How to Suck Honey at a Warrior’s Party

Reflexively, I dismissed all magic and entered a new cast.

“Water Hammer!”

With a snap, a bubble of air shot upwards. The water made my mouth water, but the spell worked.

The water sucked into his hand and formed into a long hammer.

I swung it at his face.

Chwaaak-!

The water churned violently.

As soon as the heavy weight of the hammer’s tip was gone, it quickly shot out. The hammer was still in his hand.

I stepped boldly onto the bath’s ledge. His robes sagged from the water, weighing down his shoulders.

I peeked down and saw a man lying motionlessly after being hit by a hammer.

Aaaah, one shot, one kill.

My fears that he hadn’t fallen calmed a bit.

I had left the door open and the bath had lost a lot of steam.

I counted the heads of the remaining enemies in the bath. Fortunately, I didn’t see Robe Two, who was clearly a demon or any of the fancy robes that seemed to be higher than Robe Two.

Still, there are five of them.

I rolled my eyes, put all my strength into my stomach, and shouted.

“B, bring it on!”

It was panic.

My voice cut through the beeps and echoed through the bathroom. I swallowed hard and lunged for the robes, all of them gaping at me. I was going to crack one more skull before I came to my senses.

I can’t just die of injustice.

I’d acted in the heat of the moment, but I hadn’t thought about the aftermath. Besides, I’d only ever fought against monsters, never in hand-to-hand combat, so I had to think faster than my enemies. My body wasn’t cooperating.

Puck!

After taking down one more, the other four woke up and charged at me. They were new to hand-to-hand combat, too. Either that, or they’d never fought before, because they flinched every time, I swung the hammer.

Beginners know best!

I lengthened my stick to create distance. I flailed my arms frantically. It made a menacing whoosh sound.
(TL/N: Kururu, kururing~)

Hit someone, please!

My arms ached from the uncoordinated swings. In between, I tried to dodge the clawing and lunging enemies, and the recoil of the hammer made me feel like I was going to lose my arm even more. If I didn’t hit them in the head, they kept coming at me. It was like fighting zombies.

“I! The place where I was reincarnated! It’s a traditional medieval fantasy! Why! Like a zombie! Do you think so!”

One swing for every exclamation point.

The two men stood at attention, observing each other’s movements.

I couldn’t take too much time here. If the demon came back, I’d be at a disadvantage. Besides, I wasn’t even sure if Robe 2 was the only demon here. What if something worse than him showed up?

The dizzying thought fueled my will. I couldn’t let this life go to waste.

I swung the hammer to close the distance, scanning my surroundings. In the distance, a communication orb glowed pitifully. It was lying calmly on the ground.

I hurled the water hammer, now red with blood, at my enemies. At the same time, I cast my next spell.

“Water boom!”

Kwaaang!

The water that made up the water hammer exploded under their noses.

“Ugh!”

I ran quickly through the screaming, face-covering creatures, my heart pounding with every hand that tried to grab me by the side or back of the head.

I grabbed my communication orb and headed straight for the door.

The explosion of water had filled the bathroom with road vapor. It was so foggy that I could barely see anything but dark shapes writhing in it.

It seemed to disorientate my enemies.

Once I was sure there were no Robes in hot pursuit, I sprinted.

I ran down the corridor, nearly slipping again and again on the water that dripped from my body. Each time, I clutched the communication orb tightly in my arms.

-…Cylon. I’m almost there.

The warrior’s voice came over the communication orb, which had been silent the entire time.

Fluffy hair stood on the back of the neck due to the sagging voice. Just looking at it, I felt that it was dirty.

Wait. Come to think of it, I contacted him for help, but I didn’t call him in anticipation of this situation. If I were going to make such a fuss, I would have pretended not to know until the end.

Shouldn’t I be in trouble for wandering into a dangerous place? For being a novice mage? For doing something dangerous? For not earning a living?

As I ran through the chaos of the church looking for me, I realized that a small incident of curiosity had blown up into something much bigger. I called my colleagues into the mess. As if I wanted them to see the mess, I’d made….

I’m not even done investigating Arandal yet, and I’ve already stirred up the church that the Arandal have been so faithful to. I was worried that I might be kicked out of Arandal before I could complain to the lord of the manor, which would make it very difficult to cross the border.

A scene flashed through my mind.

Years ago, I’d seen a scene in which a long-lost Eighth Master berated a young disciple.

‘Did you join the Eighth School just to get yourself killed by being an ass? Don’t do anything you can’t handle, asshole!’

I didn’t want to be seen as incompetent and I didn’t want to be hated by my colleagues, who I had become somewhat close to. Besides, the thought leader position is a very high-profile position. I dreamed of being a co-worker who was good enough, but not exceptional.

Is there a way to fix it yet?

“Apprentice, apprentice, I can do it!”

-What? Wait, Cylon.

