The Mana Vortex
Wheeeeing!!!
The driving hum rang out. That fierce sound crushed every other noise in the guild in an instant, as if refusing to tolerate anything but itself.
Adventurers who had been laughing and chatting, waitresses bustling about with food, staff busy with their work, and prospective adventurers waiting anxiously for their turn all turned their heads as one toward the source, as though entranced.
Carol, who had only been glancing around with her eyes to gauge the reactions, soon followed their gazes and looked up at the stage.
A man with his hood pulled low stood gripping the Sword of Proof. There was nothing special about the sight. It was one she had grown thoroughly sick of these past few days—no, every year around this time.
Yet the “phenomenon” unfolding around the man was something even she, after years of working at the guild, had never witnessed.
Flap! Flap!
The man’s clothes billowed violently. It was not caused by any wind. The guild building was far too solid for a gale strong enough to whip clothing about to enter.
Even seeing it with my own two eyes, I can hardly believe it.
A mana vortex—the swirling current created when a core drew in the surrounding mana. The flapping of his clothes was the result of being caught in that flow. Unbelievable as it was.
Just how high is the grade of that core…
A vortex—the suction force with which a core pulled in ambient mana—was determined by the core’s innate grade. The higher the grade, the greater its affinity with mana, allowing it to draw the surrounding energy in with ease.
Growth of the core could strengthen the suction somewhat, yet the increase was never large. No matter how much the function improved, the affinity with mana itself remained unchanged, so the result was mostly just idle spinning.
In any case, to produce suction like the man’s required an innate core grade that was extremely—extremely—high. Higher even than top-grade!
What’s different about him compared to the other Stigma holders?
Most Stigma holders possessed top-grade cores. Yet none of them had ever created a phenomenon like this. That meant the man’s—Jun’s—core far surpassed theirs.
If it’s him, he might truly be able to conquer the labyrinth.
Expectation surged, and her heart began pounding hard. She wanted to run to him that very moment and praise him for how incredible he was.
Yet Carol drew a deep breath and suppressed the urge. The world was full of pitiful sorts who put their own desires ahead of the greater good. Acting on impulse now would only hand them a pretext to move.
Well, they would move even if she did not act on her desire.
“Creating that much of a vortex with a core? Is that even possible?”
“Of course not. He must have used some trick to grab our attention.”
“Right? The kid’s got no promise. We ought to teach him a lesson.”
Just as expected, the jealous lot began flapping their ugly mouths. A few even rose from their seats, clearly intending to drag Jun down from the stage.
“Ca-Carol-nim. Shall I call security?”
“No need. They’ll sit back down soon enough.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
Instead of answering, Carol looked back at Jun. At that very moment the Sword of Proof in his grip began to tremble.
Soon the transparent gem set in the center of the guard—the part between blade and hilt—flushed with green light.
“Huh? Huuh!”
“Th-that can’t be right?”
The ugly crowd began glancing back and forth between the gem and the staff member with frantic faces, as if demanding to know whether something had gone wrong and to check again.
“Th-that is… well…”
Even the staff member seemed unable to believe what he had seen; he dragged out his words while watching Carol’s expression. Deciding it had been far too long since she last gathered her subordinates for a thorough dressing-down, Carol spoke in his place.
“The accuracy of the Proof Series has already been verified through experiments conducted by numerous organizations. Are you saying you refuse to trust that?”
“No, but…”
“He could have rigged it.”
“Rigged it in front of this many people? Then that only makes Green rank all the more certain—since no one noticed the tampering.”
“Ugh∼”
“Honestly.”
Unable to find a rebuttal, the ugly lot fell silent. Those who had stood grumbled and sat back down exactly as she had said. Yet their expressions showed neither acceptance nor acknowledgment.
I wonder how long they can keep that up.
Click. Click.
While Carol smiled with rising anticipation and the staff member beside her eyed her oddly, Jun released the Sword of Proof and moved toward the Staff of Proof next to it.
“Tch! So he’s got another core too.”
“Well, just wait and see. Like dual-core types usually are, it’ll be nothing special.”
