Sorcerer Wants to Enjoy Poya Poya - Chapter - 5

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TL : Satva

Editor : Tetrax

Volume 1: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice 

Chapter – 5 : A Magical Beast in the Thicket

On the next day after finishing his work and having lunch, Ricardo was sitting in the attic, looking troubled. The only catalyst that could be bought with a single silver coin was cheap charcoal. And he not only needed fire catalysts, but also required catalysts for other types of magic.

It was not like there was no other way to get the catalyst. He could go to the nearby mountains and find some magical beasts, and then procure the catalyst by hunting them down. And by selling the material of the beast, he could make some quick money.

The problem was that magical beasts were dangerous. If he encountered a strong one, it would be game over. There were many kinds of magical beasts living in the mountains around Delv.

Among them, the demon-faced rat was one of the weaker beasts. It was a big rat with a scary face like a Rakshasa, a body as big as a cat and fangs as sharp as a knife. Its fangs were the catalyst for earth magic.

(TN: Rakshasa or Rakshas is a kind of demons from Hindu mythology which are infamous for eating humans)

Ricardo hadn’t mastered any earth magic yet, but he had learnt the magic [Flying Gravel] and [Earth Javelin].

There was also the head-butting rabbit. As the name suggested, it was a rabbit that used its head to attack, and it had well-developed muscles in its hind legs, which made it possible for it to give a powerful headbutt to its enemies.

It had white scales on its forehead that acted as a catalyst for earth magic.

Ricardo wondered if he could beat these monsters by himself. Night birds were also pretty common and could serve as a source of catalyst for wind magic, but they were difficult to kill. Ricardo had heard that even people who were good at bows found it tough to hunt them.

There was also a profession called beast hunters. They specialised in hunting magical beasts. These hunters made a living by selling the meat of the beasts they killed to butchers and the materials that could be used as catalysts to catalyst shops.

There were no unions or guilds, but dozens of beast hunters gathered to run something like a mutual aid society. In the future, these associations might develop into a guild.

Speaking of which, there was also the Sorcerers Association. It was a kind of academic society where sorcerers presented the results of their research and were awarded titles according to their performance.

The most important task of the Sorcerers Association was to certify the sorcerers. Only by getting certified by the association could one officially call themselves a sorcerer.

If they were not certified, they were no more than stray sorcerers, no matter how great their magic was.

Massimo had taken the exam twice at the Sorcerers Association headquarter in Royal Capital, but he had not passed and was not yet an official sorcerer. It was said that to get certified, sorcerers had to take a written exam and a practical exam and had to get an average score of at least 70 points in both, or they had to get recognized for their research in magic.

Back to the topic at hand.

He would be able to get the catalyst by defeating a beast. The spells that Ricardo had currently mastered were [Flame Shot] and the self-created [Magma Bomb]. He could defeat them using [Flame Shot] but…

Every sorcerer needed a catalyst to use sorcery.

Damn it! Will anyone be crazy enough to fight a magical beast without resorting to magic? The only way to defeat them is by using magic, and only then will I be able to get the expensive materials.

When it came to expensive materials, there were Erbil and armoured bears, but Ricardo was sure he would not be able to defeat them.

He had no choice but to find a way to defeat them without resorting to magic. Setting up traps was also not an option as Ricardo had no knowledge of the terrain. The only thing he could do was to prepare armor and weapons.

It reminded him of a game that he played during his childhood. It was the game of the hero who went to exterminate the monster equipped with the cypress stick and the pot lid.

(TN: It’s a Dragon Quest reference. Cypress stick and pot lid are the beginner’s weapons in the game.)

Ricardo didn’t have enough information to determine what to do. So he went to a person who might know.

When he got to the city, Ricardo walked straight to the catalyst shop. The old woman, Martha, was the most knowledgeable and talkative person in town.

“Grandma Martha, are you there…?”

He opened the door, and someone answered from inside the shop. “Hmm?  Who? Oh, Ricardo?”

There was no sign of her, but her son Diego was taking care of the shop. He was a man with average characteristics.

“Where’s Grandma Martha?”

“I don’t know, she’s probably wandering around town somewhere. What do you want?”

“Are you familiar with magical beasts, Diego?”

Diego, who was sitting in a chair behind the counter, smiled and nodded.

“I used to be a beast hunter.”

Ricardo was surprised by his words. He had always thought of Diego as a merchant by nature.

Ricardo asked eagerly.

“Do you know how to defeat a demon-faced rat or a head-butting rabbit?”

“Do you want to be a beast hunter?”

“No, I just need some catalysts.”

“I knew it, Alexander really took you in as an apprentice. I’ve heard the rumours.”

