"Boss! The newbie’s here!"
"Yeah? Well, bring him over!"
The workplace felt less like a construction site and more like a bandit hideout.
After parting ways with Fei, who had stayed behind at the Adventurer Guild to register, I had accepted a suitable-looking demolition job at the reception desk. Now that I was actually at the site, however, the man in charge was scowling at me with undisguised irritation.
"Calling him scrawny would be an understatement," he grumbled. "You’ve brought me a total brat."
I was a child, after all. I was already used to that reaction.
"Good morning. Here are my credentials," I said, presenting my request form and Guild Card.
"Oh, right. You’re the adventurer who took the job? The work here is simple, but—wait. You look incredibly young, yet you’re D-Rank?"
"Yes. I’m confident in my physical strength, and I specialize in Earth Magic."
"A mage, huh? Well, fine then. About the pay... what’s this note about you needing these materials? You’re really fine with just the debris from the demolition? And you’re okay with the reward staying at the standard amount?"
He got straight to the point, which was a relief. The rough-and-tumble atmosphere of a construction site felt strangely nostalgic to me.
"Of course. I’d like to take as much of the rubble as possible, though. As for transport, I can use Space Magic to handle it all myself."
"Then feel free to take whatever you want. Hey! Take the kid to the back!"
"Thank you very much!"
The receptionist at the guild had been right; they gave me permission without a second thought. Apparently, this was a specialized demolition firm, and they usually had to pay other contractors to haul away the leftover debris. Since they already collected disposal fees from their clients, every bit of rubble I took was essentially pure profit for them. They didn't seem to expect much from me in terms of labor, but since the pay was commission-based, they clearly figured they had nothing to lose.
"Alright, here we are. This is your section," a younger worker said, leading me to a spot directly behind the main area. It was exactly where the boss had indicated.
There was no one else around. Only a small section of the massive building's wall, roughly a few meters wide, had already collapsed.
"No one else is here right now because this is the designated workspace for mages," the man explained.
"So we’re kept separate from the others?"
"I hear you need to concentrate to cast, and if you collapse from mana exhaustion in the middle of a live site, you’ll just be in the way."
It was a fair point. Pushing your mana to the absolute limit could cause a physical backlash so severe that even standing became an agonizing chore. Construction sites were dangerous enough without people fainting in the middle of them.
"This place only pays for results, so we don't care when you call it quits. For now, you’re just breaking down the wall within this property line. Don't damage the road or the neighboring buildings. Other than that, just watch your head so you don't get crushed. That’s about it. I’ll leave this here just in case."
The man leaned a heavy demolition hammer against a section of the standing wall.
"Rest if you need to, but try to show a little backbone since you’re an adventurer."
With that, he headed back to the front.
I wondered if it was really wise to leave an amateur alone in a place where the supervisor couldn't keep an eye on them. Then again, I’d heard the guild staff mention that this company was chronically short-handed.
"Alright then," I muttered. The instructions were a bit haphazard, but it was time to get to work.
First thing was first.
"Dimension Home."
I summoned a Metal Slime and ordered it to change shape. I placed a thick, folded hand towel over my head and had the slime wrap around it to serve as a makeshift helmet. The versatility of Metal and Iron Slimes never ceased to amaze me. As I marveled at how much they’d grown, I reaffirmed the fundamental importance of head protection on a job site.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen a single person wearing a helmet since I arrived in this world. Even the workers here were bareheaded. Maybe I should look into developing safety shoes or similar equipment? If I used materials from the Sticky Slimes... No, that could wait.
"Break Rock!"
I tested the spell lightly on the wall. The surface crumbled away into fine dust, leaving a hole about forty centimeters wide. A small portion had been pierced through completely, but that opening was barely ten centimeters across.
Is that all I get with my current mana? The hole was smaller than I expected. Perhaps the wall was treated with that paint I’d heard about once—the kind that interfered with Earth Magic. In that case, I needed to increase the output.
"Break Rock!"
This time, a much larger hole opened up. It seemed that as long as I increased the mana to boost the power, I’d get the desired results.
"But this feels a bit inefficient..."
At my feet, the section of the wall I’d hit had turned entirely to sand. While breaking the wall was the goal, there was no need to pulverize it so thoroughly. As long as it was in chunks small enough to be carried, it would be fine.
Time for an adjustment.
"Focus on making the spell a line rather than a surface... envisioning a seam running from the top of the wall to the ground... Break Rock!"
The mana permeated the stone, and sand poured from the surface. It looked as if the wall had been hollow and filled with grit. Once the dust settled, a jagged trench about two centimeters wide had been carved into the wall.
