Black Magic
A black mage.
If you look at it from a broad perspective, a black mage is not that different from a regular mage.
In fact, all you do is cast dark magic instead of normal spells, and everything else is pretty much the same.
That is why players never thought the black mage’s movement speed was slow.
They just assumed it was normal.
But it was a huge misunderstanding.
“Get up!”
The black mage summoned a skeletal horse and galloped toward them.
His speed was never behind even an ordinary warrior or thief.
“Are you crazy! What did he bring with him!”
“Hiiick……”
Sihyun and Siyeon saw the black mage and screamed in shock.
They had expected an orc at most, but he was riding a skeletal horse and firing destructive magic at them!
“Come this way!”
“We laid traps, so just follow us!”
Sihyun and Siyeon shouted those words and ran deeper into the forest.
Fafnir and Vane followed right behind them, vanishing into the trees.
A short while later, the skeletal horse ridden by the black mage came chasing after them.
“Die…… you bastard!”
Tu tu tu.
Arrows flew at the black mage who was gathering dark mana.
The black mage, whose attack was blocked, exploded in rage.
“Cough! You bastards! I won’t let you die easily!”
Fafnir heard that scream and increased his speed.
“What’s going on?”
“A black mage leading an orc pack…… what is happening inside it……”
Sihyun and Siyeon, running beside him, asked.
After a moment of thought, Fafnir answered.
“The black mage is using the orcs as subordinates and now he’s chasing after us.”
“Ah…… so he’s the boss, huh!”
“If we catch him, we’ll be rich……”
Sihyun immediately understood.
From behind, Vane who was closing the distance asked.
“But it looks like we’re going to get caught. If we fight, can we win?”
Fafnir shook his head.
“At least he’s level 120 or higher. We can’t catch him.”
It was a fact guaranteed by Fafnir’s experience of clearing hundreds or thousands of games.
“Then should we scatter before the traps run out?”
“No. I have a plan.”
Fafnir explained the strategy to the three of them.
“Will that work?”
“Whether it works or not, we have to decide quickly right now.”
“I’m in favor!”
“Just do it quickly. I feel like I’m going to die if I keep dragging this out……”
Siyeon, who had poor stamina, was already panting hard.
The other three were not in much better shape either.
“Understood. Then let’s begin right away.”
Fafnir immediately gestured with his hand.
At the same time, the three of them pulled out their extra equipment.
An ordinary warrior or thief would never have been able to catch up.
“Huh?”
Karzandrak, the black mage who had been chasing the humans, tilted his head.
“Skeleton soldiers? Among them, was there a necromancer?”
The two fleeing made it easy to dodge, so they were the exception.
The necromancer was probably waiting for his companions outside.
‘Then they are allies!’
He didn’t know which god they followed yet, but since they belonged to the same evil-aligned god, he felt like being a little lenient.
‘It would be best to capture that guy at least as much as possible.’
Of course, he had no mercy for the others.
Especially the one who set the trap.
Traps that always appeared the moment he chanted spells or sped up!
They weren’t strong enough to cause fatal damage, but they were subtly strong enough not to ignore.
‘That guy who made them won’t be sent off easily either. I’ll make him beg to die!’
After running for a while, Karzandrak furrowed his brows.
‘There they are.’
In the distance, between the trees, he saw four figures.
He saw them holding bows or wearing robes, so they had to be them.
‘I should go after them as much as possible.’
Karzandrak stopped using destructive magic and instead created curses and bone walls.
Dark mana pressed heavily on the four of them, and the ground turned into a mud swamp that grabbed their ankles.
‘I’ll talk to the necromancer and torture the others to death.’
To capture them with as little damage as possible, he used all his specialty magic and caught them.
It was a mistake.
The moment he approached the four fallen, Karzandrak realized.
“Skeleton soldiers……! They’re all yours!”
Veins bulged on Karzandrak’s eyes.
“You bastards…… you tricked me!”
He would kill all of them.
In the sea of rising rage that reached the edge of the sky, Karzandrak rolled his eyes.
‘They didn’t go far. If the main body escaped somewhere else, the surrounding orcs would have noticed the trace.’
