After the situation had been settled to some extent, we had to go down to the village and call people to help bring down the cocoons.
The spiderwebs were hanging far too high, and with our bodies in no condition to move properly, it wasn’t something we could handle ourselves.
The villagers rushed over, brought down the cocoons, and carried them back to the village.
“Dad!!”
Fortunately, there were still people alive inside the cocoons.
I didn’t know what method it had used, but most of them were unconscious—probably some kind of paralytic venom.
That, at least, was a relief.
But we couldn’t simply be happy.
“What do we do, dear… hngh…”
“No… no, it’s a lie!”
Inside some of the cocoons were corpses already too mangled to recognize.
Their arms and legs were shattered, as if they had been crushed under a boulder.
…That boulder the bastard had been swinging around while hunting.
That was probably the cause… damn spider bastard.
Both Aileen and I had suffered plenty of lingering injuries from the battle.
Aileen had a large bruise spreading across her abdomen, and I had cuts both large and small all over my body.
But there was something even harder to endure than that.
“Ugh, my arms and legs…”
Muscle pain had flooded my entire body.
The agony surged through me as if my muscles were tearing apart, as if they were burning.
I had survived, but my body was far from unharmed.
Thanks to that, I had to lie motionless in an inn room with bandages wrapped all over me.
The herbalist was also being treated right now, so the only thing I could rely on was rest.
“Aileen, are you all right?”
“Yes… Are you all right too, Liv?”
“No, it hurts like hell.”
“…To be honest, me too.”
We grumbled like that, as if comforting each other.
Even so, I had one thing I could put my faith in.
Thankfully, that night.
That insurance worked splendidly.
***
‘Phew, I really did level up.’
After enduring the pain and falling asleep, the place I woke up in was, just as expected, this level-up stage.
As my hazy consciousness cleared and this familiar space spread out before my eyes, a sigh of relief escaped me on its own.
In that case… I should hurt at least a little less tomorrow morning.
If this pain were converted into numbers, maybe there would be some change to my Strength or Stamina.
Of course, there was something else I wanted most right now.
‘Please, let mana show up this time.’
This battle had been like that, and the ones before it too.
Every time I fought, I keenly felt my lack of mana.
And to think this was how it was even though there had always been water around.
If I ended up fighting somewhere without enough water later, I’d be embarrassed to even call myself a mage.
[You have reached a milestone. Please choose a perk.]
This time, a Max Mana card absolutely had to appear.
If a new spell showed up, my eyes would probably go wild, but still.
Paang—
Light burst forth, and cards appeared before my eyes.
___________________________
[Increase Max Strength]
[Increase Max Strength]
[Increase Max Mana]
___________________________
White, green, green.
“…That’s a shame.”
There were no high-grade cards.
Besides—
‘Why are there two Strength cards?’
Their grades were different, but the card effects overlapped.
This system allowed duplicates too?
Still, there was no need to agonize over the choice.
Mana over Strength.
What I needed most desperately right now was the leeway to cast more spells.
Without hesitation, I picked up the green Mana card.
Srrk—
The moment my fingertips touched the card, a small but intense light spread from my palm.
‘Phew. With this, my mana should have a little more breathing room.’
I let out a light breath.
[You have reached a branch point. Loading list of skills available for enhancement.]
“…Huh?”
Paang—
‘No way, again?’
Along with that familiar sound, light spread once more.
Cards slowly floated up.
____________________________
Enhance [Blue Magic: Condensation]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Water Current Barrier]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Water Bullet]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Sea Mist]
Enhance [Blue Magic: Blue Eye]
[Increase Mana Regeneration]
____________________________
Red cards shone brightly.
“Oh?”
It had been a while since I’d seen the enhancement system.
It seemed catching that spider had been a bigger deal than I’d thought.
Or maybe my experience had already been almost full.
As expected, the cards consisted of the spells I possessed, plus one other option.
I remembered there being about one different choice the last time I saw this too.
Was that one of the system’s basic rules?
Since it stood out, I read the description.
[Mana regeneration increases slightly.]
Mana was important, that was true.
But as for whether it was worth giving up an enhancement for… honestly, I wasn’t sure.
To begin with, the word “slightly” made it exactly the kind of thing I didn’t want to choose.
