Surviving in a Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage - Chapter 83

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 83: The Guild Always Strives for the Safety and Rights of Expedition Party Members

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The problem was, this was all I knew about them too.

They'd been added in a later Dungeon of Death patch, so there wasn't much information on them even when I played.

'The Secret Society.'

'They're as dangerous as dark elves!'

"Then we can't catch them?"

"Not for now. They appear and vanish without a trace."

Even though three comrades had been lost, the culprit remained uncaught.

Iromis's expression was as grim as ours.

"Fuck. That bastard might come after us too."

Elena whispered to me.

Iromis heard her and spoke reassuringly.

"Don't worry too much. For some reason, they don't seem to operate outside the Labyrinth. Besides, the Golden Lion Clan, other clans, the Expedition Party Guild, and the Magic Tower are all pursuing them after this incident. They won't be able to act carelessly."

I hoped so.

"Let's leave the depressing talk there. Ian, Elena, Daisy. I have something to say to you."

Then Iromis made us an offer.

"Would you three like to join our clan?"

It was a recruitment offer.

"This incident must have made you realize it. No matter how skilled an individual may be, before the malice of the Labyrinth, or some transcendent being or group, they can only be swept away like fallen leaves."

"..."

"That's why people have formed groups since ancient times. If the group is larger and stronger, all the better. What do you think?"

It was an incredible opportunity.

The Golden Lion Clan was a thriving major clan. Only expedition members from the fourth or fifth floor onward, those who had already proven their abilities, could join.

'I would receive considerable benefits.'

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll pass."

Still, I refused.

The greater the benefits, the greater the responsibilities.

'Especially as a lower-ranking member.'

The biggest issue was that until I rose high enough in rank, I wouldn't be able to form a party however I wanted.

"I respect your decision."

Iromis nodded regretfully, then rose from his seat.

"Oh, visit the Expedition Party Guild. You'll be questioned about the incident, but you'll also receive suitable compensation. You are the heroes who exiled a Floor Master, after all."

Oh! Then I had to go right away!

As I jumped to my feet, Iromis pointed at the robe I was wearing and offered some advice.

"If I were you, I'd cover my face before going out."

"Huh?"

"Junior Ian, you're extremely famous now."

Hehehe.

Iromis left with a meaningful smile.

...

"Heh."

"Um, Ian. Aren't you going to cover your face?"

"Why would I? This handsome face?"

"...That's true, but..."

"Ugh... What an asshole..."

Chuckling, I ran a hand over my smooth face and headed outside.

* * *

The southern streets were packed with people every day.

Labyrinth, where merchants from countless trading companies and craft guilds shouted their wares, was as lively as ever today.

"Come on, cheap goods! Everything's cheap!"

"Fish brought in from Sireenwind Castle today! Only ten copper coins each!"

Yet if one listened closely, unusual stories mixed into the ordinary clamor.

"Did you hear what happened on the third floor? They say a terrifying monster appeared..."

"Of course I did. I heard even veteran third-floor expedition members died in droves because of it."

"Apparently, it wasn't that bad. A few exceptional people stepped forward and sealed the monster away."

"Did a major clan like the Golden Lion Clan or the Vanguard of Dawn step in?"

"No. I heard it was a mage from the Magic Tower... What was the name again... Three-Eye... or something?"

"Three-Eye? Three eyes? Who in the world has a name like that?"

"Ah, I remember! Two-Eye! The name was Two-Eye!"

"Two-Eye? That's even stranger."

"Well, the name may be odd, but Frostwind Iromis himself acknowledged him. They say he's a mage with incredible talent."

"My friend was an expedition member who survived that place. He said terrifying Lightning fell from the sky! It must've been a spell cast by that mage named Ian!"

"...That's what they're saying."

Elena pricked up her long ears as she listened to the rumors about me, then told me.

"Heh."

Elena looked at me as if I were pathetic, as though asking if all this was really necessary.

It did nothing to hurt me.

Kahahahahaha!!!

My self-esteem swelling, I laughed as I walked down the street.

Until now, the Magic Tower emblem embroidered on my robe had proven who I was, but after defeating the Floor Master, people recognized me for who I was.

"Why? Why am I not in there?! Why isn't the name Elena, the super beautiful Paladin, mentioned?!"

Elena puffed out her cheeks and complained cutely.

"Um, Elena. I understand you're disappointed, but there's one mistake. You're not a Paladin..."

Daisy pointed out the error, but that self-absorbed elf didn't even listen.

"Tch! Warriors have it so unfair! We do all the dirty work up front, yet nobody recognizes us!"

That wasn't true either.

