"The magical beast hunt was a success! My thanks to all of you!"
"Oooooh!"
At Albert’s proclamation, the Royal Guards raised their arms and cheered in delight.
Hmm. I went through all the trouble of leaving the castle, and it’s already over? I didn’t even get to fight a magical beast myself. It felt anticlimactic.
"The sun is nearly down. We’ll camp here for the night and head back tomorrow."
Before I knew it, evening had arrived. The sunset reflected off the surface of the lake, painting a beautiful scene. I wondered if I could sneak out once night fell to practice some magic...
"Master Lloyd, our tent is ready."
Sylpha approached me with a smile, having finished the setup. It was a remarkably small tent. Are the two of us really sleeping in there together? If I tried to slip away, she’d almost certainly wake up. Knowing Sylpha, there was no doubt about it.
Sigh. It was a shame, but I guess this outing was coming to an end. I really wanted to hunt a magical beast myself.
"Now then, I shall go and prepare dinner. Master Lloyd, please wait here—"
Awooooooo...
A low sound echoed, overlapping with Sylpha’s voice. A dog’s bark? No, this was...
"A wolf, perhaps?"
"No, the voice sounds a bit too deep for that..."
Normal wolves had higher-pitched howls. It was too far away to be certain, but it sounded very similar to a Bearwolf.
Awooooo... Awooooooo...
The howling gradually grew closer. And it wasn't just one; the sounds seemed to be coming from all over the surrounding forest. At this point, even the Royal Guards sensed the anomaly and began to stir.
"Wh-What is that roaring!?"
"It’s getting closer!"
"Everyone in the tents, get out here now!"
Those who had been resting came streaming out. Everyone gripped their weapons with tense expressions.
"Lloyd, come here."
I trotted over to Albert’s side, and the Royal Guards formed a defensive circle around us. A prickling tension filled the air.
"Grrrrr...!"
The growling was right there. The bushes rustled and swayed until a giant wolf poked its head out.
As I thought—a Bearwolf.
"A magical beast! There are still more!?"
"Grrr!" "Roar!" "Guaaaaah!"
It wasn't just one. Two, then three leaped out from the forest. In the blink of an eye, we were surrounded by a pack of Bearwolves. Furthermore, more howls were converging from deep within the woods.
"Impossible... Magical beasts aren't supposed to form packs... Why are there so many?"
Everyone was panicking, but I saw this as a chance. The Royal Guards struggled against even a single magical beast, so if there were this many, surely no one would complain if I took some down. Of course, I had no intention of using anything beyond Lower Magic, but even that would be plenty. All right, I was starting to get excited.
"Albert-niisan, I’ll fight too!"
"...! Right. I’m counting on you, Lloyd!"
"They’re coming!"
Almost exactly as Sylpha shouted, the Bearwolves pounced.
"Graaaaah!"
"Kuh! Protect Master Albert and Master Lloyd!"
The Royal Guards tightened their formation, creating a wall in front of us. From behind them, Albert unleashed his Blazing Fireball. The Bearwolf writhed as it was scorched by the roaring flames.
All right, my turn.
"Take this!"
I fired off a Fireball, making sure to use a rehearsed, somewhat wooden tone. The ball of fire singed the tip of a Bearwolf’s nose, making it flinch. The Royal Guards followed up with a barrage of slashes, forcing it back.
"Master Lloyd, why aren't you using more powerful magic? You could wipe these guys out in a single shot if you used even one High Magic spell-ssu."
"Because it wouldn't be any fun if I finished them off immediately."
This was a rare opportunity to use magic against actual magical beasts. I wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible.
"Oh, I know. If I cast Healing Magic on the fallen beasts, wouldn't I be able to keep this going even longer?"
If I cast it on the Royal Guards too, I’d have a perpetual motion machine of combat. It was a great idea, if I do say so myself. A truly devilish inspiration.
"I-I really think you should probably refrain from that-ssu..."
Grimo, looking completely repulsed, shut the idea down. Come to think of it, Healing Magic didn't restore mental stamina. There was a chance the guards might lose focus during a prolonged battle and get killed. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if someone died because of my experiment, so I decided against it.
Still, just using Fireball wasn't particularly interesting.
"Then at the very least, let's test out Ki."
I had only just learned it, so I hadn't had much chance to verify its effects on living creatures. There were plenty of targets here, so I could fire at will. I regulated my breathing and gathered the Ki from inside my body into my right hand.
It was the Ki Blast that Tao had used. When I first tried it, the strain made my lungs hurt incredibly bad, but I could significantly dull the pain by applying Healing Magic pinpointed directly onto my lungs as I did it.
...All right, this works.
"Hah!"
I shrouded the attack in a Fireball to camouflage it and fired. The fireball—the Ki Blast—flew straight and struck a Bearwolf.
"Guaaaaah!?"
The Bearwolf let out a scream and was sent flying, but it immediately scrambled back to its feet. It didn't seem very effective. When it came to pure Ki attacks, I wasn't even fit to lace Tao's boots yet.
"M-Master Lloyd, what on earth was that-ssu...?"
"Oh, it's Ki. Tao taught it to me."
"Wh-at...!?"
Grimo was floored by my casual admission.
"If I recall, Ki is a technique used by foreigners from ancient times-ssu... Word is it requires years of training... You only met that Tao brat a few days ago, didn't you-ssu? You're telling me you mastered it in such a short time...? I can't believe it-ssu..."
Grimo looked completely repulsed again. I wondered if he thought I was holding back just to make the fight last longer. Unfortunately, that actually was the best I could do with it.
As I thought, Ki was difficult.