Blacksmithing Is Child’s Play for a Dark Mage - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 3
Because the city of Harundel itself was built atop ancient ruins.
The ancient ruins’ water and sewage system still functioned—filtering the city’s waste and discharging it to the sea while providing clean water to the inhabitants.
The problem was that this sewer system was impressively vast and elaborate, which meant all manner of monsters made their homes there.
Even when these creatures were periodically hunted down and slaughtered, they kept appearing from somewhere, establishing themselves and breeding so prolifically that there were rumors a crazed dark mage or summoner had set up somewhere in the sewers and was continuously calling them forth.
In truth, though.
The continent had several such ancient, massive sewer systems.
Some empire’s imperial palace had such facilities, and some kingdom’s royal palace did as well.
So it wasn’t particularly remarkable.
When Tay first learned of this sewer’s existence, he’d only remarked that it seemed straight out of a convenience-driven RPG game.
And really, none of that mattered now.
What mattered was that Tay was standing face-to-face with rats right here in that very sewer.
“Screeeee!”
Six Ratmen, wielding corroded longswords and crude spears, came charging forward.
Standing against them, Tay held a round shield the size of a human torso in one hand and a longsword in the other.
Under normal circumstances, had six of them appeared, he would’ve cursed and bolted without hesitation.
Tay was no accomplished swordsman or warrior after all.
Yet he wasn’t running now—because of the reliable ally perched atop his helmet.
“Crude creatures indeed. Are these the Ratmen of the surface world?”
“Hey! Don’t just stand there philosophizing! We’re in combat!”
The distance between them shrank to roughly eighty meters!
For a human, it would take mere seconds to close—and though Ratmen were small, they were swift enough to cover the ground at similar speed!
“It seems the contractor is growing frantic. Very well, I shall cease my observations. Adhering Flame.”
The monocled butler-imp descended from atop Tay’s helmet into his field of vision and made a casual gesture.
Then.
A flame launched from his hand shot forth and collided with one of the Ratmen.
And.
Whoosh!
Crackle-crackle!
“Squeeeee!”
True to its name, the flame clung to the Ratman and refused to die, burning ever brighter. The creature began to glow as it writhed on the ground.
It thrashed, desperate to extinguish the blaze—but it wouldn’t go out!
The others charging alongside hesitated and slowed.
The one writhing in flame was effectively blocking the passage anyway.
“Whoa. That’s insane!”
Indeed! So this was the power of a demon summoned by a dark mage! Formidable!
“As I explained before we entered this filthy sewer, that flame burns for different durations depending on the target’s magical resistance. For such a base species, I’d estimate around ten minutes.”
Ten minutes!
That meant the creature would be burning for all that time.
And given the flame was the size of a human face, the agony must be unimaginable!
Had it caught the creature’s face, it would have suffocated and died already.
At this rate, shock alone might kill it.
Its entire upper half was being consumed by flame as it rolled across the ground in convulsions.
Then the creature hurled itself into the water channel running alongside the sewer.
But.
Remarkably, the flame continued burning even beneath the water.
The creature thrashed in agony before being swept away by the current.
“It is hellfire. It does not extinguish easily.”
“Hellfire. Could I learn to cast that?”
“I shall aid the contractor, but teaching you magic falls outside our contract. Remember—I work only within the terms we have agreed upon.”
“What if I steal the knowledge and learn it myself? No contract violation in that, right?”
“A human stealing and learning demonic magic? If it were possible, it would not constitute a breach. But—is such a thing truly within your reach?”
—Measure of Madness has been activated.
—[Magical Spell: Adhering Flame] has been acquired.
He’d learned it!
“While demons’ magic is not inherently beyond human capability, it is rarely simple to acquire. Could it be you thought my magic appeared easy merely because I am an imp?”
He sounded affronted!
And yet.
He’d learned it!
“Observe those Ratmen. They are halted over there, faltering—and that hesitation itself is due to my magic. You should understand how potent demonic sorcery truly is. To steal and master it? That is an impossibility.”
“I see. It’s impossible, then.”
And yet I learned it!
I went and learned it anyway!
I don’t know how, but I’ve learned it—that’s the fact of it!
“And I must say, demonic magic is extraordinarily dangerous for humans. Each time you cast a spell, you’re exposed to the malice of the Nine Hells, and your mind fractures under the strain.”
“I see. That’s frightening.”
It really is! But I have madness accumulation, so maybe it’ll be all right!?
Tay couldn’t very well say that, so he answered with obvious reluctance.
But there was something else troubling him entirely.
‘If it sees that I stole and learned this magic… what will it say….’
“Then I shall dispose of the remaining Ratmen.”
“Ah… wait. Hold on a moment, would you?”
“Is there something else you require?”
