Chapter 4: Magic Armored Soldier.
There was a small commotion at the magic user training institution in the capital of the Kingdom of Ramza. The reason was that three magic user candidates had died of exhaustion in the dim forest. If they had died in the dim forest where only hybrid weed-class and low-level lesser-class monsters lived, it would be a big problem. It was unclear whether there were powerful monsters that should not exist, or if enemy magic users were involved.
"Sodium-sensei, let's investigate with our school's teachers first. It's premature to report to the military," said one person.
"No, there have already been deaths. We can't be leisurely about this," said another.
"However, when all students enter this institution, they sign a pledge. It means that if they die due to accidents, they are responsible for themselves. They also train with monsters during practical training, so doesn't this case fall under that as well? Even if it is voluntary training, it is no different from practical training in the dim forest."
It happened about once a year that candidates died during practical training. Therefore, this incident was not a big deal that had to be made into a big problem.
However, what Sodium-sensei was worried about was that the three candidates died in the dim forest. Since only weak monsters appeared, the candidates frequently went to the forest. If a very powerful monster appeared in the dim forest, the same incident could happen again.
And the worst case scenario is if enemy magic users were involved.
"Understood. Let the teachers investigate first. However, the forest will be closed for a while. Let's inform the candidates not to enter under any circumstances," said Sodium-sensei.
"I think it's necessary. I'll inform them," said Allega-vice president.
All teachers at the institution were magic users, and there were also grades among them. Candidates were all classified as F-rank, and their ranks were assigned according to their abilities after graduation. The basic ranks were A to E, and only those who had an extraordinary amount of magic power and talent were recognized as S-rank. In the small country of Ramza, which had only one S-rank magic user, the rarity of S-rank potential was evident.
The school teachers among them are D-rank magic users. D-rank is considered lower in the hierarchy of magic users and even if they belong to the army, they are treated as low-level personnel. More accurately, they are treated the same as ordinary soldiers. The requirement to belong to the regular magic user unit is to be ranked C or higher. D-rank and E-rank are only treated as ordinary soldiers.
Therefore, there are quite a few D-rank magic users who return to the school as educators. What teachers teach in the school is mostly about how to handle magic, knowledge of magic and magical equipment, and combat ability is not very necessary. Practical training is mostly done between students with similar abilities, or in the actual hunting of magical creatures. For these reasons, there were quite a few D-rank magic users enrolled in the school.
By the way, E-rank magic users do not even qualify to become teachers, so most of them either continue to hone their skills as ordinary soldiers aiming for a rank up or give up on their path as a magic user and fade away.
"Hopefully, nothing bad happens..."
The retired former A-rank magic user, President Sodium, muttered this due to his advanced age. His intuition as a seasoned magic user was surprisingly accurate. All they could do was to hope that their bad premonition for this time turns out to be wrong.
Vice President Allega also nodded and agreed.
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Shu Arklight, who drifted through the dim forest, hunted goblin-like little demons and wolf-like monsters whose names he didn't even know, absorbing their magical powers. Feeling like he was on the brink of evolving, he actively hunted monsters.
(These monsters around here don't seem to have much magical power. That must mean those humans were pretty good opponents.)
However, he had no intention of hunting humans. Humans were creatures that would fight back with all their might if they felt threatened. He didn't want to provoke them.
Also, Shu didn't think he was that strong. Even considering just the amount of magical power, the human he met before possessed quite a bit. That human was a child, so it was likely that adults had even more. He expected to be easily defeated if he initiated a fight with a human.
(But are there any monsters with more magical power around here?)
It was understandable that Shu thought so. Most of the monsters in this dim forest were Weed hybrids. From Shu's perspective, who was one rank higher as a Lesser class, they were unsatisfactory opponents. He wished there were at least some other Lesser class monsters around, but he had not encountered any so far.
In other words, Shu was the highest class monster in the dim forest.
No matter how many small fry he hunted, there were too few to evolve. If he didn't absorb magical power from humans, he didn't know how many decades it would take to accumulate as much magical power as he had now. It was that level of difficulty.
(I want to be a little greedy, but...I'll be patient.)
Magic was undoubtedly useful.
However, Shu's magical power was too low right now. Even simple basic magic could only be used ten times before he was exhausted. More importantly, the magical power he used could not be naturally restored. However, even with "Life Drain," the absorption rate was slow, so it was not a decisive weapon against strong humans.
Impatience was forbidden, but he felt the urge to be impatient.
To become stronger, he had to boldly absorb magical power, but if he moved too much, he might be hunted by humans. It was also scary that he had no information on humans, such as their circumstances, combat power, and numbers.
(This won't be easy.)
For now, it was best to diligently absorb and accumulate magic power from small fry. It would also serve as a reserve for when the need arises.
There's a saying that even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and Rome wasn't built in a day.
(Now then, I need to find some little goblin or wolf.)
Occasionally, Shu would come across spiritual monsters that were also part of his faction, but he would let them go. After all, he had some sense of camaraderie. The sense of community among one's own kind was crucial; without it, one would be left with no one to rely on in times of crisis.
It was unclear whether the spiritual monsters were aware of this, but Shu made it a point not to hunt them.
Amidst all this, Shu suddenly felt a restless consciousness emanating from a nearby ghost. At the same time, a large number of ghosts appeared around him, giving off an anxious atmosphere.
(What's wrong?)
For ghosts, high-ranking spirits such as High Ghosts were superior beings. When a crisis loomed, ghosts would turn to Shu for help.
