The Unjust Fate of Mages
The mages in the Holy Royal Empire were not treated with much respect.
Especially whenever the empire faced a catastrophe, the mages were the first to be burned at the stake.
This time, the witch hunt had begun, and the mages residing in the Holy Royal Empire were at the top of the target list for execution.
If our party had not fled to the Apse Mountain Range, Sara would have had a very high probability of being burned at the stake.
The reason mages were persecuted in the Holy Royal Empire was simple.
They did not believe in God.
The mages believed the world was composed of mana and moved according to the order of mana.
"Can you tell the level of the mage who created the dungeon?"
The mage was dead, but there was a possibility that defensive traps or magical constructs would exist in the dungeon he made.
The level of the traps and magical constructs depended on the mage.
"...Hmm... The survey team has found out about the light content. It seems the mage is a 4th Circle user. His main attribute is fire magic.
Anyway, he was probably not an exceptional mage.
If he had had the power, he would have moved to the Magic Empire instead of creating a dungeon here and dying."
[That makes sense. Thank you.]
A 4th Circle user started at level 150.
At level 200, they became 4th Circle Masters and then 5th Circle users.
In other words, a 4th Circle user could be at most level 199.
Even assuming level 199, the level of the traps or constructs he made should be set 50 to 100 levels lower.
That is, levels 99 to 149.
That was appropriate for us to hunt.
Moreover, since his main attribute was fire magic, it was advantageous for us.
There was Fersin, who had 64% fire resistance.
[The mage dungeon exploration quest will be handled by us.]
[Understood. There is a C-rank rogue waiting at the guild, would you like to take him as well? The guild will not guarantee his credit.]
I turned my head toward the guild master’s gaze.
The rogue at the guild table waved his hand.
The rogue profession was excellent in many aspects.
Tracking, ambush, stealth, trap dismantling, trap installation, and so on.
[Understood.]
Having a rogue on the dungeon exploration quest made it much easier.
I went to the table where the rogue was sitting after receiving the quest.
[Will you explore the mage dungeon with us?] [Of course. I really want to do it together.]
The rogue, who seemed like an NPC, answered with proper posture.
[Understood. Then, after preparing for the exploration, meet me at the west entrance of Kasa Castle in thirty minutes.]
[Yes! Thank you!] [Ardent bowed and left the mercenary guild.]
[Let’s go prepare too.]
[Yeah!] [At the west gate of Kasa Castle.]
We arrived ten minutes early for the appointment time, but Ardent was already waiting for us.
[You are here.] [Yes... Have you finished preparing?] [Of course. Let’s go. I know the way. I participated in the initial survey too.]
Ardent introduced himself and had a polite and lively personality.
[You waited here the whole time to receive the dungeon exploration quest, Ardent-nim?] [That is correct. Seolhwa-nim. There are not many quests suitable for a rogue.]
Ardent expressed the pain of a rogue.
Even though he had diverse talents, a rogue was not easily included in parties except for exploration or tracking missions.
Because his combat power was inferior to that of warriors of the same level.
In the guild quests that occupied a significant portion, such as caravan protection or monster extermination, he could not perform as well as a warrior.
[So you have been waiting only for the exploration quest...] [Yes... Maybe you do not need a rogue in your party?]
Seolhwa turned her gaze to me.
I lightly shook my head to indicate rejection.
As Ardent said, a warrior was better than a rogue in most situations.
And our party mainly focused on monster hunting.
The mage dungeon exploration this time was a rather exceptional case.
[Ardent-nim seems to be having a hard time...] [That is how it is... It is fine. I am used to rejection...]
Ardent found his way through a dense forest and we arrived at the entrance of the mage dungeon without getting lost.
[From now on, I will lead.]
Ardent said, showing a different serious side than before.
[Yes. Please do.] [Ardent carefully entered the dungeon, scanning the floor, walls, and ceiling.]
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound of footsteps echoed loudly in the cave.
[Stop.]
Ardent raised his fist and gave the signal to stop.
[There is a trap.]
[What kind of trap?] [Look at the left wall. You will see many holes. Arrows will be shot from there.] [Can we pass through it?] [There might be holes we missed. It will take time, but it is safer to dismantle them and go through.] [Yes, then please do.]
Ardent took about twenty minutes to dismantle the arrow trap.
Subsequently, numerous traps were discovered, and the exploration continued with more time spent dismantling traps than moving.
[Stop.]
[Another trap?] [Yes, this time it is a fire spray trap.] [Fire spray?] [Yes.] [How much firepower?] [The tanks will not die... but the others will have a hard time enduring it.] [That makes sense. Fersin.]
Fersin, who was behind, came forward.
[Yes!] [Go directly and remove the trap.] [Understood.]
Ardent suddenly stopped Fersin.
[It is dangerous. I said he will not die, but I cannot be sure.] [It is fine. Fersin...]
[Like that...] [Fersin covered his body with his shield and walked out.]
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Holes opened in the left wall and fire poured out.
Fersin blocked the fire with his shield and stabbed his sword into the hole.
Pow!
A small explosion sounded, and no more fire came out.
[How...]
Ardent looked at Fersin with surprised eyes.
[Let’s go.] [Understood.] [After Ardent started, Elena used healing on Fersin from behind.]
[Healing!]
From then on, the fire-related traps were dealt with by Fersin throwing himself at them, reducing the time to dismantle traps by half.
[This is the last one.]
Ardent looked at the golem in front and the door behind it and said.
[Is that door the mage’s laboratory?] [It seems so. And... I cannot handle this trap.]
Ardent spread both hands to show that there was nothing he could do.
