Chapter – 23
[Selected Item]
- 〈Fragmented Scale Stone: Minor Key〉
- Price: 10pt
【Do you wish to select this item? Once selected, it cannot be canceled.】
Mikhail nodded to express his consent.
The other items only boosted unnecessary stats or made the main storyline’s progression somewhat easier.
Since he was staying on the periphery of the story and knew the game’s strategy inside and out, he didn’t need them.
Pop!
The message soon crumbled into pieces and disappeared. A rainbow-colored gemstone was placed on Mikhail’s hand.
Clatter.
The item’s detailed information appeared.
〈Fragmented Scale Stone: Minor Key〉
[A fragment of a nameless melody. Even if what it contains is an incomplete tune, it’s sufficient to be engraved in one’s mind.
If the owner’s intelligence stat is A grade or higher, mana capacity at C grade or below increases by one tier, and mana quality increases by one grade.]
The gemstone in his hand trembled finely and sprouted runic characters.
Syllables of something sporadically rose and disappeared in Mikhail’s mind. A new notification appeared.
【Notice: Item collection effect applied.】
The gemstone crumbled into pieces and seeped into his body. A refreshing energy rose through his entire body.
【Character Stat Change Notification】
- Mana Capacity: C- → C (Tier increase)
- Mana Quality: E+ → D- (Tier increase)
【Character Stat Viewing】
- Mana Capacity: C
- Impact Reduction: E+
- Casting Speed: B-
- Spell Accuracy: C+
- Intelligence: SS
Possessed Trait: [Origin Mana: Abyss]
Mana Quality: D-
It was smooth growth. Mikhail withdrew his eyes from the message and took out an energy potion from his pocket. He downed it in one gulp.
“Ugh.”
…It was bitter to the point of being nauseating.
Mikhail grimaced and wiped his mouth. He turned toward the portal leading outside the training room.
Training was enough for now, so it was time to obtain items to prepare for tomorrow’s destination, the Firefly Cavern.
An hour passed from then.
A magic tool shop at the edge of the shopping district.
“Wait just a bit longer. It’s somewhere here.”
Mikhail looked at Haeron rummaging through a pile of magic tools, then turned his head.
An old chessboard on the table.
There was a note someone had hastily written on it.
「Well, that’s all for today! It’s no fun if it gets too serious and difficult~ I’ll bring sugar candy next time!」
‘Looks like Julien came by.’
Mikhail withdrew his gaze from the casually scribbled handwriting and approached the side.
A bookshelf covering one wall. Books filling it.
In the most secluded spot among them, a particularly worn and frayed book was inserted.
「Contemplation on the Origin and Types of Mana.」
Mikhail pulled out the book and approached the counter. Just then, Haeron was lifting a box full of items.
“Half-masks and cloaks for disguise, smoke bombs, mana water, even spatial leap scrolls. …I prepared everything, but what on earth are you planning to use this for?”
Haeron narrowed his eyes and pressed for details, but Mikhail casually shrugged his shoulders.
“I need it for training.”
“Training? …Ha, they do all sorts of things these days.”
While Haeron muttered as if feeling the passage of time, Mikhail picked up the mask and examined it. Haeron smiled proudly.
“Anyway, it won’t be easy for opponents to see through that magic tool. Not only the appearance, but it prevents them from perceiving even subtle discordance. It’s perfect as a disguise tool!”
“Looking forward to it.”
“But there is one point to keep in mind. The spell imbued in it is quite elaborate, so its durability is weak. You need to handle it carefully.”
Mikhail readily nodded and placed the book on the counter. Haeron’s eyes widened as he confirmed the old book.
“What, where did that book come from?”
“It was stuck in the corner of the bookshelf. I’m going to buy it.”
“Hey, anyone can see it’s a foundational text. It’ll be boring for you guys to read, should I find you something more interesting?”
“No. This is what I wanted.”
“Hmm?”
When Haeron twitched his eyebrows, Mikhail smiled slightly.
“I find the deep and serious side interesting. Unlike Julien.”
“……”
Haeron glanced at the chessboard on the table and made a deflating sound.
He didn’t add anything more.
“There, all done!”
Eventually, Haeron held out the packaged box. Mikhail paid the price and lifted the box. After greeting him, he came out of the shop.
The path leading toward the dormitory building.
Footsteps on the road rang out more lightly.
Since he’d prepared all the necessary items, what remained was departing for the Singing Forest.
Meanwhile, at that time.
In front of the combat department’s personal training room.
Tsssss….
Ethan came out through the portal while sheathing his sword. He wanted to practice a bit more but couldn’t overdo it.
The mysterious adventurer he’d met in the back alley. He was accompanying him tomorrow.
Thud, thud.
On the corridor leading outside the building.
Ethan, who was filling the empty space with footstep sounds, looked at the floor and gripped his sword.
‘The ominous rumor drifting near the cavern. It bothered me so much that I devoted myself to training for a while….’
…Even so, whether he’d be at a level to block the coming threat was unknown.
The Firefly Cavern was a place he only knew from rumors, a place he’d never been to even once.
‘But I can’t cancel the deal. Since I don’t know where else I’d find the information I want….’
“—Hi?”
A cheerful voice pierced through his thoughts to his ears.
When Ethan looked up in surprise, the figure leaning against the window came into view.
“Lloyd.”
Ethan murmured quietly. Lloyd detached himself from the window and approached.
“How unusual for you to be at the training room until this hour today? You didn’t even show your face last week.”
