I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 33

A spirit in the shape of a deer struck its hooves once, and every time it swung its antlers, the surrounding trees shook violently.

Huge leaves and twigs fell in a shower beneath its hooves, and the sky, full of moonlight, was suddenly pierced by thunder, creating a racket around them.

However, despite the lightning the spirit summoned, no matter how many times it struck, it didn’t set the surrounding trees on fire. I watched this spectacle with a curious expression, while Lir, standing next to me, had her hat pulled tightly down, and her body was hunched like a bean bug, missing the odd scene entirely.

...While it’s common sense to huddle when lightning strikes, it was still hard not to find it a little unbecoming.

“...S-Spirit, if you could kindly tell us why you are so angry...”

I approached the spirit, who was expressing its anger with thunder and lightning, and calmly attempted to start a conversation.

“Demons! Those demon bastards polluted my home and took away all my neighbors! They even dared to settle down in my forest and defile it with their filthy bodies! Where the hell are those damned scum now?!”

“U-Um... maybe you could calm down and listen to what we have to say first?”

“Calm down, my ass! Damn, if you had your neighbors kidnapped, with the kidnappers settling in your house and smearing shit everywhere, would you calm down?!”

...Well... I thought it was a spirit, so maybe it would have a noble and refined spirit, but judging by its coarse language, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“That sounds hard to tolerate, but... anyway, would you calm down and listen to what we have to say? We’ve already driven the demons out of this forest...”

“Lead me to where those demons are! I’ll burn them all alive right now!”

I wanted to shout at this crazy spirit to listen, but I kept repeating myself in a calm voice, trying to calm down the thunderous spirit that was shaking the surroundings.

Did I repeat the same request about ten times?

Finally, the spirit calmed down and started listening to me.

“We, we... Sir, I mean! We’ve driven the demons away! Understand?”

It was starting to sound like I was dealing with a stubborn, irate complainant.

It seemed that the spirit wasn’t really the type to value etiquette or manners based on its tone and actions.

“Phew... Hoo...”

The deer-shaped spirit seemed to have finally vented enough anger, as it started to take deep breaths, trying to calm itself.

I was curious as to why a spirit would need to breathe, but... there wasn’t time to waste with pointless words.

We needed to find a place to camp soon.

The sun had already set.

Even though I had an excellent elven ranger with me, I didn’t want to rely solely on lantern light while wandering in a treacherous forest where traps could be anywhere.

It might not feel like it right now, talking to this thunderous deer spirit, but medieval nights with no streetlights are darker and creepier than you might think.

It’s the physical version of humanity’s dark ages.

“Well, well... I’m glad to hear you got rid of the scum. Driving them out and killing them was definitely the right thing to do. Damn, I’m angry I couldn’t deal with it myself...”

The deer spirit, having calmed down to a certain extent, slowly walked toward me and praised me.

“The demon bastards are all burned to death, but... damn, the rotten smell still lingers throughout the forest. The demons’ filthy magic still taints this forest. Erase it all.”

“...Pardon?”

I furrowed my brows as I looked at the thunderous deer spirit, proudly flaunting its magnificent antlers.

“Mines! Damn, take those rotten, foul-smelling trash and either burn them or toss them somewhere else!”

If you want to ask something, shouldn’t you at least use a more polite tone?

What’s with these impolite creatures, like the elf archer and now this spirit?

...Maybe it’s because it’s medieval times?

“If you help me with this, I will grant you my blessing as a reward.”

“Pardon?”

...Is this a quest?

“What, don’t you like the terms? I don’t think it’s a bad offer. A mortal blessed by me isn’t something you come across every day.”

Ah, it’s a quest.

I felt dizzy at the situation I had never experienced on screen, rubbing my brows with my fingers.

In 4000 hours of playing the game, I had never encountered a lightning spirit granting a quest.

Usually, I just placed my palm on a rune stone, and a few lines of text would appear, ending with something like [‘Spirit’s Blessing’ acquired!]...

“...I’ve definitely gotten myself into something tricky.”

Yeah, if something goes well in my life, it’s weird.

I had already accepted all this with a detached attitude. I’d spent 10,000 on luck... who would I blame?

...Besides, I couldn’t refuse this. The blessing from the spirit was crucial for my build.

“Well... okay, I’ll do it.”

“Erase every last bit of demon magic planted in this forest! If you do that, I will help you get closer to the heart of the lightning power!”

Despite my weak response, the thunderous spirit roared, shaking the forest.

I wondered if it was okay to shout like this in the middle of the night, but since there were no other living creatures around, it probably didn’t matter.

