Chapter 30

# Chapter 30: Newcomer Adventurer Bern (28) – Rush

At some point in the past…

Blankah had once thought this about Bern:

“Could he have possibly learned magic somewhere?”

Originally, swordsmen don’t know much about magic.

Actually, even it’s hard to say that even magicians know magic that well.

Only those who have received systematic education at professional institutions or have been trained under great powers might. There are also many adventurers who, after studying on their own from a single spellbook, call themselves magicians.

Some can barely use one spell alone, but how can they claim to “know” magic?

At least, Blankah was somewhat knowledgeable compared to most adventurers since she had been directly taught by her mother. Even so, Bern knew a surprising amount about magic, to the point of being strange.

“I once heard about this from an acquaintance who is a magician.”

Though Blankah wondered how any high-level magician would casually share such advanced knowledge, she didn’t press the matter.

After all, from the beginning of forming their party, they’d agreed not to question the origin of his power or knowledge.

Interestingly, Blankah even thought Bern’s occasional blunders were somewhat cute.

“Magic forces actually have a very close relationship with one’s life.”

…Still, even in this instance, Blankah couldn’t help but worry if Bern had fallen pray to some quack fortune-teller somewhere.

The content sounded like something straight out of those circles.

The magician, who was somewhat favorable but still far from blind trust (which Bern actually appreciated), responded gently:

“Is that some kind of metaphor?”

“No, I mean it literally. Remember the story we talked about where the magician who kept continuously using ice attribute spells gained specialized ice magic power?”

“Yes.”

“If you do, then you’d also remember: a magician specialized in ice-related attributes sees a drastic decrease in efficiency when trying to use spells of other attributes. Worse still, attempting other types of magic can even further reduce the efficiency of their signature spells.”

“Of course. That’s why unless absolutely necessary, magicians usually stick to mastering spells of their primary attribute since learning others would be pointless.”

“Still, isn’t that strange?”

“Strange?”

Turning to Blankah who had tilted her head in confusion, Bern rolled up his sleeves and explained.

“Let’s say we compare it to the human body. It’s difficult for a giant muscle-bound wrestler, someone built purely for strength and body mass, to run long distances. But still, with a well-trained body, the wrestler might perform better in unfamiliar tasks compared to an average person despite it being inefficient.”

“Well, yeah, it’s because they’ve trained in a different direction.”

“Then would the wrestler’s muscles and body size significantly reduce just from running long distances once or twice?”

“That… wouldn’t.”

Naturally not. Unless the wrestler had dedicated months or years to training for something completely different, a few attempts at long-distance running wouldn’t change his body composition so easily.

It was then that Blankah finally understood what Bern was getting at.

“So you’re saying it’s odd that merely using a few spells from other attributes could reduce the efficiency of one’s specialized attributes? But this is something commonly experienced among magic users.”

“Yes, the problem is the cause. To put it bluntly, using spells of other attributes a few times shouldn’t have a meaningful effect on magic itself. The real problem lies in the magician’s own perception.”

Like how no one questions the apple falling to the ground because it’s considered natural, Blankah had always believed such concepts to be naturally occurring rules. What Bern was now offering was a logical interpretation and explanation.

“Magic influences the physical world but is also deeply affected by one’s mind. Why it’s easier for magicians to reach the Fourth Tier in their chosen attribute spells is because they see themselves as ‘that kind of magician’. Their consciousness, subconscious, habits, choices during battle, all lean towards that one specific attribute, and the magic force follows accordingly.”

Hence, magicians who have achieved mastery in certain magical attributes often share characteristics with those attributes.

Fire magicians tend to be impulsive and aggressive, ice magicians tend to be cool-headed and logical while earth magicians are often silent and robust.

“Isn’t Ms. Karina, an old colleague of yours we previously met? She might not have much influence yet after recently reaching the Fourth Tier, but as time goes on, the magician’s nature and personality will gradually align with their attributes they handle. Even if they break through limits or fixed perceptions and gain higher ranks, shaking off this influence requires lots of effort and time.”

Blankah stared blankly.

She had never imagined there could be such a correlation between magical attributes and one’s character.

