Chapter 50: Apprentice
“At first it surprised me, but since all I feel are presences, I eventually got used to it.”
Normally you’d sense one—maybe two at most—but in my case there were so many that they couldn’t even be counted.
Well, even I, the one they cling to, gave up trying to count them because their presences flickered in and out constantly.
Besides, it’s not like they wander right in front of me. Even if they wrap around my body, they don’t stick tightly to me.
They’re invisible beings made only of presence, and after three days, even if they show up in presence-sensing, they’re so close that they no longer bother me like other presences do.
“You seem to know something about this.”
“According to what an elf at the apothecary guild in Korche told me, they’re spirits. That elf also had one attached to him, but since he couldn’t use presence-sensing himself, he said he’d heard the story from his village elder.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes, aside from sensing their presence, nothing else.”
The other four listened with interest for a while, but since they couldn’t see or feel anything themselves, they quickly lost interest.
Three days after leaving the royal capital Leclerc, we passed through Redion, Cassandre, Carcas, Meloden, and Rosinne before arriving at the dead-end town of Berna.
From here, we would cross the plains and head into the mountains—but still, it was odd that a dead-end town was considered a viscount’s territory.
From around Rosinne, we could occasionally see mountains ahead, so they looked reasonably tall.
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“We finally made it.”
“This is my first journey, so I’m exhausted.”
“For now, let’s take our luggage to the Olivetan Hotel, then head to the guild.”
“Yeah. I’m curious about the person Leon introduced to us.”
We stopped by the market near the gate to eat and asked for directions to the Olivetan Hotel.
Even though we came from the capital, this was our first long journey, and when we arrived, we were shocked at the difference between this hotel and the one we would be staying in.
Steve, our de facto leader, stiff with nerves, went inside as our representative.
“Can I help you, young man?”
“Uh, um, I… I have something from Leon. I’m from the royal capital, and th-this is for Betty-san.
Ah, i-if she isn’t here, Ralph-san is fine too!”
“So… you’ve brought something from Leon for Betty, and you came from the capital.”
“Y-yes, that’s right. Is she here?”
“I’ll go get her. Wait over there in the corner.”
We went to the corner she pointed to, looking around nervously.
None of us expected that she worked at such a fancy hotel, and Steve broke into a cold sweat from tension.
The woman who returned was a beautiful older lady—who looked just like Leon, which startled us.
So Leon takes after his mother… Steve stared before he realized.
“You have something from Leon?”
“Yes, Betty-san, right? H-here it is.”
He hurriedly took the package out of his magic pouch and handed it over.
He also told her, “There’s a letter inside, please check.”
She opened the package on the spot. Inside was a folded sheet of paper resting on a beautiful cloth.
When she unfolded the cloth, a Rank 1 magic pouch appeared.
It hadn’t been registered by any user, and she checked the inside then nodded.
“Is Leon doing well?”
“Yes, he helped us a lot even in the short time we were together. He said he’ll return in two years.”
“I see. This is from him — a thank-you for delivering it.”
She took a small leather pouch from the magic pouch and placed it in Steve’s hand.
“Are you going straight back to the capital?”
“No, we’re heading to meet the people Leon introduced us to. Please excuse us.”
Outside, Steve let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Looks like it went fine.”
“Yeah. The difference between that hotel and ours is unreal.”
“No kidding. I caught a glimpse when Steve went in. I was glad I didn’t go in with him.”
“With how we look, we’d have no right to complain if they threw us out.”
“Well then, let’s head to the guild.”
“Isn’t it too early?”
“We can have an ale to celebrate arriving, ask them about a cheap inn, and then wait until evening.”
“Yeah. I want to search my body for the magic reservoir at the hotel anyway. I feel like I’m close to finding it.”
“Oh! Nice! All that effort looking for it while walking paid off.”
“Obviously I tried hard. If I can use magic even a little, our safety will increase dramatically.”
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“Hey, aren’t those two the ones?”
“Yeah, just like we heard—before sunset, that hair color, and that height difference.”
“Steve, go for it.”
Pushed forward by Gale, Steve approached the pair.
“Excuse me… Are you Mintz-san and Scott-san?”
He asked stiffly yet politely.
“That’s us.”
“Never seen you before.”
“Ah—Leon entrusted me with a letter, and I came from the capital!”
“Oh? Leon’s in the capital?”
“He doing well?”
“We only traveled with him a short time and he helped us. During that time, he also taught Gale here a lot about magic.”
