Chapter 69: Experimental Learning

I stayed in the capital for about two days to secure food and buy alcohol, then on the third day I headed east along the Orvenne Road.

Along the way, I entered the grasslands and switched to hovercraft mode—now called “Hover!”—and realized how foolish I had been.

It had been about ten days since selling the Battle hawks at Kreis. Traveling from the capital to hunt Sham and back would take nearly a month round trip.

Flying through the air, I could reach the Armored Buffalo habitat in two or three days. Even if I estimated a week to search for Sham, a half-month round trip would be sufficient.

It was obviously unnatural by any standard.

In a month, I could easily earn 10,000,000 Dara just from birds.

With a goal to build a house, I realized I could specialize in birds—avoiding attention by not hunting Sham or Golden Goats nearby.

If I brought birds to the guild once a week, earning 3,000,000 Dara each time, five weeks would yield 15,000,000 Dara.

I needed rest too, so doing it four times a month would give 12,000,000 Dala, which was excellent.

Three more years until my sister becomes independent, so 12,000,000 × 36 = 432,000,000 Dara.

In Linus, that would be enough for a shop and a house for my mother and me. If it wasn’t enough, I could earn more.

With that decided, I descended the shallow northern forest from Ledion toward Berna. 

I wanted to whistle, but as an adventurer I moved quietly through the forest, using detection and perception to search for Runner birds.

Runner birds often hide in dense grass of forests and plains, so when I sensed something, I used a sling to throw stones.

If it was a Runner bird, I captured it with a Whirlwind spell; Red Chickens flying high and Green birds in the air were handled the same way.

If I worked seriously, capturing a dozen or so including Chikki-Chikki Birds was easy.

On the fifth day, I stopped at the Meroden Guild. It was my first visit, so I brought a Wolf as a pass and was allowed into the disassembly area.

Though a bit late in the day, most guilds were quiet in the morning, so everything proceeded smoothly.

I lined up the prey as instructed, starting with Chick-Chick Birds. I quickly filled out the appraisal sheet and confirmed the total.

• Chikki-Chikki Bird: 12 × 77,000 = 924,000 Dara
• Runner bird: 16 × 38,000 = 608,000 Dara
• Green bird: 18 × 31,000 = 558,000 Dara
• Red Chicken: 9 × 26,000 = 234,000 Dara
• Forest Wolf: 6 × 52,000 = 312,000 Dara
• High Orc: 3 × 110,000 = 330,000 Dara
• Orc: 6 × 83,000 = 498,000 Dara

Total: 3,464,000 Dara

When I handed over my guild card, they said, “Ah, so you’re Leon the Gentle Breeze.”

“I’ve heard the rumors. Birds are always welcome—bring them anytime,” was the usual line.

I received the appraisal sheet with a wry smile, left the disassembly area, and informed the settlement counter that all would be deposited with the guild.

After leaving Meroden, I continued through the northern forest, circled around the town of Berna, and rested in the southern forest.

With a fair amount of prey accumulated, I decided to process them in Berna. Next, I would handle some near Carcas, and then return to the capital to keep Mr. Holtz pleased.

Feeling upbeat with this perfect plan, I entered Berna, but something felt different from before.

I entered the Adventurer Guild and told them I had a Horn Boar as a pass to access the disassembly area.

There were two groups ahead, so I waited quietly.

As I lined up the prey under the clerk’s instruction, I saw some unusual catches: Red Bears, Tigers, two types of Wolves, all impressive.

After lining up the Big Elk and Horn Boar and receiving the appraisal sheet, I recognized who was watching.

“Hey, Gentle Breeze. What are you doing here?”

“I was heading through the northern forest from the capital and ended up here. I wanted to process my prey before returning to the capital. Are Gains and the others using this as a hunting ground?”

“There are many adventurers near the capital. They came here through the forest, just like you.”

“What about that Tiger species?”

“That’s a Fang Tiger. Go west and you’ll hit the mountains, but some Tigers live deeper in. Leon, you’re still after birds, I take it?”

“Yes, birds are my main focus, and I handle attackers as they come.”

“Where did Jaeger and the others go?”

“You’ll have to ask Jaeger-san about that.”

“I see. Since you’re here, how about going west to the mountains for a couple of days?”

“We just got back—are the others okay with that?”

