The Fake Mage's Fiery Facade
At first, after hearing Ian's self-introduction, Damon Baron was a bit baffled. It was already suspicious that this fresh-faced young kid had stepped forward as the group's representative. And now he claimed to be a mage?
'A mage?' Damon had been prepared to calmly negotiate a ransom if the guy had introduced himself as the son of some noble house. But a mage? In this world, there were believable lies and unbelievable ones. Claiming to be a mage fell squarely into the latter category.
Of course, a mage had to actually know how to use magic. The astonishingly wise and clever nobles of the ancient Golden Empire had devised a nasty custom called "summoning the mage" to force pretenders to reveal their skills right from the start. In other words, fake mages had to demonstrate their "magic" immediately... and that's where 99% of them got exposed. The remaining 1% were the ones who'd put real effort into their cons beforehand—prepping accomplices for sleight-of-hand tricks or showing off the handiwork that pagan "illusionists" were said to master. If they'd prepared a scam that close to real magic, there was no way to debunk it on the spot. You just had to fall for it. It would only unravel later, when circumstances forced them to actually cast a spell.
'...Fake? Or real?'
Damon found this guy named Ian downright unsettling. The jet-black hair and the raven perched on his shoulder gave off an unusual vibe, sure... but wasn't that kind of setup essential for pulling off a mage scam? He could be fake. Or real. Honestly, Damon had no confidence in telling them apart.
It would've been a real headache not long ago. But luckily, Damon had a mage underling of his own: Kira Laventa! In a way, this was an opportunity. A chance to witness magic up close and gauge both Kira's and Ian's worth! For a self-proclaimed baron like Damon, who craved recognition from real nobles, this was a golden chance. True nobles often crossed paths with traveling mages, but for a fake like him, encounters with actual magic users were rare.
Until now, he'd tried sweet-talking Kira into showing off her magic, but the prickly, bad-tempered woman always got annoyed and only demonstrated the simplest tricks. He'd let it slide back then. But she wouldn't back out in a situation like this, Damon figured.
'Come on, Mage Kira! Show us how amazing you really are!'
"Kira! Kira! Kira!"
"Go show 'em what you're made of!"
The ground-shaking cheers made Kira—mage Kira, or rather, con artist Kira—want to lose her mind.
'Please don't expect anything! Your expectations are way too high, you idiots!'
When Ian had first stepped forward, Kira had felt a bit relieved. Why? Because he looked about her age! Anyone could see this twenty-something kid was her peer. How smart or impressive could a newbie like that really be?
But then Ian began chanting in the Maronius Language.
Kira's jaw dropped.
'What the—?! Him?!'
As Ian shouted words she couldn't understand, a whirlwind suddenly swirled around him. The bandits gasped, Damon gawked, and even Kira jumped in shock.
'H-he's a real mage!!!'
She'd been cosplaying as a mage for ages, but this was her first time seeing a real one up close. For obvious reasons—exposure. But real magic viewed from this distance... it sent shivers down her spine. The sight of human will bending nature itself was the mystery called magic in its purest form. If there weren't eyes on her, she'd have rushed over screaming: Sir! How'd you do that? Cheat code?!
Absurd modern delusions bubbled up inside her from the sheer shock, but outwardly, Kira maintained perfect composure. That's right—she was a top-tier performer. Controlling her expression was child's play. Even as some dumb brute bandit yelled beside her, she kept her haughty facade.
"Hah! What a joke! You call that magic?!"
'What do you mean?! It's freaking amazing, you morons!!!'
"Y-yeah! That's not even magic!"
'Aaaah! If that's not magic, what is?!'
"Watch closely! Lady Kira will show you real magic!"
Kira wanted to sew every one of those yapping mouths shut as the bandits made a huge fuss.
'S-scary! This is scary!'
Her insides trembled (figuratively), but there was no backing out now. If her true nature came out here, it'd end in a horrific bad ending! Kira squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to the great spirits.
'Great spirits in the heavens! Protect me!'
She flung her cloak dramatically and waved her hands in flashy arcs. Whoosh~ Whoosh~
Her over-the-top performance drew everyone's attention—the bandits, and even Ian's group held their breath.
'Something's...'
'Something's happening!'
Kira's movements were huge and theatrical. Even a stranger would instantly think, Oh, she's doing something! Awe rippled through the crowd at her bizarre gestures.
Everyone except one person. Ian Raven.
'...What is this?'
Ian felt not awe, but wrongness from Kira's actions. No mystery emanated from her at all! He'd never heard from Eredis—despite all her magical knowledge—that spells were cast with moves like some Chinese calisthenics routine. But Ian held his tongue. He figured he should watch till the end to see what she was up to. He wasn't some omniscient sage who knew every spell in existence.
