Concentrated Fire

"I... honestly don't know." Rain shook his head with a wry smile.

It wasn't that Rain hadn't considered it. He genuinely didn't know whether abilities granted by his bloodline, such as Freezing Ray, could qualify him to take on a class.

Or did he need spells and Combat Techniques he had mastered on his own, without relying on his bloodline?

"Maybe when I get a chance to visit Dorn City, I can find someone who knows the answer."

He had yet to raise his mastery of Shield Bash and Armor-Breaking Strike above 95%, but he already knew what he wanted to do next: make time to visit Dorn City and ask a reasonably knowledgeable mage.

"Oh, right! You said a Bard taught you your magic. In that case, Rain, you really should find time to go to Dorn City." Realization dawned on Leia's face.

"Rain, I'd like to spar with you too." Grand, who was usually quiet, spoke up.

Hm?

Grand's words immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Of course." Rain smiled and nodded.

Sparring noticeably improved his familiarity with Shield Block and Shield Bash.

He had no proficiency panel, but he could feel himself growing more comfortable with a shield, both physically and instinctively.

Rain wasn't about to turn down a chance to improve.

A few minutes later.

Rain won again, as expected.

"Damn it, Rain, you beat both Grand and me. Are we going to have an Apprentice Mage tanking for us from now on?" Chris joked with a laugh.

"I don't see why not. Rain, as our Apprentice Mage, you'll be the team's frontline mainstay from now on." Leia smiled.

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Leia then walked up to Rain, her eyes bright with amusement and a hint of seriousness.

"Rain, I'm formally inviting you to join the Whistling Hunters. I hope you'll give it serious thought."

Rain paused for only a moment before smiling back. "No need to think about it. I'm in."

Rain had only gone on two missions with Leia and the others, but on the very first one, they had faced a terrifying surprise attack by a Boarfolk Warrior.

The way they had responded showed that the Whistling Hunters were far more capable in combat than the low-tier adventuring teams Rain had encountered or heard about.

More importantly, the trust, mutual support, and willingness to fight side by side they had shown in the face of danger had moved him.

Sometimes, one mission together was enough to tell you a great deal.

And the letter from the priestess he had never met was further proof of the team's long-standing camaraderie.

"That's great! Welcome, Rain!" Chris gave Rain a light punch on his solid chest.

"Welcome aboard, frontline mainstay!" Fabian teased with a grin.

"Welcome." Even Grand, a man of few words, stepped forward to shake Rain's hand.

"Oh, Captain, now that Rain's officially joined, shouldn't we practice fighting together?" Chris suggested, struck by a thought.

Rain had only been a temporary member before, so Chris naturally hadn't suggested it then.

Now things were different. Being a full member meant Rain would be taking on missions with them for a long time, and teamwork mattered.

Especially when something unexpected happened, good coordination could quickly steady the situation—or even turn the tide.

"Yeah! Captain, why don't we practice now?" Fabian said, twirling a dagger deftly through his fingers.

"Sure!" Leia agreed at once, then looked at Rain with a smile.

Rain readily agreed.

He was curious about the Whistling Hunters' usual tactics. In their last fight with the Boarfolk, Leia had been separated from the rest of them.

As a powerful archer, her presence or absence would surely change the way the team fought.

"Let's use those two Boarfolk from last time as our imaginary enemies!"

"These two ironwood dummies will stand in for them." Leia pointed to two dummies about ten meters apart at the far end of the yard.

"Now that Rain's joined us, with his excellent melee skills, we don't need to lure one away. We can concentrate our fire and take one down."

"Chris, Rain, you two hold the front."

"Grand, put away your shield and attack with your sword."

"Fabian, throw a bright-colored knife at the target as the signal to focus our attacks!"

As Leia laid out the plan, Rain noticed several unusual throwing knives fastened to one side of Fabian's leather armor. They gleamed and were shaped like tiny short swords.

They were strikingly bright, as though coated in some kind of vivid paint.

Grand surprised Rain too. Apparently, he was more skilled with a hand-and-a-half sword.

Grand was a swordsman; Leia had simply assigned him a sword and shield before to focus on defense.

"Begin!"

As soon as Leia gave the word, Chris and Rain advanced with their shields and took position in front of the two dummies.

