Chapter 35

After seeing Reda off, Al did not head to the designated toilet area but instead made his way to a darker spot within the campsite. This was where the unofficial traders, who were pretending to travel the same route as the official caravan, were setting up camp for the night. Their location was also on a flat area near the top of the hill, like where Al and the others were. However, since they were not official participants of the caravan, they set up their camp a bit away from the official traders' wagons, relying only on their own lanterns and campfires. Still, the fact that the guard squad was patrolling this area was a significant advantage.

Al's purpose in heading there was to check on the man who had loaded a wooden box hidden by a concealment spell onto his wagon. Although he had not reported it out of fear that his knowledge of the concealment spell would be exposed, he did not want to leave the caravan unattended and exposed to danger.

The unofficial traders had not gathered in one place but had parked their wagons in various spots. The wagon of the man Al was concerned about was parked side by side with a similar wagon, and three men, including the one who had been driving the wagon in the morning, were sitting around a campfire. They had set up a simple tent with a rain cover. Al approached using the shadows of the trees. Thanks to the misty rain, his footsteps were muffled, and it was easy for him to get within about 30 meters.

Once he got that close, Al crouched down and enhanced his hearing to try to catch what the three men were saying.

"Perception Enhancement" - Hearing Enhancement

Bits and pieces of their conversation began to reach his ears.

"…Oakley Village is the last stop, right?"

"Yeah… even if we slack off…"

"…we have to pretend to be working… that kid…"

"…it's a concealment spell? Even dispelling magic… won’t reveal it…"

"…it only lasts about three hours…"

"…we need to transport it safely…"

"…with an escort…"

"…the guards are so high and mighty…"

The men suddenly burst into laughter. Al quickly lay flat on the ground. From their conversation, it seemed that these three men were not planning to lead an attack on the caravan but were using it for smuggling. If they were planning an attack, they would have discussed timing and other details. Oakley Village, which was mentioned, was likely their destination, and the concealment spell lasting about three hours was probably its duration.

Al wanted to hear more, but the three men seemed to have finished their conversation and were covering the campfire with dirt. Al decided to confirm their faces and recast his spell.

"Perception Enhancement" - Vision Enhancement, Night Vision, Zoom

Looking at the faces of two of the men, Al tilted his head. He had seen these faces somewhere before. Was it in the capital, or perhaps in the border city of Lester? He thought about it for a while but couldn't remember. Realizing that he had been gone for quite some time, Al felt a sense of urgency. He was concerned about what to do about the man but decided that it was probably safe for now. He quietly left the hiding spot and ran back towards Baron Hawthorne's wagon.

---

When Al arrived at Baron Hawthorne's wagon, the guards had already begun their operations, and only Reda was waiting with her arms crossed.

"You're late. What were you doing?"

"Sorry, Lady Reda. My stomach was hurting, but I'm fine now."

Al scratched his head and tried to cover up. Reda muttered something about not taking care of his health, but he apologized. She seemed to be a serious person.

"The guards will split into two groups: one to defend the entrance to the campsite, which is a slope, and the other to patrol inside the campsite. We will also patrol separately from the guards."

Al nodded at Reda's explanation. Circling the edge of the campsite would probably be about a kilometer. With poor visibility and uneven ground, it would likely take about 30 minutes to complete a circuit.

"Let's go then."

With that, she cast a light spell to make the tip of her staff glow. Al enhanced his vision with night vision and followed behind her.

"I didn't expect to encounter so many barbarians. We dealt with about ten during the day, right? What about at night?"

"During the journey, we encountered twelve. In April, we encountered eleven, so it's about the same. At this campsite, we received twenty-six attacks, and during our shift, we dealt with nine. We can expect a similar number of attacks. Be careful."

Al was more surprised by Reda's precise memory than by the number of attacks. Could she really remember the details of the barbarian attacks from three months ago so well?

"I keep detailed records and submit them to Sir Eric, and I review the previous records each time, so I remember the numbers."

Al shrugged at Reda's explanation. As they continued their patrol, they reached the northernmost point of the campsite, which was on the opposite side of the slope that served as the entrance. They looked down from there.

"Wait, there's a goblin."

Although they were about 70 meters away, with his enhanced perception, Al could see a thin goblin, about 120 cm tall, moving in the shadows of the low shrubs below. Of course, it was a moonless night, so Reda could only see darkness.

"I'll take care of it."

"Huh?"

"Magic Arrow" - Convergence, Extended Range

Al cast the spell without paying attention to Reda's surprised voice. As usual, he chanted to combine multiple arrows into one. A single blue-white magic arrow shot from his hand, slicing through the darkness and flying down the cliff. A goblin-like scream, "Puuu," was heard from below, followed by a thud. Al could see the goblin being hit by the magic arrow and falling.

"You can hit from this distance?"

Reda's face tensed in surprise.

"Remember the options we talked about? The Magic Arrow spell increases the number of arrows as your proficiency increases, but using the option, you can combine them into one. You can choose to increase the power or extend the range. I couldn't measure the exact increase in power, but I've tested the range. Combining two arrows into one extends the range by about 1.4 times, and combining three arrows into one extends it by about 1.7 times. Now, I can shoot nine arrows, so combining them into one extends the range to about three times, which is about 90 meters."

"Really… I can't believe it…"

Al smiled at her. Reda shook her head, unable to believe it.

"But you saw it, right?"

"Well… but the fact that the range of the Magic Arrow spell can be extended like that is amazing. It changes the way we fight with magic."

"It's not that big of a deal."

Al chuckled, but Reda's eyes widened, and she continued to shake her head with a tense expression.

"Also, you said nine arrows? Your proficiency is that high? That's also unbelievable."

The Magic Arrow spell is an offensive spell, and naturally, training with it is dangerous. She had practiced diligently at Eric's manor and actively hunted barbarians, but she was still only able to shoot one arrow.

"Yeah, it's the same thing. Using the option, you can also reduce the power. If you make it so it doesn't hurt much when it hits, you can practice anywhere. It can give you a headache if you do it too much, but if you take breaks, it's fine. I practice whenever I can."

Reda was left speechless, her mouth agape.

"Come on, Lady Reda, this side seems safe now, let's move on."

Al smiled as usual.

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