Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“It’s just my guess.”

However, if such speculative opinions came from the deputy manager of the Magic Tower, no matter how baseless they were, they inevitably carried weight.

“But the thought of a demon beast leaving its territory in search of mana doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“It doesn’t make sense. But ignoring the senseless situation unfolding before us won’t change anything.”

Masaya, as if resolute in her thoughts, extended her hand forward. A faint light emanated from the bracelet adorning her wrist.

“It seems I, too, am bound to participate in the subjugation.”

As she opened her palm, the light from the bracelet converged into her palm. When she clenched her hand again, a long staff with a purple gemstone embedded at the end materialized and rested in her grasp.

“Will you head straight back to Flamme? I think you can escape safely if you leave now.”

Although it was a polite suggestion, Aira was not so insensitive as to not understand that it meant she should step aside as she would be a hindrance in the current situation.

However…

“No.”

“… Excuse me?”

“I know it’s unreasonable, but I’ll join you.”

Somehow she felt that if she backed down now, she would never escape the feelings of defeat and inferiority.

Aira’s eyes gleamed with determination not to retreat, and seeing this, Masaya couldn’t bring herself to say, “You’re being a hindrance, please go away.”

Masaya hesitated for a moment, glancing towards Christian before letting out a small sigh.

“Hah. I did try to stop you, and remember it’s you who chose to go. You’ll have to take responsibility for that decision.”

“Yes. I promise not to cause any trouble for you, Masaya.”

Of course, something told her that trouble would find its way regardless of her efforts.

Masaya, not wanting to argue further about the matter, reached into a small bag attached to her waist. She then took out a small bottle and handed it to Aira.

“This is a potion?”

“Please drink it and try to recover your condition.”

Aira opened the cap of the potion filled with a dark purple liquid cautiously. Soon after, her complexion turned pale as she pinched her nose and shouted.

“The smell!”

“It’s very effective, though. It’s high-grade, replenishing both stamina and mana. I’m going to bill the lady for it later, so drink it all.”

“What? You’re actually planning to charge for this? It looks like some old stock…”

“If you’re not going to take it, feel free to escape to Flamme. I won’t stop you.”

Despite grumbling with her lips slightly protruding, Aira drank the potion in one go without hesitation.

“.!”

And then, an indescribable taste spread from her mouth throughout her entire body.

She barely managed to hold back the urge to spit it back into the potion bottle. But what spread through her body wasn’t just that strong taste.

“Huh. Ahhh.”

Much to Aira’s concern, it wasn’t some expired stock. It filled not only her stamina but also her empty mana reservoir.

It wasn’t a sufficient quantity, but it was enough for her to participate in the battle immediately.

Aira closed her eyes for a moment to draw up the replenished mana.

Her own mana resonated with the mana in the atmosphere and began to be absorbed into her body, refilling her mana reservoir.

“Truly, she’s quite something too. To instinctively understand the nature of mana…”

Not only did she awaken the wave in a crisis, but now she comprehended the mana essence resonance and went about replenishing her mana without any issues.

What was most surprising was not just rushing to fill her mana reservoir, but the way she was refining the absorbed mana into something usable.

Normally, in such a dire situation, you would only focus on refilling your mana reservoir…

If Aira had no parents or wasn’t from a noble family, Masaya would have immediately taken her to the Logia Magic Tower to train as a mage.

Putting aside such thoughts for a moment, Masaya used illusion magic.

“Please focus on organizing your mana. This place is safe.”

The waves created by mana didn’t merely block physical force from the outside.

As expected of a mage from the Logia Magic Tower, the traces of mana had already disappeared and harmonized with the surrounding landscape.

Outsiders would perceive it as merely ‘background’, making the two of them vanish from that spot.

Moreover, Masaya was a seasoned mage. While perfectly concealing her own presence, she created illusions of herself and Aira at a slightly distant location.

It was a sort of mirage effect, serving as insurance against a possible area-attack from a harpy.

This was conducted with such stealth that it was unlikely to be detected by anyone other than a mage more skilled than Masaya herself.

Therefore, even their allies outside would be mistaken about Masaya and Aira’s true location.

Before causing any confusion, Masaya was about to send a sound transmission to their three companions when she paused.

‘… Did that young master notice, after all?’

While engaging the harpy, Christian’s gaze occasionally darted elsewhere.

Instead of toward the illusions they had created, his sight was directed toward their real hidden selves.

***

“Sir Garcia! Left knee, thigh!”

“Don’t worry!”

“Dame Melissa! Enough with the ass! That thing has no feathers under its wings when it spreads them, so strike there!”

