I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 8

The burning forest. The surging blue lightning. The battlefield full of blood and screams. The sharp sound of iron.

Everything fell silent in an instant.

With the appearance of one man, all the elements of the battlefield froze.

A sharp longsword hanging at his waist and numerous daggers hidden beneath his cloak indirectly told of this man's profession.

However, despite being a warrior stepping into the battlefield, the man was not wearing any armor. Still, there was no one in this battlefield who would dare to worry about this man.

The Swordmaster.

The old, predictable two words had appeared on the battlefield.

"That's enough."

With the Swordmaster’s simple command, the arm of the Great Lord, who was holding the boy's neck, was severed. Dark blood, filled with venom, spurted out like a fountain.

The Swordmaster, who had been standing in the middle of the forest path, was now swinging his shining sword under the moonlight. And at some point, he had gently caught the falling boy in his arms, landing on the roadside.

"...You came sooner than I expected. Hasn’t it been just about a minute and twenty seconds?"

"I was in the area on a mission. Bad luck for you."

The Great Lord, looking irritated, furrowed his brow and flapped his wings. The area he had been burned by the boy's lightning was already completely healed and regenerated with fresh skin.

"Where are the others? You came alone, you brat...!"

The Great Lord, perhaps familiar with the Swordmaster, asked about his comrades with a savage expression.

"They’re slow, you see. I arrived first. Why, do you want to catch up with old times?"

The Swordmaster, who had gently placed the boy on the roadside, twisted his body in mid-air, pointing his silver longsword at the Great Lord's neck.

"I’ll sever your neck, and then give everyone a formal opportunity to say hello. So don’t feel too upset."

With a casual tone, the Swordmaster kicked off the air and darted forward.

The Great Lord, Maltiel, grimaced, twisting his wings to change direction mid-air.

Boom!

Maltiel’s wings were torn apart as the Swordmaster landed on the ground, creating a massive crater where his feet hit.

"Tch..."

The Great Lord glanced back and forth between the boy, now surrounded by soldiers, and the Swordmaster, slowly rising from the ground, shaking his head in disappointment. He clicked his tongue and flew higher into the sky.

‘A one-on-one with the Swordmaster is a fight I cannot win. Plus, the 7th-circle mage with white hair might regain consciousness and join in at any moment.’

Not being able to kill the mage who would undoubtedly become a huge monster here was indeed disappointing.

‘...I must admit it. The only choice I have now is to retreat.’

But if Maltiel showed off any more arrogance here, not only would he fail to kill the white-haired boy, he might lose his life without dealing any damage to the humans.

"Where are you going?"

Of course, the Swordmaster wasn’t about to just let the Great Lord escape.

A sharp throwing knife pierced through the thin air, striking the wing of Maltiel, high in the sky, causing him to stagger in midair.

The throwing knife, hidden in the Swordmaster's leather cloak, pierced cleanly and precisely in a straight line.

Maltiel wobbled in the air, and the Swordmaster, seizing the moment, kicked off the ground and shot upwards.

Another massive crater formed where the Swordmaster landed, and with his leap, the ground trembled.

Trees screamed as they fell, and their giant roots were exposed. Archers among the mutated beasts, positioned between the branches of the giant trees, fell helplessly to the ground as if they were acorns ready to be harvested, the shock overwhelming them.

Screech—

With a sharp sound, the Great Lord’s head was severed from his body.

"...Disgusting."

Even though his head was cleanly cut off, the Great Lord did not die. From the severed neck, his spine quickly grew back, and flesh expanded to form a fully restored body.

The Great Lord, tearing his gaze away from the Swordmaster who was preparing to strike again, looked down at the ground.

At the end of his gaze lay the white-haired mage, sprawled on the ground as if he had poured all his strength out and passed out. Soldiers were lining up around him, fighting mutated beasts to protect him.

"Get up!"

At the Great Lord’s urgent command, cracks appeared in the ground.

Huge tentacles, hidden beneath the earth, erupted from the ground.

A giant mutated beast, a mixture of giant trees and orcs, emerged onto the battlefield.

The mutated beast began swinging its enormous tentacles like whips, attacking the tightly packed soldiers.

"...Pathetic."

"Smart, you idiot."

With a displeased grin, the Great Lord flapped his newly sprouted wings and started flying away.

The Swordmaster looked back and forth at the retreating Great Lord and the giant mutated beast attacking the army on the verge of being annihilated.

The Great Lord, Maltiel, who had appeared after three years.

If they could kill the Great Lord, countless demons would fall into a state of paralysis. So far, the demons under Maltiel’s command had likely killed hundreds of thousands of people.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Killing the Great Lord would save the lives of those who would otherwise be sacrificed.

Although it was tragic that the soldiers below would die, from a larger perspective, it was more urgent to pursue the Great Lord, who had just shown up after three years.

