Chapter 6
Typically, Marauders employ a strategy of using mutated creatures to turn the tide of battle in their favor.
In most scenarios, Marauders prefer to conclude combat using only these mutated beings. They only appear on the battlefield when the odds are nearly at 100% in their favor, signaling the end of the fight, or in the extreme situation where their absence would result in a 0% chance of victory.
The natural strength of the Marauders doesn’t necessarily fall short of that of Humans or Orcs. In fact, the individual abilities of Marauders far surpass those of most Humans, Orcs, and Elves.
They possess not only formidable physical power but also bizarre black magic, along with an extraordinary regenerative ability that can nearly infinitely repair damaged body parts.
Despite these numerous strengths and superior abilities, Marauders never step to the front of the battlefield.
The reason is simple.
When Marauders die, the mutated creatures they control become motionless like puppets with their strings cut, transforming into lifeless dummies that offer no resistance.
In the Marauder army system, the importance of the commander is on an entirely different level compared to the military systems of other intelligent beings.
In the armies of Humans, Orcs, and Elves, even if the commander dies unexpectedly, the subordinates or unit leaders can take over their duties.
However, Marauders cannot do this.
If a unit’s Marauder dies, the battlefield immediately freezes.
This characteristic of Marauders isn’t limited to just the Marauder—mutated creature relationship.
It also applies to the relationship between the Grand Marshal Marauders and their subordinates.
When a Grand Marshal dies, all the Marauders under their command simultaneously lose their ability to function.
When the Marauders they serve are killed, they freeze in place as lifeless dummies, and naturally, the mutated creatures they control also turn into dummies.
From the start, only the uppermost command level, the “Grand Marshals,” are allowed to think independently and creatively, while the subordinates simply follow the Grand Marshals’ orders—faithful but rather foolish hounds.
That’s why Grand Marshals rarely reveal themselves to Humans.
Because the death of a Grand Marshal leads to a massive loss of forces in the Marauder army.
“Ch, the barrier magic collapsed under the lightning.”
In the Forest of Fire, the Grand Marshal Maltiel, who had been controlling the mutated creatures with his eyes closed, clicked his tongue.
A boy with white hair had unleashed an intense bolt of lightning, completely shattering the barrier magic that surrounded the entire forest.
The moment the barrier broke down, Maltiel immediately ordered the mutated creatures to eliminate the wizard holding the crystal ball, but that too failed due to the boy with white hair.
“You’re quick to judge. That gives me one more reason to kill you,” Maltiel muttered as he rose slowly from amidst the burning bush, his crimson form gradually revealing itself.
Allowing a monster with such talent to be left alive after merely being tormented would result in a significant catastrophe in the future. Most intelligent beings use “pain that doesn’t kill” as fuel for growth.
Such a monster, even if referred to as a sprout, must be uprooted and burned entirely. This was the policy of Grand Marshal Maltiel.
“Since the report of the Grand Marshal’s appearance has reached the headquarters, that guy should be heading this way… We have about two minutes, or, generously, three minutes.”
Maltiel unfolded his wings, sturdy and covered in tough scales like those of a dragon, and leaped into the sky. Though the burning leaves transferred fire to his body, he didn’t flinch—not even a slight trace of pain, as this barely counted as an injury for a Grand Marshal.
“I need to wrap this up quickly.”
Enveloped in flames, the Grand Marshal dove straight toward the boy who was emitting blue lightning.
*
Fsshh…!
An unusual flow of electricity is detected near the ear.
An overwhelming pressure unlike anything I’ve ever felt bears down on my shoulders, and a vast fear, beyond what can be neutralized by my [Composure] ability, tightens my chest.
I instantly turn my gaze toward the sharp glare I sense.
There, a Marauder cloaked in flames, as though crawling out of hell, hovered with his wings spread wide, then suddenly folded them and shot straight toward me like a missile.
Without time to think, I kicked off the ground and hurled myself into the burning forest.
Boom!
As if a small meteor had fallen, an enormous sound echoed, and the ground trembled as burning leaves scattered everywhere.
That was close.
If my reaction had been just a bit slower, I would have been crushed under the brute’s feet.
“Too bad. I wanted to savor this outing, but the plans are disrupted because of that woman.”
Heron, upon seeing the emergence of the Grand Marshal, turned pale and collapsed on the spot, unable to utter a single word.
Even with the [Composure] ability, I feel the intense pressure. What about a regular mage?
