“It seems you’ve been following me. What business do you have with me?”
“You know full well why.”
“We heard you’ve got plenty of cash.”
“You look shabby, but rumor has it your earnings are insane.”
“If it’s food you’re after, I’ve got plenty. But I’ve no intention of sharing.”
“Cheeky brat. We’ll have you crying soon enough.”
“Sorry, but it looks like you won’t have time for that. Maybe you should pay a little more attention to your surroundings…”
“Ha! Just a big pack of goblins. We can handle those in seconds.”
“Yeah, and there’s better prey right in front of us. We should enjoy ourselves first.”
“Too bad. I’m not into that sort of thing. You lot can dance with the goblins instead.”
I began by wrapping the man who was licking his lips while staring at me in [Whirlwind!].
Women might be scarce among adventurers, but there seemed to be far too many men with that particular preference.
“Wha—what the hell?”
“Damn it! Is this the whirlwind magic everyone’s been talking about?”
“This pathetic little breeze—”
“Whoa! S-stop! I can’t—aaah!”
Their shouting drew the goblin horde closer. I released the whirlwinds and prepared to welcome the monsters.
The second group was hiding a short distance away. Realizing that a direct confrontation would put them at a disadvantage, they began shooting arrows at me, but that did them no good.
They couldn’t see my shield of compressed air, and watched in shock as their arrows bounced away just before reaching me.
They were clustered about forty meters away, well within range. I caught the entire group in [Tornado!] and launched them into the sky.
Meanwhile, the goblins swarmed the dizzy men, clubbing, biting, and tearing at them while screams and curses filled the air.
Some tried to fight back with swords or knives, but staggering and vomiting, they stood no chance.
A few goblins charged me as well, only to collide with [Shelter!] and tilt their heads in confusion.
To leave evidence that the men had fought the goblins, I thrust my short spear through the barrier and killed several of the monsters.
Anyone who later found the bodies should conclude that the men had died fighting goblins.
I had no desire to watch the slaughter to its conclusion. Once I confirmed that none of the men could still fight, I quietly left the goblins to their meal.
“P-please… help… me…”
I turned toward the weak voice. It belonged to the man who had said, “You’ve got a cute face. Let’s have some fun before we finish you.”
“Let the goblins entertain you.”
I spat the words and turned my back on him.
I had no desire to watch that grotesque spectacle. With injuries like his, the man wouldn’t survive for long.
Two days later, I visited the guild, but Strongarm hadn’t returned. I left Roxanne separately from Jake’s party and met them later on the plains.
Near the forest’s edge, I trapped every Horn Boar, Elk, and Small Buffalo we encountered in [Whirlwind!], spinning each animal until it became dizzy.
Then, while the monsters staggered, the others finished them off with bows or spears. Simple work.
The Buffalo also made useful targets for Lindy’s Stone Lance practice.
“Lindy’s getting better—it’s a lot easier to hunt now. But with Leon around, it’s almost unfair to the prey.”
“Yeah, he just spins everything around and—poof!”
“And then he doesn’t even keep the kill.”
“Well, just the birds alone bring in plenty of money.”
“At this rate, his skill rivals even Gold-ranked adventurers.”
Those five birds alone were worth more than 200,000 dara.
I didn’t want to hog all the hunting income, so I avoided taking too many large monsters.
I was now genuinely grateful to Goddess Felicienne for granting me Wind Magic.
Once I had enough money for a proper cabin and respectable clothing, I planned to spend some time visiting different towns.
That evening, I returned to Roxanne and went directly to the guild, where I found Strongarm drinking ale in the dining hall.
“Hey, Leon! Long time no see!”
“Heard you were looking for us—what’s up?”
“I thought we could do the final round of training.”
“I heard you’ve been with another party.”
“Yes, I wanted to finish things off together, so I was waiting for you.”
“Huh, something going on?”
“Nothing complicated. I want Bord to observe their magic and offer any advice he can.”
“In that case, go call them over! Let’s grab a drink.”
The dining hall was too crowded to fit another seven people, so we agreed to meet there for breakfast the next morning before heading to the plains.
At the dismantling hall, I handed over the birds.
Chikki-Chikki Birds: 2 × 68,000 = 136,000 dara
Runner Bird: 1 × 41,000 = 41,000 dara
Green Bird: 1 × 30,000 = 30,000 dara
Red Chickens: 2 × 25,000 = 50,000 dara
Total: 257,000 dara
Prices had fallen slightly now that the guild’s request had been fulfilled, but the payment was still more than satisfactory.
