WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈
Chapter 27: The Party Leader's Burden
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At six every morning, Ian meditated and engraved spells anew.
He had never broken this routine since becoming a mage.
There was a lot to do today.
He had to visit the library, buy magical materials for research to increase his Grimoires’ proficiency, and stop by the Expedition Party guild to select new members who could enter the Labyrinth with them.
But first...
“Dize,” Ian said.
Dize, who had just finished breakfast and was patting his stomach, tilted his head.
“Hm?”
“I need to tell you something.”
“What is it? Why are you making it sound so serious? You’re scaring me, hehe.”
Dize laughed playfully, then froze.
Ian and Elena’s expressions were grave.
“Elena and I have had a goal since we were in the village. More than simply surviving, we want to see the end of the Labyrinth.”
“I-I see. You two really do think differently... You can do it!”
“After exploring the first floor just once or twice more, we plan to move straight to the second floor. We’ll keep heading higher, and the danger will only grow.”
Perhaps Dize sensed something was wrong as Ian kept talking. His expression darkened.
“Dize. I want you to leave the party.”
Daisy was the first to react to the words that struck like a bolt from the blue.
“What?!”
“You’re kicking Dize out...?”
Dize himself could neither shout nor argue. He only lowered his head.
“Y-you’re throwing me away? Because I’m useless?”
It was as if he had known this day would come.
“That’s not it. You’ve done more than enough.”
Ian thought about what kind of person Dize was.
Indecisive and timid, unable to say a word even to kids five or six years younger than him, always trying to avoid things.
When they crossed the snowfield, Dize had been pathetic.
But he changed when they faced the Heavily Armored Draugr and entered the Labyrinth.
For his companions and friends, he had become an admirable person willing to muster courage.
Yes, Ian knew that too.
“Then why...?”
“Trying hard and being good at something aren’t the same.”
Still, Ian shook his head.
The Labyrinth was not a place one could endure through effort alone.
“I-I was going to learn swordsmanship too...”
An unfamiliar sword lay beside the table.
“I’ll do better. Okay?”
Dize spoke plaintively, as if clinging to his last hope.
He knew.
He knew he was not useful.
‘Yeah, I knew... I knew this day would come someday.’
Ian, Elena, and Daisy were all shining people, far beyond someone as worthless as him.
Without them, he would have died in that snowfield long ago.
But... even so, he wanted to stay with them for as long as he could. He really did...
Dize wanted to cast aside even his pride and beg them to let him stay a little longer.
“I’ll be honest. I don’t want to see you die.”
Yet after hearing Ian’s cold but sincere words, he had no choice but to give up.
“...”
“The money we earned this time should still give you a foundation.”
Forty silver coins.
It was a considerable sum.
He could pay a year’s taxes, use it as capital to learn a trade or learn to read and write.
Whatever he chose, he could start a decent new life.
“Ian... Elena... Does it really... really have to be this way? Sniff.”
“Daisy. This is for the best.”
Elena stopped Daisy, whose eyes had filled with tears.
Dize asked in a trembling voice, as if his chest had tightened.
“W-we’re still friends, right?”
“Of course.”
Ian nodded firmly.
They would meet occasionally, drink together, and share meals.
They would reminisce about that shithole of a village, their journey across the snowfield, and all the trivial stories from the past.
“Yeah. That’s enough. That’s... enough.”
Dize smiled at those words and stood.
“Thank you, everyone. For staying with a pathetic guy like me all this time.”
“Dize!”
“Dize...”
“I should go now. If I stay here any longer, I think I’ll lose my resolve. Haha.”
Dize picked up his sword and walked away listlessly. The sight of him leaving was pitiful.
But there was nothing they could do.
That was the cruel rule of this world.
‘Partings are bitter no matter how many times you go through them.’
Ian uncrossed his arms and sighed.
* * *
‘Dize... He won’t enter the Labyrinth alone, will he?’
The chance was low.
He was timid, after all.
‘He’ll probably live quietly in the city, doing odd jobs.’
“Welcome to the library.”
After sending Dize away, I headed for the library.
Just as before, I planned to build my knowledge by reading books on magic and raise my Grimoires’ proficiency to learn new spells.
Flash!
“You’ll be able to see them now.”
After receiving an indexing spell from Renia, the librarian, I picked out several books and sat down.
[There are fundamentally two ways for water-type spells to gain killing power. One is release. The other is compression and flow. Release uses a vast quantity of fluid to crush a target with pressure and cut off the oxygen in the air, increasing its lethality. Compression and flow are the opposite. If one carves, shapes, and gathers fluid, which naturally flows freely, it becomes a blade capable of cutting even iron. Narrowing the mana outlet increases the fluid’s speed and destructive power. This is the basic principle of water magic discovered by this author...]
This time, I read a theory book about water and Frost.
Had my level of mastery increased? Even after reading an entire thick book, I did not gain a new spell.
‘Tch, so this alone isn’t enough anymore?’
I complained to my picky Grimoire, but it made sense.
What I had done so far had been abnormal.
Gaining spells after reading a few books was an absurd rate of growth.
‘Ordinary mages take at least several months to gain a new spell.’
“Whew.”
Even a genius needed rest.
To clear my head, I decided to read something else.
It was a history book about this world, one I had meant to read someday.
[The Dwarf King, the Human King, the Elf King, the Beastfolk King, the Dragon King, the Giant King, and the King of Serpents.
