I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game

A ray of light faintly descends on the foggy battlefield. The light that pierced through the dark clouds illuminated the soldiers hiding in the trenches, but none of them had the energy to look up at the sky.

Their eyes were fixed on the no-man’s land outside the trenches, and their hearing and smell were constantly searching their surroundings for new information.

It was suffocating.

You never knew when or where magic would strike again. If not magic, it could be a chunk of flesh filled with venom or a sharp piece of bone.

The battlefield was a place where you could die for any reason. The soldiers who had survived up until now and were skilled enough knew this very well.

The alcohol and cigarettes that had temporarily soothed their minds were of little help to the soldiers who were facing an unprecedented attack.

No matter how strong the alcohol was or how refreshing the cigarettes were, they could not kill the enemies in front of them.

The air of the battlefield was heavy. The no man’s land was covered in a fog made of blood. Green and red blood spread widely over the mud lumps.

I couldn’t get used to it. I couldn’t get used to it at all.

The wizards, the archers, the infantry.

The officers who gave orders and controlled the soldiers were the same.

Everything around me felt like a never-ending nightmare, and it must have been the same for them.

“Are you here?”

The officer saluted lightly at me and the guards. I nodded in response.

My mouth didn’t open properly. My mouth was blocked by the heavy air of the battlefield.

“I heard that you’ll be replacing Belle starting today... Please take care of me.”

The officer seemed unaware of the details of the operation. He simply thought that I was going into battle as a replacement for Belle, who had run out of magic power.

“How is Belle’s condition?”

The officer asked me with a worried expression.

“Not so good. Your magic power is almost depleted. You should probably rest for two days.”

Alter answered the officer’s question instead.

This sly old man seemed to be quite good at lying.

“......I see, I understand.”

In fact, Bell’s condition was not completely as bad as Alter said. He had some magic power left for today.

Of course, he was dizzy and vomiting, but he still had enough energy to show up on the battlefield and create a barrier, and he planned to participate in the battle if necessary.

Even so, the reason Alter lied about Bell’s condition being the worst was for another reason.

Desperation was necessary in this battlefield.

In order to deceive the meticulous overlords, the soldiers had to see ‘real hell’ in their eyes.

I started walking toward the trenches close to the enemy lines as planned. The soldiers’ eyes were all as if they were on the verge of death. They didn’t even have time to greet me, so they only nodded lightly, and I simply gave them a light bow.

“......Whew.”

The most forward of the front lines.

As soon as I stood in front of the no-man’s-land, I let out a sigh.

The air was thick and humid, filled with the smell of blood and chunks of flesh, but the cold air was particularly clear and crawled up my body.

I could feel the tension among the soldiers that a small mistake could lead to my death, the death of my comrades, and the defeat of the war.

No matter how experienced the soldiers were, no one could endure this in their right mind. The soldiers either had laughter on their lips, their eyes were swollen, or they were constantly muttering curses.

“Something in the shape of a human is walking across the no-man’s-land!”

It was the moment when I took a seat in the corner of the trench and tried to catch my breath.

Someone shouted loudly, as if they were angry. Some of the soldiers did not take this scream seriously. This was because the number of soldiers seeing things was increasing. These... ... were the most optimistic among the soldiers.

“......Fuck, people? People!? Are you sure?”

However, some of the soldiers reacted abnormally sensitively to this report. They were those who suffered from delusions of grandeur and persecution delusions due to the long war.

“You crazy, what do you know! If you walk through the no man’s land like that, it’s the enemy! Get ready to shoot!”

“It’s impossible to identify due to the fog, there’s only one so far, so don’t be impatient. Don’t shoot until you can completely identify whether it’s friend or foe!”

Fortunately, the officer who was still sane shouted loudly at the magicians who had started reciting spells without permission.

The magic power that had been gathering at the tip of the staff and the taut bowstring slowly lost strength. Taking tense breaths, the other soldiers also focused their gazes on the shadow of a human figure slowly emerging from the fog.