Since it’s a small town, information spread quickly. And information related to business and magic was even easier to find.

“Yeah, I was made an apprentice recently, and I’m joining the hunt.”

“I wonder if this is good luck or bad luck…?”

“No need to feel sorry for me.”

“Alright, we were talking about the devil-masked rat and the head-butting rabbit.”

According to Diego, they were the kind of beasts that novice beast hunters sought. There were different ways to hunt them, but if one practised swords or spears, they could hunt them without problems.

“If you’re a sorcerer, you should be able to kill them with magic.”

“But, you need a catalyst to use magic. And if you’re hunting them for a catalyst and you consume that catalyst, it will be useless.”

“I see. By the way, are you able to do some magic now?”

Maybe he was worried because Ricardo had just become an apprentice.

“I can now use [Flame Shot]. It can be activated even with cheap charcoal.”

“Well…. The only talent you have seems to be magic.”

Diego said after seeing his poverty-stricken body. It was clear just by looking that he had never practised martial arts.

“Wait a minute.”

Diego retreated to the back of the shop while rummaging around for something.

“Oh, there it is!”

In his hand was a warpick and a round shield.

“It’s the same weapon and shield I used when I first became a beast hunter. It’s cheap but useful. Here, you can have it.

“Eh, you are giving them to me?” Ricardo thanked him in a fluster and gratefully received the buckler-like shield and the warpick.

“If you are about to go hunting, try to get yourself familiar with magical beasts first,” he advised.

Ricardo tilted his head in confusion.

“I was afraid you would tell me not to do anything dangerous.”

Diego chuckled.

“I became a beast hunter when I was a little older than you. So I have no right to stop you.”

Then they talked about the spots where demon-faced rats and head-butting rabbits would show up, the habitat of dangerous beasts, and what precautions to take.

Finally, Diego said something unusual.

“The first time you kill a magical beast, you will get a word from God. Have you ever heard of it?”

“Eh… Is it really God?”

Diego’s words startled him and he realized that he looked like a fool.

“I don’t know about that,” he said. “But a man has only one chance in his life to hear the word of God.”

The serious look on Diego’s face told him that this was not a joke.

“When a man defeats a magical beast, God gives him a blessing.”

“What kind of reward?”

“Let’s see, there are several types of blessings. When you first kill a magical beast, you will be asked to choose which one you want.

Ricardo was unable to keep up with this unexpected information.

“There are five types of blessings, they say. The first is a blessing that strengthens you.”

To sum up, there were five types of blessings: [Muscle strengthening], [Agility enhancement], [Coordination], [Memory enhancement] and [Magic power increase]. However, [Magic power increase] didn’t appear as an option if one had poor talent in magic.

After choosing one, each time someone defeated a magical beast, the power of the blessing would increase bit by bit.

“Remember the order of the blessings as it is. God lists the options in his divine word, so humans can’t understand them.”

“‘…I see. What did you choose, Diego?”

“I’m a beast hunter, so I chose the first one.”

A beast hunter would probably like it better if they gained strength every time they killed a magical beast. Generally, God’s call was called “selection of blessings” and was regarded as important.

Mato was originally from a modern society where god was considered more or less unreal, so he felt that the situation was a bit funny.

The hunting ground for the demon-faced rat was a wooded area near the east gate of the territorial capital of Delv. It was a well-known hunting ground for newbie hunters.

It was a thick forest of trees resembling camphor and chestnut trees. The path was a little wider than a beast path, spreading like a net, perhaps because it had been trodden much by beast hunters.

Holding the buckler in his left hand and the warpick in his right, Ricardo proceeded carefully. Overhead he could hear the chirping of birds, and in the distance he could hear monkey’s singing.

There was no wind, and the weather was hot and humid. After a short walk, the sun was already hidden by the branches and leaves of the trees and the temperature seemed to have dropped.

There was little undergrowth and it was quite easy to walk. Suddenly, Ricardo heard a crisp sound.

The next moment, he saw a magical beast for the first time. In a corner of his mind, he remembered seeing a beast in the village where his parents lived, but it was not based on his own experience, so Ricardo did not feel it was real.

The creature that appeared was a demon-faced rat. It was a monster rat the size of a cat.

This was the first time Ricardo had ever seen a demonic beast in the flesh, and to be honest, he was quite scared. He pointed his shield at the demon-faced rat and faced it, which was sitting on the ground. The monster noticed his presence at once, and in the next moment, it jumped toward the shield with a terrifying face.

“Oh no!”

The shield collided with the demon-faced rat. Ricardo felt a heavy impact on his left hand and it seemed to bend over. He tried to gather his strength to repel the monster.

