Chapter 05 …
Water Magic
Rael’s gaze dropped. The hand he had stretched out stopped midway.
It wasn’t good to eat immediately. He had collapsed before. There had been no serious harm, but usually, when someone passed out like that, they didn’t survive. He had been lucky.
Things grown in the forest shouldn’t be eaten recklessly.
After some thought, he picked up a blue flower. He intended to hide it. He figured he could find out what it was once he got to the city. Since the alchemist was researching, he could subtly ask about it.
For some reason, he felt incredibly happy. Picking up a single blue flower excited him more than spending a whole day collecting random herbs.
Rael didn’t even know what kind of flower it was yet. It was strange.
If he thought about it, it might even be valuable.
Herbs containing a small amount of mana were already worth something. Herbs filled with enough mana to make your head spin would be far more expensive. It seemed like a plausible guess.
When he finished collecting herbs and returned, Dorian grumbled about why he was so late. He complained as if Rael hadn’t come to gather herbs but was just dawdling and needed to hurry.
Though he scowled on the outside, the corners of his mouth were turned up. When Rael showed the basket, Dorian gave a slightly displeased smile.
It felt like Rael had only done something good for someone else, which was a little frustrating. Still, since he had learned about herbs, it was mutually beneficial. Thinking about the blue flower hidden in his pocket, even that frustration faded.
Rael used magic whenever water was needed. During the remaining time, he moved around gathering more herbs. Contrary to Dorian’s warnings, there were no traces of any dangerous monsters.
The crossbow he had brought along proved useless. He wanted to experience a fight. Perhaps because Dorian subtly looked down on him, his rebellious spirit grew stronger. He wanted to defeat even a single Noll to shut him up.
As he fiddled with the crossbow, feeling disappointed, Dorian told him to be glad he wouldn’t have to use it.
Rael found himself wishing a Noll would appear.
The more familiar he became with water magic, the stronger that desire grew. Every time he finished a meal and produced water, it became increasingly natural.
Daily herb gathering also helped with training. Now, he could create a considerable amount of water at once. First, he only managed the head, and now he controlled the torso.
He began practicing sending water lumps flying.
In his dreams, the old man taught him magic every day. Even things that had seemed confusing before now made some sense.
Dream-Rael wore a somewhat understanding expression. It was because he had learned foundational knowledge. Meanwhile, the real Rael could barely grasp one or two things for every ten explanations.
It was so tedious that sometimes he wished the old man would just demonstrate the magic instead. Still, recently, he found the dreams interesting. The old man explained not just how to maintain water lumps, but also the technique for propelling them. It seemed simple, but controlling mana required enormous effort.
The old man spoke so much that Rael felt almost guilty for having thought magic was simple. Among all the advice, the practical parts were what Rael could understand, and even that alone was very helpful.
“If I carry this every time, I wouldn’t have to worry, right?”
He slung the sack over his shoulder. It had been empty, but now it was almost bursting.
Considering the sack was big enough to fit him, the amount of herbs he had gathered was immense.
If this continued, he could become rich quickly.
Dorian shook his head.
“Even if you carry all of this, only a portion will be bought. People usually only want a few types at most.”
“Then shouldn’t we just gather only those few types?”
“We don’t know yet. For now, we just take whatever we come across. Someone else might buy it.”
“What about something like Karil?”
He turned his gaze to one side. Karil was growing there.
“That’s not worth much. The villagers paid for it because they needed it.”
“I see.”
“Sometimes there are special herbs.”
“Special?”
“The ones infused with mana.”
“Are they expensive?”
“Well… I don’t know all the herbs. The really special ones are hard to get. I’ve heard that wizards seek them out, but I don’t know much about it.”
His heart raced. It had to be the blue flower he had picked earlier.
“Could I get a book about it?”
“You should learn to read first. Even just being able to read is enough to get by.”
Rael realized he would need to find a teacher in the city. He worried how much it would cost.
If he learned to read, he could consult herbology books.
He would also need magic books separately. Learning only in dreams had limits.
