The shaping worked beautifully. The bolts headed towards the fish, faster than they were and able to follow them. In seconds, they were dead.

And I was feeling very proud of myself. That had been a good idea. This was just what I needed. There was just something about a plan working well that made me very happy. Even if it was a rather random idea.

The idea had worked. The fish were dead.

I looked around. The first thing I noticed were Oak and his men. The second thing was the giant fish. Not the kind that the royal knights used. This one was different. A bit bigger for one. And its shape was very similar to the ten little fishes I had just killed.

Oh, and it had a larger mana cloak. Just half as big as that of the old man, but it was enough. Oak and his men were losing, and they were losing badly. As I watched, the fish spun in place. The water spun with it, something resembling a small whirlpool forming around it. The whirlpool left the fish and moved forward, striking at one of the men.

I did not think, I just shaped. Darkness mana surrounded him, my fear changing it into a shield. But this was different. I was far less scared for my life than I was for this guy. That was not to say I was indifferent to him…it was just different. Just the thought of it made me feel guilty, but I could not deny reality.

I cared far more about myself than I did this guy. I did not fear for him nearly as much. And that made my spell weak. I needed more. So I looked for more. I had mere seconds to work with. I would have to hurry.

There was the rot, the guy’s spear, the—the rot. That was the cause of suffering too, wasn’t it? Seeing people, comrades you had known die in front of view was suffering in its own way. What was the chance this man hadn’t suffered?

I used the same technique I used to heal people. I called upon their suffering and negative emotions, using them to power my spells. The shield solidified. The approaching whirlpool collided with it and broke apart.

The fish was not done. The large beast swam towards the man. The thing was slower than little fish, but it was still faster than Oak’s men. There was little they could do to save him. I could.

I called upon more mana, running towards him as I poured it into the shield. So that his suffering would have meaning, to try to—a flash of light filled my vision, slipping into my mind. I did not have time to even process it, the thing worked too fast. The thought I had before slipped away for a second.

Now I thought of protecting him. That was my intention, but it was a positive emotion. Or at least, not a negative one. The thought remained for just one second. Just one. But that was enough.

The shield broke apart before the beast could even strike it. But the beast was already close. I did not have time to shape a new shield. The thoughts of fear turned to panic. And this emotion was far stronger.

I felt it connect to the mana that I had sent there, what was left of the shield. The mana was still mine. I let it connect. The shield of fear that had collapsed came back as a shield of panic.

But panic was not an emotion that made shields. The fish’s teeth struck the shield and it burst apart. Not because it had failed. But because that was its purpose. For a second fire appeared here, under the water. I did not know how a darkness mana shaping had called it, though I could guess.

There were some emotions that were just too connected to a particular mana. I had not known that panic was so close to fire. But apparently it was. And besides, wondering why there was fire underwater was foolish. This lake already had air. That was how we could breathe. Then why could it not have fire? Magic did not follow such things. Not usually.

The beast was flung back by the force of the explosion. I could see that it was not dead, but it was bleeding. The explosion had hurt it. More than that, it had stunned it. I took advantage. Conjuring a single large bolt of mana, I poured mana into it. This was the single most powerful casting I had done yet.

I had but seconds to do it. The fish could regain its senses at any moment. I would have to kill it before it could manage that. So I did. The bolt shot towards the fish and collided with it. If the fish managed to see it coming, it did not show it.

A couple seconds later, it was dead. The bolt had cut clean through its head, splattering its brain onto the seaweed. But it was not done yet. I rushed to Oak’s man, trying to see its injuries.

Of course, his comrades were already there. Oak had rushed over the second the fish had been stunned. There were few injuries among them. A couple of arms had been bandaged. A leg was bleeding, though its owner did not seem to have realized it yet.

But the worst injury, by far, was the man the fish had targeted. The panic explosion had hurt him. Not majorly, but there were burns on his arms and legs. I winced as I saw it. But none of the men blamed me.

There was something far worse that had their attention. A single green spot on his leg. The spot spread even as I watched. Even now the spread was already quick. The poison had struck the man.

The joy seemed to have been sucked from the people here. The reason was obvious enough. Oak lifted the man.

“Come on,” he said. “To the city.”

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I wondered if I should mention that Miss Emily could not heal this. But I stopped myself. Not only because that was rude, but because there was a way to stop it. The rot was on the leg. If Miss Emily was able to cut the leg in time, then he would live.

“I will take him.” I said. “I can run faster.”

Oak handed him to me without a word. I took off, the men close behind me. But not for long. Mana came back to me as I ran, mana that I had spent casting spells returning. This was mana that was part of my cloak. Even if I spent it, the mana would eventually return.

