Arc Mage

"The pursuit of knowledge isn’t a happy one. It takes such effort. First to obtain it, and then to live with it."

- Arc Mage

Arc Mage (, Ākumeiji) is a supporting protagonist in Year One Volume 2. Tasked with revising the Monster Manual's information on goblins, she hires Goblin Slayer to assist in her research.

Appearance
Arc Mage is an attractive woman with short blonde hair and dark green eyes. She wears a green robe over a black dress, along with red glasses. Arc Mage adorns her neck with a necklace having five red stones. She also wears two solid bracelets around her right wrist.

Personality
Arc Mage is a lighthearted and shrewd woman dedicated to her research. She shows a willingness to be bold for the sake of it, being unfazed after soaking herself in goblin blood and later dissecting a goblin.

Aware of her voluptuous appearance, she likes to flirt with men; however, she will put adventurers under an illusion if they request her body as a reward for doing something. When Arc Mage attempted to seduce Goblin Slayer into doing so, she took great humor in and was impressed by the fact that he simply wanted goblin knowledge. Arc Mage likes drinking apple cider, something Witch is aware of.

Background
Arc Mage obtained most of her current knowledge from studying under a lizardman. Since lizardmen hated to leave written records, she had to remember everything herself. Knowing the world was a game board, Arc Mage made it her goal to locate the edge of the board and leave it.

Year One Volume 2
Arc Mage encountered Goblin Slayer in her home, who wanted her to identify a ring he owned. She laughed at the fact that it was found in a goblin cave, before identifying it as a breathing ring. Knowing that the ring would be valuable to her, Arc Mage seductively attempted to entice Goblin Slayer into selling it to her, but was sent into a fit of laughter when he simply asked for something that would help with goblin slaying, while offering her apple cider.

The next morning, Arc Mage told Goblin Slayer that if an adventurer had asked for her body as a request, she would have put them under an illusion that satisfied their lust. She then informed him that she was assigned to revise pages about goblins from the guild's Monster Manual; knowing Goblin Slayer was a specialist in goblin slaying, she assigns and tags along with him to get her information. Before entering the tomb that functioned as the goblin nest, she soaked herself in the blood of a slain goblin to mask her scent. When they were confronted by wolves, Arc Mage left the responsibility of dealing with them to Goblin Slayer, as she was technically the quest giver. Once the goblins were slain, Arc Mage suggested that Goblin Slayer research goblins to help with fighting them, only to learn that he was against the idea.

Arc Mage had Goblin Slayer collect more goblin-related items for several more days. When Goblin Slayer asked for a reward upon giving her goblin droppings, Arc Mage offered him one of the scrolls she had collected. Upon being asked to identify it, Arc Mage told Goblin Slayer to ask a wizard in town. Later at the Adventurer's Guild, Arc Mage noticed a distressed Cow Girl watching her talking with Goblin Slayer, and clarified that she and Goblin Slayer were not in a relationship. As a word of advice, she told Cow Girl that despite his dense demeanor, Goblin Slayer would listen to what people say to him.

Nearly two days after heading out of town, Goblin Slayer and Arc Mage decided to camp for the night. Arc Mage admitted that she thought it wasn't wrong for Goblin Slayer to not write a book on goblins, before commenting that the world was a god's tabletop abundant with fate and chance, and how the light of knowledge was thin compared to the darkness of ignorance.

Once the two reached the end of a field leading to a wasteland, Arc Mage pointed Goblin Slayer to a dark tower infested with goblins. Before sneaking into the tower, Arc Mage clarified that the goblins were actually shades; respawned shadows of goblins from a previous battle. Arc Mage trailed behind Goblin Slayer as the two worked their way through the tower's passages, and eventually reached a room with a thick door. A mist-like shadow floated in front of it, which Arc Mage deduced was a key that had to be restored to its proper form. As Goblin Slayer held off the oncoming goblins, Arc Mage struggled at first, but once she figured out the formulae, she managed to unlock the door, with its shadow being five. She repeated the process each time for the next four floors, with the respective shadows being eight, sixteen, twenty-four, and one hundred and twenty. Upon reaching the sixth, Arc Mage panicked; the shadow was a six-hundred polychoron, and Arc Mage worried that she wouldn't have enough time to solve it. However, upon realizing that all she needed to do was buy herself time, she cast a spell to accelerate herself and form the key.

The next floor's door opened to what lay beyond the edge of the world, and Arc Mage told Goblin Slayer this was where she had to go. She then told him that she won't laugh if he became "Goblin Slayer", because his knowledge was a spark. Arc Mage handed Goblin Slayer her Spark ring as a reward for everything she asked of him, before walking through the door.

Later, Goblin Slayer goes with Cow Girl to the Mage's home, having left all her possessions to Goblin Slayer as quest payment. He clears her mill cottage of books, papers, scrolls, and such, keeping whatever he believes he could use in killing goblins and donating the rest to the Guild to do with as they thought best.

Abilities

 * Intelligence: A devout scholar who studied under a naga, Arc Mage possesses an exceptional amount of intelligence and knowledge, shown when she identified Goblin Slayer's ring in a short amount of time. She was also able to recognize that the world is a board game.
 * Goblin Knowledge: Arc Mage possesses considerable knowledge of goblin behavior and mannerisms, and has even classified the development of a goblin horde into separate stages.

Spells

 * Fire magic: By reciting the words "Arma... Inflammarae... Offero", Arc Mage ignited Goblin Slayer's torch with a single step.
 * Expedite: Arc Mage used this spell to accelerate herself in order to quickly do tasks that would normally take a longer amount of time. During the period of acceleration, Arc Mage is unable to register what happens until it finishes.

Equipment

 * Spark ring: Found by Goblin Slayer in a goblin nest, the Spark ring was an important tool needed for Arc Mage's plan to leave the edge of the world. In the dark tower located there, Arc Mage used the ring to navigate their way to the door that would take her beyond the edge of the world. Arc Mage gave the ring to Goblin Slayer as a reward, and it turned into a regular Breath ring shortly after Arc Mage entered the door.