As usual, we met at the west gate and headed out onto the plains. Mintz watched the right and I watched the left, each of us scanning a 180-degree arc with Detection as we walked.
We were heading toward a good herb-gathering spot, but watching only half the surrounding area made the task easy. We occasionally switched sides to keep our senses sharp, and even when Detection missed something, I could still confirm it with Presence Sense.
Most of what showed up were Horn Rabbits or Hedgehogs, but sometimes small Elks or Sheep hid among the grass and shrubs—easy prey for Mintz and Scott’s bows.
A Horn Rabbit fetched about 5,000–7,000 dara, a Hedgehog 12,000–18,000 dara, and a small Elk 30,000–45,000 dara. They were profitable prey.
Most prey on the plains were small herbivores that could be hunted without much risk, so we couldn’t overlook them.
We still worked only day trips, but because Mintz and I had Detection and Presence Sense while Mintz and Scott had the Archery skill, our work naturally shifted toward hunting.
I soon realized that many small Elks and Sheep blended so well into the undergrowth that Detection found only about half of them. I could locate the rest by focusing on where Presence Sense picked them up, but their camouflage impressed me. One day, I would learn that trick too. For now, I needed to sharpen Detection even further.
That day we brought in three Horn Rabbits, one Hedgehog, and one small Elk, earning 67,000 dara in total.
That came to 22,333 each, so we rounded it to 22,000 and saved the rest for next time.
If we worked twenty days a month, that’d be over 400,000 dara, meaning in two months I could repay the 500,000 I owed Ted. Maybe even comfortably within three.
A Rank 3–10 Magic Pouch cost 1,500,000 dara, so if things kept up, I could afford one in about a year. That thought gave me hope.
Later, as we approached the forest, I detected a Goblin—the second one that day.
“Leon, it’s yours.”
“Got it. Please check the surroundings.”
“On it.”
“Leave it to us.”
As the Goblin spotted us and charged, I activated [Inner Wind Formation!], surrounding it with a swirling barrier of air.
It was the reverse of my wind barrier—something I’d found quite useful for taking down Goblins and Horn Boars.
Once the formation closed around it, I pulled a handful of small stones from my magic pouch and tossed them into the circling wind.
Carrying the stones with it, the wind tightened inward until the Goblin was pummeled to death and reduced to a bloody mess.
It was simple: create the Inner Wind Formation and then watch. Pulling out the magic stone afterward, however, always turned my stomach.
Still, muttering, “Three thousand dara per stone,” I extracted it.
“Leon! A pack of Killer Dogs!”
“Understood—get together!”
“We’re counting on you!”
“Nothing beats the safety of the great wind barrier!”
[Barrier!]
I raised a barrier about three meters across and lifted part of it near chest height to see outside.
“Looks like the smell of Goblin blood drew them here.”
“Judging by the wind direction, yeah.”
“All right, our turn. Make a wider opening.”
“Wait—I’ll try shooting too!”
“We’ll fire the moment you do.”
“Take your time; it’s not like they’ll break through that thing.”
“Can’t get much more relaxed than this, huh?”
“Here I go!”
The roaring wind muffled everything, so I shouted, “Now!” the instant I loosed my arrow.
Taking my cue, the other two fired as well—three Killer Dogs cried out, though we could barely hear over the wind.
By the time I thought how convenient the noise was for drowning out screams, they’d already loosed their second and even third volleys.
Seeing their packmates fall before their eyes, the remaining dogs finally turned tail and fled.
Three months after registering as an adventurer, I visited Ted’s home. Scott had told me where he lived so that I could thank him properly and repay the cost of the Magic Pouch.
He refused at first, saying it was a gift for saving his life and a celebration of me becoming an adventurer. But I insisted, telling him to treat it as his retirement gift, and he finally accepted.
Thanks to Ted, I’d been able to start out with a magic pouch, and Mintz and Scott had taught me countless things about the adventurer’s trade.
Things were very different from my old days helping with herb gathering, but without them, I’d have struggled.
Besides, Ted had given Mintz and Scott the Rank 3–10 Magic Pouch once shared by Lynas’s Blast, free of charge. That was why we could bring back every kill instead of leaving some behind—and why we earned so much.
When we dropped off our prey at the dismantling yard and settled in at the tavern, that same annoying group that’d been pestering us lately showed up again.
“Hey, Mintz! Still not joining our party?”
“You three seem to be making decent money with that kid tagging along, but you’d earn way more with us.”
“With your Detection skills, you’d do great deeper in the forest. There’s real money there.”
“Hauling small fry back home every day isn’t adventuring. Real men take down big ones and rake it in!”
“You and Scott can’t be making much. Be our scout, and you’ll double your income.”
“I already decided I’d rather live slow and steady. No matter how many times you ask, the answer’s no.”
