Spatial Leap (4)

The Saintia Imperial Archmage.

One of the great mages of Seintea—a powerhouse on equal footing with the Five Stars themselves. I couldn't fathom how these people had ended up colliding with someone of that caliber. Then a guess flickered through my mind.

...The Mana Crystal?

That was what it had been called, I was sure of it.

They were special not only because they ranked among the rarest of already scarce races, but for another reason entirely: the existence of the Mana Crystal.

In the game, a vanishingly small number of chosen Haerin were born with a Mana Crystal already formed inside their bodies. A mana stone of such extreme purity that ordinary mana stones couldn't even compare. To a mage, it was nothing short of a treasure of the ages.

I think I get the picture.

Looking at the chieftain's absurd level, I suspected he was carrying one himself. Had Seintea's imperial court somehow learned of its existence and attacked them for it? It wouldn't have been the first time. Just as Ashel's White Moon Clan had been slaughtered, the imperial court already had a track record of hunting down and massacring other races.

I wanted to ask more, but I decided against bringing up the Mana Crystal. It would be an extremely sensitive subject for them, and nothing good would come of an outsider like me mentioning it.

"How did you come to face someone like that?"

At my question, the chieftain took a sip of tea before answering.

"We ran into him on our way back to the sea—our homeland."

"He attacked your tribe for no reason at all?"

"Not quite... just the fruit of greed, heh heh. There were circumstances."

The way he laughed so weakly made it clear he had no intention of explaining further. The fruit of greed. I was certain now that it had everything to do with the Mana Crystal.

"Hey, quit grilling him."

The woman, who had been listening with open displeasure, cut in.

"Old man, why are you telling him everything? What if he goes around blabbing?"

"Tsk tsk. And the one worrying about that is the same person who revealed herself to a human and brought him all the way here?"

"...I didn't bring him! He just followed me on his own!"

The chieftain stroked his beard and went on.

"In any case, that's how I came by this wound. The rest of the tribe fled into the water and barely escaped with their lives."

I could picture it well enough. The chieftain had stepped forward to buy the others time to flee, and in the end he'd taken the hit himself. Against the Saintia Imperial Archmage, you'd need to be around his level just to stand a chance.

"Well, I don't have much time left anyway, so I'm just grateful that the rest of the tribe made it out alive..."

"Old man!"

The woman suddenly shouted, glaring at him.

"...I told you to stop saying things like that. What do you mean you don't have much time left?"

"Now, now, don't shout so. You'll make my ears hurt."

The chieftain clucked his tongue and calmly sipped his tea. An awkward silence settled over us. I fidgeted with my teacup, feeling the warmth in my hands, then spoke again.

"That wound looks quite serious."

"Honestly, it is. Even accounting for this old body, it shows no sign of healing."

"I don't know how much it'll help, but as it happens, I have a healing potion on me."

The woman startled and stared at me.

"A-a healing potion?"

The chieftain's eyes went wide as well.

"A healing potion... do you mean a healing potion?"

"That's right."

She knew about them? I'd assumed people living in the wild wouldn't know about potions, so this was a surprise.

I immediately pulled out the Scarlet Potion I always kept on me. I'd used quite a bit of it by now, so less than half remained, but it was still a substantial amount. Looking at the woman, whose gaze was locked entirely on the bottle, I said:

"This is a top-grade potion—among the most effective of any circulating in the world."

"..."

"Tell me where the place I'm looking for is, and I'll give you this."

I would find the location of the Mystery, and the chieftain would recover from his wounds. A proposal with nothing but upside for both of us.

"H-how am I supposed to trust something a human is giving us..."

She muttered that, then clamped her mouth shut, glanced at the chieftain, and hurriedly changed her tune.

"N-no. I'll trust you. Just give it to me."

"Will you tell me where that place is?"

"Yes! I'll tell you, so just hand it over already!"

It was a cry of pure desperation. The reaction was more intense than I'd expected, and while I was a little taken aback, I pressed on.

"Then make me a promise first."

"What now?!"

"I have no way of knowing how effective this potion will be on the chieftain's wound. So even if the effect is negligible—or nonexistent—you still have to guide me to that place."

The Scarlet Potion was an excellent potion, no question. But I couldn't be completely certain it would heal the chieftain's wound. For one thing, he wasn't an ordinary race—he was Haerin. And a wound inflicted by a great mage might be something else entirely.

