Chapter 144: In Search of Medicinal Herbs
They waited with their bows ready, aiming through the gaps in the connected barricade.
Since it was a pack of eight Killer Dogs, this fence should be enough.
“Regina, try shooting while remembering the speed of the arrows you saw earlier. Everyone else, take care of any that try to run away.”
“Leave it to us. We’re counting on you, Regina.”
Although it was a defensive formation, it was only meant to protect against wild beasts. The barricade made of thorny branches was full of gaps, allowing arrows to be fired from anywhere.
They could probably even assemble a small shelter for camping with it, but pushing them too hard wouldn’t be wise.
“Killer Dogs! Take down the closest ones first!”
“Stick—[Water Ball!]”
Whoa, that incantation… The Killer Dog thrashed wildly when the water suddenly stuck to its face.
Ignoring it, Regina fired at another, but the water adhered near the base of one foreleg.
Against a fast-moving opponent, her spell wasn’t quick enough. It hadn’t reached the arrow-like speed she had observed earlier.
She somehow managed three shots, but after that she could no longer keep up. The others switched to arrows and brought down five dogs in total.
“Regina, are you okay on mana?”
“I can still fire about five or six more before I risk running out.”
“What was your mana again?”
“My mana is 64.”
So she could probably cast fifteen or sixteen times before complete exhaustion.
If she sometimes runs out during practice, it might have increased a little.
“I can also use Appraisal. May I examine your magic and mana, Regina?”
“What? Leon, you have the Appraisal skill?”
“I picked it up while practicing.”
“That means you can tell if my mana has increased, right? Please do!”
With her permission, I activated the skill.
“[Appraisal—Magic and Mana]… Water Magic, Mana 66.”
“So it did increase a little…”
“Mana doesn’t increase quickly. A mage I know runs out of mana almost every day, and even then the increase is only slight. More importantly, do you know how much mana you use for one spell?”
“When I gather it in my arm, it’s about this much.”
She placed her thumb and forefinger between her wrist and elbow to show the length—about ten centimeters.
“Move the tip of that mana down to your wrist, then reduce the length by about one finger and try casting.”
Regina nodded. After thinking for a moment, she fired a water sphere and looked puzzled.
“If you keep reducing the mana little by little like that, you’ll find the limit where the spell stops working. Once you know that, you’ll also know how many times you can cast it.”
“There’s a method like that?”
“Always keep thinking about how to improve your magic. But using up all your mana isn’t good, so I’ll take over for today.”
On the second day, they asked to see the [Whirlwind!] that had once swung an Armor Buffalo around.
Instead of using a large monster, I demonstrated by wrapping a thick [Whirlwind!] around a tree.
“Wow… It’s way more intense than when you spun goblins and Horn Dogs together in a whirlwind.”
“I’ve got goosebumps…”
“And this is only a slightly strengthened [Whirlwind!]?”
“Regina, what’s wrong?”
“Leon, can I try something?”
I nodded.
She faced a rock some distance away and mouthed the incantation.
Suddenly, a [Water Ball!] appeared, clinging to the rock.
After watching the whirlwind many times, she had realized that magic could be manifested directly at a distant location.
“Huh… the [Water Ball!] didn’t fly there… Why?”
“Whenever Regina trains with Leon, her magic improves.”
Before noon on the third day, I went to the Apothecaries’ Guild and received the package Claudins had prepared for Elder Kristinka.
After leaving the city, I stepped onto the plains, created a [Balloon!], and rose into the air toward the place where Thaddeus and the others said they would be hunting.
While slowly flying at about fifty meters altitude and searching for them, I spotted two groups of adventurers—more than ten people in total—glaring at each other.
One group appeared to be Thaddeus’s party, and they seemed to be protecting Regina.
I climbed higher, then dove straight down from above.
I came around behind the group confronting Thaddeus.
Thaddeus and the others stared at me in astonishment, while the other group turned around in shock at the sight of me floating in the air.
“What’s going on here?”
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Why are you floating?!”
“Suspicious bastard!”
“I should be asking you that. Thaddeus, what’s happening?”
“Scum who are targeting Regina.”
“They mocked her Water Magic at the guild, but after seeing how much we were earning, they came after her out of greed and lust.”
“Hey! Don’t get cocky just because you’ve got one more brat with you!”
“Kid, get down here!”
“You guys talk big.”
One of them stepped back and nocked an arrow while I taunted the man shouting below.
“What, are you old men that desperate?”
