Chapter 56

The day after the tempura tasting event, Antonio took Dario, who worked at the breeding grounds, out shopping.

The purpose was to buy thin blankets and summer clothes.

Perhaps because the food situation had improved, the bodies of Dario and the others, who had been emaciated, had dramatically changed. In particular, Dario, who had been tall and lanky, had gained muscle and could no longer wear the clothes he used to.

They walked east through the shopping district to a secondhand clothing store near the workshop district.

This secondhand clothing store seemed to have not been affected by the monster attack. However, the neighboring store had a broken pillar and a large hole in the wall.

"This area was also attacked by monsters, huh?"

Dario said to Antonio with a dark expression.

"Yeah, many stores were damaged, and most of them haven't been able to reopen."

Stalls like the Chinese bun stand could probably reopen easily, but large stores like the neighboring one would take time to repair.

After selecting three cool short-sleeved shirts and thin pants and paying for them, they headed to the workshop district to buy blankets. There was a store that handled blankets in one corner of the workshop district.

The workshop district seemed to have been hit the hardest. This was probably because the Flame Hell Lizard attacked here. Just by looking around, several stores and workshops could be seen burned down.

As Dario absentmindedly gazed at a burned-down workshop, a voice was heard.

"Isn't that Dario?"

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Until a few days ago, Jessica had been reasonably happy.

She lost her parents at the age of ten and began living in the slums, but within a year, she was taken in by the Weavers' Guild and started working at a weaving workshop in the workshop district.

Life in the dormitory at the weaving workshop was more comfortable compared to the slums. Although the work was tough, she received guidance from kind seniors and led a fulfilling life.

However, on the day the Flame Hell Lizard attacked the workshop district, she lost everything.

The weaving workshop burned down, and the dormitory where she lived was half-destroyed.

A few days after that day, there were only five employees left at the burned workshop: four young girls, including Jessica, who were not yet skilled in weaving, and Mikaela, who was skilled but elderly.

Mikaela had once married and left the workshop, but after her husband's death, she returned. Her skills were highly regarded, and the workshop owner rehired her as a supervisor to train the others.

The other young and skilled weavers were taken in by other weaving workshops that were not damaged, leaving only the unskilled Jessica and the supervisor Mikaela.

For the past few days, they had not lacked food thanks to the meals provided by the lumberjacks. However, the lumberjacks' food supply ended yesterday. While they didn't expect it to last forever, they were at a loss about what to do next.

Jessica and the others sat on the stairs of the half-destroyed dormitory, watching people pass by while enduring their hunger.

"Mikaela Supervisor, what should we do?"

"Tomorrow, let's go to the weaving workshop in the north and ask for help."

Although she thought the chances were slim, Mikaela planned to ask the small weaving workshops in the north of the capital if they could take them in.

"Will they hire us?"

"Who knows? But we need to find work quickly or we'll starve."

Jessica sighed. As she absentmindedly looked ahead, she noticed a familiar boy watching them.

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Dario, hearing his name called, looked around to find the source of the voice.

He noticed a familiar-looking girl sitting on the stairs of a ruined building.

"Oh, it's Jessica. What happened?"

"This is where I worked."

Dario understood the situation by looking at the burned-down workshop in front of him.

"Dario, do you know her?"

Antonio asked Dario, who had stopped to talk to the girl.

"Yes, she's Jessica, who I used to live with in the slums."

"Did you work at this burned weaving workshop?"

When Antonio asked Jessica, she nodded.

"Yes, everything is gone..."

Tears welled up in Jessica's eyes.

Seeing her tears, Dario couldn't help but say,

"Master Antonio, can't we do something?"

Antonio looked troubled for a moment. Then he remembered the breeding grounds. The Junius Breeding Grounds planned to increase the number of Kumi trees, which would soon be transformed into apricot demon trees, by another hundred, and they needed more workers.

He hesitated about making a decision without consulting his brother. However, he couldn't turn away the hopeful faces of Jessica and the others. Despite being a bit too soft as a business owner, Antonio's kindness earned him the trust and affection of the people centered around the Junius Breeding Grounds.

"You can move to the breeding grounds if you're willing to work in the work sheds."

