Chapter 22: Secret Techniques and Hidden Arts
After taking a two-day break, I ventured out to the grasslands once more to finalize my magic preparations. Setting up the Camp House, I took out a measuring thread and marked stakes at intervals of 5 meters, ranging from 10 to 50 meters. I attached targets to the stakes up to 40 meters.
After a short break, it was time for target shooting practice and experimentation, so I used the Stone Arrows, which I could shoot about 80 times. The targets were arranged so that they gradually shifted from left to right, allowing me to aim at the 25m and 30m targets to hit the 20m target. The arrows, of course, flew toward the adjacent targets but curved to strike the intended mark. Aiming at the targets while bending the arrows left and right required considerable concentration. Sometimes, I shot above the target, bending the arrow down, or made it skim just above the ground.
It took me three full days to master the ability to shoot and curve the arrows at will, but I was satisfied with the results and fell asleep.
Next up was long-distance activation. I had a rough idea of the outcome, but I needed to try it to know for sure. The result? It was impossible beyond 40 meters! However, I could use it effectively at shorter distances, but it consumed as much mana as shooting a Stone Lance. I had done something similar before, so I could manage it, but I needed to be cautious not to exhaust my mana recklessly.
At distances under 40 meters, I could freely create holes and seal them, thrust Stone Lances up from the ground, and more, which left me feeling content. I spent the rest of my time gathering medicinal herbs and hunting Horn Rabbits, then returned to the Guild after ten days to sell my findings. I received three silver coins and six copper coins for the Horn Rabbits, and two silver coins and eight iron coins for the medicinal herbs. I stuffed my earnings of 56,800 Darra into my coin pouch’s Magic Pouch and headed to the hotel.
At the reception, I received a letter from Hyalda, who wanted to learn how to bend arrows. She mentioned she would be waiting at the hotel and asked me to come by when convenient. Two days later, I got a message that she would come to the hotel the next morning, so after breakfast, I donned my adventurer attire and sat in a corner of the dining hall, sipping tea while I waited.
“Kaito, did I keep you waiting?”
“Good morning, Viscount Hyalda.”
“You’re definitely teasing me, Kaito.”
“Congratulations on your promotion to Viscount, Hyalda.”
“Ah, thank you. But please treat me as you always have. I’m quite fed up with it.”
“Your brother became a Viscount before inheriting the family estate, and your father was promoted to Marquis, right?”
“Yes, and now I’m being inundated with marriage proposals from daughters of nobles who want to connect with the Marquis family. It’s exhausting trying to escape from them.”
“The ones who never paid attention to me before, like the Count and other Viscounts, are particularly bad, flaunting their magic prowess and high mana grades.”
“Sounds tough, being a Viscount.”
“It’s not just my brother; I’m also getting proposals from nobles wanting to connect with the Marquis family. They ask if I want a daughter with a mana grade of 70, and I just fire back at them. By the way, have you registered as an adventurer?”
“I have, but they suddenly ranked me as a Bronze Level 2.”
She asked to see my Status Card, which I handed over.
“Wow, look at this,” she said, examining it closely. “You have dwarf and elf blood, yet your mana grade is low. How strange.”
“Probably because I’m part human, part dwarf, and part elf. It seems that too much mixing can sometimes affect mana. That’s just something I overheard, though.”
“But you don’t seem to have grown since we met. The clothes I made for you initially still fit.”
“True, if I were around 15 or 16, I should have grown more.”
“Kaito, what about your parents?”
“My mother passed away from illness before I turned 14. I don’t know much about her, and my father is a drunkard, so asking him would be pointless.”
“If you have elf and dwarf blood, you’ll live a long life. Your growth might be slow, though.”
“Dwarves live between 160 and 200 years, while elves can live over 300.”
“Wow, I guess that means you’ll be a kid for a long time.”
“More importantly, shall we go? Do you want to return to the previous training spot?”
“We don’t have to go that far; anywhere out of sight will do. As long as we can set up the Camp House, we’ll be fine.”
In the end, we returned to the previous training location, where the guards were kept in a state of soft confinement in the basement while we practiced shooting at targets. We set up three targets in a row at 40 meters, spaced 5 meters apart.
“I’ll hit the center target, so watch closely.”
I shot a basketball-sized ball without infusing it with mana for visibility. It flew toward the right target but curved left, smashing into the center target. I tried shooting at the left target, but it curved right and hit the center target again. I shot above the center target, and it dropped sharply to hit the mark.
