Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 255
Chapter Title: Isekai TRPG -1
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"Ughhh..."
"Ahhh..."
Selvia and I trudged along the narrow path, letting out pitiful groans. It had been a full week of this walking trip, and for two scrawny mages like us who weren't used to physical labor, it was pure agony.
My calves were swollen and throbbing from the start, and the soles of my feet burned with every step. It was exhausting.
We'd definitely left the Crimson Magic Tower with a carriage in tow, but if you asked where it went, all I could say was an unfortunate accident happened. The details would take all night to explain.
But someone's misfortune can always be summed up brutally briefly.
Stripping away the incident's truth and my feelings, it boiled down to a mad cultist human sacrifice festival tangled up with mimic sculptures. That's the gist.
We went through hell to escape that mess. Lost the horse, lost the carriage, lost our money pouch, lost our food... even lost a wisdom tooth. What more is there to say?
The only consolation was recovering a couple more fragments as adventure spoils.
Anyway, that's why these two frail, delicate mages were sweating buckets on foot. I missed Yuria. If she were here, she'd carry me and run nonstop for three days and nights.
Selvia asked me in an utterly exhausted voice.
"...How much farther do we have to go? We're really getting to the city by tonight, right?"
"Beats me. All we can do is pray we make it before our legs give out... Oh, hey! Aren't those building roofs?!"
A ray of hope shone down on us.
Those artificial colors on the roofs—no doubt about it. Signs of human life. As we got closer, it became crystal clear. A city!
"Th-that's not a mirage, is it? We can finally wash up, right...?!"
"Yes! We've returned to civilized society at last! Let's go, Selvia!"
We bolted toward the city in excitement, filled with hopes of escaping all this discomfort at last.
And so we reached Elphiris, a city in the southern empire... but...
Reality, however, was harsh.
"No money, no service. Hmm, if you sold those robes you're wearing, it might cover one night's stay and a bucket of bathwater."
"......"
"......"
We had no money.
I hurriedly sold my robe to scrape some together. That got us one meal, one room, and one bucket of bathwater.
Yes, stubbornly just one bucket. For two people.
But... if we squeezed in tight, it might count as two-person size.
After much deliberation, I proposed to Selvia.
"...Wanna bathe together?"
"You're insane...! N-no... I mean, no!"
The fact that Selvia hesitated even briefly at the mixed bathing suggestion showed just how filthy we were.
In the end, I gentlemanly yielded the bathwater to her, but... I wanted to wash too...
The city of Elphiris bordered the Great Elven Forest, boasting stunning natural scenery and fame for producing high-quality timber. Seeing it firsthand, the reputation was well-deserved.
A sea of trees—what a fitting name.
From on high, the horizon was choked with dense trees filling the view to a dizzying degree. The leaves gleamed in a refreshing green that soothed the eyes just to look at.
A forest free of bugs, underbrush, and disorientation was this beautiful. Venturing inside would be a nightmare, but admiring it from afar was a treat.
Thankfully, the road to the Violet Magic Tower lay in the opposite direction. No chance I'd have to bushwhack through that thicket.
Anyway.
Elphiris was just a pit stop for us. After a short restock, we'd have to walk a long way to the Violet Magic Tower. That... wasn't great. Time was one thing, but it'd be pure suffering.
Pedestrian travel felt less like an adventure and more like a pilgrimage of pain—body and soul had learned that lesson.
We needed a horse and carriage. Hot meals and soft beds too. To live like humans, we needed money. But right now, I was flat broke. Time to earn some.
In this context, I proposed to Selvia.
"How about we make some money somehow, buy what we need, then keep traveling?"
"Sounds good. I'm done walking... I never realized how precious carriages were."
"Me neither. What jobs are available in a city for two veteran mages? Research contracts? No clue."
"...Me neither. The Magic Tower stipends covered everything..."
I only knew how to milk tower funds too.
Selvia and I, elite class even in this medieval fantasy world, had no idea how regular mages without a tower made money.
Money just naturally came from the imperial family... or by begging Yuna, right?
Huddled together, piecing together random testimonies we'd overheard, we concluded that adventurer or mercenary work was the way to go.
Violence always had demand, anywhere in the world.
And we had a fresh-faced beauty mage who'd reached the Myth realm right beside me. Orcs or ogres would turn into well-done steaks against Flame Angel.
Full of confidence, we strode into the adventurer guild, but...
"Newly registered adventurers can't take high-rank quests."
"What?"
"The guild acts as a notary. If we send unverified people with no credibility and trouble brews, it's on us..."
Even after seeing our impressive specs? I pointed at the stunned Selvia beside me and bellowed.
"Insolent! Do you know who this is? The direct disciple of the Crimson Magic Tower Master Whatever-her-name, academy enrollee, Myth-realm powerhouse, cute and pretty and lovable—"
"...Stop it!"
Thwack.
Selvia smashed a book on my head to cut off my cringy rant. But I'd already said everything that mattered. The point got across.
Did we Myth-grade talents really need that procedure? Come on.
"No."
Rules were rules, it seemed. The guild wouldn't budge, no matter how strong you were—credibility verification was mandatory.
This told us the city's security was solid and uneventful.
If undead hordes were marching or something urgent, they'd grab anyone, credentials be damned.