“……”
Ethan grimaced slightly and averted his gaze. A reaction as if a reluctant point had been poked.
However, Lloyd seemed unconcerned as he smiled brightly and approached Ethan.
Rustle.
Lloyd suddenly held out a document he was holding.
“…What’s this?”
“Department registration confirmation. Only you and Mikhail haven’t received yours.”
Ethan, who was about to receive the document, stopped short. He asked back as if doubting his own ears.
“Mikhail?”
“Yeah.”
“That means….”
Lloyd shrugged his shoulders and answered.
“Yeah, we’re all in the same department. Dispatch Unit 2.”
Ethan blinked blankly.
Lloyd giggled and crossed his arms.
“Anyway, he’s number one at Salvator for being stubborn, right? Should I consider this amazing, or should I consider it persistent? Anyway, it’s a good thing, right?”
Lloyd tapped his shoulder playfully, but Ethan had no particular reaction.
Ethan, who received the paper with an expressionless face, reflexively put strength in his hand.
Crumple.
The way he shoved the paper into his pocket was quite rough.
Lloyd glanced at that sight and asked bluntly.
“That aside, have you had your mind elsewhere lately?”
Flinch.
Ethan’s sudden movement added to the certainty.
Toward Ethan, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes as if displeased, Lloyd clicked his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Hey, don’t make baseless assumptions. It’s not that I was watching you closely, but that you were too obvious.”
“……”
“Does it make sense for an honor student to not care about academic progress or anything? Plus, for a while, you couldn’t hear properly when called, like someone whose mind was elsewhere. You didn’t come to the office either.”
“That’s….”
“That’s not all. Do you know you were late to four out of six classes last time? Even if they were the first lectures, still.”
Ethan leaned forward with a furrowed face. He even clenched his fist as if trying to somehow push back.
“That’s not it…!”
…But that was all.
Ethan opened and closed his mouth as if at a loss for words, then eventually sighed. He shook his head slightly.
“…Right, there was something bothering me.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Just, a bit… it’s a personal matter. But it’s true I was excessively fixated on it. …There won’t be any more distractions from now on.”
“……”
“Sorry for making you worry.”
Lloyd stared at Ethan intently.
A gaze as if searching the other person sharply swept over Ethan. Soon Lloyd gradually softened his expressionless face and let out a laugh.
“Okay, as long as it’s nothing serious. You were acting uncharacteristically guileless, so I was worried.”
“……”
“Anyway, let’s work hard together from now on. Don’t be late to the first department meeting.”
“Okay.”
Ethan answered readily and nodded. A command sound from afar split the air.
“One, two—!”
Ethan and Lloyd shifted their gazes outside the window.
Against the backdrop of an orange sky, students running across the training ground formed in their pupils.
“……”
The two quietly watched the scene for a moment.
Lloyd turned his head slightly toward Ethan. Then he clapped his hands with a surprised look.
“Oh right, come to think of it.”
“?”
When Ethan looked, Lloyd smiled brightly.
He handed over another piece of paper.
“Could you deliver this to Mikhail?”
Ethan immediately had a dumbfounded face. Lloyd didn’t care and shrugged his shoulders.
“You were the only person I was asked to deliver to. So it would be proper for you to deliver it to the next person, right?”
“…No, even so.”
The objection was useless.
Another confirmation certificate was pressed into Ethan’s hand.
Crumple.
The next day, as dawn began to break in the distant sky.
It was the day of the promised company with Ethan.
Clatter, clatter.
Inside a carriage advancing along a winding road.
Mikhail was wrapped tightly in a mask and robe, leaning against the window lost in thought.
Deep blue greenery endlessly brushed past and passed by outside the window.
‘The Singing Forest. And the Firefly Cavern.’
If it followed the original progression, the Singing Forest was a place to enter only after the first episode ended.
A region quite distant from the current main storyline’s progression.
As such, under normal circumstances, it was a destination he never would have chosen. However….
‘If I want to grow quickly, this route has the best efficiency.’
Mikhail blinked slowly to shake off the following distractions. He gauged the growth route.
The magical beasts deployed in the Singing Forest were relatively weak. At a level the current Ethan could handle without difficulty.
However, there was one exception—the creature that would appear in the cavern.
The giant luna moth.
Originally an existence that protected the creatures of the Singing Forest.
The setting was that due to the anomaly’s influence, by the time it appeared, it had become a monster that only caused massive damage.
‘But the creature that’ll give the core reward is precisely that guy.’
Considering the gap in reality, the giant luna moth and the current Ethan wouldn’t be a match.
Just blocking the incoming attacks would be overwhelming.
But that was only assuming the luna moth’s complete mutation had occurred.
Right now, the luna moth’s mutation hadn’t completed.
Accordingly, its health and attack power should be lower. Plus, he knew the strategy to weaken the luna moth.
‘Though it’ll be a bit tough, we should be able to defeat it.’
Mikhail rummaged through his bag and pulled out a book.
An old book he’d brought from Haeron’s shop yesterday, where he’d written down information to hand over to Ethan after things wrapped up.
…Mixing truth and lies appropriately.
So Ethan’s reasoning would find a path leading to growth.
‘This will look more plausible than conveying it by word of mouth.’
To prepare for any possibility, he’d also changed the cover a bit.
At that moment, a particularly refreshing grass smell brushed past his nose. Mikhail looked outside the window again.
From that distant place, buildings with log pillars began to appear one by one.
The village adjacent to the Singing Forest.
It was Ellondia.
