Chapter 63 – LV.? Mage Troll – [One]

Seo Yun is from an orphanage.

At the orphanage, Seo Yun often took care of someone worse off than herself. She would look after a small, weak child who had their snacks stolen, or help a child who didn’t get along well with others blend into the group.

It was one of the means to fill her self-esteem.

Orphanage children typically suffer from chronic affection deficiency and a desire for recognition. Seo Yun was no exception, always starving for someone’s attention.

And Seo Yun, who was considered the eldest among the children due to her large build, realized that when she looked after other children, the orphanage teachers would praise her. Seo Yun didn’t have a good relationship with the teachers, but precisely because of that, the praise from them felt special. That was probably why she became more proactive in caring for the children.

Even after entering school, she continued the behavior from the orphanage. She looked after kids who were being ostracized or bullied.

It was a social act for an orphan who was merely large in build to transform into someone recognized by everyone, and a mental act of self-defense that elevated herself, who needed to rely on others, into someone others could rely on.

She dreamed of that time. Perhaps because she was physically tired, it wasn’t a very pleasant dream.

In the dream, some guy said.

“Why the hell are you pretending to be so nice?”

That fucking bastard.

Seeing that blurry face, she remembered he was a delinquent who used to bully an ugly kid. The gazes of his gang were also directed this way. Their stares weren’t kind either. Anyway, whether then or now, a sentiment that finds someone pretending to be good more disgusting than someone genuinely bad is prevalent.

And Seo Yun didn’t explain her motives at length or logically argue how unreasonable it is for a bully to criticize someone stopping it.

She just grabbed that neck with one hand, lifted him up, and made him realize the greatness of the weight difference with his entire body.

But why did she fight then? It seems this bastard was bullying some pathetic kid in our class. He was so damn ugly that just by his appearance, you could tell why he was ostracized and what kind of treatment he had received over the years…

After that kid’s parents came to the school, Seo Yun woke from the dream as she felt herself choking up.

Seo Yun opened her eyes and slowly checked her physical condition.

Thanks to having slept, her body felt incredibly refreshed, but she was severely hungry. It was a sensation she had hardly felt until now. Perhaps that’s why it felt even more vivid.

‘Anyway, that crazy orc bastard.’

Seo Yun grumbled, took out the saved makgeolli, and began blowing into the bottle.

As she continued, a boy and girl visited her tent. Han Siwoo asked in a surprised voice.

“Are you really an alcoholic? Why are you drinking from broad daylight?”

Seo Yun answered only after emptying the bottle’s contents a bit more.

“I’m eating right now.”

“Alcohol is food?”

“Yeah.”

“But I heard you don’t need to eat.”

Seo Yun decided not to mention that her current Health Stat is 9 points, temporarily reduced by 2 points. Explaining that would require explaining the Health deterioration Debuff that occurs when sucked by a vampire. Considering there’s only one vampire in this village, mentioning it would likely undermine Oh Haengbok’s authority in the village.

‘Because that big-mouthed chimpanzee might spread it… Anyway, that orc bastard probably stabbed his fangs into this shoulder, sucked blood to his heart’s content, and only realized his mistake when I started staggering.’

Even thinking back, yesterday’s events were absurd. Seo Yun took another sip of the alcohol and said.

“Ah, come to think of it, I meant to ask for explosive arrows but couldn’t. I’ll mention it later. But why did you come again?”

Gaeulbi answered in an uneasy voice.

“To call you, Seo Yun. Uncle Haengun told us to bring you.”

“Why me?”

“He says a troll is coming soon.”

Seo Yun put down the alcohol bottle. She realized she needed to stop drinking immediately.

“Soon?”

“Yeah. It’s already reached the neighboring village, and they exchanged messages.”

“We’re not prepared at all, we’re screwed…”

Seo Yun quickly closed the bottle cap, then urged the two not to come out here. Only after casting a Praise Spell on them so they could better resist the mage’s Detection Spell did she leave her tent.

‘Boooooooooo…’ The sound of a Horn Trumpet gathering Players echoed.

Seo Yun headed towards the sound of the Horn Trumpet.

There was an atmosphere there as if they were about to go to war.

The village Players had already gathered. Everyone was wearing Armor and holding weapons.

Even at a glance, the number of village Players was greater than when they usually went on hunting expeditions. It seemed even Players retired from active duty had gathered armed.

The atmosphere was serious. Well, Oh Haengbok must have been tense after hearing the estimated Level of that troll.

“If we gather too much, we could all die from one Fireball! You know that dense formations are group suicide in modern warfare with Artillery Shells and grenades exploding left and right, right? In a world with attack Magic, if we stick together, we’ll all die just like that! Everyone, spread out appropriately…”

Oh Haengbok, who was giving various instructions with a serious expression, looked this way.

