Chapter 101 – How to Become a Magician (1)

“Oh, Crockta. You are late this time.”

Once Crockta returned, Tiyo and Anor were playing cards at the inn introduced by Radet. This was where Crockta had last ended the connection.

Crockta had returned to the Temple of the Fallen God after meeting the gray god. Paimon had disappeared and the Temple of the Fallen God was empty. Crockta returned to their accommodations and closed the connection. Then he didn’t connect for two days.

Tiyo already knew that he was cursed by the stars. He didn’t show many signs of caring and just explained to Anor, “I thought something had happened.”

He didn’t connect for a long time. According to Elder Lord time, they would’ve been waiting for a few days.

Crockta approached them silently. Tiyo and Anor raised their heads.

Tiyo had a small face but inside he was a macho man. He was a trustworthy companion. Crockta looked at his face again. A cute face, delicate eyebrows, and large eyes. Sometimes his eyes would become wild with rage, but he had the nervous charm of a young boy.

The features made a strange expression as Tiyo looked at Crockta. His hair stood up. The sunlight revealed his pale skin. Tiyo’s nose wrinkled. The sophisticated wrinkles and facial expressions.

He was really alive.

This time he looked at Anor. His stubbed ears were healed, but they still looked ugly. However, he uncovered his ears without hesitation as he looked up at Crockta. The dark elf’s distinctive tanned skin and eyes that were always measuring the mood of others, along with the soft lips that spat out curses.

As Crockta continued to look at him, Anor flushed and avoided his eyes. Crockta started laughing.

The sunlight coming through the window revealed the dust floating in the air. Crockta looked at the landscape and nodded. This was Elder Lord, another world where many beings lived.

Crockta hugged Tiyo and Anor.

“What are you doing dot?!”

“W-What is going on?”

Crockta didn’t answer.

These people. This world. It was all real.

“Tiyo.”

“What dot?”

“Anor.”

“Yes.”

Crockta held them within his strong arms. “Don’t die.”

Tiyo laughed at his words. “Crockta, you haven’t seen us for a while and you are suddenly talking like a girl.”

“I’ll raise you if you die.”

Crockta released them and asked, “What should we do now?”

Tiyo and Anor were walking the same road as Crockta. While he was away, they would’ve calculated a plan. He could believe in their decisions.

“Go to Spinoa dot.”

“Spinoa? Not the frontlines?”

He heard that the frontlines for the war had already opened and that a battle was occurring at the boundary of the dark elf area.

“The leader of the dark elves wants to see us.”

“Leader.”

Although the leader didn’t reign as a king, Crockta heard that most of the important decisions associated with the destiny of the dark elves were made by him. Normally Tiyo’s character meant that he would try to fight against the Great Clan straight away instead of going to a meeting.

“Radet talked to Tiyo. The dark elves can’t be ignored.”

“What a snitch dot!”

“Is that so? Ahahat. Radet said that the dark elves aren’t that weak, so go to Spinoa.”

Crockta nodded. Orcs were large and heavy, but dark elves had their own advantages. In particular, they were much scarier than orcs when it came to siege warfare. Their innate eyesight and keen senses could penetrate long-range targets.

“According to him, there is something bigger than fighting right now.”

“We were just waiting for Crockta dot. Let’s start right now!”

“Understood.”

Tiyo and Anor already had all their baggage prepared. Crockta went to his room. He didn’t have many things because he left everything he didn’t need behind before he trekked up north. As a matter of fact, just Ogre Slayer was enough.

Crockta left his room. The sun of Elder Lord shone on him. He frowned and looked up at the sky. The blue sky was still the sky that he knew.

He didn’t have any tremendous beliefs or goals. Just. He wanted to smash those who made him disgusted.

***

They said farewell to Radet.

“It would’ve been nice if you met Jamero.”

“We are on our way to Spinoa so we might see him.”

“That might be the case.”

Jamero, who defended Nameragon with Radet, was a great magician. Crockta was curious because he had never met such a person since Antuak and Tashaquil. Magic had similar aspects to shamanism, so he expected a sage-like figure.

The garrison leader standing in front of the gate approached. “Crockta.”

Crockta didn’t know his name yet.

“I’m sorry for the first disrespect.”

Crockta laughed and the face of the guard turned red.

“I don’t regret saying it. I stopped suspicious people from entering the already confused Nameragon. Even if it wasn’t you, my response would’ve been the same.”

“I understand.”

The garrison leader abruptly hit Crockta on his back. “Please, be safe until this war is over.”

“You too. Stay alive.”

Crockta looked around at everyone. Their faces were different from when he first saw them. In particular, the eyes of the garrison soldiers were shining. Crockta had shown tremendous ability when overwhelming Driden. He might be the nucleus of the war in the future. They might be different species, but they felt like they were facing the man who would become a hero in the future.

“Goodbye.”

“Um. See you alive again.”

“Take care dot.”

“See you again.”

Crockta, Tiyo and Anor turned around. They slowly moved away from Nameragon. The place they were heading was the north of Nameragon, the land where the world tree grew, Spinoa.

“The north is better than I thought dot.”

They had traveled for a while after crossing the border, but there were still more places to go.

“Have you heard anything about the elf leader?” asked Crockta.

