“It sounds like some big monsters are fighting.”
At Allen’s warning, Olga ordered us forward, and Allen led the way toward the roars.
Two enormous Horned Boars were trampling the undergrowth as they crashed into one another again and again, gouging with horns and tusks while blood sprayed around them.
“If we don’t finish this fast, wolves will show up and go after the one that falls first.”
“Yeah. Leon, you take the big one. When it’s down, we’ll finish the other.”
Oh come on, the big one?
I took a stone the size of a human head from my Rank 1 Magic Pouch and asked everyone to stand back.
I formed [Ring—Vertical Rotation!], dropped the stone into the rapidly spinning ring, and launched it like an underhand pitch.
To make sure I didn’t miss, I aimed the first shot at the boar’s belly. It squealed “Bugi!” and froze in pain. Before it recovered, I launched a second stone at its head. A dull crack sounded, and the beast jerked backward and collapsed.
“Now! Shoot!”
Olga’s order rang out. Four arrows struck the other beast, and the members of Strongarm rushed forward with short spears.
With arrows buried deep in its legs, the boar could barely move. Spearpoints pierced it from several directions, and it soon fell.
The one I’d hit was still twitching, so I asked them to finish it off.
“You’re even more unconventional than I thought.”
“I never imagined someone would take down a Horned Boar by throwing rocks at it.”
“When I heard about your [Bullet!] spell, I had my doubts, but apparently the story was true.”
“Your Detection and Presence Sense are good enough for most parties. No wonder you can work alone.”
“Still, how do you handle dog or wolf-type monsters?”
“Yeah, soloing wolves or tigers sounds impossible.”
“I can show you tonight. By the way, Bord, how do you use your ice magic?”
“I begin with defensive [Shield!] spells. Once the target is restrained, I attack with [Ice Lance!]. A bow is faster, but the lance strikes harder.”
When I asked how they had hidden their presence at the guild, they described a technique similar to blending into the trees. I decided to practice it seriously.
As they moved silently through the forest, they swept aside webs and branches with black-tipped short spears made from razor-sharp enchanted steel. Compared with my cheap weapon, their short spears, powerful bows, and heavy arrowheads were equipment of an entirely different class.
We encountered no more large monsters. Strongarm dealt with every medium-sized beast almost instantly, leaving me little to do.
When we found a good clearing, we started preparing to camp.
“Leon, the spot’s small, but want to camp with us?”
“I’m fine. I’ll make my own sleeping spot with wind magic.”
“With wind magic? How the hell do you do that?”
“If it’s safe, show us.”
“Yeah, your wind magic’s nothing like what we’ve heard before.”
“Even the Horn Boar and Black Wolves we saw in the disassembly yard had no obvious wounds. No one could tell how you killed them. Show us.”
I asked them to step back, then used [Ring!] to clear the grass and debris.
Next, I formed a three-meter-wide acorn-shaped [Dome!] of compressed air.
“It’s nothing special, but it can stop a Horned Boar. I haven’t tested it against anything stronger, though it withstood a large stone projectile, so it should hold.”
Silence.
All of them stood there, mouths hanging open.
Olga was the first to recover, shouting, “What the hell is this!?”
That snapped the rest out of it.
“No way—wind magic can do this?”
“Unbelievable, even for you.”
“Are you sure it’s just wind? You didn’t get barrier magic too?”
“It doesn’t glow like a barrier, but it looks exactly like one.”
“I can’t believe this is just wind magic.”
Galb muttered while tapping the dome with his spear.
I understood their disbelief. Even I hadn’t been certain the spell would work. I had simply relied on the images provided by light novels from my previous life and poured mana into making that image real.
They looked ready to discuss it forever, so I asked them to move back and gradually released the mana reinforcing the outer wall.
As the compressed air escaped, a powerful gust burst outward and buffeted all seven men.
“Whoa!”
“Strong wind!”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“See? Even when it collapses, it just blows wind.”
“Leon, make it again!”
Olga, eyes serious, asked me to rebuild it. I did so.
“Mind if I test something?”
He drew a short spear from his Magic Pouch and took a stance. This was a good opportunity to test the dome’s durability, so I nodded.
With a sharp “Haaah!” he thrust the spear into the dome.
A dull thump sounded. The surface dented slightly, then immediately returned to shape. His next two or three strikes produced the same result.
