I Became the Dark Knight in the Game
Chapter 48: Mage (5)

“Pl-please spare my life. I’ll do anything.”

Unaware of how pathetic he looked, the mage begged with his hands clasped together.

Dale spoke indifferently.

“Give me one good reason why I should spare you.”

Dale was contemplating. To kill or not to kill.

If he had been determined to kill him from the start, he would have thrown his weapon or engaged in combat by now.

Killing him would be a headache.

It’s easy to kill a novice mage. The problem lies with the Magic Tower backing him.

Killing a slave soldier is akin to damaging the “property” of the Magic Tower, which could be overlooked to some extent.

The Magic Tower which was busy going down to the outer districts was unlikely to concern itself with the affairs of a novice mage.

After all, it was the mage who initiated the attack.

However, killing the mage would not leave the Magic Tower with any choice but to retaliate against Dale for the sake of their reputation.

Even if the mage was nothing more than a low-level novice.

I need to resolve this more properly. I’m not alone now.

If he had been alone, he wouldn’t have minded becoming the target of revenge.

In fact, he would have welcomed it. Endless battles with mages would ensure rapid growth.

But right now, Dale was a guardian of the underworld. Even for someone as capable as Dale, protecting the residents while fighting against mages was a difficult task.

He had to prevent any harm from befalling the innocent residents at least until the current search was over.

That was the promise he made to Erielle, and it was his sense of duty.

Oblivious to Dale’s inner thoughts, the mage hesitantly offered a solution.

“I…. I’ll give you all the money I have.”

“And?”

“Um… Is there anything else you want?”

Something he wanted.

Now that he thought about it, there was something he wanted to ask.

Dale locked eyes with the mage.

The mage froze solid as he met Dale’s emotionless eyes through the eye slits of his helmet.

“E-Eeeek.”

“From now on, I will ask questions, and you will answer them truthfully.”

The mage nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Start with your name.”

“Hans. My name is Hans. I don’t know my parents’ names.”

Hans. As common a name as his appearance suggested.

Dale pressed on with his questioning.

“Explain why the Magic Tower is searching the slums.”

“To eliminate dangerous elements that pose a threat to the city…”

Dale rested his hand on the sword he had thrust into the ground.

“I don’t particularly like lies.”

Hans swallowed hard. After darting his eyes around nervously, he finally spoke up.

“The truth is, there is someone we are looking for.”

“And who might that be?”

“I’m just a lowly member so I don’t know the details… but I’ve heard it’s the last heir of a fallen kingdom.”

The last heir of the kingdom? That was an unexpected response.

Why on earth were the mages of the Magic Tower seeking the royalty of a fallen kingdom?

Hans replied to that question.

“It’s not just any ordinary kingdom. It’s called the Vyman Kingdom. The Vyman Kingdom is a country that reveres swords and magic…. Do you know of it?”

Dale remained silent for a moment.

Vyman. A name he knew all too well.

After all, it was through Dale’s game that he first encountered this world a few years ago.

The Vyman Kingdom had met a tragic end after barely holding on.

And Dale had been part of that very end.

He never thought he’d hear that name again.

Noticing Dale’s sudden silence, Hans looked around nervously and struggled to continue. So Dale prompted him.

“So?”

“Oh, yes. The… Vyman Kingdom has a certain magic passed down through its royal bloodline…”

“And so, the heir is hiding somewhere here and you’re stirring trouble to obtain that magic?”

“Well, it’s also beneficial in various ways if we can find any dangerous elements along the way…”

Hans clamped his mouth shut mid-sentence.

Even he thought it sounded far-fetched.

It’s even more pathetic than I thought.

Dale sighed inwardly and spoke.

“If that’s the case, there’s even less reason to cause a stir here. Think about it logically. If you were royalty, would you hide here?”

Like most nations, the Vyman Kingdom too was a follower of the Goddess of Light.

It was unlikely that an heir of such a kingdom would be found living amongst the followers of the night goddess.

“Ye-Yes, you’re right. Now that I think about it, your words make sense.”

Hans nodded vigorously as if in agreement.

Whether he truly agreed or was simply lying to save his life was unclear.

Is this all I can get out of him?

He seemed like a novice and was unlikely to have any great backing. It appeared pointless to press him for more information.

Dale then withdrew the sword he had thrust into the ground. Hans’s face turned pale.

