I tried to skip the Independence Ceremony and head straight for the Adventurers’ Guild, which naturally caused an uproar.
Mother grabbed me by the collar and dragged me to the church, where I had to thank the Creator Goddess, Felicienne, for allowing me to reach the day of my independence.
It was true that I had received Wind Magic as well as the Detection and Presence Sense skills. I could now identify herbs with about seventy percent accuracy, too, so gratitude was only proper. I also prayed earnestly: “Once I start making money, I’ll make generous donations, so please bless me with worldly fortune.”
Mother said that if I was going to become an adventurer, I would need a magic pouch. When I told her I already had a Rank 2–10 Magic Pouch as thanks for saving Ted, she was shocked—and furious to learn that I had been leaving the city alone for nearly two months since the party disbanded.
To reassure her that I could protect myself, I demonstrated [Barrier], a miniature version of the circular storm of wind I could raise around myself.
Because we were near the church, some of the people who had laughed when I first received Wind Magic were watching. They laughed again when I showed them the small barrier.
“You really think something like that can protect you?”
“This is just a weaker demonstration. In reality, I’d be surrounded by winds several times stronger than a storm.”
I surrounded Mother and myself with a gentle, three-meter-high current of wind. After feeling it with her hands, she asked when I had learned to do such a thing. I dodged the question by saying I had practiced while gathering herbs, leaving out the fact that I trained beside the window every morning and evening.
“At full strength, the barrier kicks up sand and stones. Even wolves couldn’t get through it, so don’t worry.”
Once I’d finally convinced her, I went to the Adventurers’ Guild. When I told the receptionist I wanted to register, I was directed to a large room on the second floor.
Inside, two people were already filling out forms.
“You here to register too?”
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”
I was handed a sheet and told to fill in my birthplace, date of birth, granted magic, and skills.
Born in Lynas—no street address required. Calendar Year 610, June. I wrote down Wind Magic and left the skills section blank.
When I finished and set down my pen, no one said anything, so I waited quietly for the orientation I’d heard about.
“Now that everyone’s here, I’ll explain the rules for adventurers. Listen carefully. ‘I didn’t know’ or ‘I forgot’ won’t save you later.”
I already knew most of this from helping Lynas’s Blast, so the lecture was dull. Even so, I struggled to stay awake.
Ted had been C-rank First Class. The others were mostly D-rank Second Class, though I remembered Marco being D-rank First Class.
Guild Rank System:
S Rank: Honorary rank; platinum card with crimson double-circle crest. Treated as nobility—count status.
A Rank: Platinum card with crimson crest. Viscount status.
B Rank: Gold card, First and Second Class.
C Rank: Silver card, First and Second Class. Eligible for designated requests and emergency summons.
D Rank: Bronze card, First and Second Class.
E Rank: Iron card, Second Class.
F Rank: Iron card, First Class (new registrants remain F-rank for one year).
As the examiner glanced through the forms, he looked at me.
“Kid, are you the Leon who used to help out Ted’s party?”
“Yes, sir. What happened to the party?”
“Still disbanded. I heard you can use Detection and Presence Sense?”
“At the Blessing Ceremony, I was told those skills might manifest through practice. I’ve trained a little, but since they hadn’t been officially confirmed, I left them off the form.”
“Ted said you’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”
Downstairs, I placed my palm on a crystal sphere at the reception counter.
“Leon, sixteen years old. Wind Magic. Mana: 93. Detection, Presence Sense… and you can use Appraisal a little?”
“I can identify about seven out of ten herbs correctly.”
“Then it’s not enough to register as an Appraisal skill yet.”
She handed me an iron guild card, dull black and almost rusty in appearance. Beneath the emblem—a round shield over crossed sword and spear—were the words “Lynas Adventurers’ Guild—Leon,” with a single horizontal line underneath.
On the back was a portrait of me rendered in fine dots, along with “Born in Lynas, June, Year 610.”
Below that were Wind Magic, Mana 93, Detection, and Presence Sense.
“All right. You’re officially an adventurer. But don’t get careless and die too easily.”
With that, she waved me away.
“Leon, planning to join a party?”
“Mintz? Since Lynas’s Blast is gone, I’m planning to focus on practicing magic for a while. What about you?”
“Scott and I are gathering herbs for now. We’re thinking of joining another party or recruiting some new members.”
Mintz invited me to the guild tavern, where Scott gave a wry grin.
“Ted spoke highly of you. I didn’t have the guts to go back to the field. I barely made it to the highway.”
“Wish you’d seen that kick you gave Marco. Word is, his bowlegs got worse. Everyone’s been laughing about it.”
“Leon’s Detection and Presence Sense are already on par with mine. Want to team up?”
