On the second floor, a few other low-level people remained besides Roxanne and me.
After Alan and the others headed downstairs, we spent a short while waiting in silence. Eventually, noises began to drift up from the first floor—the clash of combat mixed with human voices and what sounded like screams.
It had begun.
I took the lead, stepping onto the dimly lit staircase and tightening my grip on Durandal. Roxanne followed close behind. Alan had mentioned it was unlikely anyone would come from above, but if the unexpected happened, I knew she could handle it.
I descended two or three steps and glared into the shadows below, scanning for any movement.
"They're coming," Roxanne whispered, her voice so low it was meant for my ears alone.
A dark shadow scurried across the floor below. A Thief. Level 3.
Had he somehow slipped through the frontline? At that level, it would have been nearly impossible to break through a veteran like Alan. He must have seized a momentary opening in the chaos to flee. The first floor was likely a mess of overlapping battles.
The thief ducked into a room across the hallway. He didn't seem to notice us at all.
Escaping into a dead-end room like that wouldn't save him. This was my chance.
"Roxanne, keep watch here."
Leaving her at the landing, I crept down the stairs. The dim lighting forced me to move slowly until I was a few steps from the bottom. After scanning the area and confirming no one else was around, I lunged forward, closing the distance to the room the thief had entered in a single burst of speed.
I pressed my back against the wall next to the door, then kicked it open with everything I had.
I didn't charge in blindly. Common sense dictated the thief would be waiting just past the threshold to ambush whoever followed.
The room was pitch-black. While the hallway had a faint glow, the shadows inside were deep. Because I was pinned against the wall, I didn't think he could see me yet, and he didn't come lunging out the moment the door swung open.
I used Appraisal. Instantly, the thief's exact position became clear.
He was standing near the center of the room, likely waiting for a target to step into his line of sight. He was equipped with a Copper Sword, so he was almost certainly holding it ready to strike. If I had been able to see him clearly, the reality of the situation might have made me hesitate. The darkness was actually a blessing.
Regardless, I had to act.
I decided to use the Bonus Spell I had been too terrified to test until now: Equivalence Exchange. Since that was its name, I assumed it would reduce both my HP and the target's HP by an equal amount. Or perhaps it would exchange my HP for the target's MP.
I wouldn't know until I tried. I needed to see its effects.
I wouldn't dare test this on a monster, even a Level 1. I had no idea how much HP or MP monsters possessed compared to humans. If a monster had significantly more health than me, an "equivalent" exchange would be a death sentence. But against a thief, it was safe. I possessed the Thief job at Level 3 myself; no matter what the spell exchanged, there was no doubt that my HP and MP totals were higher than this thief's.
I focused on the thief's position and visualized the spell. Equivalence Exchange.
Suddenly, something was ripped from my body.
An intensely visceral, sickening sensation assaulted me.
It was my MP. It had been completely drained. I had felt this once before—when I used Warp for the very first time, my mood had spiraled into a dark, heavy gloom. This was exactly like that. My MP—my willpower, my mental energy, whatever it was—had vanished.
Inside the room, the thief suddenly burst apart with a muffled sound.
Success.
I had actually succeeded.
I wished I hadn't.
What the hell had I done? There was no way I’d ever be forgiven for this. I was weak. I had no talent. I was a waste of space. A pathetic moron with nothing to offer the world. I was the absolute dregs of humanity.
Incompetent, cowardly, lazy, and small. What was someone like me even trying to accomplish? What could I possibly achieve? The sheer arrogance of thinking I could survive in another world was staggering. I was a nuisance to this reality. I didn't even have the right to exist. Even back on Earth, I couldn't find a single place where I belonged.
My legs gave out, and I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air.
"Master!"
Roxanne was behind me before I realized she had moved.
That’s right. There might be others. There could be more thieves nearby, and here I was, paralyzed. I forced myself to scan the area.
No. Was I really trying to continue this pathetic existence? Someone like me deserved to rot in a ditch.
Roxanne placed a gentle hand on my back, stroking it softly.
The hallway grew bright as someone approached with a light. It was Alan.