“Come on, Ted’s retired now—you don’t have to be so stubborn.”
“You never know what’ll happen out here. Better to live fast and earn big!”
“Please, Mintz! You’re the only decent scout left around!”
So that’s how it was. They’d been too scared to invite him while Ted was still around, and now that he’d retired, they were circling like vultures.
Their pitch was terrible. Only then did I realize just how capable Ted had been. It was a shame I had noticed too late.
I should’ve gotten more lessons in spear and sword from him while I could.
The hot season still lingered, and lately, the forest’s edge had become our main hunting ground.
“Mintz.”
“Yeah… feels a little off today.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Looks like an ambush. Not much killing intent, though…”
“That’s what worries me—the way they move feels too practiced.”
“I’ll throw up a thin wall. Let’s move toward that open area on the right.”
“Got it. We’re counting on you, Leon.”
“I can block three archers at once, but more than that, I’ll need a full barrier.”
“What are our chances?”
“If they let us pretend we didn’t see them, then pretty good.”
“I see. My eyesight’s been getting worse lately.”
“Same here. I can’t even pick herbs anymore. I might need to buy a potion for that.”
“Yeah, been hunting too much lately. Maybe we should go back to herb gathering tomorrow.”
“…They’re here.”
“Ah, those are the men who drifted into town about two months ago. They call themselves Wolf’s Fang.”
“Yeah, they’ve got a bad reputation at the guild too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You wouldn’t know because you go straight home after work, but watch the way they walk.”
“Their balance is off. They’re kind of unsteady, aren’t they?”
Mintz suddenly burst out laughing, and even Scott’s shoulders were shaking.
“That’s odd. There should be eight of them, but I only see six.”
“Then the other two must be archers. I can’t sense them, and they didn’t appear in Detection. They must be fairly skilled.”
They had once gathered herbs with extreme caution, yet now the two of them were as calm as ever.
Still, just to be safe, I made the wind barrier a little thicker.
They surrounded us without saying a word, but one of them sneered.
“So this is Wind Magic, huh?”
It seemed they knew about me. That wasn’t good.
“You’ve been making quite a bit of money, haven’t you? I guess fate brought us together. How about lending us your magic pouch as a greeting?”
“You’ve got a Rank 3 pouch, right? We’ll return it after a while. Promise.”
“Our pouches are too small for the prey we catch.”
“Leon, we didn’t see or hear anything, understood?”
“Uh, I still can’t tell where the other two are hiding, though.”
“If you use that Inner Wind Formation of yours, they won’t be able to see through it, right?”
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
“Didn’t you hear what we said?!”
“Keep acting cocky and you’ll regret it—we won’t stop at merely hurting you!”
Sheesh…
Still, using Inner Wind Formation and reducing them to pulp seemed excessive. I decided to punish them with a small whirlwind instead.
I pointed at the loudest man and whispered, “Whirlwind!”
Fwsh!
Suddenly wrapped in a twisting gust, the man panicked as the wind lashed at him, trying to hold his ground.
Maybe the spell was too weak. I focused and thought, “Spin faster!”
His clothes began to flap violently, almost tearing apart.
He managed to shout “Stop it—!” right before his feet gave out, and he started spinning helplessly.
“You little brat! You’re using Wind Magic?!”
“Stop it! How dare you attack my brother?!”
“Stop the spell! Kill that kid!”
“They drew their weapons.”
“Guess we’ve got no choice. Leon, don’t hold back.”
An arrow suddenly flew through a gap in their formation and bounced off my wind barrier.
“I knew it! They had archers hidden.”
“Leon, finish this quickly.”
“If I go any further, they might die.”
“They attacked us first. Self-defense is perfectly legal.”
“Exactly. Remember what they told you during guild registration? This counts as a justified counterattack.”
Scott said that with a smug grin. I really didn’t want this to turn into a murder scene, but it was better them than us.
Blood attracted beasts, so instead of using Inner Wind Formation, I decided to throw them deep into the forest with tornadoes.
I shifted the whirlwind into a tornado and sent the spinning man flying into the trees.
The man next to him gasped in shock. Then he too was caught in the swirling wind and thrown skyward, vanishing toward the forest.
By the time I sent the third one flying, the others had realized it was Wind Magic. With no idea how to counter it, they simply froze in panic.
“Brutal…”
“Three of them vanished in the blink of an eye.”
Those two were remarkably calm…
I caught the fourth man in another tornado and flung him away. That was when the last two bolted for the forest.
“Ah, they’re running for it!”
No problem. It was time to show off what I had been practicing in secret.
Because the two men were close together, I cast twin tornadoes and caught them both. “Spin faster!” I commanded.
Even from a distance, I could see them being swept up and hurled skyward.
“Oh, wow! That’s the first time I’ve seen people actually fly,” Mintz said cheerfully, as though he were enjoying an afternoon show.
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