Chapter 15 – The Unconventional Magician
“It sounds like some big monsters are fighting.”
At Allen’s words, Olga gave the order to move out, and Allen took the lead toward the source of the roaring.
What we found trampling down the undergrowth and clashing again and again were two Horned Boars—both huge, both fierce.
They were gouging each other with their tusks and horns, blood spraying everywhere.
“If we don’t finish this fast, wolves will show up and go after the one that falls first.”
“Yeah. Leon, you take the big one. When it’s down, we’ll finish the other.”
Oh come on, the big one?
I pulled a stone the size of a human head from my rank-1 magic pouch and asked everyone to step back.
Spinning up [Ring—Vertical Spin!], I dropped the stone into the rapidly turning ring and hurled it like an underhand pitch.
The first shot hit its belly—not to miss—earning a pained “Bugi!” and freezing it mid-movement.
Before it could recover, I launched a second shot at its head. With a dull crack, it jerked backward and collapsed.
“Now! Shoot!”
Olga’s order rang out. Four arrows thudded into the beast, followed by the strong-armed fighters rushing in with short spears.
With arrows buried deep in its legs, the boar could barely move. In moments, spearpoints pierced its body, and it fell for good.
The one I’d hit was still twitching, so I asked them to finish it off.
“You’re even more unconventional than I thought.”
“I never imagined someone would take down a Horned Boar by throwing rocks at it.”
“When I heard about your ‘bullet’ magic, I doubted it—but turns out it was true.”
“Your detection and sensing are good enough for most parties. Makes sense you operate solo.”
“Still, how do you handle dog or wolf-type monsters?”
“Yeah, soloing wolves or tigers sounds impossible.”
“I can show you tonight. By the way, Bord, how do you use your ice magic?”
“I rely on defensive shields first. Once the target’s immobilized, I strike with Ice Lance. A bow’s faster, but the lance hits harder.”
When I asked how they’d managed to hide their presence back at the guild, they said it was a trick similar to blending with trees.
I decided then to practice that technique seriously.
Moving silently, though, they brushed aside webs and branches with their black-tipped short spears—made of enchanted steel, apparently razor-sharp.
Compared to my cheap adventurer-shop weapon, their hunting gear—short spears, powerful bows, heavy arrowheads—was on another level.
We didn’t encounter any big monsters after that. The strong-arms dealt with mid-sized monsters instantly, leaving me with little to do.
When we found a good clearing, we started preparing to camp.
“Leon, the spot’s small, but want to camp with us?”
“I’m fine. I’ll make my own sleeping spot with wind magic.”
“With wind magic? How the hell do you do that?”
“If it’s safe, show us.”
“Yeah, your wind magic’s nothing like what we’ve heard before.”
“Right, even the Horned Boar and Black Wolf we saw at the butchery—you took them down somehow, but no one could tell how. Let’s see it.”
I asked them to step back, then used [Ring!] to clear the grass and debris.
Next, I formed a three-meter-wide acorn-shaped [Dome!] of compressed air.
“It’s not much, but it can block something like a Horned Boar. Haven’t met anything stronger yet, but it even withstands a big bullet, so it should hold.”
Silence.
All of them stood there, mouths hanging open.
Olga was the first to recover, shouting, “What the hell is this!?”
That snapped the rest out of it.
“No way—wind magic can do this?”
“Unbelievable, even for you.”
“Are you sure it’s just wind? You didn’t get barrier magic too?”
“It doesn’t glow like a barrier, but it looks exactly like one.”
“I can’t believe this is just wind magic.”
Garv muttered to himself while tapping the dome with his spear.
Yeah, I get it—it’s hard to believe. Even I wasn’t sure it would actually work.
But, thanks to knowledge from my previous life’s light novels, I simply believed in the “image” of the spell and poured mana into that belief.
Since they would’ve gone on talking forever, I asked them to back up and slowly released the mana reinforcing the outer wall.
As the hardened air decompressed, a powerful gust exploded outward, blasting all seven of them.
“Whoa!”
“Strong wind!”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“See? Even when it collapses, it just blows wind.”
“Leon, make it again!”
Olga, eyes serious, asked me to rebuild it. I did so.
“Mind if I test something?”
He pulled a short spear from his pouch and took a stance.
Good chance to test its durability, so I nodded.
With a sharp “Haaah!”, the spear struck the dome.
A dull thunk sounded; it dented slightly, then instantly returned to shape.
