I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 2

On the barren, desolate land, ominous dark clouds loomed overhead.

The clouds, neither moving nor shedding rain, simply watched as the dying ones endured in silence.

The scent of blood filled every corner of the city. Rotten flesh and pieces of meat, whose origin was unclear, were found scattered throughout the city.

"It’s the end! The end is near! The gods have abandoned us! The demons’ servants are coming for our flesh! Cease your meaningless resistance, and stab your own throats with those spears right now!"

On top of the pile of corpses in the collapsed square, the voices of the maddened echoed.

"......"

Hans, the captain of the city guard, could only gaze at them with pity in his eyes.

His short-cropped hair exposed his forehead, which was covered in numerous scars. Most of them were torn wounds, but some appeared to be the result of a blade’s cut.

Hans’ armor, a grim testament to the fierce battles he had fought over the past weeks, was almost nothing more than a massive chunk of scrap metal.

The plate on his left shoulder had completely fallen off, exposing his raw skin beneath, and the plate on his right arm was barely hanging on by the straps.

To make matters worse, Hans’ armor was drenched in a green liquid. It looked like blood, but based on its color and stickiness, it was definitely not human.

Hans threw away the rag in his hand and picked up a torn piece of cloth nearby, rubbing the green blood on his armor. It was thick, sticky, and hard to clean, but it had to be done to survive.

"......When are the reinforcements supposed to arrive?"

"It will take about three more days... You asked the same question just ten minutes ago."

"......This damn situation."

Hans dropped the rag on the floor and slumped down where he stood, the joints in his body creaking in protest. It had already been three days since he had last slept.

"......How are the troops holding up?"

"They're in bad shape. Numbers are down by half, and of those remaining, eight out of ten are injured."

"Tell the men to thoroughly wipe off any mutated blood. If a plague breaks out now, we’re done for."

Hans said this, then leaned against the crumbled city wall and closed his eyes for a brief moment. If he didn’t steal a nap, he might go mad like those screaming people on the ruined square.

"......Hey."

Just as Hans was starting to drift off, a boy’s voice reached his ears.

Hans forced his heavy eyelids open and turned his head toward the voice, moving his squeaky armor.

The boy before him had striking silver hair and deep blue eyes. His clothes were tattered, barely resembling anything other than a pile of rags, and his bare feet were covered in cuts and dirt.

Though his eyes were deep enough to give off a sense of mystery, judging by his appearance, he looked like one of the many beggars that could be found all over the city.

"......There are mutated corpses everywhere. The plague might spread, so you should flee to the inner city immediately."

Hans sighed and gestured for the boy to leave.

"......"

The boy placed his thin hand on the crumbling city wall and turned his head toward the rotting pile of bodies nearby.

He didn’t show any emotion, even when confronted with the mountain of corpses and the maddened people screaming atop them.

The boy slowly walked over to Hans.

"It seems there are no resident mages in the city. It would be much safer to burn all the bodies."

"Would you, a mage, waste your skills on a city like this?"

"......"

The boy listened to Hans’ words, and his gaze turned inward as if reflecting on something.

He glanced around the ruined city — the rats eating each other, women stabbed and lying in the streets, a bank that had burned down long ago, and a church collapsed by the frenzy of the people.

"Stradus is completely finished."

"......Then why are you still guarding this city? What’s left in a city that’s completely done for?"

The boy’s question made Hans chuckle bitterly. It was an absurd question.

"Does the city guard need a reason to protect the city?"

Hans answered without much thought.

"......I’m not too familiar with war, but even with my eyes, it seems the situation is rather grim. It doesn’t look like we’ll last for more than a few days... Aren’t you afraid of death?"

"Of course I am."

Hans answered quickly without thinking, his response just as blunt.

"Then why not run?"

"Because I’m the captain of the city guard."

Hans answered immediately to the boy’s third question.

"......"

The boy, who had been unwavering in his responses, seemed to be lost in thought now, observing Hans’ unflinching demeanor.

In contrast, Hans didn’t seem to care much about the sudden appearance of a beggar. Beggars were everywhere in this city.

"Stop standing there like that and run to the inner city. There’s too much dirty blood here."

Hans, as the captain of the city guard, didn’t need any other reason to sacrifice himself.

Though he hadn’t spoken to the boy for long, the boy quickly realized who this soldier was.

After a moment of thought, the boy sat down next to Hans. He probably thought that this was the safest place in the city.

"......What are you doing? I told you to go inside the city."

Hans frowned slightly, as if the boy was in his way.

His armor, still covered in mutated blood that hadn’t been wiped off, was probably dangerous to the boy.

"You said it yourself, if you all lose, people like us, whether we’re in the inner city or the outskirts, will die all the same."

The boy’s statement gave Hans a sigh.

"......I suppose that’s true."

He couldn’t argue with that. The food was already scarce, and even the few remaining soldiers couldn’t eat a full meal. Giving food to a beggar would only lead to a loss in combat potential.

"Still, take it."

Hans finally said.

The boy stubbornly refused, but Hans, unable to stand it any longer, made his way to the back of the bank and grabbed a piece of hard, thick bread from the outpost.

The bread, a thin slice that couldn’t even be considered a proper meal, was the only food left in the city.

It was covered in dust and mold, but it was the only food remaining.

"You’ll be watched by him. It won’t be a meaningless act."

Hans glanced at the cross of the collapsed church and the boy’s eyes as he spoke.

"If all the residents we are supposed to protect die of hunger, what meaning will the city guard have?"

"......"

Finally, the boy silently took the bread and put it in his mouth.

It was the first food he had eaten since being born.

