WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈
Chapter 59: Magic Dice, Sweet Potatoes, and a Debtor (This Is Where the Free Episodes End)
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‘From now on, I’m never dealing with bald people again!’
After my encounter with that sinister bald man, I returned to the inn.
I left my equipment with an errand runner to be cleaned, drew some hot water, and took a bath.
“Uuuaaaah...”
This was it. This was the life.
It felt like all the exhaustion from the Labyrinth was melting away.
After changing into the clean clothes in my room, I went down to the first floor and found Elena...
“Daisy!”
“Ian!”
Daisy was there.
A lot had changed about her while we’d been inside the Labyrinth. For one, she was dressed in pure white priestly robes symbolizing Meia, the Goddess of Abundance, and she seemed much calmer now.
Maybe it was because she’d cultivated herself.
Her gentle smile and wave put me in a good mood too.
“Elena told me. I heard you had a really hard time again?”
“Yeah. It was no joke.”
As I approached, Daisy puffed out her chest and pulled me into a tight hug.
“I’m glad you both came back safely. I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you.”
Waaah, mommy.
As I buried my face in her warm embrace, Elena suddenly got angry and smacked me on the head.
“Stop acting like a baby, dumbass!”
“Argh! Are you insane, you damned elf?!”
“Pfft. Ahahahaha!”
After that little commotion, the three of us ate together and caught up on everything we’d missed.
“So, is your training completely over now?”
“No, I’ve only finished the basics. Still, I think I’ll have more free time than before.”
That was more good news.
Daisy had spent the last week training and raised the level of her divine spells.
She could now use Heal and Shining Light three times each, and both spells had become stronger.
On top of that, she’d learned new divine spells called Purification and Blessing.
‘Purification is one of the essential healing spells for removing status effects like poison and curses.’
‘And Blessing, along with Haste, is one of the best buffs for melee fighters!’
Even if Priests found it easier to gain new powers early on, this was still incredibly fast progress.
Daisy had the talent of someone blessed by the gods.
‘I knew I had a good eye for people!’
“Congratulations, Daisy! You’re a real Priest now, aren’t you?”
“It’s nothing. Hehe. I still have a long way to go.”
The two of them were fellow orphans, and I trusted them, so I told them what had happened at the guild.
“What? That bald guy? I thought he was decent, but he was complete trash?”
“That’s awful...”
“Anyway, don’t go spreading this around. Dark elves can be dangerous, and it’s best not to get tangled up in complicated matters in the first place. Got it?”
“Okay.”
“Yeah.”
Yaaawn.
After bathing and eating, I was fucking sleepy.
Once I finished talking with the girls, I went back to my room and lay down on the bed.
“Phew.”
My stomach was full, and my body felt comfortable.
Along with the relief of having survived again, I remembered the exhilarating moments from the expedition.
The mysteries had been amazing, and the battles had been intense too.
The new spells I’d used this time.
Especially the Chain Lightning I used at the end...
‘It was fucking awesome.’
Hehehe.
Creeeak. Creak.
With a satisfied smile, I drifted off to sleep, ignoring the screams of the worn-out bed and the dampness of its rotten straw.
Damn, should I move to a better inn too?
* * *
“You’re late again. You always fuss over being clean like some girl.”
After resting to my heart’s content, I headed to the tavern, where the four companions from the expedition were already seated.
They’d all shed their filthy appearances and looked fresh and clean.
After placing my order, I stole the beer Elena had been drinking.
“Fuck! Hey!”
Gulp. Gulp. Ahh.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
Honestly, it was more fun watching that pointy-eared bitch lose her mind than drinking the beer.
“All right, shall we settle the loot?”
“Mm!”
Today’s gathering was for dividing up the spoils from our last expedition.
The money from exchanging the Mana Stones.
After deducting the party fund and adding the quest reward and other minor loot...
“We have nine gold coins and fourteen silver coins.”
“That’s it?”
“What is it, Elena? You checked it with us.”
“I know, but...”
Was it too fucking little?
It couldn’t be helped. We’d only explored one area before getting out.
As for the Alligator’s loot, all we got was one large Mana Stone.
We almost failed to get even that because its corpse sank so quickly.
