I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The alarm, installed less than an hour ago, cut through the rain and echoed loudly across the campsite.

Soldiers, in the middle of eating their rations, bolted outside. At the center of the camp, the squad leader began shouting out the situation.

“A herd of Tauros sighted! Distance: approximately 200 meters! A leader-class entity has also been identified!”

The sky, thick with storm clouds, allowed neither starlight nor moonlight to filter through. The pitch-black forest was filled only with the sound of rain pattering against armor and soldiers hastily equipping their gear.

“There’s a leader? Have we determined the exact number?”

“Visibility is too poor for an accurate count! However, given the presence of a leader, we expect the numbers to be significant!”

A leader.

Most monsters roamed in packs of 30 to 40, attacking wild animals or humans on sight, driven purely by instinct.

But a pack with a leader was different.

Unlike ordinary monsters who acted solely on impulse, leader-class monsters possessed intelligence comparable to humans, capable of structured communication.

They commanded their subordinates, turning a mindless horde into an organized army.

Moreover, packs with leaders were significantly larger than regular ones.

Typically numbering between 300 and 400, they sometimes swelled to over 1,000.

“Damn… this is bad.”

The soldiers' murmurs of distress were well justified.

“All personnel, combat-ready within one minute! Move it!”

Most soldiers had been preparing to sleep, their heavy armor set aside. They scrambled outside, blindly fumbling for their gear in the darkness.

“Lantern… Hey, private! Grab a lantern from the tent!”

“You idiot! You think a torch will stay lit in this downpour? Get your head straight!”

“Hey, hey! That helmet’s mine! It’s the wrong size, you blockhead!”

A night with no electricity, no moon, and no stars was far darker than I had imagined.

It was pure blackness. In this forest devoid of light, the soldiers desperately searched for lanterns and hurriedly donned their armor.

“Orb.”

Amidst the fear and chaos, Alter calmly whispered a spell.

In an instant, as if a white flare had been launched into the sky, the world was bathed in light.

The soldiers, momentarily dazed by the sudden illumination, quickly regained their senses and resumed preparing for battle with renewed urgency.

“…We are truly indebted to you. I apologize for showing such disgraceful conduct.”

The squad leader sighed at the disorganized soldiers and bowed in gratitude to Alter.

“Leader-class Tauros spotted 50 meters ahead! Estimated numbers: 500 to 600!”

Before Alter could dismiss the compliment, a scout shouted the alarming report.

The thunderous hooves of the Tauros herd pounded through the rain, reverberating in the soldiers’ chests.

The sound grew louder before spreading in all directions—the herd had surrounded the campsite.

The soldiers cautiously lifted their weapons, ensuring their feet didn’t sink into the muddy ground. Soon, monstrous figures with thick, muscular arms emerged from the trees.

“……”

The creatures had the lower bodies of massive horses and the upper bodies of towering orcs. They were clad in elite armor—where they had stolen it from was anyone’s guess.

“You’re the ones who’ve been slaughtering my kin.”

The leader, wielding a bloodstained, rusted spear, glared at Alter, who stood illuminated beneath the glowing orb.

…What the hell is this thing talking about? Killing its subordinates? Alter? When?

“Well, this seems like a good opportunity. Bin, watch closely.”

Ignoring the Tauros leader, Alter turned to me and spoke.

“I will now demonstrate three variations of a spell. The first, without chanting its name. The second, with only the name. And the third, with both an incantation and the name.”

It was clear—whether facing 400 or 4,000 monsters, Alter felt no threat whatsoever.

Given his level, that was only natural.

“Kill them!”

Realizing Alter was ignoring him, the leader roared in fury.

The herd’s synchronized hoofbeats rang out as they charged.

“All units! Protect the mages at all costs!”

Mages wield overwhelming firepower and wide-area spells, but they are physically frail.

Most mages lacked the strength to block attacks or the agility to evade strikes.

Thus, on the battlefield, soldiers were often tasked with defending them.

However, the man smiling at me under the light of the orb was an 8th-circle high mage.

The term ‘normal’ did not apply to someone of his caliber.

“Raaaahhh!”

With shouts of determination, the soldiers brandished their swords against the charging Tauros herd, using their shields to block incoming spears.

Alter remained motionless, letting the heavy raindrops soak him.

At the chaotic heart of the battlefield, he slowly raised a finger…

Whoosh—

A brilliant blue streak cut across the field.

“That was Bolt without even calling its name.”

The falling rain turned to mist. The soaked trees ignited. A gaping hole was torn through the encircling Tauros horde.

“…Oh.”

The Tauros leader finally realized the situation had gone terribly wrong. It hesitated, its hooves shifting backward.

“Bolt.”

Alter, unwilling to give his opponent time to react, unleashed another massive surge of lightning from his fingertip.

Boom!

The explosion cleaved through the air, carving another massive breach in the enemy formation.

With a single spell, over 60 Tauros were reduced to ash.

The surrounding monsters, caught in the spreading electrical surge, collapsed lifelessly.

In just two casts of Bolt, more than 100 Tauros had vanished.

“…Retreat! Fall back!”

Finally realizing they had picked the wrong fight, the leader bellowed a hasty retreat order and turned, stomping the ground as it fled.

Without hesitation, the Tauros horde followed their leader’s command.

“That was the version where I only spoke the spell’s name. And now…”

The retreating hoofbeats merged into a single rhythm. Alter pointed a finger at their source and spoke softly.

“One point. Absence. Unification and compression.”

Hiss…

Electricity crackled around him, and raindrops began to boil.

“Bolt.”

With a deafening roar, a single, concentrated sphere of lightning shot forth from Alter’s outstretched finger.

Light.

