Chapter 57

The bandit Wolf approached Ricardo and the others slowly, eyeing them sharply.

Monta peeked out of his shoulder bag, staring intently at the monster, seemingly feeling a bit of fear.

Ricardo drew his magic gun and immediately took a position to provide support. Patrick also took out his rod, ready to cast a spell at any moment. This way, they were fully prepared to support Tania.

The bandit Wolf kicked off the ground and charged at Tania with incredible speed.

Tania pointed the tip of her rod at the bandit Wolf, chanted a spell, and released the "Flying Spear" magic. The stone spear that appeared in the air flew towards the bandit Wolf and pierced its back.

"Yaaan!"

A loud cry of pain erupted from the wolf's mouth, and it began to thrash around.

The bandit Wolf, rolling on the ground, continued to approach Tania.

"Be careful!"

Patrick shouted.

Tania hastily jumped back, avoiding the bandit Wolf.

After a while, the bandit Wolf gradually calmed down and died.

"I still have a lot to learn. My aim was too weak."

Tania felt the immaturity of her magic acutely.

"You finished it with one hit, that's enough."

Patrick wasn't trying to comfort her but was stating a fact.

The bandit Wolf, while not a highly defensive monster, is known for its tenacious life force. Tania, who managed to finish it with one hit, could be considered a skilled magician.

Ricardo and the others headed towards the mining site at the foot of Mount Ascali, where red lustrous dragonstones could be found.

The mining site was near the breeding ground of the Crowned Lizards. Many people came to mine for red lustrous dragonstones, but many also fled after encountering Crowned Lizards.

Patrick pointed to the left while looking at the map.

"That cliff."

A part of the mountain had collapsed, forming a steep cliff where the layers of the earth were visible. At the base of the cliff, which was about a kilometer long, several Crowned Lizards could be seen.

"It seems no one is mining for lustrous dragonstones here. I thought many people would come since this place is famous."

"It's because of the Crowned Lizards."

Ricardo tilted his head while listening to the two.

"Where should we dig?"

When Ricardo voiced his question, Tania answered.

"You can see the reddish-brown layer, right? Dig there, and you'll find lustrous dragonstones."

Upon closer inspection, there were several spots in the reddish-brown layer where digging had already taken place. The areas with holes seemed to be places where the Crowned Lizards didn't approach much.

The areas where the Crowned Lizards were not nearby had already been dug.

Monta shivered at the sight of the giant lizard monster.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of the lizards."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I promise."

Ricardo reassured Monta and approached the cliff. The three deliberately aimed for a place where Crowned Lizards were present. The area was undug, and the lustrous dragonstones embedded in the strata were gleaming.

In exchange, there were six Crowned Lizards there.

"Let's attack all at once."

Tania suggested. Ricardo and Patrick nodded and prepared their catalysts.

When they got within range of their magic, Ricardo and Patrick cast "Storm Fang Array," and Tania cast "Crashing Water Spear."

Multiple wind blades and swirling water blades appeared in the air and cut through the Crowned Lizards.

"It worked."

Patrick smiled proudly.

Ricardo stored the chopped-up Crowned Lizards in a storage crystal to avoid attracting more with the smell of blood.

Taking out a pickaxe from the storage crystal, Ricardo and Patrick started digging into the reddish-brown strata.

The red lustrous dragonstones, embedded in the ground, scattered with the soil. Tania and Monta collected the dragonstones, which were about five millimeters to two centimeters in diameter, and put them in a bag.

After about thirty minutes of digging, other Crowned Lizards began to approach Ricardo and the others.

There were more than ten of them. They ran on all fours, but their speed was faster than expected.

"Let's run."

Tania shouted. Ricardo put away the pickaxe and the bag of lustrous dragonstones into the storage crystal and fled from the cliff.

"It's no good, they're catching up." Tania shouted.

Ricardo, while running, prepared the catalyst for "Mud Bind" and created a large mud pit in front of the pursuing Crowned Lizards. Several Crowned Lizards got stuck in the mud, causing confusion and giving them time to escape.

After about five minutes of running, they confirmed that the pursuing Crowned Lizards had given up and returned.

"Haa haa... It's okay. We managed to escape."

Patrick stopped and announced.

Ricardo and Tania also stopped to catch their breath.

"Without Ricardo's 'Mud Bind,' it would have been dangerous. No wonder no one was mining for lustrous dragonstones."

