Excess Subsidy

"Try to be careful during your adventures." Marvin looked as though he wanted to say more, but in the end, he kept silent.

"Mentor Marvin, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you."

"What is it?"

"How much is the monthly subsidy for junior mages?" Zeliel asked with considerable seriousness.

Mentor Marvin silently glanced at Zeliel.

"Twenty gold coins."

At that number, Zeliel's eyes lit up.

Damn... once I become a junior mage, I'll get an extra twenty gold coins every month for nothing!

Seeing the way Zeliel's eyes shone at the sight of money, Marvin could not help shaking his head.

He spent every day taking on quests at the Adventurers' Association, yet he had still raised his strength to this level through meditation.

Sigh...

If only Zeliel had been born into an aristocratic family that did not lack resources. Perhaps he would have progressed even further than he had now.

"Zeliel, wait for me!"

Zeliel had only just left the Chamber of Serenity when he heard Lant calling from behind him.

He came jogging down the tree-lined path, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"What is it?" Zeliel stopped and looked at him in confusion.

"Well..."

Lant caught his breath, but his gaze wandered uneasily.

He hesitated for quite some time before finally mustering the courage to say it.

"Zeliel, I want to ask you... ask you to teach me!"

"Teach you?"

Zeliel was somewhat surprised. "Teach you what?"

"About magic!"

Lant said loudly, "I want to be like you too. I want that kind of mana strength and mana control!"

"You should have teachers, shouldn't you?"

Zeliel still did not quite understand. "They must be better than I am. If there's something you don't understand, wouldn't it be better to ask your teachers directly?"

"It's different."

Lant shook his head repeatedly. "I can't really explain it, but I always feel that you're different from my teachers, Zeliel. You have a special... um... how should I put it? A special aura, I guess."

That piqued Zeliel's interest. He smiled. "What kind of special aura?"

"A crisp, sharp aura!"

Lant finally found the right words.

"Zeliel, you're an adventurer, right? I heard that the quests adventurers take are all very dangerous. Your magical abilities were honed in that kind of environment, weren't they?"

"Uh..."

Zeliel narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Probably not...?"

While it was true that he gained experience by killing monsters and raised his attributes that way, that method only worked for Zeliel himself.

If other mages spent too much time taking on quests, their strength would instead fall behind mages who excelled at meditation.

For mages, meditation was the only path to becoming stronger.

"No, I think that's exactly how it is!"

Lant clenched his fists, refusing to abandon that idea just because Zeliel had denied it.

"The essence of mana must be comprehended between life and death! Only by constantly challenging powerful enemies can one become stronger faster!"

"Why does that sound more like something a warrior would say..." Zeliel protested weakly.

"So! Zeliel, please take me with you the next time you go on a quest!" Lant looked at Zeliel with an earnest expression.

What overwhelming fighting spirit...

Zeliel marveled inwardly.

However.

"No."

Zeliel rejected Lant cleanly and decisively.

"Why? I won't ask you to take me for free. I can pay you too, really!" Lant said anxiously.

"You said it yourself—adventuring is dangerous. Taking you along on a quest rashly under those circumstances would be extremely irresponsible, wouldn't it?" Zeliel said.

"I'm not afraid," Lant said firmly.

"This isn't about whether you're afraid or not."

Zeliel's expression grew more serious. "You could die, you know?"

Only after it had been put that way did Lant finally quiet down.

He lowered his eyes, looking somewhat dejected.

"I... I guess so. I don't even meet the standards of a magic apprentice yet. If I went with you, I'd only be dead weight..."

"You don't have to be so discouraged."

Lant's expression made Zeliel feel a little bad for him. He patted Lant on the shoulder encouragingly.

"How about this? If there's a suitable quest in the future, I'll take you with me."

Lant lifted his head, and his eyes became fervent once more.

"Really?!"

"I won't lie to you. But you have to promise me that until then, you'll meditate properly and improve your strength," Zeliel said seriously.

"Mm!"

Outside Blackstone Town.

A desolate forest.

Vales stood alone in the middle of an open clearing, tightly gripping the longbow Moon Tip in his hand.

The first impression this longbow gave was not one of violence, but elegance.

Its bow stave was made of snowwood, pure white from end to end, with exceptionally smooth lines.

Like the arc of a crescent moon, or the horns of an antelope.

It was his inherited weapon, and it also carried on his mother's last wish.

Vales closed his eyes. He stood like a silent statue, almost blending into his surroundings.

The scene of his battle with the Giant-winged Bat several days ago kept replaying in his mind. The images slowed frame by frame, as if even time had suddenly stretched out.

The currents of air raised by every flap of the Giant-winged Bat's wings, every trajectory of its gliding dives, and the bone spikes wrapped in wind blades.

Swift, sharp, bloody, yet exquisite.

"No..."

"Its wind wasn't simply wrapping around them..."

"It was a force of propulsion and acceleration, an enhancement that made solid objects faster and sharper..."

Vales deconstructed that scene again and again in his mind, trying to incorporate the Giant-winged Bat's method of attack into his own techniques.

After an unknown amount of time spent mentally simulating it, Vales finally opened his eyes, which were filled with focus and calm.

He settled his mind and concentrated all his attention on the Heart of Qi.

Though it was called the Heart of Qi, it was located in his lower abdomen, more like a dantian.

As Vales's concentration deepened, a strand of unique energy dispersed from the Heart of Qi, flowed into his bloodline, and then circulated to his fingertips.

Vales felt a numb, swollen ache spread through his entire right arm. It was a sign that his body had yet to perfectly fuse with his battle qi.

Enduring the discomfort, he drew an ordinary broad-bladed iron-tipped arrow from his quiver.

He nocked the arrow, drew the string, and pulled the bow full like the moon.

The battle qi at Vales's fingertips also began trying to merge into the arrow.

"Release!"

Whoosh!

The arrow flew from the string, but at the very instant it was released, the uncontrolled battle qi exploded at its tail!

The wooden shaft snapped in half. Before the entire arrow had even flown a few meters, it had failed, landing crookedly in the mud.

He had failed.

Vales narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment.