Chapter 6

Returning to the mansion, Ricardo threw himself onto the bed in the attic, utterly exhausted both physically and mentally.

Dinner time came soon, so he went downstairs. Despite being extremely tired and having no appetite, he forced himself to eat.

Massimo was also eating with him, his face sullen and his expression unpleased as he ate. Occasionally, he would cast a dark glance Ricardo's way, but there was nothing to do but ignore him.

"Hey, have you learned to use any magic yet?" Massimo asked. Ricardo nodded.

"I can use 'Ignition' and 'Flame Dart.'"

Upon hearing this, Massimo's face twisted into a mocking smile.

"Are you an idiot? We're going hunting in the mountains where the prey is a demon tree. How is fire magic going to be useful?"

There is a risk of starting a forest fire, so it's best to avoid using fire magic in the mountains. This is common knowledge among magicians.

Ricardo understood this. However, before worrying about forest fires or burning prey, the priority was to avoid being killed.

After dinner, when Massimo went upstairs, Ricardo cleared the table, took a bath, and returned to the attic. He reviewed earth magic and drilled the spells into his head. He also thought about ways to improve the spells 'Flying Pebble' and 'Flying Spear.'

The next day, he headed to the mixed forest with the powder from the demon rat's fangs. First, he tried out earth magic.

Holding a wooden tube containing the earth catalyst in his left hand, he pointed his right hand at a large tree and released his magic, scattering the catalyst.

"Amril Klobna"

As he chanted the spell for 'Flying Pebble,' a fist-sized stone appeared and flew toward the tree at a speed comparable to a professional baseball pitch. It hit the trunk with a thud. The stone flew along the expected trajectory, making it highly accurate, but its power was low. The stone seemed to dissolve and disappear in mid-air.

"It won't even take down a wild rabbit, let alone a monster, unless it hits a vital spot."

Next, he tried 'Flying Spear.'

"Amril Sepia Spelgoma"

A stone spear about eighty centimeters long appeared and flew at a rapid pace, hitting the target tree. The tip of the spear pierced the trunk and stopped after penetrating about ten centimeters. The power was sufficient, but the catalyst required was twice that of 'Flying Pebble.' 'Flying Pebble' required a catalyst the size of a pistol bullet in a No. 1 wooden tube, while 'Flying Spear' required a catalyst the size of a small rifle bullet in a No. 2 wooden tube. Incidentally, the amount of catalyst in a No. 2 wooden tube was equivalent to the fangs of one demon rat.

Ricardo decided to try out his magic against a monster. He wandered through the mixed forest, looking for a monster. However, he did not venture deep into the forest, as there were tougher monsters than the demon rat deeper in.

After about ten minutes, he found a demon rat. Fortunately, it had not noticed him. He cast the 'Flying Pebble' spell at the demon rat. The stone that appeared in mid-air flew toward the demon rat and hit its head. There was a thud, and the demon rat's body rolled over. The stone had caused a concussion, but that was all.

Ricardo ran over and finished it off with his war pick.

He quickly collected the demon rat's fangs and continued searching for the next prey. He cast 'Flying Spear' at the next demon rat he found. A stone spear appeared in mid-air and flew, piercing the demon rat's body.

"The power is sufficient. The question is whether it will work against the demon tree Elbir."

To take down the demon tree Elbir, one must crush the lump on its head, known as the tree liver, which contains a special oil. Without this oil, the demon tree cannot move and will eventually die.

The tree liver is protected by a hard lump, known to be too tough to pierce with an arrow. Moreover, the demon tree Elbir is about four meters long, making it difficult to destroy the tree liver in close combat.

"I need to focus on practicing 'Flying Spear'... but I don't have enough catalyst."

While fighting the demon rats, he practiced casting 'Flying Spear.' His accuracy dropped while fighting, and he quickly ran out of catalyst. With no catalyst left, he had no choice but to fight with his war pick.

While searching for demon rats in the mixed forest, he came across a young monster hunter fighting two demon rats. The boy, who appeared to be a couple of years older than Ricardo, wielded a one-handed sword without proper equipment.

"Ha!"

The boy gathered his courage and faced the demon rats. Watching the fight, Ricardo noticed a pattern in the demon rats' movements. When the boy swung his weapon, the demon rats would quickly retreat, and when he closed the distance, they would leap at his feet or neck. The distance was about one and a half meters, and the boy had just stepped into it.

