WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
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◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈
Chapter 44: The Wizard's Cleanup
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After Darnen left, I began dealing with the aftermath.
First, I gave antidotes to those who had been poisoned. Daisy, who had Memorized Heal, began healing the injured.
‘Thank you for helping us.’
Unfortunately, the slave warrior on the dark elf side and the human Expedition Party member on the elf side who had stood up to Drian were dead.
I thanked them and closed their eyes.
The elf party's earth mage, Elrond, and the elf swordsman had survived. They were bruised, but everyone in our party, from Gimlius and Hans to Elena, was safe.
The problem was...
Elena's arm had been severed.
The wound had been completely mangled by the greatsword Hodrick swung before dying, so Daisy, who could barely be called a novice Priest, couldn't reattach it.
“I don't think I can reattach this arm... I'm sorry...”
“Fuck...”
Elena regained consciousness and barely escaped death with Daisy's Heal.
Then she looked at her loose sleeve and right arm lying on the floor as if she couldn't believe it, and cursed.
“...”
Elena stared at me in silence.
The confidence that had always filled her beautiful emerald eyes was gone, replaced with unease.
It wasn't fear of the pain or becoming disabled.
She was afraid that, now she was no longer useful, she might be abandoned.
“Ian, I...”
“You're alive. That's enough. We can treat the injury.”
I started to pat Elena's shoulder, then playfully ruffled her hair instead.
Normally, she would've thrown a fit, but she murmured, “Mm...” then lowered her head and leaned against me.
Damn it. Seeing her like this hurt even more.
Still, I picked up Elena's arm just in case.
Maybe they could reattach it at the temple.
“I'm sorry... If I'd fought a little better...”
Gimlius lowered his head.
His own arm was broken and he was wounded, but he hadn't even wrapped a bandage around it as he expressed his guilt.
“I'm sorry...”
“I'm sorry, Elena... It's all because I wasn't good enough. Sob.”
Hans and Daisy felt the same.
“The faster we get there, the better the chance of reattaching her arm. Everyone except Hans, take Elena straight to the temple. Time is critical.”
As I spoke, I handed my companions several bags full of Mana Stones from this expedition.
“...Okay!”
“Elena! Get on my back!”
“Do you think I've got some deadly disease? I'm not that bad off, you dwarf bastard. You're too damn short to carry me anyway...”
Elena scolded Gimlius, then looked at me.
“Ian. What about you?”
I gestured toward the elf party.
“I'll finish cleaning up here, then go.”
There was something I absolutely had to take.
“Hurry back.”
“Yeah.”
The three of them returned through the portal.
Hans, who stayed behind with a blank expression, gripped his crossbow tightly as if he were nervous.
Don't tell me this old man thinks...
“Hans. What misunderstanding are you under?”
“Um... No?”
“I don't think I've gone around doing anything that cruel. I'm not like that charred dark elf over there.”
“That's true, but you never know what's in someone's heart, do you?”
The elf swordsman with the severed leg and Elrond, the earth mage, had both been watching me warily in case I stabbed them in the back. But their eyes widened when they saw the bags I threw to them.
“Here's your share. I didn't count it exactly, so come find me later if you've got a complaint.”
The bags contained their share of Mana Stones.
“...”
Elrond relaxed and picked up his bag.
“You have a conscience. It's hard to believe after that insane thing you did earlier.”
“You mean summoning a dragon?”
He nodded.
“We all would've died if I hadn't. I had to take a gamble. Elves really are stubborn about things like this.”
As I shook my head, Elrond spoke again.
“You aren't planning to trust that dark elf, are you?”
He meant Darnen, who had saved us and left.
“Why wouldn't I trust her? We fought together, and she saved us after killing one of her own people.”
At this point, wasn't she genuinely a good person even if she was a dark elf?
“...”
Elrond fell silent at my devastatingly accurate point.
“You only say that because you don't know what that devil did!”
The elf swordsman who had lost a leg shouted.
What was the swordsman's name again? Rediras, I think?
As I thought about it, Elrond spoke.
“Earlier, I mentioned that those dark elves took something precious from our people. It was a seed of the World Tree.”
“What?”
Fuck, that was a huge disaster.
Now I understood why they were reacting so sharply.
“We won't stop pursuing them. Not in the city or in the Labyrinth. More warriors from our people will join the hunt. Please contact us if you encounter her. We will reward you.”
Elrond bowed deeply, then headed for the return portal.
He even took the bodies of the human Expedition Party member hired by the elf party and the dark elves' slave warrior.
...
“They didn't take it.”
Did they not know? Or did they think taking that too would be greedy?
I looked at the two shining gems beside Hodrick's corpse, the boss Drian had coveted.
I trudged over and picked them up.
One shone brightly, while the other was a little duller.
‘Damn, look at that color.’
These had to be at least mid-grade.
“Hans, do you know what these are?”
“What are they?”
I revealed the gems' identity to the puzzled Hans.
“Grace Stones.”
“You mean these are Grace Stones?!”
Hans started in surprise.
No wonder. Grace Stones were worth that much.
