Spider Hunt (3)
The Shadow Spear had landed perfectly.
Even from a distance, its power was unmistakable at a glance.
The terrifying Forest Spider died instantly to that single blow.
There was no time to rejoice.
Forest Spiders kept streaming out of the woods, one after another, with no end in sight.
As soon as the pain in his chest eased, Lawrence focused again.
The Forest Spiders went after the mercenaries who were setting fires.
Because they were closest to the forest, those men were exposed to the greatest danger here.
When a Forest Spider targeted a monster carcass, mercenaries could gather and fight it off in an organized line; here, it was more like being struck by a natural disaster.
With invisible speed, the spiders lunged in, and one wounded mercenary after another began to fall.
Now and then, Lawrence caught sight of men being dragged into the forest.
The mercenaries struck by paralyzing venom couldn’t even manage a scream, and their eyes were filled with sheer terror.
He couldn’t understand it.
Why had they volunteered for such a dangerous job in the first place?
It couldn’t be just for the money.
No matter how greedy a man was, no paycheck was worth more than his own life.
Unless there was some bargain at work that Lawrence didn’t know about?
…I’m thinking too much.
Even while he stood there, the Forest Spiders kept throwing themselves forward.
He cast Shadow Spear again.
This time, it didn’t last nearly as long as before.
Still, he failed to save the mercenary who was about to be bitten.
Keureuk!?
He hadn’t managed to cut off its life in a single strike.
The problem wasn’t with Shadow Spear.
At the very last moment, his aim had gone astray.
Instead, the spider, with most of its left side blown away, lost three legs all at once.
The Forest Spider’s balance collapsed.
It toppled in place, hissing and spitting threats.
It was a futile struggle.
The third Shadow Spear finished it off.
But the spiders’ assault still wasn’t over.
As more of them burst from the woods, he cast Shadow Spear once again.
Perhaps because he’d used the spell repeatedly, his head spun with a sharp, dizzying pang.
In the end, the final Shadow Spear struck far from where he had aimed.
The good news was that it still hit a Forest Spider.
Was it because of the sudden appearance of magic?
The Forest Spiders pouring out of the woods seemed to lose momentum.
And the mercenaries weren’t fools enough to waste that opening.
Seizing the chance, they succeeded in setting the forest alight.
After that, the isolated Forest Spiders were hunted down and slain one by one.
Lawrence had no leisure to keep watching the situation.
He placed a hand over his chest.
Fortunately, the headache had faded quickly, but the pain rising from his chest was no small matter.
Only four uses, and he was already at this point.
His limit had come far sooner than he had expected.
Right—real combat was different.
Unlike practice, in an actual fight he couldn’t just cast Shadow Spear and hurl it immediately.
He had to hold it in place and wait for the right opening.
But if he didn’t prepare it in advance, he would miss the timing to fire.
In the end, he had to maintain Shadow Spear until the decisive moment came—and even that alone made the pain in his chest fierce.
The first time was fine.
He could endure it for a while.
But once that duration was exceeded, the strain began to multiply.
Maintenance was one issue, but aim was another major problem entirely.
The fourth Shadow Spear hitting the Forest Spider had been pure luck.
To put it bluntly, the spell had flown wherever it liked and killed the thing by chance.
It was a relief it hadn’t hit a person.
If he’d misjudged by even a little, it might have ended in a major accident.
He needed to rethink things.
If he held Shadow Spear too long, the pain would worsen and his aim would inevitably go crooked.
Besides, the difference between the first casting and the fourth was so stark it was almost absurd.
If he wanted to reduce uncertainty, Fire Tail was probably the better choice.
It was easier to aim where he wanted, and its power was decent enough.
But Lawrence soon shook his head.
To bring down a Forest Spider with Fire Tail, he would have to close the distance.
That was out of the question.
Even if it was longer than a spear, once he considered the length of a Forest Spider’s legs, Fire Tail came with too much risk.
