21st Century Archmage

‘!! W-What the hell?’

I arrived at the scene just in time to see a 6th Circle spell being unfurled.

It was already too late to run and block it, so I could only blankly watch the cave.

But to my shock, the cave’s inhabitants survived the 6th Circle spell and walked out. There were still remnants of magic flame energy, but the people came out with twisted expressions.

‘Beastmen!!’

Surprisingly, they were beastmen, the demi-human race said to have been wiped out.

Most of the time, their appearances were very human-like, but in battle, fur would grow over their whole bodies and long claws as hard as steel would emerge on their hands.

Among the demi-humans, the beastmen were the race with the strongest fighting ability.

This was the moment they reappeared in front of people after over a thousand years.

‘A mage? A beastman is?’

More surprising was the spells cast to defend against the 6th Circle spell. There weren’t any humans—the five beasts, no, beastmen all appeared to be mages.

‘Sigh, those guys are mages of the Aidal Magic Tower?’

I didn’t want to believe it, but I had a bad feeling. I let out a long sigh.

“My goodness, to think beastmen were still alive! Hahaha. We’ve struck it rich today, haven’t we?”

“Surrender! Anyone who moves will be beheaded!”

‘Who the hell is he?’

There was a young brat wearing high-class mithril armor and an unfashionable, tasteless golden cloak. It seemed his parents liked gold, because even his hair gleamed golden.

Protecting that glamorous boy were knights of uncommon skill. They weren’t Master level, but they still exuded powerful mana.

‘A person owning a golden wyvern getting protected by a 6th Circle mage and Imperial Knight-level bigshots… That brat, is he someone from the Laviter Empire Imperial Family?’

I tried piecing his identity together by putting together various clues.

“Humans… We’ll kill you…”

Among the beastmen with cat-like tails, a beastman 2 meters tall in the middle gave a bloodthirsty snarl.

“Protect His Highness!”

‘His Highness?’

When the beastmen emanated bloodthirst, the mage ordered the knights.

Fwwiiiiiiiip.

Baaaam!

The Skyknights flying above came lower and hurled spears at the beastmen’s feet.

A wordless warning.

The beastmen might be a combat race, but the current situation was absolutely disadvantageous.

“Kneel! I am Imperial Prince Alskane of the Great Laviter Empire. If you kneel and greet me, I will spare your lives!”

The golden-haired youngling revealed that he was a prince of the Laviter Empire. His haughty face was bright with the confidence of someone assured of victory.

“Raaawr!”

Flash!

Just then, the beastmen leapt forward with enraged tiger roars.

“You bastards!”

“Impertinent!”

The five knights rushed to meet the beastmen’s headlong charge as if they had anticipated it.

‘Wow! Even though they’re not even a circus group!’

Their movements were surprising. The sight before me confirmed the beastmen’s reputation as battle monsters when it came to fighting. The moment they kicked off, they sprang around 3 meters into the air and hurtled forward nearly as swift as an arrow.

“Hold!”

The two mages immediately cast Hold on the beastmen.

Flaaash.

The beastmen that had been racing forward like sports cars halted for a moment.

Clang!

Not missing that chance, the knights swung their Aura Blade swords. The beastmen, shaking off the Hold, crashed into the swords with their 30 cm long, black claws.

Claaaaaang!

Craaaash.

Sparks flew.

Surprisingly, the beastmen met the knights’ swords with their developed muscles and reflexes.

They slashed with their claws, not pushed back in the slightest by people who were definitely Imperial Knights.

‘Hooh, they’re quite something.’

At first, I thought they would be screwed by the Aura Blades, but it seemed their claws were pretty sturdy. From my experience, a Blade created by knights was strong enough to slice through most plate armor, but the black claws of the beastmen didn’t get cut.

Fwwwiiiip.

BAM!

“GRAAAWR!”

Just then, a Skyknight flying 10 meters above the ground hurled a Blessed Spear that struck one of the beastmen in the back.

“Stop! If you move, you will all be killed!”

They were knights, but these Laviter Empire bastards did not hesitate to attack from behind like cowards. They were too shameful to be called Imperial Knights that carried the empire’s honor.

