Chapter 15
“You know, Lyra.” I take a sip of my waterskin, the contents of which I’ve long since replaced with fresh-brewed tea taken from my Void Space. “They say a smart man can get rich by working hard. But a brilliant man can get rich without ever lifting a finger.”
“Since when did you become a philosopher?”
“I’ve had time to just sit and think, so it’s only natural to ponder upon the deeper things in life.” I take another sip of my hot tea.
“Then if you have so much time, maybe you can put that brain of yours to use and tell me why Selkie is having us sit and watch the battle instead of participating in it.”
“It’s obvious.” I take yet another sip of the delicious tea. “Because she cares deeply for us and can’t stand the thought of sending us to fight mist creatures like that.”
We watch on as one of the older academy students lands a killing blow against an aberrant.
“I’m starting to think,” Lyra says as the battle rages on, “that you should retire from your new philosophy job.”
“You.” Selkie’s gaze pierces me in a way that only the kingdom’s most powerful mage could achieve. “Stop mouthing off and pay attention. And don’t drink all your water before you even get into battle. Do you think we have an unlimited supply? Lastly, if I were you, I’d take your girlfriend’s advice.”
“Thank you very much.” I speak the words with a smile, remembering all the times fifteen years ago when I responded with the very same answer from people who assumed Selkie and I were romantically involved.
“G-girlfriend!?” Lyra latches on to a single part of her words.
Selkie completely ignores the blushing girl, her gaze still locked to mine. There’s no real anger in them, nor even a hint of dissatisfaction at my answer.
There’s only a scrutinizing inspection as she analyzes countless bits of information, trying to piece them together into something coherent.
As the most powerful mage in the kingdom, nobody is more familiar with magic than Selkie. She understands it to such a degree that even other great masters seem like inexperienced pupils next to her.
She knows what magic can do. Enhancing a human far beyond their normal abilities, healing an injury that would otherwise lead to death, devastating a battlefield in a way that no other force can match, and much more.
Magic has immense potential, the limits of which even Selkie has not achieved. But she understands it well enough to at least have felt those limits. She instinctively knows that the magic she uses can never bring back the dead.
So then, who am I?
“I’m bored!” A certain spirit girl shatters the thickening atmosphere. “When do we get to fight!?”
“Don’t worry, Zoe,” I say. “This battle is just a demonstration for the newcomers. See? Guiche isn’t fighting, either. That means we’re supposed to be watching carefully so we’ll understand what it means to face a mist creature.”
“Ehhhh.” Zoe doesn’t sound convinced. “But what’s so special about them? I’ve already beat over a hundred.”
“They’re supposed to be scary, especially for children who’ve heard so many stories about them.” I peek at Selkie and see her watching the noncombatants more than the ones actually fighting. “So if someone were worried about the newcomers and wanted to make sure they’re ready to fight mist monsters, then the best way would be to have them watch a battle and judge their reaction.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Good. That means I can count on you to do most of the work.”
“Yeah!” She raises her hammer. “You can count on me!”
“Lezard,” Lyra says. “We’re all going to be working very hard once we join the fight. No exceptions.”
I swish around my waterskin. “I am getting kinda low on tea, so I guess I can put in a little effort.”
Selkie’s gaze returns to me.
“Oops. I meant water. There’s definitely water in here. It’s called a waterskin, after all. Hahaha.”
Nothing about her glare tells me that she believes a single word coming from my mouth.
Soon, the experienced members of the academy finish the battle. On the ground are the bodies of nearly a dozen aberrants, as well as a variety of other mist creatures. As I watch, their physical forms slowly begin dissipating into mist, as if they were spawned directly from the dew itself and simply return to it upon death.
While that’s not entirely how it works, neither is it completely wrong.
But the people here didn’t venture into this deadly realm to ponder on fanciful details like the inner workings of their enemy’s life cycle. They’re here to eradicate the threat to the best of their abilities.
“Form up!” Selkie wastes no time getting them back into formation after the battle. “All of you did well, even if it was only a few aberrants.”
“Only a few?” one of the newcomers asks. “How many do you normally fight?”
“Typically, it depends on how deep you go. Since we’re still near the edge, there are a lot of lesser mist creatures, with aberrants lightly mixed in. But once we go further, the lesser ones will vanish, replaced by hordes of aberrants. However, they aren’t the real threat you’ll face by going deep into the mist.”
“Leviathan,” another student says. “Are they really taller than the Adventurer’s Guildhall?”
“It depends on the classification of the Leviathan. But they can certainly grow taller than the guildhall.”
Selkie is leaving out an important detail. At least, it’s important for anyone who truly intends to pierce deep into the mist. It’s not quite as relevant for the students here, who think this is just a training mission put together by the magic academy to teach them how to fight mist creatures.
