What Was More Terrifying Than an Idiot

The situation had reached a stalemate.

Every time the knights broke through the Water Barrier, the older mage summoned another one. Their longswords couldn't hurt him at all. The other side was in much the same position. The two younger mages were idiots, so the three of them couldn't get the better of the Paladins just yet.

But Benjamin knew the stalemate wouldn't last long.

The older mage's relaxed attitude made it obvious he still had something up his sleeve. For now, he was only using defensive magic to give the rookies some practice. Once he started using offensive spells, the two Paladins probably wouldn't be able to hold him off.

And if they couldn't hold him off, Benjamin would be in trouble too.

Though he was beginning to feel a little sorry for the older mage, the man had said from the start that he intended to kill them all to keep them quiet. Benjamin didn't dare bet that revealing himself as a mage would be enough to spare his life. That would be like handing control over to someone else.

Besides, he wasn't ready to fall out with the Church.

So he chose to side with the two knights.

Having made his choice, he wasn't going to sit back and do nothing. Things had already come this far. Even if he hadn't fully come into his own yet, he had to join the fight instead of spectating from the sidelines.

A plan to break the stalemate quickly took shape in his mind.

At that moment, the knights were launching their second attack on the bubble.

Just as they swung their swords down, Benjamin suddenly moved. He quickly raised his hand and, before anyone else noticed, fired at the older mage without hesitation.

Bang!

The sound of the gunshot mingled with the sound of the bubble bursting, startling everyone else.

As soon as he fired, Benjamin rushed toward the thief, who was unable to move with a bullet in his knee. He didn't care what was happening between the mage and the knights after that shot; all he wanted was to get back the money that had been stolen from him.

The boy hadn't been on guard either, and Benjamin snatched the money from him in an instant.

With the money back in his hands, Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief.

That was the plan he'd come up with. First, his attacks weren't strong enough to penetrate the Water Barrier. The knights could break through it together, but they still had to land a second strike to hurt the mage. And if the mage put up another Water Barrier before they could swing a second time, he could keep the knights at bay.

That created a balance, and Benjamin's job was to break it.

He used the targeting interface to calculate the timing, then fired just as the Water Barrier was about to break. The bullet would pass through at the exact moment the bubble shattered and hit its target. The gap between those two events was so short that the other man wouldn't have time to chant a spell, much less put up another Water Barrier.

A mage without defensive magic was just an ordinary person, as fragile as paper in front of a bullet. So even without an enchantment, that single shot was enough to change the entire battle.

He'd aimed for the older mage's heart. But since it was the first time he'd fired with the intent to kill, and he felt pretty bad for the man, his hand had trembled as he pulled the trigger. There was a good chance he'd missed.

But even if he had, the man should be badly wounded.

Truthfully, he hadn't been determined to kill the other man. From beginning to end, he'd only had one thing on his mind: getting his money back.

The last part of his plan was for Benjamin to run away with the money while everyone was in disarray after the gunshot. He figured that, given the older mage's abilities, even with serious injuries, he should still be able to conjure up some kind of illusion and escape with his two students.

The two Paladins would probably give chase. That would leave no one to stop Benjamin, and he could carry on with his plan to buy a gun.

It really was a lovely plan. The two Paladins were protecting him, after all, and Benjamin didn't want them to get hurt. But the three mages were mages like him, and when he thought of those last few lines in the Bible, he hoped they wouldn't die here, either.

When he'd first come up with the plan, Benjamin had even laughed at himself. Maybe he just couldn't be like the protagonists in those novels, ruthless and indifferent to human life.

So Benjamin fired, grabbed the money, and everything went smoothly, just as planned. Cries and exclamations came from the mages' side, but no one hit the ground. The bullet had hit, and no one had died. Wonderful. Perfect. Benjamin had already turned to run.

But just like every plan he'd come up with since arriving in this world, no matter how perfect it seemed, something went wrong.

As he turned to flee, several hurried, furious incantations rang out behind him. The violent surges of magic and elemental energy startled him. He couldn't help glancing back.

A towering wave rose before the three mages.

Holy crap!

What kind of spell was that?

Benjamin had misjudged the older mage. Perhaps his two students had driven him half-mad, and then he'd been shot, pushing his anger past its breaking point and triggering some sort of berserk mode. So instead of using magic to escape, he'd chosen to attack.

Judging by the sight of a wave more than ten meters high summoned out of nowhere in a narrow alley, this was definitely a high-level spell. That mage could use the Water Barrier so skillfully—how powerful would his ultimate spell be?

Facing that wave, Benjamin felt as if he weren't up against magic at all, but the boundless forces of nature. He couldn't even bring himself to think of fighting back.

What the hell... Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu?

At last, in the second before the wave hit, he steeled himself and cast a Water Ball Spell, forming a bubble around himself to protect him. He wasn't worried about them discovering he was a mage. The two Paladins were farther forward and had already been swallowed by the surging water. There was no one else around to see him use magic.

The moment the bubble formed, the enormous wave crashed down on him.

His vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

"Why are you chasing me?"

"I want... emergency cough syrup!"

W-what the hell?

"Biosun Regularity Tea. Flush out toxins and feel light all over."

Where's the remote? Hurry up and change the channel...

"With Yuting, love without worry..."

You... shut up!

Benjamin jolted awake, gasping for breath. He opened his eyes and sat up.

"Ah, you're finally awake." The system's voice rang out in his mind, sounding cheerful.

