After firing off several Flaming Arrows in a row, Colin felt his mind growing sluggish. The slightest lapse in concentration and he would lose focus, his mind going completely blank.
It was like he'd just taken three math exams back-to-back.
But at this point, his only path to survival was to keep Casting Spells.
SNAP.
Just as Colin was muttering the Spell for his next Cantrip, the sharp snap of a twig reached his ears.
Without a second thought, Colin tightened his grip on his weapon and swung toward the sound. The blade let out a grating sound as it bit into a monster.
Its arm, like a dried-out twig, couldn't withstand the blow at all and was lopped right off.
He glanced back and saw several monsters creeping up from behind the carriage.
Without pausing, Colin swung his weapon in a wide arc.
The monsters lunging at him were driven back by the blade. They immediately realized this seemingly weak human was not to be trifled with.
The veins in his neck throbbed, and he could clearly feel the blood pumping through them.
Colin panted heavily, his eyes locked on the enemies surrounding him.
His mind was a blank slate, save for a single thought: kill the monsters trying to take his life.
Suddenly,
he felt a hard tug on his shoulder, and his vision whipped backward.
WHOOSH!
A rush of wind whistled past his ear. Kase, who had been pulling Colin back, leaped onto the carriage. With a single swing of his axe, he sent the lunging monsters flying. The other Adventurers followed close behind, forcing the creatures away from the carriage.
The disgusting little monsters scurried back to the perimeter, once again facing off against the mortals before them.
The stalemate lasted for a dozen or so seconds.
Then, the monsters untouched by the flames abruptly turned and scattered, vanishing as quickly as squirrels. All they left behind were a few of their kin still burning from the Flaming Arrows and the rustling of bushes.
"They might have reinforcements! We have to go, now!" the driver shouted.
But the Adventurers didn't look to the caravan's leader. Instead, all their eyes fell upon the youngest and most poorly equipped person among them.
'When did I become the leader?'
Colin froze, feeling their gazes fixed on him.
He scrambled over to the tree where the reins were tied and yelled, "Listen to him! Let's get out of here!"
Only then did the group spring into action.
After gathering the monster corpses, they quickly got the carriage moving and continued down the road.
Nearly everyone held a Torch, ready for any monsters that might give chase. The Adventurers who knew how to dress wounds tended to the injured.
A heavy silence fell over the caravan. In this atmosphere, no one felt like talking.
The faint, cloying scent of blood hung in the air.
Sitting on the carriage, Colin stared numbly at the pitch-black road ahead.
His eyes were glued to the surrounding bushes, not even daring to sneak a peek at his Panel.
Beside him, Kase was trembling nonstop. Colin could hear the chattering of his teeth.
'Maybe the Half-Orc is just as scared as I am?'
Colin didn't dwell on the thought.
They traveled for a long time, deep into the night. He didn't relax until a village watchtower finally appeared at the end of the road.
At night, Silverpine Village was quiet.
A bleary-eyed tavern owner arranged lodging for the group of unexpected, middle-of-the-night arrivals.
Then came the work of stabling the horses and securing the carriage.
By the time everything was settled and his head had cleared, Colin found himself lying on a straw pallet in the stable loft, Kase's snores echoing in his ears.
Only then did he finally begin to calm down.
The strength born of his rage slowly faded, leaving only a cold feeling of powerlessness in its wake.
As they were leaving the roadside camp, Colin had seen the poor soul who was the first to scream during the monster attack.
A driver had been ripped open by the monsters, his guts spilling onto the ground.
Beside his body lay several other Adventurers in pools of their own blood.
Remembering the pained cries of the wounded, Colin couldn't help but feel a wave of delayed fear.
The slightest hesitation, one wrong decision, and he would have been injured, or even... killed.
'Speaking of which, in this Magic World, would I meet the so-called Death Deity after I die?'
Colin's thoughts drifted muddle-headedly until his consciousness faded into nothing.
「The next morning.」
Sunlight streamed through the window into the loft, illuminating countless dust motes dancing in the beams.
Jarred awake by a commotion, Colin opened his eyes.
After staring blankly at the thatched ceiling for a moment, he suddenly remembered he hadn't checked his Panel from yesterday. He quickly focused his mind, wanting to see what the difficulty rating for the quest had been.
[Quest: Escort Carriage]
[Rating: 2 (Mortal)]
[Reward: 100 Skill Level]
[First-Time Quest Completion, Bonus Reward: Intelligence +1, Cantrip "Emerald Flame Sword"]
These rewards...
Colin quickly shifted his focus.
The parchment Panel before his eyes flipped, changing its appearance.
-----------------
Attributes:
Power 10, Agility 10, Constitution 10, Intelligence 10, Charm 10, Perception 10
Skill Level:
Casting (Novice) 392/500
Magic: Flaming Arrow
-----------------
One point of Intelligence, a new spell, and one hundred points of Skill Level.
Colin stared at the rewards on the Panel, his heart pounding.
First, the new spell.
Colin hadn't learned the spell yet, so he couldn't see its specific stats. But since it was a Cantrip, he figured it couldn't be too powerful.
'I can only hope it's a bit stronger than Flaming Arrow.'
Then there was the +1 Intelligence reward.
In many fantasy settings, the Intelligence Attribute was closely tied to Casting Magic. A reward that directly enhanced one of his core abilities was incredibly appealing—it was a reward that made him fundamentally stronger.
And finally, the Skill Level points.
Colin's original three hundred Skill Level points had been accumulated through his predecessor's training.
Even though his predecessor could only train outside the city when he wasn't working, it had taken him years to accumulate that much, which just went to show how hard it was to grind.
But by completing this one quest, Colin had earned a hundred points directly. Just through training, even if he did nothing else all day, that would have taken over a month!
With this new Skill Level, he wasn't far from upgrading his Casting Ability.
'I wonder what effect that will have.'
'Flaming Arrow itself isn't great.'
'But if the Caster's Casting Ability improves, the spell itself should get stronger too, right?'
At the thought, Colin felt his heart begin to race.
He couldn't wait to get back to Thousand Masts City.
'As long as I keep completing quests, it's only a matter of time before I become a powerful Adventurer. Will I still have to worry about money then?'
As he was lost in thought, the commotion outside the window continued unabated.
Colin peeked out the window to see what was going on.
In the distance, a windmill turned lazily amid half-harvested golden wheat fields.
Closer by was the village itself, surrounded by a wooden fence. Cooking smoke curled up from the thatched roofs, draping a thin veil over the houses.
The commotion was coming from directly below, in the tavern's fenced-in courtyard.
A man in woolen clothes was talking to the driver who had led their caravan yesterday. The two of them seemed to be arguing about something, which explained all the noise.
"Hey, buddy! Come on down and get something to eat!"
Colin looked toward the voice. It was one of the Adventurers from the escort quest, standing at the tavern entrance and calling up to him.
"Alright!"