Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: A Lavish Apology
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thud, thud, thud...
After a long time with all four of us together, we were climbing the floor with difficulty amid an awkward atmosphere.
To be precise, only three of us were struggling.
"Um... sorry, dwarf sir. I really didn't mean to do that on purpose."
"Enough. I said it's fine."
Contrary to his words that it was okay, Barundel's expression remained stiff and rigid.
He was furious—extremely furious.
"But Yoo Han, why didn't you tell me? That hunting was solo only."
Yes, he was furious—extremely furious.
"Ah, haha... Sorry."
Barundel suddenly turned to me with his question, so I bowed my head in apology.
Honestly, I had no idea how to resolve this.
If it had been anyone else instead of Barundel, they would've been 100% dead.
'What should I do? Maybe praise him...?'
With that thought, I tried my best to hype up Barundel.
"Still, you're truly amazing. Taking down hundreds alone and coming out unscathed... Is that the result of your dwarven training regimen?"
"You think I look unscathed right now?"
"..."
The result was a complete failure.
It didn't land at all.
If anything, I might've made him even angrier.
'...But it really is impressive.'
In fact, Barundel's physical condition looked perfectly fine on the surface.
Thanks to only low-grade demons being nearby.
Low-grade demons could pierce Barundel's new armor, but they couldn't harm his body.
His physical prowess had far surpassed normal standards.
'If he'd seen my zombie swordsman up close, it'd probably give off the same vibe... At that level, he wouldn't even need armor.'
Lost in such stray thoughts, something suddenly flashed in my mind.
'Wait, armor?'
It was the scenes of Barundel cherishing his equipment the entire way here.
'Right, this could work...'
Thinking this might soothe Barundel's anger, I cautiously gathered the rest of the group.
This plan was a bit much for me alone.
After quietly sharing my idea, I asked the others.
"What do you think? Everyone okay with it?"
"Oh, No.1! I'm all for it! That should do the trick!"
"But will his anger fade that easily...?"
"If not, we'll just find another way."
"Alright, I'm in too."
Fortunately, the others were in agreement, no divisions.
With everyone's consent, I turned and approached Barundel.
"Um... Barundel."
"What?"
"We were just talking about how to express our sincere apologies."
"No need for that. I'm really fine, so..."
"[Anatakh's Great Axe]."
He froze.
Barundel, who had been tending to his damaged gear, stopped dead.
Luckily, this topic seemed to pique his interest.
"What did you just say?"
"[Anatakh's Great Axe]. As a token of our apology... what if we gifted it to you?"
"Do you even know how much that costs?"
Of course I did.
Back when I was gathering info at the tavern, I'd overheard customers talking.
[Anatakh's Great Axe] had hit the black market.
'It was definitely 5,000 gold back then.'
Considering a beer cost half a gold, in cash terms... about 50 million won.
Expensive as hell.
Even pooling all the gold we'd split before this expedition, it'd still fall short.
'...To scrape together that amount, I'd have to save every coin from hunting for the foreseeable future without spending a dime.'
But.
'It’s worth the investment.'
[Anatakh's Great Axe] was one of the top-performing legendary blunt weapons artifacts.
And with Barundel wielding it, even more so.
Boosting our strongest member's combat power while soothing his grudge... 5,000 gold was a fair opportunity cost.
"Take it and cool off a bit..."
"...I'll think about it."
Barundel spoke in his usual stiff tone, but did he realize?
The corners of his mouth had already twitched upward.
"Yes. Please consider it positively."
I said that, then headed back to the group, where Kayla and Thompson approached me right away.
"How'd it go...?"
"...Su, success?"
They looked at me with eyes full of eager anticipation.
I gave them a thumbs-up.
"Perfect success."
As expected, in any world.
Money is king.
***
After a tumultuous day, time had neared dawn.
We quickly set up bedding and collapsed into our spots.
'...No training today, that's for sure.'
Fighting that passerby earlier with [Essence of Light] had left my body in terrible shape.
My head spun, muscles screamed, vision blurred.
The fact I hadn't passed out yet was a miracle.
Good thing I ended that passerby in one strike—any more swings, and I'd have blacked out 100%.
"Ugh..."
Just as I was about to drift off.
Something massive entered my peripheral vision.
I turned my head. It was Thompson.
"...What are you doing, mister?"
