Vampire Princess Guide in Progress - Volume 1 Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Double Magic Bullet, Learned!

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Morning Dew Town outskirts (Lv.2~Lv.5).

The first floor map area’s terrain is plains, with intersecting roads and scattered towns all located on a vast prairie, so the outskirts are usually flat grasslands, and the monsters are basically animal types.

As for battles with wild boars, both Nolan and Cross had become very familiar with them.

Nolan conducted his first magic tutorial guidance for Cross on the grasslands near Morning Dew Town.

To be honest, the one-handed sword was just one of Nolan’s most proficient weapons. He was equally skilled with the “scythe” and “magic” experience accumulated during the closed beta period, or rather, the experience of using both simultaneously.

Apart from these weapons, Nolan indeed had little proficiency with others, but fortunately magic wasn’t among them.

“Double Magic Bullet is a relatively basic and practical attack method for mages, compared to your previous Single Magic Bullet, it deals double damage. As mentioned before, imagine it in your mind, feel the flow of magic — although it sounds very impractical…”

Before actual combat, Nolan first explained to Cross some details about magic application.

After feeling like a rambling old professor lecturing for about ten minutes, he prepared to let Cross try it out. Fortunately, Cross didn’t find his thoroughness tedious and instead took in every word.

“Alright, I’ll try it now.”

Cross gripped her magic staff tightly with both hands, her slender legs standing apart beneath her skirt.

She first pointed one end of the staff toward a Lv.3 wild boar that was leisurely strolling about. After confirming her aim, she slowly closed her eyes, and as magical elements gathered, a light concentrated on the staff.

Recalling the method of using magic that Nolan had told her, she searched for that feeling of releasing power in her heart.

Soon, suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit her mind.

“Haa!” Cross let out a delicate shout, swinging her staff forcefully. Instantly, a whirlwind rose from beneath her feet, billowing her skirt.

Two concentrated magic bullets with extremely small intervals shot out with a swoosh!

Both magic bullets hit the wild boar in succession. Before it could react, the wild boar’s HP value dropped to only about 10% of the red bar.

“Oink.” The wild boar was immediately enraged, turning around to charge at Cross, but Nolan threw out a hidden weapon from his sleeve, directly harvesting the final 10% of health. The wild boar immediately fell to the ground and transformed into crystal fragments.

【Congratulations, you have learned the skill: Double Magic Bullet】

A line of skill acquisition notification appeared before Cross’s eyes.

“Is this… success on the first try?” Seemingly surprised because it was simpler than imagined, Cross quickly raised her head to look at Nolan beside her, her face showing a delighted expression.

Although it took some time to find the feeling, once found, using it was quite smooth.

“Yes, very good. Magic in this game is a symbol of imagination and creation. Its setting is very interesting, requiring players to truly use their power of conception to execute skills, rather than the traditional mode of simply clicking a skill to use it.”

“Using magic skills requires maintaining a high degree of mental concentration and imagination. Focus and imagination may be related to each person’s personality, which is the so-called ‘talent.’ In this game, not everyone is good at using magic. This is also the most magical part, magic seems to truly exist, and high-level magic also requires research as if doing academics.”

And if Cross could succeed on the first try, it showed that she had talent in this aspect of magic.

However, she still needed to close her eyes to concentrate, which was quite dangerous. As a mage capable of large-scale AOE damage, she would often be positioned at the back, in a protected position.

And once approached by enemies, it would be a greater test of a mage’s skill level.

Novice mages might panic, becoming even less able to concentrate, and unable to use magic in their fright. Therefore, a mage’s attainment is also related to their mental state to a certain extent, calmness in the face of danger is essential.

This was something Cross needed more training and adaptation to in future combat situations.

“If two magic bullets can almost defeat a wild boar, does that mean I can end battles in one round from now on!?”

Cross murmured, looking at the staff in her hand.

This way, for enemies with lower HP values like wild boars, she could defeat them without taking damage in the future. Wild boars and similar monsters would become completely non-threatening to her. Similarly, hyenas and wolves with HP values only slightly higher than wild boars would be the same.

“When Cross’s level increases a bit more, or when you have higher-grade equipment, the ordinary monsters in the first floor should not be much of a threat to you,” Nolan said sincerely, looking at her bright eyes.

This might be the reward for the brave, gaining the right to freely travel through the first floor.

It was the same for others in Morning Dew Town. As the average level of players increased, a situation where enemies were weak and players were strong would gradually emerge, greatly reducing the risk of defeat and consequently reducing fear.

“Haa!” “Haa!” “Haa!”

After learning Double Magic Bullet, Cross became more engaged in battle, continuously attacking the wild boars and hyenas wandering around. After getting them to low health, Nolan would quickly finish them off with his sword, giving the enemies no chance to attack at all.

After some time, the tacit understanding between the two in their coordination also improved.

At first, Cross would accidentally hit Nolan with her magic bullets due to poor timing coordination and conflicting ideas, but fortunately, due to the game’s “no friendly fire” mechanism, it wouldn’t cause any harm to Nolan.

And if the red name mode wasn’t activated, it similarly wouldn’t produce a “kill” effect on other players.

But as their coordination deepened, their actions became more coordinated. Nolan also adapted to Cross’s magic casting time, and they quickly became a real two-person pioneer team, with improved monster farming efficiency.

Later, when there were almost no resources left around Morning Dew Town, they set off for the entrance to the second floor.

The entrance was not far from Morning Dew Town; from the entrance, the town could be seen on the horizon.

But Nolan and Cross only activated the teleport entrance to facilitate later teleportation, and didn’t immediately advance to the upper floor. After all, starting from the second floor, Lv.10 monsters would be commonplace, and the terrain would also become much more complex.

Other players seemed to have the same idea, coming to activate the teleport entrance and then returning to continue leveling up.

“Good work, let’s take a break.”

After clearing another area in succession, Nolan saw that Cross was exhausted and suggested.

“Huff, huff… mm! Okay.” Cross panted heavily, her chest constantly rising and falling as her cheeks turned rosy. She quickly nodded and ran back to Nolan’s side with her staff.

Nolan glanced at the number to the right of his HP value. His current level was Lv.12, while Cross had successfully reached Lv.8.

The two then sat down together on a sunny slope to take a short rest.