I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 32

“Let’s go. The destination is to the west, so lead the way.”

I ended the pointless argument with Sergeant Trian with that one sentence. He probably had a lot more he wanted to say, but I didn’t engage with him.

Maybe he thought I was a tough one too, as he sighed and clicked his tongue.

...I didn’t quite understand why he treated me like some weird person, but well, there was no point in dragging the conversation out further.

I said nothing and moved my steps into the forest. As soon as I took the first step, Sergeant Trian walked ahead of me without a word.

At least it seemed like he wasn’t the type to abandon his duties just because of his pride.

That was a relief.

“Stop, there’s a trap ahead. Lir, can you dismantle it?”

“Ah... yes! This will be simple, I just need to twist the circuit...”

“Wait, there are poisonous trees with venomous leaves ahead. Be careful not to brush against them. If you get scratched, let me know immediately. I have an antidote with me.”

“Even though you’re a wizard, aren’t you getting tired too quickly? Ugh... wait. I’ll find a safe spot for you to rest.”

The Elf, who put aside his pride and focused on the task at hand, was much more capable than I expected.

The knowledge and insight he had gained over a thousand years were truly remarkable.

With his keen Elf eyes, he warned us about dangerous traps, trees, and terrain in advance, and even found safe stumps for us to rest when I was exhausted from the long journey.

Thanks to his skilled guidance and sharp intuition, we managed to break through the rugged terrain of the forest zone faster than expected.

...Well, so what if he's a bit rude? He's so capable.

I could understand why many commanders reluctantly included Elves in their archer corps despite their disruptive tendencies.

“In a forest like this, sitting directly on the ground can get you pricked by a poisonous twig or leaf. Try to avoid lying directly on the ground whenever possible.”

“...Are you being kind, or are you just rude?”

“I’m just doing my job. And I’m not being rude. After living for over 1200 years, it’s only natural for me to speak casually with rookies like you.”

Do Elves not have the concept of respecting those older or in a higher position?

Where did the idea that "soldiers should respect their superiors" go?

“But is the only way you describe the destination using directions? If you could pinpoint the location of that mysterious magical energy you feel, we could set the path much more easily.”

Sergeant Trian was following my words, “Head west,” and was leading the way from the forward base the Dwarves were constructing, about 5 kilometers ahead.

It seemed like he wasn’t too happy about just following the vague direction of "west" through unexplored, dangerous terrain filled with cliffs and poisonous plants.

“The distance is shorter now, and I can feel it more clearly. The largest tree... the oldest and biggest tree in this forest seems to be at the western edge...”

To ease Sergeant Trian’s worries, I closed my eyes as if I was feeling something and placed my hand on my temple, frowning as if sensing something.

...It felt pathetic doing this kind of act, but what could I do?

“The guidance is much more specific now. Don’t you feel anything?”

“No, I’m still lacking... embarrassingly, I can’t feel anything.”

Lir lowered her head with an embarrassed face and responded to Sergeant Trian’s question.

I felt like a huckster selling something to a clueless elder and a child, and it made me uncomfortable.

“Then wait here for a moment. I’ll go to the high ground and check where the largest tree on the western edge is. Now that we have a clear marker, the path should be a bit easier.”

Sergeant Trian, after leaving us behind sitting on a stump, disappeared between the trees. Within a few minutes, he returned.

“Did you already check it?”

“No, there are mines nearby. Lir, come with me. It seems you need to help check them.”

It seemed that there were mana mines planted along the way to the high ground. To deactivate them, special tools or a mage were needed, so I nodded and looked at Lir.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Lir, slightly disappointed, stood up without saying anything and began following Sergeant Trian.

She really didn’t like walking alone with someone she didn’t know, but how could she make such an obviously disappointed face?

“Go quickly.”

“Yes...”

Her weak response came after my words, but Sergeant Trian didn’t even acknowledge it. They disappeared into the bushes and trees, leaving me alone in a long silence.

“That human seems pretty close to you.”

“Yes... well, he did save my life...”

Lir responded softly, almost in a whisper, as she deactivated a mana mine circuit hidden beneath the leaves.

When Bin was nearby, her voice was loud enough to be heard, but now, alone with a stranger, her voice had turned as faint as wind seeping through a mouse hole.

“...Can you speak a little louder?”

“Sorry...”

This situation, being alone with a stranger, made her feel very uncomfortable.

“Well, never mind. Just do your job well.”

Unlike when he was addressing Bin, Sergeant Trian spoke in a gentler tone. After all, as an Elf, Lir might be someone he would interact with for the next 500 or 1000 years.

“All done...”

Lir pointed to the black fragments of the mana mine circuit that were now destroyed.