Jessica and the others' faces brightened.

While the weavers and Mikaela prepared for the move, Antonio went to Bernardo's store to borrow a cart. He bought more thin blankets than originally planned and loaded them onto the cart before returning to the burned workshop.

Although not much time had passed, Jessica and the others had finished their preparations. They had very few possessions, only a few sets of clothes, undergarments, and a few personal items.

Antonio remembered his journey from Junius Village to the capital, which had been filled with anxiety.

"Let's load your belongings onto the cart."

Antonio and the others headed to the Second South Gate together. When they were about to leave the city, Jessica and the others looked anxious, so Dario reassured them.

"But, it's outside the defensive walls. Is it really safe?"

Mikaela voiced her concern.

"The breeding grounds have a high, sturdy wall and a moat, so you don't need to worry about monsters."

Antonio assured them.

When they arrived at the Junius Breeding Grounds, Jessica and the others were amazed by its size.

"Is this really where Dario works?"

"This is the Junius Breeding Grounds. Master Antonio is in charge here."

"Really, at such a young age?"

"Master Antonio is impressive, but his brother, Ricardo, is even more amazing. He's a magician and was the one who defeated the Nether Wolf."

Jessica and the others had heard about the Nether Wolf but thought it was defeated by a magician from the Magicians' Guild. They hadn't heard Ricardo's name.

"Is that true?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, so it's definitely true."

The Magicians' Guild had announced the defeat of the Nether Wolf but did not reveal who from the guild had done it. They didn't want it known that the officially contracted extermination team had been defeated and that Isalco and Ricardo, who were not directly involved, had taken care of it.

Thus, Jessica and the others began working at the breeding grounds. Initially, they started with odd jobs, and Antonio planned to teach them how to care for the demon trees in the future.

However, later, Ricardo invented a new product, and Mikaela and the other women were assigned to its production.

On the day Antonio and the others went to the workshop district, Ricardo went to the Magicians' Guild and headed to the library to research the Steel Scorpion.

From the materials in the library, he learned that the Steel Scorpion's exoskeleton was extremely tough and heat-resistant, and it had even deflected a Flame Soaring Bullet. It was possible that even a Sun Flame Bullet might not penetrate the tough exoskeleton.

As insurance in case the Sun Flame Bullet didn't work, Ricardo thought he needed to create a new spell. He pondered what kind of spell would be effective against the Steel Scorpion.

According to the materials, the Steel Scorpion's venom sac was located at the base of its tail. Since the target was the venom sac, he couldn't use an attack that would damage the base of the tail.

It was possible to enhance the Sun Flame Bullet to increase its power for defeating the Steel Scorpion. The Sun Flame Bullet was a spell that threw a superheated ball of light at the enemy, and the contact time between the enemy and the Sun Flame Bullet was extremely short.

Most of the energy contained in the Sun Flame Bullet had dissipated in the air. Ricardo considered modifying it to explode upon contact with the enemy, like a Flame Burst Bullet, but that would damage the venom sac.

He then thought that making the Sun Flame Bullet into a whip-like shape might work. He could strike or entangle the enemy with a superheated whip.

"But, making the Sun Flame Bullet like a Flame Burst Bullet is also an option. If we don't need the monster's materials, we can just blow it away... No, no, such a powerful spell isn't necessary. Let's modify the Sun Flame Bullet and complete the whip-shaped spell first."

He searched the Great Spell Compendium in the library for suitable spell words.

After about two hours, he found a spell word called "Mozefilateria." There were others like "Hydroskali," but he thought a rope might not be suitable for swinging.

The spell word "Mozefilateria" was used in the Water spell "Fierce Water Whip." However, the Fierce Water Whip consumed a lot of magic power for its low power, so it was rarely used.

He named the new spell "Radiant Flame Whip."

A spell is not complete just by combining spell words. It was necessary to investigate the required magic power and visualize a solid spell effect.

If the visualization and the combination of spell words did not match, the spell would not activate. Even if it did, it would often be a weak spell.

He went to the Crem River to conduct experiments. Finding a place where no one was around, he tried the Radiant Flame Whip.

