GILF Hunter

Chapter 271: 271 First time

At the back of the base was a small space enclosed by a wall.

Mika stood in the center of the small training ground designed for the members to perform simple drills or practice.

All the members of the Ian Mercenary Group, including Ian himself, gathered to watch Mika.

"Whew..."

Clutching her staff tightly, Mika took a deep breath and concentrated her mind.

With her eyes closed, Mika carefully inhaled, focusing on the mana swirling within her body...

"When are you going to use it?"

"...I’m concentrating. Don’t disturb me."

At the sound of Rin’s voice breaking her focus, Mika grumbled with her eyes still closed.

However, they had come to watch Mika’s magic and had already been staring at her concentrating for quite a while.

Rin didn’t back down and added another word.

"You’ve been doing nothing but concentrating for a while now."

"Magic isn’t something you can just use that easily."

"Are you going to concentrate like that in a real fight? You have to use magic immediately!"

"...This is my first time using it."

...Still, she wasn’t wrong.

If she acted like this in actual combat, it would be an absolute catastrophe.

Ultimately, overcoming Rin’s interference, Mika finished her long concentration and let out a final exhale.

She drew out her mana, weaving it precisely into the form she had practiced...

Creating the most fundamental structure of magic.

The staff Mika held resonated, emitting a soft white light.

"...!"

This was a success.

It was her first time attempting the completed spell, but Mika felt the sensation of mana flowing exactly as intended and was certain of her success.

The mana extending from the tip of Mika’s staff created a translucent veil.

"I-it worked!"

Surrounded by the hazy wall, Mika shouted with a bright smile.

It was the barrier magic she had mastered while studying the magic tome Ian had obtained for her recently.

Rin, Tanya, and Ian, who had been waiting for Mika’s success, also jumped to their feet.

Mika reached out with a trembling hand and touched the fingertips of the magic veil she had created.

The mana structure woven in the air created a physical repulsion, pushing Mika’s hand away.

The most basic stage of barrier magic, [Physical Resistance].

It was a perfect success.

Mika stared intently at the magic she had brought to life.

"Truly..."

By chance, she had discovered she had the talent of a mage.

However, for an ordinary resident of a rural village without a single penny to become a mage...

It was a pipe dream, like a mirage.

To learn even the simplest magic required an amount of money Mika couldn’t have saved even if she worked her whole life in the village.

...It wasn’t that she had any particular dissatisfaction with her life until then.

If she hadn’t known, she would have just continued living as an ordinary person without complaint, just as before.

But the single sentence that had come suddenly one day—that she had talent. The whisper that she might be able to become a mage.

It had descended upon her life like a curse.

Is this truly a dream I can achieve?

The days of falling asleep every night with such thoughts were now over.

Since she had become a real mage that no one could deny.

"Mika!"

Rin and Tanya stood up and ran toward Mika.

Despite their words, the two knew just how much Mika had wanted to learn magic.

Rin and Tanya rushed out to congratulate their friend on her first magical success.

Mika also rushed out with a bright smile.

"Kyaa!"

The two who had run to hug Mika were repelled by the translucent veil surrounding her and rolled across the ground.

Passing the two of them, Mika ran toward Ian, who was at the back.

As the veil surrounding Mika shattered into a blur, Mika leapt from within it and into Ian’s arms.

"Captain! I succeeded!"

"Yeah, good job, Mika."

"Thank you. Thanks to you, Captain..."

Hugging Ian tightly.

The boiling emotions Mika had been muttering gradually subsided.

As the reason that had been temporarily paralyzed by the joy of success returned.

Her head cooled down, but in its place, her face began to flush red.

"...."

"...."

Mika felt the gazes of Rin and Tanya from behind her, staring at her with peculiar expressions.

Quietly withdrawing the hands that had been hugging Ian, Mika turned around.

She likely wanted to maintain an expressionless face, but her face was already burning bright red.

"Wait... don’t misunderstand. This was just, I was so happy I did it without thinking..."

The more Mika laid out excuses, the more the situation flowed into a strange atmosphere rather than being clarified.

"...."

Ultimately, Mika stayed tucked away in a corner of the garden for a long time with a bright red face.

* * *

After Mika’s first magic demonstration was a success.

As per the original purpose, Mika began her full-scale magic practice.

It was a time to find out exactly how this magic could be used in actual combat.

A bit faster than the previous time which had taken a while, Mika created the barrier once more and shouted to Rin with a confident face.

"Now, try attacking!"

"How much can this block?"

"Hmph, your attacks won’t even scratch it."

The magic tome stated that, theoretically, as long as one had sufficient mana, most physical attacks could be blocked.

Of course, that was a story for when one had perfectly mastered the spell.

When Mika answered confidently, Rin also grew curious to see just how much it could block.

"Really? Then..."

Rin pulled a throwing dagger from her waist.

Mika, who had answered so confidently, stared at the flashing blade Rin held before saying.

"With something a bit weaker."

Thought so.

Tucking the dagger back in, Rin eventually picked up a small stone from the ground.