As he remained vigilant and attentive to his surroundings, he noticed something approaching with a rustling sound.
(The sounds are slightly off. Could there be multiple enemies?)
There was no need to wait and see. Shu sent his thoughts to the ghosts, instructing them to hide in the nearby trees. He himself also hid behind a tree. At times like these, having a spirit body that could float was convenient. All he had to do was rise up and contort his body between the branches and leaves.
A few seconds later, two men appeared, their footsteps ringing out.
"This is the place."
"Yeah, he's definitely here."
The men exchanged a few words in hushed tones, and one of them put his right hand to his mouth and blew a whistle.
In the next moment, Shu was hit by a shockwave as the tree he was hiding behind was knocked down with a thunderous roar. Reflexively, he jumped out, causing a loud noise as a large tree fell.
Shu was taken aback, not knowing what had happened.
Meanwhile, the men were also a little surprised to see Shu.
"The high-level spirit, High Ghost, huh? I sensed a considerable amount of magic power from it, though."
"You're mistaken. However, because it has a lot of magic power, it might be on the verge of evolution. Either way, we'll defeat it."
"Got it."
The man who blew his whistle shaded his hand and something rapidly approached Shu. Considering that evasion was impossible, Shu deployed a magic circle of acceleration magic as a shield.
Then, the rapidly approaching object was given a negative acceleration and bounced back in the opposite direction. In other words, this was a reflection magic. The more momentum the reflecting object had, the more magic power was consumed.
(Darn it, I used a considerable amount of magic power.)
It must have been quite powerful.
Reflection magic had a limit of one more time.
On the other hand, the men who saw the reflection were very surprised.
"A low-level Lesser-class monster using magic!? A unique individual with intelligence!"
"Clumsy. Maybe this thing is the target!"
The men panicked.
Because the two of them were teachers at the Lamza Kingdom's magic-wearing candidate training institution, they had come to the dim forest to investigate the cause of the weakening and death of three candidates. What they discovered was a monster using magic.
Using magic meant that it had a corresponding level of thinking ability.
Humans called it a unique individual and knew that if left alone, it would eventually become a powerful monster.
"Maybe this thing has a lot of magical power because it stole the candidates' magic power."
"Yeah, we've got a change of plans. We'll definitely subdue it!"
Shu thought it was clumsy, but the men's actions were faster.
Again, something flew at high speed and shaved off some of Shu's spiritual body. Because it was sudden, he couldn't deploy the magic circle this time and suffered damage. And then, that something arced and decelerated, landing on the shoulder of the man who had blown his whistle.
It was a bird-shaped magical creature.
It was a type of magic-wearing called a servant.
(The other is faster than me. I can't avoid it.)
Unfortunately, the high-level spirit, High Ghost, was slow to move. Shu couldn't avoid that magic.
Furthermore, Shu didn't know it, but the two men were D-rank magic users. D-rank magic users could defeat even middle-class monsters, one level above the low-class Lesser ones, alone. If there were two of them, Shu was at a disadvantage.
It was a desperate encounter that he had never experienced before.
(Magic is limited to one shot, and magic power is useless.)
The opponent's magic equipment was faster than Shu's magic, "Life Drain." He didn't even know what kind of magic the other man had. It was overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
At least, Shu couldn't repel them now.
If that was the case, his options were limited.
(It's a gamble.)
Shu quickly gathered his thoughts and drew a magic circle using as much thinking power as possible. If he imagined the phenomenon and used magic power, the magic circle would automatically be drawn. However, he could also activate magic by imagining the magic circle and then flowing magic power.
And the magic circle was drawn only with his thinking power, not magic power.
In other words, he didn't need magic power to deploy the circle.
Shu deployed a magic circle that covered the entire area around him.
"What is this?!"
"Foolish! Impossible!"
And as if to deliver the finishing blow, Shu drew a grand magic circle in the sky. It was complex and incomprehensible, and they couldn't understand what kind of magic was going to be unleashed.
That's why the men were terrified.
"This magic circle... It surpasses the Tenth Tier!"
"Does that mean... a Forbidden Curse!?"
"Yes, it definitely goes beyond the Tenth Tier, which is called strategic class. And to think that a low-level Lesser Demon would deploy it alone..."
While the men exchanged these words, Shu had no such power. Moreover, the magic circle he had deployed seemed to have no meaning. He had simply combined the basic magic circles for acceleration, weight increase, vibration, decomposition, combination, and movement in a way that looked convincing. It would be impossible to imagine the pattern alone, but if one understood the pattern and its effects well, they could draw the magic circle.
However, whether it could be activated or not depended on the amount of magic power, which Shu lacked. Furthermore, since it was a magic circle of random combinations, even if it were to be activated, he would not know what effect it would have.
In the end, it was just a bluff.
"Let's run!"
Ideally, they should have defeated Shu before he could activate his magic. However, seeing the countless small magic circles also deployed around Shu, they judged it to be impossible. And above all, the fear of the Forbidden Curse drove them to escape.
The men enhanced their bodies with magic and fled without looking back. Shu did not chase after them.
"(I'm glad they didn't come at me with a kamikaze attack.)"
If the men had fled, then that was fine. Shu had won the gamble.
"(Judging from their conversation, their target was me.)"
Furthermore, since he had deployed such a magic circle, he might be dispatched stronger magic armorers to be more vigilant. Shu decided to leave the forest.