Chapter 27 …
Magic Wand (3)
A lump of water was floating.
It wasn’t just one.
Two were floating.
They were also slightly larger than what he had originally intended to create. It was incredible.
Normally, he would have had to strain himself to produce this.
But now his head wasn’t throbbing.
If anything, it felt about the same as when he usually made a single water sphere.
He realized that the number of water spheres he could create had increased.
There was a big difference between having one and having two.
The number of enemies he could kill at once whenever he cast a spell had immediately increased.
And yet the throbbing in his head was much less.
The alchemist’s words—that it would further enhance his abilities as a mage—had not been wrong.
No, this was even more amazing than that.
If it boosted him this much, then with some exaggeration, he had practically become twice as strong.
He used to take down one enemy per cast.
Now he could take down two.
It wasn’t even an exaggeration.
Most of all, he no longer had to wave his hands around.
Just holding the wand made casting faster than forming hand seals.
It wasn’t dramatically faster, but forming hand seals while chanting in the middle of combat had been quite difficult.
In the chaos, he could easily mispronounce the spell or mess up the hand signs. In that sense, using magic in battle had become much easier.
Being able to normally create two water spheres meant that if he pushed himself, he could probably make three.
That meant he could kill up to three people at once.
Or he could focus them on a single target.
If both water spheres struck one person, the power was effectively doubled.
The raw power itself hadn’t increased.
The water spheres were only slightly larger than before.
That was all.
He had a feeling that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to make them any bigger.
It wasn’t that he was incompetent.
It was the limit of the spell he had learned.
Even if he fully mastered Water Ball, the best it could do was produce a torso-sized mass of water.
If he wanted to wield greater power, he would need to learn a higher-tier spell.
He stood up.
Before anything else, there was something he needed to take care of. He had to check whether there was a caravan heading north.
He wrapped the wand in cloth again and slung it over his back.
He tightened the straps firmly so it wouldn’t come loose.
He was still afraid to carry the wand openly.
It was worth 10 gold—his hands and feet trembled just thinking about it.
If someone recognized it, there could be serious trouble.
He still felt he lacked the strength to carry something like this openly.
It was an item beyond his station.
But that was going to change.
He would become strong enough to carry it without hesitation.
Only then could he protect what he owned and earn the alchemist’s favor.
For now, it seemed best to head to the Mercenary Guild.
If there was a large caravan, they would be recruiting mercenaries. And he also needed to meet the staff member who had warned him before.
He left the inn and walked down the street.
A cloak worn by one of the passersby caught his eye.
It reminded him that he had planned to buy one after seeing the mercenaries on the way here.
He headed to the clothing shop.
It was the same shop where he had been scammed when he first came with Dorian.
“Welcome.”
“Hello.”
He remembered the owner’s face. The man was still there.
Back then, the owner had gouged him, selling a 10-copper wool outfit for double the price. The owner didn’t seem to recognize him.
Maybe he just looked older now.
After all the battles he’d fought, he had gained some presence.
Maybe he had developed an aura that made him harder to look down on.
Thinking that made him feel good.
“Here to buy clothes?”
The owner didn’t even ask if he had money this time. When he first came, that had been the first thing the man checked.
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“I’m here to buy a cloak.”
“What kind? Cape or robe?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Capes are short. Robes are long.”
The owner kindly brought out cloaks and explained.
Rael nodded as he looked.
A cape reached the elbows.
A robe covered the whole body.
Rael wanted a robe.
If he ever needed to use it like a blanket, bigger was better. He asked for something warm, even if it was a bit heavy.
He also added that black would be nice. The wand’s magic stone was black, so matching the color seemed like a good idea.
At that, the owner said he had just the thing and brought out a cloak.
It was a pitch-black cloak with a slightly stiff texture.
“10 silver.”
“10 silver?”
The owner made a big fuss about it being made from lizardman leather.
He claimed it wouldn’t get wet and that it alone could keep someone warm even in midwinter.
Rael wasn’t sure if that was true.
Looking closely, he spotted a scratch.
It was minor enough to ignore, but it was definitely there.
Pointing it out, he immediately halved the price.
Looking closer, there were also signs of wear. He offered 3 silver.
The owner countered.
He made a scene, insisting it wasn’t a scratch. Since he couldn’t deny the wear, he cleared his throat and called 7 silver.
Three silver had vanished in an instant. Judging by how quickly the price dropped, the original 10 silver had definitely been inflated.
Rael raised his voice and found more “flaws.”
They weren’t even visible, but that didn’t matter.
In negotiations like this, the one who nitpicked loudly usually won.
After several rounds of this, the lizardman leather robe that started at 10 silver dropped to 5 silver.
Only then did Rael nod.
At the very least, he felt he hadn’t been ripped off. Thanks to Dorian.
When he put it on, the fit felt good.
If he added a pointed hat now, he would really look like a wizard.
But pointed hats were too uncomfortable. Even if he bought one, it would be later.
Besides, the robe already had a hood.
The owner was staring with a fed-up expression.
Rael left the shop, feeling pleased.
He headed straight for the Mercenary Guild.
(continued seamlessly in your text)
He walked down the street.
He could feel people glancing at him.
It was probably because of the new cloak.
Just wearing it made his whole presence feel different.
He almost regretted not buying one sooner.
Even when he bought the 10-copper wool clothes before, people’s gazes had changed.
From looking at him like a beggar…
…to looking at him like a proper kid.
But now he was wearing a 5-silver cloak.
Of course things would be different.
