The Reincarnated Mage Is Obsessed with Modern Science!!
I was furious. What I discovered was a wrecked, half-collapsed large cargo truck.
Its rear end had sunk to the ground, creating a natural ramp.
In simple terms, a launch pad.
“Dalguji! Full power! Boosters on! Maximum speed!”
[Ian, this is too dangerous!]
Dolmaeng-i seemed to be trying to stop me, but its voice felt distant, like something heard in a dream.
My ears were ringing too.
Which meant I couldn’t hear it properly.
Since I was going to do it anyway, might as well do it right?
“Hehehehe.”
[Ian? Why are you taking out a Mana Stone? You appear mentally unstable. Please rest. Or better yet, close your eyes and leave the rest to me and Dalguji.]
What is it saying? Why is it talking so much?
Aha. How adorable~
It was the Mana Stone I’d pulled out after killing that hobgoblin earlier.
Even though it was only the size of a fingernail, it looked so beautiful.
You guys are dead now! I can’t see anything in front of me right now, you know?
«Ziiiiing—»
“Mhehehehe!”
The Mana Stone glowed blue as circuits began to form across its surface.
If I only crystallized the non-circuit parts and blew them away, I could work on it without any special tools.
[Ian? Your expression is extremely strange. The Mana Stone is glowing blue—is everything alright?]
Is Dolmaeng-i scared?
I once thought it was afraid I might make a weapon comparable to a nuclear bomb with a Mana Stone… but now I’m actually doing it?
Life really is unpredictable, huh?
“I can blow those bastards away in one shot.”
[Even without that, if you wait a little longer the fortress will send support. Ian? Ian? Ian?]
Hehehe. The work was already finished.
Tiny, intricate circuits engraved into the Mana Stone.
They contained a method to forcibly cause a runaway reaction, trigger collisions, and convert the resulting energy into pure destructive force.
In my previous life, we called them mana bombs. Since it was small, it probably wouldn’t fly too far.
“Dalguji! Our lives are in your hands! Do your best!”
“Baaaaang—!”
With Dalguji’s powerful honk, we accelerated toward the wrecked cargo truck.
«Guaaaang— Crash, clatter, bang—»
The small rocks and shallow potholes scattered across the ground made Dalguji bounce wildly.
At this rate, we must have been going seventy to eighty kilometers per hour?
“Kekeke. Let’s go home!”
30 meters…
…
20 meters…
-Hey! What the hell is that?!
-It’s a car!
-What are those idiots doing?!
-Turn the truck! We can’t get a clear shot! You morons!
Who are you calling idiots, you bastards?!
We helped you, but you won’t help me?
Just wait! We’ll handle crossing over ourselves!
10 meters…
…
3 meters…
2 meters…
1 meter…
«Crunch»
Whether from the speed or the weight, the truck’s cargo bed sank a little further.
[The chassis has sunk further! Success probability has decreased!]
“Eh~ I don’t care~”
Even though Dolmaeng-i had warned me, there was no way I could stop here.
If I stopped now, we’d just slam straight into the ground?
Even if I can’t eat it, I’ll still go for it!
We followed the ramp, and beyond the fortress wall, the blue sky came into view.
A heavy jump from the end of the launch pad~
We were flying through the sky.
-Uwaaaah!
-Get out of the way! A car is flying!
-What kind of crazy people are they?!
“K- u- h- h-”
In that moment, even my own voice seemed to slow down.
The sky visible through the black smoke was unbearably blue.
Just like the Mana Stone I’d left behind.
What a perfect day to blow something up~
“Th- at- one- eat- it- !”
But there was one thing I had overlooked.
When you throw something backward while running forward at high speed, inertia causes it to roll quite a lot.
Still, was it fortunate? The monsters had become even more frenzied trying to catch us and had rushed forward faster.
[At this rate we will collide with the wall at 100%! Brace for impact!]
Hehehe. Dolmaeng-i?
If propulsion is lacking?
Just add more, that’s all.
«Kwaaaaaaaaang—»
A massive explosion roared from behind us.
A scorching hot wind pushed against our backs.
Going back a little in time.
Around the time Ian had reached 2nd Circle inside the cave, strange reports began coming in from the Gate.
“Camp Commander! Injured people are coming in! They say a monster we’ve never seen before has appeared!”
