Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Technique Celestial Calculation
"Haha! We’ve struck it rich this time!"
Gray’s uninhibited laughter rang out. He was covered in wolf’s blood, looking quite feral.
The bounty for a single wild wolf was Three Silver Coins. Gray had slain at least six or seven this time, which was more than their earnings from the past five days combined.
A cold arc of light flashed, and Gray severed the front left leg of a wolf that had tried to lunge for his neck.
The unlucky beast whimpered and collapsed, blood spurting from the wound on its leg as its life force rapidly faded.
Seeing this, Zelir’s eyes lit up.
’This wolf isn’t dead yet!’
’If I’m the one to land the final blow... will I get Experience Points?’
’I’ve been worried about how to level up.’
No sooner said than done!
Zelir drew upon his Magic Power, precisely outlining the Spell Structure for the Fireball Skill in his mind.
To ensure a fatal blow, Zelir poured as much Magic Power into it as he could.
The entire Casting process took about five seconds.
A scorching light ignited in Zelir’s palm. He then aimed at the wolf... and fired!
The air temperature rose slightly. A brilliant streak of light flashed past, striking the wolf directly on the thickest part of its neck.
The impact from the Fireball Skill’s Magic Power blasted away a chunk of flesh and fur, then ignited the remaining fur, which began to burn fiercely!
The already dying wolf was struck by this new disaster. The combination of losing its leg and the searing Flame sent excruciating pain through its body. It thrashed and convulsed on the ground like a fish out of water, letting out a miserable howl before quickly falling silent.
First blood!
Zelir’s face lit up with delight.
Just as he had guessed, after killing the wolf, the Experience Points on his Attributes panel increased.
Level 1 to Level 2. Level up!
A mysterious power surged into his body, spreading throughout his limbs.
A faint blue glow, visible only to him, appeared in his vision.
Four attribute points were waiting to be assigned, and his previously grayed-out Talent Skills were now unlocked.
"Magical Surge" and "Technique Celestial Calculation."
Zelir hesitated for a moment before finally choosing "Technique Celestial Calculation"!
[Talent Skill "Technique Celestial Calculation" has been unlocked.]
Suddenly, a progress bar appeared beneath Technique Celestial Calculation.
Great Creation Skill, analysis progress—0%.
Zelir paused, slightly stunned.
’Great Creation Skill...?’
’What the heck is that? It sounds pretty incredible.’
’But did someone just use that Magic in front of me?’
There was no time to dwell on it. With a thought, Zelir allocated all four attribute points to Spirit.
His Spirit Attribute changed from 67 to 71.
He had no choice. Although Technique Celestial Calculation was highly dependent on Intelligence, as a Mage, his Spirit Attribute was the absolute top priority.
Otherwise, what was the point of learning more Magic if his spells had no power behind them?
’Even the best mechanics need stats to back them up.’
With the four-point increase to his Spirit Attribute, Zelir could clearly feel the circulation speed of his Spring Seed quicken slightly, and his Magic Power had also risen a little.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
In any case, he had now officially crossed the threshold to becoming a Mage. With a Talent Skill like Technique Celestial Calculation, his path to becoming stronger would be much smoother.
Gray, who had been about to finish off the wolf, paused and glanced back at Zelir.
Zelir gave him an apologetic smile.
’Sorry, had to steal the kill.’
Zelir couldn’t get involved in the rest of the fight.
Marcus and Gray were killing the wolves in a single blow, and Valles’s Arrows left no survivors.
The nighttime ambush ended quickly. The wolf pack left over a dozen corpses behind as they fled headlong into the dense forest.
’There were quite a few of them. No wonder the nearby villagers posted a request with the Adventurer’s Association. If they ganged up to attack a village, there would definitely be casualties.’
"Pretty sharp, kid."
Gray wiped a mixture of blood and sweat from his forehead. "Already learned how to pick up the scraps."
"Sorry, I just cast it instinctively..." Zelir said.
"Don’t worry about it, no need to be so formal with me. That wolf’s yours. It’s always good to get a little extra on your first mission."
Gray grinned. "See that? That’s the Charm of being an Adventurer. Three Silver Coins—that’s a full day’s wages for a laborer, and you earned it with a single Fireball."
The team began to clean up the battlefield. Marcus sorted through the wolf corpses, picking out the ones with relatively intact pelts, while Valles pulled his Arrows from the bodies.
Some of the arrowheads weren’t too worn down. Once cleaned of blood, they could be used again, saving them a bit of money.
Gray hung a wolf carcass upside down from a tree branch and used a small knife to make a circular incision around its hind ankle.
His Skinning Saber traveled down from the circular cut, precisely slicing all the way to the anus before turning toward the other thigh.
Next, Gray began to peel the wolf’s hide off its hind legs.
His movements were steady. He grabbed the cut flap of skin with one hand and pulled down hard, while his other hand held the Skinning Saber, carefully using the blade to sever the fascia and fat connecting the skin to the flesh.
"Zelir, come give me a hand. Lift this leg," Gray said.
With the two of them working together, the skin on the wolf’s hind legs was soon pulled off completely, like a sock.
Then came the torso. The skinning process was filled with the dull sound of ripping fascia and the cloying, sweet smell of exposed flesh.
Zelir felt his stomach churn, but he forced himself not to look away.
He knew this was a skill he had to learn.
The bounty posted by the Adventurer’s Guild was only for the wolf’s life, and a left ear was all that was needed as proof to collect the reward.
As for the remaining pelts and other parts, the team was free to keep and sell them.
A pristine wolf pelt could sell for around three or four Silver Coins. For low-level Adventurers, this was a significant source of income.
The team had killed a total of fifteen wolves just now, and several of the carcasses had pelts intact enough to be worth skinning.
Such an unexpected windfall brought a hint of delight even to the usually stern-faced Marcus.
Gray began making the first cut on the hind leg of the last wolf carcass.
His movements were clean and efficient, possessing the beauty of a seasoned veteran. In comparison, Zelir seemed far more clumsy.
His job was to grab the cut flap of skin and pull back hard while Gray sliced through the fascia, creating a taut surface for him to work on.
But the work was more strenuous than he had imagined. The slick fat on the wolf pelt made his hands feel like they were coated in grease, and he nearly lost his grip several times.
"Hold on tighter, Zelir!"
Gray commanded without looking up. "Right, keep that pressure... Your hands don’t look like a Mage’s."
His peripheral vision had caught a glimpse of Zelir’s hands. They had thin calluses on the knuckles and prominent veins on the back—the hands of someone who had clearly known hardship.