When we found Meia's Shrine in the Ruined Prison, First Floor, Daisy received Blessing and became a Priest. Dize's reward had only been for one-time use, but a map of the Ruined Prison had appeared in his head like a navigation system.
Using a Grace Stone allowed someone to permanently gain one of those special abilities.
It could grant combat techniques, exceptional senses, or physical skills. Put simply, a Grace Stone functioned like a skill book.
A few veteran Expedition Party members possessed graces, and for mid-level, high-level, or Deep Zone Expedition Party members, they were practically essential.
Some said the gods had granted them so weak humans could face the beings of the Labyrinth, who existed beyond causality.
Naturally...
“They're incredibly valuable.”
“And there are two of them...”
“Three, if you count the one Darnen took.”
“So that's why you said we could gain incredible treasures if we worked ourselves to death.”
That was right.
Clearing a Secret Dungeon guaranteed Grace Stones.
They were treasures that appeared only at extremely low odds in the regular Labyrinth.
‘Authority users like Mages and Priests can't use Grace Stones...’
‘But that doesn't matter. I can sell them or let Elena use one.’
That wasn't all.
“This isn't the end.”
“Ah, the Drake's corpse.”
The Blue Drake had died when Hodrick, transformed into an aberration, burst out of its stomach.
It was only a drake, but dragon corpses had always been valuable magical materials.
Heh heh.
With that...
‘Maybe I'll get another new spell!’
“I never thought I'd be dismantling a dragon corpse...”
Hans and I groaned as we clumsily butchered the Drake's corpse.
It was in poor condition, but its hide was so tough and sturdy that several daggers broke during the work.
“If I'd known this would happen, I would've learned how to butcher monsters.”
Dragon claws, blood, strips of torn hide, a large 6th Rank Mana Stone, and most importantly...
‘Thank goodness the heart is intact.’
Immense power radiated from the red gem-like heart in my hand.
I carefully put the Dragon Core into a glass bottle, then shook the blood from my hands.
The space in our bags was limited, so we took as much as we could.
I held a brief moment of silence for the little dragon that had punished a bad guy and given us our daily bread.
‘From today onward, the king of dinosaurs isn't a tyrannosaurus. It's a Drake.’
“Phew, now we're really finished...”
Hans, covered in blood, wiped away sweat as he spoke, but I shook my head.
“There's still something left.”
“What do you mean...”
Hans's eyes widened in surprise.
Boom!
I fired Magic Missile at the goddess statue in the center of the stone chamber, destroying it.
“What are you doing, Ian?! That's blasphemy! You'll be punished by the heavens!”
“Lady Meia, I'm sorry. But please forgive me. I brought salvation to your devout follower Hodrick and saved Daisy.”
After offering a prayer, I reached into the broken goddess statue.
Something caught in the rough stone fragments.
Could it be...? That's it!
My eyes widened as I pulled out a ring set with a blue gem.
“W-what is that now...”
“A magic ring. Hahaha!”
Unlike me, I laughed frivolously, just like Elena would.
This ring was exactly what I needed right now.
‘To think this came from a random reward!’
[Spellcaster’s Ring]
This ring increased the available uses of every spell the wearer possessed by one.
It was an essential artifact for Mages who always felt short on usable spells.
‘The only downside is that magic rings of the same type can't be worn together.’
‘But this alone is a jackpot!’
For all the hell we went through, the Secret Dungeon was truly a tree that kept on giving.
“Congratulations. The goddess's... Hmm, your blasphemy was worth it.”
“Heh. Luck always follows the path of a genius mage.”
“...”
‘I’d better take these too, just in case.’
Still chuckling with my shoulders bouncing, I took some of Hodrick's equipment and belongings, then headed for the portal.
“We'll settle the details and have the items appraised in the city.”
The bags stuffed full of loot were so heavy that Hans and I staggered under their weight.
“Understood.”
As we returned, the smile I forced onto my face gradually turned to worry.
I hoped Elena's arm had been reattached...
* * *
The portal's light faded, and dim sunlight carrying a trace of warmth shone through my silver hair, stiff with dried blood.
“Phew.”
The loud noise of countless people echoed around me.
I normally hated noise, but after just returning from the Labyrinth, even this commotion felt welcome.
It was proof that I had survived and come back again.
I spread my arms and breathed in the strange, damp air that smelled of sweat and food as though it were refreshing.
Then I groaned.
“Ugh.”
Only then did all the injuries and fatigue I had forgotten come rushing back.
“Ian, are you all right?”
“Yeah, I'm fine.”
I wanted to get treated and rest immediately, but I couldn't.
I was worried about our foolish elf.
“Let's go to the temple.”
“Understood.”
Hans, covered in dust, brushed himself off, then began brushing off my hair and the hem of my robe too.
-Aagh!
-You look like a complete mess. Well, that's how all Expedition Party members look!
People nearby recoiled, but we ignored them and headed to the temple devoted to Meia.
After asking an apprentice monk at the entrance, we went to the relief center inside the temple and found our companions.
But as I hurried toward them, my expression gradually darkened.
“...”
“Ian... Well...”
Daisy's face looked terrible as she approached.
Damn.
I had a bad feeling.
Footnotes:
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