Dale asked him.

“So, if I let you go now, will you come back here again?”

“No, no! If you spare my life, I swear I won’t do anything to harm you.”

Dale locked eyes with Hans once more.

“You’ve completed your search here successfully. There was no royalty, and the slave soldier died due to a spell you accidentally cast. That’s what you need to report. Understand?”

“O-Of course. I will keep today’s events a secret. I swear upon my honor.”

Dale pointed to the mercenaries who were watching quietly from behind and spoke.

“These fellows, they swore with their parents to never come back here yet they did, didn’t they? Perhaps something more precious than honor should be at stake?”

Hans’s expression hardened.

“Don’t tell me.”

“Swear it on your magic.”

“!”

An oath bound by magic.

The most reliable way to extract a promise from mages.

Hans was shocked.

He couldn’t comprehend how Dale knew about such a thing.

“How do you know something that only mages should?”

“You don’t want to?”

Hans was conflicted but he eventually bowed his head deeply. There’s nothing more valuable than one’s life.

“Then I will swear upon my magic…”

This should suffice.

Hans will now desperately hide what happened today from the Magic Tower in order to keep his oath.

At the very least, there would be no harm from mages seeking vengeance on the underworld’s residents.

Hans glanced around cautiously.

“May I… go now?”

“Yes.”

As Dale gave his permission, Hans hurriedly moved away.

Dale called out to his retreating back.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“That. Leave it behind.”

Dale pointed at Hans’s staff. Hans’s hand that was clutching the staff began to tremble.

“This, this is quite expensive.”

“That’s why I said to leave it. You don’t want to?”

When Dale rested his hand on his sword, Hans, still trembling, set the staff down.

Hans said while choking back tears.

“Then I’ll be off…”

“Wait.”

Dale pointed at the robe Hans was wearing.

“That robe looks rather expensive too.”

“…..I’ll take it off.”

Hans squeezed his eyes shut.

***

Hans was only able to leave after becoming half- naked.

As the mage disappeared, the mercenaries who had been holding their breaths followed suit.

They looked at Dale with astonishment and thought,

To withstand a bolt of lightning.

To strip one of those dreadful mages bare. Crazy.

Let’s not cross him in the future.

Even the mercenaries vanished.

Peace returned to the alley once more.

Dale took in the remnants of the battle.

The power alone was truly formidable.

A single spell had demolished carefully stacked carts and sandbags. Various dilapidated houses were destroyed, and burned corpses littered the ground.

This was the devastation wrought by just one mage.

Moreover, Hans didn’t seem to hold a particularly high position in the Magic Tower and he looked to be inexperienced in every aspect.

If that were the case, how powerful could the mages higher up in the hierarchy be?

Indeed, mages are the strongest.

Dale once raised a mage character himself so he knew the difference well.

Having a mage in the party was like the difference between heaven and earth.

The addition of just one mage meant that they would never be short on firepower.

But for Dale, that was nothing more than a pipe dream.

From the moment he awoke in this body, he had almost given up on the idea of recruiting a mage.

Coveting food that he couldn’t eat seemed like a fool’s errand.

Dale was sitting on the remains of a shattered cart.

The residents, who had been watching from a distance until then, approached him. The village chief inquired about Dale’s well-being.

“Is it… over now?”

“The mercenaries won’t be coming back. Neither will the mage.”

Only then did the village chief relax. He sighed deeply and asked,

“Are you alright? You were struck by lightning.”

“Hmm.”

He was far from alright. Dale asked,

“Would you slaughter a pig or a cow for me?”

“We don’t have pigs or cows. But we do have some chickens.”

“Then that will do. I’ll pay you later.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. You’ve already done more than enough; please allow us to treat you this time.”

After saying that, the village chief quickly gestured to the residents.

The residents hurriedly caught and slaughtered chickens and Dale absorbed their life force and healed his body.

By now, Dale’s physique was so resilient that he could withstand most attacks without flinching.

Conversely, as his size increased so did the amount of life force he needed to absorb for recovery.

This meant the residents had to slaughter quite a number of chickens.

Yet, the residents did not blink an eye.

If this can be of any help…

We must repay this kindness.

To their knight, who stood alone against formidable foes and prevailed, this was the least they could willingly offer.

No, it was an honor to be of assistance.

Regardless of the residents’ joy or lack thereof,

Dale sat quietly on the cart while cleaning his sword with a rag.

