By the campfire, Ronin took stock of the Mage Pedroâs belongings.
Aside from four sheets of Sheepskin, a small black pouch contained 3 gold, 57 silver, and 256 copper coins. Added to the 2 gold, 18 silver, and 153 copper coins he had looted from the other two slain Knights, Roninâs monetary gains were quite substantial.
Oh, right. Ronin had also stripped the Armor from the two Knights for his own use. There were two sets of Full Body Armor. The quality wasnât top-tier, but it wasnât bad either. He estimated they were worth at least 30 gold coins each, making for a total of 60 Gold Coins.
Unfortunately, Roninâs build wasnât a good fit, so he could only award one set to Macken and keep the other as a spare.
When he had collected the Armor, Kane Knight of the Green family had been so envious he was practically drooling.
But since Ronin had saved their lives and was also a member of the Wushan Clan, all Kane could do was stare helplessly.
In fact, Ronin had considered taking the equipment from the Green familyâs Intermediate Knight, who was also a Warrior, but he decided against it after some thought.
He was a kind-hearted person, after all, and couldnât bring himself to do something so excessive.
Besides these obvious spoils of war, Pedro also had a fine quill pen (though it was impossible to tell if it was actually from a goose), three small crystal vials, and a thumb-sized purple crystal.
Ronin uncapped one of the vials, and a foul, fishy stench wafted out. He looked closely and saw what seemed to be tiny, glittering particles suspended in the liquid.
âThese three vials must contain the Magical Beast heartâs blood that Pedro used to create Magic Scrolls, right?â
Pedro had mentioned before that creating a Magic Scroll required a mixture of Magical Beast heartâs blood with either Magic Core Powder or Magic Crystal Stone Powder.
A tiny vial of these materials was likely worth a small fortune.
Finally, Roninâs gaze fell upon the purple crystal, and his heart began to pound.
âThis... This canât be a Magic Crystal Stone, can it?!â
A single Magic Crystal Stone was worth over a hundred Gold Coins. If this was one, Ronin would have hit the jackpot.
Unfortunately, he couldnât find any memories about Magic Crystal Stones from his predecessorâs mind, so he was unable to identify it.
As for asking the Green siblings...
Ronin would never do something so foolish. âWhat if they ask for a share?â
âIâll just hang onto it for now. Iâm sure Iâll figure out what it is eventually.â
Ronin stored all his spoils in his Space Ring. This rescue mission had yielded a bountiful harvest.
âTranscendent beings sure are wealthy. One robberyâoh, no, one rescueâand I get such a huge haul. Itâs truly a delight for body and soul.â
âSo, sometimes a person just needs a sense of justice, just like me.â
He chuckled gleefully for a moment, then composed himself and got down to business, taking out the Sheepskin scroll for the Clear Wind Skill to study it carefully.
It clearly depicted the Magic Patterns for the spell and also marked the sequence of Magic Nodes to be drawn with Spiritual Power.
âIâve got it!â
Ronin committed the Magic Patterns for the Clear Wind Skill to memory, then put the Sheepskin back into his Space Ring.
âI can think of the Magic Patterns as the Big Dipper, connected by lines. What I need to do is start from the first star of the Big Dipper, use my Spiritual Power to guide my Magic Power to form each star, and then connect them.â
âIf the starting point is wrong, it wonât form the shape of a dipper, and the Magic Patterns will collapse.â
âIf the Spiritual Mana Line connecting the nodes is curved instead of straight like in the Clear Wind Skillâs Magic Patterns, that wonât work either.â
âOnly by drawing it all in one go, with the sequence of the nodes and the lines all perfectly correct, can I cast the Magic.â
Having figured that out, Ronin held out his hand and made his first attempt to use his Spiritual Power to guide his Mana and inscribe the Magic Patterns of the Clear Wind Skill onto his palm.
He considered himself quite talented, but after several attempts, he still couldnât successfully coalesce his Mana into the Magic Nodes for the Magic Patterns, causing them to collapse repeatedly.
