21st Century Archmage

Translator: Lei

Proofreader: Imagine

“Wh-what is all that?”

“Oh, this? How is it, can we use it?”

Bebeto and I had returned to the lakeside. Over a thousand fish were belly-up in the water, and Derval was roasting dozens of them on the fire. Seeing the magic armor in Bebetos claws, he stammered in shock.

“Isnt that mithril magic armor? And three of them at that!”

“Seems theyre all cooked~”

The black cat had given me a small bag, saying that I would need it. Inside were various seasonings, including salt. Now, eying the well-seasoned roasted fish, I grabbed one that was the size of my arm and brought it to my mouth.

“Kyre-nim… W-what is all this? And isnt that a formal airplate youre wearing?”

“A gift from God.” Giving a short reply, I took a big bite of the fish.

Chew.

‘Oohh! Delish!

The fish was perfectly seasoned with salt and spices. I paid no attention to Dervals alarmed voice and questioning and focused on filling up my belly.

“Sigh…” Derval let out a long sigh.

‘Knowing will give you a headache, dude.

There actually wasnt much to say. Those guys simply came and attacked me, I defended myself in order to live, I beat them up good, and took something as a reward for my efforts.

“Kyre-nim…”

Derval quietly called my name.

“What?” I mumbled over a bite of fish. “Next time…” Derval paused and looked right into my eyes. “Strip the wyverns of their hide, too. Those can be sold for quite a lot.”

“…..”

Derval had a deeply-rooted merchant mentality that far exceeded mine.

“Derval….”

“Kyre-nim….”

The hot gazes of two men met in the air.

‘Im tellin you, I picked a good person!

Derval was smart, listened well, and was thoroughly ingrained with a “prevention is better than the cure” mentality as well as being industrious and thrifty. I really liked him.

Grruuu. Lets not forget Bebeto, the new up-and-coming gangster star in the wyvern world, who was excitedly scooping up the belly-up fish without being told to do so.

I was suddenly struck with a premonition full of hope—a premonition that the three of us would turn this continent upside down. Those days would probably be full of suffering for others, but happiness for us.

It was a future I hoped for with all my heart.

* * *

‘We have to fly half a day without resting to get through, huh?

Even if he flew leisurely, Bebeto had a speed of over 60 km/h. We had to fly at that speed for at least half a day to be able to pass the rugged Rual Mountains.

Hundreds of nameless peaks were topped with white snow, and underneath those peaks was a dense forest that blanketed the ground as far as I could see. The sight inspired an automatic sense of awe within me.

‘So these mountains are encircling the Nerman Plains like a folding screen.

The Nerman Plains was about the size of a respectable duchy. Though it was technically Bajran Empire territory, apparently, even the empire saw it as a pain-in-the-ass lump of land. Without a wyvern, regular infantrymen had to walk at least half a month through the rugged mountains to reach the Plains.

In addition, the territory bordered the hostile Laviter Empire, pirates as vicious as a pack of dogs from the Kesmire Islands—an archipelago made up of around ten thousand islands—often came to plunder, and to top it off, barbarian tribes called the Temir came attacking in a round-house robin. Also, the countless monsters and demon beasts living in the Rual Mountains and the Kovilan Mountains showed up on the territory as well, so the Nerman Plains was a place of endless battles all year round.

At one point, over 200,000 empire troops were dispatched to the Plains, but tens of thousands of them had died every year, so now, only a few important positions were defended and only 20,000 soldiers were stationed there.

‘Even though its the size of a duchy, it doesnt have an assigned lord. Instead, the Commander-in-Chief acts as the lord.

The Nerman Plains somehow gave me a good feeling as soon as I heard the name. It was apparently a land of blessings where several rivers starting high in the mountains ran through the plains. Derval told me that besides the enemies coming in from all directions, it was an ideal place.

“Kyre-nim! Were almost there. We just have to pass that mountain and itll be the Nerman Plains!”

With only a magic compass and a single scrap of map in hand, Derval managed to find the way on his own. His voice was thick with emotion.

Swoooooooosh.

After continuous flights, Bebeto had completely figured out the wind and could play in the currents. Hitching a ride on an updraft, we passed the final peak.

‘If I have time later, I should build a ski resort here.

From what I heard, this place was decked in snow all year round. I felt like I could build a ski resort here just as good as the ones in the Swiss Mountains.

Woooooooooooosh.

An updraft hit us as we flew over the peak. Wind blowing in from the other direction was pushed into the air as it collided with the mountain. Despite his huge size, Bebeto was kicked upwards like a paper airplane.

“Ah…” Bebeto leveled out again, and then, I saw it.

It was endless.

All the pointy mountains were gone, and from the sky, I could see endless plains stretching out into the horizon, divided by several rivers. The knot in my chest fell away and my eyes were refreshed—it was truly a sight for sore eyes.

‘Kya, so nice~! This place where orcs are running free and ogres are waving—eh? W-what the fuck!?

As the mountains disappeared and the plains appeared, Bebeto flew low to the ground. From his back, I could see a very peaceful(?) scene.

Dozens of orcs wielding weapons were running across the plains like horses, and ogres with wooden clubs were grunting as they played a harmonious round of hide-and-seek.

‘Geh! T-thats all monsters!

It wasnt just one or two. Everywhere on the expansive plains, instead of humans, there were orcs and ogres hunting fish, trolls, and a variety of monsters and animals I didnt even know the names of.

‘My god…

It was a complete mess and then some. After flying a bit over the plains, I spotted a fortress in ruins and several villages. Of course, they too were occupied by monsters instead of people.

GUUOOOOOOOOOO! Only Bebeto was thoroughly excited. As someone who was at the top of the monster food chain, he bellowed in happiness as he flew low over the monsters heads.

Squeaaaal! Squeal!

Chaos ensued. As soon as Bebeto appeared, the monster groups that had been playing peacefully scattered like rabbits facing a fox, and even though they were monsters, not birds, some of them even slammed their heads in the ground and trembled.