In the beginning, the world was peaceful and warm under the guidance of the Seven Kings.
This was thanks to the Ever-Burning Brazier, which contained the Primordial Flame bestowed by the gods.]
[But the brazier held tremendous power, and the Giant King and the King of the Nagas grew greedy.
They wished to steal the brazier and use its power.]
[Sacred artifacts must never be used for private purposes.
Under the god’s wrath, the Giant King and the King of the Serpents received terrible curses, and an eternal winter came upon the world.]
[The five kings tried to revive the brazier by burning their own lives, but it was beyond them.
Perhaps the merciful god saw their sacrifice?
The god gave the foolish mortals one more chance...]
“That was the Labyrinth.”
[Conquer the Labyrinth. Then you shall be able to lift the curse left behind by the fallen kings.]
Hm.
The origins of the Labyrinth were no different from what I knew.
There had been hidden plot points too, but the game company never revealed that part of the story, so I had no way of knowing.
“It’s already this late...”
I had only read a few books, but the sun was already setting.
The library closed at night, so I had no choice but to rise.
‘My concentration really is incredible.’
‘I really am a genius.’
“Goodbye.”
“It seems you didn’t have much success this time.”
When I said goodbye, Renia, who had been quiet for once, spoke first.
I nodded weakly.
“Yes, things don’t always go the way you want.”
“That’s true. Magic isn’t an easy field to begin with...”
“But I think I’ll learn a new spell soon.”
Renia, who had been agreeing with me, fell silent.
“...?”
“I’m a genius mage. I’ve got a feeling.”
Renia’s expression seemed to ask, “What is wrong with this bastard?” I left it behind and walked out into the city.
“La la la.”
The Labyrinth, bathed in orange as the sun set, had a different kind of charm.
Could it be called pastoral?
Still, the surroundings were not entirely beautiful.
“M-my husband hasn’t come back yet...”
“Aini! Aini, where are you?! Huh?!”
A group of people with desperate expressions stood before the Expedition Party guild and the exchange.
Some had returned in triumph like us, but others never came back from the Labyrinth.
“N-no... Nooooo!”
They were the missing members’ families.
Perhaps some of the Marauders I had killed had families among them too.
This city’s safety and peace were built on the sacrifices of Expedition Party members.
‘They’re like ants.’
I thought Expedition Party members were like ants.
Worker ants endlessly crawling into a massive tower to maintain the empire called Labyrinth City, or simply to survive another day.
‘The twenty-first century and this place are the same. People live as cogs, then get discarded.’
As I headed toward my destination, someone caught my eye.
A woman with sharp features, her hair tied back, holding a bow.
It was Narita.
“Narita.”
I approached her.
She looked at me warily, her face haggard.
“What is it?”
It worked out well. I had something to give her.
Narita fell silent when she saw what I held out.
“This is your share.”
It was a money pouch.
“Even if you were only a temporary party member, you fought with us. You should take your share.”
“...”
Was she suspicious?
Narita only stared at it without taking the pouch.
I asked her.
“Did you find Bapeyo?”
“...I found him.”
I had thought he was dead, but he was actually alive.
Some kind Expedition Party members had brought him out after finding him wandering through the ruined prison without a torch.
But there was a side effect.
After spending so long in darkness without a torch, his madness had resurfaced.
“I see...”
There was still no way to treat people consumed by the Labyrinth’s madness.
Even so, Narita could not give up on her friend, so she said she would try anything.
‘It’s a field the Magic Tower and temples are actively researching.’
‘Not for humanitarian reasons, though.’
“Then you’ll need more money for his treatment.”
I forcibly pressed the pouch into Narita’s hand.
“...Why are you looking after me this much?”
Narita asked with unsteady eyes.
It was a genuine question.
Ordinary Expedition Party members did not go this far.
We had often clashed with her as well.
I looked at the young woman who seemed on the verge of breaking, then smiled.
“Because it’s only right. And besides...”
“And besides?”
“It’s not kindness or pity. I just think I’ll feel better this way.”
I was not such a good person.
If that small amount of money could ease my discomfort, it was a small price to pay.
...
“Thank you.”
Narita bowed her head.
Drops of water fell to the ground, and her voice trembled.
“I was cruel to you all... I did that... Sniff. I knew it wasn’t your fault. But... but... I couldn’t bear it without blaming someone... Sniff.”
I could not bring myself to offer the usual, “Stay strong.”
“You said you aren’t a good person... but that’s wrong. You are a good person... Ian... really... sniff. Thank you...”
I patted Narita on the shoulder and turned away.
My next destination was the Magic Tower.
Now that I had money, I planned to borrow the Magic Tower’s experimental facilities and begin serious magical research.
Lightning, Water and Frost, and Arcane. Even when a Grimoire governed an affinity other than the three I handled, it was like a living creature with strange and demanding tastes of its own.
New spells did not simply pop out because I poured in mana and repeated incantations.
To raise a Grimoire’s proficiency and learn the next-tier spell, one needed rare catalysts suited to the affinity, advanced magical research, or unusual environments.
‘The catalysts and materials inside the backpack I acquired last time from Khand, the Marauder mage.’
I would use those, along with the money I had gathered, to buy magical materials and begin my research.
After all, as a veteran of this world, I knew countless ways to combine formulas and research specimens.
And if I did that?
‘Then I’ll gain new spells.’
“Heh heh. Cheat mode activated.”
It was time to truly begin my path as a mage.
Footnotes:
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