Chapter 126: Schutz, the Country Wizard

Ur was a small city about fifty kilometers west of Kames City. Except for the brief period when he went to Kames City for university, Schutz had lived in this city without ever leaving it.

Schutz was a thirty-five-year-old male Raccoon Beastman. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a humanoid Beastman, but somehow gave off a raccoon-like impression.

He was a wizard. Despite what the word “raccoon” might suggest, he did not use transformation techniques. He was a proper wizard who had earned a master’s degree from a magic university.

However, he was not exactly passionate. No, perhaps he had been passionate in the past. After all, he had endured graduate school and earned his master’s degree. But after returning to his hometown and opening a magic office, he became much lazier.

Perhaps it was because this was a rural city with few wizards, so customers still came to him often enough even if he did not work especially hard.

Well, isn’t this fine?

Schutz sometimes suddenly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wondered whether he had become lazy, but the thought that there was no problem as long as a working adult earned his own living covered it up.

After all, he had already become the wizard he had dreamed of being as a child, and while studying, he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠keenly realized that becoming an archmage would be difficult.

No, in today’s world, there was no such thing as an archmage anyway. Magic was merely one form of technology, and its foundation had become so vast that there were limits to the fields one individual could dig into.

Of course, one could become a specialist in a single field, but perhaps he had burned away all his passion while earning his master’s degree, because he did not feel motivated even for that.

So instead of digging further into magic, he maintained his office and searched for things to enjoy.

One of the things he came to like was computer games. They had various advantages, but the biggest one was that he could enjoy them while sitting in his office until a customer arrived.

Whenever there were no customers, he ended up sitting there and playing games all day. This became worse and worse after the developer Meta Soft appeared and the Hammer Computer came out.

Eventually, he became a complete game fanatic.

When he first encountered Spirit Stone, he felt slightly disappointed.

What is this? A game for little kids?

It felt somewhat childish. But as he played, he came to understand the fun of collecting and raising spirits alongside other people. And the protagonist dreaming of becoming a Grand Spirit Master somehow felt similar to his old self, who once dreamed of becoming a wizard, so he became absorbed in it in no time.

Moreover, this Network Play was especially fun.

He liked playing games while sitting in the corner of his office, but he was still a social animal. So sometimes, he needed communication with others. This Network Play allowed him to play with other people while sitting in his office.

Because of that, he sat there all day and connected to the Spirit Realm.

For reference, his ID, Dual Class, was originally made to mean that he, already a wizard, had also become a Spirit Master in this game. Or perhaps that he would become a Grand Spirit Master.

Games were originally something where skill improved in proportion to the time invested. At first, he lost quite a lot, but his win rate gradually rose. As that happened, his name became somewhat known in the Spirit Realm community.

So Schutz enjoyed Network Play even more.

Then, when he checked the next month’s utility bills, he received an unbelievable phone bill.

Is this for real?

Even if he worked rather casually, he was still a wizard, so his income was by no means bad. He earned around four thousand Del a month, which was enough to live on, enjoy his hobbies, and even save for retirement.

But it was not enough to pay two thousand Del in phone fees.

Schutz briefly wondered whether he needed to quit the game. But to him, Spirit Stone Network Play had already become something he could not separate himself from.

After thinking hard for a long time, he remembered that he was a wizard whose work involved solving difficult problems for people with magic.

Right. I’m a wizard. How could I not solve this?

For the first time in a long while, he burned with motivation. He might be rotting away in a rural corner now, but back in university, he was a wizard who had been evaluated as quite promising. Of course, it was entirely his own choice to come here and live comfortably.

In any case, he obtained not only his dusty major textbooks but also the latest magic books, and even sought advice from classmates, seniors, and professors as he began his research.

However, once he made some progress and entered the design stage, he realized there was one problem. It seemed the cost would be higher than expected.

Shit. What do I do?

He started this because of the phone-fee bomb, so if the magic cartridge cost more than that, there was no point. He struggled for a long time to solve this, then discovered one method. After digging into that direction, he succeeded in dramatically reducing the cost.

“Yes!”

Schutz felt a truly tremendous sense of achievement. It was not simply because he had reduced his phone bill, but because for the first time in a long while, he had solved a difficult problem by fully using his abilities as a wizard, enough to make him feel that he truly was a wizard again.

After that, he enjoyed comfortable Network Play for a while using the machine he created.

This magical connector had low costs and even better communication performance, so he was even more satisfied. Then, while enjoying the game, he learned that other players were suffering from fee problems just like him.

Since he was deeply immersed in the network, he felt a strong sense of kinship with other players.

And they were suffering from the same pain as him. So he wanted to solve that for them, and he also felt that it would be better if more people used the machine he had gone to the trouble of making, instead of using it only himself. Of course, he also wondered whether he might be able to earn some money by selling it.

However, opening a separate factory or shop felt a bit burdensome.

