While the members of the raid team were passing time enjoying some gambling,
I stepped out to the open area behind the lodge to conduct some experiments.
Using strands of mana, I was trying to find a way to expand the attack range of my dagger.
I could only rotate one dagger by intertwining the strands around its handle.
The problem arose when trying to spin two at the same time, as the mana strands combined into one in the middle.
I was deeply engrossed in experimenting with the dagger when I heard a voice.
“It would be better if you could extend the length.”
I thought the dagger was speaking, but it wasn’t its voice.
As I looked around the dark surroundings, a black figure dropped down from a tree.
“Who are you?”
“I came to greet you, but everyone seems busy.”
Even though the figure revealed itself from the darkness, I still couldn’t see them clearly.
I spread my palm to create light to illuminate the surroundings.
In the bright light, I saw the figure was a person with jet-black hair, soft eyes, and a sturdy build.
“I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Tenji, an archer who has volunteered for the raid team.”
“How did you know I was part of the raid team?”
“This lodge is only used by the raid team. Besides, I’ve never seen you in this village before. If you’re someone I’m seeing for the first time during this time, you must be from the raid team.”
Since this was not wrong, I quietly listened.
Tenji approached slowly, wearing a sword at their side.
“You said you were an archer, right?”
“I also use a sword.”
“You have a spear too.”
“I use a spear as well.”
Tenji started spinning a sword in one hand and a spear in the other.
The weapons began to widen their distance as they spun, and eventually, Tenji began to twirl them in mid-air alone.
“Do you know how to use magic?”
“Well, it’s somewhat similar. You’re using mana, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then it wouldn’t need to be in the form of strands, would it?”
It was a habit I had developed since I first awakened my mana, so I didn’t particularly question it.
“What’s wrong with making it with strands?”
“Nothing. Usually, mages use mana to pull things in, right?”
“But I’m moving it with mana.”
“Not exactly….”
He seemed frustrated while explaining and threw his weapon towards a scarecrow, driving it into it.
“Like this.”
When Tenji waved their hand lightly, the weapon that was lodged in the scarecrow automatically pulled out and returned to their hand.
“Did you see if the mana was connected just now?”
“No.”
“You probably learned it incorrectly when you first started. Since you can make light, you should have the basics, so give it a try.”
Tenji smiled and threw their sword into the scarecrow again.
“Try pulling it out.”
“It can’t be that simple, right?”
“It’s easy. Just try.”
I reached out to the sword stuck in the scarecrow and gathered mana in my palm.
I had never learned magic for retrieving distant objects.
Tenji quietly watched without saying a word.
Focusing hard on the sword lodged in the scarecrow’s chest, I chanted for it to come over.
Creak. Creak.
With a strange sound, the sword pulled free and began to float slowly toward me.
“Oh.”
Tenji let out a small exclamation.
“You succeeded. How does it feel? Easy, right?”
“Um. Pulling it out with strands seems easier…”
“That’s just a habit. With practice, this will be easier. By the way, I haven’t caught your name yet.”
“I’m Ririan.”
“I see. I look forward to working with you for a while.”
He politely introduced himself and disappeared back up the tree.
It was quite impressive to see an ordinary human leap up a tree in an instant.
If I had wings, I might be able to imitate it, but unfortunately, I didn’t have any wings at the moment.
Before returning to my room after training, I stopped by Isabel’s room.
“Is this how you do it?”
“You make it look easy!”
“Well, if you drop your sword in battle, you need to retrieve it.”
Isabel quickly pulled her sword, which was leaning against the wall by the door.
It seems that using mana is a basic skill that most people know.
“How did you practice?”
“I just hold it in my hand and bring it up and down with mana.”
“Thanks. I owe you a meal later.”
Based on what I heard from Isabel, I figured out a way to practice in my room.
I laid down on the bed with my dagger beside my head, practicing lifting it.
In a relaxed state, I closed my eyes and focused, eventually falling asleep.
Thud!
I suddenly jolted awake, wide-eyed.
The two daggers I had been balancing on my head had fallen and clashed against each other.
Thank goodness I had sheathed them, or I could have been in serious trouble.
The sun was already up.
This meant that throughout the night, the daggers had been floating in the air.
As a test, I called for the daggers, and they swiftly flew into my hand.
It was indeed much easier than pulling them with strands of mana.
When I stepped out of the room, Aila and Isabel were waiting by the door.
“Why are you here?”
“I got bored since they’re having a meeting.”
I could understand Isabel feeling this way, but I couldn’t fathom why Aila had skipped the meeting.
“Aren’t you supposed to join in on the strategy?”
“It doesn’t concern us much.”
Curious about the strategies being discussed, I went downstairs.
In a rather serious atmosphere, Tooler and Isaac were discussing their plans.
