"You, you guy, in the name of the incredible goddess Fatima"
"You dare to attack me with magic. If I dodge, your home may be burned down."
"Fire, ah, ah, heat!"
Because the fireball overhead was suddenly interrupted, sparks fell on Miguel's head. He hurriedly patted it with his hands, but the smell of singeing still lingered.
It looks a bit burned, maybe bald.
"asshole!"
"Wow, so dangerous!"
The bearman Kimble was one year younger than me and had not yet participated in the lair departure ceremony. He threw a stone from a distance of about 10 meters, and I immediately unfolded my shield.
The shield was broken by the impact of the stone. Kimble's eyes widened as he looked at the stone lying on the ground losing its momentum.
"You guys, if something like this hits you head-on, it's not a joke. If it hits your eyes, you might go blind. Don't be kidding!"
Maybe he didn't expect to be scolded by me, the cat-person. Kimble showed a scared expression and took a few steps back.
The centaur Dalus, who was holding the stone and preparing to swing it, was also frightened and stopped.
Since throwing stones at close range is really too dangerous, I wanted to give him a harsher punishment than the blindness last time, when a deep voice came from behind.
"That's enough, little ones."
Miguel and the others found Mr. Zeol, the tiger man, looking down at them from the window next to the door, and immediately ran away.
In fact, Miguel's house is right here, where are they planning to go.
"Guys over there, wait for me to come over."
After pointing at me, Mr. Zeol withdrew his face from the window.
I also considered running away, but if I ran away it might be troublesome, and there might be a chance to learn body-strengthening magic.
With this thought in my mind, I waited quietly.
Thinking he would come out soon, Mr. Zeol waited at the door for a moment before opening it.
If Cat-Man looks like a cat walking on two legs, Khajiit looks like a tiger-eared cosplayer.
If it were a cute girl, such an image would make people feel cute, but this short white-haired girl with brown hair is so strong that she is almost two meters tall. She has a furry foreign face with tiger ears and a tail. The look just makes people feel weird.
"Sit wherever you like. I'll make you tea."
"ah"
Mr. Zeol, the tiger man, seems to live alone in another room of the village chief's house.
In modern Chinese terms, although this 1K room is well organized for a middle-aged man, it has a lot of books.
In this world, movable type printing was just beginning to become popular, so books were still expensive items.
Those expensive books were placed randomly on the bedside pillow, table, chair and window sill, which should be where Mr. Zeol usually sat.
"Do you like books?"
"? Ah, really, a little surprised?"
"Well, a little bit."
I picked up the book on the table. It was a travel diary about a trip to the far continent.
Since books are still expensive here, most are for the purpose of expanding knowledge rather than for entertainment.
"In previous jobs, I usually only trusted my own experience and the words of reliable partners. I don't think old knowledge like the one recorded in the book is necessary."
As he spoke, Mr. Zeol took out several bottles of tea from the cabinet and put them into the teapot one by one.
In this world, tea leaves are usually brewed into herbal teas, which tea lovers mix and taste themselves.
My family was very poor and I never drank anything other than boiled water, but old lady Karissa at the drugstore would sometimes make some herbal tea for me to drink.
Because watching the old lady Karissa making tea, I could feel from Mr. Zeol’s actions that he was not familiar with this process.
Put the tea leaves into the teapot, pour water over it and place it on the stove of the magic device.
The word "making tea" is not accurate, "making tea" may be more appropriate.
The water in the teapot began to boil and the aroma filled the room.
Mr. Zeol took a deep breath, tilted his head, and smiled bitterly.
It seemed that the aroma was far from what he imagined.
The liquid poured into the large cup was turbid and brown, and looked like medicinal bath water.
Well, it looks like that, but when you try it, the bitter taste suddenly hits the tip of your tongue, making you feel like drinking herbal tea.
"Although it didn't meet expectations, it's not that easy."
"By the way, you might consider consulting old lady Karissa in the den."
"The old lady from the shack?"
"Yes, I often go there to sell herbal medicine, and the tea she makes is delicious."
"Yeah, it sounds good. I'll ask her tomorrow."
Mr. Zeol nodded with a smile, then took a sip of tea and frowned.
"So, what's the matter with you?"
"Oh, by the way, the magic you used is quite interesting."
"Well, since it has a null attribute, it feels a little different from ordinary attribute magic."
"What was that just now? To prevent stone throwing?"
"That was the result of my practice using a shield that solidified air while I was screaming."
Void magic is magic that solidifies air, so I am practicing it to protect myself.
"Can you demonstrate it to me?"
"OK."
Complying with Mr. Zeol's request, I released the shield.
However, the strength and thickness are at a minimum.
"Although you can't see it, it's here. You can touch it and see."
"Oh, this is really surprising. There is something there, but you can't see it at all."
"I have a pretty good feel for where the shield is."
"Haha, by the way, would you like to be beaten by me?"
"No problem, but my intensity is very low, so don't expect too much."
In order not to make him suspicious, I lowered the strength of the shield, and then he punched me, and the shield quickly shattered.
I silently screamed for the tiger ear role-playing uncle punch in my heart! , but I kept it a secret.
"Although it is indeed very fragile, when I prevented the stone from being thrown just now, it still felt a little stronger."
"Indeed, when you said that, I felt that way too. Is it because I sensed danger that my strength increased suddenly?"
"Maybe. In other words, there may be some potential power hidden in your body."
"I see"
While I thought it would be bad to give away too much, by reducing the strength of the shield, it seems to have succeeded in fooling around.
"Although you asked me to show it, as an adventurer, you can't reveal your trump card easily."
"Are you an adventurer? Can I be an adventurer too?"
"What are you talking about? Collect herbs, catch forest rats, and get rewards and bounties. What you are doing now is the essence of an adventurer."
"Ah, yeah, maybe I look like a budding adventurer?"
"That's right. A person who can catch fifteen forest rats in one day will sooner or later be able to deal with enemies like goblins or orcs."
"However, I am a cat person, so my body will not grow in size like Mr. Zeol, a Khajiit."
"So what? For example, the pterosaur is several times bigger than me."
While that may be true, isn’t the comparison a bit odd?
"But, I can't use body strengthening magic either."
"I'll teach you this kind of thing."
"Ah, can I learn it too?"
"There's no guarantee, but using magic with empty properties to instantly create a shield or something like that should be fine."
"Really"
Mr. Zeol grinned and nodded.
"By the way, what's your name?"
"My name is Hua Wuming."
"Hua Wuming, if you learn body strengthening magic, where do you plan to use it first?"
"Of course you want to make yourself faster."
"Hahahaha, good, passed. Most people will say they want to make their fists stronger, or speed up their swords, but adventurers must have such plans if they want to survive. Increasing speed is the right choice. ."
Mr. Zeol stood up with a smile on his face, patted me on the shoulder, and praised me.
Hey, it really hurts, it really hurts, the physical difference is too big, can you be a little lighter, uncle?
From that day on, Mr. Zeol began to instruct me in the use of body strengthening magic.
In the beginning, the instruction was given every evening. After I gradually became familiar with it, it was changed to once every three days.
"But why do you spend so much time coaching me?"
"I heard that you catch forest rats every day, and you also had some disputes with Miguel. I thought it was very interesting, so I decided to help you."
"Is it interesting?"
"Yes. This village is a good village, but it is also very boring. Everyone spends every day in silence according to the rules of the village. Although tranquility and stability are beautiful, it also lacks change and makes it boring."
"So, am I just your time-killer?"
"Hahaha, you can say that."