"I’m ready."

"I’m throwing it?"

Since it was a test, it shouldn’t be too weak either.

Contemplating how hard to throw it, Rin sent the stone flying with a bit of force.

The stone flying toward Mika collided with the veil spread in the air.

A wave-like ripple occurred on the veil, and the stone Rin had thrown was bounced away powerlessly.

"Oh, it really blocked it."

"I told you I could block it."

Mika nodded with a satisfied, triumphant expression.

"Okay, try harder!"

"Right, here it comes!"

Picking up another stone from the ground, Rin sent the stone flying like it was a real battle, without holding back her strength this time.

The pebble, flying at a speed incomparable to before, caused an impact that made the magic barrier surge, shattering the magic.

"Hiiiiyaak!"

The stone that broke through the barrier grazed past the top of Mika’s head.

Letting out a scream, Mika slumped down on the spot.

"Why would you throw it so hard!"

"You told me to throw it hard..."

Rin, who didn’t expect the so-called protection magic to shatter so easily, apologized with an awkward face.

"Sorry. But it’s weaker than I thought."

To use it in real combat, shouldn’t it at least block an arrow?

For now, Rin didn’t want to entrust her defense to a magic barrier that broke just from a stone being thrown hard.

Seeing that expression and guessing what she was thinking, Mika muttered resentfully.

"It’s because I haven’t perfectly learned it all yet..."

What Mika had learned was the most basic physical damage resistance magic.

With Mika’s level, having just learned the magic, there was no way she could block an attack from Rin, who was a higher level and even had throwing trait bonuses.

It wouldn’t be able to play a part in real combat at this level yet.

She didn’t think it would be easy, but Mika let out a small sigh as she thought of the amount she had yet to learn.

"Ugh, I’m dizzy... I must have used too much mana."

"Should we rest for a bit then?"

Mika felt a slight dizziness and stroked her forehead.

It was because her MP had been significantly consumed while maintaining the barrier for a long time for practice.

Especially since it was her first time using magic, it was a sensation Mika had never felt before, as her MP had never decreased this much.

Mika slumped down into a chair she had left on one side of the garden.

"Both of you, drink this and then continue."

While the two sat in a corner of the garden resting for a moment, Tanya, who had been in the kitchen, returned with drinks.

Tanya held out the glasses to the two as if the timing were perfect.

"The Captain too."

"Ah. Thanks."

While Ian also accepted the glass Tanya brought and they all had a brief rest period drinking tea in the garden.

Beyond the wall, the shouts of workers moving goods on the main road could be heard.

It was a procession of wagons often seen lately.

"Isn’t the outside mostly cleaned up by now? It seems like construction has increased lately."

"What are they doing again?"

"...Are monsters coming again?"

Peeking out at the street, they saw wagons loaded with things like construction timber for building something.

...They had seen many such wagons coming and going ahead of a monster invasion.

The fact that the whole city was noisy felt exactly like seeing it back then.

"Captain, do you happen to know what it is?"

"That? It’s likely for the festival."

"A festival?"

When a monster invasion ends, a festival is held.

To Ian, these two were always linked like a set, so he thought of it as natural, but it seemed the members were hearing that a festival would be held for the first time now.

"Ah. You didn’t know? They hold a festival after a monster invasion ends."

The pretext was an event to celebrate the successful defense against the monster invasion, but...

Ian, who had lived here for some time, could roughly guess the reason.

Once a monster invasion is over, a massive amount of gold coins is released to the mercenaries as payment.

This period, when mercenaries who participated in the defense all receive their settlements at once, could be called the time of year when mercenaries become the wealthiest.

The month when mercenaries possess the most gold coins.

It was a festival to strip them of all that gold.

The gold coins recklessly showered upon the mercenaries would likely return straight to Labyrinth’s taxes through the merchants.

"...Can’t you just explain up to ’it’s a festival’? You’re ruining the mood."

The expressions of the members, who were about to get excited at the word festival, sank a bit unpleasantly.

"Is anyone there!"

Just then, a thumping sound of someone knocking on the door was heard.

Someone was knocking on the door of the guild house.

"Guild mail!"

"Ah. I’ll go check."

"No. It’s likely for me. I’ll go."

As Ian walked over and opened the door, a small kid wearing a guild armband stood outside.

The kid, who had been absent-mindedly looking up at the large guild house, belatedly regained his senses and looked at Ian.

"Mercenary Guild! Are you the Captain of the Ian Mercenary Group?"

"That’s right."

"Could you show me your mercenary plaque?"

After Ian showed his mercenary plaque, he received the letter the boy had brought.

"Here. Good work."

"Thank you!"

When Ian handed a few coins to the messenger, the child bowed and went back, looking as if he were about to jump for joy.

Returning inside with the guild letter, Ian opened it to check the contents.

"What’s going on at the guild?"

"They’re telling me to come collect the reward money."

"Pardon? Didn’t we get all the settlement money last time?"

"That was settlement money. This time it’s reward money."

It was reward money from the City Council distributed to mercenary groups that had made a contribution.