Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

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Regan is the place where all currents converge.

Where people gather, currents follow.

What are these currents?

The flow of money, the flow of information, the flow of people.

We call these currents “맥脈” (maek-mak).

Like the branches of a river, money, information, and people all converge in one place. They exhibit movements entirely different from a river that starts from a source and flows towards the sea.

Yes. Their flow is retrograde.

Those who already possess much can acquire even more.

It’s like how heavier things gather around heavier things, as if drawn by gravity.

“And naturally, items gather too!”

After washing up, I felt somewhat clear-headed. It seemed like things that weren’t visible before became a bit more transparent.

For some reason, despite soaking in the bathtub for so long, my body didn’t prune at all.

I thought for sure my fingers and skin would be wrinkled. No harm done, right? No need to overthink it.

In conclusion, after finishing my bath, I waited for Skylar to finish his bath too… as soon as he was done, I suggested we explore Regan together.

Honestly, I might have been okay with admitting I wanted to look for magical items to assist with my poor health.

“I don’t want to make him worry.”

I wanted to handle things I could do by myself.

I wanted to say I was okay without having to speak it out loud.

I couldn’t define the exact emotion, but I think I didn’t want to show my flaws to Skylar.

In fact, it seemed I had already been caught for being weak and that something bad would happen if it wasn’t resolved soon, but I just wanted to say it was nothing.

“You don’t have to worry. It’s fine.” That sort of thing.

My neck hurt. My joints creaked. I had pretended I wasn’t in pain and ignored it up to this point, but now my body was breaking down to a point I couldn’t ignore.

“Skylar.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know a good magic item shop nearby?”

“I don’t know a specific place, but I could say whether what’s on display looks good.”

“So you mean you’re able to find something. You really twist your words to be hard to interpret.”

“It’s basic for a wizard to have a ‘seeming impressive tone.’ They’re all folks eager to show off their knowledge. Including myself.”

“That kind of tone makes it seem less impressive instead.”

“…Is that so?”

It would be Skylar’s turn to attack me now. But surprisingly, he just accepted my words calmly; that’s shocking.

They say if someone suddenly changes, it’s time to die. Could it be that having a mental age of 200 years made my brain decide it was nearing death and thus changed my personality?

I thought Skylar would respond amusingly to such a statement, but better to hold back as it could sour our relationship.

How long had we been walking?

I spotted a magic item shop that looked somewhat decent.

In a glass display case, ornate and expensive-looking accessories were laid out, and the shop was neatly maintained, giving a high-end impression even at a glance.

“That’s a scam.”

“Huh?”

“A truly quality magic item shop wouldn’t promote itself like that. It seems more like a store catering to those unfamiliar with magic items.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. It’s no different from a jewelry store. The engravings and circuits are at best minor enhancements; I could etch that much on a scroll.”

Minor enhancements would mean around a +1…?

That much enhancement is fine.

I mean, a person has 10 fingers and 10 toes, right? Why not just buy 10 +1 accessories?

“No, logically, you can’t apply that kind of duplication. The stats reflect only a single difference, but during character creation, it was explained that the actual difference could be several times.”

—And then, Skylar suddenly took my hand.

I was startled but pretended to be calm and accepted his guidance.

My heart raced, but it didn’t show on the outside. Does rhetoric help mask emotions? Or am I just desperately acting?

There was no way to know.

Time flowed slowly. It felt like we walked an eternity even though our hands only touched for a brief moment.

This feeling… is it…?

It wasn’t excitement. It was simply that my body felt unwell, with creaky joints and screaming muscles.

Isn’t there a saying that time flows slowly while maintaining a plank position? It must be something like that.

I took a moment to catch my breath, and after a while, I could lift my head to survey my surroundings.

The shabby alleyway came into view.

The security didn’t seem good, and the people’s clothes looked much more ragged compared to the crowd we had seen earlier.

It was an impolite thought, but I was just stating facts.

A few people looked at us with eyes that seemed to see us as luscious fruit, and as Skylar pulled out the adventurer badge from his cloak, we bolted.

Skylar came closer to me, reached into his pocket, and retrieved my adventurer badge.

“It might be better to reveal that it’s a silver badge.”

“…Yeah. That makes sense. But why did we come to a place like this?”

“Those managing magic item shops are just wizards, differing only in their fields. They would prefer locations with fewer people over crowded ones.”

“Is there even a market here?”

“It’s not important for them; after all, their main customers are wizards from the Mage Tower who don’t pay much attention to trade areas.”

“So they target people who would travel from afar if the quality is good.”

“Correct.”

As Skylar glanced around cautiously, he took careful steps forward.

Though I couldn’t channel my magic due to the enchantment on the scrolls in my sight, I still sensed a slight trace… similar to the presence of magic.

So I could grasp the direction Skylar was heading.

Skylar was currently detecting magic and tracking it back.

Magic items are tools with etched circuits and engravings infused with magical energy. The efficiency and performance are determined by how many and how precisely the circuits and engravings are inscribed.

While I referred to them as items, “item” includes things found in dungeons or ruins that can’t simply be created through circuits and engravings.

In a small context, using the term “magic items” was accurate.

“Honestly, it doesn’t have to be specifically a magic item.”

Items that weren’t magic instruments have their downsides. Good items with no debuffs or negative traits are… extraordinarily expensive.

And if there are debuffs or negative traits? They’re cheap, but placing even more curses or negatives on my already suffering body would be madness.

“Unless it’s a cursed item with insomnia attached…”

Right. In that case, it might be worth testing whether my body can endure it…

After a while, Skylar began moving a bit faster.

The sensing presence grew stronger, and it seemed we were nearing our destination.

“Umm… uh…”

Skylar started hesitating before the shop. The entrance was right before us, yet he seemed to check my reactions while keeping his feet glued to the ground.

The reason was simpler than expected.

The shop was far more run-down than imagined.

To begin with, there was no entrance. Or rather, to be precise, there was merely a square hole that looked like a person could enter.

Yeah. There was no “door.”

Not only that, but the roof was practically collapsed, and the walls had spots needing repairs.

Since it was a wooden structure, the framework was fully exposed, making it unnecessary to elaborate on how flimsy this place was.

However, one thing stood out: we couldn’t see the interior.

It was as if a blackout curtain shielded certain parts and blocked all light.

To cut to the chase, the house in front of us was… a decaying structure riddled with holes that somehow showed no signs of what lay inside.

It looked as if it belonged to another world.

“There’s a barrier.”

“…A barrier?”

“Well, there’s a sign. It’s definitely a magic item shop… but it gives off a dangerous vibe.”

“You hesitated a bit when you said it was certain.”

“Yeah.”

Should we really be going in here?

—

Barrier.

One of the means used by wizards to partition the world.

From outside to inside, inside to outside. There are various applications based on direction.

Closing the world with a barrier and employing grand magic within is already well-known.

Among the binding spells, there are those related to barriers.

—

“No, that’s not the kind of information I’m looking for.”

After the status window vanished and a little time passed, it reappeared.

This time, it was different information.

—

A nameless magic item shop.

A suspicious store that separates the outside world and the shop’s interior with a barrier.

Seemingly owned by a very skilled wizard.

—

‘…It doesn’t exactly say it’s safe until the end.’

Aside from enough common knowledge to glean from a glance, it didn’t provide any more information than that, but I hadn’t expected much to begin with.

Honestly, even giving only basic information was enough for someone like me, who came from another world.

Anyway, it was time for a choice.