Chapter – 05
With the imp stored inside his shadow, Tay pushed open the door to the magic shop.
There were no customers. Even the young man dressed like a mage—presumably the shop clerk—only glanced at Tay once before returning his attention to the book he had been reading.
Is this really how it’s supposed to work?
That clerk isn’t paying any attention to customers at all.
Thinking that, Tay walked up to the counter.
“Do you have any staffs suitable for a dark mage?”
“A dark mage?”
“That’s right.”
“From the Black Spear Guild?”
Tay nodded.
The clerk immediately snapped his book shut. Tay caught a glimpse of its contents—it was a spellbook.
“Just starting out?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your budget?”
“I can spend up to two Goldmanta gold coins.”
“I’ve got exactly two staffs in that price range.”
The clerk took out two staffs.
One was a twisted staff made from dried, half-rotten wood.
The other was forged from steel, with the skull of a ratman mounted on its tip.
– Madness Appraisal activates.
– Inspecting item information.
Staff of the Hanging Tree
Rank: Special
A staff crafted from wood taken from a tree once used to hang people.
Filled with grudges and lingering resentment, it is especially suited for curse-type dark magic.
Effect: Increases the power of curse-type dark magic by 20%.
Ratman Skull Steel Staff
Rank: Special
A staff fashioned from the skull of a ratman who was tortured to death.
Its steel shaft allows it to double as a blunt weapon in emergencies, while the lingering spirit and resentment of the ratman greatly enhance all forms of dark magic.
Effect: Increases the power of all dark magic by 8%.
– Madness Appraisal activates again.
– Would you like to consume accumulated Madness to acquire the crafting blueprints?
No.
Not happening.
The moment he saw the prompt, Tay understood what it meant.
Based on memories from his previous life, items in this world were divided into seven grades:
Common → Special → Rare → Magic → Unique → Legendary → Divine.
Common items possessed no special abilities whatsoever.
Anything from Special grade onward came with magical or system-granted effects.
Since these were dark mage staffs, they naturally possessed magical enhancements.
And, fitting for dark magic, both carried rather disturbing appearances and histories.
The appraisal asked if he wanted to learn their crafting blueprints, but he declined.
He didn’t even own a personal forge yet.
There was no reason to waste Madness here.
Madness was a resource.
It needed to be conserved.
“Prices are fixed. If you’re here to haggle, leave.”
“I’ll take it.”
Tay handed over two Goldmanta gold coins and picked up the staff.
– Now you finally look like a proper dark mage.
– Don’t you ever go home?
– I made a contract with you to gain experience. I intend to stay by your side whenever possible.
– I see…
– Besides, maintaining my summon doesn’t place any burden on you, does it?
He wasn’t wrong.
Imps were the lowest class of demons.
Unless they were destroyed and forcibly returned, they could remain summoned indefinitely.
Alternatively, the dark mage could dismiss them manually.
Because imps were such low-ranking demons, they sustained themselves by feeding on tiny amounts of spiritual energy leaking from their summoner’s soul.
It wasn’t actually harmful to the dark mage.
The real problem was that anyone who saw the demon suffered Minor Mental Corruption.
For that reason, most dark mages kept their imps dismissed during everyday life and only summoned them in combat.
But Glashalavolias, the Imp Butler, could simply hide inside shadows.
There was no need to dismiss him.
Besides…
Imps were demons, but they were also intelligent beings.
If you treated them badly, they might not cooperate properly in battle.
Tay decided to respect As’s wish to remain summoned.
– Fine then. Do as you like.
That brought the conversation to an end.
Looking at the sun, he saw that plenty of daylight remained.
Hmm… Now that I’ve officially become a dark mage… maybe it’s time to take on better jobs.
Tay figured it was about time to stop hunting in the sewers and start accepting guild commissions.
Harundel was an enormous city.
Work was everywhere.
The Black Spear Guild, being a mercenary guild, naturally made its money by accepting combat contracts.
It was essentially no different from a 21st-century staffing agency—
Except this one specialized in swords and magic.
As a debt-bound mercenary, Tay desperately wanted to pay off the debt tying him to the guild.
Which meant he needed to earn money.
The guild hall buzzed with conversation.
When Tay arrived at the Black Spear Guild, it was packed with people.
Ten reception counters lined one wall.
The spacious hall was filled with tables and chairs where mercenaries drank and chatted loudly.
To Tay’s surprise, the guild even sold alcohol.
No food, though.
Passing through the lively hall, he headed toward the commission board.
With an imp at his side and two additional dark magic spells learned from it, he finally possessed skills worthy of decent work.
He approached the reception desk.
“You’re a debt-bound mercenary. What can I help you with?”
The guild clerk responded professionally after seeing his mercenary badge.
Professional… because he’s an office worker?
Tay chuckled inwardly at his terrible dad joke before speaking.
