A large monster had fallen.
It was the beast's death, overwhelmed by the mage's firepower.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
The monster hunters sighed in exhaustion, their faces drawn.
It was only natural—they'd been deployed twice in a single day.
I slipped quietly through their midst.
I'd taken down five small monsters in total.
I'd focused on those gunning for people.
I hadn't crossed paths with any other hunters.
The small monsters had scattered every which way, making it easy.
So no one knew how I'd killed them.
Right now, there was no need to get tangled up with the others.
My Instant Death Magic.
I had to mull over this unpredictable power on my own.
Plus, there was one more thing I wanted to test.
My inner flame burned fiercer than before.
And as I'd sensed earlier, my physical prowess had risen too.
I thrust out my arm with force.
Even that simple motion brought a surge of vitality unlike before.
I was stronger.
Definitely stronger.
Yet from childhood illness, I was born frail.
A handful of small monsters weren't enough to match an average person.
I needed more life force.
The strength required to function as a proper human.
And in that vein, another fuel source sprang to mind.
'Mana Stone.'
Why were mana stones traded at such exorbitant prices among mages?
Because mages consumed them to boost their mana.
As a fifth-year hunter, I'd picked up plenty of mage lore.
Mages had something called a seed.
More precisely, you needed a seed to become a mage.
The seed stored mana and was the root of all magic.
Every mage's ultimate goal: sprout that seed into a colossal tree piercing the heavens.
Mana stones were the fertilizer to nurture it.
That's why mages hoarded monster cores like mad.
A mana stone to grow the seed.
My gaze drifted to my arm.
The Third Eye, now peacefully shut.
It might be a parasitic monster lodged in my body.
But it wasn't harming me right this instant.
It was just steadily gnawing at my life force.
That was fine.
Coexistence with a monster or whatever—this was the strength I'd craved for ages.
I'd make use of it, one way or another.
I gathered the money I'd saved.
A few young hunters were cleaning up the corpses in the street.
I passed them by.
Coins jingled in my pocket.
Money scrimped and saved for decent gear someday.
But keeping it now would just get wiped out by debt.
So I headed for a mana stone vendor.
The finest stones went straight to mages.
But the low-grade ones hit the open market.
Even non-mages used them for crafting tools.
Still sky-high prices for the likes of us.
But I had no room to be picky.
I kicked open the mana stone shop door.
"Welc—"
"Mana stones? You got any?"
"Uh? Y-yeah, of course. It's a mana stone shop."
The clerk blinked in confusion but clocked me as a customer.
Handed over a catalog.
Damn, prices enough to make my eyes water.
No wonder the guild paid them in these.
I picked the best one my funds could cover.
Mana stones held value on resale anyway.
"Here's a 7th-grade mana stone."
"Thanks."
I snatched it and bolted outside.
Ducked into a back alley away from prying eyes, revealing the dull-colored stone.
🎁 ITEM ACQUIRED 🎁 7th-Grade Mana Stone Low Grade
◈ Dull, low-purity mana crystal from a monster core
A far cry from the stone I'd seen that day.
But higher grade than the small monsters I'd absorbed.
Suddenly, agony stabbed my elbow.
I lifted it—what the hell—and my body locked up.
A blue gem-like chunk was embedded in my skin.
One of the symptoms of Mana Stone Hardening Disease.
Part of my flesh had petrified into mana stone.
Shit.
The disease was still active.
My vision swam.
The terminal verdict hit home.
Then the eye on my wrist snapped open.
Its sudden intrusion dizzied my sight.
But soon my head jerked toward it.
In the eye's view: the mana stone.
Its blue life force flickering within.
With trembling fingers, I plunged my hand into the stone.
No resistance—my hand sank right in.
I seized the life force inside.
"Urk."
The warmth in my grip burned like fire.
But I didn't let go.
The flame within the stone dwindled.
The instant it guttered out—
Crack, thud—
Something dropped from my elbow.
I glanced down: a mud-caked pebble crumbling away.
The mana stone hardening symptom from moments ago.
Gone.
"Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I checked my soul's life flame.
Bigger than before.
Definite.
With mana stones, I could prolong my life.
And that wasn't all.
My muscles thrummed with vigor; my knees felt a faint ache.
My viewpoint had risen slightly.
I'd grown in size.
Higher-grade stones yielded better results, as expected.
Crunch—
The stone in my hand crumbled to dust.
With its life force gone, inevitable.
What a waste of coin.
I sighed, but it was fine.
I'd found a sure path to strength.
Separate issue: what now?
Mana stones were insanely pricey.
Small monsters were doable, like before.
But large ones? Approaching was suicide.
Their raging flames took too long to snuff.
Surviving that long without getting crushed was a feat.
Small ones, though, gave too little.
My flame's total volume was under constant watch.
Still dwindling steadily.
The recent flare-up proved it.
'At this rate, I need at least ten small ones daily.'
That many weren't common, and other hunters would claim them.
So, target: medium monsters.
But mediums couldn't be soloed.
A rare few hunters pulled it off alone.
But outliers.
Medium hunts needed at least ten hunters.
One medium covered a team's pay.
With guild profit to boot.
Mana stone value spoke for itself.
Buying was impossible.
I was in debt.
'Not what I wanted.'
In hindsight, I'd swiped a mage's stone.
That stone was probably from my parasite.
"What the hell are you?"
I muttered to the Third Eye.
No reply, naturally.
Unwanted or not, it was part of me now.
No choice to survive.
I stepped out of the alley.
Raised my wrist.
Through the etched eye, I saw passersby's soul flames: transparent white, varying sizes.
Smaller in the old, larger in the young.
Watching them sparked a dark thought.
What if I could absorb human life force too?
No need for mana stones?
"Ha, insane."
I barked a dry laugh unbidden.
I'd lost it.
Desperate to live, but stealing strangers' lives? No.
Terminal or not, I wasn't deranged.
No becoming a beast.
One path left.
'Hunt medium monsters.'
Instant Death worked on all monsters.
Snuff their flame, and anything died.
Mediums included.
Better a medium than chasing small fry.
Decision made, I beelined for the monster hunter guild.
Unclaimed requests lingered there.
Mostly outskirts outbreaks.
Perfect to test my Instant Death Magic.
The moment I pushed open the guild door, eyes locked on.
Some hunters slumped in fatigue.
But small monsters were routine.
Most were post-hunt drinkers.
Prime topic: the juiciest recent gossip.
"Oh, it's Haren."
"The weakling who dropped the problem child."
Laughter rippled through the hunters.
The frail Haren who'd felled problem child Trenba.
The rumor had spread like wildfire.
No sign of Trenba himself.
Didn't matter.
I grabbed a few medium monster requests from the board.
"Hoo, going for mediums after Trenba?"
A nosy drunk hunter piped up.
Face flushed.
"Nah, don't. Mediums ain't Trenba. Want me to tag along?"
His tone dripped mockery.
The others roared with laughter.
To them, beating Trenba was a fluke.
Still saw me as a punchline.
"Sober up first."
Whatever.
Only one thing mattered.
Slay mediums, extend my life, grow stronger.
Live by my justice.
I tore off the requests and turned away.
Ignoring the sneers and jeers, I climbed the road out.