Chapter 36: A Hard Mouth But a Soft Body
"No wonder it was able to severely wound that demon," Kraft remarked. A spell of that power could cripple the vast majority of magical beasts. Even the most powerful of warriors would likely not be able to withstand such an attack. At least for him, his only option would be to dodge.
Serie stood where she was, her eyes shining with a strange light. She strode over to Rhodes, a rare excitement in her voice, and grabbed his hand.
"Teach me."
Her tone left no room for refusal, though Rhodes had no intention of refusing anyway.
"Of course. But the spell isn't perfect yet. In theory, it should be even more powerful."
"I know!" Serie's voice was firm. "You don't have enough mana, so that's all the power you can draw out. And the casting process is too crude. If you refine it, you could increase the blast radius."
"Increase the power even more? Serie, it's already terrifying enough as it is." Kraft walked over, looking at the large, scorched crater in the distance, then back at Rhodes with a wry smile. "It's a good thing we're not in the Great Elven Forest. If you had caused such a ruckus and so much destruction there, you'd definitely be thrown in prison."
"Ahem! I could try throwing it into the sky next time. That way it won't cause so much damage on the ground."
Serie, however, was unconcerned with such things. "How did you think of this spell?"
"Hmm... a sudden flash of inspiration, I guess? But the basic principle is still from your elven light magic."
"I see." Serie now understood. The moment of darkness they had all experienced hadn't been an illusion. The spell had stolen the light from the space, then condensed it to unleash that terrifying destructive power.
Watching the three of them engrossed in their discussion, Norne whispered to Eirik, "It seems the magic we're going to learn is even more amazing than I thought." Norne was actually more interested in Rhodes's water-generation spell, a practical magic that could immediately benefit the entire village. But his friend had other ideas.
Eirik rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Now this is what I'm talking about! I don't want to learn any of those parlor tricks!" He wanted to learn the big stuff, the powerful magic that could protect everyone and annihilate their enemies. This difference in their views on magic would, perhaps, determine the paths they would take in the future.
For the time being, Rhodes's party stayed in the human village. On one hand, with Serie's permission, Rhodes planned to teach magic to the people here. On the other, Serie needed some time to recover from her mana exhaustion.
Taking advantage of the free time, Rhodes approached Serie, who was sitting on a large rock. He held a small bowl of green-colored herbal medicine. "Drink this. It will help you recover your mana."
Using the knowledge of medicinal herbs he had learned from Kraft, Rhodes had found an herb in the forest that could restore mana. Drawing on his past life's experience, he had even given it a simple, easy-to-understand name: a Mana Potion.
Serie took the potion and, after a moment's hesitation, drank it down. The bitter taste made her wince, but she soon felt the mana in her body slowly beginning to recover. "It's disgusting," she said with a look of distaste.
"As long as it works." Rhodes took the empty bowl. Norne had been the one to show him where to find the herb; it grew right next to the one he had been given for his own injuries. Norne had said they would sometimes harvest them and take them together, as it seemed to speed up the healing process. That was probably why Serie had been able to sense the faint aura of mana from them when they first met. They had likely been consuming these herbs.
"How are they doing with learning magic?" Serie asked, then quickly turned her head and, thinking Rhodes wasn't looking, stuck out her tongue as if to dispel the bitter taste of the medicine. But as soon as she turned back, she saw him holding out a bright red fruit.
"It's going alright," he said, taking no notice. "But I don't know why... I've shown them so many times, but they still don't get it."
Rhodes felt he was becoming quite skilled at taking care of Serie. For instance, he had thought to bring a piece of fruit to help with the bitterness of the medicine.
"That's normal," Serie said, taking the fruit and biting into it. "No matter the race, learning magic for the first time is always confusing." The sweetness of the fruit chased away the bitter taste, and she subconsciously began to swing her legs.
"How did you learn magic?"
"Hmm... it just sort of happened?" Rhodes couldn't really remember. When he had been trying to start a fire, he'd had a sudden flash of inspiration, and then, somehow, he had created his fire-starting spell. The same went for his water-generation spell.
"Everyone's talent is different. They have a talent for magic, but it's clearly not as great as yours." Serie paused. Actually, my talent for magic doesn't seem to be as great as Rhodes's either. "But it shouldn't take them long to get the hang of it." I will never admit that my talent is inferior to Rhodes's, she thought to herself.
"I'm surprised Kraft didn't object, though," Rhodes remarked. Kraft had been there when he was teaching the two of them, and had seen him demonstrate what was clearly elven magic, but he had acted as if he hadn't seen a thing.
"Don't worry about him," Serie said dismissively. She was the one who had taught Rhodes the magic, and she had given him permission to teach it to others. If Kraft had a problem, it would be with her. But as things stood, it seemed he had no intention of interfering.
"Do you think there's any chance Kraft would join us on our adventure?" Rhodes asked. Kraft was strong and had a wealth of combat experience. After all, his age spoke for itself; even Serie was a junior in his presence. Although he had said he wouldn't be traveling with them, Rhodes still wanted to try.
Serie shook her head, dismissing his idea. "Impossible. Kraft has special duties among the elves. He's very busy. He can't go adventuring with you." Kraft was much more famous than her among the elves. She was famous for her heretical ideas, while Kraft was famous for his seniority and his strength. Naturally, he would be assigned important missions.
"So that means you're one of the less busy elves, then?" Rhodes teased.
Hearing this, Serie's cheeks puffed out, a clear sign that she was getting annoyed. Because what he said was true. She was too young and rarely participated in any of the elves' official tasks. "That's not true! I have special duties too!"
Rhodes chuckled. The little Grand Master before him was soft in every way... except for her stubborn mouth.
~~~
Guys We cross the 300 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 450 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
~~~
Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter