The Fruits of Your Labor

“What do you think of this one, sir?” asked the shopkeeper at the store I had gone to.

“I don’t know… don’t you have the same one but in silver?”

While Liz was taking the guild’s trial to increase her adventurer rank, I had gone to the market looking for something. The original plan was to accompany her during her match, but a sudden idea came to me and I had to head over here. I felt bad seeing her with a confused look as I walked away with the excuse of having something to do… Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you!

“Ah! Yes, this one’s perfect!” I exclaimed. I had finally found exactly what I was looking for.

I paid the price the merchant asked, he placed it inside a small box, and I left. I was quite pleased, I thought it would take me longer. Everything was going well, but suddenly I felt something strange.

“…Huh?” I said involuntarily while turning back, in the direction of an alley.

I felt someone’s gaze. It wasn’t like the time we were stalked by the Stalkey or the Treetalon, this was different. I felt an enormous pressure across my whole body. However, when I turned to try and discover what it was, the sensation vanished instantly. I ran toward the alley where I had felt the gaze, but there was nothing. It was gone.

“Was I just imagining things?” I wondered.

Even so, this world has proven to be quite dangerous and troublesome, not only because of the existence of monsters, but also because of bandits and other threats that might arise. I think the best thing will be to return to Liz as soon as possible to make sure nothing happens to her. I had already gotten what I wanted, so there was no more reason to stay at the market anyway.

I wonder how Liz is doing in her trial…

***

“Begin!” shouted the instructor, starting the promotion trial.

Without wasting any time, I cast a basic spell that required no incantation at the instructor. Since mages are an occupation that practically no longer exists, my attack surprised her so much that she couldn’t dodge it and took the full hit, being sent flying. However, she was a high-ranked adventurer for a reason, so she quickly recovered, flipping in the air.

“Magic!?” she exclaimed in shock.

Taking advantage of the fact she was still disoriented, I rushed at her and relentlessly attacked with my sword. She struggled to keep up with my pace because of the earlier surprise, and thanks to that I managed to force her onto the defensive—though not for long. She quickly found an opening in my attacks and used it to make me fall back.

The instructor then dashed toward me, and though I tried to stop her with another basic spell, she dodged by stepping to the side and kept charging.

“That won’t work twice!” she shouted. This time I wasn’t going to surprise her so easily.

Once she got close enough to me, she struck downward with her sword in a powerful blow that I barely managed to block. The impact made most of my body tremble. I tried to hold on with all my strength, but the instructor’s force was too great; my arms were beginning to give in under the pressure.

What do I do!? What do I do!?

That’s when I had an idea. I tilted my sword to deflect the instructor’s strike, and taking advantage of the force she was putting into it, her attack slammed straight into the ground, giving me the chance to counter with another spell.

I remembered that technique from the training I had with Naoya the other day. He had done the same with my sword, diverting it with his gauntlets in order to attack me. Training was really paying off!

I launched the next spell at fairly close range, and although the instructor was able to react quickly by blocking it with her wooden sword, it broke and the attack hit her directly, pushing her several meters back as she clutched her torso.

Not even in my wildest dreams had I imagined I could fight like this one day. How exciting!

“Incredible… I’ve never seen a mage with such powerful spells,” said the instructor. “How did you do it?”

“I’ve been training little by little since I was a child until reaching the level I have now.”

“I see. But what will happen if you run out of mana?” the instructor asked. “It’s deadly for mages, isn’t it? What will you do then?”

“I’ll be careful, I’ve already been scolded for that before…” I said with some embarrassment, remembering how much Naoya worried about me during the fight against the golem. “Even so, I have a reliable partner who supports me, so I’ll be fine.”

Yes. Naoya has helped me so much since I met him. I’m no longer the girl who struggled to keep up with bandits using only a sword; now I’m more skilled and can use magic without fear thanks to him.

Naoya believed in me. He believed I would manage to pass the trial to increase my rank, so I don’t plan to let him down. I’ll give it everything I’ve got in this fight!

Hearing my answer and the mention of Naoya, the instructor smiled with satisfaction.

“I see. In that case, show me what you’re capable of!” she roared as she lunged at me with her fists.

Thanks to the training I’ve had with Naoya, I’ve become more accustomed to fighting unarmed opponents while using my sword. It may sound like I have the advantage, but if my opponent is skilled enough—as in this case—then I have to be very careful.

Taking advantage of an opening, I managed to turn the tables. She went from attacking to defending, so I increased the pace of my sword to try to overwhelm her, but she managed to repel me and quickly forced me back. I still need to practice that.

“Hey! How about we finish this?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked.

“Hit me with your strongest spell!” the instructor shouted, motivated. “That way we’ll determine what rank you truly deserve!”

I had my doubts. Using my strongest spell could be really troublesome, not only because of the mana it would take, but also because it could severely injure the instructor. My spirit lance had destroyed a golem’s core and even a Treetalon; it was extremely dangerous. But if we dragged out the fight, I would be the one losing.

“…All right!” I shouted, motivated as well.

Yes, she was a high-ranking adventurer. If she said she could handle my strongest spell, then I would attack her with everything I had.

“Ferazka. Bravûm Azkarûn…”

As I continued the chant, mana began to gather and take shape in my hands with a beautiful green glow. Seeing the scene, the instructor looked expectant and excited. I hoped not to disappoint her.

“…Taryon Therenil. Gronthar Therenil…”

I adjusted the distance and the size of the spell to moderate them in exchange for keeping the power at maximum. Even with those changes, the spell would consume a lot of mana, though not enough to leave me in a critical state.

The strength of the attack would be the same as with the golem. It would be a devastating strike, but I trusted the instructor would be able to deal with it.

It was time!

“Spiritual Spear!” I shouted as the emerald spear shot out of my hands at great speed.

The instructor seemed confident at first, but as the attack drew closer her face began to show concern, until finally, when the spell was about to reach her, she dodged it. Her confident expression was nowhere to be seen anymore. Instead, she now looked nervous and sweating profusely, even though until a moment ago she seemed unbothered by it.

What just happened?

Having cast my spell, and exhausted from all the effort, I finally dropped to my knees.

“That… is all I’ve got,” I said, breathing heavily.

“That spell… it could have killed me,” the instructor admitted in fear. “Or at least left me practically half-dead. You really do have terrifying power, girl.”

“Ha… ha, ha… By the way, what’s going to happen with the… benches?”

Since she had dodged my spell, the mana lance flew straight into the benches, striking and destroying a considerable section of them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it!” she replied, as if it were nothing. “All right, it’s time for your evaluation.”

This was the moment of truth.

“Your swordsmanship, while good, still has a lot to improve. On the other hand, your spells are without a doubt your greatest strength, they are truly impressive. However, once you run out of mana you’re defenseless, so you’ll need to manage it better in order to last longer.”

All of her points were quite solid. I may rely on Naoya to help me with my lack of mana, but that doesn’t change the fact that once I’m drained, I’m defenseless against any attack. I’ll have to be more careful with that in the future.

“My final evaluation is… Rank B! You still have things to work on, but without a doubt you are a great force to be reckoned with,” concluded the instructor.

I did it. I managed to rise in rank to even be on par with Naoya.

I did it!

Once the trial and the instructor’s evaluation were over, she walked up to me and offered me her hand to help me get up.

“Congratulations, sweetie! Keep working hard!”