I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 10

Randell swung the dagger.

“Ugh! Huff, huff…”

The rope that had been gagging the middle-aged man was cut by the dagger and fell to the ground.

The middle-aged man immediately gasped for breath.

He didn’t look very good.

His face was swollen and covered with blue bruises, as if he had resisted fiercely.

“Are you alright?”

“Ma-magician! Th-thank you.”

“No need. It’s a relief that you don’t seem to be seriously hurt. No broken bones either.”

“How did you get here…?”

The middle-aged man asked as he turned around.

The alley where the two were hiding was a bit away from the tavern, which was in chaos.

Several guards were seen roughly dragging away men with vicious looks.

Ping.

Randell snapped his fingers at him.

The middle-aged man, who caught the flying object in a fluster, opened his palm and was surprised.

There was a ring in it.

It was the very ring that had been taken by the robbers.

“Those guys tried to rob me. While I was teaching them a lesson, I found your ring.”

“So, you came to save me?”

“I didn’t save you. I reported it to the guards and gave them a hefty bribe, so they helped out.”

“I see…”

“I brought you separately. I thought the ring might be taken away during the investigation by the guards.”

“Ah!”

The middle-aged man looked at Randell with grateful eyes.

When his daughter was sick, he had begged people around him, but no one helped.

He had sold everything he had, but it was not enough for the medicine.

But this wizard, who he had never met before, risked danger to help him.

Anyone with a heart would be moved.

The middle-aged man, who had been looking down at the ring for a moment, spoke as if he had made up his mind.

“I will give this… to you, wizard.”

Randell, surprised by the unexpected situation, asked.

“This?”

“Yes, it is precious, but it is too dangerous for me to keep.”

“Still, you could sell it to a merchant for a low price… Even if they cheat you, they would give you 1,000 gold.”

“If I were a merchant, I would give 10 gold to the robbers to kill me instead of giving me 1,000 gold. They would stab me after giving me the money.”

“That is―”

“But you are different, wizard. If it bothers you, you can give me a few coins later.”

“This is…”

Randell was about to refuse, but then he looked into the middle-aged man’s eyes.

And in the stubbornness contained within them, he realized that this was something that could not be undone.

Of course, there was no reason not to accept it.

“You said your daughter is sick and needs medical expenses, right? How much do you need right now?”

“I have some borrowed money… about 50 silvers…”

At those words, Randell began to search his pockets.

The money he had taken from the raiders was 80 silvers.

After deducting the bribe money, he had about 120 silvers left.

Randell handed over all but 10 silvers to the middle-aged man.

“This is all I have right now.”

“Oh…! This is more than enough.”

“But I can’t just wipe my hands clean with this. I’ll give you more later. What’s your name?”

“Wolton, it’s Wolton.”

Randell nodded and said,

“I’ll visit you soon.”

* * *

‘Ha, well. There are days like this in life.’

Randell hummed a tune as he flicked the ring.

He had just parted ways with the middle-aged man, Wolton.

He had learned his name and knew where he lived.

It wasn’t an empty promise; he really intended to repay him with interest later.

Whatever Wolton thought, he intended to exceed that.

The spatial ring was worth that much, and Randell had the ability to do so.

And above all, he was grateful.

His kindness was conveyed to the other person, and the other person responded with even greater kindness.

Randell, who had lived for over 40 years, hadn’t felt this kind of warmth in a long time.

‘The world isn’t that beautiful.’

But thanks to these occasional good deeds, isn’t life somewhat bearable?

However, Randell had to correct that thought immediately.

“Hey, stop right there.”

The world was not as beautiful as it seemed.

Randel’s troubles were not over yet.

“…Sigh.”

Randel, who had stopped at someone’s words, let out a sigh.

A heavy sigh that seemed to come from deep within his chest.

What it contained was undoubtedly boiling anger.

‘On the same day… not once, but twice, someone picks a fight with me?’

Whoever it was, he would twist their neck.

With that resolve, Randel turned around with an icy cold face.

“…Huh?”

But Randel’s expression quickly changed from cold to puzzled.

Because standing there was an unexpected person Randel had not anticipated.

“Can I take a moment of your time?”

The one who spoke was a knight with a shoulder guard.

She had red hair and light freckles on her cheeks.

Though she had a slender build, the body glimpsed through the armor was well-toned with muscles.

And most notably,

“Huh.”

The opponent was a rare female knight.

One that Randel knew well.

Randel quietly turned his body.

Tap tap tap.

Then, as if there was nothing to see, he immediately ran away.

The female knight was bewildered.

It was absurd that the opponent ignored her words, but to run away as soon as he saw her face?

“What, what? Why are you running away!”

Tap tap tap!

Soon, the female knight also started running after Randel. She shouted for him to stop, but Randel didn’t even pretend to hear.

So the female knight kept shouting.

“I know you used the guards! But that’s not why I’m here! Just stop for a moment!”

“……”

“I promise on my honor that I won’t hold you responsible! I just have something to ask!”

“……”

The female knight’s voice was filled with a deep sense of injustice.

It seemed genuine, but Randel continued to run away, pretending not to hear.

As he ran, he thought.

‘Why is she here?’

It was an odd thing to say, but the lord of this territory had one son and two daughters.

And the woman chasing Randel at an incredible speed, like a knight, was Manwellin.

‘The lord’s eldest daughter.’

Usually, the future of a noble’s daughter, especially the eldest, is somewhat predetermined.

Stay quietly and marry into another family through an arranged marriage.

But instead of preparing for marriage, Manwellin picked up a sword.

