A Mage's Sorrow.
It was a pain in the neck, but not impossible.
It was doable if I just, you know, focused a little more.
That's why I sighed.
"...Why can't you just stay put?"
I thought I had to move, so I did, but it didn't help me in the end.
I let out a sigh and began to cast my spells very delicately.
'Haste over there... and Strength here.'
I cast support magic according to each of their jobs, and slowed down the enemies by using magic that could restrict their movements.
[Lightning Chain]
Pzzzt-!
Not a single person was hurt by my magic in the process.
Of course.
There was no way I would make a mistake with my magic.
Unless an ally deliberately ran into it, I wouldn't hit them.
With that in mind, I used my magic.
I took care of any strong monsters that appeared.
[Tsar Bomba]
The range wasn't that wide, so I was able to take care of the monster before it reached my allies.
Of course, there was a chance that my allies would get caught in the crossfire, but I could heal any injuries.
It was because I was confident in my abilities that I was able to use magic in such a slightly dangerous way.
'...They wouldn't listen even if I told them to back off.'
Hearts was in no position to retreat, as there were too many monsters around him.
He would have been dead long ago if I hadn't backed him up.
With that in mind, I continued to support him.
How much time had passed?
The frequency of the monsters' arrival began to slow down.
The monsters may be stupid, but that doesn't mean they don't have brains.
They were at least intelligent enough to know that they were throwing their lives away for nothing.
Therefore, it was highly likely that they had retreated.
Of course, there was a chance they hadn't, so I didn't let my guard down.
If I let my guard down and they invaded again, it would be me who would lose out.
How long had I waited?
The monsters stopped coming.
So I cast [Haste] on all the allies left on the battlefield and had them return quickly.
"S-sorry about that! I've never seen so many monsters before, I got a little carried away!"
"Huh, Paladin. Is that all you have to say for yourself? We could have all been wiped out."
The atmosphere was getting ugly.
So I decided to intervene.
"Ahaha... Everyone calm down. No one got hurt in the end, did they? Of course, Mr. Hearts was wrong, but let's just let it slide this once."
As I said this and stared intently at the adventurer with the greatsword in his robe, the adventurer with the greatsword lowered his eyes.
Then he spoke.
"...Tsk, fine. Fine."
"Oh, thank you for your understanding."
I was very grateful that he understood.
If it had been any other adventurer, it wouldn't have been strange for him to lose his temper.
But he stopped there.
It was as if he was thinking of me, the one who had to mediate.
Or maybe he saw the power of [Tsar Bomba] earlier.
Even I would have said the same if I had seen a troll evaporate in an instant.
With that thought, I spoke.
"So, are we done with the request? Can we go now?"
"Not yet. We have to keep an eye out until morning. I think we've taken care of all the monsters inside... but we never know."
"Oh, okay."
And so came the sudden free time.
I thought it would be best to talk to Hearts during this time.
I had managed to sort out the situation, but I couldn't keep mediating forever.
We needed to have a heart-to-heart.
"Mr. Hearts, um... do you have a hard time controlling yourself when you see monsters?"
I was really curious.
That's why I asked.
When I asked that...
"Oh, no, it's just... I'm feeling particularly bad today! I'm usually not like this!"
"So, if the monsters attack again later, are you going to act like this again?"
No matter how unbearable it was, if he was a Paladin, there was a high chance that his willpower was strong.
If he was weak-willed, I would have to help him out a bit.
"Well... to be honest, I think it's going to be a little hard to resist!"
Still, it was good that he was being honest with me.
Other adventurers would make a fuss trying to hide their weaknesses, but Hearts was so open about his.
A Paladin not being able to pull himself together, he must know how shameful that is.
"Just a moment."
"Alright!"
I asked Hearts for a moment and tried to recall a few high-level spells from my mind.
What kind of magic would help the mind?
Magic related to the mind was very high-level, so it wasn't something I could try out right away.
After racking my brains for a while, I thought of a useful spell.
So I said to Hearts,
"Let me scan your body for a moment."
"Oh, alright."
[Lightning Bolt]
I used Lightning Bolt to check the structure of his body.
Then I saw an unnatural flow of mana in places.
So I adjusted the [Lightning Bolt] slightly to correct the unnatural flow of mana, and finished the examination.
"Then... I'll use magic."
"Hmm? What kind of magic?"
"Oh, it's mind-related magic, it will help you get a hold of yourself a little more."
"Alright!"
It will help him get a hold of himself.
With that thought, I used the magic.
[Absolute Mind]
It wasn't literally an absolute mind.
That's just the name of the spell, it could be broken through if someone wanted to.
But it did serve to make the mental barrier a little more solid.
After I finished the treatment, I went to the adventurer with the greatsword.
"What's up?"
It seemed he couldn't give up on speaking informally even though he had been so scared earlier.
Well, nothing I could do if he was born that way.
Thinking that, I said,
"Oh, the Paladin shouldn't act out anymore. I've taken care of it."
"Hmph, whatever you say."
He said that, but I could see his body trembling slightly.
He must be scared of me.
But it was obvious that he was trying to act confident so as not to be looked down upon by the other adventurers around him.
"If the monsters pop out again later, let's try it according to plan then. We didn't get to put our plan into action earlier."
"...Alright. But if the Paladin acts up again, I won't be able to hold back."
"Oh, okay."
I don't know what he could do even if he couldn't hold back.
Anyway, I felt refreshed that we had sorted things out from earlier, and sat down.
And then I turned on the forum.
To others, it might look like I was meditating.
This was a honey tip to improve my image while browsing the forum.
Thinking that, I checked the post I had written earlier.
[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]
L: That's because Baruk really does have good water and air.
ã„´: True lol
ã„´: It's a fact
ã„´: Isn't Baruk a fairly bustling city?
ã„´: It is bustling, but it's really tiny compared to Lukphelton lol
ã„´: Lukphelton is really big lol
L Ferus: Baruk doesn't really have anything famous, does it?
ã„´ Ferus: I know it as a place to take a break.
ã„´ Ferus: I hear it has a decent defense force and a decent number of adventurers.
ã„´: Old man Ferus is right lol
ã„´: How many adventures have you been on lol
Baruk's position was quite ambiguous.
If I were to compare it to Korea...
'I don't know.'
There wasn't a place in Korea that corresponded to it.
Of course, I did get a 6 on my geography test, but...
I should have studied geography a little harder.
As I was thinking about that and looking at other posts,
"We're under attack–!!"
While we were taking a break, the monsters began to invade again.
It seemed that Koruntum really did have a lot of monsters.
Of course, I was in a place where a lot of monsters appeared, but for them to come out like this even after being killed like that...
Amazing, I thought, and said to Hearts,
"Let's do it according to plan this time."
"Alright!"
Hearts draws the aggro, and I use area magic on the gathered monsters.
Then the other adventurers clean up the rest.
It was a very simple, but effective method.
As I was thinking about that, Hearts was running towards the place where the monsters were coming from.
"...Amazing."
No matter how strong he was, it wouldn't be easy to just charge in like that.
With that thought, I began to support him.
[Haste]
[Strength]
[Accelerated Thinking]
Now the real fight begins.
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