Chapter of Magic Stone, Episode 2: The Magic Stone’s Light

The room was dark and muggy, with countless cracks in its stone walls. The cracks had been continuously degraded over time by the intense sunlight coming down from above and the humidity coming in from the oasis.

A bearded face peered through one of the many mossy cracks in the wall. From there, he could see two kids having a meal together, and he couldn’t help but sigh at their carelessness. It was as if they’d come just to have a picnic in middle of the fields that were aimed at advanced adventurers. But considering they were still alive, it was obvious they were no ordinary children.

The sun-tanned man observing them smelled of old sweat, and it was clear he hadn’t wiped his body down in days. His companions were in a similar state, with the same keen looks in their eyes and dangerous air to them.

“The hell’s with him?” the man spoke as he continued watching the two with his cold eyes. “He’s so scrawny, but the kid’s a monster.”

“He has to be level 50... No, 60 or so. Koopahs are quick and tough, but the elf that’s with him is a sorceress. She must be using a spell to lower their defense. Even then, they’re mowing those Koopahs down crazy fast.”

The man who seemed to be the group’s leader stroked his beard, deep in thought. Then, his yellowish eyes focused on the two’s belongings, and he activated Scavenger’s Eyes. This was a skill that targeted objects, making it difficult to detect. In addition, users of this skill weren’t very prevalent, so very few people had means of protecting against it. However, the skill only revealed the value of the targeted object.

Inside the bag were the extraordinarily valuable blood and scale of an arkdragon. The leader’s eyes glinted at the treasures, and then he opened his sticky mouth.

“Oho, that’s some juicy treasure in that little bag! Boys, get ready for action.”

The group’s excitement grew at those words. If the leader said so, then the two were sure to be loaded with valuables.

Though, the fact that the group of men were smiling confidently despite being outleveled was highly peculiar. One of those reasons was the chain they held in their hands. They yanked on it forcibly, and something resembling a small blanket came rolling out of the darkness. Then it moved, revealing a slender person wrapped in a robe. The person was far smaller than the rest of the group, and the thin limbs peeking out from under the robe were trembling in fear.

The leader approached the slender one, who turned away from him and curled up into a ball. This made their already small frame seem even smaller.

“Oh, come now... There’s no reason to be scared, right? This is a very important job for all of us. If we don’t earn coin, we’ll all starve to death. I mean, how many people have you killed already? What difference does another brat or two make?”

“Ah!”

The eyes staring out of the hood widened in horror, and the figure’s body continued trembling. The group of men laughed crudely at the sight of the robed one’s terror, then began thinking about how they’d spend the loot they’d soon obtain. They could get some new weapons, but they still had the numerous weapons they’d received in the past. So, they decided, it was about time they spent their money on something other than equipment.

It seemed those children were unaware of the fact that the ruins they were in were designated a danger zone by the country. There had been many reports of unresolved kidnappings and other cases, with numerous people who’d never returned from the oasis...

And today, new victims were about to be added to that list.

＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋

It was lunchtime, but there was a dark expression on Marie’s face. She always happily enjoyed her bento, but this time, there was an air of gloominess about her.

Did I do something to upset her?

I began sweating at the thought as I watched her, and she bitterly muttered, “Five levels in a little over three hours... And it took me years just to gain one level...”

“Yeah, um, congratulations. I had a feeling you could do it, and your spells were impressively fast and accurate.”

There was a bit of flattery in there, but it was also my honest sentiment. I’d spent many years in this world, but it was my first time witnessing Spirit Sorcery. In my opinion, she had an incredible amount of potential.

As expected, the ability to prepare an incantation beforehand to enable her to cast the spell as soon as battle began was a huge advantage. Her spells were also highly accurate, as her careful and thorough personality suggested, and she never missed a shot while fighting such a high number of monsters. She did have the disadvantage of having a slower leveling rate, but she basically had to level both Spirit Magic and Sorcery at the same time, so it was to be expected. But the amount of promise she was showing more than made up for it, so I’d definitely have considered her a late bloomer.

The final overall evaluation of the class was, “A sorcerer who can attack preemptively... Sounds pretty interesting.”

I was snapped out of those careless thoughts when her purple eyes glared at me, and I began sweating profusely. Her slightly puffed out cheeks were adorable, but there was also a strange sense of intensity to her.

“...What point was there in all those years I’ve spent until now?”

“B-But you still had to raise your skill levels separately, so your hard work paid off in that sense, right?”

