“…Has the devil truly been resurrected?”
Cassius, the diocesan bishop of the Mondark Church, unfolded the report in his hand once more.
The village chief’s message was concise, but desperation and fear were steeped thickly within it.
A description of the monster, and a brief statement about the red jewel embedded in its chest.
He took out the piece of stone enclosed with the report.
Unlike the description of a red jewel, its surface was blackened and cracked.
Hiss—
With a faint sound, the weak remnants of malice left within reacted to his divine power.
A chilling ripple, as though something were trying to open its eyes.
‘This is… unmistakable. It must be a fragment of evil recorded in the scriptures.’
It was proof of a fiend, something known only in legend.
A being consumed by a fragment of evil—human, yet not human.
‘The stirrings of fiends mean the resurrection of devils…’
Cassius narrowed his eyes.
This was no simple incident.
It might be the beginning of something far greater—something impossible to handle.
“The resurrection of devils… To think such a dreadful thing would happen…”
Unable to believe it, Cassius read the report again.
The monster had appeared in an outlying village beyond the Church’s influence, and it said that someone named Rive had defeated it.
Alone, without any help.
If the report was accurate, this person called Rive was by no means ordinary.
He even doubted whether the information that Rive was a bronze-badge mercenary was correct.
He might have looked ordinary to the village chief, but there was no way someone capable of facing a fiend could be bronze-badge.
But what mattered now was not Rive. It was why the fragment had appeared there, at this time.
‘Could it be that devil worshippers still remain?’
Cassius’s gaze turned toward the window.
The sun was setting, and a cold wind blew beneath the crimson sky.
Cassius slowly closed the report, exhaled deeply, and leaned back in his chair.
“The age of peace is over now…”
Cassius murmured softly as he looked over the documents on his desk.
They were all records of the strange phenomena that had occurred several times recently.
In the end, Cassius rang the bell to summon a servant.
A moment later, the door opened quietly and a servant entered.
Cassius gave the servant a brief order.
“Bring Hemil. We must dispatch an investigation team.”
After the servant hurried away with the order, he sighed in the silent room and organized the documents.
‘I’ll have to send a report to the higher-ups.’
Cassius reached into the cage and took out a carrier pigeon.
He untied the paper fastened to it and quickly wrote on a small slip of paper to send to his superiors.
[The situation is serious. An investigation must begin immediately. Something unexpected is taking place.]
He released the carrier pigeon out the window, praying that his prediction would be wrong.
***
When I opened my eyes, I saw a dark landscape.
‘…Did I level up already?’
But to call it a level-up, what had I even done that was so impressive?
I’d barely managed to take down one monster. Was that really such a big deal?
Or… had my experience already been almost full to begin with?
Hmm. That could be it.
Well, there’s no status window and I can’t see any numbers, so in the end, all I can do is guess.
I’ll just accept things as they come.
The moment I thought that, a familiar voice seeped into my ears.
[Residual essence has been absorbed. Please choose a price.]
It was a familiar voice, but something was strange.
It wasn’t talking about sections or privileges like usual.
It was even different from the enhancements I’d received before.
Most of all… the word price bothered me.
‘…Is this because of that monster?’
That thing I fought that day was obviously not some ordinary demonic beast.
The red jewel embedded in its heart, writhing as though alive, had spread an ominous aura until I destroyed it.
This might not be a reward for leveling up, but a reaction to disposing of that monster.
‘…Is it telling me to hunt those monsters?’
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind.
And just then, as if answering me, a sound rang out.
Wooooong—
A heavy resonance, different in nature from the usual sacred sound effect, spread out.
Rather than a reward, it seemed closer to a warning.
When the sound effect ended, cards appeared.
___________________________________
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Strength]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Mana]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Life]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Speed]
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Greed]
___________________________________
There were five cards in total.
Each card had a suspicious modifier attached to it.
‘Fragment of Evil?’
Could it mean that red glowing stone?
It had become clear that this was connected to defeating the monster.
With the exception of one, they were all green, signifying uncommon grade.
Just reading one description was enough to get the idea; they all had the same consistent nuance.
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Strength]
[Maximum strength increases slightly, and maximum mana decreases minutely.]
It raised one stat and shaved away another.
That was all.
The only fortunate thing was that the increase was larger than the decrease.
‘Yeah, if it weren’t for the mana decrease, this would be worth choosing.’
I laughed inwardly, set the card down, and examined the remaining cards.
Like a lone island, a card with a black border floated strangely by itself in the center.
Drawn in by its madly eye-catching appearance, I read its description as if bewitched.