Normally, he would probably smile and greet her with “our pretty one,” but this time he didn’t. The orc also seemed to recall yesterday’s events, flinched, and turned his head away.

Seo Yun also pretended not to see the orc and searched for something to do.

Oh Haengun approached and said.

“Seo Yun, you’re here? Go around here and cast Praise Spells on people. The one that increases magic resistance.”

Seo Yun cautiously asked.

“Will it be effective? Even the Silence Scroll that bastard made just ignored my magic resistance.”

“Well, we still have to prepare, right?”

“Anyway, everyone seems to be in the mood for a fight. Did the troll bring a gang?”

“No. He’s alone, they say.”

“Then, isn’t it unnecessary for this many people to be intimidated? If he’s a mage, it’s still a physically weak class, right. If we just strip away his Protection Spells, he’d probably die even from arrows.”

In response to Seo Yun’s question, Oh Haengun replied in a serious voice.

“That’s the thing. We looked through the Rulebook at the village yesterday and reviewed it. That troll is probably a one-man army that doesn’t even need Party Members.”

“A one-man army?”

Oh Haengun explained.”You know trolls are a race with fixed Strength 9 and Health 10, right? Just looking at it, it’s totally broken. In exchange, there’s a penalty of -2 Intelligence and starting with Dexterity 3 and Charisma 1… But still, Health 10 is so overpowered that even with just a few protection spells cast, they’d become tougher than a warrior.

You know there are a lot of protection spells among mage spells, right? They can even use a priest’s Armor Spell, plus there’s Skin Hardening Spell, Force Field Shield Spell, Magnetic Field Spell, all sorts of things… Combine that with the troll’s Health 10 and regeneration…”

“That would be a tank that doesn’t even need a priest’s support.”

“Exactly. I actually tested it by setting it up as a TRPG character, and it’s a perfect setup for a mage to solo. In my opinion, you’d need to bring missiles to land an effective hit on that guy. I’m not sure if missile explosions count as magic or physical damage, but if it’s physical, you might not even be able to kill him with missiles because of his non-magical attack immunity spell. Anyway, unless it’s the Chief’s hammer or your Flaming Sword, nothing’s going to scratch him.”

Listening to that explanation, Seo Yun thought. If that’s the case, then most of the players here would be useless. This gathering now isn’t for fighting better, but a measure to avoid fighting by appearing as powerful as possible.

With a stern face, Seo Yun went around casting Praise spells on people one by one.

It was in the middle of that when the troll appeared.

There was no warning for his appearance. Not even a footstep was heard.

That monster mage appeared in this place without any precursor whatsoever.

“Huh?”

Someone shouted and pointed somewhere. Turning her gaze there, Seo Yun saw something enormous.

‘A troll?’

It didn’t exactly look like a troll at first glance. Because most of its body was covered. The skin of its face was hidden behind a massive golden mask large enough to cover it entirely, and the skin of its entire body was wrapped in splendid silk robes and a cloak.

However, its bizarrely broad physique and its disproportionately huge head stood out. It didn’t look like an ordinary human’s build. It was that of a monster or a very peculiar human.

That mage with the bizarre physique stood among the Happy Village players, receiving everyone’s gaze as if he had been there from the beginning, without any attendants or mounts. To Seo Yun, his appearance felt beyond sudden—downright unnatural.

Mage Troll looked around. Then he spoke.

“I thought you called me to trade. Did you call me to fight?”

The moment she heard that voice, she thought, ‘He really is from overseas.’ He seemed unfamiliar with Korean, stumbling over his words, and his tone was peculiar, unlike anything she’d heard before.

Oh Haengbok spoke.

“That depends on your intentions.”

The troll slowly turned his head toward Oh Haengbok. As if recognizing him as the leader, he slowly walked over, and the two began a serious conversation.

“I have no intention of fighting.”

“Doesn’t seem like it, considering you helped the neighboring village. To screw us over.”

“Help, you say?”

“You gave them a scroll to kidnap a priest, didn’t you? One that’s absolutely devastating.”

“Scroll? You mean a spell scroll?”

“Yeah, the one that shuts mouths.”

The troll shook his head. The motion of the mask swaying was truly bizarre, not human-like at all.

“I didn’t give it to them for use against you. They bought it.”

“For something like that, wasn’t the performance too good?”

Seo Yun couldn’t understand why Oh Haengbok was nitpicking like that. Was he using this occasion to interrogate him? Or had his anger suddenly flared up again? Perhaps the means by which he appeared here instantly—whether teleportation or something else—had made that orc excessively wary.

The others were also watching Oh Haengbok and the troll with uneasy expressions.