[Understood. Leave the golem to us.]
I and Fersin took the lead,
Seolhwa in the second row,
Sara in the third row.
Elena cast Holy Weapon and Blessing on the party members and stood next to Sara.
[Let’s go.] [Yeah!]
Kwaaawaaaa!!
As we got closer to the golem, its eyes turned red and it roared.
And.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The entire body of the golem was engulfed in flames.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The golem ran forward and swung its fist.
Crash!
[Cru... It is tough. Be careful.]
A 4th Circle user was level 150 to 199.
Even assuming level 199, considering that the summoned creatures were 50 to 100 levels lower, they should be level 99 to 149.
However, the destructive power of the Fire Golem was above level 150.
It was at least one level stronger than the party.
Crash!
Fersin blocked the golem’s fist with his shield but was sent flying backward.
He was not familiar with using shields, so he could not properly deflect the attack.
Crash! Crash!
Fersin retreated, and the Fire Golem focused its attack on me.
[Healing!]
[Cain!]
[Seolhwa wait. When the aggro is completely pulled, attack.]
[Yeah...]
It was still bearable.
The Fire Golem was above level 150, but my level also exceeded 130.
Unlike Fersin, I had used the shield since the beginning of the game.
High shield proficiency allowed me to deflect a significant portion of the Fire Golem’s attacks.
Crash! Crash!
[Seolhwa. Now.]
When I thought the aggro had been sufficiently pulled, I signaled Seolhwa.
She quickly moved to the back of the Fire Golem.
[Wind Cutter!]
Sara’s Wind Cutter hit the shoulder of the Fire Golem.
When the Fire Golem’s attention was drawn to me and Sara,
Seolhwa gave a large slash to the back of the Fire Golem with the Ice Dragon’s Sword.
Kwaaawaaaaaaa!!!!!!
Due to the Chill status effect unique to the Ice Dragon’s Sword, fire did not come out from the cut area.
I hit a Shield Bash on the pelvis of the roaring golem.
I wanted to attack the upper body, but the pelvis was the limit because of the size of the golem.
Crururu...
Due to the Shield Bash, the Fire Golem took longer to turn around,
and Seolhwa cut off the Fire Golem’s right arm with the Ice Dragon’s Sword.
Kwaaawaaa!
Thud.
The right arm of the Fire Golem separated from its body and fell to the ground from Seolhwa’s sword.
[Seolhwa, the synergy is good. Continue attacking.]
[Yeah!]
The Fire Golem, having fully turned its body, blocked Seolhwa’s sword with its remaining arm.
The golem formed powerful fire on its arm.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Because of the strong flames, it did not damage the golem when cutting the shoulder like before.
Still,
Every time the Ice Dragon’s Sword collided with the Fire Golem’s arm, the flames gradually weakened.
[Fersin!]
[Yes!]
While the golem and Seolhwa fought, I and Fersin attacked the golem’s butt.
[Wind Cutter!]
Sara’s firepower support continued occasionally.
The battle continued in our favor, and soon the flames on the golem’s body went out and it stopped operating.
[Wow!! Truly amazing. You caught the Fire Golem so easily!]
Ardent took the victory pose and said.
[It was not easy.]
As Ardent said, the battle was not easy.
Seolhwa had taken a lot of burn damage.
She ate recovery potions and received treatment from Elena.
[Healing!]
I was better than Seolhwa thanks to the Kasa Fire Shield, but I had taken considerable damage.
Among the melee party members, Fersin was the one who endured the best.
Because his fire resistance was 64%.
We took sufficient rest and entered the mage’s laboratory.
There was a skeleton sitting on a chair and various experimental potions scattered around.
[Hmm. There are no valuable items.]
Ardent looked around and said.
[Cain, look here.]
Elena, who was inspecting the skeleton, called me.
Everyone gathered in front of the skeleton.
[The skeleton has a bracelet on its wrist.]
As she said, a bracelet was on the skeleton’s wrist.
Name: Fire Bracelet.
Fire Resistance: 5%.
Description: A specially crafted ring for mages to experiment with fire magic.
[What a pity. It is just attribute resistance... It is not a very expensive item.]
Ardent expressed mild displeasure and said.
Subsequently, several items were discovered, and we divided them according to contribution between Ardent and our party.
Among the acquired items, we took the Fire Bracelet.
Attribute resistance was not highly valued among NPCs.
Because it only showed some effect in special situations.
But,
It was different among users.
Precisely, after the Magic Empire and the Land of Scorching Heat were opened, one hunting method was developed.
After that, the value of attribute resistance items, especially fire resistance items, increased dozens of times.
[Cain-nim, do you not need a rogue?] [After defeating the Fire Golem, Ardent continued to ask to join our party.] [Sorry. We are a party that hunts monsters.]
[Ah... It is so unfortunate.]
We bid farewell to Ardent and the Kasa Castle mercenary guild.
[Cain, are we going to the Apse Mountain Range now?] [After parting with Ardent, Seolhwa asked.] [Yes, we will.] [If there is a fire-related quest on the way to the Apse Mountain Range, let’s take it.]
Seolhwa tapped her Ice Dragon’s Sword and said.
The Ice Dragon’s Sword was powerful even against normal monsters, but it dealt great damage, especially to fire attribute monsters.
That is why Seolhwa wanted to catch fire-related monsters.
[Understood.]
[Great!] [Cain, Seolhwa. We have to log out now. Do you know what time it is?]
After Elena’s words, I checked the time.
[Ah. Right. Let’s head south tomorrow.]
[Great!] [At the Kasa Castle inn, we ended the game.]