He was already settled in.
Right next to me.
"Ah, thought I'd bunk with No.1 tonight."
"...Why?"
"Uh... there's something I wanted to ask."
"Something to ask?"
Whatever it was, it put me slightly at ease.
Almost suspected something weird...
"Go ahead."
At my words, Thompson glanced around.
Checking if the others were asleep.
Once he confirmed everyone was out, he spoke.
"No.1, what was that sword earlier?"
"Ah."
So that's what it was—the sword I'd formed with [Essence of Light].
"...Right, you saw it."
"Yep, saw it clear as day. Right up close."
Whoosh.
Thompson casually floated a small light orb above his finger.
"The light I learned at Aldeon felt totally different. What the heck was that?"
Not the vibe to brush off.
No big deal to explain anyway, so I did.
"I told you last time I inherited the [Essence of Light], right?"
"Oh, yeah. Is that it?"
"Yeah, what you saw was light conjured with [Essence of Light]."
"That spear from before too?"
"Yeah."
"Hoo..."
Thompson let out an impressed sigh, then beckoned like he had more questions.
"But the spear, the sword... why stick to those shapes? You're a mage, No.1."
"Ah."
Fair point for Thompson to wonder.
This wasn't how magic was typically handled.
"I was gonna explain this later... but whatever."
Whoooosh!
I cast light magic on my right hand.
In the shape of a small dagger.
Still lying down, I tossed it at the ceiling.
Then.
-Proficiency bonus 300% on all bladed weapons
Thwack!
The dagger flew straight, embedding into the ceiling over 2 meters up, dangling there.
Thompson sighed in awe again.
"Whoa... No.1, you secretly trained dagger skills or something?"
"Nah, not trained. Blades just feel natural to handle since forever."
"Blades? You saying you handle all bladed weapons that well? At this level?"
"...Yeah."
"You're insane, No.1."
Somehow, saying it out loud felt embarrassing.
Maybe even more broken than my mythic trait [Prodigy of Magic].
No wonder Thompson was stunned.
"Well, gotta be that level to be called a hero, right?"
"Huh? Hero... what?"
"Nothing. Just a thing."
Gazing at the ceiling dagger, Thompson waved it off and changed topics.
"But then why become a mage? You could do anything else. Like... yeah, knight or royal guard."
Thompson looked genuinely puzzled.
Makes sense.
In this world, talent usually led to those paths.
Better than the eccentric mage image—knighthood or guards offered honor and stability too.
But.
"Do you think they're greater than mages?"
The world of geniuses.
Aiming for the top changes everything.
"Hmm... depends how you see it, doesn't it?"
"No. Mages have way more impact. They can do what those guys can't."
Not just using magic.
Creation, distortion, mystery, nature.
Mages accessed a far broader range of powers than physical fighters, enabling far more feats.
"Simply put... if they're the ones who make history, mages are the ones who change it."
Speaking from experience too.
My zombie swordsman, top-ranked among countless users, couldn't even stop Baal.
Couldn't alter the fixed history, fixed fate.
Mages, though?
Their greatness was proven in the records.
"The ones who defined 'time' in this world, created new scripts and resources, averted doomsday crises multiple times with miracles—they were all mages."
Even the 'Aura' knights used stemmed from mage research.
'And they don't lag in raw power either.'
This showed mages superior in every field.
At least in this world's lore.
And.
"Oh, and my magic talent's top-tier too."
I'm a magic genius, after all?
Wasting this would be idiotic.
"...That's kinda obnoxious."
"Can't help it. It's true."
"..."
Thompson let out a short sigh and closed his eyes.
Deep in thought?
After a moment, he spoke again.
"Changing history... cool phrase. So you're aiming to be that kind of mage, No.1?"
"If possible."
"I see."
Thompson nodded plainly, then suddenly gathered his stuff and stood.
"Get some rest. You'll need it for that."
"Weren't we bunking together?"
"Changed my mind. Feels like a solo night tonight."
"...Okay, sure. Rest well, mister. Real hunting starts tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Thud, thud...
He slowly returned to his spot.
In the dimmed light, Thompson's retreating back was faintly visible.
Was it my imagination, or did it look thrilled?
With that thought, consciousness faded.
I didn't fight it.
For tomorrow's hunt, my body needed deep rest.