If this was true, that if she had abandoned other kinds of magic and delved into only fire magic, it would have meant reaching higher levels more easily but also transforming her personality to be as fiery as the flames she handled, right?

Her voice trembled as she questioned:

“Then why does using other kinds of spells reduce the efficiency of the primary attribute spells?”

“Simply put, it’s because the magician isn’t fully focused. Like when a thief’s own feet hurt for no reason, subconsciously, using spells of other attributes makes the magician feel as though it’s affecting their primary attribute magic. In some cases, simply remembering the spell mentally can already have a negative impact.”

Bern explained that for those who reached the Fourth Tier through proper methods, the situation was actually opposite.

Rather than being driven by the nature of magic force, the individual’s thoughts, personalities, abilities, fighting styles, and so on are manifested as magical properties.

Therefore, Bern advised caution when encountering a magic force with a disagreeable nature, since such cases often reflect problematic personalities or means.

***

Right after the Guild Master transformed into the Command Knight, adventurers collectively attempted to flee.

Judging that continuing the battle would be fruitless, they decided to retreat and regroup.

This was a strategy that made sense from a tactical perspective, but the issue lay with the purple fog that Richi had spread.

Initially thinking it was a simple paralysis poison mixed in with the fog, adventurers tried to suppress their breathing and push through. However, they soon realized the true effect of the fog and trembled with fear.

Even though the separation was mere meters, barely 1M, they could no longer see their companions who had been right beside them.

Worse, sound too was cut off.

“Is anyone there!? Answer me!”

In the dead silence without a single echo, Blankah clenched her teeth.

‘This wasn’t ordinary fog. This… this purple fog itself was Richi’s magic force!’

If named, one might call it: “Mysterious Fog.”

The layer upon layer of purple fog limited the opponent’s senses and delivered various kinds of spells in particle form.

“Paralyzing Magic” “Hallucination-inducing Magic” “Heat-Stealing Magic”

While individually these spells were minor in terms of debuffs and curses, when mixed together and invading the body in the form of fog, their combined effect was dramatic.

Fleeing adventurers, fearing the enemy’s unpredictable emergence, eventually succumbed to the accumulated fog and fell where they stood.

And Richi, like harvesting crops, resurrected those who had fallen into undead.

A magic force that had little effect on a small group of the strong but was extremely efficient against a larger group of weak opponents.

“Cough, choke!”

A feeling like something toxic was continuously seeping into her body made Blankah shiver.

Because she was simultaneously using body reinforcement and healing magic, she could still maintain her combat capabilities amidst the fog. But how long she could keep it up was uncertain.

After making her decision, she conjured a large fireball in her hand.

KWA-A-A-ANG!

“The Magic that Burns Rocks” fiercely blazed where Blankah had just walked, wiping away the fog with its heat and shockwave.

Enduring the skin-baking heat through sheer willpower, while clearing more space freed from the fog, she launched another fireball.

The fog dissipated further, and the horizon widened a little bit.

It was an extremely inefficient method, but it was the only way to secure visibility without attacking allies.

Finally, her efforts bore fruit.

“Don’t come! Go away!”

“Ah! Ahhh! Senior Sister! Brother! Save me!”

All pretenses of elegance abandoned, Karina was spreading indiscriminate frost to prevent undines from approaching with a face full of venom.

Meanwhile, Renya, who had been caught in Karina’s spell, crouched on the ground, howling in anguish with white frost sprinkled on his head.

At the sight of their desperate struggle, Blankah couldn’t help but tremble in her eyes, though there was an oddly deflating quality to their urgency.

Why did she not find Bern, who she had been searching for, but only these people instead?

Feeling renewed frustration, Blankah still couldn’t abandon the allies she had just found, so she destroyed the undead with her fireball and approached them.

“Karina! Renya! Pull yourself together!”

“Don’t come!! …Eh?”

“N-Nunim! Where have you been? I thought you were in trouble, thinking you were hurt or something!”

Blankah secured the dazed Karina and the chatterbox Renya, who couldn’t help but go on a long tangent, then continued progressing by clearing the fog using her previous method.

Karina urgently asked,

“Do you have a clue where the exit is?”

“No doubt we’ll fail to find it.”

Blankah responded coldly.

