Chapter 9: Eastern Forest (2)

"Back!" I shouted to my companion, noticing an unnatural mana movement out of the corner of my eye – a newfound ability of my eyes that I had recently discovered. I had been curious about looking at animals through magical sight, which had led to the discovery of an interesting phenomenon. If I infused a little of that very mana into my pupils, ignoring everything else, they would start to perceive distortions in the natural mana in the air caused by moving bodies.

We quickly retreated just before Vulcan landed at our recent location, smashing the ground with two fists and creating cracks in the earth. That strike was undeniably powerful; even a large boulder might not have withstood the force, just as we probably wouldn't have.

"Thanks, Satoru. Your eyes are truly a marvel!" my companion said, holding a tobacco product between two fingers and thanking me for possibly saving his life.

"Grrr," the primate growled, dissatisfied with the result. Unnaturally quickly for his size, he regrouped and lunged at me, the weakest link in our team. "Male - kill!"

There was no grace in the creature's movements, no rational intent in his attacks, only primitive instincts. His actions vividly demonstrated why, despite their intelligence and reason, Vulcans were not considered a race equal to humans, demons, dragons, and other similar beings, let alone gods. Instincts.

Advanced beings with higher intelligence had either eliminated their instincts or reduced them to a minimum through evolution, manifesting only in infancy. But here, it was evident that instincts had engulfed this creature, holding it firmly and refusing to let go.

"Watch and learn, kid: 'Smoke Shackles!'" I took a deep puff, then exhaled pink smoke more akin to plush. It coiled around the opponent like a living snake, immobilizing him. He couldn't resist, and the reason was clear: hunger had led to severe exhaustion. I don't know what else he feeds on, but it was either in short supply, or he had personal health issues.

"We're lucky; he's severely weakened," Wakaba approached me, not letting go of the captured creature, holding it in restraints. "Now, it's your turn to lose your virginity, kid. Kill him; he won't survive with these stats. You'll take the hide for yourself," he said, smiling as he patted the terrified monster on the shoulder. Vulcan desperately resisted, but his strength was clearly inadequate.

I felt no pity for him whatsoever. I understood the circumstances. It was either innocent citizens or him. Besides, I needed the money for his hide. Soon, I would have to pay for my room, and this was a good way to save up now and avoid worrying later.

I approached him, my hand on his forehead. "Shock Therapy," I intoned the spell, attempting to release a lightning bolt into his head to kill his brain as quickly as possible, not giving him a chance to bite my hand or damage the fur with sudden head movements.

Surprisingly, despite his condition, he proved more resilient, refusing to die. Of course, Vulcan couldn't move because of the electric shock that had paralyzed him, but life still clung to him. I had no choice but to increase the power of the discharge. He finally perished when his brain was completely fried in cerebrospinal fluid.

It was quite unpleasant. It took far more magical energy for a dying creature than I had expected, but at least now I had a rough estimate of how much was needed for immobilizing an opponent. But this was only valid when the magical energy of others was roughly equivalent to this individual, taking into account their physical condition.

Sigh * Well, I don't know how much energy it would take to immobilize a Vulcan completely. But at least I have a minimum threshold in mind now.

I know I've only studied lightning magic for a day, and I don't need to complain about my weak magical power, but I'm not just a simple wizard. My eyes allow me to see the structure of the spell, not only to memorize it accurately and reproduce it but to understand its essence. All I needed was to read the spell book and see how Laxus used it on a berserk Natsu, and I could apply it.

Of course, I won't be able to fully replicate his magic. The powerful source of energy in his chest nourished the lightning, making it unique and more potent. It felt the same as the magic from Natsu—ancient magic used by dragon slayers. You can't just copy or subdue it without a special catalyst, which I currently lack.

In addition to lightning magic, I managed to learn five other elemental types of magic and other equally powerful and interesting spells. Some types of magic were unintentionally taught to me by my guild members when they used them. They don't even realize it. Other spells were learned from books borrowed from my master. Magic from books, however, proved to be much harder to study. I had never seen them firsthand, only as letters on paper with sometimes unclear explanations from the authors. Here, the eyes were not as helpful; it required understanding and experience, which come with time and practice.

"Wow, you really are a monster," Wakaba said, clapping his hands in amazement. "You're truly terrifying! You kids these days are too scary. When we were your age, we were chewing on sand and hitting nettles with sticks, and now... Erza, Mira. Even Natsu and Gray are starting to resemble monsters. A few more years, and they'll surpass us, the old guys. Not to mention Laxus. So young, and he's already an S-ranked wizard. And now you," he said, pointing plaintively at me. "At this rate, we'll run out of work. Are you aware of that?"