One man drew his sword while another thrust a short spear up at me, but neither could reach.
Then an arrow flew upward, but the rising wind knocked it aside. It bounced off the [Balloon!] and flew away.
He had just signed his own death warrant.
But Thaddeus and the others were too close for me to use a tornado.
So instead, I caught all of them in a [Whirlwind!].
“You can really fly…”
“A wind mage flying in the sky…”
“Amazing, Leon!”
“I came to say goodbye, but these men are a nuisance. They attacked me, so I’ll deal with them.”
“Are you sure that’s okay?”
“This isn’t the territory that issued it, but I carry identification like this, so there will be no problem. For now, please move away.”
“What will you do, Leon?”
“I have business elsewhere. I’ll clean this up. See you the next time you’re in Korché.”
Once Thaddeus and the others had left and there were no witnesses, I increased the [Whirlwind!]’s rotational speed.
After three minutes, the whirlwind disappeared.
Several bloodless corpses lay on the ground.
I placed them in my Magic Bag and then flew toward Faranka.
Whether flying north from Roxanne or Korché, the rocky mountains should be visible.
“Was that Leon just now?”
“It looked like a person, and he flew off from that direction, so probably.”
“That was a strange interruption… but even if he said he’d ‘take care of it’ alone, wouldn’t they just run away while he went to call the guards?”
“Murad, forget about it.”
“Think about what those guys were trying to do to us.”
“And they attacked Leon with weapons. Among adventurers, if you’re attacked outside the city, you defend yourself. Whether the enemy is a beast or a human, it’s the same.”
“Still… they attacked Leon—the one rumored to have swung a dragon around.”
Thaddeus shook his head at Murad.
“A Magic Pouch isn’t only for storing loot. It’s also useful for disposing of things you don’t want anyone to find.”
“I was just about to give them a good drink of water myself.”
“He headed north. If it’s deep in the forest, there won’t be any trouble afterward. Forget today ever happened.”
Because I left late, I spent the night in the rocky mountains.
Early the next morning I hovered near the Faranka village and then walked toward the gate.
“Oh, you again.”
“I’ve brought something for Kristinka.”
“You know where the meeting hall is, right?”
Once you become a familiar face, they don’t even check identification or guide you anymore.
Well, visitors are rare this deep in the forest, so it makes sense they wouldn’t be suspicious of someone they already know.
When I arrived at the meeting hall, I saw some familiar men.
I told them that I had brought a package from Claudins for Elder Kristinka, and one of them went to call her.
While I waited, he returned and said that Elder Vilasenka wished to see me.
The way he guided me felt more polite than before.
“Elder Vilasenka, it’s been a while. What happened after that incident?”
“Oh, there was some trouble, but it settled down eventually. By the way, I hear you’re quite a powerful mage.”
“Shouldn’t there be plenty of skilled mages in an elf village?”
“Even in an elf village, there are only a few more than in your human cities.”
While we were talking, Elder Kristinka entered the room.
She glanced at my face, nodded once, and sat down on the sofa.
“My, my. My eyes must have been clouded. When I heard you could fly and even swung a dragon around, I was shocked.”
“Indeed. I knew you were a wind mage, and coming here alone meant you must be skilled, but…”
Even Elder Vilasenka sounded amazed, though neither of them pressed for details.
“The package from Claudins, you said?”
I took it out of my magic bag.
A man carefully opened it.
Inside were large quantities of potions.
He held several up to the light, then nodded with satisfaction.
“There are apothecaries in this village too, aren’t there?”
“There are several, but none as skilled as Claudins. We have him prepare the upper-middle-grade and upper-grade potions.”
“So that’s why you entrusted him with the herbs.”
“Many of the necessary herbs can’t be gathered near Korché. It’s a mutually beneficial exchange.”
“I actually visited Claudins to ask about herbs, and delivering this package was part of the arrangement. Could you tell me which herbs can be gathered around here?”
“Since Claudins sent you, I won’t refuse. But someone like you shouldn’t need to gather herbs.”
“My sister is an apothecary preparing to open a shop in Lynas. She wants herbs that can’t be found near the city or through the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“I’ll order the specialist herb gatherers to teach you. But would you listen to one request of ours in return?”
“If it’s something I can do.”
“It’s nothing difficult. Could you hunt two or three Golden Goats and two or three Shams?”
So even elf villages have gourmets, huh?
“They’re for a celebratory feast, but their habitat is a bit troublesome…”
Seeing my exasperated expression, Elder Vilasenka leaned over and explained.