“No problem. Jaeger praised you too.”

“Ah, he said my magic is impressive.”

“I heard it’s completely different from the dome you helped with before. I wanted to see it for myself.”

When it was my turn, I lined up the prey in front of Gains and the others.

As usual, I started with Chikki-Chikki Birds, then Runner birds, Green birds, Red Chickens, and finally the beasts.

I lined up the big Horn Boar, seven Gray Wolves, and five Black Wolves, handed over my guild card, and went to the dining hall. Two people looked at me strangely.

They were members of a high-rank party. Previously, they had noticed my elemental presence by sensing me, but now it had completely disappeared, which puzzled them.

While drinking ale in the dining hall, we agreed to hunt together again when I returned to Berna on the fourth day.

“Lady Olga, may I speak?”

“What is it? If it’s a hassle, you handle it yourself.”

“It’s not that. Yesterday, the Adventurer Guild reported a large number of Chikki-Chikki Birds brought in. The person’s name was an issue—they said it was a young man named Leon.”

“Leon… who is he?”

“Haven’t you heard? He’s the man said to have caused the Fleming family to be confined in this rural town.”

“Where is this man now?”

“After selling his prey at the guild, he joined some adventurer acquaintances and went hunting.”

“Bring him here when he returns. Even if it’s due to the foolery of Warrens, the Fleming family must pay some price for what happened. Otherwise, I can’t face my father.”

“Then I will order the adventurers under my care to bring him before Lady Olga.”

“Do it discreetly, so the guild doesn’t notice.”

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

When the scout Eric raised one hand to signal a stop, he conveyed something to Gains.

“Looks like Wolves, huh? Let’s see what you’ve got.”

At Gains’ words, everyone’s eyes turned to me, so I reluctantly stepped forward.

It was caught by my own detection as well—but a Forest Wolf right off the bat?

Since they knew I had brought quite a bit of prey to the guild, they seemed interested in my wind magic.

The approaching Forest Wolves moved toward us without changing their light steps, even seeing us.

Gale and the others formed a circle with weapons ready for interception, so I stood beside them and enveloped the wolves with a Ring!

“Hey, hey, I want to see Leon’s skill.”

“Preparations for your welcome are ready. Please remain quiet.”

“Huh.”

“Did you do something?”

“Everyone, ready yourselves!”

The lead Forest Wolf suddenly leapt forward at full speed, hit the Ring, stopped midair, and then fell to the ground.

It seemed the wolf’s snout had struck the Ring directly, letting out a pathetic yelp: <Gyan>.

“Whoa—”
“Huh…”
“Something’s strange here.”

While spinning the fallen wolf with Whirlwind!, I used the same spell to intercept the following wolves and kept them spinning.

After spinning four wolves, the one behind stopped and tilted its head at its whirling companions, but I made it spin like the others.

When I enveloped seven nearby wolves with Whirlwind, the remaining ones fled. I withdrew the magic and tossed them into my Magic Bag.

“Leon, what did you do?”
“The Wolves started spinning around?”
“Wha… there’s something here!”

Duncan tried to approach me but hit the Ring, extending his arm to check for its presence.

Beside him, Gad and Alls copied him, cautiously reaching out and being surprised by the Ring.

When Gains extended his arm and I withdrew the Ring’s magic, he muttered with a foolish expression:

“Ah… it’s gone.”

“Leon, stop chuckling and explain it.”

“When the first wolf leapt at us and stopped, I had prepared a wind magic barrier.”

“That hard thing from earlier—that was it?”

“Yes. I call it a Ring. I created a circular wall with a radius of three meters around me.”

“Was the wolves spinning also wind magic?”

“That was Whirlwind. When enveloped and spun, the wolves get dizzy and can’t stand.”

“No way… did you spin the Red Bear the same way to defeat it?”

I smiled in response, which left everyone dumbfounded, but Gains skeptically asked:

“Can you really defeat a Red Bear or Big Horn Boar like that?”

Standing a little apart from the group, I shouted toward Gains while casting Whirlwind! to envelop him.

<Owaaah! Stop it! My eyes… my eyes are spinning!>

When I withdrew the Whirlwind magic, he managed to stand and tried to walk toward me, but staggered and fell.

Seeing that, everyone burst out laughing.