I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game

“Hey, hey! Cut it carefully so that there’s no blood, you brat!”

“What kind of a mutant looks like a crow and a cow combined? What kind of a dagger do you have, you demon brats... ... .”

The voices of the soldiers pierced through my hazy consciousness and rang in my head.

The sound of flesh being cut with a [N O V E L I G H T] blade and bones being broken with a hammer followed, and I regained my senses.

I quickly opened my eyes at the murderous sound and got up from my seat. A terrible headache belatedly came over me.

I was lying in the middle of the military carriage prepared for the wizards. It seemed that the general had covered me with a blanket.

“... ... Lie down a little longer.”

A thin finger pressed against my forehead as I tried to get up, touching the floor of the carriage.

Because of that, I had no choice but to bury myself back into the soft blanket before getting up.

The main character of the finger was Lir.

“... ... .”

I looked up at her, who had her hat pulled down lower than usual, and asked where we were currently.

“We’ve already arrived at the Achilliptus Forest. Right now, the soldiers and other wizards are dealing with the unconscious mutants.”

Whoosh—

“... ... May Astella guide you.”

Following Lir’s answer, the cool sound of an axe cutting through the wind and the faint voice of Rex, who had one arm replaced with a prosthetic, rang in my ears.

When I looked outside the carriage, I could easily spot Rex.

The large orc stood out much more because he was standing among the short dwarves.

“How far along is the operation? Have you even started constructing the outpost yet?”

“The archers and wizards are still removing the traps. The captain said that we would be able to start road construction around this evening.”

“... ... This is not the time to lie down peacefully, then.”

I lifted my skull again, which seemed about to break.

“Just lie down.”

“It’s okay, just standing still will help.”

Everyone was working hard, so a general couldn’t just lie down and rest, right?

I gently pushed away Lir’s hand that was stopping me, then got off the carriage and stood on the ground with trembling legs.

“Manifestation.”

I muttered, concentrating on the heterogeneous energy in my chest.

Then, fine particles began to emerge from my pores near my chest and gather on my shoulders.

The crystal that had saved Lir’s life once before appeared.

The red crystal fired a red light at the mutants standing still, making the mechanical mechanism mesh at regular intervals according to my will, and an unpleasant smell of coal vibrated every time.

The best thing about this crystal was that I didn’t have to expend any additional stamina or magic power to use it.

Of course, it didn’t just spit out the word ‘manifestation’ and then float around on my shoulder without me even paying attention.

How should I explain it? It felt like a third arm sprouting out and moving it. Or maybe it felt like a tail suddenly sprouting out and swinging it around.

Whatever it was, it felt like a new, alien organ that I had never used before had sprouted in my body and was swinging it around.

The more I used it, the more I would get used to this alien sensation, and someday I would reach a point where I could keep it floating on my shoulder 24 hours a day... ... But for now, I could only take it out and use it when I needed to.

“... ... What is that? It’s the magic that saved me last time? It doesn’t seem to be lightning magic... ... I don’t have much knowledge of magic other than lightning magic... ... .”

Even after using ‘Bloom’, Lir looked at me with curiosity as I turned mutants into ashes with a strange crystal ball on my shoulder, but soon, unable to contain her curiosity, she asked me a question.

“Oh, it’s not magic, it’s an artifact.”

“... ... An artifact?”

Lir opened her large eyes wide and asked back.

... ... Did I say something strange?

“Where on earth did you get the artifact?”

Lir let out a loud voice like an adventurer who had found gold and silver treasures in a dungeon.

It hadn’t been that long since I’d known her, but that voice just now was definitely the loudest she’d ever spoken.

“... ... Why?”

“Why! It’s an artifact! I don’t even know where it was made, and I don’t even know why it exists. Where on earth did you get such a precious item... ... No, no. Have you studied it? How about dismantling it? You haven’t, have you? Is there magic inside? Or is it some other power source... ... .”

It seemed that artifacts were much rarer in this world than I had thought.

“Did the Emperor get it for you? No, artifacts aren’t things that even the Emperor can get at will... ... How on earth did he... ... .”

