WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 23: Raiders Are Moneybags

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The chin strap of the helmet with a nasal guard snapped.

The filthy, bearded brute trembled with an Ice Spike lodged in his mouth before crashing through a broken desk as he fell.

Crash!

Blood from the bearded brute mixed with the blood dripping from the corpses.

Both were the same color.

“...!”

Had they not expected a first-floor party mage’s spell to be so fast and powerful?

The Marauders blinked for a moment, unable to believe what had just happened.

It was only a second or so.

“It’s an attack spell!”

“Damn it, he’s strong! Kill them!”

The vanguard immediately raised their iron shield to protect their vital points, while the crossbow wielder took aim.

It was a quick response, worthy of experienced Expedition Party members, but it was useless.

“What the fuck?”

Our party was already running away under my orders, the door shut behind us.

“Everyone, run!”

“You little shits!”

Thudding footsteps grew louder in the darkness.

* * *

Fuck, of all places to meet Marauders, it had to be right in front of the Escape Portal. My luck was unbelievably bad.

“We got one of them! It’s three against four, can’t we just fight them?!”

“We’ll lose.”

I firmly shook my head at Elena’s question.

I’d taken one of them down with magic, but we were still overwhelmingly outmatched.

Elena might be able to hold one of them off.

But Dize and Daisy would definitely lose.

‘There’s a difference in both equipment and skill.’

‘They’ve never fought people before.’

They lacked experience too. They’d die quickly, and then it would become two against three.

‘Daisy is a precious Priest now!’

‘Dize is one of the orphan crew too. I can’t let him die!’

“With your magic, Ian...”

“I only have one Ice Spike and one Magic Missile left. And they have a mage too.”

“What?!”

The moment I saw them, I assessed their equipment and traits.

They were a four-person party made up of two vanguards, a mage, and a crossbow wielder.

‘Their scout was dead in the Treasure Room. They probably died during a fight with other Expedition Party members.’

I’d killed one vanguard, leaving three.

They had a mage, and they were second-floor Expedition Party members, so ambushing them with magic wouldn’t be easy.

“Then what do we do? The Escape Portal is behind where they were!”

“Huff, huff!”

Ignoring my increasingly ragged breath caused by my pathetic stamina, I thought.

All right. How could we get through this?

Time to put my brain into overdrive.

Plan One: Keep running and ask other Expedition Party members for help when we meet them.

If they’re righteous people, they’ll help us.

Even if they aren’t, the Marauders won’t be able to attack recklessly if our numbers increase.

Not bad.

‘But it relies too much on luck.’

Then Plan Two: Take a detour to the Escape Portal.

‘We can’t outrun them at our speed!’

Rejected immediately.

Tap tap tap tap!

Even now, their footsteps behind us were drawing closer by the second.

“Turn!”

The moment we rushed into a room branching off the corridor, a quarrel embedded itself in the wall where we had been standing and quivered with a chilling thud.

“Ah, ahh!”

We’d avoided it by luck this time, but if we kept running, we’d eventually get hit by a crossbow bolt.

‘It can pierce iron. It’ll go through a shield too.’

Then it would be over.

In that case...

Plan Three: Set a trap and fight.

“This is our only option.”

“You said we couldn’t win!”

“If we fight head-on, no. But we have a chance if we do it another way.”

Dirty and underhanded.

That was my motto when fighting people.

* * *

The second-floor Marauder party, a trio who were usually upstanding Expedition Party members, pursued Ian’s group.

The swordsman spoke.

“You bastard. The leader died because of you. I thought you said they were a pushover?”

“We only met him yesterday, so what does it matter? Our share got bigger, so isn’t that a good thing?”

The trio’s mage countered.

“That little bastard is more skilled than expected, but that’s all. He probably only has one or two Ice Spikes left.”

The experienced mage, who had made it to the second floor, calmly analyzed the situation.

“He’s a Frost Mage. At a first-floor level, that should be the end of his attack magic. To be safe, he might have Frost Burst or something like a water cannon too.”

The mage had judged Ian to be a Frost Mage.

In truth, Ian was a Triple Master who wielded three affinities, but the opposing mage did not know that.

You might think word would have spread by now, but that wasn’t the case.

Even though this was a city, administration was poor in this world.

Unless they had a special reason, experienced people didn’t pay much attention to newcomers.

Most of them died soon enough, anyway.

Only Lingxiang, the receptionist, and a few Expedition Party members at the branch who had seen Ian’s party recruitment notice knew that he was a Triple Master.

On top of that, Ian had deliberately concealed some of his spells in preparation for situations like this, so the mage’s judgment was fairly accurate.

Most mages handled one affinity.