“This is driving me nuts, damn it... Damn it, really! Let’s just shoot him! Lieutenant!”

Among the archers, one who had not yet relaxed his bowstring shouted at the officer. His hands were shaking with nervousness and anxiety, and it was questionable whether he could properly hit something in that state.

“Shut up! It could be an ally. It won’t be too late to deal with them after identifying whether they are an ally or an enemy. Don’t be impatient! We shouldn’t waste our already limited magic power and arrows on a mistaken shot!”

Despite his anxiety, the officer maintained his senses and shouted at the archer. Only then did the archer lower his bow.

“About 170 centimeters tall... with a longsword hanging from his waist! Judging by the armor he is wearing... he must be an ally! He walks slowly because he limps on one leg. He looks like a wounded survivor from yesterday’s battle.”

One of the elven archers with good eyesight described the figure he was seeing in detail.

“Wounded? Then you were lying in that no man’s land pretending to be a corpse?!”

“You’ve been in that poison pit for hours, so you must be quite alive. Lieutenant! Give me permission to fire!”

“I told you to shut up, Lieutenant! You’re telling me to shoot at our own troops when we’re short on magic and arrows?! Everyone, put down your staffs!”

The lieutenant shouted even louder at the soldiers.

“......Fuck.”

The wizard who had been asking the lieutenant for permission to fire finally cursed and put his staff away.

Silence fell over the battlefield for a moment.

The figure beyond the fog gradually got closer, its faint silhouette becoming clearer.

“......Teru! Is that you Teru?!”

The shadow’s true identity was human.

One of the soldiers shouted passionately as his blue hair was revealed. When he appeared, his armor was completely covered in blood and a large tree branch was stuck in one of his legs.

I couldn’t understand how he had managed to walk through that dangerous no-man’s land safely with those legs. No, I couldn’t even imagine how he had survived in that no-man’s land full of poison in the first place.

“He went missing two days ago! Private 2nd Infantry! He’s my successor! He’s our ally! Don’t shoot! He’s our ally!”

The soldier next to the officer put his sword back into his waistband and shouted loudly.

Two days?

Two days?

Not even a day?

Thinking about it calmly, it didn’t make sense. This wasn’t an easy battlefield where an infantryman left alone without any support could survive for two days. If an ordinary mutant or a demon’s poison were to infect a normal human, their limbs would be paralyzed within a few hours, and if infected with a high-ranking demon’s poison, they would die within three hours.

The Great Monarch’s poison... ... Needless to say, his body would probably melt the moment he touched it.

So it was absurd to judge it coolly.

This is a trap.

“Wait, Teru! I’ll help you!”

However, it was difficult to expect such cool judgment from soldiers who were already pushed to the limit. Even if there was a wounded soldier right in front of him, a soldier who had died.

“No! Stay in your place!”

The soldier who called the wounded soldier walking from afar as Teru climbed up the trench and started running through the mud-filled battlefield.

The officer didn’t even have time to stop him. He was so exhausted that he couldn’t think straight after seeing his comrade’s miraculous return.

“It’s a miracle, Teru! This is a miracle, you punk! Hahaha! Astella took care of you!”

The soldier shouted loudly as he ran through the no-man’s land toward the wounded soldier.

Miracle.

He laughed loudly as he said that. It was loud and hearty enough to make the listener feel good.

In this battlefield where only despair mercilessly descended, the soldier saw hope through the returned soldier named Teru.

If this were a movie, there would have been touching music at this point.

The sunlight that broke through the dark clouds after almost two weeks would shine on the two, and after a brief silence, the people would cheer.

But this was reality.

“......Teru?”

The soldier who quickly ran and carried the injured man’s arm on his shoulder realized belatedly that something was wrong and spoke in a smaller voice than before.

“I want to live, I want to live.......”

The blue-haired private named Teru stuttered with unfocused eyes as if he had a brain failure.

