Jijel had always thought it was better to learn from a <Shadow Patrol> member than from a <Wasteland Stargazers>.

The <Wasteland Stargazers>s are just too showy for my taste.

They were skilled, but their excessive flair caused a sense of aversion.

"Really... Are you thinking of learning from me?" Baishada asked hesitantly, his voice cracking slightly due to nervousness.

"Is that not allowed?"

"It's not that it's not allowed, but... Cough. Just a moment."

Baishada opened his water bottle and took a sip.

Then he drank a potion for relieving tension, one he wouldn't normally drink even when hunting large monsters.

"Honestly, I thought you all would go to him."

"The <Shadow Patrol> is better than the <Wasteland Stargazers>."

At Yi-Han's words, Baishada's black eyes sparkled. His eyelids fluttered as if deeply moved.

"Is that really true? I didn't expect an Einroguard student to think that way..."

In truth, it was because of his friendship with Nillia, but Yi-Han and his companions chose not to mention it.

The sight of the hunter before them, so evidently joyous, was simply too touching.

Even Jijel remained silent.

"Great! I'll make sure you guys can hunt something even more remarkable than the other students."

Baishada spoke with enthusiasm.

He never expected such an event at Einroguard.

He planned to share this with the other patrol members once he returned to the northern mountains.

His colleagues would be so delighted!

"Uh... just a moment."

?

"Actually, we've... already finished preparing for our final exam assignment."

"???"

"???"

Baishada was taken aback.

So was Dolgyu.

"When?!"

"Weren't you friends?"

Baishada looked confused. They had seemed close.

"When we were chased by that lizard. We met a giant and cut off some of its hair."

"Yi-Han. I am your friend, but that's too cryptic even for friendship..."

Dolgyu spoke with a headache-inducing expression.

Discussing the giant's hair as casually as picking up a stone on the road confused Dolgyu.

"It's a bit of a long story."

Yi-Han briefly explained the events.

Meeting the giant -> Unable to play chess -> Winning a bet -> Escaping with the spoils.

"The giant was that bad at chess?"

"Apparently."

"..."

Jijel wanted to say something but held back. It would only hurt her own pride.

"I'm sorry, Dolgyu. I should have told you earlier, but I didn't want the other White Tiger students nearby to feel disappointed or jealous."

"That's alright. I understand. It's really a relief."

"Wait. Mages."

Baishada struggled to keep up with the conversation and finally caught up.

"So you're saying you won a bet against a giant... Alright, let's assume that's true. I'm still confused about the other stuff, but okay. So you have the spoils now?"

"Yes."

"So what am I supposed to do now?"

"...Uh... How about we go hunting together? We need some meat."

"..."

Baishada was momentarily disheartened but soon regained his spirits.

Above all, the students valued the <Shadow Patrol> over the <Wasteland Stargazers>, and that was what truly mattered.

"That's true. And the important thing is the outcome, right? The other students will think we defeated the giant thanks to you, Mr. Baishada."

"That's good, but... Is that okay?"

Baishada tilted his head in wonder.

Of course, he wanted to let these young mages know that the <Shadow Patrol> was superior to the <Wasteland Stargazers>.

But this seems like a trick...

"Certainly. If the result is good, then it's acceptable. That's what we are taught at the magic academy."

"Really? That's surprising."

"??"

"???"

With some time on his hands, Baishada took the three students hunting and offered various pieces of advice.

"Do you know how to walk on a slope like this?"

"Don't hurry and try to step with the whole foot, integrating breathing and stepping to minimize fatigue."

"That's right! Impressive, isn't it?!"

Baishada was genuinely surprised.

Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be from a noble family, unlikely to have grown up climbing mountains.

Yet, he was so adept.

Had his status not been apparent, he might have thought he was trained by other members of the <Shadow Patrol>.

'Hmm. It's getting harder to speak.'

It was difficult to admit he had been trained by the <Shadow Patrol>.

The other party was so enthusiastic in teaching them that to say, "We've already learned this," required courage.

"Come on, try walking up."

"Is this how it's done?"

"That's right! You're doing well!"

"..."

Dolgyu, who knew Nillia, looked at Yi-Han with an incredulous expression.

Yi-Han pretended not to notice.

Baishada skewered a few birds he had shot down. After plucking the feathers and removing the innards, the roasted bird meat was a delicacy for the hunters.

"Is it because of the Phoenix Festival? The fire seems a bit strong."

Baishada adjusted the fierce, crackling flames.

Yi-Han, who had already been warned by Professor Boladi, did not overlook Baishada's comment.

'The flame's energy does seem to be intensifying.'

"By the way, has a phoenix ever been summoned at the magic academy?"

"A phoenix?"

The three students were startled by the question.

A phoenix, one of the rarest summoning creatures, a monster of unknown origin.

"Never seen one, but why do you ask about a phoenix?"

"Oh, I haven't seen one either, but I heard they occasionally appear during festivals. I thought if they did appear, it would be at a magic academy, right? They are summons, after all, and would be drawn to places with a lot of mana."

"Hahaha. If that were the case, the magic academy would have already become a den for countless monsters, Mr. Baishada."

