Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The Sage Leaves the Hero's Party
I want to enter a novel.
No—a game, another world, anything would do. I want to go to a different world, obtain mysterious powers, and set off on an adventure. Or maybe earn a fortune and live freely.
That absurd thought. Yet if a dream that everyone has had at least once were to come true?
I possessed a medieval fantasy game and obtained the game's system.
At twenty-one, I became a 6th Circle Mage.
The first miracle in human history? I was even called a great genius who might one day reach the very end of magic.
That's me—Seong Yujin.
My name in this world is Yujin. Yujin Mastermage.
A candidate for the next Sage, permitted to use Mastermage as a middle name.
With overwhelming talent, I was called the next successor of the Mage Tower—and even selected as a member of the Hero's Party.
But. This world has never given me only happiness.
Relationships between people were just as exhausting as ever. Having great power doesn't mean you can live like a thug. And having 6th Circle grand magic doesn't mean you're happy.
Flame magic that scorches the sky?
Water grand magic that sinks the earth?
An affinity that lets all spirits whisper to you?
I can say this with certainty.
Bring all of those grand magics together, and they still can't beat a single plate of jeyuk-bokkeum from Gimcheon.[1]
Today again, I have to survive in this godforsaken medieval world.
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This world has dungeons.
Each dungeon is given a name with its own characteristic, and the items dropped there follow the dungeon's name as well.
For example—the Dungeon of Hephaestus.
True to the name of the divine blacksmith of the gods, monsters that primarily drop 'weapons' appear there.
The deeper you go, the more ridiculous things come out—holy swords, magic swords, arcane gear, and so on.
Doesn't it look incredibly awesome at a glance? That's right. It's an incredibly awesome place.
And so, human settlements naturally shift toward the area.
'Dungeon City'—'Hephaestus.'
A city built around the dungeon that stretches endlessly underground.
Within the city, there are as many as six academies for training dungeon explorers—that is, new recruits—proof of how prosperous the city is.
The most deeply conquered dungeon, and thus the most dangerous place.
And yet, without fearing death, standing at that very front line and called the future Hero's Party—that's us. 'Thunder Strike.'
And today.
"Jerome. I'm leaving the party."
I intend to strike this Thunder Strike down and cut ties with the party.
Jerome, Sia, Ollina, and Lepus stare blankly in my direction. They set down their spoons mid-stew.
"Yujin. Why…? Can I hear your reason?"
Red hair, a handsome face so striking that even a man would think 'this bastard's got some serious looks.' Jerome looked at me with a melancholy gaze. Hey, a man shouldn't look at another man like that.
"First. This party is finished. I don't want to look after you people anymore."
"Wait, who looked after whom exactly?"
"I. Looked after. You. Sia Randolph. How long are you going to keep acting like a child?"
"What? This mage really thinks he can say whatever he wants just because he has a mouth?"
Sia's eyes narrowed, and she raised her shield. Is she planning to land a shield bash right here at this table? At my honest advice, even Ollina and Lepus narrowed their eyes at me.
"Sia. Hold on, let me talk to Yujin for a bit. Can you wait?"
"Uh, okay…. If Jerome says so, I'll wait…."
At Jerome's intervention, Sia put her shield down with a flushed face. Despicable girl.
"Yujin. If you don't give me a proper explanation, I can't acknowledge your withdrawal."
"Fine. I'll explain from the beginning, in order. First—the men in our party are me and Jerome. The women are Sia, Ollina, and Lepus."
The composition of Thunder Strike is as follows.
Jerome / Hero / Leader / Male
Yujin / Sage / Damage-dealer / Male
Sia / Holy Warrior / Tank / Female
Ollina / Priest / Healer / Female
Lepus / Rogue / Damage-dealer / Female
A Hero's Party through and through—the textbook combination of 'Hero, Sage, Holy Warrior, Priest, Rogue.'
Looking at the job balance, one might call it splendid. But this party has one critically fatal problem.
"The problem is that Sia, Ollina, and Lepus have all fallen for you, Jerome."
At my words, the bodies of all three women went crack and froze stiff.
"Hey, hey! What are you even saying right now! I-I like Jerome, as if…!"
"I… do hold feelings for Sir Jerome. But I have devoted myself to the faith…. Such impure thoughts are…."
