Exhausted Man's Cave (2)
The island housing Destin Academy, Moira Island, was ridiculously huge for something merely called an island. They did run regular patrols to clear out hazards, but with an area bigger than a major city, wiping out every sudden threat was impossible. The nameless jungle we were slogging through right now was a perfect example. I have no idea why the climate on this damn island swings so wildly from one spot to the next. Cursing fuck, fuck under my breath, I hacked away at the branches blocking our path and blasted the slimes lurking between trees in search of prey. Before I knew it, we had reached the area near the cave.
“Cain. Did you… know there were things like this around here originally?”
“If I knew that, I’d be the principal. I had no clue either.”
“Hmm~”
Dorothy gave me a suspicious look, but I flatly denied it. No, fuck. I really didn’t know. If I’d realized the island’s terrain could change this drastically, I would have been way more careful! In the game it was just an instant transition, but reality was clearly different. Accepting that fact, we looked for a place to rest.
Thankfully the date and time followed the original world exactly. Yeah, it was a game world, so they probably patched that in for convenience.
“Good thing we left on Friday. If I’d whined about it being annoying and we’d left tomorrow instead… ugh…”
⊳ Cain! The fire’s all done! Can we rest now?!
Kasa had poured fire mana into the magic stone we were using as a campfire substitute and lit it. Dorothy flinched at the sudden flame that appeared with no warning, but she quickly settled down again and spoke to me.
“Most mages only handle one attribute. Two is genius level. Three or more and they start calling you a prodigy… Cain, you could at least qualify as a genius.”
“Haha. Actually, I only gained the ability to handle earth mana a few days ago.”
I snapped my fingers and formed a simple exoskeleton around my arm to show off. Using the damp soil of the jungle made it harden with a glossy finish; it somehow left my own skin feeling strangely moist. When I demonstrated that I could command earth spirits too, a flicker of surprise crossed Dorothy’s usually expressionless face. She calmly pulled a pot from her bag, added water, and began to boil it.
Is she trying to hide her embarrassment or what? That’s a more unique reaction than I expected.
“Hey, say something at least. You’re making this awkward for me.”
“No… I… was a little startled. Um…”
Dorothy’s ears turned faintly red. Even though she couldn’t show emotion on her face, reading her through those little physical tells was pretty entertaining. She fiddled with her staff and stared into space, apparently choosing her words. While she sorted her thoughts, I chopped vegetables and meat, tossed them into the pot, and started a simple stew. It was interesting that the academy even taught basic survival skills. Probably because getting deployed to battlefields after graduation was basically guaranteed. For me, it was incredibly useful knowledge.
“How something like this… could bloom from such a worthless body… um…”
“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“I’m only stating facts. Mages at my level can roughly gauge how strong someone is.”
Dorothy swung her staff as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It stung my pride, but she had a point.
“It’s one thing to neglect the physical side as a mage, but having no mana at all is… well, unusual. Right?”
“Y-yeah.”
“It was just surprising to see you wielding such a foreign power. That’s all.”
She added that it was also her first time seeing a mage who used life force as an energy source, then turned her gaze to the bubbling stew.
“You cook pretty well. Guess you didn’t sleep through those classes?”
“People these days say cooking is a basic life skill.”
If you live alone, you need at least basic cooking knowledge. A working adult living by themselves has to be versatile! Meal kits are convenient, sure… but they taste better when you actually know what you’re doing. Praise me more, Dorothy Gale!
“Hmm~ Able to handle three attributes and cook well too~”
“Don’t fall for me. We’re both still young with bright futures ahead.”
“You really know how to piss me off, junior.”
Dorothy shot me a fed-up look and ladled the stew into bowls. Silph and Gnome were scouting the perimeter, so nothing should bother us while we ate. I stared blankly at Kasa, who had curled up beside the fire and was trying to sleep, then asked Dorothy a question.
“Now that I think about it, you’re called a genius, senior. How many attributes can you handle?”
“All four. Water, fire, wind, and earth.”
Whoa. No wonder they called her a genius and future archmage. In the game I’d been so focused on assassination routes that I’d almost forgotten there was a standard “Magic is the best conversation tool” strategy where you just obliterated everything with spells.
“That’s incredible. As expected of someone with the makings of an archmage…”
“I’m sick of it~ The people who say that while trying to butter me up have never been good people.”
“Then I’ll be the first.”
