34. Hunting 2: Mana Thread

"Alright, let's head out today and test out that annihilation magic," Shiro said, cheerful from the morning.

After eating Mitoka’s delicious breakfast, he decided to head toward the area he suspected housed a pack of Dark Forest Wolves.

"Shiro, testing annihilation magic is fine, but let's just aim for now—don’t finish them off yet. Once we confirm we can hold back, we’ll finish them. It’ll be good training."

"Ah, right. That’s a solid idea."

Shiro nodded. Then added:

"Then, how about this... First, try electrical shock type? Homing Lightning Shock. Low power, just a test."

Using a scouting spell, Shiro located the Dark Forest Wolves, then charged forward—strengthening his body and magic with spirit and spell aura.

Each wolf was level 30. Individually strong, and there were around thirty of them in a pack.

When he’d gotten close enough, Shiro concealed himself with stealth and invisibility. Then, drawing on a recently learned skill, he deployed a barrier—anchored to the ground beneath his feet—and used it as a platform to rise into the air.

When activated from the ground as a base, the barrier remains fixed relative to the terrain. Normally, barriers originate from the caster and can be moved freely—like a shield you can carry around.

By precisely deploying it beneath his feet and instantly stopping the spell after use, Shiro could ascend like a staircase in midair—efficiently, with minimal delay.

This was only possible because he’d pre-registered the sequence for instant activation.

Once airborne, Shiro halted mid-flight and activated his annihilation magic.

"Target acquired, [Lock On]. Auto-stop attack option enabled. [Multi-Homing Lightning Shock]."

The moment Shiro shouted, the spell activated.

Thirty beasts on the ground were struck simultaneously by beams of light, which chased after the wolves. Upon impact, all the wolves collapsed in place, paralyzed.

"Ooh, good! Worked out nicely!"

And Shiro raised his voice,

"Shiro, just as I imagined. Impressive. Target's paralyzed—can't move at all."

And Mitoka praised me.

"Ah, got a great idea!"

And suddenly, Shiro shouted out loud.

“What’s this sudden outburst?”

And Mitoka asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.

No, how about imagining a spear imbued with magical thread, firing it at a target, then automatically retrieving it through the thread and storing it in the inventory?

The inconvenience of having to physically touch the target had always been a hassle—until Shiro suddenly realized, using Homing magic, that maybe he could bypass that entirely by reaching through threads of mana instead.

"…Certainly possible. Provided the manipulation of the magical threads goes smoothly, and given Shiro’s level of magical control, it’s feasible."

And so, Mitoka concluded.

Good—let's try it that way.

Shiro said that,

Target acquired—lock on. Attack option: auto-activation disabled. Magic thread attachment enabled. [Multi-Lightning Needle]

Muttering as much, she fires the lightning needle—its thread of magic clinging to it—into the scattered, paralyzed dark forest wolves, then immediately stores the corpse in her inventory once it’s dead.

“Oh— didn’t expect it to go this smoothly.”

And Shiro gave Mitoka a smug smile.

“…Impressive, Shiro. Unexpected method, but well done.”

And Mitoka, impressed, thought to herself.

Afterward, Shiro tested it on other monsters.

Bloody Fang Bat, Level 15. Individually, they aren’t strong. But they swarm in groups of a hundred, and their flight patterns are random and fast. That makes them tough to handle under normal circumstances.

Even against this monster, Shiro managed to wipe out dozens at once—effortlessly—using: “Target sighted, [Lock On]. Auto-activation disabled, attack option. [Multi-Lightning Needle].”

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