The Swordmaster knew this better than anyone.

Better than anyone, but...

Screech—

A giant tentacle split with a cold, sharp sound.

"...Everyone, behind me."

He was not the kind of person to be so rational and pragmatic as to discard the lives of those who were dying right now for the sake of saving others.

"All troops, rise, fight, and die."

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The Swordmaster’s words matched the Great Lord’s retreating form, and cracks began to appear everywhere beneath the Swordmaster’s steps.

Countless trees fell, and between their roots, mutated beasts of various sizes began to appear.

"Focus only on healing the wounded, I will handle all the threats."

"...But the Great Lord!"

Rex, the orc who had lost an arm, shouted as he looked up at the sky, now hidden behind the starlight.

All the soldiers here were willing to offer their lives to cut off the Great Lord’s head, if it meant saving the others.

They had seen their neighbors slaughtered by mutated beasts, their wives twisted into mutated monsters by demons.

"Shut up. I know everything."

The Swordmaster responded sharply, his face twisted as though he didn’t like his own choice.

The Swordmaster, who had made this painful decision, was burning inside.

"Just... stay quiet and rest."

With those words, the Swordmaster slowly raised the sword in his hand.

I couldn’t resist the faint morning sunlight any longer and slowly opened my eyes.

My back screamed as if it were being torn apart, and my temples throbbed painfully. My arms and legs were wrapped in splints I didn’t know who had placed there, and from the pressure on my head, it seemed that my head was also wrapped in bandages.

I couldn’t remember exactly when I had lost consciousness.

I met the Great Lord... I was almost at death's door... and then I heard the Swordmaster’s voice... but...

What happened after that?

I waited for my blurry vision to return, carefully lifting my upper body and scanning the surroundings.

"...Crazy."

The scene around me was enough to make me curse out loud.

The world was covered in blood, painted in every shade of red.

Giant trees, their bodies covered in blood and flames, were burnt black as they collapsed, and what was left of them were piles of fleshy chunks, unrecognizable as to which body part they belonged to.

A spine the size of a house stood ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) upright in the middle of the road like a flag, surrounded by massive hammers and blades scattered everywhere, whose owners were impossible to imagine.

"Are you awake?"

I heard a familiar voice near my ear, pulling me out of my dazed state as I stared at the ruined forest.

Turning my head, I saw the Swordmaster standing there.

The only character in the game whose level surpasses triple digits, the hero of the allied forces from the game’s endgame, the strongest human in this world.

"I’ve heard of your exploits. Such incredible talent at such a young age. To face the Great Lord on equal terms."

"Equal terms? No, that’s not the case. I just got lucky."

I answered as politely as possible to clear up the Swordmaster’s misunderstanding. I was just stalling and bluffing to buy time, nothing more.

Equal terms? Who would say something so insane?

"Rex told me everything. Humility is a virtue, but there’s no need to distort the facts."

...It wasn’t me, it was Rex who misunderstood. Why is even the Swordmaster getting involved in this?

"I hear the Great Lord attacked this place, aiming solely for you. Is that true, Rex’s words?"

"...Yes. That’s correct."

"You faced such a Great Lord one-on-one, and yet here you are, still alive and well."

"...Yes. That’s also true."

"Rex mentioned you’re a 7th-circle mage, is that true?"

"That’s not true. I only have the magic power of about a 4th-circle mage."

From what I had tested many times on the computer screen, characters with a magic stat of 20 would only be evaluated as 4th-circle mages when they first started.

That’s probably why they were misunderstanding me.

"I’ve never entered a magic tower, nor have I properly studied magic. I’m just a street rat, so I don’t know how to cultivate my magic or how to handle it properly."

"...What?"

The Swordmaster looked at me, his expression one of disbelief, before he became serious and began pacing, stroking his chin.

‘What a disappointment. A mage who reached the 7th circle at this age would definitely have talent comparable to national power.’

It seems that Rex had overheard his conversation with the Great Lord and relayed that misunderstanding to the Swordmaster.

Unfortunately, I was just a rookie mage who had been created only four days ago.

And my build was a bit strange.

I’m not the person you think I am, so please stop bothering me.

I need to get to the magic tower, train, and become strong enough to defend myself.

"You will come with me to the Imperial Palace when the sun rises."

"...What?"

"What? You, a mere 4th-circle mage, fought evenly against the Great Lord? Even without proper training? I don’t know where a monster like you came from, but I’ll report this to His Majesty the Emperor and the kings of the three allied nations."

"...What?!"

The Emperor? The kings of the allied nations?

"Do you know basic etiquette? If you make a mistake in front of His Majesty and the kings, things will get complicated, so I’ll teach you at least the minimum etiquette quickly."

...What is this guy talking about?