episode_0238

“So, what did you want to say?”

“That dungeon you told me to clear, remember? I met that guy. No, that *girl* there!”

“That girl? Who?”

This bastard just babbles on without explaining anything. When I asked back, displeased, he acted all dramatic as if I should have known.

“The Fire Mage, I’m talking about! You said you saw them at the training camp too!”

“Ah, that guy! But they’re a girl?”

“Yeah! I was brawling with them and accidentally ripped off some kind of necklace, and suddenly they turned into a girl! That seemed like their real identity! Their chest was pretty big too?”

Kenneth added details to his explanation, making all sorts of gestures. Finally, he shoved a cushion inside his chest and acted crazy, so I quieted him down and fell into thought.

‘So it was a girl.’

That’s why I kept looking for them afterward but couldn’t find them anywhere, making me wonder if they weren’t an academy student. If everything was a deception about their gender, then it makes sense. Because I excluded females from my investigation from the start.

But now that I know the secret, finding the Fire Mage is only a matter of time.

‘What should I do once I find them?’

The cleanest option is to kill them, but it feels a bit disappointing to end it like that. There’s a possibility the Fire Mage was framed like me, and even if not, if I can use them as a subordinate like Kenneth, their utility would be endless. Above all, the merit of killing them seems too small.

‘I don’t know what ability they’ll give me.’

It would be fortunate if it’s a helpful ability, but if not, it’s a problem. When I killed the drug addict, I got something similar to a minor drug, so the Fire Mage will probably give me a fire-related ability, right? But I already possess a top-tier fire-elemental ability called Incarnation.

Can I really be sure that the ability I gain by killing them will be superior to Incarnation? No, there’s no need for it to be superior in the first place. Can I definitively say that the ability isn’t a subordinate ability of Incarnation? Of course not. If the ability obtained by killing the Fire Mage is an ability already included in Incarnation, it would just become a useless burden, taking up space in my status window.

Of course, there’s a chance it could be helpful, but…

‘Is it really worth killing someone just for that?’

I haven’t suffered any loss because of the Fire Mage, so there’s no particular need to kill them. The problem is, even if I feel that way, someone else has been singing about wanting to kill them every day. When I glanced at Kenneth, who had been hesitant all while I was thinking, he carefully made a suggestion.

“But that person, you know.”

“What? You want to kill them?”

“Ah, no? Not that. I was thinking, what if we made them an ally?”

“Make them an ally?”

“Yeah! Wouldn’t it be good if people in the same predicament joined forces? It looked like the Fire Mage didn’t know much about the hidden piece either, just like me. If you help them grow, they’ll probably listen to you!”

Kenneth desperately tried to persuade me. It was baffling to wonder where the person who said they’d slaughter them on sight had gone.

‘What is this bastard thinking?’

He definitely has an ulterior motive. Suspicion rising, I narrowed my eyes and stared at Kenneth, then asked him point-blank.

“What’s the real reason?”

“Huh? Th-the real reason?”

“Yeah. Why did your mind suddenly change?”

“I-it’s just better that way…”

“Stop talking nonsense. Tell me the truth. If you lie again, I won’t tell you about any more dungeons, got it?”

I’ll make you stay cooped up in the annex practicing swordsmanship with knights for the rest of your life!

As if my resolve reached him, Kenneth jumped.

“Ah, I get it! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”

“So what’s the reason?”

“Well…”

“Three…”

“I mean…”

“Two…”

“Argh, fine, I get it! It’s because she’s pretty. Because she’s pretty!”

“One… What did you say?”

“…That Fire Mage, she was pretty. She’s my type, so I wish you’d spare her.”

So, this crazy psychopath bastard is asking me to spare the Fire Mage he’s been wanting to kill all this time, just because she’s pretty?

Having belatedly processed that fact, I sent him a gaze of contempt.

“You horny lunatic.”

