How a Wizard Lives 24

Chapter 24- Balamagoes.

The campsite instantly turned into a chaotic mess, filled with screams and shouts.

Those who couldn’t fight crawled on the ground, trembling as they hid under the carriages.

Despite being ambushed, the seasoned mercenaries skillfully fought back against the bandits.

However, the sheer number of bandits was a problem.

Two masked bandits charged at Yurik, who had raised his right index finger.

Yurik quickly cast a mana barrier with his left hand, but before the bandits could even reach him, his index finger moved swiftly.

As the index finger shot upward, the mana coursing through Yurik’s body gathered at the tip of his finger and transformed into arrows, piercing through the hearts of the two bandits in quick succession.

It was raw magic, not even requiring a magic circle.

-!

Yurik didn’t even have time to process the shock of killing before dizziness overwhelmed him, and his vision blurred.

But the movement of his index finger didn’t stop there.

His finger danced in the air as if conducting an orchestra.

The mana arrows that shot out from the tip of his finger pierced through the temples of the bandits one after another, rapidly reducing their numbers.

Then, the magic from his index finger collided with a bandit’s shield and exploded violently.

The bandit was thrown back a few steps but managed to stay on his feet.

“Kill that mage first!”

The shield-wielding bandit, having regained his composure, pointed his sword at Yurik and shouted.

Three bandits immediately charged at him.

This time, Yurik’s index finger curved like a sickle and slashed through the air from right to left.

A sharp blade of mana simultaneously severed the necks of the three bandits.

Guh-!

The three bandits collapsed, blood gushing from their necks as they writhed on the ground.

A pool of blood quickly formed on the dirt.

The speed at which the index finger cast magic was beyond imagination.

Literally, with every movement, a new spell was unleashed.

Of course, this also consumed an enormous amount of the mana Yurik had accumulated throughout his body.

If he hadn’t been steadily building up dense mana reserves, such feats would have been impossible.

The bandit mage, finally completing a mana bullet, fired it toward Yurik.

Yurik quickly drew a magic circle with his left hand and completed a defensive spell.

The mana bullet collided with the barrier, causing a powerful explosion.

In that moment, Yurik realized he had regained control of his index finger and swiftly drew another magic circle with his right hand.

The bandit mage was visibly shaken by Yurik’s impossibly fast casting speed.

Yurik aimed for the bandit mage’s arm using his specialty, mass magic.

The bandit mage hastily stopped his incantation and raised a barrier.

Perhaps due to the rushed spell change, his blood flow was disrupted, and blood gushed from his nose and mouth.

Then, a hammer swung with great force collided violently with the barrier!

With a deafening explosion, the barrier shattered, and the hammer, barely losing any speed, struck the mage’s left side.

-!

The mage, unable to even scream, flew through the air like a ragdoll and crashed to the ground, knocked out cold.

His left arm, completely shattered by the hammer, was grotesquely bent, with bones protruding.

“What the hell…!”

The bandits, terrified by Yurik’s magic, began to retreat hesitantly.

When Yurik shot them a sharp glare, they finally turned and fled without looking back.

They had clearly realized their ambush had failed.

Huff, huff.

Yurik panted heavily as he lowered his arms.

Clutching his burning right index finger, he looked around.

The bandits had fled, and the battle was over.

It was a bloody night.

* * *

Yurik found it difficult to shake off the shock of his first kill.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself and understood it was unavoidable, his heart felt as heavy as if a thousand pounds had been placed on it.

Still, he couldn’t just offer his neck to bandits who would attack at any opportunity.

To survive, he had no choice but to fight.

Moreover, he had innocent people and comrades to protect.

As he gradually grew accustomed to battles with humans, a week passed since leaving Fort God.

The merchant caravan and mercenary group, battered from fighting bandits, finally arrived at the city of “Balamagos”.

As soon as they entered the city, the mercenary captain handed Yurik his payment for escort duty and asked if he’d consider continuing to work with them.

