Chapter 40
Clunk, clunk.
After the break, the wagon continued its journey, going up and down slopes.
Perhaps because they had eaten and even had delicious cookies for dessert, Edward, Fohn, and Bolio were full of enthusiasm and threw themselves into their training.
"Yahoo! Kain, I set a new record this time!"
"Really? You managed to maintain it for over ten minutes?"
"Yeah! I even held on through all the big bumps."
Edward boasted with an extremely proud look on his face.
"Good. Then from now on, gradually increase the size by five centimeters every minute, and maintain it at that size from the fifth minute onward."
"Awesome! Finally, the next stage!"
"M-me too... I succeeded in ten minutes!"
"Ughaaaa! That was freaking hard! Edward, you making a fuss at the end almost made me lose focus!"
"Why is that my fault? If you're going to waver because of that, you might as well just start over from the beginning."
"Damn it, I'll let it slide since I succeeded!"
Perhaps because they had started similarly, competing with each other, Fohn and Bolio also soon completed the ten-minute hold.
"Wow, I'm exhausted. I feel like I've already used up half my mental energy."
"Ugh. I should rest a bit before the next one."
"Bolio's making weak noises too."
"Shut up! I'm just preparing for any possible combat situations."
"Y-yeah, we should prepare. I want to rest a bit too..."
Having achieved their initial target time, the three of them collapsed and rested.
"......"
Meanwhile, Anias was still observing without participating in the training.
'There's definitely something to it...'
Crunch.
Anias ate the two cookies she had secretly taken earlier, watching Kain.
'No, isn't he just watching the others without doing his own training?'
Anias also wanted to doze off or rest comfortably, but she couldn't in case she missed Kain's training.
Whether Kain knew Anias's feelings or not, he was looking at the exhausted Edward, Fohn, and Bolio with a faint smile.
It was a somewhat pleased smile.
'What? Kain can even make that kind of face.'
Since his default expression was blank, she had thought smiling wouldn't suit him, but it was more tolerable than she expected.
'Though I still can't really imagine him smiling broadly.'
Anias, who had tried hard to imagine Kain smiling brightly, shook her head.
'This isn't the time for this.'
Judging that she couldn't just keep waiting, Anias cleared her throat with a "ahem."
Then she asked Kain casually, as if throwing a question,
"Kain. But does that really help? How often are you even going to cast magic while moving? Wouldn't it be better to just practice the magic itself during that time?"
It was a seemingly reasonable question.
Basically, magic is a delicate task that requires a high degree of concentration.
Therefore, it's best to cast magic while stationary to minimize variables.
Furthermore, unlike knights or mercenaries, mages eliminate enemies from a distance, so they don't actually have many opportunities to cast magic while moving.
If the situation was dire, they might use defensive magic, but if a mage had to move while being chased by an enemy, it was considered an already irreversible situation.
However.
Kain's answer was simple and clear.
"Even if there aren't many opportunities to use it, there's an insurmountable difference between knowing how to do it and not knowing. If you ever face a life-or-death situation because of that difference, you won't say such things again."
"...You act like you've been in a life-or-death situation."
Anias looked at Kain incredulously.
Then she subtly brought up the question she really wanted to ask.
"Well, fine. Let's say that's a really good, necessary training method, just like you said. But if it's so good, why aren't you doing it?"
It was a kind of probing question.
'To answer this question, he'll have to mention his own training in some way.'
And Anias's guess was correct.
However, the content was quite different from what she had expected.
"I already finished that training a long time ago. And..."
Kain pointed to the area around his heart and said,
"If it's training you're talking about, I'm doing it right now."
"...What?"
"You can't see it, but I'm organizing the mana within my circle and slowly accumulating it."
In fact, while Edward, Fohn, and Bolio were training, Kain had been continuously solidifying the foundation of his Fire-element circle.
Now, this task was as automated for Kain as breathing.
The reason Kain could achieve such a solid level of mastery several times faster than other mages was because he did this work without ceasing.
But Anias, who had finally heard the answer she so desired, had a half-dazed look on her face.
"Organizing the mana within your circle and accumulating it... You're doing that?"
"Is there a problem?"
"No..."
Anias was at a loss for words.
'Of course, if you only consider the theory, organizing the mana within the circle and gradually accepting and accumulating pure mana is a good thing...'
Because if such high-purity mana accumulates and firmly attaches itself to the circle, even when using the same magic, one can unleash a more powerful spell.
Without knowing for sure, if one were to solidify the circle to its utmost limit, then within that circle, no matter how talented a genius came along, they wouldn't be a match in terms of magical power.
'But who does that starting from the 3rd Circle?'
However, that was just an ideal theory written in books.
In reality, no one actually takes the time to refine and solidify their mana from the lower circles.
Why?
'They're busy enough just trying to advance to the higher circles; when would they have time to sit around and build that up?'
Human lifespan is finite, and the 9th Circle, known as the limit of human ability, is a dreamlike realm for ordinary mages.
Throughout history, there haven't been many individuals on the continent who have reached the 9th Circle and earned the title of Archmage.
This was even more so after the 'Great War' about 200 years ago, where the mages of prestigious clans who served as mentors were annihilated, and many clan secret techniques were lost.
In any case, in a situation where one should be running at full speed towards that dreamlike realm of the 9th Circle, lingering in the lower circles was the epitome of inefficiency.
