Chapter 13

Ricardo continued his daily routine of hunting the demonic tree Trill and making magic rods while continuing to write his thesis. The main points of the thesis were that it involved a composite magic of fire and water, that catalysts of fire and water were necessary, the optimal ratio of the two catalysts, and the image of magma floating in the flames when activated. He had completed eighty percent of the thesis, leaving only the optimal ratio of the catalysts. To find the ratio, he had no choice but to actually mix the catalysts and compare the power of the [Molten Flame Bullet] he cast. As a result, he consumed a large amount of catalysts, and the gold coins he earned from selling the magic rods were gone. His efforts paid off, and he had gathered all the necessary data for the thesis.

Around that time, at the viscount's castle, Viscount Fabius, the captain of the guard, Jacobo, and the mages were gathered to discuss the spring hunting of the demonic tree Elbir. "King Althibald has requested that the viscount send more fire catalysts," Jacobo reported the information. Eduardo, the oldest of the mages, frowned and asked for details. "How much more?" Jacobo hesitated before answering, "Enough for three Elbirs." "What, what?" "That's ridiculous," "How can that be?" The mages exclaimed in surprise one after another. It was already difficult to defeat one, and three was a lot.

"What are you making a fuss about for a mere demonic beast? I thought the mages I hired were all skilled, but are they not?" Viscount Fabius said irritably. The mages had no choice but to remain silent when their employer, the viscount, said that. Viscount Stefano Fabius was a tall, thin noble with a difficult face, black hair, and a beard that surrounded his mouth from his chin. As a ruler, his skills were mediocre. He sat on his land, which he inherited from his ancestors, and left the management to his subordinates. He did nothing himself and punished his subordinates harshly when they failed.

The cause of this matter was the king's statement at a banquet in the capital. While dining with the king, King Althibald mentioned that there was a shortage of fire catalysts. One of the nobles suggested sending more as a spring offering. The nobles who had been sending fire catalysts every year promised to send more, and a competition began to see who could send the most. As a result, Viscount Fabius promised to send the charcoal of three Elbirs.

There was a reason why the hunting of Elbir was limited to the spring and autumn. Normally, Elbirs move in groups of five or six, but during this period, they move alone for about ten days. It was dangerous for mages to attack Elbirs that moved in groups. Since the hunting period was limited, the only way to hunt three Elbirs was to divide the hunting team into three.

This meant sending three mages with soldiers. "So, you're saying we have to go hunting too?" Eduardo asked with a serious face. "Yes, I can't let the apprentices go hunting alone. Or do you have apprentices who can hunt Elbirs?" the viscount asked in return. The captain of the guard, Jacobo, looked up at Alessandro in surprise. "By the way, I remember you had an excellent apprentice, Alessandro." "My son... no, Ricardo, you mean?" "Yes, he might be able to hunt Elbirs." Alessandro was surprised that Jacobo highly evaluated Ricardo. He asked what had happened during the last hunting. From Jacobo's story, he learned that Ricardo had repelled a bicorn armored bear using fire magic in the mountains. While using fire magic in the mountains was not acceptable, he was surprised to hear that the magic was powerful enough to repel a giant bear. He had only taught Ricardo the basics of magic. Perhaps Massimo had taught him something, he thought.

"You're a good teacher, teaching magic to the viscount's sons. How about taking on more apprentices?" the viscount said, seemingly pleased that there were more mages who could defeat Elbirs. "I'll think about it," Alessandro replied ambiguously. Mages take on apprentices to train their successors. Normally, they take on their children or grandchildren as apprentices, but not all of them have the talent to be mages. To prepare for such times, they take on two or three talented children as apprentices. These apprentices, once recognized as mages, become independent. Most join the Mage Guild or become exclusive mages for nobles or the royal family. There are some who become monster hunters, but they are a minority.

