To Aiden, the word “escape” was all too familiar.
Having spent his entire life within the prison known as the imperial family, the first thing he learned was how to escape from a horrifying reality.
No. Strictly speaking, escape had been the only option given to him.
No matter what he did, he was always under surveillance, and the only thing he was permitted to do was read books.
And so, in his childhood, he had no choice but to immerse himself in the world of books.
It was an escape forced upon him, but Adrian found satisfaction in it.
Because within those books, none of the things that tormented him existed.
Among them, the books he found most fascinating were those about adventure.
Adventure!
The gripping trials and the rewards that came after overcoming them were the only source of catharsis for Aiden who could grasp nothing in the real world.
And—
“…I envy that.”
What he envied most of all was the presence of companions. Those who made such grand adventures possible.
While hardships and rewards could be painted in the world of imagination, companions were something that simply did not exist.
If anything, the reliable allies he imagined only deepened his loneliness whenever he returned to reality.
“Will I ever have such a meeting?”
He gazed out the window.
Far off in the distance lay the knights’ training ground.
A group of apprentice knights joined forces to charge at their instructor.
The sight of them working together to take on a seemingly unbeatable opponent looked so valiant; it felt like a scene straight out of the adventure journal he had just read.
“Companions…”
Will I… ever meet comrades I can truly trust?
To soothe his loneliness, Adrian once again opened his adventure journal.
It was his only refuge from the cruel reality.
And when the day finally came that Adrian set foot into the outside world for the first time—
What greeted him was a harsh and bitter reality.
“What’s your name again?”
“Adri… no, it’s Aiden. Aiden.”
“You look like a noble, though.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. But no, I’m not. I’m not of such noble birth.”
“I see. You said you wanted to become a mercenary, right? I’m leaving the village soon to become one too. Actually, I’ve been needing a solid front-liner like you. Want to come with us?”
“Really?”
It was a horrifying nightmare.
“Wh-What are you doing?!”
“Well, this is just how it turned out. Pretty boys like you sell for a good price as slaves.”
“You… tricked me?”
“Tricked? Isn’t that a bit harsh? We really are going to be mercenaries. We just needed some money first, that’s all.”
Betrayal hiding behind a smile of kindness.
That day, stripped of everything and bound hand and foot in a dark underground cell,
What tormented Aiden the most wasn’t the future he faced as a slave, but the reality of the moment.
The betrayal of those he had, for the first time, considered comrades.
And more than the pain of betrayal itself, what hurt even more was realizing just how cheap and meaningless the word “comrade” could be in the real world. This word he had admired his whole life.
So even after he narrowly escaped that place, Aiden continued to run from reality.
Like a moth drawn to flame.
Desperate to find someone he could trust and rely on,
He turned toward the world of Blackout, the one from his adventure journal.
“You’re the new guy?”
“Y-Yes! That’s right.”
“Tsk. You’re in for a rough time. Follow me. I’ll explain a few things about our mercenary group first.”
And it was there that he met him—
A low-ranking mage with his hair tied up and a choker around his neck. Jun.
***
Amid a blinding haze, Aiden swung his sword.
It was fear, and a kind of escape.
“Something” was giving him power.
In return, that “something” demanded a price.
—If you want to save your comrades.
—Accept me.
It was a sensation he had never felt before.
Until now, his swordsmanship had been a product of instinct sharpened by meticulous calculation.
But this was different.
Now, he moved purely on instinct, swinging his sword without regard for the number or skill of his enemies.
He didn’t care what he had just cut down or how they moved.
He was simply carving a path forward.
That single goal consumed him.
In his mind that was turning stark white, it was as if red fireworks exploded.
Gradually, his vision turned red, and just as he began to feel his very sense of self fading into a haze—
[Light of Life]
Aiden was enveloped in a sacred golden light.
It was divine power. Something he had experienced once before.
When was it?
The Black Forest…
With that memory, the self that had been fading began to return.
“…Aiden.”
“Aiden!”
His ears rang.
An enemy stood before him.
Just as he was about to swing his sword like he always had—
Clang—!
“Aiden!!”
A sharp voice snapped him back to reality.
“H-Huh?”
When he came to his senses—
There stood Maya, shielding him.
And in front of her, his own Radiant Sword clashed with her crossed blades.
“I… what did I just…?”
“Haa… You’re back, huh?”
From behind, Eleanor’s weary voice reached him.
“Lady Eleanor?”
“We’ll talk later. First…. look over there.”