“...Fine, I understand. You, uh, go back into the stone and get some sleep. I’ll start the work first thing in the morning.”

“I like you! That’s my child!”

Ha, it throws a tantrum one minute and is happy the next, really a bipolar patient.

If psychiatry were a thing, they’d be the first patient.

“...Well then, we’ll take our leave. We have to start the work early tomorrow morning.”

I bowed my head to the deer-shaped lightning spirit and gave a final farewell. The spirit nodded, seemingly satisfied, with its huge antlers swaying.

“I didn’t notice until just now because I was so angry, but you’re burdened with some serious restrictions.”

“...Pardon?”

“You were born with tremendous talent but also massive limitations. It’s a miracle you’ve survived this far! What kind of life have you lived?”

...What the hell was this spirit talking about now, holding onto someone who was about to leave and suddenly blabbering nonsense?

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“I’ve just... had a turbulent life.”

It was already getting dark, and I didn’t want to waste time with unnecessary small talk. I explained my life here as briefly as I could.

I wasn’t even sure if it counted as an explanation.

“Hm.”

The spirit of lightning stared at me without saying anything further. Facing the glowing face of the deer, I felt as though my body was being eerily reflected, as if it were transparent.

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It was a strange and bizarre sensation, as though those bright eyes were thoroughly scanning my heart.

“Ha! Astella, that crazy woman...!”

The spirit of lightning, staring into my face, suddenly mentioned the name of a goddess revered by 90% of the continent’s people.

If any of us had a clergy or were truly devout, it might have been a highly controversial remark.

“Interesting. When you return, I’ll give you a special gift.”

‘Special gift’?

I was intrigued by the offer and was about to ask what the gift was when, in that instant, the brightly shining deer spirit disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“...Well, it said what it had to say and just vanished.”

At the same time, the light that had been shining around us disappeared, and pitch-black darkness descended.

We stood still, adjusting our eyes to the dark. It was better to wait rather than risk scraping our skin on thorny plants in such an uncertain situation.

‘...What was that special gift? It seemed like °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the spirit would give me something extra along with its blessing.’

I kept pondering the spirit’s cryptic words as I adjusted to the darkness. It seemed like the quest added some kind of bonus, but the problem was whether the reward would be worth the quest’s difficulty.

The forest was vast, and the terrain was treacherous, so I couldn’t see this task finishing in a day or two.

...I’d have to move quickly from the morning.

We didn’t assign a night watch. After all, since all living creatures had been wiped out by the demons, there was no need for it.

With our lantern and arms, we soon arrived at a flat stone large enough for three people to lie on.

“My goodness, to meet the Lightning Spirit... I have to tell Master right away. This is such a huge discovery for our entire school...”

Lir seemed overwhelmed by the fact that she had seen the Lightning Spirit with her own eyes. For ordinary human mages, it was something they would never experience in their lifetime, and even elves who live long lives rarely get to witness them, so this was a natural reaction.

“How did you know? I really didn’t know until just now...”

“Go to sleep.”

Lir was eager to ask me questions with an excited voice, but I answered firmly with my eyes closed.

The amount of manual labor we had to do tomorrow was overwhelming, and I couldn’t understand why she was so thrilled.

We had a mountain of work to do from dawn until sundown, and it would take days, maybe more.

We were tasked with clearing magical mines planted all over a vast forest area close to 50 square meters...

I wished medieval times had labor laws.

“It seems we’ll have to work hard to remove all the magical mines planted by the demons in this entire forest. Even the wizards will have a tough time with this...”

The soldier, lying straight on the flat stone, added his thoughts.

“Why don’t you give me a bit of the command authority? I’ll lead the elven archers and the mages, splitting them up to handle this across the area.”

“...There’s already a platoon leader in the archers. Why would I hand over command to you?”

“I know the terrain of the uncharted lands pretty well. I observed the surroundings from the cliff earlier today.”

“That’s not the problem. Handing over command to you would be disrespecting the platoon leader. Think about their pride.”

“The platoon leader is also an elf like me. I doubt they’ll care much about such trivialities. What’s important for us is efficiently protecting the future of beings like elves and humans, not petty ranks or fleeting pride that might disappear in a hundred or two hundred years.”

...What’s he talking about? Ranks are important in the military. What is this guy saying?

“Plus, that guy is 400 years younger than me.”

Ah, so that’s what’s been bothering him.

Our 1200-year-old elf here didn’t like taking orders from someone 400 years younger than him.

...This is starting to feel like something out of an ancient military.

The military seems to be working just fine, doesn't it?