Chapter 4

I awoke to the groans of the wounded, my eyes fixed on the tent’s ceiling.

Waking beneath a strange ceiling, it’s the second time today already. No, the first was beneath a strange sky, so waking beneath a strange ceiling, this is the first time perhaps?

Awakening from my slumber, a low groan escaped my lips, prompted by the pain radiating from my left wrist. My gaze naturally shifted there, finding a splint supporting it.

A large, bluish bruise had risen beyond the splint, suggesting a fractured bone.

It was strange.

In my memory, the battle against the demons had concluded easily, leaving no opportunity for such an injury.

Where on earth did my bone break? As the question deepened, a single possibility flashed through my mind.

‘Did it break from falling?’

Unscathed in battles against monsters of levels 30 and 40, but my bone breaks from merely falling on the street?

[Strength: 1]

[Stamina: 1]

……

My distorted stat window, invested solely in mana, flickered before my eyes.

The useless regret, ‘If I’d known this would happen, I would have allocated my stats more carefully,’ flickered in my mind then vanished in a blink.

…Seriously though, what kind of lunatic creates a character while considering the possibility of entering the game world?

If there was such a person, they’d become a patient in a mental ward far quicker than a mage in a game.

“Haa, what in the world is going on?”

When I first opened my eyes in this world, it was pure panic itself.

A city turned to ash, the stench of rot vibrating from all directions, sewer rats and overflowing waste.

“……”

For now, I lay on the uncomfortable cot in the barracks, slowly sorting through the events so far, one by one.

1. I’ve entered the game.

2. And I’m a total glass cannon, every stat besides magic stuck at 1.

3. To make matters worse, the only skill I can use is [Bloom], limited to once a day.

4. On top of everything, I couldn’t overcome my hipster instinct to ‘try something nobody else has,’ and I used [Bloom] on a whim today.

“Hmm.”

A situation practically begging for curses. Despite that, my brain didn’t lose its composure. Probably thanks to the [Calm] trait I got from starting as a vagrant.

Naturally striking up a conversation with Commander Hans to extract information, not even flinching at the tsunami of corpses while unleashing the power of [Bloom] – all thanks to the [Calm] trait.

…Even on the other side of the monitor, I thought this trait was broken, but actually using it? It feels even more like cheating.

“Status window?”

After calmly assessing the situation, on the off chance, I called out that name again, the one I’d screamed the moment I was thrown into this world.

Predictably, not a single letter appeared before my eyes.

A level 1 character had somehow managed to take down hundreds of level 10 mutants and even a low-tier, but still level 15, demon.

Even a rough calculation of the experience points from the monsters I’d taken down should have pushed me to around level 13.

But there was no change in my body whatsoever.

Nor did I feel myself growing stronger as my level increased.

All I could feel was faint exhaustion and the searing pain of fractures.

“Hmm…”

It seemed best to assume that this world had no game-like system, no experience points or level-ups. Even after taking down high-level monsters, there was no change in my body, and no status window had appeared.

‘This is a bit of a problem…’

No experience points, no level-up system, no status window. That meant this world was no different from reality.

Unlike a game where your character automatically gets stronger just by killing enemies, in reality, humans can only grow stronger through hard work and training.

To become a great warrior, you’d have to dedicate time to exercise and swordsmanship; to strengthen your magical power, you’d have to enter a magic tower and continue to train.

‘Everyone else who gets sucked into a game world gets help from some goddess, a status window to guide them… what? They get rich by hunting monsters, level up and become the strongest in the world, doing it all.’

If I was going to be sucked into a game world anyway, wouldn’t it have been nice if those convenient functions came along with it…?

‘…Enough. What’s the point of thinking about what I can’t have?’

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any more time to waste on self-pity.

The place I’d landed was a world on the brink of destruction, where crazy demons and monsters greeted you on every corner.

My immediate priority was to grow strong enough to somehow survive in this insane world.

Why I was sucked into a world like this, why I had to endure such a trial… it was probably best not to dwell too deeply on the reasons.

Thinking about such things wouldn’t change anything about my current situation. It would only deepen my feelings of despair and anxiety.

This world was a harsh place where you might only survive if you focused all your energy on productive thoughts.

“Hmm…”

To find a way to grow stronger, gathering information about my surroundings takes precedence. Even I, who had poured thousands of hours into this game, didn’t know much about ‘Strathos,’ the starting town for vagrants.

Because by the time a player truly took control of their character, this city had already been reduced to ruin by the demonfolk.

So, despite being a veteran player with a staggering 4,000 hours invested, I was ironically ignorant about this very city.

I rose from the bed and exited the barracks. If possible, it would be good to meet Hans and ask him this and that, like before…

“The Magician has risen.”

The adjutant, who had been standing listlessly in front of the barracks where the injured were resting, gazing at the sky, woke Hans, who was leaning against the city walls and sleeping, the moment he saw me emerge.