I heard a shout from across the corridor.

I bit my lip hard.

Let’s make a big hit. Find out if it’s medicine or something. Seeking evidence of demonic worship. I’m going to the castle.

It doesn’t change the fact that I made a mistake. What if the outcome had been different? A novice mage asking for a jackpot would be fine. Let’s just pretend it was luck. Don’t go the accidental route. Accidents stick in your memory and make it difficult to change my image!

“Don’t worry, Mohan. I’m going to catch my luck.”

-…I’m going somewhere. Don’t go. Beside me….

“Oh, a metaphor! A metaphor!”

I heard a number of exclamations from across the corridor.

I had about half my magic left.

My plan wasn’t much. First, I’d cause a big explosion, then slip inside while they were distracted. Then hit the church’s vital facilities. I’d ransack it, find evidence of demonic worship, and hopefully find a room used by a colorful robe. Or not.

I wait for someone to appear at the end of the corridor.

All the while, I condensed the flames in my hands.

When I could see the hem of his robe, I threw it with all my might.

Kwaaaah!

For now, I am the best pitcher.

It was deafeningly loud, but the explosion was the easiest and quickest, and a little catharsis was a bonus.

-Cylon? Cylon! Are you okay?

The warrior’s urgent voice cheered me up.

“Sure. I’m only good enough for, one, but the explosion is so easy and simple that even a novice like me can do it.”

The explosion was visible from outside, and the noise around me grew louder.

-Whoa, aren’t we being captured?

-…Doesn’t a warrior party have immunity?

-Hahaha, your companions are hot!

I heard the muffled voices of Herrin and Reg, and an unfamiliar voice laughed out loud.

I was glad to see them.

I neatly ignored them.

People frantically scrambled to extinguish the fire that started from the explosion.

“No! Our temple! Come on! Put out the fire!”

“Water! That won’t do! Where is Serphine? Water! If he can make holy water!”

In their shock, they didn’t care that one of their soaked robes was caught between them.

I slipped out the back and ran down the deserted corridor. I dried myself off along the way.

I crossed the dining hall and began to search the places where I had prayed while being dragged by demons. Places I’d stopped to pray for grace. There must be secrets here, as ‘grace’ itself seems to be an important event in demonic cults.

As soon as I entered the last prayer room, it was immediately closed.

I focused the power into my eyes. For a moment, a silver glow cluttered my vision, but then I could see the flow of energy in the room. Magic is everywhere. It was one of the substances that made up the world.

But this was a religious institution built by demons. As much as magical forces and magical beings bite and fight each other, there was no way a magical flow could be normal in a place filled with magical beings.

“There it is!”

The walls of the narrow chamber were crackling with magic, showing strange movements, like dozens or hundreds of tiny waves rolling in. It was as if something was invading and then retreating.

The wall immediately collapsed.

Wiiiing-! wiiiing-!

The security warning rang out loudly.

As it turns out, every ‘formula; has its components connected in some way. The sequence I was moving around was probably a way to activate the expression.

So there must have been another way of connecting this prayer room, which is an element of the ceremony, to another prayer room. And it was likely to be a form of road. The most obvious link between places is the road.

“Haha! You guys didn’t know I was a ‘magic formula’ major!”

It is most definitely a path that connects only two places. It was inefficient for a building to have a bunch of different rooms stuck together like a regular corridor. It was also prone to error.

There was no way the relentless demons would be satisfied with such a weak connection, so there had to be another way to connect the distant prayer rooms.

I was right!

A staircase appeared beyond the breach in the wall. The stairs led down. A cross-section of the collapsed wall showed that there had once been a device to open it.

It was no longer known.

Hick hick. How dare you bother me? Wait, here comes the Great Cylon.

-Cylon… where are you? I’m almost there….

“Ah, Mohan. I’m on my way down to the basement. What a lucky find.”

Thud.

As soon as I set foot on the stairs, a sinister aura hit me.

I shuddered once and continued down.

Other prayer rooms were on the first and second floors. None of the prayer rooms were located in the basement. I could only assume two things. Either I was on my way to a key element of the ritual or the next place I needed to go after the baths was down here.

Relying on the light of my communication orb, I continued downward. The stairs were narrow. Only one person could fit through.

―… Wait, there goes the Great Cylon.

A muttered voice came from beyond the communication orb.

Mohan unconsciously furrowed his brow. It sounded like it was too late to stop him. He hadn’t listened to him earlier, only saying what he wanted to say, so he must have been more stressed at church than he thought. Maybe he wanted revenge.

Given Cylon’s skill, he shouldn’t be able to get hurt. His voice was better than he expected. He didn’t sound in pain and there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger. But the commotion coming through the communication orb got on Mohan’s nerves.

The black smoke in front of him, the roaring fire that lit up the dark sky red, grated on his nerves.

“Come on… let’s go in.”