This was bad. If Alan saw me like this, he’d know something was wrong. In the eyes of this world, I was an unwanted interloper. I should be driven out with stones. If Alan and Roxanne found out the truth, I’d be persecuted, rejected, and cast out.
"Th-this is..." Alan stammered, taking in the carnage.
This was the end. Everything was over. It was ridiculous that a woman as beautiful as Roxanne had ever been kind to me in the first place. Normally, she wouldn't have given me a second glance. The whole thing must have been a trap by the slave trader. A conspiracy. A scam. A total fraud.
"Are you all right?" Roxanne asked, her voice thick with worry.
I raised a hand to signal I was fine, unable to speak.
"A Self-Destruct Ball?" Alan muttered. "I didn't think a thief would carry such a thing. I've heard they're practically a guaranteed kill."
"Will he be okay?" Roxanne asked.
"It's a one-use item. I've heard stories that the aftermath looks like this."
"If you use an item like that, do you... end up this way?"
"So it seems. Still, he truly is powerful."
"He is my master, after all," Roxanne replied.
The two of them were having a conversation that went right over my head.
Wait, items. I had items too. Fatigue Recovery Medicine. If I drank that, wouldn't it restore my MP? Why hadn't I realized that sooner? I was a hopeless idiot. A total moron.
Without a word, I opened my Item Box and pulled out two Tonic Pills. Why hadn't I bought more? I was so stingy. A pathetic, ugly miser.
I tossed them into my mouth, shielding the action with my hand so Alan wouldn't see. I felt a small spark of MP return. As I thought, MP recovery was the answer.
I took a breath and forced myself back onto my feet. My body ached. It seemed the spell had taken my HP along with my MP. Based on the sensation, I suspect it exchanged my MP for the thief's HP first, and then subtracted an amount of my HP equal to whatever was left of the thief's health.
In other words, if the sum of my total MP and HP had been lower than the thief's HP, I would have been the one to vanish. I had been gambling with my life without even knowing the stakes.
"Are you truly all right?" Alan asked.
"I’ll manage."
"We took a bit too long and let one get past us, but we've dealt with the rest of the thieves. You can rest easy now. I've caused you a terrible amount of trouble tonight. If that item had been used against one of my people, the casualties would have been catastrophic. I don't even have the words to thank you."
I finally managed to stand straight and speak with Alan.
The room was a nightmare. Gore was splattered across every surface—the remains of what had once been a thief. Even his equipment had been shredded. I reached down and picked up the only thing left intact: the Copper Sword.
It was petty, but I wasn't going to leave empty-handed.
"As we agreed, I'm taking this."
I stepped out of the room. This suffocating despair was purely because my MP was low. To fix it, I had to get to the Labyrinth and kill monsters with Durandal. I was out of Tonic Pills.
"Please, wait a moment," Alan said before disappearing elsewhere.
"I am so sorry that my selfishness led to this," Roxanne whispered.
"No. It's fine."
I didn't understand why she was apologizing. If anything, this was entirely my own fault.
"Thank you for waiting," Alan said, returning. "Here is the additional reward we discussed. I never imagined things would turn out like this. You have my eternal gratitude."
I didn't fully process his words, but I took the reward.
With the thieves gone, we headed for the front entrance. After a final farewell from Alan, we stepped out into the night. It was still dark, with only the faintest sliver of grey beginning to touch the eastern horizon.
Walking the streets without a light would be difficult. Alan could have at least lent me a lantern instead of just piling on the thanks. But more than a light, I needed to get to the Labyrinth immediately. No one was around, and even if they were, it was too dark to see clearly. I decided to use Warp.
I focused on the outer wall of the merchant guild and visualized the spell. I took Roxanne’s hand and stepped through the wall.
We emerged inside the Vale Labyrinth.
Failure.
Warping had been a massive mistake.
Think about it. I was suffering because my MP was low. What happens when you use Warp in that state? Obviously, your MP drops even further. The tiny bit of recovery I’d gained from the medicine was instantly wiped out.
It was so basic. How could I have been so stupid? I was a complete moron.