‘There were no Marauders, and we didn’t find any worthwhile equipment either.’
We’d also found the bodies of Expedition Party members who’d died on the way back, but every single one had been stripped naked.
‘Those vicious Dark Kkanp bastards.’
I shuddered.
Well, if every trip into the Labyrinth made you rich, there wouldn’t be Expedition Party members going bankrupt.
But now that we had this, none of that mattered.
I grinned and placed Oldimara’s Dice, which I’d kept safely in my bag, on the table.
“This is the real valuable item.”
“Mm!”
Everyone’s expressions changed as they saw what we’d received for solving the Treasure Guardians’ riddle.
“So this is the item...”
“A reality-warping set of dice from the God of Chaos.”
We’d had it appraised, so everyone knew how valuable it was.
Alejandro stared intently at the dice before asking me a question.
“First, Ian. There’s something I’d like to ask. Did you know what this magical item could do?”
He was talking about how I’d used the dice to stop the wave.
Was it because he was a mage?
He caught on quickly.
“Yes. I’d read about it in an old book.”
For the record, everyone agreed that it couldn’t be helped that I’d used one of the dice’s three chances.
“I see.”
After Alejandro nodded, I asked anyone who wanted to bid for them to raise their hand.
This time, everyone did.
“I’ve always wanted longer legs. It’s the one flaw of a handsome man like me.”
“I want talent.”
“I want to do research.”
“I want to become a super-beautiful elf Paladin.”
Limited wishes.
They didn’t understand the scope of their reality-warping power as well as I did, so those were the kinds of wishes they came up with.
The Appraisal Office had only given a vague explanation too.
If I explained it now, they’d probably think I was scheming to take the dice for myself.
‘None of them look willing to back down.’
Phew. I guess there was no helping it.
In times like this, we did things the traditional Expedition Party way.
“Let’s settle it with dice. Whoever rolls the highest gets them.”
I held up another twelve-sided die.
We’d agreed to add bonuses to each person’s result based on how much they contributed during the expedition.
I got +3 for my incredible, super-genius performance in killing the boss with one strike.
The other four had no bonuses.
“Ian, you didn’t rig the die, did you?”
After kissing my ass the whole time, Gimlius narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Do you think I’m you, you alcoholic dwarf bastard?”
“Ahem. Then I’ll trust it and roll.”
Gimlius awkwardly threw the die.
Rattle, rattle.
It landed on a seven.
“Tsk.”
Gimlius clicked his tongue at the middling roll.
Hans rolled a six next.
Alejandro got a nine.
“Hmm...”
Hans frowned, while Alejandro smiled in satisfaction at the high roll.
“...”
Now it was my turn.
I clenched the die tightly, my expression tense.
Since I had a +3 bonus, I’d win if I rolled at least a seven.
No, even if I rolled a six, I could have a rematch with Alejandro, who currently had the highest result.
Thump. Thump.
Fuck, I hadn’t been this nervous even when I put a +12 weapon on the line...
No, I could do this.
Wasn’t I a super-genius mage?
“Here I gooooo! O Coin of Fate!”
The die flew into the air, spun around, then fell.
...
“Oh my God...”
The air around us changed.
Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.
Did I succeed?
My hopeful gaze faltered as it caught sight of the number on the die.
[1]
The die had landed on a one.
Even with three bonus points, that made four.
“What the...”
“Pfft.”
Elena sprayed the beer she’d been drinking.
“Bwahahahahaha! I believe you now! Ian, this truly is an honest die!”
Gimlius snickered.
Hans had his head lowered, his shoulders shaking.
“Now then, Elena. It’s your turn.”
With a victorious smile, Alejandro spoke to Elena, who was last in line.
“...Hmph.”
Still snickering, Elena rested her chin on her hand and carelessly tossed the die.
The number that appeared was...
“Twelve?!”
“What...”
“Hehe.”
The Oldimara’s Dice I’d struggled so hard to obtain ended up going to Elena.
“Why can’t you do something this easy? I don’t get it~”
With her ears perked up, Elena gave me an irritating smile and poked me repeatedly.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
I flipped the table.
* * *
My stomach churned, and the sky swayed.
Why... I was a super-genius, so why... why did things end like thiiis?!
