Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Magic Book
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"Here. Sign this."
In the guild office, Ian received the documents.
They were rank certification papers stamped with an official seal.
Unlike the D-rank days, where they'd promote you as long as you had decent results, C-rank required a proper examination, complete with all sorts of procedures.
Camilla, who had handed him the papers, spoke up.
"No issues in the dungeon?"
"There was one particularly tough bug at the end."
"You only ran into one? You're lucky."
"……."
Camilla asked Ian about the dungeon's condition and jotted down a few notes in the management log.
Since it was an abandoned dungeon with no real profit potential, they had no choice but to check it through mercenaries who occasionally entered for tests like this.
Once she'd finished all the records, Camilla finally handed Ian a new mercenary badge.
"The Ian Mercenary Corps is officially a C-rank unit as of today."
For a standard promotion exam, that would have been it, but Camilla offered one more token.
"And... this grants labyrinth access too."
The labyrinth access permit.
The application he'd submitted along with his promotion request had been processed at the same time.
"Make sure to apply through the guild before entering the labyrinth."
Ian nodded and accepted the permit.
As he descended the stairs, Ian ran into a familiar face.
A one-eyed mercenary wearing an eyepatch. It was Chris.
"Heading into the labyrinth?"
"Yeah. Once we're ready."
Chris glanced at Ian as he spoke.
The fact that he'd approached right on the stairs suggested he'd known Ian was coming and waited deliberately to meet him.
Chris gave a wry smile upon spotting the token in Ian's hand.
"Figured as much. Your eyes remind me of our old captain."
"...What's wrong with my eyes?"
Chris just laughed instead of answering Ian's question.
Instead, he handed Ian something.
It was a logbook, the kind mercenaries often carried.
A worn logbook. Ian flipped it open slightly and realized it was a record of labyrinth explorations.
"You sure it's okay to give this to me?"
"It should go to someone who needs it."
Better than letting it rot in a has-been's room.
Chris left those words behind and turned away.
Then, as if remembering something else he wanted to say, he paused for a moment.
"...Not my place, but don't make choices you'll regret in there."
Chris glanced back slightly and muttered.
"Even if it's not the best choice. Just do something you won't regret."
With that, Chris walked off without another word.
A massive monster roar echoed in every direction.
The air trembled, goosebumps prickling the skin like needles.
"Our attacks aren't working at all! What do we do?"
"At this rate..."
As everyone floundered against a monster impervious to their attacks, Mika, standing at the rear, raised her staff and shouted.
"Everyone, get back!"
"Ah, Mika!"
"Please!"
Mana gathered at the tip of Mika's raised staff, a vivid energy surging visibly and overflowing.
"...Haat!"
The moment she thrust out her staff, a massive stream of flames poured toward the monster like a tidal wave.
Scorching heat surged forth, and the monster burst into flames.
Soon the fire died down, leaving only a pile of ash where the monster had stood.
"Nice one, Mika!"
"This is why we need a mage."
Basking in her party members' cheers, Mika opened her eyes in bed.
"……."
Mika, lying in bed, quickly scanned her surroundings.
No one was nearby, and even if there had been, they couldn't have glimpsed her dream...
Still, her face flushed red for no reason.
No... what kind of dream was that?
Mika covered her burning face with her hands and got out of bed.
A short while later, a composed Mika headed down to the lounge.
She looked around the lounge, but Rin was the only one there.
Has everyone else gone out?
Mika glanced around and approached the lounge.
Since the last dungeon expedition, they'd been taking an extended rest, so everyone was spending their time differently.
Looks like everyone but Rin was out today.
"Hehe..."
Rin, sprawled on the sofa, was gazing at her mercenary badge marked C-rank.
Ever since passing the exam together and rising to C-rank, she'd been admiring her badge whenever she had a moment.
Spotting Mika coming down to the lounge, Rin jerked her head up.
"Oh? What's up, D-rank mercenary?"