“N-no, it’s not like that! It’d be a waste to kill someone who could become our ally, wouldn’t it?”

“Hoo… Is that so?”

“It’s true! I swear there are no ulterior motives.”

It’s laughable how he’s feigning ignorance until the end. If that’s how he’s going to be, I have my own methods. I wonder if you can maintain that attitude after hearing this.

“Then can I rape her?”

“N-noooo!”

When I declared I would violate the Fire Mage, Kenneth’s eyes bulged and he screamed. Only after meeting my bleak gaze did he realize he’d fallen for the provocation.

“Ah… N-no, it’s not that.”

“Sigh, you idiot.”

“No, I mean… it’s true I’m interested in her, but it’s not just because of that, okay? Huh? Even so, rape is too much! Killing her would be one thing, but…”

“Of course, it would be.”

“I’m serious!”

Kenneth pleaded his innocence, but once he had already admitted it himself, his plea lacked persuasiveness.

‘Then maybe I should consider capturing them alive first?’

Anyway, from what I’ve heard, their combat level is on par with Kenneth’s. Their affinity itself is a complete hard counter, and as a mage, they’re vulnerable to surprise attacks, so there shouldn’t be much difficulty in subduing them.

So, we’ll decide that for now.

‘It’s about time to enter the reinforcement event.’

Since I can also get Roxana’s help, I should go get Alisa’s exclusive weapon first.

*

Deep within a mountain valley, surrounded by a lush forest, lay the dungeon we were searching for.

I looked at Roxana.

“It’s up ahead. Can you sense anything?”

“Yes. A powerful illusion barrier is definitely spread out. It’s quite large, isn’t it? I’ll break through, so step back.”

“Yes. Please do.”

As expected of a Grand Archmage who had reached the realm of transcendence, Roxana instantly recognized the barrier’s true nature. She placed her hand on the empty air and then unleashed a flash of deep blue magical radiance.

Flash!

The space touched by the light began to shimmer like the surface of water, and soon the flat ground sank, revealing a staircase leading underground.

Originally, this illusion barrier would be damaged by a major earthquake that occurs around summer. That’s why one would only be able to enter the dungeon after that. But thanks to Roxana, we didn’t have to wait.

“It’s done. Let’s go in quickly. I’ve only made a temporary hole in the illusion barrier. Once we’re inside, the barrier will regenerate.”

“Well done! Things will be easy now. Everyone, let’s hurry!”

The reason Roxana didn’t completely dispel the illusion barrier but only made a hole was probably to prevent any possibility of others intervening during the dungeon clear. Admiring her thoughtfulness, I led the party and quickly descended the stairs.

How long did we keep moving like that?

As the light streaming from outside grew dim, the staircase ended, revealing a wide cavern.

Clatter!

At the same time, as if there were motion sensors, magic lamps flickered on with a noisy sound, illuminating the darkness.

Alisa looked around and asked.

“Where do we go now? There are paths everywhere.”

As she said, the cavern had a total of twelve paths, from the 1 o’clock to 12 o’clock direction. I pointed decisively between 9 and 10.

“There!”

“Huh? That’s a pillar.”

“Yes! There’s a small illusion placed on that pillar too. Roxana-nim. Am I right?”

“Yes. There’s a large space inside. I also sense a powerful presence.”

“That would be the guardian. Anyway, Alisa, your weapon is in there. Let’s go!”

I boldly leaped into the pillar. Logically, it was a crazy action, but my body was sucked smoothly into the pillar without any pain. As I waited, my companions also came through the wall, one by one.

“That’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

“Me neither. The feeling of coming through the wall is strange.”

Alisa and Deborah touched their bodies, exclaiming in admiration. Seeing that, Roxana’s eyebrow twitched.

“Deborah. That’s not a very difficult magic. There’s no need to be so amazed by it.”

“But you can’t even replicate a strange tactile sensation, can you?”

“No. You just need to try a little harder. It’s a very simple magic.”

