Magic Is Learned For Nothing [EN]: Chapter 291

Things That Drive Me Crazy 3

Legion and his elite servants arrived at the location of the giant ice pillar.

A tremendous chill permeated a radius of several hundred meters. It was the kind of cold that bit deep, the kind one might feel during the territory’s harshest winters.

“Are you alright?”

Bacon asked, his expression etched with worry.

He and his men were at least wearing thick clothes and light armor.

But Legion…

Legion was only in his underwear, having sprinted ahead.

Bacon felt a surge of emotion as he gazed at his master’s back.

*Our master always leads by example.* *He doesn’t even want to waste time putting on armor, so he charges ahead in his underwear.*

*Ah! I must follow his example.*

*We must all emulate our master’s unwavering spirit of sacrifice!*

*But I’m still worried. If he catches a cold dressed like that in this freezing weather, it will be a huge loss for the entire territory.*

“What is it?” Legion asked.

“I was just wondering if you were cold.”

Legion smiled wryly. It was too pathetic to admit that his constitution had changed, and he found the temperature refreshing. Conversely, he couldn’t very well explain that he now preferred to wear only his underwear even in normal weather.

In his current state, he felt like he could stroll through the Vampire Kingdom in just a short-sleeved shirt.

*Anyway, he wasn’t going to live in the Vampire Kingdom forever, so he had to find a way to return to his original body.*

“I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief. But what on earth happened here?”

“A Bone Dragon must have caused this. Stand by for now. Rescue any survivors.”

“Understood.”

Bacon nodded.

He ordered his men to thoroughly search the area.

In truth, the men didn’t have to search far. Inside the massive ice mass before them, a dimly visible shadow clearly resembled a person.

“Let’s see what kind of bastards they are.”

* * *

Shuttle meticulously organized all the documents.

He aligned them perfectly on the edge of the desk and dusted them off. Then, he stretched his long arms, longer than his legs. His back ached from sitting for too long.

He rose from his seat and walked to the window.

The sky was just beginning to lighten with the faint glow of dawn.

Diligent people were already starting their day. Smoke curled from chimneys as they prepared breakfast.

“Ahem.”

He had been awake for almost four nights straight.

Work had piled up so high that he hadn’t had a moment to rest. The lack of sleep had given him headaches and chronic fatigue.

*Still, our boss is very kind.*

*He came to me while I was sleeping and covered me with a blanket. As he tucked it around me, he whispered:*

*-Oh dear, our Shuttle was very tired. You have to take care of your health. How can you just work like this? I’m sorry that I’m such an incompetent boss. But what can I do? There’s no one as capable as you. You make Bone Dragons so well, you make poison so well, and you even tried to kill me, but that’s just a cute gesture.*

*-Are you taking another nap today? Oh my, you should rest! You’re really a talented person. Even if I look at guys who give you several times your salary, I haven’t seen anyone as capable as you. Oh, are you still an intern? Hmm, it’s almost been three months. I’ll change you to a full-time employee this time. Your salary seems too low too. According to your ability! That’s right. You should get a salary that matches your ability. Don’t you think?*

*-Shuttle is the hero of our territory. Because of Shuttle, I can comfortably stand before the territory residents. Thank you. Shuttle. It’s all thanks to you. Rest comfortably.*

*How many times has this happened already?*

*Where else can you find such an affectionate boss? It’s only a meager 3 gold, but I don’t have time to spend the money anyway.*

*But I still couldn’t save money.*

*It’s because of that damn fine I had to pay in the capital.*

*I only received 6 gold as a salary, but I paid 20 gold to that guy as a fine. But that’s only that guy’s fault, not our boss’s fault, right?*

Shuttle drifted into a light sleep.

Every time he tried to nap, the boss would open the door and say those things.

*Our boss seems really human.*

Shuttle was genuinely touched.

Until now, he thought the boss treated him like a stone in the road. Or like a foreman who summons dozens of skeletons and makes them work for free.

*That wasn’t it.*

*I didn’t know the boss thought of me so fondly. That’s why you have to experience people to know them.*

*They say a person will give their life for a lord who recognizes their abilities.*

*I hated the boss so much.*

*I was secretly looking for ways to assassinate him.*

*Those feelings melted away like snow. I felt like I could do anything for the boss.*

“By the way……”

Shuttle felt his fatigue vanish as he looked at the documents in the corner.

“Is the boss planning to save all of them?”

Originally, there were about 250 survivors.

They were all in a daze. Well, it was understandable. Who would have thought that a sudden attack by a Bone Dragon would wipe out such a powerful unit in an instant?

The remaining guys didn’t dare to attack and surrendered, bringing the number to almost 250.

The problem was the guys who had become ice pillars.

“Are they dead?”

The scene replayed in his mind.

The boss knocked on an ice pillar and asked,

“It’s absolute zero in there, so they’re probably still alive. But if we leave them like this, they’ll die soon.”

“I guess so? It’s different from when we made our guys into frozen humans.”

The boss pondered for a moment and said,

“Do we have any mandragora [a magical plant with healing properties] left? Bring it here. They’re from the same kingdom, so it’s too miserable for them to die like this. We have to save them.”

Shuttle was already a little moved at this point.

*I thought he was a bad guy, the incarnation of the devil, evil itself… but he was more warm-hearted than I thought.*

*To use that expensive mandragora to save the guys who tried to attack him!*

Thanks to that, about 300 knights and soldiers who were slowly dying were saved.

The sight was truly saintly!

Shuttle’s malicious view of the boss completely disappeared. Now he would live for the boss. When he glanced at the others, they had the same expression as him.

Knock knock-

Someone knocked on the door of the office.

“Come in.”

Shuttle answered.

When the door opened, Shuttle tilted his head. An unexpected person had arrived.

