Chương 3: Matrix Deduction

"Haha! We hit the jackpot this time!" Grey's laughter rang through the forest. He was splattered from head to toe with wolf blood, looking more like a berserker than a swordsman. The Adventurers' Association paid three silver coins for every wild wolf. Grey had cut down at least six or seven of them in this battle alone—more than the party had earned over the previous five days combined. A cold flash sliced through the darkness.

Grey's blade severed the front left leg of a wolf that had tried to lunge for his throat. The unfortunate beast hit the ground with a pained whimper. Blood gushed from the stump, and its breathing rapidly weakened. Zelier's eyes lit up. It's still alive. If I land the finishing blow... Will I get the experience? He was desperately looking for a way to level up. There was no reason not to try. He immediately drew mana from his Mindscape.

Inside his consciousness, the Fireball Spell Matrix took shape with flawless precision. To make absolutely sure the wolf died, he poured as much mana into the spell as he could. The entire casting process took roughly five seconds. Flames blossomed above his palm. He aimed at the dying wolf— And fired. The air shimmered with sudden heat. A blazing sphere streaked across the battlefield before smashing into the thick fur around the wolf's neck. The impact of condensed mana blasted away flesh on contact.

A heartbeat later, the fur ignited. The wolf was already on death's doorstep. Now, with one foreleg missing and its body engulfed in flames, the overwhelming pain drove it into a frantic fit. It writhed and flopped across the ground like a fish thrown onto dry land, letting out one final miserable howl before falling still. First blood. A grin spread across Zelier's face. Just as I thought. The experience value on his status panel increased. Level 1 → Level 2 Level Up!

A mysterious surge of energy flooded through his body, spreading into every muscle and bone. A translucent blue interface appeared before his eyes. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Four unassigned Attribute Points awaited him. At the same time, the previously grayed-out Talent Skills lit up. Spell Surge Matrix Deduction Zelier hesitated for only a moment. Then he made his choice. Matrix Deduction.

[Talent Skill Unlocked: Matrix Deduction] Almost immediately... A new progress bar appeared beneath the skill. The Grand Creation Analysis Progress: 0% Zelier blinked. The Grand Creation? What's that supposed to be? The name alone sounded absurdly powerful.... But when did someone cast a spell like that in front of me? There was no time to dwell on it. With a thought, he invested all four Attribute Points into Spirit. Spirit: 67 → 71 There was no helping it.

Even if Matrix Deduction relied heavily on Intelligence... Spirit was still the single most important attribute for a mage. After all... What good was mastering countless spells if they barely had enough power to hurt anyone? No matter how broken the mechanic... It still needed numbers to back it up. As his Spirit increased, Zelier immediately felt the difference. The Fountain Seed within his Mindscape rotated more smoothly. Mana flowed faster. His spells felt noticeably stronger.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. Whatever happened next... He had finally taken his first real step toward becoming a mage. With Matrix Deduction in his arsenal, the road ahead had just become much smoother. Grey, who had been about to finish off the wounded wolf himself, paused and looked over. Zelier gave him an apologetic smile. Sorry. Had to secure the kill. The rest of the battle left him with no more opportunities. Marcus and Grey rarely needed more than a single strike.

Vaelis's arrows left no survivors. The nighttime ambush ended almost as quickly as it had begun. Leaving over a dozen corpses behind, the surviving wolves fled deep into the forest. No wonder nearby villages hired adventurers to deal with them. If a pack this large attacked a settlement... The casualties would be devastating.

"Pretty sharp, kid." Grey wiped a mixture of sweat and blood from his forehead.

"You've already learned how to steal kills."

"I-I'm sorry. I just cast the spell on instinct."

"It's fine." Grey laughed.

"Don't sweat it."

"That wolf's yours."

"It's your first commission, after all."

"A little extra profit never hurts." He flashed another carefree grin.

"Feel it now?"

"This is what adventuring's all about."

"Three silver coins."

"That's a laborer's full day's wage."

"And you earned it with a single Fireball." The party began cleaning up the battlefield. Marcus selected the wolves whose pelts had suffered the least damage. Vaelis walked from corpse to corpse, pulling his arrows free. Many of the arrowheads were still intact. After wiping off the blood, they could be reused, saving the party a fair amount of money. Grey hung one wolf upside down from a tree branch. Using a skinning knife, he cut a neat ring around one hind ankle.

From there, the blade traveled down the inside of the leg to the anus before curving across to the opposite thigh. Only then did the skinning begin. Grey grasped the loosened flap of hide with one hand and pulled downward with steady force. His other hand guided the knife with practiced precision, carefully slicing through the connective tissue and fat binding the hide to the meat.

"Zelier."

"Give me a hand."

"Lift this leg." Working together, they peeled the hide from the hind legs almost like pulling off a long stocking. Then came the torso. The air filled with the wet ripping of connective tissue...... and the metallic scent of fresh blood and exposed flesh. Zelier's stomach churned. Every instinct told him to look away. He didn't. He forced himself to keep watching. This was something he had to learn. The Adventurers' Association only paid for proof of the kill. The wolf's left ear was enough to claim the bounty.

Everything else... The hide. The meat. The bones. The party could sell those themselves. A flawless wolf pelt fetched another three to four silver coins. For low-ranking adventurers, that was a significant source of income. The pack had killed fifteen wolves during the attack. Several of the carcasses were still in excellent condition. Even Marcus, usually stern and stoic, couldn't hide the satisfaction on his face. Grey started skinning the final wolf.

Every movement was smooth, efficient, and refined through years of experience. Standing beside him only made Zelier's awkwardness more obvious. His job was simple. Grip the loosened hide. Pull backward as Grey separated the membrane beneath it. Creating constant tension made the skin much easier to remove. Simple... In theory. In practice, the greasy layer of fat coating the hide made it unbelievably slippery. More than once, it nearly slipped from his hands.

"Tighter, Zelier!" Grey instructed without even looking up.

"That's it."

"Keep pulling like that." He glanced sideways at Zelier's hands. His knuckles were rough with thin calluses. The veins along the backs of his hands stood out clearly. They were the hands of someone who had spent years doing hard labor.

"Those hands of yours..."

"They don't look like a mage's at all."