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Episode 16
City of Wizards (1)
“Phew… … .”
In a forest covered in snow.
A man sighed deeply. White vapor rose from his mouth.
The man, hiding behind trees and rocks, was slowly observing the deserted path.
North of the empire.
The road to Wilhelm, the city of wizards.
Although it was still early autumn, the biting cold continued to torment the man. As expected from a city where snow falls all year round, the cold wave was fierce.
The man’s name is Harvel.
He has been working as a mercenary for 7 years and, like any mercenary, has had several jobs depending on the situation.
When times were good, he became an adventurer, when war broke out, he became a soldier of war, and when there was no work, he became a bandit.
And now.
Although there was work to be done, Harbel decided to become a bandit with his men for a while.
Why?
It’s simple.
‘… …Because it makes money.’
September.
Once a year, the selection test for the five great towers is held. During this period, Wilhelm’s security is concentrated within the city.
Meanwhile, areas outside the city tend to be relatively less monitored.
Harbel planned to take advantage of this opportunity and rob the merchants passing by along the surrounding streets with his subordinates.
Was it last year?
Kelvin, who was once his colleague, took advantage of the timing of the selection test for the Magic Tower to make a killing.
Harvel, who was considering retirement, couldn’t help but be tempted by the idea that he could spend his entire life living off of just one magic tool.
“Phew.”
Harbel took another deep breath.
Behind him were five or six subordinates.
None of them were lazy, but they were watching the road with eagle-like eyes, looking for their target.
It was then that one of his subordinates, shivering in the cold, whispered softly.
“Captain.”
“why.”
“excuse me.”
The subordinate continued speaking, pointing to the other side of the road.
Harbel followed his subordinate’s fingers.
“Don’t you think the clothes that girl is wearing look expensive?”
“… … .”
As the subordinate said, a woman was walking towards him.
Age: Early 20s.
Her purple eyes, which matched her black hair, were very beautiful. Her attire was also very flashy. Anyone who saw her would think she was a noble.
Above all, traveling alone made him a perfect target for prey.
but.
‘… … Something is strange.’
Harbel felt something strange.
‘A nobleman walks alone on a road like this?’
It’s strange that he walks around without a carriage, and he doesn’t even have the usual escort.
Harbel couldn’t help but be on guard in this somewhat heterogeneous situation.
Prudence was the most basic virtue of a mercenary.
And Harvel was one of those mercenaries who placed great importance on these virtues.
The fact that he had all his limbs intact despite having been a mercenary for a long time was all thanks to his thorough adherence to this principle.
Because of this, he did not try to attack the woman rashly. Instead, he just observed her silently.
‘His stride is terrible, and he doesn’t seem to be aware of his surroundings… What is this? He’s completely defenseless?’
He was then able to draw two conclusions.
‘It’s one of two things.’
Or a naive noble lady who doesn’t know anything about the world.
Or maybe you are a skilled person who is confident that you can protect at least one of your own bodies.
Of course, Harvel thought it was more likely that she was just a reckless noble lady… … .
Since this was the route to the city of wizards, the possibility that the woman was a wizard could not be ruled out.
‘Well, then I guess I’ll just have to check.’
Thinking so, Harbel put a string on the bow he was holding.
Harbel was a veteran who had been working as a mercenary for the past seven years.
His archery skills were so excellent that even the most accomplished Rangers acknowledged them.
Even though the distance between Harvel and the noble lady was far, he was confident that he could hit the target with his eyes closed.
‘If you die from being hit, you’re a noble who doesn’t know the ways of the world, but if you survive, aren’t you a wizard?’
Harbel thought so and smiled faintly.
Although it was the ignorant mindset of a mercenary, Harvel thought of himself as smart.
In the former case, you can steal things without worry, and in the latter case, you can just run away, right?
No matter which option he chose, he was not at a loss.
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‘good.’
Knock knock─.
Harbel, who had gathered all his thoughts, pulled his bow.
At the same time, his men drew their swords and prepared.