“It’s fog that makes even experienced adventurers, with plenty of stamina left, get lost while retreating. Chances of us who have already ventured deep into the dungeon making it to the exit safely are practically zero. It’s also possible that the exit is blocked or an ambush awaits us.”

Karina anxiously asked back,

“Then, what do you plan to do?”

“We need to defeat Richi.”

“Stop it with the idiotic talk! Even when we all stormed in together, we couldn’t win, and now you’re suggesting we rush him with our scattered forces?”

“Because we’re scattered, it’ll make sense.”

Blankah firmly stated.

“All the dungeon-clearing up to our last painful counterattack wasn’t completely without meaning. Richi’s number of controllable troops has been greatly reduced, the remaining few are busy holding on to the scattered adventurers, and the guy has already fallen once. There’s no way he hasn’t used up a lot of his stamina.”

The Guild Master didn’t die idly without putting up a fight.

Though using such an expression may feel weird about an undead Richi, the Guild Master had indeed defeated Richi once.

He managed to come back because he used a backup life, but if that was easy to produce, Richi wouldn’t have been so angry when fighting the Guild Master.

“We will strike while he thinks he’s the hunter. When everyone thinks they’ve failed and are fleeing – we need to strike now. There’s a slightly better chance of surviving this way. Is there anything wrong with my plan?”

“…There might be some issues, but I can’t think of any other way.”

“I’ll follow Nunim and trust everything!”

Karina reluctantly nodded in agreement despite having her lips pursed. Renya, whose face showed an intense desire to flee, decided intuitively that his survival chances were highest at Blankah’s side and nervously tagged along.

At various points in the dungeon where Karina had been, surviving adventurers were fighting undead, but the effects of the fog left them all pale.

After rescuing and incorporating two more adventurers, and finally catching sight of the third shadow,

Blankah wasted no time and unleashed her maximum firepower on the opponent.

KWA-A-A-ANG!

Richi, who blocked the attack through a bone-wall, revealed a grin-like expression on his skeletal face and spoke.

“Ha-ha-ha, I was looking for you anyway. This saves me the work. What a good child.”

“Just die!”

Without further exchanges, Blankah immediately brandished her sword and rushed forward.

Her prediction proved correct; there was only one Command Knight guarding Richi.

The Command Knight attempted to block her path, but before it could swing its sword, a massive icicle fired by Karina flew directly towards it.

The knight deflected the icicle, but Blankah didn’t miss the opening created.

Ignoring the Command Knight, she rushed towards Richi.

Behind her, the sounds of Renya and the rescued adventurers fighting the knight were heard.

Richi tried to obstruct Blankah by launching a magic-powered dark blade, but Blankah, who had improved her skills through repeated sparring practice with Bern, deflected or dodged the blades and reached close to Richi.

Right when her blade was about to touch Richi,

Looking up into Richi’s eyes filled with some sort of joy and self-assurance, she realized something was wrong.

Ka-NG!

A sudden blade that appeared from the side knocked the sword out of Blankah’s hand.

Her sword clattered onto the ground.

Her disarmament followed quickly by a pitch-black blade moving towards her heart seemed in slow motion to her.

Ah, why had she made this mistake?

A magic force reflects the nature of one’s life.

Could someone who enjoyed teasing prey by slowly nibbling away at them really not respond to the prey’s last struggle?

She finally realized that she had only been making excuses, pretending she wanted to defeat Richi desperately, just because she didn’t want to run away.

There was no time for final words.

So, Blankah attempted to silently recite in her mind:

“Sorry, Mom. And, Bern.”

“─I believe you didn’t seriously say something like ‘Sorry’ while giving up on life, right, Miss Blankah?”

PERRRRRRT!

The knight’s blade that planned to pierce her heart was hurled back like it had been hit by a carriage.

Blankah, with wide eyes, stared at the figure that appeared before her.

His red hair fluttered in the wind.

His leather armor, which was usually neat, was in tatters, almost a rag, and his body was covered in dust or soot from who-knows-what.

But his face remained calm and composed as ever.

A hint of irritation and confusion flickered in Richi’s usually leisurely eyes.

He asked.

“…Who are you? Didn’t the previous one fall into some trap? How are you here?”

Bern answered:

“Nicely.”

Bern continued,

“Well.”