“Let’s move. There’s a good high cliff ahead. Once we get there, we’ll have a good sense of the surrounding terrain.”

Sergeant Trian extended his hand to Lir, who had been crouching while dismantling the mana mines.

Lir stared at his hand for a moment, considering, then stood up without taking his hand.

She didn’t really know why she rejected his help.

Sergeant Trian watched her action in silence for a moment, then looked at her with a worried expression.

“...You should be less affectionate with non-Elves. We live for thousands of years, but they don’t even last a hundred and just die.”

“Eh?”

“The best way for Elves is to only interact with other Elves. Other races will leave us soon enough.”

“...What’s this about all of a sudden?”

Lir looked at him with wide eyes, not understanding what he meant.

Was her refusal to take his hand bothering him?

It wasn’t because his dirt-covered hands were dirty, nor was it because she was offended. She just didn’t know how to explain her discomfort.

She was lost in thought, looking at his back as he moved ahead.

“Well, you’ll understand when you experience it yourself. I didn’t listen when my father told me that.”

Sergeant Trian mumbled to himself while keeping his eyes forward.

Lir, who was used to talking in small voices, could hear his whispers and absorbed them in her mind.

...But she still didn’t quite understand why he said that.

How could a 21-year-old Elf understand the mindset of one who had lived for over 1200 years?

They continued walking toward the cliff without saying another word. Along the way, Lir wanted to apologize for not taking his hand earlier, but she didn’t have the courage to do so.

“Wait here.”

While Lir hesitated, they reached the sheer cliff. Sergeant Trian surveyed the cliff briefly, then skillfully began making a path up, as if he had done this many times before. In less than ten minutes, he reached the top of the towering cliff.

“...Hmm.”

At the top, a tree with a particularly large and thick trunk appeared, standing out from the others.

It was at the westernmost edge of the forest, just as I had mentioned... This must be the place where the genius mage had felt the strange magical energy.

“Let’s head back, I’ve got the path mapped out.”

Sergeant Trian quickly retraced his steps without losing his way, showing an exceptional sense of direction.

“Ah, um....”

During the 40-minute walk, Lir couldn’t bring herself to apologize.

Sergeant Trian, after returning from the cliff, truly had the skills of a living navigation system.

I had no idea how he memorized the entire terrain of the vast forest, but he managed to avoid dangerous cliffs and poisonous terrain, leading us safely to the western edge of the forest zone.

The forest was unnervingly quiet.

Normally, in a forest like this, there would be sounds of monsters or animals, but because most life forms had been used as material for mutations by the demon race, there wasn’t even a single ant left on this land.

The sight of thick trees and bushes without a single bug was truly bizarre.

We continued walking with only my heavy breathing as the background noise, and just before the sun set, we finally reached the westernmost edge of the forest.

“Ugh... Huff, ugh...”

I leaned against a tree and breathed heavily.

Lir, seemingly accustomed to my state, silently took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from my forehead, while Sergeant Trian looked down at me in disdain, as if I were pathetic for barely making it after walking only a few kilometers.

“Is this the tree?”

He asked, placing his hand on the tree I was leaning against.

“Phew... Yes? Ah, yes. Yes, it’s right.”

I weakly pointed to the roots of the tree.

“There should be a rune stone hidden beneath it.”

“...Rune stone?”

“Ah, that... The magical energy felt just like a rune stone...”

Oh, I had just mentioned feeling the mysterious magical energy, but I hadn’t specified it was a rune stone, had I? I was so exhausted that I made a slip of the tongue.

“Well, that’s impressive. I still can’t feel anything, but you figured out what this object is just from its magical energy.”

Luckily, thanks to Lir’s perfect assist (unintentional), I managed to cover up my mistake.

In truth, I couldn’t feel anything about the rune stone either, but that wasn’t important right now.

What mattered was that the rune stone hidden beneath this tree had the power to communicate with the spirit of lightning.

The details of how I learned this... Well, who cares about that?

“Dig it up.”

After catching my breath, I asked Sergeant Trian.

“...”

Sergeant Trian looked at me with an expression that screamed he was truly disgusted. His sharp gaze was filled with contempt... Reminded me of the face the Elf Queen made when she looked at criminals.

“It's an order.”

But what was he going to do if he was upset?

From my past experiences, this Elf wasn’t the type to neglect his duties and make his superior suffer just because he didn’t like something.

If his personality were that bad, he wouldn’t have been a soldier willing to die for the cause.

This wasn’t a bad guy by nature. He just got arrogant because of his pride for his race and the thousands of years of experience.

“...Ridiculous. You’re all so young.”

