Episode 20.1-2

On 31st of month six, Lecan and Eda went to Shira's house after breakfast, they were greeted by Nike there.

Eda was overjoyed with their reunion.

Then the three departed.

They're gathering in five spots this time.

Four of which the same spots Lecan went in month two.

Surprisingly, Lecan didn't really have a tough time trailing Nike's speed.

This is partly because he's learned <Recovery>, but also because his inherent stamina have risen.

And more surprisingly, Eda is keeping up with them.

Her stamina must have gotten a boost too.

However, the ways their stamina increase seem to differ.

In Lecan's case, basic parameters that governs his offensive power such as physical strength saw a noticeable increase.

On the other hand, Eda's got parameters related to mobility and evasion such as her endurance and agility raised.

Arriving at the first gathering spot, Nike swiftly gathered the herbs she needed and then took her time to teach Eda magic. Lecan gathered a lot of herbs for future use. And then he chatted with Nike before studying under her.

The journey was a leisurely one.

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka.com >

Eda has learned <Lamplight>, <Ignition>, <Recovery>, <Purification> and <Sleep> so far. She's been given the verdict of having no aptitude for spatial magic.

She also tried to cast <Flame Arrows> when they first set out, but there was no sign of it getting casted, thus Nike told her that she doesn't seem to have an aptitude for light and heat magic.

Nike taught Eda <Detection>. It's a magic that detects living beings nearby, unhindered by obstacles. Once you get better at it, its range will increase and you can then distinguish between humans and magic beasts. And if you progress even further, it will be possible to immediately find the location of a marked target.

Eda showed an aptitude for this magic right away.

"Uun. I'm sure of it now, Eda-chan, you'll learn <Detection> soon. It might be a good idea to expand on <Sleep> and learn <Invisible>, then expand on <Detection> and learn <Stealth> now."

"What happens if I do?"

"Your enemies won't be able to find you even in an open space. If you're going solo, you can get close or run away without getting noticed. In a party, you can cast <Recovery> on your allies without worries of magic beasts attacking you."

"Oh right, forgot to report that Eda is able to cast <Recovery> from a distance now."

"Oh my, that's quite fast. I knew she would get to it eventually."

"Is it an age-old technique."

"It existed in the past yes, but it's been forgotten now. Because once someone is known to have an aptitude for <Recovery>, they would always have a wand in hand whenever they're practicing nowadays. You end up only being able to produce <Recovery> on a wand's tip if you get better at it by borrowing a wand's power, see."

Eda learned <Detection>.

By the end of the journey, the range increased from 50 to 60 steps, and she could distinguish humans from beasts. However, she can't tell beasts and magic beasts apart, nor can she tell if a human possesses mana like Lecan can.

Apparently, using <Detection> make the surroundings feels noisy to Eda.

It was the same with Lecan when he first started learning <Life Detection>. Since you end up detecting small animals, birds and bugs in a forest, it feels noisy until you grasp the knack.

And Eda also consulted Nike about the usage of <Sleep>.

Since it didn't work all that well on floors near the last one at Dungeon Ninae.

"That you see, is probably not an issue with your <Sleep> proficiency, but more because there was a vast gap in life forces."

"Gap in life forces?"

"Mind magic don't work against beings that are far higher rank than the caster, you see."

"Eh. Really."

"However, the Eda-chan right now possess an unbelievable amount of life force. It must be the results from defeating a dungeon boss, and most importantly, the 10,000 magic beasts. So you'd probably succeed if you give it a try now."

"Oh, I guess beating 10,000 magic beasts is just that amazing."

"Listen now. Defeating an opponent you can easily defeat won't raise your life force much. But defeating ten opponents you can't easily beat is tough, isn't it?"

"It is, yeah."

"When you're up against 100 enemy you can't easily beat, normally you work your way on them one by one, and then by the 100th enemy, it won't be an opponent you can't easily defeat anymore. Defeating 10,000 enemies you can't easily defeat in one fell swoop is simply impossible."

"Hmmm. You can say we've made a killing then."

"Well yes, that's about it."

"Then I don't have to practice <Sleep> anymore?"

"Nuh uh. You should practice even harder. I've said it before, but you'd better off mastering one spell of mind magic than learning many kinds of spells of the same type. If you do that, you'll eventually learn <Invisible> and maybe even <Control>."

"<Invisible> sounds kinda cool. <Control>, the name's eerie."

"It is a frightening spell. I've never taught this to anyone before. But I believe Eda-chan won't use it for something indecent."

"Thank you. But Nike-san, you really know your magic even though you're just a tad older than me."

"Well I'm not Shira-baachan's grandkid for nothing."

"I see!"

As Lecan listened to the two's conversation, he thought of leaving Eda at Shira's place and departing Vouka by new year.

(Then I'll just check back at Vouka once after some years.)

(Because Vouka is a comfortable town.)