Volume 6 Chapter 7 Part 1
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translator: Kell
A year later.
We were in Count Meigis’ new territory, Cardinal Georgis’ former domain.
We were hunting monsters. But not like before. We’re way more efficient in hunting this time.
“The next hunting ground is around here,” Sachylis said.
“All right,” I replied. “Then let’s get started.”
Sachylis and I were hiking through the forest, then we stopped. The terrain wasn’t particularly a good place for gathering monsters. But with our current methods, it won’t be a problem.
“Attack Field.”
Raising my staff, I cast a spell. It grants a weapon magical power, increasing its offensive might. A powerful support magic, I used it when I took on the Heaven-rending Lightning Dragon. But it actually has a drawback—when active, I expend more mana when casting magic.
It’s not much of a problem when up against a single enemy, but it becomes quite a burden when hunting multiple monsters. The mana consumption is considerable even when I’m at a higher level now. I mean, even Fire Arrow drains a lot of mana if you’re hunting all day.
The reason why I was relying on Mylia for offense while I baited monsters to group up in one place and burn them with Flame Circle was all to reduce mana consumption, allowing me to defeat more enemies with limited mana.
Even when I leveled up, my mana capacity had barely increased. So while I am able to cast powerful spells, expending more mana, my consumption efficiency becomes worse. In order to kill more monsters, we had to change how we did things, and this was the most mana-efficient and least time-consuming method among them.
“Magic Search. Oh, there’s one.”
As soon as I found a monster with my spell, we walked straight towards it. Known as a Gallus, it’s considered the strongest boar monster around these parts. It probably weighed several hundred kilos.
Seeing me appear with a staff at the ready, the Gallus rushed straight at me with a cry.
I held up my staff, but cast no spells. Then the instant the monster was right in front of me, I swung my staff hard.
Letting out a squeal, the Gallus was launched into the air, then rotated three times before crashing to the ground. The creature convulsed, then a moment later, stopped moving. That’s one down, and I didn’t even spend any mana.
Attack Field’s boost also applies to physical blows, while mana is only consumed when casting magic. Probably because blows don’t release magical power, they don’t consume mana either.
“The next one is over there.”
Sounds of battle will inevitably alert the monsters to my presence. Sachylis’ Search Enemy will then detect them, which means I won’t have to use Magic Search. Unlike Magic Search, Search Enemy will continue to sense hostility once activated, so finding the next monster will not consume any mana.
As the monsters got closer, I kicked a tree, and one started charging. And just like before, I took a full swing of my staff.
Another blow. With this I can take down monsters one after another without expending any mana at all. There might be a few ones that I can’t kill instantly with my staff, so I will have to spend some mana for that, but only a minimal amount.
“Um, I’ve been thinking,” Sachylis said as she watched me kill one monster after another, “but isn’t it better to use a sword in this case?”
I understand why she thinks that. If you’re gonna hit something, a sword would be better than a staff.
“Actually, a staff is more powerful than a sword here.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll show you.”
I opened up my magic storage and switched my staff with a sword. It’s an expensive sword that I bought from a weapon shop in Elia, costing 150,000 gilans. Actually, it’s probably more pricey than that by one or two more digits. I have a feeling Myna would not find this sword cheap at all.
“Where’s our next target?” I asked.
“It’s over there!”
I provoked a nearby Gallus just like I did earlier. I swung my sword at the charging monster, and the moment the sword hit, I relaxed for a moment—the secret to a Critical hit. As I expected, my slash produced a critical strike, slicing the monster through its shoulder. The Gallus staggered, but it did not fall. Its shoulder bone stopped the blade, preventing a fatal wound.
It’s not like my sword is awful. The sword I used when I fought the Sea Serpent would not have been able to inflict even this much damage. Gallus are not weak creatures by any means.
When I switched to a staff and hit it, the Gallus traced an arc in the air. The staff, which doesn’t look much stronger at first glance, is more powerful than a proper sword.
“You’re right,” Sachylis said. “The staff is more powerful?”
“It looks like I’m hitting them with my staff, but it’s actually like hitting them with magic. The staff receives a higher attack buff from Attack Field, so the overall power is just higher.”
“I-I see. Maybe I should try hitting them with my bow, too.”
“Who knows? Maybe your bow’s better than a sword. The one you have right now won’t break that easily anyway.”
The bow Sachylis was using right now was a metallic one, made-to-order from the Maxia Trading Company.
Spirits are highly incompatible with metal, so a wooden bow is better. That’s what people think, at least. But actually mithril is okay with Spirits, so we had her bow created primarily with mithril.
If she used it to hit someone, she can take them by surprise. If the opponent blocks, she can use Spirit Kick easily. There’s also the upside of not consuming arrows when fighting against small fries.
Using a bow to beat up monsters in might sound like a bad move, but it could be handy depending on the situation.
“When Skills and magic are involved, it’s not unusual for this kind of counter-intuitive phenomenon to occur. It’s best not to be fooled by appearances, and instead make judgements based on the damage you’re dealing to the enemy and the aftermath. If you can’t make a decision, just dodge. I’ve heard that in some places, they teach you to “just avoid enemy attacks.”
“Just avoid attacks? If that’s the basic fighting tactic of an opponent, you can outsmart them with some random attack.”
“Yeah. Not only that, there’s always a way to outsmart those who fight without thinking critically and rely solely on what’s common sense.”
This way of fighting with the staff is also a tactic that you will never come up with if you just follow common sense. Then again, those that follow what’s theory usually have secret tricks that they employ.
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)