After Lucian was done with more than half of his target list, he started to relax a little. This was the only rest time he was going to get as the last target was a class higher than he had fought until now; A D-class Rockbear. Lucian drank a mana potion and got ready to find the rockbear. The rockbear was more difficult to locate. Every time Lucian would find a trace of the beast, he would go to investigate, but he could only find the remains of the Rockbear’s meal.
As he ventured deep into the forest, Lucian took note of the forest. Since he started to hunt as soon as he landed, he didn’t really stop to smell the roses, so to speak. The forest wasn’t just filled with magical beasts. It also had various herbs with beneficial alchemical properties. The humid atmosphere, coupled with the lush vegetation, would make it difficult to find useful herbs from the weeds.
I’ll have to bring a book on alchemy next time. I can make some money on the side if I sell them, thought Lucian with a grin on his face.
However, just as he was dreaming about riches he had yet to come across, Lucian felt disturbed. A mage had a sixth sense that warned them of any upcoming dangers, and that sixth sense was telling him that he was about to get his world rocked.
It’s coming from my right. Fifty metres. My buffs are running out. Best apply them now.
Lucian cast his Fortify spells again and prepared himself for combat. This fight was going to be way tougher than all his previous fights. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead, and he took deep breaths to keep himself calm.
Out of the bushes on Lucian’s came out a dark figure. Its size was three times Lucian’s, and rocks formed on different parts of its body, as expected of its name. Blood dripped from its mouth from all the prey it had just hunted. Its gaze was fixated on Lucian, but it didn’t rush into an attack.
Lucian racked his brains on how to fight the rockbear. His method of fighting was tested only once, and this fight looked like it wouldn’t forgive a single mistake.
Can I even win against this one? I can still run away using Flight if I want to, but I’ll fail if I do so.
The more Lucian thought, the more hesitant he became. The bear still had its piercing gaze fixated on Lucian. He soon realised that the more he thought, the more he would justify running away. So, without thinking any further, Lucian launched Sparks on the bear.
The bear faced the attack head-on and recoiled a little but came to its senses in just three seconds. The rockbear was not furious. It let out a roar that shook Lucian to his core and started to charge at Lucian.
Fuck…No going back now, I guess.
Lucian then cast a lot of Ignition, and Air Flick spells at the rockbear.
Gonna use all my mana till I get an opening.
The rockbear had other plans, however. Whenever it made contact with Lucian’s spells, it would let out a pained grunt in response but wouldn’t stop. Seeing this, Lucian then cast Sinkhole to hinder the Rockbear’s movements. The hole formed by the spell succeeded in stopping the Rockbear’s charge momentarily. Lucian then cast Downpour along with Sparks at the hole. As the bear was climbing up from the hole, it met with the stream of water and lightning face first. Despite its fur burning away from all the spells Lucian had cast, it still maintained the rage from when the battle first started.
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Lucian prepared to cast another Sinkhole, but the rockbear had already closed the distance. Fortunately, Lucian had cast his Fortify spells before the fight started, which made his mind sharper and more received time, and his body faster and stronger. If he hadn’t cast those spells, he couldn’t have reacted to the Rockbear’s attacks.
The rockbear swung at Lucian vertically. Lucian ducked to his left and slashed at the Rockbear’s face, trying to aim for its eyes but missing. The rockbear then pounded at Lucian, to which he responded by jumping over it. The bear then blindly swung back, which Lucian dodged with ease.
Both of them maintained their distance as they decided what to do next. The rockbear was weakened from the barrage of spells cast at it. Seeing this, Lucian decided to finish the fight with the next set of attacks.
This time Lucian was the one who charged. The rockbear kept its guard up when it suddenly got struck with a Sparks spell. It got disoriented, and while it was busy trying to get its bearings, Lucian stabbed the rockbear through its eyes until the dagger’s blade completely dug into its skull. As if stabbing the bear through its skull wasn’t enough, Lucian decided to seal the deal by casting Sparks and channelling it through the dagger into the Rockbear’s brain.