The subordinates are also mercenaries who have been working hand in hand with Harbel for a long time. They knew what each other wanted even without having to explain it to each other.
Chin─!
Wedge──!
Crunch.
Soon the arrow he shot flew towards its target.
A successful surprise attack.
The target, whose chest had been pierced by an arrow, fell helplessly to the ground.
dump.
The subordinates who saw the sight cheered in a quiet voice.
“Okay… … !”
They hurried down the hill and headed toward the road, where they began to search the target’s body.
Immediately afterwards, one of the subordinates was heard cheering with a bright expression on his face.
“Wow, how much is this? Boss! Do you see? It’s full of really expensive stuff!”
Was she really just a reckless noblewoman? The woman’s body was adorned with all sorts of valuables.
“Captain! This is really amazing! These are treasures that you won’t find even in a normal dungeon!”
Harbel also couldn’t hide the laughter that was leaking out.
Expensive-looking rings, necklaces, earrings, and various other jewelry.
To the upper class, these might be mere luxuries, but to the mercenaries, each of these was a treasure they could live off for a lifetime.
‘If I can succeed like this three or four more times… … .’
Then really.
He could stop his tiresome mercenary work and go down to the countryside with his wife to live comfortably.
Harbel chuckled as he imagined such a happy thought. He had long since forgotten the guilt of killing a life. He continued to search the target’s body with eyes full of greed.
“Uh, uh, captain… …?”
That was when.
Another subordinate called out to Harbel in a slightly frightened voice.
Harbel answered curtly, his gaze still fixed on the gold and silver treasures.
“why?”
“Uh, uh, I think you really have to see this.”
“… … .”
Why bother calling and making a fuss? I don’t even have time to enjoy the loot.
Harbel let out an annoyed sigh as he thought that, and followed his subordinate’s gaze to look across the street.
And then the moment.
He too had no choice but to freeze.
“… … !”
There was a woman standing there.
Age: Early 20s.
Her purple eyes, which matched her black hair, were very beautiful. Her attire was also very flashy. Anyone who saw her would think she was a noble.
therefore…….
It was definitely the woman he had just killed.
“… … .”
The corpse that should have been rolling around at his feet was, for some reason, still alive and well, standing in front of him and his subordinates.
“What, what, what is this… … .”
Harbel quickly looked down.
The body of the woman he had killed had disappeared without a trace. There were no traces of blood or of the murder.
‘ah…….’
Only then did Harbel realize it.
‘……wizard.’
He happened to mess with the worst opponent of all.
‘What the fuck.’
okay.
In the first place, that woman had never been shot by an arrow even once.
He and his men were just caught up in the witch’s little scheming.
‘Hallucination? Illusion? Optical illusion? Brainwashing? Magic? What on earth am I possessed by?’
I don’t know.
It was also unclear whether there was a correct answer among them.
However, there was only one decision Harbel could make in this situation.
“Damn it! Everyone, put your swords up! Now!”
Sreung─!
The spine-chilling sound of metal clashing could be heard from all directions. The subordinates all drew their swords and began to glare at the wizard.
Harvel also aimed his arrows at the wizard in front of him while aiming at the bow.
It was a do-or-die situation anyway.
Now that things have come to this, an all-out war with the wizards is unavoidable.
Even at this moment, the murderous aura flowing out of the wizard’s body was squeezing his own body. This was not a problem that could be solved by running away.
A situation where one of the two must die unconditionally.
Harbel quickly shook his head.
‘Still, we still have a chance of winning. 6 to 1. We have an overwhelming advantage in numbers… … .’
After gathering his thoughts, Harbel released the bowstring and tried to fire an arrow.
Dalgrak─!
The bow he was holding suddenly fell to the floor.
“uh?”
A bewildered Harbel looked down at his hands.
The place where his hand should have been was empty.
Instead, only a horrific cross-section remains.
“Uh, uh…?”
Only then could Harbel see.
His own two hands rolling on the floor with the bow.
