"Has the monster tide arrived?!"
"Time for a massacre!"
Two fists slammed together!
A figure suddenly shot straight into the monster horde!
Kanzaki Rei saw that figure and his pupils shrank slightly.
Charging directly into the monster swarm with nothing but a physical body—wasn't that suicide?
Thinking that, Kanzaki Rei instinctively prepared to redirect his magic to support that side.
After all, killing monsters anywhere was still killing monsters.
Helping an ally while doing so wasn't a bad thing.
But the very next moment—
Thud!
Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!
A chaotic blur flashed through the horde so quickly that only afterimages could be seen.
Countless monsters were instantly kicked into the air!
Then the figure leapt skyward!
He raised his leg and smashed downward!
"HA!"
BOOOOM!
The ground split apart!
The entire pack of monsters that had been kicked into the sky came crashing down simultaneously!
When the thunderous impact faded, all that remained there was a cratered pit and indistinguishable fragments of flesh.
Meanwhile, the warrior's figure had already rushed deeper into the horde!
His body blurred forward.
Punches and kicks flying!
Corpses and shredded flesh littered the ground everywhere he passed.
Kanzaki Rei's eyes lit up.
So this was a warrior!
That was cool.
Compared to the soft, distant attacks of mages, the bone-crushing impact of fists and kicks felt far more exhilarating.
More importantly—
warriors were far tougher than mages.
Even now, Kanzaki Rei constantly worried that if some boss monster so much as touched him, he'd die instantly.
But a warrior?
They could definitely take a few hits.
While these thoughts ran through his mind, Kanzaki Rei's spellcasting never stopped.
Within a short time, Chain Lightning and Flame Belt had accumulated enough proficiency to reach Level 100, meeting their evolution conditions.
Killing monsters truly leveled skills quickly.
Every monster slain granted proficiency experience.
Other adventurers probably benefited from this mechanic as well.
With a simple thought, Kanzaki Rei chose the evolution paths.
Chain Lightning — Evolution Path: Chain
Flame Belt — Evolution Path: Area
[Evolution Complete: Chain Lightning (Tier 2) (LV: 101)][Evolution Complete: Fire Wall (Tier 2) (LV: 101)]
Since both were crowd-control spells, it was only natural to evolve them in directions that enhanced area combat.
Whoosh!
Flames surged once again.
But this time—
it was no longer merely a burning strip across the ground.
Instead, a towering wall of fire erupted.
Three meters tall.
Fifty meters long.
And five meters wide.
Kanzaki Rei spread three Fire Walls in succession.
They stretched across more than one hundred meters, blocking nearly every monster along that route.
Even Tier 2 Lord monsters that charged through the wall emerged engulfed in flames, barely clinging to life.
Level 100 proficiency magic damage—did you think it was a joke?
Meanwhile, a single strike of Chain Lightning now chained across hundreds of monsters, instantly turning them into ash.
Even more terrifying—
the lightning didn't stop.
Bolts continued to fall relentlessly.
Adventurers beneath the wall surged forward like waves!
They clashed with the monsters approaching the city.
The scene—
honestly made Kanzaki Rei feel a bit excited.
Perhaps this monster tide wasn't as dangerous as he'd imagined.
…
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
BOOM.
The entire earth trembled.
Within the fog, an enormous shadow slowly emerged.
What the hell was that?
The shadow was far taller than the city wall itself.
Kanzaki Rei looked upward, feeling incredibly small.
Even if he combined all his magic—
he might not be able to deal even a scratch to that thing.
"It's a Tier 5 monster!"
"War Elephant!"
So this…
was a Tier 5 monster?
It felt unbelievably terrifying.
Could Level 5 adventurers really defeat something like that?
Kanzaki Rei couldn't help but marvel internally.
…Well.
If things go bad, I'll just run.
After all, I already joined the battle.
If I retreat when it becomes impossible to win, at least I'll still be able to face Iz and the others.
Kanzaki Rei was confident in his Ice Shuttle flight ability.
His escape speed was more than sufficient.
After all, when fleeing, what mattered most wasn't how fast you ran—
but whether you ran faster than everyone else.
But suddenly—
A sharp flash of cold light streaked through the air!
It looked as if even the clouds themselves had been split apart.
RUMBLE—
One of the War Elephant's massive legs was cleanly severed!
The gigantic limb collapsed toward the earth with a thunderous crash.
In the distance, Kanzaki Rei vaguely saw a man slowly sheathing a massive blade at his waist.
Was that his attack?
Wait…
Wasn't he the Level 5 adventurer who had been drinking yesterday?
A Level 5 Warrior.
That strong?!
Kanzaki Rei had never truly understood how powerful high-level adventurers were.
Now—
he finally knew.
Though he still wondered how this man compared to Akasei.
"These guys are ours to handle."
"As for the monsters behind them… we won't have time to worry about those."
His voice was so loud it echoed across the entire battlefield.
Beside him, several other familiar figures stepped forward.
They were all Level 5 adventurers who had come to Rhein Town.
"We only came here to hunt a few Tier 5 monsters."
"Didn't expect to run into a monster tide."
BOOOOM—
As the enormous elephant leg hit the ground, the earth shook violently again.
Originally, everyone thought the three-legged War Elephant would collapse.
But unexpectedly—
Blood sprayed from its severed leg.
Flesh regenerated instantly!
Within seconds, the gigantic leg had fully regrown.
Something that massive…
that heavy…
and it could regenerate like that?
The strength of Tier 5 monsters completely overturned Kanzaki Rei's understanding of monsters.
"Lord Rei! Help us out!"
A shout suddenly rose from below the wall.
Kanzaki Rei immediately turned his attention downward.
The monster tide was still advancing.
Tch.
Their numbers hadn't decreased at all.
Even though so many had already been killed.
Crackle—BOOM!
[Chain Lightning x3 — Proficiency EXP +7,880,000]
Each time Chain Lightning was cast now, it killed more and more monsters.
Naturally, the proficiency rewards grew larger and larger.
At this rate, it probably wouldn't take long before the skill reached Level 200.
Kanzaki Rei casually eliminated the monsters fighting the adventurers below.
Meanwhile, all of his single-target spells were directed at the Lord monsters.
Dozens of Lords emerged visibly from the forest.
But as long as they stepped within Kanzaki Rei's casting range—
they were instantly killed the moment they appeared.
Compared to regular mobs, Lords were actually easier to deal with.
Their numbers were small.
And killing them was just as easy as killing fodder.
Unless they were Tier 4 Lords.
But those Tier 4 Lords had already been intercepted by Level 4 adventurer parties.
Kanzaki Rei occasionally assisted them—
striking the boss's weak points, interfering with attacks, or directly weakening them using Deep Curse Arrow.
Standing atop the city wall, he provided support across the entire battlefield.
"…Is he really a Level 2 mage?"
"Don't question a genius."
"With Rei here, it honestly feels like we're invincible."
The way everyone addressed him had gradually changed.
From "Little Rei"…
to "Lord Rei."
Even though he was still only an eight-year-old child.
Hidden within that subtle shift in title—
was a genuine respect born from awe.