The first step of training together naturally began with Gauss.
The others' gazes all turned toward him in unison.
"The spell I'm going to demonstrate is Mage Hand."
"Mage Hand!"
Gauss's thoughts flowed, and he had already become quite adept at casting Mage Hand.
As magic gathered and took shape in front of him, an invisible magical hand appeared.
Aside from Daphne, the Cleric, the others couldn't actually sense the changes in the energy flowing in front of Gauss.
Yet, somehow, they could still feel that after Gauss spoke the spell's name, something strange and indescribable had happened.
Perhaps that was what people called a sixth sense.
Since the others couldn't see Mage Hand, Gauss could only control it to pick up the rapier and swing it through the air a few times, demonstrating what it could do.
"It doesn't seem very powerful." Doyle, the Swordsman, didn't think much of it and offered his assessment without thinking.
He'd judged it entirely by comparing it to the force of his own usual sword swings.
Naturally, the strike seemed weak and ineffectual to him.
The others had varied reactions, too.
Only Leven's eyes lit up when he saw Mage Hand.
"No, no, it's a very powerful spell," he exclaimed in admiration.
Hearing an opinion so different from his own, Doyle shot Leven a surprised look.
"It can help us scout for traps, and it can remotely trigger the traps and mechanisms Meva sets. By the way, Gauss, how strong is your Mage Hand?"
"About ten pounds."
"A little weak, but that's enough. It could still interfere during a fight." Leven rested a finger against his chin, thinking.
"Can it pick up powder?"
"It should be able to." Gauss hadn't tried it before, so he wasn't sure.
He guided Mage Hand in front of him, bent down, scooped up some dirt and dust, and carefully sprinkled it over the hand.
A thin layer of dust soon coated Mage Hand. Though Gauss could feel that he could shake it off whenever he wanted, the dust did indeed stick.
"So it really is a hand!" Oliver, the quiet Archer, leaned in curiously to get a closer look at the hand floating in the air.
Although they'd all had some contact with magic before, they rarely got the chance to observe it up close.
"That's perfect!" Leven clapped his hands.
"Meva, give Gauss some of your special poison powder later."
The others understood what Leven meant, too.
One by one, their expressions turned to dawning realization.
Poison powder combined with Mage Hand—even if it gave the hand away—could still inflict negative effects and hinder a monster if applied or scattered onto a vulnerable spot like its eyes. At the very least, it would weaken the monster's fighting ability.
Against monsters with poor defenses, ten pounds of force would even be enough for a poisoned dagger to pierce their defenses.
"We can work out exactly how to coordinate with Gauss based on what Mage Hand can do."
Though it wasn't suited to direct combat, with enough development and support from the team, it could still prove very effective.
Doyle and the others looked at Gauss with noticeably greater warmth.
Even Doyle, who believed in strength above all and had never cared much for strange, mysterious magic, had to admit that Mages sometimes seemed more frightening than straightforward Warriors.
At the very least, he absolutely didn't want to get poison powder dumped in his eyes from above or a hidden dagger shoved into his back during a fight.
As for staying on guard, who could pay attention to so many things in the middle of battle?
The more he thought about it, the more awe crept into his gaze as he looked at Gauss.
Mages really were a devious and terrifying lot.
"All right, that's the end of Gauss's skill demonstration. Next—" Leven began, then noticed Gauss looking as though he wanted to say something.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, Captain Leven. I just wanted to say that I've mastered another spell."
"?"
"Another one?"
The others, who'd been about to start warming up, all turned to look at him again, their expressions hard to read.
Usually, people like them—almost professionals—had limited energy, time, and resources, so most chose one skill to specialize in.
Some occasionally learned an extra skill to improve their combat ability.
But those were usually Warriors or other similar professions.
Would a Mage learn an extra spell, too?
Daphne, the team's Cleric and healer, for example, had only mastered one 0th Ring cantrip: Life Sustaining Technique.
It stabilized an injured living being's condition so it wouldn't worsen, after which she could use medical tools to provide further treatment.
How well Life Sustaining Technique worked depended on the caster's skill.
They said that when cast by a high-level Cleric, it could stabilize a patient's condition even if they were on the brink of death, clinging to their last breath with Death about to swing his scythe.
Gauss nodded.
He still needed to use Magic Missile in battle to improve his proficiency.
If he didn't show it now and used it later, wouldn't that just make things awkward?
Just as the others were assuming that Gauss's next spell would be another support spell like Mage Hand, he spoke.
"The second spell I've mastered is called Magic Missile."
"Magic Missile."
"Magic Missile?"
Everyone silently repeated the spell's name to themselves.
Before they could give it much thought—
"Magic Missile!"
Gauss summoned his magic.
An Azure Blue orb of light gathered in the air in front of him.
Now that he'd reached Level 2 proficiency, he no longer needed to hold it in his hand to control it.
Even the movement of the air seemed to change with the orb's appearance.
The wind began to stir.
"Everyone, move back a little. It might be pretty powerful," Gauss warned the others, who were already somewhat dazed. Once they'd put a safe distance between themselves and him, he—
fixed his focus on the target: a patch of open ground in the distance.
Then, in the next instant, Magic Missile launched!
"Bang!"
At the thought, it began accelerating rapidly, reaching its top speed in the blink of an eye.
It shot through the air at such incredible speed that it left a brilliant streak of light behind.
At the end of the streak, the missile struck the distant ground.
A heavy explosion thundered out.
"Boom!"
It sounded as though a massive weight had slammed into the earth.
Clods of dirt and soil sprayed in every direction.
The explosion kicked up a cloud of dust, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble faintly.
Once the dust settled—
a shallow, web-shaped impact crater, dozens of centimeters across, had appeared in the ground, with a fist-sized hollow at its center.
"That's incredible!" Doyle and the others came to their senses as if waking from a dream, swallowing hard in unison.
Their expressions as they looked at Gauss had changed completely.
They hadn't expected the "Mage" Captain Leven had randomly recruited from the Adventurer's Guild to be this powerful.
That spell was devastating!
It was nothing like what a low-level adventurer who hadn't yet reached the professional stage should be able to cast!
That missile had caused this much damage just by hitting the ground. What if it struck one of them?
They'd probably be dead or crippled in an instant—and with that kind of speed, dodging would be difficult, too.
They stared at the crater, shaken by a sudden, lingering sense of dread.
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