I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game

A high-ranking magician of the 8th circle. Alter Heindel was trying to hide his disappointment after meeting the white-haired boy who was rumored to be a bizarre person.

When he first heard the story that a magician who fought and survived against the Great Monarch was a vagrant from the 4th circle who had never properly learned magic, he just thought it was the same old nonsense from apprentices.

Not learning magic properly meant that even if he had magic power, he had no chance to develop it.

Most high-ranking magicians had magic power that was barely enough for the 2nd circle before they learned and trained magic. Among the few magic tower owners he knew, there were some who didn't even realize that they had magic power when they were young.

No matter how great the potential, magic power doesn't grow unless you train and study.

But a child who had never trained or studied had magic power that was only around the level of the 4th circle.

Not only that, but the level of perfection of magic was so great that he could fight against the Great Monarch and survive? A wizard who was only at the level of the 4th Circle?

It was a rumor that was so ridiculous that it was laughable.

Since there was no novel like that, Alter ignored the news. It seemed certain that it would soon be revealed as a false rumor anyway.

Then, a letter from the Emperor arrived to him.

The letter contained the news that the boy in the rumor really existed, that he had joined the Sword Master's party, and that he was even looking for someone who could teach him magic.

... ... Does this make sense?

It was the appearance of a genius who denied all the knowledge and experience he had known.

As soon as Alter read the letter, he took one of his disciples and headed straight for the capital.

His magic tower was more than a week away from the capital. However, he kept stopping by the village every so often when his horses were tired and collapsed, replacing them with different horses and changing his coachman, and he kept speeding up.

Thanks to that, Alter was able to arrive in the capital three days after the letter arrived at the Magic Tower.

The boy he met in the rumors was very different from what he had expected.

The boy clearly had 4th circle level magic power.

So for his age, he was quite talented. Considering that he had never received proper education... ... It was an absurd level of talent.

Many of the apprentice magicians at the Magic Tower he managed didn’t even reach 2nd circle, let alone 4th circle, at this age.

However, he didn’t come here to see this level of talent, handing over the position of the Magic Tower master that he had personally created to someone else.

What Alter wanted to see was an overwhelming talent that completely denied his own knowledge and experience.

Until he got on the carriage, he had expected to see a talent of the century that was far beyond the norm... ... Alter was very careful not to let his uncertain emotions show on his face.

“It’s an honor to meet you like this, Bin.”

Alter grabbed Bin’s shoulder as he was shaking hands with his disciple.

His body was so thin and insignificant that it seemed like it would break if he applied too much force.

‘... ... You really survived with this body? In a battle with the Overlord?’

Although not as much as a warrior, a certain level of physical strength and physical training are essential for a wizard going into battle.

It takes a considerable amount of concentration to properly cast magic in a battlefield full of screams, arrows, explosions, and magic.

In addition, fast legs are needed to avoid enemy attacks or secure a good position, and sometimes, excellent mental strength is also needed to endure the pain of injury and complete the magic.

The battlefield is definitely not an easy place. This wizard, who has lived for over 80 years, knew that very well.

And in the eyes of such a workplace, the white-haired boy was simply suspicious.

Look at those frail arms and legs. If he were to be put on the battlefield, he would be blinded by arrows before he could do anything... no, he would be hit by the shards of rocks that bounced off the arrows and fall down.

‘It seems like the rumors about him coming back alive against the Great Monarch are just empty words... ... .’

Scholars are a group of people who are full of curiosity and doubt.

Even if everyone, including the Sword Master, were talking about the talent of the century that would save humanity, it meant nothing to him.

In his eyes, this boy was nothing more than an ordinary genius-level magician who only appeared once every few decades.

Even his disciple, Lirman, who was crouching in the corner of the reception room and touching his hand, had already become a 4th circle at the age of nineteen.

‘For a genius born with overwhelming talent to save the world... ... ‘It’s plain and nothing special.’

Alter Heindel, who was born a wizard and walked the path of a scholar his whole life, was a man who experimented on everything himself and was not satisfied unless he judged it.

“Can you show me some magic? Even a simple ‘volt’ would be fine. It’s to accurately diagnose Bin-nim’s current level.”

‘Volt.’

The most basic of the basics for lightning wizards.

A magic with a simple mechanism that simply changes the magical power in the body into electricity and releases it through the fingertips.

Just by watching how Alter used this simple magic, he could tell the level of the wizard.

How much magical power leaks when magical power is changed into lightning, how quickly it can be created as lightning, and how much power the lightning created in that way has.

‘Volt’ is the basic of lightning wizards, and it was the most certain and clear indicator of a wizard’s level.

“I refuse.”

However, the boy named Bin flatly refused Alter’s request.

“... ... Why?”

Alter asked, trying his best to hide his uncertain emotions.

His eyebrows shook faintly as his anticipation of seeing the extremely refined and neat Bolt was completely shattered.

