Chapter 15: A Mage’s Survival

Three Magic Missiles flew through the air.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They exploded exactly where the Mage had just been.

But the Mage was nowhere to be seen.

“You bastard!”

From a spot quite a distance to the side, a Mage was trembling with rage.

In his hand was a staff, but the crystal at its tip was shattered.

“Do you know how much is this worth…?”

“Don’t care. Dig.”

What does it matter how much it’s worth? I just have to kill you.

The Mage jumped over my Dig and dodged.

I thought his agility was better than I expected, so I prepared my next skill.

“Fire…”

I deliberately dragged out my words.

To lure him into a false sense of security.

That rookie Fire Bolt is more than enough to pierce a shield!

Taking my time seemed to work, as the Mage, still alert, cast Shield.

Of course, I had no intention of actually using that skill.

While casting my skill, I poured more mana into it.

-Skill ‘Mana Control’ has leveled up.

The skill leveled up naturally, and I decided I had absorbed all my mana.

It only took two seconds.

“Burn.”

The ball of flame formed in my hand erupted into a terrifying blaze.

Fwoosh, crackle, roar!

In front of me was the Mage, trembling in fear.

“Three circles??”

Bang!

The Mage tried to say something more.

But my Fireball, holding tremendous power, shattered his shield and cut him off mid-sentence, burning him to ashes.

-Level Up.

-Five additional stats have been awarded.

It was a clear sign the Mage was dead.

Staring at the still-burning flames, I could feel my emptied mana rapidly recovering.

I was healing fast, but from this fight I learned one thing.

‘My recovery might be good, but my basic capacity is lacking.’

So, I invested all my newly gained stats into Magic Power.

I definitely felt my mana pool expand, and I shifted my gaze to the next target.

It was the Priest.

Anyone who’s played games, especially big party-based games, would know this.

In a party, the healers and ranged attackers are the priority targets.

‘The Mage is dead.’

That left the Healer.

And not some Healer hidden behind Knights or soldiers, but one just standing there, dazedly staring at me.

“Dark…”

I cast the skill and simultaneously poured mana like mad.

“…ness.”

Black energy burst from my hands, engulfing the Knights and soldiers.

“What the—”

“Darkness all of a sudden?”

“Be careful!”

They scrambled about, holding their ground and trying to stay alert.

But one person—the target I was focusing on—looked around in confusion, completely unaware of what was happening.

“Magic Missile!”

Try taking a hit from my powerful missile!

The Magic Missile flew through the air and struck the Priest’s chest.

“Kuweh.”

The Priest coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

Having rendered the Priest helpless with a single blow, I cast two spells at once to ensure no chance of recovery.

“Fireball, Dig!”

First, I burned the Priest with Fireball, then half-buried him underground with Dig.

At this point, he wouldn’t think about saving himself.

-Level Up.

-Five additional stats awarded.

Another level-up.

I quickly increased my Magic Power.

“Hey!”

Knights and soldiers returned to the scene while I was busy.

With the Priest and Mage dead, their position was precarious.

No wonder the Knight hurriedly gave orders.

“Kill him!”

“Waaah!”

Soldiers charged at me instantly.

“Ugh.”

It really was instantaneous.

They sprinted nearly five hundred meters with no sign of fatigue.

“The Priest’s buff must still be active.”

One soldier shouted.

I replied honestly.

“Damn, the Priest’s dead, but still…”

Hurriedly, I gathered the remaining mana and used a spell.

“Dig.”

A soldier right in front of me was swallowed by the ground.

Only his head remained visible, and I kicked it with all my strength.

Bang!

I didn’t expect much.

Just enough to stagger him a bit.

But surprisingly, his neck must have been broken because he didn’t even flinch.

I didn’t have time to check if he was dead.

Another soldier was already charging at me.

“Stone Edge!”

A rock suddenly shot up and struck the soldier’s chest.

Even I felt bad for how brutal that attack was as the soldier gritted his teeth and fell.

‘Well, he’s trying to kill me, what do you expect?’

I swallowed my guilt and quickly used a skill on the next soldier.

“Darkness.”

Darkness came suddenly.

But surprisingly, the soldier thrust his sword straight at me.

Clang!

I drew a sword from my clumsy inventory and blocked it.

The soldier continued swinging his sword.

Even though his eyes were closed, he seemed to know I was in front of him as his fierce attacks never paused.

Thud.

I kicked off the ground and activated Skill: Dash.

In an instant, I distanced myself from the enemy.

The soldier’s sword only cut through empty air.

“Magic Missile!”

Bang!

The Magic Missile I fired hit the soldier’s chest, preventing any further movement.

Shriek.

A sharp scream echoed.

But it wasn’t the soldier I was facing.

Turning my head to find the source, I saw a Knight who had joined the fight swing his sword—cutting down one of our soldiers.

The situation was grim.

“Darkness.”