They’d likely freeze in terror, unable to move their hands or feet, their minds seized by fear.
“You have no more than three minutes left, generously estimated. Entertain me.”
The Grand Marshal raised a finger toward Heron, who lay flat like a worm on the ground. Instantly, a barrage of arrows shot toward her.
Heron, petrified with fear, failed to even erect her barrier. In the end, dozens of arrows pierced her flesh, and the sound of bones and skin being torn and mashed pierced through the burning trees and reached my ears.
Her eyes lost their light in an instant.
Goosebumps ran down my body, and a chill crept into my hands and feet.
Her voice, which had casually asked me what my favorite magic was, now sliced across my neck like a blade.
Death was glaring me in the face.
My mind began to battle between fear and reason, and adrenaline surged.
‘Calm down. Control yourself.’
With the help of the [Composure] ability, I managed to stay calm amidst the rush of emotions in this situation.
“Rare are those who don’t buckle under my presence. You’re evidently a different breed from the trash lying around.”
The Grand Marshal’s black finger pointed toward Heron’s corpse.
The monster treated her death as nothing out of the ordinary, remaining quite calm throughout.
Like humans peeling the skin off an apple without even a flicker of emotion, this monster didn’t seem to feel anything when killing someone.
My stomach churned, but I held onto my sanity and, with great difficulty, moved my frozen tongue.
“What exactly are you doing here, you big shot?”
I addressed the Grand Marshal, ready to respond to any attack.
The Grand Marshal had revealed himself, which was far from normal.
There had to be a reason.
A great enough reason to expose himself to such a tremendous risk.
In order to survive, I had to first uncover that reason.
If I was going to threaten him, negotiate, or even beg, I needed to figure out his intentions.
“To kill you, of course. Do you think I’ve risked my exposure here for any other reason?”
The Grand Marshal responded with a sneer.
“…”
I could only stare blankly at the smirking face of the Grand Marshal.
What was this guy talking about?
Saying the Grand Marshal was here to kill me?
Risking exposure to his own presence?
I stared dumbly at the Grand Marshal for a moment.
Why me?
I’m just a level one character who barely escaped the tutorial area.
“You think I’m unaware that you turned my children into ashes in a single strike?”
…What?
“And you killed my darling subordinate with just one spell. There are very few mages in the world who can do that, you know.”
“…”
“You’re at least a 7th Tier mage. Considering how you’ve reached the 7th Tier at such a young age, it won’t be long until you reach the 9th Tier.”
“…What… are you saying?”
I accidentally blurted out something I was only thinking.
…No, seriously, what was this guy talking about?
7th and 8th Tier mages, and 9th Tier mages—these are the peak of the mage class, only achievable once a character reaches level 90, somewhere in the final stages of the game.
I’m a vagabond-turned-trash character who’s barely survived three days of existence. How on earth did I end up under this misapprehension by a Grand Marshal?
The situation has severely spiraled out of control.
‘No, let’s look at it differently. This could be an opportunity. He’s massively overestimating me. If played right, I might find a way out of this insane scenario.’
With this line of thought, I steadied my wavering mind, resolving to use the situation to my advantage.
In the past three days, I’ve conserved all my mana, and with [Blossom] active, I can hold on for a while, maneuvering around and managing to survive.
Of course, the moment that’s over, I’m dead meat.
But the enemy doesn’t know about this time limit.
Moreover, this Grand Marshal believes I’m a high-tier mage hiding powerful sorcery, at least 7th Tier… or even higher.
Probably why he’s hesitating instead of attacking immediately—because he assumes I have even stronger magic.
‘In reality, I’m releasing everything I’ve got with the little magic I possess…’
It feels like standing on a cracked glacier that’s about to collapse.
The slightest loss of balance and this abyss will pull me down into its depths.
‘Keep calm.’
Firstly, begging or negotiating is out of the question.
Given that this lunatic’s goal is solely my death.
However, this situation is burdensome for the Grand Marshal as well.
The most orthodox method for Marauders to deal with a mage is to continuously deploy mutated creatures to drain their mana until they can be captured.
Unlike Warriors or Barbarians, mages consume ‘mana’ each time they use magic.
Mages are powerful and dangerous, but once their mana is depleted, they become a useless burden.
The Grand Marshal appearing before me initially sent his army of mutated creatures for this very reason, but upon the barrier’s disruption due to my lightning strike, his location was reported to headquarters, thereby twisting the entire situation.
