The Man Who Doesn't Know Giving Up

A strange tension hung in the air inside the carriage heading to the mine.

Gaiyon stared silently out the window, while I performed the final checks on my Sunogi.

Perfect.

Even the last Sunogi checked out fine.

All ten should deliver identical performance.

The carriage came to a stop.

We'd arrived at our destination.

"We're here."

At the coachman's words, we stepped outside.

The mine entrance came into view.

And then.

"These are the guards' bodies."

As the scout had said, several corpses were strewn across the entrance.

"Judging by the tracks... it's been less than two hours."

"I see. But... something feels off."

Gaiyon scanned the surroundings.

I listened to the scout and Gaiyon's exchange, then naturally cut in.

"What's off? What seems strange?"

"The state of the bodies. Thieves wouldn't kill this brutally."

Looking closer at the scout's words, the corpses were gruesome.

Wounds like they'd been torn apart by a beast.

That's when the system activated.

This...

The system's warning message, which had saved countless hunters' lives.

It was working perfectly here too.

Even without the system, my instincts screamed danger.

This wasn't the work of mere thieves.

"Lena, Sunogi."

"Yes!"

Lena handed it over immediately.

Gaiyon assumed a battle stance as well.

That's when it happened.

Krrraaawr...

A guttural roar echoed from the mine entrance.

"What the...?"

Gaiyon's eyes widened.

What emerged from the mine was something that shouldn't exist in this world.

"Ogre... skeleton?"

A hulking ogre form, bones mingled with rotting flesh.

Glowing blue eyes fixed on us.

Kraaaargh!

"Everyone, evade! Flame Spear!"

Blue flames poured forth at Gaiyon's shout.

Thung-thung- thung-thung-

I fired the Sunogi on instinct.

But the bolts merely grazed the undead ogre's bones.

Even when they lodged in, they barely scratched it.

"Normal attacks won't work! Soldiers, fall back!"

Gaiyon shouted.

Red mana swirled around his hand.

"Flame Spear!"

The crimson spear pierced the ogre skeleton's bones.

But it didn't deal significant damage.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The thing just staggered briefly.

An ogre, I could maybe handle with Sunogi... but an ogre skeleton? Of all things...

I hadn't anticipated this.

I'd come expecting mere bandits.

"Gaiyon, do you have any holy water on you?"

Gaiyon was a battle mage.

High chance he'd carry some.

You never knew what tricks an enemy might pull.

But his irritated voice snapped back.

"Who the hell carries that around daily? Cover me!"

Battle mages here didn't carry holy water, apparently.

I needed another way through.

"Lena! Cover Gaiyon!"

* * *

Gaiyon engaged the ogre skeleton.

A true battle mage.

He mainly used fire magic while controlling the distance.

But he wouldn't last long.

This won't end well...

I gritted my teeth.

Crisis or not, my mind stayed cool.

Watching the fight dragged on, a new message appeared.

A potential breakthrough.

Ah, now it's clicking.

I spotted the manastone embedded in the ogre's bones.

Glowing blue—definitely mid-grade, maybe even high-grade.

"Gaiyon, target the manastone! It's in the bones!"

"How am I supposed to hit that precisely? Quit nagging and fire more!"

I'd pointed out the weakness, but all I got was Gaiyon's snappy retort.

Precision strikes with magic seemed beyond him right now.

"Lena, aim for the manastone in the bones!"

"Got it! I'll try!"

Thung-thung- thung-thung-

Ting- ting-ting-

Sunogi bolts struck the manastone.

But not enough.

Was the bone too tough, or some protective spell? The bolts wouldn't penetrate properly.

Damn, there has to be a way...

Before I could finish thinking, the ogre skeleton charged.

It swept its bone club across the ground.

Thung-thung- thung-thung-

I barely dodged, and Lena's Sunogi bolts flew from the other side.

Aiming for the manastone again.

Thud-thud-thunk-!

"Kraaang?"

The undead ogre staggered.

A crack in the manastone.

But still short.

We needed a decisive blow.

Then I remembered the work with Stain.

What if...

I quickly pulled a water bottle from my spatial pouch.

Just filled with clean water.

But I rapidly enchanted it.

"Done!"

The effect was temporary, but I'd made something like holy water.

With purification magic as a weakness, it should work.

Splash-splash-splash-

I poured the fake holy water into the Sunogi's quiver and handed the rest to Lena.

What remained...

"Lena, throw it!"

"Yes!"

Lena hurled the remaining bottle at the undead ogre.

I aimed the Sunogi.

Thung-

Thung-

Thung-thung-thung-thung-thung-

The fake holy water splashed over the undead ogre's head, and Sunogi bolts targeted its manastone.

Thud-thud-thud-

Crack!

Kraaaagh!

Part of the manastone shattered.

But the ogre's thrashing kept it from total destruction.

"Gaiyon, now!"

"Got it! Dance of Flames!"

Gaiyon's spell relentlessly bore into the undead ogre.

Flames engulfed it completely, and then the heavy sound I'd been waiting for rang out.

Crack-crunch- crack-

Bones shattered as the undead ogre collapsed.

The manastone lay in pieces.

Reduced to dust.

"What in the world..."

Gaiyon stared at me in shock.

The wariness in his expression melted away like snow.

His eyes now demanded an explanation.

"It was an experiment with Stain. Glad it proved useful."

"With Stain? What did you do in that short time?"

Given the situation, I gave a brief summary.

I skipped whether the potion had succeeded.

Just said we'd experimented with enchanting potions.

"So... you enchanted clean water with Touch of Purification?"

"Yes. The effect is temporary, so it had to be used right away."

"Incredible. Truly incredible."

Gaiyon, a 3rd-class mage, looked genuinely astonished.

But not at the magic idea itself, unlike what I'd thought.

"The composure to think of that in a crisis like this... that's what's truly shocking."

"Oh, i-is that so?"

"Yes. Recalling an experiment with that monster right in front of you? Who could do that?"

His words made sense.

Without my hunter days' countless trials, I'd have frozen and awaited death.

Not pissing myself was praise enough.

"Remembering the experiment in a pinch is one thing, but pulling off the enchantment with that boldness... Honestly, I'm jealous."

"Haha, you're too kind. It only had a minor effect—the one who felled it was you, Gaiyon."

"Nonsense. Without you, I'd have been in danger. I'm thorough in battle analysis, so no arguments."

True to a battle mage, he reviewed combat coldly.

No ego-boosting boasts.

"Overconfidence in one's skill brings death to a battle mage."

His cool demeanor started making sense.

Seemed he harbored no ill will toward me.

Just interest in Sunogi as combat gear.

"So, about that..."

Gaiyon, mid-praise, seemed to pivot to the main point.

"How about switching to battle mage?"

"Me? But crafting's my specialty."

"No, from what I've seen, you overflow with battle mage talent. Wasting that on crafting... it's a national loss, frankly."

Unlike his first impression, Gaiyon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠persistently urged me to switch.

But no interest.

I was done with diving into danger.

Quietly, I pointed deeper into the mine.

Emphasizing it wasn't over.

"Right. We should head in first. We'll talk battle mage later."

The man who didn't know giving up.

His name: Gaiyon.

A passionate side utterly unlike his first impression.

Though only about battle, it seemed.

"Clear this area! It's undead! Grab holy water, anti-undead gear! Supplies too! Inform the lord—undead sighting!"

Gaiyon's face turned serious.

He now saw me as an equal comrade.

And he prepared thoroughly against undead.

Now the real fight begins.

I steeled myself.

The ogre skeleton was unexpected.

Should've stayed in the city.

Regretting my pointless bid to build standing in the territory.