The fellow players would certainly want it right away, but to ordinary people who were not like them, it would be an object with little meaning, so he wondered how many could possibly sell.

But the item he began selling through Spirit Stone’s network sold better than expected.

Naturally, Schutz was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠excited. Earning money was one thing, but the fact that so many people wanted something he had made felt good in itself.

Should I commercialize this outright?

Spirit Stone’s popularity was lasting longer than expected. And the number of people using Network Play was gradually increasing. It did not seem like a brief one-time business as he had first expected. It looked as though he might be able to keep making money from it.

That was when he was thinking about this.

“Who is it?”

“Yes. Hello. We’re from Meta Soft.”

One day, someone from the developer that created Spirit Stone suddenly came to visit. To his office.

Schutz flinched for a moment. He wondered if they had come to question him for selling Spirit Stone-related items without permission.

After all, this was a world with almost no common knowledge about networks, and he had no such knowledge either, so he had no idea that the machine he created was placing a tremendous burden on the servers.

“Yes... What brings you here?”

“You’re the person who made the magical connector, correct?”

Schutz considered saying no. But although he was lazy, he was not stupid. If he were stupid, there was no way he could have gone to a magic university and earned a master’s degree. Of course, there were also fools who were only good at studying.

In any case, the fact that they had come all the way here meant they already knew everything, so there was no point denying it. If they went to the place where he bought the magical materials or the workshop that made the machine’s exterior, they would find out quickly anyway. And most importantly, he had not done anything so wrong that he needed to hide it.

“Yes. What about it?”

“We would like to talk about that connector. Would that be all right?”

Schutz hesitated briefly, then nodded.

“Yes. Come in.”

Schneitzer, one of Meta Hardware’s employees, steeled himself as he followed Schutz into his office. He recalled the special order from the president and the chairman: somehow persuade this person and bring him to Meta Hardware.

First, he explained the mess caused by Schutz’s machine.

“The servers nearly crashed. Ah, by servers, I mean the equipment that enables Network Play.”

“Ah...”

The explanation that the number of connections had a limit, and that unexpected users had connected through an unexpected route, increasing the load, was not difficult to understand. Because of that, Schutz became slightly flustered. He had never imagined that the machine he created would cause such a problem.

And he became a little scared. The other party was a major corporation. If this turned into a lawsuit, there was no way he would win, and if that happened, he might have to pay an enormous amount in compensation. Someone like him, who ran a modest office in the countryside, could not possibly have that kind of money.

He’s scared.

Schneitzer immediately read Schutz’s reaction. It was a response he had deliberately induced.

He did not intend to threaten him too much, but bringing the conversation somewhat onto their pace would make things easier.

“However, the chairman highly values the fact that many players can use your device to enjoy more comfortable Network Play at a low cost.”

Still, he did not only criticize him endlessly. If he did that, he might be able to coax him easily in the short term, but Ras wanted to bring the person who made this astonishing device into the company.

It would be troublesome if he held a grudge. Unless he was a fool, he would learn the truth as time passed.

“Ah. Yes...”

Schutz felt relieved that the other party was not especially hostile.

“However, if this device continues to be used as is, it will place a heavy burden on our side.”

“Is that so?”

Schutz’s expression darkened at Schneitzer’s following words. It sounded like he was being told to stop selling the device. But he did not have the courage to resist. The other party was not aggressive, but even without being struck, he could clearly see roughly how strong they were.

Fools did not know until they were hit, but Schutz had at least that much judgment.

“However, we believe the potential of the magical connector is too valuable to waste. So we have decided to modify our servers to match it. That is why I ask, Mr. Schutz. Would you consider joining our company?”

“...What?”

Schutz was not immediately happy about this offer. It was a famous major company, and one rumored to offer excellent treatment, so many people would envy this opportunity. But he liked his current life best, running an office in the countryside while playing games.

However, if this were simply an offer, that would be one thing, but he knew there was also a question of responsibility behind it, so the words of refusal did not come out easily.

Ah, shit...

They were speaking this gently, so he felt they probably would not file a lawsuit just because he refused, but he could not be certain. Schutz glanced at the other person’s expression. However, since Schneitzer had induced all this, he merely maintained a businesslike smile so his true thoughts could not be read, and waited for an answer. No, pressured him.

“Yes... Understood.”

In the end, he followed Schneitzer to Meta Soft.

“How did you do it? That mana usage.”

After Schutz came to Meta Soft, Ras called Tata as his magical consultant to hear an explanation of the device. As soon as Tata heard that Schutz had made the magical device, he asked this question first.

Before that, he glanced several times at Ras’s expression, but as a wizard, he was far too curious about this point.

“What?”

Coming to Meta Soft itself and seeing Ras, its chairman, was an intense experience for Schutz, so he was slightly dazed. Because of that, he briefly asked back blankly.

Then, after regaining his senses a little, he instinctively realized whose opinion mattered most here and glanced at Ras.