episode_0022

22. A Chance to Surpass Her.

Sucking up karma like a vacuum cleaner in the depths of the forest. That was Johann’s goal.

He planned such an operation to widen the gap between himself and other modern people as much as possible…

“Mages and archers, onto the outer walls! All other combat personnel except for a few, wait in front of the main gate! Move it, move it!”

‘Damn it, let’s just follow orders. I can’t disobey rashly.’

The inner castle’s knights, who hadn’t shown their faces until now, are visible. I wanted to act autonomously if I could.

Rustle!

“You scoundrel! Where do you think you’re going!”

Along with the knight’s shout, the head of a modern person trying to leave the line is split horizontally.

A precise cut, as if cutting paper instead of a person. You could get a glimpse of the knight’s power, even if only fragmentarily.

People retreated from the gruesome corpse as if it were a cursed doll. It was violent, but effective discipline.

‘More than Ms. Sarah. What would her stats be, roughly?’

Johann stared at the knight with keen eyes.

As in modern times, clothing was especially important in the Middle Ages. You could infer someone’s status through it.

‘There are quite a few knights wearing similar outfits to that knight. It’s one of two possibilities.’

Either they have so much money that they don’t know what to do with it, or they’re relatively ordinary knights.

The latter was more likely.

‘Too many. Not a senior-level knight.’

Then that means there are humans stronger than that knight…

‘Let’s stay quiet. I mustn’t stand out.’

Johann has never been in the military, but he remembers hearing stories from his cousin.

Among them was his cousin’s impressive advice.

‘Johann, you always have to be slightly behind the middle. That way you can get easy work. The higher-ups give the hard jobs first.’

Based on his memory, he advised Sarah.

“Ms. Sarah. Let’s go back a bit. Act as secretly as possible.”

A very faint voice, only audible to her. She also rolled her tongue slightly in response.

“……Yes.”

There wasn’t much doubt. There wasn’t time for that either.

While retreating, he felt the knight’s gaze flying towards him.

He roughly pretended to do other things and took his place. Before long, the soldiers of the territory grabbed people one by one and assigned them to roles.

“What’s your specialty? What? A thief? You go to the well under the gate. Archer? You go to the third watchtower.”

Soon it was Johann and Sarah’s turn. The soldier was about to say something when Johann preempted him.

“I’m a mage. The person next to me is my lover and bodyguard.”

“……!”

He felt an intense gaze from the side. Sorry, but this is the best I can do.

He apologized to her inwardly and continued speaking.

“I want to go up to the walls together. Please. I definitely need a bodyguard.”

“How dare you, that’s not for you to decide……”

Whoosh─ A flame in the shape of an arrow rises from Johann’s palm.

“Please believe me. Even though I look like this, I’m confident in my firepower. And……”

“……”

He instantly puts his hand in the soldier’s pocket. Lightning speed! The soldier was startled and tried to draw his dagger.

However, soon a ‘clink’ sound was heard, and the soldier’s pocket became heavy.

The soldier looked at Johann, who was grinning with a kind expression.

“……Okay. Go to the 5th magic artillery platform. With your lover.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Johann quickly grabbed her hand and climbed the stairs, lest he change his mind.

He calmly analyzed the situation just now.

‘I got lucky. Looking around, there aren’t that many mages in the first place, and most of them are mediocre.’

In fact, there are only a few mages who mainly learn combat magic like Johann. Most of them focus on making artifacts or magic materials.

Of course! People want to live comfortably and warmly, not fighting monsters.

Naturally, most of the modern people were the ones who mainly learned offensive magic…

‘At least, I’m a top-tier mage in this area.’

Of course, he’s overwhelmingly inferior compared to the mages under the lord, but not among modern people.

And above all, the fact that Johann used ‘fire’ related magic made it even more effective.

Thump, thump.

Johann arrived on top of the wall, which reminded him of a chicken coop.

‘As expected, fire is the best for getting rid of corpses……’

Krooooooooaaaaaaar!!

The white and grey army that started from Marim and crossed the field is visible.

The sight of skeletons and zombies mixed together in disarray is truly grotesque.

“Mages ready! Forward!”

‘Fire is the best.’

“Start casting!”