Depending on how they developed, frontliners stood out more and more as they reached the middle and upper floors.

'Mages can't do anything alone, but warriors can!'

If raised well, they could become an all-round class.

Still, instead of comforting Elena, I smirked and said,

"If you're jealous, you should've become a mage, you stupid talentless elf."

Elena trembled with anger.

"You little!"

"Ghk!"

Elena grabbed my throat.

"Um, guys! Don't fight! We're here!"

Daisy stopped us while quietly punching Elena several times.

"Ouch! Daisy, you hit pretty hard."

Before us stood the southern branch of the Expedition Party Guild.

"That's him..."

"He's incredibly young, just like the rumors said. No, he's practically a newborn."

Once we entered the guild, more people recognized me.

Not long after we started walking, someone stepped in front of us and greeted us.

"Welcome, Ian. I've been waiting for you."

It was bald Max, the deputy head of the southern branch.

That shady spy who was working with dark elves.

"It's been a while."

"Come to the third floor. The branch head is waiting for you regarding this incident."

Before, it had been an office on the second floor, but this time it was the third.

And a branch head was a high-ranking official who managed this entire large branch.

"Th-The branch head?!"

"That's an incredibly important person!"

I'd risen in status again in no time.

'Right, with something this serious, the branch head should greet me. Naturally.'

Unlike the two of them, who were making a fuss, I calmly followed Max to the branch head's office.

"Branch Head, I've brought Ian, a mage of the Magic Tower."

Inside the neat office, decorated with ornamental swords and rugs, a strongly built man with neatly styled hair greeted us alongside an aide.

"Welcome."

Max looked like a retired soldier who had survived every hardship imaginable. This man looked like a typical elite on the fast track to success.

"I'm Morius, head of the southern branch of the Expedition Party Guild."

Yet his distinctive eyes, as though they saw through people, made it clear he hadn't earned that position through luck.

"I'm Ian."

"Elena."

"I'm Daisy. Though lacking, I believe in and follow the teachings of Meia."

Once we sat down, the aide poured tea for us.

Max stood beside the branch head with his hands clasped behind his back.

There was no hostility, but I still felt a strange pressure.

Under those circumstances, the first thing Branch Head Morius said to us was...

"First, I would like to thank all of you for this incident. Thanks to you, many expedition members who might have been sacrificed in vain were saved."

Then he had his aide present us with a heavy pouch.

"This is a reward from the guild."

"H-How much is this?!"

Elena's ears shot up, then fluttered excitedly as she stared at it.

Countless flashes of gold gleamed from the pouch, which was larger than expected.

"Compared to your efforts, it may be modest, but it contains five hundred gold coins."

"F-Five hundred gold coins?!"

"Eek?!"

It was, without question, the most money we'd ever earned.

"I've heard from your party members Hans and Gimlius, as well as Kadega, Ulric, and the others. They all said that Mage Ian's contribution in facing the Star Watcher was unmatched. You summoned an Ogre through a dimensional gate, and even cast a Lightning spell with power that should have been impossible at your level... To be honest, it's difficult to believe."

The branch head's gaze seemed to bore into me.

I brushed it off and happily looked at the heavy money pouch.

'He gave us more than I expected!'

Knowing the guild, I expected them to give us a small amount and ask us to keep quiet.

But that wasn't the case.

It was probably because...

'The rumors have grown too large.'

As far as I could tell, it had been several decades since a Floor Master had been summoned on the third floor.

The guild had to show good faith to those involved, if only to calm public opinion. Otherwise, expedition members might refuse to enter the Labyrinth or lose trust in the guild.

'The fact that the Golden Lion Clan was involved in this incident probably helped too.'

'They're a major clan that even the guild can't hush up.'

'And I'm a mage affiliated with the Magic Tower.'

In short, the circumstances had aligned, and we received a larger reward than expected.

Heh.

This was why you needed both strength and connections.

As I smiled, the branch head spoke.

"Mage Ian, how were you able to defeat the Star Watcher? I understand that a creature with magic immunity is the natural enemy of mages like you."

The branch head seemed genuinely curious, but I had only one thing to say.

"Because I'm a genius."

"..."

Silence filled the room.

Coins spun above the heads of the people around me.

[Heads/Tails]

'Heads, heads, heads.'

Success, success, success.

This crazy coin bastard always worked perfectly at moments like this.

The thoughts of the people making stunned expressions entered my head.

[That crazy bastard. He acted like that in front of me too, and now he's doing it before the branch head.]

[He'd run his mouth like that even in front of dark elves.]

[Ian, you're so cool...]