"So. What exactly are you trying to say? Mage?"
Deep sighs come naturally at their sharp gazes.
"First, Sia. Shield-bearer. You didn't stand at the front line as the tank during our 43rd floor conquest. Why is that?"
"Th—that's because the enemy was too strong!"
Sia turned her head as if stung by my words, but I drove the facts home precisely.
"No. That's wrong. You knew the monster on the 43rd floor was a stinking Stink Slime, and you didn't tank because you were afraid the smell would stick to you. You were worried Jerome would think less of you. 'What if Jerome says I smell?' That was your concern."
"Urk…!"
"If the tank doesn't stand in the front and take the hits, what are the rest of us supposed to rely on to hold the rear line? Hm? Shield-bearer… no. The glorious First-Rank Holy Warrior of the Order, Sia Randolph."
"……."
Sia clamped her mouth shut.
As if to take her place, Ollina stepped forward in a persuading tone.
"I can handle correcting Sia's mindset. Please don't worry."
"Shut it, you indecent holy maiden. You unconditionally prioritize healing Jerome, don't you. You make a scene over Jerome's slightest scratch and cast Area Heal at the drop of a hat. During the 42nd floor boss fight, shouldn't you have been watching Sia instead?"
"That was because I thought Sir Jerome was in danger……."
"Jerome is a Hero. He has his own self-recovery ability, and high resistance on top of that. Did you forget? And every night you're screaming 'Sir Jerome! Sir Jerome!' alone in your room—it's way too loud. You're not some beast in heat…!"
"Th—that is…. Well, that…."
At my words, Sia and Lepus both nodded along. The words 'she really is loud' drifted over. With Ollina sunk, next came Lepus.
"So. What's your complaint about me?"
"Everything about you is a problem. What use is a Rogue who now refuses to do lockpicking because she doesn't want to look crude? Wouldn't it be better to just switch to Warrior? And when leading the way—why do you always insist on walking side by side with Jerome? Do you know what a Rogue's role is? The vanguard advance is supposed to be done by the Rogue, you idiot."
"That…is…."
At my words, all three women shut their mouths.
That's right.
This party is currently in a state of near-collapse—the three women have fallen for the original protagonist and Hero, causing each of them to fail to hold their own position.
As a result.
"Because the tanking wasn't working, I had to block with Energy Shield. Because the healing was delayed, I—a mage—had to throw potions to resupply. Because the lockpicking wasn't happening, I had to blast doors open with magic. Is this what the party's mage is supposed to be doing? And not just for a month or two. This has been going on for half a year now."
At my words, they all clamped their mouths shut.
Finally, Jerome stepped in once more.
"I see…. I didn't realize you were carrying such a burden. Yujin. I'll persuade the others myself. So won't you reconsider just this once?"
"You're the biggest problem, Jerome."
"Me…?"
"That's right. When they confessed in the middle of the night—what did you say back? 'I can't be in a relationship right now. Once everything is over, I'll give you a proper answer.' Didn't you say that?"
"That… you heard that?"
"Don't underestimate the range of a 6th Circle grand mage's sensory domination. Anyway—what happened after that? Didn't you reject all three while still leaving the door open? On the lakeshore of the 38th floor, you went on a midnight date with Sia. On the 39th floor, you enjoyed a private outing with Ollina alone in the meadow. And just recently, after returning, you went off with Lepus and said 'Don't blame yourself for being a Rogue. A beautiful dress like this suits you.' and even picked out a dress for her. Didn't you?"
"That's right. I did."
Shameless bastard….
"After rejecting party members who confessed in the middle of a dungeon run?"
"Yes. Because we're on an adventure right now."
"You said you'd answer once the adventure was over—and yet you gave them hope in the middle of the adventure?"
"Of course, it's on hold."
"That vague, wishy-washy answer is what's destroyed this party's atmosphere. Jerome Soulheart!"
"Hmm……."
At my words, Jerome also made a troubled expression.
Right. I know.
The original story of this game is a traditional medieval adventure—one where you go on adventures and pursue romance with party members all at once.
If anything, Jerome is acting perfectly in line with the original game, and the other three are doing the same.
But…. The moment a game becomes reality, this kind of mess happens—and the looser these people get, the more work falls on me.
Because.