When Eleanor pointed with her finger, there lay a hulking mutant, collapsed while holding a manhole cover.
“…Enemy!”
“Get a grip!”
Maya shouted again.
“What?”
“He’s not an enemy!”
“Something’s coming behind us! Get in, now!”
With no time to process the situation, Eleanor hurriedly hoisted Jun onto her back and pushed herself into the open entrance of the storm drain.
Maya followed right after, and Aiden, still confused, ducked into the sewer as well.
Then, the mutant outside who had been holding the cover shut the manhole lid.
“W-What is that thing?”
“Don’t you remember?”
At Eleanor’s reply, as she gently laid Jun down, Aiden tilted his head in confusion.
His memory was hazy.
“That mutant… it spoke to us.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“And then you suddenly tried to cut it down.”
“……”
“You—no, never mind. Later. We’ve got something more urgent first.”
Believing they were safe for now, Eleanor pointed to the unconscious Jun.
“We need to save our leader first.”
“Ah! H-How is he?”
“I fed him a potion while running. We’ll have to see how he’s doing now.”
After that, silence settled over them.
Maya leaned against a wall, exhausted, while Aiden watched Eleanor tend to Jun with a nervous expression.
Roughly ten minutes passed.
“Tsk.”
Eleanor clicked her tongue and stood up.
“Priest Eleanor… how is he?”
“I managed to stop the worst of it. That idiot…. he cast a spell even while his mana was going berserk.”
“Ah…”
“I’ve sealed most of the ruptured blood vessels… but the biggest problem is his heart. The mana circle is unstable. I can’t do anything about it.”
“……”
“Anyway, the immediate danger’s passed… so why don’t we hear what that one was about?”
“Huh?”
Before they knew it, Eleanor’s gaze had shifted past Aiden’s shoulder.
Maya, who had been leaning against the wall, placed a hand on her waist.
All three of them turned their eyes toward the sewer tunnel, now cloaked in darkness.
“Uh… is the situation still really bad?”
A voice echoed from within the shadows.
Light filtering in through a hole in the manhole cover slowly illuminated the figure emerging from the darkness.
“Haha. You all look pretty intense. Well, I suppose that’s understandable, given the circumstances, right?”
It was the large mutant who had previously closed the manhole cover.
With a voice surprisingly thin for his size, he spoke to the group.
“Bit of a surprise, huh? I’m just as shocked, to be honest. Never imagined I’d run into anyone else down here.”
“…Well, I think introductions come first. We’re the White Whale Mercenaries. The guy lying here is our leader.”
“White Whale Mercenaries? Never heard of you. Oh right, my name is… Marshar. Self-proclaimed alchemist and… artifact craftsman.”
“Artifact craftsman?”
“I get that it’s hard to believe when I look like this. Ahem. But I used to be quite the handsome guy, you know?”
“You’re actually human?”
When Eleanor shot him a skeptical look, the man raised a hand as if to calm her.
“Ahem! Hold on. I’ll prove it to you.”
Something suddenly popped out of the giant mutant’s huge hand.
It was a mana cylinder. The same type embedded in the mutants’ bodies.
He popped the lid and inhaled deeply, and the change came quickly.
Muscles swollen to their limits sagged and began to slough off like slime.
From within the hulking frame, a man wearing a monocle emerged.
He wore tattered clothes that looked like they hadn’t been cared for in ages and carried a small briefcase in one hand.
His gray hair stuck out in wild tufts.
“See? Told you I’m human.”
“…He really is.”
“But why were you down here like that in the first place?”
“Dodging those things isn’t exactly easy, you know. But if I look like that, they usually don’t attack first. Anyway, there’s actually something I wanted to ask you. Your leader…what kind of person is he?”
Aiden replied to the man’s question in a sharp tone.
“Why do you ask?”
“That bracelet on your leader’s wrist. It belonged to my master. He had it with him right up until he disappeared. So I couldn’t help but wonder. Why does your leader have it?”
“……?”
None of the group understood what he meant.
It was only natural.
The dimensional bracelet on Jun’s wrist was crafted by Shylock the King of Enchantment.
And all they knew about the bracelet was that Jun had obtained it by chance, nothing more.
***
In truth, Marshar had been completely shocked to discover other humans in the city besides himself.
“There were other weirdos who came here besides me? Unbelievable!”
Could they be alchemy enthusiasts like him?
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy.
Ever since he lost his homeland, the Magic Tower, Marshar had been living in hiding, all alone.
Maybe that’s why he was so eager for human contact.
But Marshar wasn’t naive enough to just approach people blindly.