The moment Hans regained his senses, he clanked his heavy armor as he rose to his feet. He hastily removed his gauntlet and offered me a handshake.

“…I was too preoccupied then to properly express my gratitude. Thank you once again, Magician.”

“…”

In this world, magicians are treated as beings above even nobles.

In an age where neighbors die and friends go missing every other day, it was only natural that knights and magicians, who risked their lives on the battlefield, held a higher social standing than nobles who offered nothing but empty words.

The Lord’s words will not save your life, but the spell recited by a magician will save your life and incinerate the demonfolk.

“If you need or desire anything, please do not hesitate to ask. There is nothing more shameful than failing to repay the debt owed to the savior who protected our city.”

Unlike when we first met, Hans spoke with great formality.

Though it made me slightly uncomfortable, I didn’t bother to point out his change in demeanor.

Even though I only possessed a single usable spell, I was, in my own way, a magician…and I *had* actually saved their lives.

“I apologize, but I would appreciate a change of clothes, shoes, and water to wash with.”

“Fortunately, there are still a few wells throughout the city that remain unpolluted. I will order someone to fetch water immediately. We will also prepare clothes and shoes for you.”

“Thank you.”

I shed my rags and washed the grime and dust from my skin with the clean water.

Having finished my shower, I stood before the tarnished, cracked glass, slowly verifying exactly how I looked.

Skin as white as snow, a sharply defined nose. Sapphire eyes like splashes of paint on a pristine canvas, and hair somewhere between silver and white; objectively, subjectively, there was no denying I qualified as a ‘handsome man.’

If there were flaws, they were my origins as a vagrant and the fantastic collaboration of my pathetic Strength stat of 1, resulting in thin limbs and dark circles under my eyes, as heavy as ink.

Well, I hadn’t exactly obsessed over character customization when creating my persona, so these things were unavoidable.

…If only I’d invested just a little more time in character creation.

“By the way, when are the reinforcements scheduled to arrive?”

I spoke to Hans, trying to dry my damp hair in the sunlight that filtered through the heavy, charcoal-colored clouds.

“In two days, from now.”

“Are there any mages among those reinforcements?”

“Yes, the allied homeland said they would dispatch mages of at least the 4th Circle.”

“I see.”

Silently, I rested my chin in my hand, organizing my thoughts.

Originally, the most perilous and grueling stretch of the one-shot mage training route was the area immediately following the initial tutorial.

A human vagrant’s proper game play begins with escaping the city of Stradus, embarking on a journey toward the capital.

As with most games, the early zones are filled with level 1 trash mobs.

They incessantly provoke players with the attitude of, ‘Come on, defeat me to farm experience and items and familiarize yourself with the game’s combat system,’ and for most players, defeating as many of these provoking monsters as possible to farm items and experience was the tried and true method…

The problem was, the world I’d fallen into didn’t have experience points—there was no level-up system.

No matter how many monsters I defeated, I wouldn’t get stronger. Of course, it would help me hone my combat senses, but entering a proper mage tower and training would be far more efficient.

“The reinforcements, they’ll return to the capital immediately after confirming that the situation here has been resolved, won’t they?”

“…Uh, what? I suppose so?”

Hans paused, as if unsure of the question’s intent, before replying thus:

“Then, would it be alright if I stayed here for two days? I, too, must travel to the capital, and it would be beneficial if I could accompany them in their carriage.”

To add to that, I am no ordinary mage.

As a ‘One-Shot Wizard’ – capable of casting magic only once a day, and immediately losing consciousness afterward – venturing alone on a road teeming with low-level monsters was exceptionally perilous.

Imagine, if you will, the duration of my Bloom ending, leaving me sprawled on the roadside, and a stray dog suddenly deciding to tear at my throat. What would become of me?

“I will put in a good word. You saved our city; the least we can do is this much.”

Hans, watching me dry my hair in the sunlight, responded with a bright smile.

Hmm.

It seems I have discovered a rather brilliant shortcut, bypassing the most dangerous stage in the nurturing of a One-Shot Wizard.

* * *

Three days passed without incident.

The residents and guards, having narrowly escaped the demon threat, slowly began rebuilding the city’s outer walls.

The city, once consumed by a madness born of accumulated despair, was not yet fully restored, but at least a glimmer of hope flickered in the eyes of the people.

The crazed individuals who had screamed madly had fallen silent, and the corpses that had littered the streets had vanished.

Just before the sunlight hid its face behind dark clouds, reinforcements appeared beyond the horizon.

“I am Rex Belzark, son of Belzark.”

The one leading the reinforcements was Rex Belzark. An Orcish barbarian hero, he was a skilled named character in the allied forces faction, active in the game’s mid-section.

‘So, he’s the reinforcement that was supposed to come to Stratus.’

