Toward the Western Edge
“Ceris…?”
When I returned to the expedition’s base, the first to greet me was Celion, her face lit with open astonishment. She stared at me blankly for a moment, then slowly approached and began to touch me here and there, as if she could not quite believe the figure before her eyes was real and not some illusion.
“It’s me, Celion.”
I gently pulled her hand away from my cheek and glanced around. The base was bustling; the members who had been out scouting the uncharted territories seemed to have returned. Among them, more than a few kept stealing glances my way.
“Where on earth have you been? A whole month without a word… and what happened to your gear?”
“A month…?”
I frowned, sifting through my memories. Just reaching the rocky mountains before the mana storm had taken two weeks. If I had been swept up right after that and dropped into that strange place, then the time I spent there must have been far longer than it felt.
No—that still didn’t add up. From the moment I arrived, I had never once slept, never taken a single bite of food or sip of water.
Could it have been a space where time flowed differently?
“You’re a mess… Come on, let’s get you cleaned up first.”
“Ah—yes.”
I shook my tangled thoughts aside and followed Celion. Once we reached the lodging, I unpacked at once, washed, and changed into something comfortable. I was in the middle of scrubbing Nightmare clean when Celion came over to my side.
“What happened to you all this time?”
“I got caught in a mana storm.”
“A mana storm…?”
I nodded, scraping the big brush hard through Nightmare’s coat. The horse seemed to enjoy it; he flopped onto his belly and closed his eyes.
“Is that true?”
“Why would I lie?”
In a light tone I began to recount everything that had happened—how the mana storm had struck without warning the moment I reached the rocky mountains on my mission.
“W-wait… so you’re saying you came back from inside that storm in one piece?”
“Looks that way. I’m standing here, after all.”
There was still a great deal left to tell. I kept talking as I poured water over Nightmare’s back.
“After the storm swallowed me, I woke up somewhere strange.”
“Somewhere strange…?”
“No moon, no stars, no sun. Just a pitch-black sky stretching forever, and the only light came from a soft glow whose source I could never find.”
Celion looked as though she could hardly believe a word of it. I couldn’t blame her. Who would easily trust a small girl claiming she had wandered a bizarre realm where desert, forest, swamp, snowy peaks, and lava fields—every terrain under the sun—were jumbled together?
But every word I spoke was the truth I had lived.
“I even saw a turtle carrying a whole forest on its back.”
“Carrying a forest…?”
“Yes. One of its legs alone looked bigger than the Radon we sailed in on.”
“Hmm…”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
At my question, Celion—who had been sunk deep in thought—suddenly rose and headed for the lodging of another team nearby.
I watched her go, then returned to combing Nightmare’s tail with care.
It was a long while before Celion reappeared. She brought with her a man who looked thoroughly worn out, and the two of them came straight toward me.
I frowned up at the stranger. Something about him tugged at a hazy corner of my memory, but I could not place where I had seen him.
“You’re Ceris?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m Valder.”
The moment I heard the name, a scrap of information clicked into place. A Gold-rank swordsman like Celion—and the only other person who had ever returned alive from a mana storm.
Celion must have brought him to verify my story.
“Hello.”
“Celion told me. You survived a mana storm?”
“Yes.”
“What did you see there?”
I condensed the account I had given Celion as tightly as I could and told it to Valder. He showed no reaction to the desert, the forest of darkness, or the giant turtle—but when I mentioned reaching the snowy mountains and glimpsing the shadow of a giant far larger than the peaks themselves, he finally responded.
“A place where the blizzard howled so hard you couldn’t see a step ahead…?”
“Yes.”
“And you saw the shadow of a giant bigger than the snow-covered mountains…”
“Yes.”
Hearing my answer, Valder looked at Celion and gave a silent nod.
“Ceris is telling the truth. She wandered that place longer than I did, and saw far more.”
“Good heavens…”
“She must be exhausted. Let her rest.”
With that, Valder turned and headed back to his own lodging. Left alone with Celion, I dried Nightmare’s damp coat with a towel and asked,
“Do you believe me now?”
Celion offered an awkward smile. I smiled back.
On the second day after my return to base, my experiences were scheduled to be included in the guidebook for the expedition members. Not immediately, of course—when the next batch of new recruits arrived, the volume would be compiled together with them.
After giving the scholar in charge every detail I could, I dragged my limp body back to the lodging.
