After successfully absorbing the level 5 power stone, Raze had managed to accomplish what he was set out to do. He had reached the 4th star in terms of magic.
It was still a long way off until he reached the 9-star level like he had done in his previous life, and he knew it was harder to progress once one grew into the higher stages, but he was happy with his progress.
He was now a stage 5 Pagna warrior and a 4-star mage. Combining both of these powers, he now had the confidence to fight even those middle-stage warriors one on one.
After reaching the 4-star level, he thought it was best for him to head outside and join the others. If they had left to do their own hunting, he wouldn't have blamed them.
Because if he were in their shoes, he would have done the same. When he had exited, he could see, based on their positions and the weapons held in their hands, that they were already in the middle of combat.
He had seen Plon block one of the attacks, so he had a rough idea of the beast's size and its traits.
"Let's see, they said they needed a support type in their group. With my magic, I could offer a lot of support to all of them.
"However, although according to Alter using magic in the dimensions is not a taboo, it's still best to keep it a secret."
Thinking about how to actually help the others in ways other than just outright killing the beast and doing his part, a move came to his mind.
"Right, the Crimson Strike," Raze thought.
A move that he had created a while ago, a combination of the second Descending Step, along with the Devil's second formation, and the added power of Wind Magic.
All of these things sent a red strike out of mixed Qi power and wind.
Thinking about this, Raze had decided to use the enchanted Wind Sword. He placed his hand on his back, switching it out.
The enchanted Wind Sword was weightless and silent. Covering it with his wind magic, Raze then burst forward. He swung his sword down, performing the second formation, and adding his Wind Magic.
A large red line left his sword, slicing through the grass, and went straight forward until it had managed to slice the creature in front of them in half.
The creature had been killed, and the attack was far stronger than Raze thought.
"I guess when I last performed that strike, I was a lower-stage warrior, and my magic wasn't as strong as it is now as well. I didn't expect the beast to be killed in a single hit."
Walking over, Raze had decided to go and join the others.
"Let's go hunt," Raze said. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting."
The women, as well as Plon, were dumbfounded as they looked at Raze. Their eyes were switching between looking at him, staring at the ground, and then back at him again.
Until one of the women knelt down next to the dead beast. She was confirming it was dead and looking at the wounds; it appeared to be that of a sword strike.
"You know, projectile Qi?" one of the women asked.
Raze remembered a few conversations he had with Dame. Projectile Qi was something that just wasn't possible for those at the initial stage.
It wasn't like learning the Descending Steps where a person just needed Qi control. It was an entirely different thing altogether.
"Of course not," Raze said as he brought out his sword.
The sword itself certainly did look fancy, with a slight green tint to the edge that had been added after its enchantment.
"I'm still at the initial stage, that's why I'm in here. It's this weapon. It allows me to extend my techniques out just like you saw, giving something similar to projectile Qi.
"I hope this is enough to support you guys. I don't know any archery skills, but this should be okay, right?"
Then and there, one of the women pulled out the power stone from the beast and handed it over to Raze.
"Here, it's yours; you were the one that killed it," she stated.
Raze shook his head. "No, this one can be split. I got a lucky good hit on it because it was distracted fighting against all of you anyway. Only the ones I get on my own will be mine."
Hearing these words, they thought that Raze was a type of saint. They wondered how someone who could be so strong and was so nice.
However, Raze was only nice to them because he felt like he somewhat owed them for taking him in. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been allowed to enter, and they had proceeded to wait for him as well.
"Alright, let's get hunting!" Plon said as the group was on the move.
Plon was smiling from ear to ear, and so were the girls. If that was what the swordsman could do from far away, they could only imagine what techniques and strikes he could do up close.
With him by their side, they were sure that they would now be able to catch up to the others with no problem at all.
The group had gone off, and in their search for other places, they had come across another beast in the grass.
This time, Raze held back his magic and Qi slightly. He performed the Crimson Slash but without adding the second Descending Step.
The attack this way wasn't as large and didn't go out as far, but it was still impressive.
It hit the beast, leaving shallow cuts on it. As Raze wounded the beast, the others were able to come in and finish the beast off.
Plon was keeping an eye on Raze, and it didn't go unnoticed to him that he was holding back, allowing them to get the kill.
After searching the open, long-grassed area for a while, they had finally reached a concrete area. A small base of sorts, with several broken part warehouses.
"It should be easier for us now," Plon said. "Now that we're not in the grass, we can fight in the open. So if you want to go solo for a bit, feel free. We can meet back here in around fifteen minutes or so. Then we need to report back anyway."
Raze nodded. He was happy he was in the perfect group that seemed to know his requirements, and he didn't waste time as he went off to search in the area.
"Hey, isn't that dangerous, him going out on his own?" one of the girls asked. "I know we're in an open, clear area now, but what if he gets ambushed by a few of them?"
"I'm sure he's going to be just fine," Plon said.
At the same time, back at where they had started, the portal started to flicker slightly. Before they knew it, three people all dressed in hoods had entered, and almost immediately as they did, one dashed to the man to the side and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out.
"Reno, use one of your goos that will keep him asleep for a while. We need to make sure the Dark Magus will be okay," Alba commented, as members of the Crimson Crane had arrived.