Our plan to secure fish went off without a hitch with the assistance of Al’s water magic.

    We first closed all the exits of the small stream save one with suitable size stones while Senpai placed his basket at the remaining opening.

    Following that, Al created chaotic waves in the stagnant waters of the spring with his water attribute mana manipulation. The startled fish then sought refuge through the only available exit and voluntarily walked into the trap that was the bamboo basket.

    The waves made by Al weren''t that strong but the mana that caused it in the first place gave the fish the false impression of being attacked. It seemed like they had the instinct to escape at the first sight of mana.

    Right. Master also said that wind controlled by manipulating mana could come in handy in chasing away monsters. The theory was the same as here. Either way, the tactic was immediately effective and it didn’t take long before we had around 20 fish in the basket.

    A majority of trapped fish were the typical breed like rainbow trout which you could find in rivers, however, five of them — appearing to be of the same species — were giving off a shining blue light.

    “I had heard rumors that magic fish are easier to find in waterfall pools, but this is truly amazing. It’s going to be a feast thanks to our star member Al-kun.”

    The magic fish were basically monster-ified river fish and were much harder to catch. They tasted great and also fetched a lot of money but unfortunately, they can’t be harvested from the same place continuously. So yeah, magic fish never turned out to be the golden hen for Water Mages.

    Once we secured our dinner, everyone except Al jumped into the spring to wash away the sweat of the day and later we sat around the bonfire

    ◆◆◆

    “By the way, Al. Can you dip your hand in the water and freeze the spring by chanting something like ‘Ice Age!’?”

    I asked Al while sharpening the tip of the branches I picked up from around the camp with my dagger and skewering the fish onto them, which was followed with a seasoning of salt.

    “You know, I’m seriously going to open up your head one day to see what you have for a brain... I don’t know about the future, but the current me can’t freeze all that water — that too with the water constantly flowing — in an instant. Heck, I’m sure you know that already so why even bother asking?”

    ...Well, just the expected reply. I had already seen the impossibility of it in the activities of the Magic Research Club. I mean, Ice Mages would have been literally invincible near the waterfront region if freezing large bodies of water had been as easy as snapping their fingers. However, I couldn’t wait to see Al, the head of the Emission Magic Research Club, reach that realm.

    We placed the skewered fish over the bonfire. Soon, an appetizing aroma permeated around as the fat started to cook. The magic fish, in particular, were giving off mouth-watering aromas.

    “....That said, why are you the only one being whipped up by the wind, Allen?”

    Senpai asked me with a wry smile.

    “Oh, this? I’m training my wind magic proficiency, and drying my hair. I wanted to blow warm wind but, haaa, I don’t have much talent for it... I can currently only generate enough wind to dry my hair, as long it’s not winter. By the way, should I do it for you, Senpai?”

    I would have surely puffed my chest in pride if I could conjure hot wind and name it ‘Dry Wind’ but it’s a pity I couldn’t. What was even there to give a name to ordinary wind, right?

    The road to even the Wind Mage Level 1 Wind Cutter was truly not a rosy one. Well, at least I could spin the wind around at my command, so I took solace in that.

    Senpai looked at the unbothered bonfire — I was controlling my mana with precision to keep the wind from affecting it — and answered,

    “...I’m fine like this. I can’t put my finger on it, but that feels like a huge waste.”

    Huh, it’s just mana-controlled wind though? I wasn’t sure what was there to squander about needlessly.

    But before I could reply, Coco quietly stood up, his eyes staring in the direction of the forest.

    “......Something is coming. Get ready for battle.”

    Ah, I completely didn’t notice the presence of the monster due to the fwhoosh sound of wind...

    ◆◆◆

    I pulled on my bowstring and spread out my scouting magic.

    “It’s coming at 3 o''clock. The incoming monster is a huge quadruped beast, two meters in height and 4 meters in length. We have 15 seconds before it crashes into us. What are your orders?”

    “......It doesn’t sound like Linew. The monster must have been attracted by the scent of grilled magic fish. It would be better if we could switch the battlefield from the campsite as the fight will draw in other monsters, but this is an emergency.

    “Buoooo!”

    The tusk of the enraged Mega Boar shined in amber color as it produced a large stone with earth magic, but Al shot it down with an ice pebble before the beast could hurl it at us.

