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With our sights set on the stronger monster lurking in the depths, we headed deeper into the Payago Cave.
“Alright… since we have the time, let’s do a quick review of magic colors while we walk. First, Lara, your magic is red—an ‘Unfortunate Magic Power,’ right?”
“Yup! I was always taught it wasn’t suited for attack magic, but…”
“That ‘common knowledge’ is wrong. Red magic is actually perfectly suited for attack magic.”
“Remembering everything you’ve taught me so far, I’m starting to think so, too…”
“However, it has one drawback: a short range. That’s why it’s a magic color better suited for close-quarters combat.”
Like the way I fight, blending physical and magic attacks. With red magic, you can unleash high-power spells from close range. It might be a good idea to start teaching her barrier magic to protect herself from now on.
“And now, Marise.”
“Y-Yes!” Marise straightened her posture.
“Yours is purple—’Inferior Magic Power,’ wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“What were you told about it?”
“That I can’t cast ‘delicate’ magic. They said I could only use crude, large-scale spells, so I lacked versatility.”
Just as I thought, Marise’s understanding is also completely wrong.
“Purple magic is the opposite of red. It’s a magic color that boasts a long range.”
“So… it’s suited for casting magic from a distance.”
“Exactly.”
Therefore, purple magic is best used from the rear guard. It demands that the caster take their time while the vanguards hold the line, allowing them to carefully construct their magic formulas.
“Which is why, Marise, I bet you could already cast two Fire Spears with the tracking enchantment at the same time.”
“R-Really?!”
“Yes. You might have been flustered during the Skeleton King fight, but if you take your time… Oh. Speak of the devil. Monsters, right on cue.”
With a flapping of wings, two monster bats came flying at us from up ahead. They’re also known as ‘Vampire Bats,’ but individually, they aren’t very strong.
“I’ll hold them off. Marise, don’t rush. Just focus on building your formulas. You can fire whenever you’re ready.”
“Got it!”
I deliberately let the attacking bats get right on top of me before fending them off with my sword, drawing their attention. Thanks to that, both bats were now focused entirely on me.
“I’m ready!” Marise’s voice came from behind me.
The next instant, two Fire Spears flew past my side and shot toward the bats. Even though they were caught by surprise, the two bats tried to dodge their respective spears. However… the Fire Spears, which had been flying straight, suddenly curved mid-air and pierced the bats.
“I did it!” Marise pumped her fist.
The bats hit by the Fire Spears fluttered to the ground like pieces of paper.
“Well done. To succeed on your first try… Impressive.”
“It’s just as you said, Kurt! Thank you so much!” Still smiling, Marise grabbed both my hands and gave a little jump. I could feel her warmth and her excitement through her grip. She’s usually so headstrong; seeing this innocent side of her is rare… and honestly, quite cute.
I found myself staring for a moment, until… “Ah, s-sorry! I got so carried away…” Marise’s face turned bright red as she let go of my hands.
“No flirting allowed, you know!” Lara puffed up her cheeks, looking inexplicably angry.
“We weren’t flirting.”
“Yes, you were!” Lara made two little fists and started thwack-thwack-thwacking me on the shoulder.
“O-Of course not, Lara! I wasn’t doing anything of the sort! I’m just having Kurt teach me magic. It’s not like I was happy he praised me or… or anything!” Marise stammered, her face flushed.
“…I don’t think I could ever do what Marise just did,” Lara said, her voice tinged with what sounded like impatience. “Adding a tracking enchantment to a Fire Spear… let alone two at once…”
Good grief. What’s she in such a hurry for?
“As I’ve said many times, Marise’s magic color is naturally suited for that kind of thing. You have your own strengths, Lara, so there’s no need to rush.”
“You think so? You’re always praising me, Kurt, but I don’t really feel like I’m getting any stronger. So…”
“In your case, Lara, it’s the power of your magic that grows most easily. It’s not something flashy like a tracking enchantment, so if you’re only growing little by little, it’s understandable that it’s hard to feel the difference.”
But Lara is definitely not losing to Marise. If these two keep competing in a healthy way like this—and cooperating at other times—they’ll become an even greater asset to the party. Watching them grow is something I’m looking forward to.
“But… when I see Marise growing so much all the time, I… I just get worried.”