The group of pursuing Crowned Lizards had swelled to nearly fifty. It seemed that Crowned Lizards liked to act in groups.

Ricardo took out the bag of lustrous dragonstones from the storage crystal and checked the contents.

There were about seventy lustrous dragonstones of various sizes. Isalco had said that fifty would be enough, so the mission for the Magician's Guild was complete.

Monta reached for the red crystal-like lustrous dragonstones, picked up a small one, and tried to put it in his mouth.

"No, Monta. You can't eat that."

"Can't eat it?"

Monta tilted his head and said.

"Cute... but no."

"Monta, are you hungry? Eat this."

Ricardo took out the seeds of a flower called Ascam, which resembled sunflowers and which Monta had recently started to enjoy, and gave them to him.

"Like Ascam."

Monta threw the lustrous dragonstone back into the bag and started gnawing on the Ascam seeds.

After a short rest, they moved to the eastern side of Mount Ascali and arrived at the entrance to the volcano.

"Let's camp here."

Ricardo suggested as he felt the sun's light starting to fade.

"Yeah. This area has a good view, and we won't be ambushed by monsters."

They set up two tents from the storage crystal.

To prepare for cooking, they lit a fire with firewood taken from the storage crystal. Tonight's ingredients were the meat of the Crowned Lizards.

The grilled lizard meat, seasoned with salt and pepper, tasted like chicken.

"The lizard meat is surprisingly delicious."

"I could use a beer."

The meal was delicious, enjoyed with good company. Ricardo finished eating with a smile, chatted a bit, and then decided to sleep. Of course, they took turns keeping watch to stay alert.

They welcomed the morning without incident.

Ricardo and the others started climbing Mount Ascali. Their destination was a depression on the volcano's mid-slope. The depression, formed by an eruption about 300 years ago, was a caldera about two kilometers in diameter.

There were many records of encountering Steel Scorpions in this caldera, and it was considered a dangerous place.

After half a day of climbing, Ricardo and the others stood at the edge of the caldera and looked down.

The interior of the caldera was a rugged land scattered with volcanic rocks. There were large cacti in some places, but the area was mostly barren and desolate.

"Monta, do you notice anything?"

Monta, who had moved from the shoulder bag to Ricardo's shoulder, focused his ears and nose.

"Over there, something's there."

Monta pointed to the northeast with his small hand.

Ricardo tried to use his magic detection but couldn't sense what Monta had detected.

However, his magic detection range was only about fifty meters, so Monta was probably right.

"Alright, let's head that way."

They descended the slope of the caldera and walked for about ten minutes when Monta started to fuss, indicating something was nearby, and they proceeded cautiously.

"There it is."

Tania spotted a Steel Scorpion next to a cactus.

A large, dark scorpion was cutting a cactus with its pincers and bringing it to its mouth. Scorpions are carnivores, so it was probably replenishing its water.

Ricardo handed the shoulder bag containing Monta to Tania and took out his Death Prod and catalyst.

Aiming at the head of the Steel Scorpion, Ricardo cast "Sun Flame Bullet."

A glowing orb flew towards the giant scorpion. The Sun Flame Bullet hit the scorpion's head as intended.

The head of the Steel Scorpion turned black from the intense heat. However, the scorpion's exoskeleton withstood the heat, and the Sun Flame Bullet was deflected.

"We couldn't finish it."

"...But that was an advanced magic that finished the Nether Wolf."

Patrick sounded disappointed, and Tania was surprised by the Steel Scorpion's defense.

"Wait. Something's wrong with that scorpion."

Tania noticed that the scorpion was acting abnormally, repeatedly moving its pincers up and down.

"Maybe the heat damaged its brain."

"That's it. Now's our chance."

Ricardo approached the Steel Scorpion and cast "Radiant Flame Whip."

A glowing whip appeared at the tip of his rod. Ricardo swung the Radiant Flame Whip at the scorpion's neck. The high-temperature whip wrapped around the scorpion's neck.

When Ricardo pulled the Radiant Flame Whip, it burned and cut through the scorpion's neck, finally severing it.

The body of the Steel Scorpion lay on the ground.

"Kyaa!"

Monta, who cheered, jumped onto Ricardo to express his joy.

Tania and Patrick were still frozen in shock at the magic they had never seen before.

