The Adventure of a Boy with the Mind of a Middle-Aged Man

For the next three weeks, I did nothing but hunt slimes in the 『Ancient Forest』.

Grey Millard

Status

HP: G+ (40/100%)

MP: F- (91/100%)

Strength: G+ (30/100%)

Endurance: G+ (10/100%)

Magic: F (44/100%)

Magical Endurance: G+ (33/100%)

Agility: G+ (80/100%)

Luck: G+ (10/100%)

Drop: G+ (50/100%)

Wisdom: ΛΦΨ

Growth Rate: ΛΦΨ

Basically, the rules seem to work like this: If you work your muscles, Strength goes up. If you take damage, Stamina goes up. If you run around, Agility goes up, and so on.

My Magic stat is so high because I wanted to master 【Fireball】as soon as possible, so I repeatedly launched one after another at the slimes.

Thanks to that, I've successfully mastered the spell.

Spell Name: 【Fireball】--- Master Class

Explanation: Let loose a ball of flame. Some correction

Chant: Chant Revocation

Rank: Low

After reaching master class, the spell's chant is now omitted, the range and firepower have increased significantly, and there's even correction to the trajectory. I see. I wouldn't be surprised if you were to call this an entirely different spell.

Today I also obtained a new grimoire -- the Wind Series, Wind Cutter.

The ingredients are 20 Rank H magic stones and a wind stone. From the white-haired butler, Sebastian, I got the wind stone, which is used when creating wind. He said that wind stones, as well as fire stones, seem to be common magic items. However, I can't keep relying on Sebastian to answer my every need; I've got to think about how I can thank him.

Regardless, here's the grimoire for 【Wind Cutter】.

Spell Name: 【Wind Cutter】

Explanation: Let loose a blade of wind

Chant: O blade of wind, gather betwixt my hands and turn to power

Rank: Low

Proficiency: 0/100%

I went to the 『Ancient Forest』, but today I won't be hunting slimes; I have something else I need to do, namely, finding something else to hunt. The『Ancient Forest』is a haven for monsters, but also contains a mountain of ingredients. Additionally, I've gotten tired of just slimes, so it's about time to hunt for something I can actually eat.

There's also a peddler who's staying in Mirage for another two or three days, and I want to make use of that.

I slowly advanced deeper into the forest while relying on Analyze Environment, when I encountered a giant red bunny -- an Al-mi'raj.

Mutant Al-mi'raj

Status

HP: G+ (99/100%)

MP: G (5/100%)

Strength: G+ (3/100%)

Endurance: G- (5/100%)

Magic: G (4/100%)

Magical Endurance: G- (38/100%)

Agility: G (23/100%)

Luck: G+ (1/100%)

Drop: G- (2/100%)

It's strong; it's on an entirely different level compared to the slime. However, its magic endurance is low so I should be able to defeat it. Let's run if 【Fireball】misses.

I teleported by the trees behind the Al-mi'raj and casted 【Fireball】 in the blink of an eye.

A soccer ball-sized ball of flame raced forward. The Al-mi'raj tried to dodge immediately to the right, but the fireball's trajectory curved unnaturally and struck the bunny, burning its head to a crisp. The now headless Mutant Al-mi'raj dropped to the ground, with its head having been completely turned to ash.

I can extract the magic stone and meat later, so for now I'll just throw the body inside my item box.

After two more days of roaming the forest, I successfully hunted 15 Al-mi'raj, 23 Big Boars, and 16 Red Pheasants. By the way, the Mutant Al-mi'raj was one-of-a-kind, and the rest I had hunted were normal white bunnies.

I then teleported back to where the slimes were and, from the body, began collecting magic stones and extracting meat.

It's quite the amount. From the Mutant Al-mi'raj came a mutated Rank G- magic stone, and the rest were normal magic stones without any attributes.  I should try to sell these.

In Mirage, there was only one place to be---The Ripple. It is a two-story building, with the first floor serving as a cafeteria for travelers and citizens alike.

The merchants wore conspicuously nice clothes, so you could spot them in an instant.

There, I spotted a beautiful androgynous young man. He had woman-like features and almost transparent blue hair. His eyes were a bit slanted as well, but that only furthered his allure. It seemed like he would be popular among the noble ladies.  

That guy is probably one of those peddlers who only come three times a year.

Noticing me, he asked, "Young man, do you have business with me?"

"I have things I want to sell," I replied.

"Sure thing. What are you putting up?"

I smoothly took out a bag I had filled with ingredients and a portion of my magic stones and placed it on the table.

"Oh? Out on an errand, are we?" he said patronizingly.

He put on a serious face and glanced into my bag. In an instant his eyes began to gleam.

The youth grabbed the mutated magic stone and examined it from many different angles. A short while later he seemed to have finished because he heaved a large sigh and set the stone back on the table.

"Boy, where did you get this magic stone," he asked.

"In the outskirts of the village there was this trapped bunny, you see," I began.

"That's a lie. This is from a Mutant Al-mi'raj. It has a G+ rating so only registered adventurers should be strong enough to defeat it. At the very least it shouldn't be caught in a measly trap," the young man deduced.

Damn. That was an unexpected reply. Should I say I just picked it up? No, I already lied that it was caught in a trap. Worst comes to pass and he accuses me of stealing, I'll say that I was coerced by that evil brother of mine and will be sent to the reflection room.

"You're right. I'll show you how I got it. Please follow me," I said.

I grabbed the stone, put it back in my cloth bag, and left The Ripple.

He was on edge, but probably owing to the fact that I was a child, still trailed behind me.

We walked until we reached a deserted hut at the edge of the village. There, I grabbed his right sleeve after setting my target destination to the 『Ancient Forest』and began to teleport.

