Episode 87
On the way back to the men's dormitory after class.
I unfolded my student handbook with one hand and checked the points I'd earned so far.
Right, I spent 3pt eating with Aba earlier. I gained 1pt from attending afternoon classes, so…….
Total: 356pt. 144pt left to go.
If I do well in the night classes, I should have enough points to advance by tomorrow.
Once my points are sufficient, do I immediately advance to Wolf rank?
"Over there!"
What? I tensed up, thinking the cadets were swarming toward me.
But I wasn't the target of their attention.
The grounds were chaotic. Cadets were looking around and moving about at a brisk pace.
Some were running around with blades drawn, or moving in mixed groups, but the proctors only exchanged words with one another without taking any particular action.
It was a strange sight.
I hurried to my room in the dormitory, where Aba was standing with an anxious face. He spotted me and ran over.
"Dekal. Hurry. An emergency directive just came down."
"Emergency directive?"
"It's an opportunity you can't miss if you're going for a high score. 30 points per spirit blight!"
Urged by Aba to hurry, I moved briskly like the other cadets.
As I moved around like that, I quickly figured out what was going on.
This was an event hosted by Melbrit.
It seemed I had a deep connection with emergency missions.
I had suddenly ended up out in the field hunting monsters.
"Spirit blight. There's one over there!"
The spirit blight Aba found looked like a small golem.
It was a golem whose limbs were made of glass bottles like those used to grow plants instead of rocks, and at its seams, a semi-transparent, colorless, odorless energy that appeared to be spirit
was swirling.
Toward it, I raised my hand.
"Fire…!"
I started the incantation but hastily stopped.
Cadets were swarming toward the spirit blight.
I couldn't use a spell like Fireball toward those cadets.
"Ah, it got away."
Before I could even be disappointed, spirit blights appeared everywhere.
"Fire Arrow!"
I lowered the power and shot a Fire Arrow.
But the spirit blight didn't fall from a single Fire Arrow. I needed to hit it at least twice, but in that gap, other cadets rushed in and snatched the spirit blight away.
"Damn it!"
So annoying!
To think I can't use high-power magic because I'm worried about the others.
Aba had already found one and run off. Should I just run too? It might be faster to grab them and beat them up.
That wasn't just a feeling.
The spirit blights showed resilience against magical and ranged attacks, but were vulnerable to close combat.
It seemed they were made that way to balance things with the cadets who ran around hitting them directly.
During the ten-minute spirit blight hunt, I had one solo subjugation and nine assists.
Assists only required touching the spirit blight and earned 3pt, and the total score earned from the emergency directive was 57pt.
"I barely caught two."
Aba had no assists, but earned 60pt as a reward for completely subjugating two on his own.
For the first time, I felt a bit frustrated.
Because I hadn't been able to exert my full strength.
But it wasn't like I could shoot Fireball as if I wanted everyone dead.
"Thanks for telling me."
I spoke first to Aba, who had waited for me in front of the door.
Aba scratched his head as if embarrassed.
"It was my first time doing it for real, too. I heard they hold it occasionally to build the ability to respond to unexpected situations, but……"
"It's a shame I couldn't spam magic."
"Rather, your control stood out. It's really important for a fire magic user not to hurt others. You could say it's a matter of trust."
"A matter of trust?"
"If you're going to party with a fire mage, you wouldn't want to team up with someone who'll just blast away when things get dicey, right?"
"Ahh."
I understood what he meant.
"Strangely, most fire mages seem to have that kind of personality. Even my older brother……"
Suddenly, Aba closed his mouth.
"Why?"
"No, it's nothing."
I thought of Bella.
Since even the Goddess of Fire has that kind of personality, it's no wonder fire magic users are rough.
But I don't think I'm any better than them.
Aba doesn't know, but I've killed people with fire magic before.
And very calmly at that, pouring all my MP into it and obliterating them.
It's true I was careful handling magic when hunting with allies, but there might come a moment when things get dicey and I can't pay attention to such things.
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
I'd finally become a body capable of wielding powerful fire magic, having received Belleira's blessing in abundance, yet—
—if I just keep shooting Fire Arrows, what's the point?
Opportunities to fight would decrease, and chances to raise my Fireball proficiency would gradually diminish as well.
"……Hmm."
I can't just raise my score.
I need to improve somehow. I realized that deeply through this emergency directive.
"Aba. Is there anywhere I can practice magic freely?"
"A practice space? Ah, if you go straight that way, there's a drill ground open for training. Unlike other facilities, it's open all the time."
"Hmm."
I glanced toward where Aba pointed.
From afar, I could see cadets riding horses, so I thought it might be a riding ground.
"Anyway, shall we go eat? We've earned quite a few points."
"Good idea."
Perhaps due to the event, the cafeteria had an unusually large number of lavish dishes that day.
I felt like there were more cadets chatting and laughing than usual, too.
I ordered the 20pt steak, and Aba ordered the 5pt meat set meal that I'd given him before.
I'd ordered it because I was curious about the taste, and it was fairly delicious.
It didn't lose out even when compared to the fresh sirloin Bella had procured at the Castle of the Eight-Colored Shell.
But this isn't beef, is it? Are there even livestock here?
I wasn't sure, but the random running around had been worth it.
After finishing my meal, I decided to use my free time productively.
The drill ground Aba mentioned was a wide vacant lot near the main building. There really was nothing here.
If I compared Melbrit to Earth, this place was basically a desert. Just dirt ground, with nothing rising above it but training equipment.
Some areas had target boards, some had scarecrows, and in a fenced-off area, something like a jousting match was taking place.
There was a stable nearby, and fine horses with sturdy builds, bearing saddles engraved with specific family crests, were snorting spiritedly.
