Volume 4, Chapter 7 – The Anomaly

Seeing Anastasia’s still-incredulous expression as she muttered dispiritedly about “effort being meaningless” and “being born well is better,” Fia decided to change the subject.

“By the way, does [Enchanted Blade] have to be attached to a weapon? Can’t you just make the crystal appear at your fingertips? Wouldn’t that be more convenient?”

The books described it as needing to be attached to a weapon, yet the ice rapier Claire used had been created from thin air, without any weapon as a base.

Anastasia snapped back to reality.

“Uh… some elf warriors who have been immersed in Martial Skills for many years can become so proficient that they can create an [Enchanted Blade] from thin air without a weapon, but such warriors often have over three hundred years of combat experience.”

“Creating an [Enchanted Blade] without a weapon is not only more difficult to control, but it also consumes far more mana than attaching it to a weapon. Additionally, the strength of the enchanted blade doesn’t increase with thickness. An enchanted blade as thick as a fingernail is just as strong as one that is a full centimeter thick.”

“A longsword like the one you just made, almost entirely formed from an enchanted blade—if it were me, my mana would be depleted in less than two minutes. It’s not a realm that a fledgling warrior like myself can step into. For most people, covering their blade with a thin layer is more than enough for battle. Past experience shows that the wielder often dies before their enchanted blade shatters.”

“I see…”

In truth, the level she had just displayed was far from her limit. If she wanted to, she could have made the enchanted blade even longer. This comparison was enough to show that the gap in mana between her and Anastasia was immeasurably vast.

I should be more careful in the future and avoid showing off an enchanted blade of that length in front of people close to me. Something like that is too damaging to one’s confidence.

“Since Your Highness can use [Enchanted Blade] so easily, you should also be able to attach elements to it with ease. There’s no time like the present, shall we begin? Didn’t Your Highness also want to try [Magic Weapon Forging]?”

For some reason, a hint of anticipation appeared on Anastasia’s face. Fia faintly sensed that this anticipation was a feeling of “just how far can Her Highness go?” The gap in their strength was so immense that it had surpassed feelings like jealousy or frustration.

Fia came back to her senses.

“Ah, right.”

Although she had decided to start with the fire element, Fia felt it was best to try every element to adapt to various environments. The magic in this world was complex and varied; there were even targeted spells that could temporarily dispel a single element while leaving others unaffected. Therefore, elemental mages, while specializing in their own element, would also master some spells from other elements for emergencies.

…

As it turned out, Fia took only a very short time to master the elemental versions of [Enchanted Blade]—the only difference from the basic version was the addition of a short chant to make the element wrap around the blade.

Interestingly, compared to other magic chants, the one for [Enchanted Blade] was concise and to the point.

Take the ordinary [Fairy Fire] for example. If its chant were translated into the elf language, it would read something like, “As hypocrisy is to the hypocrite, as the sky to the bird and the sea to the whale, only fire is the one truth, to burn away the darkness.” Not only was it exceedingly convoluted, but the content seemed completely unrelated, leaving one scratching their head.

The chant for [Enchanted Blade], however, was easy to understand. If you wanted to wrap a weapon in the fire element, the chant was “Power of fire, envelop me.” If you wanted to use the wind element, you just had to change “fire” to “biting wind,” and so on for the other elements.

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Out of sheer curiosity to see if space or spirit elements existed, Fia adopted the mindset of a protagonist in a novel and tried changing “fire” to words like “space,” “spirit,” and “soul” (chanted in the magic language, of course). The “I can change the whole spell just by changing one word!” situation she was hoping for did not occur. After she chanted, nothing happened.

Anastasia’s explanation for this was that a chant can become a spell not because people guess at it, but because there is a set of underlying rules, much like a regulated verse in poetry that has strict requirements for wording, meter, and rhyme.

What made it even more complicated than poetry was that when chanting a spell, it also had to be recited with a special rhythm for the magic to take effect. On top of that, the caster had to simultaneously draw upon the mana in their body in a fixed rhythm to match the chant. The combination of these three factors created an extremely chaotic system that, to a layperson, seemed to have no rules at all.