I squeezed out as much mana as possible to blind the Knight’s eyes.

But it was futile.

A faint light flickered off his armor, and he swung his sword again as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, overflowing with money, overflowing.”

I realized I had been dazed and quickly changed spells.

“Dig.”

The ground opened, and the Knight was swallowed.

But it was only for a moment before he quickly emerged and charged at me.

“Shield!”

The Knight’s sword slammed into my Shield magic.

Sparks flew.

A crack formed in the Shield.

I didn’t know exactly how strong my Shield was, but it could block a three-circle Fireball—with some impact, yes—but it was enough to block a Knight’s single strike in front of me.

The Knight continued swinging relentlessly.

Clang, clang, clang.

Seeing me behind the Shield and the Knight relentlessly trying to break it reminded me of a famous movie scene.

“This is a bulletproof Shield, you bastard!”

I shouted.

“….”

At that moment, all eyes turned to me.

Seven of our soldiers, twelve enemy soldiers, and two Knights—everyone’s gaze was on me.

After a moment of silence, the quiet voice was filled with immense murderous rage.

“Did you insult me…?”

The Knight’s face flushed red, almost about to burst.

Steam leaked slightly from his helmet.

“No, that’s not it.”

I had no intention of insulting him, but since I had called him a ‘bastard,’ there was no other way to interpret it.

“I swear on my name, I won’t let you die easily.”

Unlike earlier, the Knight’s body radiated intense murderous energy along with a strong flow of mana.

That mana spread throughout his body and even gathered faintly on his sword.

“An Aura User?”

I was surprised.

He wasn’t an ordinary soldier.

“Hah!”

The Knight’s sword struck my Shield again.

Flash!

More sparks flew than before.

Crack!

My Shield cracked in an instant.

“Damn it.”

I hurriedly summoned the next skill in my mind and activated it.

“Dash.”

I quickly retreated backward.

Of course, I couldn’t just run away.

“Dig.”

I made a hole beneath the Knight’s feet.

But he simply jumped over it, then charged at me and struck my Shield.

Flash! Crack!

My Shield cracked even more from that blow.

If he hit me one or two more times, it would surely break.

I quickly activated the next skill.

“Light!”

Light radiated, stealing the Knight’s vision.

I quickly followed up with an offensive spell.

“Stone Edge!”

A rock shot up from the ground and hit the Knight’s body.

Bang!

But that strike only made the Knight pause momentarily.

Still, that was enough.

“Fireball!”

Instead of just throwing the Fireball at the Knight’s helmet, I slammed it down like a dunk.

Boom!

The explosion nearby was too powerful even for the armor’s defensive magic.

The flames that burst through the helmet burned the Knight’s eyes, mouth, and ears.

“Ugh!”

A horrific scream echoed.

Grrr!

I screamed too.

Since the magic detonated so close, I couldn’t avoid some damage myself.

My Shield was already half-broken.

-Skill ‘Fire Resistance’ acquired.

Fortunately, thanks to this sudden acquired resistance skill, the pain subsided somewhat.

At the same time, another skill leveled up.

-Skill ‘Transcendent Regeneration’ has leveled up.

Despite the pain, my skills steadily showed their effect.

I could feel my wounds slowly healing.

-Level Up.

-Five additional stats granted.

Another level-up.

I hurriedly invested in Magic Power and, using my now expanded mana pool and mana surge, charged toward the last Knight.

From earlier, I realized something.

It wasn’t my body, but my face.

If the face is hit, even an armor with defensive magic is useless.

So I used Dash to instantly penetrate the Knight’s body.

“Shield! Fireball!”

Boom!

Unlike before, the Fireball exploded inside the Knight’s shield.

The hand that had pushed out was scorched black, but it was enough to prevent the Knight from moving.

“Take that!”

I gritted my teeth and shouted.

Looking at the remaining soldiers, I saw that our numbers had dwindled to four, while the enemy still had over ten.

They were trying to push soldiers toward the war chariot at all costs.

I gathered the last of my mana and used a skill.

“Fog.”

A thick mist spread instantly.

The chariot and the soldiers were swallowed whole by the fog.

“What the—”

Although everything was obscured in confusion, I was different.

‘I have Search Skill.’

After waiting briefly for my mana to recover, I confirmed the enemies’ locations with Search magic and stabbed with my sword.

Squelch.

Crunch.

I stabbed the sword into a throat and sliced sideways.

Swish.

Thud.

I heard the sound of something being cut and falling.

Using the recovered mana, I killed another soldier with Magic Missile.

Among the dense fog where nothing could be seen, I was the only one who could move.

By the time I killed all the enemy soldiers, the fog had vanished.

“Argh… This Quest is damn hard.”

I slumped to the ground.

I was exhausted—too exhausted.

The enemy’s blood flowing on the floor seeped into my pants and underwear, but I didn’t want to move.

All I could think was how damn hard this Quest was.