“I’m back.”
“Oh, welcome.”
Celion greeted me as I opened the door. I tilted my head at the sight of her already in full gear.
“Celion? Are you heading out?”
“Just going to check on my team.”
“Your team?”
“Yeah. They’ve set up a base camp near the uncharted zone and are operating from there. It’ll probably take about a month.”
“Where exactly is this uncharted zone?”
“Mm… I’m not certain, but somewhere around the middle of this continent?”
“Then… could I come with you?”
“Huh? You want to go too? Valder said you should rest more. Wouldn’t it be better to take it easy?”
I touched the warm seed nestled in my pocket and shook my head. Originally I had planned to head for the western edge alone, but being swallowed by the mana storm had changed my mind.
Monster Island was far too dangerous. I had grown stronger, yes—but this was a place where monsters lurked that could snuff out a life as casually as swatting a fly.
I loved venturing into the unknown, but only when my life was not hanging by a thread.
To reach the western edge safely, I needed strong companions at my side.
“I’m fine. And I’d like to meet your teammates.”
“Hmm… all right.”
In the end Celion agreed. I hurried into my gear and stuffed the necessary supplies into the bag I had been issued.
Leaving the lodging with Celion, I went straight to the stable where Nightmare was resting.
At first he brightened at the sight of me—then he spotted the huge pack on my back, made a face of pure disgust, and turned away to bury himself in the corner.
Pruurrrk—
He snorted and kicked at the hay on the floor, clearly unhappy with the tight schedule. The sulking lasted only a moment, though. The instant I took his reins and stroked his head, his mood lifted; he swished his tail and followed me out.
“All set?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s get going.”
Celion and I left the base at once.
We passed through deep forest and entered a vast ravine. Streams cut across the path and broad green plains stretched out, making the place look peaceful at first glance—yet a closer look revealed it was anything but.
Thud—!
“Shh…”
I swallowed hard and flattened myself against the ground beside Celion. Nightmare, too, pressed his massive body low and held his breath.
Thud—!
With another enormous footfall, a colossal monster emerged from within the ravine. Even at a distance its sheer bulk radiated power.
“What’s that one called?”
“That’s a Radon.”
“Radon…? Isn’t that the name of the ship we came on?”
“They named the ship after the creature.”
I nodded at Celion’s answer and studied the Radon’s form. Overall it resembled a lizard, yet the four horns crowning its head and the enormous wings rising from its back called to mind the dragons of legend.
The Radon that had appeared between the cliffs drank deeply from the stream, then vanished back into the ravine.
“Lucky us. Looks like it was just thirsty.”
Only then did Celion rise and wipe the sweat from her brow. If a Gold-rank fighter like her was this tense, the Radon had to be an extraordinarily powerful monster.
That evening, after we had sighted the Radon, I took the night watch. Sitting before the campfire with my eyes closed, I reflected that ever since absorbing Calvein’s mana I had been unable to form any other Mana Circles. The blazing ring had rejected every foreign mana that tried to enter.
But now it was possible. At last the scorching ring of fire had fully melted into my inner world.
“Hoo…”
I drew a slow breath, and dense, vast mana began to seep in of its own accord.
It carried no special attribute, yet the highly concentrated mana moved without end, constantly shifting and changing.
First one.
I began to craft a new Mana Circle in the empty space within me. The dense mana of Monster Island offered no resistance; it followed my guidance meekly and formed a great band.
The newly born Mana Circle already showed signs of wanting to assimilate with my own mana.
The attribute shift was happening far too quickly—but for me right now, no better mana could exist. I continued the work of increasing my total capacity.
Now the second.
I drew in the same mana again and shaped another circle.
The instant it formed, I frowned and clutched my chest. The two rapidly spinning circles seemed to close the distance between them, squeezing my heart as if to crush it.
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead; my left hand, braced against the ground, clenched the earth hard. In that moment I witnessed a strange change with my own eyes.
My rounded nails lengthened, growing sharp and edged with killing intent.
“Hah…”
Not only the left hand. The nails of the right hand gripping my chest had also become razor-sharp, leaving white scratches across the ogre-hide jacket.
The change was not limited to my nails. The pitch-black darkness around me began to brighten little by little.
My field of vision narrowed, then widened, over and over. At the same time a stabbing pain lanced through the inside of my heart.
“Ugh…”
Clutching my chest tightly, I sank down onto the ground.