It was ridiculously hard and smelled foul, clearly poorly stored, with mold growing on it. But in this city, there were many who would die of hunger without even such rotten bread.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

As the boy cautiously chewed on the bread, a loud bell rang outside the city.

"Mutants detected 400 meters ahead! Their numbers are far greater than before!"

"We’ve also received reports of demons! The mobile troops must return to the front lines and prepare for battle! All forces should regroup at the center!"

A young ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) soldier, standing on the unstable wooden bell tower, desperately shouted, spitting words as he did.

The soldiers, who had just barely managed to fall asleep, groaned in despair as the sudden air raid siren echoed. Hans silently looked up at the sky and cursed under his breath.

"......Damn it."

Though his face was filled with despair, the fire in his eyes still burned with defiance.

"Run."

"You said it was the same whether we were here or inside the city."

"Still, run. There’s a small hole in the northern outer wall. You can escape the city and run with the sunlight behind you. If you’re lucky, you might break through the demon siege and meet the reinforcements who are coming."

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"You think the city guard can win?"

"Didn’t you hear me say that demons have appeared?"

"I heard you."

"Do you know when demons show up on the battlefield?"

"When they’re 100% sure they’ll win."

Demons are cunning. They usually hide deep underground or in dense forests, sending out armies made up of mutated creatures formed from beasts and villagers they’ve captured, gradually draining their prey’s strength.

Only when their prey has been weakened enough and victory is certain do they show themselves on the battlefield, to finish off their prey and seal their victory.

When demons appear on the battlefield, it’s like a death sentence for everyone there.

The wise ones among us will take their own lives with a blade to the throat, while the foolish ones will watch helplessly as they turn into horrific mutants under the demons' hands.

"If you know that, then run. Survive, and let everyone know we fought bravely."

Hans, who had given the boy the bread, was one of those foolish ones.

He turned away from the boy and addressed the soldiers.

"Today! Death has come to us! They will use our brothers and sisters to create monsters, and tear apart our surviving neighbors!"

Hans shouted loudly, the heavy armor creaking as he raised his voice.

"The situation is desperate! Our equipment is rusted, and their claws and fangs are laced with poison!"

One by one, the guards’ gazes, filled with fear and despair, turned to Hans.

"Courage is gone, and only fear envelops us! They’ve driven us to the extreme, taking away all our arrows and weapons!"

"......"

"......"

"But! There’s one thing they can’t take from us, and that’s our anger!"

"......"

"......"

"Don’t forget the sight of our children being torn apart by their claws! Remember how our comrades and friends turned into horrific mutants at the hands of the demons!"

The fire slowly returned to the eyes of the guards, which had once been filled with despair and fear.

"Those who want to run, go north now! But, for those who want to remain human! Who want to keep their pride and show their fighting spirit, stare at those vile demon servants with eyes full of hatred!"

The pride of humanity began to burn in their chests. The heat made their hearts race, and soon, mad cheers erupted from all around the line.

"I will stand with honor on this battlefield and die as a noble warrior! For Estella!"

"For Estella!"

"For Estella!"

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Despair quickly vanished, and a sense of exaltation filled the remaining guards. They discarded the splints from their arms and legs and began putting their armor back on, gripping the broken sword handles tightly.

The boy, finishing the last of the bread, thought to himself.

‘Normally, I would be running while these people are dying.’

The demons on the battlefield were level 15.

For any ordinary 1st level character, they were designed to be impossible to defeat.

Thus, the game’s story begins with a newly created human beggar fleeing from the demons and mutants in a city on the brink of collapse.

It was a perfect tutorial, showing fragments of a chaotic world about to be destroyed, and helping players immerse themselves in the game’s world...

But the boy had always had a deep dissatisfaction with such tutorials.

‘I’ve always wanted to catch that bastard once.’

In the tutorial, the player’s character must always flee. The system blocks any choice to fight.

No matter how unique the build, nothing changes.

‘The human beggar abandons the crumbling city of Stradus and begins the long journey to the central city, and that’s when the game truly begins.’ This was a premise that couldn’t be twisted by any player’s actions.

However, in reality... such system limitations didn’t exist.

The boy cautiously rose from his position, using the broken wall as support.

With silver hair fluttering, this boy could escape whenever he wished.

The terrain beyond Stradus was already clear in his mind, even down to the smallest stones.

Avoiding monster zones and finding safe places to spend the night would be possible even with his eyes closed.

Yet, the boy’s steps were not directed north, but toward the battlefield.

It wasn’t for some grand reason.

The bread Hans had given him was terribly hard and rough, but strangely warm, like freshly baked bread.

It was strange. If this bread had been stored in the food warehouse, it would’ve been stale and near rotting, but...

A piece of foul, hard bread that shouldn’t even be considered a meal.

For that alone, risking his life would be enough... but the boy had another reason for throwing himself into battle.

‘Damn, I’m kind of excited.’

...If anyone could hear the boy’s true thoughts, they’d probably call him crazy.

The boy wasn’t excited by the heat of the battle or the soldiers' heroism.

He felt a sense of exhilaration from something far different from the others... something deeply twisted.

The opportunity to capture the ‘monster that could never be caught.’

‘This is an opportunity. A rare, unique chance that only I can experience...!’

In fact, just entering the game’s world was already an experience that no one else could have, but this mad boy wasn’t satisfied with just that.

How did this boy end up like this?

Like the hipsters who define themselves, he found excitement in things others would consider bizarre or twisted.

...Well, anyway.

For that terribly hard, foul bread and the twisted desires within him.

“Blossom.”

The boy summoned a huge lightning strike onto the battlefield.