Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

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The body has suffered severe damage.

A penetration, perhaps?

It’s been pierced by a sword—whoever did it has some neat skills.

When did I face such a crisis?

Probably a past I can barely recall.

Magic power… there’s plenty to spare. To have this much magic yet not take any action at all? Maybe I’m just not cut out for magic.

Is it akin to having my mind trapped in another’s body?

‘…[ ascertain ]’

No, that’s not right.

This body is indeed mine.

Rather than pondering who had the audacity to teleport in their sleep and stab me, it seems simpler to think that my mind has traversed dimensions.

After all, I’ve done research related to returning to my original world before.

In the end, I failed.

All of this—is it just an old story, a memory?

Ugh… what a hassle.

‘[ regeneration ] and [ reversal ], [ life ] and [ order ], the [ principles ] of the [ world ].’

I slowly lift my body.

Physical abilities are subpar.

Just slightly above where I was when I first possessed this world.

Feels weak.

It seems my other self from another world shares some critical traits after all.

So, does that mean my original body is sleeping at the top of the mage tower right now?

“…Who are you?”

“Eyal? Is that you?”

“You’re saying my name like that—”

Familiar face.

Definitely someone who ought to be in hiding.

‘…a moment in the past.’

Alright. I’ve got a rough grasp on the situation.

It appears the countless ‘framed images’ I fell asleep watching in the wagon during my adventures with Skylar were all parallel worlds.

“My name is Selina, the master of the Great Tower.”

“…I don’t get it. Why are you pretending to be someone else all of a sudden?”

“You have a brain, yet your intelligence remains astonishingly low, both now and then.”

—

The body’s user is far too proficient.

The body can’t handle it.

Implementing corrections.

[ Intelligence: 2 (+8) ]

—

Is it alcohol? Quite uncomfortable.

Feels like something strange is crawling all over my brain.

“[ purification ]”

Would this be enough to make a fistful? With barely enough magic to cast a basic spell, part of the city is bathed in bright light.

“…Failed to control. It’s not adapting. Why is my magic output and physical state suddenly changing? It’s fluctuating.”

“Impressive magic efficiency. I don’t care who you are. Become part of my collection. If you surrender now, I may let a few among my companions live.”

“Who are you ordering around?”

“Talking to you.”

“Hah!”

“In any case, what can a wizard without a staff do against me, a ‘hero’, in this situation?”

“No staff, you say?”

“Yeah.”

I slowly gather my magic and lift the sword, which has only the hilt remaining.

Then, I change its form.

“Magic is fundamentally about transforming phenomena. A wizard relying on a staff isn’t a true wizard, and one depending on the environment also isn’t a wizard. Therefore… a wizard creates their own staff through their will and changes the environment to their advantage.”

“…….”

“It’s basic magical theory.”

Bearing the scenery of the ruined city behind me, I slowly raised the staff to the side.

From a bit of distance away, I heard a familiar voice.

It was Skylar’s.

“…Selina?”

Has he been shouting up until now? His voice was horribly raspy.

After all, a sword has been deeply embedded in his body; I suppose a reaction like that is expected.

…Am I close with Skylar in this world?

“Selina is indeed who I am, but the Selina you know is no more.”

“…Different personality?”

Seems like this world’s version of me has somewhat low intelligence.

Why did I even spin such a transparent lie about being a double personality?

Should I just play along? I don’t want to make things messy in someone’s house.

“Something like that.”

“Different from the personality that showed up before. You’re using magic instead of a sword.”

“…Yeah.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Has another being arrived before me?

Oh, could it be that my other self in this world possesses different abilities?

‘…calling upon my other dimensional self. This is interesting.’

Through some deduction, I realized that this world’s me has ‘eyes’.

However, I had no idea I’d possess such abilities.

Had I known, I would’ve been collecting bodies left and right.

‘What shall I do about this situation first?’

The best course of action would be to drop the Mad King, Eyal, by my own hand, but that’s impossible. My current force just doesn’t cut it.

‘After all, my body is a mess. I’m short on power, short on magic, and it’s basically a complete disaster. Even if I could call my other self, I’d just be trash.’

Skylar hadn’t found his heart yet and wasn’t in his original form either.

Scipio is long past his prime, and Auris doesn’t seem to be able to handle the ears.

Ultimately, the only humans I could count on for strength were Propertyius, Nisha, the cat transformed into the Emperor, and Fura.

Scipio, who was also past his prime, had bound the subordinate, so together with me, there are five of us to subdue the Mad King.

‘…impossible.’

In the end, I’d have to settle for a second-best option.

It’s best to give up on the impossible early.

That’s the conclusion I reached after years of devoting myself to dimensional travel research.

A standoff persists for long.