That allowed me to speed myself. Darkness mana allowed it. And my guilt fueled it. I ran faster than even the little fish, reaching the little hole in the gate within a minute. If the city guard threw spears at me, I did not notice them. Perhaps I was too fast for them to aim.

Not fast enough to escape my thoughts. Light mana’s interference had been unexpected. But looking back, I could see what had caused it. Light did not like when I used another’s negative emotions to fuel my spells. How strange that it was light mana, not darkness that did this.

But I did not have time to think of this now. I had an injured person to take care of. This thing would have to be added to my increasingly large list of things I had to deal with. Like the notifications blinking at the corner of my vision.

I headed for Miss Emily’s place, though honestly I had only a vague recollection of where it was. Thankfully I still managed to find it. I rushed in through the door, looking for Miss Emily. I found her staring at me from beside a patient.

Then she saw the man I was carrying over my shoulder.

“Lay him on that bed.” she commanded, pointing to one near me. I did so.

“What happened to him?”

“The poison struck his leg.” I answered.

Miss Emily swore, looking at his legs. “The fools! I told them not to go for those fish. Now look at it.”

The woman turned to me, her eyes blazing with anger. “What happened? Where are the rest?”

“I came first. Oak should be right behind.” I answered, trying to calm her down. “I just wanted to get him treated before it got worse.”

Miss Emily took a deep breath and turned towards him. Then she stretched out her hand. I looked at it through my mana sense. A thin layer of mana spread out, killing any germs in the area.

Then it reached to the man’s legs, striking at the rot. The rot’s spread did not even slow down. There did not seem to have any effect.

Miss Emily sighed. “I shall have to cut it off. Hold him down.”

I looked at it, opening my mouth to protest. Then I closed it. The man was injured, it was clear that I needed to do this. Even if the thought of it made my stomach want to hurl. The thought of holding a man down while his leg was cut off was…a bit much for me. Even if I had killed a bunch of fish today. That was fish. I clutched the leg rather tightly, looking at Miss Emily.

The woman looked amused. “With mana.”

“Oh.” I answered, taking off my hands. “I don’t know how to do that.”

Miss Emily frowned. “What? How do you—leave it. Eir! Come here.”

A young man with long blonde hair and blue eyes came running to the bed.

“Hold him down.”

The boy nodded, waving his hands. The water wrapped around the boy, tying down his arms and legs. Miss Emily raised her axe and deployed her mana. The mana sunk into his leg, especially the part where it was to be cut. The man had gotten here early enough that she was going to cut at the knee.

I did not know what she was doing, but I did know what type of magic this was. Life magic. One of the scariest types of magic around. Miss Emily brought the axe down. The man did not scream, he did not even seem to have noticed it. The rot had probably put him to sleep.

And even if it hadn’t, I doubted Miss Emily let him feel any pain. Life magic was good at stopping things in a body. Like the transmission of pain. Or the beating of a heart. Thankfully, Miss Emily had done the former.

The wound healed before my eyes, skin covering it. Life Magic was good at healing. Not as good as Light Magic, but it had its uses. For wounds that could heal naturally, Life Magic tended to be more efficient. But it could not bring back lost limbs or any such things that Light magic boasted.

“So tell me.” Miss Emily interrupted my thoughts. “What happened?”

I looked at her. The magic she used was still on my mind. Did she have any relation to the Duke of Life? That was the third-strongest family of this world, after the Eldanvier and the royal family. At least as far as I knew.

And they ruled the continent this lake was on.

Hmm, it was unlikely they were involved. Life magic wasn’t that rare. Not every user was connected to them. Still, it would not hurt to be on guard.

“The lot of us went to kill the fish.” I told her.

“Did you succeed?” she asked dryly. I could tell she did not expect us to have.

“Yes.” I answered. “ At least, we were able to kill ten of the little fishes and one of the bigger ones.”

And that reminded me. I had been ignoring my notifications. Perhaps I should look at them.

10 Rank 1 Poison Beast have been killed

Mana has been awarded

Light has intervened within a shaping.

Fire has intervened within a shaping.

Fire turns its attention away from you.

1 Rank 2 Poison Beast has been killed.

I sighed. That was just about what I had expected. Fire turning its attention away was sad. I had hoped I would get some affinity for the panic spell. But I suppose a spell that only had fire because of luck did not get much attention.

“A bigger fish?” Miss Emily asked, her tone worried.

“Yes, a Rank 2.” I answered.

The woman looked at me with an analyzing gaze. Then she turned to the young man that had helped her. “Eir, take over for a bit.”

“And you,” she said, turning to me. “I need to have a talk with you. Follow me.”