Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Teaming Up with an Acquaintance

Zelir was actually quite grateful to Bev.

The girl, who came from a noble family, hadn’t shown any arrogance. Instead, she had been approachable, showing him around the Mage’s Guild and sharing a great deal of valuable knowledge.

There was also Instructor Marvin’s kind assistance, which had allowed him to receive his guild stipend ahead of schedule.

’These are all favors I owe. I’ll have to repay them slowly...’

"Good evening, Aurora."

Returning to the Night Flower Inn, Zelir waved and greeted Aurora.

"Good evening, Mr. Zelir."

Aurora smiled sweetly. "Your new clothes look very sharp."

"Uh... thanks."

Zelir scratched his cheek and subconsciously looked away.

"I’d like a thick vegetable soup, some toast, and egg fried rice."

Remembering the ending of *The Immortal’s Curse*, Zelir had no appetite for meat tonight.

"Right away." Aurora turned and called to the kitchen.

The meal wasn’t expensive, costing Zelir only Fifty Copper Coins.

He didn’t have to wait long for his dinner. In addition to what he had ordered, there was an extra mug of ale on the table.

"It’s on the house," Aurora said with a smile.

"Thank you..."

The chef at the Night Flower Inn was excellent; every dish had its own unique flavor.

After devouring his food, Zelir chugged more than half the mug of ale in one go.

BURP...

Most of his fatigue dissipated, and he let out a satisfied belch.

’My rating is sorted, I’ve bought a Magic Wand, and I’ve even managed to secretly learn several Magic Skills. Now I have just over one Gold Coin left.’

He glanced at his panel.

The progress of his Wind Blade Technique, Lighting Skill, and Water Ball Skill had all reached 10%.

’Magic with simpler Spell Structures really does get analyzed quickly.’

’At this rate, I’ll have completely mastered these Magic Skills in three or four days at most, and my combat power will jump significantly.’ 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

’By then, it’ll probably be time for me to head to the Adventurer’s Association to take on more quests.’

...

「Four days later, on the outskirts of Black Stone Town.」

In a sparse forest.

Zelir took a deep breath, adjusting his condition to its peak.

Wind Blade—activate!

He waved the White Wax Wood staff, and an invisible blade flashed past in an instant.

CRACK!

A deep gash appeared on the bark of the tree in front of Zelir, and sap slowly flowed down from the wound.

He walked forward to observe the situation.

The cut made by the Wind Blade was over two centimeters deep. If this hit an ordinary person, it would cause a serious injury at the very least.

Zelir nodded in satisfaction.

’Not bad killing power.’

Of the three Magic Skills he had learned from Bev, Zelir’s favorite was the Wind Blade Technique.

It was stealthy and swift. In terms of pure physical destructive power, the Wind Blade Technique was even stronger than the Fireball Skill, making it extremely effective against unarmored opponents.

The Lighting Skill was purely for support, and as for the Water Ball Skill...

To be honest, Zelir found the Skill a bit ridiculous.

Tossing a ball of water at an opponent was completely useless unless they were something like a flame elemental.

It was better than nothing, he supposed.

’At least I can use it to quench my thirst if I ever run out of water in the wild.’

Over the past four days, in addition to mastering those three Magic Skills, Zelir had an unexpected surprise.

Thanks to the significant head start he’d gotten, his analysis of the Flame Breath Skill was also complete.

The Flame Breath Skill was a Level Three Magic with a single-layer Spell Structure, a level higher than the Fireball Skill.

In terms of performance, the Flame Breath Skill could be considered the Advanced version of the Fireball Skill.

Zelir had compared the Spell Structures of the two Magic Skills.

He discovered that the Flame Breath Skill dedicated a much larger portion of its circuit to Magic Energy Storage, which was the reason for its greater power.

To avoid causing a forest fire, Zelir chose to practice magic by the river.

Magic Power began to circulate, slowly outlining the Spell Structure.

Since this was his first time testing the Skill, it took Zelir a bit longer. After about seven or eight seconds, the White Wax Wood Tip finally blazed with a scorching light.

Flame Breath Skill—activate!

BOOM!

A massive Fireball, about five meters long, erupted forth, blasting straight ahead with terrifying force!

Under the intense heat, the river’s surface let out a constant SIZZLE as plumes of white steam rose into the air.

Both the concussive force of its Magic Power and the heat it radiated were significantly stronger than a regular Fireball Skill.

The Flame Breath Skill also had another feature: it could be cast continuously by consuming more Magic Power.

As long as you had enough Mana, you could keep spewing Flames and turn your enemies to cinders.

Zelir cut off the flow of Magic Power, and the massive Fireball slowly died out.

"A worthy successor to the Fireball Skill indeed..." Zelir mused.

’Having this up my sleeve gives me a little more peace of mind.’

’Everything’s ready. Next up: kill monsters, make money, and level up!’

...

「Adventurer’s Association.」

Zelir felt more at ease returning to this place.

The familiar din filled the air as Adventurers either picked out suitable quests or recruited teammates.

Amid the bustling crowd, Zelir spotted a towering Half-Beastman.

He had pale green skin, thick hair, and bulging muscles. The Broad Axe on his back was as wide as a door.

Although Zelir didn’t know how much Beastman blood he had, it was surely more than the amount of Elf blood in Valles.

Zelir remembered what Bev had told him about the Mage’s Guild and the Adventurer’s Association, so he scanned the crowd, searching for a target.

He was in luck. In front of the quest board, Zelir spotted a familiar back.

Marcus was choosing a quest.

"Hey! Marcus, how have you been?" Zelir patted his shoulder.

"Oh, it’s you... Not bad. I didn’t expect to run into you again so soon."

A smile spread across Marcus’s face when he saw Zelir. "So, how about it? Want to team up again?"

"Of course," Zelir readily accepted Marcus’s invitation.

’It’s always more reassuring to be with someone you know. At least Marcus is trustworthy.’

"What kind of quest are you planning to take?" Zelir asked, his own eyes quickly scanning the board.

"What do you think?" Marcus asked.

After fighting the Fog Demon together, Marcus’s opinion of Zelir had changed.

He had originally thought Zelir was just a greenhorn, but he had proven himself quite useful in a crisis.

Otherwise, Marcus wouldn’t have proposed forming a permanent party with Zelir after the last quest ended.

"How about something on the safer side? We could take an easy one?"

Zelir wanted to test out his newly learned Magic Skills in actual combat.

’Something too strong would be overwhelming, but something too weak would be boring.’

Marcus began to choose carefully. A moment later, he plucked a request form from the board.

"How about this one?"

Zelir took it and saw it was a request posted by the Black Stone Town Government Hall.