Mages in the Shadows of the City
"We'll be docking in this city for three days. We depart as the sun sets on the third day, so keep that in mind."
After finishing the announcement, Suhyun let out a deep sigh and leaned back in the captain's chair, exhaling languidly. Since Nautilus moved underground, there were no obstacles or terrain forcing detours. It felt like driving straight down an endless, empty road.
"Good work, sir."
Snapping out of his fatigued daze, Suhyun saw Lucy approaching with cookies she'd baked and some tea.
"Ah, thanks."
The warm sweetness replenished the energy drained from his brain, making him feel alive again.
According to Daiyen's report, this city had no notable features. They planned to sell a moderate amount of wool and woolen goods here, buy food and daily necessities, and if possible, recruit people to join Nautilus. Recalling that as he sat in the captain's chair, Suhyun pondered whether to head out. He didn't really want to, but the thought of restocking catalysts for magic crossed his mind.
Remembering how he'd used up most of the magic catalysts stored during Nautilus's creation—leaving his inventory empty—Suhyun dragged his reluctant body into motion.
"Wanna come with?"
Thinking of catalysts brought fellow mage Lucy to mind.
"Pardon?"
"Gonna buy materials for magic. You must need some too, right?"
"Ah! Yes, let's go together!"
Lucy headed to her room to prepare for going out, while Suhyun grabbed a vaguely mage-like outfit from his. Most practical-minded mages ended up in similar attire. They wore tunics and pants made of special fabrics that didn't hinder spellcasting—usually cloth infused with their attribute or magically purified. Shoes weren't ordinary leather or thick cloth; they used hides from special monsters or beasts to better channel mana from the ground through the feet. Poor mages even went barefoot. A belt held pouches for catalysts; some carried leather cases for grimoires, small wands, or canes. Vests over that had pockets for catalysts or mediums, topped with high-magic-resistance robes lined with even more pouches. No wonder old mages hunched over with massive staves—they were weighed down.
Suhyun stored most catalysts in his inventory, but without the look, people wouldn't recognize him as a mage, so he carried pouches with low-grade ones for show.
Emerging in his "mage" garb, Suhyun was startled to see Lucy in a robe of red chainfern—something a common villager might wear for an outing.
"Hehe, I used up almost all my catalysts maintaining spells during the flood."
She had just a small leather pouch on her belt and a flame-roasted red pine staff tucked directly into it—no case. Suhyun struggled for words.
"Uh, looks neat?"
Mages were called "the prepared" for a reason; preparation proved their prowess. Even simple spells varied wildly in power depending on mediums and catalysts consumed, so mages always carried precious ones. Those who didn't were seen as too poor or lazy.
Red chainfern, common in sunny, fire-mana-rich spots, offered good magic resistance but was too coarse and weak for a robe. Red pine took fire mana well but wasn't elite enough for a medium—just consumable. Her leather pouch was a basic ritual item, nothing special.
"I should've paid more attention to you..."
"No, no!"
Suhyun sighed, pulling from his inventory a necklace and bracelet of crimson gold, a robe of fire-rat hide and salamander scales, and a cane with a ruby core harvested from volcanic lava.
"Put these on."
"Th-these priceless things!"
Lucy's eyes widened at the items. Crimson gold mimicked perfect alchemical gold with fire mana, subtly restoring fire mana when worn. Fire-rat hide had excellent fire affinity and repelled other attributes, ideal for fire robes. Salamander scales hardened under heat, perfect fire-mage armor. The lava-soaked ruby was flawless as a fire-magic medium.
"Not giving 'em away—selling cheap. I have better ones already."
"But you could sell these to other fire mages for a fortune."
Chromore wasn't poor, but harsh for fire-magic research; Lucy had lived a magically impoverished life and hesitated.
"Lutisat entrusted you to me. If you go around like that, what does that make me?"
Mentioning Lutisat made Lucy's eyes glisten; she accepted the gifts.
"I'll repay you for sure."
"Grow strong slowly—that benefits me too."
Adorned in Suhyun's gifts, Lucy marveled again at the surging fire mana.
"All fires start from a tiny spark, so the embers in the hearth's ash reignite."
Chanting with the ruby cane, a spark ignited—several times hotter and larger, dozens of times faster. Moved, Lucy felt like she'd driven a tractor her whole life and suddenly hopped into a sports car. Buoyed, she stepped out of Nautilus with Suhyun.
Suhyun's mage tower life had been hell from day one.
Imperial law allowed free entry to towers if you met their standards. Sage's Cauldron entrants were one of two types: rich heirs paying for easy mage credentials to keep noble titles, or dirt-poor folks chasing artifact-maker money.
Professors favored the rich, but Suhyun stood out among all. His skill was unmatched, and so was his resistance to their abuse.
Entry was free, but professors hoarded knowledge from the poor, exploiting them as slaves instead of pay. Overworked, they scraped single spell lines or cheap mediums through grueling labor.
Suhyun was different. Professors' teachings? He devoured the disorganized, illegible library papers, surpassing them in knowledge and skill. Instead of begging scraps, he hunted his own catalysts—ogre hearts from ogres, fire-mana rubies from lava rivers in magic realms. This irked the professors, making him an outcast.
Poor students feared losing scraps; rich ones hated his superior grades. Suhyun had no friends among juniors, peers, or seniors. Graduating isolated, his first subordinate—Lucy—sent him into overdrive.
Poor grad student or not, Suhyun was the top-earning artifact maker. He lacked funds for pure reagents in complex tests, but everyday catalysts? Plenty. He'd mastered fire-mage ones through variety.
"Know torch fern? No? I'll teach you."
Wandering shops, Suhyun bought every catalyst suiting Lucy. Nautilus's profits—from scraping a territory's gold—meant no shortage; his 10% cut filled a heavy purse. He stuffed gold into her sleeves like a wuxia gold-shower trope.
High mages could suffocate lowers with ambient mana; Suhyun used "gold-na-su" to leave her breathless with gifts.
"I-I don't know how to use this!"
As he slipped warm red-hot stone pouches into her sleeve, Lucy resisted, but Suhyun gently pried her hand open and placed them.
"Then practice. You'll need more."
Dazed as her hand betrayed her, he bought two more pouches and added them. As her robe sagged with full pouches, Suhyun sensed ominous mana nearby.
A shadow-mana-clad figure hid in crowd shadows, approaching stealthily. Pretending to haggle, Suhyun focused.
Mages didn't keep mana senses razor-sharp daily, but Suhyun did. His stats handled the stamina drain and stress; high mana stat gave affinity and detection without effort. Mercenary and post-enrollment hunts in monsters and wilds honed constant awareness.
His mana sense was more familiar than sight, piercing the stealthy shadow mana cloaking the approaching mage.
A halfling?
Sensing small stature, light weight—footsteps silent, agile, sneaky—Suhyun casually exposed a gap.
The shadow mage swiftly plucked his coin pouch. While gesturing in "haggle," exposing robe slit, a dagger sliced the belt strap in a flash, snatching it flawlessly. Even Suhyun admired the skill.
Whoa!
Tracking her mana fully via aura-sense, fascinated, Suhyun smiled as no one noticed the expert theft.