“What is it? Ah, you said it’s the first time? How dangerous is it?”
Injured hunters at the camp were common, but an unknown monster required caution.
The current Gate was far larger than previous ones, so the Association was keeping a close eye on it.
“People are calling them orcs. Each individual is on par with an Awakened.”
“Warn the people—no, prohibit anyone from going outside for now.”
“There will be strong backlash from the civilians, sir.”
“It’s better than dying. Let’s be thorough.”
Modern people familiar with fantasy had named the creatures orcs based on their appearance.
In novels they were portrayed as weak, but in reality they were larger and stronger than humans—monsters not to be taken lightly.
“Also, send someone outside to report to the Association and request reinforcements in advance. Gather people for reconnaissance.”
The camp commander in charge of internal command had a very cautious personality.
-Why won’t you let us go out?!
-At least give us a reason!
-How long do we have to wait then?!
While the people were protesting, soldiers and high-ranking hunters entered from outside.
The Association and hunters had cursed him at first, but soon they had no choice but to praise the camp commander.
Because the monsters had formed a horde and appeared at the fortress.
“Orcs are leading goblins out of the forest and swarming this way!”
“What?! How do they even know we’re here?!”
“There’s a truck running at the front. It looks like the people who went far out to work didn’t hear the radio.”
The monsters that had been chasing the truck stopped in confusion upon seeing the wide open plain and the fortress.
In that moment, the truck entered the fortress.
“Shouldn’t we take care of the ones we can see right now?”
“Won’t unnecessary noise just attract more of them?”
While they hesitated, some of the monsters disappeared back into the forest. They had gone to call for reinforcements.
After all, the number of people lined up on the walls was far greater than the force that had arrived.
“Did they leave?”
“Yes. The ones hiding in the forest and watching suddenly vanished.”
“Monsters just leaving? Is that even possible?”
Monsters held endless hostility toward humans.
If they saw them as prey, they wouldn’t give up on a hunt this easily.
“Strengthen the defenses! They will definitely return!”
“Do you really think so?”
“If they don’t, that’s fortunate….”
“We can only hope they don’t.”
The walls surrounding the camp were only three to four meters high.
The camp commander found the wall height terribly disappointing.
“If only the wall was a little higher.”
“We have to consider the materials…”
“I know. I’m just disappointed.”
Since they were only a little bigger than humans, three to four meters was awkward. Two people standing on each other’s shoulders could easily climb over.
And the camp commander’s uneasy feeling soon became reality.
«Weeeeee—»
“Monsters! The monsters are coming!”
“All troops to the walls!”
“Send someone outside to request more support! Tell everyone to come inside!”
It seemed every monster inside the Gate had gathered at the fortress.
There were so many it looked like the forest itself was walking forward.
“What the hell is all that…”
“This is bad! Request artillery support immediately! Grenades or mortars won’t be enough!”
Before long the monsters began charging, and the low walls looked like they would collapse under the green wave at any moment.
«Ratatatata— Bang! Ratatat—»
As the machine guns spat fire, monsters fell like reeds.
But there were too many monsters, and they were closing in fast.
«Shwoong— Crackle—»
Fireballs and lightning bolts flew toward the monsters. The Awakened had stepped forward.
They attacked from range, while those with weapons waited among the soldiers.
If the monsters climbed the walls, they would swing their weapons and sweep them away.
“Thank you!”
“Once those bastards are gone, home isn’t far! Just focus ahead!”
“Yes!”
And so an unexpected siege battle began.
The monsters, lacking long-range weapons, could not cross the low fortress threshold no matter how hard they pushed.
While the war of attrition dragged on, Ian appeared.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t that a yellow car over there?”
“It’s… too small?”
Dalguji was mostly yellow and extremely visible even from afar.
Especially since the monsters and the forest were entirely green.
“Look? There are people riding it? What on earth are they doing?”
“What should we do? Supporting fire is…”
“This is bad. We can’t even open the gate right now…”
Inside, they couldn’t help and could only continue dealing with the monsters.
But from outside, Ian was drawing aggro on her own and leading the monsters away.
“No way! Did she realize we were in trouble and come to help?!”
“Camp Commander! People like that…!”