"What do you think? How about assigning soldiers to Eduardo, Alessandro, and Flavio to form hunting teams?" Jacobo suggested. Eduardo panicked when he heard this. "Wait, I can't go mountain walking." Eduardo was over sixty and had weak legs. The viscount looked at the oldest mage with a troubled face. "I see. ... Hmm ... Can't we use the apprentice of Alessandro mentioned earlier?" Alessandro was about to refuse but hesitated. He thought that even if Ricardo failed, it wouldn't be his fault.

"I think it's too early, but if the viscount says so..." Ricardo, who was unaware, had to defeat Elbirs. Alessandro became more depressed as the detailed planning for the hunting progressed. It had been nine years since he last went hunting. He didn't think his magic skills had declined, but his physical strength had definitely weakened. Moreover, his support was only one of Eduardo's apprentices. Flavio suggested including Massimo, but Massimo, who was even less physically capable than Alessandro, couldn't go due to an injury. "I'm sorry, but I can't be of use at such an important time." Of course, it was a lie, but he thought it was better than being forced to participate in the hunting and embarrassing himself.

After the meeting, Alessandro returned to the mansion and called Ricardo. Ricardo was in the middle of making a magic rod. When he was called downstairs, Alessandro was waiting for him. "The viscount wants you to defeat an Elbir." "Huh... So, you mean I have to go on the spring hunting?" "No, the viscount needs three Elbirs. I will take one, Flavio will take one, and you will take one." Ricardo was shocked by Alessandro's words. "That's... I can support, but to defeat one..." "Captain Jacobo said you were excellent." "But I only studied basic magic." "Didn't you repel a bicorn armored bear with fire magic? You can't repel it with basic magic, can you?" "It was a coincidence. That bicorn armored bear might have hated fire." Alessandro narrowed his eyes and looked at Ricardo's face. "I see, well, it's fine."

Ricardo didn't tell his master, Alessandro, about the [Molten Flame Bullet] because he felt uneasy under Alessandro's suspicious gaze. Besides, he had hardly received direct instruction from Alessandro, so there was some resistance.

"Anyway, don't make me look bad. Defeat the Elbir." "Then, lend me the 'Compendium of Magic' written by the sage Manuel. I'll study it." The 'Compendium of Magic' was an expensive book that ordinary mages didn't own. The viscount had purchased it for Alessandro to teach the viscount's sons. However, it was a difficult book to read, and few mages could understand it. Alessandro himself only understood half of it. "Hmph, fine. Study as much as you like. But the hunting is in five days." Alessandro took a copy of the 'Compendium of Magic' from his study and gave it to Ricardo.

Ricardo spent two days reading the 'Compendium of Magic' and took notes on the parts he thought were important. He didn't need to read the entire thick magic book, but he couldn't resist his curiosity. Of course, he had researched the necessary intermediate magic. The three intermediate magic spells in the 'Compendium of Magic' that seemed useful for hunting Elbirs were [Collapsing Water Spear], [Storm Fang Array], and [Explosive Scatter Spear]. [Collapsing Water Spear] was a magic that created a water tornado that flew towards the target, cutting and piercing the enemy with rotating water blades. It had the greatest penetration power of the three but a short range. [Storm Fang Array] was a magic that Flavio was good at, where numerous wind blades attacked and cut the enemy. It wasn't very powerful but was useful for cutting multiple targets. [Explosive Scatter Spear] was a magic where a giant stone spear flew towards the target and exploded upon impact, dealing damage to the surrounding area. It was the most powerful of the three.

These three were lower intermediate magic spells, and the catalysts were something Ricardo could prepare. He found other powerful magic spells but decided to focus on these three. He bought the catalysts and tried the three magic spells. The three magic spells were successful, but the water magic didn't seem to have a good affinity, and the power wasn't very high. The wind magic was inferior to Flavio but had decent power. The remaining earth magic, [Explosive Scatter Spear], seemed to have a good affinity. The magic activated smoothly, and the explosion upon impact was powerful.

