Legendary Fame

Mage?

When had humanity produced mages again?

This question existed not only in the minds of the people of Ramanque City, but also in the mind of the Goblin Chief on the other side.

The decline of humanity's magical civilization had directly led to the drastic reduction of human territory.

For humanity, these past hundred years had been the darkest era.

Without magic, and with large war machines unavailable everywhere at all times, human armies—already physically disadvantaged—often suffered defeat after defeat in their battles against evil creatures.

But the reappearance of mages changed everything.

"Mages?"

"Our mages?"

"Gods above! That's Downs Quijote!"

"#!#@$(Ramanque profanity, good children should not learn it), that wastrel actually learned magic?"

"Pah! Watch your mouth. After today, we'll all have to call him Master Mage!"

"Ah! Sorry! I spoke too loudly just now."

What happened next was just a tiny bit out of place.

The poor donkey let out a strange, trembling cry as it tried to flee. Yet it was not that it did not dare move—it simply could not.

The numbing electric sensation coming from the person on its back had left the donkey's entire body stiff as a board.

Standing atop the donkey's saddle, Downs was practically calling roll, taking down one target with every shot from his Electromagnetic Gun.

Landing a headshot with every shot was honestly a little too much to ask of this young mage who had once trained as a Knight Apprentice.

Goblin Bears were huge!

As long as he hit them, there would definitely be a horrifying, bowl-sized bloody hole.

After a round of pew-pew-pew, Downs had slaughtered all seven Goblin Bears leading the charge.

Just then, Old Ryan, who had been moving toward Downs, discovered in horror that a Goblin had somehow crept onto the roof of the building beside him.

"Watch out, Master Mage!" Old Ryan only had time to shout that much.

Then something happened that no one had expected.

Waving a rusty iron blade, the Goblin indeed launched a spectacular aerial strike from above. Yet halfway through its descent, it seemed to crash into an invisible wall and bounced away in an utterly ridiculous manner.

Before it could hit the ground, a shining electric whip shot from Downs's left hand. Tearing through the surrounding air, it pursued its target like a serpent flicking its tongue, intercepting the disgusting creature in midair and lashing it cleanly in half at the waist.

A foul rain of blood splattered across half the wall.

The wind even carried the stench of scorched flesh over to the Old Priest.

Ryan stared wide-eyed in a daze. "A Magic Shield and elemental magic for close combat... He isn't even an academy-trained mage?"

What Downs considered an ordinary Defensive Counterattack combo caused far too much shock in the Old Priest's eyes.

If Downs had been an elderly scholar well past seventy, who had studied ancient texts from A Hundred Years Ago and painstakingly figured out one or two spells before somehow using them through sheer dumb luck, Old Ryan might not have been so excited.

But Downs was a youth of only sixteen or seventeen, effortlessly performing an entire set of magic.

That proved Downs had received a complete magical education.

Though Downs, a mage who had inexplicably appeared after a century, was certainly worthy of attention, what Old Ryan valued even more was the teacher behind him!

Old Ryan was so excited that he had no time to command the battle. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on Downs from beginning to end.

In truth, the Old Priest was not needed anyway. Downs had appeared at just the right time, before the City Guard's defensive line had collapsed and while the Commander was still present.

Once the Goblin Bears serving as the Goblins' spearhead had been wiped out, those Goblins, who had never been very brave to begin with, immediately began shrieking and fled in utter panic.

The human side pursued and slaughtered them, quickly avenging every grievance they had suffered.

The pursuit was left to the City Guard. Meanwhile, Downs, who had unknowingly become a hero in everyone's eyes, was surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd.

"Gods above, Downs, have you really become a mage?"

"Ah, yes. I'm a Formal Mage now." Unaccustomed to the enthusiasm of his fellow townsfolk, the young Downs was not very guarded and answered instinctively.

"That's wonderful! I want to become a mage too. Can you teach me?" One of Downs's childhood friends squeezed over and excitedly grabbed his hand.

"Uh, well, I can't really say!"

Not being able to say meant there was a chance.

The moment Downs said that, the crowd erupted.

"I want to be a mage too!"

"Me too!"

"Me too—"

The frenzied people looked as though they wanted to lift Downs up and swallow him whole.

Seeing that the crowd was beginning to lose control, Old Ryan raised an arm and shouted, "Don't push, everyone! If you collide with Lord Mage Quijote, the lord will punish you!"

The moment those words were spoken, the overheated crowd immediately realized something.

To his surprise, Downs saw several childhood friends awkwardly shrink back two steps.

Though Downs instinctively stretched out a hand, as if wanting to hold something back, a pitiful barrier had already formed between people. Until their statuses became equal again, that barrier would not disappear.

Sure enough, several minutes later, a group of knights arrived, leading a large number of heavily armored infantrymen in shining gear.

The Lord of Ramanque had personally arrived with his guards.

The city lord's response could not have been faster, but the speed with which this invasion had ended was completely beyond his expectations.

"What? The Goblin Army that invaded the city was routed by Lord Mage Downs Quijote?" After a brief moment of astonishment, the bearded lord's face filled with wild joy.

Of course, he had not forgotten the Quijote Knight Family, which had served his family for more than a dozen generations.

Back when he had heard that Downs had given up becoming a knight and gone searching for some vague old mage master, he had been so furious that he could barely eat his bread.

The legitimate son of one of his direct knightly families had refused to become a knight and gone off to Mess Around. That was a slap in his face as well!

But now?

Ha!

If Downs did not want to be a knight, there were plenty of others who did.

Mages, on the other hand, were incredibly rare!

The first mage in a century!

A once-in-a-century occurrence!

That title alone was extraordinary.

The more resentful Earl of Ramanque had once been, the more delighted he was now.

"Hahaha! I never thought I would have a mage too!" Almost instinctively, he believed that Downs should also pledge loyalty to him.

At that moment, his Knight Commander reminded him, "My lord, the reappearance of a mage after a century is far too significant. His Majesty will likely intervene personally..."

The earl's face instantly fell, though his unnatural expression lasted only a moment.

The earl naturally knew that although the kingdom followed the customary rule of "my vassal's vassal is not my vassal," he definitely could not keep this young mage.

Forget the king asking for him—even if Duke Ricardo, his direct liege, demanded him, he could not refuse.

Fortunately, he would certainly receive appropriate compensation.

At that thought, Earl of Ramanque's mind began to race.

The crowd parted to both sides. Seeing the earl's arrival, everyone bowed respectfully.

The earl, mounted on a tall horse, did not deliberately flaunt his noble status. Instead, he reined in his horse from ten paces away, lightly vaulted down, strode forward, and gave the somewhat lost Downs a salute—right fist to left chest, bowing his head.

"My deepest thanks! Archmage Downs Quijote! Your righteous deed saved all of Ramanque City. I—the Earl of Ramanque—thank you on behalf of every citizen of this city!"

A dignified earl speaking so openly instead made Downs feel embarrassed.

"I... um, my lord, I only defended my hometown."

Earl of Ramanque stepped forward, took Downs's right hand in both of his, and nodded heavily for emphasis. "Our hometown!"

Now that was broad-minded!

Elsewhere, Lein had been idly fishing and pondering what he should handcraft today when he suddenly noticed a system notification.

A bright message occupied nearly half his field of vision on his retina.

[Congratulations, Host! Due to the activity of the Host's Eldest Disciple, Downs Quijote, the Host has gained 1 point of Legendary Fame in the Ramanque region! The system is beginning its upgrade...]