‘Why doesn’t that damn Coin of Fate show up at times like this?!’
I drank a little because losing the dice left a bitter taste in my mouth.
On the way back to the inn, Elena looked at me staggering along as though I were pathetic.
“Hey, can’t you walk properly? You’re going to get hurt.”
“...”
“A grown man sulking over something like this, seriously.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ha, why would I sulk?
It was only a magical item. I could get another one.
Why would I sulk? What did this idiot elf know?
“Really? You look pretty sulky to me.”
Elena poked my cheek.
I looked at my childhood friend, that awful elf who only seemed to pick the most irritating things to do today.
“Stop messing around. I’m not in the mood.”
“Ugh, you really can’t do anything except magic.”
Elena suddenly let out a deep sigh and held something out to me.
“Here.”
“Huh?”
They were Oldimara’s Dice, which I wanted so badly.
“Thinking about it, I don’t think they’ll be very useful to me.”
Elena continued with a blank expression.
“If I give you these, my debt is almost paid off now, right?”
“Elena...”
I looked at Elena, deeply moved.
“You brat, are you touched?”
Elena smirked and threw an arm around my shoulders.
The dark streets of the Labyrinth, snowflakes falling now and then from the sky, warm light spilling from the buildings around us.
“Hehe.”
Elena’s usual mischievous smile looked a little different today.
What was this? Was I drunk?
“Ahem.”
I shook my head and cleared my throat.
Then I thanked Elena for her kindness.
“Elena. Tha... th... thweee...”
“Th-what?”
“You sweet potato bitch! When are you paying back the rest of your debt?”
...
Silence fell.
A vein popped on Elena’s forehead as she stopped smiling.
“You little! I went out of my way to think of you!”
“Urk!”
Even as Elena strangled me, I smiled and looked at the magical dice.
Hehe.
* * *
I had acquired the mysterious dice, but there was a problem.
I had to pay the other party members their value.
‘The Labyrinth loot distribution is 25% for me, 20% for Alejandro, 22% for Elena, 15% for Hans, and 18% for Gimlius.’
The Appraisal Office had valued Oldimara’s Dice at one hundred and sixty gold coins, even after one of their uses had been spent.
That meant I had to pay the other four party members their shares of the dice’s value.
‘Thirty-two for Alejandro, twenty-nine for Gimlius, and twenty-four for Hans. Eighty-five in total.’
Elena owed me money, so I didn’t need to pay her.
Even so, I still owed eighty-five gold coins.
‘They say you never know what’ll happen in life!’
In other words, this once-rich body had become a debtor in an instant.
The conclusion was simple.
Money. I needed money.
I needed some rich sucker to fund me.
‘The fastest way to make a lot of money...’
My gaze naturally turned toward the Magic Tower.
Under the pretext of field training, the Magic Tower received special requests for mages.
Some came from city hall, some from the guild, and even frontier lords in Castle beyond the city sent letters.
Full-fledged mages were highly skilled professionals, so the pay was extraordinary.
Of course, the jobs were often dangerous or difficult too.
I went to the Magic Tower and examined the request forms posted on the board.
Soon, one request caught my eye.
[Request for Aid Regarding a Sudden Anomaly]
[Client: Lord Amodei of Shirinwind Territory]
[Advance Payment: Sixty Gold Coins]
Fuck, sixty gold coins?
And that was only the advance payment? It was an enormous sum.
A mage examining the request forms nearby seemed just as interested as I was.
“They’re recruiting people to head out into the snowfield.”
The snowfield...
It was the land of death that Elena, Daisy, Dize, and I had crossed to reach the Labyrinth.
-Whoooooosh!
The snowstorm had cut through our bones like blades.
The hunger, selfishness, and fear that bloomed within it still haunted my dreams sometimes.
‘I was already planning to go back...’
My eyes darkened as I recalled the sight from that day.
Like the Labyrinth, the cursed wintry land outside was a world filled with hidden secrets.
Back then, I was a low-level mage who could only flee helplessly.
Things were different now.
‘This is a good opportunity.’
I clenched my fist.
To escape being a debtor...
No, if it meant growing stronger, I could do anything.
Footnotes:
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