Chapter 85

-Flame Wall (Flame Wall, 3rd Tier).

It was exactly what it sounded like—a spell that erected a high-output wall of fire.

Because it was a channeling spell, the caster could continue to maintain and control it as long as their capacity allowed, even after the magic had already manifested.

Normally, it required eight linked runes—basic runes combined with derivative ones—but I substituted the marker rune ([ᛁ]) and the element rune ([ᚲ´]) with a mithril dagger, and by giving up directional manipulation, I cut out one more rune.

The result was the same kind of shortcut construction as the Call Lightning I had used against the bandit knight before—a 2.5-tier (degraded) spell composed of only five runes.

Naturally, the arrangement was done by our resident engineer—no, our magic nerd—Sodin.

Anyway.

The nomad-tribe woman stared at the intense flames, which grew and shrank in response to my control, and asked hesitantly, “Kate said you were a Steel Body user… didn’t she?”

“I’m just naturally strong. I think that’s why she misunderstood. I mean, I’m only an apprentice. She probably just glanced at my face and stamped approval. That sort of thing.”

“I-I see. I thought you were unusual, but I never imagined you were a mage…”

“I’m only 2nd Tier, though.”

“What? 2nd Tier? This is 2nd Tier magic? The 2nd Tier mages I know can’t do anything like this. All they do is fire off fist-sized fireballs into the air and brag about it…”

From the sound of it, she meant Fire Bolt, which was a 1st Tier spell.

Either that mage had lied about being 2nd Tier, or they were a freshly promoted 2nd Tier beginner.

Comparing someone like that to me—who was using a 3rd Tier spell, even if through shortcuts—was unfair.

When I answered with a shrug instead of a long explanation, a human woman who looked cute but a little airheaded asked brightly, “But this looks like a channeling spell. Are you going to keep it up all night?”

“It’s only 2nd Tier magic. If you can’t maintain that while sleeping, can you really call yourself a mage?”

Technically, fake-Shia—no, Sis—was doing it for me. Admirable, right?

“Oh? Is that so? Then what about the mana consumption?”

“I have a lot of mana.”

“I’ve never heard of a fire-element 2nd Tier spell like this. What kind of magic is it!?”

I turned the question back on the human woman who was grilling me relentlessly. “You seem to know a lot about magic.”

Realizing she had been rude, she smiled widely and waved her hands. “Ah, sorry! It was just so fascinating, I got carried away. I actually used to be a mage applicant myself.”

“Ah…”

“I dreamed of exploring labyrinths since I was little. When I told my parents I wanted to be an adventurer, they said there was no way they’d let a woman run around swinging a sword. So I thought, ‘Then I’ll hold a staff instead of a sword!’ and tried to become a mage… but it was a total disaster. Hehe. I even went into debt with a magic tower and bought ridiculously expensive potions on credit.”

“Ah…”

“And now, funny enough, I’m running labyrinths to pay off that debt. I was short on money and missed a single payment, and the collector from the ‘Firefly’ Magic Tower showed up… they were absolutely terrifying.”

“And the next day, my mom told me I had to go into the labyrinth immediately and earn money. If I didn’t, she said the whole family would have to flee overnight, or follow my father, who passed away recently. Hehe.”

“…….”

“Well, thanks to that, I became an adventurer in the end. Pretty funny story, right?”

The nomad-tribe woman scratched her head, then raised her hand and smacked the human woman on the back of the head—smack!

“Is that funny? You think that’s funny? I told you not to say mood-killing crap like that in front of people. You crazy bitch.”

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The nomad-tribe woman bowed deeply to me and apologized on the human woman’s behalf. “S-sorry. She’s a bit… offbeat. She doesn’t know what she should or shouldn’t say.”

Thanks to the human woman’s self-deprecating joke—which embodied the old saying, “Where three walk together, one is always a lunatic,” the ice broke, and they soon began pouring out words as if they’d been waiting for this.

“So anyway, I went on a blind date recently…”

“Hey, wait. I’m talking. Ignore her nonsense and—”

“I have a mage friend too, actually…”

“No, that’s not it! You don’t even know the details. She was actually dating five people at once—”

“You said your name was Sword God, right? What type are you, Sword God…?”

I accepted the barrage with a professional smile, until I finally realized something was very wrong.

Good grief. What a pair of nonstop talkers. Did a ghost who died from not being able to speak possess them or something? Why did they have so much to say? How had they even held it in until now?

But it was too late to yell at them to shut up, so in the end, I screamed an utterly introverted ‘Kyaaa!’ inside my head and offered Shia—who had been dozing peacefully in my arms—as a sacrifice.

‘Shia! Shia! Save me!!’

‘Mmm… what is it now, my dear.’

‘The extroverts! The vicious extroverts are trying to drown me with words!’

‘Honestly. Step aside. This lady will handle it.’

And then, a miracle happened.

Amazingly, Shia—who stepped in with an expression that said “fine, I’ll save you just this once”—unleashed her signature affinity, and in barely ten seconds, she completely redirected both of their aggro onto herself.

One minute to become best friends. Was this for real?

I stared blankly at Shia as she deftly conducted the conversation like an orchestra maestro, then quietly slipped into the large shadow cast by the orc beside me.

“…What are you doing, human? Why are you coming over here?”

“It’s nothing. Really.”

“…Human. I’m not into that kind of thing.”

“I’m not either, okay? Just keep doing what you were doing. Ignore me.”

“…Hm.”

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Anyway.

Listening quietly from the side, I learned that the nomad-tribe woman’s name was Tipola. She was a Steel Body user and a Bronze-rank adventurer. Her stage was probably Novice. If she were a mana user, she would have at least been Silver.

