The Evil God Beyond the Smartphone - Chapter 17: Warlock (3)
Chapter 17: Warlock (3)
Roan Hebris.
He was a warlock who was approaching his mid-40s this year.
He had once realized that he had no talent for magic and turned to warlock, but that did not mean that he had outstanding achievements in warlock. (Note: A warlock is the dark embodiment of magic, while a wizard is seen as good and kind enough to give out advice. Warlocks, on the other hand, are good at deceiving people. Meanwhile, wizards are chosen as allies because they help people achieve their goals.)
It was only through sheer dedication that he was able to achieve great success in warlock.
An effort to catch innocent people and make them the scapegoat for magic.
Warlock was fundamentally that kind of magic.
And Roan wasn’t the kind of person who could radically execute even such an effort.
In the end, he remained stuck in mediocre abilities and was at a stalemate for a long time.
The only thing that changed was the fact that he joined the bandits in order to sacrifice prisoners of war who were captured occasionally.
Roan’s own competence was forever at a standstill, unable to forget his past.
“I wish I could sacrifice all these guys.”
Roan muttered as he put the prepared ingredients into the boiling pot.
Roan looked at the pot and his eyes were full of boredom.
Making magic potions was becoming tedious by now.
Despite the fact that he knows that without even minimal research he would regress, he wants to let go of even what he is doing now.
However, the bandits who are with Roan cannot let him go.
The magic potions Roan produces are one of the main sources of income for the bandits, along with the slaves.
A life lived while being supported is not bad, but it was the human heart that wanted to escape from time to time.
Tut-tut.
With a click of his tongue, Roan dropped a clump of hair he cut from a slave into the pot.
“If I had learned decent magic, I might have been teaching magic in some mountain village.”
Even if the achievement fell short of Warlock, wizards were well-respected people.
It was even more so in the countryside, where they didn’t even seem to have anything to do with magic.
He might have been considered an irregular wizard in some small town somewhere, and missed the opportunity to be called a wise man forever.
As Roan was thinking about this, he heard a voice echoing in his ear from outside the tent.
It was a familiar voice that Roan heard.
Because it was none other than the voice of the bandit who was guarding his tent.
“Warlock!”
“What? I thought I told you not to disturb me while I was making the potion.”
Roan spoke with a look of displeasure when he heard the bandit’s voice.
If even the slightest impurity gets into the potion, the effects of the magic potion will spoil.
That’s why Roan had told him several times not to interfere while he was making the magic potion.
But despite his shouts, the bandit opened the entrance to the tent and jumped straight inside.
Breathing heavily, the bandit’s eyes looked at Roan.
At the same time, leaves carried by the wind fell gently onto the pot.
Impurities mixed in with the potion he was making.
Roan, who was watching all this, frowned.
“Warlock ! You’re here!”
“I told you not to come in! You messed up the potion with a foreign substance!”
Roan shouted at the bandit who suddenly entered the tent.
No matter how urgent it was, there was always an order to it.
The bandit shook his head with a nervous expression despite Roan’s loud shouting.
Huh. Taking a breath once, the bandit spoke to him in a trembling voice.
“Sh*t, T-this is bad!”
“Why on earth did you do this? Don’t tell me that the bandits have been wiped out?”
“The boss has been taken hostage.”
“Eh, what…?”
Roan opened his mouth wide when he heard the bandits’ story.
From what I heard, it was indeed a serious situation.
Where in the world would you find such a ridiculous story about the Bandit Boss being taken hostage?
Moreover, if the bandit is to be taken hostage. It could be the case the bandits were swarmed in by a subjugation squad of some kind.
If caught by the subjugation squad, Roan, a black magic user, was naturally to be executed.
Roan, looking nervous under the unusual circumstances, turned to the bandits and asked.
“How many of the subjugation squad came?”
“S-subjugation squad?”
“Yes! Subjugation squad!”
“I didn’t see any, only two people came.”
“…?”
Roan looked at the bandits with an incomprehensive expression.
However, the bandit’s face looked more serious than ever.
Two people.
He heard that the bandits had been wiped out by the two people and the Bandit Boss had been taken hostage.
In a sense, this was more serious than the story of the attack by the Subjugation squad.
“How are they armed? Did they look like a knight?”
“A man in sloppy clothes and one woman with a book!”
“Book…?”
“It seems that a wizard has arrived! Please use your magic to repel the enemy wizard!”
The more the bandits talked, the more Roan became even more puzzled.
A wizard who instantly wiped out a bunch of bandits.
And the numbers are just…. Two.
Can Roan really be victorious against such an existence?
Roan didn’t think so.
Roan had devoted decades to magic, but that did not make him any stronger than the others.
It was best to run away if possible.
