The Strategist of the Magic Emperor Shatters the Second Destruction - Volume 1 Chapter 10

Two months have passed since Anim went to the Holy City.

I’ve been relentlessly swinging my sword, and during the day, tirelessly hunting Garewolves in the forest near Dazril Royal Capital.

“Huff!”

With a breath, I slash, bisecting a Garewolf leaping at me from mouth to tail in a straight line.

As the body parts part ways, I spin to the right and use the sword’s hilt to strike the jaw of a second Garewolf attempting to bite from the side.

“Yowl!?”

While the second one is staggered, I decapitate a third Garewolf approaching from behind.

Without stopping, fluidly, fearlessly.

My swordplay, based on the forms taught by my teacher with my own adjustments.

It may not be as grand as calling it “swordplay,” but it’s undeniably more refined than when I began.

“Hah!”

After delivering a targeted thrust to the second Garewolf, recoiling from the blow to its jaw, I confirm the demise of all three Garewolves.

The monsters turn into magic particles, leaving behind magic orbs before disappearing.

I pick up these orbs and toss them carelessly behind me.

“Alcent.”

“Nya!”

Alcent, who leaps and catches the orb to put it in her bag, removes her deep hood as she runs up to me.

“We got our goal of twenty! A big haul!”

“We’ll go deeper today and hunt some Gnomedolls. They’re humanoid, so it’ll also serve as good sword practice.”

F-rank monsters, Gnomedolls.

Monsters proud of their strength, with bodies made of soil and clad in weapons of soil clumps, but lacking agility, perfect for practice cuts like wooden dummies.

It’s been about a month since we started hunting them, and I can handle them without any issues now.

I’ve even attempted to convert Gnomedoll magic orbs into swords, but all I got was a heavy, cumbersome rock sword.

My intention was to create something more sleek, but it seems the form of the created object is heavily influenced by the nature of the original monster.

Learning this was another significant gain.

“Mii used to get knocked around…nya.”

“Shut it… So, what’s the news?”

“Nyaffuffu. Leave it to Mii the spy! Finally got something good, nya!”

Alcent’s talent, “Phantom Theft Technique.”

It is essentially designed for scouting, combining stealth, lock picking, and espionage, allowing her to disappear, be quick with her hands, and have incredibly sharp hearing.

Alcent stayed at the guild because it’s where information gathers.

I managed to identify her as Milphile Alcent because I was fortunate enough to recognize her and was confident about who she was.

Her talent doesn’t make her vanish but minimizes attention from the surroundings.

Such Alcent has been gathering information that I cannot obtain myself.

Conversations among adventurers, chatter of traveling merchants, and various other sources. All to find something that could be useful for my “Conversion Magic.”

For example… information about monsters.

“They say there’s been a sighting of a special species in the Dazril Plains, apparently a ‘White Garewolf’ of all things.”

“White Garewolf…”

“It’s expected to move closer to the Royal Capital soon, possibly entering this forest. There might even be a ban on entry soon if it gets closer.”

That’s inconvenient. The moment it’s sighted, a subjugation team will likely be formed… Losing our hunting ground is problematic.

That leaves us no choice but to hunt it down.

Special species indicate monsters that have undergone morphological or combat ability changes through repeated predation.

Typically, their rank goes up by about two levels, so in the case of a Garewolf, it would be E-rank.

If I can handle F-rank monsters without problems, taking on this slightly riskier adventure is not impossible.

Touching the “Agito of the Gray Wolf” I carry, I decide to head back to the Royal Capital with Alcent.

“Let’s head back for now. We need to update the Blessing Gift and prepare.”

“Nya? We’re done for today, nya?”

“For now, yes. We’ll come back tonight. Garewolves are nocturnal, and if it’s getting close, it’ll probably visit this forest soon.”

Checking the Blessing Gift at the cathedral is a must if there’s been no growth, as a safety margin.

I feel like my [Swordsmanship] ability has improved… I think.

“But even if Garewolves are nocturnal, wouldn’t the behavior of a special species be unpredictable, nya?”

“Most monsters that change their fur to a lighter color do it to lure other, normally nocturnally impaired, predators by making themselves more visible. It’s often due to increased combat prowess and aggression.”

“Nya… Balam knows a lot, nya.”

“Ah, well, kinda.”

This knowledge isn’t widely known yet.

It’ll start to spread among adventurers about a decade from now.

Let’s milk this memory advantage for all it’s worth while I can.

Arriving at the cathedral, I immediately check the Blessing Gift.

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Balam

Talents

『Conversion Magic』

Uses magic power to change any item into something with a different property.

The target changes into a form that matches its new property.

Conversion condition: Must be equivalent.

Limited to substances or phenomenons the user can imagine.

『Encore』

The mark of a returnee enjoying the second life.

Increases the rate of acquiring and enhancing Abilities that have been seen once.

Activation condition: Observation and understanding.

Effects increase with guidance from someone with superior Talents or Abilities.

Abilities

[Swordsmanship] E

Supplement the growth of skill and strength for handling swords.

[Clarity] D

Supplement to thinking ability when consciously observing and thinking about the target.

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It… went up two levels…

“How was it, nya?”

“It went up, but… this can’t be possible…”

The Talent “Encore” feels more dangerous than I thought…

Two months and my ability went from G to E…

Of course, it’ll get harder to improve from here, but this growth rate is abnormal.

“It’s a pleasant miscalculation, though.”

While there’s some anxiety, let’s embrace this stroke of luck for now.

Work as hard as possible, far surpassing who I was in my first life.

“Let’s use the subjugation of the special species as a foothold.”