Chapter 22

“Do you really have to do that?”

Yuria rode up beside me during our march and asked.

“Do what?”

She didn’t answer but slowly contorted her face.

Ah, I know what she means…

Though I already knew, she even made a sound.

“Nnnngh… Urrrgh…”

Ah, how embarrassing. Even though I do it all the time, seeing it from someone else’s perspective makes it feel new…

“I get it, so stop. You look ugly.”

I turned my head away in embarrassment.

Poke!

Yuria jabbed me hard in the side. But with a Mana User’s body, that kind of poke doesn’t hurt at all.

I just let out a deep sigh.

“When did you see it?”

“I’ve seen it all, haven’t I? With you screaming like that, there’s probably no one in our nomad who hasn’t seen it.”

“Urgh…”

I scratched my head in embarrassment.

“It’s not always like that… When I fought Lanches before, I died in the simulation but it didn’t hurt then.”

“So why are you in so much pain now? It breaks my heart.”

Yuria gently tapped my hair as she asked. It tickled, so I pushed her hand away.

“It’s part of my training. The magical powers only respond when I’m genuinely in pain, even in a simulation. Also, the pain helps me improve myself.”

“Ohh~ So you can control the pain in a simulation?”

“Yeah.”

Yuria rode alongside me in silence for a moment. Then she suddenly said.

“Don’t get stronger all by yourself.”

“Huh?”

“It’s so frustrating! To think that the little kid who used to just follow me around has become a Mana User before me!”

Yuria spoke with exaggerated drama, but it didn’t seem like she was joking. Her eyes were clearly burning with determination.

Seeing that expression, I suddenly grew curious about something.

“Yuria.”

“Yeah?”

“That night, when the meteor shower fell, what wish did you make?”

I had wished to know everything about this world, and received the memories of a lonely Earth science enthusiast who died alone.

And Yuria received memories from a mage from another world.

Though useless now, she was told they’d be useful once she became a mage.

After hearing my question,

Yuria broke into a bright smile. So innocent. As if just thinking about it made her happy.

“Me? I wished to tear apart and kill every calamity in the world!”

…I used to think Yuria was an angel when I was younger.

But that was just seeing her shell.

Yuria is someone who says things like that while smiling like an angel.

Before, she at least tried to hide it… but since fighting Lanches’ gang, she seemed to have thrown off her mask and become even more uninhibited.

“…That day, I asked you how you knew what my wish was, right?”

“Did you?”

“You did. And you said, ‘The thought that comes to mind when you look at the sky. That’s your wish.'”

I’ve never forgotten those words.

Even now, when I look up at the sky, I can faintly see the walls of Erasmus gleaming in the bright sunlight.

A world filled with mystery and beauty. The wish to know it all.

But what about her? What’s all this about tearing and killing?

Yuria smiles brightly again.

“Yes, that’s right. When I look at the sky, I just want to kill all the monsters.”

Ah, yes. Yes. Of course you do.

Yuria guided her horse closer to me.

With an expectant voice, she casually asked.

“So… what did you learn from Teacher Sena today?”

This was the result of a bet between Yuria and me.

The day we left Red Tree Crossroad, I failed to predict the result of a coin toss, and agreed to fulfill one request from Yuria.

Her request was to share everything I learned separately from Teacher Sena. So I ended up giving her extra lessons every day.

Yuria really is bubbling with the desire to get stronger.

“Today I learned the Mana Sword.”

“Ooh! Cool name! Mana Sword? What’s that?”

Seems Yuria didn’t know about this technique either.

“It’s a technique that Mana Users can use. You infuse your sword with magical power to increase its cutting ability.”

Yuria’s eyes now sparkled like stars.

“Teach me~ Teach me~ Have you figured out how it works?”

“But Yuria.”

“Yeah? Yeah?”

“This is a technique that only Mana Users can learn anyway, so there was no reason not to teach it to you before… Is there any point in learning it now?”

I’d always wondered.

Most of the knowledge I share with her has no immediate use for her.

It’s good for me to review by teaching her, but… why is she so desperate to learn things she can’t use yet?

Why so much interest in knowledge she can’t immediately apply?

But Yuria gave me a look like I’d asked something ridiculous.

“What are you talking about? Of course I need to learn when I have the chance! Who knows when I’ll get another opportunity?”

Right. Yuria… doesn’t believe in ‘next time.’

My father’s words suddenly came to mind.

-Nothing in this world lasts forever. Perhaps… Yuria already understands that.

That day, when her nomad was all killed and she was left alone in the world, what must Yuria have felt?

I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

“Why? Are you afraid… we’ll all die?”

Were my eyes a bit red?

Yuria smiled softly and touched the corner of my eye as if wiping away a tear.

“Don’t worry. If something like that happens again, I won’t survive alone this time. At the very least, I’ll make sure you live, Jun-woo.”

After creating such a touching atmosphere, she immediately added.

“So hurry up and teach me. What’s this Mana Sword thing?”

Looking at her casual face, I felt somehow cheated after being the only one emotionally affected.

+ – + – +

[Simulation End]

Ping-!

Ping-!

As soon as I ended the simulation, the first thing I saw was Yuria riding her horse beside me. From her galloping horse, she fired arrows continuously.

