Trinitas Mundus - Episode 10

The next morning, Ray woke up refreshed and ready for the morning.

(I was worried about what would happen the next day after my magic ran out, but it seems my fears were unfounded.)

　It was another beautiful day, and waking up at the crack of dawn with the morning sun shining through the wooden windows, he put on his gear and headed for the backyard.

　Unusually, Ashley was not there, and he repeated his swinging by himself.

　After about thirty minutes of swinging alone, a sleepy-looking Ashley appeared.

“Good morning, you’re late today. Maybe you couldn’t sleep last night because you worried too much?”

“No, I just had a little too much drink. I’ll feel better as soon as I sweat it out. Once I’m warmed up, we can have a mock fight.”

　After her body warms up, they begin a mock battle with wooden sword and wooden stick.

　After all, the spear was a better match for him, and he looked even better than yesterday.

“You’re much better with a spear, after all. How high is your skill level in spearmanship?”

“I can’t see my skills. …… I don’t know why, but ……”

“Well, don’t worry about it. From what I’ve seen, it’ s probably between twenty and thirty. That’s enough to be a good soldier.”

　He feels a little better now that Ashley, a mercenary, has given him the stamp of approval.

(I’m sure today we’ll get another request to take down another monster. I’ll feel better even if it is flattery before that. I’ll do my best not to look like a fool today.)

　After sweating together for about 30 minutes, they passed through the guild’s entrance at 8 a.m. again today.

　Just like yesterday, there was a crowd of people at the bulletin board.

　Curious as to what kind of request they were going to take, he asked Ashley.

“We’re going for the big one today. I heard that a gray bear was spotted near Rattray Village where we went yesterday. We’re going to go after it. Maybe we’ll stay in Rattray Village today.”

　He wonders why they are staying the night and asks why.

“The gray bear has a wide range of movement. Since the lake separates them, the distance they travel is much greater. We should go there now, and if we’re lucky, we’ll find at least a clue.”

　He wondered if it was something like that, but then he remembered the story of the Matagi(1) and was convinced.

(Come to think of it, I’ve heard that Matagi go into the mountains for days at a time. Even with dogs. So it would be wrong to think that we, without any means of tracking, could find the bear in a day.)

　He was a little mistaken. Unlike the monsters of this world, Japanese bears are basically timid creatures. However, the kind of monsters and wild beasts in this world aggressively attack people and rarely run away and hide.

　The reason why they can hunt monsters without hounds is because they will attack on their own, not because the adventurers of this world are better at searching for enemies than the hounds.

　The request form for killing gray bears said, “Kill gray bears around Lake Drammeny and Lake Clooney: reward one bear, one hundred C krona,” which was a very high reward.

　He was curious as to why he was being paid so much and asked Ashley why.

　Her answer was that a gray bear is a 5th level demon – a demon that requires a 5th level adventurer for a one-on-one, and usually requires three or four mid-level 6th level adventurers, and six to eight for a fledgling 7th or 8th level.

　If it takes two days with that many people, the reward of 100 C is not very good. In addition, the defense of the gray bear is quite high, and the attack with the bow is not effective, so if the reward is the same, it is safer and more profitable to go for a monster or beast with a lower defense.

　If that’s the case, then why isn’t the reward going up, he asked, and the answer was simply that they couldn’t pay more.

　In other words, for a village the size of Rattray, the maximum reward is a hundred C per round, and even if you get rid of a large beast like a gray bear, they say the money won’t last because another monster or beast of the same size will soon come in.

(I see, when the number of requests decreases, people will naturally come to take it down. If no damage is done by then, it’s a blessing, but if damage is about to occur, the reward will be raised out of necessity.)

　They went to the reception counter with the request form at hand.

　The adventurers who had seen Ray yesterday gave him a cold stare, but Ashley ignored them and sat down at the counter.

　The receptionist was Ethel, who’d registered Ray, with a worried look on her face.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but isn’t this a bit much for Ashley-sama, let alone Ray-sama?　You seemed to be very tired yesterday, and a simpler request would be better. ……”

　Ashley cut her off mid-sentence.

“I’m fine. It’s nice of you to be concerned, but Ray agrees with me. Can you please accept it quickly?”

　She held out her orb, somewhat grumpily.

　Ethel couldn’t say anything more and went quietly through the reception process.

　As soon as the reception was over, Ashley stood up and Ray thanked Ethel for her concern, then followed Ashley out of the guild.

　Ethel, who was left behind.

( Are they really gonna be okay?　I don’t think she’d make an error in judgment, but the way things went yesterday, I don’t think they’ll make it back safely. ……)

　She stared at the entrance as they left, then quickly immersed herself in the receptionist work.

