“Who’s there!? Show yourself!”
I’ve been found!? The large man, who had been facing away from me, grabbed the greatsword beside him and stood up silently.
I couldn’t see the man’s face clearly due to the backlight, but his sharp gaze suggested he was no ordinary person.
“Could it be a monster…? If you don’t come out, I’ll smoke you out.”
As the man said this in a low voice, he drew his greatsword, and “something” emanating from him made my body cold, and my limbs trembled slightly.
Could this be what they call ‘Killing Intent’? I messed up. I should have immediately retreated when challenged, but even with the “knowledge,” I was momentarily paralyzed by the strong presence I felt for the first time.
“…!”
I slammed my fist against my still-trembling legs and immediately turned and ran.
There’s still a chance to escape. Unlike me, who had been lurking in the darkness, the man was by the campfire, so his eyes shouldn’t be accustomed to the darkness yet.
I crossed my arms to protect my eyes from the bushes, and while keeping my body low, I ran through the night forest.
“!”
I heard the sound of branches breaking behind me, as if scattering the bushes. That man is chasing me. Contrary to his strong presence, I couldn’t hear his footsteps.
I took a deep breath, suppressing the fear that still threatened to overwhelm me, just like when I killed that old woman, sinking my emotions deep down.
I changed direction abruptly, as if whipping my screaming legs, and the slightly louder sound of the bushes conveyed the man’s confusion.
Before it subsided, I changed direction again, hiding behind the shadow of a tree, and this time, I ran through the forest, trying to silence my footsteps.
If he’s still chasing me after this, it means he has a clear intent to kill me.
The tingling presence I felt from that man was fading. I slowed down my running speed to erase my own sounds and held my breath. At that moment, I heard the sound of something cutting through the air, and a hand axe slammed into the tree trunk where I was hiding.
“!?!”
That man’s presence didn’t fade. He was suppressing his presence and searching for my location.
Realizing he had failed to kill me, the man rushed through the forest with great force. He’s fast! More than that, my still-young body lacks stamina.
Judging that I couldn’t escape, I aimed for the brief moment when the man swung his greatsword in a wide arc, and I jumped forward, aiming for the man’s log-like leg with my prepared Knife.
“Kuha!”
But the man immediately used the hilt of his greatsword, striking me with the pommel.
The sound of something hard breaking. The man’s surprised voice. The impact of the blow forced the air from my lungs, and I rolled through the forest as if blown away. With my head spinning, I heard the man’s footsteps approaching, and my consciousness sank into darkness.
“Ah, sorry about that, kid. You were so nimble, I thought you were a Kobold and ended up chasing you.”
“…………”
I am now sitting by the campfire at the campsite with that man.
A Kobold is a type of low-level monster that looks like an upright dog, and I never thought I would be mistaken for one.
This man seemed to be an Adventurer, and he chased after me because he thought it would be dangerous for travelers if there were monsters on the roads within the territory, but because I ran away so much, he became determined to pursue me.
“Here, it’s not much of an apology, but eat up.”
The man offered me a snake that he had been roasting over the fire, skinned and cut into chunks.
I had never eaten snake before, but at the Orphanage, someone had said that the older boys couldn’t stand the meager food and would catch snakes in the forest and eat them.
The green snakes that are common in this area only have a weak paralyzing venom and won’t attack unless it’s for self-defense, especially against animals larger than field mice.
I don’t find snakes creepy like the other Orphanage girls. Enticed by the smell of roasting meat, I grabbed a skewer and took a bite, and a light, juicy flavor spread in my mouth.
To be honest, it’s bland and not very tasty. But due to hunger and the fact that I haven’t had very good meals, I devoured it ravenously, and after drinking the water I received from the man, I finally felt at ease.
“So, kid. What’s a child doing in a place like this? Where are your parents?”
“…………”
The man properly mistook me for a “boy” because I had cut my hair and dirtied my head with ash.
It seems that the man has a rather stern face, but he is kind at heart… no, I should say he is too good-natured. When I remained silent in response to his concerned and conventional words, he seemed to think I was a Street Urchin without parents, and he sighed lightly and changed the subject.
“…Does it still hurt?”
I shook my head slightly in response to those words.
The man had level 1 [Light Magic] and healed me with the [Cure] spell.
A faint bruise remained near the middle of my chest and left shoulder, and it still hurt when touched, but it wasn’t unbearable.
Level 1 [Light Magic] includes [Heal] and [Cure]. [Heal] restores stamina but only closes the wound, so the pain doesn’t completely disappear.
The other, [Cure], heals the wound and restores it to its original state, but its effective range is small, it takes time to complete the healing, and stamina can actually decrease.
If [Heal] is used in the early stages, even cuts won’t leave scars, and its effective range and healing speed are high, so [Heal] is the most common healing Magic.
[Cure] is used only when noble children who are sensitive to pain or daughters about to be married suffer injuries that might leave scars, and due to the complexity of its Magic composition, even those with an aptitude for [Light Magic] don’t bother to learn it.
My bruise would heal quickly if [Cure] were used, but this man can’t use it either.
I have many things I want to ask, but I can’t let my guard down around this man yet, so I looked down silently. There, I saw the Knife that had been broken by the pommel of the greatsword.
“Ah… sorry. I broke your Knife. But that Knife isn’t suitable for combat. It’s probably a dagger for self-defense that a noble lady would carry. It has good sharpness, but the Blade is thin, and it would chip if it hit a bone, even on a rabbit.”
