Volume 4 Chapter 7 Pick-up Party
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Maybe this party just isn’t strong enough after all?”
The magic swordsmaster, Aoki, mumbles softly.
This is the third floor of the Valley of Trials dungeon.
The center is filled with dangerous mermaid nests, but since mermaids tend to stay in their nests, many spots are safe zones.
Aoki and the others have set up camp near the stairs leading to the next floor.
Just a few days ago, Aoki was relaxing back in the royal capital, but joining that casual, makeshift party was a stupid choice.
Now he’s caught in the endless grind of exploring this dungeon as part of a rogue party, with no end in sight.
* * *
It’s been 5 years since Aoki was summoned here as the Hero ── and these days, even his real name, Aoki Shinji, feels like a distant dream, like a flickering memory in a nightmare.
Five years as a hero makes him one of the old-timers in the royal capital.
The classmates who came to this world with him ── most of them are already lost, dead or vanished into nothing.
Those who managed to survive and reach Level 60?
They’ve been consumed by the world’s power, pulled into this universe’s dark grip, and become strangers to the Aoki he once was.
Aoki still sits at Level 42.
Meanwhile, any hero of his same level has barely been here 2 years ── most are fresh recruits, still new to this nightmare.
Sure, slow growth is part of being a magic swordsmaster.
But it’s frustrating to watch others pass you by, day after day.
The ages of summoned heroes vary wildly ── some are teenagers, others are old men.
But a hero’s worth here isn’t about age ── it’s about their *strength*.
That’s what decides their rank.
Basically, levels determine your place in the chain of command.
It’s irritating to get bossed around by younger ones.
But what’s even worse?
Being overtaken ── looked down on ── by those you used to outshine just yesterday.
Aoki was summoned at age 23.
Former hardcore gamer, now a part-time worker scraping by.
When they told him he had the talent to be a magic swordsmaster, he was ecstatic ── convinced he was the chosen hero.
If only he’d chosen to become a knight instead, life in this strange world might’ve been a lot brighter.
Honestly, anything other than a magic user ── anything at all ── would’ve been better than this.
Among Hero summons, attack magic in this world has a brutal reputation.
It’s not that their raw power is lacking──quite the opposite.
When it works, the attack strength can be devastating.
Even novice-level Fireball magic can sometimes kill a dragon in one hit.
The problem? Controlling that power when you need it.
Beginners, like him in a cramped room, accidentally unleash max-strength Fireballs on weak monsters──and before they realize, the whole party’s wiped out.
The inconsistency isn’t just in power──it sometimes spirals into wild explosions for no reason during combat.
These magic blowouts often leave the mage safe, but their allies often get caught in the fallout──and wiped out.
For bigger spells that take ages to cast, if the mage’s skills are still raw, the worst happens: a misfire caused by a failed chant.
When that happens, mana spirals out of control in a chaotic blast centered on the mage.
If you spot the warning signs, you get a brief moment to brace──like drawing a shield before the explosion.
Smart mages even use these accidental blowouts as a last-ditch self-destruct attack──that’s their final trump card.
Ironically, these relatively stable explosions, when they do happen, make for surprisingly reliable attacks.
Considering all these risks, it’s no wonder fewer heroes are willing to include mages in their parties.
On top of that, there’s the danger of friendly fire during confusion, or monsters that reflect magic back──and suddenly, attack magic feels like walking a tightrope.
Someone once said──
──that following a mage into battle is like carrying a mountain of dynamite.
In a game, maybe it’s fine.
But in real life, with lives at stake?
That’s way too risky.
So, any mage who’s turned down from a party tends to fight alone──or form their own squad of just mages.
And somehow, they start disappearing quietly into the shadows.
In a world of swords and sorcery, our summoning hero turned magician is just too out of luck.
If you’re a mage-knight, you could still hack it as a swordsman if you avoid learning powerful attack spells, but our magician has no such backup plan.
He’s got to accept that he needs double the experience to level up, a bitter trade-off for that big MP pool.
But MP isn’t a total waste; it’s essential for casting skills, after all.
High-powered attack spells are just too tricky to use, after all.
With the weakest spells, like magic arrows or the “Thousand Needles of Darkness,” even if they blow up, the damage is minimal.
Low power can still be useful for feints while fighting with a sword.
He’s not as good with a sword as a proper swordsman, nor as skilled in magic as a dedicated magician, but a mage-knight should be versatile enough to adapt to any situation.
That’s how Aoki’s managed to survive, even with his big spells sealed away.
* * *
Whether he’s joining a random party or fighting solo, Aoki’s convinced he’s got it better than most magicians.
Looking up just makes things harder, so he comforts himself by looking down instead.
The reason Aoki gets invited to random parties is mainly thanks to his magic bag.
It’s a convenient spell that functions like the game’s item storage, holding loads of stuff, but only advanced jobs like sorcerers, mage-knights, sages, and master thieves can get their hands on one.
As a pack mule who can hold his own in a fight, that’s Aoki’s reputation among heroes.
This time, Aoki was approached by a level 48 knight named Justice in the capital’s guild.
Knight Justice is a well-proportioned man in his thirties with a handsome face.
His occasional cunning glint ruins what could’ve been a perfect package.
Surprisingly, his real name is actually Seigi – talk about a flashy name.
The kind of guy who’s all sparkle and no substance, I guess.
They call him Justice, but he’s the exact opposite──a despicable man with a reputation that’s anything but good.
But Aoki, the magic swordsman, wasn’t exactly in a position to pick and choose his party.
No, he jumped at the chance to conquer the Valley of Trials as soon as he heard about it.
The title “Witness of Trials” you get as a clear reward is a mark of a first-rate adventurer.
Figured it’d be a sweet deal if he could just tag along and clear it without lifting a finger.
But the crew he ended up with?
Their levels were even lower than he’d expected.
After all, it’s the Wyvern Festival season, and there’s barely any adventurers over level 50 left in the capital.
Musashi, the treasure hunter, is level 44──a high-ranking thief job, but not exactly combat-oriented.
Thieves level up pretty quick, so this guy’s been casually hopping from party to party, doing as he pleases.
And Musashi, who’s only been summoned for about a year, already has a worse rep than Justice.
Mainly ’cause he’s caused all sorts of trouble with the ladies.
He says he was a kitchen hand back then, so he’s probably only around 17.
With his stubble and nose ring, he looks more like a post-apocalyptic punk than his actual age.
He’s got the look of a thief, sure, but the other Heroes barely bat an eye.
Still, he seems to crave attention, always switching to bigger piercings to make an impression in public.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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