I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game

It took us nearly half a day to return to the barracks. Normally, the journey would take about three to four hours, but it ended up taking half a day... well, you can guess the reason—it's because of me.

Trian, who seemed concerned after I collapsed as soon as I arrived at the barracks last time, decided to take a longer route this time. He made sure there were plenty of places to rest and guided us along the smoothest and easiest path.

Having wandered around this area so much, Trian had reached a point where he could even count the number of old trees and acacias in the area with incredible detail.

Along the way, he picked fruits for us and even found drinking water.

It took longer than expected, but thanks to that, the journey was fairly smooth, and I didn’t collapse as soon as I got back to the barracks like last time.

"Hah, damn..."

Well, it wasn’t a collapse, but... it was still pretty exhausting and difficult.

"Ah, you're back. It was getting late, and I was starting to think about sending out a search party."

Belua, the blacksmith with the hammer, appeared among the nearly finished barracks. She was holding a small hammer and several nails in her hand.

"...Are you working on this yourself?"

I asked, surprised to see the squad leader herself holding tools.

"Just giving orders while sitting still was driving me crazy. I can’t drink, so I figured I'd relieve some stress by hammering!"

...Dwarves have such unique ways of relieving stress.

The more I talked to her, the more I found Belua strangely offbeat.

"Oh, a dwarf. I always think they’re cute."

While nodding quietly at Belua, suddenly a haughty voice came from my right hand, interrupting me.

"..."

I frowned as I looked at my right hand, which had suddenly started speaking. Underneath the skin of my right hand, faint and warm electricity, similar to what Dajin had emitted earlier, was slowly pulsing.

"Excuse me?"

Right under my skin, the staff-shaped artifact Dajin had given me had molecularized and seeped into my hand. The staff had the ability to summon and communicate with Dajin.

But it was my right hand, not the staff itself.

"...Why are you talking?"

I hadn’t taken the staff out. I hadn’t even made any attempt to do so.

I hadn’t even focused on the new foreign sensation that had settled in my fingertips, nor had I uttered any words like 'manifestation' to bring it out.

So why was this thing suddenly raising its voice under my skin?

"You and I are connected, are we not? Why ask such an obvious question?"

"No, no. This isn’t right. What do you mean 'obvious'? Are you out of your mind?"

The ability to communicate with you is an effect of the staff, isn’t it?

"Why are you talking when I haven’t even taken the staff out?"

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even laugh.

When did this damn deer start watching me and everyone around me like this?

"...Well, cut me some slack. I’m just a little excited since I met some cute dwarves, but you're so hard on me."

"This isn’t the issue. When did you connect my mind with yours?"

"From the very beginning."

"...Are you insane?"

"Really, I just wanted to see the outside world for a bit."

"You've been secretly watching like a pervert, and now you're acting all confident?"

This insane pervert deer bastard must have been observing me 24/7, hadn’t he?

How many times did I go to the bathroom? Who did I meet, and what did I talk about? What food do I like or dislike? This crazy deer might have been watching me non-stop, and thinking about it sent a chill down my spine, almost like I was freezing.

"Pervert? I don’t even know what that is."

Damn medieval times.

When is the mental hospital going to be built?

Only then might this crazy bastard realize that he’s lost his mind.

"No, if you wanted to see the outside world, you should have said something in advance! You’re freaking me out."

"Yeah. I wanted to see the outside world, so I’ll connect my mind to the staff."

Dajin spoke casually, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

...

At this point, there was no point in talking about it anymore.

"I’ll... carve off the antlers and grind them..."

"AAH! Mouth! Mouth! At least show some basic respect, you’re a lightning spirit!"

Just as I was about to curse at the crackling lightning in my hand, Lir quickly covered my mouth.

The elf’s superior reaction speed certainly shines in the most unnecessary places.

"Come on, it’s been a while since we’ve been outside. Try to understand my feelings."

"..."

I couldn’t speak, so I stared at the lightning from my right hand with a look of frustration in my eyes.

"Well, if you really dislike it, I can’t help it. But if anything dangerous happens later, don’t think about asking for my help. I won’t lend my strength to those who don’t entertain me."

"..."

So, this staff that can control the power of a spirit has no disadvantages?

No, it does.

And those disadvantages are enormous.

That crazy deer bastard is the drawback.

What kind of ancient idiot would make a staff to communicate with and summon a transcendent being like Dajin?

The greatest achievement of the ancient being who created this staff was trapping Dajin in a stone, and the worst mistake was making this damn staff so Dajin could wander around and see the world.

"Bin! Bin, calm down and listen? Even so, Dajin is the lightning spirit, a transcendent being! He’s the origin of all lightning magic! It won’t be good for us to make him angry. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, Lir’s good at talking. One day, you might need my strength too, don’t you think? It’s not like there’s any reason not to entertain me."

Despite Dajin being bound to a small stone, he’s still a transcendent being. No matter how skilled an ancient mage created this artifact, I never thought it would let me control a transcendent being like Dajin.

Still...

Am I in some romance simulation game now? Do I need to keep catering to this guy’s whims?

"Bin, you know, you won’t say anything bad about Dajin, right?"

I closed my eyes in an attempt to signal that it was fine and nodded a few times.

