The day of the expedition had arrived. All the assigned nobles had gathered in the palace hall. So had I. I'd been sent as an advisor for this expedition. I couldn't wait to see how they would utilize their powers to their full potential.
This expedition was led by two people: Kalusi, the leader of the physical power team, and Neus, the leader of the magical power team. I asked them what kind of monsters they would face. They explained that there were rat-like monsters with fairly high speed called Rattus, bird-like monsters with high flying speed called Corvus, and tiger-like monsters called Panthera. After listening to their explanations, I tried to strategize so they could deal with the monsters more efficiently. I divided them into three teams. The first team faced Rattus. This team consisted of Natori, Magnesi, Alumi, and Neus. The second team faced Corvus. This team consisted of Caribo, Nitaro, Oxo, Fosufa, and Bram. The last team faced Panthera. This team consisted of Kali, Kalusi, Sulfi, Chloe, and Argus.
The three teams immediately took their positions. I felt like their commander. I advised them from a distance since I was the only one without powers.
Natori and Magnesi destroyed some of the terrain Rattus was passing through, while Alumi stayed close to Neus to protect him. Alumi was the successor of the Boron family. She had silvery gray hair and slightly darker skin than the Elkalis. I only learned about Alumi during this expedition, as she rarely interacted with the other families. She felt this way because she felt like the weakest, but I tried to comfort her at the time. I saw that Alumi could consistently unleash her power, even though she couldn't destroy anything major. I tasked her with setting up several traps around Neus to keep him from being distracted while casting spells.
"Alumi, how's everything over there?" Natori asked in a stern voice.
"So far, it's safe. I've set up several traps around here, so you don't need to worry," Alumi replied in a stern voice.
Many Rattus fell into Alumi's traps. Furthermore, the terrain destroyed by Natori and Magensi killed many Rattus. However, their numbers didn't seem to decrease. Despite this, Natori, Magnesi, and Alumi continued to face them, entrusting Neus with eliminating all the Rattus.
"Thank you for buying me time," Neus said.
Instantly, Neus unleashed his light magic. Neus's light magic was incredibly powerful. It encompassed the entire area controlled by the Rattus. I, who witnessed it, was shocked because the light magic Neus used was so beautiful yet so deadly. As a result, all the remaining Rattus were instantly annihilated.
Moving on to the second team, which was facing Corvus. Corvus's flight speed was incredibly fast, but it was blocked by Oxo's wind magic. Oxo could cast magic quickly. Seeing this, it seemed like my thoughts yesterday when talking with Sulfi were correct.
"Oxo, keep doing that. Then, Nitaro, just focus on casting magic with high area-of-effect destruction. Let Bram and Fosufa distract the Corvus. Caribo, be ready to cast your magic once Nitaro has cast his," I said sternly.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but fine," Nitaro replied.
"Shut up, I still don't accept your statement," Oxo said in an annoyed tone.
"Distracting the Corvus isn't bad either," Bram replied.
"I've set up carnivorous plant traps in various locations," Fosufa said.
The things I was thinking yesterday when casting magic were different for each person. Sulfi explained that this is because each person has a different number of mana points. I think this number of mana points is similar to ionization energy, which is the energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous state. Within a group, ionization energy decreases from top to bottom. This is because the size of the atomic radius increases, so the attractive force between the atomic nucleus and electrons becomes weaker. Within a period, ionization energy increases from left to right. This is because the size of the atomic radius decreases, so the attractive force between the atomic nucleus and electrons becomes stronger. In real life applications, ionization energy can be used as an indicator of the color of a flame on a metal. Metal burned at a certain temperature will produce a flame color according to its ionization energy. Because fireworks are made up of several metals, when burned, they will produce various colors according to their ionization energy.
However, there are exceptions within some groups within the same period. Consider Oxo (Oxygen) and Nitaro (Nitrogen) as examples. Oxo can cast spells more quickly than Nitaro because it can release mana points more easily than Nitaro. This can be explained by electron configuration. Nitrogen's stable state follows Hund's rule, which states that elements are stable in either half-filled or full orbitals.
The trap Fosufa had set caught the Corvus. The Corvus who managed to avoid Fosufa's trap attempted to attack Nitaro. However, their vision was suddenly obscured by a liquid produced by Bram's magic. Then, Oxo knocked the obscured Corvus away.
"Okay, feel this, Corvus!" Nitaro shouted loudly.
Nitaro unleashed his explosion magic at several points along the Corvus' path. Seeing this, Caribo immediately unleashed his charcoal magic and aimed it at the remaining Corvus. It looked like a meteor shower surrounded the Corvus. As a result, the surrounding area became hot.
"Hey Nitaro, quickly cool this area down. You know, it's very hot," Oxo said.
"Yes, yes. I'll definitely cool it down even without you asking," Nitaro replied.
Nitaro cast magic that could freeze burning objects. Then, Oxo destroyed the frozen objects with his wind magic. Fosufa also created plants that could warm the body.
"It turns out our teamwork isn't so bad," Fosufa said happily.
"You're right. Although there's one person who's been nagging," Bram replied.
"Shut up. I still can't accept what that stranger said," Oxo said in an annoyed tone.
"But Oxo, without her, we couldn't have finished exterminating the Corvus so easily," Nitaro replied.
"That's right. It's as if she knew our magic was suited to fighting the Corvus," Caribo added.
I appreciated their teamwork by giving them two thumbs up. After that, I focused on directing the last team fighting Panthera. I devised a strategy with Kali and Kalusi at the forefront, Sulfi in the middle, and Chloe and Argus at the back. I knew this team seemed lacking in attack power. However, I entrusted Kali and Kalusi with their attack power.
"Sulfi, if Kali or Kalusi manages to break one of Panthera's legs, get ready to cast your magic. Aim for its eyes as best as possible," I said.
"Okay. I'll cast the spell now," Sulfi replied.
The battle against Panthera was quite intense. Kali and Kalusi were the toughest, as they were both the bait and the main attackers. However, they didn't need to worry because Argus would always cast his magic when they were about to be hit by Panthera's attacks. I hadn't expected Argus's barrier magic to be so powerful. I had an idea.
"Kali, can you shatter the ground at various points to create a hole?" I asked.
"Yes, but someone has to distract Panthera," Kali replied.
"That, I'll do it," Argus replied.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes, relax. My barrier is very strong," Argus replied.
Finally, Argus and Kalusi took turns distracting Panthera. However, Panthera immediately assumed a deadly attack stance. Suddenly, he released a cloud of smoke. I ordered them not to inhale it, as it could be poisonous. Without hesitation, Chloe immediately cast her magic. The smoke disappeared, and we resumed fighting.
"Okay, I've destroyed the nodes you instructed," Kali said.
"All right. Sulfi, get ready," I said.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Panthera's feet collapsed. Panthera fell to a considerable depth. Sulfi immediately cast her magic. I saw acidic liquid on a small scale rain down on Panthera. Furthermore, Argus locked Panthera's legs with his barrier magic. After a few moments, Panthera was defeated.
"Yeah, we did it," Kali said happily.
"I didn't expect us to defeat that huge monster," Chloe replied.
"Good job, everyone," Kalusi said.
Finally, we all gathered. While everyone rested, Chloe purified the scattered monster corpses. However, for some reason, I had a bad feeling.