After which, the Grand Marshal now has only about three minutes to achieve his goal, forcing him to appear even though he hasn’t yet depleted my mana.
‘There’s a huge burden on his shoulders. Moreover, since he considers me a high-level mage, he’ll definitely refrain from reckless actions. Hence…’
I swallowed quietly and took a deep breath before…
Lifting my head arrogantly and slowly opening my mouth.
“…Hmph.”
If begging and negotiation are impossible, then there’s only one thing left to do.
All that’s left is intimidation.
“Guess it’s pointless to hide since you already know, right?”
Fuck, there wasn’t really any other option when you thought about it.
So I looked down arrogantly at the Grand Marshal and fired off some random line while pretending to be insane.
Kwaaaang!
Right after my mediocre line, I released as much mana as I could into my surroundings.
Tree debris and rocks around me shattered into fragments.
Though it felt wasteful to expend mana into the empty air, it was necessary to instill as much intimidation in the enemy as possible.
Even if it’s not fear, even just a slight hesitation will be a big win for me.
“A very unique flow of power. It’s a type I’ve never seen before. What magic are you using? Did you create it yourself? Even though it’s the first time I’m seeing this magic, it clearly demonstrates remarkable skill and refinement.”
The Grand Marshal Maltiel apparently hadn’t seen my [Blossom] magic before.
Of course, [Blossom] is typically considered an unpromising skill or something lightly invested in by most conventional mages, so there was no real surprise there.
“…”
I maintained my poker face and remained silent in response to his questions.
There was no need to boast unnecessarily about the power or strength of my magic.
The unknown is the greatest fear for all intelligent beings.
Regardless of whether this monster has any sense of fear, it is certain that my silence will be more effective than trying to bluster about how powerful the magic is.
“…”
With my silence, the Grand Marshal began intently analyzing me with his crimson eyes.
The life of thousands of Marauders rested on his shoulders.
It would be too risky for him to just dive in without proper analysis, especially against a mage using an unfamiliar magic.
‘So it’s not really deception. I’m just a level one character with 4th Tier level mana. Son of a bitch, I’ve only been alive for three days.’
“Imposing. If I had the time, I would enjoy fighting you.”
This monster wouldn’t even consider the possibility that the mage standing before him is just a level one vagabond.
Let alone the bizarre build that had abandoned everything to focus on intensifying the [Blossom] skill.
“Hmm… I’ll give you the first move. Come on, attack.”
The Grand Marshal Maltiel stared at me with interest and then spoke.
Obviously, he planned to analyze me while deflecting my attacks instead of being first to strike due to the numerous variables involved.
He spread his wings wide, lowered his stance, and prepared for potential lightning attacks.
Of course, I didn’t launch any attack.
Half of my mana had already been drained due to the tremendous power of the lightning strike I conjured moments before.
“…”
“…”
As the trees around us burned, a cold and tense current of air flowed between me and the Grand Marshal.
Twitch…
When the Grand Marshal’s finger flickered the slightest bit, I unleashed a surge of electricity from my body.
Tree leaves and branches caught ablaze upon encountering the current.
“Haha!”
His disconcerting face broke into a grin.
“Since I’ve given you the first move, what are you waiting for?”
“Why would I follow your tempo?”
I replied with a slightly irritated expression, trying to convey feelings of discomfort or frustration.
“Are you rejecting my goodwill?”
“…”
I remained silent in response to his inquiry.
“Why so quiet? Are you scared? Your eyes don’t betray that, though. What are you waiting for? I Maltiel specifically told you to make the first move.”
Maltiel provocatively brought his dark fingers to his neck while smirking at me.
“Come on, try your luck. Don’t you want to be the hero who slayed a Grand Marshal?”
I forced out a hollow laugh.
“You’re too low. Are you anxious?”
I maintained my haughty expression while speaking.
Shit, I don’t even know what I’m doing myself.
“You experience fear, yet you never lose your reason… Impressive for someone who looks to be just sixteen or seventeen!”
Maltiel looked at me and burst out laughing with great amusement.
For him, this whole process seemed like a fun game.
That’s when it happened.
“All units! Change the combat objective from ‘survival’ to ‘escorting the boy!’ This boy must not die here—he is a precious talent. Escort him to the capital at all costs!”
The tense standoff between me and the Grand Marshal was interrupted by the thunderous command of Rex, the Orc hero.
What the hell is this Orc talking about now?
Shit, I have no clue what’s really going on here.