After all, I have no intention of using you. The fact that she was voluntarily helping me wasn’t something I had planned, so in a way I had earned her goodwill, hadn’t I? She was officially my guardian, but if anything happened to the person who needed to close the gate with me, it would be a loss in every sense.
“It’s gotten dark. Are we sleeping here tonight?”
“Ah, looks like it. Hard to tell when the sun sets in a jungle like this.”
“They haven’t given you a watch yet.”
“A watch?”
At my question Dorothy held out her left wrist. It was the smartwatch-like device I’d seen during the previous exam, and it still looked loaded with functions. She proudly explained that the academy gave them as enrollment gifts to second-years.
“I’m so jealous~ If it were me I’d go crazy with envy.”
“Ah… yes…”
“Ugh… this is really annoying.”
She teases me first and then acts annoyed. Unbelievable. I stood up naturally and pulled out the tent to set it up. Come to think of it, how many tents had we bought?
“Senior. Now that I think about it, how many tents did we buy?”
“One~”
“Uh… why?”
“Back then I said we’d go, but I was still half-doubting it~”
“Do you… think that makes sense?”
Dorothy tilted her head and looked at me. Her emerald eyes were filled with pure conviction that practically screamed What are you going to do about it?
“No matter how hot-blooded a seventeen-year-old might be, he wouldn’t dare lay a hand on a genius archmage candidate.”
“Ah~ So it was a purchase based on overwhelming self-confidence.”
“Exactly. Besides, you’re the one who only bought one tent in the first place, Cain.”
“Ah~”
I was broke, fuck. I’d barely scraped together enough for clothes.
…In the end, if you traced every problem back to its root, it was always that fucking Sylph. The fact that she didn’t even respond anymore suggested she had half-given up. Sigh… At least I felt a little better now.
Even after we finished the stew, I had to endure a one-hour lecture about what proper sexual values looked like from someone with conservative views. Dragging my exhausted body into the tent, I curled up in a corner and tried to sleep. I should have just bought two tents. This is so fucking unfair. The sight of the surprisingly conservative archmage Dorothy completely drained what little energy I had left, and I finally passed out.
. . . . . .
“Miss Shub. The library is closing.”
“Ah, it’s already this late…”
Black horns curled round like a mountain goat’s. Long silver hair so pure it could be called white. Eyes stained the color of blood. A voluptuous figure she didn’t even bother hiding. Shub le Ruelle, the top student in the magic department, finally lifted her head at the librarian’s words and began organizing her books.
Today she had once again immersed herself in countless magic theories. Reviewing past lectures, previewing future ones. Hunting down theses written by archmages and the magic towers of every nation, reading them, then creating her own magical formulas. Knowledge is born from learning. Shub le Ruelle believed that only knowledge could allow the demon race to rise in this world.
The demons had already blended naturally into society and lived in relative harmony, yet an invisible wall still existed. Before entering the academy, Shub had thought deeply about the subtle discrimination she experienced both openly and behind her back. Important positions rarely went to demons. Promotions and achievements always seemed to place them lower on the priority list. That kind of discrimination. She had even hesitated to enroll because of it, but the academy turned out to treat everyone equally regardless of race. She loved everything about this place. Everyone was truly equal here.
There were occasional unpleasant glances, but those were merely jealousy directed at the top magic student rather than hatred toward her race. So Shub had worked tirelessly to maintain her position. But she felt it still wasn’t enough. She needed to be more elegant, more exemplary, and always one step ahead. Her obsession with such things bordered on compulsion, and that compulsion soon became an insatiable greed for knowledge.
Shub had been pouring days and nights into this library in her quest to absorb every piece of magic-related knowledge it contained.
“Something’s still missing…”
She had worked hard to claim the top spot and never stopped afterward. Yet she still felt lacking. Hunger. It was a hunger for knowledge. No matter how much she ate, no matter how full she became to the point of wanting to vomit, she had no way to satisfy this bottomless void.
“I’m hungry again…”
With a gloomy expression, Shub finished organizing the books and stood up. How much food would she need to eat this time before exhaustion finally let her sleep? She let out a small sigh. Then her nose caught the scent of something irresistibly appetizing. The aroma of mana. A sweet, seductive fragrance began to drift toward her.
“Hungry…”
Habitually muttering to herself, she left the library. The path Shub took was not the one leading back to the dormitories. And so, in the middle of the night, Shub le Ruelle followed the scent of mana and disappeared into the darkness.