I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Chapter 129: Echoes of Mana Control

Feeling bad, everyone quickly helped her while throwing weird looks in Julius' direction.

The boy raised his arms, irritated by the situation. Under Adam's mocking laughter, he explained everything to Shiro, who slowly calmed down.

"So, you're telling me your ghost big bro, who just reached the second tier instantly, defeated me?" She asked in disbelief with narrowed eyes, biting her lips.

"Basically... Yes," he answered, fiddling with his fingers in guilt. Why was he always put on the spot by his brother?

"I understand. That's why I was assigned to your group..." Shiro responded, the metallic taste of blood feeling her mouth as she pierced her lower lips.

She realised why Thurin appointed her as the supervisor of this particular group. He had known about the ghost all along and indeed wanted her to tone her arrogance down using him.

"How can he use spells without casting? Only mages with tier-three mana control at least can do it." She questioned, needing an answer to accept her loss.

"Easy, don't cast spells. Control mana instead." Adam wrote the answer truthfully before adding, "Don't forget to share half of what you earn with me!"

After fixing the floating text made of mana until the words dissipated in the wind, she finally said through gritted teeth, "I'll share the revenue with you..."

She didn't believe his explanation, as shaping mana into spells required years of arduous and consistent practice. In fact, it needed so much that most only reached that level after becoming archmages. Even the most acclaimed geniuses could only do that at the late stages of the arcanist tier. That was why spells were so popular and why archmages were untouchable existences in this world.

"We've wasted enough time here. Let's head to the caves." Arun exclaimed, his tone dripping with mockery as he delighted in the ferocious woman's defeat.

However, Asha quickly pinched his arm before saying, "Don't mind him, Miss Shiro. We're counting on you if anything happens."

After witnessing Adam's prowess, she couldn't help but feel saddened by his condition and lament the lost opportunity to rope such an ingenious mind and incredible talent into her family.

Then, they all walked toward the mountain's foot, conversing excitedly about what danger they would face and what treasures they could find.

*********

"Listen well, kids... and big bro." Shiro, who recovered during their walk, started. "You'll mostly face tier-one magic beasts. However, don't let your guard down! The deeper we venture inside the cave, the higher the chances to encounter tier-two or even three beasts."

Everyone looked at her in shock for different reasons. Asha and Louise were concerned about the potential dangers while Julius and Arun looked at each other, trying to figure out who that big bro was.

"Hahaha, I'm everyone's big bro now!" Adam laughed at the girl's shenanigans, understanding that as a genius, she only respected strength.

"Traitor," Julius muttered, walking inside the large stalagmite-covered mouth of the cave with heavy steps, feeling a bit jealous.

As they entered, Julius took the lead, with Louise in the middle, and Arun and Asha bringing up the rear. Adam and Shiro followed closely behind, ready to intervene if things spiraled out of control.

They advanced cautiously, faces filled with seriousness amidst the cold cristal-like stalagmites until they finally saw a creature.

Its skin was colored icy blue. Small, crystalline scales covered its back, reflecting the dim light filtering through the cave entrances. It possessed long, slender limbs ending in feet adorned with sharp claws.

"It's a Glacial Salamander, a magic beast in the early stage of the first tier," Shiro said, yawning at the weak creature.

Julius' eyes widened at the ridiculously weak-looking enemy as well. The life force it emitted was only slightly superior to normal humans.

'I can beat a hundred of them without sweating...' He thought in disappointment. After all, he was eager to test his prowess after his promotion to tier two.

"I'll draw its attention, act according to plan. Arun, finish it with a fire arrow." He commanded before dashing to the salamander.

Upon seeing the approaching enemy, the creature hissed and inflated its chest and gills, making it look larger and more intimidating, in an attempt to scare Julius away.

Simultaneously, Arun started to cast his newly learned spell with excitement while Louise drew her iron sword, ready to protect him and Asha.

After a whole minute, Arun finally completed his incantation under Julius' and Adam's shocked eyes.

Was Arun bad, or was it normal for novices to require such a long time to cast a spell? They pondered in annoyance as a blazing arrow cut through the air before... Missing its target, making Arun's face redden.

The duo gazed at the boy with deadpan expressions.

"Not waiting another minute. Finish it, or I'll do it." Adam said unemotionally.

"My thoughts, exactly," Julius responded in kind, drawing his gladius and decapitating the beast effortlessly.

"Hahaha. Wow, one minute to miss!" Shiro mocked Arun from the back, holding her stomach.

Even Asha covered her mouth, stifling a laugh before patting Arun's back with a smile. "It's ok. You'll hit next time." She assured, making the boy feel even worse. After all, he focused on learning the spell but forgot to train his aiming.

After the friendly banter, they resumed their exploration of the cave, meeting a few more Glacial Salamanders they quickly took care of. Arun's aim steadily improved as he got more experience.

**********

Two hours later, they finally met a pack of six white-furred wolves with icy blue claws.

"Frost wolves. Don't get hit by their claws, as they are extremely cold. Be careful of their freezing breath, too." Shiro described the magic beasts, preparing herself to intervene. She knew six frost wolves were too much for a group of novices.

However, she was unaware that despite the kids' inexperience, they were united and trusted each other enough to learn spells to cover for the other's weaknesses.

That was not all. They also had the weird ideas of a certain ghost to draw inspiration from, allowing them to turn defeat into victory.