1. Mystic Wizard (1)
“Ian-!”
Penny, who entered Ian’s tent, jumped out as if on fire.
Then, looking at the pile of papers burning in the bonfire, I shouted at Ian, who was leaving far away.
As he ran, he only got smaller and smaller.
“Ian, Ian-! this crazy… !”
The sight of her screaming that her throat was ripped out shocked the party of the 1st warrior.
It was the first time that she was excited, always using honorific words with a smile on her face.
Penny tousled her hair like a madman, then put her hand on the fire.
“Come on!”
Kylie quickly blocked it, but Penny shook it off.
“Leave this! Now, right now, do you know what everything is riding here?! What did you do without blocking it!”
“what is that? We just did what you told us to do. I told you to do only what you are told to do.”
Kylie shrugged and turned to her colleagues.
The rest of the warriors also had a calm expression.
Looking at them like ignorant children, Penny gnashed her teeth.
‘Ian, you madman… . Anyway, burn all of this? How much is all this… . There must have been Philip’s papers!’
There was no trace of the papers that had been swallowed up by the campfire.
Searching will no longer be useful.
Kylie tapped her on the shoulder.
“What are you so worried about? Don’t you know who we are?”
1st warrior party.
A star of mankind, boasting overwhelming power and unrivaled popularity.
But that didn’t matter to Penny now.
‘ha… . I’m going crazy, why did I come all this way… .’
Philip, the true manager of the 1st Hero Party.
He doesn’t get involved in practice at all.
An absolute being who controls and manages everything behind the scenes rather than coming forward.
He is Penny’s ideal and the benefactor who saved her life.
Only because of that, I beat the warrior and turned into a manager.
Analyzing his footsteps, I realized a lot.
Making the hero a symbol of hope, gathering people’s interests around the hero.
Many other things followed in his tracks.
It started out of curiosity.
I was quickly fascinated by achievements close to omnipotence and the mysticism of hiding oneself.
To Penny, Ian was a thorn in the eye.
A puppet that carries out the orders of a real manager named ‘Philip’.
An obstacle that hinders the meeting between himself and Philip.
I barely managed to kick Ian out, but he burned all the papers about the 1st warrior party and Philip.
I’m at a loss as to how to contact Philip.
“Anyway. Are you doing what you promised?”
“promise?”
Aria laughed warmly, and Penny laughed blatantly.
“Are you going to say something like that after dealing with this now and then?”
“Sometimes? We did our job faithfully.”
“ha… .”
As Ian said
What to do with these fish heads?
The decision came quickly.
Anyway, they are the first party of warriors that Philip has cherished and nurtured.
You will know how to reach Philip.
Penny gave a quick smile.
“promise. I have to protect you. Do not worry. By the way, where is Philip?”
“Philip?”
Everyone tilted their heads at Penny’s question.
Looking at each other, it seemed that no one knew each other.
“I don’t know. It’s been like this before, so why do you keep looking for that person?”
Kylie asked as a representative.
“Isn’t he a practical manager who gives important information to Ian and gives orders? Now that I’m replacing Ian, I think I need to see him.”
The reaction is not very good.
The four warriors frowned as if they did not understand.
“Is that the sound again? As I said before, Philip is one of Ian’s hired attendants.”
“ha… . good. Then do you know the whereabouts of that attendant, Philip?”
“I don’t know. I’m not interested. Ian might know.”
“… … .”
What happened?
Philip is the one who raised them himself.
It makes no sense that they don’t know that Philip.
However, there was no lie on the faces of the warriors.
Penny was quick to calculate.
‘Philip’s actions are no less than those of these warriors. Few know the whole truth, but they do have some fame. But what these warriors don’t know… .’
It is concluded that he hid his identity from the warriors so that they would not care.
Penny laughed.
‘Philip… . That sounds great. How can you hide your identity so completely?’
However, no matter how much Philip was, he would not be able to continue neglecting the party he had raised.
‘I’ll wait, Philip.’
The place where Ian left.
Penny was the only one to take Philip’s instructions.
Collecting her thoughts, Penny grinned.
“I will guarantee you a much better treatment than when Ian was here.”
Only then did the warriors smile as well.
***
“Aren’t you Ian? Hey, what’s going on here… .”
A guard in a small town stopped by and recognized me.
It’s because it’s where I brought the 1st warrior party before.