[He's my childhood friend, but he's really fucking irritating.]

Well, there was no need to know the trivial thoughts of ordinary people.

I looked at the branch head.

His cold face twitched as he furrowed his brow.

"...Mage Ian. Do you think I'm joking right now?"

What was he talking about?

I was one hundred percent serious.

Crossing my arms, I looked at the branch head.

"I'm the one who's offended. I stated a fact as a fact, so what more reason do I need?"

It hadn't even been four months since I entered the Labyrinth. I'd become a third-floor expedition member and even exiled a Floor Master.

That couldn't be achieved through simple luck.

If that didn't make me a genius, what did?

...

Perhaps because he thought I was right, the branch head readily apologized.

Now that I saw it, he was a man who bowed his head easily.

"I wasn't trying to underestimate Mage Ian's abilities. It seems my question came out somewhat poorly. Could you explain in detail the method you used to exile the Floor Master? It is information the guild needs if we are to prevent an incident like this in the future."

He must've already heard about it through the other party members.

Still, he seemed to want a more detailed explanation directly from me.

'So that's what five hundred gold coins are for.'

'If they collect the data, they can deal with a similar situation more easily should it happen again.'

"You should've said that from the beginning~"

Using Oldimara's Dice for a dimensional-gate gacha was impossible without the Coin.

And calling down Lightning using cumulonimbus clouds wasn't something anyone but a Double Master or a Triple Master like me could casually attempt. Guiding its path was difficult too.

I revealed my method.

From the dimensional-gate gacha using Oldimara's Dice to manipulating the atmosphere and drawing in Lightning, the branch head's expression grew ambiguous as he listened.

"Um... I see. Certainly, it sounds like a method that no one but Mage Ian could even attempt... I see..."

The branch head nodded and expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you. This has been a great help."

Really? It didn't seem like it.

Well, the method for using Oldimara's Dice could be useful.

Of course, it was an item that had disappeared now that all its uses were gone.

"We will record the achievements of all three of you. Elena and Daisy should already have been promoted to rank-seven expedition members. Ian, the mage of Thunderfall, should already have been promoted to a rank-six expedition member."

"Huh! I'm finally a veteran?"

"Wow!"

After earning a fucking fortune and getting promoted as well, Daisy and Elena rejoiced.

I noticed an unusual word in the branch head's statement and asked,

"Thunderfall?"

"Yes, Thunderfall. Some of the expedition members who survived the third floor gave you that epithet after seeing the Lightning you brought down that day. Isn't it quite cool?"

"...Heh."

"Mage Ian?"

Thunderfall?

I was still only a third-floor expedition member, yet I already had an epithet?

Kahahahahahahaha!!!

My self-esteem swelled, and I laughed loudly.

"..."

"Veteraaaaan! Super beautiful expedition member! Elenaaaaaa!"

Kankankankankankankan!!!

The branch head's office echoed for a while with my magnificent laughter and Elena's frivolous, vulgar laughter.

Ihihihihihi. Hehehehehe.

"I-I'm sorry... Sorry..."

Only Daisy tried to stop Elena and me while apologizing to the branch head and his people.

"You may go."

"Yes."

Originally, the existence of Floor Masters had been a secret known only to some expedition members.

After this incident, the guild publicly announced their existence.

In cooperation with the City Administration, it enacted related laws and declared that anyone who summoned one carelessly would face punishment equivalent to execution.

"Waaaaaah!"

Not long afterward, an execution was held in the city square.

Their crime was causing chaos in the Labyrinth and the city by summoning a Floor Master.

"I-I'm innocent! It wasn't me!!!"

A few people, including a human woman, a halfling, and an old beastman, struggled as they were bound to the guillotine.

"Gag the criminals!"

"Mmmph!"

Ordinary people passing through the streets, from a child happily going to buy bread while holding their mother's hand to a middle-aged couple smiling kindly, all twisted their faces into those of evil spirits and threw stones at the criminals.

"Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"

"Tear off their limbs! Feed them to pigs!"

Fanaticism.

Blinded by rage, the criminals were soon drenched in blood and drooling before their heads were cut off at the guillotine.

"Waaaaaah!"

"Justice has been served!"

The cheering people caught the blood flowing from the dead prisoners, dipped bread in it and ate it, or mixed it with water and drank it.

"Oh! Holy Five Kings! Protect us from this cursed winter!"

It was because of a superstition that smearing oneself with, or consuming, the blood of someone freshly executed was good for one's health.

'What a bunch of primitive medieval barbarians!'

Watching this, I shuddered and shook my head.

"It's good for your health? Should we eat some too?"