A black mage had to have both the burning rage like magma and a cold mind at the same time.
While rampaging, Karzandrak’s brain kept rolling.
‘No spell casts, and no place they escaped separately…….’
In the next moment, the skeletal horse turned 180 degrees backward.
“You bastards!”
Karzandrak, heading straight back to the fortress.
This time he spread dark mana around him and checked the ground.
‘I finally understand what kind of trickery it is.’
They were definitely hiding in the traps.
A short while later, the backs of the four appeared right in front of Karzandrak.
They were just emerging from the traps and trying to flee in robes and armor.
“You can’t go!”
Karzandrak cast dark balls randomly and blocked them…….
Dang! Wagrak!
The four figures crumbled like lies.
In their place were only broken pieces of skeleton soldiers.
“Ah, no!”
Karzandrak and the skeletal horse stopped at the same time.
Was it a skeleton soldier again?
“Then where did those bastards go……?”
It wasn’t the fortress.
He had just released mana, so the inside was filled with orcs in maximum alert.
“There’s no teleport magic…… then what…….”
Karzandrak, bewildered, walked further into the fortress.
A few minutes after he disappeared.
Rustle.
The dirt of a nearby trap moved slightly, and one eye appeared, looking around.
“……They seem to have gone.”
“Then can we come out now?”
“Quietly, please.”
The one who came out from inside the trap was none other than Fafnir’s party.
Fafnir came out first, followed by Sihyun who jumped up in surprise.
“Huu, I thought I was going to die from suffocation!”
“I just thought I was going to die…….”
Sihyun and Siyeon shook off the dirt.
Beside them, Vane brushed the dust off Fafnir.
“Good job. Thanks to you, all four of us survived.”
“Better if we all survive. This is a quest you can’t replay on death.”
“That’s right.”
Vane nodded.
“Even if they were special forces, I’d believe it. Thinking up something like this in such a short time.”
“If it weren’t for the necromancer, it wouldn’t have worked.”
After sending the skeletons as bait, they waited for the enemies to return and sent the second bait to confuse their minds.
“If that guy had been a little more cautious, he would have checked the trap again. Luckily he wasn’t.”
Still, the time was short.
By now the inside of the fortress must be in chaos.
“Then let’s go back. This is the perfect timing.”
“I’ll find the way.”
The moment the party tried to move.
“Wait a minute!”
Sihyun called out to Fafnir.
“What is it?”
“That…… that…….”
Sihyun answered Fafnir’s question in a voice like someone crawling into a mouse hole.
“……I went.”
“Huh?”
“That…… I was lying down for too long and I pooped.”
“……”
✅ Turtle Rock Knight Corps flag (Rare) acquired.
✅ Fortress commander Qada’s favorability +20 increased.
Immediately followed by huge rewards!
“This, this is too much.”
“No, your party did more than that. Please accept it.”
The scale of the orc army, the advance route, the supply situation, and even the black mage’s existence.
As if he had stripped away the weaknesses and trivial habits of the monster.
“Tell the lord of Byron City the rest of the rewards. I need to prepare for this matter.”
📍 New linked quest ‘To Byron City’ generated.
Fafnir asked the remaining three.
“I think I’ll head back right away. What about you three?”
“I’ll have to rest a bit. I have to do laundry and cleaning too……”
“I’m exhausted today…… I wanted to do more, but this is where it ends!”
“I’ll go in too. I really appreciate it today, Mr. Fafnir.”
Sihyun and Siyeon looked exhausted.
Fafnir was tired too, but he couldn’t rest as if his heart was.
‘It’s not quitting time yet, so I have to do it until then.’
Fafnir headed back to Byron City once more.
“He says he’s coming into the city? He’s a familiar adventurer, but……”
“I need to meet the lord.”
Showing the commander’s order, he could meet the lord immediately.
“I’m the lord. Did the commander send you?”
“Here it is.”
“……”
The lord’s eyes widened as he handed over the order.
“No way. You really did amazing things!”
The order listed Fafnir’s achievements, contributions, and elements to prepare for the orc army’s movements.
Along with the words to generously award him.
“You really worked hard. Thanks to you, the kingdom received a great favor.”