Whoosh─

Fire Arrow.

Only Johann’s surroundings become particularly bright. Dozens of fire arrows float in the air.

If someone saw this sight from afar, they would surely mistake it for a small sun.

“Fireeeee!!!”

The commander’s fierce cry detonates the fuse!

Immediately after, various kinds of magic began to pour onto the field, dirtied with various filth.

‘It’s spectacular.’

But the climax of the piece was yet to come. The real deal starts now.

Boom boom boom boom!!

Colorful explosions erupt, and dust clouds scatter richly to match. Thanks to that, it was like watching a giant watercolor painting.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

The soldiers and residents cheer. They were ignorant. It was only the beginning.

‘More are coming!’

Whoooooooosh─

Disgusting things advance, tearing apart the beautiful picture. The battle is not over yet.

“Start casting!”

The commander yells frantically. A more trembling pitch than before. That must be proof that he’s nervous too.

Once again, the mental images of the mages are revealed on the battlefield. Most of the modern people pour out skills that have become sharper than before.

They invested karma. As low as their stats are, each increase is significant.

That was the same for Johann.

Fire Arrow. LV. 2

Whooooosh.

A more precise and faster fire arrow than before. The speed is slower than Magic Missile, but the firepower is superior.

Uwoooooooo!

It was more effective against zombies than skeletons. Crimson flames ravenously devour rotten flesh.

Fire arrows target zombies, Magic Missiles target skeletons.

Ignoring the countless rising notification windows, he looks at Kim Sarah.

Buzzing, Thwack! Buzzing, Thwack!

She is pulling the bowstring with an indifferent expression. It was a supplied item.

She was shooting arrows in a place a little away from Johann, which was because the mages and archers were separated.

Of course, her skill was terrible. It wasn’t bad for someone doing it for the first time, but that was it.

‘The power of mages is very important in large-scale battles. Especially in sieges.’

It wouldn’t matter if they were fighting a melee battle in the field, but in the current situation, the power of swordsmen was useless.

It probably wouldn’t be easy to acquire karma either. In other words……

‘It’s a chance! A chance to widen the gap with Ms. Sarah!’

He’s been diligently raising his stats lately, but he’s still below her.

If the relationship goes wrong later, he could be helplessly defeated by her.

Johann happily fired magic.

Karma rises endlessly in response. All invested in magic power.

He didn’t feel good when he was forcibly woken up at dawn, but it could be said to be a blessing in disguise.

Bang! Whoosh!

Comparing Johann to the mages around him, he’s truly one of a kind.

The commander of the magic artillery platform also began to watch him without realizing it.

‘That mage…… I need to keep an eye on him. He shows promise.’

How much more magic did he pour out like that, the forces of Marim began to decrease.

Johann drank magic power recovery potions gulping them down as he surveyed the battlefield.

‘Is it over now? It’s better this way. It was starting to get too much.’

His stomach churns endlessly. It feels like countless people are surfing in his stomach.

Suddenly, the precautions regarding the potion came to mind. The store owner definitely said…

‘If taken in excess, you might pass out.’

The more expensive the potion, the fewer the side effects and the stronger the effect, but it was too expensive.

Gulp, gulp……

But he couldn’t not drink it. He wipes his mouth with his forearm and creates magic.

‘I feel like I’m going to throw up.’

Is that why the price of magic power recovery artifacts is so expensive? He feels like his concentration is dropping and his accuracy is decreasing.

No, actually there were spells that were missing their mark. At that moment, his head spun.

Wobble!

Johann’s body wobbles. He quickly tried to regain his balance, but it was too late.

Ah, no……

An unpleasant feeling of floating wets Johann. A sense of the sky getting farther away.

Thump!

Immediately after, something stops Johann’s body. It felt like he was lying on a fluffy sofa. What is it?

“Are you okay?! How much did you drink!”

He didn’t even have the strength to answer. Seeing that, she was furious. It was the first time she looked so angry.

‘Amazing……’

“It’s almost over, why did you overdo it so much…… Tsk!”

As she said, a thunderous voice resounds on the wall.

[The first wave is over! Everyone! Sit down and rest! Commence!!]

With this, Johann closed his eyes. He couldn’t hold on any longer.