I didn't particularly like attaching conditions to treating an injured person, but I had no choice. The woman glared at me in silence, her eyes carrying that same sentiment, then answered.

"...Fine, just give it. I'll guide you to that place a hundred times over."

I'd originally planned to have her lead me there first and then hand over the potion, but the atmosphere wasn't right for that. The order didn't really matter—though there was always the chance she wouldn't keep her word.

Well, I doubt she'd go that far.

I handed the Scarlet Potion over without protest. She took it, stood there for a moment, then looked back at the chieftain. He gestured.

"Let me see it."

The chieftain opened the bottle and peered at the contents. Then, looking surprised, he nodded.

"The scent of mana is this strong... this is clearly no ordinary item. Are you sure it's all right for us to accept this?"

"I'm getting something in return. I'm not giving it away for free."

"Hmm. The place you're looking for must be quite important to you. In any case, I'll use it gratefully."

The woman snatched the potion back from him.

"Show me your back already, old man. I'm treating you right now."

"Do you know how to use it?"

"...Y-you just pour it on the wound, right?"

She glanced at me, looking for confirmation.

"Just give it here. I'll do it."

I'd used it several times, after all—I knew the method better. I laid the chieftain down and examined the wound on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his back. A long diagonal gash, and around it a livid bluish mark. The color resembled a bruise, but the severity was incomparable.

Gloop. Gloop. Gloop.

I poured the potion little by little, following the wound from top to bottom. Contrary to my worries, the effect appeared before long.

A bit slowly, but the wound began to close, flesh gradually knitting itself back together.

"...Ah!"

The woman, who had been fidgeting anxiously beside me, let out a gasp. Once the wound had vanished without a trace, the chieftain sat back up and looked at me with dazed eyes. I asked him:

"How is it?"

"...There's still some internal damage, but the external wound seems completely healed. This is a truly remarkable item."

I nodded and gave him what little potion remained.

"Drink the rest. It should help with the internal injuries as well."

The chieftain downed the remaining potion ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in one gulp and set the empty bottle on the floor. Then, his face far more lively than before, he grinned and looked at the woman.

"What's with the teary eyes, child?"

Just as he said, the woman's eyes were red, on the verge of tears.

"...You're all better, old man?"

"I am. Now we can head back to the sea. Every last one of us."

"Hic... khh...!"

She threw herself into the chieftain's arms and burst into wretched sobs. The chieftain patted her head. Not knowing the full story of what these people had been through, I could only sit there awkwardly and watch.

After leaving the cave, I returned to the carriage. I had Breathless Magic enchanted onto me and headed to the designated spot alone. I sat with my back against a tree and waited a while, until the woman appeared from deeper in the forest.

"...What are you staring at."

Her eyes were still red, so I'd been looking, and she snapped at me.

"Is the chieftain all right?"

"Yeah. He wanted to come this far too, but the others stopped him—said he still needed to rest."

I nodded and stood up.

"Then let's get going."

"I was going to anyway. You don't have to tell me."

It was time to go find the Mystery of Spatial Leap.

The woman took the lead, moving along the lake's edge, and I followed behind her. After walking for some time, she asked:

"But you're human. Can't you stay underwater for long?"

"I've had magic cast on me. It won't be a problem."

"Ah, right..."

She seemed to have something else to say, fidgeting, then spoke in a voice that nearly vanished.

"Thanks."

"...?"

"I said thanks. For healing our old man. I mean it. Thank you."

"Sure."

I'd treated him because I wanted something in return, so there wasn't really any need to accept her gratitude. She wiped her face, looking embarrassed at having said it, then added:

"...That's it, okay? That was the thank-you. I'm not like you—I actually say thank you."

I couldn't tell if she was picking a fight or thanking me. I sighed.

"Before we go in, explain the place I'm looking for. Where in the lake is it?"

"We're already here, actually."

Passing through dense undergrowth, we'd arrived at a stretch of rocky ground. She stopped, looked out over the lake, and pointed in one direction.

"See over there? We need to go that way and dive until the bottom's almost visible. It's pretty deep."

I looked where she was pointing.

"The one thing I'm a little worried about is that we might run into those things around here..."

"Those things?"

"There are these fish with noses that stick out long and sharp, like spears."

A monster with a spear-like snout...

Lance Fish, then.

