Three days apart, and he was a whole new man

A maple forest appeared ahead.

The road ran through it.

They had passed through here on their way out without any trouble, so there probably wouldn't be any this time either.

Still, the dark woods felt as though some danger lurked within.

"I'll go in and check first. Follow me once it's safe," Rhode said.

"No," Lilia said.

"Why?"

"I want to have an adventure in the woods."

With that, Lilia broke into a skipping run toward the forest.

Gixil snorted too. "A mage, and you're still such a coward!" Then he hurried in on his short little legs.

Fine, then.

The forest isn't that big. We'll be through it soon. Surely there won't be any real danger.

"Slow down, you two!" Rhode shouted after them, then chased them inside.

The deeper they went, the darker it became beneath the trees. Fortunately, Rhode had a small fireball in his hand.

It was quiet here, save for the occasional bird's coo coming from some unknown corner.

The three of them crunched through thick layers of rotting leaves underfoot.

A peculiar fermented smell filled their noses.

After another three minutes or so, Rhode began to notice something strange.

There seemed to be something white beneath the trees ahead, rather out of place in this forest of green and yellow.

Don't tell me those are the same cocoons we saw last time?

Lilia really jinxed us!

Meanwhile, Gixil had already turned and run back toward Rhode, shouting as he went, "Spiders! Spiders!"

"Stay where you are. I'll take a look." Rhode stopped Lilia, who was still bounding ahead, then enlarged the fireball in his hand a little and slowly walked forward.

They weren't cocoons.

But they were close enough.

Beneath the largest tree in the middle, large, fresh, white spiderwebs covered the roots.

It really is a giant spider!

The image of that disgusting spider's head had barely flashed through Rhode's mind when he heard rustling up ahead.

The sound came and went, like someone stirring a pile of leaves with several sticks.

Rhode crouched, breathed out softly, then extinguished the fireball lighting his way.

Everything went pitch-black again.

He wasn't as nervous as last time, but his heart still pounded.

The darkness of night always inspired an inexplicable fear.

Soon, an enormous silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.

Then Rhode saw its many long legs.

It was definitely a spider!

A giant spider!

Rhode couldn't tell whether this giant spider was the same one as before.

Of course, even if he could see it clearly, he wouldn't have recognized it.

In fact, even if someone placed two spiders in front of you and told you one was Tom and the other was Jerry, you still wouldn't be able to tell which was which.

Whatever.

Whether it's the same one or not, it's still a giant spider-a predator that eats people.

Strike first, or suffer the consequences.

Hesitate and you lose. Act decisively and you get yourself killed!

So Rhode put down the horn and immediately gathered all his mana.

Yes, all his mana!

A few seconds later, a blazing red fireball far larger than a washbasin erupted from his hand.

I have to kill it in one shot, without giving it a chance to catch its breath!

As soon as he launched the fireball, Rhode retreated, putting some distance between himself and it.

He remembered the fireball he had fired at the Jade Mine.

He had used even more mana this time, so he had better stay farther away.

Sure enough, the fireball grew as it flew, swelling into an enormous ball of flame that soon reached the giant spider.

At that instant, Rhode saw it clearly.

There was an obvious scar around the giant spider's mouth. It was the very same one from the maple forest to the west!

Perhaps it had wandered into the area after Rhode and Lilia injured it that day, only to unexpectedly run into them again.

But it had even worse luck this time, because Rhode was no longer the man he had been. Three days apart, and he was a whole new man!

Normally, a spider would have been a little frightened by an incoming fireball. After all, spiders feared fire, especially such a massive ball of it.

But in reality, it didn't even have time to be frightened.

All it registered was an intense flash of light before its eyes, and then there was nothing more.

The giant spider barely had time to react.

It merely took an instinctive step backward at the sight of the fireball.

Then the huge fireball slammed into its face and exploded almost instantly.

The blast engulfed its entire body.

With the explosion, its body was torn to pieces and scattered across the ground.

It really packs a punch!

The "recoil" from this Fireball also knocked Rhode flat on his backside.

Then he slowly stood up and walked forward.

A large crater lay ahead.

There was no sign of any creature inside it, only a few severed spider limbs beside the crater.

Its body had probably been reduced to dust.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The ground around the crater was now completely bare as well. All the green vegetation that had grown there was gone.

Rhode hadn't expected a fireball cast with his full strength to be so destructive. It was clearly far more powerful than the one he had fired at the Jade Mine, and much fiercer than the one he had used against the large yeti during the day.

Then, if I have more mana in the future, could the Fireballs I conjure become even more powerful?

It was hard to imagine what kind of destruction that might cause.

It seemed he would have to study how to regulate his mana output.

If I keep unleashing this much power, who could withstand it? What if I catch some kids in the blast? Even if I miss the kids, hitting the flowers and grass wouldn't be good either.

Still, the power of this Fireball at least proved that he had gained a solid command of the spell.

Rhode couldn't help smiling.

It seemed his journey toward becoming a Great Magic Master was beginning right here, beneath his feet.

Pit-pat, pit-pat.

Lilia had obediently followed Rhode's instructions and stayed hidden behind him, only running over once everything had settled down.

Then came a barrage of questions.

"Rhode, what happened?"

"Rhode, did you make this crater?"

"Rhode, where's the spider?"

"Rhode, why are you standing here grinning like an idiot?"

"..."

Meanwhile, Gixil the goblin stared blankly at the dark red crater, his eyes wide.

"S-so this is a mage's power?" Gixil murmured. "I don't think our usual Tinplate Grenades could cause this much destruction... No, no, even the most powerful Goblin Sapper Charge couldn't do this!"

Just then, Lilia stopped talking, tilted her little head, sniffed, and said:

"What's that smell? It smells delicious."