“Warlock …”
“There is no time! Master Roan! Please use your powerful magic, to dispose of the enemy!”
“No, I……”
“Master Roan! We have to hurry!”
But he couldn’t afford to run away from the bandit, who was looking at him with a zealous expression on his face.
A wizard’s assets are magic books and research materials.
Even though he is a Warlock, his essence has not changed.
The moment he abandoned them all here and fled, everything Roan had accumulated over the decades would be lost.
Sighing, Roan walked past the bandit in front of him.
As he walked out of the tent, he saw the Bandit Boss being held hostage, just as he had been reported.
“Ah, Roan…! You have to help me!”
As soon as the Bandit Boss saw Roan, he immediately shouted his name for help.
Roan looked at the uninvited guest standing behind him with the held-up Bandit Boss.
One young man with an impression of naivety.
And behind the young man, a girl holding a thick book.
In the book held by the girl, magic power with an unknown depth was swirling.
It was a supreme treasure that one could guess its value just by looking at it.
“Are you the wizard who is said to live here?”
The gazes of Roan and the girl met in mid-air.
The girl had an innocent expression on her face and turned to Roan, asking his identity.
However, Roan was not fooled by the girl’s innocent expression.
The person in front of Roan was a wizard.
A wizard with tremendous magical power, whose abilities he had no idea what she was capable of.
She was not someone to be taken for a fool.
“Yes, I am the Warlock Roan Hebris. And you, who are you?”
“My identity, sir?”
“If you asked a question, wouldn’t it be fairer to take one?”
“I guess so, yes….”
“So reveal your identity.”
Gulp. Roan, who swallowed his spit, watched his opponent’s every move with a guarded stare.
At Roan’s request, Euthenia took a light step forward.
As she advanced, Euthenia’s steps came to a halt right next to the tied up Bandit Boss.
Stopping a short distance away from Roan, Euthenia immediately opened her mouth with a calm voice.
“I am an apostle, Euthenia High Lost. I am an apostle who serves the Great One.”
“Apostle…”
“Is that not very familiar to you?”
“No, I think I understand a bit now.”
God’s apostles.
I don’t know exactly what kind of god that god was, but I could guess that it was unusual to have met with an apostle of God.
Those who follow the path of black magic must understand ritual acts of all kinds.
The offerings to the evil gods were no exception.
You make an offering and receive power accordingly.
This was one of the foundational contents of the subject of black magic.
Seeing Euthenia, who called herself an apostle, Roan realized the fact that he had to make a quick decision.
“I see. I’m glad we could have an understanding.”
“I suppose that’s all I wanted to ask.”
“It looks like you are going to use magic.”
A spark flew into Roan’s hand as he increased his magic power.
Creating a lightning arrow, Roan fired it straight at the target.
The arrow flew like light and collided with the target in a flash.
“Lightning Arrow!”
“Arggh…!”
The arrow shot by Roan pierced the Bandit Boss next to Euthenia.
The body of the Bandit Boss, who was hit by the arrow, sparkled and started foaming at the mouth and convulsing.
Yes.! It was not Euthenia who Roan attacked but the Bandit Boss.
The Bandit Boss, hit by the sudden attack, screamed and passed out.
Euthenia, who was watching over him, stroked the book’s cover and spoke to Roan.
“You have done an interesting thing,” she said.
“I already came to a conclusion from the moment I first saw it.”
“Is that so?”
“Please accept me as your disciple.”
Thud.
Kneeling down, Roan hit his head on the ground.
This was the only conclusion Roan could draw.
An enormous aura surged behind Euthenia, who moved her shadow.
From the moment he confronted it, Roan had realized that his opponent was an existence he could never hope to win against.
He had no superior talent for magic, but he was born with an ‘eye’ to recognize the level of his opponent.
His opponent was, to his surprise, an apostle of an evil god.
While connected in some way to the being she served, she was drawing near-infinite magical power from that being.
It was the very existence close to the ideal that wizards dream of.
How could they dare to stand and fight against such an existence?
It was an act no different from a foolish Moth jumping towards a bonfire.
Euthenia shook her head at Roan’s request.
“That’s a pity. I don’t think I can take you as an disciple.”
“… Yes?”
“Even if I recruit believers, I don’t accept disciples.”
“Then please accept me as a believer! I will serve the Great One!”
Hearing Euthenia’s response, Roan immediately changed his plans and hit his head again.
If disciples were not good enough, he had to join a religious.
This was even more so if it was a highly influential god who could even create apostles.
Euthenia smiled at the sight of Roan, who bowed one after the other.
A hand extending from the shadows stroked the head of Roan, who was lying face down.
“Is that so? I am sure the Great One will be pleased.”