According to Radet, the leader had directly mentioned Crockta and invited him to Spinoa. Despite the imminent conflict, he said that there was something he wanted Crockta to see first.

“I heard that he’s a very long-lived, wise person dot. He even hears the voice of the world tree.”

“World tree.”

Crockta hadn’t seen a world tree before. A sacred existence to the elves, it was a huge tree that grew endlessly up to the sky.

He heard that there was a world tree in the territory of the elves on the continent. It had an unknown power and it was well known that even one branch from the world tree would protect the owner from all types of disasters and curses.

“Such a person is asking for us.”

“I don’t want him to say anything about fighting against the Great Clan dot. Leaders are always like that.”

“Yes.”

If that was the case, he wouldn’t be happy. As they headed north, Crockta discovered a herd of caruks. They were the beasts that the orcs rode when he first reached the north. They once rode the caruks but lost them in the Luklan Mountains.

Crockta and Tiyo exchanged glances.

Anor’s expression wasn’t good. “No way… right? It is wild. Wild caruks are usually hard to tame. Wild…”

However, Crockta and Tiyo moved before Anor could finish his sentence.

“Wait!” Anor shouted, but Tiyo was already firing General. Some of the caruks fell to the ground at the sudden attack. Tiyo had purposefully put in enough power not to kill them.

“Kuahahat! I am Tiyo, a garrison soldier! I’m also a hunter dot!”

Tiyo laughed and carelessly shot General. Crockta, who was about to grab a fallen caruk, stopped.

“Tiyo.”

“Kuahahat! I am a hunter. Caruks will be caught by me!”

“Tiyo.”

“What Crockta? Are you envious of General dot?”

“……”

Crockta pointed to the left instead of answering.

“……”

The magic bullets pouring from General started to slowly stop. Tiyo turned off General. Then he came back.

“Hahahat, these bastards. There are quite a lot of them. Hahahat.”

“……”

“If this is the case, I think a strategic retreat is in order dot. It is better.”

“Yes.”

“…Hu, huhut.”

The moment that Tiyo had devastated the caruk herd. On the left, a tremendous number of caruks were approaching. Their expressions were serious. They were breathing roughly towards Tiyo who harassed their people. They started to stomp on the ground.

“B-Bring it! Hahahat!”

Tiyo said while moving backward. The ground shook.

Dududududu!

The caruks rushed fiercely towards Crockta’s group. Anor shrieked and ran away. Tiyo followed but he had short legs and didn’t gain much speed. Crockta sighed and grabbed Tiyo. They started to escape.

The caruks chased after them. Crockta also snatched up Anor while running. After placing Tiyo and Anor on his shoulders, he picked a terrible terrain that the caruks would find hard to follow him on and escaped.

The caruks pursued.

“Damn! Everybody get lost!”

Tiyo started to fire General from Crockta’s shoulder. However, that just made the caruks angrier.

“…Sorry dot.”

Tiyo apologized as he watched the caruks charging wildly with bloodshot eyes. Crockta couldn’t see behind him but he could guess the situation. He quietly whispered.

“Bul’tar…”

***

Crockta’s group, who ended their chase with the caruks, decided to camp under a large rock. The sun was setting and darkness descended. The shape of the moon became clear.

He put an old iron pot over the campfire. Then they placed the meat received from Nameragon in the water. A few simple ingredients were added to make it a great meal. Tiyo tasted the spices.

“Kiing…”

Tiyo glanced over at the caruk. The caruk whined because it was terrified of death.

“It doesn’t seem to be delicious dot…”

“We have to ride it tomorrow.”

“Too bad dot…”

They barely managed to capture two caruks. Crockta would ride one, while Tiyo would share the other with Anor.

“If we eat that guy then let Anor raise the bones…”

“What are you talking about?!”

“It was just a suggestion dot.”

Tiyo licked his lips. Then Tiyo started taking care of General while Crockta added more branches to the campfire. Anor was playing with the caruks.

Only the sound of the campfire could be heard. Stars were shining in the sky. It was a beautiful scenery. Crockta stared blankly at the sky. After finding out that it wasn’t a game, he admired the scenery of Elder Lord once more.

The sound of footsteps was heard.

“……?”

Crockta turned his head.

A group of dark elves was walking in the distance. The light of the campfire hit them, allowing their appearances to gradually be seen. There were three hooded dark elves. The man in the lead was walking comfortably with a staff.

Crockta greeted them first. “Hey, are you alive?”

He stopped and looked at Crockta, before slowing moving again. “For tonight, is it okay if we share the campfire?”

“It is okay. We are just lacking food.

“We have enough food. If you have any complaints, we will share it with you”

“Okay.”

He took off his hood. He looked younger compared to his voice. The dark elf in the front was the only one to speak and his followers didn’t open their mouths.

“Where are you heading?”

“Spinoa.”

“Hoh, a gnome, orc and dark elf heading to Spinoa…”

He smiled and looked at Crockta’s face. Crockta instantly knew who he was. Since reaching the Pinnacle, he had a keen sense for the surrounding environment. It might be a good hunch. The magic power in the environment was flowing around this man in a favorable manner. It was like it was welcoming him.

Obviously, he was a magician with an affinity to nature.

“It isn’t strange in this age.”

Crockta called his name, “…Jamero.”