Chapter 25

Ricardo took out his magic-forming rod, and the beast hunter who saw this asked, "What's wrong?"

"Monsters are approaching from the north."

"Are they not the Headbutt Rabbits?"

When the sisters looked worried, their parents urged them to get on the carriage.

The two beast hunters drew their weapons and went to investigate the situation to the north.

Ricardo took out the catalyst for the [Molten Flame Bullet] and waited near the carriage.

"Are those two going to be alright?"

The coachman muttered to himself.

At that moment, a man's scream was heard.

Then, the sound of something hitting a tree was heard, and the two beast hunters came running back.

"Run! It's a Spotted Boar!"

The faces of the passengers on the carriage were filled with fear.

Ricardo began to prepare the [Molten Flame Bullet]. He channeled magic power into the magic-forming rod and sprinkled the catalyst. A dark crimson vortex of magic power began to form around the rod.

When the two beast hunters returned to the carriage, a large spotted boar appeared and charged towards it. Inside the carriage, the sisters and merchants screamed.

Feeling the fear of the approaching spotted boar, Ricardo pointed the rod at the boar and cast a spell.

"Fasnal Ganubador Sperogoma"

The flame condensed at the tip of the rod, forming a glowing orange magma sphere. In the next instant, it flew towards the boar like a bullet.

The [Molten Flame Bullet] hit the boar's forehead, and the splattered magma burned its eyes. The boar, letting out a loud scream, rolled around to try to shake off the magma attached to its body.

Ricardo took out the [Earth] catalyst and launched a [Flying Spear] at the boar's chest.

"Ugh!"

The stone spear pierced the chest of the spotted boar. The boar, writhing in agony, fell still.

"Kuka, Kukuke" (Rica, amazing)

Monta, peeking out of the shoulder bag, chirped happily.

Ricardo took a deep breath to release the tension that had built up. Using magic detection, he confirmed that there were no other monsters around.

By then, the beast hunters who had fled far from the carriage had returned.

"Amazing. Did you defeat the spotted boar alone?"

The passengers on the carriage also got off to see the fallen spotted boar.

The sisters, who had been pale, were now by the side of the boar.

"Such a large monster... Big brother's magic was amazing."

"Yeah, it was amazing."

With the help of the two beast hunters, they began to dissect the spotted boar. Ricardo took the tusks, which could be used as catalysts, and the fur, which could be sold for money, while the meat was divided among everyone. Since they couldn't carry all of it, everyone was allowed to cut off as much as they wanted for dinner.

The carriage started moving and arrived at the capital of the Yorgul territory, Yaro, in the evening.

After parting ways with the other passengers, Ricardo carried the spotted boar's fur and tusks and looked for a leatherworking shop. He sold the fur for about two gold coins.

He pretended to put the tusks in his backpack but actually stored them in a storage crystal.

He then looked for an inn and found one called "Traveler's Inn Bran." It was a three-story wooden building, and he was drawn to the fact that it had a sauna.

"I'll stay for four nights."

The room rate was three silver coins per night.

He was led to a room at the back of the third floor, where he put his luggage and went to the sauna to warm up and rinse off the sweat and dust, feeling refreshed.

Back in the room, Ricardo took out the magic-forming rod from the storage crystal. This magic-forming rod was made from the branches of the demon tree Damir, and he had three of them.

Looking at the three rods, he remembered the day after he defeated Damir when he made them.

Two of the branches were long enough to make four rods.

While meditating, he brought his consciousness six steps away from the source gate and tried to convert the power obtained there into magic power to coat the first rod, but it failed.

The last time he used the material from the demon tree Trill to coat a rod at six steps from the source gate, the surface cracked and it failed. He thought the material from Damir would withstand it this time.

Indeed, the material withstood the magic power, but his concentration broke halfway through and it failed.

However, the second and subsequent rods were successful, and three magic-forming rods were completed. They had more complex and larger snowflake patterns than the previous magic-forming rods.

The neatly aligned snowflake patterns were beautiful.

There was another difference. There was a brand at the bottom of the rod. It was a circle with the letter 'M' inside, which served as a signature.

According to Bernard's advice, it was common for first-class magic craftsmen to put a brand on their work.

Ricardo, who did not consider himself first-class, had a blacksmith make the brand because Bernard said it was necessary.

In terms of material and the amount of magic power infused, these were third-grade magic-forming rods, but since they were made from Yunalvorta, their value was five to ten times higher.