Closing that gap against a Forest Spider was, no matter how he looked at it, an act of suicide.
“Um… excuse me, mage sir?”
His train of thought snapped.
The weight of real combat had blurred his vision.
Before he knew it, mercenaries had gathered all around him.
The one who had spoken was a mercenary with a strange smell about him.
The stench was awful.
Lawrence frowned before he realized it and covered his nose with one hand.
“What is it?”
“Thank you for saving my life. If it hadn’t been for you, mage sir, I’d have been a dead man.”
So that was who he was—the mercenary he’d saved with Shadow Spear.
If he was being honest, it could only be called good luck for both of them.
Only the first Shadow Spear, when his condition was at its best, had saved someone’s life.
“There’s no need to thank me. The Forest Spider I was aiming for just happened to target you. Still, if you think of it as owing me your life, I’d appreciate a bit of help with the work.”
“Huh? Th-that’s okay with you?”
The mercenary asked back as if he couldn’t believe it.
Just as Lawrence was wondering what all the fuss was about, he realized that every mercenary gathered around him seemed eager to say something to him.
“...He’s a real mage.”
“I’ve never seen one before. So magic really does exist.”
“Did you see that? That damned spider got killed in one shot.”
He could hear them whispering.
They were obviously trying to keep their voices down, but there were so many mercenaries crowded around that every word still carried.
Well, he understood.
It made sense to be shocked by a mage who might be seen only once in a lifetime.
And they had just witnessed magic’s power with their own eyes, hadn’t they?
If another mage had done it, Lawrence would have been shocked too….
His thoughts stopped there.
No, wait.
I’m that mage.
This was no time to talk as if it were someone else’s business.
Once he realized that, Lawrence’s mind began working fast.
Mage.
Yes. He had to act like a mage.
“Hold on.”
“Yes?”
“Is this your first time seeing a mage?”
“Of course. Not just me—everyone here is seeing one for the first time, I’d say.”
With a gesture toward the others, the mercenary answered brightly.
“Mage sir, are you perhaps from the Magic Tower?”
“The Magic Tower?”
“Ah, so I was wrong. Sorry. It’s the only place I know where mages come from….”
The Magic Tower.
That was a name he needed to remember.
So mages usually operated from a Magic Tower.
“I’m a mercenary.”
“You’re a mercenary, mage sir?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
“Ah, no. Of course not. I was just surprised.”
The sight of a grown man shaking his head with desperate intensity was somehow amusing.
He seemed to think that if he mouthed off carelessly, he might end up on the wrong end of magic.
“The area’s getting a bit noisy. If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you could help me with the salvage.”
“Me, sir?”
“Yes. I’m not asking for free labor, of course. I took down three Forest Spiders, so I’ll pay you for your trouble.”
“Even if I look like this, I’m a native of Horos Village. I’ll show you disassembly done properly, mage sir. You’ll be satisfied, I promise.”
At the mention of payment, the man’s eyes changed.
“A native of the village? So you’re not a mercenary, then.”
“Oh, no, no. People like me who run around setting fires in front are usually village folk.”
“Why would you do such a dangerous job…?”
“Same reason as mercenaries, really. Gotta earn money.”
He laughed sheepishly. “There are a lot of mouths to feed.”
“I see. I’m Lawrence.”
“Rapfield. Nice to meet you.”
As Lawrence moved with Rapfield, disappointed voices rose around them.
Just as he’d said he was seeing a mage for the first time, the surrounding mercenaries were staring at the two of them with envious eyes.
Apparently they had all been waiting for a good opening to strike up a conversation.
“Damn, what a shame. If I’d known, I would’ve tried talking to him sooner.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you really think some great mage sir would mingle with stinking mercenaries like us? Not a chance. Shit.”
“Lower your voice, you crazy bastard. Are you dying for real?”
“If you want to kill me, go ahead. You’ll die before I do.”
