Chapter 8

Thank you for the daily high-five!

I wasn't very confident about this rather unusual work, which is full of old folks, but I'm really happy that it's been appreciated!

"Ah, I can see it, Sasaki. It's Marguard."

"Alright. Time for a drink."

"Yeah, that's right."

Fayd, who had been swaying in the carriage, ignored Sasaki, who was shaking a bottle of alcohol, and gazed at the city coming into view.

Several massive towers protruded from the huge fortress, and strange red and blue smoke rose from various places, making the city seem suspicious enough to make some people hesitate to enter.

The city's name was the Magic City Marguard.

As the name suggests, it was a city where mages gathered and conducted research day and night, and the golem carriage was also created here.

"Doesn't Marguard seem different?"

"Correct. It's the same as it used to be, with all sorts of odd people wandering around."

Elrika, whose memory was triggered by the strange smoke, predicted that Marguard hadn't changed, and Sasaki agreed.

Even during the great war of magic, Marguard had been a base for mages, a place where suspicious people conducted suspicious research day and night.

In other words, in the general public's perception, it was a suspicious city, and it was thought that the whole city might blow up at any moment.

"We've arrived."

"Alright!"

When the driver announced their arrival at such a city, Sasaki jumped out of the carriage, opened the bottle of alcohol, and drank directly from it.

"Ah! The alcohol is delicious today!"

"Shall we go in, old man?"

"Yeah, let's go, old lady."

Ignoring Sasaki, who simply loved alcohol, Elrika and Fayd walked towards the city gate.

"It's crowded. Merchants, perhaps?"

"They're probably here to deal with magical artifacts."

Fayd and Elrika, who were walking slowly, saw a group of people gathered at the gate, some of whom looked like commoners but were well-built, and others who were neatly dressed, and they thought that merchants had come to deal with magical artifacts.

"I hope it doesn't explode on our way back."

"It's not wartime, so that won't happen... Wait, is it still like that?"

"Probably not. Probably."

After savoring the taste of the alcohol, Sasaki muttered, and Fayd, who had initially denied it, suddenly became anxious, remembering the past.

Actually, during the war, the residents of this city had frequently caused problems after developing powerful magical artifacts, as if they didn't know the words "safety" or "reliability."

"Are they checking to make sure no dangerous items are being brought in or taken out?"

"Move, old man!"

"Oops, my apologies."

Considering the city's uniqueness, Fayd leaned out of the line to check, and a shout came from behind him.

However, the man in his thirties who had shouted was far enough away from Fayd, so Fayd tilted his head in confusion, wondering if he had been that much of a hindrance.

"'Progression.' Let me through."

The man ignored the line, walked straight to the gate, and stood there with his arms crossed, as if to say, "Now you see?"

The six levels of a mage's ability are:

Coastal

Surface

Middle

Progression

Deep

Ultra-deep

The Coastal level encompasses all beginners. The Surface level is for mages who have completed their training. The Middle level is for veterans.

However, the fact that half of the Middle level is considered veteran status indicates how deep and difficult the path of magic is.

The Progression level is a symbol of the ultra-elite, and the Deep level represents the geniuses of the era, of whom there are very few. The Ultra-deep level is even rarer, with only a handful in history. Considering this, the peak, excluding exceptions, is the Deep level, and reaching the Progression level in his thirties, the man might have a special status.

In fact, in a small country, a Progression-level mage would be a powerful force and would be treated with respect wherever he went.

But this is the Magic City. While not as rare as to be discarded like old shoes, Progression-level mages are not that uncommon.

"Is this your first time in this city? Rules are rules, so please go to the back of the line unless it's an emergency."

"What!?"

The gatekeeper, knowing that making exceptions for trivial reasons would lead to chaos, told the man to follow the rules, but the man, clearly annoyed, turned red in the face.

"I can't talk to you! Call the person in charge!"

The man used the ultimate move of such people.

However, this is the Magic City Marguard. His ultimate move would cause more trouble than a snake in the grass.

"Please, the hierarchy of levels is just a decoration in the world of magic. Let's try to keep things peaceful here."

"Stay out of this, old man!"

Unable to bear it, an old man in his seventies in the middle of the line removed his hood and tried to mediate, but the man, who was involved in magic but lacked reason and intelligence, continued to shout with a red face.

The gatekeepers, on the other hand, turned pale.

"I am Aldric, who participates in the administration of Marguard. I have the qualifications to be the person in charge you mentioned."

"What! Who? What? What?"

The man, who had shouted at Aldric, turned even paler as his brain recognized the name, and his speech became incoherent.

"It's a lie."

"Even if you say it's a lie..."

The old man standing in front of the man, who wished it were a lie, was Aldric, the "Incinerator."

The peak of practical magic, excluding the Ultra-deep level, a great mage who had reached the Deep level.

Not just any Deep level mage, but one of the few who were considered to be on the verge of the Ultra-deep level, and his unique and powerful fire magic was rumored to be able to counter even an ancient dragon's breath head-on.

"Show me proof."

"Is this enough?"

The man, who had tried to struggle in a pitiful manner, was speechless when complex patterns of light appeared on all of Aldric's right fingers: thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.

The number of light rings that appear on a mage's dominant hand directly corresponds to their classification.

One ring for Coastal, two for Surface, three for Middle, four for Progression, and five for Deep.

Do not underestimate the difference between the Progression and Deep levels. That one difference requires an immense amount of effort and talent, and the gap grows larger as one delves deeper into the world of magic.

Therefore, the gap between the man's Progression level and Aldric's five, Deep level, was insurmountable.

"Y-Yes. I-I-I'll be on my way."

The man, who had been shown clear evidence of a clearly superior and almost legendary figure, left the line in a hurry, his tongue paralyzed.

(I get so nervous, I wish they would make a special entrance...)

The gatekeepers, who were tense at the sight of Aldric, who deserved special treatment, standing in line, wished he would act according to his status. However, unfortunately, Aldric's statement that the hierarchy of levels is just a decoration in the world of magic, a true ideology of Marguard that had lasted for centuries, was something even Aldric had to follow.

When Aldric confirmed the man's departure... and saw the old couple standing like plants, barely alive, and the useless old man drinking at the back of the line...

"Ah!?"

He managed to hold back the urge to shout at the gatekeepers to let him in immediately, but sweat poured out of his entire body.

◆

At the same time.

"Fayd and Elrika. And that idiot husband have arrived."

In a small magic bookshop, a place known only to a select few, an old woman with brown skin, who was once the epitome of seduction, narrowed her odd red and blue eyes and muttered with interest.

In the old woman's desk were letters from friends, informing her that they would come to see her, and a letter from her husband, titled "Will" but essentially a love letter.

Her name is Lala.

A witch who was once part of a hero's party.

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