Berserk
Adventurers spoke casually as a matter of course.
They probably did it to avoid being looked down upon by others.
I understood that completely.
But casual speech didn't come naturally to me.
I had always used honorifics, and I didn't want to force myself to speak casually just to feel superior to others.
Lost in these thoughts as I followed the man, he must have gotten bored because he started talking to me.
"So, where'd you crawl out from?"
"I came from Baruk."
"Baruk, nice place. Good water, fresh air."
"It is."
For some reason, adventurers seemed to perceive Baruk as a place with good water and fresh air.
It wasn't that much of a rural area.
Why did everyone think that?
It was a little unfair.
So, I quickly wrote a post on the forum.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Baruk <<< Why is this the perception lol]
[Content: Why does everyone think it's a place with good water and fresh air? It's not even that much of a countryside town]
After quickly writing the post, I closed the forum.
And then I started to focus on the conversation again.
"I used to live in Baruk for a while... What was it called, Harang Hall? The food there was amazing."
"Ah, yes. It is delicious."
It seemed like Harang Hall was quite famous.
Even someone who had only lived in Baruk for a short time knew about it.
It suddenly made Teron seem amazing for owning such a restaurant.
Well, to be precise, it was Teron's wife who owned the restaurant.
Anyway.
How long had we been walking?
"This is it."
"Ah, okay..."
Looking around the place we arrived at, it was utterly devastated.
Traces of battle were evident everywhere.
So, I gathered a small amount of mana.
Just in case.
As I maintained a slight state of vigilance, the man next to me spoke.
"Wait here for a bit. The others will be following us soon. We'll start working then, so familiarize yourself with the surroundings."
"Ah, but could you tell me where I need to concentrate my attacks?"
I asked as politely as possible.
That way, he would be more likely to answer.
Of course, he would probably answer even if I didn't ask politely, but there was no need to leave a bad impression.
When I asked, the man pointed his finger at a spot.
"Over there. There are no monsters now, but when night falls, all the monsters in hiding will come out, so we'll take care of them then."
"Ah, okay."
One might wonder why we don't just occupy the place when there are no monsters, but there were monsters that only appeared at night and remained hidden otherwise.
Finding them was difficult too.
So, it seemed like it was better to clear them out at night when there were many, rather than searching every nook and cranny.
With that in mind, I sat down on a nearby rock.
'...I hope we start soon.'
To be honest, I didn't think ordinary monsters would be a match for me.
I needed at least an Ogre for a decent fight.
So, I was a little bored.
It was the perfect time to browse the forum, but I decided to do something productive for once.
I took out the second volume of "Fundamentals of Magic" from my subspace pouch and began to reread it.
It was tedious, but it wasn't too bad because it was interesting to see the magic formulas in between.
Flip.
As I sat on the rock and continued reading the second volume of "Fundamentals of Magic," I noticed some parts that could be revised, so I made my own modifications.
I didn't think I was wrong.
If I didn't believe in myself when I was more than capable, then what could I believe in?
As I made the revisions with that thought—
"Hmm."
It seemed like the revisions were decent enough.
Perhaps because it was a book written by Silvia, there weren't many parts that needed revision.
Silvia was definitely an amazing mage.
To think she created such a sophisticated book.
As I closed the book, marveling at her, the day was already drawing to a close.
[Lightning Bolt]
I surveyed the surroundings using magic.
I sensed someone approaching.
They weren't trying to hide their presence, so it was probably the man who spoke casually, bringing his companions.
Thinking that, I rose from my spot.
And then I saw a familiar face.
"Huh?"
"Well, hello there!"
It was a very familiar face.
Hearts.
Someone who should have been in Baruk was here.
How did this happen?
"What brings you here? It's dangerous."
"The more dangerous, the better, isn't it?!"
"Ah... Right."
I couldn't really relate, but I gave a vague answer.
Predicting a Paladin's actions with my way of thinking was close to impossible.
As I was exchanging greetings with Hearts, the man behind him spoke up.
"What's this? You two know each other?"
"Ah, yes. We met in Baruk."
"It's not every day you see someone from Baruk taking on a request in Koruntum. You've got guts."
"Ahaha... Thank you."
Adventurers might have spoken harshly, but I knew they didn't mean any harm, so I didn't feel offended.
I just figured they weren't very good at making friends.
As we stood there, the man who spoke casually started explaining the plan while cleaning his greatsword.
The plan was simpler than I expected.
When night fell, monsters would emerge, and Hearts would draw their aggro and gather them. Then, I would wipe out most of them with my firepower, and the rest would be dealt with by the others.
In short, they wanted me to do the dishes efficiently.
But it wasn't bad.
It wasn't too burdensome for me either.
"So... shall we start now?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself and just prepare your magic. Everyone knows mages take forever to cast."
"I can do it right now."
I said, demonstrating by casting Lightning Bolt in the air.
The man with the greatsword flinched slightly, then nodded curtly.
I guess that meant I could use magic.
It seemed he had grasped my level to some extent.
That's probably why he reacted that way.
With that in mind, I prepared to cast my spell.
'I need to wipe them out in one go... This should do.'
I didn't have to worry about Hearts, who was drawing aggro, getting caught in my magic.
He had the Paladin's unique footwork.
Moreover, Paladins had high magic resistance, and their mana was highly effective against monsters, so even if he got hit, he wouldn't take much damage.
That's probably why they brought a Paladin.
It might seem cruel to use a Paladin as bait, but Paladins actually preferred this role.
They believed that fighting from the back was dishonorable.
That's why they were put on the front lines.
As I watched Hearts cautiously walk into the dark forest, I thought to myself.
And a short while later.
Grooooowl-!
With all sorts of bizarre sounds, monsters of various shapes and sizes sprang out from everywhere.
Hearts's face turned pale—
Not with fear, but with excitement, as he activated his aura and began to cut down monsters.
"Uh, hold on. Why is he like that?"
I knew Paladins had that tendency, but it was particularly bad today.
This wasn't going according to plan.
I had to improvise.
With Hearts going berserk like that, it was too risky to use magic there.
But I felt a little uneasy about unleashing a powerful spell without warning.
No matter how high Hearts's magic resistance was, there would still be aftereffects.
I hadn't formed a deep bond with Hearts... but we had grown close.
I couldn't just abandon him.
"Ah, this is a pain..."
There was only one thing I could do.
I had to support Hearts and adapt to the situation.
Thinking that, I began casting my spells.
[Haste]
[Strength]
[Lightness]
[Lightning Chain]
I simultaneously deployed the formulas for four spells and poured mana into them.
The four spells activated at the same time.
I cast [Haste], [Strength], and [Lightness] on Hearts to enhance his strength and agility while using [Lightning Chain] to restrict the movements of the enemies.
It was a bit tricky to control, but not impossible.
As we were fighting our own battles, a voice boomed.
"What are you doing?! Get in there!"
The others, who had been standing around, finally joined the fray.
And then it hit me.
'Ah, I should have stayed put.'
This significantly increased the difficulty of using magic.
This was getting troublesome.
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