This was the reason for the chaotic state of the magic system on the World Tree Continent. Draconic magic, Darkborn magic, Elf magic, Human magic, Vampire magic, and even more obscure systems like primal magic and beast-tongue magic all contended, with none being able to convince the others of its superiority. Magic itself was too chaotic; no one could produce overwhelming evidence to say their underlying logic was better.

Therefore, only researchers who understood magic very deeply could possibly develop or modify spells after years of trial and error.

“With that, you have now mastered all the elemental versions of [Enchanted Blade].”

Clapping lightly, Anastasia said with a smile. However, her smile was extremely stiff, making Fia feel like she was just reading from a script.

It wasn’t that Anastasia was being insincere, but that she had seen too many incredible things in one night, so much so that she felt like she was in a dream.

Back in Byrne City, Fia’s forbidden spell had been shocking, but that was a domain Anastasia didn’t understand. One was a magic-caster, the other a warrior; Fia’s prowess hadn’t touched Anastasia’s pride.

But [Enchanted Blade] was a Martial Skill Anastasia had learned through painstaking effort, one she used in nearly every battle. Yet Fia had mastered it in a few seconds and could even switch between various elements seamlessly. Anyone would feel that this world was absurd. How could there be a person who was not only a master of chanting magic but could also effortlessly learn difficult Martial Skills without trying? The gods were too unfair.

Fia forcefully swung the meter-long flame sword in her hand, causing it to dissipate, and let out a wry smile.

“Your smile looks very strange, Anastasia…”

“Does it?”

“Yes.”

“You must be seeing things, Your Highness.”

—Rustle, rustle.

The sudden sound of hurried footsteps made both Fia and Anastasia stop talking. When they saw it was Milu approaching, they both relaxed. Unlike Liti, who was sound asleep, Milu had been sitting on the stump Fia had used, watching them from a distance.

“Do you want to learn [Enchanted Blade] too, Milu?”

Fia beckoned to Milu, but she didn’t nod in agreement as she usually would. Instead, with a tense expression, she approached step by step, her pace so fast it was almost a run.

Fia frowned.

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“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a sound.”

Milu stopped in front of Fia, her gaze fixed on the other side of the plain, in the direction of the carriage.

Although the plain was full of Lantern Stems, their height was less than half a foot, and their light was very faint. Fia was unable to see clearly what Milu was pointing at.

“Isn’t it just insects or small animals?”

“No…” As if thinking, Milu, her white hair tied in a side ponytail, lowered her head and pursed her lips. “I can’t describe it… The sound is rushing towards us, and it’s very… unstable.”

It couldn’t be an army marching towards them.

Even an army wouldn’t be sneaking through an open field overgrown with weeds.

“I will go investigate,” Anastasia said in a serious tone.

“Alright. Come back immediately if you spot anything. Don’t get too close.”

“Understood.”

With that, Anastasia took a step forward. However, before she could even chant the [Flight] spell, Milu tightly gripped the corner of her cloak, trying to hold her back. The cat-like girl’s frightening blood-red eyes were filled with tension and worry.

“Don’t go. I feel like it’s very dangerous.”

“This is the heartland of Silvar. There are no large forests nearby that could hide high-rank monsters. Nothing here can threaten me. Besides, even if it were a difficult enemy, it could never be a match for Her Highness—the danger Euphimilu senses can’t possibly be stronger than a despair demon general.”

“It’s not like that. I… I don’t know how to describe it. My intuition is telling me we have to leave, right now.”

Milu let go of Anastasia and took a small step forward, the urgency in her eyes intensifying.

A Stellacryst Beast’s perception was stronger than an elf’s. Perhaps she should trust Milu’s judgment.

Fia’s gaze rested on Milu for a moment, then she raised a hand to stop Anastasia.

“Wait, Anastasia. Let’s go back to the carriage and leave this place.”

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“Your Highness, do you believe Euphimilu? This is the heartland of Silvar, only a count’s fief away from the royal capital. How could a large force attack here without the kingdom noticing?”

“There’s no harm in being cautious. You all go ahead, I’ll go scout.”