Magic books were expensive, and he had no idea how he would save enough money to buy them.
To learn anything, money had to be on hand.
For now, he set the worries aside. He wasn’t even proficient in the magic he was learning. Everything else could be considered later.
Walking through the forest, he soon reached a proper road. It was a main path, flat enough for carriages.
Following this road would lead straight to the city. Dorian said they would likely arrive tomorrow. Rael was excited to see what the city looked like.
He had never been to a city in his life. Truly, he was a country boy.
“Do we part ways as soon as we get to the city?”
“Not exactly. We first have to see the alchemist and sell the herbs. If we’re lucky, we might even take on some requests and stay a few days.”
“Requests?”
“What did you think I meant? I said we came here because of the alchemist.”
“I thought we were just bringing him along.”
“Well, that too. Either way, we’ll be in the city for a few days. We’re tired from sleeping outside for so long, and we’ll check on those who ran off from the village to see how they’re doing.”
“Ran off?”
“The ones who left to become mercenaries. Most are probably dead.”
Dorian’s expression darkened, looking like he regretted being asked to do this. But Rael didn’t pay it much attention. Something appeared in the distance.
A faint, irritating barking reached their ears. At first, Rael thought he misheard, but he hadn’t. Something stood blocking the road ahead.
“Noll!”
“Noll?”
Dorian lowered his stance. One hand went to the sword hilt at his waist, the other raised a shield in front of his face. A well-practiced move.
“How many?”
“Seems like four.”
“Seems?”
“I’m relying on hearing, so it might be wrong.”
They were too far to see clearly. Only blurry shapes were visible. Without heightened senses, they might not have noticed them at all.
“Damn! They’re coming.”
“What do we do?”
The shapes began to move. They had been spotted.
“Get the crossbow!”
“They’re far away!”
“Shoot anyway!”
The crossbow was already loaded. Rael aimed at the Noll, taking careful aim at the head, and pulled the trigger.
Thwunk!
Fsssh!
The bolt hit the lead Noll, but it failed to kill it.
“What are you doing! Reload quickly!”
Dorian now held the sword hilt, his face tense.
Rael set the crossbow and stepped on the stirrup. Pulling the string proved difficult under pressure. It felt like it took twice as long as during practice.
“Aim slightly higher and shoot!”
Dorian shouted, urgent.
Rael raised the crossbow, aimed slightly above the target as instructed, and pulled the trigger. The bolt struck, and one Noll’s head hit the ground. Success.
He stared blankly at the fallen Noll. It held a club, but astonishingly, its head was literally like a dog’s. No wonder it was so dumb.
“Again!”
Dorian commanded. Rael hurriedly reloaded and fired again, aiming slightly above the head as before. Another Noll collapsed, clutching its knee where the bolt had struck. Another hit.
Rael reloaded immediately. No scolding this time—two Nolls were already down. Excitement surged.
The next Noll was closer; he could clearly see the hair on its face.
“Ruff, ruff!”
It barked, almost making him drop the crossbow. Gripping tightly, his arm shook, but he managed to pull the trigger.
Thwunk!
Fsssh!
The Noll fell, but it wasn’t a fatal wound. It tried to stand, clutching its shoulder. Dorian dashed forward, shoving the Noll back, then plunged his sword into its chest. One strike finished it.
Another Noll, hit by an arrow in the shoulder, stood up too late. But it couldn’t contend with Dorian. The arrow had pierced a joint, rendering its right arm useless.
Even if it had been normal, it would have lost.
Soon, the last Noll fell, a sword blade in its neck. Rael exhaled heavily. His legs shook, and he felt he might collapse if he relaxed.
Dorian finished off the immobilized Nolls. As confirmed earlier, there had been four.
Sticky blood coated Dorian’s blade. Only then did Rael feel the weight of the life-or-death battle. Had there been more, they might have panicked and been clubbed to death.
After dealing with the fallen Nolls, Dorian patted Rael on the back.
“Well done!”
He smiled, and Rael smiled back, unwilling to seem weak.
