Volume 1 Chapter 5 Exploring The Bandits' Hideout
As dusk approached, the two looked down from a small hill at a village that appeared to be in ruins. Rain was starting to fall lightly, and it was quite chilly. The footprints they had been following all led into that village.
"It looks like they went into that abandoned village. If the rain had started an hour earlier, we might not have found it. For now, it seems we've safely reached the Bandits' base."
Al nodded at Barbara's words. The ruined village was about 8 kilometers (≈ 5 miles) north from where they had been attacked, right at the edge of wasteland and forest. The surrounding fields were overgrown, and at first glance, it seemed like no one lived there. In these remote areas, it's not uncommon for villages to be abandoned after failed farming attempts, and this seemed to be one of those places. However, upon closer inspection, the pest control fences were well camouflaged yet maintained, and the doors and windows of the largest house, which seemed to belong to the village head, and the church were closed, suggesting that those 2 buildings were still in use.
"Can we get a little closer and check it out? I hope there aren't too many people left..."
Barbara nodded as if it was obvious. The two began to carefully approach the village, keeping an eye out for any guards. Once they got close enough, Al took off his gloves and placed his hand on the ground.
'Sensory Boost'──Enhanced Touch
He started to sense the vibrations in the ground to figure out how many people were there.
"There are quite a few in the big house... but it's hard to tell inside because of the echoes... There seem to be more than ten, but they're moving around like they're looking for something. There are probably 2 in the church. The rest are staying still."
"Well, with that Sensory Boost spell, you can't hear voices, right?"
Al shook his head at Barbara's words.
"Surprisingly, walking vibrations can be heard from quite a distance, but voices get mixed up with the sound of the wind, so I need to get a bit closer to hear them. It would have been nice if I could use the Floating Eye spell, but I can't do that yet."
It seems that even someone who can use various types of magic isn't all-powerful.
"That's fine. The sun will set soon. Even if they go somewhere, it'll be after dawn. Let's just wait and see for a while."
Barbara knelt in the shadows of the bushes, looking down at the village. Al quickly hid beside her without hesitation. Although he wasn't a professional scout, she was proud of his experience and skills, which were almost as good. However, his abilities were just as impressive. It was surprising that a boy who just graduated from middle school had such skills.
"You're young, but you're really good. You said you worked as a scout in the Adventurer's Guild in the capital, but is the level that high there?"
"Maybe it's because I've been tracking since I was little. I was technically the lord of the village, but since it's a village in the mountains, there isn't much land for farming. We people couldn't even grow barley properly, let alone wheat, so we didn't have much tax revenue. Yet, there was a mountain of work to do as a lord, so my whole family had to work. Since I was young, my parents taught me hunting and gathering, and by the end of elementary school, I was going to the mountains by myself. Thanks to that, I've been able to make a living as an adventurer since coming to the capital."
Al placed his hands on the ground again and cast a spell. He was probably checking to see if anything was around. When magicians do scouting, it usually involves the floating eye spell he mentioned earlier, but not many magicians can use that. Most of them belong to knight orders and earn high salaries. The spell he was using was something people hadn't heard much about, but from his experience, it seemed really useful.
"I see, but how come you're an adventurer while still in middle school? From what you said earlier, didn't you want to study magic all the time? It would have been better if you just focused on studying magic."
At that question, Al smiled wryly.
"Well, I would have liked to do that if I could. But I didn't have the luxury to say that. My dad told me not to worry, but money was tight. Still, I didn't want to give up on middle school either. It's not every day you get a chance to learn magic from a teacher. So, I needed to earn some money while I was still in school to help with the tuition. Plus, of course, I wanted to continue studying magic after graduation, so I thought becoming an adventurer would be the quickest way to do that."
Elementary school lasts until you're 10 years old. Of course, many kids help with family businesses while going to school, but it's rare for someone to go alone into the mountains where wild tribes and magic beasts appear, hunting and gathering. That experience probably connects to Al's current role as a scout. Also, Barbara had heard that learning spells costs money. It seems one needs to pay several gold coins for one Spellbook, and sometimes even dozens of gold coins. It's definitely hard to save that much money with a regular job.
"Then wouldn't it be better to get hired by the knight's order? With your skills, you'd probably get accepted. If you ask Sir Naresh, it might be a sure thing."
"Well, I think there are other magicians like me, and if I join the knight's order, they'll only teach me spells useful for war, and I won't be able to research freely. Plus, my dream is to find a 4th-tier spell. If I join the knight's order, I won't be able to do that either."
"I see, that makes sense... I understand a lot now. Well, you do your best."
Barbara thought there was no other magician his age like him, but she decided to talk more after they dealt with the Bandits and had a drink. Barbara thought this and looked around again.
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