The demon-faced rat made a full twirl in the air and attacked him again with its sharp fangs. Ricardo hurriedly raised the shield to guard himself.

Ricardo was about to attack it but it ducked, taking the advantage of a moment of hesitation. He tried attacking it again, but the demon-faced rat quickly jumped back.

Ricardo struggled to attack the demon-faced rat many times, but each time was unsuccessful. All he could do was shield himself from, or avoid, the fast-moving demon-faced rat.

“Haa haa… How can I attack?”

For a man who had been living in peaceful Japan, even fighting a magical beast the size of a cat was too hard.

He was not sure what to do.

“What should I do… I have to create a chance somehow.”

There was a moment when the demon-faced rat stopped moving. The moment the buckler caught the attack, the beast was always within reach of the weapon and the relative position was fixed.

Ricardo waited for the beast to attack him. The demon-faced rat jumped, aiming at his neck. The attack was met with the shield and the warpick. The thin, pointed blade pierced the back of the demon-faced rat and passed straight through its heart.

The demon-faced rat coughed up blood and fell to the ground.

“Ah! Finally! It’s really not easy being a beast hunter.”

Right at that moment, Ricardo heard a voice in his head.

“Attention required. Intelligent Body Ricardo Mato, the battle has ended. Which ability would you like to distribute your reward of 2 points to?”

He felt a tingling sensation in his head, and about six strange undecipherable words appeared as a list in his mind.

[#$&#?] [@%$^&$&] [$&%^$#]……

…What… Is this God’s voice? The characters in the list don’t make sense for that, though. And why is it Ricardo Mato?

“Which ability would you like to distribute your reward of 2 points to?”

The strange voice repeated itself. It seemed like it really wanted Mato to choose something.

“I can’t read the characters, so I need you to explain it to me…”

He requested the strange voice.

“Which ability would you like to distribute your reward of 2 points to?”

It didn’t seem to be listening. According to Diego, there should be up to five choices, but for him there were a total of six. Ricardo thought that if he wanted to live as a sorcerer [Magic power increase] would be more suitable, but he was really curious about the sixth one.

“I’ll take the sixth one, please.”

Immediately after making the choice, he regretted it, but now it was too late.

“Selection confirmed.”

In the next moment, Ricardo felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head. And unbeknownst to him, a small jet-black disc was created deep inside his soul.

“Where am I?”

Mato opened his eyes, it was only when he searched his memory that he realized that this world was not Earth but somewhere else. He wasn’t sure if it’s just another planet or something like a parallel world, but it’s unique in that it’s a world with voice guidance.

The strange voice didn’t seem to be able to answer his questions.

Composing himself, Ricardo removed the catalytic fangs from the defeated demon-faced rat. The tools for dismantling were sold in the catalyst shop, so he bought them. He bought a set of dismantling knives, pliers, hammer and chisel too.

He also bought a backpack and put them in it. Most of the one silver coin given to him to buy the catalyst had disappeared.

Ricardo encountered the second monster after about 20 minutes of walking. He already grasped on how to kill it, so he fought carefully, waiting for the right moment and making sure to kill it.

He was expecting to hear the mysterious voice in his head again, but there was nothing. However, unbeknownst to him, the small jet-black disc in the depths of his soul grew slightly larger.

By the time he found the third one, he had already familiarised himself with the attack pattern of the demon-faced rat. He deliberately made an opening and invited it to attack him and quickly killed them off.

From the dead body of the demon-faced rat, he retrieved the fangs as a catalyst. Pulling the teeth out of the body was a gruesome and difficult task.

On that day, Ricardo killed six demon-faced rats. He was scratched by their claws in some places, but he was more or less fine.

The sun was beginning to set, so he decided to return home. At the east gate of the town, he showed his ID card, which was made for him when he became a sorcerer’s apprentice. The ID card was issued by Alexander as a guarantor at the government office.

Back in the town, he stopped by the catalyst shop. If the catalyst was a hard object such as a fang or a horn, it would be difficult to grind it into powder. So he asked the catalyst shop to grind them into powder.

Most catalyst shops had their own grinders and were willing to grind the catalyst into powder if the customer paid a certain fee.

Ricardo gave the rat’s fangs to Diego, who was tending the shop, and asked him to grind it into powder.

“It seems to have worked well.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Diego.”

Diego went to the back of the shop with the rat’s fangs and a rattling noise sounded. He returned and handed Ricardo a bunch of white powder. This amount of the catalyst was enough for twelve beginner spells and six upper beginner spells.

TN : Btw guys if you are enjoying the novel do rate it on NU, after all your editor san is putting in so much effort.

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