A Generous Stipend

"Be as careful as you can while out adventuring." Marvin looked as though he wanted to say more, but in the end, he held his tongue. "Instructor Marvin, there's one more thing I wanted to ask you." "What is it?" "How much is the monthly stipend for a low-rank mage?" Zelier asked quite seriously. "..." Instructor Marvin gave Zelier a silent look. "Twenty gold coins." Hearing that figure, Zelier's eyes lit up. *Holy crap... Just by becoming a low-rank mage, that's twenty extra gold coins a month out of thin air!* Seeing Zelier's eyes gleaming at the mention of money, Marvin couldn't help but shake his head. To take on commissions at the Adventurers' Association every single day, yet still manage to raise his strength to this level through meditation... *Sigh...* If only Zelier had come from a noble family with no shortage of resources. Perhaps his progress would have been even greater than it was now. ... "Zelier, wait for me!" Just as Zelier stepped out of the Chamber of Serenity, he heard Rand's call behind him. Rand jogged along the tree-lined path, panting from exhaustion. "What's wrong?" Zelier stopped and looked at him in confusion. "Um..." Rand caught his breath, his eyes darting slightly. He worked up his nerve for quite a while before finally finding the courage to say it. "Zelier, I'd like to ask you... to teach me!" "Teach you?" Zelier was somewhat surprised. "Teach you what?" "About magic!" Rand said loudly. "I want to be like you—to have that kind of magic intensity and magic power control!" "Shouldn't you already have a teacher?" Zelier still didn't quite understand. "They're definitely far better than I am. If there's something you don't get, wouldn't it be better to just ask your teacher?" "It's not the same." Rand shook his head repeatedly. "I can't put my finger on it, but I just feel that you're different from my teachers. You have this special... um, how should I put it? A special air about you, I guess." That piqued Zelier's interest a little. He smiled. "What kind of special air?" "A sharp, incisive air!" Rand finally found the right word. "You're an adventurer, right, Zelier? I heard that the commissions adventurers take on are really dangerous. Was your magic honed in an environment like that?" "Uh..." Zelier squinted and thought for a moment. "Probably not...?" While it was true that he gained stats by slaying monsters for experience, that method worked only for him alone. If other mages spent too much time running commissions, their progress would only fall behind those who dedicated themselves to meditation. For a mage, the sole path to increasing strength was meditation. "No, I think that's it!" Rand clenched his fists, refusing to drop the theory just because Zelier denied it. "The true essence of magic can only be comprehended between life and death! Only by constantly challenging formidable foes can one grow stronger faster!" "Why does that sound like something a warrior class would say..." Zelier weakly countered. "So! Zelier, please, the next time you go out on a commission, you have to bring me along!" Rand looked at Zelier with earnest pleading. *What surging fighting spirit...* Zelier thought to himself. However... "No." Zelier turned Rand down flat. "Why? I won't have you take me for free—I can pay you, really!" Rand said urgently. "You said it yourself: adventuring is dangerous. Dragging you along on a commission under those conditions would be completely irresponsible," Zelier said. "I'm not afraid," Rand said resolutely. "It's not a matter of being afraid or not." Zelier's expression grew more serious. "It's that you could die, you know?" Put that bluntly, Rand finally settled down a bit. He lowered his eyes, looking crestfallen. "I... I suppose you're right. I can't even meet the standard for a Magic Apprentice right now. Coming along with you would just make me a burden..." "No need to be so discouraged." Rand's expression made Zelier feel a pang of sympathy. He patted Rand's shoulder in encouragement. "How about this? Once a suitable commission comes up in the future, I'll take you along." Rand looked up, his gaze turning fervent once more. "Really?!" "I won't lie to you. But you have to promise me that before then, you'll meditate properly and build up your strength," Zelier said earnestly. "Yeah!" ... Outskirts of Blackstone Town. The desolate woods. Vallis stood alone in the center of a clearing, clutching the longbow Moon Treetop in his hands. The first impression this longbow gave was not of violence, but of elegance. Crafted from snowwood, its body was pure white, with lines that flowed seamlessly. It resembled the gentle curve of a crescent moon, or the horn of an antelope. It was an heirloom passed down through his family, carrying his mother's dying wish. Vallis closed his eyes, motionless as a silent statue, almost blending into his surroundings. Memories of the battle against the giant-winged bat from days prior flashed through his mind again and again. The images replayed frame by frame in slow motion, stretching time itself in the moment. The currents kicked up each time the giant-winged bat flapped its wings, the trajectory of every dive and glide, and those bone spines wrapped in wind blades. Swift, fierce, bloody—yet exquisite. *No...* *Its wind wasn't simply an outer layer...* *It was propulsion and acceleration—an empowerment that made physical matter faster and sharper...* Vallis deconstructed that image over and over in his mind, trying to integrate the giant-winged bat's attack method into his own techniques. After an untold amount of mental deduction, Vallis finally opened his eyes, filled with calm focus. He stilled his mind, focusing all his attention on his Qi Heart. Though called the Qi Heart, its location inside the body was in the lower abdomen, more like a dantian. As Vallis concentrated intently, a strand of distinctive energy drifted out from his Qi Heart, flowing into his blood vessels and circulating through to his fingertips. Vallis felt a tingling ache spread down his entire right arm—a sign that his body had yet to fuse perfectly with his battle aura. Suppressing the discomfort, he drew an ordinary broadhead iron-tipped arrow from his quiver. Nocking the string, drawing the bow—the bow bent full as a moon. The battle aura at Vallis's fingertips began attempting to merge into the arrow. "Loose!" *Whoosh!* The arrow sprang from the bowstring, but the instant it launched, that uncontrolled battle aura detonated at the nock! The wooden shaft snapped in two, and before the arrow could even fly a few meters, it ended in failure, planting itself askew in the mud. A failure. Vallis narrowed his eyes and sank into thought for a moment.