“Worried? In that case, how about this?” I reached out and gave Lara’s right hand a firm squeeze.
“Ah…” Lara let out a small gasp.
“Shall we walk like this for a while? Will that help ease your worry?”
“Y-Yeah! I can feel your warmth, Kurt… It’s making my chest feel all warm and fuzzy. Thanks!” Just like that, Lara’s mood brightened, and she started skipping. She’s so easy to read.
“P-Please hold my hand, too! It’s not fair if it’s only Lara!”
“Hmm… Well, I don’t mind…” What’s not fair about it? I took Marise’s left hand with my remaining right one. Their hands were soft, so different from a man’s. Lara kept squeezing my hand, mogyu, mogyu, as if testing its feel. Marise, on the other hand, seemed a little nervous; I could feel her hand trembling.
This is… making my own heart pound a little.
“Kurt… I’m going to work hard. I’ll practice my magic even more so I don’t lose to Marise.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“And! I want to repay you… so I’ll think of a way to make you really happy, Kurt! You can look forward to it!” Lara said with a wink.
“I-Is that so?”
Hearing our exchange, Marise narrowed her eyes. “That sounds… suspicious.”
“…Anyway, let’s get back on topic. From now on, I want you to fight while being conscious of your magic color and your own aptitudes.”
“Yes!” they both replied in unison.
If the two of them get stronger, it’ll make fighting easier for me, too. We continued on, hand-in-hand, eventually descending a staircase and setting foot on a lower level.
“Hm, this place is…”
“Being here… it’s making my head feel woozy…” Lara said as soon as we arrived on the new floor. She looked a little pale.
“Oh, really? The magic particle density is probably higher here than on the upper floors. That might be why you feel it.”
“You don’t feel anything, Kurt?”
“I can tell the particles are denser, but it doesn’t make me feel sick.”
But… for these two, who have only ever gone as deep as the third floor of the ‘Treasure Labyrinth,’ the particle density here might be pretty rough. A thousand years ago, I experienced places so saturated that a normal person without a barrier would pass out just from breathing it in. Compared to that, this is nothing.
“Lara, stop for a second.”
“Huh?” I put a hand on her shoulder to halt her.
“You never encountered this on the first three floors of the Treasure Labyrinth, so I guess it can’t be helped.”
“Kurt? What are you suddenly talking about?”
“This is another important point for dungeon-crawling. Watch closely.” I tossed a small pebble at what looked like a perfectly normal patch of ground. And then…
“Whoa, a hole appeared!”
“Is that a trap?!”
The instant the pebble hit, a large pitfall trap suddenly opened up in the floor.
“That’s right, a trap. In dungeons with high magic particle density, you find a lot of these.”
The particles themselves can reshape the dungeon, creating traps to deceive adventurers. There’s even a theory that dungeons have a will of their own and actively try to reject intruders. That’s supposedly why these traps and guardian monsters exist.
When I explained this to the two of them…
“Traps I can understand, but a dungeon having a will? I’ve never heard of such a thing!” Marise exclaimed.
“By the way, a simple pitfall is one of the nicer traps. Even if you fall in, as long as you can withstand the impact, you’ll be fine. Some traps spray poison gas across the entire floor.”
“That would wipe us all out!”
“Th-That’s a terrifying trap…”
The two of them looked horrified.
Of course, a poison gas trap can be dealt with using a disarm spell or a poison-healing spell. As long as you can do that, you can avoid a party wipe.
“Well, we’d better be careful as we go, then.”
“We must be on the lookout for traps.”
“I’ll try hard with my Detection Magic this time, too.”
Just as the two of them steeled their resolve and moved to walk forward…
“Wait.” I immediately stopped them again. “It seems detecting traps is still a bit too hard for you two.”
“Huh?!”
“What?!”
I stepped in front of them and activated the ‘Rockfall’ spell. I could have used a trap-disarm spell, but I wanted to show them the real threat. A large number of stones rained down on the ground just ahead of us.
Thud. Thud. Thud. And then, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Wherever the stones landed, pitfalls began to appear, one after another.
“Wa-wa-wa!”
“There are so many!”
The girls cried out in shock at the sight of the ground collapsing.
“…Looks like this entire area is just one big pitfall trap.”
