Chapter 182 - 181: Two Against One, Unable to Break the Defense

Chapter 182: Chapter 181: Two Against One, Unable to Break the Defense

In a room on the second floor of the Overturned Trout Inn, tucked away in the back.

The halo of an oil lamp cast flickering shadows on the walls, stretching and shrinking the figure within the room.

Kane sat on a hardwood chair by the window, leaning back slightly. The front two legs of the chair were off the ground, held in a delicate balance by the back two.

An ordinary-looking dagger twirled between his fingers, its blade reflecting the faint, dancing light of the lamp.

He was waiting for Fletcher to return.

His troublesome captain had gone to have dinner with Galen, the young Mage from Rose Town who claimed to be the student of a Great Mage.

’A Great Mage...’ Kane repeated the words silently in his mind.

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded from outside the door—it was Fletcher.

The footsteps paused at the door, followed by the faint sound of a key being inserted into the lock.

"CLICK."

The door was pushed open gently.

Fletcher slipped in sideways like a loach, closing the door behind him with a backhand motion.

This series of furtive movements was completely different from his usual style of practically kicking the door in, complete with a flashy turn.

The dagger in Kane’s hand stopped spinning, and the chair’s front legs fell back to the floor with a soft THUD.

He raised his eyes and looked calmly toward the door.

Fletcher’s face showed none of the expected excitement; instead, he wore a pensive expression.

He didn’t even notice Kane’s gaze at first, simply frowning as he gently closed the door behind him.

"You’re back?"

"Ah... Kane?" Fletcher seemed to be startled out of his thoughts and looked toward the window. "You’re not resting yet?"

"Mm," Kane grunted, his gaze sweeping over Fletcher’s face. "How was dinner? Did that Mr. Galen give you any... useful advice?"

Fletcher walked over to his bed and sat down, not immediately launching into his usual description of which waitress had the hottest body.

He was silent for a few seconds before he spoke. "Kane, I know what the problem with me is now."

"Oh?"

"Mr. Galen said..." Fletcher held nothing back from his teammate of many years, recounting from start to finish the theories he had heard from Hesia during dinner, such as "Elf Wilderness" and "Wild Magic."

"Elf Wilderness?" Kane repeated the unfamiliar term.

He had never heard of it.

But from Fletcher’s description, such a place did indeed exist, and it seemed to be in another world.

’To think he even knows about things like that...’

The thought of investigating his own origins stirred faintly within him once more.

’Maybe... I can really get some clues from him.’

"Yes! Mr. Galen knows so much!" Fletcher’s tone was filled with admiration. "Not only did he see through the source of my Power, he could even analyze the root of all those strange things that happened when I was a kid! You should have seen him. His analysis was so logical and clear, countless times better than that old fraud we went to in Twilight City!"

He grew more excited as he spoke. "Kane, I think he’s a really good person."

"Because he even invited me to visit his teacher in Rose Town when I have the time!"

"He invited you to meet the Great Mage?" Kane found it a little hard to believe.

Fletcher nodded emphatically. "That’s right. He brought it up himself."

Kane was about to say, "I’ll go with you then," but he swallowed the words before they came out.

He also had his own intentions of gathering information, so perhaps he should first find an opportunity to sound out Mr. Galen alone.

However, setting aside his selfish motives, he was genuinely happy that Fletcher might have found a way to control his Power.

"Sounds like you got a lot out of that dinner."

"At least it was more worthwhile than you spending all your money buying drinks for waitresses."

For once, Fletcher didn’t argue back, just chuckling sheepishly. "I know I was... well, a bit much before. But this time..." He paused, a strange look of confusion on his face. "But speaking of which... something was really strange."

Kane looked up at him.

"Mr. Galen... he doesn’t seem to be interested in women."

"Hm?"

Even though there was no one else in the room, Fletcher still subconsciously lowered his voice. "That blonde chick at the Gasp River Pufferfish, the one I told you about whose hips looked like they’d have a lot of power.

"When she came over to serve the dishes, she tried to get close to Mr. Galen several times, and her eyes were practically smoldering, but he was completely unfazed."