The only saving grace was that we had arrived in a small safe room where no monsters spawned. Shivering in a safe house—how fitting for someone like me. It was only right that a coward of my caliber would be cowering in a tiny room.
But wait. This current state was caused by having no MP. How do I recover? I have to use Durandal’s MP Absorption. So why the hell had I run to a place with no monsters?
I shouldn't have secured an escape route; I should have thrown myself into a situation where I had no choice but to fight. I was pathetic. My "clever" plans were just the idle delusions of an incompetent fool.
So, should I go back out?
What was I thinking? Was I an idiot? A half-wit? A total amateur? There was no way I could survive a monster encounter right now. If a monster found me, I’d be slaughtered. A slow, spineless loser like me was better off rotting in this tiny room.
"There's a monster nearby, this way," Roxanne said.
She had just signed my death warrant.
"..."
"Master? Is something wrong?"
No. To escape this darkness, I had to kill monsters with Durandal. Roxanne was right. She was always right.
And was this room even safe? Who decided monsters wouldn't spawn here? It was just a guess—the optimistic delusion of a moron. Nowhere was safe. The whole world was a threat, and I had no place to run. I was going to die here.
Dammit. Dammit!
I squeezed out every last drop of my willpower and stepped out of the safe room.
Go back. Do you want to die? my mind screamed.
No. It didn't matter. Monsters would find me eventually anyway. I couldn't win. This was my grave.
I stumbled forward into the tunnel. A Needle Wood appeared in the gloom.
Run. You can still make it back to the room.
No, I wouldn't make it. Someone like me was destined to die a miserable, lonely death in the dirt.
As I hesitated, the Needle Wood closed in.
I swung Durandal almost unconsciously. Was it survival instinct? Or had the repetitive motions of combat finally become a hardwired reflex?
Durandal’s edge bit deep into the creature. I cut right through the Needle Wood.
Even in this state, it was a one-hit kill. My psychological collapse didn't seem to affect my raw attack power. I suppose that made sense.
My shoulders slumped as I let out a ragged breath. That was brutal. Truly agonizing.
I wasn't back to a hundred percent, but a chunk of my MP had returned. The crushing pessimism began to lift like a thinning mist. The HP Absorption from the kill took away my physical aches as well. I was going to be okay.
That was a close one. I had never spiraled that hard before. I had gaps in my memory from the moment I started chasing the thief at Alan’s place. My brain must have been trying to protect itself from the trauma. So this was the terror of zero MP.
I never wanted to feel that again.
"Sorry about that, Roxanne. Which way is next?"
I'm okay. I'm a person who can do this if I try. I had to keep telling myself that.
Under Roxanne's guidance, I hunted a few more monsters until my MP was fully restored. The earlier despair had vanished like it had never been there at all.
"Um... are you truly all right, Master? If you're feeling unwell..."
"I'm fine now, I promise."
Once I’d reassured her, I visualized my Job Settings.
Mage: Lv 1 Effect: Intelligence Increase (Small), MP Increase (Slight) Skills: Beginner Fire Magic, Beginner Water Magic, Beginner Wind Magic, Beginner Earth Magic
There it was. I had officially unlocked the Mage job.
It was there, but the skill names were incredibly vague. "Beginner Fire Magic"? How was I supposed to actually use it?
Still, I knew I could. I also realized the catch: to become a Mage, you had to use attack magic, but you couldn't use magic easily without being a Mage. The system was basically bugged.
I opened my Fourth Job slot and equipped Mage Level 1.
"Shall we head to the second floor?" Roxanne asked.
"No. There are a few things I want to test here on the first floor first."
"Understood. This way, then."
As we walked through the cave, I tried visualizing "Beginner Fire Magic." Nothing happened. Even when I disabled Chant Omission, no incantations came to mind.
"Roxanne, what do you know about magic?" I asked.
"Magic? You mean skill magic?"
"No, the kind a Mage uses."
"I'm sorry, Master. Only a very select few can ever become Mages. I don't know much about their arts."
"I see."
So she didn't know. If magic was a monopoly held by nobles and the wealthy, it made sense that the information was restricted.
