Chapter 27
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 027
Chapter Title: Intermediate Magical Beast
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His circle began to accelerate.
The boy's will was amplified by the circle and projected onto the world. As his will started interfering with the world, it sensitively detected the mana around him.
Thus, the boy began to perceive the world not just through sight, but with a spiritual sense.
The environment unfolded before the boy's spiritual perception.
The sticky spiderwebs covering the ground, the swiftly flowing chill of the winter wind, even the fresh, clear scent unique to the forest.
He read them all with the senses of his soul.
The boy grasped his surroundings through this spiritual sense, without relying on his eyes.
He muttered softly.
"Roughly... about a ten-meter radius."
That was the range Andy could now perceive through the atmospheric mana.
It was a satisfying level.
A ten-meter radius was wider than expected. With this detection range, he could at least adequately respond to ambushes from behind.
'The village chief said the spider sneaks up silently from the rear and attacks. I need to watch my back.'
That was why Andy had spread out his mana sensing.
He didn't know when the spider might approach without a sound and sink its venomous fangs into the nape of his neck. By extending his sensing in advance, he kept vigilant of his rear.
Before he had the circle, this would have been difficult. Without it, the range he could perceive had been extremely limited, right up close.
But now, with the circle allowing him to resonate with mana even farther away, he could detect a broader area.
This should be enough to guard against rear ambushes.
Andy moved forward while maintaining his resonance with the mana.
-Squelch, squelch.
Sticky spiderwebs clung to his shoes with every step on the ground.
Andy furrowed his brow.
"Feels just like stepping into a swamp."
As expected of a magical beast's webbing. It was far thicker, tougher, and stickier than ordinary spider silk. It made advancing difficult.
A terrain that severely restricted mobility. If he encountered the beast, fleeing would be hard—he'd have to fight it head-on to the end.
The boy proceeded cautiously, one step at a time, deeper into the pasture.
How long had he walked across that sticky ground?
Andy sensed it intuitively.
'It must have noticed my presence by now.'
He had already ventured deep into the heart of the pasture.
Spiders detect prey through vibrations in their webs. Having trampled the webs to reach this point, the creature had surely picked up on Andy's presence.
It was time to prepare for battle.
-Crackle!Crackle!
Andy prepared his attack magic. He generated multiple spheres of lightning in his grasp ahead of time.
His eyes scanned all directions, while his mana resonance covered his blind spots. Tense, he advanced, checking every corner of the meadow.
Then, at one point...
'...!'
Andy felt the presence of some alien lifeform.
The direction was behind him.
A large, intense presence was targeting his rear and closing in at high speed.
He whipped around and unleashed all the pre-prepared lightning at it.
-Krarrr rumble!
Numerous bolts of lightning tore through the air, surging toward the unidentified assailant.
Crackle!Craaaackle!
The lightning volley struck the enemy directly. The sound of intense electricity scorching something rang out.
-Kieeeek!
The creature cried out in agony.
Andy finally got a look at the enemy.
'Disgusting...!'
It was a massive spider, grotesquely hideous.
About the size of a small room. Its eight eyes gleamed red, and its eight thick legs bristled with dense brown fur—utterly repulsive.
A spider-type magical beast.
The aura emanating from it was nothing like Kurt's.
Kurt's presence felt mystical and majestic. This spider beast's was simply savage ferocity.
A monster driven purely by instinct, without intelligence. That was Andy's impression of the spider.
-Kieeeek!Kiik!
Struck by electricity, the spider wailed in pain as it rapidly retreated. The few meters of distance between them instantly stretched to dozens.
Even at such speed, it made no sound. On its webs, it could move without any presence or noise.
A chilling sensation crawled up Andy's spine.
'If I hadn't been guarding my rear with mana sensing...'
He would have been taken out before he knew it.
Ambushed from behind, fangs sunk in—dead.
Fortunately, his mana sensing had allowed him to counter the sneak attack.
Andy wiped the cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
Meanwhile, he pondered.
'The info doesn't match. It was supposed to be just a bit bigger than a cow...'
According to the village chief, the spider was only slightly larger than the cattle raised at the ranch.
Yet for some reason, this spider-type magical beast was huge enough to fill a small room—several times larger than described.
Had the chief deliberately given him false information?
No. The chief feared and respected mages too much to do that.
So the answer was one of two things.
Either the chief had misjudged its size from the start, or...
'...it's grown since then.'
It had dominated this ranch for over a month, devouring dozens of people and countless cattle.
It made sense if it had bulked up on all that prey.
'How's its condition?'
Andy examined the spider that had fled far away.
The beast, hit by lightning, bore severe burns all over its body.
Its thick bristles were charred, skin melted and peeling in places. Green pus oozed from the exposed flesh.
Clearly critical injuries.
"Good. One more solid hit... and I can take it down."
Andy felt he had seized the advantage.
With such fatal wounds already, victory seemed imminent.
He was mistaken.
Crunch...!
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, Andy felt something enveloping his feet.
Looking down, the spiderwebs from the ground had risen, binding his feet tightly.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch...
The webs surged up his lower body in an instant.
Over his feet, up his calves, thighs, to his waist. Like living things, they climbed and restrained him.
The boy was shocked.
"The webs are climbing up—what the...!"
A completely unforeseen ability. To think it could manipulate distant webs.
He strained to break free and move, but a child's physical strength couldn't snap the webs.