"Haaah~!"
So when Kira let out a weird kiai shout, Ian just...
"..."
...watched silently.
"Ooh! Lady Kira's absorbing the great forces of nature!"
"She's drawing in the power!"
Ian was dumbfounded by the bandits' bizarre commentary. Nothing's visible to me—why are you all freaking out?
Then Kira bellowed like thunder:
"Fire!"
⟨ Pyrokinesis ⟩
"...!"
Shockingly, Kira's words were genuine Maronius Language. Not that she'd mastered it like Ian... she only knew that one word: Fire! But it was real Maronius.
As she uttered the incantation, Kira triggered all her hidden firestarters in unison.
Pop-pop-pop-BOOM!
The rapid, synchronized explosions transformed into a massive fountain of flames. Kira was engulfed in a wave of fire.
"Woooaaah!"
The bandits cheered in unison, while Ian's group was left speechless in awe.
'Oho.'
Ian was impressed by Kira's show, too.
'For a split second, I saw the mystery of fire swirling around her...'
The moment her firestarters went off, Ian glimpsed the fiery mystery coiling protectively around Kira. It must've responded to her Maronius word. He was genuinely awed by her pyrotechnics. Avoiding burns amid flames was tricky. Without Eredis's help, even Ian would've been scarred—fire magic was high-difficulty. Yet here she was, shielding herself with the mystery while exploding fireworks in a bold, precise display!
"Wow."
This mage named Kira... she was the real deal!
Clap-clap.
Ian applauded, entranced. The bandits followed suit, one by one.
"Wooo!"
"Kira! Damon's flame! Kira!"
"She's a goddess!"
Kira! Kira! Kira!
The chants echoed deafeningly as Kira Laventa plastered on a soulless smile.
'Please... just say it's over...'
Exhausted, Kira was approached by Damon Baron.
"My mage friend. You okay?"
"...This is nothing."
She claimed to be fine, but feigned fatigue—just in case he demanded an encore. But Damon had no intention of pushing her.
"What do you think? That Ian mage. Can we take him?"
He was just seeking his mage's wise counsel. But Kira, terrified of more tasks, blurted out:
"You'll regret getting greedy. That mage hasn't shown his full power yet."
"Hmm..."
She was just padding to avoid involvement, but her guess hit close to the mark. Damon respected the "mage's" advice.
"Got it."
He abandoned plans for force and started polite negotiations. With top-notch (fake) mage Kira's endorsement, he nixed the risky gamble.
"Alright, friends! Pay the toll, and we'll escort you safely to the road's end."
"Hm."
"We can even throw in soft beds and hot meals at the village. Opportunities like this don't come often!"
It wasn't a bad deal for Ian's group. No—a great one. If the bandits had drawn swords and demanded everything, they had no real counter... but toll for escort and lodging? Medieval highway toll road!
'SuperTurnpike vibes.'
Ian consulted his companions briefly. All thumbs up.
"Avoiding a campout is appealing."
"Road looks well-maintained. I'm good with it."
Pay toll, rest in village—perfect for travelers.
"It's decided."
Ian informed Damon.
"We'll pay the toll."
"Excellent choice!"
Once paid, Damon personally volunteered as escort. Walking beside the guy who'd just threatened them with a bow felt surreal to Ian. Medieval ally-enemy flips were still hard to get used to.
"You made the right call using our road, friends. Push ahead alone, and you'd regret it."
Not really regretting anything... Ian's curiosity piqued.
"What do you mean?"
Damon lowered his voice.
"Just between us guests... there's a real pain in the woods lately."
"Pain?"
What, self-intro again? Ian eyed Damon blankly, but the man felt zero guilt. Guess that's how you bandit.
Damon, lost in his own tale, continued:
"Heard of vampires?"
"...Vampires!"
The priest hurriedly made the sign of the cross. Ian knew of them already—not from sightings, but modern media and Eredis's mystery lessons.
"Bloodsuckers?"
"Mage through and through. Yep, bloodsucking monsters."
Damon intoned grimly.
"One's been active lately. Don't wander alone after dark."
Vampires were humans twisted by curses into depraved beasts—innately evil, cunning, sadistic. With human intellect and monstrous strength, one could wipe out a village effortlessly.
Fortune from misfortune: joining Damon after paying saved them. Camping alone might've invited attack.
"Eh, don't sweat it too much."
To lighten the mood, Damon whistled playfully and pointed at the quietly trailing mage, Kira.
"From now on, Kira and I will hunt that monster down!"
"..."
Kira gave a nonchalant nod, her arrogant confidence shining. Ian was impressed. I've hunted monsters—it's brutal work! Acting unfazed like that? Real pro mage!
But Kira's inner thoughts were the polar opposite:
'Me? Fight a vampire this time???'