I Caught Something That Wasn’t Supposed To Be Caught

“…This is a world where you can use magic, so I suppose these kinds of things are possible…”

I muttered as I watched through Shared Vision with the slimes.

There was clearly someone there, but I couldn’t see them.

It must have something to do with magic.

Well, for a harsh test, the instructor had been very easy to spot.

Maybe this is where it got harder.

‘I’m going to transfer some magic now.’

‘Okay.’

The slime agreed, and so I sent magic called ‘Flash’ to a slime that was closest to the intruder.

This was one of the spells I read about in the book.

My reasoning was that if this person was using some kind of optical camouflage, then flashing a very bright light might make them visible for a second…

“…I guess not…”

Apparently, that was not the case.

Perhaps the stranger was surprised by the light, because the footsteps seemed to stop for a moment before continuing.

…If anything, the intruder was more cautious now, as the movements seemed more careful.

In any case, I now knew that light was pointless.

So then…I would either have to use something else to see the intruder, or I could use an attack that covered a wide area.

But I was pretty sure it was the instructor and not a real enemy, so I wanted to avoid attacks that would get him injured.

…So I decided to try a different method for now.

Like temperature.

I had so many spells at my disposal, so there must be something that allowed me to see temperature.

I thought as I looked through them…

“No…there isn’t.”

Unfortunately, I did not have any magic that allowed me to see heat.

What I found instead was…

“Hm? Am I supposed to use this?”

It was magic called ‘Magic Creation.’

Apparently, I was able to make magic.

Thinking this, I activated ‘Magic Creation.’

“Woah…this seems like it’s going to take a long time.”

A very complicated looking screen had appeared.

I could understand most of what was written, so I would probably be able to use it if I had enough time…but I doubted it would finish before the intruder reached me.

And so I decided to use it later and deal with the present problem with magic I had now.

‘Everyone. Gather around.’

‘We can stop watching the area now?’

‘Yeah. I want you to make a 5-meter circle around the tent instead. Then look outward.’

‘Okay!’

I gave the order and the slimes all gathered together without making a sound.

‘Alright, here it goes…Detection Barrier!’

And then I used the barrier magic I had found instead of the temperature detection magic.

This created an invisible barrier that let you know if something touched it.

Unlike temperature detection, it did not allow you to see the person…but at least I would know if he got close to the tent.

Then I just had to use the slimes to cast some binding magic.

‘…He should be here soon.’

Judging by the pace at which he had been moving and the distance, he should arrive soon.

Just when I thought this–the Detection Barrier alerted me.

‘Attack Transfer—Magic Throwing Net!’

As I did not want to have my location known, I sent the name telepathically to the slimes and activated it.

It went to the slime who was in front of the place where the barrier had been disturbed.

“…!”

At the same time, I heard a gasp from the same area.

And with that, the invisible person had been caught in the net.

“Don’t move.”

I took out my sword and pointed it towards the net.

And then…

“Oh, damn it. I didn’t expect you to be able to see me.”

As he said this, a certain man appeared from inside of the net.

He was thin and had a sullen expression…but there was something powerful there as well.

“Can you take this net off of me now? This is just a lookout test, so there is no need to fight.”

“Sure.”

And then I deactivated the magic.

It felt very strange that I didn’t even know all the magic that I had, but still knew how to use it.

Once the man was free, he looked at me with a troubled expression and said,

“I guess I should introduce myself. I am Eeth. …But, really…I’m going to have to talk to my superiors…”

“Your superiors? …Is there some trouble?”

“Yes. …I mean, the fact that I am caught like this means trouble.”

…Being caught meant trouble?

“I thought this test was about finding the instructor?”

“Yes. That is true, but not really. Me being caught is not part of the test.”

“…In other words, I would have passed even if I didn’t capture you?”

So I had apparently gone through all of this effort for nothing.

Well, it was at least a little fun.

“That’s what it means. Besides, it’s not usually possible to catch me. I used to be one of the best at hiding in the whole guild. There are only about ten people in this country who could find me in a forest, you know?”

I had thought he was very good at hiding. So that explained it…

No, wait…

“So why are you here then?”

I asked. It was the question that had been bothering me.

Eeth answered immediately.

“Ah. Well, my job is to sneak into people’s tents without them noticing. It shows them how hard keeping watch really is. But then you found me.”