"If I give two of these to Bernard... Hmm... But the Duke Boniperti is looking for the same magic-forming rods made from the branches of the demon tree Trill, so these won't do, will they?"

Ricardo became anxious. If there was a reason for wanting the previous magic-forming rods, no matter how much he said the quality was better, these magic-forming rods wouldn't be acceptable.

"What to do... Should I hunt Trill and make the same thing as before? Yes, I will."

Ricardo decided to go hunting the next day.

The next morning, Ricardo got up at the same time the sun rose, prepared, and went out into the city.

The capital Yaro was completely different from the capital. Inside the city walls, which were high, there were many beast hunters with weapons, and there were many weapon and armor shops.

Ricardo searched for a catalyst shop and headed to the center of the city, where he found a shop that had a similar atmosphere to Mrs. Marta's and went inside.

"Welcome."

The shop assistant was a beautiful woman in her late twenties.

Approaching her, who was sitting in a chair behind the counter, Ricardo took out the spotted boar's tusks and placed them on the counter.

"Please make them into catalysts."

"Oh, those are the tusks of a spotted boar. Did you really hunt it?"

"Yes, it attacked the carriage, so I defeated it with magic."

"Wow, you're amazing for such a young person."

She took the tusks and went to the back to start the process of crushing them. After a while, she returned with a bag of catalysts. Ricardo paid for the work and received the catalysts.

"Excuse me, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Where can I find the demon tree Trill around here?"

"Hmm... I think it's at the foot of the mountains near the magic realm, but the most certain place is inside the magic realm near the second magic gate."

"Is the magic realm dangerous?"

"Near the gate, it's no different from the surrounding mountains. If you have the skills to defeat a spotted boar, you'll be fine."

"Can anyone enter the magic realm?"

"Is this your first time in the magic realm? What's your name?"

"I'm Ricardo."

"I'm the owner of the catalyst shop, Sonia. ...Oh, right, the magic realm. Anyone can enter the magic realm for one silver coin."

"Thank you."

"If you're going to the magic realm, you should reconsider your armor."

Ricardo checked his appearance. He was wearing a thick shirt, pants, and a duffle coat. It wasn't suitable for hunting, but it seemed fine for a demon tree like Trill.

"Even near the gate, it's still the magic realm. As a magician, you should at least have a combat robe."

According to Sonia, magician beast hunters wear combat robes made from the leather of monsters. Originally, they were worn by court magicians during battles, but beast hunters started to imitate them because of their high defense.

He bought a wooden tube to hold the catalysts and went outside.

When he went to the armor shop that Sonia introduced him to, there was a corner with robes in the back where armor and shields were displayed. They were all made of leather, with large slits at the bottom for easy movement.

"I came on Sonia's recommendation. Can I see the combat robes?"

The owner of the armor shop was an elderly man named Tiberio.

"It's rare to have a young magician as a customer. We have combat robes made from the leather of tusked boars, spotted boars, and double-horned armored bears. Which one do you want?"

"I'll take the tusked boar leather combat robe."

He chose the cheapest tusked boar leather combat robe. It would only fit him until he grew. Besides, for the area near the gate, tusked boar leather should be sufficient.

It would take a day to tailor, so he paid a deposit and left the shop.

He spent the day sightseeing around the city and then returned to the inn. In his room, he filled the wooden tube with the [Earth] catalyst he had bought. The wooden tube, when filled with the catalyst made from the spotted boar's tusks, became a size suitable for upper-level and lower-intermediate magic catalysts, for spells like [Flying Spear], [Explosive Spear], and [Mud Bind].

With the preparations for the next day's hunt complete, he went to sleep.

The next morning, he stopped by the armor shop to pick up the combat robe. The total cost, including the deposit, was about one gold coin.

He took off his coat and tried it on. It felt good, didn't hinder his movement, and seemed to provide some defense.

It took about an hour to reach the second magic gate by carriage.

The magic realm's wall was a sturdy structure about seven meters high and two meters thick. There were four gatekeepers at the gate.

The gate had a large steel door about three meters high, which looked sturdy enough to repel even a spotted boar.

Seeing Ricardo approach, one of the gatekeepers said,

"Hey, beyond here is the magic realm. Do you understand?"

Seeing the small Ricardo approach the magic gate, they warned him.

"I understand. I'm just going to hunt near the gate."

Ricardo paid one silver coin and entered.

Upon entering the gate, a strong, dense green smell hit him.

