The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 8

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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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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 8
“Why don’t you try learning swordplay?”
“Why would I?”
Hero Alexid Graim.
He continued to urge the Grand Mage, whose expression remained utterly indifferent.
“You have incredible talent! Your reflexes and eyesight are exceptional!”
“I know.”
“Huh? You already knew?”
Observing the bewildered expression on the Hero’s face.
Grand Mage Trevallion tilted his chin upward and smiled.
“Is there anything I can’t do in the first place?”
“Uh? Um… Really?”
Confusion flickered across the Hero’s delicate features.
Yet the party’s Grand Mage spoke with utter nonchalance.
“I simply haven’t bothered. Truth is, I excel at virtually everything.”
“I, I see….”
“So spare me such trivial propositions.”
“Mm.”
Trevallion had been a prodigy since birth.
He had never learned anything from anyone.
Merely observing something a few times over someone’s shoulder was sufficient.
He could grasp its entire principle.
And such genius-level talent remained unchanged even after crossing dimensions.
* * *
“You understand there is a cost to establish a Wanderer’s Guild membership, yes? One silver coin.”
“Here it is.”
Trevallion promptly produced a silver coin and stretched his arm upward to place it on the reception desk, which stood nearly as tall as he was.
Receptionist Mak Chung immediately scratched the edge of the coin with metal to verify it, then nodded.
“Payment confirmed. Now, please provide some basic personal information.”
Trevallion accepted the wooden tablet and flinched momentarily.
Now that I thought about it, I was illiterate.
‘How unfortunate.’
I had just seized the initiative so impressively and built momentum, yet I couldn’t afford to be humiliated here.
As Trevallion’s mind raced.
Mak Chung, who had been observing intently from behind the reception desk, opened his mouth with a good-natured smile.
“You can simply tell me verbally. Most people do it that way anyway.”
“Mm….”
The literacy standards of this district hardly seemed impressive.
Trevallion nodded at Mak Chung, who had intervened appropriately, then returned the wooden tablet.
And I stated my date of birth, birthplace, and name.
“Ilhyang, a minor member of the guild?”
“Yes.”
Ilhyang.
Among the characters currently residing in Trevallion’s mind,
it was a combination squeezed from those whose meanings I could grasp—the most acceptable ones available.
Mak Chung naturally inscribed the information he had just mentioned onto the Wooden Tablet Mercenary,
then retrieved a branding iron glowing hot from the brazier beside him and seared the lower portion of the wooden tablet directly.
He was imprinting the Ronin Guild’s weed emblem.
Sizzzzle—
Thus, accompanied by the acrid scent of burning wood, the Wooden Tablet Mercenary was created.
The lowest rank of mercenary tablet.
The Wooden Tablet was complete.
“All done, Ilhyang.”
Trevallion.
Or rather, the boy who was now Ilhyang,
accepted the mercenary tablet handed to him and, turning it over in his hands, surveyed his surroundings.
I had obtained the basic credential tablet at last.
But a credential tablet alone was insufficient.
A mage required vast resources to grow.
Resources ultimately meant money.
I had to earn considerable wealth.
‘How?’
Mercenary work clearly had its limits.
As I stood lost in contemplation, the kind receptionist Mak Chung, observing my expression, offered counsel.
“Simple commissions are available even to Wooden Tablet rank members like yourself, Ilhyang. You see those wooden tablets posted on that board over there? Those are all Wooden Tablet commissions. As you know, you cannot accept commissions above your current rank—Iron Tablets, Bronze Tablets, Silver Tablets, and so forth—unless it is an exceptionally special request.”
“Hmm…”
Right. Even a thousand-league journey begins with a single step.
Approaching the Quest Board, I found there were quite a number of Wooden Tablet rank commissions.
However,
‘…I cannot read the characters.’
Damn this illiteracy.
It had caught me by the ankles once again.
For a moment, wearing an awkward expression, I turned my head to look back at Mak Chung at the Reception Desk.
But another mercenary had just arrived at the desk and was engaged in conversation, making it rather awkward to interrupt.
Then.
“Ha ha, our young friend. Looking for a suitable commission?”
A greasy voice from somewhere.
As Ilhyang turned his head toward the back,
a Wealthy Wanderer in his thirties appeared—with thick double eyelids and nostrils flared wide on both sides.
He stood like a painting, draped in a pristine white robe, wielding a decorative fan adorned lavishly with white peacock feathers and plumage from various other birds.
The man had covered his lips with a scarf, revealing only his eyes and nose.
From his entire figure emanated a remarkable aura of wealth.
If there was one fatal flaw that contradicted his affluent appearance.
It was that his looks were considerably lacking.
‘But his martial prowess is quite respectable.’
A master skilled enough that even if all the wanderers in this place rushed him together, they couldn’t defeat him.
‘At this level, would they call him a first-rate master here?’
Among first-rate masters, his martial strength ranked at the highest tier.
By the standards of the Lower Dimension, he would be equivalent to an intermediate knight.
Ilhyang smiled faintly.
This world appeared, at first glance, to be one where knights formed the backbone rather than mages.
In such a world, someone of this caliber would undoubtedly be a formidable expert.
And such an expert suddenly approaches me with such familiarity?
On a first meeting?
‘There’s definitely some ulterior motive here.’
I couldn’t discern his true intentions, but a distinctly malevolent intent emanated from him.
In fact, that pleased me.
Ilhyang smiled broadly and looked up at the man who had approached so abruptly.
I adopted the most innocent expression befitting a boy, and replied in a youthful voice.
“Are you offering me a commission right now?”
“Haha, of course. Why else would I be speaking to you?”