Unfortunately, I'd had no connection with horse-riding in my life, so I tore my eyes away and went to where the target boards were.
I hadn't come here to do boring repetitive practice.
I'd come because this was the only place to test something.
Thinking back, since learning Fireball, there had been countless situations where I needed to limit its range and destructive power.
And I felt like there would be many more in the future.
"Fireball."
I created a sphere of flame with an instant incantation.
From the moment the casting was complete and the flame sphere reached the size of a soccer ball, people around me felt scorching heat.
That was how much heat it emitted.
Should I try solving that first?
"……"
I suppressed the flickering flames with the wind spirit.
It was an application that Isti had shown when facing Tilia.
The wind summoned by the spirit became a thin membrane wrapping around the flame sphere, refining its form.
It seemed like a useless thing to do to an already-cast spell, but……
As Aba said, for a mage who uses fire magic, the sense of trust that they can work together is important, too.
Such pointless waste leads to consideration.
As if condensing the flame's aura, I succeeded in concealing the heat.
"If I fire it like this……"
I launched the condensed flame sphere at the target board.
But as it picked up speed, it collided with the veil I'd barely covered it with, and flames shot up midway.
"Damn."
Like this, it might be even more dangerous due to the irregular explosion.
A failure?
No, perhaps it was a natural result.
If such a simple method could suppress the damage spread, which is the drawback of fire magic, everyone would have done it already.
I repeated the same experiment several times.
I got used to hiding the heat itself, but the Fireball's power itself was reduced, and it took more time, making it inefficient.
But the clue was here.
If I could maintain the power while only reducing the after-effects……
"Ah."
I looked at my Convergence Bracelet.
At some point, I'd only thought of it as an accessory that increased MP consumption to amplify magic power.
What if that wasn't it?
What if it could reduce the volume of the magic itself?
Since I knew spirit magic wouldn't work, next I tested the item.
"Fireball."
The Convergence Bracelet emitted a faint light.
[You have learned the Unique Skill, Magic Condensation.]
The Fireball's size was halved.
But the heat remained the same.
It seemed the bracelet application had gifted me a Unique Skill.
"More……"
I concentrated even harder, reducing the Fireball to a quarter, to a size that fit neatly in my palm.
Now it was time to test its power.
"Go."
The Fireball condensed to its limit flew toward the target board at a much faster speed.
Thud!
The target board shook violently.
It seemed to be protected by magic; not a single scratch marred its surface, but the force was similar to when I'd fired the original……. No, it might have actually grown even stronger.
I felt a surge of excitement.
Fire Ball was still a dangerous spell, but a path of endless applications had opened up before me.
"Fire Ball."
I created the sphere again and wrapped it in a wind barrier. Thanks to the gap formed between the barrier and the sphere, the barrier no longer collapsed midway.
The Fire Ball, surprisingly, flew all the way to the target while completely concealing its heat, then exploded and engulfed the target board in flames.
A resounding success.
I would need to be careful when it detonated, but I could now concentrate its destructive power perfectly.
And this was an achievement I'd gained the very moment I grasped the proper way to use the Focus Bracelet.
As expected of a divinely bestowed item.
So I had been a pay-to-win mage all along. Incredible!
Having realized my true identity, I zealously practiced mini Fire Balls.
By the time the sun began to set, I was certain that I no longer needed Fire Arrow.
Status Open.
Name: Dekal
Lv: 151
Status
［HP］ 10999/10999
［MP］ 10198/12381
Stats
Strength 1 Magic Power 1 Stamina 1 Agility 1
Velleira's Blessing 《True》
「A blessing that bestows the authority to rule over fire among the elemental attributes. Only one who truly understands the Goddess may receive this blessing.」
(Immunity to flame damage, increased fire magic power, increased proficiency for all skills.)
Agent of the Goddess
「Communicate in all languages, comprehend all writing. Proof of the qualification to traverse worlds and of having been chosen by a god.」
(Increased skill acquisition rate, increased experience gain, stat application multiplier increased by 5 times)
Wind Spirit (+5)
「Known as the freest spirit; a spirit that changes the flow of the atmosphere and commands the wind to follow.」
Skills
Fire Ball (★★) - Intermediate fire magic with formidable power. Burns the target to the bone.
Fire Enchant (★★★) - Magic that imbues all manner of objects with flame attributes.
Search (★★☆) - A technique to discover and analyze traces through careful scrutiny and observation.
Spatial Leap (★) - An elf's unique skill. A top-tier movement ability that can only be demonstrated when achieving sufficient resonance with the Wind Spirit.
Magic Condensation (☆) - A very rare unique skill. Its method of acquisition is almost entirely unknown. Enables the condensation of attack magic.
Cloak of Concealment - Concealment magic only usable when wearing the [Ring of the Innocent]. Draws forth a barrier of concealment that shrouds the body to hide.
I could use Condensation even without the Focus Bracelet, but I figured there was no reason to go out of my way to do so.
It was most reliable when receiving the bracelet's support.
On top of that, perhaps because the work of wrapping the Fire Ball in a barrier had helped, my spirit affinity had clearly increased as well.
This much was enough.
I was ready to graduate from the rabbit rank.
I immediately headed to the classroom to attend night class.
Night class attendance was worth 2 points, wasn't it?
Minus the steak I'd eaten today, my points stood at 395.
I hadn't planned it this way, but seven quickies came out to exactly 105 points.
This would also be my last time savoring the ripened fruits of Ekate's completed training.
Once I advanced, I likely wouldn't be able to meet her in the same classroom anymore.
Perhaps due to the emergency order, there were only three students who came for night class, including me and Ekate.
Good. I wasn't interested in the class anyway.
I sat right next to Ekate.
The basic suggestion was the same as always.
A fun class began.