She didn’t want to marry a man she had never met, and she was worried about her brother who would become the lord, but surprisingly, she had an extraordinary talent for the sword.

‘They said she was one of the best in the kingdom?’

Unfortunately, that talent never blossomed in the future.

Tap, tap, tap.

Meanwhile, Randel, who was running through the back alleys, glanced back.

The distance between him and Manwellin was steadily decreasing.

She showed no signs of giving up.

“You! Are you ignoring a knight’s words?!”

Instead, she was sprinting with a bright red face, seemingly even more furious.

‘It’s impossible to beat a knight in stamina.’

Randel shook his head and listened.

He heard the sound of people murmuring nearby.

Randel quickly ran in that direction.

After turning a few corners, he came out onto a main street.

It was the busiest market street in the lord’s castle, where merchants laid out their stalls and solicited customers.

The alley leading to the main street was filled with boxes piled up by the merchants.

Randel paused for a moment and reached out to the pile of boxes.

“Huff, huff, huff…”

His breath came in rapid gasps, probably because he had sprinted at full speed.

Of course, it was difficult for a magician to use magic in such a state.

With his heart pounding and his throat parched, how could he possibly concentrate on magic?

But Randel could.

He just had to endure for exactly three seconds.

“…Greece.”

With Randel’s incantation, the ground briefly shimmered.

Confirming the success of his magic, Randel slipped into the crowd on the main street.

There were too many people to run quickly.

But Randel knew well from experience that he had to act naturally in such situations.

Suppressing his heaving shoulders as much as possible, he walked briskly.

Crash, bang.

“Ah!”

“Oh no, my goods!”

From behind, he heard the sound of something falling, along with faint screams and commotion.

The magic that reduced the friction of the ground, Greece.

It was only natural that people would fall while running on it with boots reinforced with iron.

It was also natural that the piles of boxes the merchants grabbed to steady themselves would topple over together.

Randel muttered quietly as he walked.

“Phew, he’s been persistent since he was a kid.”

Shaking his head, Randel headed straight for the castle gate.

* * *

The connection between the female knight Manwellin and Randel.

To explain this, one must first know the history of this territory, or more precisely, the history that is ‘to come.’

There’s no need to elaborate.

It can be summarized in one simple sentence.

‘This place will be ruined in about eight years, right?’

But he didn’t know the detailed circumstances.

By then, all the villagers, including Randel’s family, were already dead.

Since his hometown was completely destroyed, he had neither the reason nor the energy to care about this rural estate.

Later, he heard from Manwellin that it was ruined by a territorial war.

―A territorial war? That’s unexpected. Judging by the height of the castle, it seemed unbeatable in defense.

―…There were quite a few spies.

―The opposing estate must have prepared meticulously. But why did they suddenly attack?

―An ancient ruin was discovered on the outskirts of our estate.

―Ah, a ruin.

Randell met Manwellin when he was wandering around the continent.

At that time, Manwellin was also a mercenary, training while waiting for a chance to take revenge on the estates that had attacked.

Meeting someone from his unfortunate hometown, they quickly became close and traveled together for about three years.

‘Well, nothing special happened…’

Though they were a lonely man and woman, they did not form a deep relationship.

Both Randell and Manwellin had too many wounds to care about someone else.

Randell had lost everything to goblins, and Manwellin had lost her entire family in the territorial war.

At least Randell had no one to take revenge on, so he was just empty, but Manwellin was different.

She was so consumed by revenge that she would often wake up screaming in anger.

She always trained with her sword like a madwoman, thirsty for real combat.

‘She was like a beast with her eyes turned.’

Usually, a beast growls before attacking.

It means, ‘I’m in this state now, so don’t mess with me and go your way.’

But Manwellin didn’t even have that.

If she was in a bad mood, if someone touched her, she would bite them all, like a wild beast.

‘That was her charm, though…’

Then she left for the desert, saying she needed to become stronger.

She said she was going to meet some sword master there.

And that was the last time.

Randell never heard a word from her until he died tragically at the age of 43 in the ruins.

Did Manwellin succeed in her revenge?

Still, it was nice to meet her like this.

‘But it’s not the time to get involved yet.’

No matter what they were looking for him for, it would be a loss if he got dragged away now.

This is because Manwellin is a noble and Randel is a commoner.

Whether he is a wizard or not, the moment he gets pushed around by the class system, he might end up as the permanent wizard of the territory.

Even if they only targeted his family, Randel had nothing to say.

Moreover, Randel had realized something through his past life.

‘Whatever happens, whatever I do, I must always take the lead.’

I must be the master of my own life.

Whether I live, I must struggle to live, and whether I die, I must struggle to the end.

The end of a life that is only swept away is obvious.

Without a sound, he would just wear out and disappear as one of the countless cogs and parts of the world.

Before he knew it, the castle gate of the lord’s castle came into view.

The guards did not particularly stop Randel, as there were no special orders yet.

Randel, who had stepped out of the castle gate, looked back.

Then he muttered to the high castle wall.

“I will come to you first soon.”

But then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Ancient ruins. 8 years later. Territorial war.

‘Oh, ancient ruins… Can’t I just take them first?’

He did not know the exact location of the ruins.

But Randel was an experienced mercenary who had worked for many years in the ruins excavation team.

Wasn’t the reason he returned in the first place because of an incident that happened while excavating relics in the ruins?

If he could pinpoint the approximate location, finding and plundering the ruins would be a piece of cake.

‘This… might work?’

Even at a glance, the calculations made sense.

But the territorial war would not happen for at least 8 years.

There was still plenty of time.

‘First, I need to raise my 2nd circle.’

With that, Randel returned to the village.