Dolgyu said, laughing. Yi-Han thought to himself,

'It already feels like half a den of monsters.'

The information that summons were attracted to places with high mana was quite ominous.

Yi-Han shook his head to dispel the uneasiness and addressed Baishada.

"You shoot the bow well."

"Thanks. Want to try?"

"I'm not very confident with bows."

Yi-Han, who usually volunteered to learn almost anything, was hesitant about archery.

He knew the basics of fitting an arrow to the bowstring and shooting at a target, having learned them from Knight Arlong.

But hitting a small, moving target from a distance was a different matter entirely. Such a skill required arduous effort.

"True, it takes a lot of time to get used to the bow. And as a mage, there's no real need to master it. How about imbuing magic into arrows? There are magics for that, right?"

Baishada's suggestion stemmed entirely from his non-mage status.

An experienced mage would know such a suggestion was quite absurd.

Instead of shooting with the skill and experience of an archer, the shot was assisted with various enchantment magics.

At first, it sounded plausible, but in reality, it was more trouble than it was worth.

Casting multiple spells on a single arrow each time it was shot.

Even the simplest enchantment spells consumed a significant amount of mana.

Moreover, layering several enchantments on a small object like an arrow significantly increased both mana consumption and difficulty with each casting.

However, Yi-Han, still an inexperienced first-year, thought it was a fairly good idea before recalling this fact.

'Certainly, I've learned a few useful enchantment spells.'

Recently, Yi-Han had been studying ridiculous properties like 'Levitation,' 'Automatic Defense,' and 'Reflection,' but in reality, there were much simpler ones.

Properties like 'Acceleration,' 'Weight Increase,' and 'Penetration Enhancement' that assisted in power.

And those like 'Steadiness,' 'Accuracy Enhancement,' and 'Aiming Enhancement' that provided support in other aspects.

Yi-Han, already adept at handling orbs with magic, had been thinking of trying these enchantment spells to enhance power.

Imbuing a water sphere, a conjured object maintained by his magic, with additional spells was too difficult...

But on an arrow, an object that didn't require Yi-Han's magic maintenance, it was relatively easy.

'Let's start with the arrow, and if it works, I'll try it on iron balls next.'

It wasn't a bad idea to practice with arrows first, as the difficulty increased from arrows to iron balls to water orbs.

"Speed up, become heavier, sharpen."

Dolgyu and Jijel, who were eating roasted bird and watching, looked on with interest.

Jijel was more in the line of 'What is he doing now?' but it was still interest nonetheless.

"Yi-Han, had you already learned <Lesser Weight Increase> or <Lesser Penetration Enhancement>?"

"They were in the lecture, weren't they?"

To be precise, it was less about being taught by Professor Verduus and more about being one of the many basic enchantment spells listed in the book.

"They were, but they were towards the end."

However, those two spells were relatively towards the end, and the students, already overwhelmed with spells to practice, didn't bother with the ones at the back.

There were already enough spells to practice without them.

"I practiced <Lesser Weight Increase> because I had an occasion to test it."

"I see. ...Wait, what about <Lesser Penetration Enhancement>?"

"I'm trying it for the first time now."

"..."

"..."

For the first time, Dolgyu and Jijel were in agreement.

Such an absurd...

'Ah, what am I thinking.'

Dolgyu shook his head, dismissing the thought.

Yi-Han was a great friend, but sometimes his talent in magic made it seem like he was almost cheating.

"Really unlucky."

"...Moradi! You shouldn't speak like that to a teammate!"

"Why are you making such a fuss? What's going on?"

Regardless of his friends' chatter, Yi-Han cast the next spell.

He accelerated, increased weight, enhanced penetration, improved accuracy, assisted in aiming...

'What else is there to add? Ah. Steadiness.'

"Steadiness, be calm..."

Yi-Han, waving his staff, hesitated. The spell didn't cast properly and rebounded.

It was the same with several repetitions.

"What's wrong, Yi-Han?"

"Oh. Right. I forgot."

When layering multiple enchantments on something like an arrow, both the mana consumption and the difficulty of casting sharply increased.

Having layered as many spells as he did, it was only natural that there would be further complications.

"..."

"..."

"Shouldn't you have realized this before casting the spell?"

Baishada tilted his head inquisitively, addressing the two White Tiger students.

Both students pretended not to hear and looked away.

"Then let's try this much."

"Try hitting that fallen rock over there."

Yi-Han steadied his breathing and aimed the bow. He could feel the complex and intricately woven structure of magic in the arrow.

Perhaps due to the enhanced accuracy and aiming, it felt much more comfortable and stable than just drawing the bowstring.

Thwang!

Crack!

With a cracking sound, the arrow shot through the rock, embedding itself about a third of the way in.

Yi-Han was disappointed by the arrow's position, quite far from the intended center.

'Is this the extent of what I can do?'

"This is indeed difficult."

"What are you saying..."

Baishada looked at Yi-Han as if he were a monster.

It was already an accomplishment to embed an arrow in a rock for someone who wasn't a skilled archer. Feeling disappointed for not hitting the dead center was completely unnecessary.