Ch 11
NEYMAR
*************************
Episode 11
I picked up the pouch of gold coins that had fallen at my feet and organized my thoughts.
I'm a wizard now.
The single hardest part about raising a wizard in [Devil Fantasy] is the early-game difficulty. In other words, just surviving until you can actually learn magic is a nightmare.
Following the standard route, you needed a clean identity, a stable source of income, and loyal NPC companions right from the starting point. It took every ounce of luck just to get your hands on a single basic spellbook.
Even if you managed to get past that, you still had to find magic-related Traits and equipment, and the chronic weakness to close-quarters combat remained.
But what about me now?
I've already cleared most of those hurdles.
I had mastered the basics of the four elements and could use modified magic useful in combat. On top of that, my Spirit Imprint compensated for my weakness in close combat, and I even possessed a Mythic-grade magic Trait.
By any measure, I was already a decent wizard.
That's why, if I put my mind to it, breaking through an encirclement of mere guards would be a piece of cake.
Crackle-!
A yellow current of electricity flared to life around me.
I held a Wood Shield up in front of me and focused my mana into my feet.
The only thing that mattered right now was speed.
"Get him!"
At the guard captain's shout, the guards maintaining the encirclement rushed in. The first one to reach me swung his sword down.
In that instant, I felt my heart pound a half-beat faster.
Thump!
[You have entered an Awakened state.]
I had entered the Awakened state I’d been waiting for.
It felt like my rigid body was finally loosening up.
The moment I registered the Awakening, I charged.
Fwoosh!
This feels like I'm using [Shield Bash] or something.
"Wh-What?"
The guards flinched at my explosive speed.
I paid them no mind and pushed even faster.
I only had one chance.
If I didn't break through the encirclement now, even I would be in trouble.
CRASH!
The Wood Shield protecting my front slammed into the shoulders of the guards.
Two of them were thrown aside, and the formation broke.
I regained my balance and sprinted in a straight line.
I couldn't let my guard down until I was over that massive main gate and hidden from sight.
"Wh-what is that speed…?"
"What are you all doing! Get after him!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
As my feet pounded the ground, I glanced back.
Thankfully, the distance between me and the guards was growing.
At this rate, I could safely enter Sector 6.
That was when it happened.
Piiii—!
Suddenly, a high-pitched ringing pierced my ears along with a tingling sensation.
My already-racing heart began to pound twice as fast.
Thump! Thump! Thump…!
What was this phenomenon?
In that fleeting moment, I came to a single conclusion.
Instinct.
Screeech!
I immediately skidded to a halt.
My leather boots scraped against the ground, and I stopped dead in my tracks.
And I saw it clearly.
A silver blade slicing down right in front of my nose.
Swish.
A few strands of my overgrown hair were shorn off.
Gulp. I swallowed hard.
Fuck, I almost died.
"You… have good instincts, don't you?"
Standing before me was a silver-haired swordsman.
No, not just a swordsman.
He's a 'Knight.'
The red insignia of a coiled serpent on his left breast proved it.
"S-Sir Shuharen…?"
…Right, now it was certain.
The guard captain, who had caught up, knelt before the silver-haired man in salute.
"Jansen, Captain of the 7th Guard Division, greets Sir Shuharen!"
His voice rang out with authority.
The rigid discipline of the salute was a clear indicator of the silver-haired man's station.
However, the knight didn't acknowledge the salute.
He simply looked me over with an expression of amusement.
"A beggar?"
What a bastard.
Yes. I'm a beggar, you prick.
But contrary to my inner thoughts, I simply nodded my head.
In this world, you have no choice but to be weak before the strong.
"Awakened to your mana by a stroke of luck, have you? How long has it been?"
"…"
I remained silent instead of answering.
At the same time, I thought.
How do I get out of this?
"Well, no need to answer. I can tell just by looking at your mana."
Shing.
The silver-haired man's eyes flashed for a moment.
"…What's this, you're a fast learner, aren't you? Did you Awaken just three months ago?"
He was sorely mistaken.
He must have used a skill like [Measure], but it's not accurate.
The margin of error was quite large.
Especially for someone like me, whose growth rate was abnormally fast.
…It hasn't been three months, you bastard. It's been two weeks.
I swallowed my words and continued to think.
The rest of the guards would be here soon.
There was only one thing I could do.
Shake this guy off and run for it. Now.
But my heart hammered in my chest as if objecting to the idea.
It wasn't hard to understand what it meant.
…If I run, I die.
Even if I fled, the silver-haired knight would catch me in an instant.
But… I had no other choice.
Die here, or die running.
If it was a Death Ending either way, the latter was obviously better than the former.
At least I would have died trying.
I have to do it.
Having made my decision, I was about to gather my mana again.
Click.
The silver-haired knight sheathed his sword.
…What? Is he saying he can handle someone like me with his bare hands?
But the words that came from his mouth were unexpected.
"Go."
"…What?"
"I said, go. I'll let you live."
"S-Sir Shuharen! This man is—"
"Shut up. Unless you want to lose your head."
"…"
The guard captain bowed his head again at the cold, authoritative voice.
The silver-haired knight noticed my questioning gaze and continued.
"It'd be a waste. You'll be stronger next time, won't you?"
His reason for not killing me was the same as the red-haired man's.
"Go hide, push deeper inside, or leave Asternon altogether, do whatever you want. But the next time we meet, your heart is mine. Remember that."
"…"
Fattening up his prey.
I looked at his face.
One corner of his mouth was twisted into a bizarre smirk.
"Catch him!"
"Y-You insolent fools!"
The guards were getting closer.
I drew upon my mana once more and shot forward like an arrow.
Fzzt!
He must have been serious about letting me live, because the silver-haired knight didn't give chase.