“So, we just need to ask that little mage to unleash a big spell, right?”
“Are you trying to take out our own allies along with the monsters?”
“Looks like he’s coming down. Hey, little mage.”
All eyes focused on me.
“Hey, can you control the power of your spells?”
“No.”
It was tricky to control a spell with refined mana.
Besides, I didn’t really see a need to adjust the power.
In a life-and-death situation, who would care about controlling the power?
I would just throw my full strength into it.
Even the lightning magic that was supposed to work well with me was hard to control at full power.
“You see? He says he can’t control the power.”
“Come on now, who adjusts the power of their spells?”
“But you saw the forest getting devastated. If you use that near the village, it will definitely cause damage.”
“Still, hitting them with one spell should significantly reduce the number of monsters.”
“If we just knew when they would come.”
The topic of discussion was about using my magic to wipe out a horde of monsters at a specific time.
The problem was that, looking at the power of the magic, casting it near the village would inevitably lead to damage to the village.
If we accidentally destroyed the castle wall, it would disadvantage us when defending against monster attacks.
“What if we use it in the plains?”
“It would only be effective if the monsters are gathered at the right position. If they are moving in large numbers, they would likely already be near the village.”
“When I first saw them, they were moving collectively in the plains, weren’t they? Can’t we do it that way?”
“No. Here, monsters gather in small groups from nearby forests.”
It may not seem apparent because of the way the entrance is arranged, but the area around Physon Village is a forest.
Monsters gather in smaller numbers into those woods and move out once a certain number has assembled later.
Ultimately, the meeting decided against using my magic.
Since siege warfare was essential for monster takedowns, we had to avoid any accidents that led to the castle wall being destroyed.
I told everyone not to worry, as I had other spells, but nobody seemed very interested.
In the morning, I went to the plaza, where Jere was spreading the word in front of the goddess statue.
“Hello, Ririan!”
“Are you joining the monster takedown too?”
“I have to participate if I want to get monster remains.”
Jere would certainly be a skilled mage.
I had come to see if they had any useful spells.
“I do know some spells for subduing monsters, but you don’t find many mages who share their spells with others.”
“The academy?”
“They charge tuition. Ultimately, it’s not free, and to be honest, the academy only teaches the basics.”
I couldn’t argue, as I didn’t know what was taught in the advanced classes.
“So you can’t teach them, huh?”
“Right. I had to steal them with all my might.”
“You stole them?”
“That old guy probably still has a lot of hidden magic, what a waste.”
It seems mages don’t typically share their spells with each other.
I still had a couple of spells left that I had learned from books.
One of them probably wouldn’t be usable in the village, but the other seemed viable.
“But does doing outreach in this village help in any way?”
“Not at all, I just feel bored being out here. Other than the kids, nobody seems interested.”
It was quite unrealistic to expect the worshippers of monsters to take interest in angels.
I was quite curious about how Jere managed to fund their research without doing anything substantial.
“I’ve been curious since the other day, but doesn’t research cost a lot?”
“It’s fine. I have many good sponsors.”
“Do those sponsors know about the angels?”
“No idea. They all think of me as an ecological researcher.”
They’d never dream that the money they donated was being used to resurrect angels.
“So, even as a regular researcher, you get quite a bit of funding?”
“Sometimes I meet them for meals, we travel and do stuff like that. It’s a type of business.”
That did not sound like ordinary sponsorship to me.
“If you need money, should I introduce you to one of them?”
“No, I’m fine.”
While it was true that I needed money, at least my earnings were legitimate.
I glanced between Jere and the angel statue.
“Isn’t worshipping the angel a kind of religion?”
“Only Midlen accepts angels as a religion. In other countries, they’re generally seen as representatives of the divine.”
This suggested that it would be impossible to collect money through religion while relying on angels.
“Anyway, be careful when the monsters attack.”
“Don’t worry about me. If things go south, I’ll just run away.”
It was somewhat disappointing that someone with decent skills only thought about escaping as soon as they got the chance.
The village remained incredibly peaceful without any unusual occurrences.
When I headed to the open area behind the lodge to practice throwing, I found Tenji striking a scarecrow.
I quietly hid and watched him train.
His skill in handling both the sword and spear at the same time was truly impressive.
What was unique was that when he swung the sword in his hand, the spear moved on its own in midair. The reverse was also true.
“Have you arrived?”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak a peek, just didn’t want to disturb your training.”
“It’s alright. Even if you watch, there’s no gain for you.”
I was confident that nobody else would be able to imitate what he was doing.
“You don’t seem to be a sword mage, do you?”
“No. I’m not from this world.”
“No way?”
“That’s right. I came through a gate.”
Tenji was someone I had always wanted to meet—the one who has awakened their abilities!