“… Alright. Understood.”

Christian, creating a small opening while causing the harpy to stumble with a wave, directed Garcia and Melissa toward strategic points, wielding them as if they were extensions of his own sword.

Though it potentially could be vexing to the two knights, Garcia was rather excited and enthusiastically followed Christian’s lead.

In contrast, Melissa found her feelings conflicted.

Of course, having participated in countless monster subjugations, she had no qualms about targeting weak points per se.

But of all weak points, the parts her beloved sword targeted were exceptionally uncomfortable, and she couldn’t help but feel some dissatisfaction about it.

“Damn! It’s annoyingly tough!”

Every time Christian struck the harpy with a wave, he too received significant impact through his hands.

The harpy’s body was so hard it felt like steel, and it was no surprise that Christian’s palms were tingling, as if they could tear any moment.

‘My palms still lack calluses! And my muscles aren’t ample enough to absorb the shock.’

Body activation alone couldn’t resolve everything. A refined body itself served as an exquisite weapon, armor, and shield.

His current physical state was no different from holding a wooden stick clad merely with pot lid armor as a shield.

‘Even so…’

He wasn’t naive enough to be deterred by what he lacked.

Christian, after all, was a seasoned warrior who had experienced battles beyond sky and sea.

There was plenty available to compensate for what was lacking, so he wasn’t worried. Rather, he found this inexplicable déjà vu to be unsettling.

‘What on earth is this creature?’

Even while fending off Garcia’s sword and parrying Melissa’s, it paid them no mind.

The harpy’s eyes were fixated on one sole target—himself.

-Kaa, kaat—! You, y-ou!

Its chilling gaze, showing white teeth and bloodshot eyes only for Christian, was enough to send shivers down his spine.

Fear? No.

“Seriously! Makes me think of those damned dragonkin!”

Those dragonkin bastards used to madly charge at him whenever spotted.

Its skill level was far inferior, but those maniacal eyes were enough to remind him of those accursed beings.

“Why the hell do the crazies always look like that!”

Wave Application – Overlap

Another wave blended into one. Then a new wave layered upon that merged wave.

Wave Transformation Technique – Chain Wave.

From one wave to two.

From two waves to four.

The power of waves multiplied exponentially the more they overlapped. It wasn’t a sword swung wildly in rage.

The split-second opening created by Garcia’s shatter and Melissa’s pinpoint thrusts.

After grasping their rhythm through continuous battles, Christian drew together all his mana to its limit for a decisive strike.

“Let’s see if the insides are as tough!”

As Christian swung his sword imbued with chain waves, the harpy crossed its wings to block it.

Perhaps sensing a threat, the feathers of its wings began to tremble, spewing forth mana.

But the wave exerted force from within, not from the outside. Regardless of blocking, it wouldn’t be impeded, as the harpy had already experienced several times, yet it repeated the same folly.

‘Why on earth?’

Christian pondered as he lunged with his sword.

A creature intelligent enough to use monsters to lure people and smart enough to launch surprise attacks at unguarded moments, repeating the same simple mistake again?

Christian soon understood the reason behind this.

Pssst—!

“What?!”

The moment Christian’s sword touched the wing, the mana contained within the chain wave was shattered, as if devoured by hundreds, thousands of feathers.

“Ugh?!”

“Agh?!”

The astonishing occurrence was experienced not only by Christian but by both Garcia and Melissa.

Their contained mana was devoured as well, causing both to stagger momentarily.

“This is!”

No, the mana consumed wasn’t just the mana manifested externally. It forcibly accessed and extracted the essence of their mana.

Unlike them, Christian, seemingly familiar with this phenomenon, severed the mana link between himself and the sword, cutting off its flow immediately.

Since only the mana in the sword was taken, it wasn’t a critical blow. Nonetheless, the mental shock was significant.

‘How could this be. This ability…’

Despite suspecting the impossibility, Christian didn’t foolishly linger in shock.

Swiftly retreating, he grabbed Garcia and Melissa, leading them to the mana camouflage spot hastily set up by Masaya.

Gently laying the two down, who were still breathless and unable to stabilize due to the sudden mana drain, Christian calmly assessed the harpy.

Klang— Kaak— Krralang—

A sound akin to a mix of bell and metal chiming reverberated.

The harpy, wrapping its massive wings around its form, appeared to savor the mana it absorbed, indulging in it gleefully.

“Mana devouring…”

An ability feared as the bane of mages, and a power that massacred numerous dragonkin, was unfolding right before their eyes.