"What was that... the magic just now?"

Tania, finally able to speak, asked about the magic first.

"It's a new magic I developed from 'Sun Flame Bullet.'"

"But that magic was also advanced. To have two advanced magics..."

They were surprised by Ricardo's skill, as even one advanced magic would make a magician top-tier.

Ricardo stored the dead Steel Scorpion in the storage crystal. He planned to disassemble it at Emilia's workshop after returning.

With the Steel Scorpion's poison in hand, Ricardo and the others returned to the capital.

They reported their return to Isalco at the Magician's Guild. After handing over the red lustrous dragonstones to Isalco, they received their reward. Ricardo shared the reward with Tania and the others and headed to Emilia's workshop.

"You're back safely. Did you manage to hunt the Steel Scorpion?"

Emilia asked.

Ricardo nodded and took out the Steel Scorpion from the storage crystal.

"I haven't seen one in a while."

It seems that few people in the capital can hunt Steel Scorpions.

Using the workshop's tools, he disassembled the Steel Scorpion and extracted the poison sac.

He transferred the poison to a glass bottle and stored it in a pendant-type storage purple crystal. Then, he removed the Steel Scorpion's internal organs and washed the exoskeleton clean. He planned to use the exoskeleton as material for equipment.

The exoskeleton of the Steel Scorpion was as light as plastic but so hard that it required special tools to process.

Ricardo was confident that armor made from this material would have excellent performance.

To hunt the Tamiel tree spirits, they needed one more thing.

A method to inject the Steel Scorpion's poison into the trees. They planned to use special arrows with the poison and shoot them with a bow. However, they needed a powerful bow, so they had to hire an archer.

Through Bernardo, they were to hire a trustworthy monster hunter, but the hunter wouldn't be available for five days, leaving an unexpected gap in their schedule.

Ricardo decided to increase the number of Kumiri tree spirits in the meantime.

He informed Bernardo of this and planned to teach the method to the magician Bernardo hired and to Antonio.

Antonio and the others prepared fertile soil and other necessities.

The magician Bernardo hired was a woman named Louise, around thirty years old, who seemed capable, chosen from many independent magicians by Bernardo.

"Nice to meet you."

Louise was a calm and beautiful woman who seemed more suited to being a CEO's secretary than a magician.

Ricardo explained the process while actually creating a Kumiri tree spirit.

"I see, the key is to use more catalyst and magic power than usual for 'Sprout.'"

"This size is easier to manage."

Ricardo pointed to the newly born Kumiri tree spirit.

The small Kumiri tree spirit scurried away on the ground covered with weeds. It bumped into other Kumiri tree spirits basking in the sun and rolled around with them.

Seeing this, Monta seemed to find it fun and started rolling around with them.

Ricardo thought it was fine for a wise beast, but then reconsidered, thinking that a three-year-old Monta was like a child.

"The Kumiri tree spirits are surprisingly cute."

"Well, they're cute at this size, but Bernardo wants to raise the larger Trill tree spirits, which will be challenging."

"Yes, we'll have to get used to it gradually."

In five days, they created a hundred Kumiri tree spirits at the Unius breeding ground and another hundred at Bernardo's breeding ground.

Louise and Antonio, who had less magic power than Ricardo, found it difficult to increase the number in a short time.

After five days, the monster hunter party visited Ricardo.

The "Silver Ridge" party consisted of four people, three of whom could handle bows.

"Are you Ricardo...san?"

A young, sturdy man in his early twenties, who seemed to be the party leader, addressed Ricardo.

"Yes, you can call me by my first name since I'm younger."

"No, I can't call a client by their first name. I'm Amadeo, the leader of the Silver Ridge."

Amadeo seemed to be a conscientious young man.

The other party members were around eighteen to twenty years old: a female magician named Maribella, a spear user named Bruno, and a bow user named Dario.

All except Maribella could handle bows. Incidentally, the leader Amadeo usually fought with a shield and sword.

After introductions, they bought necessary supplies and food together and agreed to depart the next day.

That night, they rested well, and the next morning, Ricardo woke up early and headed to the meeting place.

At the shared carriage stop, the four members of the Silver Ridge were waiting.

After exchanging greetings, Ricardo and the others boarded the shared carriage and headed to the Yorgul territory.

2017/10/29 Typo corrections

2017/11/1 Corrections