‘Hmm, what should I enhance?’
Honestly, any of them seemed fine.
If it got enhanced, I’d benefit either way.
The one that tempted me least was… Condensation, I suppose?
Enhancing Water Current Barrier to shore up my defense seemed good, and enhancing Water Bullet to make up for my lacking offensive magic didn’t sound bad either.
Or I could enhance Sea Mist or Blue Eye and strengthen my utility magic.
‘My offensive magic is too lacking.’
After a long period of thought, I decided to enhance Water Bullet.
It was my ranged means of keeping enemies in check, and the only spell that really made me feel like a mage.
When I had the chance, it was better to make it stronger even once.
I placed my hand on the Water Bullet card.
Red light climbed up my fingertips, and the system responded.
____________________________________________
[Enhancing ‘Blue Magic: Water Bullet.’]
One of the following effects will be applied at random:
-Power
-Casting Speed
-Maximum Number
-Mana Efficiency
-Range
-Additional Effect
___________________________________________
‘Please, please…’
I prayed desperately inside.
The light of enhancement seeped into my hand, and the result appeared.
[The additional effect of ‘Blue Magic: Water Bullet’ has been enhanced.]
“…Additional effect?”
I was briefly bewildered, but the next message soon appeared before my eyes.
[‘Blue Magic: Water Bullet’ has been granted explosive force.]
[‘Blue Magic: Water Bullet’ has evolved into ‘Blue Magic: Water Bomb (水爆彈).’]
“…Oh?”
This looked much better than I expected.
I couldn’t check its power right away, but at a glance, it seemed like a good enhancement.
Explosion, huh. At the very least, it shouldn’t be lacking in power.
…I’ll have to test it when I wake up.
***
As soon as morning came, I headed to the mountain behind the village.
Of course, it was only right to test it immediately.
Thanks to the level-up, my body had recovered to some extent.
Until yesterday, my entire body had been aching, but now I could just barely move around.
I threw a Water Bullet—no, a Water Bomb—at a boulder.
Shwaak! Boom!
The test result was…
‘Hmm, weaker than I expected?’
There was an explosion. It definitely burst, but it wasn’t quite as much as I’d hoped.
The blast range seemed to grow slightly in proportion to the size of the Water Bomb.
To be precise, the radius was about 1.5 times the size of the Water Bomb?
Even so—
‘This is enough.’
It seemed fairly useful for keeping one or two enemies in check, or for surprise attacks.
Its direct killing power had improved too, but it might be even better as a means of pressure.
But thinking about it calmly, if it had been stronger than this, it might actually have been a problem.
If I ended up fighting indoors, too powerful an explosion could trip me up instead.
If it went off in a narrow space, I’d be in danger before the enemy was.
This level of power was just right.
Assuming I fired it after drawing Water Bullet—Water Bomb—to its maximum, it should be enough to knock down at least two or three enemies at once.
That made it fairly useful.
If I thought of it as having gained one area-of-effect spell I’d been lacking, that alone was a sufficient harvest.
On my way back after finishing the test, I saw villagers working in the fields.
As I passed by, people lowered their heads one after another in greeting.
I waved lightly and moved past their greetings.
I was on my way to the village chief’s house.
‘He asked me to stop by.’
It hadn’t been a formal request, but the spider incident had been big enough for the whole village to know about.
Yesterday, the village chief had come to the inn and told me to stop by once I was feeling better.
Since I was already out, I might as well go.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Are you in?”
When I knocked on the door, I heard light movement from inside.
Clack.
The door opened, and a brown-haired young man showed his face.
There was a slight hint of fatigue in his eyes, but the moment he recognized me, his expression brightened.
“Who is—ah, please come in.”
He was the village chief of this village.
He looked younger and neater than I’d expected, though there were already a few deep wrinkles around his eyes.
“Are you feeling better? When I saw you at the inn yesterday, you looked quite unwell.”
“I’m well enough to live. Thanks to you.”
I answered simply as I sat down on a chair.
The village chief hesitated for a moment, then soon grew serious and got to the point.
“It wasn’t a formal request… but with this matter, the entire village owes you a debt. The kobolds and the spider both. They were threats none of the villagers could do anything about. Thanks to you, everyone can live safely now.”
