I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game

"Calm down."

The lightning spirit, Dajin, told me that.

"...Calm down?"

I doubted my ears.

Suddenly, he forces some unknown artifact into my mouth and tells me to calm down?

If someone suddenly injected an unknown liquid into your arm and then told you to "calm down," would you be able to calm down?

How could I possibly calm down when I don’t even know if that liquid is a healing potion or a deadly poison?

Even if it is a medicine, it’s a problem. No matter how good a medicine is, doesn’t it sometimes turn into poison depending on the symptoms and the patient’s condition?

How could he possibly know if I’ll have an allergic reaction or suddenly vomit or have diarrhea?

This crazy deer bastard.

"Calm down?"

Artifacts aren’t some omnipotent tool for boosting a character’s stats. That’s why I demanded clarification from Dajin in a firm tone.

"...Oh, fine."

Dajin, seeing my intense reaction, looked somewhat flustered.

"Ahem!"

Lir, noticing my rude words toward Dajin, tapped me on the back and cleared her throat.

"What’s wrong?"

I turned my cold expression toward Lir and asked.

Startled by my sharp tone, Lir hesitated for a moment before quietly whispering into my ear.

"That... maybe a little more politeness would be...?"

"...Politeness?"

Lir, you’re really driving me crazy now.

"Do you think I should be polite right now? Some unknown artifact just entered my body."

"Well, that... but it’s an artifact, so maybe it’s a good thing? Maybe just calm down first...?"

Lir seemed to think of the artifact as just "something good to get," without fully understanding its nature. Given her lack of knowledge about artifacts, it wasn’t entirely surprising.

The only artifact she’d probably ever seen was the "Red Crystal" I carry around on my shoulder, firing beams of light.

The Red Crystal, while an artifact, is pretty boring in terms of effects and has no disadvantages. So I didn’t blame her for thinking this way.

"Calm down, my ass..."

But once Lir learns that some artifacts shorten a user’s lifespan by two years, she’ll likely have the same reaction as I do.

Since you’re a species that lives over 4000 years, picking up that artifact would cost you about 3978 years.

Would you still be polite after losing 3978 years of your life? Should I test that?

"Well... I get what you’re worried about. There are artifacts that can negatively impact your lifespan, health, or intelligence."

"You know well! So, instead of just handing me this thing without a word, shouldn't you have at least warned me to be careful with this staff since it's an artifact?"

"No, it's not that kind of item."

Dajin clicked his tongue, staring at me with a strange look as I grumbled.

Look at this bastard talking. If someone overheard, they’d think I’m the weird one here.

He’s the one who forced an unknown object into my mouth without knowing its identity, and now he’s acting like I’m the unreasonable one.

"So, explain it. What’s the effect?"

"Hmm! Well, speaking of the staff, it’s...”

"Skip the backstory, I’m not interested."

"..."

Dajin lowered his head, looking a little disappointed after my sharp response.

"Tch. Well, to explain briefly... think of it as a staff that can summon me."

Dajin clicked his tongue and then spoke in a voice that sounded like all the energy had drained out of him.

"...?"

He only spoke about the basics, but I still couldn’t understand, so I stared at him, speechless.

A staff that summons me?

No, I mean, it summons you?

"...Huh?"

From behind, I heard Lir’s voice. It seemed like she hadn’t understood Dajin’s words either.

"..."

I turned my head and met Lir’s blank expression.

...Did I hear that wrong?

"What’s the atmosphere here?"

"...You said it summons you?"

"Yeah, it’s a staff that can summon me."

"...You mean summoning... like, to fight for me?"

"Of course, that’s possible. Do you have a country you don’t like?"

Dajin casually asked, as if it were nothing, like a shopkeeper asking if I needed anything while heading to the convenience store.

"..."

"..."

Lir and I exchanged glances once more.

Thankfully, she also seemed in a daze, unable to process reality.

The lightning spirit, Dajin.

A transcendent being, said to be the origin of lightning magic.

In this world, transcendent beings are practically gods.

They possess overwhelming magical power that no amount of magic from all the world’s mages can compare to, unbreakable life that will never die, and omnipotence that completely disregards the laws of physics.

A single wave of their hand can evaporate the entire ocean, turn the earth to ashes. They truly reside in the realm of gods.

A staff that can summon such a lightning spirit...?

"...Crazy."

I couldn’t help but chuckle, looking at the palm of my hand.

It felt like a nuclear bomb had just been handed to me.

What the hell is going on here?

"I’ll ask again... This isn’t some artifact that’s going to mess with my health, right? There are no disadvantages, no negative effects on my mana or anything?"

"I already told you, it doesn’t have any such limitations. The staff was created by a mage powerful enough to imprison me in this small stone. It’s not something made by some random schmucks."

...It’s a cheat item.

It’s really a goddamn cheat item.

If this artifact were implemented in the game, there would be a balance problem, and all players would be mages.

Now I understand why this staff is so unfamiliar to me.

"...Isn’t this going to end the war?"

Lir, still in disbelief, looked at me with a dazed expression and said that.

Oh.

Right, we’re in the middle of a war, aren’t we?

I had completely forgotten that with this sudden nuclear bomb in my hand.

"End the war? Ah, are you talking about that demon bastard who came back? Sorry, but that’s a request I can’t fulfill."