"Excuse me?!" I stammered, not sure how to react. Such a situation could indeed be disheartening for others. In my previous world, despite my relatively young age, I had noticed how succeeding generations were becoming much better than I and most of my peers. It was somewhat discouraging at first, but I quickly realized it was normal and accepted the circumstances. It's an essential process in the development of society; otherwise, humanity wouldn't progress.

"Oh, don't worry about it," he waved his hand. "I'm not complaining. I'm actually pleased that so many talented newcomers have joined the guild. If something were to happen to me, Gildarts, or the Master, we wouldn't need to worry about the guild's future."

He calmed me down and removed the smoky restraints from the monster's body. "Shall we leave it here or take it back?" he asked, more to himself than to me. "If it were some cute creature, I'd gladly take it with us, but this..."

I didn't give much thought to what to do with the trophy. Approaching the corpse again, I placed my hand on the still-warm forehead. Then something remarkable happened, at least for a man who didn't expect anything. The massive Vulcan, weighing at least two hundred kilograms, suddenly vanished, as if it had never existed. All that remained was the crushed grass, a reminder of the magical creature's recent presence.

"What?" Wakaba raised his glasses in surprise. "How?! Although... everything's fine. You don't need to tell me, let's move on. I don't want premature wrinkles ruining my handsome face. How will I interact with the ladies then?"

On the contrary, I was quite astonished. Transmutation magic was indeed convenient, but I had failed to account for the distance. I had wanted to save energy by not having to carry such a massive carcass, but I ended up paying in terms of mana consumed within my body. My substantial magical reserves were nearly depleted by a third. "There's no such thing as a free lunch," I mumbled, trying to catch my breath. I had never before lost so much energy in a single instance. Adaptation was turning out to be quite intense.

"You said something?" He asked while lighting another cigarette, standing in the bushes waist-deep to relieve himself.

"Never mind, just thinking aloud," I waved it off, taking a sip of water. "Where to now?"

"Let's continue our journey to the mountain," he pointed at a small rocky mountain without even looking in its direction. It was unclear whether he did it intentionally or not.

"Kid, look!" Wakaba whispered to me. "Footprints." He pointed at the ground, and indeed, there were tracks left by a primate. However, they were heading in a different direction, which was a decent argument. What was even more convincing was the size of the prints; they were much larger. The previous Vulcan was just over two meters tall, while this one seemed even more substantial.

"By the way, won't the smell of cigarettes interfere with our mission? After all, these are wild animals, and the scent of tobacco is pretty strong and long-lasting," he inquired. I had wanted to ask this many times, but I kept forgetting. Now he had conveniently brought it up and reminded me.

"Ah, that," I returned my voice to normal volume. "Don't worry, it's fine. These tracks are quite old, so we won't scare anyone off. Besides, Vulcans aren't particularly timid creatures."

"Good, then," he said, exhaling smoke. "If you smell tobacco, let me know. Just so you know, I brought my wife's perfume with me. It's a bit overwhelming, but that's even better."

"Why? Do you really have a wife?" He didn't seem like someone who had a wife, being quite unconventional. Maybe he has some peculiar tastes?

"Of course, I do! Can't you tell?" he retorted, with a mix of positivity and a touch of accusation, posturing like a stereotypical Japanese delinquent.

"Considering how you chase after every skirt in the guild and beyond..."

"I'm just having nice chats with the ladies. No indecency, just sharing my wisdom as an elder. Like I'm doing now."

"As you wish," I sighed at his words. He's lying and not even blushing. But what do I care? It's his life, and he can manage it as he pleases.

I tied my hair into a makeshift ponytail. The length of my hair wasn't sufficient for a proper hairstyle, but I managed a minimal semblance. After spritzing myself with the perfume quite generously, I returned the flask. All of this was done on the move while keeping an eye on Vulcan's tracks.

I enjoyed the fragrance of the perfume, even though it was a women's scent. It was an amazing combination of light, delicate femininity from flowers and fruits, mixed with a masculine heaviness. I wanted to inhale it over and over again. The freshness of the forest's night seemed to cater to my desires, enhancing the palette of scents even further.

"Kid," he interrupted my enjoyment, still not taking his eyes off the tracks. "Footprints." There were indeed tracks in the earth, which belonged to another primate. They were heading in a different direction, and this one seemed even larger.

"By the way, you won't tell your wife about this, will you?"

"Don't worry about it. I won't tell her anything," he said curtly.

"About what? The perfume?"

"About everything," he replied briefly.

"No problem," I promised him. Male solidarity, after all. I might not approve, but it's his life to manage as he sees fit.