Chapter 280: New Bond Between Warren and Xiao Tao

The sphere of water formed normally and spun gently above his hand, so that seemed fine.

He tried the same thing with Wind and Earth Magic, and both worked as expected. It seemed that Fire Magic was the only element he had lost.

Even so, his offensive power had taken a serious hit.

"Not being able to use Fire Magic is going to be pretty inconvenient..."

"Coming from someone like me, who can’t use any elemental magic at all, the fact that you can use all four elements is already completely beyond the norm, Nuoya."

Magic aptitude varied from person to person. Naturally, mages were called mages because they had an aptitude for magic. Anyone who could use even a single elemental magic skill could become a mage.

However, there were also people who had little or no aptitude for magic. Igor was one of them and could barely use any magic at all. That was why he had become a martial artist who relied entirely on physical combat rather than magic.

On the other hand, having an aptitude for magic did not necessarily mean someone could master it perfectly.

Warren, for example, had an aptitude for several types of elemental magic, but his magical reserves were limited, preventing him from using advanced spells.

Nevertheless, his high swordsmanship skill, combined with the few spells he could use, allowed him to fight with both sword and magic. That was how he had become a magic swordsman.

Incidentally, a magic swordsman was also an advanced class of swordsman. Being able to wield both sword and magic was actually quite impressive.

As for Viktor, he had a large reserve of magical energy and an aptitude for all four elemental magic types. He was also compatible with Space Time Magic, a special type of magic. However, he wasn’t particularly good at physical combat techniques or swordsmanship, and he actually had very little stamina.

Apparently, the only other skill he had developed to any extent was archery, so whenever he couldn’t use magic, he relied on his bow.

When Qiu Nuoya had first heard that, he remembered thinking that elves really did seem to go hand in hand with bows. It had somehow struck him as perfectly natural.

Of course, there were elves who wielded weapons other than bows, too. Still, why was it that the image of an elf with a bow was so deeply ingrained in people’s minds?

Anyway, Long was going to have a child.

Even in the real world, Qiu Nuoya had known friends who started dating, unexpectedly had a child, and got married in a whirlwind ceremony just three months later. However, those kinds of relationships often seemed to fall apart just as quickly.

Of course, there were also couples who remained happily married and got along wonderfully despite such a quick start. Conversely, some couples dated for years only to break up because their relationship had dragged on for too long. Qiu Nuoya understood that the right timing for marriage was different for everyone.

Still, everything was moving so quickly that he couldn’t quite keep up with it all.

Well, his own passive attitude toward romance was probably why he’d remained a virgin even after turning forty.

Wait! That had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation!

"Um, Nuoya... Now that you can’t use Fire Magic anymore, are you still going to join the expedition to defeat the Demon King?"

The one who asked timidly was Xiao Tao, who, as usual, remained glued to Warren’s side.

"Huh...? Yeah, I think I’ll be fine. I still have plenty of other kinds of magic I can use."

Losing access to Fire Magic would certainly make it more difficult to fight monsters that were weak to fire. Fortunately, Qiu Nuoya also possessed a skill called Non Elemental Magic.

He didn’t use it very often, but Non Elemental Magic could be used against monsters of any element. Furthermore, depending on what he could imagine and create, he could cast practically any kind of spell. In this world, that made it almost invincible.

Viktor was Qiu Nuoya’s magic teacher, but since Viktor couldn’t use Non Elemental Magic himself, Qiu Nuoya had to study and develop it independently.

As a result, his skill level was still rather low. Nevertheless, Qiu Nuoya believed that if he made better use of Non Elemental Magic to compensate for the loss of Fire Magic, he should be able to manage reasonably well.

Xiao Tao wore a worried expression.

Qiu Nuoya could understand why Xiao Tao, who was reluctant to fight in the first place, would look so concerned. Still, Qiu Nuoya had no intention of letting him get caught up in danger, so he wished Xiao Tao would feel a little more at ease.

Noticing Xiao Tao’s anxious expression, Warren ruffled his hair roughly and reassured him.

"Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll protect both of you. After all, I’m the Hero."

"Ah... Yeah, thank you."

Xiao Tao smiled shyly at Warren’s words.

At first, Warren hadn’t seemed particularly compatible with Xiao Tao, but lately, the two had grown surprisingly close.

They were around the same age to begin with, and Warren seemed to have gotten used to having Xiao Tao by his side. He no longer treated him so brusquely.

Warren had always been the caring type, so perhaps his protective instincts were finally getting a chance to shine.

Although Qiu Nuoya looked younger than Warren on the outside, he was considerably older on the inside. Before revealing his true age, Qiu Nuoya had felt guilty about letting Warren look after him.

Xiao Tao, however, was genuinely younger and someone who needed to be protected. In a way, it felt as though things were finally falling into place as they should.

Warren had told Qiu Nuoya that he liked him, but Qiu Nuoya’s own feelings were currently directed toward Viktor, so he couldn’t return Warren’s affection.

That was why he couldn’t help wondering whether it would be nice if Warren and Xiao Tao eventually became a couple. Wasn’t that a rather selfish thought on his part?