The Blockhead Became an Overpowered Magician

5 – Unexpected Results (2)

“Hey, Jon, did you just see that?”

“…Yeah.”

The adventurers saw a beam of mana light shooting through the air, accurately striking down a flying monster.

‘Damn, I was trying to get involved when it’s risky and make some money off it.’

When a monster charges in front of a magician, they become shaken. And that agitation leads to casting failure.

It was impossible not to encounter a monster while passing through the forest. Jon had decided that when the time came, the magician from the top party would fail to protect them.

People tend to cling to a lifeline in a crisis. The plan was to intervene at a dangerous time and demand a large fee on the spot.

Anyway, they were soon planning to leave the North, so it wouldn’t matter even if they didn’t get along with the relatively small top party of Merzen.

However, they felt something strange while following secretly. The northern forest was supposed to be a region with many monsters, but surprisingly, not even one was seen.

“It’s too quiet.”

There are two possibilities.

Either there’s really nothing here, or someone ahead of us has already wiped out everything.

“No way…”

“Captain! Look at that.”

“…They got it with one shot.”

Moreover, looking at the traces of the battle that could be found, it was clear that the monsters were killed with a single blow.

“John, there’s a hill at the crossroads. How about we take a look from above?”

“Alright. Let’s go up.”

As they climbed the small hill, their view opened up a bit. They could see the advancing group in the distance.

“…It seems they weren’t bluffing.”

What the adventurers saw was a scene of Eren casting multiple spells at once. Fireballs and magic missiles appeared simultaneously, striking the monsters accurately in almost an instant.

John realized that his judgment was wrong. It was true that they could penetrate the monsters single-handedly and needed no escort.

“Ah… I must have misjudged such an amazing person.”

“Yeah. What do we do now?”

“Let’s head back to the camp. I’ll bring the party members and look for other requests.”

‘I should have just killed the wolves and continued the escort mission quietly.’

His greed and arrogance were their downfall. If they had acted differently, they might have formed a good relationship with that mage.

“Let’s go back.”

“Are we leaving now? Then let me take care of something first. I’ll go down first.”

“Ugh, just hurry up.”

John began to descend the hill, leaving the party member pulling down his pants behind him.

“…Wait.”

“What was that just now?”

They felt a vibration beneath their feet.

“Is it an earthquake?”

But the vibration grew more intense, and soon the ground they were standing on began to rise. The adventurers’ eyes widened.

“Hey, hurry up and pull up your pants!”

“What is this?!”

“Jump!”

“Damn those bastards!”

The one who spat out the curse was the staff from the upper floor. They thought the adventurers with a grudge had intentionally lured the monster. But upon closer inspection, that wasn’t the case.

The party leader was leaning on another adventurer, staggering. His face contorted in pain. At least a few parts of him appeared to be broken.

The others were in no better state. They were bleeding, gasping for breath, and struggling to increase the distance from the monster.

“If you’re going to die, do it among yourselves!”

“We need to run for it!”

“Mr. Wizard!”

Meanwhile, Ern was keeping an eye on the Mountain Turtle.

‘… Why is that thing here already?’

Two ice-like tusks, reminiscent of an elephant’s, sprouted toward the sky beside the monster’s mouth. This was a distinguishing feature of that particular Mountain Turtle, different from the others.

It was not an ordinary Mountain Turtle. Unlike the random ones that could be encountered, this creature had a chance of being encountered during a scenario.

“Ern!”

“We have to catch that.”

“…!”

Reina focused on Ern’s choice of words. He said, ‘we have to catch’, not ‘I will catch.’

The turtle looked threatening, but its speed was slow. The adventurers were also sprinting to escape somehow.

‘If we judge by their escape… We might be unharmed. But I don’t know about the adventurers.’

However, it was a situation they had brought upon themselves. She looked at the adventurers coming towards her side, not the camp, and guessed their intentions.

‘They’ve been stalking us. Intending to ambush, lure a monster, or intervene. Whichever it is, they’ve been impure. And Ern must know this as well. But…’

He said they have to catch it.

He was not an avaricious man when it came to money. Likewise, he would not have left the Northern part if he sought honor. The only reason to bring down that monster in this situation was to save the lives of the adventurers.

“Ah…”

Reina’s gaze upon Ern grew even brighter.

‘I can’t miss out on a loot chance!’

Realizing the situation, Ern acted swiftly. As the ground shook, and the Ice Turtle approached, he pulled a spellbook from his inventory.

