“I think we’ve seen enough.”

At the Old Man’s words, the middle-aged Mage next to him was startled.

“Are you saying you believe what that fellow says?”

“Indeed.”

“Why?”

The middle-aged man asked for the reason.

The Mages needed to know the reason. It was due to their strong curiosity.

The Old Man opened his mouth.

“You said you saw magic when the Assassin appeared last time, didn’t you?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“The ones who appeared then were the Dead. They’re the kind that keep moving even if you cut their throats with a sword. But they stopped moving as if dead after being hit by arrows.”

At the Old Man’s words, the middle-aged man fell silent.

The Dead were beings who moved even with their necks severed.

If such corpses didn’t move, it meant the magic was extraordinary.

The Mage, momentarily speechless, retorted.

“Those guys aren’t even Mages who handle fire, are they?”

“Even most magic can’t stop them from moving. Unless it was truly Cold Energy powerful enough to freeze even a fire Mage to death.”

“That’s…”

The middle-aged man merely mouthed words. He wanted to object but had nothing to say.

It was understandable that he was trying to uphold his pride as a Mage.

However, he didn’t quite understand the Old Man’s actions.

After their conversation ended, he asked the Old Man,

“Why are you so interested?”

“Hmm?”

“You wield fire.”

“Isn’t it the same magic?”

“But I create water?”

It was indeed magic.

However, what they controlled was different. Flame, which burned everything, and ice, which froze what it touched, were fundamentally different.

Despite saying this, the other person’s answer was the same.

“The two are similar.”

“Similar?”

“They are the same in that they use mana. If the origin is the same, then it’s the same.”

He thought he understood why the Old Man was interested.

The first thing one must feel to use magic.

It was mana.

Whatever he did, he needed mana.

“I’d like it if you could show me the flow of mana.”

“How?”

He answered positively.

He had agreed to give a demonstration to the other party.

Thinking about it, he felt it was worth the price.

If the Protagonist’s magic was truly special.

Just seeing the flow of mana could be worth a castle.

It was more likely that it wouldn’t be.

They couldn’t see or smell mana like the Protagonist.

It seemed that was also why the Protagonist’s magic was special.

So they couldn’t imitate it.

“Just move the mana a little more flamboyantly.”

“Flamboyantly?”

“If you’re not sure, try chanting the spell slowly.”

Following the Old Man’s words, he spoke slowly.

It was harder than he thought.

It was easier to do it quickly.

It felt like the burden doubled by trying to drag out a difficult section for no reason.

Still, he endured it.

It felt like training in this way, which made it even more so.

“Stop! That’s enough.”

The Old Man cried out with a panicked look.

He didn’t know why he was making such a face.

His head also hurt a little. It was astonishing.

What he had just used was intermediate magic.

To be in this state just by chanting a spell he now used as a basic?

Even the Protagonist couldn’t understand it.

The Old Man’s expression was the same. Just a moment ago, he had said it was fine to cast spells, but now he was in a hurry to tell him to stop.

‘Why is he like that?’

He understood only after he lifted his head.

A considerably large chunk of ice had been created.

It wasn’t that big compared to usual.

It wasn’t even double the size.

Still, it was quite large. What the Protagonist usually made, though called an arrow, was as big as an arrow used in a large crossbow installed on a city wall.

‘I, I made this?’

I stopped the spell. The ice arrows, having lost their power, fell to the floor. This time, the impact was quite significant, enough to make the floor tremble. The marble floor was shattered.

It was a large enough place to make a person feel small, but it still drew attention. Soldiers had appeared out of nowhere.

The Old Man stepped forward and spoke on my behalf. Still, the soldiers showed no sign of leaving. They seemed even more surprised that it was created by chanting a spell.

Looking at the ice arrows on the floor, they were strong enough to pierce and kill several people. Thinking about launching such things made it even more so.

I lowered my head.

I examined how large the ice arrows were. All the protagonist had done was chant the spell slowly. There should have been no difference.

But with just that, it consumed much more mana and increased in size. I couldn’t understand why. The Old Man also seemed unsure.

Magic had a limit to its predetermined power.

The Old Man who appeared in my dream before, despite being a High-ranking Mage, had a Water Mass whose power was not much different from the protagonist’s. This was true even when the protagonist was a low-ranking Mage.

It would be good if I could find out the reason.

No, it didn’t matter if I didn’t know. Just by practicing chanting spells slowly and getting used to it, I could use existing magic more powerfully.

It seemed it would be at the level of a very small Ice Spear. Although no fragments would fly, it was clearly different from the spell I was using now.

Practice was needed. It was inefficient right now.

It took up as much time as advanced magic.

I hoped it wasn’t a spell that absolutely had to be done slowly.

Even with proficiency, if the chanting time for a spell was this long, it wasn’t good.

“Take this.”

The Middle-aged man approached and paid the price.

Something sparkled in his hand.

It was a Gold Coin.

I remembered the promise that I would receive a Gold Coin if I showed my magic.

It was a natural reward.

However, the person handing it over was unexpected.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“Is it strange for me to give it?”

I nodded.

It was the water mage who had contradicted me from the beginning and belittled me.

There was also a feeling that he looked down on me because I seemed young.

Although that feeling was gone now, his attitude had changed completely, even paying the price.

“Mages are precise in their dealings. The magic you just showed is worth this much. Of course, this is what I’m paying separately. You can get paid by that Old Man later as well.”

When I remained silent, the Middle-aged man flicked the Gold Coin and walked away. Then, the two mages standing behind him also said a word each and gave me Gold Coins.

