That day, while the soldiers rested, Allen went into the nearby woods. He had been searching for better Wind Blade Runes lately, but unfortunately, he had not succeeded once since he began taking missions. All he could do was keep modifying the runes based on his own understanding and testing them until he found what he needed. He had already run dozens of tests, each failing for one reason or another.
Today, he had designed another set of runes and intended to try again. This design was relatively complex, incorporating many Concentration Runes along with numerous guiding runes and the like, making it nearly twice as complex as the previous one. In theory, the more complex the runes, the more powerful the spell. But failures also became more frequent. After so many failures, he was beginning to get used to it. He intended to obtain Spell Runes once he returned to Dalaran, no matter what.
Then he began chanting toward a large tree. He had to be careful when testing spells, using the slowest possible casting speed to lessen the consequences of failure. Especially if the surrounding magical power went out of control, the slower he cast, the more time he would have to react. Allen therefore channeled this spell for a full ten minutes before finally releasing it. It still failed, but he was already used to that.
As he carefully recalled the casting process, he found no problems with the construction of the runes, which meant these runes could work. But where exactly had things gone wrong? He had once thought that he had not gathered enough magical power, so he had added a large number of Concentration Runes, but the result had been the same. After turning it over in his mind, he felt the only problem had to be the Conversion Runes. Insufficient conversion caused the spell to collapse before it could become powerful enough. After all, these Conversion Runes were the original runes he had used before, without any modifications.
Sometimes, he really envied the protagonists in those stories, who all received some sort of system after transmigrating that could automatically find the best spell construction. Unlike him, they did not have to rely entirely on themselves. But thinking it over, he also felt that was impossible. Spell Runes were not something a computer or the like could calculate. Without truly understanding the meaning of the runes, there were countless ways to assemble Spell Runes, but most were unusable, a small portion were extremely weak, and a tiny fraction had unknown effects. Only what remained could truly count as Spell Runes.
As he pondered, he began staring blankly at the Conversion Runes drawn on the paper. Suddenly, he felt there was something strange about them. They felt rather different from the other runes he had seen in the Basic Runes Book, somehow awkward. Allen drew them again on the paper, but they still felt wrong. Then, on a whim, he added a stroke to the runes, which made them look much more pleasing to the eye. Looking at these new runes, he suddenly realized, Why not give these runes a try? I have nothing else to do sitting here anyway.
He put the thought into action immediately, constructing the spell according to his original design, except that he replaced all the Conversion Runes with the new ones. Following the same steps as before, he slowly cast the spell. At last, he reached the most crucial step, the one where he had failed every time. Slowly, a mage's glow began to fill his hands. A huge, translucent mass of energy shot out and struck the tree ahead without making a sound. A moment later, the tree was severed halfway up its trunk.
Allen was stunned. It had actually worked. That meant the stroke he had casually added just now had been correct. His luck was actually that good. Once he recovered, he immediately recorded the runes he had just used.
Then he began practicing repeatedly. Through extensive practice, he discovered that this spell was roughly twice as powerful as an ordinary Wind Blade Spell, fully reaching the level of a First-Rank Spell. Of course, as its power increased, so did its consumption of mental power. Where he could normally release three Wind Blades, he could now release only one. In other words, even at full strength, he could release at most five Wind Blades a day. That might seem like very few, but the increase in power fully made up for his spells' lack of strength.
Moreover, he could now rely on this spell to apply to become a Full Mage. When that happened, his standing in Dalaran would improve greatly, and no one would force him to take missions anymore. He could be said to have escaped his fate at the very bottom. But first, he had to return from here alive.
Allen was in a very good mood when he returned to camp. Soon after his return, a soldier found him. "Mage Allen, where have you been? Captain Ryan is looking for you." Ryan probably wanted to discuss the mission. He immediately headed into camp and saw Ryan studying a map. He walked over. "Ryan, were you looking for me?" Ryan looked up at Allen. "Allen, why do you look so happy? Any good news?"