It seemed Roxana wasn’t pleased with her disciple admiring other illusion magic when the world’s best illusionist was right in front of her. Deborah grinned cutely at her master and nodded.

“Yes, Master-nim.”

“Good, as long as you understand. Then let’s defeat that guardian first. It’s about to move.”

Whirring!

No sooner had her words fallen than a magical resonance echoed, and a female-shaped golem, frozen like a statue at the entrance, raised its head.

Clang!

Then it took a stance and drew a red rapier from its waist.

‘Red Flash.’

A name given because its appearance when thrust forward was like a single flash of light. Fittingly, the rapier’s function was indeed simple.

It was acceleration. Just then, a red current of energy erupted from the rapier and enveloped the golem’s body.

Whoosh!

It exerted incredible acceleration, reaching our immediate vicinity in the blink of an eye.

It was difficult to follow even with dynamic vision. The golem’s own combat power was equivalent to Level 250, but combined with that formidable weapon, it became strong enough to be handled only by someone at Level 300 or higher.

Unfortunately for the golem, however, we had a transcendent Grand Archmage over Level 400.

“Stop.”

Boom!

As Roxana extended her hand and lightly uttered a single word, the golem, which was about to thrust its rapier, froze. Its joints creaked as if trying to move, but its feet were stuck as if glued down.

I immediately gave a thumbs-up.

“As expected of Roxana-nim. That’s incredible magic.”

“You’re right! Master-nim is amazing!”

“Hmph! It’s nothing special. Deborah, if you keep striving, you’ll be able to reach this level too.”

As Deborah and I showered her with praise, Roxana flaunted her hair, boasting. Soon, Deborah’s barrage of questions poured out.

“How on earth did you do that? Golems have different sensory organs than humans! It shouldn’t be easy to trap them in an illusion!”

“That’s true. But the dungeon master here also seems to be quite a skilled mage. The golem’s sensory organs were incredibly sophisticated. Enough to even detect illusion magic. I exploited that. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible for a mage who isn’t at my level.”

Her way of speaking, elevating her own status by praising the opponent, was quite cute. I overheard the beautiful conversation between master and disciple and turned my head toward Alisa. She was currently struggling with all her might to take the rapier from the golem.

“Ugh! Why is its grip so strong! Let go!”

It seemed the Red Flash had completely captured her heart. As Alisa grunted and wrestled with the golem, Roxana, who had been explaining the principles to Deborah, lightly snap! snapped her fingers. Then, the golem’s tightly clenched hand opened, revealing the rapier’s hilt.

Alisa quickly snatched it.

“Wow…”

As if gauging the grip, she held the rapier and swung it around. I approached Alisa.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yeah! It’s the best! The moment I held it, I knew exactly how to use it. With this, my speed will be twice as fast!”

As if her body was itching to use it right away, Alisa repeatedly tried to draw upon the Red Flash’s power, then paused. After a moment of thought, she soon made a decision and sheathed the rapier. Naturally, she had also taken the scabbard from the golem. After securely fastening the sword to her waist, she ran over and bowed her head to Roxana.

“Thank you! Thanks to you, I got a great weapon!”

“Yes. I’m happy that you’re happy. More importantly, Ruan. How about we go deeper inside? I’m curious about what else might be there.”

“Ah, yes. Let’s do that. But before that, can you perhaps stop the golem’s operation without damaging it?”

“Without damage? Why?”

“I just want to keep it. Who knows, I might be able to use it for something.”

“Use it?”

I don’t know how she misunderstood my words, but Roxana’s face flushed slightly, and she glared at me fiercely. Alisa, who had been happy to get the sword like Roxana, and Deborah, who had been engrossed in a new theory, both sent sharp glares.

“What do you intend to ‘use’ that ‘beautiful female-shaped golem’ for?”

“That’s right! What are you planning?”

“Tell us the truth!”

It seems I’ve caused some strange misunderstanding.