“Oh? You a mage?”
“No, but he taught me how to practice magic, and I’m finally close to finding my magic reservoir.”
Scott read Leon’s note:
“It says he’s been granted barrier magic and lightning magic, but his magic power is 64. Leon taught him all the basics for practicing magic, and if he still can’t use any after half a year, then he has no talent. Also, even with magic power 64, if he trains daily and keeps at it, he should be able to cast around 5–10 spells before running out of mana.”
“If Leon sent them, he must think the kid has some potential. What do you think?”
“Well, good mages aren’t easy to find. There aren’t any just sitting around unemployed.
Let’s take him on for the half-year trial.”
“Yeah. Leon says our work will mostly be training, so we’ll take half the share. That all right?”
“Yes, please!”
“Gale, once you can use your magic and your barriers are useful, we’ll switch to equal shares. So work hard.”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
“And you’ll practice scouting, presence-sensing, and we’ll teach you spear and bow basics. Don’t skip training.”
“Please!”
“I’ll work hard!”
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“Mom, you said you heard from Leon?”
“Yes. Today an adventurer from the royal capital delivered something from him. He sent beautiful fabric for you and me, and high-quality knives for your father and Morris. For Ralph, he wasn’t sure what to send, so he sent a Rank 1 magic pouch. And he wrote that he’s giving each of us five gold coins, so we should buy whatever we need.”
“Five gold coins for each of us?! Is he really earning that much?”
“You like that fabric, don’t you?”
“I’ve never seen such fine cloth or colors in Lynas before.”
“That boy has always adored his big sister, so he splurged.”
“If you’re going to say that, then you were always soft on him because he’s the youngest!”
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A little over three hours after leaving the town of Berna, the forest gradually became denser and the slope steeper.
There are slopes and dips in plains and forests too, but this wasn’t a hill anymore—it was clearly a mountain, and we kept climbing.
There were a lot of beasts as well, but Jager’s party, the Fangs, and I only had Rank 5 magic bags.
Since our magic bags had to be kept empty for the armored buffalo, we ignored small animals.
If we couldn’t ignore them, we hid inside my dome until they passed.
Persistent ones were driven off by a lightning strike from Grave.
Grave sighed.
“Leon taught me shortened chants, and I’ve gotten faster, but I’m still one beat slower than his magic.”
“You’re already incredibly fast. If you entered a magic tournament, you’d definitely place near the top.”
“But Leon just says ‘Dome’ and it activates instantly. After my shortened chant, I have to take a breath before my spell fires.”
“That’s because you’re delaying the moment you release your mana.”
“Exactly. After each spell I prepare the next mana right away, but when I release it, I… I hesitate for a split second. When Leon fights using his whirlwind, it’s a nonstop chain of attacks.”
“What a luxury problem you have.”
“More importantly, try not to get yourself roasted black, all right?”
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On the sixth day in the mountains, we reached a steep slope with exposed rock faces.
Morgan and Cliff kept glancing upward.
“Leon, do you have good eyesight?”
“I think it’s better than average.”
“Then take a good look around the rocky areas and nearby. Goats—especially black goats or golden goats—if you find one, tell us.”
“Goats… the ones with pretty big horns, right?”
“They’re about the size of a medium elk, with unbranched horns. The black goat’s horns are jet-black and popular for making horns, and their meat sells for a high price. Golden goat meat is considered top-class and goes straight to auction. Their horns are dark grey with a single golden stripe—apparently the best material for horns.”
“Is that one?”
“Hm? Where?”
“Above, to the upper right, where that small tree is growing. Look straight up from there—behind the third tree on the right.”
“I can’t see it at all. Dennis! Come here!”
“You found one?”
“Listen to Leon’s description.”
After I explained again, Dennis said.
“There’s definitely something there, but it’s hidden by the tree. Hard to tell.”
“Shooting upward from this angle would be tough even for a bow.”
“I can’t see it. Leon, can you climb up there?”
“No way. I’ve never climbed a rock face like this!”
“If it’s a golden goat, it’s an auction-grade treasure. Even a black goat would be worth around 1,000,000 Dara.”
“If it goes to auction… does that mean the meat is delicious?”
“Armored buffalo also goes to auction, but golden goat is about the size of a large elk and said to be even better. And since they’re rarely hunted, whenever one appears at auction, it causes an uproar.”
“They say golden goats and shams are considered rare items even among auction goods.”