The fight between the boy and the demon rats was quickly over.

"Are you here to hunt monsters too?"

The boy seemed to have noticed Ricardo and looked over after collecting the fangs.

"Yes, I am."

The boy was tall for his age but thin and didn't look very strong.

"You only have a shield for armor. You should get at least a leather cuirass."

Ricardo was wearing thick, loose-fitting pants, a black short-sleeved shirt, a shield in one hand, a war pick in the other, and a backpack on his back. He looked like a novice monster hunter, not a magician at all.

"I want to, but I don't have the money."

"You must be struggling. You can get armor cheaply at Ilmina's Leather Shop on Second Street."

"Really? Thanks."

Without introducing himself, Ricardo parted ways with the boy and continued wandering the mixed forest, searching for monsters.

He was caught off guard by a surprise attack from a demon rat. By the time he noticed, it was already leaping at his head, its fangs in front of his eyes.

"Ah!"

He let out an involuntary scream.

Reflexively, he blocked the fangs with his buckler and pushed the demon rat back. The demon rat retreated to a safe distance and began circling, looking for an opening.

Holding his buckler and war pick, Ricardo stepped into the demon rat's range. The demon rat leaped at his feet. Anticipating this, he stepped to the right to dodge.

At this moment, he realized he could not only dodge but also strike the demon rat's back with his war pick. By adjusting his steps, foot orientation, and stance, he found many opportunities to attack.

Yesterday, he could only find attack opportunities when he blocked the enemy with his buckler. Today, he found several more, such as when the enemy attacked his feet or tried to circle behind him. Being aware of these attack opportunities made it easier to defeat the demon rats.

Determined to venture deeper into the mixed forest, he stepped a little further in. Until now, he had only wandered in the shallower areas, but taking one step deeper, he encountered groups of demon rats, usually two or three at a time.

The demon rats seemed to make their nests at the base of chestnut-like trees and claimed the area as their territory.

When Ricardo stepped near a nest, the demon rats attacked as a group. The fighting style was the same as when they were alone, but being attacked in coordination was sometimes dangerous. He was occasionally hit simultaneously and sustained minor injuries. Fortunately, all the injuries were minor. He collected medicinal herbs from the forest, crushed them with a stone, applied them to his wounds, and secured them with makeshift bandages made from torn rags. The herb, called Yamini, had antibacterial and hemostatic properties, as he had learned from an elder in Unius Village. Of course, this world had no knowledge of bacteria, but he understood that it made it harder for wounds to become infected.

Ricardo decided to record the points he had learned from fighting the demon rats, the weakest of monsters. He noted the demon rats' combat patterns, evasion actions, habits, and range on the paper he brought. He also wrote down the methods to counter their attacks, the optimal counterattacks, and strategies for dealing with multiple enemies.

As he fought the demon rats, his body gradually became more agile. It wasn't like leveling up in a game or gaining experience points; it was the potential—talent—of his body.

After hunting twenty-two demon rats, he ventured a little deeper into the mixed forest. This area was the middle section, where many headbutt rabbits had their nests.

The undergrowth became denser, making it slightly harder to walk, but it was not much different from the area where the demon rats nested.

He advanced, paying attention to the sounds around him. Nearby, the grass rustled. He tightened his grip on his buckler and focused on the direction of the sound.

Suddenly, a black mass leaped out of the grass. It was a creature about the size of a medium-sized dog with long ears.

He blocked the headbutt with his buckler. The hard forehead of the rabbit and the buckler collided with a thud, and a strong impact shot through his left arm. He instinctively supported it with his right hand, and his feet scraped the ground as his body was pushed back.

The rabbit landed and immediately leaped back, maintaining a safe distance with light footwork.

The powerful headbutt left no room for a counterattack. A trained adult man might have been able to overpower it, but a thin nine-year-old boy couldn't.

Ricardo thought that blocking a headbutt head-on was not the way to go. He considered controlling the rabbit's momentum, not blocking but deflecting it to guide the rabbit's landing point. This would allow for a counterattack.

He tried deflecting the headbutts multiple times, experimenting with angles and force. Finally, he succeeded in making the headbutt rabbit land within one meter behind and to the side.