Fortunately, the troll didn’t get angry and said:

“For spell scrolls targeting sentient beings, I don’t sell them unless I receive a very high price. I only sell enhanced divinity scrolls. If I give ordinary scrolls, complaints come in, so that’s why.”

“Complaints?”

The troll nodded.

“As you know, casting spells on sentient beings has a certain chance of failure. It’s natural. Because sentient beings with souls have basic resistance to spells.

By that same natural principle, spells inscribed on scrolls also have a not-low chance of failing when cast on people. It’s not because of my lack of skill in creating the scrolls, nor is it because I’m selling defective products. Again, it’s natural.

But in that case, if the spell doesn’t work properly, the user seems to get angry, saying they wasted the scroll. They argue that it’s because the item I gave was defective. Not just one or two, but several people did that. It’s tiresome to explain or justify each time, so I decided not to sell them at all. Or, from the start, I either charge a high price and sell items that are unlikely to fail.”

Oh Haengbok seemed taken aback after hearing that lengthy explanation.

From his perspective, it would have been enough for the troll to simply explain that he hadn’t intended to participate in the neighboring village’s crime. He probably didn’t expect such a detailed, nitpicky explanation.

“Any more questions?”

At the troll’s words, Oh Haengbok shook his head.

“No…”

“Then, shall we talk about trade now? Time is money. I heard there’s quite a surplus of provisions here, is that correct?”

“Correct.”

“I’d like to buy those. If you need anything, tell me. Magic items, spell scrolls, various magical reagents, also salt and coal, etc.—I trade those too.”

By this point, it seemed the players who had been wary of the Epic Level Mage’s appearance had relaxed. Seeing them start chatting…

“Did that guy get scared seeing the Chief? I thought an Epic Level would have some aura or something, but there’s really nothing special.”

“I also thought I’d feel some kind of presence when I saw him, but no. Actually, I was more surprised when I first saw Seo Yun.”

Suddenly, she heard talk about herself. Seo Yun pretended not to listen while straining her ears. Two players were facing this way, pointing and talking.

“Seo Yun is on a different level. I heard there’s even a prophecy she’ll become a goddess.”While listening to the words praising her, Seo Yun cursed inwardly. Putting aside the unwanted compliments about her appearance, what if that thing heard what was said? Trolls have a Health of 10, so who knows if their hearing might be sharp. She cautiously observed the Troll.

Fortunately, it seemed not to have heard? The Troll was still conversing with Oh Haengbok.

Seo Yun closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t particularly long. Just a moment, as if blinking normally.

And when Seo Yun opened her eyes, a bulging belly came into view. The silk robe covering it was unmistakably the one the Troll was wearing.

Seo Yun raised her head with wide eyes.

She saw the Troll’s masked face. It was staring down at her intently.

Startled by this sudden encounter, Seo Yun thought. Did it teleport right in front of me?

The next moment, she realized that wasn’t the case.

Seo Yun looked around and her body stiffened even more. At this moment, there was no one trying to stop the Troll who had suddenly approached the village Priest, nor anyone finding this situation strange. They didn’t even perceive this situation in the first place.

The entire world had stopped.

All the Players in Happy Village had stiffened like vividly colored stone statues. Even the mosquitoes that had been flying in the sky were frozen in mid-air, revealing their distinct forms.

In this world that seemed solidified with glue, the only things moving were herself and the Troll before her eyes.

What kind of situation was this? She could quickly realize. There was only one Magic that could explain such a shocking situation.

‘The 9th-tier Mage Spell, Time Stop…’

An ability that appears in all sorts of media, each time regarded as nearly unstoppable, an invincible power. The kind of ability that final bosses in comics wield—to think she’d see it in reality.

Seo Yun quickly racked her brain. What should she do now? Draw her sword and fight? Against something that could stop time without any warning?

While desperately pondering, the Troll asked.

“You said you heard a prophecy that you will become a Goddess?”

Seo Yun grew anxious, wondering if it would ask where she heard that prophecy. Wasn’t that prophecy told by the Angel from the lamp she stole from that thing?

Still, lying seemed like it would only make her appear more suspicious. She nodded first.

“Yes, I did.”

Fortunately, the Troll didn’t ask about the source of the prophecy she had worried about.

He brought up something Seo Yun hadn’t expected at all, something that sounded almost out of the blue.

“Becoming a god is a sacrifice.”

Seo Yun, maintaining a calm expression while feeling bewildered, thought. What kind of nonsense is that now.

“Sacrifice?”

“Yes, sacrifice. Ascension to the Celestial Realm is not merely an elevation where a Mortal is reborn as an immortal spiritual being. Do you know the meaning of becoming a god?”

“No.”

“You should know. It would be problematic if a supernatural intelligence tasked with overseeing human life and the afterlife were dissatisfied with its own situation. You must know everything in detail and be prepared in advance.”