[Fragment of Evil: Price of Greed]
[Randomly selects one of these cards and enhances that card by one stage.]
“Insane…”
The moment I read the description, a curse slipped out of my mouth.
Whoever designed this kind of reward was not in their right mind.
And maybe I wasn’t in my right mind either…
My gaze kept getting caught by that black card.
In truth, even judging with cold reason, this wasn’t a bad choice.
As long as it wasn’t the Price of Strength, it would be fine, and if the Price of Mana came up, it would be a total jackpot.
It was a gamble with almost a 75% chance of success. How could I not take it?
Maybe… I had already grown used to making choices like this.
Every time survival was on the line, it had always been like this.
All or nothing… there was no middle ground.
The black card before my eyes glowed quietly, as if staring at me.
I drew in a breath and reached out.
In the end, I touched the black card.
Wooooong.
The card disappeared with a flash that lasted only an instant, and one of the remaining four slowly rose up.
The card that emerged was…
…[Fragment of Evil: Price of Strength].
“You fuu-ucking bastard!!”
In the end, I’d managed to break through that 25% chance in one go.
The card I had tried to avoid floated before my eyes, as if mocking me.
It felt as though the card were speaking to me.
“Idiot, you really are a strength mage.”
As if truly jeering at me, the card spun round and round in the air.
Then slowly, ever so slowly, it shed its form into a blue light.
Watching that, one thought flashed through my mind.
Don’t tell me… the decrease gets enhanced too?
“No, no way… surely not…?”
But ominous premonitions never failed to come true…
The card revealed its blue form and glowed faintly, as if telling me to read the description.
[Maximum strength increases by a ‘small amount,’ and maximum mana decreases ‘slightly.’]
I. was. fucked.
Day after day, I’d complained that I didn’t have enough mana and swore every time that I should choose mana.
And in the end, what came back to me was a decrease in maximum mana.
If I’d known this would happen, I should have just focused on raising strength from the start.
All that came out was a bitter laugh.
…Is this the end of a gambling addict?
I muttered to myself like a madman for quite a while.
The card disappeared on its own, as if seeping into the back of my hand.
And gradually, my consciousness began to blur.
The last thought that crossed my mind before I sank into unconsciousness was this.
‘When I wake up… should I try learning swordsmanship?’
***
I opened my eyes.
A familiar smell stabbed my nose.
The slightly damp smell of cloth, and the stale, musty scent of old dust.
Ah, I’m still not dead.
My body was tired, but maybe thanks to the level-up, I was already well enough to move around quite a bit.
Of course, judging by the pain coming from the bandage wrapped around my left arm, it seemed that arm would need a little more time.
I started to sit up, then stopped and lifted my arm while still lying down.
My muscles… felt heavy.
It was different from before.
‘Is this really… my strength increasing?’
I clenched and unclenched my hand.
I could definitely feel it. The sensation of it tightening was much firmer than before.
Compared to my body that had originally been like a dried anchovy, it was an enormous difference.
…But honestly, this much seemed like it was only around the level of an ordinary person.
In the end, the increased stat… was effectively closer to a healing effect.
“Still, if it’s this much, maybe it’s not bad?”
I muttered as I dropped my limp arm back down.
Before, I would be panting just from carrying one bucket of water, but now I felt like I could do at least that much easily.
I should be able to pass as a person now.
Up to this point, it was fine.
The problem was the mana that had flown away.
I slowly raised a finger and tried to draw out mana.
But the flow of mana reaching my fingertip was fainter than before.
‘…Damn it, it really did decrease.’
To confirm it, I made a water bullet.
[Water Bullet]
Comparing it directly, it was no joke.
Normally, I could fire four even without water, but now it was two, maybe three?
And even that had dropped to the point where I could barely manage it.
“At this rate, I really won’t be able to use magic without water.”
I lowered my arm again.
In terms of overall numbers, it was definitely a gain.
At the very least, my physical strength had certainly gone up.
They said a strong mind dwelled in a strong body, didn’t they?
…No. In a strong body dwelled only feeble mana.
What the hell did I do… Should I really become a strength mage?
Hmm, maybe… it might not be as bad as I thought.
“Right. My body got stronger for now, and I just have to use less magic, don’t I?”
I even had defensive magic, and I was the madman who had enhanced it too.
A sword and shield. The most basic combat combo.
I sat up from the bed.
Now it was time to swing a sword.
***
I came out of the inn without any particular plan, but honestly, I had no idea who I should learn from.
Was there anyone who handled swordsmanship that I could learn?