Only a few seconds later, a flash of color streaked past Rain's eyes. A throwing knife struck the neck of the dummy in front of Chris, and Fabian and Grand charged from behind Rain.

Ding!

To the hum of a bowstring, Rain saw an arrow strike the dummy's chest ahead of them.

At the same time, the faster Fabian leaped high behind the dummy. His dagger traced a silver arc as he drove it down—the Combat Technique Backstab!

Grand came half a step later, gripping his sword in both hands. The hand-and-a-half sword swept through a bright fan-shaped arc toward the dummy's ribs.

Thunk!

Thunk!

The blades drove into the ironwood with dull thuds.

"Stop! Too slow!" Leia's expression turned stern.

"Grand, you're still moving too slowly. The three of us didn't strike together."

"That might kill an ordinary Boarfolk, but against a Boarfolk Warrior, it wouldn't pose much of a threat."

"Captain, there's no helping it. Unless you put Grand in light armor like a swordsman, he'll never keep up with our focused attack." Fabian tossed his dagger as he spoke.

Rain glanced at Grand's equipment and nodded slightly.

With a steel round shield, Nasal Helmet, and Chainmail, Grand carried over thirty pounds of gear—and that wasn't counting his hand crossbow, quiver of bolts, and the rest.

Leia hesitated at Fabian's words.

When Illys had been with them, Grand had fought as a lightly armored swordsman. After Illys left, Leia had moved him into a shield-bearing role to give the team more room for error.

"Why not have Rain and me switch? Don't forget, Rain is actually an Apprentice Mage," Grand said, speaking up again.

Hm?

Leia's eyes lit up.

Of course!

Rain was an Apprentice Mage.

Like her, he fought at range!

She realized that after watching Rain spar with Chris and Grand, she had completely overlooked his magic.

The same realization showed on Chris's and Fabian's faces.

"Haha, Rain, that's right! You're an Apprentice Mage!"

"An Apprentice Mage who knows Shield Bash, no less!" Chris said with a laugh, patting Rain's Chainmail.

"All right, Rain, switch places with Grand." Leia touched her forehead, looking a little embarrassed.

"Okay." Rain nodded.

In fact, he had been debating whether to tell the team something.

From what he had seen, Grand knew two sword-based Combat Techniques, but none that let him move quickly. If they wanted to strike a target at the same instant, it couldn't be too far away.

At the distance they had just practiced, Grand was bound to arrive a beat after Fabian.

From any farther away, Grand would need at least two seconds to reach the target. That could hardly be called a concentrated attack.

Rain was different.

Besides Freezing Ray, he had learned through repeated practice that Savage Charge, an ability he had gained from the Boarfolk Warrior, could also serve as a high-speed movement technique.

Of course, Savage Charge was still Savage Charge, not the warrior Combat Technique Charge.

At the end of that high-speed rush, he would still slam hard into his enemy.

Using Savage Charge with the Boarfolk Warrior bloodline's power felt as though his brain remembered hundreds, even thousands, of shoulder charges. His body had developed muscle memory for it.

Changing it into Charge might be possible, but he would have to force himself to overcome that muscle memory from the Boarfolk Warrior bloodline. It would be like learning the entirely new Combat Technique Charge, and it wouldn't happen overnight.

Rain had been hesitating over whether to show them Savage Charge.

But now he thought it over and decided to show the team this "Combat Technique" in advance.

There was no other reason.

He had officially joined the Whistling Hunters. As a full member, keeping an ability that could change the course of a fight hidden from his teammates didn't feel right.

Leia's voice broke into Rain's thoughts.

"Chris, Grand, get ready!"

"Begin!"

At Leia's command, Chris and Grand quickly advanced with their shields and each took position in front of a dummy.

A few seconds later, a flash of color streaked past Rain's eyes. The throwing knife struck the chest of the ironwood dummy in front of Chris.

At that very instant!

Rain drove his left foot into the ground. The earth seemed to tremble beneath him, and the tremendous force of the push-off launched him forward as if a rocket had ignited under his foot!

Almost as Leia's arrow struck the dummy's chest with a ding, Chris felt a fierce gust whip past his side.

Then a powerful dark blur hit the ironwood dummy with a bang, shaking it violently despite its firm anchoring in the ground.

"What the hell! Rain, what Combat Technique was that?" Chris blurted out, stunned.