Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Monster Hunt #5
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Aira explained.
“Combine 1st Circle Light Magic with 3rd Circle Mana Manipulation, and things like this become possible.”
Aira plucked another strand of her hair.
She blew on it gently with a whoosh, and this time, a butterfly-shaped light source fluttered its wings here and there, brightly illuminating the surroundings.
Applying 1st Circle and 3rd Circle magic like that.
Then, since I’m already at 4th Circle, shouldn’t I qualify to do it too? With that thought, I plucked a strand of my own hair and blew on it with a whoosh.
Flutter.
But my hair just fell straight to the ground. Aira explained to me in her own kindly voice.
“Imagination is key. All magic is based on the images in your mind.”
“Imagination…”
“Theo, picture the easiest animal for you to visualize in your head. Then infuse it with mana.”
“Hm.”
Following Aira’s words, I plucked another strand of hair and closed my eyes. If it was an animal easy for me to imagine, there was one I raised in my dorm.
“Whoosh.”
Finally, as I blew, the fluttering hair began to emit light. At the same time, the light expanded into the shape of a small but nimble beast.
It was a squirrel.
Cute.
Its brightness was less than Aira’s butterfly or spider, but it was unmistakably glowing like a squirrel. However, it soon scattered into countless light particles, like dandelion seeds dispersing.
“Your focus wavered, Theo.”
“It’s harder than I thought.”
“Then let’s head inside now.”
At Aira’s words, I ventured deep into the cave.
But our footsteps soon had to stop—the place was filled with spiderwebs everywhere, making it impossible to proceed.
What’s with all these spiderwebs.
There must be even more spiders.
As I frowned, imagining swarms of spiders crawling everywhere, Aira let out a refined chuckle.
“It reminds me of the Witch Forest in the north. That place was full of white spiderwebs like this. Probably still is.”
“The Witch Forest—you mean the Tarantara family’s territory?”
“That’s right.”
The Witch Forest was also called the Great Forest or the Sea of Trees—anyway, a region teeming with trees. I think there was a massive wall even further up.
I’d only encountered it in the original novel and documents, never been there myself, so it was hard to picture clearly.
But it seemed Aira had actually visited that dense sea of trees—the Witch Forest.
“Are there spiderwebs like this in the Witch Forest too?”
“Yes. Colorful Spiders, Blue Lantern Spiders, Opal Spiders, and all sorts of others. I still remember. In the hot summers, I’d go with my brother and sisters to the mansion in the Witch Forest to escape the heat.”
Aira seemed lost in memories. Then, something shot toward me from ahead with a whoosh.
—Zzzzt…!!!
It was an insect with multiple legs. Its size was particularly shocking—about as big as my torso.
I’d imagined giant insects given all the huge spiderwebs, but this wasn’t the spider I’d pictured.
It had wings on its back, jaws like sturdy shears, and above all, yellow and black stripes that screamed nature’s warning.
“A hornet…!?”
It was a hornet the size of my body.
—Zzzztzzzt!!
Buuuuzzz.
It began beating its wings fiercely, the sound as mighty as helicopter propellers whirring, making my legs tremble.
Then, piercing through the roar of its wings, Aira’s voice came from behind me.
“That one’s a Hercules Hornet. First time seeing one that huge, but its ferocity should be the same.”
Aira smiled like a child who’d spotted an interesting bug. Of course, for Aira—who treated even ogres like kids—this giant hornet was no big deal.
“Most magic couldn’t even scratch that tough exoskeleton. What will you do, Theo?”
Aira seemed thrilled to see how I’d fight this massive hornet.
“Whoosh.”
I steadied my breath, then aimed Mar-Marmar’s tail forward—ready to cast magic at any moment—and shouted.
—Paimon!
Woooom, paat!
The mana swirling at the tail’s tip fired out. It became an invisible air cannonball the size of a volleyball and slammed into the giant hornet’s body.
Crack.
—Zzzzt…!
I saw its front leg detach from its body. It would’ve been fatal for a human, but this was a tenacious hornet.
That’s right. A hornet.
What flashed in my mind was my time as a soldier in Gangwon Province.
We encountered all sorts of hornets there—some even kept biting at bayonets with scissor-like mouths after their bodies were severed. That stubborn vitality.
—Click, click.
Yeah, just like that threatening sound.
—Click, click!
The hornet opened and closed its mandibles, warning me with the noise as it charged straight at me. The pressure was like a tank barreling down, sending chills up my spine.
But I hadn’t just stood there.
While it flinched and stiffened from the magic, I’d already charged the next spell. I aimed the tail tip at it again.
“Whoosh.”
According to Aira, magic was all about imagery.
Imagery.
Enough power to shatter that giant hornet in one hit.
With 4th Circle physical destruction magic.
With Angmar the Demon King’s magic, it was impossible? No way.
—Zzzztzzzt!
As its massive jaws loomed right in front of my nose, I unleashed the mana with full force. For a moment, it felt like a chunk was ripped from my body and launched by hand.
“Wha—!”
—KABOOM!
With a fierce explosion, my body was flung backward. Like a compressed spring snapping, I was tossed away.
Thud, crash.
Thanks to rolling hard across the dirt floor, I barely regained my balance and stood. No room for carelessness with the hornet possibly lunging anytime.
But my worries were unfounded.
—Zz…
The giant Hercules Hornet, struck by my attack magic point-blank, was disintegrating—shattering to pieces and slowly losing its life.
At the same time, text appeared before my eyes: Gained experience for the “Wizard” class.
Was the power too much?
Mana drained heavily from my body, leaving my legs shaky. But the accomplishment of felling a tank-tough monster cooled my head with exhilaration.
“Crude, but impressive magic. Taking down that massive hornet in one strike.”