Lir, like a child soothing me, patted me once more before slowly removing her hand from my mouth.

"I’m going to destroy all this damn deer’s antlers..."

Sorry, Lir, that was a lie.

"AAAH!"

Now, Lir shouted, trying to cover my mouth with both hands.

"I have my privacy too, you know, and if you keep acting like this, you're nothing but a pervert."

I turned my head from side to side, muttering through the gaps between her fingers.

"Please, Bin, please!"

Lir pleaded desperately.

Of course, no matter how desperately she begged, I wasn’t going to stop.

I had to say what I had to say.

"Ha! You won’t bend your neck, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone this stubborn."

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

Dajin, seemingly determined to mock me, started releasing warm lightning from his hands. The lightning gathered into a single point and quickly took the form of a deer.

"My judgment was not wrong!"

Dajin, smiling smugly, leaned in closer to me.

...What a damn cheat artifact.

The lightning deer spirit, Dajin, continued to mock me.

“Ha! You won’t bow your head, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a stiff-necked one.”

Dajin, with a smirk on his face, began releasing warm lightning from his hands. The lightning gathered into a single point and quickly formed the shape of a deer.

“My judgment was not wrong!”

Dajin leaned in closer to me, his smile wide.

...This is truly a damn cheat artifact.

The three mages, who were walking toward the tent with the intention of relaxing after a long day, heard the faint sound of Lir’s desperate voice calling for me.

"...What’s going on? Did Bin collapse again?"

"If he had, the squad leader would have carried him, no way it would be this noisy."

"Something’s up, right?"

The three mages stopped for a moment, hearing the commotion from the woods.

"Wait... what is that?"

Hearing the voice, the blue-robed mage couldn’t help but feel uneasy and glanced at his companions.

The last time they had seen Bin, he was either lying exhausted in a wagon or weakly greeting subordinates with a hoarse voice.

So hearing Bin’s voice full of anger was unexpected and strange to them.

"...What’s going on?" the blue-robed mage murmured.

“Ha! This is amazing. A lightning spirit!”

“Crazy! I’d like to meet the wind spirit one day...”

“This damn lightning deer...”

As they witnessed the unprecedented scene before them, the three mages couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Dajin’s overwhelming form. If they had been lightning magic scholars, they would have immediately bowed to Dajin.

"That’s... that’s the lightning spirit."

"Crazy. One day, I want to meet the wind spirit too..."

"This damn lightning deer..."

They could feel the pure and beautiful magic coming from Dajin’s form. Despite not being lightning magic scholars themselves, they could immediately recognize ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) what stood before them.

“The lightning spirit...”

The voice of the three mages was drowned out by the overpowering energy in the air. If they had been in the lightning magic school, they would have gladly approached Dajin and bowed. The awe they felt was almost overwhelming.

But then, as they continued to stand there, a voice filled with anger pierced their ears.

“...This damn deer!”

The sound of Bin’s voice, filled with rage, echoed through the air. They stared, frozen, unable to fully comprehend the situation unfolding before them.

They had always seen Bin as a tired, weary boy, but now... now he was throwing a punch at Dajin, the very being who was the origin of lightning magic.

"Bin! Please, stop! I’m sorry! Dajin, I’m sorry!"

Lir, the elf and Dajin’s disciple, rushed forward to grab Bin’s arm, trying to stop him. She bowed to Dajin, apologizing for Bin’s behavior.

“Calm down, calm down, General! You can’t do that to a transcendent being! If you anger him, what if he tells us to leave the forest?”

Even Belua, their squad leader, was stunned. She was worried that Bin’s actions, angering the lightning spirit, might ruin their mission and throw a wrench in their plans.

“Ha! You’re cute. Let’s see you try to dance like that. Should I even play music for you?”

Dajin was mocking Bin, clearly enjoying the situation.

“...”

The three mages could only watch, dazed and confused, as the scene unfolded before them.

“...What is going on here?”

None of them could comprehend the situation before them.

No one could understand how things had escalated so quickly.

So, they could only stare, unable to do anything, and quietly slipped away, retreating back to their tents.

They didn’t think they could be of any help in the situation, and being nearby might only bring trouble.

They returned to their tents and sat around the campfire, chatting about the strange spectacle they had just witnessed.

“Haha! This is crazy. A lightning spirit, right? A transcendent being? And this guy is throwing punches at him! There’s some seriously unique mages out there.”

“The General has a fierce beast inside, despite his delicate appearance! Who would have thought?”

The story spread quickly, with the dwarves picking up the tale and passing it along to the rest of the squad.

“What?! The General fought with the lightning spirit for hours?”

“The hell? Why would the General be fighting with the lightning spirit? Aren’t they supposed to be allies?”

“Maybe he’s trying to tame it? The General is always trying to gain more power.”

“Even if he’s so polite, looks like he’s hiding a beast inside!”

"No matter what, he's the one who carries the future of the continent. He must feel the need to grow his strength to lead us to victory."

“The General fought with the lightning spirit? Is that how mages get stronger?”

“...I guess so?”

As the story spread, exaggerated by the dwarves’ way of talking...

“The General must have tamed the lightning spirit in the end.”

“Crazy... no wonder they call him the savior who will save the world.”

And so, another bizarre rumor began to spread.