“Now it’s your turn. The idea is to infuse mana into the bullet even after shooting. Normally, when shooting a bullet, you keep your eyes on the target and shoot, but for this, you need to maintain the image of the bullet heading toward the target even after firing. Unlike continuous shooting, you can’t shoot rapidly, and it consumes more mana.”
From the lookout point at the camp, we took turns shooting carefully, but it seemed the first challenge was aiming in the right direction. Both Hyalda and Fiene struggled with it. I understood; they were focused on the target they wanted to hit and couldn’t visualize shooting in a different direction. We took turns shooting, exchanging ideas, but fatigue was showing on their faces, so I decided to call it a day.
While enjoying tea after our meal, Fiene sighed. “I didn’t think it would be this difficult. You make it look so easy, Kaito.”
“If pushing doesn’t work, try pulling. Let’s set up the 30m and 40m targets in a straight line and shoot at the 30m target to show you how it’s done.”
The ball I shot flew toward the 30m target but gradually veered off course. I demonstrated three times before switching places. After three days of practice, they had managed to hit the target, but it seemed infusing mana after shooting was still a challenge for them.
The next day, for a change of pace, we hunted Horn Rabbits in the grasslands, using Ice Arrows and Flame Arrows as moving targets. The guards were on alert around us, so we could relax. We used our detection skills to find them, then alternated shooting Stone Bullets to flush them out. At first, we aimed for their leaps, but their movements were too erratic, making it a challenge to hit them.
I spent the entire day hunting Horn Rabbits, and whenever I shot, I hit my mark. It was partly due to the speed of the Stone Arrows, but I was also bending them to follow the target. The next day, we continued chasing Horn Rabbits, focusing on the targets rather than the arrows and praying for a hit. By early afternoon, both of them were hitting their targets, unconsciously learning to bend their shots, and their skills improved dramatically. When I pointed it out during dinner, they were surprised they hadn’t noticed.
Encouraged by their progress, they insisted we chase Horn Rabbits again the following day. As we pursued the fleeing creatures, we found it amusing how often we hit our targets when we focused on them and wished for a hit. We took turns shooting, observing each other’s trajectories, and confirming when they curved.
We had nearly 50 Horn Rabbits in stock. What were we going to do with all of them?
“I have one more thing to teach you, but should we return to the mansion first?”
“Is it harder than bending?”
“Not really. Since I’ve done something similar before, I think you’ll pick it up in a few days. But it’s an absolute secret. Bending is a secret technique, while this is a hidden art—a secret skill. It’s simple, but depending on how you use it, it can be extremely dangerous. You won’t know who attacked you or who was behind the attack.”
“I definitely want to learn it.”
“Hyalda, you wanted to see the Lightning Strike before, right? I’ll show you that too.”
After breakfast, the three of us lined up outside the lookout point to observe the target.
“Wait… what did you just do?”
“I shattered the target. I simply infused mana into the image of it breaking.”
“But how could you do that from so far away?”
“Fiene, you did something similar before. When I told you to imagine a flame the size of my head, you created a flame next to me even though you were far away. The image doesn’t have to come from your hands; as long as you infuse it with mana, it can manifest even from a distance. My limit is 40 meters, but you two should be able to reach 70 meters.”
Flames ignited on the 50m target.
“If you can create a hotter image, you could even melt that target. You know you can relax and just focus on the image, right?”
“Hyalda, freeze that 60m target.”
As instructed, the target turned white and became a pillar of ice.
“Now freeze the ground beneath that pillar.”
As commanded, the ground turned white, and ice began to rise.
“See? It’s easy. Now try to manifest a Lightning Strike above the ice pillar.”
In an instant, a pillar of ice was blown away by a flash of light and a thunderous roar.
“Where are you looking for the Lightning Strike?”
“You make it sound so easy. It seems I just did what you told me to.”
“You understand now that magic doesn’t just travel from your hands to the target; it manifests in the place you imagine. With some application, you can do all sorts of things. However, I think the two of you have a limit of 70 meters. I also experimented and found that my Mana Grade has the same limit of 40 meters, so I believe that’s accurate. Once you actually use it, you’ll understand what I mean by ‘Secret Technique.'”
Having conveyed that there was nothing more to teach them about magic, I decided to head back to the city.