Mage, my ass!

I'd summoned the fire spirit to use as a torch.

The Salamander was so happy to be called that it bobbed in the air.

If the gods were handing out bonuses anyway, how great would it have been to get magic too?

The dragon's mana sensitivity was nice, but magic would have made me a lot happier.

I had to rack up points fast and get back to Earth.

I wasn't some otherworld Robinson Crusoe. I had no idea what I was even doing here.

Kurarararararat!

And a pack of shapes, closing in on the outer castle.

The people below were shouting that orcs were chasing them.

Amazingly, I understood every word they said.

Barnsdale had thrown it in as an add-on bonus when he taught me the Rune language.

It even crossed my mind that this had all been planned.

Everything fit together as if someone had plotted it.

"Who are you people?!"

I talked down to them, nice and cold.

The place wasn't originally mine, but I was the one occupying this turf these days.

From the look of things, I wasn't the one who needed anything here.

If I opened the gate for no reason, I might end up holding the bag.

How could I trust a bunch of mercenaries?

From the bits and pieces I'd picked up here and there, plenty of them were bad news.

Kurara kurara kurararararara!

Meanwhile, the orcs were getting closer and raising hell.

I couldn't see them yet, but the noise alone was enough to make you wet yourself.

They had energy to burn, charging in a mob at a dead run.

At that rate, they'd reach the outer castle in fifteen minutes, maybe less.

"Your merciful Lordship! We're being chased by orcs. In the name of Ereka, god of mercy, we beg you to save us!"

A big man shouted, desperate.

He was calling me lord.

He'd invoked a god's name, but Ereka wasn't a god I'd ever done business with.

My head was spinning.

The wagons numbered a good fifty, give or take.

Whatever was in…