Reina was amazed to see Ern pick up a book in the air.

‘The Secret Space Spell!’

The Secret Space Spell was a dream magic for all merchants. However, its famous difficulty was ghastly, and the astronomical cost of creating enchanted items made it just a dream.

‘He really was a great wizard…’

[Magical Tome: Descending Flame (A revised edition by Agnes Sensia)]

[Points required to acquire: 5000P]

[Do you wish to acquire?]

‘Ah, how frustrating that it’s only a 1st Circle spell.’

There were much stronger magic tomes in the inventory. However, Eren was unable to learn them with the Circle he currently possessed.

‘This must be the best choice for now.’

[Acquisition complete.]

After opening the book and acquiring the skill, he returned the magical tome to the inventory.

‘Well, this is doable.’

＜Descending Flame＞ was a skill that added ‘rotation’ and ‘impact’ attributes to a basic fire elemental spell. In simple terms, it was a fire tornado that attacked from rising above.

The power was slightly enhanced, and the elemental attribute was included. Essentially, it wasn’t much different from the ＜Fireball＞ spell. However…

‘This is just perfect for catching that creature.’

The Mountain Turtle was a monster that burrowed its body in the ground, sucking the mana from the area to grow larger. However, all its other characteristics were random.

There were some that were harmless, and some that saw every living thing as an enemy.

There were some as big as hills, while others were practically islands.

Some stayed still in the burrows they dug, while others went berserk when approached.

Some were weak at the head, while others would die if their tails were cut off.

And the weak spot of the turtle in front of him was the ‘top of the hill’. Therefore, a skill that could strike from above was suitable.

‘Normally, relying on one skill like this is not a good idea.’

The current specimen was the last boss guarding the key for the ‘Arkthos Dungeon’ in the mid-to-late game.

As a student of the Kagon Academy and playing through the game, one would hear a rumor that an unknown mountain had appeared in the north. At this point, one would gather a party to climb the mountain, awaken the turtle at the peak, and start a boss fight.

The turtle, having absorbed enough mana to become a mountain, was truly powerful. One had to climb back to the summit while the monster was rampaging, dodge the spells it cast, and relentlessly attack it until it touched the magic stones to barely clear the fight.

Upon defeating the creature, one could discover the key to the dungeon, which the Mountain Turtle was holding.

‘But for now, it’s just food.’

Being only the size of a hill meant that it had absorbed less mana, making it weaker. It was fortunate that it could be subjugated before it became more powerful.

‘How on earth did you find it and awaken it?’

While playing the game, there had been attempts to obtain the dungeon key before the Mountain Turtle could complete its growth. However, it was impossible to find it. The northern forest was too vast.

Moreover, players were subject to the academy’s outing restriction system, leaving them short on time. It was impossible to find it during the relatively busy early stages of the gameplay.

Despite searching every hill they could find, no one had succeeded in finding it. In the end, the players gave up by concluding it didn’t exist and waited until the creature had completed its growth and triggered the event.

‘This really is a heartfelt appreciation.’

Moreover, they were even drawing aggro for him. Such helpful adventurers!

Eren got off the carriage. And with an outstretched arm, he walked toward the monster alone.

“Oh…!”

To the watching merchants, his figure seemed like a devout hero.

[Insufficient range!]

‘Damn, this range is really short!’

[Insufficient range!]

‘Still?’

[Insufficient range!]

‘Oh come on!’

Eren was simply trying to diligently observe the skill angle, that was all.

“Cough, mage, sir! I’m sorry!”

Jon, who discovered Eren’s approach, shouted desperately. At this point, their only hope was the mage.

He felt himself gradually approaching his limit. Due to broken bones and wounds, his steps grew increasingly heavy. As he gasped for breath, involuntary groans escaped his lips with every step.

“Ugh, please save me!”

He was aware of his blatant shamelessness. But he had to survive, right?

＜Descending Flame＞

‘It’s done!’

＜Descending Flame＞

＜Descending Flame＞

＜Descending Flame＞

＜Descending Flame＞

＜Descending Flame＞

.

.

.

Eren pulled forth his magical energy as if wringing it dry. The circle surrounding his heart spun wildly. He intended to finish it in one shot, with certainty.

Text constantly appeared in a corner of his vision. And at some point, he felt the circle surrounding his heart had become completely empty. His body became overcome by the exhaustion that started in his chest.

-Grrruk!

Sensing something off, the Mountain Turtle halted its advance.

Fierce wheels of flame emerged, and the sky began to be covered in fire.