I told her as much, but Marie still seemed discontent as she let out a “hmm...” She then let out a cute “hmph!” from her nose and began speaking calmly, as if she’d changed her mind.

“No, that’s not right. I should just tell you how I truly feel.”

Wh-What now? Was she angry about something? I watched her with my heart thumping, and then the elf drew in a breath and began confessing.

“My colleagues at the Sorcerer’s Guild were always bragging about their levels, so it feels great to surpass them! I’ve been getting fed up with those good-for-nothings whose only talent was leveling! Well, unfortunately for them, I’ve now not only beaten them in ability, but in level, as well!”

“O-Oh... That, uh, must have been rough...”

Marie poured out her frustrations with an intense look on her face, and boy, that sort of meritocracy sure seemed scary... It sounded like a nightmare to an ordinary person like me, and it reminded me of the fiercely competitive university entrance exams.

The Spirit Sorceress seemed to be feeling better after confessing her honest feelings. She was much more cheerful after letting it all out, and we resumed our lunch with wry smiles.

“But it’s a shame we were separated for so long. I’ve been looking forward to talking with you as we level together. You’re fun to be with, you know?”

“Huh, am I? But, I feel the same way. I’ve never gone leveling with someone before, so I was actually feeling excited the whole time.”

I smiled as I told her so, and the elf’s expression became even happier. Her light purple eyes seemed to glimmer as she smiled at me with them, and it felt like everything around her seemed to grow brighter.

Marie’s beautiful eyes were looking into mine as she spoke again. “I may be a hindrance to you now, but one day, you’re not going to know what to do without me.”

Her shy smile seemed to be saying, “Just you watch!” and I had to admit it made my heart race. That smile made me wonder, and faintly hope, whether she would be staying with me forever.

Her cheeks were slightly pink as she showed a bit of her pearly teeth, and I couldn’t help but stare, despite my age.

Geez, how can she be so ridiculously cute?

I was going through all sorts of emotions internally, but I managed to reply, “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

I had to at least look like a calm, collected adult.

And so, we spent some time resting and enjoying tea to help her recover her magic power. The amount of magic power one had varied by person, and Marie’s in particular seemed to be on the higher end of the spectrum.

The most common methods of restoring magic were either to rest or use restoratives. But such items were expensive, and I liked spending time peacefully like this, so I doubted we would be using them much.

“Mmm, the wind feels nice. And the scenery is beautiful so long as there aren’t any monsters around. It almost feels like we’re here for a picnic.”

“It’s too bad gyoza and fried rice aren’t very picnic-like foods.”

“But they’re delicious, which is all that matters. Even the rice is full of flavor, and I’d love to have it again sometime.”

A cool wind was blowing in from the oasis, and Marie seemed to be looking much better. I suspected her unusually irritated state earlier must have been affected by her depleted magic power to some degree.

“This would be a nice leveling spot, if not for this heat. And, luckily, there’s no one else around, either.”

“Yes, the view is nice, and I think I like deserts a bit more now. Although, that sentiment may be completely reversed when we have to head back down that road.”

I laughed in agreement to the fickle elf’s comment.

At the same time, I realized that was exactly what was so different from my normal life up until recently. I didn’t have to worry about anything when I spent time alone, so I rarely ever laughed like that by myself. I looked up at the clear, blue sky, thinking about how my life was beginning to change in that sense.

I dusted off my knees, then moved a bit closer to Marie.

“Okay, let’s check your skills now... Now that it’s level 2... Yup, you got a new skill slot. Why don’t you equip this Grand Experience? It’s a pretty rare skill, and I’m actually envious you’re able to use it.”

“Oh, maybe I will use that, since I won’t have to switch anything out. You didn’t have any experience-gain-type skills, Kazuhiho?”

I wasn’t too knowledgeable about these things because I didn’t talk to people much, but I’d heard it wasn’t common for people who had mismatched skills like me to get access to it. Conversely, it was more likely to become accessible to specialists like Marie.

“Hmm, I’m not sure why that is, but maybe it’s only suited for certain types of people. In your case, you have many types of skills, like fishing, languages, and mobility skills. My skills are all related to each other, so raising one of them can affect the others in some way. Maybe that’s why?”

I thought I understood what she meant... Kinda?

In any case, the new skills should improve our efficiency even more, which was always welcome for a class that was hard to level like Spirit Sorceress. There was still some time before sun down, so we could probably get a few more levels in before then.