He rubbed his chin, his blue eyes full of bewilderment. "And... while we were eating, it felt like... he kept staring at me? Like he was studying some kind of Rare Demon... but every now and then, he’d get this weird look in his eyes, like..."

"...Like when I’m checking out the Nightingale House and suddenly notice a girl I hadn’t paid attention to before actually has an incredible body!"

As Fletcher spoke, he subconsciously pressed his legs together, then immediately felt he was overthinking it. "Maybe I’m just being paranoid. He was probably just thinking about my problem. After all, a person as knowledgeable and calm as him probably doesn’t have his mind on romance at all."

Kane listened in silence, then took a quiet breath, dismissing his original idea of seeking out the Mage for a private consultation at night, a time he preferred.

’I’d better wait for daytime and find a chance to ask him when there are more people around.’

...

Like Hayley and the others, Hesia also took up residence at the Overturned Trout Inn.

Combining the information from the Stone Crow Madmen Squad, Hesia had a clearer assessment of the current situation.

If the Frogmen appearing on the trade route weren’t from the Eastern Swamp area near Trout Town, then they most likely came from the massive Frogman Kingdom at the very center of the swamp.

But in his previous conversation with Old Nick, the man hadn’t mentioned this at all.

Furthermore, the Frogman Kingdom was said to contain tens of thousands of Frogmen. If they were coming from there, the merchant guild’s follow-up commission for freelance Adventurers to get involved seemed completely unnecessary.

Because the number of Frogmen would be practically endless.

Regardless, he still needed to check out the eastern part of the swamp first.

After all, the Stone Crow Madmen Squad hadn’t explored for very long, only finding three Frogman caves.

But before that, he could find out the origin of this supplementary commission.

Of course, he didn’t have to run errands and gather information himself.

After telling Hayley his idea, the energetic Priest first nodded her head vigorously.

Then, armed with Hesia’s questions, she eagerly ran off to the tavern to gather information from the Adventurers and the tavern keeper.

As for Hesia, he took Bruce to find his newly acquired "sparring partner"—the Jackal-Wolf Skeleton—for some evening training.

...

The progress on [Magic Missile] was fast. His continuous practice during this period had made him increasingly proficient, and he was only 6 proficiency points away from reaching Level 3.

Not to mention [Mage’s Hand], which, with constant use, was already approaching Level 4.

But the one giving Hesia a headache right now was the progress on [Mage Armor].

The proficiency of this Protective Magic only increased effectively when it actually sustained an attack.

Previously, Teacher Fevik’s suggested method was to find a sparring partner at the training grounds, cast the armor on them, and then attack them with Magic Missile.

But Hesia felt that, other than the training ground owner Jonathan, he might easily kill anyone else.

He had also considered using Bruce, who possessed the [Thick Hide] trait, as a target. But [Thick Hide] mainly reduced physical impact, making it ineffective for practicing against Magic Missile. Besides... he really couldn’t bring himself to hit the big dummy.

Now, the perfect solution had appeared!

He would bestow [Mage Armor] upon the Jackal-Wolf Skeleton, and then he and Bruce would attack it with Magic.

Hesia had already tested it. Neither his [Magic Missile] nor Bruce’s flames had any effect on the skeleton of an unknown level.

Simply put, once it had [Mage Armor], he couldn’t even break through its defense.

He didn’t know whether to be happy about this or feel frustrated.

Still, he had finally found a good way to increase his proficiency.

「A few hours later.」

BANG!

Along with a faint shattering sound, the transparent, hexagonal, scale-like Force Field around the Jackal-Wolf Skeleton dissipated once again.

[Mage Armor Proficiency +1, Level 2 (0/20)]

[You have mastered the skill: Mage Armor Level 2]

[Wisdom +1]

"Hesia, woof... I can’t go on, woof..."

Hesia glanced at Bruce, who was lying on the ground, tired as a dog.

The guy was panting with his tongue out, which was letting off puffs of black smoke, looking completely drained.

"Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s go back."