“I’ve got Wind Magic, and I’ve been practicing for the past couple of months. I can use it a little.”
“Wind Magic, huh? How strong is it?”
“Strong enough to protect myself. If we team up, I’ll still need time to practice. I plan to work as an adventurer for a year or two and then visit other cities. If you’re fine with that, I’m in.”
“Fair enough. Let’s see this magic of yours tomorrow.”
“Right. We don’t need another bad mage like Marco around.”
I told them I’d meet them at the west gate in the morning, then we parted ways.
I bought two days’ worth of food for my Rank 2–10 Magic Pouch, though I had no intention of camping yet. Mintz had experience sleeping outdoors, but if I remembered correctly, Scott didn’t.
Honestly, I preferred a bed to sleeping outdoors, especially somewhere unsafe.
“Where to?”
“Somewhere away from the usual adventurer routes, out of sight from the city.”
“Then we’ll head a bit south after leaving the gate. Not many herbs there, and big monsters are rare.”
Following Scott’s lead, we left through the west gate and, after walking for a while, stepped into the southern grasslands. About an hour later, we reached a sparsely vegetated area.
“Would this spot do?”
“Yes, please stand back a little and watch from there.”
Once the two of them had moved away, I conjured a [Whirlwind!], gradually increasing its wind speed and size.
The roaring windstorm grew into what could only be described as a small tornado, leaving both Mintz and Scott gaping in astonishment.
Then, as if a timer had gone off, the wind speed suddenly dropped and the whirlwind vanished.
“That’s… pretty impressive,” Scott said.
“Yeah, Wind Magic is nothing to scoff at,” Mintz agreed. “Though it doesn’t look very useful for attacking.”
“Come to think of it,” Scott added, “you said it was only strong enough to ‘protect yourself.’ Let’s see that part.”
I had Scott stand beside me, while Mintz stayed more than ten meters away. I told him to run immediately if things looked dangerous—since I’d only ever seen my Barrier from the inside, I wasn’t sure what the dust and pebbles caught in it looked like from outside.
I usually just muttered “Whirlwind” to activate it, but this time I decided to be a bit dramatic.
“O barrier of wind, rise and rage!”
As I chanted, I poured mana into it.
A circular barrier, about a meter and a half in radius, began rotating around my feet. With a deep, rumbling roar, it rose upward, swirling more and more violently. When it reached three meters in height, I stopped it from expanding further and focused on increasing its rotation speed.
Looking beside me, I saw Scott standing there, jaw hanging open.
When I tapped him on the shoulder and asked what he thought, he just trembled, pointing silently at the roaring wall of wind in front of us.
The barrier only lasted about three minutes, but I didn’t mention that. Besides, I could extend its duration by adding more mana.
When it finally dissipated, a pale-faced Mintz came running back.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! That’s way beyond ‘protecting yourself.’ I couldn’t even get close! I ran the moment it started. Maybe it won’t stop a large monster, but no dog or wolf is getting through that thing.”
“Was it really that intense? I mean, I could tell it was powerful from inside, but…”
“Then switch places with Mintz and see it from the outside,” I said.
Mintz, looking excited, stood beside me. Again, I chanted dramatically:
“O barrier of wind, rise and rage!”
…Yeah, saying that out loud was kind of embarrassing. I decided that from then on I would simply say “Barrier” and claim I was using silent chanting if anyone asked.
When it reached full height again, I tapped Mintz’s arm and pointed to the swirling wall. Then, I split the wind vertically, opening a gap about fifteen centimeters wide. Mintz blinked in surprise, his eyes wide.
“Who the hell said Wind Magic was useless?”
“It’s stronger than Marco’s pathetic little [Fireball]!”
“Well, right now, all I can really do offensively is fling pebbles with it,” I admitted.
“Still…” Mintz said, “with this barrier, a pack of wolves wouldn’t be a threat.”
“Ah—just so you know,” I warned, “the barrier disappears after a certain amount of time.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“The one you just saw—it doesn’t stay up permanently. I can make a new one anytime, but it’s not like an earth wall that just stays put.”
“Even if it can’t hold off a Black Bear, it could still block attacks long enough for us to counter. And you can make that opening whenever you want, right?”
“That’s not a problem. I can reform it when it’s about to fade, and there are other ways I can use it too.”
“Got it. Then we’ll split earnings evenly. Scott, that good with you?”
“Yeah, no problem. Nice to have you, Leon.”
“Like I said yesterday, I’ll take one or two days off each week to practice magic. I’m also planning to stay with the party for only about two years, so don’t complain when I leave, okay?”
“Understood. By then, we’ll have found a few more members anyway.”
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