A single mug of beer was all it took for Boran to get the information he needed. If he wanted to find the bounty-posted Magical Beast, he just had to go to City Hall and ask for the official in charge. When Boran asked what, exactly, a City Hall or an official was, the waitress erupted in laughter. "You don't even know that? You really are from the countryside, aren't you?" Giggling, she explained that City Hall was the large building in the city center where all public administration was handled, and officials were the people employed by the city's lord to do it. Since the sky was already completely dark, it seemed best to visit City Hall the next morning. "So why are you looking for a Magical Beast, anyway? Don't tell me you're a Beast Hunter, too?" "What's a Beast Hunter?" "You know, the ones who think they can become wizards if they hunt enough Magical Beasts." When he pressed her for more, she explained the superstition that had taken root: an ordinary person could gain magical power by killing Magical Beasts. Driven by this belief, some people risked their lives hunting them down. Most people thought they were lunatics, but a surprising number still chased the dream, hoping to claw their way up the social ladder. As Boran was listening, a hand clapped down on his shoulder. "Hey, Chhaya. This idea about becoming a wizard by hunting Magical Beasts—it's not superstition. It's the truth. I've seen it myself." The speaker was a man who looked to be somewhere in his thirties or forties. His hair was unkempt and his beard was a scruffy mess, giving the impression of someone who had long given up on his appearance. His eyes, however, were surprisingly clear and sharp. "Mister Jochi! You're alive?" "You thought I was dead? I told you, I'm not dying until I'm a wizard!" "Sorry about him, Miss Chhaya. The boss is always like this." Three men appeared behind the man called Jochi. They were all large and powerfully built, armed with long spears, bows, and even a hammer that looked heavy enough to demolish a small building. Boran brushed the hand off his shoulder. The man flinched, taking a quick step back. "Ah, my bad." "It's fine. But could you tell me more about what you just said?" "About what?" "About becoming a wizard by hunting Magical Beasts." "Oh, so you're interested too, are you, friend?" Jochi's face split into a grin, clearly pleased by Boran's curiosity, and he launched into an explanation. Wizards killed Magical Beasts and absorbed their power to grow stronger. By that same principle, an ordinary person who killed a Magical Beast could take its power and become a wizard. He claimed to have seen it happen with his own eyes. "That's why the four of us are hunting them. We're going to become wizards." "We've already taken down three!" "We're getting close now." Jochi’s companions, who carried themselves like sworn brothers, added their own boasts. Boran was taken aback. They had hunted three Magical Beasts? The only one he had ever faced possessed enough power to tear through a dozen men without breaking a sweat. "Three of them? Does that mean one of you is a wizard now?" The moment the words left his mouth, the entire first floor of the tavern erupted in laughter. "Of course not! There are only four wizards in this whole city: the lord and his three knights." "If one of us became a wizard, it'd make helping the others a whole lot easier." "Honestly, we nearly died every single time." In a city that must have held ten thousand people, there were only four wizards? Boran was beginning to understand why Batyr was always lamenting how few wizards there were in the world. Just then, Jochi’s eyes fell on Boran’s bag. "You said you were hunting Magical Beasts, right? But you're traveling awful light. You don't have a weapon?" "A weapon?" Boran pulled the lambskin slingshot from his pocket, fully expecting them to laugh at it. Compared to their steel weapons, it was a pitiful thing. But contrary to his expectations, the Beast Hunters seemed genuinely impressed. "Oh, you use this to hurl stones?" "Looks like it's seen a lot of use, judging by the wear on it." "What size stones do you favor?" "About the size of an egg." "That's more than enough to smash the skull of anything that mutated from a rabbit or a fox." From their conversation, it became clear they weren't hunting apex predators like the leopard Boran had killed. They were targeting beasts that had evolved from herbivores or other small animals—creatures that, in their normal state, a man could likely defeat with his bare hands. Of course, even a beast like that could easily kill a normal person, depending on what abilities it had developed. "Say, you interested in joining us for a hunt? We've been looking to recruit another marksman." "No, thank you." Boran declined without a second thought. He had no intention of revealing he was a wizard, and his goals were completely different. They were chasing a much lower caliber of beast than he was. Fortunately, Jochi didn't press the issue, just shrugged with a hint of regret. "Tch, that's a shame. Well, let me know if you change your mind." After a little more small talk, Boran got a room key from the waitress and headed upstairs. As he lay in bed, trying to fall asleep, the voices of the Beast Hunters drifted up through the wooden floorboards. "Boss, why'd you try to bring that kid along? He doesn't look like he'd be much help." "Yeah, exactly. He's so scrawny, one good knock would have him crying for his mother." The men who had acted so friendly just moments before were now mocking him. This kind of two-faced behavior was nothing new; Boran had seen plenty of it back in his village. It didn't hurt. He just sighed. That's just how people are. A moment later, Jochi’s voice cut through their chatter. "Tsk, he just reminded me of myself when I was younger. Wandering around out there with nothing but a little thing like that to rely on? Ten lives wouldn't be enough." "Seriously, boss, you're too soft-hearted." "Ain't that the truth." Boran listened to their fading conversation in silence and finally closed his eyes. The world, it seemed, was full of both good and bad people. The next morning, after a breakfast of dark bread and soup provided by the inn, Boran made his way to City Hall. Located in the center of the city, the four-story building was bustling with citizens tending to their affairs. After maneuvering past an old man and an old woman arguing loudly over a building lease, Boran found the official in charge of bounties. "What do you want?" The middle-aged official shot Boran a look of disdain, as if he were looking at a piece of trash, when he explained he was looking for a Magical Beast with a bounty on it. If Boran revealed he was a wizard, the man would be on his knees in an instant, but he held his tongue. If he pretended to be a common knight, the city lord might press him into service, just as he'd always feared. And if he revealed himself as a