I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 9

“Come out.”

Despite Randell’s words, the back alley of the lord’s castle remained silent.

But as Randell continued to stare at one spot without turning his head, there was finally a response.

Step, step.

From the shadowy alley Randell had passed through, unfamiliar men emerged.

There were three of them.

The men swaggered as they spoke.

“Ha. Well, the wizard seems to have a good sense.”

“I thought you were a fool because you were walking alone.”

Randell glanced at them.

The rough-looking men each held a club in their hands. A dagger was also visible at their waists.

But they were loosely strapped, dangling. Their bodies were somewhat sturdy, but they didn’t seem to be seriously trained.

So, what kind of guys are they?

The answer was simple.

They were clearly the kind of guys who strutted around the back alleys of the lord’s castle.

Randell, who had quickly assessed the situation, asked.

“What do you want?”

“In this situation, what do you think? Are you too young to understand?”

“You seem to have made some money in the past couple of days… How about sharing a bit?”

“Huh.”

Randell let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

“Do you guys know that I’m a wizard?”

“What? A wizard? Hahaha!”

The men laughed, shaking their shoulders at Randell’s words as if it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

Then they spat on the ground and said.

“Hey, kid, did you think we wouldn’t know how old you are just because you’re wearing a robe?”

“A guy without a guard, what kind of wizard is that?”

“At your age, how many circles could you have? Try casting a spell, and we’ll run up and smash your head in.”

The men spoke with confident voices as they slowly approached Randell.

Their steps showed that, despite their words, they were afraid of what a wizard might do.

“Uh? W-wait a minute.”

Then, as if realizing his situation, Randell stammered and held out his hand.

A gesture to stop them from coming any closer.

His fingertips were trembling with fear.

The men sneered at the sight.

Any lingering fear that he might have something hidden like a true wizard vanished.

At that moment, Randell spoke again.

“Water.”

A voice as dry as dust, belying the trembling hand.

With that incantation, the magic was activated.

Splash.

It was the most basic of basics, a spell that summoned a bucketful of water in midair.

The water magic was just ordinary water, with no lethal power.

It was just clean water that could quench one’s thirst.

But the problem was where the water appeared.

“…!?”

The man leisurely approaching from the front was suddenly startled as his head was engulfed in water.

Naturally, he gasped, and at the same time, the water surrounding his head went down his throat.

“Gah? Gurgle!”

The man, his airway blocked, panicked and clawed at the water around his head.

Each time, chunks of water were torn away.

It was only a 1-circle spell, so it was to be expected.

‘Panicking.’

In fact, if you thought about it, the man wasn’t going to die.

There was so little water that he could drink it all before he suffocated.

But anyone would panic in such a situation if they experienced it for the first time.

‘I’m the only one who uses water magic like this.’

It was a unique combat method devised by Randel, who could only cast 1-circle spells due to his slow casting speed.

“Hey, Hans!”

“This, this b*stard!”

In the sudden situation, the two men were equally flustered.

They belatedly rushed at Randel.

They seemed to think that if they caught the magician Randel, the water would disappear.

“……”

But Randel began casting, regardless of whether the two were rushing at him or not.

Seeing this, the men cheered.

The distance between Randel and them was about 10 meters.

Considering the commonly known casting time of a wizard, it was impossible to complete the spell.

“Got you, you b*stard…!”

Soon, the man who ran first tried to grab Randel by the collar.

But just before that.

“Magic Arrow.”

Randel muttered the incantation, extending his hand right in front of the man’s face.

Flinch.

Just like before, the man hesitated at the voice that was not mixed with a single grain of panic.

He knew in his head that it was impossible for the casting to be completed so quickly.

But the image of his comrade who had just been hit flashed through his mind, and he reflexively faltered.

And that was correct.

This time, the men were right.

Nothing happened from Randel’s hand.

“Damn it!”

The man who had flinched grimaced fiercely.

It was natural, having been fooled twice by the kid he had underestimated.

Swish.

But then, Randel’s hand, which had been stretched out as if casting a spell, slid down.

The man realized belatedly that his wrist was caught by that hand.

It was so natural that he noticed it late.

Randel yanked that hand forward.

“What the…?”

The man, caught off guard by the sudden movement, lost his balance and was pulled towards Randel.

At the same time, a dark shadow shot up towards his lower jaw.

Thud!

Randel’s knee, rising vertically, struck the man’s chin.

With the sound of something breaking, the strength left the man’s eyes.

Thud.

Randel, foaming at the mouth, spoke to the man who had collapsed.

“This is the Randel-style physical Magic Arrow.”

“Don’t mess with me!”

The last man who saw the scene from right behind clenched his teeth and charged.

The man thought.

The distance between them was literally just a step away.

This time, there would be no time to cast a spell even if he beat him to death.

But this time too.

Randell stretched out his hand firmly and said.

“Fire.”

“You b*stard! Do you think I’ll fall for it three times…!”

Whoosh.

What suddenly appeared in front of the man charging like a wild boar was a ball of fire.

The fireball, about the size of a fist, was small and not that hot.

But if it scorches your face, the story changes.

“aaargh!”

The man, feeling a burning pain near his eyes, covered his face with both hands and staggered back.

Randell kicked off the ground and struck the man’s shin.

Crack.

The sound alone was enough to make one’s bones ache, and the man fell to his knees.

Randell went behind the man and choked him with his arm.

“Grrr…”

The man, who briefly clawed at Randell’s arm, soon passed out.

At that moment, a joyful shout was heard from the other side.

“Phew! Finally escaped. Where’s that little brat? I’m going to…!”

“Going to what?”

“Going to… uh.”

