Volume 3 Chapter 6 Big-Mouthed Lizard Hunt Ii Time
The heavy rain continued, and with no money, Al spent his time practicing magic. After 3 days of such weather, the rain finally stopped.
"Alright, let's go, Mr. Orson."
Al was getting ready to leave, barely finishing his breakfast. Next to him, Madoc and Najira struggled with their large bags. They had also been staying at the inn for a long time.
"That's a big bag. Are you going somewhere?"
When Al spoke up, Madoc came closer to him.
"Hey, Al. Finally, the sun is out. Yeah, we decided to move to Parker."
Parker was a border city located west of the capital, about a week's walk away. Further west lay the Tempest Kingdom, where Al had heard there were often small fights around Parker.
"Oh, is it about making money?"
"Yes, there's been a big war in the Tempest Kingdom. We won't know the details until we get there, but I heard there are many mercenary jobs. We’re better at rough work than exploring, so we plan to earn some money there for a while."
"I see. Just be careful with mercenary work; some jobs can be really dangerous. If the pay is too high, be suspicious."
Orson limped over.
"Thanks as always. With Najira here, we'll be careful. See you later!"
After adjusting their large bags, the two waved goodbye and headed east toward the ferry town. Al and Orson then met up with Lippi and set off south to hunt the Big-Mouthed Lizard.
* * *
"Wow, this is crazy!"
As they approached the Holden River, Orson exclaimed at the significantly risen water level compared to four days ago. The muddy water rushed loudly, and while Al and the others faced only a slight increase, some wetlands across the river were submerged, widening it by about 10 meters.
"Ah, does this mean we can't hunt? I borrowed another cart for nothing..."
Lippi looked ready to cry. He mentioned that they made good profits last time, so he brought his sister Pippi to help and increased the number of mule-pulled carts.
"It seems it rained upstream too. The rainy season started earlier this year."
Orson crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. The strong current suggested that even trying to fish might result in the bait being swept away.
"I'll take a look."
Al said this and ran ahead, climbing a tree on a small hill.
'Sensory Boost'──Sight
Al scanned the river’s surface. Normally, the Big-Mouthed Lizard waited with just its eyes and nose above water, but it might have been swept downstream. If any remained, they’d likely be in slower currents.
"Are there any Big-Mouthed Lizards around?"
Unable to wait, Orson called out, but Al signaled him to hold on and continued searching. Finally, he spotted several Big-Mouthed Lizards gathered in a bend where the flow slowed.
"Looks like that! Should we target the one on the edge with Magic Missile from a distance?"
Al quickly climbed down and asked Orson.
"That many? If we attack, they might get excited and other Big-Mouthed Lizards could join in, which would be too dangerous. We could lure the edge one with bait, but I can't move it well. If they notice more, it’s like attacking. Maybe we should give up..."
"Wait a second. Let me try."
Al hurriedly stopped him. He needed to earn money for his leather armor, so he couldn't give up easily.
"What are you going to try? It's hard to control the bait."
"No, I mean magic. I'll use the Illusion spell to trick them."
Al explained that the Illusion spell could deceive sight, sound, and smell, even affecting creatures other than humans. Instead of using meat as bait, he suggested creating a floating chunk of meat to lure the Big-Mouthed Lizards, allowing him to control the location and target just one.
"Wow, can we really trick a magic beast with an Illusion?"
Lippi and Pippi were impressed, but Orson looked worried.
"Honestly, if I could use telekinesis, we wouldn’t need Illusion to fool them."
Al expressed disappointment, but Orson shook his head lightly.
"Well, let's try it. If we get creative, we should be able to make it work. It all starts there."
Hearing this, Al smiled brightly.
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