21st Century Archmage

“Giddy-up, you guys! Hiya! Hiya!”

Neeeeiggh! Clop, clop, clop, clop!

Having stayed the night at the castle and woken up at the crack of dawn, Hans was excitedly driving the newest carriage model drawn by two horses. Since there was no real need to linger at the castle, we packed a few daily necessities and left early in the morning.

‘Naisu~!

I was propping myself up with an arm atop a thick blanket on the floor of the carriage, feeling the bumpy rotation of the wheels.

‘I guess its about time we left, I mused. If possible, I would have liked to leave the village only after reaching the 5th Circle, but an enlightenment wasnt something that could be solved like a math problem. Besides, I couldnt stay in Luna Village forever. My mind was like the endless blue sky I could see from my position laying down—I yearned to explore.

‘I need more info. General knowledge about this world.

Even the chief, who was apparently the smartest one in the village, was just a neighborhood pitcher, not a Major League player. At most, he knew about a few gods, kingdoms and a few other scraps of knowledge that even I already knew.

‘I asked Jamir to get some potions, so those are taken care of. With all those goods I ordered, as long as theyre used well, the village can last several years, no problem. After that… theyre on their own.

My relationship with Luna Village had started because they happened to save my life. I had already done my utmost for them. I couldnt continue to live for them forever.

“H-hey, Kyre!”

Suddenly, the rattling carriage stopped, and Hans called me with a fearful voice.

“Yaawn! Whats up? We shouldnt be far from the village…”

I yawned wide as I stretched and raised my head. The sight outside made my body pause mid-stretch.

‘Who are those hyung-nims?

[T/N: Hyung-nim is a term of respect for an elder brother, much like aniki in Japanese.]

The only road heading to Luna Village cut through a few small forests and an uninhabited stretch of plains. Blocking the road were around twenty figures on horseback.

“Hans, do you know them?”

“Is this a time for jokes, Kyre? They must be bandits who were keeping an eye on us.” Putting shame to his size, Hans trembled as he named the mounted people bandits.

‘I was bored anyway, so this is perfect.

They could be bandits who observed us making a fuss in the territory and followed us, like Hans said, or they could be connected to the no-good Daron Merchants, who were grinding their teeth at me. I thought they were most likely the latter.

‘That jerk, sending these thugs.

There was no reason for me, a person who had even killed a demon beast, to fear these bandits who looked half-baked at first sight.

“Hans.”

“Wh-what should we do, Kyre? Just give them everything and beg them to spare our lives. Then theyll…”

“Sleep.”

At my quiet chant, Hans fell into the deep embrace of sleep.

‘Memorize life FTW. Youre all dead meat!

I couldnt just allow those who came looking for trouble where there was none to walk away scot-free.

Craaack. I cracked my hands as I rose from the carriage floor.

‘Twenty people. Perfect.

We were about half a day of travels distance by carriage from the village. On this wide, empty plain, there wasnt a single person who would help me.

Thu-thu-thump! My foes began to move.

I jumped from the carriage, landing with a light thud. Then, I stood there, tapping my feet in time with the enemys charge.

* * *

“Huhu, you must be the fearless kid from Luna Village.”

Just as I expected, these people definitely knew me.

‘Mercenaries? No, thats not it…?

These guys had a completely different feel from the free-spirited mercenaries who had come to our village. Except for the man in his early forties who was swaggering in the front, the men lined up behind him were showing controlled movements like trained soldiers.

“Who might you be?” I asked, cocking my head.

“Us? Kukuku, youre asking a lot for a dead man.”

“Did the piggy merchant from Daron, Ryan, send you? From the looks of it, yall arent mercenaries. Is it alright for you to persecute citizens like this without the lords permission?”

“……”

Surprised by my bullseye, the men looked at each other uneasily.

‘Theyre soldiers, huh.

As I thought, they were definitely soldiers sent under the scheming of Ryan and that administrator. By now, the story of my trade with the Rubis Merchants must have spread in the small city, and the administrator was surely afraid that his dirty laundry would be exposed because of the lord.

“Youre quite something for a youngster,” uttered the person who looked like the boss with a dangerously low voice. At the same time, the group of soldiers began to emanate bloodthirst. Bringing up the lord had definitely provoked them.

“Tsk tsk, those who live on taxes paid by the citizens should know some shame. Have you nothing better to do than to play bandit! Shit!”

Clatter!

“Shut your mouth!”

Upon hearing my brief verbal thrashing, the soldiers began to draw their swords while mounted.

‘Horseback soldiers without any armor on… Will the lord find out if I give them a bit of punishment?

The cavalry had surely left their armor behind somewhere before coming here. Unlike regular soldiers, mounted cavalry were probably a pretty important part of the territorys fighting force.

“Kill him!”

“Understood!”

As soon as the order from the man at the front came down, one of the mounted soldiers came charging over, urging his horse into a gallop.

‘Dont make me laugh.

As if trying to kill me with one swing, he swung his sword with a big movement while atop his horse.

CLANG!

I put a slight amount of mana into the sword given to me by the chief and met the soldiers descending sword.

“Uwah!”

Flop. The sword flew out of his hand from the unexpected parry, and the impact traveled into the soldiers body at the same time, sending him rolling to the ground.

Bam! Unable to gather his bearings after falling down, the soldier took a low kick to the head from me and fainted.

“Ah!”

The soldiers let out cries of surprise as they witnessed their colleague get eliminated by a single exchange.

“So there was something more to you. Huhu, it still doesnt change the fact that you will be finished here today.”

“Who says? Mate, do you have the balls?”

I imitated a cocky thugs mannerisms to provoke the guy who looked like the leader.

‘This guy is a knight.

Not only was the angered man giving orders to the other soldiers, but traces of mana were also flowing from his body.

“Kill him!” came the order again.

Neeeeeighh! Ba-ba-dum ba-ba-dum!