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Chapter 48: Chantless Magic

Pierre covered his face and suddenly burst into tears.

“What’s wrong?” Reiner asked in confusion.

Yet the fellow kept on crying and refused to answer, leaving them hanging.

Reiner had not slept all night, and fatigue made him lose patience.

He patted Pierre on the shoulder and said, “Stop crying, come back with me; your father is probably still waiting at the Guild.”

Pierre lowered his head and muttered, “I killed them…”

The group looked at one another in shock.

“Your companions?”

Pierre nodded. “I’m a coward… I was terrified, so to stay alive I stabbed Reina with my dagger, and Eric was killed by a ghoul while protecting her! I’m a bastard!”

Reiner was momentarily at a loss for words.

It seemed the dead man and woman were Pierre’s handiwork.

“How could I do that? I’m scum, trash, completely useless!” Pierre tore at his hair.

Junice, standing nearby, asked, “How many of you went in?”

“7, seven living people!”

Something seemed to occur to Pierre; he jerked his head up and grabbed Reiner. “A necromancer! I saw a necromancer! He was hunting us! And skeletal knights, hordes of skeletal knights! They’re about to pour out of the ruins! We have to warn everyone!”

“Seriously?” Reiner retorted.

Instead, Pierre suddenly started singing, looking completely deranged.

“What’s wrong with him?” Reiner asked Junice.

“I don’t know; in theory he should have returned to normal once we left the ruins.”

Watching Pierre run around aimlessly, Reiner sighed.

“He’s obviously sleep-deprived; let’s let him sleep a bit more.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Martina knocked him out cold with her shield.

Reiner hoisted him up and headed toward the city.

Once inside the gates, they went straight to the Adventurers’ Guild.

The old farmer was standing at the entrance with a hoe on his shoulder, as if he had been waiting for some time.

The moment he spotted Reiner, he rushed over without hesitation.

After confirming that the young man was indeed his missing son Pierre, a smile finally appeared on his rough, tanned face, yet he soon noticed something amiss. “Mr. Reiner, you really are a dependable adventurer, but Pierre…”

“He was a bit incoherent after leaving the ruins, so I put him out for a while; he should wake up soon.”

The farmer carefully took the grimoire out of his pack and handed it to Reiner with both hands. “Thank you; if there’s nothing else, I’ll take him home first.”

Reiner nodded, opened the grimoire and skimmed it, then put it away after confirming it was genuine.

He then pulled a gold coin from his pouch and passed it to the farmer.

The farmer’s eyes gleamed as he asked in disbelief, “Mr. Reiner… this is…”

“Your wife is ill, and Pierre is in no shape to work for a while. Take it; you need the money.”

He had basically gotten the grimoire for free, so the coin counted as compensation for the man’s help.

“Thank you, Mr. Reiner. I will never forget your kindness…”

After the farmer left, Reiner took out 5 more gold coins and stuffed them into Junice’s hand.

“What’s this for?” Junice blinked in confusion.

“I can’t make you come all this way for nothing, can I?”

“You already helped that man, so you don’t have to help me; half of the coin you just gave away counts as my guide fee.”

Reiner nodded. “Fair enough; I’ll treat you to dinner another day.”

He reached out to rub Nora’s cat ears and turned to leave.

He had only taken a few steps when Junice grabbed him by the waistband.

“I still need you for something; don’t go yet.”

Reiner yawned again, tears welling in his eyes. “What is it?”

“We’re going outside the city.”

Junice dragged Reiner out of the gate to the meadow where they often studied together.

Martina was clearly exhausted as well; the moment they arrived she stripped off her plate armor and sprawled on the grass to sleep.

“We’re here, so what’s this about? You’re being awfully mysterious.”

Junice got straight to the point. “Reiner, cast Fireball again for me.”

Reiner raised his staff, and a single Fireball ignited the distant grass.

He immediately followed with a Water Ball, dousing the flames.

“Well?”

Junice stared wide-eyed. “Where was your chant? You cast the spell without chanting?”

“So that’s what you’re curious about; I did chant.”

Junice puffed out her cheeks and squinted at him. “Liar, I didn’t see your lips move.”

Reiner explained solemnly, “I recited it in my head.”

When he first learned magic, he had dutifully spoken every chant aloud.

Over time he felt that chanting during combat was too slow, so he wondered whether he could shorten the incantations.

At first he cut out one or two insignificant words.

Seeing that the spell still cast perfectly, he began trimming more.

From the original 10 words he reduced it to only 1 or 2.

When it still worked, Reiner simply stopped speaking altogether and silently recited the chant at high speed in his mind.

Junice needed about 4 seconds to cast Fireball, whereas he could fire one off in a single second.

“Teach me,” Junice said, blinking.

Reiner let out a long sigh and began instructing her on the spot.

Yet Junice’s situation was completely different from his.

After she shortened the words, she could not even cast the basic Fireball.

“These spells were developed by our predecessors; omit even one word and the magic fails,” Junice said, shaking her head and staring at Reiner in puzzlement.

“You weren’t reciting it mentally, were you?”

“I was.”

“Then maybe it’s because you don’t believe in the method and think I’m fooling you.” Reiner yawned and lay on his side in the grass. “If you believe, it works; if you don’t, it doesn’t.”

Junice froze for a moment, as if having an epiphany.

She closed her eyes and tried again with sincerity.

A few minutes later she actually succeeded.

She had cut several words and managed to cast Fireball.

Junice stared in disbelief at the burning flames in the distance and murmured, “It really works…”

Reiner stayed with her while she practiced, and before long the entire day had passed.

Seeing that it was already late, he prepared to head home.

Just then the system’s voice rang in his ears.

[Quest: Preliminary exploration of the ruins south of Melod

Current status: Completed

Reward: Issued]

5 heavy silver coins appeared in Reiner’s palm as promised.

After he put them into his pouch, the system’s voice sounded again.

[Quest update: Kill the necromancer in the ruins.]

[Reward: 10 gold coins]

A new job already.

But based on his experience fighting the goblin priest last time, this one was probably not going to be easy.

Reiner glanced at Junice, who was still pondering chantless magic, and waited until she had a moment free before asking, “Junice, have you ever seen a necromancer?”

She let out a long sigh, apparently setting aside the chantless practice for now. “You’re worried Pierre might be telling the truth?”

“Of course; we only have one life.”

Junice fell into thought and shook her head lightly. “I’ve heard of them but never seen one. At worst we can avoid the ruins for a while, watch the situation, and see what other adventurers say.”

“All right.”

Junice stood, patted the dirt from her backside, and said, “It’s getting late; I should head back. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow!”

Reiner yawned, gave Nora a playful swat on the rear, and got ready to go home…

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