WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 4: Toward the Labyrinth City

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Even if I told these village bastards about the knowledge within the Labyrinth, they wouldn't understand a thing.

They'd probably throw stones at me and ask what the hell I was talking about.

Ignorant, closed-minded country bumpkins, stuck in their ways and going nowhere.

If I wanted to put my talents to use, the final city with the Labyrinth would be far better.

...

Or so I had thought.

Brrrr.

A cold on an entirely different level from the time I'd briefly stepped outside the village out of curiosity swept over me.

My teeth clattered on their own, and even with a hat on, my ears and nose felt like they were about to fall off.

“Urgh.”

Swallowing the mucus running from my nose as I pushed through snow that swallowed my ankles, I once again realized just how amazing Fire Mages were.

I'd thought the village was fucking cold, but it couldn't even be compared to the outside.

The warmth they created was directly tied to survival.

Snow fell from the sky.

Snow covered the ground.

Snow-covered mountains and hills.

Everywhere I looked, there was snow. A completely white world.

‘Fuck! Of course they became so closed off living in a place like this!’

‘Labyrinth? What fucking Labyrinth? I'll freeze to death before I get there!’

A mage was supposed to think boldly and flexibly, unbound by arrogance and stubbornness.

I decided to understand why the villagers lived such pathetic lives.

There was one more impressive thing.

“Hoo, hoo.”

While everyone but Elena struggled to take even a single step, the hunters skillfully pushed through the snowfield and kept their bearings.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

They looked fucking cool as they held the leashes of hunting dogs as large as wolves and watched their surroundings.

It made me understand why hunters were the next most important people in the village after mages.

One thought came to mind.

‘Isn't it just their gear?’

Could the fur armor they wore actually be magical equipment?

As I considered that, my gaze met one of the hunters.

I flinched, wondering if that bearded man had read my thoughts, but the hunters were only talking among themselves.

“Going any farther is impossible...”

“They'll start showing up soon.”

I see.

So this was where our luck ran out.

“This is as far as we go. We're heading back.”

While I was thinking that, the hunters spoke.

For those chosen for the Expedition Party, it was like a bolt from the blue.

“...!”

We were already struggling enough to feel near death even with the hunters protecting us. If even they left, it was the same as telling us to die.

“Please save me! Uncle Bjort! Please!”

Mauk, the village chief's son, begged.

Another person did too.

“J-Just come a little farther with us! Please!”

Not everyone in the Expedition Party had only just come of age.

Dize, a textile worker's apprentice in his twenties, was here as well.

‘He was the one people said had recently gotten full of himself.’

Adultery, theft, and more.

If someone had a bad reputation in the village or failed to prove their worth, they were chosen for the Expedition Party.

It was a humane form of execution, in its own way.

“See that long structure faintly visible over there? Head toward it.”

“Good luck.”

The hunters only turned their backs on us coldly.

It was as if they no longer considered us fellow villagers.

“You fucking bastards!!!”

Dize shouted, but his voice rang hollow.

“Fuck... Fuck...”

“We're all going to die. We're all going to die!”

When Dize, the oldest among us, said that, everyone lost it.

Not just Mauk and his gang, who had always acted so superior, but the others and the girls burst into tears too.

“Let's go, Elena.”

“Yeah.”

The only calm ones were me, the genius mage, and Elena, my subordinate.

The two of us started pushing through the snowfield at the very front.

Would there be somewhere to rest ahead?

What if there wasn't? If we went back now and begged the villagers, would they let us in again?

I'd made up my mind, but countless thoughts raced through my head.

Whoooooosh!

The falling snow constantly distorted our sense of direction, but luckily, we had no chance of losing track of the Labyrinth.

That cursed tower stretching high into the sky could be seen from anywhere.

I didn't know how long it would take to reach it, but at least we wouldn't lose our way.

Ugh.

One good thing about this shitty weather was that my Frost magic proficiency was rising tremendously.

I could feel it even now.

The blue Grimoire inside me was delighted!

‘Its owner is freezing to death, damn it!’

‘Give me a new spell already!’

“Elena, you’re pretty impressive,” I panted.

“I've followed the hunters a few times.”

What impressed me was Elena's stamina.

Her stamina in the snow did not match the hunters' from earlier, but Elena was no ordinary person.

“Still... huff... you’re not as good as me.”

“Idiot.”

Despite the contemptuous look in her eyes, Elena grabbed my unsteady hand at the foot of a hill and pulled me along.

Thanks.

I take back what I said about you being a trashy elf.

We're the orphan crew.

No matter what happens, I'll carry you.

“Pant, pant!”

“W-Wait for us!”

Maybe nobody wanted to die, because before long, everyone was following behind us.

“Potatoes are good.”

“Don't eat them all. We don't know how long it'll take to get there.”

“I'm thirsty.”

“Hey! Don't eat snow, drink water!”

“There's snow everywhere. Can't I just chew this?”

“Melting it takes away your body heat... No, your warmth. Unless all the water is gone, that needs to be our last resort.”

“Really?”

We ate as we traveled, restoring our strength.

The steamed potatoes that had once been warm were now hard as rocks, so we slowly melted them with our saliva before swallowing.

Mauk was chewing jerky.

His bag was the only one that looked so full, so the village chief must have been worried sick and packed him plenty of things.

‘I'll just take some if it comes to that.’

Just as I thought that, Elena suddenly grabbed my shoulder and grimaced.

“We're fucked, Ian.”

“Don't tell me.”

Her long ears were twitching nonstop.