The magic realm that spread from the second magic gate was known for having many demon trees and bird-type monsters.

A short distance from the gate, there was a barren area without any trees. It looked as if a large creature had rampaged, with the ground torn up.

Ricardo shuddered at the thought of the creature that had caused this.

Curious about the magic realm, Monta came out of the shoulder bag and climbed onto Ricardo's shoulder.

"Kuki, Kuekyu" (Strange smell, where are we?)

"This is the magic realm. I hope we can find some delicious tree fruits."

"Kue, Kukyu" (Really, Monta will look too)

He noticed something strange in the barren area. There were about seven objects that looked like pumpkins with maple bonsai on top, arranged in a row.

One of them had a small fruit, a round fruit about two centimeters in size, similar to an acorn.

"Kukyu" (Found it)

Monta jumped from Ricardo's shoulder to the ground and pounced on the bonsai with the fruit. In an instant, the pumpkin bonsai started to run with Monta on it.

"What the—!"

Ricardo was surprised and started to run after it. He saw that all the pumpkin bonsais had started to run.

These turned out to be demon trees. Upon closer inspection, roots extended from the bottom of the pumpkins, and they were running by kicking the ground with these roots.

"Wait!"

The pumpkin bonsais ran towards a rocky hill. Ricardo followed them. The pumpkin bonsai carrying Monta started to lag behind. Ricardo caught up and grabbed it. He lifted the stem part of the pumpkin bonsai, and it thrashed its roots but eventually gave up and pretended to be dead.

Monta was angry at the pumpkin bonsai that had startled him. He kicked the pumpkin part repeatedly while clinging to Ricardo's arm.

"Kuka, Kuke" (Stupid, I hate it)

Ricardo laughed and put Monta back in the shoulder bag.

Ricardo searched his memory and identified the pumpkin bonsai. It was called a Kumiri, the smallest of the demon trees.

It didn't have much offensive power, but it was hated for its rapid reproduction and spread.

Ricardo collected the fruits of the Kumiri and put them in his backpack. He didn't give any to Monta, considering the possibility that they might be poisonous since they were from a demon tree.

While observing the Kumiri that was still pretending to be dead, he heard a rustling sound behind him. He turned around to see three Trill demon trees approaching.

He threw the Kumiri at the Trill. The flash whips that were fluttering above the Trill's head cut the Kumiri in half, separating the bonsai part from the pumpkin part.

Ricardo jumped back to create distance and drew his magic-forming rod. He quickly cast [Flying Spear], which hit the tree knot of the leading Trill and pierced its stem.

The magic-forming rod made from the demon tree Damir seemed to have increased the power of the spell.

For Ricardo, the Trill demon tree was a familiar opponent. Soon, the remaining two Trills were also defeated.

"Phew, it's over."

Looking at the Kumiri, he saw that it had started to run away as a pumpkin. He caught it again.

Observing the Kumiri that was still pretending to be dead, it seemed that the tree knot oil was inside the pumpkin part, and it wouldn't die unless this part was cut.

He took a rope from his backpack and tied it to a nearby tree.

He collected the branches of the defeated Trill and pondered what to do with the stem, but decided to leave it since he couldn't carry it back.

He had six branches from the Trill, which would be enough to make the magic-forming rods and complete the request.

Looking at the Kumiri, he saw that it was tied with a rope and trying to escape. The bonsai part was trampled and damaged by the Trill.

At that moment, an idea flashed in his mind. He looked around for a suitable tree. He found a Sazami tree that bore fruits similar to olives. He cut a branch from it and brought it to the Kumiri, lifting the demon tree.

Since the Kumiri started to pretend to be dead again, he cut a V-shaped notch in the bonsai part and shaped the cut end of the Sazami branch to fit it. He grafted the two and secured them with a long, bandage-like cloth.

He took out the [Life] catalyst and cast the [Life Fusion] spell. This spell was recorded in the Great Magic System of the sage Manuel, but its purpose was not written, and it had fallen out of use.

"Glory Fabinis Jekemis"

It was successful. The demon tree and the ordinary tree had become one.

Grafting was a technique for connecting plants of similar classifications, so it shouldn't have worked with the completely different classifications of the demon tree and the Sazami tree. However, it succeeded with the use of magic.

Ricardo felt excited at the thought that this grafting technique, using a demon tree with strong life force as the rootstock, could be very useful depending on its application.

2017/3/26 Typo correction