Chapter 26

The village hall, which had managed to remain relatively intact, had become a temporary shelter for the villagers who had lost their homes.

While everyone else slept like the dead, exhausted from the ordeal, one person sat awake, sighing deeply. The heavy sigh that was laden with worry belonged to the village chief of Gulak.

“Chief?”

Lost in thought, the chief raised his head at the soft voice calling him. It was Hanolz, who had been resting with his family. Carefully, so as not to wake his wife and daughter, he tiptoed toward the chief. The sight of the bear-like man moving delicately to avoid disturbing others brought a faint chuckle to the chief’s lips.

“Why aren’t you resting, Chief?”

“

Haha

, I would ask you the same—why aren’t

you

sleeping?”

At the chief’s response, Hanolz plopped down beside him. He glanced toward his wife and daughter, who were curled up together, holding each other as they slept.

“I’ve slept enough. On a normal day, I’d already be up and getting ready to head to the mountains.”

“But today’s not normal, is it? After what you went through yesterday?”

“I wasn’t the only one to suffer. We all went through it together.”

For a moment, Hanolz stared silently at his wife and daughter, as if he needed to reassure himself that they, along with everyone else, were really alive.

The chief broke the silence. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Hanolz said, turning to him with a puzzled expression.

“If you hadn’t brought the mage to us, we’d all be dead. But...” The chief trailed off, rubbing his face with both hands before exhaling deeply.

“The problem is figuring out how to repay him. Even if we offered everything we have, it wouldn’t amount to much. To someone who wiped out that many monsters in a single night, our thanks would probably seem like spare change. You know how it is. Those with power are only merciful within the limits they’ve set for themselves. What if he thinks we’re trying to hold back and cheat him? That’s what worries me.”

“The mage is a good person. If we give him what we can and show that we’re sincere, he won’t get angry or take offense,” Hanolz said.

“Maybe you’re right. But even then, what happens next? Because of this disaster, everything we’d prepared for winter is gone. All the firewood was burned, more than half our food is ruined, and what’s left is soaked and has to be eaten right away. If we give up everything we have now...”

There was no time to celebrate surviving the monsters. The harsh reality of being powerless had come crashing down again. They had escaped one monster, only to be stalked by another—hunger and the freezing cold.

The chief sat in heavy silence for a long while before finally looking at Hanolz with a determined expression.

“There’s no other way. As soon as dawn breaks, we’ll gather what we have and offer it to the mage. We’ll give him as much as we can and explain our situation honestly. As for the money we need to survive the winter... we’ll have to borrow it from the lord’s estate.”

“Ch-Chief!” Hanolz’s voice came out in a panicked stutter at the village chief’s words.

Borrowing money from the lord’s estate was no small matter. The moment debt was owed to the lord, leaving the estate became forbidden, and until it was repaid, one’s status as a free citizen was revoked. Technically, it was a matter of paying back the money, but with the sky-high interest rates, it was anything but simple.

Even a slight delay in repaying the interest would result in property being seized, and eventually, the borrower would be reduced to a serf working the lord’s land. There was a reason nobles were always so willing to lend money to commoners with a friendly smile. If the loan was repaid, they made a handsome profit from the interest. If not, they gained a lifetime of labor from the borrower, and even from their children and grandchildren. It was a win-win for the nobles.

“Chief, you know better than anyone. The moment we borrow from the lord, it’s as good as turning the entire village into slaves. Adults like us could bear it, but what about the children? It’s too cruel for them to live their whole lives as serfs because of a debt their parents took on!”

“We’ll just have to find a way to pay it back.”

“And how do you plan to cover that kind of interest? Let me speak with the mage instead. I’ll explain our situation and promise to gather herbs in the spring to prepare a proper payment. Maybe he’ll be willing to give us some leeway.”

The chief shook his head slowly, his expression weary. “It’s no use. No matter how much you plead, we’re still short on everything to survive the winter: money, food, even clothes. If we don’t borrow from the lord, the children will starve.”

“This can’t be...” Faced with a grim reality that offered no easy solutions, Hanolz fell silent, despair written all over his face.

Just then, a young man who had been standing guard outside came rushing into the hall, panting heavily. He carefully navigated through the sleeping villagers to reach the chief and Hanolz.

“Lucas, what’s the matter?”

“Th-the mage! He’s outside, asking for Mr. Hanolz!”

“The mage? He’s awake already? It’s barely dawn!”

“Yes, he said he has something to discuss with you, Mr. Hanolz, and asked me to wake you quietly.”

Puzzled by the unexpected summons, Hanolz and the chief exchanged confused glances.

***

That evening, Hanolz sat by his daughter, who had cried herself to sleep. He thought back to the mage who had departed early that morning.

He had appeared as suddenly as a breeze and left just as quickly, but not without leaving behind a great deal. Instead of asking for the reward he more than deserved, he had left a staggering sum of 1,000 Gold, saying it would help them survive the winter.

But he had also left a bruise on his daughter’s heart, one that wouldn’t heal anytime soon if at all. This wasn’t the kind of bond that could be easily forgotten. Hanolz knew his daughter would miss the mage for a very long time.

“If only he’d stayed until Sophie woke up.”

Unable to say a proper goodbye, Sophie had cried her little heart out. Even now, she was clutching the dagger and bracelet the mage had given her as she slept.

As Hanolz’s gaze fell on the dagger, the words the mage had left him with echoed in his mind, words that were hard to believe. He had said that Sophie possessed an extraordinary talent for the sword, a talent lying dormant within her.

“I can’t even imagine it. But if he said it, it must be true. A man like him wouldn’t spout nonsense...”