"Th-this is..." the blue-haired young man gasped at the sight of a ring of light appearing at our feet. Our surroundings warped, and we successfully teleported to the『Ancient Forest』.

"What?" he exclaimed, restlessly surveying our surroundings. After coming to terms with the fact that we were in the forest, his face cramped up.

Assuaging his fears, I explained, "While we're technically in the 『Ancient Forest』, there are no monsters around us so rest assured."

"Ah, yeah," he slowly replied.

After that, I showed him several types of magic and took out the monster meat and wild fruits and vegetables from my item box.

"I'm surprised. To think I would be able to meet a genius in such a remote location," he said.

He then began begging to talk with me some more, so we returned to the first floor of the inn for an evening drink.

"Giresse-san, please keep your voice down," I whispered.

"Oh, you're right, sorry, sorry.  Bahahaha!" he laughed, completely ignoring me.

I'm right my ass. You're just as loud as ever. Still, I was able to sell all the monster meat for 5000 copper. The magic stone being a mutated one apparently meant it was quite precious, so it sold for 400,000 copper, while the rest of the magic stones totaled 20,000 copper.

The thought of keeping just the mutated one because it was precious did cross my mind, but I felt building a relationship with this merchant by selling it directly proved wiser.

"I have never left Mirage, so I'm not sure how much 420,000 copper is," I said. This info was crucial for my future independence.

He began explaining. "100 copper is worth 1 silver, and 100 silver is worth 1 gold, so 10,000 copper would be 1 gold. That means it would come out to a total of 42 gold. That's a lot. Your normal 4-person family in the empire would use around 500 copper a day, which means---"

"840 days worth," I calculated.

"Woah. You can do arithmetic too? What a waste, serving as the head of some family in these boondocks," he said.

Looks like he's misunderstanding something. Those who use magic in this empire naturally rise to the head of the family. Even in the Millard family, the second son, Cliff, was chosen to be the head of the family over the first son because he could use magic.

"I'm not the head of my family. In fact, I'll be driven out once I turn 13. I'm gathering this money for my eventual independence," I clarified.

"You're getting kicked out?" Giresse yelled hysterically, knitting his eyebrows and staring at me.

"Yes, that's why I'm in a pickle," I said.

"You, don't seem to be lying," Giresse guessed. "In that case the Millard family must be crazy. To start, you can use that bullshit storage skill, and you possess a rare teleportation skill. And despite the fact that 【Fireball】is a beginner skill, to kick out someone who can use chant revocation is simply absurd. The nobles in the capital will be laughing about this for years to come."

"Is chant revocation such a rare thing?" I asked.

I definitely thought anyone could achieve it with sufficient training. I should be more careful moving forward.

"It's rare," Giresse explained.  "Speaking solely in terms of your skill,【Fireball】, you would already be at the level of a Royal Magic Teacher."

No way am I going to be recognized for my talent and instead be forced to stay in this discriminating hellhole of a village. I should try to stick to the shadows and let other people into the limelight.

"Giresse-san, this secret..."

"No need to say anything else. It would be problematic for me as well if I lost access to such a valued client. My lips are sealed," He said.

"My deepest thanks." I bowed deeply.

For the next two hours, Giresse talked about the various cities around the world, after which we began to finish up our conversation.

I learned that Giresse operated from a place called Straheim.  A large labyrinth city in the northwest, it sported a population of over 100,000 people.

There was the Adventurer's Guild where adventurers who made defeating monsters their occupation gathered, as well as the Commerce Guild where merchants gathered. Most importantly, my coveted library was there.

I want to live there once I turn 13. I should take it easy in the meantime because I've got four or five years left until then.

Giresse and I parted ways, and I returned to the mansion.

My overprotective sister, Aqua, had been learning magic over at Bextraheim since last week. It seemed to be a prep school for the empire's Magic Knight Academy. The teachers were first-rate adventurers, the best of the best. Naturally, there was an exorbitant entrance fee that us Millards couldn't even fathom paying. Aqua passed the test with flying colors and was thus granted free tuition.

Because of that, there was nobody observing my behavior; I've had free reign.

When I entered the mansion, I was met with an annoying child, although he was only about as annoying as your average fly buzzing around.

"You've got some nerve playing around until this late," my brother, Cliff, said. He had a blonde bob cut and gave me a nasty sneer as he spat out those words.

I'm only eight, what else am I supposed to do. I wanted to ask if he was even doing anything of importance when he was my age.

Cliff was the second son and currently in line as the next head of the family at the tender age of 12. A natural prodigy, Cliff had already learned several types of magic and had been selected to enroll in the empire's Magic Knight Academy as a middle school student.

For some unknown reason he was picking a fight with me.

"Sure..." I said. I wasn't childish enough to fall for his provocation. However, from my experience, the more I talk the angrier the person I'm talking to gets. My mouth was a moving disaster; it was wise for me to stay silent.

"What about food! If you had a lick of goodwill you would have gathered at least a handful of nuts and berries. Even someone as incompetent as you could accomplish that, right?" he snarled.

Hm, I see. If I bring ingredients my I'll be looked upon more favorably, if only a slight bit.

Now that I think about it, the only food brought out was tasteless white bread and a soup composed of bland vegetables and a small amount of meat which was given to everyone. We also got yakiniku, fruit, and wild vegetables, but once Aqua left, my share disappeared.

Still, even having bread and soup was plenty more than many others, so asking for even more would be taking what I had for granted.

In any case, I've got money flowing, so I should start thinking about maintaining my food source.

"I understand," I said.

I lightly raise my right hand and ascend to the next floor. In response, Cliff clicked his tongue and disappeared into the living room.

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