"...I'll be up there soon. Unlike some people who barely scraped by."
"What's that? I can't hear D-ranks very well."
The corps had reached C-rank, but Mika and Tanya, who joined late, still lacked a bit of record and remained D-rank.
Ian said it wouldn't be long for them, but until then...
After watching Rin do this for days, Mika wasn't even annoyed anymore.
She ignored Rin's jab and sat on the sofa.
But she still let out a sigh.
Waking up to Rin as the first sight of the day.
And of all days, after that weird dream...
As Mika grumbled inwardly, she recalled the recent dungeon battle.
Everyone had been busy moving during the fight, but she'd just waited at the back.
Of course, that was a mage's role.
Mages couldn't charge ahead and run around.
But the more she thought about it, the farther it felt from the mage she'd imagined.
Pondering the reason, Mika concluded it was because all she could do was barrier magic.
The mage Mika had envisioned was, well... you know.
More flashy, more powerful...
Playing the central role in battle.
To do that, she needed new magic.
Mika shot up from the sofa.
Rin, seeing her suddenly stand as if heading out, asked.
"Huh? Where you going?"
"To the market."
"Market? Then I'll come too."
As Rin started to get up, Mika added.
"Looking for a magic book."
"...Oh. Never mind, then."
Rin, who had perked up at the word "market" thinking it'd be fun, grimaced at "magic book" and flopped back onto the sofa.
Mika's "magic book hunt" meant endlessly scouring the market, flipping through every promising-looking tome.
Searching for hidden gems in antique shops or used bookstores—magic books whose value no one else had recognized yet.
Of course, she'd never found a real one so far.
"Today I'll actually find one!"
"Have fun..."
Mika donned her robe, nodded firmly at Rin, and dashed out.
Mika wandered the market for quite a while.
"...Not this one either."
The book with the ornate cover that had caught her eye moments ago turned out to be just a diary.
She'd wondered if maybe a mage had hidden research notes in code, so she'd read it closely, but nope—nothing special.
The merchant's expression soured as Mika stood there poring over the book.
In the end, this was her third bust of the day as she trudged down the street.
She'd spotted a few worn books that looked promising, but as always, duds.
Maybe I should just buy a real magic book?
The thought crossed her mind occasionally.
She was earning decent money now compared to before, enough to afford a basic elemental attack spell from a magic shop.
But learning that now? It wouldn't even match one of Ria's sword swings.
Total waste of money and mana.
...Plus, solving it with cash felt like admitting defeat somehow.
Of course, it was a luxury problem compared to the old days.
Thanks to Ian gifting her a precious magic book for free, Mika had gone from an empty-headed fake mage who knew no spells to a genuine one no one could deny.
Still, something felt missing.
She was truly grateful for the barrier magic from the captain, but...
The mage of her dreams wielded lightning storms or massive explosions.
Stuff like that.
But no way something that expensive would turn up in a street market like this.
Mika sighed quietly and shuffled back toward base.
Then, her steps halted for a moment.
A quiet alley off the main market street.
Vendors had set up makeshift stalls, laying out their wares.
Not licensed merchants—just peddlers hawking goods in random spots, fleeing when inspectors came.
Most of their stuff was low-quality or shady.
Mika knew that, so she'd planned to pass without a glance.
"...?!"
As she walked by, her eyes caught a suspicious figure.
Yeah... suspicious.
A person cloaked in a robe that hid their face.
Memories flashed through Mika's mind like lightning.
The barrier magic the captain bought her? It was from someone like this.
As Mika stopped in front of him, the robed suspicious peddler glanced up.
Sensing interest in his wares, the merchant quickly spoke.
"Hehe, miss. See anything you like?"
"Th-that..."
Mika's eyes were fixed on a worn book laid out on the stall.
The merchant noticed and carefully lifted it.
"Ah, this one. Good stuff. But a bit pricey... hehe."
Mika couldn't tear her gaze from the old book, swallowing hard.