Their level wasn't particularly high—low twenties for an adult—but they hunted in packs, driving their prey. Their entire bodies were covered in hard scales, and they used the sharp spines protruding from the front as weapons, charging at high speed. The more of them there were, the more lethal they became. I'd gotten thoroughly wrecked by them back in my beginner days, diving for underwater hunts without knowing any better, so I remembered them clearly.

"Well, it's fine. I can handle a few of them no problem. Just trust me and follow."

She said it with complete confidence, then finally asked, as if the thought had only just occurred to her:

"So why are you looking for that place anyway? Is there gold and treasure hidden there or something?"

Gold and treasure. There was a treasure hidden there, all right—one that made gold look like nothing.

"You don't need to know."

"Ahh, I get it. You're looking for a treasure ship, aren't you? I used to see humans like that all the time when I lived by the sea... Wait, but this is a lake. You're not actually dumb enough to look for a treasure ship in a lake, are you?"

"Stop talking and just lead the way."

She snorted, stripped off the clothes she was wearing without ceremony, and dove straight into the water. I jumped in after her.

Splash!

Looking at her underwater, her form had transformed in an instant, covered in scales. Looking more closely now, something like gills had appeared along her sides as well. She crooked a finger at me as if to say follow, then swam ahead.

She's way too fast.

I swam hard after her, but of course I fell behind. How was a human supposed to keep up with a race that lived in the water? Seeing me lag, she shouted. Even underwater, her voice rang clearly in my ears.

"Why are you so slow?! Hurry up! I'll leave you behind!"

...Could the Haerin speak underwater?

Anyway, even as she said that, she started matching my pace, swimming more slowly.

How much time passed like that? As we went quite deep, sizable fish began to appear, gliding past us. None of them attacked first. Then something approached rapidly from below, and I turned my gaze.

A fish with black scales that looked as hard as armor, a spear-like spine jutting forward.

Ah, shit.

I frowned as I looked at it. It was the Lance Fish she'd mentioned before we entered the water. This wasn't even a flag—we actually ran into them.

"Watch out!"

Wham!

She darted in and smashed her fist into the one charging toward us. Even underwater, her speed was no different from running on land. The Lance Fish, struck squarely in the body, spewed blood and sank limply downward.

But it wasn't just one or two. More Lance Fish burst out from other directions and attacked her.

"These things are seriously annoying...!"

She handled the attacking Lance Fish without much difficulty. At over level thirty, a few level-twenty Lance Fish were no trouble for her. The problem, however, was something else.

As I recalled, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lance Fish rarely traveled as single individuals or even in small groups. At minimum, they moved in dozens.

...This isn't dozens.

And the ones here seemed to be a far larger school than that. I could feel an enormous presence approaching from all directions. From four to eight, from eight to sixteen—the Lance Fish swarming in multiplied their numbers in an instant.

"Wh-what?"

Even she, who'd been picking them off one or two at a time, seemed to realize something was wrong, her face going blank with shock. There had been a window to flee, but I'd stayed put, and she'd been too absorbed in the fight to notice until it was too late.

Kuuuuh—!

And so we were trapped in an instant. I looked at the black whirlwind that had completely engulfed our surroundings. Hundreds of them—nearly six hundred Lance Fish—were spinning in a swarm, encircling us.

Ugh.

I stared at the sight, thoroughly sick of it. Memories of playing the game came flooding back. Experiencing it for real was a bit nerve-wracking.

This was the Lance Fish hunting method. Surround the prey, spin in circles so it can't escape, then stab in from all directions at once. They could hunt this way because their own hard scales kept them from injuring each other. Even monsters of only level twenty, concentrating this much volume of attacks, could generate enough firepower in an instant to kill opponents of far higher levels in a single burst.

"S-stay sharp."

A trembling voice came from beside me. She seemed to have never faced a school of this size either, and was in a complete panic. Who was she telling to stay sharp?

"Grab onto me tight. I'll try to punch through upward somehow...!"

So she wasn't going to abandon me, at least. I smirked and ignored her, raising a hand above my head. Blood seeping from my palm gathered into the shape of a sphere. She'd been about to shout again, but she froze when she saw the blood orb floating above my palm.

Let's see...

Time to properly test what Blood Arts can do.

The swirling school of Lance Fish charged at us all at once. At the same moment, I detonated the blood orb.

BOOM!

Blood droplets burst outward like bullets in every direction, cutting through the water and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠engulfing them. That was the end of it. The hundreds of Lance Fish that had been shooting toward us, suffocating in their density, all lost their strength and sank below. A clean wipeout.