　Ray and Ashley rented horses again and headed for the village of Rattray.

　Repeating the same process as yesterday, they got some information from the village chief Kiaran, but there were no clues. Ashley started to walk towards the nearby forest.

　Ray stopped her as she started to walk and began to tell her what he had in mind.

“I’ve had an idea, if you don’t mind. ……”

　He suggested that they head to the site of yesterday’s battle with the lizardmen.

　The reason is that he doesn’t know how good a nose a gray bear has, but if it smells that much blood, it will probably go and eat the dead lizardman.

　Even if it didn’t go there, there was a possibility that it might approach them.

“Maybe so, but on the other hand, there could be another carnivorous monster lurking around. Well, I don’t think there’s anything more dangerous than a gray bear, so let’s go that way.”

　Visiting the village chief’s house again, they asked him to ferry them to the other side of the lake like yesterday.

　He told them that he would signal them by magic to come back and pick him up when the signal was seen, and then he went into the forest.

　At ten o’clock in the morning, they arrived at the site of yesterday’s battle with the lizardmen.

　All of the lizardmen’s corpses had been devoured, and some of them appeared to be bitten by large monster.

“Looks like it was already here. It ate only the entrails of the lizardman corpse, leaving the hard-skinned flesh intact. There’s a good chance it’s still lurking around here. ……”

　They found the bear’s tracks and began a careful pursuit. The bear wandered off, going to the water’s edge and back to the depths of the forest, but it seemed to be near the water’s edge.

　Ashley drew her sword, paying attention to the sound of footsteps.

“Don’t get distracted. It’s likely to be around here. Use your magic to get a head start on him. It’s faster than it looks. Don’t be greedy with the second shot.”

　He nodded and walked behind her, holding his spear at the ready.

　After about ten minutes, they spotted a huge bear drinking water on the shore of the lake.

　The bear, covered in gray fur, was about twenty meters away from them, and was a big one, over three meters long.

　Then It notices two people approaching quickly.

　With a low roar, it stood up on its hind legs. Then it lowered its head and was about to enter a lunging stance.

　Ray invoked the light arrow magic he had practiced yesterday.

　A white, dazzling arrow of light flew towards the face of the gray bear, accelerating.

　The bear didn’t seem to think it was much of a threat, and just shook its head annoyingly to avoid it, but it didn’t interrupt its rush.

　The arrow of light changed its trajectory, aiming for its face.

　It may have been a fluke, but the arrow of light pierced deeply into the bear’s right eye.

　The arrow penetrates about half of its length – about 20 cm – and disappears as if it were shattered.

　The gray bear convulsed violently and then stopped moving.

　Apparently, the tip of the arrow had reached its brain and killed it instantly.

　He was like, “What?　It’s over?” He shouted and looked at Ashley.

(It’s called a critical hit, …… and it might be called beginner’s luck in a real game, ……)

　She, too, was stunned, and feeling unsatisfied, kept an eye out for the gray bear in case it rose again.

“Looks like it’s really dead. Did you aim for the eyes? …… But this isn’t the best way to train. …… By the way, are you okay with the out of magic power?”

　She asked him with a wry smile.

“I was aiming for its face. …… It seems to be okay about the loss of magic power. I think I ran out of magic power because I was shooting a lot of lightning magic yesterday. I feel like I can shoot two or three dozen arrows of light this time.”

　Ashley shook her head in exasperation, but cautiously approached the gray bear and began to collect the magic stone.

　Ray kept an eye on her, ready to support her in case the bear was playing dead.

　The gray bear seemed to have lost its breath, and the large magic stone, about three centimeters in diameter, was safely recovered.

　Ray decided to try fire magic to call for a pickup boat.

　Imagine fireworks, and after launching the fireball, imagine the magic of it exploding in the air.

(I want to launch a fireball and then have it explode in the sky, how do I do that?　I can imagine gunpowder, but I don’t think the spirits can keep up with it. …… If I launch a ball of air with it, won’t it …… heat up and expand with the fire? Hmmm, that might make it suddenly explode. Don’t think about it too hard, just try to imagine it exploding in the air.)

　He gave up thinking and imagined the fireworks as vividly as he could so that the fire spirit could understand.

　In about 20 seconds, a fireball formed in his left hand, and when he raised his hand to launch it, the fireball ascended, hurling itself into the sky.

　Then, when it reached the height of the tree, it popped and spread to the size of a commercial firework.

　Because it was daylight, it was hard to see the beautiful fire sparks, but there was a cloud of white smoke floating in the sky.