    “What did I say, it’s I-C-E B-U-L-L-E-T!”

    “Stop being a moron and focus! It’s hella pissed off now!”

    I made an unwarranted retort while firing the 4th, 5th, and 6th arrows in succession. All of it pierced the ‘spot’ at its front right leg’s thigh that it was trying to use to jump off the spring.

    A copious amount of blood spilled out of its front right leg which had lost nearly half of its flesh.

    “Buoooo!”

    The pain was finally too much for the Mega Boar to endure as it raised a huge splash and retreated into the water. Except, its injured foreleg thigh was still slightly visible through the water’s surface.

    I nocked an arrow with a MacAquate arrowhead and nailed the final shot at it. The arrow cut through the remaining foreleg and sent it flying, and the Mega Boar, having lost one of its legs, sank into the water.

    It did try to get up, but that apparently proved to be a challenging task with just three legs. It rampaged for a while but the excessive bleeding and lack of air soon suppressed all of that.

    ◆◆◆

    “Alright, this amount of blood loss should finish it off! Let’s leave that guy here for a while and finish the fish before they are burnt.”

    “......Well, true. The smell of the magic fish is just too appetizing. We shouldn’t have any other monsters nearby due to the Mega Boar but we can’t be too sure if they are drawn again by the smell.

    But that was amazing marksmanship, Allen. I’ve never seen an archer with the precision to shoot at just one spot continuously before. No seriously, I didn’t expect you to have become this strong. I thought it was just some exaggeration when I heard you were rapidly finishing the stock of arrows at the Academy''s archery training facility, but you surprised me today. So you’re the type to go all in on training, huh?“

    I nodded while taking a bite of the salt-grilled fish. Training my marksmanship had indeed become an integral aspect of my routine, but I wouldn’t say I was training too hard. It was like, you know, I’d have felt weird if I didn’t brush for a day. It was the same with archery practice, so I was basically using the facility every day.

    “Delish! It tastes so good given the intense smell. I bet the taste can be compared to that fancy food...

    Well, I wouldn’t say I’m a madman for training. I occasionally learned a thing or two about marksmanship from the expert archer Kiana-san back at the knight order. I’m just a noob compared to someone like her when it comes to moving targets... Especially the ones that frequently move in a sideways pattern. It was lucky that the monster was a dunce, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been easy if it had started swimming sideways in the spring.”

    I replied while munching on the grilled magic fish. They were too delicious.

    It was easy to aim at a beast who only knew how to jump backward or upward with projectile weapons like a bow or gun, but sideways-moving targets were tougher to pin down.

    “...Oh? So you’re basically half on the level of that legendary explorer ‘Godly Archer Kiana’... Hmm, right. I should have expected that with your feat of entering the knight order at the mere age of 12.”

    “The Mega Boar’s face is much tougher compared to its other body parts since ‘charging’ is its main weapon. Was it all according to plan? There couldn’t have been a better spot to target than its leg.”

    Coco asked.

    “Huh? Nah. I’m not that much of a clairvoyant when facing an unfamiliar monster. But I read that its face, especially the forehead section is hella tough from the ‘Encyclopedia.’ I just target its front leg thinking if the situation devolved into a battle of attrition, slowing it down would be of great help. The rest was to see how the situation unfolded.

    I saw how it was positioning its legs when I shot my iron arrows earlier and thought ‘Maybe if I do this, there will be a chance to cut off its leg’... Well, that was basically how it went.”

    “Al-kun was also amazing at crushing the magic of the opponent with perfect timing. Do you guys perhaps practice synchronized battle training?”

    Al was the one to reply this time.

    “We didn’t, but I could feel what Allen’s aim was. The general dorm is not a spacious one, so we often spend a lot of time together.”

    “Oh right, Allen. You also immediately took your position behind Al-kun’s back. Normally—”

    We continued our reflection on the battle afterward while savoring the grilled fish.

    E/N - I laughed at the MC insisting that Al chant his magic. I find the chanting magic troupe pretty stupid and illogical so having a novel that makes magic work via image and control makes me happy. Also, for an adult who supposedly got beaten down by life and society, the MC does act pretty childish in times like this, huh?

    T/N - I guess it''s because MC didn''t possess another body or something directly, but that he was already a part of this world but the sudden stress from exam brought in the ''memories'' of previous life. This is why it has been a mix of both.