His performance had been nothing short of remarkable.

The captain had been in this line of work for a long time, but he had never seen a wandering mage as versatile as Yurik.

“I’m sorry. I have other matters to attend to.”

“Is that so? Hmm, what a shame.”

After parting ways with the mercenaries, Yurik also bid farewell to Haral.

While Yurik planned to stay in the city for several days, Haral was set to head further south the next day.

“It was a pleasure traveling with you, old man.”

“Likewise. I hope we can meet again down south.”

“I look forward to it as well.”

They shared a warm embrace before going their separate ways.

Yurik stood still for a long time, watching Haral disappear into the crowd.

Physically and mentally exhausted from the past week, Yurik had no energy to explore the city and headed straight to an inn.

After dinner, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes, it was already the next morning.

As Yurik went down to the inn’s dining area for breakfast, various rumors reached his ears.

The further south they went, the more incidents and accidents seemed to occur.

“Demons have appeared in the demonic realm. They’ve crossed over, avoiding the southern front.”

“Dragons have become active again. The merchant caravans are in for a tough time.”

“Another body was found in the back alleys yesterday. This time, it was someone famous. Clearly targeted.”

Hearing about demons, Yurik immediately felt his right index finger burn.

A fitting reaction for a demon slayer, he thought.

After finishing his meal, Yurik walked through the bustling streets. More than half of the pedestrians seemed to be mercenaries.

With so many mercenaries around, the blacksmith district was experiencing an unprecedented boom.

Even without apprentices calling out to customers, items were selling out as fast as they were made.

Yurik searched for a suitable iron rod to use as both a staff and a mana conduit but was shocked when he heard the price from an apprentice.

It was exorbitantly expensive.

“This seems way too expensive, don’t you think?”

“Iron hasn’t been coming in lately. The mines are blocked.”

“The mines are blocked?”

The iron mines, located in the demonic realm, had been overrun by demons, resulting in the massacre of miners and soldiers.

This had disrupted the iron supply.

While they were managing with reserves, it was said that those would soon run out.

“We can only hope the lord resolves this quickly.”

Of course, the city’s lord, the Count, wouldn’t just sit idly by while the mines were in such a state.

It was only a matter of time before he mobilized forces to subjugate the demons.

After finishing his conversation with the apprentice, Yurik left the blacksmith district and entered the magic district.

For a mage, researching the unique magic of each region was an unparalleled joy.

As he browsed the shop windows, he noticed a crowd gathered around a noticeboard.

Approaching it, he read an announcement from the Count’s estate.

In summary, it was a call for qualified mages to join a subjugation force to hunt demons.

Applicants would be tested at a designated time and place….

“I heard Grand Mage Violette herself will be leading it.”

“…Grand Mage Violette?! Then do we even need other mages?”

“It’s probably for support roles. Still, what an honor. To meet the Grand Mage in person and gain fame by slaying demons. It’s a chance to rise to prominence overnight.”

A mage who slays demons gains a completely different status.

Even if it’s just supporting the Grand Mage, one could easily secure a position as a court mage in a baron’s estate.

For wandering mages, this was an opportunity like no other.

“…Should I apply?”

“Don’t bother. All the well-known mages are applying. What chance do you have?”

“You never know. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”

Countless wandering mages were captivated by the slim possibility.

Of course, Grand Mage Violette must have also considered that possibility.

Hence the noticeboard and the call for applicants.

Yurik stared intently at the notice, stroking his chin.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t interested.

More than anything, he was deeply curious about demons.

“…Are they all as strong as Wiglaf?”

If demons were such monsters, how much more of a monster must Titon have been to hunt them?

Yurik noted the date of the qualification test.

It was five days from now, in the morning.

The location was the Koweylak Ruins.

He memorized the date and location before heading into a bookstore.

“I need to hone my skills further.”

He planned to study southern magic and focus on refining his techniques.

Titon’s index finger.

How to wield it would be the key to his future.