I stopped the Rockfall spell.
“Kurt, did you know…?”
“Yeah. I’ve already grasped the location of every trap on this entire floor with my Detection Magic.”
The ground in front of us was now so full of holes, just walking across it would be a challenge.
“I… I just said I’d try hard with my Detection Magic, and I couldn’t even see the traps…” Lara said, crestfallen.
“Don’t worry about it for now. A trap is only a trap because it’s not supposed to be noticed. By nature, they’re hard to catch with Detection Magic.”
Lara’s red magic, in particular, is excellent for offense but poorly suited for this kind of detection. Still, it looks like they’ve learned how scary traps can be, and that’s good enough for today.
“…All the same, it makes me wish we had a mage who specialized in disarming traps.” Lara and Marise’s magic colors are suited for combat, not support. Green magic is what corresponds to that… but I haven’t met a single person with it since coming to this era. If I ever find one, I’ll definitely try to recruit them.
“Well, putting that aside… it’s close.”
“Close? You mean… the monster you were talking about?!”
When I nodded, the girls’ expressions tensed.
“It’s in that small room up ahead. It’s already aware of us. I’m sure it will attack the moment we enter… so don’t let your guard down.”
It’s pretty good with its concealment magic, but at this range, I can sense it clearly. We entered the small room, our guards up.
We heard it the instant we stepped inside.
‘Why are humans here?’
It was a voice that spoke directly to my mind. “Right on cue.”
The creature, holding a spear in one hand, dropped from the ceiling.
“Eek!” Lara screamed, unable to react in time. Just as the spear was about to pierce her chest…
‘Ngh!’
The spear was repelled by an invisible wall, and the creature shot back up toward the ceiling. I had instantly deployed a barrier to block the attack.
“Huh? What was that?!”
“It was too fast… I couldn’t even react…”
“That’s the enemy, you two. I blocked the first hit with a barrier… but get ready for battle.”
At my words, both of them began deploying their magic formulas.
“B-But where is it…?”
“Lara! Above us!” Marise yelled, looking up at the cave ceiling.
‘Kukuku… humans.’
Its form was grotesque. It had a humanoid body, but the head of a bull. Wings sprouted from its back, allowing it to fly near the ceiling.
“Kurt, what is that…?”
“It’s a monster called a Dark Demon.”
This was apparently the ‘strong monster’ my detection had picked up. Dark Demons are a lower-ranked species of the demon race. That in itself was a bit of a letdown… but it was still leagues stronger than any other monster we’d faced so far.
‘My kin! The party begins. I will let you drink human blood!’ As the Dark Demon spoke, a massive swarm of bats appeared from out of nowhere, surrounding us.
“No time to be scared. I’ll handle the Dark Demon. You two take care of the small-fry.”
“O-Okay!”
“If we can’t even do this much, we’ll never graduate at the top of our class!”
Though they were trembling slightly, the two of them calmly built their formulas and turned to face the bats.
“Hey, Dark Demon.”
‘What is it?’
“How long have you been alive?”
‘I thought you might beg for your life, but what is this? I am one who has lived for three hundred years. A short-lived human like you has no hope of defeating me.’
“Three hundred years, huh…”
‘Hmm? What is with that face? Are you frozen in fear of me? Weak little human.’ The Dark Demon cackled.
Some demon species are incredibly long-lived. There are even those who have lived for over ten thousand years. So… I was hoping that if this one had lived for, say, a thousand years, it might know something about this world’s ‘decline.’ …What a total disappointment.
“…Do you know anything about the decline of this world?”
‘Decline…? What are you talking about?’
I asked anyway, but just as I thought, it knows nothing. Oblivious to my disappointment, the Dark Demon continued its gloating.
‘You will not even be able to touch me.’
“What a coincidence. I have no desire to touch a filthy demon, either.” At my taunt, the Dark Demon’s face twisted in rage.
‘Die!’ A Fire Spear shot from the Dark Demon’s hand.
“This is a good opportunity. I’ll show you a secret art I developed long ago.” Dodging the Fire Spear, I raised my sword and swung it in a horizontal slash. There was a good distance between me and the Dark Demon. My blade couldn’t possibly reach from here, but…
‘What are you aiming at? Are you too scared to even approach me?’ the Dark Demon sneered.