‘It’d be good to put Skylar in a workable state.’

I casually began sketching a scroll in the air with one hand.

I released magic into the air and solidified it into a precise shape.

A trick only those who have reached the pinnacle among the masters of the tower can pull off.

Skylar observed my actions with sparkling eyes.

I’ve always been the one learning from him.

This world’s Skylar has a somewhat cute side to him.

“What are you doing…?”

“Just watch.”

“Do you think I’d actually stay still just because you say that? Who are you ordering around?”

The Mad King, Eyal, slowly approached me.

There was no hesitance, but his movements were slow.

‘Has he activated the brain?’

No, it doesn’t seem so. If he had activated the brain, his movements would’ve either slowed down or sped up. Right now, the speed is just peculiar. Not engaged yet.

After all, activating the brain is an enormous gamble for Eyal.

He wouldn’t use his brain in a fight he’s confident of winning.

For now, I’ve finished drafting the scroll.

I sent the fixed strands of magic toward Skylar’s heart.

Filling in the void and temporarily restoring the heart’s magic control functions.

I couldn’t discern why Eyal was just standing there watching without any actions, but for now, things seemed to be progressing positively.

“…What the hell is this?”

“Skylar, you should be able to control your magic now.”

Skylar, who had been looking at me with doubtful eyes, slowly began moving the magic upon his hand.

The magic started to take on a very intricate shape.

Successful.

“What on earth did you do?”

“Is that really what’s important right now?”

“It’s obviously important as a wizard!”

“If we don’t deal with that guy right now, we’ll all be dead before I even tell you.”

After listening to me, Skylar finally snapped back to reality.

A silence ensues.

Eyal smirks, still wearing a face brimming with confidence.

I want to smack him.

As if he’s just watching us to run wild at will.

Like he could catch us anytime.

“Skylar.”

“…Yeah?”

We didn’t even need to say it out loud; we understood each other.

We were ‘wizards’, after all.

There’s only one play.

The sole move available only to those who have chosen the profession of wizard.

One who discards their pride and assesses the situation calmly.

One to whom their own life is more important than anything else.

That is a wizard.

Skylar gradually began controlling the magic and searched for his original form.

His stature grew, transitioning from a boy to a man.

His skeleton expanded.

Flesh began to accumulate.

Muscles formed.

He’s now quite the impressive figure.

Still decadent and lanky, but distinctly different from before.

And then, a magic circle illuminates.

“‘[ space ]’s [ movement ]’.”

Wizards always include ‘escape’ in their options during combat situations.

That’s why they are called wizards.

They know nothing of honor, pride, or fairness.

But they do know how to win. They know how to preserve their lives.

That is a wizard.

“How dare…!”

Eyal immediately goes into motion.

He sought to ready himself against an attack, but upon hearing the incantation, he realized we were trying to escape.

He hastily switched from defense to offense.

The arrogance on his face vanished.

What a foolish oversight.

Surely, a proud wizard like him would never expect a lowly wizard like me to use the very same tactics. Unfortunately, I’ve clawed my way up from the bottom. I’m quite accustomed to this.

“How could you abandon your allies?! Movement through space only allows the caster and those close to them!”

“No? Not abandoning anyone.”

“If that’s the case—”

Eyal stepped into my ‘distance’ to thwart my teleportation.

Wizards always flip unfavorable environments to their advantage.

So, they must also be able to flip their thoughts.

“Why would you think I’d use teleportation on my allies? I could just use it on you.”

Eyal grasped what I meant.

He swung his sword to shatter the magic, but it was already too late.

Breaking the already activated teleportation magic would trap him within dimensional rifts.

That would surely be quite cumbersome for him.

The best play I could make in this situation would be to collect either my ally, the ‘subordinate’, and look to the future.

You cherish your collection, remember that.

In this situation, swinging your sword would be enough to slice my head or Skylar’s, but your subordinate would also perish.

What will you do?

Since it’s not even your body, taking this gamble might be alright. If I die… well… sorry about that.

Eyal immediately turned on his heel.

There’s barely a second left before the teleportation triggers.

His superhuman physical abilities explode.

Everything turned white in front of me.

I heard a ringing in my ears.

Before I knew it, I saw Eyal shredding Scipio’s sword, holding his subordinate.

He glanced back and murmured very softly.

“When we meet again, I’ll cut off your limbs and display them.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Since it’s not your body anyway, I decided to throw one more taunt as he left.

If the karmic retribution comes back at me, I’ll be sorry.

Is it getting close to the time limit?

I’m very curious about the ability to travel dimensions and summon my parallel self, but unfortunately, there’s no time to study it here.

“I’m off. I’ll ask a favor. Skylar.”

“…Yeah.”

Skylar understood my words, and just like that, control of the body shifted.