A chill ran down his spine and his limbs trembled.

The soldier who carried the soldier’s arm on his shoulder named Teru froze as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen.

“Please save me, save me. Save me.......”

The soldier named Teru shed tears. His voice was cracked and broken. He begged for his life to the soldier holding his arm.

Soon, his left eyeball fell into the mud along with tears.

The wizards, realizing that something was seriously wrong, quickly raised their staffs and aimed them at him.

“......Wait, wait! They’re friendly! Stop firing!”

“Friendly! Don’t you know by the way they speak and their condition? They’re mutants! They’re already dead! Hurry up and get out of here, you crazy bastard!”

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

As he watched the wizards and archers aiming at him, the soldier named Teru cried even louder. It was a cry that sent shivers down the spines of those who heard it.

I remained silent, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) unable to make any judgments. The officers watching him, as well as Rex and Alter, who had a lot of experience on the battlefield, did not open their mouths.

However, they noticed the strangeness of the situation and looked around to see what would happen soon.

It seemed as if he was trying to prepare for the field.

“Even one! Let’s save even one! Maybe the saint can heal them! Is there even one missing soldier who came back alive?! Is there even one person who came back alive and brought them back......!”

On the no-man’s land, the soldier shouted at his comrades who were aiming their bows and staffs at him.

He shouted desperately and slowly began walking toward the trenches, leading the soldier named Teru.

But.

Thump.

Then, the sound of something being ripped echoed.

When he turned his head, there was the torn arm of the soldier named Teru.

“......Uh.”

The soldier’s face turned pale when he saw that his arm had been easily ripped off like a wet piece of paper.

“Ha, ha......!”

Soon, the soldier named Teru collapsed to the ground with an ugly laugh. His face was buried in the mud full of poison, and the back of his head was covered with marks where someone had torn and sewn it up.

“Fuck... It’s all over.”

A small voice burst out from the mud. It was the voice of someone who had lost his mind. That voice, covered in great fear and despair, made those who heard it feel the same way.

“Everyone’s dead. Private, Captain, me... We shouldn’t have stepped in in the first place, in the first place. In the first place...”

That voice died down feebly, like the flame of a lamp that had burned out all its fuel. His body slowly sank into the mud, and a clear fear settled in the eyes of the soldier who was holding Private Teru’s shoulder.

It comes every day.

Every day.

Someone’s comrade, brother, friend, comrade.

They come back in such a state.

Every day, they become ghosts, weighing down the shoulders of those on the battlefield.

This is a warning.

A warning that we will soon be like this.

“Damn it, a lot of demons appear at 1 o’clock! Wake up!”

Before there was time to mourn the soldier’s miserable death, the officer woke up the trench with a sound close to a scream.

Immediately after, demons with huge wings and carrying light on their backs appeared in the sky.

They silently raised their fingers and pointed at the soldier standing on the no-man’s land.

“If you delicately touch the brain, you can create a mutant in a ‘half-alive state.’ When in that state, the body moves due to the instinct to live without being able to think properly. This method is the most efficient when looking for where you are hiding.”

A soft voice echoed through the silent trench.

The wizards and archers quickly prepared to intercept, but it was already too late.

We should have noticed them before they flew over the no-man’s land and approached us.

However, our eyes were drawn to the bait called ‘Teru’, and our discovery was delayed by a few seconds.

And in this battlefield, a few seconds is enough time to decide the situation.

The red light began to gather in their hands, and then all at once, they became straight flashes of light and flew towards the heads of the soldiers standing blankly in the no-man’s land.

Death covered the area around the trench.

Most of the soldiers stopped in confusion and despair, but I, who had the [calm] characteristic, calmly moved my body to find something to do.

I struggled out of the trench, stepping on the mud with my thin arms, and started running into the middle of the bombing.

Some people were shocked and shouted as they saw me going out of the trench, but some came to their senses belatedly and began to move their bodies to find things they could do.

It was time to retrieve the trap.