Sugar Rush and the Mage's Trial
The Isekai Survival Gallery was buzzing wildly with inner core and sugar bait.
I was having so much fun watching it that I'd been refreshing all day.
But anyway...
"Why the hell is sugar coming out...?"
No matter how ridiculous my dungeon ability was, I couldn't figure out the causal link for sugar popping out of nowhere.
"Kkomangi, why's sugar coming out!!!"
I flipped Kkomangi over and buried my face in his belly, letting one rip.
Prrrrrrrrrr—
Kkomangi's jelly body jiggled violently.
"Kekekeheheng..."
"Pfft—"
What the actual reason...?
Hmm... If I force a connection, right before I raised the variant spawn rate, I did think I was craving something sweet...
- Craving carbs.
...No honeybee-type monsters in the dungeon?
"No way it's really because of that?"
This... maybe Joodak would know? She's suspiciously knowledgeable about everything...
Right next door, in Elise's room.
Elise's closed eyelids slowly lifted.
"Mm... ah... Fell asleep, huh..."
She'd only meant to lie down until lunch ticketing time, but ended up dozing off.
'Ah, ticketing...'
The time...
"If it's this late, I'm screwed..."
It was already past lunch around 1:30, so the lunch batch of tickets would've sold out ages ago.
"Haa, missed it again."
Then a conversation from before sleep flashed in her mind.
- No morning tickets since I couldn't snag any, so I'll get you lunch ones later. Oh, and ticketing isn't 100% guaranteed, so no complaining if I fail.
"Right..."
Elise got out of bed and, as if entranced, headed to the entrance and opened the door.
Thud—
A paper fell to the floor.
A ticket.
"...Ticketing success."
Even thinking about it again, it was an incredible ability. Consistently succeeding at ticketing like this was rare even in the gallery.
For example, that fanatic 'Vera's Dad' who bragged daily about his successes while praising the Dungeon Master...
Just a few hours ago during morning ticketing, he'd posted yet another brag.
Title: Ahem... Nothing much, but succeeded in ticketing again. Maintaining 100% ticketing rate.
Author: Vera's Dad
(Screenshot of today's new Orc Plains ticket)
This is it... From the first day the Dungeon Master posted tickets up to now, I've never once failed ticketing, so I can't even understand people who miss them hahaha!!!
Elise didn't like his posts either, but honestly, she envied Vera's Dad's ticketing skills.
"But now me too...!!"
Before she knew it, Elise's lips were curved up to her ears.
Whenever she'd failed ticketing before and whined on the gallery, the comments just mocked her as a noob.
But now, she was no longer a noob. Well, maybe still a noob, but now she could secure tickets, so who cared.
"Heh... hehehe... It was a long time of mockery and persecution..."
Elise roughly geared up, threw on her robe, and tore the ticket.
A glow enveloped her, and moments later, the room was empty.
In the mine cavern. Two explorers had a harpy variant surrounded front and back.
Thud—
The variant lunged at the front explorer with overwhelming leg strength, baring its sharp fangs.
Whoosh—
"Guhk..."
The explorer barely rolled away, but the nightmare sensation of the harpy's head grazing right next to his skin sent chills down his spine.
"Hah... hah... Damn, this monster's too much for just us two!!"
The explorer sprang up from the roll, resetting his stance.
"Damn...!! Rick, just hold on a bit!!"
Slash—
The rear explorer swung at the variant's opening, but couldn't land a fatal blow.
-Kieeeek!!!!!
Instead, the middling damage just enraged it more.
The reason they were tackling a harpy variant solo was obvious.
For those sweet sugar orbs skyrocketing in value... inner cores!
Seeing inner core prices moon, they'd originally planned to hunt with sheltermates from a 5-man party.
But only two had succeeded in ticketing.
They knew a duo couldn't handle a harpy variant.
It was less than half their planned firepower.
At first, they'd aimed for regular harpies. But while hunting and moving, they'd naturally stumbled into the variant's cavern.