“By any chance, are the people from the 1st Hero Party coming?”
“no. I am alone.”
“Yes, yes… ?”
“Because I was cut. I am not their manager anymore.”
The guard nodded as if he understood, even though he was embarrassed.
“Then, hey, can I ask just one question?”
The guard spoke as if he were asking for a great secret.
“What is it?”
“I heard that the person named Philip is the real manager, is that true?”
Because of the popularity of the 1st warrior’s party, the manager also received attention.
It is the pseudonym ‘Philip’ that I came up with to divert that attention.
An unknown existence that nurtured the stars of mankind.
The name ‘Ian’ came only as an agent for the Philip.
All the credit and interest had to go to the warrior party.
I only pretended to be one of my media entourage to the warriors of the 1st party.
I didn’t want them to care about that.
“In the first place, is that Philip a real person?”
The enigmatic Philip went up and down like a ghost story, but didn’t get much attention.
Like this, most people don’t even know if they exist or not.
“Even though I came out, I can’t tell you anything confidential. sorry.”
Now, since I don’t belong there, I must have asked, thinking it was okay to tell them.
Unfortunately, I have no intention of telling the truth.
Philip must wander like a ghost forever.
“Ah, sure. understand.”
The guard laughed as if he understood the deep meaning.
A secret doesn’t tell you anything, but it can feel like it’s telling you an important truth.
If you don’t have it, you can just say no, but since you said it was confidential, you must have felt like there was something.
It doesn’t matter whether you misunderstand or not.
Philip is left alone.
The first party must still exist.
While I’m growing the other party, even if it’s to prevent the invasion of demons from the front.
As I entered the city square, I saw a large bulletin board far away from the crowd of people.
At the top of the bulletin board, a full-length portrait of a member of the 1st Hero Party was drawn, and underneath it was full of cheering messages.
It is a bulletin board where you can see the reaction to the warrior party.
There are other heroes mentioned, but most of them were about the 1st warrior party.
‘This is also what I suggested.’
During the second round, a civil war broke out while the warriors were struggling on the frontlines.
More at noblemtl com
Judging that this was necessary to unite public sentiment, he proposed it to the imperial family.
The results were very effective.
More at noblemtl com
Just like talking about celebrities and celebrities on the modern internet.
The people here became busy looking for and listening to the news of the warriors as they rummaged through the bulletin board without a break.
“huh. People who don’t know anything.”
Mercy muttered in her pocket.
A bloody laugh broke out.
“I know.”
I made all of that
kicked out by the beneficiary.
It’s a very sad reality.
It would be nice if the new party members would also be listed there.
No, it should be like that.
*
To be called a warrior, you have to go through three steps.
Aspirants, Temporary Soldiers, and Regular Soldiers.
A ‘superman’ who awakens to special powers only through luck.
Among them, Choin who aspires to be a hero registers his/her identity on the list of aspirants.
Those aspirants will train and take the Temporary Hero Promotion Test, and then build up achievements to challenge the Official Hero Exam.
What I now have in my hand is a list of aspirants.
A list of superhumans who challenge the Temporary Hero Promotion Test with no results yet.
The less accomplished you are, the better you will listen.
I came to the public library with the directory I had received from City Hall.
When I sat down, Mercy came out of my chest pocket.
Every time I move because it is difficult to walk on my own, I put a seat in my pocket.
That’s comfortable for me too.
Even if you walk alone, is it the same as moving with the three of you?
“Are you looking for it among the inquirers? Aren’t you a temporary or regular hero?”
Mercy, who was sitting next to the list, asked.
Kati, who was lying on her stomach across from me, rested her tail on my wrist and looked down at the list.
“If you are already a hero, you must have a manager.”
Above all, a warrior with some skills has a very high nose.
Those guys are specs.
“Honestly, I am worried. Aren’t those ogre anus-like guys who haven’t been washed for days, even though they’re unlucky, they’re strong?”
“… Don’t use those words in that tone.”
“As much as you are not angry, I am only angry.”
“Thank you for that.”
He smiled and opened the list.
A few lines of personal information and introduction are packed.
“Five! There is a sword master here!”
At the place Mercy pointed to, there was someone who introduced himself as one of the best ‘sword masters’ in the empire.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve seen Mercy and the wannabe list.
I met him when he was growing up after collecting all 4 warriors.
“Look closely at that.”