“Grawwr!”

“Grrrrrrr!”

After their comrade was severely injured, the beastmen growled as they retreated backwards.

‘Are there no human mages around?’

In a situation like this, if there was anyone left alive in the cave, they would have come out, but I didn’t feel any additional presences.

“Surrender. This is your last chance. Looks to me that you are the last living beastmen on the continent, so if you don’t want your race to be exterminated, obediently obey!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.”

Supporting their injured comrade, the beastmen growled.

Bam bam bam bam!

Threatening spears embedded themselves at their feet once again.

A nasty and perfect trap.

“…..”

“Oh! So the legends about the beastmen were true! They really are just like humans outside of battle!”

‘Geh! Beastmen are kumihos?!’

[TN: Kumiho are female foxes disguised as humans who like to trick men and eat them. They appear in Korean folktales.]

At the Prince’s exclamation, I almost shouted in unison.

As if deciding to surrender at the mention of racial extinction, the beastmen undid their transformation.

All their fur suddenly disappeared and their tails retracted, and their claws were nowhere to be seen.

In the blink of an eye, what appeared were five humans.

Three robust men and two voluptuous females, no, women.

‘Ughya!’

The greater shock was that they were buck naked, 18+ NSFW. My eyes went round, and my nose nearly started bleeding. They were beastmen, but their current appearance looked exactly like humans.

“Your Imperial Highness, congratulations. You have captured the first beastmen in a thousand years.”

“Haha, thank you, Sir Dorvit. I won’t forget your role this time.”

“No, Your Imperial Highness, I didn’t do anything. Everything is a gift granted by the gods for Your Highness.”

After the beastmen gave up, the Imperial Prince and mage’s faces lit up with smug looks. One of the beastmen was bleeding profusely from the spear in his back and on the brink of death, but it seemed they weren’t thinking about treating him.

“Tie up the bitches and males separately.”

“As you command!”

The Imperial Prince’s eyes moved to the beastwomen, who appeared to have barely reached their twenties.

They had phenomenal figures.

Like South American women, their voluptuous bodies were tucked in and sticking out in all the right places. They made the gaudy western magazine models my friends had sometimes shown me look like a joke.

Gulp.

I unconsciously gulped.

They weren’t embarrassed.

They apparently had different notions from humans, because they were showing their mature bodies without reserve. Only the area down under was barely covered with leather underwear. Seeing as it wasn’t burned to ashes by the magic flames, it was likely demon beast leather.

‘But how am I going to deal with these guys?’

It wasn’t a good situation to call Bebeto over. There were 10 wyverns and Skyknights standing guard above in case of possible danger. The people on the ground couldn’t be underestimated, either. My hiding spot was about 20 meters away from them. Even if I leapt over in an instant and ran with all my might, they would definitely detect me.

“Kneel!”

Bam!

Having given up for fear of racial extinction, the knights approached the beastmen, who were still directing bloodthirst at the Imperial Prince, and roughly kicked them.

“Geh!”

Click! Click!

And then, the Imperial Knights shackled the beastmen’s hands behind their back with mana restriction bracelets.

“Your Imperial Highness, I will go inside and check for any remnants.”

“I shall go too.”

“That will not do, Your Highness,” said the mage, firmly stopping the Prince. “I believe it would be wise to allow the knights and me to go in first and check before going inside.”

“Got it. Then, go quickly.”

‘Alright!’

While I was agonizing over how I should handle these guys, the mage took care of it for me.

“Sirs Forfin and Edwin, go guard him.”

“As you command!”

The Guard Knights of the Imperial Family only took orders from the Emperor and the members of the Imperial Family. The two knights responded to Prince Alskane’s command energetically as they joined the mage.

Then, the three people disappeared into the large cave.

“For beastmen bitches, you’re quite beautiful. You should be very useful.”

‘This wet-behind-the-ears bastard!’

After the mage disappeared, the Prince approached the captured beastwomen. The wicked smile on his lips was very reminiscent of 40-year old perverts smiling sleazily at the skirts of young girls.

‘A chance!’