'After all, no matter how much you excel in the lower circles, once you advance to the next stage, you just realize how insignificant the previous stage was.'
It's the same principle as how formulas that once seemed complex look simple once you learn more difficult theories and formulas.
There's no guarantee one can reach the 9th Circle even if they train magic their whole life, so wasting time in the lower circles was absurd.
'So, there are largely two cases where this work is actually done.'
When one loses hope of advancing further in the higher circles and grasps at straws.
Or when one acknowledges their limits and does it to use the strongest possible magic even within their current circle.
'But he's doing that while growing this fast?'
Judging by Kain's eyes and his personality as inferred from his words and actions so far, it didn't seem like he was lying.
'There's no benefit for him to tell such a lie either.'
If he had wanted to deceive them, he would have said, 'I'm resting from training a bit right now,' not 'You can't see it, but I'm doing it right now.'
'He's probably really doing it. But there's probably another training method he doesn't easily show in front of people.'
It was a bit disappointing, but it wasn't a complete loss.
There was plenty of time, so she could slowly observe him from the side.
"Okay. I understand. I should try doing that when I have some time."
"Everyone who has said that has never done it."
"...I'll make time for it."
"Good."
Anias sighed and sat down in a corner, starting the mana refinement work Kain had mentioned.
It was an inefficient training method that required a lot of effort and yielded virtually no immediate results, one not even recommended in magic textbooks.
'Still, since Kain's doing it, I should try sticking with it patiently...'
Clunk!
'Damn it!' How is that guy even doing this?
***
While Anias, who had been just watching all this time, grumbled but eventually started training, Kain nodded with satisfaction.
Perhaps thanks to Kain's warning, the atmosphere inside the guard compartment had also relaxed a lot compared to the beginning.
The mercenaries who had been sitting inside, casting displeased glances this way, were now looking elsewhere entirely, or if their eyes met, they would quickly look away first and chat amongst themselves about other topics.
'Still, it's a relief.'
Since it was the final warning, he had instilled a strong sense of caution, but based on experience, there were always people who wouldn't understand even after such a warning.
'If all the original escort mercenaries died and only the additional escorts remained so early on, it would be problematic when reporting the mission later.'
So, it was better if they remained alive, if possible.
'I almost killed him in an instant.'
When he heard the words insulting the clan, Kain had reflexively been about to pierce the mercenary leader's neck.
If he hadn't remembered Harman's words right before, he probably would have done it.
In his past life, Harman had facepalmed after finding Kain turning mercenaries who were badmouthing the Siers clan disciples into thousands of ice shards on the spot.
-Uh, um. Sein. Even so, they're mercenaries who are part of the mission. Isn't a massacre a bit much...?
-I can finish this mission without any issues if I just move a little more diligently. They probably don't want to work on a mission with the disciples they were bad mouthing anyway, so I'm just giving them what they want.
-Still, the severity of your actions is... No, rather than saying that... This time, it's something involving our clan too. Our guild funds are also involved. And even if you move diligently, you'll have less time to pay attention to the disciples, and the probability of some variable occurring in the meantime will increase, won't it?
Sein nodded after a moment.
-Indeed. My thinking was short-sighted.
-Hoo... Sometimes I wonder if you even have emotions normally, but when it comes to the clan or the disciples, you occasionally act incredibly emotionally.
-My apologies. And I will compensate for the money your clan spent out of my personal funds.
-The money is fine. From now on, unless it's a direct threat to you or the disciples, or they're planning to do so, how about giving non-enemies a warning once... no, up to twice?
-...I will consider it.
-If you do that, the day will come when you also develop more human-like standards. ...Maybe.
In a similar situation, Kain, recalling that advice, managed to restrain his anger in time and ended it with a warning.
Whether or not he was developing the human-like standards Harman had mentioned was unclear.
'Harman definitely said 'up to' twice, and I gave them two chances, so wouldn't that be considered human enough?'
Considering the insulting remarks the mercenaries had made about the clan, it was an extremely lenient measure.
-That crazy Young Master Kain or whatever his name is, insisted on doing a search...
-What's with that young punk's scary glare?
-I'm telling you, he's definitely crazy. You can just tell by his face.
-There's a certain creepy look he has. I just don't like his eyes anyway.
'I can endure any amount of slander against me. Those kinds of remarks don't particularly bother me. But...'
It was while Kain was thinking this that.
"Monster!"
"Snow Leopard! Snow Leopards have appeared!"
A shout came from the front wagon.
At the same time, the mercenaries finally stood up with brightened expressions.
"Oh, so they've finally shown themselves!"
"Kya, I can smell the money already!"
"With Snow Leopards, even just the hides and teeth are quite lucrative."
Since the spoils obtained while escorting belonged to the hunter, moderately challenging prey was something the mercenaries welcomed.
However.
Thud!
"...What was that just now?"
"What went past?"
It wasn't just the mercenaries who were surprised.
"Huh? Where did Kain go?"
With movements that even the disciples had difficulty noticing, Kain instantly grabbed the upper frame of the guard compartment on the outside, swung around once, and landed on top of the wagon.
Kain extended both hands towards the pack of Snow Leopards that were simultaneously rushing in from the left and right.
And he murmured quietly,
"Giving you a chance is one thing. But know that you won't have any share for the time being."