Those with genius-level talent handled two.

That was the common belief.

That misunderstanding had fatal consequences.

Bang!

When the trio threw open the door, an Ice Spike flew from the darkness with a chilling gust. Ian had fired it with the torch extinguished to conceal his presence.

“Cheap tricks.”

The prepared swordsman easily blocked the Ice Spike with their shield.

“Light it up!”

[Ignition]

The Fire Mage drove back the darkness with Ignition. Then the swordsman knocked aside the arrow that followed with their sword.

Clang!

As expected of second-floor Expedition Party members, their adaptability and skill were impressive.

“Fuck!”

“Everyone, run!”

Terrified by the sight in the room lit by magical flames, the newcomers tried to flee.

Thud!

“Argh!”

“Got one.”

But the crossbow wielder’s quarrel pierced the elf bitch’s shield and seriously wounded her.

“Elena!”

The others hesitated, perhaps because of their strong bond with their comrade.

A rookie mistake.

Idiots. They should’ve abandoned her and run.

Not that it would’ve saved them.

“Good. I’ll finish this in one shot.”

Whoosh!

The Fire Mage gave a nasty smile and began preparing his strongest spell during that opening.

Ignis Sphaera.

With the incantation, the catalyst in his hand shattered, and the fireball shot out, scattering destructive flames.

But the Fire Mage narrowed his eyes.

“...”

[Ice Spike]

Another Ice Spike came flying from Ian’s side and collided with the fireball.

Sizzle!

Even if fire and frost opposed each other, the Ice Spike and fireball collided and destroyed one another.

‘What was that power...?’

The crossbow wielder, having finished reloading, fired the crossbow again. This time, a green projectile flew in and intercepted the quarrel.

“Magic Missile?! Was he a Double Master? It doesn’t matter!”

A strange sense of unease ran through the Fire Mage’s mind.

He was startled, but quickly recovered his composure.

He was an experienced survivor.

How many newcomers had he seen die after showing off about wielding multiple affinities?

What mattered to a mage was a deep understanding of spells, proficiency, and cold reason.

Shaking off the inferiority rising from deep inside him, the Fire Mage continued his incantation and shouted.

‘Not bad for a newcomer!’

“That bastard is out of spells! Finish them! I’ll cover you!”

“Ugh, ah...”

“Fuck! It failed! Carry Elena! We have to run!”

They were almost out of the room.

If this continued, it would turn into another tedious chase.

Since they had left the treasures in the Treasure Room, the Marauders did not want to waste any more time.

“Hmph.”

The crossbow wielder snorted as they stepped into the stirrup to reload the crossbow, then drew a short sword and charged alongside the swordsman in the vanguard.

‘All five of them are together, so there’s no need to worry about the rear.’

‘There are no traps either.’

They just needed to cut them down.

That was what the two of them thought.

It had been perfect.

But at that moment.

Splash.

Steam rose where the fireball and Ice Spike had collided.

Something tingled in the water pooled on the floor, something more than simple dampness.

A chilling sensation that made the fine hairs on their bodies stand up.

“What is this...?!”

The moment the two sensed something was wrong, a clear incantation rang out.

“Bolt.”

A blue electric current flashed.

Crackle!

“Grrrgh!”

By the time they realized what had happened, it was already too late.

* * *

Whew, that took ten years off my life.

Good thing the trap worked.

My amazing acting probably helped lower their guard too.

Ian, at the boundary between the corridor and the room with the tip of his staff submerged in the water, rose to his feet.

“Ghk... ghk.”

The Marauder party’s swordsman and crossbow wielder lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth as they convulsed.

Electric Spark.

Until now, Ian had used it to wake unconscious allies or, when necessary, stop an enemy’s movements.

But originally...

‘Lightning is the strongest thing in a fight against people.’

It was faster than any other spell and lethal to living creatures.

If the conditions were right, even a basic spell like Electric Spark could create a situation like this.

Water and steam had formed where the Ice Spike melted against the fireball.

Both of them wore iron armor and carried metal weapons that conducted electricity well, making the effect even stronger.

“What... what is this?”

Narita fired an arrow at the flustered Fire Mage.

Thud!

“Huh? Aaaagh!”

The man stammered in confusion, then took an arrow and rolled across the floor in pain.

“You fucking bastards. Ptooey!”

“Ghk, ghk!”

Elena brought her mace down on the paralyzed swordsman’s head, crushing it.

As if venting her anger, she killed the crossbow wielder who had lodged a quarrel in her side even more brutally.

Crunch! Crunch! Crack!

“An artifact...?”

Khand, the Marauder party’s Fire Mage, was a mage to the end. Even now, he was more curious about what had just happened than afraid of death.

