Chapter 7: Actual Combat

As usual, we met at the west gate and headed out into the plains. Mintz took the right side, I took the left, each of us scanning 180 degrees with our detection skills as we walked.

We were technically heading toward a good spot for herb gathering, but since I only had to focus on half the area, keeping watch was easy. Sometimes we swapped sides to keep our senses sharp, and even when detection didn’t pick anything up, I could still confirm things through presence sensing.

Most of what showed up were Horn Rabbits or Hedgehogs, but sometimes small Elks or Sheep hid among the grass and shrubs—easy prey for Mintz and Scott’s bows.

A Horn Rabbit fetched about 5,000–7,000 Dara, a Hedgehog 12,000–18,000 Dara, and a small Elk 30,000–45,000 Dara—quite the profitable haul.
Most prey on the plains were small herbivores that could be hunted without much risk, so we couldn’t overlook them.

We still worked as a day-trip team, but since Mintz and I had Detection and Presence Sensing, and Mintz and Scott had Bow Handling, our work naturally leaned toward hunting.

Still, I realized that many small Elks or Sheep blended so well with the underbrush that only about half showed up on detection. I could spot them by focusing where I sensed their presence, but it made me admire their camouflage—and vow that one day, I’d learn that trick too. For now, I had to sharpen my detection skill even more.

That day we brought in three Horn Rabbits, one Hedgehog, and one small Elk, earning 67,000 Dara in total.

That came to 22,333 each, so we rounded it to 22,000 and saved the rest for next time.

If we worked twenty days a month, that’d be over 400,000 Dara, meaning in two months I could repay the 500,000 I owed Ted. Maybe even comfortably within three.

A Rank 3–10 magic pouch cost 1,500,000 Dara, so if things kept up, I could afford one in about a year. That thought gave me hope.

Later, when we got closer to the forest, I detected Goblins—the second time that day.

“Leon, it’s yours.”
“Got it. Please check the surroundings.”
“On it.”
“Leave it to us.”

As the Goblin spotted us and charged, I activated [Inner Wind Formation!], surrounding it with a swirling barrier of air.

It was the reverse of my wind barrier—something I’d found quite useful for taking down Goblins and Horn Boars.

Once the formation closed around it, I pulled a handful of small stones from my magic pouch and tossed them into the circling wind.
The wind, carrying the stones, tightened inward until the Goblin was pummeled to death—left a bloody mess by the airborne projectiles.

A simple job: make the inner barrier, then watch. But pulling out the magic stone afterward always made my stomach turn.
Still, muttering “three thousand Dara per stone”, I extracted it.

“Leon! A pack of Killer Dogs!”

“Understood—get together!”

“We’re counting on you!”

“Nothing beats the safety of the great wind barrier!”

[Barrier!]

I raised a barrier about three meters across and lifted part of it near chest height to see outside.

“Looks like the smell of Goblin blood drew them here.”

“Judging by the wind direction, yeah.”

“All right, our turn. Make a wider opening.”

“Wait—I’ll try shooting too!”

“We’ll fire the moment you do.”

“Take your time; it’s not like they’ll break through that thing.”

“Can’t get much more relaxed than this, huh?”

“Here I go!”

The roaring wind muffled everything, so I shouted, “Now!” the instant I loosed my arrow.
Taking my cue, the other two fired as well—three Killer Dogs cried out, though we could barely hear over the wind.

By the time I thought how convenient the noise was for drowning out screams, they’d already loosed their second and even third volleys.
Seeing their packmates fall before their eyes, the remaining dogs finally turned tail and fled.

Three months after registering as an adventurer, I visited Ted’s home. Scott had told me where he lived, to thank him properly and repay the money for the magic pouch.

He refused at first, saying it was a gift for saving his life and a celebration of me becoming an adventurer. But I insisted, telling him to treat it as his retirement gift, and he finally accepted.

Thanks to Ted, I’d been able to start out with a magic pouch, and Mintz and Scott had taught me countless things about the adventurer’s trade.

Things were very different from my old days helping with herb gathering, but without them, I’d have struggled.

Besides, we’d gotten our old Rank 3–10 pouch we used back in the “Lynas Gale” party, free of charge. That’s why we could bring all our kills back instead of leaving any behind—and why we earned so much.

When we dropped off our prey at the dismantling yard and settled in at the tavern, that same annoying group that’d been pestering us lately showed up again.

“Hey, Mintz! You still not joining our party?”

“You three seem to be making decent money with that kid tagging along, but you’d earn way more with us.”

“With your detection skills, you’d do great deeper in the forest, there’s real money there.”

“Hauling small fry back home every day isn’t adventuring. Real men take down big ones and rake it in!”

“You and Scott can’t be making much. Be our scout, and you’ll double your income.”

“I already decided I’d rather live slow and steady. No matter how many times you ask, the answer’s no.”