“I’d like to update my mercenary information and apply for a promotion. I’ve learned two additional dark magic spells—Clinging Flames and Darkness That Blinds the Eyes.”
“You’re currently a Stone Badge mercenary.”
Mercenary ranks were:
Stone Badge → Bronze Badge → Iron Badge → Silver Badge → Gold Badge → Platinum Badge.
Six ranks in total.
This world didn’t have classes or levels.
Instead, a mage’s standing depended on the number of spells they could use and the power of those spells.
Since Tay could now cast four dark magic spells, he was no longer considered a novice.
The usual magical classifications were:
Novice → Beginner → Low → Lower Intermediate → Intermediate → Upper Intermediate → Advanced → Peak.
Beyond Peak, mages were no longer called mages.
They were known as Archmages.
Archmages were individuals sought after by entire nations.
They existed on an entirely different level.
“If you’ve learned two additional dark magic spells, you certainly qualify for a Bronze Badge. However, you’ll need to complete a promotion trial first.”
“Please assign me the trial.”
“As it happens, I have the perfect commission.”
And so Tay received his promotion test.
A sewer exploration mission.
Seriously…? The sewers again?!
His frustration was perfectly understandable.
The eternal companion of every Stone Badge mercenary living in the great commercial metropolis of Harundel—
The Ancient Sewers.
Bronze Badge mercenaries still visited occasionally.
By the time someone reached Iron Badge, however, they had usually graduated from this place for good.
Recently…
Most of the Stone Badge mercenaries entering the sewers had vanished.
The commission was to investigate those disappearances.
Naturally, Tay wouldn’t be going alone.
“I’m Ellen, an Iron Badge. Nice to meet you. As you can see, I’ll be serving as the front-line fighter.”
“I’m Garlin, Stone Badge. Front-line as well.”
“I’m Morton, priest of Lady Caltera, Goddess of War and Struggle. A pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m Joseph, the rear-line archer. Stone Badge.”
Two Iron Badge mercenaries.
Three Stone Badge mercenaries.
Tay blinked as he looked at the two people ranked above him.
Wait… this is my promotion test, and they’re grouping me with people like these?
Promotion trials existed to evaluate both a mercenary’s skill and reliability.
Most required teamwork.
One supervising mercenary also accompanied the group as both evaluator and monitor.
Normally, Tay had heard, that supervisor was a single Bronze Badge.
Meaning:
Get along with everyone.
Don’t act like dead weight.
And do your job efficiently.
Still…
He had expected one Bronze Badge leading several Stone Badge candidates.
Instead…
There were two Iron Badges.
What was going on?
The first, Ellen, was a muscular female warrior.
She looked around Tay’s age, but the countless scars covering her body spoke of extensive battlefield experience.
Then there was Morton, priest of Caltera, Goddess of War and Struggle.
Calling him a priest hardly seemed accurate.
He looked like the sort of man who could turn goblins into “former goblins” in the blink of an eye.
Both of them were heavily armed.
Ellen wore chainmail covering her entire body, along with a sturdy steel helmet.
Two hand axes hung from her belt.
Several daggers were tucked away in various places.
She radiated the aura of a close-combat specialist forged through countless real battles.
Morton was even more intimidating.
He wore a breastplate made of full plate armor—equipment considerably superior to chainmail and incredibly expensive.
Beneath it, he also wore a full suit of chainmail covering his arms and legs.
In one hand he carried a steel shield.
In the other, a massive war hammer.
Was this really a priest… or some blood-crazed berserker?
Setting his physique and equipment aside, simply being a priest automatically placed him at Iron Badge level.
Priests wielded divine power.
A party with one of them was far beyond what Stone or Bronze Badge mercenaries could normally dream of joining.
Thankfully, the other two Stone Badge members looked perfectly ordinary.
One was an overweight man carrying a shield and mace—though much of his bulk was muscle.
The other was a skinny archer.
Neither appeared particularly different from Tay.
In fact, Tay might even be stronger.
After all…
He was a dark mage.
“I’m Tay. I recently became a dark mage. I’m currently Stone Badge, but I’m taking this trial commission to earn my promotion. I look forward to working with you.”
“A rookie dark mage, huh… Hope you’ll be useful.”
“Better than having nobody.”
Listening to the two Stone Badge mercenaries chatting, Tay was dumbfounded.
You guys have some nerve saying that.
Please don’t tell me these idiots are dead weight…
It wasn’t even what they said that bothered him.
It was their complete lack of tension.
This party already had two Iron Badge mercenaries.
Yet it also had three Stone Badge members…
And two of those looked suspiciously incompetent.
…Is this really going to be okay?
Honestly, Tay couldn’t help but wonder…
Shouldn’t this mission have been assigned to an experienced Bronze Badge dark mage instead of him?