Of course, not everything said about him was flattering.
Envy and jealousy.
Some looked on with admiration, others with naked resentment.
But they all had one thing in common: like Rapfield, there was fear in their eyes.
That was probably why none of them dared start trouble face-to-face.
As expected, a mage was special.
Mercenaries couldn’t dismiss one lightly either.
That made Lawrence unconsciously straighten his shoulders.
He had to work hard to keep his chin from lifting of its own accord.
“Still, that was truly incredible. To kill a Forest Spider in one blow. I’ve spent a lot of time out in Spider Forest, but I’ve never seen anyone as strong as mage sir.”
Rapfield’s hands moved quickly as he dissected the Forest Spider.
So he really hadn’t been lying about being a native of Horos Village.
“Everyone has what they’re good at.”
“Is there anything mage sir can’t do?”
“You can call me Lawrence. As you can see, I don’t even know how to dismantle a Forest Spider. From here on, I’ll just watch what you do and learn.”
“Uh… hmm… I see? It feels a bit strange to hear Lord Lawrence say that he’s learning from me.”
“What’s strange about it? Mages are all people too.”
Disassembling a Forest Spider required a bit of skill.
The dismantling knife wasn’t an ordinary blade.
Using a cleaver almost like a kitchen knife, Rapfield hacked through the leg joints as if he were splitting firewood.
The parts where those sturdy legs connected to the body were soft, though, and each one came off in a single cut.
Once the eight legs had been gathered, he moved on to the teeth.
Four on top, four below—two sets of fangs, sharp as needles.
For that, he pulled out something like a carving tool, set it into the gums like a chisel, and tapped it with a hammer until each tooth was pried loose one by one.
The final step was the grand finale: the paralyzing stinger.
“This is the truly dangerous one. Even after the spider’s dead, the paralyzing venom remains. Touch it barehanded and you’re done for.”
“Then how am I supposed to carry it?”
“There’s always a way.”
Rapfield took out a thin wire and jabbed it into the stinger.
After that, it was simple.
He twisted the wire gently, as if searching for something.
Then, with a click, the stinger dropped into the sack.
“Easy, right?”
“……”
Easy, my ass.
Lawrence had nothing to say.
* * *
After dismantling the three Forest Spiders, Lawrence ran into an important problem.
Because the spiders were so large, their remains were more than two people could reasonably carry.
Three broken legs, and five more destroyed by Shadow Spear.
Even after excluding those eight discarded legs, there were still sixteen left.
The paralyzing stingers and teeth were comparatively small and easy to keep, but the legs were neither something he could fit into a sack nor anything he could realistically haul back.
After thinking for a moment, Lawrence called over the other mercenaries.
“You’re going to share the salvage?”
“Wow. As expected, mage sir is generous as well as skilled!”
“Shut up, Ziel! Keep your mouth closed.”
“Let’s hear the reason first. Why would you give away the remains of a Forest Spider you worked so hard to—no, I mean, struggled to catch?”
Not everyone was pleased, of course.
There was no such thing as generosity without a reason.
Experienced mercenaries wouldn’t have failed to know that.
“I didn’t catch this alone. To be blunt, if it weren’t for the mercenaries moving at the front, how could I have cast any magic at all?”
Don’t lose your composure.
A confident attitude was what suited a mage.
And that confidence would plant the seeds of trust among the mercenaries.
“That’s true enough. I was the one running my ass off out there.”
“Shut it, Ziel!”
A rough voice rang out.
A small quarrel broke out, as though they didn’t know where to stick their noses and where not to.
After waiting until the noise subsided, Lawrence spoke again.
“The most important reason is that I don’t want to take unnecessary risks.”
“Huh? What the hell does that mean?”
“I see. I understand what you mean, mage sir.”
The red-haired mercenary nodded.
“I heard mages were eccentric. Turns out there are some with a proper head on their shoulders, too.”
Excessive greed invited disaster.