As the Prince approached the female beastmen, the knights loosened their guard. They knew the beastmen wouldn’t have any energy to resist with the mana bracelets on, and it seemed they were trying to keep their dignity as knights.

‘Go! Wind Missile!’

I could now cast something like 3rd Circle spells with just my will and no incantation. My targets were the golden chickens dozing in the clearing.

Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!

Around ten transparent balls went flying without a sound.

Bam bam bam bam bam bam!

GWAAAAAAAAAR!

KWAAAAAAAAAK!

Suddenly suffering magic blows to their heads while nodding off, the ten wyverns screamed loudly enough to shake the earth.

Flash!

The moment everyone’s gazes went to the wyverns, I ran towards the Prince like the wind.

“Ambush!”

“Ah!”

‘It’s too late, you snails!’

I shot 20 meters forward like a lightning bolt with mana step. No, it was more accurate to say I flew. Reaching the Prince in moments, my sword landed a hair’s breadth away from the Prince’s white nape without giving anyone a chance to react.

The tip of my blue Bladed sword vibrated audibly.

“…..”

Everyone froze as if we were playing Red Light, Green Light. The Imperial Knights and the single mage who were just 5 meters away from Alskane looked round-eyed at me and the sword in my hand.

“Haha, hello there.”

Because I had my helmet on, they couldn’t see my true appearance. I greeted them warmly with my free left hand. But not a single person opened their mouths to greet me back. Their brains were probably scrambling to figure out what the scene in front of them meant.

“Y-Your Highness!”

The knights’ bodies began moving instinctively.

“I’d stay right there if I were you? If you don’t want to see this lucky Prince’s golden cabbage rolling on the ground, that is.”

“Argh!”

The knights shook with rage. Imperial Knights had much higher loyalty to the Imperial Family than other knights. They probably thought I, someone who likened the Prince’s head to a vegetable, was the devil.

“W-Who the hell are you?”

Seemingly frightened by the sword lingering lightly at his neck, the Prince bastard held onto his pride even now.

Bam!

I couldn’t help but throw a punch at his ugly mug.

“YOUR HIGHNESS!!!!”

“Geh!”

Mournful cries blasted out of the knights along with the Prince’s cry.

“It seems you still haven’t read the mood, but you better speak politely while I’m being nice. If you don’t want to go belly-up, I mean. Huhuhu.”

‘Do I also have psycho tendencies?’

For the people on the other side, this was a grave situation where one shouldn’t be able to laugh, but a villainous laugh was bursting out of me. It actually surprised me, too.

“Do you know who this esteemed person is?! Release His Highness! If you do so, we will not charge you for your crime!” yelled the mage in alarm.

“Oi oi, good mage sir. Does the head on my shoulders look like a stone to you? Shit, are you kidding me? Do you think I’m joking right now?”

Whirrr!

As I spoke, I poured more mana into my sword, which blazed blue.

Everyone clamped their mouths shut.

‘These guys are fooling around.’

I could feel the presences of the knights and mage who had gone into the cave.

“Oi oi! Those rats hiding in the back should come crawling out already! If you don’t, then this handsome face will get hurt!” I shouted a warning towards the cave. “And you Skyknights over there! Crawl down quickly, or else!”

I also shouted loudly at the Skyknights who were preparing their mana and waiting for their chance.

“F-Follow his order. Quickly!”

Bleeding from his nose, Prince Alskane ordered the knights with a voice trembling in fear.

“One of the knights should release the beastmen. Hey, friends, treat your injuries with this.”

I tossed a potion stored in a canteen at my hip to the beastmen.

‘Oh! Noonim, please cover that part up.’

The beastmen were all bewildered by the sudden change in situation. My face burned at the sight of the women who were showing off their bouncy tits.

“Knights should throw down their swords and get in single file! Now!”

“…..”

The knights hesitated at my order, unsure of what they should do.

BAM!

“Guh!”

So naturally, I planted another fist on the Prince’s face.

“Q-Quickly do as you’re told! Quickly!” yelled Prince Alskane while clutching his left eye.