Benjamin sat still for a while, catching his breath. Then, feeling utterly helpless, he said to the system, "Next time I pass out, can you wake me up a different way?"

The numerical interface appeared in front of him again:

"For human assistance, press zero."

It was pulling that trick on him again.

Benjamin couldn't be bothered to deal with the system anymore. After going through such terrifying magic, the first thing he needed to do was check his condition. Pain came from all over his body, but it wasn't too bad; he could bear it. He hadn't lost any limbs, either, and he could move freely. All in all, he was fine.

That put him somewhat at ease. He'd thought he might be seriously injured. It seemed the mage's ultimate spell hadn't been as terrifying as he'd imagined.

But after looking at his surroundings, he wasn't so optimistic.

This wasn't the alley where he'd passed out.

He was in a place that looked a little like a warehouse. It was dim and enclosed, lit only by a kerosene lamp against the far wall. There wasn't much inside, and the empty space, together with the gloomy light, made it feel like he was in a horror movie.

Benjamin was bewildered.

Where was he?

Why had he woken up in a completely unfamiliar place? Had someone brought him here?

What had happened while he was unconscious?

"Hey, why did you wake up so fast?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.

Benjamin immediately turned around. The two young mages, one tall and one short, stood at the other end of the warehouse, huddled together as they stared at him with a mix of curiosity and fear.

Benjamin's heart stirred. Had these two brought him here?

At the thought, he nervously glanced around. Thankfully, he couldn't see the older mage anywhere. Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Why aren't you answering me?" The shorter one seemed to grow impatient when Benjamin didn't reply. He yelled at him.

Benjamin was just about to answer when the other one cut in.

"Don't be like that. I think the teacher's magic might've knocked him stupid. He probably can't understand what we're saying." The taller one nudged the shorter one and said thoughtfully.

"Right, how did I not think of that? He really was knocked stupid!" The shorter one immediately looked enlightened and said happily.

"What do we do? If he's been knocked stupid, who's going to save the teacher?" The taller one soon looked worried and asked miserably.

"Yeah... What do we do?" The short one's face fell too, and he said sadly.

The two huddled closer and began whispering to each other.

"..."

Benjamin stared at them, utterly dumbfounded.

"Hey, you two." After hesitating, he decided to show them that he was of sound mind. Besides, he had questions for them. "Did you bring me here? Where are we? What happened? Where's your teacher?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted asking.

He should've asked them one question at a time. With their intelligence, there was no way they could answer so many questions at once...

As it turned out, he'd worried for nothing.

"Shh, quiet. You've already been knocked stupid. You can't talk." The short one turned back, glared at Benjamin, and said fiercely.

"..."

Benjamin had overestimated their intelligence.

"Just tell me what happened already." He gave up on communicating with the two and turned to ask the system in his mind instead.

"That spell knocked everyone unconscious, but after casting it, the mage passed out too. Only those two idiots were still able to move," the system said. By comparison, its voice sounded much more reliable. "After discussing it for a while, the two decided to run away with the unconscious mage. For some reason, they brought you along too. They left the two knights in the alley and didn't bother with them."

After hearing the system's explanation, Benjamin thought for a moment, then asked, "Where are we? How far did they take me?"

The system replied, "Don't worry, we haven't left the city. This is still Havenlight. They didn't go far, maybe ten minutes or so. But this place is pretty well hidden, so other people probably won't find it."

Only ten minutes?

Benjamin immediately felt much more at ease. What he'd worried about most was being taken somewhere remote and far away. Fortunately, he was still in the outer district. And judging by the amount of time, he probably hadn't been unconscious for long.

The system remembered the way, too, so he wouldn't get lost.

With that in mind, he stood up and prepared to leave the place, following the system's directions. After all, those two thought he'd been knocked stupid, didn't they?

He'd already had more than enough trouble tonight. He didn't even know if he should still go buy a gun.

"Stop! You're not allowed to leave!"

But as soon as the short one saw Benjamin trying to go, he panicked again and ran over to block his way.

"Why are you stopping me?" Benjamin asked impassively.

"Even though I don't know what magic you used to hurt the teacher, he's dying now, and you're the only one who can save him. Of course you're not allowed to leave!" the short one declared.

"Exactly. You're not allowed to leave." The tall one ran over too and added.

Benjamin was speechless.

Never mind that he hadn't used magic to hurt the older mage—he'd used a gun, but these two thought it was magic. That alone was enough to make him want to complain. But hadn't they both decided he was stupid? Why did they think he could save their teacher?

What on earth was going on inside their heads?

"Didn't you say I was stupid? How am I supposed to save anyone if I'm stupid?" Benjamin asked.

"Oh, right. He was knocked stupid, so he can't save the teacher." The short one froze at that, then immediately went from frantic to dejected.

"You're already stupid. You're no use to us, so you can go." The tall one shook his head and said that to Benjamin.

"..."

For some reason, after dealing with these two, Benjamin found himself unable to take another step toward the exit.

Honestly...

Fine.

After hesitating, he walked a few steps toward the door, then let out a heavy sigh and came back. He looked at the two of them helplessly and said, "I'm not stupid. Where's your teacher? Take me to see him. Maybe I can save him."

He felt like a kindergarten teacher. A kid fell over, and he couldn't help picking them up.

At his words, the two "little kids" exchanged a look and smiled in delight.

"You have to save our teacher, or we'll kill you." The short one grabbed Benjamin and ran toward the back of the warehouse, cheerfully saying this as he went.

"...Oh." Benjamin's expression was cold.

Thanks to Venerable Red for the tip!