Retire 373
by Cristae373 Group Project (2)
People have many sides.
Just look at Noah Michel. The so-called Jewel of Nantes, praised by all, yet what is she trying to do with monsters, humanity, and the fate of the earth?
…Well, I still don’t really know what Noah Michel wants, but let’s set that aside.
Someone who seems like a villain to the world might be the best person in the world to their family. No matter how good someone is, they could be the worst parent to their own child.
That’s an extreme example. There’s no need to go that far. Just think about how people treat friends versus lovers, and you’ll understand what I mean.
I’m the same. The way I act with family, as a teacher with students, or as a Hunter in a dungeon—each is different.
Kim Chaemin is no different.
A little over a year. Not long enough to know everything about someone, but long enough to get to know them.
I know Kim Chaemin as a teacher: the kind magic class instructor who, despite claiming she wouldn’t take disciples, taught the basics of territory and magic to Park Seohyun and Choi Jinwoo, who had no real master.
I know her as a mage: confident, never hesitating to use her power. That confidence backed by real ability. Beautifully tended territory and greenhouse. Not just skilled in her own attribute, but knowledgeable in others. You can see how seriously Mage Kim Chaemin thinks about magic. Her skill speaks for itself.
And right now, Kim Chaemin is…
“You’ve only ever been in this one dungeon…? Never mind. What’s the point of arguing now. Water! Who here can control atmospheric moisture?”
Instead of remembering the names of a dozen mages, Kim Chaemin labeled them by attribute.
I bet these mages had never been treated like this before. Their faces twisted with wounded pride. But with the archmage herself speaking, none of them dared object—except for that one earlier.
“Look at this. Unbelievable. Out of six water mages, only one can do it? Aren’t you ashamed to call yourselves mages?”
“…Even if you’re an archmage, isn’t that a bit much?”
Kim Chaemin snapped her fingers.
Tiny droplets of water formed around her.
“I can do it, too.”
“……”
The Kim Chaemin before me now was different from the one I’d always known.
If I had to categorize her, I’d call her Archmage Kim Chaemin.
Kim Chaemin, who never hesitates to use her power. Who doesn’t flinch from showing it off.
She openly belittled and dismissed the mages. Normally, she’d never get close to someone like that, but…
The reason she was acting this way was to deal with the monster that had crawled out of the dungeon.
Whether as Teacher Kim Chaemin, Mage Kim Chaemin, or the angry Archmage Kim Chaemin—
She was still Kim Chaemin. The same Kim Chaemin who once risked her life to save a foolish Hunter who had nothing to do with her.
“Ms. Kim.”
“What do you think is the best way to tackle this?”
“I have a few ideas, but first we need to confirm exactly what that thing is.”
Fungal monsters are rare. Twenty years from now, any dungeon with such monsters would just be burned and closed. My sister was good at that.
I had almost no data on fungal monsters that escaped a dungeon break.
Richard had explained everything he knew, but it wasn’t enough. He’d never entered the dungeon himself. It’s hard to describe something you’ve never experienced.
There are a few guilds based in Marseille. Right now, I bet the real mages weren’t even paying attention to these clowns—they were already heading for the monster.
…At least, they’d better be. I had enough trouble with mages as it was.
“Richard. The guild that manages that dungeon—”
BEEP!
Just as I was about to ask if he could contact the guild, a sharp horn blared. It was a police officer, helping evacuate citizens.
“Hey! Move to the shelter, quickly!”
A faint aura of magic trembled around the approaching officer. An Awakened. Not strong enough to be a Hunter, but strong enough to run around the city like this.
The officer stopped as he approached us, having spotted something hidden by the crowd. Like a man tightly bound in magical vines.
Kim Chaemin spoke to the officer.
“I’m a mage.”
“…A mage? For the conference?”
“Yes. I’m here to deal with that thing…”
“You’re going to handle that as a mage?”
The officer’s eyes went wide. He sounded genuinely shocked at the idea of a mage dealing with a monster. Clearly, mage negligence wasn’t a new thing…
Did my father not know about European mages like this? Maybe it was too long ago, or he just never told me. But if it were Hong Seok-young, he would have told me.
…Did he really not know?
How could he not?
But maybe he really didn’t. Like in Toulon, when a guild brings in an outside Hunter, they provide all the necessary supplies—including mages.
Not all European mages are like this. There must be those who take dungeon raids seriously or just want to use their magic. Hong Seok-young must have only met those mages. The ones who had nothing to do with dungeon raids would never have met him.
Kim Chaemin, unlike how she’d treated the mages, explained politely.
“I’m not from Europe.”
The officer nodded.
“I thought so. And this one?”
He pointed at the bound mage. Kim Chaemin shrugged.
“He wouldn’t listen.”
“Hm. Well, mages should handle mage business.”
…Is this really okay?
If not, the archmage would take care of it. I joined the conversation.