“It’s not that much……”
“Confirming the orcs’ rear is enough to deserve such praise.”
◈ Property 1: Additional +5 to all stats for 1 hour.
◈ Property 2: 20% increased movement speed for 1 hour.
5 diamonds, 5 sapphires, 5 rubies, 10 ingots of refined steel, and the light feather cloak of Barian were acquired.
Rewards from the fortress and again here!
‘Eating the chicken and getting the eggs.’
‘I’ll keep the black magic material for myself, and divide the rest to Sihyun.’
Of course, with four people in the party, it had to be divided by a quarter, but it was still more than enough.
‘Then, let’s call the skeletons and do maintenance.’
At that moment.
As Fafnir was about to turn around.
The lord, who had taken off his armor, grabbed his shoulder and asked.
“By the way, are you free right now?”
“Huh? Yes.”
“That’s great. Could you listen to just one request?”
☐ Support and suppression force organization in the capital.
☐ Due to lack of regular troops, they cannot be sent immediately.
☐ The black mage and orc army are advancing today.
“What is the request?”
“According to the information, the capital needs to organize support and suppression forces, but there aren’t enough regular troops.”
The orcs might come crashing in tomorrow.
In such a situation, it meant the city soldiers couldn’t be taken.
“If a trustworthy adventurer like you could go instead, I would be really relieved. How could that be possible?”
“……”
Accepting was fine, but here he should negotiate a bit more.
“If you trust me like this, I’m grateful.”
Fafnir, who was answering, trailed off at the end.
“However……”
“However what?”
“My job is a necromancer, so I’m worried that I might be looked down upon in the capital…….”
“Um……”
In Horizon, evil-aligned jobs didn’t receive good treatment.
Although coexistence was allowed, they had to live with eyes of surveillance and suspicion every day because they might be plotting something.
Especially in the capital of the kingdom, the gaze would be even thicker.
“I want to follow the lord’s orders, but I’m worried that if I go there, I might get into trouble.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
The lord took out one seal from his pocket and handed it to Fafnir.
“Write your name.”
“What is this?”
“It’s the guardian knight seal. If you blow mana into it, the soul of the guardian will come out and protect you, so you don’t have to worry about being ambushed.”
Classification: Accessory
Grade: Unique
Level limit: 50
When worn: Strength, Stamina, Agility, Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity +3, Luck +1
When activated: 80 MP consumption per minute.
When activated: Summon Guardian Knight Penelope (Level 100) dwelling in the seal.
When worn: All knight-related skill levels +1 (even if max level).
Can be activated without wearing.
View Penelope’s status and skills.
Check Penelope’s equipment.
Penelope’s soul can grow.
The more experience accumulates, the stronger the power can be displayed, and even after all power is maximized, growth can continue.
Description: An ancient guardian Penelope’s(?) soul sealed in a seal. Byron City lord Pendragon family’s emblem is engraved. In the past, it is said that the soul of an exceedingly noble guardian was sealed here for unknown reasons.
‘Such insane……!’
A growth item!
Fafnir’s heart stopped.
‘One word and the lottery jackpot pops.’
‘I don’t have to worry about my safety? What is this?’
Opening the status window, information appeared.
[Penelope’s Guardian Knight Seal]
– Category: Accessory
– Grade: Unique
– Level limit: 50
– When worn: Strength, Stamina, Agility, Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity +3, Luck +1
– When activated: 80 MP consumption per minute.
– When activated: Summon Guardian Knight Penelope (Level 100) dwelling in the seal.
– When worn: All knight-related skill levels +1 (even if max level).
– Can be activated without wearing.
– View Penelope’s status and skills.
– Check Penelope’s equipment.
– Penelope’s soul can grow.
– The more experience accumulates, the stronger the power can be displayed, and even after all power is maximized, growth can continue.
– Description: An ancient guardian Penelope’s(?) soul sealed in a seal. Byron City lord Pendragon family’s emblem is engraved. In the past, it is said that the soul of an exceedingly noble guardian was sealed here for unknown reasons.
‘Such insane……!’
A growth item!
Fafnir’s heart stopped.
‘One word and the lottery jackpot pops.’