“The thing is, I… I stole it and learned it.”
“What?”
An incredulous exhale.
The Imp then crossed its arms and spoke.
“That’s absurd. How could you possibly have learned a spell from merely watching it once?”
“Well… that’s…”
Right. How did I learn it?
It must be thanks to the omnipotent Hunter System, I suppose?
“I’m not sure myself. But I learned it.”
“Show me.”
“I was planning to anyway. Look. Adhering Flame.”
Whoosh!
Above Tay’s palm, a deep crimson flame bloomed—sticky to the touch, somehow.
The Imp’s expression, which had been coldly beautiful and indifferent, shifted into something decidedly more noteworthy.
So it can make that face after all!
Tay mused on this revelation as he watched the expression.
‘If I had my phone, I’d take a picture! What a waste!’
And then he threw the flame.
Fwip.
At that, the hesitant Ratmen shrieked and bolted with all their might. But the merciless flame caught one of the fleeing creatures and clung to it.
“Kiieeeeek!”
The Ratman shrieked and rolled frantically across the ground.
Unlike the first one, this one crashed into the wall, flared with light, then drove its head straight into an edge and collapsed.
Its skull had been crushed.
Fire still burned over the corpse, but death was certain.
And the surviving Ratmen screamed and fled deeper into the sewers.
‘This has good power, but it’s not practical for sewers. Damage over time judgment means… I can’t earn any money from this.’
Sewer monster extermination.
To collect payment, you must cut off the monster’s ears as proof. If there are no ears, you must bring some other form of evidence instead.
But since they didn’t die in one hit, from the entire skirmish just now Tay had only managed to obtain the ears from one creature.
The one that had smashed its head into the edge.
Like this, I won’t earn anything!
“How… how did you learn such a thing?”
“It’s an odd thing to say, but once I see a spell, I can learn it immediately.”
Measure of Madness.
This ability grants me that. In my past life it didn’t work, but in this one it does! Remarkable, isn’t it?
“Extraordinary. I’ve never encountered a human like you before. Is it a special Bloodline Ability?”
“I’m not entirely sure. It might be, I suppose?”
Bloodline Ability.
The strange power passed down through bloodlines.
When a distant ancestor was a demon, a dragon, a divine being, or an otherworldly entity, such power manifested across generations as a latent inheritance.
In Tay’s case, however, he had brought the Hunter Ability from his past life, so it wasn’t truly a Bloodline Ability—but it served well enough as an excuse.
Scritch.
Tay cut off both ears from the Ratman corpse and stashed them in his pocket.
It was filthy and repugnant, but one does what one must to survive.
“I came in trusting you, and now this… I could’ve contributed some damage myself, couldn’t I?”
“Contribute damage? What do you mean?”
“Guess I’ll get in some combat practice, then.”
The logical-minded imp with the monocle still stood with arms crossed.
Ignoring Glascialabolias’s gaze, Tay walked forward.
At least they were near the entrance of the sewer, where ancient magic installed in the walls shed light.
He planned to wander just this upper section lightly before heading back out.
Going any deeper would require torches or allies.
So the novice dark mage Tay pressed onward. Along with his companion Glascialabolias—or Ahs, for short.
The two of them ventured deeper into the sewer.
“Demon—demon! Kill—kill… Screeeee!”
He ran across a Ratman again and burned it to death.
“Eek! Demon. It’s a demon. A dark mage. Danger!”
He encountered a Goblin and killed it just the same.
Slurp. Slurrrp. Squelch-squelch.
He came upon a sewer waste slime and disposed of it.
“Shrieeeeek!”
He found a centipede the size of a human torso and burned it to death.
Beyond that, he killed all manner of things.
Walking mushrooms. Sewer spiders. Big Rats—not to be confused with Ratmen, just oversized rats. Sewer adders. And so on. And so on.
With the endless stream of unwelcome visitors, the imp Glascialabolias could scarcely believe it.
“Is this truly the great city where the humans of the Middle Realm make their home?”
“It is.”
“Then why in the Nine Hells are there so many of these wretched creatures?”
“Honestly, I’ve been wondering the same thing. What kind of great city has its sewer crawling with every shabby monster imaginable? Though I won’t lie—they do keep me fed.”
Tay carved off every part worth money and tucked them into his pockets.
His pockets had grown pleasantly heavy, and he was starting to think about heading back up.
That’s when a voice drifted over from somewhere deeper in.
“So what I’m saying is, why the hell did you back off?!”
“The shield’s wearing down, kid.”
“Your shield wearing down? I nearly died!”
“You won’t die from that.”
“Bullshit!”
Boisterous voices chattering away.
Another band of mercenaries clearing out the sewer.
The Dark Mage’s Blacksmith is Too Easy
Author |
Automaton G
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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