I'm not that kind of person
"Not at all," I replied.
Violet, ever inquisitive, decided to question the coachman a bit more about his relationship with the bandits. As expected, the answer revolved around us possessing something they wanted.
"Ugh... Just keep driving," I sighed.
"E-Excuse me?" he stammered.
"Drive. Do we look like we know how?"
"Y-Yes sir! Right away!"
With that, the coachman grabbed the reins and urged the horses forward.
We had no choice. Even if he had tried to betray us, neither Violet nor I knew the first thing about driving a carriage.
Besides, even if he tried something again, I was confident we could handle him. That's why, for now, we let him keep the reins while we traveled in relative comfort.
"Must be tired," I mumbled to myself, noticing Violet leaning against my shoulder, fast asleep. The wall was probably too hard, so she naturally gravitated towards me.
"I should browse the forum a bit before I doze off too."
It seemed like a good idea to catch up on the forum and then get some rest.
However, I needed to stay awake until Violet woke up. If we were both asleep, the coachman might try something foolish. We needed to take turns sleeping.
With that in mind, I opened the forum and checked the trending posts. I was curious to see what hot topics emerged while I was offline.
The criteria for reaching the top were quite strict, so it was always a guarantee for some entertaining reads.
"This one first."
One post stood out, having garnered significantly more upvotes than the others. Naturally, I clicked on it.
[Author: Ayo]
[Title: What in the world...? jpg]
[Content: (Picture) I was on my way to gather Banshee Dust at the Cliffs of Illusion, when this dude just drops a bomb out of nowhere???]
L: What a psycho lolololololol
ㄴ: What the hell is wrong with him?
ㄴ: No matter how angry you are, who just drops a bomb like that?
ㄴ: This is hilarious lol
L: Isn't that the Cliffs of Illusion?
ㄴAyo: Yep
ㄴ: Hold up, so he bombed a Banshee hunting ground?
ㄴ Ayo: Pretty sure, yeah lol
ㄴ: Holy crap, that's legendary lolololololol
L: That's our mage folks for you lol
ㄴ DieIllegally: That's definitely a Paladin's doing if you ask me ㅇㅇ
ㄴ: Look at this mage trying to shift the blame onto a Paladin lol
ㄴ: Kinda pathetic tbh..
ㄴ: That place is kinda scary though lol
ㄴ: If a lot of people have died there, then he did a good thing
L: (Info) The bombed location, Cliffs of Illusion, is left uncleared specifically for Banshee Dust farming.
ㄴ: Good info is always appreciated
ㄴ: Didn't know that lol
ㄴ: Thanks
"That's... me, isn't it?"
The person who bombed the Cliffs of Illusion... there couldn't be anyone else, could there? The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. It was me. A wave of awkwardness washed over me.
"I thought there was no one around."
I had used [Holy Tsar Bomba] thinking no one was watching. To think someone saw the whole thing... Thankfully, it seemed they didn't see my face. They only saw the magic being used. I was relieved.
"Could've gotten messy."
They could've demanded compensation for the destroyed cliff. That would've been a pain. I mean, it wasn't my fault.
What was I supposed to do when those Banshees trapped me on that cliff? No matter how I looked at it, I did nothing wrong.
Shaking off the uneasy feeling, I continued scrolling through the comments.
L: Gotta love our mage's fiery spirit lol
ㄴ: That's not fiery, that's just idiotic
ㄴ: Hey now
ㄴ: It's true though, mages = idiots ㅇㅇ..
ㄴ: So many salty wannabe mages lol
ㄴCthulhu: Mages can be a bit obnoxious, not gonna lie
ㄴ: As expected, the voice of reason belongs to our warrior friend lol
L: Sigh
ㄴ: Aka
ㄴ:『Murasaki』
ㄴ: Damn lol These guys are still using memes from years ago
ㄴ: Can't argue with classics, cheers~
It seemed there were many people who yearned to be mages but couldn't. Hence, the jealousy.
"Ugh."
Being a mage was a calling, a path only those chosen could tread.
While I understood their feelings of inferiority, seeing their envious comments stillirked me. I couldn't help but fire back a response.
L ReallyDirtPoor: Looks like someone's bitter they couldn't hack it as a mage lol
Having said my piece, I moved on to the next trending post.