Three Gold Coins were in my hand.

It wasn’t a huge amount of money for the protagonist at the moment.

But it felt good.

It was even more so because the other mages seemed to acknowledge my skill.

The Old Man, who had been dealing with the Soldiers on one side, arrived late and, finding no one around, contorted his face.

“These guys just left me with all the troublesome work and disappeared. Didn’t those conscienceless bastards give me anything before they left?”

“They paid the price.”

“They paid on my behalf?”

“No, they gave it separately.”

The Old Man looked at the Gold Coin in his hand and said nothing. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out. It was a large Gold Coin.

“This is…”

“Just take it. I’m different from those blind fools. I’m going to teach you something good.”

“Something good? Is it a woman?”

The Old Man made a dumbfounded expression.

I couldn’t bear his gaze.

Fortunately, the other person didn’t stop talking.

“Who do you think tried to assassinate someone using the Corpses this time?”

The Old Man asked. It was a sudden question.

It was an easy question. Not just anyone could handle Corpses.

“It’s the Dark Mages.”

“You know about them too. This time, orders came down to catch them.”

“Orders?”

“Since they bothered a noble person this time, shouldn’t the subordinates at least make a show of it? Soldiers are being deployed to capture suspicious individuals. It would be good if you could lend a hand.”

“Why is that a good thing?”

“Because there’s a benefit. They possess a very valuable orb.”

“An orb?”

“It’s an orb that collects people’s lifespans, and they say your power increases if you have it. It’s a little-known story, and I’m only telling you specially. Be grateful.”

It was absurd. It was the first time someone had so openly flaunted their generosity.

Perhaps because it felt like he was speaking in exchange for the Protagonist showing his Magic, I wasn’t angry.

“Thank you.”

The Old Man nodded.

He added that the Mages would be coming, so he had to leave quickly.

Evil Mages were ostracized beings.

It started with their handling of Corpses. They had been left alone until now, but what they did this time could not be overlooked.

He spoke as if it were some great secret, but it seemed many people already knew.

I realized it was simpler than I thought.

It had to be, because the Protagonist knew someone who knew the lair of the Dark Mages.

He kept it to himself for now.

The other person knew where the Dark Mages were. Not the main Beggar, but they seemed to have identified a suspect.

“Where is that person?”

“Now we have to find them.”

“You said you knew?”

“I don’t know the details. I’ve hired mercenaries, so I’m going to try now. If you help, I’ll let the mercenaries join you too.”

“Mercenaries?”

“Surely you’re not thinking of dragging golems around to find them like last time, are you? Remember that this place is a city.”

I nodded.

The ground shook just from the Golem walking, so if it had ears, it probably would have run away long ago. It wasn’t easy to use grand magic for something like this.

It would be different if it were a gathering of evil Mages. There would be many Mages there, so it would likely cause a huge commotion.

As I was about to move, the Old Man held out something.

“You just need to go to the Mercenary Guild. If you show them this, they’ll understand.”

“What is this?”

“It’s proof that you’re a Court Mage.”

“But I’m not.”

“It doesn’t really matter. It’s something given to anyone with skill.”

I examined the item I received from the Old Man.

It was a Brooch. I remembered the Token I received from a Mage in the Castle where the Count stayed before. It was slightly different this time.

This time, it was a Court Mage’s Token.

Being called a Court Mage felt impressive. It felt like I wouldn’t be outdone anywhere.

I still had the Token with the Wolf emblem, but that was just to indicate my status.

But this felt like proof of skill, which made me feel good.

The Old Man trudged away and disappeared. This time, someone spoke to me.

“Are you thinking of going to the Mercenary Guild?”

It was Mordon, who had approached me at some point. He couldn’t enter here last time, so I didn’t know how he got in.

“Why?”

“There’s no need to bring Mercenaries when I’m here.”

Mordon looked disappointed. It seemed he felt that way because I was trying to bring along petty Mercenaries when I had a loyal Knight like him.

Still, it was good to have many people. But I hid that thought. Sometimes, one had to hide their true feelings for the sake of the other person.

“I only need Mordon.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“That’s a relief.”

Mordon’s face brightened a little.

I thought he didn’t live up to his size.

“Still, there’s no reason to do this job.”

“Why not?”

“They say those people can cast Curses in addition to handling Corpses. They’re not opponents worth fighting, risking danger for.”

Mordon expressed his fear. If he reacted like that, others would probably avoid them immensely.

Come to think of it, he was right. The Protagonist had no reason to fight. It was unclear if the orb would even be that helpful to the Protagonist.

I still had a slight lingering attachment. It was because of the Old Man. I was curious what kind of orb he had mentioned. As a Mage, I couldn’t help it.

If I hadn’t heard the Old Man’s words, it might have been different. But having already heard them, it was hard to ignore. I hoped that what he told me was the truth.

I took Mordon and went outside. Some Nobles clung to us, but I made an excuse about being busy and got away.

Just then, I ran into someone.

It was the Cross-dressing Woman I had seen before. I remembered how an incredibly old Mage had boasted about her being his disciple. This time, she was alone.

She looked in my direction, stopped, and said nothing.

An awkward atmosphere settled between us.

Since she was like that, the Protagonist also found it awkward to speak first. If I ignored her and walked past, her gaze felt too sharp. So, I hesitantly opened my mouth.

“Hello?”

At my greeting, the woman mumbled and then offered a small greeting in return. She seemed a little intimidated by me.