Didn’t someone say that the more delicately you were raised, the weaker you’d be to violence? This was probably the first time since his birth that Alskane experienced violence and intimidation like today.

Clang. Clang Clang.

“Alright, now you’re listening like good boys.”

The knights hurried to form a single file at the command of the Prince, who was like the sky to them. One of them ran to free mana bracelets on the beastmen.

Kiooooo.

Kwaaaa.

The Skyknights hesitating in the sky with spears in their hands also began to hurry and land.

“The mage and knights in the cave will step out as well! Now!”

The three people ran out immediately.

“Any nonsense and this prince here will bid adieu to the world. But if you listen to me nicely, this can all end well.”

Sizzzzzle.

‘Hooh, they have incredible vitality and regeneration ability.’

Most people would have either died or gone into shock with a spear in their body, but surprisingly, the beastman didn’t just survive after getting skewered, he pulled out the spear without reserve and poured holy water over the wound.

He didn’t even groan once; his face just twisted for a moment and that was it.

“What do you want? We shall accept everything in our capability, so please release His Imperial Highness and us.”

The knights were standing in a long, single file line, but the mage tried to say ridiculous things again before going to stand in line.

These kinds of scenes showed up often in movies. As soon as the protagonist lost their nerve and let the baddies go, they would immediately strike like the bastards they were. The guys in front of me were no different. Earlier, the supposed Imperial Knights had persecuted the beastmen with their numerical advantage. They would only know how ‘exciting’ that felt when they were on the receiving end.

Bam!

“Gaah!”

There was no need for words.

My fist made the trembling Prince’s right eye match his swollen left.

“DORVIT, HE PLANS ON KILLING ME!!!!!” squealed Prince Alskane, who valued his own life a thousand times more than the lives of others.

With a flurry of steps, the mage named Dorvit went to stand behind the knights with an aghast expression.

“You Skyknights over there, aren’t you knights too? You’re not coming over?!”

“A-As you command!”

At my yell, the Skyknights watching uneasily from atop their wyverns scrambled off and went to stand behind the knights, so frazzled that they even responded with an obedient “as you command.”

‘Huhu. I must be drill sergeant material.’

I hadn’t even done my army service yet, but every 21st century kid learned the drill sergeant way from the fountain of vicarious knowledge, the TV.

I was perfectly suited for the job.

‘What shall I do with these guys?’

Even I hadn’t expected something like this to happen. Things progressed like this because the beastmen were in danger, but it wasn’t like I really prepared for anything.

Sparkle sparkle.

Just then, the sparkling of the Imperial Knights’ airplates dazzled my eyes.

‘Huhuhuhu…’

Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

‘You have acquired “Top-Class Full Set Armor Worn by Imperial Knights!”’ rang the imaginary item acquisition notice in my head.

Airplates weren’t all the same. The percentage of mithril in the airplates of the Imperial Family’s Skyknights was much higher than usual.

‘Maybe their wyverns, too?’

My gaze moved to the wyverns that were hushed as they watched their masters suffering next to them.

‘Is it possible?’

There were too many of them. I might give it a try if there were just one or two, but 20 at once might be overdoing it.

Occasionally, I would watch when my dad’s friends came over and played Go-Stop, a Korean card game. As they played, they liked to say a certain thing:

‘Give it a shot, failure be darned!’

Whoever refused a feast set before them would have no right to live!

“Strip!”

It was now the peak of summer, and the blazing rays of the sun were toasting the earth. We were deep in the mountains, so it was cooler than other places, but that didn’t mean the warmth disappeared. A single line of mine swept away all that hot air, filling the clearing with chilly shock.

‘You jerkwads, the good days are over, only hell awaits!’

“…..?”

At my words, the knights looked at me with bafflement.

“He wants you to strip the airplates you are wearing! You stupid fools!”

I didn’t even need to answer. Not wanting to get hit, the previously high and mighty young prince figured out what I meant and shouted at his knights, even calling the Imperial Knights who had protected his life all this time ‘stupid fools.’

Clunk clunk.

With humiliated expressions, the knights removed their airplates.

“You too.”

I sent a cold order to the Prince, who was giving me an awkward smile.

