"Well then... time to head out."
It was the dead of night. Waiting until the mansion's occupants had fallen into a deep slumber, Rest slipped out of the stables.
The lights in the main house had already been extinguished. The only things illuminating the ground at his feet were the red, blue, and yellow moons hanging in the night sky. Looking up at the tricolored celestial bodies, Rest felt a renewed sense of wonder at the fact that he was truly in another world.
"『Night Scope.』"
As the spell took hold, his vision instantly brightened. Thanks to the magic that allowed him to see through the darkness, his surroundings became as clear as they were at midday.
This wasn't a spell he’d picked up from Cedric. While he had learned most of his repertoire—mainly offensive spells—by serving as Cedric’s living target, he had other sources for magic as well. He’d learned 『Night Scope』 back when he lived with his mother, taught to him by a middle-aged man who spent his days drinking in the back alleys.
Rest never learned the true identity of the man who had traded magic for bread. However, he remained grateful to him; thanks to those lessons, he had mastered spells like 『Night Scope』, 『Unlock』, and 『Life Search』.
(It’s probably for the best if I don't think too hard about what kind of profession that man actually had...)
(Now then... where are the monsters?)
Rest arrived at the edge of the forest. The dense, overgrown trees blocked out the moonlight, leaving the interior of the woods as dark and forbidding as a monster's maw. Without magic, he wouldn't have been able to see a meter in front of him, let alone navigate the terrain.
(The monsters are... this way.)
He activated his 『Life Search』 magic to scout for targets. Almost immediately, he detected the presence of three monsters near the forest entrance. Approaching as silently as possible, he spotted three-eyed wolves—beasts with a single large eye in the center of their foreheads—greedily devouring a fresh kill.
Rest ducked behind a tree, observing the wolves from the shadows.
(What are they eating...? Ugh, a goblin?)
The creature being torn apart by the three wolves was a green-skinned, monkey-like being. It was a goblin—a staple monster of fantasy worlds. Familiar or not, seeing a humanoid creature being disemboweled with its bones and organs exposed was a sickening sight.
"Gru?"
One of the wolves, which had been preoccupied with the goblin meat, suddenly raised its head and sniffed the air. It seemed to have caught Rest’s scent or sensed his presence.
(Strike first, strike hard... here goes!)
"『Thunderball.』"
Rest lunged from behind the tree and unleashed his newly acquired magic. A sphere of crackling purple lightning slammed into one of the wolves, sending its massive frame into violent convulsions.
"Guuuuuuuuuh!?"
"Gau!"
"Gaa!"
Seeing their packmate go down, the remaining two wolves lunged at Rest. He didn't panic, calmly readying his next shot.
"『Thunderball.』"
"Gyan!"
The second lightning sphere found its mark. He moved to fire a third, but the final wolf was faster, leaping toward him with bared fangs.
"Gaaaaaaaaa!"
"Kh...!"
Rest dove to the side to evade the strike, but the beast’s claws grazed his arm, leaving a thin red line in his flesh. Pain flared through him, threatening to twist his features, but he knew that panicking would only play into the beast's hands.
(If the heart wavers, the magic falters. Stay calm... stay calm...)
"『Thunderball.』"
"Gaa!?"
His focus restored, the lightning bolt struck the final wolf square in the chest, and it collapsed. Rest let out a long sigh of relief as he looked over the three downed wolves.
"Gru... ru..."
"I see... you're still alive."
It appeared that 『Thunderball』 lacked significant lethal power. While the wolves were paralyzed and incapacitated by the shock, all three were still breathing.
"I'll put you out of your misery... 『Wind Cutter.』"
He unleashed blades of wind, neatly severing the wolves' necks. A dark pool of blood poured from their throats, soaking into the forest floor.
(『Thunderball』 is fast, so it’s definitely useful. If I increase the mana output, the damage should scale up too... I’ll need more practice.)
"Gii! Gii!"
"Oops... more guests?"
New shapes emerged from the undergrowth. They were small, green, and roughly the size of human children—goblins. Whether they had come to aid their fallen comrades or had simply been drawn by the scent of blood was unclear. Clutching rusted knives, the goblins glared at Rest with malice.
"Gigii! Gigii!"
"Hey, I wasn't the one who killed your friends. Don't look at me like that."
"Gi!"
"Besides... I already know about the ambush."
Rest hopped nimbly to the side. A split second later, a second goblin that had crept up behind him swung a heavy club down on the exact spot where he had been standing.
"Gii!?"
"That would have been bad if I didn't have 『Life Search.』 Allow me to return the favor!"
Activating his 『Physical Enhancement』 magic to bolster his muscles, Rest delivered a powerful kick to the would-be assassin. The goblins had likely intended to use the first one as a decoy while the second brained him from behind, but Rest had sensed the flanking maneuver long before it happened.
The goblin was sent flying, crashing hard against a tree trunk.
"Gi!"
"『Water Cutter.』"
Rest fired a blade of water at the first goblin. As it tried to flee upon seeing its partner defeated, the spell caught it in the back, dropping it instantly. To be safe, he fired a second shot to finish the job.
"Hmph!"
"Gi... i..."
Rest then turned his attention to the goblin slumped against the tree. While his body was still magically enhanced, he brought his heel down on its head with crushing force. The skull gave way like a dropped egg, leaving the goblin’s head a mangled mess.
It was a grisly scene, but one he had long since grown accustomed to. Goblins were pests that preyed on livestock and kidnapped human children to eat. He felt no sympathy for them.
"Now the battle is truly over."
He swept the area for any remaining presences, but the vicinity was clear. Rest turned his attention to the shallow gash on his arm.
"『Heal.』"
Enveloped in a soft green light, the wound sealed shut.
This magic, too, hadn't come from Cedric. It was a gift from a temple priest before Rest had been taken in by the Ebern family. The man who had taught him healing magic was the very same priest who had performed his mana diagnosis as an infant and declared him 『Magicless.』
『There are ailments that magic cannot reach. Your mother has been called to the side of the Goddess.』
The priest had looked out for Rest and his mother in many ways, and he had been there to offer comfort when Rest’s mother drew her final breath. When he discovered that Rest—the boy who was supposed to be 『Magicless』—could actually use magic, he hadn't questioned it. He had simply accepted it as a blessing from the Goddess. From there, he had taught Rest spells like 『Heal』, 『Cure』, and 『Clean.』
『No matter how difficult your path becomes, the Goddess is always watching. Please, live a righteous life and do not stray.』
(If I hadn't met that man, I might have used this power far more recklessly...)
Consumed by rage, he might have tried to murder his stepmother or Cedric. He might have been swallowed by his hatred for the father who had used and discarded his mother.
(I probably could have taken my revenge if I wanted to. With this much mana, I'm sure of it...)
Even after killing five monsters with magic, Rest felt no dip in his internal reserves. His pool of mana was truly bottomless. It was a power that could be easily warped for evil.
(But... if I chose revenge, I’d only be disappointing Mother and the Priest. I can't do that.)
In his previous life, someone had once said that the best revenge was living well. He didn't need blood or violence. He would simply climb higher than any of them. He would make his father, his stepmother, and Cedric eat their words—not through crime, but by succeeding on his own terms.
(To do that... I need to train my magic until it's perfect!)
With his resolve renewed, Rest focused his senses once more and ventured deeper into the midnight forest in search of more prey.