When Ilhyang asked so artlessly, the man seized upon it eagerly.
And he opened his mouth once more in a friendly manner.
“As it happens, our estate was looking to issue a commission suitable for a Wooden Tablet Mercenary. How about giving it a try?”
“Could I know what the work entails?”
“Nothing major. Nothing particularly difficult. I thought I’d entrust it specially to you, little brother.”
He spoke without revealing the commission’s details, as if bestowing some great favor.
Normally, one would sense ill intent behind such excessive kindness and feel repelled.
‘But I actually prefer it this way.’
If the other party was a villain, all the better. Cleanup would be simpler.
So Ilhyang asked once more, politely.
“Would it be possible to hear the commission details first?”
“Ahem, you’re quite thorough for someone who looks so young. Of course. As I said, the commission isn’t particularly difficult. You’d be inspecting the herb field that our estate manages.”
“Inspecting an herb field, you say….”
Even at first glance, this wasn’t a short-term commission.
Yet he’s entrusting a long-term job to a kid he’s just met?
A distinctly foul stench was beginning to waft through.
“The work itself is simple, but the herb field is located outside the village, at the foot of the mountain, and wild beasts come down every night, I’m told. You’d just need to drive them away, little brother. Not difficult at all, right? Even beginners can manage it.”
His tone was gentle and honeyed, persuasive.
If the commission was to exterminate mountain beasts that descended nightly, it meant I’d have to stand guard through the night.
Ilhyang regarded the Young Man quietly for a moment, and without realizing it, his lips curled upward into a smile.
Rather than the task itself that this fellow was proposing, I focused on the location where the task would need to be performed—and the picture became clear.
‘Below the mountain.’
Outside the village.
A remote place where few people ventured and the protection of authority was difficult to obtain.
Likely, no matter what happened there, no one would be able to help.
With that realization, the Young Man’s true intentions became transparent to me.
Ilhyang’s smile grew even brighter.
“You did submit a formal request at the Reception Desk, correct?”
“Ah, of course! Here, look here—it’s written right here. It must have been tucked away so far back that our little brother missed it, haha!”
This fellow laughed far too much.
Well, it was good if he enjoyed life.
He grasped the wooden tablet lodged in the corner of the Reception Desk and pulled it free, then turned back toward me as he headed to the desk.
“The compensation is quite generous—five silver coins per day.”
Over ten days, that would be fifty silver coins.
One silver coin held the value of one hundred copper coins.
Based on the prices in this area, a mere ten copper coins covered a full day’s lodging and meals.
Calculating from that baseline.
Working for just ten days would yield enough for five hundred days of sustenance.
As I gauged the cost of living in this place, I smiled broadly.
As I had thought before, the terms of this commission were remarkably favorable.
“This is quite an excellent commission. But why hasn’t anyone taken it?”
“Haha, they’re all cowards, that’s why. They think the area outside the village is dangerous. That’s how they keep missing out on big money-making opportunities. Pathetic fellows, unable to become wealthy.”
The Young Man spoke loudly while glancing around the area.
Yet oddly enough, all the Wanderers nearby were busy subtly avoiding his gaze.
‘There’s something here.’
The Young Man appeared to be rather famous in this line of work.
‘In a way that’s not favorable.’
The young Wanderer at the Reception Desk.
Mak Chung observed both the Young Man who had brought the commission and me, then accepted the request form with a somewhat complicated expression.
“Ilhyang, congratulations on accepting your first commission.”
Despite the congratulatory words, his tone carried a certain heaviness.
However, following protocol, he accepted and recorded the commission.
He stamped it with the Ronin Guild’s seal and handed copies to both of us.
“You may return every ten days to collect your payment.”
“Understood.”
“Haha! What a spirited little brother you are. Shall we begin the work starting today?”
“Yes… let’s do that.”
We recorded today’s date as the start of the work at the reception desk.
Shortly after, we both stepped outside the Giyang County branch of the Ronin Guild.
‘I’m somewhat regretful about reserving lodging at the Manseok Inn in advance.’
Right now, I was desperately curious about what this greasy nobleman’s true intentions were.
‘If he’s this blatant about it, there’s no way to pretend ignorance.’
To anyone watching, it was obvious he was trying to use some naive newcomer for something.
Even pretending to know nothing felt exhausting.
A few Wanderers lingering far behind whispered amongst themselves in hushed tones.
Deliberately ignoring them, I turned to leave the Ronin Guild building and head straight for the Village Entrance.
The man in white suddenly opened his mouth.
“Ahem, now that I think about it, what is your name, young friend?”
“Ah! You may call me Ilhyang, honored sir.”
“Haha, I see. I am Pyeong So-byeok. My Pyeong Family operates a rather substantial pharmacy here in Giyang County. We supply eighty percent of the medicinal materials distributed throughout Cheonjung City in Myeong Province.”
“Is that so? I apologize for not recognizing such an esteemed person.”
“What are you saying~ We’re just getting to know each other now, haha!”
From that point onward, until we completely passed through the Town Gate,
Pyeong So-byeok continued probing for information about Ilhyang with an expression that seemed forced and artificial.
“You truly have no family? Really, is that actually true?”
“Yes. I am an orphan without a single blood relative to my name.”
At the answer that I was an orphan,
a sinister gleam flashed momentarily through Pyeong So-byeok’s pupils before vanishing just as quickly.
“Hmm, is that so? Your manner of speech is so refined that I was curious about your background… but there’s nothing to it?”
As we gradually moved beyond the point where the village’s Stone Wall disappeared from view,
Pyeong So-byeok’s eyes now burned with undisguised intensity.
It was the gaze of a predator who had discovered something deliciously appetizing prey.

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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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