As expected, Sergeant Trian muttered under his breath but didn’t disobey. I probably made sure to assert my authority when he couldn’t climb up at first, so the hierarchy was established.

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

He started digging the ground with his bare hands. Watching a 1200-year-old Elf dig the ground made Lir feel sorry for him, and she started helping him with her delicate hands.

Of course, Lir had never done any physical labor in her life, so her help was just getting in the way.

“Get lost, it’s hindering me.”

He spoke kindly to Lir, unlike when he spoke to me. If I were sitting there, I would’ve told him to get lost in frustration.

“If I had known this would happen, I would’ve told you to bring a shovel! This is why young people...”

Sergeant Trian scolded me openly, but I just gave him the “What’s it to me?” attitude.

Logically speaking, the General shouldn’t be digging the ground, leaving it to the Sergeant, right?

...Though it was a bit strange that a 1200-year-old Elf was digging the ground while a young kid under 20 was sitting there resting.

But what could I do? My body was almost completely drained.

I could hear my muscles screaming, and if someone were to stick a knife to my throat and tell me to move, I wouldn’t be able to take a step.

Well, at least once my body started moving, I could either retreat or run.

“High...”

Sergeant Trian dug the earth until the moon rose high in the sky.

The moonlight filtered through the leaves, but it wasn’t bright enough to light the area. I lit the lantern Sergeant Trian had brought and illuminated the path ahead.

“Oh...”

After digging for a while, Sergeant Trian’s hand caught something.

Lir stared at the pit where he was digging, and I quickly stuck my head in, eager to see that we had finally found the rune stone.

“...Phew, this must be it.”

“Good work. Once we return, I’ll make sure to reward you.”

“Forget about that. Explain what this is used for.”

Even a 1200-year-old Elf seemed to be unfamiliar with the rune stone that could communicate with spirits.

Unlike the artifacts scattered across the world, there were only five rune stones, one for each magical attribute, meaning only a few of them existed.

“What is this...?”

Lir, who had studied magic diligently, showed a reaction similar to Sergeant Trian’s.

Sergeant Trian dug out more dirt around the rune stone, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} revealing a massive stone. The ancient language engraved on the stone was meaningless for now.

“...”

Lir stared at the rune stone like a lovesick girl. This was a natural response for someone born with the talent for lightning magic.

The excitement of nearing the core of the mysterious power of magic, the understanding of mana, and the potential to unlock the secrets of magic filled both mine and Lir’s hearts.

It felt like just touching it would reveal the truth of the world.

We stared at the dirt-covered rune stone in awe.

Lir swallowed and licked her lips. She instinctively sensed that something incredible would happen if a lightning mage like her touched the stone.

“Go ahead, you do it first.”

Without realizing it, she stretched out her hand but quickly withdrew it and gestured for me to go first.

“Even though I didn’t notice it... This rune stone seems to have called only you, Bin. If someone else tried to communicate with it first, something terrible could happen...”

“Seems likely.”

Sergeant Trian added his thoughts as he washed the dirt from his hands.

Mana energy, or whatever. I’m curious to see their reactions once they realize I made all that up.

“...Understood.”

I solemnly placed my hand on the rune stone, trying to act serious, though I couldn’t help but feel guilty about pretending.

Next moment, a blue lightning bolt shot out from the stone, spreading along the tree roots.

Strangely, even though the lightning spread in all directions, the tree didn’t catch fire. The trees around us absorbed the lightning like conductors and began to glow. Soon, electricity gathered above the massive tree before us.

...It was a far more intense sight than I had ever seen in-game.

The air around us heated up, but curiously, no thunderstorm formed.

The crackling sound of sparks resonated through the leaves above.

Slowly, the lightning formed into a majestic, beautiful shape of a deer with sharp claws, a body, and large horns.

“...”

The lightning spirit descended.

I instinctively felt an urge to bow my head. Lir, the fellow lightning mage, had a face full of awe. Sergeant Trian, despite living for 1200 years, couldn’t help but mutter in admiration.

What should I say? How should I greet it? What was the dialogue in the game again...?

“THIS F***ING BULLSHIT!”

The lightning spirit, taking the form of a deer, suddenly yelled out loud.

...?

“...What? What? Huh?”

In utter disbelief, I blurted out confused words.

I had seen lightning spirits countless times on the screen, but this was the first time one reacted this passionately.

“AAAAAHH...”

Unlike me, who had the [Calm] trait, Lir immediately panicked and buried her head in the ground.

“DAMN IT, THESE LITTLE F***ERS! I SHOULD JUST BURN THEM ALL DOWN!”

Hmm...

What the hell is going on with it?