“I already told you. I don’t want to touch you.”
‘What are you talk—NGH!’
Before the Dark Demon could finish its sentence, its body was sliced clean in two.
“It’s an attack method called ‘Magic Strike.’ If you’ve only lived for three hundred years, perhaps you’ve never seen it?”
I called out, but no answer came. The Dark Demon’s remains fell to the ground. Magic Strike—it’s a technique where I use the momentum and wind pressure from my swing to project my magic and attack the enemy. It’s a secret art I created a thousand years ago. With practice, you can suppress the magic consumption, making it extremely useful in combat.
“How boring.” I confirmed the Dark Demon on the ground was dead, then turned to help Lara and Marise, but—
“…Hm. Looks like that won’t be necessary.”
Lara and Marise were handily taking care of the bats. Just as I’d taught them, Lara was fighting from close range, and Marise was casting from a short distance away. At this rate, I could leave the rest to them. I sat down on a nearby rock to watch them fight.
It was about five minutes later…
“Whew! We finally got them all!”
“We did it! We beat all those bats, just by ourselves!”
Lara and Marise grabbed each other’s hands, jumping up and down in celebration.
“Good. It looks like you’ve learned your lessons well.”
I clapped, applauding their effort.
“What about your fight, Kurt… Whoa! That super-strong-looking monster is dead!”
“You’re right… I was so focused on the fight, I didn’t even notice.”
“I haven’t explained yet. This was a Dark Demon, a low-rank species of the demon race.”
“A d-d-demon?!” they both yelped, leaning forward with their mouths wide open.
“A demon?! I thought if even one of those showed up, it was dangerous enough to destroy an entire city…!”
“A high-rank one might be able to, but a low-rank one doesn’t have that kind of power. The city’s barrier would… oh, wait. I doubt any city even has a proper barrier set up anymore,” I said, scratching my head.
“A-Anyway! Let’s just go back to the city! We have to let the others know it’s safe!”
“You’re right.”
Lara and Marise turned their backs and started to leave the small room.
“Wait, you two.” I stopped them with my voice.
“What is it?”
“There’s one more thing that’s bothering me.” I walked over and stood in front of a particular wall.
“Huh…? That’s just a blank wall. What’s so interesting about it?”
“I’m not interested in the wall itself. I’m interested in what’s behind it.” I deployed a magic formula and, pointing at the seemingly normal wall, cast a dispel spell. Instantly…
“Whoa, a new path!”
“What is going on?!”
Lara and Marise cried out in surprise.
“The wall was disguised with magic. Of course, I saw through it the moment we entered this room.”
I led the two of them down the newly revealed passage. At the very end… there was a gem-shaped magic tool, resting on a pedestal.
“Just as I thought… This is what lured the demon here.” I picked up the gem-shaped tool and muttered to myself.
“Kurt, what do you mean?”
“This is a magic tool designed to lure monsters and demons. It can also be used to control them… but it looks like this one is an unfinished product. It wasn’t able to perfectly control that Dark Demon.”
To my eyes, the magic formula built into the tool was shoddy.
“S-Such a terrible magic tool exists?!”
“If that thing were perfected, someone could destroy an entire city with it, couldn’t they?!”
Lara and Marise were aghast.
“I could make a magic tool of this level myself. Of course, I don’t see any need to, so I’d never bother.”
“But why is it here? Was the reason to keep the demon trapped in this place?”
“No.”
I’d considered that, but reading the internal formula, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The magic frequency it emits was just giving a simple command: “There is no need to leave this place.” No… the true goal of whoever placed this here was likely something else.
“It feels like… they were experimenting with something…”
This is ‘over-technology’ for this era. Even unfinished, there was only one group I could think of that might be capable of creating something like this.
The Empire.
That was the most likely possibility.
“You don’t know who made it, Kurt?”
“Unfortunately, no. If I had the creator right here, I could find out plenty, even if they tried to keep their mouth shut.”
Oh well. This stinks, but I can think about it more later. I deactivated the magic tool’s function and, just in case, put it into my storage magic.
“Alright. Now to store the Dark Demon… there. Let’s take it back to the Guild. We might get a reward for it.”
“I have a feeling this is going to turn into something crazy…” Lara muttered.
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