So, I can forgive Selkie for not mentioning the fact that there exists a mist creature even more dangerous than a Leviathan.
Far, far more dangerous.
“Hmm.” Zoe makes a thoughtful face. “If we’re beating mist monsters, then doesn’t that mean we’re making that town safer?”
“You mean the town just outside the edge of the mist? Yeah, that’s exactly why Selkie came to this specific area of the kingdom. That town can only exist because she keeps clearing out the monsters in here, making it hard for the mist to spread any further.”
“Oh! I get it now! So that’s why we’re here!”
“Yep. As long as she keeps coming around here and clearing the mist, the monsters won’t be able to grow strong enough to attack the town and force the humans to evacuate. And as long as the humans are there, the spirits will be too. And since spirits naturally repel the mist, it creates a stalemate where the mist will neither expand nor retreat.”
Zoe nods. “Yeah, yeah. But that’s not what I meant?”
“Hmm? What did you mean?”
“I meant that if Selkie didn’t come here, that strong one would have attacked the town soon.”
“Strong one?” I turn to Lyra.
“Let me check.”
I feel a wave of energy radiate from her. It doesn’t just come from Lyra’s strength, either. It’s being powered up by the Great Spirit of Water that resides inside her, giving her the ability to sense monsters in a range that puts mine to shame, given my current limitations.
Lyra frowns. “I sense it. A Leviathan, and it’s powerful. Still deep within, but I can feel it slowly getting closer.”
“And if you can feel it, then no doubt it can feel us.” My eyes fall on Selkie next. “Looks like the headmaster herself might have to get her hands dirty soon.”
After a short speech, Selkie takes the lead again, marching us deeper into the mist. More battles ensue, but the enemies are just as weak as before.
The difference is that now, even the newcomers are expected to fight in the battle.
“Why did I get this little mist bunny?” I can barely gather the motivation to grab the scythe strapped to my back.
“We must all take what we can handle.” Lyra faces off against an aberrant, her chakrams already flying through the air.
“Weee!” Zoe’s gigantic hammer flattens several lesser mist creatures in a single blow.
From the corner of my vision, I see a group of academy students take down an aberrant. At the same time, my experience bar ticks up just a bit.
“Well, this is just part of my brilliance. While I play with a cute bunny, everyone else is simply gathering experience for me to leech. It’s almost as delicious as a freshly brewed pot of tea.” I take another sip from my waterskin, which I’ve refilled with even more tea.
The battle goes as expected, with the mist creatures falling one after another. I even gain a level during the fight, which only further proves why it was a great idea to force myself into Selkie’s little extermination mission.
Deeper we go, the countryside becoming more obscured by the ever-thickening mist. Fortunately, this area isn’t a forest, meaning we at least have full line of sight of anything within our visible range, however limited it might be.
With our unobstructed vision of the land, it’s easy enough to see the deadly pitfall that lurks just ahead, a landmark so striking that it’s even marked on some of the maps I’ve seen in the city where Selkie built her academy.
“Stop.” The headmaster herself orders us to halt just next to that landmark, turning toward the newer students who’ve never ventured into the mist. “Can any of you tell me the history of this canyon?”
Several faces turn and look around, obviously unsure of the answer. However, there are some who are more well-informed than most others. Specifically, those with a noble’s education.
“May I, Miss Selkie?” Guiche raises his hand.
“Go ahead.”
“The Moonscar Abyss, which formed during a pivotal battle between the heroes and mist creatures fifteen years ago.” Guiche pulls out a white rose. “Miss Selkie, could it be that you created it with your own magic?”
“Me?” She shakes her head. “No, even I can’t form a canyon large enough to become a landmark on our kingdom’s maps. The Moonscar Abyss was made by another’s hands.”
“C-could it have been from the attack of a powerful mist monster?”
“If they had this much power, then we humans would have already been wiped out.” Selkie looks out over the canyon. “The Moonscar Abyss is simply the result of what happens when Hero Triton unleashes his true power. With a single swipe of his scythe, the world had no choice but to reform itself to his will.”
“Triton?” Guiche’s eyes dart to me, but only for a microsecond. “How can anyone make such a wound in the ground with a simple scythe?”
“I wish I knew.”
Selkie witnessed me unleash Runa’s powers that day with her own eyes. Where there was once an army of mist creatures powerful enough to face a national army, only a scar remained. Even my companions were shocked at just how much strength I truly had at the time.
But what they didn’t know was that I was still holding back.
“Beyond here, the mist creatures become more deadly. There’s even a chance we’ll find a Leviathan. If you wish to return, now’s your last chance.”
Several of the younger students openly show their hesitation. But to their credit, none of them ask to turn back.
“Then.” Selkie turns, looking deeper into the mist. “Let’s continue.”