Barbarian in a Failed Game

Ron’s day starts early in the morning.

“You’ve been researching until dawn again, haven’t you?”

As usual, Ron found Jan passed out on the desk, exhausted. He lifted Jan and placed him on the bed, then roughly tidied up the cluttered desk.

Despite the fact that being affiliated with the Magic Tower provided a decent salary which could be used to hire someone for cleaning, mages were extremely sensitive about the leakage of their research materials, so Ron had no choice but to take care of it himself.

‘I have no idea what any of this means.’

Although this meant that Jan trusted him that much, from Ron’s perspective, the records filled with magical knowledge were incredibly difficult to understand.

Even now, after having become somewhat accustomed to the imperial language, it was still challenging, and it would likely continue to be so in the future.

The reason he was certain of this was not for any other reason. When he had arrived at the Magic Tower with Jan, he had taken a light test to see if he could be initiated into magic, but the conclusion was that it was impossible.

Although he later learned that the test was based on the standards of a ‘Magic Tower Mage’, which slightly alleviated his sense of self-reproach, it seemed certain that he had no talent for magic.

Even with Jan’s help, he had only managed to learn two lower-level spells in his spare time.

‘Didn’t they say that most Magic Tower mages can cast at least lower-level spells after just a week?’

He was so shocked when a colleague from the Magic Tower, who had recently become a friend due to their similar situations, told him this. Moreover, Jan’s status within the Magic Tower was not as low as he had initially thought.

According to his friend, even the Tower Masters were paying attention to Jan’s recent growth.

Ding.

Ron deftly removed the mana stone embedded in its slot and replaced it with a new one. One of the most astonishing things he had encountered since he started staying at the Magic Tower – or rather, the Empire – was this.

The so-called technology, a byproduct of ‘Dwarven Magic Engineering’. In the case of the device he had just replaced the mana stone in, it regulated the indoor temperature to a comfortable level.

‘This place really feels like another world.’

Of course, not all households in the Empire enjoyed this benefit. The Magic Tower, being akin to a sanctuary for the Empire’s scholars, not only trialed these less-disseminated technologies but also enabled their cost-effective use with the Tower’s support.

Outside, it was only used by nobles, wealthy merchants, or landowners. This alone was enough proof of the significant gap between the Empire and other countries.

‘By Imperial standards, the Argon royalty lives no differently from commoners…’

After finishing the replacement of the mana stone, Ron gathered his equipment. Today, he had to go out to collect a sample of magical materials, so he had to move more diligently.

“Was it like this…?”

Standing in front of a door with no handle, Ron closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. A small flame flickered at his fingertips, and after a moment, the door opened by itself.

The door responded to mana patterns. Honestly, this technology was beyond Ron’s understanding, so he only had a vague idea – enough to get by. Still, there were some aspects that piqued his curiosity.

‘I wonder how someone without mana would get through here….’

To be honest, with that kind of brute strength, he might just crumple the door made of special metal with his bare hands. Stepping outside, Ron headed straight for the administrative mage of the Magic Tower.

It went without saying that the staff themselves were mages. Outside the Magic Tower, they had been considered prodigies. But by the standards of the Magic Tower, they weren’t even considered exceptional, so they learned magic in exchange for assisting with various chores.

“Ah, Ron! You’re diligent as always.”

“I have to gather some Appronon Gray Herbs.”

“Are you heading to the cultivation area? Right, the outcome varies greatly depending on the water level. You must need the best quality available from the cultivation area.”

“I’m going because Jan needs it. Honestly, I can’t tell much difference between the ones stored in the Tower and the ones gathered outside….”

“That could be. It’s not commonly handled, after all. There aren’t many people in the Magic Tower who deal with it. Its nature is so tricky that controlling it is usually quite a hassle.”

“Got it. Thanks for the new info. Take care today.”

As soon as Ron turned his back after being seen off by the administrative mage with a smile, he stifled a sigh.

‘Why do mages always have so much unnecessary information to share?’

It was a thought Khan might have groaned at, clutching his nape. But Ron sincerely felt a sense of dread whenever mages opened their mouths.

What else could you call these relentless spouts of magical knowledge, which nobody else could comprehend, but a disaster?

Fortunately, Ron had recently learned how to deal with mages, but during his first encounter with the administrative mage, he had been trapped in a discussion about magic for an hour.

With the administrative mage doing nine-tenths of the talking.

“You’re quicker today? Looks like you’re getting used to it.”

“Like it or not, I have to.”

“Though you’re quite the chatterbox yourself, mages do seem to be on a different level.”

Ron exchanged greetings with a newly acquainted colleague at the Magic Tower entrance and responded to the joke with a faint smile.

This cocky young man was quite a well-known mercenary in the empire, referred to as the ‘Magic Swordsman’. Not even thirty years old and already a Gold Badge Mercenary, he was someone with the unique background of running errands for the Magic Tower while learning magic.