“yes?”
At my words, Mercy looked closely at the letters.
[Aspire to become one of the best sword masters in the empire]
In the sentence, only ‘wanting for’ was written very small.
“Why is this text small?”
“Why? Because ‘Sword Master’ has to look big.”
“Isn’t that deception? why?”
“You have to stand out.”
Looking at the introduction of the aspirants, it seems that there are about 100 sword masters in the empire.
Besides that, there are many traces of trying to wrap yourself up somehow.
[Dream of winning the imperial court swordsmanship competition.]
[Practice with the goal of solving a high-difficulty dungeon.]
[Training with someone who is not a child of the grand sword master’s apprentice’s friend’s parent’s acquaintance.]
Among them, there are cases where they are really someone’s disciple or a son of a certain family.
They are not the people I need right now.
Whether true or false, a person who exaggerates his/her self-introduction is highly likely to not listen.
“It’s amazing. So are you going to see all this thick stuff?”
“It should be. You never know who might be a good person.”
“This is terrible… .”
While working as a manager, I watched until I got tired of writing.
I quickly skimmed through the list.
There were a few names I heard in the second round.
But after they all got stronger, they became arrogant.
I don’t need someone like that.
“But can you tell just by looking at this?”
“I don’t know. If it looks okay, I have no choice but to meet and check it out in person.”
“Hmm… . It’s hard. I hope it’s not like the last time they had troll pus stuck in their ears and didn’t listen.”
“Do you usually do research on expressions like that?”
“Of course! I also have a collection of things that come to my mind. Would you like to look at them?”
“No, look at you a lot… .”
It’s true that it’s a difficult task, even if the expression is so.
If you actually meet them, you can quickly confirm whether they are strong or not.
But I’m not sure if I’m listening well.
You can’t tell if you’re good or not.
You can act for a while, and you can spend time together and reveal your true nature.
While flipping through a list of wannabes that didn’t stand out.
The introduction of an aspiring wizard caught my eye.
[Help me.]
Do you like it?
concise and desperate
Introductions like this are not uncommon.
Your family is like this, your family name is like that.
There are quite a few introductions asking you to take me with the thought of helping you for one reason or another.
But please cut the front and back and save me. .
I’m getting a taste for nothing.
I checked the personal information of Mercy, who was exhausted and lost interest.
‘Vivian, 25 years old. Two years of experience as an inquirer?’
What kind of aspirants did you do for two years?
No matter how long you hold it, you can see the buds in half a year or not.
‘Even failed 10 times in the temporary hero test?’
It seems to be the urgency to climb up from the floor.
But failing 10 times in the not-too-difficult temporary hero test is a bit… .
‘I live in Arke Village. It is a village far northeast of the capital.’
It’s just close to the road.
Because I was going to head to the capital.
I rummaged through the memories of the last episode to find information that might be helpful.
[Memory Correction]
It’s a very useful skill for me who can’t remember everything.
I don’t know much about it except for important events.
Conversations from the past flooded into my head.
‘Did you hear that there was a mana explosion accident in Arke Village?’
‘Mana Explosion? Did the madmen of the Magic Tower have an accident?’
‘Seeing that the Mage Tower also started an investigation, it didn’t seem like it, did it? I heard that the village orphanage was the epicenter… . Was the teacher a wizard?’
The time is late spring of the current year.
not far.
Mana Explosion, or Mana Runaway.
It is the worst tyranny committed by a wizard driven to his mental limits.
A village could be easily evaporated, so it was like a disaster.
But being a wizard doesn’t mean anyone can do it.
They had to be at least at the level of entering the Mage Tower to be able to cause an explosion, and there were less than 100 of them in the Empire.
It’s not something you can do at the level of an aspirant.
The gaze that looked around the memory returned to the list again.
‘Vivian, an aspiring wizard… . There is something.’
Even looking at the back page, there was no more prominent figure than Vivian.
I immediately got up and covered the list.
“yes? Did you find anything?”
Mercy, who was dozing on Katie, woke up.
“okay. I’m not sure though. The odds are pretty high.”
Potential enough to cause a mana explosion.
Shim-seong, who is supposed to be a teacher at an orphanage.
It’s just a guess, but it’s worth a walk.
They immediately arranged for a wagon and left with food.
Go to Arke Village, where Vivian, a suspicious wannabe, will be.