Tactical Magecraft Techniques

The Dragon-Slayer Rangers Guild Training Center on the Bizera Continent of Boran, the Monster-Infested Planet, had nine entrances and exits. One connected to Elevator City, while the other eight led to regions inhabited by monsters.

We left the Training Center through the exit leading to Elevator City and visited a store selling armor and weapons. The store had an enormous selection of merchandise, divided into sections for different species. Incidentally, Elevator City was home to approximately three million intelligent lifeforms, so it was by no means a small town.

We headed to the Human Race section and began by examining the protective equipment. Apparently, protective clothing with cut-resistant properties and impact-resistant vests were standard equipment.

“Look at this! It’s Dragon Armor!”

Inside the glass display case in front of Sario was a suit of armor made from dragon scales. Its price was seventy million Crebits. That was absurdly expensive. Even if we pooled all our money, we couldn’t afford it.

I selected a standard set of protective clothing and an impact-resistant vest. I also bought a pair of military boots. Those purchases alone cost approximately two hundred thousand Crebits.

“What are you going to use for a weapon?”

“What kind of weapons do Magi usually use?”

I asked a clerk who appeared to have nothing to do. He was a young male Werecat who somehow gave off the impression of being handsome. I said “somehow” because I couldn’t really understand the Werecat Race’s standards of beauty.

“Are you a Magus, sir?”

“That’s right.”

“In that case, I’d recommend a small shield and a Mason Gun.”

A Mason Gun was a firearm that fired explosive rounds containing powerful charges inside their warheads. It resembled a grenade launcher, although it fired considerably smaller projectiles.

“Only six shots? Well, I suppose that’s inevitable with explosive rounds this large.”

I would have preferred something capable of firing more rounds before reloading, but when I asked the clerk, he explained that a single direct hit was enough to kill a Threat Level 1 monster.

I decided against buying the shield and purchased only the Mason Gun. The clerk recommended the Siska Grasslands to the south for someone venturing into monster territory for the first time. Since the area was inhabited exclusively by Threat Level 1 monsters, it was an ideal place to become accustomed to monster hunting.

Afterward, I used my Anubis-made Smart Glasses to research the monsters I might encounter in the Siska Grasslands. Boran’s Planetary Information Network contained an enormous amount of information, so much that narrowing down the relevant material was difficult.

My research revealed that the Siska Grasslands were inhabited by creatures such as the Rampaging Boar, a six-legged monster resembling a wild boar; the Armored Dog, which possessed armor-like skin; and the Killer Spider, a gigantic spider measuring one meter in length.

After studying the monsters found in the Siska Grasslands, I visited a shooting range to practice with my newly purchased Mason Gun. Naturally, the ammunition used for practice had its explosive charges removed.

Once I had practiced shooting to my satisfaction, I decided to go hunting. Early the next morning, I changed into my equipment, attached my Achievement Collection Badge, and headed through the passage leading to the Siska Grasslands. Along the way, several sturdy vehicles resembling military trucks overtook me.

One of the vehicles stopped, and a young man with red hair climbed out of the driver’s seat. He appeared to be in his early twenties and had a muscular build.

“Hey, are you a rookie?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Thought so. Plenty of people hunt in the Siska Grasslands, but most of them use vehicles. I’ll give you a ride part of the way. It’ll take you about an hour to walk there.”

I decided to accept his offer. Apparently, vehicles of this kind were called Hunt Cars.

“Without a vehicle, you won’t be able to transport anything you kill, either. What were you planning to do about that?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t considered how I would bring back any monsters I defeated. Apparently, the Dragon-Slayer Rangers operating here earned their living by bringing back their prey and selling it, so some means of transporting their catches was essential.

“I was only planning to see what kinds of monsters were around today.”

“Oh, so it’s your first day. Well, good luck out there.”

After he drove me to the entrance of the Siska Grasslands, I climbed out of the vehicle and gazed across the vast expanse of grassland.

“I really do need a vehicle.”

I had obtained a driver’s license back in Japan, but even if I still had my Japanese license with me, it probably wouldn’t be valid here. Perhaps I should get a Space Alliance driver’s license.

I wondered whether I could use my Heavenquake Force Drive to fly instead, but that technique had enough power to accelerate an entire Small Spacecraft. Using it on a human body could have horrifying consequences. It was probably better not to try.

“Wait, if I used the Heavenquake Force Drive to launch a monster away, wouldn’t that kill it instantly? No, that wouldn’t work. It takes too long to activate.”

Activating my Heavenquake Force Drive took approximately five seconds. Incidentally, I had improved enough that I could now fire a Particle Shot in about one second.

“Even though it’s still monster hunting, this is completely different from fighting in space.”

Everything felt strangely fresh, and I suspected I would be terrified when I actually encountered a monster. I glanced at the Mason Gun hanging from the belt around my waist.

During my shooting practice, I had become capable of consistently hitting my targets. However, I intended to use the gun only as a last resort. If I wanted to develop my abilities as a Magus, I needed to defeat monsters using Particle Shot.

That reminded me that I had never used Particle Shot on the surface of a planet. I decided to practice here.

I opened the Control Gate connected to my Power Conduit to Release Level T. At that instant, Bosol particles and Heavenquake Force flowed into my body.

A solitary tree stood in the middle of the grassland. Its trunk was approximately twenty centimeters in diameter and appeared quite sturdy. I fired a Particle Shot at the trunk.

The particle projectile accelerated under the influence of Heavenquake Force, surpassing the speed of sound. The instant it struck the tree trunk, a thunderous boom echoed across the grassland, and the trunk exploded into fragments.

“Whoa!”

The blast knocked me off my feet and sent me sprawling to the ground. The attack had been far too powerful. I hadn’t properly accounted for the fact that I was no longer in space. In the vacuum of space, there was no air to produce a blast wave, but things were different here. Besides, the explosion was so powerful that it would completely obliterate any prey I struck.

“I need to reduce the power a lot more.”

As an experiment, I limited the amount of Bosol particles, forming a particle projectile roughly the size of a baseball. I accelerated it and fired it at the tree trunk.

The instant it struck, an explosion occurred, although it was smaller than the previous one. The blast knocked me backward, and I landed hard on my backside.

“Cough!”

Another failure. I should have kept more distance between myself and the target.

Next, I restricted the amount of Bosol particles to just one percent of my usual quantity, accelerated them, and fired the projectile into the tree trunk. It exploded on impact, but the resulting blast was nothing particularly impressive. The attack’s power was rather underwhelming.

I then increased the amount of Bosol particles to approximately ten percent of my usual quantity and shaped them into something resembling a rifle bullet, about eight centimeters long. I reduced the acceleration and fired. This time, the projectile simply pierced through the tree trunk without exploding. Apparently, the projectile’s shape had made the difference.

After confirming that the attack had produced the intended result, I concluded that a rifle-bullet shape was better than a sphere for achieving penetration. I also realized that a projectile of this shape could safely be accelerated to Mach 10.

I was convinced that I had finally succeeded. When I researched this Tactical Magecraft Technique through the Planetary Information Network using my Smart Glasses, I discovered that an identical technique already existed. It was called “Particle Shot: Penetrating Round,” and the Bosol particle projectile itself was apparently known as a “Penetrating Particle Round.”