“I’m not sure what it can withstand at its limit,” I said. “Would all of you attack it together?”
Their eyes lit up. They slashed, struck, and stabbed the dome, but each impact produced only a muffled sound and left no mark.
“Damn, it’s tougher than I thought.”
“Yeah, even my full-power hit bounced off.”
“Bord, try your Ice Lance!”
Oh, we’re getting a magic demo.
I hurried behind Bord to listen carefully.
“O beautiful Creator Goddess Felicienne, lend me your divine art. I, Bord, beseech you—pierce my enemy! [Ice Lance!] Hah!”
A heavy impact echoed through the clearing. The dome didn’t budge, and the lance shattered into glittering fragments.
So mages really prayed to Felicienne when casting a full spell. How impressive.
Marco had still been half-trained and usually remained behind Ted, so I had never heard a complete incantation before.
“What a remarkable spell. How long does it last?”
“About twelve hours, though it can last longer if I pour in more mana.”
“You made this thing so easily earlier—was that a shortened chant?”
“Yes. I recite a shortened incantation under my breath.”
“I can’t offer much in exchange, but would you teach me the secret of shortened incantations?”
“It’s not a big deal, so I don’t mind. But it’s a bit of a hassle.”
“Much appreciated! So, how do I do it?”
“Hold on, Bord—that can wait. Leon, could you make one of these camping domes for us too?”
“Olga, you’re really going to sleep inside that see-through thing?”
“Doesn’t sound comforting…”
“I want to try it at least once. Especially to see how wild beasts react to it.”
After a heated argument, Olga and Bord decided to sleep in the dome. They placed a barricade of sharpened stakes across the entrance and peered outside, while the other five assembled a small camp hut from thorny branches.
The makeshift hut impressed me, but they laughed and insisted that my air dome was much stranger.
Judging by the way they stored large carcasses and dismantled huts, the party probably owned a Rank 5 Magic Bag.
When I visited Olga’s dome, they began removing the stakes from the entrance. I told them it was unnecessary and simply opened a doorway, surprising them again.
I had originally entered by splitting the dome vertically, but once I realized that was possible, I thought I should also be able to form a door—and it worked.
Wind Magic became more convenient each time I used it. Perhaps I really would learn to fly someday.
“Bord, how high is your mana?”
“My mana’s at seventy-eight.”
“You only use ice magic, right?”
“Yeah, that’s all I was granted.”
“For your Shield or Ice Lance, how many can you cast before running out?”
“Hmm… about twenty-four or twenty-five Shields. Maybe twelve or thirteen Ice Lances.”
“What about Ice Arrows?”
“I’d say about the same as a Lance. I barely use them—bows are quicker and more convenient.”
“So realistically, about seven or eight Lances before you’re spent.”
“Pretty much. What about you, Leon?”
“My mana is ninety-three. I can maintain roughly ten to fifteen spells at once, and I should be able to cast around seventy in total before exhausting myself. You can control the flow of mana, can’t you?”
“Of course. Can’t use magic without it.”
“When you cast, you can feel mana flowing through your arm, right? Between your wrist and shoulder—how much of that length do you feel it travel?”
“Feels like it runs from my wrist to just past my elbow.”
“Then create [Shield!] outside the dome while consciously limiting the mana flow to the distance from your wrist to just before your elbow. Keep the incantation simple—only the word ‘Shield.’”
“That’s too short; it won’t activate.”
“It’ll work. I only say ‘Whirlwind’ for mine.”
To demonstrate, I created a small [Whirlwind!] outside the dome and sent fallen leaves swirling into the air.
“Hey! That’s taking ‘shortened chant’ a bit far!”
“I can cast without speaking, but saying the spell’s name makes it form faster, so I mutter it under my breath.”
“Well… since it’s you, I’ll believe it.”
“The same applies to [Ice Lance!] and [Shield!]. Once you have used a spell often enough, you should be able to cast it with only its name.”
“Try it, Bord. Leon is clearly far more skilled with magic than we are. You saw him create that whirlwind with one word.”
“Concentrate on the [Shield!] you always use, and remember to reduce the amount of mana.”
“Isn’t it too close to try it here?”
“No. Cast it outside and place [Shield!] where you aim.”
Bord shook his head. “You really are unconventional.”
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