Clunk.

Alskane moved immediately, proving that there was no beating pure force. He took off his armor even faster than the knights.

“Mages! What are you doing! You should also be taking off your magic robes!”

Since I was already the devil, I might as well suck them dry. The magic robes worn by high-circle mages were definitely top-class magic items enspelled with water, cold, and heat resistance.

‘Geh, y’all should wash your underwear sometime.’

The mages reluctantly followed the knights and removed their robes. Unlike the knights, who were at least wearing basic spandex pants under their armor, the mages were only wearing loose boxers. But the problem was that the panties were unwashed, foul, and stained yellow.

‘They act all high and mighty, but they’re way dirtier than beggars.’

What kind of people were high-circle mages? They were people who went around with their heads in the heavens, full of high-brow pretension, just because they knew a little magic. I raked the mages once again with dumbfounded eyes.

‘You embarrassed now? Jeez.’

The mages lowered their heads at my glance. It seemed they still knew what shame was, since they were rather old dudes.

“The first and second knight to the left should take out all the mana bracelets and tie up everyone’s hands behind their backs! Now!”

“N-Now!”

Because the Prince told them to obey my orders unconditionally, the Imperial Knights moved quickly.

Click! Click!

The mana bracelets loaded on one of the wyverns were dredged up and put on the knights’ wrists.

“Lock this guy up too,” I ordered, pointing at the Prince.

“…..”

The knights hesitated a moment.

“What are you doing! Quickly put them on!”

The Prince stabbed them with his eyes as he yelled.

“You should stop, don’t you think? If you keep going like this, do you think the Imperial Knights will put their lives on the line for you later? If it were me, much less save your life, I’d want to stab you in the back, y’know?”

At my words, the Prince trembled.

On the other hand, the faces of the knights hardened like cement.

‘I didn’t know I had such a talent for causing internal discord. Kuku.’

These people were sure to become my enemies in the future. The Laviter Empire shared a border along the Kovilan Mountains with Nerman. It was way better for me if there was strife among themselves rather than getting along buddy-buddy.

Click.

One of the knights approached and put mana bracelets on Alskane’s wrists.

“Put the key releasing the mana bracelets on the ground and put bracelets on each other,” I ordered the two knights.

Cling, click click.

The mana key fell to the ground, and then the knights put bracelets on each other. Resignation was bare on their faces.

‘Seriously, magic technology is incredible.’

The mana bracelets looked similar to the handcuffs on earth. However, their performance was even more extraordinary. Once you were locked in them, as long as there was no key with the matching mana pattern, even a Master couldn’t break free.

“This drill sergeant wishes to honestly express his thanks to everyone for obeying nicely. Then, allow me to give my last command! Follow my direction and run into the open cave! Now!”

“Now!” repeated the Prince.

“Left foot first! Right foot second! One! Two! One! Two!”

Wearing only underwear, the knights ran into the cave at my beat. As expected for Imperial Knights, their figures were good and their you-know-whats were also impressive; they disappeared into the cave with their sacks shaking to and fro.

‘Tsk tsk. It’s all a matter of stamina.’

Unable to match the knights’ stride, the two mages stumbled forward out of rhythm. Just like how most studious nerds in the 21st century had poor constitutions, the mages here were exactly the same.

“W-What should I do?”

The Prince’s confident and pompous expression from before had flown off to Narnia, leaving just his two swollen raccoon eyes. That handsome face was gone, replaced by a blowfish.

“You did well, you run in as well.”

“T-Thank you very much!”

As if thanking me for sparing his life, the Prince dipped into a quick bow.

Then, as soon as I removed the sword from his neck, he scrambled into the cave at full speed.

“Run slowly. You’ll fall over like that. Tsk tsk.”

The Imperial Prince went into the cave like a grade schooler getting chased by cooties. Even with both hands tied behind his back, he could still really run.

“What kind of Imperial Prince is this weak-willed? Looks like Laviter’s future is bleak, too.”

Shaking my head, I selflessly worried about the empire’s future.

“Gnomae, come out.”

I summoned the intermediate spirit of earth.

Rustle.