He could only hope for the storm to pass soon.

***

The search operation continued for days.

Mercenaries and guards, backed by mages from the Magic Tower, combed through the slums.

Surprisingly, the search yielded some results.

They had purged dens of thieves and criminals and captured numerous dangerous individuals who were plotting illicit deeds.

Of course, the operation had not proceeded smoothly. The resistance was fierce and much blood was shed.

Moreover, the biggest problem remained.

In the western section of the slums.

The place, with its winding alleyways, was a maze where one could hardly venture without caution.

It was no coincidence that organizations like the Black Serpent Brotherhood had made it their stronghold.

Amidst the deadlock, the search operation dragged on.

The weather was oppressively hot, resistance was intense, and the people’s frustration reached its peak.

It seemed like a situation ripe for an incident to occur at any moment.

Regardless, the underworld remained peaceful. Since the day they drove out the mage and the others, as expected, no one else has bothered them.

Dale sat silently on the carts and polished his sword.

As long as they didn’t invade this place, he had no interest in anything else.

In his head, he kept feeling regretful about what happened the other day.

Why didn’t I just use Hans whenever I needed him? Since he even took a magic oath, it wouldn’t hurt to call on him once in a while.

Dale gazed at the lingering traces of magic around him and started thinking.

How nice it would be to be a mage.

He wouldn’t have entertained the thought if it had been entirely out of the question, but recent events had left him clinging to the possibility.

Attempting to dispel such thoughts, Dale habitually wiped his sword with a cloth.

He had polished it so much that the cloth had turned into rags.

It seemed about time to buy a new one.

Just then, Harty who had been sitting quietly beside him, cooling off from the heat, gently nudged Dale with its tail.

Dale looked up.

Someone was approaching.

The sound of five footsteps. They seem to be well-armed.

Could they be mercenaries? If so, this was good. His sword was freshly polished and perfect for a test swing.

However, his assumption was off the mark.

The approaching figures were familiar people.

It was Eirek, the owner of the Tomo Store leading his men.

Eirek looked utterly exhausted.

It seemed Eirek had faced quite a few difficulties during the search.

Eirek spoke in a weaker voice than usual.

“Good to see you, Sir Dale. It appears peaceful around here, thanks to you perhaps?”

Eirek smiled bitterly as he said that. Dale caught a glimpse of that smile and remarked.

“Seems you’ve had a tough time.”

“Indeed. Who would have guessed that spellcasters would be called as well? Had I known, I might have gathered some assassins instead. Even the most adept mages can’t do much with a dagger flying at their backs.”

Eirek made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb.

Dale watched him intently and casually asked,

“Wasn’t surrender an option? If you’re not hiding anything significant, a bit of hush money could have smoothed things over for you.”

Dale recalled their conversations. They hadn’t spoken much but he knew Eirek was highly sensitive to profit.

Now that defeat was closing by, continuing the resistance seemed pointless.

It was not like him to be doing this, to say the least.

Eirek grinned at such a question.

“Sir Dale has a sharp eye. Truly, it’s astonishing.”

Dale hesitated for a moment before asking,

“Are you hiding something?”

Eirek smiled bitterly once again and changed the subject.

“I’ve heard an interesting rumor. It seems the one the Magic Tower is currently seeking is the heir to a fallen kingdom.”

Though he was taken aback by the sudden shift in topic, Dale nodded his head. He then felt something catch in his mind.

Hmm?

Suddenly, a past memory surfaced.

A snippet of a conversation he had once had with Eirek flashed through his mind.

―You’ll find all sorts of people in the slums, from slaves to fallen royalty of fallen kingdoms.

Dale closed his eyes for a moment to organize his thoughts. Various hypotheses floated through his mind.

Among them, he identified what seemed to be the correct answer.

Dale asked,

“Eirek, come to think of it, you don’t seem to be a noble of the empire. Where are you from?”

Eirek’s smile deepened and a mix of admiration for Dale was evident in his expression.

The sharpness with which Dale could deduce information from mere fragments was a rare talent, not possessed by many.

Under Dale’s intense gaze, Eirek spoke calmly while stressing each word.

“The kingdom of Vyman. My proud homeland that revered the sword and magic.”

After a brief pause,

Dale swallowed a sigh and said,

“So you have been protecting the heir to the kingdom.”

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