Chapter 160
Chapter 160
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter 160: Raventa
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Now that I could use magic, my body felt itchy all over.
I looked around.
Two slender elves in light armor.
Liriana, slung over my back.
And the luxurious staff in my right hand.
'This must be the problem, huh?'
I stored the staff in my inventory.
The effect showed up almost immediately.
I could hear the whispers of the thieves hiding in the bushes.
Sure enough, clothes and gear made all the difference.
My status plummeted from knight to slave in an instant.
Whether they'd calculated it or not, the thieves burst out from front and back, surrounding us. Their grubby faces twisted into savage grins.
"Surrender, and I'll spare your lives."
The thieves' eyes gleamed with greed as they ogled my women.
They'd spare us even without surrender.
The women, that is.
And if they were ordinary women, they'd face hell itself.
"What do you want to do?"
Ayla asked me with a look of disgust.
"What do you mean, what...?"
(......If you just back off, I'll pretend this never happened.)
I muttered a warning in a voice just loud enough for them to barely hear.
"What're you muttering, you slave!? Wanna die?"
One thief snarled, trying to intimidate me, face contorted.
"Shame you didn't heed the warning."
"What?"
I pulled the magic staff from my inventory.
"Huh?"
The thieves panicked at the sight of me conjuring a staff from thin air.
Black mana began gathering at the staff's tip.
"F-Fuck..."
Only then did realization dawn on the thieves' faces—they'd fucked up. They went pale.
Explosion
Mana sphere launched!
"Explosion."
The mana orb shot forward rapidly, striking the bandits ahead before detonating.
-KABOOM!
The explosion wiped out a chunk of the front-line bandits.
The survivors rolled on the ground, groaning in agony.
"F-Fuck! He's a high-rank mage!! Run!"
The ones in the back bolted immediately.
I fired off Explosions in rapid succession at the scattering foes.
-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
My Explosions turned the surroundings to wasteland.
"Did you really need to go this far?"
Ayla shot me a bewildered look amid my wild spell-slinging.
"Thieves are a blight on society. If I hadn't dealt with them, innocent people would suffer. Justice demands the iron hammer."
"Hmph. You look like a newbie mage itching to show off his first spells."
Liriana chimed in, awakened by the racket of my Explosions.
"......"
I grabbed a firm handful of Liriana's ass—she was still on my back.
"Ahng. Un-ho, you rascal, playing around again."
As we traveled, we ran into not just thieves but monsters too.
Orcs and goblins, mostly.
They scattered in terror from a single Explosion, just like the thieves.
I regretted not encountering any large monsters.
"The roads are periodically patrolled by the lord's men. If reports of strong monsters come in, they'll be hunted down."
Liriana explained to my disappointed self.
The staff's Absolute Shield could only be used once a day, and it wasn't even something I'd likely need.
But Explosion? Pour in the mana, and it worked. It felt like real magic, and I was satisfied.
Marie, hurrying toward Raventa, spotted what she assumed was their campsite.
'Four? Him and two elves... wasn't it three?'
The campsite traces suggested four people.
Soon after, she found the devastated scene.
Bodies swept by explosions.
Shoddy gear.
Traces of monsters gnawing on them.
'Magic traces. Explosion? Victims look like thieves... then goblins scavenged the corpses. Some bodies got dragged off by goblins...'
Explosion.
The most common spell in warfare.
A mid-tier spell usable by 5th-circle mages.
A mage's value hinged on whether they could cast it.
'One shot would've sufficed...'
And it was overkill for mere thieves.
'No word on a mage. Is it true he's a transcendent sword-mage?'
Mages pursued reason and efficiency.
Yet he'd spammed high-tier magic on thieves.
He'd fired so many that the forested road was blasted into a massive clearing.
Marie tilted her head at his unpredictable actions but kept tailing him.
'Maybe I'll catch sight of him in Raventa.'
Liriana snoozed comfortably on my back.
My back was sweaty.
She was sleeping like a baby.
Ayla's gaze toward Liriana wasn't friendly.
"Un-ho, let's grab a carriage or horse from over there."
A city came into view where Ayla pointed.
Honestly, I didn't mind the current setup.
I could grope Liriana's ass to my heart's content.
But judging by Ayla's attitude, she was dead set on getting a mount.
The city matched the map: Raventa.
It profited from proximity to Slumber Labyrinth.
The labyrinth influenced nearby cities.
Cities around Slumber buzzed with adventurers heading to the dungeon.
This one was no exception.
Our schedule had slipped more than expected.
Partly because I'd gotten hooked on magic and poked around everywhere.
Like razing a goblin village.
"It's been a while since we entered a city. Slumber Labyrinth—some new wonder popped up without me knowing. Adds to the joys of travel, I suppose?"
Liriana had woken up at some point.
"We're here, so put me down already?"
Ayla glared at Liriana.
"Ahem. Un-ho, set me down. Any longer, and that elf's dagger might end up in my back. She clings to you every night yet still so jealous."
"W-What did you say?!"
They'd bickered on the road whenever they could, so I just let it slide now.
The gate guard flinched at our appearance but waved us through easily.
'No bounties on us, then.'
The Erfu incident hadn't spread here yet.
No internet or TV, so it made sense.
We'd left quickly too.
Slumber was picky about entrants, unlike Raventa.
Best to get permits here, per Erfu intel.
Didn't apply to us, though.
Precisely, knights and mages got free passes.
It was for commoners.
The city felt a tad larger than Erfu.
Walking in, Liriana drew lots of eyes.
Her noble attire and stunning beauty guaranteed it.
And I got some too, next to her.
We found the biggest, nicest inn.
A six-story building—more hotel than inn.
Guards out front.
They didn't stop us, seeing Liriana's elegance and my obviously high-end staff.
Gear carry mattered that much.
One item swung status wildly.
Inside revealed a clean, antique lobby—different from modern hotels but classy.
"Welcome to Raventa Hotel."
The manager, dressed as impeccably as the building, bowed in greeting.
'Actual hotel. I like it.'
We booked rooms at one gold per night.
We gathered in the hotel's fancy restaurant to plan ahead.
I hadn't expected much from the food, but heavy spices made it worth the price—pretty tasty.
Room service available too.
'Cheap enough to stock the inventory.'
With big eaters around, we needed food reserves.
Variety to avoid boredom.
This place's grub tasted good; scouring the city might yield gems.
"First, we need a carriage!"
Ayla, beside me, declared.
She really hated Liriana riding piggyback all the way.
To me, it was just cute jealousy.
"I'm fine staying on Un-ho's back like this, but..."
Liriana said elegantly, slicing her steak.
"You're so shameless. Not sorry at all for riding Un-ho the whole way?"
"Sorry? Seems Un-ho enjoyed it plenty."
"What?"
I'd secretly kneaded Liriana's ass nonstop, out of Ayla's sight.
Carrying Liriana wasn't bad, but before she said more nonsense, I spoke up.
"Ahem. Rest today, get a carriage tomorrow. Then hit the food tour."
Big city.
Carriage would make touring easier.
"Food tour?"
They gave puzzled looks at my unfamiliar term.