Strengthening Equipment

"Hmm? What is that?"

Watching a point of light floating above the Wind Wolf he had just blown up not far away, Garen's curiosity was instantly piqued.

"Don't tell me it actually drops loot?"

However, he didn't dare to go over just yet, so he could only stand in the back and conjure up another fireball.

"Fireball Technique"

Another compressed fireball flew out, but unfortunately, it was dodged.

Although a hundred Wind Wolves sounded like a lot, they were spread out around the area rather than bunched together, so the fireballs weren't that easy to land; after all, it wasn't a large-scale area-of-effect spell.

Garen compressed his fireballs not only to increase their power but also because smaller fireballs were more discreet; a massive fireball was simply too conspicuous.

If he were to release five large fireballs at once, he would be tapped out after at most two volleys, and while that might look impressive, the actual power would be insufficient as the fireballs would scatter, not necessarily killing a level three magical beast in one hit.

The Wind Wolves had grown cautious after being ambushed once, making them harder to hit. It seems I need to use a bit of prediction when casting my skills.

Once a mage's level is higher and their mental energy becomes stronger, they can use that mental energy to control the direction of their spells, but at level three, he wasn't capable of that yet.

Although the Wind Wolves could cast magic, after a few rounds of Wind Blades, their mana was depleted, and they charged in for close-quarters combat.

They possessed sharp claws and teeth, and their melee combat prowess was quite formidable.

But the members of the Guard Team had formed a circle, so they didn't need to worry about their backs, and for a time, they were evenly matched.

Garen was currently quite safe with no worries behind him, so he conjured another fireball.

"Bang!"

He had been aiming for a level three Wind Wolf, but the battlefield situation changed in an instant; the wolf jumped, and the fireball grazed its tail before striking a level four Wind Wolf behind it.

The level four Wind Wolf was knocked to the ground, its skin torn and flesh mangled, its fur completely scorched. Just as it tried to crawl up, a warrior from the Guard Team finished it off.

"It seems it's still a bit difficult to kill monsters above my level. I wonder if I get experience points if I land the finishing blow after they've been heavily wounded by others."

Garen was still thinking about kill-stealing, but before he could act, he saw Captain Lucas charging straight toward the Wolf Leader.

"Awoo!"

The Wolf Leader was likely terrified, let out a howl, and turned to run.

But it had underestimated Captain Lucas's speed. After hacking a level five Wind Wolf that blocked his path to death with a single sword strike, he caught up to the Wolf Leader in just over ten seconds.

As a level seven wind-attribute warrior, while his attack and defense were inferior to other level seven warriors, his speed was already approaching that of a level nine warrior of other attributes, far beyond what a level six Wind Wolf could match.

Several Wind Wolves tried to come to the Wolf Leader's aid, but unfortunately, they were blocked by Luke.

Lucas dodged a Wind Blade that came within inches of him, then slashed his sword toward the wolf's waist. The Wolf Leader barely managed to jump away, but Lucas's hand speed was incredibly fast; he stepped forward and delivered another lightning-fast slash.

"Rip!"

A long gash was cut into the Wind Wolf's neck, and blood flowed freely.

"Swish, swish!"

Two more slashes followed, leaving two more wounds on its waist and leg.

The Wolf Leader's speed dropped significantly.

"Squelch!"

A direct thrust; the tip of the sword pierced through its neck, and the Wolf Leader collapsed on the spot.

Seeing the Wolf Leader fall, the pack instantly descended into chaos, and within seconds, they began to scatter and flee.

Garen looked at the situation around him; although there were heavily wounded high-level Wind Wolves, they were all too close to the Guard Team's warriors, and he feared friendly fire, so he had no opportunity to scavenge.

Watching the pack nearly reach the forest, he fired another fireball toward a small wolf that was running slowly.

Ding, killed a level three Wind Wolf, gained 26 experience points.

He wanted to fire another one, but realized he had no mental energy left.

Even though he had only cast four Fireball Techniques, each one had been compressed twofold, nearly doubling their power to the point where they could injure a level four Wind Wolf, which was extremely taxing on his mental energy.

"If only grinding monsters could drop a divine artifact like the Coiling Dragon Ring. If a spell only required one-sixth of the mana and mental energy, I'd instantly become a mobile artillery platform."

They cleaned up the battlefield. Although the battle hadn't lasted long, over a dozen warriors were injured, and one had unfortunately died; after all, the Wind Wolf pack had the numerical advantage and their levels were similar.

No one grieved for long. After a brief discussion, they decided to use the Magic Crystal Cores from this batch as compensation for the fallen member's family and buried his remains on the spot.

It wasn't that they were cold-blooded; after all, in this day and age, those who ran merchant caravans were long accustomed to death and had been mentally prepared for it.

"Little Garen, not bad. You actually took down two Wind Wolves. The Magic Crystal Cores from those two level three Wind Wolves are yours; go get them yourself."

Luke walked over, patted Garen on the head, and said encouragingly.

Looking at the two simply bandaged wounds on Luke's arm and thigh, Garen finally realized the danger of magical beasts.

He had only been firing cold arrows from the back, but Luke was a level six warrior, and facing several Wind Wolves at once was still extremely dangerous.

"Uncle Luke, are you okay?"

"What's a little flesh wound like this? I'll be fine after a few days of rest. Go on, go collect your spoils of war. You're a qualified warrior now, too."

"Mm."

Garen hurried over to the first Wind Wolf he had blown up.

Ding, one Primary Enhancement Stone, collect?

"Collect."

"Collection successful."

Holy crap, it actually dropped something. An Enhancement Stone—could it be for upgrading equipment? It seems the others can't see this glow, otherwise they would definitely be curious enough to come over.

Garen used his Steel Blade to split open the Wind Wolf's skull and found a Magic Crystal Core.

A level three Magic Crystal Core is worth 10 gold coins, which is a decent bit of income.

The other Wind Wolf dropped nothing but experience points.

He tucked the two Magic Crystal Cores away, intending to donate them to the fallen team members; although they were only worth 20 gold coins, it was a gesture of his sincerity.

After greeting Uncle Luke, Garen ran into the carriage.

Opening his Space Ring, a diamond-shaped transparent stone appeared before his eyes.

Common Enhancement Stone: Can be used to enhance weapons and equipment.

I don't know how many dangers we'll encounter on this journey. My weapon isn't very useful for now, and my main damage comes from magic, so I'll enhance my armor first. It could save my life at a critical moment.

"Enhance."

He muttered the command in his heart.

Ding, enhancement successful.

Leather Armor: A piece of leather armor with decent defense, providing strong protection against magical beasts below level five. (Upgradeable)

Not bad. If it can't be destroyed by beasts below level five, then level four beasts can at most bruise me, and it should provide some protection against level five beasts as well.

It was a pity that there were no good defensive spells for fire or wind magic, otherwise his defensive capabilities could be taken to the next level.

In the following months, they didn't encounter any large groups of magical beasts; after all, this path was a dedicated route cleared by merchant caravans, and they were only on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Garen only took action twice more. Once, he encountered two level three Unicorn Wild Boars charging around, which he dealt with using two Fireballs, gaining over 50 experience points.

The other time was when he encountered a level two Earth Scorpion, but unfortunately, after killing it, the system indicated that killing lower-level monsters yielded no experience, making Garen curse the trash system in anger.

None of the three beasts dropped any items; it seemed the system's drop rate wasn't very high.

Just as they were about to exit the Magical Beast Mountain Range and everyone began to relax, danger quietly descended.

(End of chapter)