The Blockhead Became an Overpowered Magician

3 – Becoming a magician (3)

‘She is certainly beautiful.’

Rayna, sitting across from him in the carriage, kept looking at Ern with her pumpkin-like, twinkling eyes. And in her gaze, there was kindness.

Ern thought back to the original work, looking at Reina and Swan.

‘In the game, Reina definitely had a scar…’

She was not a student at the academy, but a character you could meet during outdoor events.

In the game, Reina was a surly merchant character with a scar on her face, cold-bloodedly calculating gains and losses with ruthless determination.

However, beneath her exterior, she was tender. If you built up a good rapport with her, Reina would open up her heart to the player.

Once she became part of the heroine’s storyline, she would be of much help during outdoor academy activities.

Ern reconsidered the situation earlier.

‘No matter how I think about it, was I the one that was taken advantage of…?’

The movement speed of a forest wolf is extremely fast. Plus, it becomes even stronger with the ‘pack hunting’ judgment.

‘Did I change that?’

In the original work, Reina always tried to hide her scar story. However, from Reina’s occasional flashbacks, one could infer that she was attacked by a forest wolf with her father.

‘Anyway, she has such a nice personality that she could not be the heroine.’

Reina, who was sitting across from him, had been friendly and chatty since a while ago.

“So, I heard adventurers are constantly looking for dungeons these days!”

“Is that so?”

There were hardly any questions, and it was mostly Reina talking about the continent. All Ern had to do was listen, which was comfortable for him.

‘It’s enough just to build up rapport.’

The Mercen guild becomes the largest guild on the continent in the future. This is largely due to Swan’s extraordinary talent.

Of course, Reina did contribute to expanding the guild to some extent, but not as much as her father.

‘The One-armed Guild Master.’

That was the nickname of the Mercen Guild Master. Of course, both of Swan’s arms are intact right now. This was because Ern had just intervened.

‘There’s no need to take more from them, I already have plenty of money.’

For a business, cash should flow like water. Now that Swan, the newbie guild master, was trying to expand the scale himself, it didn’t seem right to take money.

Besides, the purse he had taken from the cabin was full of money, so he was comfortable.

‘I can trust them at least.’

A talented mage is always welcomed. In the original work, when a mage character with a great reputation approached the Adventurer’s Guild, they could easily earn a hefty reward, just like eating a piece of cake.

‘The real reward is the point.’

[Current Points: 8340P]

The amount of points you earn contributes to your character’s level-up. And when a mage character levels up, their circle is upgraded.

So, when you play this game, you need to dutifully take care of not only the main quest, but also the side quests.

‘Now that I’m staying in the 1st Circle, I need to earn more diligently.’

Of course, for a 1st Circle, the firepower was undoubtedly great, but he couldn’t stay at this level forever.

Besides, there were countless ways to use the points. There were quite a few magic books that Agnes had used in his inventory.

Moreover, heading to the Sensia Magic Tower might even allow him to learn better skills.

‘I’ve never been to that Magic Tower while playing the game.’

Like the magician who built it, the Sensia Magic Tower was also shrouded in mystery. Throughout his countless playthroughs, Aern had never been able to set foot inside the tower.

“Merchant Lord! Miss!”

At that moment, a few adventurers riding horses approached through the trees of the forest. Among them was an employee affiliated with the merchants, riding behind an adventurer.

Upon recognizing Aern’s carriage, the employee called out, and Swan responded.

“We’re here!”

“I’m so glad you’re safe!”

“I’m glad you’re safe too. Anyway, what happened to the merchant group?”

The employee, who had been riding alongside the adventurers, came over to the carriage and explained the events that had transpired.

“After you left, the number of monsters decreased, and we barely managed to defeat them. At first, we tried to follow you, but… the situation didn’t allow for it. I’m sorry…”

Swan recalled the moment they were ambushed by the forest wolves. It was a chaotic scene.

The employees and adventurers had not been able to respond properly to the sudden situation.

They had been complacent, thinking they were traveling on a safe route.

Swan had no intention of blaming the employee. After all, he himself had made the wrong decision to leave the group.

“Is everyone alright? Were there any casualties?”

“Thankfully, no one was killed. A ranger from the camp discovered us during the battle and provided reinforcements. It was a miracle.”

The camps built by the kingdom served as bases for pioneering the north.