No one else around, so the rights were theirs.
Too good to pass up. They agreed to try as a duo and bail if needed. Now it was this mess.
"Hah... hah... Hey, Jake!! Let's give up!! Too much for two!!"
"Damn... But we gotta groggy it first to escape!!"
What they didn't expect.
This variant didn't rely on sight, so blinding and running was impossible.
Just fleeing outright? Its leg power and charge were too strong.
Turning your back on this beast was suicide.
Best bet: Shock it into temporary stun.
But even that was tough.
They'd both realized it. One had to bait while the other ran.
At some point, they'd started eyeing each other warily.
Slowly widening distance. For when the variant attacked one, the other bolts.
And the variant moved.
Toward the man called Jake.
"Shit, me!!"
It closed the gap instantly, mouth gaping wide.
"Sorry, Jake...!!"
Rick took one last look at his comrade and turned to flee—
Boom!!
Three starlights flew in, smashing the variant's body and sending it flying.
Jake, who'd seen his life flash, stared wide-eyed at the starlights' source.
Even in the dark mine, radiant platinum blonde shone.
The starlights returned to her, orbiting like planets.
Elise smiled at Rick—who was fleeing—and Jake—who'd collapsed.
"You guys look in trouble. Need help?"
Jake, fresh from death's shadow, just gaped. Rick stepped up and yelled.
"Please... help us, mage!!"
"Loot rights?"
"All yours!!!!"
The flung harpy variant staggered up. Still reeling from the impact, blood drooling from its grotesque maw—guts damaged?
-Kieeek...
Elise glanced at it, then fired one orbiting starlight. It pierced the roaring harpy's mouth and entered its body.
Boom
A small explosion swelled its body massively, then deflated.
Smoke leaked from its mouth,
Thud
And the massive corpse collapsed.
All in an instant.
The explorers stared, dumbfounded. Nothing like the mages they'd seen before.
No incantation, no gestures.
Just pure will manifesting phenomenon.
That meant one thing.
"A mage who's completed the hierarchy..."
Jake murmured entranced,
And Rick was shocked.
"My god... at that age..."
Elise approached the corpse and turned to them.
"Hey."
"Y-yes, mage!!"
"Help butcher this. Inner core's mine, rest is yours."
"R-really!?"
Even without the core, variant materials were valuable, so Rick and Jake eagerly butchered for her.
Quiet room.
"Suuup... huuu...."
Soo-chan kneaded Kkomangi while sitting cross-legged.
"Clear the mind."
Almost 4 PM.
Soo-chan was waiting.
For Elise.
His job change instructor.
"I'm reborn as a mage."
Like 'Sun Call' spewing lightning and freezing everything around.
Of course, not easy.
Gallery reactions said even as a mage, you couldn't cast freely until raising your realm a bit.
More precisely, you could cast, but not adapt quickly in combat?
Low realm meant long cast times.
'Still, don't wanna lose to that dwarf.'
At least that dwarf, Granite Fist, didn't struggle lighting fires.
"Suuuup... haa..."
Knock knock
"She's here."
He'd figured she'd come soon—heard the shower next door.
I opened the door. There stood the platinum blonde beauty.
Her good mood meant tickets went well, luckily.
"Hunt go alright, 'job change instructor'?"
"...What bullshit again... whatever. Thanks to you."
Elise's happy face soured briefly, then relaxed. She pulled an item from her subspace bracelet.
"This... half for you."
Elise boldly showed her loot.
A smooth red orb, slightly bigger than a fist.
"Huh, isn't this an inner core? Super expensive now...?"
"...I got plenty of money anyway, and if anything... it's thanks to you."
She blushed—must be embarrassed. Her transparent skin flushed easy.
Thanks to that, the mood warmed up, and my magic lesson began.
And shortly after.
"...You're not cut out to be a mage, are you?"
"...Huh?"
What? Can't job change?
No way... my INT too low?