“No, we only did it because we wanted to survive too.”
“Even so. My conscience won’t allow me to let it pass without compensation.”
The village chief rummaged through a cabinet behind him, then returned with a pouch of coins in his hand.
There was a clinking sound from inside the pouch.
“Eight silver coins, and… though it isn’t much, our herbalist prepared a bit of restorative medicine as well. It should help until your body fully recovers.”
I stared for a moment at the pouch he held out, then accepted it.
“Thank you. If you ever need anything, please call us.”
“Of course. Truly, thank you for what you did. All of us in the village feel that way.”
The sight of the village chief bowing his head felt a little awkward.
But his sincerity was clear… and, well, I did think I deserved at least that much.
As if something had just come to mind, the village chief clapped his hands.
“Ah! And before you leave, please stop by the village smithy.”
“Yes? What for?”
I tilted my head. The spider had been dealt with yesterday, so was there still something left?
“You caught that spider, didn’t you? Quite a few usable materials came from its body. Our village blacksmith saw them, got fired up, and apparently worked through the night. I just heard a little while ago that the finished product is ready, so I’m telling you now.”
“By work, do you mean… perhaps a weapon?”
“Greaves. They’re not high-end equipment, but I hear they turned out quite useful. He made them from the hard carapace attached to that thing’s legs.”
“Greaves?”
“Yes. According to him, they’re a masterpiece.”
The village chief said it with a smile, his face proud as if it were his own achievement.
“For now, go and receive them. According to the blacksmith, they’re quite decent.”
“…Thank you. I’m looking forward to it.”
The village chief added one last thing.
“I sincerely hope they will help you on your journey from here on.”
I bowed politely and left the village chief’s house.
I had gained one more unexpected reward.
Maybe I was luckier than I’d thought.
It was also a fair reward for having worked hard.
The smithy was located at the edge of the village, on the outskirts.
From a distance, a column of smoke was spreading into the sky, and following it quickly brought a small workshop into view.
Everything laid out in front was farming equipment. I could tell at a glance who his customers were.
Chiiiik—
A red-hot lump of iron was plunged into water, sending up steam.
The bald man handling the lump of iron raised his head and glanced my way. Then his eyes widened.
“Are you perhaps the one who caught that spider…?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Haha, unbelievable. Thank you so much! You saved the village. Ah, let me put this down…!”
He hurriedly set down his hammer and wiped his hands, stained from his apron, on the hem of his clothes as he approached.
Seeing him up close, the soot on his face and his sweat-damp forehead left quite an impression. He was probably a straightforward sort of person too.
“I’m Logan, the blacksmith. Did you hear from the village chief, by any chance?”
“Yes, he said greaves had been made.”
“That’s right. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much, but that thing’s carapace turned out to be better than I thought. Thanks to that, I worked up a sweat for the first time in a while.”
From a workbench inside, he carefully brought out something.
It was a pair of glossy, chitinous greaves that looked as though they had been made by stripping the outer shell from the spider’s legs.
They were close to dark brown in color, with hinges and fastening straps attached neatly and without any unnecessary frills.
“These are the greaves made from that thing’s leg shell. They don’t have a name yet. They’re not amazing equipment, but… they’re sturdy. While we were moving the carcass, one of its legs smashed through the village fence, so I suppose their toughness has been proven.”
I carefully lifted one and gauged its weight.
“It’s lighter than I expected.”
“Must be because it’s spider shell. The durability is good, and it absorbs impact to some degree as well. It should block quite a bit of attacks coming from below during battle, or the impact of dropping to your knees when you fall. For people who move around a lot, it’ll be very handy.”
“Sounds good.”
Logan smiled with satisfaction and folded his arms.
“However, there is one thing you need to be careful of.”
“What is it?”
“It’s weak to fire. Since it’s an organic carapace, high heat doesn’t agree with it. It’d be best to keep some distance from flames or intense heat. As long as you take that into account, they’ll be a pretty good companion.”
I nodded and accepted the greaves.
“Thank you. Truly.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. This is a small repayment to the person who saved an entire village. If you happen to get any other materials next time, please come find me again. There may be something I can make.”
I packed the greaves carefully into my backpack and bowed my head once more.
This request had yielded some rather decent rewards.