That gentle Lir was making such a big fuss.

Judging by this reaction... ... Lir would definitely faint if he saw a map on the wiki site that listed the exact locations of each artifact’s appearance.

“... ... When I was young, I fell into a dungeon and found it by chance.”

I looked up at the sky for a moment, closed my eyes tightly, steeled my resolve, and answered with a serious face.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

‘Actually, it was something that was in the nest of the young dragons on the Enker Plateau that we all went to catch... ... I needed it so much that I ate it secretly’ I couldn’t even imagine what they would say if I honestly confessed.

“Wasn’t there some language written in that dungeon? No, just tell me the location of that dungeon. This is my chance. I can figure out how the ancient people lived and how they were able to leave these artifacts to future generations... ... .”

To the scholars of this world, ‘artifacts’ were considered to be things that were similar to the remains of ancient civilizations.

... ... And I was the one who secretly ate those remains.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember properly, because I was so young... ... .”

I added another lie to another lie.

I’m sorry, Lir.

But I don’t have the confidence to be honest... ... !

With those sparkling eyes, you can’t say, ‘Actually, I was in the nest of a young dragon, but I ate it first because I was afraid others would take it. Good job.’

“... ... .”

Lir briefly remained silent, as if he had realized something, and his excitement quickly subsided.

Was he disappointed?

Why did the mood suddenly drop... ... .

“If it was a dungeon where the artifact was stored, it must have been quite difficult. What kind of childhood did you have... ... ?”

Lir slightly lowered his head and carefully patted my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice... ... It must not have been a very good memory. You were so young that you don’t remember properly... ... .”

Oh.

This is another scenario I hadn’t thought of... ... .

“Um, uh... ... I don’t really remember my childhood. I just clenched my teeth every day to not die. Well, yes... ... .”

I took advantage of this awkward atmosphere to quickly end this conversation.

As I looked up at the sky and sighed as if my heart was aching, Lir’s eyes held a complex emotion.

... ... My conscience began to hurt, but I held my composure and didn’t show it on my face.

I’m sorry, Lir... ... .

I’ll at least show you a look at the artifact I’m going to eat next time before I eat it... ... .

I smiled bitterly as if I had a sad story, and then moved away from Lir.

... ... My conscience was too prickly to look at her big eyes any longer.

“It ended sooner than I thought.”

In the meantime, I felt that the surroundings had become quiet, so I looked around and opened my mouth.

The mutants who stood still without any resistance were quickly dealt with by the axes and blades of the skilled soldiers.

The infantrymen who finished their work took the time to check their armors for any spots where the mutants’ venomous blood had splattered, and to clean their weapons.

“Yes, yes, Master. Ah... ... I understand.”

While the soldiers were cleaning their weapons and armor, Lir used communication magic to talk to Alter through the blue crystal ball he had brought.

“The main force says that the work is almost finished. I think we can join now.”

Lir, who finished his communication magic, approached me and said this.

I didn’t rush, but waited until the soldiers were completely ready. If they hadn’t cleaned the monsters’ blood properly and a plague had spread, it would have been a big problem in carrying out the operation.

After about 30 minutes, the soldiers began to chatter.

I stood among the dwarves, staring at Rex, whose huge size was particularly noticeable. He read my gaze exactly and replied that he was ready.

“Let’s go and join the main force. They say most of the trap disarming work is done there.”

If I could just move the dexterous dwarf soldiers to the Achilliptus Forest without any damage, I could say that my work for this mission was almost done.

After all, building roads and setting up outposts was the domain of the dwarves.

“Lir, when we get to the Forest, let’s go for a walk together.”

So then it was time to go back to being a wizard, not a soldier, and find the lightning spirit hiding somewhere in the Forest.

“... ... Is it official business?”

“Yes? Oh, well. It’s not a soldier’s job, it’s a wizard’s job. But why?”

“No, no... ... That’s not true.”

Lir asked a question and then suddenly his ears turned red and he grabbed the brim of his hat and took a turtle-like defensive stance.

... ... This elf really is unknowable.