(I could, but it’s not as good as I thought. It might be just right as a replacement for the flare, though……)

　He was not satisfied, for he had imagined a slightly larger firework.

　But Ashley, who was watching beside him, was stunned by its slow movement followed by a loud noise.

(What was that?　I thought it was going to be a regular fireball, but I didn’t know it could even make sound. …… If used properly in a night attack, it can confuse the enemy. ……)

　She remembered her days as a mercenary and quickly realized the effectiveness of this first time magic she had seen.

“What’s with the magic now?　Is it an original too?”

“Yeah, I thought it would be better if there was some sound to draw attention to it. The fire was supposed to pop a little louder. ……”

“It’s best not to show too much of that magic either. It’s pretty rare, and it can be used for surprise attacks, so if the military finds out about it, things could get nasty.”

　The words made him gasp.

(I was just going for fireworks. …… No explosion-based magic?　I’ll have to think it over before I can use any original magic.)

　After a while, Coda’s boat came to pick them up.

“What was it earlier? I saw it for the first time.”

　Ray chuckled and made an excuse, “My magic failed.”

　Then, as if Ashley were changing the subject.

“The gray bear is dead. Shoot it in the eye so it’s almost unharmed, and if you help carry it, we’ll play you a fee.”

　At these words, Coda said, “You’ve already beaten it?” He immediately said, “Could you please wait for an hour?　I’ll go get everyone,” he said, and hurried back to the village.

　The fishermen arrived at the shore about forty minutes, earlier than promised.

　The gray bear weighed almost a ton and they struggled quite a bit, but they arrived at the village safely. After reporting the completion to the village chief, they asked him if he could take the gray bear.

“A gray bear, …… a big one, how about a gold coin, one hundred C kronor?”

　Ray doesn’t know the market, so he tells Ashley he’ll leave it to her, and sits on the sidelines.

　She thought about it for a while and then agreed. She paid the fishermen who helped them 20 silver coins worth 20 C and left the village.

　The request was completed sooner than expected, and they decided to do the magic training in the same forest as yesterday.

　Ray was nudged by Ashley to be careful not to run out of magic power.

　He too began to practice his magic, laughing, “I won’t do a series of shots like yesterday.”

(Let’s practice the magic of wood and earth today …)

　He wondered if he could use tree roots as a weapon with his wood magic.

(The roots of the tree grow rapidly and are pushed up from below. If the tip is hardened, could it be used as a spear? ……)

　He imagines the roots of a tree growing. The image is of a plant growing, filmed at low speed. It reminded him of the documentary footage he had seen on TV a long time ago of trees growing in the forest.

　The roots of the tree crawled out from under his feet, but not as fast as he had expected, and when he touched them, they were soft roots of normal hardness.

(Can’t it be made into a spear? …… If it can be moved freely, can’t it be made into a restraint? An image that moves on its own or …… an insectivorous plant, no, in this world there must be a plant-based monster. If I imagine it, I’ll be able to ……)

    He activated his magic again.

　The tree roots crawled out as before, but the speed was that of a snake moving, not yet fast enough to restrain a person.

(It’s wrong to expect instantaneous power from a speeding up huh …… plant, right? Instantaneous force?　Well, if you add some “bounce” and release it, you’ll get ……)

　He arched the roots of the tree and used the recoil to his advantage. Then, with a crisp sound, the roots grew with the force of a whip.

(Success!　Now all I need to do is make it hard enough to wrap around, and after that, if I can make it harden rapidly, it will be a very effective magic. Especially if we’re in a forest, I need to check …… to see how far it goes, but I’ll stop here for today.)

　Next, he tried to figure out if he could create a pit with earth magic.

　The image is a crack. Convey the image of the ground cracking to the spirit of the earth.

(Cracks in the ground: …… Images of the ground moving …… Whoa!)

　When he conveyed the image of the ground moving to the spirits, an earthquake occurred instead of a crack.

　It was a localized, but thrusting earthquake, and Ray himself, who had cast the spell, fell on his buttocks from the vibrations.

　Ashley, who was watching, was also surprised by the shaking and shouted, “Are you okay?”

　He replied, “I’m fine,” in a bumbling tone, brushing off the dirt as he stood up.

(This may be more useful than I thought. I don’t know how hard the ground is, but if I can make my opponent fall over, I’ll have a big advantage after that. …… But be careful when trying new magic, or someone might get hurt.)

　He still had a feeling that he could go on with his magic, but he didn’t want to worry Ashley, so he decided to stop now.

(It’s probably only about three o’clock, so maybe I can train with my spear and sword after this. Whatever it is, I want to be full-fledged as soon as possible.)

　They went back to the city.