As I thought about that, I felt a chill go down my spine. The Intuition skill I’d leveled up to avoid ambushes from monsters was telling me someone was watching us with ill intentions. I immediately thought of the multiple pairs of eyes that I’d felt watching us when we first arrived.

That’s odd... I didn’t think they were much of a threat at the time.

I was already aware that some shady individuals were in hiding nearby. That was part of the reason why I wanted to continue leveling and close the gap in our power difference. I thought they’d eventually go away, but it seemed that didn’t quite go as planned.

Suddenly, I saw something glinting overhead.

“What is it, Kazuhiho?”

“Over there. There’s someone over in those buildings...”

I looked up to find someone standing at the building near the middle of a cliff. Both of us stood still, brows furrowed, observing whoever it was.

It was hard to see because of the heat’s haze, but their skinny limbs were visible under the dirty cloth garb they were wearing.

As I watched, I noticed the chain around their hands and feet, and I caught glimpses of fur that would suggest they were a half-beast.

“A half-beast child? And... are they holding a magical catalyst?” Marie uttered.

I squinted, only to find that the child was indeed holding a stone in their hand. That must have been the thing I saw glinting earlier. But what was a child doing in a place like that?

We continued watching, when suddenly the child threw the stone into the air. The light grew even stronger, until...

Rumblerumblerumble...

A tremor echoed out from the bottom of the oasis, and as Marie and I huddled together, a hole slowly opened up in the ground before us. It formed into a cone-shaped pit, and something appeared to be emerging out from its depths.

Sand was blown into the air as a giant head became visible. The head alone must have been at least two meters, with numerous eyes lining the side of it. Its writhing body emerged soon after, and it coiled up like a snake as it sprayed sand all over the oasis.

Grrrk...

Grrrrrrk!

It opened its tentacle-ridden mouth and roared out loud. Sand flew into the air in a radial wave, and we felt a strong shock as it fully appeared from the pit.

“Ah!”

Its roar alone felt like we’d been punched in the head. Marie let out a cry, and I held her in my arms to protect her. The monster must have heard her, because all of its many eyes turned toward us at once. The sight was enough to make my hair stand on end, despite being a seasoned adventurer.

“It sees us!”

It weaved around as it approached us, crushing any trees along its path.

I couldn’t think of what to do. I’d already used up my long-range movement ability for the day, and the weight limit restricted me from using my short-range movement.

“Wait, I know! Marie, stay still!” Before she could answer, I held her tight in my arms and waited for the monster to get closer.

The massive creature was coming ever nearer and opened its mouth so wide it seemed like it would split apart. Then, immediately after, a turbid current of boiling sand was shot toward us. We were engulfed in the stream, and even if the heat was enough to melt through steel, I’d never let go of the girl in my arms.

It was the only way.

In order for us to get out of there alive, I had to embrace the elf and die with her, as we did when facing the arkdragon.

＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋ ＋

Marie and I sat up in my bed. We stared at each other with sleep still in our eyes, simultaneously letting out sighs of relief. I thought, “Boy, I’m glad that was just a dream,” and hugged the slender body next to mine without thinking, when I heard a little “Eep!”

I did just wake up, but maybe I got a bit carried away. The warmth I could feel through the pajamas was just too comforting, and after staying still for a bit, the girl gently hugged me back.

Still in that position, Marie whispered into my ear, “That was insane... My heart is still pounding, as I’m sure you can tell.”

“Yeah, I have to admit I was surprised, too. What in the world was that thing?”

I couldn’t tell since the dream had already ended, but those bandits surely had to have been looking all over for our corpses and belongings right about now. Too bad for them, we were a special case. Our belongings completely disappeared as soon as we transferred back to this world, otherwise our clothes and even underwear would be left on the ground each time.

“Oh, it’s six in the morning already.” The elf’s round, purple eyes looked up to the wall. “I suppose the timing was just right, in a way. Are you going to get ready for work now, Kazuhiho?”

Despite how real the dream felt, I unfortunately still had to go back to the realities of Japan. The girl understood this and reminded me of work, despite the craziness that had just happened in the dream world. However, I shook my head in response to her question.

“No, I have the day off since it’s Saturday. I could help you with your studies, or... Oh, why don’t we go out today? Let’s see, where’s a place you might enjoy...”

I moved the blanket and opened the curtains as I thought about it. It was beginning to get brighter outside, and our weekend in Japan was about to begin.