Chapter 32
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 032
Chapter Title: Monster and Junk Dealer (2)
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'Take out one first.'
The closest Nachera to me.
I fired a Lightning Bolt straight at it.
Zzzap!
The bolt of lightning shot forward swiftly, striking the Nachera that had been buried face-first in a corpse.
And just like always, Lightning Bolt didn't let me down.
Thud.
The Nachera's body stiffened up completely before it toppled sideways.
And it never moved again.
Instant death.
Exactly the result I'd hoped for.
With one down...
A strange sense of elation washed over me.
My level had gone up.
Having felt it a few times before, I was certain.
'Yeah, my call was right.'
Along with the satisfaction of hunting the Nachera pack, I observed how the rest would react.
My next move would depend on them.
"Keeek?"
The sudden death of their comrade.
The other Nachera stopped devouring the corpse and lifted their heads to stare at me.
Blood and bits of flesh dripped from their maws.
'Sizing me up?'
I'd expected them to charge all at once, but they didn't.
They just fixed their glassy eyes on me, holding their ground.
So I made the first move again.
Zzzzzap!
Another Lightning Bolt hurtled forth.
The bolt was a touch thicker this time, and it flew a fraction faster too.
The spell's power had clearly grown.
Boom!
The Nachera couldn't dodge it again.
Struck dead-center, it convulsed and dropped just like the first one.
Black smoke curled up from its body.
"Kiiiiiek!"
Finally grasping the situation?
The Nachera let out eerie shrieks.
Then they bolted into the forest.
"After them!"
I shouted to Bear and gave chase.
I kept casting spells the whole time.
I'd never planned to let even one get away, after all.
They were all experience points.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm."
In the dim cave...
The mage Stalling hummed a tune as he sorted through the junk his familiars had brought.
The eastern rebellion was raging.
People were dying left and right even now, but he saw it as his golden opportunity.
Where there were many dead, there'd be plenty of unclaimed goods too.
And that's exactly what Stalling was after.
'Treasures rolling around on the streets—who wouldn't pick them up?'
Weapons, clothes, food, and more.
He could scavenge all sorts from the ground.
No need to feel guilty about his conscience.
He only took things with no owners.
"Huh?"
As he kept sorting...
Stalling felt his magical link to one familiar snap.
He'd sent the Nachera out to hunt for food and fill their bellies, so something must've happened to them.
'What the...?'
Before he could even process it...
Another link severed.
Now he was sure.
His familiars had run into something incredibly strong.
Nothing else could take down two so fast.
'All of you, return now!'
He commanded the rest.
The Nachera were his lifeline.
While he hid safe in his lair, they fetched all sorts of odds and ends.
Losing them would hurt bad.
'What the hell is going on...?'
He'd ordered retreat, but they kept dropping at the same rate.
Three left became two, then that two became one.
And the pursuit dragged on.
He couldn't see it with his own eyes, but Stalling was convinced some unknown attacker was hot on their heels.
'Wait—no. Sending the familiars back here might not be smart.'
The foe had wiped four Nachera in seconds.
That meant knight-level strength at least.
Was luring someone like that to his hideout really wise?
The thought had just crossed his mind when...
The last Nachera staggered into the cave.
"Kiii...iii..."
It had run nonstop, chest heaving with ragged breaths.
Foul stench billowed from its maw with each exhale, but Stalling didn't grimace as he approached.
He was used to it by now.
"What the hell happened?"
Stalling peered into the Nachera's eyes.
At once, vivid visions of its ordeal played out before him.
'An odd pair.'
A boyish-faced youth and a hulking brute with a fierce scowl.
Those two were the culprits.
Well, more precisely, the kid had done it solo.
The big guy had just stood guard nearby.
'Damn it! Figures it'd be a mage.'
The fresh-faced boy wielded lightning.
Fearsomely powerful stuff too.
Stalling, who only handled familiars and nothing else, could only gape in awe.
But this wasn't the time to admire it.
The kid might track him here.
'This is bad!'
Should he bolt now?
Right as the thought hit...
A presence stirred at the cave mouth.
And there they were: the boyish-faced youth and the hulking brute.