“Keep, keep, keep, keep…!”
A burning pain that comes late.
Harbel screamed and fell to the floor.
All the subordinates who were watching the scene froze in place.
Woof──.
“Ah, ahh, ahhh…!”
Along with Harbel’s groaning, the air around them began to slowly tremble.
A feeling of pressure I’ve never felt before in my life.
The thieves, who had foreseen death, simply stared into space with empty eyes.
The wizard smiled brightly and whispered to the thieves.
Why is that?
Even though it was a small voice, it seemed to ring right in my ear.
“If you mess with a wizard, you’ll have to pay the price, right?”
A wave of magical power swept through the bandits, accompanied by an eerie woman’s voice.
* * *
5 hours later.
Squeak─.
A carriage heading for Wilhelm stopped.
Passengers, startled by the sudden stop, began to come out of the carriage one by one.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
“Uh, uh… … .”
The coachman sitting in the cockpit had a pale face.
He pointed straight ahead with his trembling hands.
“I, I… … .”
Horribly mutilated corpses blocked the road.
Some passengers began to retch upon seeing the gruesome sight.
It was then that an old man who had been carefully observing the corpses opened his mouth.
“It’s the work of a wizard. Looks like there was a fight with the bandits.”
The old man, who had been tapping the corpses with his wooden cane, continued speaking leisurely.
“It was a battle that took place about 5 hours ago. No, rather than a battle, it would be more appropriate to say it was a one-sided massacre.”
“Well, then… … .”
“Just ignore it and pass by. When you get to the city, you can alert the guards.”
“Well, still… … .”
The old man patted the shivering coachman on the shoulder and spoke encouragingly.
“As long as I’m here, nothing will go wrong.”
“Ah, ah, I understand. I will only trust you, Wizard.”
The coachman returned to the cockpit, nodding his head repeatedly.
The other passengers also followed the old man back into the carriage.
Rattling, rattling─.
The carriage started running again.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was considerably more subdued than before, perhaps because most of the passengers had seen the horrific scene earlier.
In the quiet carriage, the old man slowly looked around.
“hmm?”
Right then.
The old man could see a girl.
A young girl with platinum hair and golden eyes, who tried hard to hide her gorgeous appearance by covering herself with a dull robe.
She was holding a book in her arms and looking out the window with an indifferent look.
“you.”
“… … ?”
“Yes. What on earth brings you to Wilhelm?”
The girl turned her head at the old man’s call and answered immediately.
“I want to take the screening test.”
“… … .”
The old man said with a worried expression after hearing the girl’s answer.
“That’s suicide. Can’t you tell after seeing the tragedy just now?”
“… … .”
“All sorts of wizards flock to the selection test. Some of them are crazy enough to think the test is a legal way to kill someone.”
The old man continued speaking.
“At the very least, you should be able to protect yourself. That is, if you don’t value your life.”
The girl looked at the old man with a dry expression.
The old man couldn’t even guess what the girl was thinking because of that inanimate reaction.
The old man continued, praying that his sincere concern would get through to the girl.
“Of course, it is commendable that you have risen to such a low level at such a young age. However, the selection test of the Magic Tower is more than you can imagine.”
“… … .”
“I would rather recommend that you go to a suitable school in Wilhelm, train, and take the exam. The Five Towers of Magic want complete magicians, not geniuses like you.”
Silence fell.
The girl still looked at the old man with a blank expression.
She seemed to be talking to herself for a moment, her mouth wide open, but soon she gave an answer.
“I appreciate your sincere advice, but I have already decided.”
“… … .”
also.
Even if I say this, you won’t listen.
The old man looked at the girl. His eyes seemed to have already made up his mind. It didn’t seem like anything he said would change her mind.
Eventually, the old man gave up and shook his head and looked away.
He muttered softly to himself.
‘… … This year, another promising prospect will unfortunately pass away.’
* * *
[What is that old man doing, making a fuss like that?]
‘That’s right.’
We can do our best in front of the others.