Among Milu’s few spells was one called [Danger Sense]. Although Fia had never seen her use it, the name alone was enough to understand its effect. To be safe, it was better for her to investigate herself.

Though her expression was one of disagreement, Anastasia still bowed to Fia.

“Mmm… This subordinate understands.”

“Go wake up Liti and Renee. Follow the road ahead. I’ll catch up soon.”

[Flight].

Six wings of golden light instantly extended from Fia’s back, and her feet left the ground.

However, she had barely flown above the carriage when a faint rumbling sound reached everyone’s ears.

The sound wasn’t loud, but that was because it was several kilometers away. If one listened closely, it sounded like the tremors produced by ten thousand stampeding horses, and with each passing moment, the sound grew clearer and louder.

Something was indeed approaching the carriage, and not just one or two things, but something on the scale of hundreds or thousands.

Anastasia quickly looked in the direction of the sound. When she glimpsed the great cloud of dust rising at the edge of the plain and the rapidly approaching line, her expression tightened.

“It’s a Beast Tide! There’s no forest anywhere near here, how could they appear here? Your Highness, let’s get back to the carriage! These monsters have gone mad!”

“Mhm.”

Fia nodded lightly.

She had seen the same thing Anastasia had. Rushing towards them were countless red-eyed monsters, from small, dog-like creatures to massive rhinos the size of walking houses. There were even screaming birds in the sky. Due to their sheer numbers, their advance created a roar like a massive stampede.

The Beast Tide Anastasia spoke of was exactly this kind of overwhelming swarm of monsters.

Although a Beast Tide of this scale could be forcibly stopped with [Spatial Rift], the area around them had been nothing but wilderness. If she didn’t stop these monsters, they wouldn’t harm any innocents. Monsters themselves were a resource; unless they endangered her and her companions, it was best to avoid exterminating them all at once. Heaven knew what kind of impact that would have on this territory.

In a great hurry, Anastasia was the first to run to the campfire to wake Liti. Renee needed no such call; she had leaped out of the carriage and begun donning her armor the moment she heard the commotion. Milu started to rehitch the two eight-legged horses to the carriage. In less than half a minute, everyone was ready to depart.

In that half-minute, the Beast Tide had advanced more than a kilometer. Under the bright moonlight of the approaching new moon, Fia could already see the crazed, panting expression of the giant rhino at the very front.

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Any monsters slower than it were either sent flying or trampled to death. With every step the Beast Tide took, weaker monsters became casualties under the feet of others. It looked less like they were launching a death charge and more like they were fleeing from something, as if a greater danger was pursuing them.

“Your Highness!”

Anastasia, holding the reins tightly from the driver’s seat, shouted out. Fia remained in her [Flight] stance, hovering above the carriage.

“You go first, I’ll follow behind! I’ll take care of any monsters that get close!”

“I’ll support Sister!”

“Anastasia, where in the world did these monsters come from?!” Renee demanded from her separate horse. In this situation, the slightest misstep could see them swallowed by the frenzied Beast Tide.

Bracing against the fierce wind that whipped her hair and cloak, Anastasia turned her head and shouted back at a volume that matched Renee’s.

“If I knew where they came from, I wouldn’t have taken this road in the first place! Instead of asking me, you’d better think of a way to slow these things down! There are too many of them!”

“Use your [Golden Storm] when they get closer?”

“And you’ll drive the carriage?”

“I will!”

“If anything happens to Her Highness, it’s on your head!”

Despite being on opposing sides, both were skilled members of the Imperial Guard. The words had barely faded when Renee leaped from her horse and swapped places with Anastasia.

However, the carriage, now hurtling along and groaning as if it were about to fall apart, brought no sense of security to Milu. Her whole body was tense, her hands gripping the window frame tightly like a frightened cat. The white wings where her ears should be were pressed flat against her head, her vertical pupils narrowed to a thin line.

Seeing Milu’s on-edge behavior, Liti, who had picked up her staff, moved closer to her. She placed a hand gently on Milu’s shoulder to comfort her.

“Sister is here. It’ll be okay.”

But Milu only bit her lip tightly.

“…The greater danger is coming.”

“Little Milu, you mean there’s more than just the Beast Tide?”