“Come on, Ted’s retired now—you don’t have to be so stubborn.”

“You never know what’ll happen out here. Better to live fast and earn big!”

“Please, Mintz! You’re the only decent scout left around!”

So that’s how it was. They’d been too scared to invite him while Ted was still around, and now that he’d retired, they were circling like vultures.

Their pitch was terrible, though. And only now did I realize how skilled Ted really was—what a shame.

I should’ve gotten more lessons in spear and sword from him while I could.

The hot season still lingered, and lately, the forest’s edge had become our main hunting ground.

“Mintz.”

“Yeah… feels a little off today.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Looks like an ambush. Not much killing intent, though…”

“That’s what worries me—the way they move feels too practiced.”

“I’ll throw up a thin wall. Let’s move toward that open area on the right.”

“Got it. We’re counting on you, Leon.”

“I can block three archers at once, but more than that, I’ll need a full barrier.”

“What are our chances?”

“If they let us pretend we didn’t see them, then pretty good.”

“I see. My eyesight’s been getting worse lately.”

“Same here. Can’t even pick herbs anymore, might need to buy a potion for that.”

“Yeah, been hunting too much lately. Maybe we should go back to herb gathering tomorrow.”

“…They’re here.”

“Ah, those guys who drifted in about two months ago. They call themselves Wolf’s Fang,”

“Yeah, they’ve got a bad reputation in the guild too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t know since you go straight home after work, but watch the way they walk.”

“Their center of gravity’s off — kind of wobbly, huh?”

Mintz suddenly burst out laughing, and even Scott’s shoulders were shaking.

“That’s odd. There should be eight of them, but I only see six.”

“Then the other two must be archers. I don’t sense their presence, and they didn’t show up in detection. Must be pretty skilled.”

Even though they used to only gather herbs cautiously, those two are calm as ever now.
Still, just to be safe, I’ll make the wind barrier a bit thicker.

They surrounded us without saying a word, but one of them sneered.

“So this is wind magic, huh?”

Seems like they know about me. That’s not good.

“You’ve been making quite a bit of money, huh? Guess this meeting’s fate. How about you lend us your magic pouch as a greeting?”

“You’ve got a Rank 3 one, right? We’ll give it back after a while, promise.”

“Our pouches are too small to fit the prey we catch.”

“Leon, we don’t know anything about this, got it?”

“Uh, I still can’t figure out where the other two are hiding, though.”

“If you use that ‘inner wind zone’ thing, they won’t be able to see you, right?”

“What the hell are you talking about!”

“Didn’t you hear what we said?”

“Keep acting cocky and you’ll regret it — we won’t stop at just hurting you!”

Sheesh…
Still, going straight to the inner wind zone and turning them into pulp seems too much — maybe I’ll just punish them with a little whirlwind.

I lightly pointed my shoulder forward at the loudest one and whispered, “Whirlwind!”

Fwsh!

Suddenly wrapped in a twisting gust, the man panicked as the wind lashed at him, trying to hold his ground.
Maybe the power’s too weak? I focused and thought, “Spin faster!”
His clothes began to flap violently, almost tearing apart.
He managed to shout “Stop it—!” right before his feet gave out, and he started spinning helplessly.

“You little brat, you’re using wind magic!?”

“Stop it! You dare mess with my brother!?”

“Stop the spell! Kill that kid!”

“They drew their weapons,”

“Guess we’ve got no choice, Leon, don’t hold back.”

An arrow suddenly flew through a gap in their formation and bounced off my wind barrier.

“Knew it! They had archers hidden.”

“Leon, finish this quickly.”

“If I go any further, they’ll die, though.”

“We’re being attacked — self-defense is perfectly legal,”

“Exactly. Remember what they told you during guild registration? Justified counterattack.”

Scott said that with a smug grin, but I really don’t want this to turn into a murder scene. Still… better them than us.

Blood attracts beasts, so instead of using the inner wind zone, I’ll just toss them deep into the forest with a tornado.

I shifted the whirlwind into a tornado and sent the spinning guy flying into the trees.
The man next to him gasped in shock. Then he too was caught in the swirling wind and thrown skyward, vanishing toward the forest.
By the time I sent the third one flying, the others realized it was wind magic but had no idea how to counter it, they just froze in panic.

“Brutal, man…”

“Three of them vanished in the blink of an eye.”

These two sure are calm…
I caught the fourth in another tornado and flung him away — that’s when the last two bolted for the forest.

“Ah, they’re running for it!”

No problem! Time to show off what I’ve been secretly practicing.
Since the two were close together, I cast twin tornadoes, catching them both. “Spin faster!” I commanded.
Even from a distance, I could see them being swept up and hurled skyward.

“Oh, wow! That’s the first time I’ve seen people actually fly,” 

Mintz said cheerfully, as if it were a pleasant afternoon show.