The other guards just stared at me blankly.
And so, I arrived safely in Sector 6.
I slumped against a wall in a shaded alley, collapsing to the ground.
"Haaah…"
I was clearly fortunate to be alive and should have felt relieved, but…
I felt like shit.
After entering Sector 6, time passed quickly.
First, I tracked down a broker and bought a suitable identity, then found lodgings for the week. After getting some rest, I tidied up my wild hair with a razor and changed into inconspicuous, everyday clothes.
The reflection in the mirror looked quite human compared to before.
At this point, he wouldn't recognize me even if we passed on the street.
As I kept busy, the sun began to set.
I had just entered the largest tavern in the entertainment district near my inn.
"Haven't seen you around before."
"I just moved here recently."
"Is that so. What can I get for you?"
"I'll start with a beer."
"You got it."
As the owner left, I was once again lost in thought.
It was a rough journey… but at least I'm out of Sector 7.
Making it to Sector 6 was a significant achievement.
First and foremost, it meant safety.
Sector 7 didn't have a wall like the one I'd seen. It was completely exposed to demon attacks.
Sector 6, on the other hand, was on the outskirts but was still protected by a wall, offering a relative guarantee of safety. As long as no special events occurred, I could at least sleep in peace. In a world where managing one's condition could mean the difference between life and death, this was a meaningful advantage.
The next benefit was that I could start my build in earnest here.
The facilities in Sector 6 were old, but it had the basics, like a merchant district and a Magic Tower.
However, there was something I had to figure out first.
This isn't the timeline I know.
This was the biggest problem I was currently facing.
This world was different from the game I used to play.
"Did you really think that trick from 100 years ago would work?"
Judging by what the guard captain had said, this place was 100 years in the future compared to the game world I knew.
Thinking back, there was plenty of evidence. The subtly different structure of Sector 7, encountering a knight like the silver-haired man in Sector 6, and the fact that so many people were after a wizard's heart.
In fact, the menu right in front of me felt alien.
[Flaming Bird Roast - 500 Silver
Dried Fidna Snake - 700 Silver
Vitality Stew - 1,200 Silver
Beer - 500 Silver]
The prices were ridiculously high, as if some kind of hyperinflation had occurred.
Even ignoring the other items, half a gold coin for a single beer?
Even considering the possibility that this tavern was exceptionally expensive, it was an amount I couldn't possibly accept.
And to think the inn charged me 50 gold for a room…
Now I understood why the guard had tossed the gold coins away like trash.
It was clear that in the 100 years I'd missed, the value of gold had hit rock bottom.
"Here's your beer."
"Thanks."
In any case, this world was different from the one I knew.
Which meant I needed information.
I had to understand exactly what had changed, by how much, and in what way.
That was why I had come straight to the tavern without resting.
To gather intelligence.
Gulp, gulp.
"Ah, that's good."
As I quenched my thirst with the beer, I focused my hearing.
The boisterous chatter was bringing me information, piece by piece.
"I hear a fellow named Gandar has returned to being a bounty hunter."
"Did you hear? They say an aura manual was released on the black market. It's up for auction now, and the price is insane."
"Mercenary work isn't paying well these days. Sheesh… maybe I should look into a different line of work."
The quality of information overheard in a public place wasn't high.
Most of it was news you could easily find with a little legwork.
Still, it wasn't completely useless.
For instance…
"A new wanted poster came in today. Some guy who broke through the main gate of Sector 7 to get into Sector 6."
"Hah… the main gate, you say? Now that's a bold one."
"Bold is a nice way of putting it. Isn't he just an idiot? Or maybe some attention-starved maniac. Ignoring a perfectly good back gate… tsk tsk, definitely not right in the head."
…Information about myself that even I didn't know.
…A wanted poster? Are they saying I'm a wanted man in Asternon? No, more importantly, there was a back gate? …Since when?
Sigh… this was confusing.
A hundred years is a long time, but haven't things changed a little too much?
"…Dammit, I'm just going to drink."
Feeling dejected, I chugged the beer.
It was bad enough being possessed as a beggar in a game, but now I was a wanted man.
I could already imagine the sound of bounty hunters closing in.
What the hell did I even do to deserve this!
After some time had passed and I was pleasantly buzzed, I overheard something that caught my interest.
"Did you hear the news? The Aldeon school is opening its Magic Tower."
"…Is that true? What whim possessed them to unseal the Magic Tower they kept so tightly locked away…?"
"Come on, man. There's only one reason. Aldeon is finally planning to take on official disciples!"
Clink. I set down my beer mug.
Aldeon?
Even to me, who was feeling the hundred-year generation gap, that was a familiar name.
Of course it was. Aldeon was one of the top five schools of magic in [Devil Fantasy].
There was no way I wouldn't know it.
"Is that true?"
"Huh? What is?"
"About the Aldeon school opening its Magic Tower."
"Ah… of course. They said a notice has already been posted on the plaza bulletin board."
Thud!
The moment I heard that, I shot up from my seat.
I had to see it with my own two eyes.
Fortunately, the plaza was close enough for even my pathetic stamina to reach at a run.
I went straight for the bulletin board, and just as the drunkard had said, there was a notice pinned to it.
[A message from the Aldeon school of magic. In seven days, the Magic Tower will be officially opened. This decision has been made for the first time in over 100 years… We hope only those with confidence in their abilities will apply. That is all.]
So, it was true.
The Aldeon school… was accepting disciples.
A smile crept onto my lips unconsciously.
Seven days.
In one week.
That was the day the first step of my build would begin.
And maybe, just maybe…
I might find a way to deal with the death sentence the silver-haired knight had handed me—the one I had been trying so hard to ignore.
0 Comments