But he wasnât in a hurry. Learning Magic wasnât like learning the sword from Macken; this was a field he had never touched before, so failure was understandable and acceptable.
âThe reason for this failure was that I inscribed the first node too hastily and didnât use enough Mana to sustain it.â
âThis time I failed because I wasnât focused enough, causing a break in the Magic Patterns between the second and third nodes.â
âThis failure... â
Ronin failed again and again, trying over and over. Finally, after more than a dozen failures, the complete Magic Patterns for the Clear Wind Skill materialized above his palm.
Immediately after, the Magic Patterns flashed once, and a gentle breeze emerged from Roninâs palm, blowing forward.
In that instant, Ronin noticed that the Mana consumption was several times greater than what he had used to inscribe the Magic Patterns.
But, he had finally succeeded.
A joyous smile spread across Roninâs face.
"Ahâ"
A soft cry broke Roninâs concentration. He looked up and saw Miss Marina of the Green Clan, her hands pressed against her skirt to prevent the awkwardness of it being blown up by the wind.
"G-good evening, Lord Ronin!"
The campfireâs glow made Marinaâs face even redder. "This wind is a little strong..."
Ronin rubbed his nose. It seemed she hadnât realized he had just used Magic.
And indeed, the Clear Wind Skill wasnât as conspicuous as the Wind Blade Skill.
"Good evening, Miss Marina. What brings you out here?"
Ronin had had a brief encounter with the Green siblings during dinner earlier.
"I canât sleep." Marina gathered her skirt and walked over, sitting down beside Ronin.
As a light breeze blew by, Ronin caught the faint scent of perfume.
He sniffed gently a couple of times but couldnât identify what materials the perfume was made from.
"After the frightening experience this afternoon, itâs perfectly normal that you canât sleep."
Ronin comforted her, "But itâs all over now. Tomorrow, Iâll have my men escort you to Lake Town."
"Thank you so much, Lord Ronin!"
Whether from excitement or something else, Marina suddenly grabbed Roninâs arm, pressing half her body against him. Ronin felt a soft warmth.
"You know, since this afternoon, the image of you on horseback, cutting down those assassins, has been playing over and over in my mind. I donât think Iâll ever be able to forget it!"
Ronin was speechless.
âAre all the girls in this Otherworld so forward?â
He was sure that if he were to pull Marina into his arms for a kiss, or even take her back to his tent for the night, she wouldnât resist. She might even be the more proactive one.
But, well, Ronin had to admit he was a bit superficial about looks, and he just wasnât that into Marina.
Besides, after midnight, he had to welcome his new Light Attribute Mage. That was far more important than fooling around with a woman.
âMost importantly, I, Ronin, am destined to become a Great Lord. How can I get tied down before Iâve even started?â
"Ahem..."
Ronin subtly withdrew his arm and stood up. "Miss Marina, itâs windy out here. You should go back and rest. I still need to practice my swordsmanship, so I canât keep you company."
With that, he walked to the side and began swinging his Longsword.
The rejected Marina wasnât angry. Instead, she watched the man practicing his sword with a gentle smile.
She had heard stories about Ronin, all of them bad rumors. It was even said that a young lady from the Haid Family had committed suicide after mistakenly sleeping with him.
But after seeing him today, it wasnât just her; even her younger brother, Malik, and Kane felt that Ronin was completely different from the rumors.
He was clearly a man of courage, strength, and handsome looks.
His face, framed by that silver hair and illuminated by the firelight, was becoming more and more captivating.
âIf only I could fall asleep in Roninâs arms,â Marina thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Kane Knight was watching Macken and the others train from a short distance away.
He couldnât sense any meaning or value behind this type of training. His first thought was, âCould this be some new dance invented by that "playboy" grandson of the Marquis?â
âA dance performance composed entirely of men... thatâs certainly rare. Could this be the legendary Ronin Baronâs unique fetish?â
âBut, I have to admit, when this group of Guards shouts their chants together, itâs quite impressive and rather captivating.â