Unlike him, who had little greed, those who ventured into Blackout were often the kind who wouldn’t hesitate to kill for treasure.
So he decided to observe from a distance first.
“Huh?”
Then, at some point, Marshar’s eyes focused on the wrist of the man who seemed to be their leader and a mage.
A dimensional bracelet.
The subspace artifact once owned by his master was right there.
And that’s why, when they were in danger, Marshar had no choice but to step in himself.
The dimensional bracelet was a bound-type artifact.
Even if the previous owner had died, it was an item that couldn’t be used.
Having that bracelet meant only one thing. His master, Shylock, had given it to him personally.
***
A long while passed.
Fortunately, Jun regained consciousness not long after.
Both Jun and Marshar were surprised by each other.
Jun was shocked to meet Shylock’s disciple, Marshar, in a place like this.
And Marshar was surprised to learn that his master had been alive all this time.
“So… you’re saying you met the old man?”
At Marshar’s question, Jun who was now somewhat recovered gave a slow nod.
“I heard he went to the Black Forest Fortress looking for you. You hadn’t heard anything?”
“Ah… I’ve been in hiding the past few years. Had no connection with the outside world.”
As he said that, Marshar looked at Jun and his group with a renewed sense of wonder.
“Still, it’s incredible. To get caught up in a random accident and end up here.”
“For something random, you look kind of conflicted.”
“Well… I guess I feel a little wronged? Hahaha. For you guys, this might’ve been a disaster, but I spent years trying to get here.”
It made sense.
After the collapse of the Zenkar Magic Tower, Marshar had gone into hiding to avoid any possible pursuers.
“Anyway, it’s good to meet you. I never imagined I’d hear news of Master still being alive….in a place like this, no less.”
Jun felt the same.
He had only speculated that Shylock might be here around this time, but never imagined they’d actually cross paths.
“By the way… you’ve looked off for a while now. Are you feeling unwell?”
Jun hesitated at Marshar’s concerned question.
He knew Marshar’s identity as Shylock’s disciple and had already been familiar with him as an NPC in the game.
But it was still difficult to open up easily to a mage.
No, but still… I’m in no position to turn down help. Not even from a cat.
Marshar wasn’t an exceptional mage, but his knowledge was so extensive that even seasoned mages would find it hard to match.
With his circle unusable at the moment, Jun was nothing but a burden to the group. So, without hesitation, he decided to explain his situation to Marshar.
“My circle’s a bit… strained. I forced some elemental magic during the escape.”
“Oh. I saw it from a distance. Lightning was raining down nonstop. Figured that was your doing. Are you in an Overheat state?”
“It’s a little different from that.”
“Mind explaining in more detail? From the looks of it, we’ll need your power to get out of here.”
“Not a problem.”
Once Jun made up his mind, he briefly explained his situation without holding anything back.
“Some sudden event caused an element to fuse with my circle. The backlash from that element is what damaged it.”
“Hmm…? That’s not something you see every day.”
As Jun had hoped, Marshar happened to know about the phenomenon.
“From the sound of it, you didn’t obtain it on your own… So, the elemental force was forcibly embedded into the circle? Fire element, maybe?”
“You’re quick.”
“I noticed the lightning turning red back there. Things have gotten a bit complicated, haven’t they?”
Jun quietly waited for Marshar to continue.
“Infusing a circle with an element is a dream for most mages.”
“Of course.”
Thanks to his time in the Magic Tower and the memories of this body, Jun knew that much.
“But I don’t see it as a purely good thing. Sure, it helps with the element you’re proficient in… but the others? You’re practically crippled.”
Marshar described it as “cutting yourself off from endless possibilities”.
Jun nodded in agreement.
He had no intention of settling for just one element.
“Of course, I’m not saying those who willingly embedded elements into their circles were wrong. What I’m talking about is the consequence. In reality, it becomes difficult to cast any magic outside the element contained in the circle.”
Jun was a perfect example of that.
“Actually, this is something I studied a long time ago. The solution has been theoretically completed… but there was never a way to actually implement it.”
“So basically, you’re saying there’s no way to fix it right now?”
That was Eleanor, who had been quietly listening from the side, and Marshar shook his head.
“But here, there is a way. The problem is, it still only exists in theory.”
Marshar, now wearing a serious expression, turned to Jun and said,
“Taking responsibility is your job as the leader.”
Jun didn’t avoid Marshar’s gaze as he responded.
“If it’s for survival, I’ll do whatever it takes. Let’s hear it first.”
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