But why the sword, of all things? It stirred up complicated emotions for him to think of something so violent, dangerous, and far from what a father would wish for his daughter. And yet, if the mage was right and she truly had such talent, then perhaps this path could lead her to a life beyond the hardships they had endured.

“Maybe this child won’t have to live the kind of life we did.”

She could avoid a life crushed under poverty, terrorized by monsters, and suffocated by the unfairness of the world. Maybe, just maybe, she could hold her head high and live with dignity.

Was the world really any safer without a sword in hand? No, certainly not this one. In this world, carrying a sword often meant staying alive.

I don’t want my daughter to go to bed every winter worrying about an empty stomach. I don’t want her living in fear of becoming food for some beast or monster. And if it takes everything... I have to make that happen!

Hanolz placed his hand over his chest.

He touched the pouch that held the money he’d received to help raise his daughter, and the letter of recommendation meant for a moment of true need. It wasn’t just any letter, either. It was addressed to a mage from Elthomagia.

Even an uneducated man like Hanolz knew of the most secretive and legendary Magic Tower in the empire. The mage who saved them must surely be one of their own. Trusting someone like that wouldn’t lead to regret.

Hanolz made up his mind. He swore to himself that he would do right by his daughter, that he would be the kind of parent who cleared the path for the opportunity heaven had granted her, no matter what it took.

***

The first place Do-Jin headed after leaving Gulak Village was the nearest Adventurers’ Guild branch. There, he gave a detailed account of what had happened in the village.

“That’s quite a serious incident. Would it be okay if we kept this as evidence?”

“Of course.” Do-Jin handed over the broken Lure Orb.

The one found in the village had already been thrown to the pigs, but this piece had come from the halfwit mage carrying it. The guild official took the orb with a grim expression, scribbled something down, and then gave Do-Jin a polite bow.

“On behalf of the Adventurers’ Guild, thank you for your report and your proactive measures. The reward for this matter will be issued once the investigation is complete. Arrangements will be made so you can claim it at any branch of the Adventurers’ Guild, whichever is most convenient for you.”

“The reward is fine, but make sure this gets handled properly. Especially for the village that got attacked, since it’s practically in ruins. Please see to it that they get help.”

“Of course. You have my word. If, as you’ve reported, someone was using monsters to harm innocent people, then this is an act of betrayal against humanity itself. And let me assure you, the Adventurers’ Guild shows no mercy to traitors.”

It wasn’t just the Adventurers’ Guild either. In this world, monsters were humanity’s sworn enemies. Supporting monsters in any form was the ultimate taboo in Lostania. The Adventurers’ Guild would likely request assistance from the imperial court in their investigation, and once all involved parties were identified, they would face the gallows, one after another.

No amount of money is worth that risk. The bastards must’ve known better.

Do-Jin shook his head as he recalled the lord and his lackeys, whose names he couldn’t even bother to remember. Regardless, he had tied up the loose ends neatly and secured another reward from the Adventurers’ Guild in the process. It was all handled cleanly, right to the very end.

Anyone else would’ve been satisfied just finishing the Fate Quest, drunk on the thrill of success, without even thinking of squeezing out anything more. But to Do-Jin, it didn’t matter if it was an incident, a quest, or whatever else. If there was anything to be gained, he milked it dry until there wasn’t a single drop left.

Not forgetting to collect the monster subjugation record reward stored in his adventurer’s pendant, Do-Jin left the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Alright, the exchange is all that’s left.”

Do-Jin began heading to the marketplace. Whenever money was tight, he would’ve been too stingy to pay the high exchange fees and would’ve gone out of his way to trade manually. Now that his pockets were full, however, he wasn’t about to waste time. This was a case of buying time with gold.

The moment he reached the exchange building, he was greeted by a cacophony of overlapping voices.

“Buying low-level gear and items for top prices! Save on exchange fees and get paid instantly!”

“Selling gear cheaper than the exchange rates! Come take a look!”

“High-quality, handmade potions for sale!”

Despite the small size of the town, the area outside the exchange was packed with players haggling and trading, either looking to avoid fees or take advantage of the crowd.

Do-Jin ignored the chaos and headed straight into the exchange building, activating the system as soon as he was inside. A familiar search screen blinked to life in front of him, a streamlined interface only accessible within designated zones like this one.

Let’s see if there’s anything worth grabbing.

He set the search category to spellbooks and scrolled through the listings. As expected, spellbooks were both rare and overpriced at this stage. Anything remotely decent was either absurdly expensive or completely sold out. But Do-Jin wasn’t worried. He knew that the spellbook he wanted, one from the curse magic category, was still considered useless junk at this point in time.

Just as I thought. It’s not their time to shine yet.

Currently, the reputation of mages was abysmal. Their mana pools were so small that a few uses of attack spells left them completely drained, earning them ridicule with nicknames like “mana-bunny” or “quick-shot mage.”

For mages in this sorry state, curse magic wasn’t just impractical; it was a complete joke. Its mana efficiency was abysmal, and its utility was so niche that it felt more like dead weight than a useful tool. Of course, Do-Jin knew better. With the right conditions, curses could become the most efficient, game-breaking skills imaginable. They were a sleeper hit waiting to happen.

In my past life, I had to watch other players reap the rewards while I missed out. This time, I’ll be the one diving headfirst into the honey pot.

Grinning with a mix of determination and pettiness, Do-Jin began scooping up the so-called “trash” spellbooks, buying up the excess inventory at dirt-cheap prices. There was a flicker of bitterness in his smile, quickly washed away by satisfaction.