“So, what.”

The man who had escaped from the fireball couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

His friends, who had done this kind of thing more than once or twice, were lying on the ground side by side.

Moreover, that little wizard kid didn’t have a single scratch on him.

“How could a kid…?”

“Are you going to take down two grown men?”

The man staggered back, avoiding the approaching Randel.

Randel kindly answered him.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

* * *

“Phew, annoying b*stards.”

Randel clapped his hands and looked around the corner of the alley.

There, three men with broken limbs were lying unconscious, side by side.

Despite his grumbling, a satisfied smile played on Randel’s lips.

‘Who knew short casting could be this amazing.’

He had expected it, but using it in actual combat was beyond his imagination.

‘It’s great for mixing with close combat.’

Randel had basic skills in swordsmanship and martial arts.

He had learned bits and pieces from friendly mercenaries whenever he had the time.

It might seem like just bits and pieces, but when they came together, he became quite skilled among the mercenaries.

‘Well, to survive, I had no choice but to learn diligently.’

Most wizards dislike moving their bodies.

Some even consider learning swordsmanship disgraceful.

Nevertheless, the reason Randel, a wizard, learned swordsmanship and martial arts was very simple.

‘Of course, it’s because of the casting time.’

Usually, wizards travel with guards because of the casting time.

The guards block the enemies while the wizard completes the spell in a safe place.

But who would assign guards to a half-baked wizard like Randel?

Moreover, Randel spent most of his time wandering as a mercenary rather than in the regular army.

So, to avoid being stabbed to death by a stray blade during missions, he had to learn whatever he could.

‘Soon, I won’t need to do this anymore.’

Using martial arts was only necessary up to the 2nd circle.

Once he reached the 3rd circle, and his casting time was reduced to about 2 seconds, he wouldn’t need to get close to the enemy at all.

Before they could approach, he could hit them with dozens of fireballs, turning most enemies into a handful of ashes.

“…Hmm?”

Randell, who was deep in thought, squinted his eyes.

It was because something familiar suddenly caught his eye.

It was a ring on a man’s finger.

A familiar ring.

Thud.

“Ugh!”

Seeing that, Randell kicked the man.

He kicked him so mercilessly that the unconscious man rolled over twice, making a choking sound.

“Ugh! Cough, cough! What the… Ugh!”

The man, who had woken up in pain, soon saw Randell and shut his mouth.

Randell’s gaze was so fierce that it was terrifying.

Step, step.

Randell approached the man and squatted in front of him.

Then he took the ring from the man’s hand, held it up in front of his eyes, and asked,

“Do you know what this is?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“You don’t know the ring you were just wearing?”

“Oh, oh! I remember. A friend…”

“A friend gave you the ring I appraised?”

At Randell’s sarcasm, the man shut his mouth.

“Where did you get it?”

The man averted his eyes and confessed.

“I just… I just wanted to know what it was appraised for. But that guy… he hid it…”

“What did he do?”

“He just took the ring and let me go.”

The man spoke desperately, as if begging to be believed.

But Randell had been through a lot.

He could easily tell if this guy was lying by looking at his trembling eyes.

“Sigh.”

Randell felt bitter at the sight.

The image of the middle-aged man’s frail back came to mind.

‘This is why he was so worried.’

For the powerless, treasure is a curse.

If it hadn’t been for his daughter, he wouldn’t have even mentioned it and would have told him to live in ignorance.

But now that he knew, he hoped he would be wise, not greedy, sell it at a reasonable price, and have a better life.

But he was wrong.

It didn’t matter at all what kind of artifact the ring was.

The fact that the middle-aged man visited Randel meant that he had the artifact.

The disaster had already begun to sprout from that moment.

“Ugh…”

While Randel wore a troubled expression, the other two men also woke up.

Randel looked at the three of them and muttered.

“These b*stards, I was just going to break a leg each and let them go…”

Usually, when Randel encountered such robbers, he took them to the guards for trial.

Sometimes they were in cahoots with the guards, and sometimes they received severe punishment.

If he acted on his own, he could become a criminal too, so it was easier that way.

But now, there was no time for that.

He had to get home quickly; there was no time for such things.

So he thought of just breaking a leg cleanly and making them suffer for a few months.

‘But this changes things.’

It’s not that he had anything with that middle-aged man.

But isn’t it human to be angry at injustice?

‘Me too…’

Randel had spent most of his life being taken advantage of by others.

He was ignored at the academy for being a commoner, used and then expelled from the wizard guild, and his family was killed by goblins…

The middle-aged man’s life didn’t seem like someone else’s.

“……”

As Randel looked at the man, he suddenly felt around his waist.

And what he pulled out was a dagger.

The dagger, used for cutting herbs or skinning animals, was small but sharp.

Swoosh.

Randell lifted the dagger before his eyes and examined it briefly.

The surface of the dagger reflected Randell’s eyes, gleaming with anger, scattering the light sharply.

“Gasp…!”

The man at the front gasped for breath.

A wizard drawing a dagger instead of casting a spell?

The man instinctively knew.

The wizard’s eyes had completely turned.

From now on, this young wizard wasn’t going to ‘deal’ with him as an opponent.

He was going to ‘handle’ him like a beast.

Skinning him, draining his blood…

As chills ran down his spine, the man began to struggle desperately.

“Wa-wait! No, it’s not!”

“What’s not?”

“I-I didn’t kill him. Really. We locked him up in our hideout!”

“Hideout? Where?”

“Th-there, under the tavern…”

Randell, who had been looking down at the man for a moment, retrieved his dagger.

Then he spoke coldly.

“Lead the way. I hope you make a wise choice.”