[Author: Starving]
[Title: Learned a OP martial art today, AMA]
[Content: Got food poisoning from eating some random mushrooms in the mountains. Luckily, a martial arts master passing by saved my sorry ass lol]
L: So what kind of martial art is it?
ㄴ Starving: Not sure about the specifics
ㄴ Starving: But it's an ancient technique, apparently
ㄴ: So he invented it today?
ㄴ: Good one lol
ㄴ: Shots fired
L: This guy's been spamming for attention since that bloodbath incident, smh
ㄴ: Fr
ㄴ: That whole blood-soaked thing was disgusting af
ㄴ: So annoying
L:Cthulhu: Teach me your ways, master
ㄴ Starving: You're already a walking weapon, dude
ㄴ: Look at these verified users being buddy-buddy lol
ㄴ: ㄴ You're verified too, buddy
ㄴ: lolololololol
ㄴ: What a rare sight, a verified user calling out another...
ㄴ: Aren't there only verified users on this forum anyway lol
Ah, right. There were no unverified users on the forum. It was something I've mentioned before, but the forum was exclusively for verified users. It was impossible to create an unverified account.
That's why everyone was always careful with their posts. Saying the wrong thing could make your forum experience quite unpleasant.
As I pondered this, I cast a spell, shrouding the space around us, the carriage, and the coachman.
"It's visible from the inside, so..."
The spell created a one-way barrier. We could see out, but no one could see in. I learned it back at the academy. Apparently, prisons used a similar method for surveillance.
"There was a specific name for it..."
I vaguely remembered learning about it, but my memory wasn't the greatest back then.
It was only after coming to this world that my memory became abnormally sharp. Back in my original world, Korea, I was pretty average in that department.
Anyway.
With the spell in place, the coachman would think twice before trying anything stupid, constantly under our watchful eyes.
"As I said, we can see you. Don't even think about taking any detours. I don't particularly care, but... my friend here has quite the temper."
As if testing the waters, the coachman subtly raised his middle finger in my direction.
My mind went blank.
"Is he insane?"
After that beating, he still had the audacity to provoke us? Speechless, I swiftly severed his middle finger.
Slice-!
"Aaaaagh! Gkk..."
"I told you we could see you. Why would you even...? Unbelievable."
I truly couldn't comprehend his thought process. What possessed him to do something so foolish?
"I thought I could get away with it... Gkk..."
"You have the intelligence of a pebble..."
No, wait.
That would be an insult to pebbles. He was more like a... chicken head.
With that thought, I decided to get some shut-eye. As I closed my eyes—
"Damn it."
They flew open again.
The reason was simple.
"...What was the name of that prison thing?"
It was on the tip of my tongue. I knew it, but I just couldn't grasp it. This was going to bug me until I remembered.
I opened the forum and quickly typed out a post.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: What's the word for this?]
[Content: What's the name for that thing where prisons can see everything from one spot?]
I posted it and waited. It didn't take long for a reply to pop up.
L: You're a mage and you don't even know that? lol
ㄴ: Mages are all talent, no brains lol
ㄴ: Here come the street rat warriors again
ㄴ: Don't push it, buddy. We may be dumb, but we're no warriors
ㄴ: My bad, my bad
L: Panopticon
"Ah."
Finally, the answer I was looking for. A wave of relief washed over me. Remembering felt good.
ㄴ ReallyDirtPoor: Thanks!
I left a grateful comment and continued browsing the forum, waiting for Violet to wake up. I may have cast the Panopticon spell, but there was no guarantee the coachman wouldn't try something stupid again.
Lost in the world of the forum, I didn't notice how much time had passed until...
"Hmm..."
Violet stirred beside me.
"Morning," she said, her voice still laced with sleep.
"Y-Yeah..."
I had clearly fallen asleep leaning against the wall, yet I woke up with my head resting on Violet's shoulder.
Embarrassment burned my cheeks as I quickly straightened up and checked on the coachman.
"The horses were getting tired," he explained, "so I stopped for a bit so they could rest."
Tired horses, huh? So that's why the coachman was napping as well. Convenient.
"One moment," I said, my suspicions rising.
I couldn't let this slide. I stepped out of the carriage. It was time for the coachman and the horses to switch places.
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