The man spoke eloquently, as if making excuses for breaking the Knife.
But I’m not blaming the man. It’s inconvenient not having a Knife, but it’s also the result of my pointless escape, and if I didn’t have this Knife, my bones might have been broken, and the man’s [Heal] wouldn’t have been able to fix it.
Thinking so, I shook my head slightly without blaming the man, and the man showed a somewhat restless demeanor and offered the Knife he had on his waist, sheath and all.
“Use this instead. It’s not very good, but it’s a Knife I used to dissect Monsters, so it’s quite sturdy.”
“……..”
When I pulled the Knife that had been pushed on me from its sheath, a steel Blade appeared that was somewhat old but carefully sharpened. It’s a single-edged Blade about 20 centimeters long, and it’s not as thin as the previous Knife, so it will still be difficult to stab deeply, but it won’t chip if it hits a bone.
A steel Knife made by refining and forging, not just cast and sharpened iron, should be worth a considerable price. To casually hand it over to a Street Urchin, even if he feels guilty, is too good-natured, and I felt foolish for being so wary.
“…Thank you, mister.”
“I’m only twenty.”
I thought he was about thirty, but he was surprisingly young. Looking at him again, I realized that he just had a stern face, and his skin was young. I couldn’t tell because of his thick stubble, but he wasn’t ugly, and his sulky face for being taken as old even felt endearing, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, you’re finally smiling. It’s best for kids to smile.”
After brushing off the rough hand that was ruffling my hair, I returned to a serious expression and stared at the man.
“Hey, teach me how to use Mana.”
“W-What, all of a sudden…”
“It’s inconvenient if I can’t use Utility Magic.”
“I don’t really understand… I didn’t learn it from someone else either.”
According to the mister, when you use Utility Magic, you start to feel a different “flow” inside you than usual, and that’s how you know it’s Mana.
In other words, in my case, the order of learning is reversed. And even if you can use Utility Magic, you don’t necessarily feel Mana. If you learn Utility Magic at a young age, it becomes normal to have that flow, and you won’t be able to feel the discomfort of Mana flowing.
“…………”
In my case, as a result of foolishly gaining “knowledge” and trying to feel the flowing Mana in my own way, I may be close to being used to that flow of Mana.
If I continue like this, it will become genuinely difficult to learn Magic. As expected, feeling someone else’s strong Mana seems like the quickest way to go, just as planned.
“Hey, can you use strong Mana?”
“Of course. My Magic isn’t much, but I can use a considerable amount of Mana for Body Enhancement.”
“Can you do it now?”
“I can, but… well, whatever. Stand back, it’s dangerous.”
Dangerous? Body Enhancement should be a Skill that warrior-types use to enhance their physical abilities by circulating Mana throughout their bodies. Why is that dangerous? Not understanding, I take a few steps away from him, and I feel a surge of power emanating from his entire body, causing the campfire flames to flicker wildly.
“…Amazing.”
So this is Body Enhancement. I can feel a power that’s intimidating just by looking at it. I’m drawn to it and casually reach out to touch his arm, and the old man’s eyes widen in surprise.
“Hey!”
At that moment, my hand is repelled as if shocked, and my whole body is thrown backward.
“Kid!”
The old man rushes over in a panic. I’m not hurt, but there’s a lingering, numb pain in my hand, and as I stand there dumbfounded, he starts lecturing me.
“I told you to stay away! It’s nothing if you can use Mana, but it can be quite a shock to a kid who isn’t used to it!”
“Yeah… I was surprised.”
I was surprised and it hurt a little, but it’s not like I can’t move. I stand up, wincing slightly, and move my numb fingers to loosen them up. The old man looks at me with an exasperated expression.
But that… no, this is Mana. I can feel a faint amount of Mana in my flowing blood. My hypothesis that blood contains Mana wasn’t wrong after all.
From that woman’s “knowledge,” I become aware of the blood vessels flowing throughout my body and the capillaries spread all over, and the Mana that had been thinly and vaguely spread throughout my body concentrates on the flow of blood, becoming more clearly felt.
The Mana gathers in my heart along with the blood, and with each heartbeat, it becomes slightly stronger, and when it circulates throughout my body again, I feel a slight warmth.
“Kid! Is that Body Enhancement?! No, it hasn’t even taken shape yet, but…”
It seems that by circulating Mana along the flow of blood, I’ve managed to create something like a mimicry of Body Enhancement.
With this, I might be able to learn Utility Magic and even elemental Magic. Feeling a little excited, I continue to circulate Mana, when suddenly I feel dizzy and stumble. The old man grabs my arm to steady me.
“Hey, you should stop soon. Body Enhancement consumes Mana, little by little. You’ll collapse.”
“Yeah…”
That woman hardly ever used Body Enhancement, even though she had the Dagger Skill. That’s why my knowledge in that area is limited, so I obediently nod at his words.
But the old man looks at me and sighs in further exasperation.
“Old man?”
“Don’t call me old man. Call me Feld. …Well, I guess it’s okay if I’m late getting back by a day or so.”
The old man, or rather, Feld, stands up and looks down at me with a ferocious smile.
“Tomorrow, I, the great Feld, will thoroughly drill you in the basics all day long. Be prepared!”
What did he say?