Although the mercenary had been knocked to the ground, his hand still gripped his greatsword.

“…”

Sunny and the others were shocked that Shoot had punched the mercenary but were terrified by the consequences. Everyone knew that angering a mercenary with their skill and bad temper would have dire repercussions.

“I’ll… get you… for hitting Dande…!”

The mercenary, Dande, stood up, his greatsword still in hand, his face contorted with rage. Killing intent radiated from him.

(Even if I say ‘don’t kill him’, he won’t listen, that simpleton.)

Carona, the other mercenary, watched the unfolding conflict with a bored expression.

(That kid… seemed to deliberately pull Dande’s greatsword to the very limit… Surely not…)

Carona suspected that Shoot was no ordinary person, but he dismissed it as a coincidence. He would soon discover that it was far from a coincidence.

“I’ll kill you. I’ll report to the guild that you died in a monster attack.”

“Oh, really.”

Shoot casually ignored the threat, a relaxed demeanor as he rested his sword on his shoulder. Dande, enraged by this, charged again. This time, he moved more erratically. The villagers gasped at the nimble footwork of the swordsman, despite his large build.

“Then I’ll do the same.”

WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP

Shoot countered with similar erratic movements, shifting from zigzags to a series of rapid side steps, creating afterimages that confused Dande. Both mercenaries and the villagers were stunned.

Circling behind Dande, Shoot landed a powerful elbow strike to his back, the sound of cracking bone audible.

“Guh… You…!”

Dande spun around, swinging his greatsword, but Shoot effortlessly dodged. He then swiftly slashed at Dande’s arms, legs, shoulder, and torso.

“Guh, ooooaaah… !?”

Blood gushed from Dande's wounds as he fell to his knees. A merciless kick to the face followed.

(My swordsmanship is sharper. If I’d been serious, I might have dismembered him.)

Shoot realized that his swordsmanship was improving with each fight against monsters and mercenaries. His kicks were also heavier and more powerful.

“Guh… what… was… that… There’s a kid… like this… I… didn’t… know…”

Dande was severely injured.

“The monster materials are mine. Understand? Don’t mess with me. I’ll kill you.”

Shoot looked down at Dande, issuing a warning. He had no intention of killing him, but if he continued to resist, Shoot intended to cripple him completely.

“Dande won’t be humiliated by a brat like you! AAAAAH!!”

“Sigh… Then I’ll just make sure you can’t fight anymore.”

Just as Shoot raised his sword to incapacitate Dande, a fireball flew from behind him. He deflected it with his sword, inwardly shocked.

“I never thought a kid would defeat Dande so easily. But I can’t back down.”

Carona, pointing his staff, spoke. Traces of flame remained on the staff, confirming that he’d cast the spell.

“Wa… was that… magic?”

“? Is this your first time seeing ‘magic’? It was clearly a magic attack.”

Shoot keenly felt that this was a sword-and-magic fantasy world. Magic was ranked into several levels: first-order, second-order, third-order, etc. Even experienced mages rarely reached third-order. Carona was second-order. Many types of magic existed, including fire, lightning, and wind.

“S-Shoot-kun! That mage is very strong, second-order magic! You shouldn’t fight anymore…”

Sunny pleaded again, but Shoot refused to back down.

“I won’t kill him, but I need to make sure he can no longer fight.”

“…”

Now, Shoot faced Carona. More fireballs erupted from Carona’s staff. Judging that he couldn't handle them barehanded, Shoot used his sword to deflect them. But the sword showed signs of damage.

(Damn it, this sword is about to break…)

The repeated battles and Carona’s fire attacks had weakened the sword.

(Magic… or rather, magic, huh? Can I use it? But how…?)

While dodging the fireballs, Shoot imagined himself casting fire magic—fireballs erupting from his hands to burn his enemy.

After a while, an unexpected “realization” dawned on him.

“Eh…? Skill ‘Magic (Fire)’!?”

“?”

Carona and Sunny tilted their heads at Shoot's reaction. To confirm he'd truly gained the skill, Shoot extended his hand, imagining a fireball. And then—

WHOOSH! “Whoa, it actually appeared!?”

“Wha…?”

“Th-that’s fire magic!? Why can Shoot-kun do that!?”

Shoot was surprised to see flames erupting from his hand. Carona exclaimed in disbelief. Sunny and the others were equally shocked. Everyone was astonished.

“Impossible!? You, who aren’t a mage, can use magic!? Without a staff, too… !?”

“…Well, I can.”

“You… insolent brat…”

Carona’s irritation was evident. He knew the time and effort he'd spent to reach second-order magic. His pride was wounded by a younger child effortlessly using magic.

Second-order mages needed a staff as a medium. Only the most advanced could cast magic without one. The fact that Shoot could do it so easily infuriated Carona even further.

(I don’t know how, but I can use magic by imagining it!)

Shoot focused, imagining lightning, water, and earth magic. But nothing happened.

“…What?”

Only fire appeared.

(…Maybe I could use fire magic because I saw him use it? Then, let me see more of his magic.)

Provoking Carona, Shoot said:

“Hey, is that all your magic? Show me more. Can you use anything besides fire?”

“Your arrogance ends now!”

Falling for the provocation, Carona unleashed lightning bolts, water, and earth projectiles. Shoot used his sword and fire magic to defend against them and then memorized the spells, visualizing them.

Then, a series of “realizations” filled his mind – new magic skills.

Lightning bolts, water projectiles, and earth projectiles erupted from Shoot’s hands.

“Im… possible… Multiple spells… a child like this…”

Carona was stunned. His slow reaction to Shoot closing the distance cost him dearly.

“~~~!”

“Thanks to you, I can now use magic too. Thanks. Consider this my thanks.”

WHAM!! “Guh…”

Carona was knocked out cold, having received a powerful punch to the face and sent flying towards the entrance. Shoot had acquired magic by visualizing the spells after seeing Carona use them. From that day on, he could also use magic in combat.

“What is this nonsense about ‘in charge’ means the spoils belong to them? I absolutely won't accept that kind of injustice. I won’t forgive it.”

Recalling the bullying at school and the extortion at the convenience store, Shoot spat out his resentment.