The Mist Vol 1 Chapter 13

Vol 1 Chapter 13

"Alright, alright, I get it. You're strong, you are. But hey, what's your name? I just realized I don't know it yet."

This casual attitude seemed to be his natural disposition.

"Kapros."

"My name is Kion. I'm a priest."

For a moment, Kapros thought he had misheard the job and turned his head to look at Kion.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I really am a priest."

Priest. In other words, a cleric. The priest class is typically skilled in holy magic, supporting warriors from the rear of the party. But if Kapros hadn't misheard, this blonde thug named Kion had said he helped by 'kicking the orc' earlier.

Among all job classes, priests were known to be even weaker than mages, with the perception that they always needed protection, let alone wandering alone. How could a priest stun a 2-meter monster with a single kick? Was that even possible?

"Honestly, it sounds like a lie. I've never heard of a priest's kick being that strong."

As Kapros looked Kion up and down while speaking, Kion jumped up.

"Ah, it's true. Look at my clothes, this. This cloth on the shoulder, this pattern is the holy mark of the god 'Skaga'!"

At those words, Kapros examined Kion's white outer garment anew. If that garment had been a bit more loose-fitting, it might have looked somewhat similar to the priestly robes other priest users wore on the streets.

"Really?"

"Yeah. 'Skaga' is the god of battle. I'm a priest of the battle god."

"Skaga!"

Ah. So that was it.

Clearly, he had attacked with that ridiculous shout that seemed to be the name of a god or something.

Thinking back on the circumstances, Kapros thought it might have been a skill. The concept of a battle god was a bit unfamiliar, but the explanation made sense. That must have been why he could be so overwhelming even when fighting in the back alley.

"But actually, being a battle priest is almost the same as being a warrior, except for being able to use healing magic. The main difference is that we specialize in certain types of monsters that our god dislikes. Hehehe."

Seemingly very pleased with his job, Kion let out a low laugh. That appearance didn't look particularly normal. But thanks to that, it wasn't difficult to have a long conversation with someone for the first time in a while. It was a strange feeling.

"So, Kapros, you came here to level up, right? Want me to help?"

Kapros looked directly into Kion's eyes as he said this. His eyes seemed to say that it was okay to trust him.

'What should I do...'

While Kapros was contemplating, Kion added a few more words as if to drive the point home.

"I'll apologize for being rude earlier. If you don't want to, that's fine, but I'm not the type to make the same mistake twice, so give me a chance. A mage with your level of control could surely take down orcs like cutting radishes if I just buy you a little time."

In the end, Kapros nodded. Kion grinned as if he had expected this and took the lead.

"Alright, let's go then! ...Oh. Before that, we should collect the items dropped by the one we just killed."

"Ah."

Kapros had forgotten since it was his first kill. Watching Kapros pick up the orc tusk lying on the ground, Kion clicked his tongue.

"...You don't look it, but you seem to be quite ignorant about a lot of things. How old are you?"

Kapros hesitated for a moment whether to answer or not, but he had already softened considerably due to Kion's straightforward attitude.

"Twenty-two."

"What?! Call me hyung right now! I'm twenty-seven!"

Kion's words, which had already almost completely dropped formalities, reminded Kapros of the seniors and juniors from his dojo days, making him smile. Unaware that Kion had once again closed his mouth with a strange expression, they moved on.

"Kraaah!"

"You're lucky you met me. [Skaga, grant us your blessing]! Haah!"

Kion-hyung ran forward with a shout that could have been either a skill or a prayer, dodging the orc's axe while delivering a powerful roundhouse kick.

Kapros didn't miss the moment when the orc stopped moving as the powerful kick, strong enough to make the air whistle, connected. He sent three Fire Bolts that he had prepared up to just before the range setting.

"Now!"

As the formula world lit up in response to the magic, Kapros shouted, and hyung struck the orc's head hard with the staff he was holding in one hand.

"Take this and go in peace!"

Then, as hyung left the stunned orc and stepped aside, Kapros's Fire Bolts hit the orc with perfect timing.

Bang, bang, bang!

After three consecutive loud explosions, hyung Kion returned with a grin, picking up the few items the orc had left behind as it died and disappeared.

"Ah, good, good. This one was perfect too! Don't you think we make a great team?"

"Well, um..."

They had been spending about a week hunting orcs in this forest. At first, they hunted with hyung luring one at a time and Kapros using prepared magic, but now their teamwork was so good that they could handle any orc they spotted. While testing the learned magic in actual combat, Kapros's level had risen by 20, and his skill proficiency had also increased significantly.

His current magic level was close to mastering the 2nd circle book. Once he got the hang of grasping the image of magic, the rest was easy.

He also learned that the most important thing for a mage in actual combat was cold concentration. If his concentration wavered due to being flustered by monsters, the speed of magic manifestation slowed down, accuracy was extremely low, and he would even get headaches.

So, Kapros was working on improving his concentration to the point where he could stare directly at monsters and manifest magic even if they ran right up to him. He now understood and was even grateful for why passive skills like Mana Keeping, Wind Sense, and Ice Brain, which initially seemed useless despite sounding good, existed.

But monsters no longer had a chance to run up to him like before. Because...

"Oh! I spot two over there! I'm going in!"