The rockbear finally fell. Lucian had killed his first D-class magical beast. Panting heavily, he started to store the bear in the enchanted pouch.
I did it! It’s finally dead, thought Lucian as he lifted the cumbersome body of the Rockbear.
After putting the carcass into the enchanted pouch, Lucian inspected his body for any wounds that he had missed, to which he found a sizeable gash on his stomach. He hadn’t noticed that while fighting the bear, he had suffered an injury. He quickly used the health potion Cecilia had packed on the wound by pouring over it, and after doing so, the gash closed up magically with a green glow.
Really glad this bear only knew how to swing its hands and not any spells.
Right as he thought of what the Rockbear could not do, Lucian was reminded of his shortcomings in today’s fights.
The only reason I was able to defeat the pack of Goblins was that they were dumb as bricks. If I faced smarter enemies, then I don’t know if the tactic would have worked. I’ll have to ask Cecilia for advice when I get back.
Hours passed as Lucian was in the forest. When he came out, the sun was already overhead. He then cast Flight and went back to the estate, eager to tell Cecilia that he had succeeded in hunting his targets.
“You were successful? Great. Hand over the pouch, and I’ll send the carcasses for processing.”
“I was expecting some more praise for my hard work, teacher.”
“If I praised you for every little thing that you did, then you’ll be spoilt in no time.”
“…Fine. I’ll just take the money.”
Lucian was a bit disappointed. He had thought that by killing a D-class magical beast despite his decreased spell potency, he would have been called a gifted child. But Cecilia still treated the occasion as something any mage of his calibre could do.
“That reminds me. I figured using weapons alongside my spells would be a good fighting style for me. Any tips on that?”
“A mage using a weapon? An uncommon thought but not unplausible. You could train yourself on how to use a weapon that suits how you cast spells. I’ve even heard some mages using their weapons by controlling them with their mind and mana. But that would require a weapon artifact, which costs money. You could keep hunting E-class and D-class magical beasts for a year till you get such a starter weapon artifact before you join the academy. It’ll be a learning experience for you.”
“A year?! It costs that much!? I’m gonna go crazy….”
“Nothing in life is free, Lucian. And for mages, the prices can be sky-high in some cases. So, it’s for the best if you invest in yourself now so that you get work that pays a lot.”
“I understand.” said Lucian with a sigh. After their talk, Cecilia sends the beast carcass for processing and gets a pouch in return. She hands the pouch over to Lucian, and he peeks into it.
“Thirty coppers for ten Goblins, thirty coppers for an adult Horned-Wolf, and one silver for a Rockbear.”
“Woah. That’s a lot of money. And you said I have to do this for a year to get an artifact? How much does it even cost?”
“Well, the starter ones cost around one Gold.”
“… Are there even enough Rockbears in the forest to hunt?”
“You could hunt other D-class beasts. Some pay more than a Rockbear, some less.”
Lucian stayed silent for a while to calculate.
“So, I’ll have to hunt at least six D-class beasts a month.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Can you lend me some money?”
“Don’t push your luck, kid.”
Lucian sighed as he thought of ways to make money for his first artifact. The more he thought, the sadder he was. This was one of the ways he could compensate for having low spell potency, and it seemed like he had to pay an arm and a leg to get what he wanted.
“Speaking of which, I’d like to check my status again. Can I go to the church?”
“Sure. I’ll throw a bone and pay for the status check this time.”
“Wait, getting your status checked costs money too?”
“Ah, did I not say that? Well, now you know.”
Lucian went to the church, exasperated about the costs of being a mage. He greeted the father and asked for a status check, and after a while, he received his status report. Not being able to read the status report properly, Lucian requested the father to tell him, to which he accepted.
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Name:
Lucian
Core Rank:
Stage 1
Proficiency:
Tier-1 -> Level 10
Current experience level: 23/100
Tier-2 -> Level 2
Current experience level: 14/100
Soul Quirk:
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