As the boy struggled entangled in the webs, the retreating spider charged back. Andy gritted his teeth and fired lightning.
Krarrr rumble!
Blue bolts tore through the air toward the spider, but missed. Aiming properly was impossible in his predicament.
'When did it reach my hands...!'
Before he knew it, the webs had climbed his upper body, encasing his hands.
Sticky silk adhered to both palms. He couldn't even twitch his fingers, let alone raise his arms to target the spider.
The boy fell into panic.
Enveloped in webs, escape was impossible—nor could he aim his magic properly.
His entire body bound, helpless. Darkness closed in. Terror of death crept up his back.
-Kiik!Kik!
The spider-type magical beast approached with a leisurely air, as if certain of victory—or mocking the tightly bound boy.
It closed in, anticipating its feast, until it was right upon him, baring its sharp fangs.
At that moment, Andy recalled one crucial fact.
'These webs... it's ultimately controlling them with mana.'
The beast's ability to manipulate the webs was surely a mana-based power. All supernatural abilities in this world stemmed from mana.
And Andy was a mage.
One who dominated and controlled mana to manifest powers. Mages, above all, wielded the finest control over mana.
Thus, he hypothesized.
'If I seize control of the mana infused in the beast's webs instead.'
Could he break free?
Andy accelerated his circle.
The ring enveloping his soul spun faster than ever. As the circle sped up, so did the boy's thoughts. A split-second stretched into eternity.
Andy felt his amplified will seep into the world. Projected outward, it targeted the webs binding him.
It touched the beast's mana within the webs. He instantly grasped its structure and arrangement. And then...
'Dominate it... and shatter it.'
Andy displaced the beast's mana in the webs, dismantling its intricate structure. The mana array within unraveled.
Drip...
The rigidly taut webs melted like liquid in an instant.
Andy had successfully interfered with the mana in the beast's webs, breaking the bindings.
It happened in a flash.
-Kik?!
The spider, now inches away, froze. It had sensed its severed mana connection to the webs and panicked.
Andy wouldn't miss the opening.
He thrust out his hands and unleashed all his pre-prepared lightning magic.
-Krarrr rumble!
Numerous bolts struck the spider at point-blank range.
Craaaackle!Pzzt!Craaaackle!
Massive currents ravaged the giant spider's body.
-Kiiiiieeeek!
The spider shrieked, electrocuted into spasms.
Andy poured more mana relentlessly, maintaining the onslaught. Torrents of lightning from the boy's hands continued pouring into the spider. It thrashed in convulsions.
And moments later...
-Thud!
The spider collapsed.
Its massive bulk tumbled across the ground, kicking up dust and shaking the earth.
Immediately after...
"Hah! Huh! Huh!"
Andy crumpled to the ground, gasping raggedly.
Cold sweat drenched his body. He'd expended so much mental energy and mana in that instant, his mind reeled.
Yet even so, he could grin.
"I... survived..."
Relief welled up from deep within his chest.
Andy lifted his head and looked ahead.
There lay the enormous spider, half-charred, billowing acrid smoke. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air.
Andy had successfully subjugated the spider-type magical beast.
His first magical beast hunt.
In the small city of Dietrich, the mayor received the report in his office.
"Mayor, the magical beast in the ranch village has been subjugated."
"Oh! Finally! What great news. Andy handled it well."
The report was none other than the successful extermination of the beast. Dietrich let out a sigh of relief.
'That headache is finally gone.'
The spider-type magical beast plaguing the ranch village had been a massive problem.
How many lives had it claimed so far?
Combining the ranch workers and hired mercenaries, dozens had lost their lives to it.
Beyond that, it had paralyzed the village, damaged the city's tax revenue, and disrupted merchant caravans.
For over a month, the spider had inflicted heavy losses on the city.
Now, it was finally dealt with. The mayor couldn't help but feel relieved.
"Then we must promptly pay Andy his reward. What did the mage request? Thirty gold coins? Or something equivalent?"
"Um... Mayor, about that..."
The subordinate hesitated at the mayor's question.
Dietrich looked puzzled.
"What's wrong? Did he ask for something troublesome?"
"No, it's not that. It's just..."
"Just?"
"The beast Andy took down... Our investigation shows it wasn't low-grade. It was intermediate-grade."
"...Not low-grade, but intermediate?"
Dietrich stared blankly at his subordinate's words.
The extermination request had assumed a low-grade beast from the start.
That was why they'd commissioned the still-young Andy. A skilled 1-circle mage could handle a low-grade one.
But the ranch beast wasn't low-grade. It was intermediate.
Intermediate beasts required at least a 3-circle mage or a mid-tier knight to defeat.
They possessed vastly superior physical abilities compared to low-grades, and some wielded unique powers. They were tricky, dangerous foes.
'...What a fatal mistake!'
Dietrich was horrified.
They'd sent a child mage after what they thought was low-grade, only for it to be intermediate.
They'd fed him false info and nearly sent him to his death.
He had no idea how the boy had slain an intermediate beast, but it was an inexcusable blunder.
Dietrich hurriedly donned his coat.
"I must go apologize to the mage at once. Admit our error and beg forgiveness."
"What about the reward?"
"Of course, we'll increase it! Not low-grade rates—intermediate rates... no, double that. Our fault is that grave. Where is the mage now?"
"At the inn."
"Lead the way. I'll meet him personally."
Dietrich headed to the inn where Andy was staying.