The only people who came to mind were those from Baret’s mercenary corps, but perhaps they hadn’t returned yet, because I couldn’t see them anywhere.
Was the forest farther away than I thought? Or did they fight a pack of goblins?
For now, only about a day had passed, so I decided to worry about that later.
‘Can I even find someone who knows swordsmanship in such a small village?’
Judging from the people Millek brought last time, there didn’t seem to be any professional soldiers.
Someone skilled in swordsmanship might be hard to find in the village.
I looked over the villagers, but none of them seemed like they handled swordsmanship.
They were all just people who farmed and tended livestock.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to find anyone today.”
I muttered as I looked around the village once more.
There probably wasn’t anyone among the villagers who had learned swordsmanship.
A hunter might be relatively used to combat, but there were no hunters left in this village now.
Hmm, I wonder if any passing outsiders know how to use a sword.
But it wouldn’t be easy to find someone like that either.
As I passed the edge of the village, I looked around.
Unlike the middle of the village, where people came and went, there were almost no noticeable people or anyone walking around here.
After walking a few more steps like that, only after circling the village once did I stop again.
“…There really isn’t anyone.”
With a sigh, I started walking again.
The day was still passing without any results whatsoever.
“If I try to find someone like this, it’ll take way too long…”
In the end, I decided to investigate the people around me a bit more.
The villagers didn’t seem to have any information at all about the kind of person I was looking for.
‘Maybe the merchant caravan people might know…?’
The merchants from the caravan were still staying in the village.
Since they occasionally encountered outsiders due to purchasing goods and maintenance, I thought they might know.
Deciding that it would be best to ask the merchants today, I turned my feet back toward the inn.
***
“Swordsmanship?”
The middle-aged man looked slightly surprised.
He was Doroen, the representative of the merchant caravan we had escorted.
During my stay in the village, we had become somewhat acquainted.
I’d heard he came and went from this village often, so he should be fairly familiar with its circumstances.
“By any chance, is there anyone who might be able to teach me swordsmanship?”
“Weren’t you… a mage?”
Doroen couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
Well, he had seen me fight with magic, and now I was suddenly asking about swordsmanship.
It was only natural he’d find it strange.
“Yes, well… I’d like to learn a little for self-defense.”
“Ah, if that’s the case… swordsmanship, hmm…”
Doroen furrowed his brow slightly and fell into thought for a moment.
“Hmm… To be honest, there are hardly any people in this village who’ve properly learned swordsmanship. Mercenaries do stop by now and then, but most of them don’t stay and leave soon after.”
At those words, I nodded. I had expected as much, but hearing it confirmed made the situation feel bleak all over again.
“Still… hmm. Ah, right. There’s an old man who lives alone on the outskirts of the village. They say he was a knight in his prime. I’ve heard he’s retired now, though.”
“A knight? His name is…?”
A knight.
The powerful figures who always appeared in medieval fantasy.
But perhaps knights were rarer than I’d thought, because I had yet to see even one since coming to this world.
I never imagined I’d hear about one here.
“Bragan de Bartino. Everyone called him Grandpa Bragan. They say he was quite a renowned knight in the past. He wasn’t affiliated with the kingdom, but apparently he even fought against people from that side… These days, though, he doesn’t really associate with anyone.”
I mulled over Doroen’s words.
An old man, a recluse, a former knight. The typical mentor role.
But with people like that, the problem usually began with simply approaching them.
“Do you happen to know where he lives?”
“At the southern end of the village. There’s a small house at the edge of the forest. It’s a tiny, old cabin, so it might be hard to find.”
“Thank you. I’ll go take a look.”
“Wait a moment. I don’t know whether Grandpa Bragan will receive anyone. He’s so eccentric that if you just go, he might not even open the door.”
Doroen told me to wait and went inside, then soon returned carrying a bundle about the size of his palm.
The bundle, tightly tied in cloth, looked rather weighty.
“Could you deliver this for me? It’s dried meat and bread. I bring some to him from time to time. He once saved my father’s life, you see.”
He held the bundle out to me and added,
“If you give him this while mentioning my name, he might at least hear you out.”
I carefully accepted it.
The cloth was permeated with the scent of dried grass.
“…Thank you, Mr. Doroen.”
“Haha, don’t mention it. Thanks to you, Lord Liv, this trading trip ended well.”
He smiled.
I bowed my head once more in thanks and left the inn.
A cabin in the southern forest, and Bragan, a retired knight.
Would there really be an opportunity to learn swordsmanship there?
…Still, it seemed worth a try.