If it hit the Elbir's weak point, the tumor, it could defeat it in one shot. Ricardo practiced [Storm Fang Array] and [Explosive Scatter Spear] to prepare for the Elbir hunting. On the day of the Elbir hunting, he gathered early at the front of Delb Castle. Ricardo's luggage included a backpack with clothes, a water bottle, and food, a new catalyst pouch on his waist, and two magic rods in a sheath on his back. The sheath was made on Diego's advice. It was a common equipment for mages who became monster hunters, and it was convenient for carrying spare rods. By the way, he didn't bring a buckler and a war pick because they didn't seem mage-like.

"Good morning, Ricardo." Patrick greeted Ricardo. Ricardo returned the greeting and looked around. There were about sixty soldiers, three times as many as last time. "Who are you going with, Patrick?" "I was told the team combination. I'm with you." "That's good. I feel more confident." Ricardo noticed that Patrick's expression was dark. He could guess why; he had to defeat an Elbir with only the apprentice mages.

Patrick asked with an anxious face, "Can you defeat the Elbir?" "I learned new magic, but whether I can defeat it... it's up to luck." "I learned new magic too." Patrick had learned [Collapsing Water Spear]. He hadn't performed well in the last Elbir hunting and was embarrassed to have been helped by Ricardo, who was younger. It seemed that all the apprentices who participated in the autumn Elbir hunting had learned some new magic.

The mage teams were Flavio and his apprentice Benito, Alessandro and Ivan (Eduardo's apprentice), and Ricardo and Patrick (Eduardo's apprentice) with Marcello (Flavio's apprentice). Marcello, being Flavio's son, should have teamed up with Flavio, but he insisted on joining the team of apprentices. He was determined to show that he could defeat an Elbir with the new magic he had learned.

The group set off in carriages and split into three teams as they approached the mountains. Ricardo's team had Jacobo leading the soldiers. The mountain, which he hadn't visited in a long time, was blooming with fresh green leaves and delicate flowers, and the air felt refreshing. Ricardo walked alone in the middle of the group. Behind him, Patrick and Marcello were talking. Jacobo approached him.

"Didn't you bring a war pick and a buckler this time?" Jacobo asked Ricardo. "No, I changed to a mage-like rod." "A regular rod can't even kill a masked rat." Normally, a regular rod couldn't kill even the weakest monster. But Ricardo's rod was different. "This rod can kill a masked rat in one shot." Ricardo took out a rod from the sheath on his back.

Jacobo was surprised when he saw the rod. "Is that a magic rod?" The loud voice caught the attention of Patrick and Marcello, who approached. They stared at the magic rod Ricardo held and asked, "Why do you have a magic rod? Did Alessandro buy it for you?" A magic rod, even a cheap one, cost eight gold coins, which an apprentice mage couldn't afford. "No, it's... " Ricardo hesitated, and Marcello snatched the magic rod and examined it. "The snowflower pattern is not very complex but is neatly aligned. It was made by a first-class craftsman." Marcello persistently questioned him. It seemed he highly evaluated the self-made magic rod and thought it was quite expensive.

It was pleasant to have his self-made magic rod so highly evaluated, but if he honestly said he made it himself, he might be called a liar. According to the merchant Bernardo, it took five years of training for a talented person to be able to make a usable magic rod. If that was the case, he would have had to start training in a remote mountain village. There was no way such a village would have a craftsman who could make magic rods.

"This was made by an acquaintance, a magic craftsman." "Even if you bought it directly from a craftsman, it would cost several gold coins. Where did you get the money?" "It wasn't money. I hunted a demonic tree Trill and processed it into a rod." Patrick peeked at the rod Marcello held. "It's true. The rod itself is rough, like it was made by an amateur." He had improved his processing skills by making several rods, but it was still within the range of an amateur. "Why would the craftsman make such a thing? He could have processed it into a rod himself."

Marcello threw the magic rod back to Ricardo. "I injured my hand. I can't make a proper magic rod until it heals." Patrick clapped his hands as if he understood. "That magic craftsman is doing magic coating training to keep his skills from rusting. Ricardo, you're lucky to meet such a craftsman."