Aira praised me, eyeing the hornet’s wreckage. Even to her, the supreme wizard, my spell’s power seemed exceptional.
“But it wastes a lot of mana. If the goal is killing, you don’t need to shatter it so dramatically—just concentrate on one point.”
Swish.
Aira extended her finger forward. At the tip she aimed was a swarm of giant hornets poking their heads out from the cave entrance.
—Zzzzt.
—Zzztzz.
They must’ve come from the commotion.
But my attention wasn’t on the buzzing swarm—it was on Aira’s fingertip. Wooom—something gathered and glowed briefly.
—Pew.
Something shot from her fingertip. Unlike my flashy magic, it was utterly silent.
Like death creeping in quietly, chilling as it sliced the air at one point and pierced a giant hornet’s head.
Splurt. Shaaa—
—Zzz…
It felt entirely different from my crude explosion magic. But Aira said this wasn’t the end.
“With application, you can do things like this too. From one point to a line.”
Her light-infused index finger swiped left to right through the air.
At once, the light—like a sharp scalpel—tore space, leaving a white afterimage as it sliced through.
Ziiing.
—Zzzztzz, zzt—!
—Zzztzz!
The ultra-high heat severed the bodies of hornets pouring from the narrow entrance, dropping them like they’d been cut by a blade.
Thud, patter.
At least a dozen giant hornets met their end with Aira’s single gesture.
Waft.
Hot steam rose from the severed corpses. Up close, the cuts weren’t just sliced—the ultra-high heat had cauterized them like welding.
“Get it now, Theo?”
I got it.
The vast gap between Aira and me.
I knew wizards leaped in power upon reaching Grand Wizard at 5th Circle and beyond, but I hadn’t expected such a wall between her 7th Circle and my 4th. It was a bit disheartening.
Still, I didn’t show it. I simply bowed to Aira.
“Indeed, splendid technique.”
* * *
After Aira dispatched over a dozen hornets at once, fewer appeared. Thanks to that, I easily handled the occasional one or two that popped out.
—Zzzztzzzt….
—Zzz—!
—Paimon!
Pew. Pew.
The compressed shots from my wand pierced the hornets’ heads. Struck by the air bullets, they collapsed, twitching on the ground.
Aira was right.
Focusing mana on one point reduced the area but boosted the power. Better to call it increased lethality.
That let my Paimon spell pierce the hornets’ tough shells, dealing fatal wounds.
—Zzzzt.
“Hup.”
“Your focus on one point has improved a lot.”
Aira stroked my head as I finished off a hornet. She seemed pleased with my progress.
And I was progressing.
Killing so many hornets had steadily built my Wizard experience—and finally, I hit level 9.
Swish.
As mana refilled my weary body—
—Zzzztzzzt.
Something huge buzzed toward us in the wide hall, rising threateningly. It was a hornet with horn-like protrusions resembling a crown on its head.
“That must be this nest’s queen…!”
As I shouted in surprise, Aira furrowed her brow.
“A lowly thing calling itself queen—perhaps I, Angmar’s queen, should handle it personally.”
She pointed at the queen with her finger.
“——.”
At the same time, something extremely fast murmured from Aira’s lips. Then, an ultra-high-heat beam pierced the queen hornet’s body, shattering it.
I was shocked that Aira’s death beam from her hand actually required incantation. Now I saw—she’d been chanting at superhuman speed beyond my perception.
With my Wizard circle at about 4.5, I could barely catch the murmur.
Even a “super-speed chant” spell exclusive to Grand Wizards.
「Calm Situation Assessment!
Gain experience from Talent 《Composed Thinking》.
All job experience +5」
Through my activated Composed Thinking, I spotted something hidden behind the massive queen hornet’s corpse.
It was a chest. Square and sturdy, like a pirate’s treasure chest.
I’d seen something similar in the Draco family’s magic cave, so my heart raced.
“That must be this hornet nest dungeon’s core. Go open it.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yes, I have no need for it anyway.”
At Aira’s words, I approached the wooden chest. It was locked, but the key from the queen’s corpse unlocked it easily.
Click, creak.
Inside the large chest was a single scroll. Tied with a red ribbon and sealed, with a fancy gem embedded in the center—it looked incredibly valuable.
As I picked it up, text appeared.
「Angmar Magic Notebook: High Relic. Records and stores magic spells and incantations for later use. Number and potency enhance with user’s circle.」
“A magic scrollbook.”
As I read the text, Aira chimed in knowingly.
“Magic scrollbooks store wizards’ spells for activation. They disappear after one use, but this one seems reusable.”
“Oh.”
In other words, I could store spells too hard or impossible for me to cast, then pull them out when needed.
Definitely a great item.
If it went to a hunter party member, it’d be insanely efficient.
Good thing I got it first. The hunter party’s strong enough. Without Aira or the saintess, there’s no one left to fight anyway—getting stronger is pointless.
“As expected, no need for me. You take it, Theo.”
Of course, for Aira—who mastered all magic—this scrollbook was unnecessary. Thanks to her, I scored a great item.
But a sudden question arose.
Why did King Solomon scatter his items across dungeons like this?
As I pondered, Aira glanced around and said.
“I’ll collapse this dungeon now. No telling what variables an Angmar relic without its mana core might cause.”
Rumble. Boom, kaboom.
With Aira set on demolishing the cave, I hurriedly escaped outside.
Swoosh.
As we exited the cave and walked the forest path back, a downpour started—rain so heavy I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
I was soaked through. I needed shelter, anywhere.
“Lady Aira, wait a moment!”
Rushing around, I finally spotted a usable spot.
“How about we take shelter there for now?”
Aira turned at my words. She asked me, incredulous at the place I’d found.
“Theo, you want us to go in there together? You serious?”