"I have heard there are three main types," she added. "An all-target attack magic, a single-target attack magic, and one that creates something like a wall. Someone who saw a Mage fight once said they fire spheres of energy. I believe they used some difficult Brahim words for them."
"Difficult words, huh?"
In my case, I didn't even know why I could speak Brahim, so the language barrier probably wasn't the issue.
Fire. Flame. Blaze. Fireball?
I cycled through words in my head. If it was a sphere, "ball" seemed like a good bet.
Fire. Fireball.
The moment I thought it, the air above my head ignited. A sphere of flame materialized.
Oh! This was it! Fireball!
The flaming sphere streaked forward into the darkness.
Success. I could finally use magic. I watched the fireball go, feeling a surge of genuine emotion. This wasn't just a system shortcut—I had created that flame.
I was genuinely moved by the fact that I had come to such an incredible world. Movement and spatial magic were useful, but fire magic felt different. It felt like I was wielding a force of nature.
The absolute rock bottom I’d hit earlier felt like a distant memory now. Compared to the thrill of casting magic, that suffering was nothing.
The fireball illuminated the dim cave in a red glow before eventually fizzling out. I took a moment to bask in the satisfaction. My personality hadn't changed, but the fact that I was now a magic user was undeniable.
"Wait... Master? Was that... was that magic?" Roxanne asked, her eyes wide with confusion.
"It was."
"But I thought Master was an Explorer? I've never heard of an Explorer using magic like that."
"Well... let’s just keep that between us."
"A... a secret? Yes, of course."
I was getting good at dodging questions with "it's a secret." There was no way I could explain the job system to her anyway.
"Using magic is incredible. You really are amazing, Master."
"I only figured it out because of what you told me. You're the amazing one, Roxanne."
"Um... were you unable to use it until just now?"
"It’s not like I was intentionally holding back." If I could have used it before, I definitely would have.
Another Needle Wood appeared. I decided to give it a proper test. I focused on the monster and visualized Fireball. A sphere of flame formed and slammed into the creature.
The wooden monster was instantly engulfed in flames.
Incredible. Magic was the real deal.
However, once the fire died down, the monster was still standing. It was smoldering and smoking, but it was still coming for us. It seemed that while Durandal was a guaranteed one-hit kill, my current magic wasn't quite there yet.
I suppose that was to be expected for a Level 1 Mage using beginner magic. The Needle Wood's movements were sluggish, though—likely due to the residual damage. I stepped in and finished it off with a single swing of Durandal.
Next was the "wall." Roxanne had mentioned a wall-type magic. Fire Wall.
The moment I thought it, a curtain of fire erupted in front of me. It was about a meter and a half wide and over two meters tall. It burned fiercely for about ten seconds before vanishing.
Fire Wall. It felt more like a defensive tool than an offensive one. It would probably be a lifesaver if we ever got swarmed by a crowd of enemies.
Finally, the all-target attack magic.
Hellflare? Burn Attack? Volcano?
No, if the others were Fireball and Fire Wall, this one probably followed the same naming convention.
Fire Strike? Fire Attack? Fire Storm?
I felt a sudden drain on my MP. Fire Storm was the trigger. However, nothing happened.
Had I failed? No, there just weren't any enemies nearby. It was likely a spell that required a target to manifest.
When the next Needle Wood appeared, I unleashed it. Fire Storm.
Red embers suddenly danced through the dim cave, looking almost like fireflies. The embers swirled around the monster, converging on it in a sudden flash of heat. The Needle Wood flared up in a bright red blaze.
Fire Storm was definitely the one. The Needle Wood thrashed in agony, but it managed to endure until the flames subsided. Like the others, it wasn't a one-hit kill yet.
I stepped forward and split the smoldering creature down the middle with Durandal, ending it.
Since we were on the first floor, there was only one enemy, but Fire Storm had hit it automatically without me needing to aim. I wasn't sure how it tracked targets, but it clearly functioned differently than the Fireball.
I needed to confirm if it truly hit multiple targets, which meant heading to the second floor to find a pair of monsters.
But looking at the time, I realized our day was winding down.
"Let's head back," I said, deciding to exit the Labyrinth for now.