I collected the full amount and headed toward my usual hotel.
Naturally, the sight of a small, solitary adventurer leaving the guild with 250,000 dara attracted a predator who began following me.
Annoyed, I waited until he drew close, then caught him in a dust-filled [Whirlwind!], coating his face with dirt and blinding him.
Ignoring his screams, I released the spell and continued to the hotel without looking back.
I had become confident in Detection and Presence Sense, but my practice with Camouflage and Appraisal had made little progress.
Once the magic lessons were finished, I resolved to focus on those skills.
I arrived at the guild early the next morning. Jake’s party was already waiting, tense but visibly relieved when they saw me.
After breakfast, we left promptly. Outside the guild, Jake’s party bowed deeply to Strongarm, making the difference in their ranks obvious.
“So Olga and the others really are that important?”
“They’re way higher ranked than us.”
“That’s right. We’re all Bronze-ranked, while Strongarm includes Gold- and Silver-ranked members.”
“Forget the ranks. We’re all adventurers, so speak normally.”
“Leon, you should change the way you speak as well. You don’t sound like an adventurer, so people assume they can push you around.”
“But my mother would scold me if I spoke too roughly.”
Someone burst out laughing. “Y-your mother? Seriously?”
“Think about your age. If you keep talking about your mother after becoming an adventurer, people will laugh at you—or decide you’re an easy target.”
“I’ll be careful, but you’re laughing far too much. Would you like me to make you dance in front of the guild?”
“Stop! If you make me dizzy here, I really will become a laughingstock!”
“Well then, shall we head to the plains?”
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. I kept practicing, and I should be able to create about thirty shields now.”
“If you keep that up, I think you’ll be able to use twice as many soon.”
After leaving through the eastern gate, I asked Jake to lead us somewhere with few monsters.
When we reached a sparse area, Bord and Lindy demonstrated their magic to each other.
Lindy marveled at the speed of Bord’s Ice Lance.
Bord admired Lindy’s [Shelter!], but he was openly envious of the camping dome she could create.
They began testing the strength of each other’s shields and domes. That looked likely to consume the entire day, so I asked them to postpone it.
First, I had Lindy create a wall as a target. I positioned her and Bord twenty meters away and told them to watch the speed of the arrows as they passed.
Galb, Strongarm’s most powerful archer, fired from forty meters away.
After two or three shots, I noticed their heads following each arrow. I told them to hold their heads still and memorize only the speed at which the arrows crossed their field of vision.
“Bord, remember that arrow speed. You and Lindy will now take turns firing your lances.”
Bord nodded, faced the target, and called, “Lance! Ha!” His Ice Lance shot forward.
Lindy followed with, “Stone Lance! Ha!” and released her spell.
She tried to reproduce the arrow’s speed in her mind. Her Stone Lance was faster than before, but still distinctly slower than Bord’s.
“You can’t match it immediately. Whenever you practice, remember the speed of those arrows.”
I then had Lindy create two sample sets of Stone Arrows and Stone Lances.
Each Stone Arrow was three or four centimeters thick and about 1.3 meters long.
Each Stone Lance was seven or eight centimeters thick and about 2.5 meters long.
I handed one set to Bord and told him to use them as models for his Ice Arrow and Ice Lance.
“Do they really need to be this large?”
“An arrow of that size should be powerful enough for anything up to a wolf. If it proves too weak, make it slightly thicker. The lance is intended for large prey.”
“My ordinary Stone Lance seems sufficient.”
“It’s sufficient against something like a Large Horn Boar, but it’s excessive for smaller beasts. Learn to create both arrow and lance forms as needed. As for destructive power, think of a strong bow: the heavier, harder, and faster the projectile, the more force it delivers.”
“I understand. That’s why you had us memorize the arrow’s speed. But how do we make the spells harder?”
“You already picture hardness when creating shields and shelters, don’t you?”
“Of course. A fragile shield couldn’t stop a beast.”
“Lindy, think of solid rock. Because some stone is soft or brittle, use the hardness of the sword at your waist as a more precise reference.”
“Your Wind Magic feels just as solid, Leon. Do you picture a sword when you create it?”
“My Wind Magic works differently, but I still focus on making it strong enough to withstand a monster’s attack.”
Practice would make the idea clearer than any further explanation, so I had them begin.s.
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