She wasn’t actually shooting for real since this was practice, so the arrows were connected to the bow with thin strings.

After shooting each arrow, Yuria would pull the string to retrieve it and nock it again.

I don’t know what she was aiming at, but she seemed to hit every time. Blue magical powers that love outstanding techniques swirled around her.

Yuria is like that too.

She never rests for a single moment in her pursuit of strength.

After staring blankly at her for a while, I let out a heavy sigh. The simulation results I’d just run were thoroughly disappointing.

Yuria, who was just putting an arrow back on her bowstring, heard my sigh and turned to look.

“What’s wrong? Something not working out?”

I answered candidly.

“My totem magic research is stuck.”

“Ah, that research trying to replicate Lanches’ Gift?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s the problem?”

“I can use magical materials to influence magical power, which is fine… but the fine-tuning is just too difficult. To replicate Lanches’ magic fingerprint, I need to shape the magical power with incredible precision, and it’s just impossible… It’s harder than writing tiny letters using chopsticks to hold a brush.”

“Try applying actual totem magic.”

Yuria nodded toward the huge rock mounted on the central wagon, our mobile barrier.

The mobile barrier, along with protective talismans, was a representative product of totem magic.

But I shook my head.

“Look at the mobile barrier… and look at this protective talisman.”

My new protective talisman had inscriptions densely carved on a sacred peach branch, with various magical materials filling the spaces. 

Dad spent the enormous sum of 25 Mornings to buy it for me.

We did get ripped off, but it’s still the second-best premium item in our nomad after Teacher Sena’s.

Anyway, that’s not the important part right now.

“See how it has inscriptions? It’s all like this. They use magical material arrangements to roughly shape the magical power, but for precise expression, they all rely on these inscriptions.”

“And to carve the inscriptions, you need magical resonance capability?”

“Yeah… that’s why my research is stuck.”

“Well, they do say that freely manipulating magical power is only possible for true mages…”

Since I’d shared everything I’d learned and discussed with Teacher Sena, Yuria caught on quickly.

-Circle magic works by rotating the Circle to draw out magical power within it, then projecting that power into the world. The type of magic changes depending on how you rotate the Circle.

That’s how Teacher Sena explained the principles of magic.

Though I hadn’t seen it firsthand yet, based on this explanation, it seemed my hypothesis was correct that mages can move magical power freely.

In contrast, a Mana User can at most condense magical power tightly or loosen it completely. Freely moving it is beyond our dreams.

And I can’t even condense magical power tightly yet. That’s why I can’t use the Mana Sword… and naturally, I can’t even dream of having the magical resonance necessary to carve inscriptions.

“Hmm… you started researching totem magic because it can be used without directly manipulating magical power… but you’re saying that to properly research totem magic, you still need to be able to manipulate magical power?”

“Yeah… it’s a dilemma. I feel completely stuck.”

I’ve been handling various magical materials during personal tutoring sessions with Teacher Sena every dawn.

Peach wood that condenses magical power, glass stones that repel magical power, wind reed leaves that only collect green magical power, and so on.

I thought if I arranged these magical materials well, I could shape magical power identical to Lanches’ magic fingerprint. But… it’s been a complete failure.

‘Maybe I should postpone the Gift replication experiment until I become a mage…?’

Even after discussing with Yuria, no solution seemed apparent.

And as if things weren’t frustrating enough…

From behind us came a voice that completely flipped my lid.

“Fucking… Yuria’s such a cheap bitch too. Look at her wagging her tail at the Mana User.”

It was Kallin, following behind us.

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open.

Wow… these days even adults are careful around me, but Kallin dares to talk like this?

When our eyes met, he flinched in surprise, but quickly put on a brazen expression.

I slowed my horse to ride alongside him.

I was truly shocked.

If he’d been insulting me, I might have found it cute and overlooked it… but Yuria?

I whispered in his ear.

“Kallin. Apologize now while I’m asking nicely.”

But he turned to me with a face full of hatred.

“Why? What business is it of yours? Did I insult you?”

Despite his venomous look, this guy… was trembling slightly.

He’s scared.

But he doesn’t want to admit it. Kallin was trying to maintain his dignity by ignoring my words.

He probably thinks I wouldn’t actually hit him… that’s his mindset.

“Apologize to Yuria.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

He’s denying it to the end.

Does he really think I won’t hit him? Well, that’s…

…not an incorrect assumption.

With my Mana User strength, if I hit him wrong, he could be seriously injured.

No matter how angry I am, I can’t maim a nomad member over something like this.

But then, I suddenly thought.

‘Really? …What if I hit him gently?’

[Simulation]

The surroundings darkened, and only Kallin and I rode side by side. I slowly raised my left hand. I figured my left hand would be weaker.

“W-what are you doing! You can’t be…! T-Teacher! H-help me!”

Kallin panicked the moment he saw my fist, turning his horse to flee. It was a surprisingly nimble escape, as if he’d been prepared.

Really… why would this jerk start trouble…

Anyway, since I’d already activated the simulation, I followed through with the punch.

Just a light one.

Splat!!

Kallin, who was hit on the cheek mid-escape, flew off his horse, spun through the air several times, and crashed to the ground. Red liquid flowed out, staining the earth.

Ah…

He died?

[Simulation End]