Allen thought for a moment, then told him anyway. "Good news? You could call it that. My spell has improved somewhat. It should help with our current situation." Ryan stared at him in astonishment, as though he had never seen Allen before. "You advanced? Heavens. That's incredible." Allen waved a hand at him. "Barely, I suppose. It only gives me some ability to protect myself here."
Despite what he said, it did nothing to dampen Ryan's happiness for him. "You've advanced. That's wonderful news. At least we have a better chance of completing this mission now." He gave Allen's arm a firm pat.
After a while, Allen remembered that Ryan had called him here today. "Right, Ryan, did you call me over because you had something to tell me?" Ryan's smile faded, and he said gravely to Allen, "Allen, we're running low on dry rations. If we still can't find the Magic Source within three days, I don't think we can stay any longer."
That was good news. He wished he could leave right away, but he could not tell Ryan that so bluntly, so he asked instead, "Since that's the case, what do you plan to do?" Ryan clearly wanted to leave just as much as he did, but to them, failing to complete the mission meant betraying the Highlord's trust and losing their honor as soldiers.
Allen saw his hesitation and gave him a hint. "Ryan, a good leader might not be able to give his subordinates much, but he'll certainly take responsibility for them. Isn't that right?"
Ryan said nothing, so he continued trying to persuade him. "Ryan, you should remember that His Lordship the Highlord didn't send only our squad. There are many, many others. Perhaps they've already completed the mission the Highlord assigned. We've done our best, so there's no need to blame yourself." Ryan still said nothing, but Allen knew he was seriously considering it. There was no need to say too much, so Allen quietly waited for him.
He did not have to wait long before Ryan spoke. "Allen, I... ah, you're right. I have to take responsibility for the soldiers." There was helplessness in Ryan's voice. Allen knew Ryan had finally agreed to retreat. The two began planning their withdrawal route. They had recorded their route on the way here, so now they only needed to make a few adjustments to it. After half an hour of discussion, they finally settled on a route. Before that, however, they still had to make one final exploration of the hills ahead.
The next day, Allen and all the soldiers set out for the hills. The terrain was uneven and full of dips and bumps, and with trees covering the surrounding area, the going was difficult. During a rest, he went beneath a large tree, closed his eyes, and began sensing with his mental power. "Well? Is there anything wrong up ahead?" Ryan asked him.
"It's strange up ahead. It doesn't seem as though there are large numbers of demonized beasts, but the magical power in that area is indeed somewhat abnormal," Allen told him, opening his eyes. Hearing this, Ryan also began to waver. He asked, "Do you think we should go forward and take a look?"
Allen thought it over and felt that, since they were already here, he would not be satisfied without taking a look, whatever happened. "Ryan, how about this? We're the two strongest here. Let the soldiers stay here and await orders, and just the two of us will take a look. It'll be harder to spot us that way, too. What do you think?" Ryan agreed immediately, without hesitation.
Afterward, they arranged for the soldiers to settle down nearby and wait there for orders. Although many of the soldiers were unwilling to watch Allen and Ryan take risks, this was only a reconnaissance trip, and too many people would make them easy to spot. Only after Ryan issued a military order for them to wait did they reluctantly watch the two leave.
"Ryan, are you a First-Rank Warrior?" he asked curiously. Ryan nodded. So he asked another curious question. "Don't you have some special abilities, like battle aura or something?" Ryan looked at Allen as though he were an idiot. "What's battle aura? We all fight using rage." As though something had caught his attention, Allen asked him, "Rage? Is it a kind of energy?"
Ryan shook his head. "Are you really a mage? How do you not know anything? Rage is rage. It's a power hidden within the body. I don't know exactly what it is either."
Allen gave him a sheepish grin. "To be honest, I'm not a proper mage." Ryan said nothing. He thought Allen meant he was a self-taught mage. In fact, Allen meant that he was not a mage at all. Someone like him should probably count as a new kind of class.
Neither of them spoke again along the way. After all, neither was particularly fond of chatting. A few hours later, they reached their destination. Hiding in the bushes, they warily surveyed their surroundings and discovered that there was nothing nearby at all. It was very quiet. Yet it was so quiet that it did not feel like a safe place. He picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it ahead. There was still no movement, as though there really was nothing there.
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