After eating and drinking his fill, Noel couldn't help but feel that life was just too leisurely right now. He had come here for wilderness survival, after all.
As things stood, this survival exercise felt meaningless. His quality of life here in the forest was even higher than it was at Mond's alchemy workshop.
But this forest was vast, making it a perfect place to practice magic. Besides, his wind magic needed strengthening.
Knowing only Wind Blade and Whirlwind wasn't enough. If he encountered a powerful beast, he wouldn't even be able to break through its defenses. Ultimately, it was because he was still too weak.
Wind Blade was the most basic spell, but the blessing Sylph had given him was the Curse of the Storm.
His control over the wind element was strong, but because of his own limitations, he hadn't been able to fully utilize this potential.
He had only been satisfied with using Wind Blade, and though he had innovated by adapting it for close combat, it was still too weak.
Fire magic could explode and burn, lightning could paralyze and cause heavy wounds, and ice magic could freeze and cut to the bone.
These were inherently aggressive forms of magic, with properties that determined their destructive power.
Even the gentle water element could become deadly if used correctly. Water Blades could slice cleanly, or water could be formed into a prison, suffocating enemies within.
In a way, while gentle, it was terrifying in another sense.
Wind magic, however, was a special case. Its power wasn't particularly high, and it dispersed too easily.
Still, there were ways to increase its power, such as using high-frequency vibrations within the wind element.
But this placed high demands on the caster. If the frequency was off, the spell would dissipate.
Of course, wind magic also had its advantages. The wind was free, invisible, and omnipresent.
Compared to the gentleness of water, wind magic's stealth was even greater, though its power was lacking.
To truly master wind magic, one had to understand its nature completely, using its traits to maximize its power.
Noel had the potential to command vast amounts of wind element, but his methods were still too primitive. Simply increasing the output of the wind element wasn't a solution.
In theory, it could increase the spell's power, but at the cost of consuming vast amounts of mana, weakening his endurance.
The returns weren't worth it—at best, it would increase wind pressure and force, but wouldn't significantly enhance precision.
Unless the quantity reached a critical point, causing a qualitative change, but that was another matter.
For a child like him, who had only just formed a contract with a spirit and felt the wind element for a few days, with such limited mana, it was impossible to manage such high-load spells.
Attempting to forcibly use high-powered spells could also cause permanent damage to his body.
It was a risk he had to consider, and rationally, Noel absolutely did not want that.
So, he needed to think of clever methods. He had experimented with the idea of vibration before, but it was limited and not very effective.
He decided to focus on the stealth aspect of wind. For enemies with fragile bodies, he could use concealed attacks that would go unnoticed.
Most mages didn't have particularly strong bodies, so using stealthy attacks could be highly effective against them.
This included dark guild mages, as most wouldn't have physically trained bodies, making their physical weakness a vulnerability.
Of course, there were also many exceptions among mages, such as those who used Take Over magic, whose physical bodies were incredibly strong.
They would strengthen their bodies by taking in the powers of other creatures, a dangerous method, but if used well, it could grant immense power.
There were also ancient magics, like Dragon Slayer, Devil Slayer, and God Slayer mages, who transformed their bodies to gain power.
These people were monsters, and Noel didn't expect his magic to harm them, nor did he intend to provoke them.
A leaf drifted down in front of Noel, slowly floating to the ground. It was small and hidden, almost unnoticeable.
This gave him an idea for a stealth attack: condensing wind magic into blades and scattering them. Using small wind-element blades to take an enemy's life.
The only issue was accuracy—it was stealthy but not precise.
It did, however, have its advantages: high concealment and wide area of effect, though with limited use cases.
"Wind: Thousand Leaf Scatter."
The wind element suddenly grew active, scattering through the air like falling leaves, gentle yet filled with lethality.
Plop. A flying fish fell from the sky.
"Not this again…" Noel sighed. Even though he had knocked it down, he didn't want to eat it. Who would have the appetite for something like this?
Just seeing it made him nauseous, let alone eating it.
Still, Thousand Leaf Scatter's power was decent, with a wide range, though it still had flaws.
The fish had been sliced cleanly in two, but its body was still twitching, likely due to lingering nerve signals.
Noel found himself staring, noting the gaps between the fish's scales.
If he could master finer control, he could direct the wind through those gaps and damage the inside.
Using large "leaves" wouldn't work, but something smaller—like needles—would.
"Wind: Rain of Pear Blossom Needles."
Wind elements condensed into fine needles, and Noel aimed them at a tree.
In an instant, the needles pierced the tree, turning it into a pincushion.
The power and penetration were impressive, but still insufficient for truly strong enemies. Unless he could maximize the wind element for a finishing strike.
Like launching a cannonball—yes, that was the solution.
With sudden determination, Noel began gathering wind elements furiously, forming a sphere of wind that grew larger and larger, before it started shrinking, becoming smaller and denser, until it was only the size of his fist.
This small wind sphere contained devastating explosive power.
Noel launched it, and in front of him, a whole swath of trees toppled to the ground.
A broad smile spread across Noel's face. The power was impressive, though the mana cost was quite high.
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