Think positive. Even with my luck where incidents exploded every city we hit, peace and rest had finally arrived.
"Fine, let's do the kiddie difficulty. No rush anyway."
"...Whatever works for me."
"More alone time with me?"
"......"
Selvia turned away, a faint blush on her cheeks. It was so cute I grinned, but the receptionist tsked like our PDA burned her eyes.
I picked the highest-paying low-rank quest off the board: goblin village extermination. Familiar enough now to almost welcome it.
"Our first meeting was goblins too, right?"
"...Yeah. If we're limiting it to you."
Selvia was pretty green back then... and I barely knew anything. But now? Different story. The crazy mage who just did eye-candy illusions was dead.
I'd been reborn as a flame mage armed to the teeth!
Then the receptionist cut in sharply.
"That's a four-person quest."
"We can handle it just the two of us."
"Rules are rules. Luckily, some newbies in the same boat showed up. I'll group you together."
"...Receptionist, mad about my flirting earlier?"
"Nope."
She was.
And so we got force-party-matched.
While waiting, Selvia and I knocked out minor quests for pocket change. Like catching escaped cats. Three hours later, the group was full.
At the rendezvous, the lineup made the receptionist's grudge crystal clear. They weren't normal.
"...Heh. Two mages... Mages are the most vulnerable at night..."
A thief leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, smirking sleazily.
And
"Hmph, I'm a silver-badge mercenary. Not like you rookies! I just came from out of town, so my rank hasn't updated, but back in the capital, everyone knew the name Joe the Great Merc!"
A bearded warrior bragging his credentials from the start.
And their first impressions weren't even the worst.
"You always need rope for goblin hunts. Thick rope. 'Cause goblins fear this shape!"
"...Never heard that."
"You mocking a silver-badge merc?! I'm right! If you're hitching a ride on a vet like me, just do as you're told!"
Bad advice and pushing useless gear buys.
"Thief dude, where'd you go without paying?"
When pooling for camping gear, he bolted before checkout.
"Thief, I won't gripe about no pay, but shouldn't we split the load? Even us mages have our packs."
"...Hmph, not my problem..."
And such.
I was deeply moved by this fascinating crew. And I wanted them to feel it too.
Eye for an eye.
Time to adopt a 'overtalkative mage' persona and make them pay accordingly—
Selvia snapped first.
"Everyone, talk time. For real?"
"Talking back to a silver-badge?! I'm sharing know-how, life-saving advice—"
"...Hmph, annoying... Handle it yourselves..."
"Flame Angel."
Whoosh. A small sun rose.
"...Sorry..."
"...We'll behave."
Manners instilled in a flash.
Even idiots know you'd burn facing the sun.
Realizing the scrappy girl was a walking fireball flipped the warrior and thief's attitudes dramatically.
"This herb's known for great stamina boosts—"
"No. That's a diuretic. The one's next to it is a weed."
"I'm r— Ahem, right. My bad."
"...Hmph, smart..."
How peaceful.
Now that they acted human, I could finally take in their looks. I'd mosaiced them out before.
The thief was lanky and slim, hood pulled low over black cloth. Daggers dangled inside his cloak like an ad for thiefhood.
The warrior was bald but bearded, in a barbaric sleeveless top showing off his upper body muscles. Probably broke, not style.
His axe was high-end, after all.
"Let's move. Thief, keep scouting. Warrior, protect the mages. Rush in with that axe first and you'll burn too—your call."
"...Hmph..."
"...Got it."
Selvia firmly took charge as we marched on.
About 70% in, sunset hit, so we camped overnight instead of night-fighting. Fire up, unpack kits.
Dinner: a roe deer I'd flame-blasted en route.
Staring at the sizzling legs by the fire, Selvia sat beside me and murmured.
"...Hey, why're you shaking your leg so much?"
"Huh?"
Shaking my leg? Me?
Looking down, yeah, I was. Pressed my knee to stop, but it jittered like a fresh-caught fish.
"What, cursed? Or that shady thief slipped poison...?"
"No, no, Selvia. This is... withdrawal."
Selvia eyed my face worriedly.
"Withdrawal? Bro, you on drugs...?"
Drug-like, yeah. Overdose turns poisonous.
I knew this tremor. Session withdrawal. Living too hard in this world made my soul crave TRPG.
Hacked goddesses, rigged tournaments, cultist hunts—too busy for hobbies...!
Like tongue position, once noticed, the thirst worsened.
Sessions. Need a session. Way to TRPG? Damn, if I'd learned Illusion over Flame... No.
TRPG's paper, pens, dice—not holograms or illusions.
And here... three players. All newbies. Suddenly those gold-diggers looked cute.
"...Bro? Your eyes are sparkling too much."
"Selvia, ever tried tabletop RPG? Super fun. Warrior, sleazy thief—you too. Nothing else? Let's play."
"...Hmph, not interested..."
"Playin'. That attitude won't hit silver-badge! Adventurers check gear by firelight..."
"No!"
The warrior writhed on the ground in outrage.
"Why's this damn die rolling 1 now?!"
"Stop yelling and strategize! Should've targeted the goblin archers first—even a fumble would've been fine!"
"...This turn, I'll hide..."
"Hide then ambush! Hiding every turn—when do you fight? Wait till goblins die of old age?! Do that IRL and Flame Angel skewers your—"
So fun...!