'There's the first one…'
Hal carefully peered out from a window to check what his first target was up to.
The Mischievous Housesprite was performing a mana extraction ritual that only those of its kind could do, drawing mana from the foundations of a messy house through a corrupted magic circle.
Once completed, it would increase the sprite's strength but cause the house's foundation to completely collapse, making it impossible to build anything in the area again for a year or two.
This was the perfect moment to attack.
However, Hal was torn between finishing off the sprite with one [Sparkblast] or [Fireball], or testing whether a [Weak Mana Blast] was enough to kill an unsuspecting one in a single, sneaky hit.
He was sure that no matter what he chose, the other sprites would detect the mana fluctuation.
And so, Hal decided to finish off the first one as quickly as possible.
He could test the effectiveness of his [Weak Mana Blast] later once he's on the retreat.
Silently performing a Palm Thrust motion through the open window, a vermillion magic circle appeared, from which a roaring sphere of flames shot toward the kneeling, unsuspecting mischievous housesprite.
To Hal's surprise, from beginning to end, the arcane monster didn't detect anything, simply drowning in flames and losing its life before it could even screech to call for reinforcements.
Everything turned out way easier than he expected.
Plus…
[Congratulations! You've earned 1 Chaos Point!]
But Hal didn't dare celebrate, fully knowing that the other eleven sprites must've detected the mana fluctuations by now and were most probably on their way to check what was going on.
He swiftly entered the house, retrieved the small blue crystal that had dropped to the ground, and promptly retreated to the back of another house near the one where he had killed the unsuspecting arcane monster, ready to observe what would happen next.
It was a regret that with a [Fireball], he wouldn't be able to harvest the Mischievous Housesprite's wings, as they would probably burn to ashes with its main body.
However, what choice did he have? His arsenal was limited.
He didn't have the necessary spells to harvest such delicate body parts yet.
Hal could only settle for the arcane cores for now…
Slightly huffing and puffing as he entered the other house and hid just behind and beneath the window, he carefully peered out, waiting for the other sprites to arrive.
A few seconds passed… then a minute, then two, then five…but not a single other sprite appeared in response to the mana fluctuation, leaving Hal frowning in confusion.
'Is this a trap?' he pondered.
Mischievous Housesprites were quite cunning, after all.
To ensure he wouldn't fall prey to their schemes, Hal decided to summon his Spirit Sparrow once more, making it sneak out the back and scout the area from a high vantage point.
But he didn't spot anything unusual through the tiny creature's eyes…
In fact, it was too peaceful.
Hal found it difficult to believe that the other arcane monsters hadn't detected his earlier attack.
However, the Spirit Sparrow's eyes told a different story, as the other sprites were either still happily wreaking havoc in the houses of their choice or had caused enough mess to begin extracting mana from the foundations.
Not a single one seemed to have noticed the earlier fireball's mana fluctuations.
Hal didn't understand what was going on, but the strange situation was a welcome surprise.
Leaving his hiding spot, he chose not to dismiss the sparrow, allowing it to temporarily burn through his mana while perched atop a high branch.
He double-checked the house where he had killed the sprite, hoping the wings had survived, but was disappointed to find only ashes, despite having expected as much.
He then proceeded to the next house, where a Mischievous Housesprite was causing a mess.
It was hurling various home decorations at the walls, scattering debris everywhere, which irritated Hal.
He couldn't stand to watch it destroy more things, so, pointing two fingers forward, a bright yellow magic circle appeared at his fingertips, followed by a small, sparking ball of electricity that shot toward the winged arcane monster.
"Ee–!"
The mischievous housesprite managed to screech for a moment but was quickly silenced, convulsing as raging thunder wreaked havoc inside its body before it fell to the ground with a thud.
[Congratulations! You've earned 1 Chaos Point!]
The sweet ding of earning another Chaos Point rang out, but Hal didn't celebrate.
He knew he shouldn't.
Instead, he immediately closed his eyes, switching his focus to the sparrow's vision, and was confused yet again.
There was literally another monster in the house just across from the one where he had killed the second Mischievous Housesprite.
However, even that one seemed oblivious, still happily throwing things around inside its house.
'The hell? Are these guys blind and deaf or something…?' Hal mused in bewilderment.
He expected the battles after killing the first sprite to be a bit more difficult…
'Not that I'm complaining…'
If he could earn academy credits, contribution points, and some sweet cash this way, all the better.
To top it off, he was somehow also earning a Chaos Point per kill.
That part left Hal even more confused about how he was actually earning them.
Still, all boons were welcome.
He'd just take his time and ponder the matter later.
Entering the house as silently as he could, Hal glanced at the fallen sprite, noticing that, although slightly damaged, the wings remained intact.
'Sweet!'
He could exchange them for a few copper coins or a few academy credits, at the very least.
Quickly harvesting both the core and the wings, Hal took a deep breath to calm his excited heart, refusing to let himself grow complacent, even though the situation was unfolding unexpectedly smoothly.
He then turned to look at the house just across the street and smiled.
'My much-deserved lucky break is finally beginning, I guess…'