Since I wasn’t a mage, I relied on official documents. An international Hunter license works wonders.
The officer’s eyes went wide as he checked my license.
“S-rank Hunter?”
The mages who’d ignored me up until now all turned their attention my way. Even mages can’t ignore an S-rank Hunter.
“Can you contact the guild that manages that dungeon?”
“Uh… yes. I can…”
“I’d like to offer support.”
“J-just a moment. Are the mages going with you?”
“Yes. And for your reference, that’s an archmage.”
“A-an archmage?”
“This is Archmage Kim Chaemin, from the Republic of Korea!”
Kim Chaemin waved.
The officer, hands shaking, picked up his radio.
One of the major Marseille-based guilds: Dantes.
…Whoever named the guild has a peculiar sense of humor. Or maybe they’re just a fan of Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.
Either way, it’s better than “Mimi.”
The master of Dantes was young. No, she was a kid—maybe mid-twenties at most. Her lively voice suggested she might be even younger than she looked.
“They’re really here! What brings such VIPs?”
“Eva!”
“You’re not telling us to get lost, are you?”
“If they wanted that, they’d have said so already.”
The whole guild seemed to be about the same age. I hadn’t expected a big-city guild like this to be so… young.
“Who’s the guild master?”
“That’s me! Eva Robinson.”
“I’m Woo Heejae, of Guild Mimi.”
“Mimi? That sounds familiar.”
Thanks to Hong Seok-young’s reputation, even the guild was getting famous.
“You’ve probably heard of us because our master is Hong Seok-young.”
The place went dead silent. Even the mages Kim Chaemin had dragged along.
I spoke again.
“I’m his disciple and the guild’s vice-master. This is our guest mage, Kim Chaemin. You’ve probably heard—she’s an archmage.”
“You should have led with the archmage part. Ms. Robinson, let’s skip the introductions and get down to business, given the situation.”
Robinson rolled her eyes, then grabbed the woman standing behind her.
“Marie, am I really supposed to handle this?”
“You’re the master—who else would?”
“But Hong Seok-young? An archmage? Isn’t this a C-rank dungeon?”
The Hunter called Marie pointed to the towering black spore pillar in the national park.
“You really think that’s going to stay a C-rank?!”
“…No.”
“Then get your head on straight, idiot!!”
…Marseille was a mess too. Were there no other guilds? There had to be more in a city this big.
Meanwhile, I whispered to Kim Chaemin—just in case, keeping my voice low so no one else could hear.
“That woman.”
“Who?”
“The brown-haired Hunter behind the master.”
I glanced at the Hunter named Marie.
“Marie Lambert. She’s one of Noah Michel’s close associates—or will be.”
“Her?”
“She was Michel’s head of security. That’s why I remember her.”
If I’d known about Michel’s true identity, I’d have checked out her associates.
When Michel visited Korea, her security team had asked for cooperation, so I barely remembered her face. At the time, I’d thought it was overkill for a mage to have a security team. If not for that, I wouldn’t have recognized Marie Lambert.
Lambert’s face was unscarred. I frowned. The name Noah Michel felt like sand in my mouth.
“Ahem, well, the monster isn’t active right now. We’re prioritizing evacuating civilians.”
“It’s gotten bigger, but its behavior hasn’t changed from what we saw inside the dungeon.”
“…And you are?”
“Oh, I’m Marie Lambert, vice-master of Dantes.”
“If the behavior’s the same… you’ve figured out its weakness?”
“We were just discussing that…”
“Having mages here is a big help! Right, Marie?”
“Shut up, Eva…”
Lambert scolded Robinson, but didn’t actually disagree. Robinson just grinned.
Robinson might be the master, but Lambert seemed to be the real power. It was Lambert who explained how to deal with the monster.
“The fastest way is to burn it. But controlling the fire is the tricky part…”
“Leave that to us.”
Kim Chaemin clapped twice. Clap, clap.
“Fire group! Gather up!”
“…Fire group?”
“Water to the left!”
“Water?”
I didn’t bother to explain, just shrugged. The mages shuffled around awkwardly. There were only two in the fire group. Didn’t matter—I was here.
“The job is simple. Start the fire, then put it out.”
“……”
“Easy, right?”
“……”
“Hmm. How much can I trust your skills? Mr. Woo, should we just not use them?”
“Let’s give them a chance. Maybe they’ll be useful.”
“It’d be safer if you did it yourself.”
“Well…”
I shook my head. I hated that I couldn’t honestly say no.
But instead of admitting it, I turned to Robinson and Lambert.
“Our archmage says that thing is photosynthesizing. Have you checked how it reacts to fire?”
“……”
A heavy silence fell.
Robinson rolled her eyes, and Lambert avoided my gaze. The other guild members looked at the ground, the sky, or just whistled and pretended not to notice.
Good grief.
How did Europe last twenty years without collapsing?