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Chapter 44: Hunting Strategy: Portable Hestia Rifle. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2020-03-05 20:31:00 +0000 UTC<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Presence Killer Lv. 8] evolved into [Presence Killer Lv. 9]>
[“Target found. 45 degrees turn. Aiming gun muzzle at monster’s head, now. Steadying arms. Ready, Hestia,”] Saori said.
[“Ice Spike. Ready, Princess Hestia.”] A cool breeze was flowing from my left side where Tasianna was flying around.
["Surrounding ice in a pocket of air. Inserting object. Compressing air around bullet to form a rifle bullet. Deep breath… Wind Blast!”]
With the Activation of the spell, the wind bullet carrying the frozen spike was launched out of my wind rifle silently. The bullet pierced through the air like a soundless owl flying towards its prey, eventually piercing the skull of the target.
“Ikimasu!” with a determined voice, Saori threw me into the air and melted into her shadow in one movement. (I’m going!)
Forming a circle with my fingers around my left eye, I strained it hard enough to watch Saori jumping out of the shadow of the just-killed monsters and chugging its corpse into her storage.
While my body was freefalling, Saori pushed her legs to the limit, rushing her body through the rough terrain of the forest, jumping from tree to tree to avoid bushes. She was doing all of this to reach our location before my body touched the ground. It was a race against time and another of Saori’s weird training ideas.
It’s too far. She won’t make it.
The moment I said that, Saori cast [Dark Tendrils] on a branch’s shadow, made it grab her arm to pull her towards it, and then had it release its grip just before she crashed onto the branch. The momentum generated by this action launched her through the air like a rocket. The trajectory was completely wrong but the distance she was able to overcome saved her a lot of time.
Once her momentum slowed down, she made her body dive at a tree's branch, landing roughly on it. She then aimed her body in my direction and kicked the branch to boost her forward once she locked onto me.
Just before I could use [Aerokinesis] to soften my fall, Saori caught me in her arms like a superhero. Lying on my belly in her arms, I readjusted myself and then said “nice job” with a thumbs up.
[“… This might be the most excessive training routine since that giant boulder, Madam Saori,”] Tasianna said incredulously.
Both of us nodded to her statement and then resumed our hunt for the next monster, with Saori carrying me around.
After we had that fight yesterday, we rested for a bit before extinguishing the forest fire I caused. If you were to look down on the Belzac forest from the sky, you could actually pinpoint where we were just from the burned down trees.
After we did that, we continued walking north towards the Belzac mountains. We might have exhausted ourselves from the fight but making progress towards our goal — the elven kingdom — was important. We wouldn't be able to reach it before winter came so we decided to take it a bit slower. Enjoy the forest while we were still in it.
This place was my birthplace, after all, and chances were high I wouldn't return to it any time soon after we met the elves. Call it anxiousness or possibly homesickness, I still wanted to explore this place a bit more before we left it behind us. This place was so gigantic I was pretty sure I barely scratched the surface.
Just thinking about it amazed me. How much have I actually seen? In these six months of living in this place, the only worthy places I could call memorable were the two times I saw the forest from above and the place the garm's called their home. Otherwise, I had only been single-mindedly walking through this forest from one place to the other, always in the pursuit to fulfil a specific goal.
That was why we were enjoying this place by going hunting. We needed food and also more experience, and as our idol concert strategy hadn't been successful lately, we decided to go back to the classic.
That was when it came to me. I had a gun, right? Well, I could make myself a gun using [Aerokinesis] so that kinda counted. Well, why not use it more often then?
Looking through my spells, I had quite a few spells which could kill monsters but would leave collateral damage to the forest, either through fire or environmental destruction. I also thought killing something from a certain range would be great practice to control my magic.
That’s why my air rifle was the perfect weapon for the job.
Introducing: the “Portable Hestia Rifle” strategy!
I would carry my wind rifle and snipe monsters from a range, acquiring the experience. Saori would continue scouting for monsters, while also carrying me around to reduce the lag between kills. Tasianna would use [Ice Spike] to create the ice bullets I needed to act as a bullet, as ice wouldn’t mess up the meat's edibleness. It also doubles down as magic practice for her, improving her control and magic stats.
