”
“Got it!”
We kept enjoying our ice model battle until we reached our destination.
Ice model battles are pretty fun.
***
“We’ve arrived.”
“Master!”
“This time, let’s settle it with this!”
“Got it!”
“I accept your challenge!”
“We’ve arrived.”
“Go!”
“Argh!”
“We’ve arrived!!!”
“…Ah.”
It was so much fun that we didn’t even hear that we had arrived.
“Ahem!”
“Let’s call it a day.”
We erased all the ice models and got off the carriage.
“Is this Thebes?”
The agricultural city of Thebes.
It’s known for a wide variety of ingredients due to its diverse agriculture.
…But I’m not interested.
‘No need for a runaway to gather ingredients for the hero party.’
But there is something I’m interested in.
‘First, this.’
The <Warp Gate> installed in each city.
It’s more expensive than a carriage but allows for instant teleportation to another city.
It’s the most used mode of transportation in <Prophecy RPG>.
But there’s a slight problem.
‘<Warp Gate> can only be used by registered individuals.’
‘What does that mean?’
Something like this.
Tap!
I grabbed the orb of the <Warp Gate> and infused it with magic.
Ding!
Registration complete.
Kain can now use the Warp Gate of the agricultural city Thebes.
But.
Since Ria isn’t registered, she can’t use it.
If I move to the next city using the Warp Gate, Ria won’t be able to catch up with me.
‘Ha ha ha ha!’
‘This is my escape route!’
…Or so I thought.
***
Ding!
“Huh?”
“Master!”
“I registered too!”
Ria naturally registered her magic with the <Warp Gate>.
Tch.
I wanted to be the only one to register and move on.
But it didn’t work.
‘It’s fine.’
‘This isn’t my only escape route.’
Though the Warp Gate is the most reliable way to shake her off, there are other methods too.
…With that in mind, I moved to the next destination.
“Master.”
“Where are we going this time?”
“First, let’s eat.”
It’s dinnertime, and Thebes is famous for its delicious food due to its rich ingredients.
Skipping dinner would be a huge loss.
But.
I’m not drinking alcohol.
“Master~”
“Just one glass~”
Even if Ria tempts me like that, I won’t drink.
“Mmm~ It’s delicious~”
Even if she shows off how delicious it is, I still won’t drink.
‘If I drink, it’s the end of me.’
Yesterday, Ria was someone who didn’t know what sex was, but now, she knows what it means.
Since she knows that being a couple requires sex, there’s a high chance she’ll make a move if she gets drunk.
‘She’s the kind of girl who might see sex as just wanting to be together.’
So, I won’t drink.
…With unwavering determination, I didn’t take a single sip.
“Tch…”
I heard something as we left the restaurant, but I ignored it as it seemed trivial.
Next up is this place.
Creak~
When I opened the old hut’s door, a shady-looking man glared at me.
“Who are you?”
I immediately recited the code.
“The crow crawls on the ground, and the rat flies in the sky.”
“We are darkness.”
“We will shine.”
“Ha ha!”
“I’m glad to see you!”
“So, what brings you here?”
“I want to use the Warp Gate to Gleisia.”
“That’s no problem.”
The shady-looking man opened a secret door and led me through.
He’s an NPC from the game too.
Smuggler Kikl.
A skilled spatial mage and a wanted criminal who makes a fortune through illegal transactions using a makeshift Warp Gate.
If you whisper the leader’s code, he’ll open the door to anywhere.
A pretty useful guy.
“This is Gleisia.”
“Since I helped you, you better pay up.”
If he didn’t ask for a payment, he’d be the perfect teleport shuttle, but I have no idea what he wants as a reward.
‘So I tried to investigate…’
I couldn’t find out who the leader is or what the organization is.
The password itself was something I discovered by chance.
So.
I had no choice but to use force.
Slap!
I borrowed Ria’s hand and gave his cheek a slap.
Then.
<One-Hit Kill>’s <Near Death> triggered.
“Ugh!”
Kikl rolled on the ground a few times and collapsed.
Good.
I’ll tie him up and sell him at the slave market.
‘And I’ll take his items too.’
I rummaged through Kikl’s not-quite-dead body and took some useful items.
“You bastard!!!”
Ah…
He really was a good person.
He gave me instant teleportation, let me sell him at the slave market, and gave me his valuable items.
A man who gives his all without reservation.
Kikl.
I’ll remember you……for about five seconds.
“Sniff…”
“He gave everything for us.”
“If you give that much, what’s left for you?”
“You damn piece of trash!!!”
“Aha!”
“A slave mark remains!”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
I applauded and declared, “Slave Kikl!”
“You were my greatest sucker!”
“Argh!!!”
Kikl shouted loudly, seemingly overwhelmed with joy(?).
What a beautiful ending.
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