Two, three more strikes—same result.
“I’m not sure what it can fully withstand,”
I said.
“So would you all attack it together?”
Their eyes lit up.
They slashed, struck, and stabbed—each impact made only a muffled sound and left no mark.
“Damn, it’s tougher than I thought.”
“Yeah, even my full-power hit bounced off.”
“Bord, try your Ice Lance!”
Oh, we’re getting a magic demo.
I hurried behind Bord to listen carefully.
“O gracious creation goddess Felicienne, grant me your divine art! I, Bord, beseech thee—strike down my foe! Ice Lance! Hah!”
A heavy thud resounded. The dome didn’t budge; the lance shattered into glittering shards.
Wow. So they actually pray to Felicienne before casting—so cool.
When I’d seen Marco fight before, he was still half-trained and usually stuck behind Ted, so I’d never heard a full chant like that before.
“What a remarkable spell. How long does it last?”
“About twelve hours, though it can last longer if I pour in more mana.”
“You made this thing so easily earlier—was that a shortened chant?”
“Yes, I chant silently in my mouth.”
“I can’t offer much in return, but if you’re willing… would you teach me the secret to shortened incantations?”
“It’s not a big deal, so I don’t mind. But it’s a bit of a hassle.”
“Much appreciated! So, how do I do it?”
“Hold on, Bord—that can wait. Leon, could you make one of these camping domes for us too?”
“Olga, you’re really going to sleep inside that see-through thing?”
“Doesn’t sound comforting…”
“I want to try it at least once. Especially to see how wild beasts react to it.”
After some heated arguing, Olga and Bord decided to stay inside the dome for the night, sticking a barricade of sharpened stakes in the entrance and peering outside.
The other five began assembling a small camp hut from thorny branches.
I was impressed by the makeshift hut, but they laughed and said my air dome was far stranger.
From the way they packed large game and disassembled huts into their storage, they probably had a rank-5 magic bag for party use.
When I went to visit Olga’s dome, they tried to pull out the stakes at the entrance, but I told them it wasn’t necessary and simply opened a doorway—surprising them.
Originally, I used to split the dome in half vertically to go in and out, but once I realized I could do that, I thought, “Then I should be able to just make an entrance,” and it worked.
The more I use wind magic, the more convenient it becomes. Maybe someday I’ll even be able to fly.
“Bord, how high is your mana?”
“My mana’s at seventy-eight.”
“You only use ice magic, right?”
“Yeah, that’s all I was granted.”
“For your Shield or Ice Lance, how many can you cast before running out?”
“Hmm… about twenty-four or twenty-five Shields. Maybe twelve or thirteen Ice Lances.”
“What about Ice Arrows?”
“I’d say about the same as a Lance. I barely use them—bows are quicker and more convenient.”
“So realistically, about seven or eight Lances before you’re spent.”
“Pretty much. What about you, Leon?”
“My mana’s ninety-three, but I can use around ten to fifteen spells at once. Altogether, probably seventy or so before depletion. You can manipulate mana flow, right?”
“Of course. Can’t use magic without it.”
“When you cast, you can feel mana flowing through your arm, right? Between your wrist and shoulder—how much of that length do you feel it travel?”
“Feels like it runs from my wrist to just past my elbow.”
“Alright. Then outside the dome, try making a Shield—but consciously limit your mana to only from your wrist to just before your elbow. You can keep the chant simple—just the word ‘Shield’.”
“That’s too short; it won’t activate.”
“It’s fine. I just say ‘Whirlwind!’ for mine.”
To demonstrate, I created a small [Whirlwind!] outside the dome, sending leaves swirling into the air.
“Hey! That’s taking ‘shortened chant’ a bit far!”
“I can do it without any chant, but speaking the word makes it faster, so I mutter it under my breath.”
“Well… since it’s you, I’ll believe it.”
“It’s the same for Ice Lance or Ice Shield. If you use them often enough, you should be able to make them with just the word ‘Shield’.”
“Try it, Bord. Leon’s clearly way more skilled at magic than we are—he’s not bluffing. You saw him whip up that whirlwind with one word.”
“Just focus on the Shield you always use, and remember—use less mana this time.”
“Isn’t it too close to try it here?”
“No, outside the dome. You can create a Shield exactly where you aim, can’t you?”
Bord shook his head, muttering, “You really are an unconventional kind of magician,” while narrowing his eyes at a spot beyond the dome.