“Still, what can we do? In the empire, the royal family, the church, and the Magic Tower are untouchable domains. Servants like us have to know our place.”

“Aren’t you the type who doesn’t easily bow to others?”

“Me? Haha—! Now that’s a funny joke.”

The Magic Swordsman, who was tying his unusually long brown hair into a ponytail, burst into laughter.

“You still aren’t accustomed to the ways of the empire, it seems. Once you spend some time outside the Magic Tower, you’ll see. The empire is full of people like me.”

“Huuh…”

Ron could only sigh, unsure how to respond.

Given that the name ‘Magic Swordsman Veil’ was famous for being able to stand toe-to-toe with the higher-ranking knights of the empire, there must be a reason why Veil downplayed himself so much.

“Enough of that. Let’s head to the cultivation area. Even if we set out now, we’ll only get there by the afternoon.”

“Let’s go.”

By the time they arrived at the cultivation area, the sun was high in the sky. The peculiar nature of this place meant that once you were inside, it was difficult to keep track of time outside.

“If it’s Appronon Gray Herbs, the direction’s a bit different. The stuff for that unlucky guy is on the other side.”

“Wanna bet on who finds it first?”

“No thanks. Just honestly say you want me to buy you dinner. Damn it, Ron.”

“What! I’d appreciate it if you did that.”

“I’m not saying I will… Alright, I’ll put you in your place today.”

“Do your best!” Ron exchanged teasing words with Veil and then headed inside at a leisurely pace.

The Magic Tower’s ‘cultivation area’ was essentially a gigantic artificial garden. Its immense scale, larger than most major cities, was quintessentially imperial. Or perhaps, quintessentially Magic Tower.

The reason for creating such a massive garden was simple. Procuring the highest quality research samples from the market was often difficult, so they created an environment where they could cultivate and harvest them as needed.

‘I can definitely feel there’s more mana here…’

If even Ron, whose mana sensitivity was dulled, could feel it, then it must be incredibly dense indeed.

“Is it this way?”

Sniffing around as he walked towards the natural habitat of the Appronon Gray Herbs, Ron twitched his nose.

There wasn’t any actual scent, but he had a feeling that the herbs were nearby.

“Of course!”

And naturally, his intuition was correct. Ron’s intuition, which used to sharply react to ‘crisis’ situations, had broadened its range over time during his journey with Khan, responding even to trivial matters.

‘It’s truly amazing.’

Ron hadn’t actively tried to hone his natural intuition, yet somehow, his ability seemed to be growing on its own.

Ron wasn’t the only one who had experienced similar phenomena. Jan, already known as a prodigious genius, had recently begun astonishing even his mentor, Jerome, to the point of leaving him speechless.

“Is there really something special about you….”

Amidst these various thoughts. As the sun started to set, Ron finished his harvesting and headed out of the cultivation area.

“How on earth do you find them so quickly?”

“All done by intuition. Haha!”

“Times are tough these days…”

Just as Ron, having won the bet once again, burst into laughter and prepared to return to the Magic Tower, he was suddenly approached by another mage who seemed to have been waiting for his return.

“Magus Jerome urgently requests your presence.”

“Uh? Why…?”

The mage approached with quick steps and uttered rather shocking words.

“What’s wrong with the paladin lady’…?!”

*

“What do you mean by defrocked! What’s going on?!”

“It’s not decided yet.”

“This very situation, where they are even discussing defrocking an Apostle, is outrageous…!”

Bang—!

Leo slammed his fist on the table, unable to control his outburst, and exhaled roughly.

“… What on earth happened?”

Aries remained silent. Leo couldn’t believe what was happening and dropped his head in despair.

“Has the church really fallen this far?”

Aries was an Apostle. Though not officially appointed yet, everyone knew the Goddess of Justice would soon name her as one. Everyone also knew she would eventually lead the Order of Paladins.

The current leader of the Paladins was too passive and avoided conflicts with the cardinals. However, aries was famous for her unwavering character and wouldn’t hesitate to oppose the cardinals.

Once officially named an Apostle, she would wield nearly supreme influence under the Pope. The cardinals feared that future and showed it through their actions.

“This is a clear abuse of power. No, it’s a sacrilegious act that disgraces divinity…!”

The result was Aries’s impending defrocking.

The incomprehensible aspect was that the cardinals, unless they had lost their minds, wouldn’t dare attempt such an outrageous act. It was akin to spitting in the face of the Goddess of Justice, who was one of the supreme gods in the pantheon.

“We cannot remain idle. The entire Order of Paladins should stand up and condemn the cardinals…!”

“That won’t do.”

“Lady Aries!”

Leo couldn’t understand.

It was true that Aries had been summoned frequently by the cardinals recently, but the sudden decision to defrock her seemed overly abrupt and unexpected. What made it even more baffling for Leo was that Aries herself accepted the decision without much resistance.

‘This isn’t right.’

As Leo bowed his head, his eyes began to shine with a strange light.