Chapter 22: Stare
1170 Words
It was still the same day when he met his companions, Arion went out of the outskirts of the kingdom together with Lilith and Adriel so he can finish his first-ever mission.
The party master, Marget is with Sarra. Both of them were taking care of the documents they needed to prepare for quest which gives Orb of Geyser; the third material they needed for his invention that utilizes the concept of perpetual motion.
Luckily, Adriel already had Eye of Moonlight and Magic Signature Stamper, the other two main items Arion needed.
Looking at the vast field meadows lies countless slime monsters that randomly appear from the soil was confusing for him and his deductive reasoning stopped from functioning as he was just standing in an open space.
"No one told me I should have a registered D-Class mission before I can accept a higher class quest." Arion stoops. They can't tell if he's excited or plainly bored at this point.
The sunrays were warmer than he anticipated, he's blandly peering against the tiny little slimes of different colors wandering and roaming around the meadow.
[ Roaming Monsters Within Vicinity ]
Monster: Field Slime
Type: D-Class
HP: 138
MP: 32
Wisdom: 1%
Strength: 1%
Dexterity: 4%
Luck: 0%
Each of the slimes scattered across the fields has the exact same amount of HP and MP, their status is so low they can be killed just by stomping at them.
"Just where you came from? If you lived in another kingdom or a faraway place, you have had at least one record of accomplishing a basic quest. A mage can't jump right of the bat and do some heavy-leveled quest." Adriel was already perching on the grasses. She the one who's obviously bored as plain as a day.
"Hell no. I better get this done, otherwise, we'll be stuck here." Arion values time more than anyone and he wants to finish his quest as soon as possible.
What he accepted is the D-Class quest for beginning mages who recently joined and acquired the rank of Apprentice or received a bronze emblem. The mission itself consists of defeating slimes on the outskirts of the kingdom and collecting their innards that were sold to hairstylists.
There were also a lot of different D-Class quests involving labor work or delivery service but he picked this one specifically for a different reason. He's figuring out just how weak are the weakest monsters he could find and so for later he can compare it to the other stronger monster.
By simply doing this, Arion can make an advance formulation of what makes the world as a whole. It seems monsters were also part of what shaped the world if it's in a typical RPG scenario, which is what he thinks of it.
"Oh yeah!" Arion was shouting like a cowboy slaughtering the slimes on meadows. He mercilessly exterminates any kind of colors of slimes and put the remains on a bucket he's carrying before they went out on the quest.
Mysteriously as it is, he remembered they received the quest physically by accepting it in the Guildhall, and Sarra, their secretary, will sign in for them, but what he's seeing in his line of vision was a tracking record of how many slimes he killed so far.
[ Quest: Collect Slimes - Progress (20/30) ]
"Interesting... this strange holographic image popping out of my head has a connection in this world." He was speaking to himself while also kicking and punching these tiny little poor creatures.
The main reasoning he can find out at that moment is the strange interface that appears in his line of vision is a thing he must fathom. Aside from its convoluted idea and how does it work, he could say he doesn't care anymore. Even for a genius such as himself, some things are impossible, but it doesn't mean there's isn't a way to learn it over.
"Lilith!" Arion called her.
"Y-Yes!" She held her wand tighter standing straight.
"Can you show me a demonstration of your magic? Anything will do." He asked her for a task.
Being all fidgety and bashful, it seems she's being forced and had no choice but to do what he wanted. Though he was aware she's very hesitant and if she truly doesn't wish to show off her abilities, he can call it a day.
"Okay..." Lilith meekly circled her wand around the air.
The circle made out of pure mana below her feet have suddenly appeared the moment she began casting. Glyphs that should be her magic signature dissipated in mere milliseconds and the runes were written one by one each time she utters her spell.
"Nice! Go for it." Arion was hyped for several reasons.
"Protect me against my fear: Wall of Flame!" Lilith casts her magic and what manifested in front of them was a thin, small wall of fire that is the same length as a standard ruler.
Perching nicely on the grasses, Adriel almost snorted of what she has seen. "Tsk. Such disgrace. A fire witch who can't even cast a proper spell, Arion would be disappointed for sure."
But what surprised her is that Arion jumped in excitement while keenly looking at the weakest form of Wall of Flame, a type of fire magic that can protect the caster from incoming long-range projectiles.
"What the hell! This is so cool!" He's jumping like a baby kangaroo, literally, he's just playing with it as if it was the first he has seen such thing.
The fact that magic exists was so hard for him to accept and at the same time, it brings wonders to a grayscale science he already knew. He acted beyond her anticipation of him being frustrated and reacted in oppositely.
Little did he know this is the first time he was able to observe a mage chanting magic in close range. Although he dueled with Adriel and saw her much more incredible high-tier spells, he's actually using 100% of his brain and he's too absorbed on defeating her that he doesn't have time to appreciate it.
[ Quest: Collect Slimes - Progress (30/30) ]
"Well, I think that's it, we can now return. But seriously though, that was cool!" Arion patted Lilith's head non-stop.
"R-Really...?" Someone complimented her for the first time in her entire life. He never could have realized how much joy she felt at that fraction of the moment.
"Yes. Now, we'll return and accept another quest. Show me more of you magics later! Got it?" He enthusiastically asserted and dragged her out of the meadows forgetting that Adriel was even there.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Adriel quickly stood up and followed them. "Why is my heart uncomfortable? Am I jealous? Argh!" She was speaking with herself.
Just like that, the party left to turn-in the quest they accepted. Just as Arion was running fast-pace with Lilith, he suddenly saw the pop-up information above her head.
Name: Lilith Indelyen
Level: 23
Class: Pyromancer
Rank: Spellcaster
HP: 8508
MP: 43434
Wisdom: 20%
Strength: 10%
Dexterity: 2%
Luck: 2%
"Hm... not bad, I guess? We'll figure for later what's in store for us." He was bright and cheerful.
The adventure he undertook will surely bloom into something he would accept, and the four Goddesses peers at every step he takes.
- Writer