“When they should be hiding, they’re risking their lives…”
“The spirit of chivalry is still alive!”
The Association President and everyone else.
To the people exhausted from the siege against the monsters, Ian’s actions looked heroic.
Wasn’t she ignoring her own safety to divert the monsters’ attention that had been focused on the fortress?
“Everyone, hold on! We have to take care of them so those people can be safe!”
“Uwaaaaah! Kill them all!”
“There’s no time to sit and rest!”
But as time passed, something strange happened.
“Huh? Why are all the monsters heading that way?”
“What is it? What are they doing that’s making them go over there?”
“All the monsters on the wall are rushing that direction!”
The Magic Missiles fired from the shaking vehicle had missed due to accuracy issues and struck the monsters in the back of the head, enraging them.
The aggro had been perfectly drawn.
Many monsters chased after whoever was running without even knowing why.
“First, clear the monsters near the wall and begin supporting fire!”
The soldiers and hunters were definitely helping Ian.
They just didn’t realize it because there were too many monsters chasing her.
That was when it happened.
The furious Ian charged toward the broken truck.
“Huh? What are those friends doing now?”
“That truck broke down and stopped, didn’t it?”
“Why keep circling instead of coming to the gate?”
The people had no idea why Ian was running toward the fortress.
When the vehicle, racing at insane speed, used the rear of the truck as a jump ramp—
“Huh? Isn’t that the Gate nuisance girl?”
“Isn’t that a toy car?”
“Why is she there?”
“This feels ominous…”
People could instinctively sense when something would lead to a bad outcome.
You could call it a sixth sense or just a gut feeling.
The people on the wall felt goosebumps and their mouths went dry for no apparent reason.
“It— it jumped!”
“Crazy!”
“It was going so well, why is it doing that?!”
Ian’s group soaring through the sky and scattering in all directions.
“Uwaaaah! They’re going to crash into the wall!”
“No!”
No matter how you looked at it, their flight path was heading straight for the wall.
The people did not want those who had sacrificed for the fortress to get hurt like this.
Amid the words of pity and sighs, Ian’s slightly unhinged shout rang out.
-Kyahahahaha! Die, all of you!
“What is she saying?”
“She… she sounds crazy?”
“This is weird… Should we move aside a bit?”
It was right when the people were taking a few steps back from the bad feeling.
«Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang—»
Let there be light—
With a tremendous flash, the Mana Stone Ian had left behind exploded.
The center was torn apart by a powerful mana storm, and the collision of the storm generated incredible heat.
The corpses burned and the flames spread through the air.
Along with a vivid mushroom cloud, the monsters that had been chasing Ian vanished without a trace.
-Kyahahahaha!
And whether Ian had intended it or not, the explosive shockwave pushed the backs of her group who were floating in the air, allowing them to clear the fortress wall.
Though the fortress wall itself was half-destroyed, so jumping over it didn’t mean much.
«Shwooooong— Crash, thud, kwaaang!»
“Uwaaaaack! Save me! Mommmmm!”
Around the time they cleared the wall and began to fall, Ian finally came to her senses.
Still, was it fortunate? By sheer luck, they fell onto a large military tent.
The tent collapsed completely and the inside was ruined, but thanks to that, Ian landed without a scratch.
“I… I thought I was going to die…”
Ian, crawling out from under the collapsed tent, looked completely out of it.
Her body was fine, but the fortress was half-destroyed, the command tent had been blown away, and both Dolmaeng-i and Dalguji were embedded in a building.
“This…? Isn’t this a disaster?”
“The damage seems even worse?”
“What should we do?”
“I don’t know…”
The camp commander made a bizarre expression that was neither laughing nor crying.
The people didn’t know yet, but thanks to Ian’s finishing move, the camp had achieved an incredible result.
They had eliminated hundreds—no, thousands of monsters that were about to pour outside without a single casualty.
But there wasn’t a single thing left intact in the camp.
“Uwaaa…. It hurts so much…”
“What kind of explosion was that?”
“Did the soldiers use some kind of weapon?”
There were no deaths, but the fortress was destroyed by the shock of the explosion, and everyone had been thrown around so much that there wasn’t a single spot on their bodies that didn’t hurt.
“What am I supposed to write in the report…”
As the camp commander pondered, a few tears welled up in his eyes.