From there, he could attack.

The next time the rabbit leaped, he deflected it at the perfect angle and brought his war pick down on the rabbit's back.

"Kee!"

The sharp pick pierced the rabbit's throat.

"Huff, huff... I'm tired. I'll go back today."

Diego had told him to bleed the monsters he would eat, so he used a skinning knife to cut the rabbit's neck, tied its hind legs with a rope, and hung it upside down from a tree branch. During this time, he lit a fire on some dried Giselle grass to keep other monsters away with its smell. Giselle grass was a monster-repelling herb planted around the town.

After the bleeding was complete, he peeled off the white, scaly, hard substance on the rabbit's forehead. This would serve as a catalyst.

Of course, the fur and meat were also valuable, so he skinned and removed them.

Feeling the weight of the headbutt rabbit's materials in his backpack, he returned to the town. He sold the materials to a butcher and a leather shop, and used the money to have the demon rat fangs and the headbutt rabbit's forehead scales ground into catalysts.

By the time he returned to the mansion, he was so exhausted that he almost collapsed.

There was about an hour before dinner. Lying down on the bed, he felt like he might fall asleep, so he leaned against the wall and spent some time in a daze. Gradually, his mind became hazy.

This state was quite comfortable. Ricardo let his consciousness drift within his spirit. Since he could use magic, he had become aware of his spirit, which could also be called his soul.

He knew that regular breathing helped recover magic power faster.

At this time, he was only drifting on the surface of his spirit. Ricardo felt a power deep within his spirit, which intrigued him. He tried to move his consciousness deeper to investigate.

His consciousness began to move deeper into his spirit. It felt like moving through transparent gelatin, and he would be pushed back if he lost focus. Despite being tired, he felt a surge of energy as he approached the presence within, and he continued to move deeper.

All the memories of his life as Intou Mirai and his life as Ricardo Unius were stored in his spirit. Even things he thought he had forgotten existed there.

He couldn't go any deeper into the source of the power. The resistance became too strong, and he was pushed back.

His consciousness returned to the waking state. He had been in a meditative state without realizing it. The fatigue in his body had disappeared, and his depleted magic power had recovered.

"Hmm, this must be what meditation is. It's quite good."

Ricardo named this meditation 'Probe Meditation,' meaning to explore within the spirit.

When he went downstairs and checked the clock, it was time for dinner. A neighbor, a woman in her forties named Olta, brought the meal. She was about the same age as his original self, so he called her Olta-san instead of 'aunt.'

"Olta-san, thank you always."

"It's no problem. I'm making it for my family anyway."

She was an ordinary aunt-like figure.

Dinner consisted of boiled Mor potatoes, which were similar to potatoes, sprinkled with salt, and a root vegetable soup with many root vegetables. Ricardo preferred Mor potatoes to the hard black bread.

Ricardo spent the month before the demon tree hunt fighting demon rats and headbutt rabbits. Thanks to this, his body became more robust, and his magic power increased.

There are two ways to increase magic power. One is to choose the 'Increase Magic Power' benefit when defeating the first monster, and the other is to use and recover magic power to the brink. The first method of choosing the benefit is much faster.

If his initial magic power was 10, it was now around 20. He had heard that the average person had a magic power of 10, and a mid-level magician had 50, so he was still in the developmental stage. Incidentally, magic power is measured based on the amount needed for the simplest magic, 'Ignition,' with the required amount being doubled or tripled.

As the day of the demon tree hunt approached, Ricardo prepared the necessary catalysts.

He prepared three No. 1 wooden tubes of water catalyst, three No. 9 wooden tubes of fire catalyst, nine No. 2 wooden tubes of earth catalyst, and three catalysts for 'Melt Flame Dart.' The water catalyst was purchased from a catalyst shop, made from the skin of the lake monster, White Catfish, which is a one-meter-long, white, catfish-like monster that lives in the lake. He had planned to buy the fire catalyst from the small demon tree, Trill, which is about one and a half meters long, but due to a lack of funds, he had to settle for cheaper charcoal.

He used the money from selling the headbutt rabbit's fur and meat to buy the catalysts, leaving him penniless.

All the necessary preparations for the demon tree hunt were complete.