“Wolves!!!”

Soon after Elena shouted, dark shapes began to emerge from the pure-white polar day.

* * *

Their fur looked as though they'd been buried in snow for a long time, the tips frozen rough and coated in frost. Their gray-and-white pelts blended into the snow so well that, without looking closely, they appeared to be moving snowdrifts.

Even in this blizzard, though, the yellow eyes unique to predators stood out clearly.

They were about the size of retrievers, maybe a little smaller, but the feeling they gave off was on a completely different level.

Gulp.

I swallowed.

A predator seen in real life was completely different from one seen only in videos.

The gaze of a predator that saw humans as prey made my knees weaken.

‘Four of them.’

Neither I nor the others had sensed a thing. Elena really was something else.

The elf racial traits were fucking unfair.

“Everyone, gather up! Get your weapons out!”

As the oldest, Dize spoke, and everyone took out their weapons.

“Back to back! They'll go for our blind spots!”

There were eight men and three women.

More than ten of us were armed, yet everyone trembled in fear before the wolves.

It was the difference in experience.

In this world where everything had frozen over, it showed us exactly where humans stood once they left the fence.

Right. We weren't predators. We were prey.

“Two are young, and two are adults. They're probably a family,” Elena said.

“Idiot, what does that matter right now?!”

Mauk shouted, gripping his spear, but I snorted.

“The idiot is you, you fat bastard. Knowing your enemy is the first step to fighting them.”

“What?”

“If they have two pups, they have more mouths to feed. That means they'll come at us even more desperately.”

A life-or-death struggle between that wolf family and us was unavoidable.

“Fuck...”

Those cunning bastards!

The wolves didn't charge right away.

They only prowled around, growling as they dug at the snow with their front paws.

Then I realized.

“They're waiting for us to get tired.”

Patience was the most important virtue of a hunter.

It was the cunning of beasts that had survived in this harsh wilderness until now.

“Elena! Shoot an arrow!”

Dize spoke.

“Don't order me around, idiot.”

Elena snapped back, but she still fired an arrow.

“Damn it. My hands are shaking.”

Just as I'd expected, given how bad she was with a bow, the arrow missed.

“You stupid elf! You're an elf, and you can't even shoot an arrow?!”

Mauk cursed Elena, then shouted at me.

“Ian! Use magic!”

“Right! Ian's a mage!”

“Wait.”

The number of spells I'd prepared with Memorize was limited.

I had to be careful.

“Use magic! That's an order!”

Then Mauk grabbed me by the collar and yelled.

This idiot.

Just as I was about to hit him with my staff.

Thud!

“Aaagh!”

Mauk screamed and fell over.

“Fuck off, idiot. Who the hell are you to order anyone around?”

Elena had struck Mauk.

“You still think you're the village chief's precious son?”

“Y-You... An orphan bitch dares to hit me...”

Mauk seemed shocked that Elena had actually struck him.

“Has this bitch gone crazy?!”

The two men from Mauk's group pointed their weapons at Elena.

Elena pointed her club at them in return.

Her eyes made it clear that she wanted to kill them all here and take their supplies.

“You idiots! Why are we fighting each other right now?!”

Dize tried to stop them, but he had no leadership and had only shown an ugly side of himself, so it had no effect.

Everyone was on edge in this extreme situation.

In game terms, they were in a panic state.

Hmm, that felt satisfying.

Anyway, good job, Elena.

“Stop. We don't have the strength to waste on this.”

As the only sensible person, I mediated between these uncivilized people of Medieval Land, whose fists were quicker than their words.

The people who had ignored Dize listened to me without issue.

“I'll use magic. But I have to be careful.”

The spells I'd prepared with Memorize were limited.

Once they ran out, we were finished.

So I had to use them carefully.

‘Running away is impossible anyway, and it's also impossible for us to kill them all with our abilities.’

‘Then we need to show them that we're not easy prey.’

For wild animals, an injury could easily mean death.

If we scared them, they would retreat.

What was the best option in this extreme situation?

Even while everyone else was terrified, I analyzed the situation so calmly that I surprised myself.

I recalled the three spells I possessed.

[Electric Spark]

[Faint Light]

[Ice Spike]

I had one use each of Electric Spark and Faint Light left.

I had two uses of Ice Spike.

The choice was obvious...

‘Ice Spike.’

Magic.

A power never before seen, existing in a mysterious and unknown realm beyond the reach of human reason.

To use magic was to break through that realm of ideals and concepts, then bring that unprecedented power into reality.

The Grimoires within me cried out.

“Elena! Shoot an arrow!”

After waiting for the right moment, I spoke to Elena.

“Got it!”

The largest wolf launched itself forward, wary of Elena's arrow.

‘Ice Spike!’

No matter how agile a canine was, it couldn't instantly change direction while moving.

Taking that opening, I extended my staff and summoned the parchment within me.

Mana gathered in one place and took shape, becoming a sharp, frigid mass that shot forward.

Whoosh!

The wolf was an experienced hunter. It might not have known that what it saw was magic, but it seemed to realize it was dangerous.

Even then, it instinctively twisted its body, trying to escape the spell's path.

‘It's faster than I thought!’

But at that moment.

Ting, ting, ting.

A strange phenomenon visible only to me.

The coin that foretold fate spun.

【Heads/Tails】

‘Tails!’

[Tails]

I made my choice, and the blizzard raging all around us strengthened my magic.

Yelp!

The sharp chunk of ice pierced straight through the wolf.

Footnotes:

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