The human woman next to her was named Clio. She was also Bronze-rank. What was unusual was that she was a psychic—but neither a mage nor a Steel Body user. Her ability was…

“‘Sharp Shotter?”

“Yeah!”

Shia let out a soft “Oooh~” of admiration.

“A Sharp Shooter… so you’re a ‘Chosen Vocation’ user then.”

“That’s right. You know how they say desperation opens a path? I felt bad freeloading off Tipola, who’s a Steel Body user, so I worked myself to death. Then one day—bam! It just clicked! The moment I awakened, the words [Sharp Shooter] slammed itself into my head. It was seriously amazing~.”

“Hmmm. A ‘Chosen Vocation,’ huh…”

“What are you staring like that for? Beast Tamers are Chosen Vocation users too, you know.”

“Ah… right. That was the setting. I had forgotten for a moment.”

“Ahahahaha! Shia, you’re weird! And what’s with that way of talking? You sound exactly like my late grandpa!”

“Heh. I am far older than your grandfather, I’d wager.”

“Huh? Weren’t you human, Shia!?”

“Hehehe. Why hide it any longer?! I am none other than the North Demon King, Akathastasia!!”

“Ahahahahaha! Shia, that’s hilarious! A Demon King, she says!! So cute!”

“More importantly, if you’re a Beast Tamer, then your beast must be nearby, right? Can you show us?”

“My beast? Hmm… well, it should be fine. Hosik. Come forth.”

Meow~

“A cat! A cat!! Tipola, it’s a cat!”

“Whoa! It’s real! So cute! But why is a beast a cat!?”

“Ahem. Our Hosik is rather cute, yes. Ah—ah—don’t handle him too roughly. You might get eaten.”

“Ahahaha! She says it’ll eat us!”

I admired the sky-piercing tension of their excitement and fell briefly into thought.

-Chosen Vocation (천직자).

As if bestowed by the heavens, this new psychic ability—first discovered 200 years ago and steadily increasing in number—was what people called a ‘racial psychic ability,’ appearing only in humans, much like ‘Spirit Caller (exclusive to elves and dwarves)’ or ‘Dragon Shifter (exclusive to dragonkin).’

The power it used was not ‘Mana,’ like Steel Body users or mages, but ‘Psychic Force (Psychic).’

The advantage of Chosen Vocations was that, befitting humans—a short-lived race—their early- to mid-stage growth was fast, and within their specific field, they could display outstanding power.

The downside was that they lacked versatility compared to Steel Body or magic, and the higher one’s stage climbed, the longer the stagnation periods became.

To put it simply, it was an ability with a high floor but a low ceiling.

For reference, as could already be guessed from earlier conversation, the “Beast Tamer” title Shia was using as a cover also fell under this Chosen Vocation category.

“Clio. I’ve shown you Hosik, so why don’t you show us your ability as a Sharp Shooter?”

“Ah, my ability? I mean, all I really do is shoot things…”

At Shia’s prompting, Clio trailed off and picked up the bow she had laid beside her. She scanned the surroundings, then seemed to spot something and nocked an arrow, drawing the string toward the pitch-black darkness.

Kiiiii—

“…That’ll do.”

Huh? I couldn’t see anything at all…. Maybe that Sharp Shooter vocation granted infrared vision or something.

“Flash Lightning Arrow!”

With a chuunibyou-style shout, bang!—a shockwave exploded outward. A sonic boom. In other words, the arrow had just exceeded the speed of sound.

And from far off in the distance came a short scream—“Keh!”

“Hmph. Hit.”

Tipola narrowed her eyes and asked, “…Clio. What did you shoot?”

“Hm? A goblin.”

“…A goblin?”

“Yeah. About forty of them. There’re also like thirty kobolds next to them. Want me to try shooting a kobold this time?”

“…….”

“…….”

A cold silence flowed between us.

Only then did we grasp what her cheerful words actually meant, and our eyes widened.

Tipola sprang to her feet and shouted, “Monsters!! Weapons up!!!”

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Tap! Tap-tap!!

“…Ah, shit. Look at this firewood. It won’t catch at all.”

‘Breed’ struggled with the logs soaked through with rain, then finally tossed the flint and fire kit onto the ground.

“You idiots. Even if they’re wet, you’re supposed to bring the ones that are only a little damp. What the hell am I supposed to do with logs that are half water, half wood!?”

At that, one of the three who had gone to fetch firewood puffed out his cheeks in protest.

“That’s the best stuff we could find. Anyway, we brought it back, so figure it out somehow. Fuck, I’m freezing to death.”

“That’s why I’m saying I can’t!”

Another guy chimed in with a snide tone.

“Brother Breed, you’ve been Bronze-ranked for a long time now, yeah? You must’ve made plenty of money. Why didn’t you buy a fire-starting artifact? If you had one of those, lighting a fire would be easy even if the wood was soaked.”

“Fuck off. Why would I waste money on that when I’ve got a perfectly good fire kit?”

As he spoke, Breed smacked his lips and pointed toward another group some distance away, who were sharing stew.

“At times like this, you could be eating something warm like those guys.”

He glared once at the heckler, then bent down to pick up the fire kit again.

Like it or not, he had to get a fire going. Otherwise, five bearded men might end up crammed under a single blanket, rubbing against each other like parasites through the night. The horrifying image sent shivers crawling up his spine.

Tap! Tap!!

“…Hah…”

After struggling for a while to spark the fire, a dry chuckle suddenly escaped his lips.

Despite being nearly fifty, he had no family and nothing to show for his life—and the thought of it made his situation feel newly pathetic.