He felt people wouldn’t treat him lightly anymore.
When he arrived at the Mercenary Guild, he went to the counter. The mercenaries glared at him but said nothing.
He remembered being mocked the first time he came.
By the staff member, if he recalled correctly.
The middle-aged man was still at his post.
He figured the man would probably stay there for a long time. For some reason, that thought felt strange.
This time, the man didn’t sneer.
He simply looked Rael up and down and said one thing.
“You idiot.”
“….”
“But you’re impressive. Honestly, I thought you’d die.”
“I was lucky.”
“A mercenary needs luck to survive. Good for you.”
The man grinned.
It felt like he’d been acknowledged—just a little.
It felt good.
Maybe because he had survived the brink of death.
The man probably sensed that his atmosphere had changed.
He didn’t know the details, but he was perceptive.
“Are there any requests?”
“What kind?”
“Like a caravan heading north.”
“You going to war?”
The middle-aged man frowned.
He was really sharp. Just a few words and he had already figured out Rael’s goal.
Rael nodded. There was no need to hide it.
“Yes.”
“Nothing yet.”
“Yet?”
“Seems like there will be soon, but it’s not certain. Come back later.”
“When will it be decided?”
“A week at the shortest. A month at the longest.”
“A month…”
That was a long time.
He needed to head to war and grow stronger as soon as possible. If things went wrong, he might have to stay here for a whole month.
A month was more than enough to make him anxious.
“Check back later.”
The man scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it over. It had a name and location written at the top.
It was probably the merchant company that would depart.
Rael thanked him and turned away.
For the time being, he decided he should focus on training.
He went to see Lorina.
Behind the alchemist’s house stood a large building.
Not quite the lord’s manor, but still quite big.
Probably the largest building in the outer district.
The alchemist and Lorina lived there.
There was even a gatekeeper.
Rael said he had come to see Lorina.
But he couldn’t meet her.
She was busy, he was told. Come back later.
He felt a little disappointed.
He had thought the girl would at least show her face.
He returned to the inn.
On the stairs, he ran into the girl who worked there.
She greeted him warmly.
Her attitude had changed after he made the drink for her last time. Maybe it was because he was a mage.
She kept trying to chat.
After answering briefly, he went into his room.
The bed was soft.
It reminded him how long he had slept rough.
He remembered falling asleep wrapped in a blanket by a campfire.
The inn room was warm.
He went to sleep.
The dream continued every day.
It didn’t end in fragments—the time flowed like reality.
The old man was teaching him magic.
First, he taught Water Ball and demonstrated Sleep.
When the dream-version of himself mastered them both, the old man presented a new choice.
It was simple.
He showed two spells and made him choose which to learn first.
The first was a spell to create a golem.
Though it was called a golem, it formed a body out of water.
So it was closer to a slime than a true golem.
Most of all, because it was water, it didn’t have proper defense.
It was also a difficult spell to learn, so it was often avoided.
But once you reached a certain level, you would gain a reliable ally.
The old man added that reaching that level would take a long time.
The second was a spell that fired a pillar of water.
It had a long casting time and consumed a huge amount of mana—an inefficient spell.
But it was a more powerful attack spell than Water Ball, so it was something he had to learn eventually.
But the him in the dream chose the first.
And then chose the second.
He intended to learn both at once.
The old man smacked his disciple.
With the wand.
Not a real beating—just sheer disbelief.
Understandably so.
He would have smacked him too.
At the same time, he felt impressed.
His dream-self was quite greedy.
It wasn’t easy to say something like that to the old man’s face.
“Water Blast!”
The old man cast the spell.
The water pillar spell had considerable power.
Enough to collapse a small hut.
But its lethality wasn’t great.
You had to hit directly to kill, and the chant was too long.
At minimum, you had to mutter for three full minutes.
It was a trash-tier spell.
There was no way you’d have three minutes to chant on a battlefield.
It was far better to fire Water Ball repeatedly.
“Water Golem!”
On the other hand, the golem spell was harder but extremely useful once learned.
You’d gain a reliable ally.
It could also draw enemy attention.
Facing enemies alone would become much easier.
So he decided to train this first.
But it was miserable.
He couldn’t even form a proper human shape.
At first, he was told just making a slime shape was enough.
But even that failed.
The key was creating the core.
Making the core was the beginning and the entirety of the spell.
But he didn’t give up.
He trained steadily every day, taking it slow.
It was for the future.
Right now, he could only control water.
But once he could create ice…
…that would be different.
He could create and command an ice golem.
Then he could face enemies alone.
Maybe even an army.
But that was still far off.
While training, he also made the flavored water.
It was more popular than expected.
There were no herbalists in Langs Castle.
Proper knowledge was required, and the income wasn’t worth the danger of going outside the walls.
Most of all, herbs were hard to find.
At least woodcutters rarely came back empty-handed.
Perhaps that was why herb-infused water was so popular.
It was a taste people normally couldn’t experience.
The innkeeper even begged him to make more.
He wondered what face the man would make if he said he was leaving soon.
Maybe he’d grab his pant leg and try to stop him.
If it were a woman, maybe—but a grown man doing that would be a bit much.
The sun rose and set.
It repeated twenty times.
Around then, he finally heard news that the caravan would depart soon.
Lorina still hadn’t shown her face.
It made him sad.
He was planning to leave soon.
He needed to prepare his farewell.
But it seemed he might not even get the chance.
The day he heard there was a caravan heading north—
Rael headed toward the merchant company.
