Chương 15: Mages Are Prey Too

After listening to Instructor Marven's explanation, Zelier's understanding of magic deepened considerably. When broken down, mana control wasn't a single skill at all—it was made up of countless smaller disciplines. Mana efficiency. Mana flow speed. Precision. Control techniques... Every one of those aspects was tied directly to the Intelligence attribute. That also explained why he had only been able to optimize the Fireball spell matrix after raising his Intelligence.

Once they left the Chamber of Serenity, Zelier and Bev returned to the front desk, where the elderly mage issued them their Mage Guild badges along with this month's stipend. Unlike the Adventurers' Association, the Mage Guild spared no expense, even on the lowest-ranked badge. The Apprentice Mage emblem was a small circular plaque carved from polished white stone that almost felt like jade to the touch. Bev happily pinned hers to the front of her robe. As for the guild stipend... she hardly seemed to care.

Zelier, on the other hand, carefully tucked both the badge and the gold coin into his pouch. A whole gold coin... That alone would cover two months of lodging. Thinking about it, the Mage Guild really was absurdly wealthy. The Blackstone Town branch alone probably had dozens of Apprentice Mages. That meant they were handing out hundreds of gold coins in stipends every year—and that was just to apprentices. Higher-ranked mages undoubtedly received even more. Expand that across the entire Kingdom of Serel...

The yearly expense had to be astronomical. Just how rich is the Mage Guild...? Zelier couldn't help shaking his head in amazement. Marven had probably bent the rules because he knew Zelier was a commoner without much money. Three months meant three gold coins in stipends. Combined with whatever he earned from adventuring, that would be enough to purchase a couple of lower-quality spell scrolls. Of course, Zelier no longer needed them. Thanks to Matrix Deduction, Bev's spells were already being analyzed. Still...

He genuinely appreciated the kindness. He's a good mentor. Now that he'd obtained his mage certification, the most important task of the day was complete. But there was still one thing on his mind. A staff. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. For warriors, the essentials were sword, shield, and armor. For a mage? Nothing paired better than a proper magic staff.

It could shorten casting time, strengthen spells, and perhaps even provide unique enchantments. Now that he finally had a little money, there was no reason not to buy one.

"Miss Bev, do you know where I can buy a magic staff?" Zelier asked.

"I'd like to take a look."

"The Guild's Trading Hall sells them." Bev thought for a moment before smiling.

"I'm free right now anyway. I'll show you." Leaving the administrative building, Bev led him deeper into the guild grounds. The sky was brilliantly blue, while leafy trees cast cool shadows across the stone paths. Having finally passed her certification exam, Bev was clearly in an excellent mood—even her footsteps seemed lighter.

"So," she asked curiously, "you said you're an adventurer. Have you ever run into any really dangerous situations during a mission?"

"I have." Zelier nodded.

"My party encountered a Mistwraith while we were hunting wild wolves."

"A Mistwraith?"

"It's... a pretty terrifying monster."

"Its body is stitched together from the corpses of other creatures. It's incredibly strong, and it has a strange energy barrier covering its body that can shrug off most physical attacks." He gestured as he spoke.

"Fortunately, it was only a juvenile. It hadn't fully matured yet. My teammates and I managed to kill it together."

"Wow..." Bev raised an eyebrow.

"Then you're incredibly lucky."

"I know." Zelier chuckled.

"If it'd been an adult, I'd definitely be dead."

"No." Bev shook her head.

"That's not what I meant."

"What I mean is..."

"You're lucky you had those teammates." Zelier blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"You really don't know?" Bev looked at him in surprise.

"According to Adventurers' Association statistics, when low-rank parties encounter enemies that greatly outclass them..."

"... mages have the highest fatality rate."

"Seriously?" It was the first time Zelier had heard that.

"Of course." Bev began counting on her fingers.

"When you run into an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, it usually turns into a fight to the death."

"Most adventurers are risking their lives for money. Nobody actually wants to die."

"So the safest option is usually to run." She spread her hands.

"But can a mage outrun a warrior, ranger, or rogue?"

"When the party falls apart, the mage is always the one left behind."

"And monsters have sharp instincts. They also tend to target whoever poses the biggest threat first." She looked directly at him.

"Think about it."

"If your captain had ordered everyone to retreat when you met that Mistwraith..."

"... do you think you would've survived?" Zelier scratched the back of his head.

"... Probably not." Back then, Grey had already wanted to flee. It was Marcus who had immediately rallied everyone—and personally stood on the front line. If the party had scattered... Things probably would've played out exactly as Bev described. He would've been the first one to die.

"And in some cases..." Bev's voice became noticeably more serious.

"... mages can even become the prey."

"The prey?"

"You know about the incident from more than ten years ago?" She continued before he could answer.

"An Elementalist and a Saint Healer were both killed while out on a mission."

"The party leader claimed they'd died fighting monsters."

"But the investigation eventually uncovered the truth."

"It was their own teammates who murdered them."

"They got greedy."

"They wanted the treasures those mages carried, so they ambushed and killed them."

"Even an Elementalist and a Saint Healer could be murdered?" Zelier couldn't hide his surprise. After advancing beyond Upper-tier Mage, mages chose a specialization. Elementalist and Saint Healer were both advanced mage classes—individuals powerful enough to be considered core members of the Mage Guild.

"Scary, isn't it?" Bev wrinkled her nose.

"The truth is, no matter how powerful a mage's spells are..."

"... they're still at a disadvantage if they're ambushed by high-tier warriors."

"The Mage Guild was absolutely furious after that incident."

"They nearly went to war with the Adventurers' Association."

"In the end, the king himself had to step in and mediate."

"Afterward, relations between the two organizations became terrible."

"It took many years before things slowly improved."

"But the effects of that incident are still around today."

"At the very least, far fewer mages accept missions through the Adventurers' Association."

"The Mage Guild even established its own commission office."

"If someone wants to hire mages, they can simply post requests there instead." She paused before adding,"And if a mage dies during a mission..."

"... the Guild investigates the entire operation."

"They make absolutely sure the mage wasn't killed by their own teammates."

"It's one of the protections they put in place." Zelier nodded thoughtfully.

"That actually sounds pretty reassuring." If I die on a mission, the Mage Guild comes knocking on your door... Yeah. I can definitely live with that.