It was a great idea. Saori even thought of using this as training, by throwing me into the air to fetch the monster before returning to catch my falling body. It was a fun way to hunt and everybody benefited from it, training-wise.
["I must say, you are quite comfortable with shooting. Did you do it often back in America?"] Saori asked while looking for the next target.
["Nah, I never held a gun before. My parents were no fans of guns and they forbade me to ever try one out,"] I answered. ["They would probably take away my credit card if they saw me now, but that's in the past."]
They might be American citizens but that didn’t change the fact they grew up in different cultures. Germany and Japan weren’t so free with gun ownership and both of them didn’t like the thought of me becoming a gun enthusiast.
["‘Losing the credit card’ is such a common punishment when I was still in Shiroko… Honestly, I envy how taking away money was enough of a consequence to prevent you from misbehaving,"] Saori said with a wry smile.
That was true enough. I wasn't a high maintenance girl, but I still liked buying delicious drinks and food, not to mention all the fiction. With how massive my unread library was, I really regreted wasting all that money on books just to die sometime later. I should have realized I didn't have enough time considering all I did was dancing and singing practice.
Good thing I stopped buying video games and started mobile gaming. Too many good games, but not enough time to play them! Now I was kinda glad I didn’t waste my parent’s money on that. Playing video games as a corpse sounded stupid, ha!
["Target found,"] Saori reported after finding another monster.
["Ice bullet ready, Princess Hestia,"] Tasianna responded after Saori adjusted my position towards our prey.
I coated the bullet in wind and inserted it into my gun, ignoring the stinging cold aura. [" Bullet ready. Fire!"]
<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Wind Magic Lv. 8] evolved into [Wind Magic Lv. 9]>
<Magic gained: [Featherfall]>
<Featherfall: A wind spell that applies a one-time use mana field that protects the user only from falling down from a certain height, preventing all damage. One-time use only>
Hey, that's useful.
Once the bullet ended the monster's life, my [Wind Magic]’s level increased and Saori, once again, threw me up in the air and used [Shadow Dash] to teleport to the monster. To test my new spell, I cast it on myself believing Saori wouldn't make it back in time. Contrary to my expectations, she did make it back, catching my body only a few centimeters away from the ground.
<[Featherfall] inflicted on [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko]>
"Synergist's Oath, apply all buffs." Once I was back in her arms, I applied my [Featherfall] on Saori.
["Huh? That is a new buff spell. Did you just get it?"] Saori asked with a quizzical look.
["Yup, [Wind Magic] just leveled up. The spell prevents fall damage, but it didn't activate just now,"] I explained to my friend. ["Could you try it out? I want to see if [Synergist's Oath] decreases its effectiveness."]
<Synergist’s Oath: Allows the transfer of all current active parameter boosting spells on the owner towards a target. All spell effects will be removed from the owner and will be transferred with a mana blast towards a designated target. Effectiveness of buff applied to others = [Synergist’s Oath] Level / 10. Aiming required>
As [Synergist's Oath] reduced the effectiveness of buffing spells once I applied it to others, I also wanted to confirm if it affected [Featherfall]. It would be an amazing supportive spell in case my allies were freefalling down, preventing them from dying from the fall. I just had to make sure how much it retained its maximum effectiveness.
["Alright, sounds good,"] understanding what I meant, Saori immediately agreed to my experiment.
["Hold on, please! Isn't that too dangerous?!"] Tasianna intervened by waving her arms in panic.
["You do not have to be alarmed. Hestia only needs to heal me if our experiment fails,"] Saori rebuked Tasianna's worry. ["It is the same principle why we are mutilating ourselves with spells just to increase our resistances."]
["I have to make sure that I understand my spells correctly, Tasianna. It would be problematic if I made a mistake during an urgent situation,"] I further added to Saori's argument. ["Besides, you have been with us for a whole week now. Cast away your common sense while you're in this forest. I mean, you might be complaining about our training methods but aren't you also participating in them?"]
Tasianna groaned, knowing her worry was unwarranted. ["I apologize, Princess Hestia, Madam Saori. It just feels a bit… surreal. Especially with how you two are training your skills."]