noble-level wizard, he would waste days being treated as an honored guest. It was common knowledge that hospitality was a crucial part of noble etiquette, and refusing it would be a grave insult. In the end, it was best to just quietly hunt a beast nearby and leave. There was no need to put his life on the line just to keep his identity a secret. "Don't take it with you. Look it over and hand it back." The official slid a document across the counter. On it were descriptions of the Magical Beasts: their appearance, size, notable traits, last known locations, and the bounties offered. For the weaker, non-hostile beasts, the bounty was only paid if they were captured alive. The more aggressive ones, however, could be killed and their corpses brought back for the reward. Weaker Magical Beasts undergo less mutation, which often makes their corpses indistinguishable from those of normal animals. Apparently, many people had tried to fraudulently claim bounties by turning in ordinary carcasses. "And you need to be careful," the official added. "Even if you kill one by accident, don't just leave the body. Bring it back to the city. If the knights don't disperse its magic, it could turn into an Undead Spirit. Abandoning a Magical Beast's corpse is punishable by death under city law. Remember that." "I understand." Having seen for himself the horrors that could arise from an untended corpse, Boran took the warning to heart. "Some of these seem quite dangerous for an ordinary person to handle," Boran noted. "Don't the knights deal with them?" The official looked at him as if he'd asked the stupidest question in the world. "You think they have time for that? The knights maintain public order and defend the city from invasion. Hunting Magical Beasts is a job for drifters like you." At those words, Boran looked back down at the paper in his hands. ~~~~~~~ Blade Crow A crow whose feathers are partially as hard and sharp as blades. It can deflect arrows and other projectiles. Attacks humans by dropping its feathers from high above. It preys on dogs and small children on the city's outskirts, leaving behind only scattered remains... ~~~~~~~ If wizards were meant to be humanity's protectors, shouldn't they prioritize hunting creatures like this? It seemed, however, that not many wizards took pride in that duty. A bitter taste in his mouth, Boran left City Hall and headed for the edge of the city. The buildings grew sparse, and soon he had left the city's boundaries behind, stepping out into the familiar wilderness. Time to get started. After making sure no one was around, Boran focused his mind on the beast from the bounty list. Blade Crow, the man-eater that preyed on children. "Crow Detection." The moment he cast the spell, his ears were flooded with hundreds of sounds. The rustle of feathers, the flap of wings, the tap of beaks. "Ugh." The overwhelming cacophony forced a frown onto his face, and he cancelled the spell. There were simply too many crows near the city for a general search to be effective. This isn't going to work. How could he isolate just the Magical Beast? A crow that possesses magic power? He tried to filter the search that way, but the spell failed to activate. It seemed the presence of magic itself wasn't a valid condition. Next, he tried narrowing it down to crows that had eaten human flesh. This time, far too many targets appeared. Crows that had scavenged corpses were likely being included in the results. "This is tricky…" Back on Boranis Rise, where animals were scarce, he had rarely faced this problem. To find a lost sheep, he would simply detect sheep and look for the one wandering alone. To find a wolf, he would typically get one or two results at most. As he mulled it over, an idea struck him. He activated the spell again. A crow larger than a young child. Even a Magical Beast had to be a certain size to carry off a human child. As he'd hoped, only a single result appeared—the faint rustle of feathers. A trace scent of human blood lingered on the air from that direction. "Found it." Obstacles blocked his line of sight, but now that he had a lock on his target, he wouldn't lose it. The distance was about what an average person could cover in a ten-minute sprint. For a noble-level wizard moving at full speed, three or four minutes would be more than enough. As the forest where his target nested came into view, Boran cast another spell. Not the perfect Concealment unique to House Kulan, but a simpler Invisibility spell that merely bent light around him. Perfect Concealment consumed far too much magic, and from his experience, a bird's hearing wasn't sharp enough to warrant it. When he arrived at the massive tree where the Blade Crow roosted—a tree so enormous it would take three people to encircle its trunk—he used flight magic to lift himself into the air. It's huge… Even sitting, the Blade Crow was over a meter tall. Its folded wings glinted like polished steel, true to its name, and its razor-sharp beak was stained with faint traces of dried blood. The nest it sat in was littered with bones from various animals, and among them, a few that looked chillingly human. The crow was completely absorbed in preening its feathers, oblivious to his presence. Now, how to deal with it? The simplest method would be a single, well-aimed stone to the head. But Boran wanted to use this opportunity to test a few other spells. If he became too reliant on his slingshot, he'd be helpless against an enemy immune to physical attacks. Batyr had always taught him to have as many tools as possible at his disposal. Boran glanced at the sky. It was overcast, perfect conditions for a particular spell he had only ever studied in theory. The dry climate of Boranis Rise had never given him the chance to practice it. Positioning himself a short distance from the nest, he raised a finger to the sky and recalled his training. Years ago, during a rare thunderstorm on the rain-starved hill, he had witnessed it for the first time: a blinding pillar of light that stitched heaven and earth together, followed by a deafening roar that seemed to shake the world to its foundations. Come. With a powerful invocation, magic surged from his body. A moment later, a low rumble of thunder echoed from the clouds above. The Blade Crow, sensing danger, looked up. It was too late. A bolt of lightning, faster than sound, struck the nest with devastating force. A raw, guttural shriek tore from the crow's throat as it tried to flee. But its proud, blade-like feathers had been burned to ash, leaving only scorched, metal-hard quills. Its wings useless, the creature could do nothing but plummet to the forest floor. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, twitched a few times, and then fell still. To be certain, Boran watched it for a full minute before descending. Once he was on the ground, he reached out and absorbed the magic power from the fallen beast.

Chapter 6: A dangerous, foolish dream