Royal soldiers stationed there had secured the area, making it a frequent stopping point for adventurers and merchants.

“Later, I’ll have to thank them separately. What about the injured? Were they badly hurt?”

“They only received minor treatment and returned to the camp with the rangers. They said there should be no major issues.”

“Well done.”

“What will you do about the merchant journey? It seems we’ll have to go back…”

“First, let’s join the group and decide what to do.”

“Understood. By the way, who is this person…?”

“Ah, I almost forgot to introduce him. This is Aern, a magician. He’s the one who saved the lives of both me and Reyna.”

“Thank you so much!”

The staff member who had been introducing himself to Eren suddenly questioned, having felt doubt.

“By any chance, did the monsters that were chased drop out halfway? I’m sure there were more than ten at first…”

“No, they were chased all the way.”

Reina, who had been throwing things from the back of the carriage, was the one who responded. She had been keeping an accurate count of the monsters.

“Oh, is that so…?”

Upon hearing Reina’s answer, the staff member hesitated before shifting his gaze to Eren.

“Oh… You must be a really outstanding magician. Which unit were you in…”

However, the staff member couldn’t continue his sentence. Reina was shooting him with a sharp stare. Although he didn’t know the exact situation, it seemed like it wasn’t a good idea for him to keep prying.

“No, it’s not like that.”

‘…? Why did he stop talking all of a sudden?’

Eren, who had been on the lookout for monsters, didn’t know why the staff member stopped asking questions.

There are two ways to make someone angry. The first one is to stop talking abruptly. And the second is,

‘It’s fortunate that he stopped if he was asking about my past.’

His past memories were not complete. Moreover, it was questionable whether he could even go around saying that he was Agnes’s disciple. He wondered if there was a reason for the great magician’s thorough reclusion.

‘If I suddenly claim to be Agnes’s disciple, wouldn’t they rather treat me like a madman?’

He had never heard of Agnes having a disciple while playing the original work multiple times.

‘I guess I’ll have to muddle through until I get to Sensia Magic Tower.’

Eren made up his mind like that.

Afterwards, there was a brief awkward silence, but Reina’s voice soon filled the air again. She leaned her body towards Eren and began asking questions with a beaming smile.

To the staff member, her behavior was unexpected.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen the lady acting like this.’

The staff member tactfully moved to Swan’s side and began discussing business with him.

“What is Eren’s favorite food? Mine is mushroom soup, but the mushrooms from the southern region…”

As Reina chatted away, they had unknowingly joined the ranks of the upper carriages.

***

“What’s going on?”

Eren, who had just plopped down next to Reina, asked and she answered.

“There’s a division between those who want to continue the journey as originally planned and those who want to return to the camp.”

“Is the schedule tight?”

“Father wants to head to Arctos as soon as possible because of the schedule, and I feel the same way. Most importantly, since Eren is going with us, I think there won’t be any issues with safety. But…”

Reina glanced at Eren for a moment before speaking.

“Well, the adventurers don’t trust Eren’s abilities… Actually, it’s more accurate to say they’re trying not to believe.”

“They’re trying not to believe?”

“If the schedule gets delayed, it could benefit the adventurers.”

Reina explained the situation to Eren.

“I see.”

‘This used to be a common occurrence while playing the game.’

Hiring an adventurer party did not necessarily mean they would obey orders without question. There had always been a tense relationship between employers and adventurers, especially during dangerous escort missions.

“Do you have a deadline to get to Arctos, Eren?”

The adventurers glanced at Eren while talking to Swan.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter to me…”

The quest had only required him to go to Kagon, with no set time limit, and he didn’t even have to pass through Arctos necessarily.

[Quest: Towards Arctos]

[Arrive in Arctos within one day.]

[Reward: 1000P]

“…Actually, it seems I do.”

“?”

“I’d like to get there within a day if possible. How long will it take to get to Arctos?”

“Well… It depends on the situation, but at worst, we can arrive before sunset today.”

“Let me talk to them.”

As Eren approached, the adventurers looked at him with a guarded expression, while Swan looked at him with a mix of embarrassment and helplessness.

Merchants made a living with their words, so the fact that Swan couldn’t persuade them was a hit to his pride.

Moreover, Swan had already received a huge favor from Eren and felt ashamed to ask him to step in and persuade the adventurers.

“Are you the great magician we’ve heard about?”