No matter how well Lawrence could handle magic, if these men ever took it into their heads to draw steel, who knew what might happen?
For now they were afraid because they had seen magic’s power, but if greed ever blinded them, there would be trouble he couldn’t easily manage.
Hadn’t he heard the savage voices coming from behind him just now?
This was an investment in the future, of a sort.
He planned to keep hunting in Spider Forest, after all.
At the very least, he wanted no mercenaries thinking about his back.
“No, that’s not what I mean. Why are you the only ones who get it? Someone explain it to me too.”
“Can it, you damn Ziel bastard.”
“No, I’m not Ziel.”
“Then why’re you giving me shit again?”
“I’m not Ziel? Shit. This place has gone to hell too. How did we end up with another bastard exactly like Ziel?”
“What? Say that again. Who’s exactly like Ziel?”
“...You two can come see me later.”
Lawrence handed over ten legs in total and kept five for himself.
One leg went to Rapfield for helping with the dismantling.
“Thank you, mage sir.”
“I trust you’ll divide the rest fairly.”
“You’ll come again?”
“If I didn’t plan to, there’d be no reason to do this in the first place.”
The red-haired mercenary curled one corner of his mouth.
“I’m Red Fist Sidra.”
“I’m Lawrence.”
He shook Sidra’s hand.
The palm of the red-haired mercenary was as hard as a stone.
Yanking Lawrence closer, Sidra spoke in a low voice.
“If you’re looking for a group to run with, say the word anytime. A mage sir who can send Forest Spiders packing in one shot? Everyone here would welcome you with both hands.”
“I’ll… think about it.”
“Good. Don’t worry about the split! I swear on the name of Red Fist that the salvage mage sir shares with this lot will be divided fairly among all the mercenaries gathered here.”
Enthusiastic whistles rose from the crowd.
“Now that’s an unexpected haul!”
“Today I’m finally going to get my hands on Silvia’s haughty ass!”
“What a load of crap. Silvia only likes young ones—like hell she’ll give you the time of day.”
“She may not like men, but she likes money, doesn’t she? Right?”
Leaving behind the mercenaries talking excitedly, Lawrence moved away from the noisy crowd at last and felt himself relax.
It seemed he had tied the first knot well enough.
It probably matched the usual image of a mage.
The pounding in his chest felt strangely embarrassing.
Part of him felt pleased, and part of him felt exhausted.
Emotions he himself didn’t fully understand surged through his chest.
Still, one thing was certain.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
“You really didn’t have to give all that away.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Of course I do. No—well, it’s your call since you were the one who caught them, Lord Lawrence….”
Rapfield kept glancing back, plainly reluctant.
He seemed unable to let go of the legs he had handed over to the mercenaries.
“Didn’t you say it yourself, Mr. Rapfield? The most expensive part is the paralyzing stinger, and the next is the teeth.”
“That’s just relatively speaking. Even a leg goes for 50 copper apiece. Ten legs make five silver, all by themselves.”
As though silver coins were already glittering before his eyes, he clicked his tongue.
“No matter how much you like money, it’s over once you’re dead.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Then there’s no need to regret it. For a man’s life, it was cheap.”
“What?”
That was how Lawrence saw it.
There was no need to cling to a few coins right in front of him.
He’d already learned in real combat today that Shadow Spear worked.
If he put his mind to it, securing the legs of a Forest Spider would be no trouble at all.
The important thing was not to be greedy.
Back in the alleys, he had seen every kind of person imaginable.
Lawrence had already seen plenty of human trash when he was young.
It was always other people who stabbed you in the back.
He had no desire whatsoever to experience that kind of horror himself.
Even the orphan friends he’d had back then would probably have spent all their time quarrelling with one another if it hadn’t been for the Leader.
Before the Leader had come, they had spent their days fighting over territory.
Listening to the mercenaries laughing and shouting behind him, Lawrence found himself missing the Leader and the others more than usual today.