Facing the river, he took out his Death Prod. After unifying his mind, he channeled magic power into the rod, sprinkled a catalyst, and confirmed that the magic power was attribute-activated before casting the spell.

"Fana Rapiselevon Mozefilateria"

A glowing plasma whip about two meters long appeared in the air about 90 centimeters from the tip of the rod. When he swung the rod, the Radiant Flame Whip moved in sync.

When the tip of the whip touched the ground, it burned and charred the ground with high heat.

"It seems to have power."

He tested it by striking a tree trunk slanted toward the river. The point of contact caught fire and carbonized.

It had power, but the length of the whip was insufficient.

To fight a Steel Scorpion the size of an adult, he felt he needed about three more meters of length.

Otherwise, he might be attacked by the scorpion's pincers or the venomous stinger on its tail.

The Radiant Flame Whip disappeared after about thirty seconds due to the depletion of magic power.

He probably had about 60% of his magic power left. Previously, using the Sun Flame Bullet once would deplete his magic power and make him feel unwell, but now he could use it twice in a row.

This was partly due to an increase in his magic power, but the main reason was the improvement in his magic power control, which allowed him to activate the same spell with less magic power.

The length of the whip was based on the image in his mind, so he revised the image to a five-meter-long, thinner whip and tried the Radiant Flame Whip again.

A Radiant Flame Whip as per the revised image appeared. It seemed to glow more brightly due to being thinner.

He swung the whip at the same tree as before. The longer, thinner plasma whip wrapped around the trunk. When he pulled the whip, the superheated plasma easily cut through the trunk.

The severed tree fell into the river with a loud splash.

"To complete it, I need to adjust the magic power and investigate the catalyst, but it seems usable for now."

Developing a new spell usually takes time. Successfully activating a new spell on the first try is almost miraculous, but this time, it was because it was a modification of the Sun Flame Bullet and he had a clear image in mind before trying.

He wanted to test it a bit more, but his magic power was running out. He wanted to recover his magic power through probe meditation, but he couldn't meditate defenselessly in such a place.

"If there were a safety zone nearby where monsters couldn't attack, I could recover my magic power there... But there's no such thing as a safety zone. It would be nice if there were a barrier spell."

The Great Spell Compendium written by the sage did not include barrier spells.

"If there are no barrier spells, can't we create a safety zone?"

At that moment, an idea came to mind. The concept of a safety zone seemed feasible.

Since the Radiant Flame Whip, developed as insurance, was usable, he decided to set out for Mount Ascali.

When he told Isalco about it, she said she didn't agree with him going alone.

"Let Tania and Patrick go with you."

"But this is a personal matter unrelated to the Magicians' Guild."

"I've heard that red dragonstones can be found in Mount Ascali. The Alchemy Bureau's stock of red dragonstones is running low, so please collect some."

"If it's a job, I understand."

The next day, he set out from the capital with Tania and Patrick.

Monta also came along. He insisted on coming, so they brought him.

They traveled by carriage to Bellado Village in the southeast of the capital and then walked toward Mount Ascali.

The area was barren, with only shrubs and weeds.

No monsters were in sight, and they were walking in a somewhat picnic-like mood when Monta poked his head out of his shoulder bag and looked around.

"Ryuka... Omiizu, chodai."

The wise beast Monta seemed to be getting better at speaking every day.

Ricardo took out a water bottle, filled a small cup with water, and handed it to Monta.

Monta held the cup with his small hands and drank the water contentedly.

"Arigato."

After saying thank you and returning the cup, Monta suddenly looked south. Tania noticed and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Something is coming from over there, kyu."

It seemed something was coming from the south.

Ricardo and the others looked in that direction, but the shrubs obstructed their view.

The shrubs rustled, and a large wolf with a reddish-brown color appeared from behind them.

"Hey, it's a Bandit Wolf."

The Bandit Wolf is a reddish-brown wolf said to live in mountainous areas. It is as large as a Saint Bernard and is known for mercilessly attacking people and animals it encounters in the mountains.

"Leave this to me."

Tania volunteered. She was eager to do well this time after not being able to contribute during the Nether Wolf incident.

2017/10/25 Revised