Chapter 80 A Brief Rest

At the fight with the monster horde, the two four-star adventurers of the party were talking amongst themselves while fighting with monsters.

"What do you think? He is good, right?"

/SLASH/

The man with a katana in his hands said, severing the head of the monster in front of him.

"Yes, he is. He just broke through today, but it seems he had already got used to his new strength."

/SWOOSH/ /SLASH/ /THUD/ /THUD/ /THUD/

With a huge swing of a claymore, the bulky man on the front said with a serious face.

"But he always fights like he is alone. He is not that suited for a party."

"You are right. But this won't go like that for too long. He started to realize that too. Look."

"Hmm? What is he doing?"

"He is scanning the battlefield while fighting."

"You are saying he is looking at others as well?"

"Yes. Look."

Seeing the black-haired boy dashing to the monster attacking the elf from behind, the man with claymore asked:

"He is really learning very fast, isn't he?"

"He is."

"So? What are you going to do?"

"I am thinking of teaching him the sword arts of family."

"Are you sure? Didn't you use to hate them?"

"I did. And I do hate that family now too, but still, I can't ignore the fact that there is such an unpolished gem standing before me."

"Heh? Just as I thought, you can't ignore that."

"How can I? I am sure he will kick the faces of those proud people if he sees."

"Do you think he can learn that before we leave the caravan?"

"I am sure he will be able to grasp the basics in at most a month."

"What? Do you think it is that easy to master?"

"I know that sounds absurd. But, do you see the footwork he is using?"

"Yes, it is very complex."

"I am pretty sure he is a son of a noble."

"Hmm… So you are saying, if that is a footwork of his own family, that means he had already mastered it to some extent."

"Yes. Mastering such complex footwork at such a young age shows his talent."

"I see…. You are certainly right. But let's keep the talk short. We need to first survive this place."

"Don't worry. There is no way we can lose with to some mere monsters, right, my old friend?"

"Heh. Wanna make a bet then?"

"Okay."

With a smile on their faces, two adventurers started slaughtering monsters stopping the talk….

***

After the fight was over, we started moving again.

Since the fight took quite a long time, everyone was tired, and this could be seen from the expression on their faces as well.

And the most tired ones were the elves that were sleeping soundly in the caravan.

'The mana exhaustion phenomenon.'

I thought, looking at the two girls sleeping.

The moment a person uses all their mana while fighting, their consciousness will start slipping.

This is probably because the mana is already part of their body after they have been awakened.

And they will need to rest until they have replenished a subtle amount of mana too.

<Ding! The quest [Executioner] is finished.>

Hearing the system's voice made me wake up from my thoughts.

'System, why is the quest finished right now?"

<Host, since the event related to the quest ended, the quest is finished too.>

'Does that mean the dragon is subjugated?'

<I don't know anything related to the dragon host.>

'Okay. Show me the quest.'

After I said that, a system panel appeared beside me.

------------------------------

Quest – Executioner (Completed)

As a petty brother and son, you can't forgive those who have targeted your family.

Kill the members of the Syndicate.

Killed targets – 6

Completion Rank- B

Rewards – Increase in Mana Sensitivity

--------------------------

Looking at the rewards shown there, a smile bloomed upon my lips.

'That was worth the effort.'

Now, normally the reward might look bland, but that is not the case.

Mana Sensitivity…  It is a term that will play a very important role in the future, knowing that I will be a mage.

It is a type of innate talent a person is born with, and it is very hard to increase aside from some treasures that are found in the later parts of the game.

Therefore, now that this reward appeared beside me like that, I could no longer contain my smile.

After that, the road was pretty smooth; aside from encountering some monster groups that didn't have much in their numbers, we didn't see anything else.

****

After traveling for a while, we finally stopped.

"Haa, thank goodness. The monster repellent is working again."

Hearing the voice of the merchant coming, everyone's mood improved suddenly.

"Really, Father? Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes. Look, it is finally absorbing the mana normally again."

"You are right… Sigh…. Thank goddess Celestia, we can now camp."

"Everyone, let's find a place to camp."

With everyone being tired, we started looking for a place to camp and found one not long after.

"There is an open field in right there."

The rogue of the party, Euan, came beside us not long after showing his profession as a scout.

"Is the ground okay?"

"It is fine."

"Any monsters?"

"I have seen some bugbears, but aside from that, there are none."

"Bugbears, huh? We can deal with them if it is necessary."

"There is a river close by, too; we can wash there as well."

"Good, we will go there then. Everyone, let's go."

After that, we started riding the carriage toward the place Euan showed.

Reaching an open field, I started observing.

'Hmm… The ground is smooth. However, there are some marks on the grass. It seems a horde has just passed through this place.'

I thought, looking at the marks.

"Good, let's start setting up the camp."

After that, we started setting up the tents.

It was because of the situations like these that we had brought a tent with us.

Putting up the tents, everyone was ready to sleep.

"The dinner is ready; come on."

Thanks to the chef the merchant hired as personnel, the dinner(?) were ready.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Grabbing the plate that was thrown at me, I started eating the meal, not thinking about anything else.

Now that the adrenaline was gone, I remembered I hadn't eaten anything today aside from breakfast in the morning. Because before I could even eat dinner, the attack had started.

Normally a knight can stay hungry for a long time, but because I did a lot of heavily physical activities, I was pretty hungry.

"How is it?"

Sitting near me, Aliya asked.

"It is enough, I guess?"

"Heh. So you don't like it?"

"Beggars can't be choosers."

"Right."

After that, we both started munching the food.

"How is your condition? Are you okay?"

"I am tired, but aside from that, I am pretty much fine."

"Is that so? I saw you getting injured by that tiger at that time."

"Ah, that White Tiger?"

"Yes."

"It still stings from time to time, but the potions are doing their work."

"I see. But, you are really strong, you know."

"Nah…. I am not as strong as you think."

"No, no. You are definitely strong. At least much stronger than I am."

"Well, not everyone has a talent for fighting."

"I guess that is right."

"But everyone has a talent for something. The important thing is to realize yours."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. There are things in this world that we cannot change, no matter how hard we try."

"…."

"I know what you want."

"What I want?"

"Yes. You want to become an adventurer, right?"

"Yes…. How did you know?"

"It is pretty obvious from those twinkles in your eyes every time you see a fight."

"Ah… Was it that obvious?"

"It was. But you are facing the thing that we call the talent limit, aren't you? You are trying so hard to train your mana and advance your rank as a mage, right?"

"…."

"Waking up early in the morning, emptying your mana core to the limits while using your mana, trying to learn how to use magic. Those are not the things any normal person would do in their daily lives. Those are the things a person with a dream would do, a person with a goal."

"…."

"But let me tell you something. Life is not a fairy tale that will end with everyone being happy the end. No. Life is much crueler than that. For those people who have a dream and pursue that dream to the end of their lives, even though they know they are not that talented, most of them will never be able to achieve what they want. And do you know what awaits them at the end of the road?"

"What awaits them?"

"It is just the cruel truth that they tried so hard to ignore. It is the truth that they wasted their whole life for a bunch nothing. Now, let me ask you. Are you really willing to pursue your dream even at the risk of getting nothing in the end, or are you willing to give up on your dream and pursue a thing that you are better at?"

"What should I do then?"

Looking at the slightly torn girl in front of me, I stood up from my place.

"Start asking those questions to yourself. Is this really your dream? Is the only type of strength physical strength or strength that comes from your body? Once you answer those questions, you will be able to understand."

"What do you mean?"

Waving my hand to answer, I left the place and went to my tent, going to sleep not long after.

"Hey!"