"Success! It pierced all the way through with the same amount of mana. Now I can just cut the wall into manageable blocks."
There was one issue: the jagged edges left by the spell. I’d tried to visualize a perfectly straight line, but my control was still a bit loose.
"One more time..."
I needed a sharper mental image—like a blade slicing through silk. I calmed my breathing and manipulated the mana with deliberate precision. While I was at it, I decided to rename the technique to make the visualization easier.
"...Stone Cutter! Much better."
On the second attempt, the trench was half as wide and the cut was remarkably smooth. I would have preferred it to be even narrower, but I could work on that later.
"Now then..."
I turned my attention to the section of the wall that was now standing like an isolated pillar. I had the cutting down; now I just needed to shatter the block into smaller pieces. I didn't need a clean cut here, just a rough fracture.
"...Crack! Perfect."
Fissures like lightning bolts branched across the stone. With a thunderous roar, the pillar snapped in the middle and collapsed outward. Earth Magic really was incredibly flexible. Perhaps it was just because I used it so often, but it was easy to translate my intent into physical results.
"Oh, I wonder if I can do that too..."
The idea was so intriguing that I couldn't help but try it. I was starting to enjoy myself. I visualized those massive craters often seen in manga—the kind made by a devastating impact.
"Wall Break!"
A massive surge of mana flowed from my hand and into the stone. A deep, spider-web pattern of fractures etched itself across the wall, which immediately began to crumble. One more poke and the whole thing would likely come down.
"Wow!"
It worked exactly as I’d imagined, and the progress was staggering.
"That’s about two meters in diameter."
Compared to the forty-centimeter hole I started with, this was a massive leap forward. Even if it consumed more mana, the sheer scale made it far more efficient. With this, I could take down the entire wall in just a few casts.
"What in the hell happened here!?"
"Oh?"
I was so busy admiring my handiwork that I hadn't noticed the young man from earlier approaching.
"Good afternoon! Is something wrong?"
"The boss heard a huge crash and told me to check it out. Wait... did you do this?"
"Yes! I’ve been trying a few different things. How does it look?"
"You’re... you're actually an incredible mage, aren't you?"
"Thank you! Earth Magic is my specialty, and I’ve been told my mana capacity is on par with a Court Mage."
"Well, it doesn't look like there's a problem, so just keep at it. I don't really know what else to tell you, so I’m gonna go get the boss."
"Understood!"
After the site supervisor arrived and gave his approval, I got a bit carried away and continued demolishing walls. By the time I finished around noon, I had stuffed a massive pile of rubble into my Dimension Home and was ready to head back in high spirits.
Just as I was leaving, the boss made me an offer.
"Hey, kid. You want a permanent job with us?"
I politely declined.
I headed back to the Adventurer Guild to regroup with Fei, but when I arrived, I found a strange scene.
"Pops, you're so strong!"
"Um, if you're free, would you like to form a party with us?"
"I have other work to do. It is a problem. I appreciate the invitation, but..."
"Aww, come on! Are you single, at least?"
"I have a daughter about your age!"
It turned out that Fei was being swarmed by beautiful female adventurers.
"Dammit! If only I’d talked to them a few minutes earlier!"
"Who the hell is that old guy anyway!?"
"Um... excuse me. Did something happen?" I asked a male adventurer who was watching the spectacle with obvious jealousy.
According to him, Fei had completed a request immediately after registering and had returned to the counter to report it. At the same time, a party of female adventurers who were becoming quite famous in the city was at the adjacent counter.
"Then those thugs who are famous for being creeps showed up. Looked like they’d been drinking since the morning, too..."
The men had apparently started harassing the women. They were notorious for their drinking and poor behavior, but they were skilled enough that the receptionists couldn't easily force them out. Fei, unable to ignore the harassment, had stepped in. When the thugs took offense and tried to attack him, he had effortlessly pinned them all down.
And now, here we were. Fei, what kind of protagonist are you supposed to be?
"Ah, Tenshu! Please, I need help! Why are you watching from the shadows!?"
Oops, he spotted me.
I stayed back because I didn't fully understand the situation, and frankly, I didn't know how to approach that crowd. More importantly, the look in those women's eyes was terrifying. They looked like predators who had just found their next meal.
"...My apologies, but please wait just a bit longer. I have to report my own request, and besides, I’m no expert in matters of the heart."
"Tenshu! Tenshu—!"
Reporting a request was a vital duty for an adventurer. I’d be back as soon as I was done.
So, please hang in there, Fei. And if possible, please do something about those women before I get back!
I hurried toward the counter as fast as I could.