Rudy put down and arranged the dishes before standing to the side with a look of respect.
Rain frowned lightly and said, "Haven't I said this before? Let's share the meal. Why have you only brought my share?"
"Father always cautioned me about Master Rain, a highly respected mage in our town who helps many people. He emphasized the importance of serving him attentively and avoiding any negligence. I wouldn't even consider sharing a table with Master Rain to partake in the meal, and I hope he understands my hesitation." Rudy carefully selected his words to explain the situation, his face showing signs of tension.
Rain sighed gently and shook his head, saying: "Never mind. Enjoy your breakfast and leave the dishes for later. You can clean up when you finish."
"Yes, Master Rain."
Rudy quickly consented and respectfully excused himself from the dining room with a slight bow.
Rain looked out the window for a moment before he started his breakfast.
The Nightshade Guild's vast territory spans over ten thousand square kilometers. It encompasses numerous towns and several cities, including Greenhills Town.
Periodically, the Nightshade Guild assigns missions to its members to protect some important sites from harm.
Greenhills Town may be only non-mage town, but there is a hidden Black Iron Mine underground. This mine contains Tier-1 iron ore, which can be used as a material for low-level magic items.
The primary duty of Rain in this town is to supervise and protect the Black Iron Mine from the occasional onslaught of monsters that pose a threat to the miners.
However, during Rain's two years guarding the Black Iron Mine, he had never once experienced a monster attack.
It could be said that his job in Greenhills Town was very relaxing and the townfolks also served him well.
Of course, he received no kindness for nothing. Occasionally, he performed [Healing] on sick people for free. For this reason the townfolks respected him so much.
[Healing] was a basic spell that could be performed by an Apprentice Mage. However, only water-attributed mages could perform this spell.
Fundamentally, mages could only use magic depending on their attribute type. For instance, if you have the fire attribute, then you can only use fire magic.
In Rain's case, he could learn fire, water, earth, and wind elemental magic because he had all four basic attributes.
Although multiple-attributed mages practiced slower, they had the advantage of being able to learn more types of magic.
Having said that, although guarding the Black Iron Mine was easy, training in Greenhills Town was not.
With the thin mana in Greenhills Town, Rain's training, which was already slow, to begin with, became even slower.
For this reason, not many fellow mages in the guild wanted to carry on this mission. After all, no one wanted to take on something that delayed their training.
The reason Rain took this mission was because the rewards were rich. Moreover, this mission was not dangerous.
Before he took this mission, he did some research and found out that all the guild members who took this mission previously returned safely despite their weak strength and were no less different from his.
Although there had been monsters attacking the mine, they were easily dealt with by the Iron Guards on patrol there.
In fact, the presence of a mage only served as an assurance. In case, the Iron Guard could not overcome the monsters, then the mage would take action.
Even if mages couldn't kill monsters, they could at least repel them using some magic tricks. That was the role of Rain.
After having breakfast, Rain departed from the manor. He silently muttered something, and then a gust of wind formed beneath his feet.
Rain's feet lifted into the air and flew towards the distance, carried by a gathering and condensing gust of wind.
This flying ability does not come from magic spells but his magic staff- "White Sparrow Staff".
Not only does his magic staff have the ability to shorten magic casting time, but it is also imbued with the ability to allow the user to fly at a moderate height and speed.
However, this magic staff also has its limitations: only mages with wind attributes can use it.
Out of the four basic elements, wind is the least common among individuals. However, those who possess it have a greater potential to fly, either through the use of magic tools or spells.
For this reason, numerous mages who didn't possess the wind attribute felt envious of those who did.
Before long, Rain descended into a valley.
The valley was flanked by cliffs that had hollowed out over time, and numerous pieces of debris were scattered across the ground.
In addition to mediating, Rain also devotes a significant amount of time to practicing magic spells.
This valley is a special place for Rain to practice magic spells.
Using his magic staff, Rain tapped the ground and caused the scattered pebbles to rise up. With a simple gesture of his finger, he was able to move the pebbles in any direction he desired.
This occurrence was caused by the magical technique called Telekinesis, which is a basic magic spell that any mage can learn.
The magic spell is not difficult to learn; even an Apprentice Mage can master it with slight effort.
Rain was particularly fond of Telekinesis, and it was one of the basic magic spells he frequently practiced. However, despite his efforts to improve it, Telekinesis remained restricted to lifting only lightweight objects.
In the first place, this magic spell is designed to facilitate a mage's everyday chores. This spell's capabilities are quite limited.
After some time, Rain transitioned from playful experimentation on Telekinesis to serious practice with two Tier-1 magic spells: Water Bullet and Hardened Soil.
Rain acquired two magic spells from the Guild Library by using a specific amount of points.
These two magic spells are worth learning.
Water Bullet is a spell that magically creates water and compresses it into bullet-like projectiles. On the other hand, Hardened Soil is a spell that can solidify the ground and is commonly utilized to ensnare an adversary's feet.
With a gentle lift of his magic staff, Rain tapped it on the ground and began to chant a spell. Instantly, small droplets of water materialized from the air and swiftly took shape as bullets.
Rain gently pointed his hand towards the cliff wall and whispered, "Water Bullet!"
With precision and speed, the water bullets eagerly surged toward their intended target, striking the cliff wall violently.
Bang, bang, bang-
A few sounds of small explosions were heard, and a few holes the size of a fist appeared on the wall of the cliff.
"So powerful?!"
Rain couldn't hide his surprise.
The Water Bullet may be classified as a Tier-1 magic spell, but its strength exceeded that of an actual bullet.
This realization left Rain curious about the potential strength of a Tier-2 spell...
In the world of magic, magic spells are classified into different tiers ranging from Tier-1 to Tier-9. Typically, First Circle mages can only master Tier-1 spells because of their limited mana capacity.
To perform more advanced magic spells, one must progress to a higher circle.
In addition to their inherent abilities, mages can use certain treasures that boost their mana capacity and enable them to cast magic spells one tier higher than their current strength.
At present, Rain is unable to obtain such a valuable treasure. Even if he were fortunate enough to obtain it from the Void Treasure, it would be unnecessary. This is because he has only just entered the First Circle.
He has not yet learned Tier-1 magic spells. Attempting to use higher-tier magic spells would be overestimating his abilities.
Rain was pleasantly surprised that he could successfully perform Water Bullet on his first attempt.
He had experienced a similar situation while learning Telekinesis and other basic magic spells.
At that time, he thought basic spell magic was easy to learn. But now he couldn't help but think that he had underestimated his talent in spell casting.
Upon realizing this, Rain grinned widely and acknowledged that while his ability to gather mana was lacking, he had a remarkable talent for learning magic spells.
Time passed...
In the end, Rain spent his morning practicing and improving his ability to cast magic spells.
When he returned to the manor at noon, Rudy had already set up lunch on the dining table.
Rain finished his lunch quickly. Rudy, who had been standing behind him, spoke with a slightly tense expression.
"Today, Father received a letter from Rosebud Village reporting that the villagers had been dying one by one in a strange manner. Father is hoping that Master Rain can investigate this matter personally..."
Rain's eyebrows twitched as he said, "Let me see it!"
Rudy handed the letter over without further delay.
Rain skimmed it quickly.
He pondered momentarily before speaking: "Go back and make preparations. You will visit Rosebud Village with me."
Although Rosebud Village is outside Greenhills Town, it is still within the jurisdiction of Greenhills Town.
Rain's protection is primarily focused on the residents of Greenhills Town, but he also considers the safety of those living in nearby villages.
If there is an unusual occurrence in the Greenhills Town area that regular citizens cannot handle, Rain must investigate it.