Squelch. Squelch.

Ian walked over without a care and corrected him.

“No, I’m a Triple Master.”

“Triple... lightning, water/Frost, Arcane?”

“Can’t you tell after seeing it?”

Khand was horrified.

A mage who handled several affinities instead of one.

It was certainly impressive, but scholars remained divided on the subject.

Handling many types of spells was extremely difficult, so most multi-affinity mages lacked proficiency compared to those who had focused on one path.

This was especially true for newcomers who had only recently become mages.

But not that bastard.

Like an experienced battle mage who had spent years entering and leaving the Labyrinth, he chanted freely and quickly, even controlling the trajectories of his spells with precision.

And that was not all.

“Then you expected me to use a fireball in that situation too?”

“Well, at a second-floor level, it seemed obvious.”

“...”

They said a skilled mage could see several moves ahead of an ordinary person.

A mage who had grasped the truth could see dozens of moves ahead.

Realizing the situation Ian had designed, Khand trembled so badly that he briefly forgot his pain.

“You have no talent. Get out.”

The treatment he had received every day at the Magic Tower.

The inferiority he had forgotten after gradually advancing and earning respect as an Expedition Party member.

That forgotten feeling came crawling back.

This was what people called a genius.

Was this talent?

Fuck.

“Fuck, this is so...”

“The fucked-up ones are bastards like you who murder people for a few pieces of gold.”

Only then did Khand realize his situation and beg.

“Spare me. I have research materials and money hidden in the city. If you let me live, I’ll give them to you.”

“You’ve already killed other Expedition Party members. And you’re still begging for your life?”

“Even if I become a human waterwheel, it’s better than dying.”

Ian thought.

Those who murdered Expedition Party members were usually executed, but mages could sometimes atone for their crimes by producing energy for the city for the rest of their lives.

A human battery, in other words.

Of course...

Accepting that offer was a different matter.

“You think we’d accept that?”

Ian snorted.

He always claimed he was a cultured modern man from the twenty-first century.

Ian didn’t harm others carelessly, and he tried to understand, guide, and embrace people whenever possible.

That was true even of people he had clashed with, such as Mauk’s group and Narita. It was also true of Dize and Daisy.

But that mercy did not extend to those who had tried to take his life or his friends’ lives.

Obviously.

“Please! Please!”

“Ah, then let me ask you one thing. Have you seen a newcomer adventurer named Bapeyo? They were armed like this and about this tall.”

“Bapeyo...”

“Don’t try anything funny.”

“...I don’t know.”

“Hmm.”

Had he sensed his fate?

The begging Khand suddenly gave a nasty smile.

“Heh heh. You naive idiots. Hey, do you think you won’t become like us?”

“...”

“We’re only on one of the shallow floors... Go lower. Go deeper, and even worse things will be waiting for you! A horrible, disgusting abyss! How long do you think you can keep up that hypocrisy in a situation like th...!”

Thud!

Khand shouted with bloodshot eyes, coughing blood, as Elena crushed his head with her mace.

She snorted as she raised her mace, splattered with blood and brain matter.

“Why were you listening to him? He was boring and pretentious.”

“Well...”

His first kill.

It had been self-defense, but the sight of the Ice Spike piercing the bearded brute’s face was still vivid in his mind.

...

Ian hid his trembling hand as he clenched it into a fist.

“Urp.”

“Haa, haa...”

Dize and Daisy had not gotten blood on their hands themselves, but this was their first encounter with humanity’s cruel malice.

Ian looked at their pale faces and shook his head.

“Anyway, it’s over now. Let’s move before monsters gather after hearing the commotion. Oh, and take their equipment. It looks useful.”

“Whew, we can finally go back.”

Elena winced from the pain of the quarrel in her side, but she was relieved to be returning.

“No. Not yet.”

Ian shook his head, and Elena asked.

“Huh? Why? What else do we have to do? I’m in pain right now! Daisy worked hard to heal me, and now I’ve got another hole in me!”

She snapped, as though she couldn’t endure any more.

“Calm down, Elena.”

“You think I can calm down right now?! You’ve been treating me too roughly lately! You’re always going on about how you’re a genius mage. Fine, you’re amazing, but isn’t this too much?! We’re friends!”

Waaah! Elena even shed a few tears of hurt.

Elena, of all people.

“No, what I mean is...”

“What! What! What!”

But Elena’s sadness vanished at Ian’s next words.

“I mean we should stop by the Treasure Room those bastards were about to loot before we leave.”

“...Treasure?”

Elena’s ears perked up.

“Hehe.”

Hee hee hee!

‘What a simple-minded idiot elf.’

Ian sighed.

Footnotes:

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