"Huh? Why?"

The setting book described the five spirits, the origin of magic, as being so powerful that they could easily rival demons that crawled up from hell.

With Swordmaster and his party around, I thought that if we sent the demon to Dajin, we could finish this war in a month.

"Look at me right now. Aren’t I bound to this little stone?"

"Right."

"My power weakens the further I am from this forest."

"...Huh? Weakens? How much?"

"Well, in the noisy frontlines up north... maybe around the level of an old mage traveling with you guys. The further I move from there, the weaker it’ll get. If I head to the northernmost lands where the demon is, I’ll only be able to exert the power of a 6th Circle mage."

"Wait, what?"

Ugh, what the hell.

This is deflating.

"Then... please, a little more politeness!"

Lir, startled by my blunt tone, poked me again.

"Well... honestly, Lir, I was a little disappointed too."

"That’s not something you should openly show!"

Lir glanced at Dajin and then, once again, cautiously whispered in my ear.

Why is she whispering? Does she think that just because we’re standing in front of a transcendent being, Dajin won’t hear us?

Looking at it, it seems like Lir treats Dajin like the biggest fool.

"Well, if you want to awaken my true power... there’s a way."

Dajin, watching our conversation with a smile, spoke with a cryptic tone.

"If you release the seal that binds me to this little stone, you’ll be able to use my full strength wherever you are."

"...It’s sealed?"

I blinked in disbelief, hearing this for the first time.

"You were told that the one who created the staff and placed me inside this stone, right? His name... what was it, I’ve forgotten. A mortal name, difficult as always. An ancient being? That’s what they called his kind nowadays."

This is a new twist.

I had always thought spirits could only communicate through Rune Stones.

In the game, that was the only way to interact with them, and even then, it was just a few lines of dialogue.

The setting book never mentioned anything like this.

But now, to learn that the Rune Stone, which could connect with transcendent beings, was actually a prison?

"If they were ancient beings, they must have been highly skilled to create artifacts. But even with such skill, to imprison someone like Dajin...?"

Lir looked at Dajin in shock, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It seemed like she had thought Dajin was voluntarily residing in the Rune Stone all along.

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

"The one who imprisoned me was a genius mage. He trapped me and tried to use me like a slave with that staff. An arrogant, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» genius idea."

Dajin didn’t seem to resent the mage who imprisoned him. In fact, he almost seemed nostalgic.

"Well, it was fun dealing with that mortal. He was talented, ambitious, and had the right kind of spirit. I spent years with him because he was interesting. But, as expected of a mortal, he died soon."

"You seem to hold the mage who imprisoned you in quite high regard."

"It’s interesting, isn’t it? All the other mages were too busy worshiping me as a god, but that one saw me as just a tool for his desires. I like the stubborn ones. I prefer those who trust their talents and act recklessly. It’s fun and amusing to watch."

...That’s when I began to understand why Dajin had given me such a powerful staff.

"I heard it feels like you’re just seeing me as a toy to kill time."

"A toy? More like a cherished doll, I’d say. Among all those who came seeking me, you’re the only one with enough talent and the right kind of stubbornness. Plus, you’re carrying a horrific ‘restriction’ that matches that talent."

Dajin wasn’t just interested in my talent. He’d known from the moment we met that my magic only consisted of ‘Bloom’ magic.

That’s why Dajin found me so entertaining.

He wasn’t expecting me to bow or kneel like Lir.

Not to mention, compared to other mages, my magic stats were ridiculously high.

But with such abnormal magical power, I could only use one magic.

It wasn’t strange that he was curious and fascinated by me.

"...That’s unpleasant."

Hearing my response, Dajin quietly smiled.

"I’m having fun though, what a pity."

A serpent-like smile crept across Dajin’s face. I felt like I was getting closer to the essence of this transcendent being.

"Well, if you really want to awaken my true power... it’s not entirely impossible."

Lir, sensing the delicate tension between Dajin and me, quickly interrupted and changed the subject.

She was probably worried I might snap at Dajin.

"I don’t know."

"...Ah, well."

Lir, looking at Dajin’s frank confession of ignorance, didn’t know what to say.

"If you want to release the seal, ask the one who put me here directly."

"He’s already dead, right?"

I spoke to Dajin with a tone full of frustration. Asking a dead guy, thousands of years gone, sounds like nonsense.

"His research records should still be in a bunker somewhere in the northern lands... you know, the dungeons you call them."

The northern lands, a late-game area crawling with level 90 great lords and monsters.

Asking me to investigate a dungeon in the land where demons and the demon lord have settled. It was a quest I couldn’t possibly accomplish in my current state.

"...I’ll just make a note of it for now."

Getting by day-to-day was already hard enough. The idea of mastering the true power of a transcendent being was appealing, but I had far more pressing tasks at hand.

"Well, you don’t have to do it yourself. Eventually, a genius, or someone better than you, will come along, as always."

"Sounds like you don’t mind being sealed. Seems like you don’t want freedom."

"Freedom? Doesn’t really matter to me. I just need some entertainment, and I’m fine with whatever."

How do transcendent beings think? There are so many things I can’t understand with my mortal mind.

...Actually, maybe this bastard’s just a weirdo.