I had learned how to use this spirit in the Elven Village. The soil wriggled for a moment before a lump of soil 2 meters large popped out.

“Bury that cave. Make it tight, you hear?”

At my command, the lump of soil rushed over.

Craaaaaash.

Then, after a short while, the huge cave disappeared without a trace. Sturdy clumps of earth completely sealed off the entrance.

“Thank you, human.”

‘Hooh, their pronunciation is spot-on.’

Unlike when they were transformed in their battle mode, the beastmen were able to pronounce human words precisely now. I turned my gaze from the cave and looked at them.

‘What thank you, it’s all something I did for myself.’

I didn’t know the details, but from what I pieced together from the Prince and mage’s words, it was the first time in a thousand years that beastmen were found. I was curious as to why these people were using Master Bumdalf’s spells.

“I am called Kyre,” I said, introducing myself.

“I am the Patriarch of the Taition Clan, Hasifor.”

‘He’s as big as Andre the Giant.’

The beastman had recovered to the point that it was unbelievable that he’d been pierced by a spear just moments before. Even a top-grade potion couldn’t do that unless you had the regeneration ability of a troll.

“Beastmen accept the person who saves their lives as their master. But unfortunately, we cannot accept you as our master.” Hasifor began to say something completely unexpected. “We were already saved 100 years ago by a certain person, and took that person as our master. Therefore, please request something else from us besides our lives.”

Why was it that I always thought of my master every time “100 years” was mentioned? A whole century had passed on the Kallian Continent, but Master’s name was still on everyone’s lips.

“Does your master’s name happen to be Aidal?”

“!! H-How did you know our master’s name?!”

‘Sigh. Of course.’

I didn’t know why Master gathered the beastmen, but it seemed I was fated to meet these guys. I didn’t even get surprised anymore. I was doing my best, but the shadow left behind by Master was just so much greater than I expected.

“Did the mage you call your master happen to cast magic like this?”

As I spoke, I picked one of Master’s characteristic spell formulas.

“…..!!”

The five beastmen were unable to conceal their shock at my actions.

‘Battle mages! That’s right! It’ll be killer if I make battle mages with these guys!’

I suddenly thought of battle mages while looking at the beastmen, who already had better physical conditions and battle senses than magic swordsmen. If magic was added to the mix, then I could make a five-man army.

Kwaaaaaaaa!

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

‘These birdbrains!’

The wyverns must have felt doubt following the disappearance of all their masters, because they went mad.

“BEBETO!!!!”

Putting mana in my voice, I loudly called Bebeto.

GUOOOOOOO!

As if waiting for my call, Bebeto came from around the hill.

Flap, flap, flap flap flap.

After enjoying the sweet taste of freedom these last few months, Bebeto had grown dramatically. His huge wings and body were magnificent enough to make me exclaim in wonder. He had grown almost 1.5 times the size of most wyverns.

Kwaaaaaaaaa!

The male wyverns flapped their wings with temperamental reactions to Bebeto’s appearance. On the other hand, the female wyverns were looking with heart eyes at Bebeto’s sturdy muscles.

Swooooooosh.

There was nothing more to say. Extending his sharp claws before him, Bebeto went into a dive bomb.

BAAAM!

KWAAAAAK KWAAAAAAK!

And then, the merciless beating began.

Like chickens getting plucked at the market, wyvern feathers sprayed all over the place like snow. There were a whole lot of golden feathers in particular.

“Haha, it seems this wyvern quarrel will take a while, so let us pick up where we left off. About our master, the one and only human archmage in all of history, the great Golden-Eyed Reaper, Aidal-nim.”

The beastmen were made speechless by Bebeto’s fiery education method. However, once Aidal was mentioned, everyone’s gazes returned to me.

On my lips was a happy smirk.

Today, yet another jackpot fell on my lap. Battle mage beastmen and twenty two wyverns, as well as top-class airplates without a single scratch.

Only

‘UHAHAHAHAHA!’

Laughter erupted like a volcano in my heart.

The path walked by the great Kyre-nim.

Everyone would have to get out of the way.

If they didn’t, they would find themselves robbed silly!