The morning after my lesson, I decided to spend my early training time practicing Earth Magic.
I had already been shown the method yesterday.
Thanks to hours of one-on-one instruction, my understanding had improved considerably.
Sitting on the ground, I pressed my hands against the earth and channeled my mana into it.
Underneath my palms, I felt the soil churning and bubbling.
"It's working."
I was able to pull it off just like yesterday.
I kept at it until Amanda-san came by.
"Good morning, Erik. Is that magic training?"
"It is. Look, the ground's shape changed just a little bit, right?"
"Oh, you're right. It looks like that one patch has been neatly leveled out."
Last night before dinner, I had asked Amanda-san if I could practice Earth Magic in the backyard.
I had explained how the training worked, and she gave me her permission.
"Still, you really are amazing, Erik. Doing all this training every single day—doesn't it wear you out?"
"It gets tough sometimes, but every day is fun. There are just so many things I want to do that there never seems to be enough time."
"Hehe, having things you want to do is wonderful. Far better than having nothing at all."
With a warm smile, Amanda-san left it at that, and after washing my hands, I helped her with the laundry.
Once that was done, I ate breakfast, changed my clothes, and headed out of the inn.
I walked straight to the Adventurer's Guild, and as soon as I stepped inside, I spotted a familiar face standing at Reina-san's reception counter.
"Oh, perfect timing!"
"C-Cain-san?! Wait, you're back already?!"
"I borrowed a fast horse from a friend and zipped over and back in no time."
The man standing there was none other than Cain-san, who had taken on my quest.
Seeing my shock at his swift return, he gave a lighthearted chuckle.
"Here are the subjugation parts from the wyvern near the village. And I had the village chief over there write up a statement of proof, so here's that as well."
With that, Cain-san handed me an envelope.
I broke the seal and checked inside to find a letter written in the village chief's recognizable hand.
It confirmed that the wyvern had been successfully subjugated.
It seemed Henry-san had kept quiet about my involvement, just as promised.
Relieved that there was no mention of me, I finished reading through the letter.
"Cain-san, thank you so much for taking the quest."
"Don't worry about it. I just couldn't bear to see you looking so down, Erik-kun. Besides, I had some free time on my hands anyway, so it was a nice change of pace."
Cain-san offered another friendly smile, collected his reward money once Reina-san finished processing the paperwork, and took his leave.
After that, I signed the quest completion report.
For jobs like household chores, clients usually signed the report directly in person with the worker.
However, for quests like monster subjugation or material harvesting where in-person sign-offs were tricky, the client would sign the report afterward like this.
This was the first time I had ever been on the client side of the paperwork.
As for my evaluation of Cain-san's work, I naturally gave him the highest rating possible.
"I'm glad to hear it worked out. You'd been worrying about it the whole time, after all."
"Yes. It's a huge weight off my shoulders."
After replying to Reina-san, I headed toward the Adventurer's Guild's training grounds.
It looked like Olivia-san hadn't arrived yet.
Glancing at the edge of my field of view, I checked the display.
◇
Trained in [Earth Magic].
Gained 1 EXP.
Progress toward skill acquisition: 67/100.
◇
The morning practice had pushed the number up a bit.
At this rate, I was certain to acquire the skill before the morning was over.
With that thought in mind, I sat down, placed my hands against the ground, and began channeling my mana.
"My, I thought I arrived right on time, but you've already started."
"Good morning, Olivia-san."
As I was training, Olivia-san entered the training grounds.
In truth, I had arrived even earlier than yesterday.
I had eaten breakfast faster than usual, changed in a flash, and practically jogged over to the Adventurer's Guild.
"How is it going?"
"Great. I think if I keep at it for just a little longer, I'll be able to unlock the skill."
Hearing my confident answer, Olivia-san gave an approving nod, dragged over a chair, and sat down.
From there, with the occasional piece of advice from Olivia-san, I continued my training.
◇
Trained in [Earth Magic].
Gained 1 EXP.
Progress toward skill acquisition: 100/100.
◇
◇
Acquired [Earth Magic].
To next level: 0/100.
◇
A few hours drifted by, and just as noon was approaching...
I finally gained that last point of experience and unlocked the skill.
"Olivia-san, I learned the skill!"
"—! R-Really? In that case, can you show me right now?"
"Understood. I'll give it a shot."
I lifted my hands from the earth and pushed myself up.
My body ached a little from sitting in the dirt for so long.
"Spirit of the earth, lend me your strength. Earth Ball."
I cast the spell using the chant she had taught me.
A sphere of condensed earth materialized before me, rocketing toward my target.