“Because I want to save as much magic power as possible for the expedition tomorrow.”

“It’s only one bolt, so isn’t that okay?”

“Because there is a possibility that the battle could be overturned due to the lack of magic power in that one bolt. A wizard’s magic power is a key resource for the expedition. Don’t you know that well, Alter? If you want to check my level, you can come along to the expedition tomorrow.”

“... ... .”

Even though he was saying that, Alter couldn’t just keep demanding to see the ‘Bolt’.

In reality, there were many cases where the wizard’s ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) magic power ran out at a critical moment and the expedition was annihilated in vain.

A single bolt, not much, and soldiers who didn't need to die or lose a battle because they didn't have enough magic to use that one bolt.

"... ... Well, let's do that. It's late at night, so I hope you have a good dream."

We'll find out tomorrow anyway.

Is that boy really good enough to survive the overlord?

All he had to do was lie comfortably in bed tonight, hoping that the rumors about the boy weren't false.

If the rumors were false... ... Then he would pay dearly for deceiving the leaders of each race, including the emperor, and stealing his time.

* * *

Morning dawned, and the expedition team quickly prepared and set off before nine o'clock.

Bin was wearing a black robe and a large hat with a wide brim. The boy's bony fingers were adorned with a ring set with a jet-black sapphire, and his slender neck was adorned with a necklace made of mermaid pearls.

The flashy decorations did not match the boy’s sharp and decadent appearance, but now they were headed to the battlefield.

There was no fool in this world who would refuse clothing that increased magical power and aided in the accuracy of magic simply because it did not match his appearance.

Alter and Lir got into the carriage right next to the boy and watched the scenery change helplessly.

They had no intention of fighting, so they did not come out fully prepared like the boy.

Alter’s battle robe was hanging in the quarters, and Lir, aside from his usual hat, had only worn a few rings on his fingers in case of an emergency.

As the carriage that left the capital with the three of them in it rolled north, the boy named Bin simply stared intently at his grimoire.

“By the way, where are you headed?”

Alter cautiously asked the destination when the capital was no longer visible in the distance.

“Enker Plateau.”

The destination was farther than I thought.

“Why is it there... ... .”

“Because there’s a dragon there.”

The boy answered calmly, looking through his grimoire here and there.

The Enker Plateau.

The unique fertile soil and the perfect weather for farming. The amazing surrounding environment with few weeds or pests made it the world’s best granary, once responsible for 70 percent of the continent’s wheat production.

However, since a young dragon landed on that granary, that has become a thing of the past.

The reason why a dragon that normally lives on high mountaintops suddenly made its nest on the plains of the Enker Plateau was simple. It was because the demons took over the area where it used to live.

Due to the sudden appearance of the dragon, all the farmers living in the area fled... ... and as a result, the value of food in most parts of the continent skyrocketed abnormally.

That was also the reason why the number of vagrants increased like crazy during this period.

“... ... It seems like there aren’t enough people to go hunt a dragon. By the way, I won’t fight. I just want to see Bin-nim’s level, not just go there to lose strength.”

The dragon that had settled on the Enker Plateau was still a rookie who hadn’t fully matured yet.

But even if it was a rookie, a dragon was still a dragon.

It wasn’t an enemy that a platoon of 4-circle magicians and regular infantry could just rush in and kill.

At the very least, there had to be a platoon that included a high-ranking magician of 7 circles or higher, or a platoon that included warriors at the level of an orc chieftain.

Or else, we could increase the number of infantry units by ten times the current number and go on an expedition.

‘Really, Is he powerful?’

Alter looked at the boy with a half-hearted look and stroked his beard.

‘... ... It seems more likely that he is a rookie who doesn’t know what level of monster a dragon is.’

He looked to be about 16 or 17 years old at most. When on earth could this boy, who wasn’t even an elf, have ever seen a dragon?

Alter’s guess was reasonable, but this boy had caught hundreds or thousands of young dragons on the Enker Plateau.

Even if it was through the monitor... ... .

“If we send the Sword Saint, it would be taken care of in an instant.”

“The Sword Saint is busy saving people. The other party members are also busy assisting him... ... .”

The boy answered calmly, without taking his eyes off the grimoire.

“They said that I won’t be deployed to the battlefield where the Sword Saint Party’s first corps is active until I receive all the basic teachings from the teacher. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do nothing. I am also a soldier who wears clothes and eats food with the taxes paid by the continental people with difficulty.”

The boy’s small voice filling the rattling carriage gave off quite a mysterious feeling.

“You should catch a young dragon, right?”

“... ... Well, that’s true.”

Alter smiled lightly and slowly sat down next to the boy.

He had thought that he might be a rascal who had no sense of propriety since he was a vagrant, but the boy was much more polite and thoughtful than he had expected.

“... ... You’ve been fiddling with the book of grimoires since a while ago. Is there anything you don’t understand?”

Alter decided to give the boy, who had such a strange idea, a little lesson.