The enormous light that engulfed the rain-soaked forest was incomparable to the small orb hovering above. The searing heat radiated in all directions, and the falling rain turned to mist, settling over the battlefield.

Nothing remained where Alter's fingertip had pointed.

“As I explained earlier, chanting a spell increases casting time, but it also drastically amplifies its power.”

Not only had the fleeing Tauros herd and its leader been obliterated, but the densely packed trees and even the ground itself had been reduced to mere ash before the overwhelming force of the lightning.

“Like so.”

I let out a quiet breath of admiration as I stared at the battlefield, now filled with nothing but mist.

I had never imagined that ‘Bolt’ could possess such destructive power.

‘…Had I known, I might’ve become a Bolt mage instead.’

A meaningless regret crossed my mind.

Of course, I couldn’t forget that Alter was an 8th-circle high mage, and the Tauros herd was merely composed of level 20-30 monsters, vastly inferior to him.

Still, the sheer power of the Bolt he had just unleashed was enough to captivate me.

“Do you, by any chance, know a chant for Bloom? I understand that spells should be developed personally, but having a reference might help.”

If I incorporated a chant into Bloom, its power would surely increase. I looked at Alter with eager eyes, realizing this was an unexpected opportunity for improvement.

“Apologies, but Bloom is rarely researched among mages of my school. You might find records of past incantations in old texts, but…”

Alter ran a hand through his beard, which had become disheveled from static electricity.

To him, the Tauros herd had not even been a challenge.

“As you know, it’s best to develop your own incantation. Not all humans think and process magic the same way. In fact, not being influenced by others’ chants might be an advantage. The chant I used just now—I developed it myself when I was twenty-one…”

“Hah…!”

“We’ve truly been traveling with an absurdly powerful mage.”

“This expedition has been nothing but a free ride.”

“They’re all dead, right?”

“Do you think anything could’ve survived that? No need to check, it’s a complete wipeout.”

Behind Alter, the soldiers chuckled in disbelief.

And who could blame them? The magic they had just witnessed defied common sense.

Mere words had erased the entire Tauros herd from existence, split the ground apart, and turned falling rain into mist. The sight would be forever etched into their memories.

“…Unbelievable.”

The squad leader, staring blankly at the devastation left in Bolt’s wake, soon snapped out of his daze and ordered a return to rest. The moment the order was given, the soldiers immediately sheathed their weapons and began removing their armor.

“…What are you all doing? Isn’t it a bit early to call it a day? We haven’t fully secured the area yet.”

Alter, the high mage who had just silenced the battlefield, looked exasperated as he watched the soldiers heading back to their tents.

Complacency.

Under normal circumstances, well-trained elite soldiers would never leave a battlefield so carelessly. Typically, they would confirm that all enemies had been eliminated and ensure the area’s security.

But they hadn’t.

They had witnessed such an overwhelming display of power that they foolishly assumed all threats had been eliminated.

And that was when it happened.

Clip-clop.

Faint hoofbeats pierced through the sound of the rain.

“…Huh?”

The Tauros leader had undoubtedly been reduced to ash by Alter’s Bolt.

After all, Alter had aimed directly at its back.

That much was certain.

And most of the herd, called forth by their leader, had suffered the same fate. Caught in the devastating lightning, they couldn’t have possibly survived.

But was it truly possible that not a single one had escaped?

As breathtakingly powerful as Bolt was, it was a spell designed for one-on-one combat.

No matter how strong, believing it had completely eradicated over 600 monsters in just three attacks—with no survivors—was…

Too optimistic.

“Manifest.”

As the realization dawned, my body reacted instinctively. Crimson dust seeped out from my skin, coalescing into a crystal near my shoulder.

Clip-clop.

The faint hoofbeats echoed once more.

At first, they were so quiet I could have dismissed them as a trick of my paranoid mind.

Clip-clop.

Clip-clop!

But they were growing louder and clearer.

“…!”

The squad leader, finally grasping the gravity of the situation, drew his sword and sprinted toward us.

“What are you all standing around for?! The leader is dead! Prepare for a counterattack!”

The Tauros leader had commanded its herd to retreat before it perished.

But now that the leader was gone, the herd had lost its commander.

And without leadership, monsters reverted to their primal instincts. Their suppressed urges, once restrained by orders, would now take full control.

Their instinct would drive them to bare their fangs at humans once more.

Regardless of how powerful that human was.

Regardless of how terrifying their magic had been.

Because fear did not exist in a monster’s vocabulary.

Whoosh!

As if to prove my fears correct, a massive Tauros burst through the burning trees, revealing itself.

Most of the soldiers had already returned to their tents, removing their armor. Their formation had fallen apart.

There was nothing between the charging monster and the mages.

Its entire body was charred black, as if it should have already succumbed to death.

Yet it showed no sign of pain, its enormous hooves pounding the ground as it charged directly at Lir and me.

The infantry, realizing the danger too late, rushed forward in an attempt to intercept.

But no matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t outrun a Tauros—a creature with the lower body of a horse.

It happened in an instant.

From the moment the Tauros emerged from the forest to the moment it lowered its blackened spear, aiming at Lir’s throat.

Monsters without leaders chose their prey at random. Lir had simply been unfortunate enough to be targeted by the last remaining Tauros.

“……!”

Lir hastily raised her palm, gathering electricity in her hand.

Her reaction was swift—befitting an elf’s agility—but there wasn’t enough time for her magic to fully materialize.

The enormous monster’s spear was already at her throat.

At that moment, as the word ‘death’ was etched into the eyes of Lir, the elves prodigy who had reached the 4th-circle at the age of twenty-one—

Click!

A mechanical sound echoed from the crimson crystal floating above my shoulder.