Arcane Missile

When they reached the sitting room, Hibel gracefully lifted her skirt and sat down on a tiger-skin chair, smiling brightly.

"Don't complain about the price. This is the discounted rate, and only the Mentor's apprentices are eligible for it."

Karl's mouth twitched.

"Yes."

"And besides..." Hibel continued, "the money goes to the Mentor. At most, I'll earn a little from your lesson fees. I'm not complaining."

"Senior Sister," Karl said, "which sorceries can I learn?"

That was the important question.

"I haven't mastered many sorceries. Including the ones whose spell models I have but haven't successfully constructed yet, these are the ones I can teach you."

She opened a drawer, took out a slip of paper, and handed it to him.

"Take a look. See if there's anything you like."

Karl accepted it.

The slip listed a range of sorceries, both zero-ring witchcraft and cantrips. He had heard of most of them.

He was no longer a novice who knew nothing about the Wizard World.

Arcane Missile, Acid Splash, Ice Fog, Hidden Spike, Poisoning Technique, Stain Removal Technique, Shorthand Technique...

"Senior Sister."

After reading through the list, Karl looked puzzled.

"Don't all the sorceries you have here require auxiliary materials to practice?"

"Most of them do." Hibel corrected him. "Arcane Missile doesn't require auxiliary materials, and neither do the cantrips."

Heh...

Of the five zero-ring sorceries, four required auxiliary materials. Without them, he couldn't even cast the spells.

Karl looked exasperated.

"What's with that expression?" Hibel frowned. "The spell models for the sorceries I chose are simple, so they're easier to construct successfully. Their power is no less impressive."

"Take Acid Splash, for example. With concentrated acid, it's one of the most powerful zero-ring sorceries."

That wasn't an exaggeration.

The Acid Splash she cast could easily corrode a Knight Squire into a pile of bones.

Even a knight wouldn't dare touch it.

Ice Fog and Poisoning Technique were also deadly when paired with frost potions or poison. They could easily trap and kill a knight.

Of course,

he had to prepare beforehand and then hit his target.

"I understand."

Karl sighed.

"It's just that I don't like trouble, and I can't carry around so many potions everywhere. The main thing is..."

"Potions cost money."

Hibel rolled her eyes at that.

"Then think it over. Spell models for sorceries that use auxiliary materials are simpler and easier to construct."

"As for the potions, I can give you a discount."

She still hoped Karl would practice auxiliary sorceries, so she could gain another customer for her potions.

"Forget it."

Karl shook his head. Compared to relying on external aids, he preferred to increase his own strength directly.

"I'll learn Arcane Missile."

"..." Hibel sighed. "All right."

"Actually, Arcane Missile isn't bad. If you can get your hands on Lesser Energy Fireball and Consecutive Shot, you can combine them into the First-Ring Sorcery, Fireball Barrage."

"Hm?" Karl looked up. "Can zero-ring sorceries be combined into a first-ring sorcery?"

"Of course." Hibel looked as if it were obvious. "Take the Shadow Hand, Shaping Puppet, and Spirit Attachment the Mentor practices. Buy one Soul Fragment, and they can be combined into a first-ring Magic Servant."

"Otherwise, how many Senior Wizard Apprentices could successfully construct a first-ring sorcery directly?"

"So that's how it works." Karl asked curiously, "Then the sorceries you practice must have similar advancement paths, right?"

"Well..." Hibel blinked. "That's a secret!"

It seemed likely that she did.

But this sort of thing was surely a personal secret. She wouldn't reveal it to anyone she couldn't trust with her life.

Unless they were like Adolf, who practiced enough sorceries to have more than one trump card. He naturally wouldn't care whether he revealed them.

Karl changed the subject. "Senior Sister, do you know where I could learn Lesser Energy Fireball and Consecutive Shot?"

"Junior Brother, those are far beyond you for now." Hibel shook her head. "First, construct your own first zero-ring sorcery. Besides, I don't know where you can find them."

"Maybe you could learn them in the Black Swamp."

Karl nodded.

A first-ring sorcery was still a long way off for him.

He wondered if Fire Seal could replace Lesser Energy Fireball. If so, he would only need Consecutive Shot.

He obtained the spell model for Arcane Missile on credit.

The prerequisites for this zero-ring sorcery were Arcane Principles, Air Studies, and Ballistics Fundamentals...

Understanding the contents of those books would make it easier to construct the spell model.

But Karl was different from most people.

He constructed the spell model in his Mental Sea first, then tried to understand the books by studying how the spell worked.

He was doing things in reverse.

The two chatted a little longer, and Karl bought three doses of a potion that replenished and restored mental strength for five Gold Coins each.

Of course,

this purchase wasn't on credit.

Karl was very satisfied with the visit. Though he'd bought it on credit, he'd successfully obtained a zero-ring sorcery.

Unfortunately, his mental strength was too low, so he wasn't yet in a position to practice it.

As for his Spell Seal...

Black City had a kind of Meat Coffin that could store Spell Seals removed from the body and keep them fresh for seven days.

He only had to find a buyer within those seven days.

Name: Karl (Lord of the Divine Domain Fragment)

Constitution: 0.84

Mental Strength: 1.47

Source Essence: 0

Profession: Knight Squire, Junior Wizard Apprentice

Without the Spell Seal siphoning off his vitality, the effects of eating Exotic Beast Meat had improved considerably. Reaching 0.9 was only a matter of time, and his mental strength was steadily increasing too.

"Not bad!"

"The people in Black City might be strong, but my potential is greater. In the end, time is on my side."

Picking up the greatsword beside him, Karl gently ran a hand along the blade. He paused.

"It needs maintenance."

Then he stepped forward and arrived in Black City.

"Hm?"

The dim sky was as gloomy as ever, but the surrounding silence and strange atmosphere made his heart tighten instinctively.

The heightened senses he'd gained from the Poison Wolf Breathing Technique also warned him of danger.

Danger!

"Whoosh!"

A dark shape pounced at him from behind.

What was that?

At the sound, Karl turned and swung his sword, activating Lesser Force Field as he hurriedly retreated to the side.

"Thud!"

The greatsword struck the shadow with tremendous force, sending it flying and revealing its form.

It was a wild dog covered in yellow fur.

No!

"An Earth Wolf!"

A common creature beneath Black City, it lived by eating dirt. Its mouthful of fangs could even gnaw through Black Stone.

"How did it get up to the surface?"

"Grr..."

The wounded Earth Wolf struggled to its feet. It stared at Karl, growling softly, its body crouched low and ready to spring.

Karl took a step back—not because he was afraid, but because he was looking at the ground.

"Boom!"

The earth trembled as a huge, round mouth lined with countless tiny sawlike teeth burst through the ground.

The Earth Wolf didn't even have time to react before the terrifying maw swallowed it whole.

"A worm!"

Underground worms looked like earthworms, but they were countless times larger—about the size of a truck. Their rows of sharp teeth weren't for show, either. They could easily chew through metal, and even knights wouldn't provoke one lightly.

They also lived underground, feeding on dirt, Black Stone, and other creatures. They usually didn't come to the surface.

After swallowing the Earth Wolf, the worm's maw twisted as it "looked" at Karl. It didn't seem very interested in him. It shifted its body and slowly sank back underground.

Karl held his sword ready and stayed on guard. Only after sensing the worm moving away beneath the ground did he furrow his brow.

"What's going on?"

He didn't know what had happened, but one thing was certain: something must have changed in Black City.