A mage is a jack-of-all-trades!
When the party formation falls apart, I can fill in for anything!
"I think I've said enough—no objections, I take it. I can't keep cleaning up after you people anymore. I'm leaving, so take care of yourselves."
I gathered my gear and stood up.
"Now that your eyesore is gone, whether two of you get tangled up or all four at once—live well, it was filthy being with you all, and let's never see each other again."
With the entangled lot looking up at me, I walked out just like that.
There's no reason we'll ever have to meet again.
Please, let's not meet.
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.
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I walked along the main road of the Dungeon City just like that.
You might wonder what kind of madman storms out of the city alone in the dead of night—but I'm allowed to. I have the ability for it.
"Save me…."
"Ugh…."
I lightly crushed the arms and legs of the bandits who tried to kill me and steal my things, then silenced their screaming with Silence.
I steeped in sentiment, preparing dinner while gazing up at the sky.
"Godforsaken medieval world. Why does the food taste like this."
Not much ingredients left.
The meal preparation and ingredient management for the entire former party was all handled by me—but Sia Randolph, that insane woman, declared she would do the cooking and seized the food supplies. Until recently, every meal was cooked to an extreme—insanely charred, or unbearably salty, or sweet, or sour, or bitter.
I was horrified by her deranged idea of throwing in every spice and charring all the ingredients—but apparently, according to what I was told, Sia cooks reasonably well and I'm just being difficult.
In 'this world,' they say even food like that counts as cooking.
"Don't make me laugh."
Calling that cooking is something I—a person from the modern world—cannot accept.
"I want to go back to a life where a three-minute walk from home gets me tuna kimbap and ramen in Gimcheon. Just one bite of jeyuk-bokkeum, please…."
But that is an impossible dream.
The cuisine of Earth, which developed rapidly after the Industrial Revolution, is the fruit of science—the result of scholars earning billions in wages wracking their brains and agonizing over it. It is the symbol of civilizational victory.
Could a 9th Circle grand magic truly be greater than Gimcheon jeyuk-bokkeum?
There's no way. Shouldn't there be as many Gimcheon jeyuk-bokkeum masters as there are 9th Circle grand mages?
"Ahh. I want to devour some kimchi jeyuk-bokkeum…. With sesame seeds sprinkled generously…. Two bowls of rice or so…. Some kimchi on the side would be great too…."
Lying on the roadside under the moonlit night, warming myself by a campfire, filling my stomach with flavorless dried rations. Feels like I might cry.
But there's no point in wishing for it.
I don't know how to return to the modern world and I have to survive in this world.
So probably for my entire life, I'll never encounter jeyuk-bokkeum, kimbap, donkatsu, or rabokki with bulgogi.[2,3]
Making those things is impossible in this era.
I have to live and die eating only this garbage-tier food for all of eternity.
That's reality.
"Reality…?"
My eyes snapped wide open in an instant.
Why did I just surrender to reality?
Why did I think it couldn't be made? Why did I set the limit of 'impossible' up until now?
My master always said,
'Twisting the impossible and manifesting it in reality—that is the essence of magic.'
'Yujin. If there's a great work you want to achieve over the course of your entire life, set aside the word impossible and challenge it with your life on the line.'
'Though finding such a great work comes first. Hahaha!'
"The great work of my life."
Cooking.
And not just any cooking—bringing the cuisine of the modern world into this world.
"Gimcheon. Into this world."
This is by no means a laughable matter. Not something to be taken lightly.
It was established only after plantation agriculture, the Industrial Revolution, and the modernization of freezing, storage, and transportation were all achieved.
The Gimcheon that's a three-minute walk from home is the fruit of hundreds of years of human history.
"An achievement that leaps across centuries—I'll bring it about through magic."
Me.
In this world, I will summon Gimcheon into existence. I'll summon Mesuli into existence, summon Dips into existence, summon DU Convenience Store into existence—anyway, all I have to do is craft every dish there is.[4]
"I can do it…. If it's me!"
My name is Yujin Mastermage.
Former mage of the Hero's Party.
And now.
A culinary artist who dreams of becoming the future owner of a snack bar.
Footnote:
TL/N: I’m a big fan of the author's previous work and I hope to do it justice! I also hope you enjoy this and share with friends who also love this type of novel.