“Huh?”

The absolute demon beast, Lich Mamon.

The flawless demon beast of a 7-circle master [a high-ranking magic user]!

Why would this terrifying monster come to me so early in the morning?

“What do you mean, ‘huh’? How have you been?”

Lich Mamon floated slightly in the air and glided into the office. That movement alone would terrify most people.

But Shuttle was a necromancer [a magic user who can control the dead].

He felt strangely familiar with the evil magic that Lich emitted.

The existence that Shuttle felt the most familiar with in this territory, where terrifying monsters lived together, was Lich Mamon.

Gliding in, Lich Mamon settled into the seat of honor on the sofa.

“Would you like some tea?”

“We’ll drink tea later. Sit down first.”

“Yes.”

Shuttle carefully sat diagonally across from Mamon.

No matter how familiar Lich Mamon felt, it was only in comparison to the others. It was still a little—no, quite—uncomfortable to sit directly across from him.

It was difficult to even talk to Sepia and Nubyeonubyeo.

He didn’t even want to approach the brutal Dreiser. The exclusive servants were the same. In fact, the most surprising thing when he arrived in the territory was the exclusive servants.

*How can servants be so strong?*

*Isn’t this a scam?*

*To have dozens of subordinates who use magic and aura at the same time.*

Later, he gave up thinking when he saw that the 500 full-time soldiers also used magic or mana blades.

*Well, who in this territory is trying to be normal?*

*Thinking that way made him feel more comfortable.*

Just because he felt comfortable didn’t mean he could greet Lich Mamon with “Hey, baby, what’s up!”

Shuttle swallowed dryly and waited patiently with his hands on his knees.

Lich Mamon, who had been silent for a while, opened his mouth.

“Do you know how to explore dungeons?”

“Dungeon exploration?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m somewhat familiar with that kind of thing.”

After saying that, Shuttle realized he had made a mistake.

He should have said that he didn’t know anything about dungeons.

“Oh! That’s a relief. I was looking through ancient books and found the location of a dungeon belonging to ancient magicians.”

“What kind?”

“Do you know about a magician called Monmeogeodogo, the Reincarnator of Black Flame?”

*Monmeogeodogo? What kind of name is that?*

“I’ve never heard of him.”

“He’s an ancient magician, so you may not know him well. I’d like you to come with me to the dungeon where he’s sleeping.”

*I don’t want to go.*

*His name is terrifying. Monmeogeodogo, the Reincarnator of Black Flame.*

“I have a lot of work to do……”

“I got permission.”

“From whom?”

“From the master.”

“Already?”

“Yeah, I told the master I was going to challenge the 8th circle [a high level of magic]. Do well and come back soon.”

“Mamon-nim is challenging the 8th circle?”

“Yes.”

*Wow! Amazing.*

*To challenge the 8th circle of magic, which is considered the realm of God. Okay, let’s say that.*

*Then you should challenge it alone.*

*Why are you dragging me along?*

“Do you hate it?”

“Yes?”

“I can tell from your expression that you hate it. You must hate it a lot.”

“W-when did I ever?”

“It’s written all over your face. It says, ‘Okay. Let’s say that. Then you should challenge it alone. Why are you dragging me along?'”

Shuttle turned pale. *What kind of monster is this….*

“What, what kind of monster am I?”

“N-no. It’s not. I’ll go. I have to go. Mamon-nim is the one I’ve always wanted to serve.”

Shuttle shouted in a panic. *I’m crazy. How could I feel familiar with this monster?*

“You felt familiar with me?”

*I’m going crazy.*

“You’re going crazy?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll follow Mamon-nim unconditionally.”

*Let’s not think. Let’s just live like we’re dead. Do what you’re told. Don’t do what you’re not told. I’m not going to live to my natural lifespan like this.*

And so, Lich Mamon and Shuttle, with backpacks on their backs, left for the place where the hellish demon beasts were holding a festival under the golden sun on the blue hill.

* * *

“Huff huff.”

Marquis Porse staggered as he walked.

He had completely lost his sense of direction. He didn’t even know where he was going. At first, he thought that if he looked down from the mountain, he would know where to go.

That was a delusion.

The Dusseldorf Mountains were much wider than he had expected.

When he climbed one of the peaks, a sea of mountains stretched out endlessly.

After that, he lost his sense of direction.

Fortunately, there had been no monster attacks so far, even though the Dusseldorf Mountains were known as a monster’s den. Instead, other things threatened Marquis Porse’s life.

Poisonous insects, snakes, poisonous plants, and eagles.

He still had a minimum amount of magic power left, but if he continued to drain his stamina like this, he didn’t know when it would run out.

“Am I going to die like this? Me! Porse! I lived like a dog to get to this point!”

Marquis Porse was furious.

Forty-three years old.

He was still in his prime. He did anything to get to that position. He didn’t hesitate to get his hands dirty as the King’s shadow.

And he came all the way here!

Everything was collapsing in an instant.

No, it *had* collapsed. What was the point of becoming a 7-star knight and one of the kingdom’s top 7 powerhouses?

To die alone in a place like this…….

If I had known I was going to go so futilely…….

Suddenly, he thought of his first love.

The woman he left behind for the sake of success. She must be living well as another man’s wife by now. He had occasionally thought of her, but only in passing.

He had never thought of her with such a searing heart as he did now.

“Cough cough.”

Marquis Porse’s knees buckled. His whole body staggered. Perhaps because of his severed left arm, his stamina was being consumed several times faster.

“Huh?”

He could see her in his blurry vision.

It was her when she was young. No, she seemed much more beautiful.

“You… it’s been a while.”

Marquis Porse smiled, knelt, and collapsed.

Jonas, the strongest of the Amazon orc warriors, stood before him.