That prompted me to raise a brow. ["Do people, normally, not actively train their skills?"]
["No, of course, they do,"] Tasianna shook her head. ["It's just that not everybody trains it every day, especially combat skills. You do not have any idea how rare it is to find a [Holy Magic] practitioner. Truth be told, I was quite shocked when I saw you using [Sacred Field] during the troll battle, but it made sense when I learned that you were a blessed of the Goddess of Light. Having [Sacred Magic] must be expected."]
["Tasianna, please remember. I am no god's champion, or how you called it, a blessed. Whatever they have planned for me, I don't know about it,"] I scratched my head in displeasure. ["I admit, a small part of me is curious but you also know my dream. Anything the gods want me to do will probably be annoying and will hinder my progress to spread the idol culture around Peolynca."]
It also was baffling they hadn't made contact with me yet. What did they want from me? Why did they reincarnate me into this world? Why were my memories in shambles?
There were so many questions I wanted to ask them but was it worth it? What if the task went against my idol plans? Maybe even life-threatening? At least right now, I could just use the excuse of how ignorant I was and hope Aurena and Kargryxmor wouldn’t be assholes about it.
Please, don’t be mean.
Tasianna thought about my statement before speaking again, ["If you want, I can tell you how to make contact… mhmph!"]
["No! No!"] Using two fingers, I clamped them against Tasianna's mouth, stopping her from talking any further. ["No, please, don't tell me! I want to stay ignorant as long as possible just to be on the safe side. Please, let's just drop the topic, alright?"]
It might be risky, possibly even deadly, to ignore a god's will but thinking about my objectives, I didn't want to be controlled by them. I might receive their wrath one day, but hopefully, it would happen after my idol dream has been fulfilled.
Optimistically, when I eventually would have to meet them, they would turn out to be nice and excuse me for "wasting" their time. But who was I kidding, most people wouldn't be happy when their plans were being delayed or even ruined ‘cause a single cog didn't want to cooperate. I was one of those people and I wouldn't blame anybody for feeling likewise.
I released Tasianna's mouth once she fervently nodded, agreeing to not tell me how to come into contact with the gods. My heart slowed down in relief. ["Phew, thank you. Saori, sorry for taking so long but can you try the spell's effect now?"]
["No need to be sorry."] With that said, Saori put me back on the ground and then climbed up a tree to jump off it.
With a heavy thud, Saori landed back on the ground, leaving a deep footprint. ["No pain at all. It actually felt like I landed on a soft sponge that absorbed all the shock."]
With a smile, I gave a thumbs-up, announcing that this experiment was a success, ["Nice, [Featherfall] will be awesome to use with [Air Walk]. You don't have to fear falling to your death ever again, Saori."]
["Urgh, it makes me sick to be reminded of that, Hestia."] However, contrary to my excitement, Saori caressed her stomach, showing none of the enthusiasm of uncovering a potential synergy between a spell and skill.
Was her first [Air Walk] with me that disastrous? I was pretty sure Hestia Airlines did just fine. We landed safely, no?
["Anyways, there was something I was curious about, Tasianna,"] Saori now matched her eyes with Tasianna's. ["You mentioned there were not many practitioners who can use [Holy Magic]. Why is that?"]
["Oh, the reason mostly lies with how people see Goddess Aurena and her ruling element,"] Tasianna began. ["The church of Aurena, at least the elven one, sees her as the Goddess of Miracles and Healing, so most of their priests and shrine maidens tend to only heal those in the direst need of healing. Healing wounds caused by training is seen to be beneath them and blasphemous to be used on something that trivial."]
It was understandable. If you considered something a miracle then using it to simply close up a small wound would naturally take away from that fantasy. Still, in my opinion, it sounded a bit arrogant and selfish.
["As you must know, arcane corruption is a problem for every mage. Besides the oldest and most venerable priests, most clergymen and women usually didn't have a high level in their arcane corruption resistance,"] Tasianna further added.
["Yes, I cannot help but agree."] Saori nodded. ["I got [Arcane Corruption Resistance] up to level ten due to skill points. Training it up meant being on the verge of being inflicted by that status ailment. I can only sympathize with anybody who has to do that to level up such a vital mage skill."]