“Yeah, figures.”
Naturally, the wish they dressed up as prediction failed to come true. The orb at the tip of the staff flushed green without fail, and the ugly crowd once again lost all words.
As if mocking them, Jun set the staff down and headed for the crown.
“T-Triple Core!”
“Insane!”
The faces of the ugly lot turned the color of dirt. It was only natural—holders of Triple Cores were born with the destiny of heroes who would leave achievements that would endure through history. Having doubted and mocked such a person, they now fretted over possible future retaliation.
Grab.
Jun took the crown in both hands. In doing so, the Stigma on his left hand—hidden until now—was revealed.
“…No wonder.”
“If he’s a Stigma holder, it makes sense.”
“Uryaaaaaaah! Junior! A junior has arrived!!”
“Be quiet, you idiot brother!”
A voice that had reached a state of detached enlightenment rang out. Carol nodded, finally satisfied. Other sorts of voices were mixed in, but she chose to pretend she had not heard them.
“Huh? Why isn’t this working?”
Jun set the crown on his head. For some reason, however, it showed no reaction at all. Startled, he began examining the crown.
Murmurs rose. As the whispering grew louder, the fluster radiating from Jun’s movements grew with it.
“Quiet! Be quiet, I said! Something might be wrong!”
“Brother! Control your strength! Control it! If you break bones by accident it’ll cost real money!”
Fortunately someone’s rampage quieted the commotion a little. Carol decided she would introduce that someone to a particularly good request she had been holding onto, and approached the stage.
“Jun-nim!”
“Carol, is this broken? The psychic won’t inject.”
“That shouldn’t be the case. Is the hood you’re wearing perhaps a magic tool or item? The Proof Series rejects any mana that has passed through magic tools or items, as a safeguard against tampering.”
“Ah, then I just need to take it off.”
“So it was a special item after all. Yes—if you remove the hood and put the crown on, it should function normally.”
At that moment Carol, Jun, and Fortuna were all a little out of sorts from the completely unexpected situation. Because of that, they completely forgot Leonard’s warning never to remove the hood in front of people.
Halt!
Every person inside the guild froze as though they had looked upon Medusa’s petrifying gaze.
After putting the crown back on and confirming the scene, Jun said blankly:
“Ah.”
Jun, Fortuna, and Carol fled like zombies into the corridor, escaping the people who had gone completely mad. The moment the corridor door was locked, Carol bowed deeply at the waist and apologized.
“I am truly, truly sorry. To forget precautions I had been warned about several times—I have no face left.”
“You think words are enough?! Take responsibility! Take responsibility and stop those thieving cats trying to cling to Jun!”
Thoroughly furious, Fortuna raised her wings stiffly and scolded Carol. Jun let out a long sigh, reached out, and pulled her close.
“Juuun! Because of that woman!”
“We forgot the boss’s advice too, didn’t we?”
“Hiiing∼. But still…”
“It’s okay, okay. They’ll all forget in a few days.”
I don’t particularly think so.
Carol thought as much, yet she did not commit the folly of saying it aloud and stoking the fairy’s anger. The fairy was his partner for labyrinth exploration. As one who longed for the labyrinth’s conquest, she absolutely had to maintain a friendly relationship with her.
“Jun-nim, Fortuna-nim. I will clean this matter up no matter what means I must use. So please rest assured, both of you.”
“Hmph! Of course you should.”
“Mm, don’t push yourself too hard. In my experience, time is the answer.”
“Leave it to me. The people currently in the guild are ones I can sufficiently threaten—ah, no, persuade.”
“…Huh? Uh-huh?”
“Wh-what did you just…”
Even at Fortuna and Jun’s dazed questions, Carol said nothing. She merely smiled and casually drew a communication crystal from her handbag.
Then,
“Fufu. Fufufu.”
Somehow—really, somehow—she let out a laugh that felt distinctly sinister and began sending communications here and there.
“What is it. What is with her. Jun, Fortu, scary.”
Fortuna trembled and clung tightly. Jun gently stroked her back and whispered quietly.
“Yeah. Me too.”