I exclaimed with a newfound awe, gazing upon the enormous, three-meter-tall orc, his body covered in muscles.

The oppressive aura was on a completely different level compared to what I had seen on the game screen.

“I heard tidings of grave urgency and rushed here, but… why does the battlefield seem so still?”

“In truth, it is thus…”

Guard Captain Hans, facing a towering orc capable of crushing a human skull as easily as a cake, began to concisely explain the events that had transpired.

“If what he says is true, this child must be an unbelievably gifted mage.”

The crimson-robed mage, who had been listening quietly beside the hero orc, Rex, regarded me with a slightly dubious gaze upon hearing Hans’s account.

“If the Captain’s words are accurate, and he single-handedly eliminated the demon and all those mutated creatures, that would mean this boy is at least a 7th Circle, high-level mage. If someone reached such heights at this tender age, word would undoubtedly have spread throughout the academic community…”

“What is your assessment?”

Rex spoke, looking towards the empty space just beside Hans.

“Pulse, heartbeat, all normal. I find no evidence that he speaks falsely.”

A voice, cool as a snake and constricting like a noose, echoed from the spot beside Hans, where clearly no one stood.

Startled, Hans jumped back from the spot, revealing a masked rogue who had deactivated their stealth skill.

The man, his entire body concealed beneath a jet-black mask, silently returned to the carriage, as if his role were complete.

“…The emergence of an unprecedented prodigy, then. Even Toker, who was born with a demonic talent, only reached the 6th Circle at the age of twenty-one…”

The crimson-robed mage stared at me, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Such talent cannot be allowed to languish here. He must be immediately taken to the Lightning School Magic Tower and provided with support for systematic training!”

While they engaged in this lengthy exchange, I… just stayed perfectly still.

Judging from the atmosphere of the conversation, it seemed the tale was unfolding in a direction that would benefit me, without me needing to do anything at all.

Having seen countless dialogues, choices, and endings, I possessed the ability to discern whether a conversation would be advantageous or detrimental to me based solely on the characters’ demeanors.

…It would have been nice to have this ability in my previous life, but oh well. This is reality now, so it hardly matters.

There was no need to fight the flowing water. Wherever the water arrived would be my destination.

Though it made me a touch uneasy, their misconstruing me as some grand entity – a ‘diamond in the rough of an unprecedented genius archmage’ – well, once we arrived in the capital and I officially entered the Magic Tower, our paths would never cross again. Thus, I didn’t feel the need to correct their misunderstanding.

“…Then we shall return to the capital. Straderus seems secure enough.”

I, the person actually involved, hadn’t uttered a single word, yet the matter progressed with startling speed.

Rex, the nameless rogue, and the crimson mage made the decision to turn the carriage and head directly back to the capital. With the demon dead, there was nothing left for them to do in Straderus.

I struggled to climb aboard the carriage, specially designed for mages and other such specialized professions.

Perhaps it was because my Strength stat was only 1, but climbing onto the high carriage step wasn’t easy for me.

But even with low Strength, surely I shouldn’t be so weak that I can’t even get into a carriage with a slightly high step?

“My name is Herion! Nice to meet you!”

Just as I was about to succumb to a feeling of absurdity surpassing even self-disgust at my own weakness, a slender hand reached out to me.

I took her hand.

Herion practically hauled me into the carriage like a piece of baggage.

She seemed a little taken aback that I’d been pulled up so easily.

“…Well, shall I offer you some snacks? Sit here, next to me.”

With these words, Herion pulled bite-sized chocolates from within her robes and offered them to me.

Then, she even suggested that I go straight to her Magic Tower as soon as we arrived in the capital.

She said that her tower lord was friendly with the heads of several reputable Electro-Art schools, and she would vouch for me by using her connections.

…It wasn’t a bad offer, but the thought of them eventually discovering my true nature made it impossible for me to shamelessly say, “Then I shall accept your kind offer.”

Herion seemed to regard me as an unprecedented genius, the greatest talent ever seen… but I am not that sort of person.

“Heh heh.”

All I could do for Herion was laugh it off like an old man of eighty.

“So, you’ve been self-taught all this time? Where did you even get magic books? Do you have a magician you admire, or maybe a romance spell you’ve always dreamed of learning?”

“Heh, no, not really…”

While Herrion and I were having this rather uneventful conversation, the masked bandit, face entirely concealed, had vanished without a trace.

Rex, owing to his massive frame, rode a komodo, a special mount only orcs could handle, leading the reinforcements at the very front of the column.

‘Things are working out almost eerily well.’

They say if you do good, it all comes back to you.

It must be my good deeds, not abandoning the tutorial city and fighting against the demons, that were paying off. The thought warmed me somehow.

…And that warmth, before even half a day had passed, was smothered under the stench of blood and the feel of raw flesh, turning bitterly cold.