Tasianna nodded, ["Correct. As a fairy, I cannot say much more about it as we benefit very little from [Holy Magic] and aren't able to contract arcane corruption."]
That reminded me of my talk with Tasianna about races with a body of mana. Healing spells only restored Health, which was not vital for a fairy. They also couldn't accumulate arcane corruption inside their body so they could technically cast an unlimited number of spells as long as their mana was infinite.
To compensate, their stats decreased with their mana and they would die if it reached zero. While I couldn’t heal her with my spells, I could still keep her alive by donating my mana to her using [Mana Control].
["So… how do most soldiers heal themselves then?"] I asked the obvious question. ["There must be monster hunters or soldiers who go around killing dangerous monsters causing problems, right? From what you're saying, those holy mages don't show up often enough, so how does that work?"]
The elves lived next to the Belzac forest so monster attacks must be common. A country must protect its citizens and soldiers were trained to do so. As such, injuries would happen so there must be a way to heal them. I mean, considering this world, they wouldn’t just use bandages and antiseptic, right?
["Elf soldiers receive healing potions. The elves are one of the most experienced and wisest alchemists on Peolynca, at least, they are on this continent,"] Tasianna just dropped two info bombs.
Alchemy? Continent? Urgh, more things I have to ask her about. Let's just have her finish this first.
Tasianna continued, ["Of course, those are military rations, so if they wish to use some for their private training, then they are required to buy them from alchemists. Potions cost money which means it wouldn't be worthwhile to train every day, literally using hundreds of potions until they couldn’t train anymore due to their depleted Stamina. It would be better to use your [Sacred Field] on a group of soldiers, than to have them drink potions. That is why your ability, to cast so many spells, is worthy of respect, Princess Hestia."]
Woah, can I buy the skill [Alchemy]? … Yes, I can! Should I though? Nah, I don't have much SP left and I don't think I want to get into it. Sounds too boring.
["Wait, so does that mean alchemists are able to earn a great amount of money?!"] As if she were possessed by something, Saori's eyes gleamed like rubies..
["Technically, yes."] Saori's lips curved into a smile, as he heard Tasianna confirm her suspicion. ["However, most alchemists are trained in specific recipes and that is something I have no knowledge about. Due to the demand for potions, alchemists would pay well for quality ingredients."]
Saori's head snapped to me, making me flinch backward. ["Hestia, my beautiful little dragon. You can already make some fine and... hazardous toxins. Making potions should be right up your alley, correct?"]
Oh gosh, she's looking at me like a predator! Even [Danger Perception] is activating!
["I can buy [Alchemy], yes, but I don't want to do it. It sounds too boring."] Stomping down her dreams, I had to reject her request. ["Why don't you do it?"]
Saori snapped her fingers in frustration, as she let out a deep sigh. ["Argh, I can buy it, yes, but hearing Tasianna's description made me not want to do it myself. It is selfish to ask you but it was worth a try."]
After telling me the truth, she proceeded to put a hand on her chin as she walked around, thinking about something. After a few seconds, it finally dawned on me why she was doing this. This attitude of hers reminded me when she told me to dismantle the monsters carefully, taking care to not ruin the fur and other pieces that we could sell.
...Which meant, she was thinking about making money!
["Aha! Tasianna, do you know which herbs or ingredients can be used in potions?"] Saori’s head snapped to Tasianna, causing her to flinch at how energetic our cadejo was.
["As I already said! I don't know about them. I was a simple maid. Nobody taught me about herbology!"]
It is easy to forget how Tasianna was 87 years old, considering how those two were interacting. Well, age didn't really matter. I was only six months and Saori was two months old. Our party had no right to talk about how to act your age.
["What a shame..."] Saori gave an even deeper sigh but quickly shook off her disappointment. ["Alright then, if we do not know the plants, then let us just collect everything! We need more spices anyways to save on money for the future!"]
With that settled, we stopped hunting and were now going on a search for herbs. But, right as we were about to venture forth, Saori’s [Enhanced Enemy Sense] was triggered. Similarly, my [Detection Sensor] was beginning to show multiple targets coming at us at a worrying speed.
Turning around, I saw the source of this.
It was a tidal wave of monsters running towards us!