Exactly as he'd glimpsed through the Nachera.
"W-Wait a second!"
Stalling yelled at the young mage.
Desperate to stop him from hurling lightning on sight.
"I'm Stalling! A mage!"
The young man who introduced himself as Stalling was rail-thin, with ghostly pale skin.
It gave him a creepy vibe.
And right beside him stood the last Nachera we'd chased, panting heavily.
Seeing that, I pieced it together.
The Nachera were his familiars.
And I'd killed them.
'This is unexpected.'
Following the Nachera had led us to what seemed their lair—a cave.
I'd entered thrilled...
Only to find it already claimed.
A highly awkward turn of events.
"Heros. Likewise, a mage."
I bought time to think with my introduction.
If I'd been in his shoes, I wouldn't forgive someone who'd slaughtered my familiars out of nowhere.
Truth be told, I felt a bit wronged too.
How was I supposed to guess a mage was controlling those Nachera?
'Alright, let's see your move.'
I watched Stalling closely, Lightning Bolt at the ready if he attacked.
But his reaction caught me off guard.
"I don't want to fight you! How about we talk this out?"
Stalling raised both hands in surrender.
His terrified expression didn't look feigned.
Whatever the case, I'd seized the initiative, so now I'd grill him on what mattered.
"Talk? Fine. What were you doing here?"
I glanced around as I asked.
The cave brimmed with random junk.
Some stained with blood.
He'd either killed for it or scavenged from the dead.
One or the other.
"Cleaning the roads. Times like these, unclaimed stuff is everywhere. Heh heh..."
Stalling answered with a servile grin.
"You mean killing refugees and looting them?"
At my sharp question, Stalling flinched hard.
He waved his hands frantically, denying it.
"No way! I told you—unowned items only. Everything's from the deceased. I swear on the Sky God, I've never harmed a soul!"
"Your Nachera were ripping into corpses."
"That... I couldn't control. I just let them forage on their own. You know the east is crawling with bandits, right? Must've been them. My Nachera don't attack humans."
His words rang true enough.
No wounds marred the Nachera's bodies.
A fight with humans would've left marks.
"Hmm..."
Long story short, Stalling was just a junk dealer.
Scavenging heirlooms to turn a profit, probably.
And I'd killed his helpers.
Morally gray, sure—but I had no grounds to punish him.
In other words, I was more at fault here.
How to resolve this weighed on me.
'Ah!'
Then a good idea struck.
"You with Eremus by any chance?"
If he turned out to be a dark mage, problem solved in a snap.
Just eliminate him.
But no such luck.
"Eremus? What's that?"
"This symbol—you don't recognize it?"
I showed him the necklace I always carried, but Stalling just shook his head.
He really seemed clueless about Eremus.
"S-Sorry... I don't know much about magic. Found a grimoire by chance, and somehow ended up learning spells from it."
He averted his eyes from my steady gaze as he explained.
In short, a self-taught mage, no master.
Nothing to be ashamed of.
Most mages started that way.
"I see."
I replied while racking my brain for a way to wrap this up.
Was my silence scaring him?
He piped up with an offer first.
"Take everything I have! Oh, and I’ve got a grimoire too! Yours if you want! Just spare my life, please!"
What?
Hand over all his stuff?
Including a grimoire?
Tempting as hell.
But that made it feel even shadier—like I was the criminal.
If he'd read my type and played it this way... Stalling was sharper than he looked.
His face said otherwise, though.
Just desperate to live.
"But you'd be the only one losing out. Let's trade instead."
"Trade?"
"I sell you knowledge, you pay with what I need. Sound good?"
So I went with a deal.
Stalling lacked magical know-how.
I'd teach him a few things from Master, take some items in return.
Seemed fair.
Maybe I was too soft.
But I didn't want to kill indiscriminately for gain like some dark mage.
When I reunited with Master, I wanted to face him with a clear conscience.
'Master would've tried resolving this peacefully too, if roles were reversed.'
With that in mind, I awaited his answer.
"A-Alright! Let's trade."
Stalling glanced at me warily but answered.
His face looked brighter than before.