Why the Hell Is This World Such a Mess?
“About my boon…”
Arcia spoke first. But she couldn't continue right away. After averting her gaze for a moment, she muttered softly.
“I'm… a little embarrassed to tell you about my boon…”
With that, Arcia gently pulled Ian's hand closer. And with her other hand, she covered her face.
“Huh?”
It was a completely unexpected answer. It was absurd—but for some reason, seeing Arcia's flushed face peeking through her fingers… well, this wasn't so bad either. He felt like he was awakening to some strange fetish.
No, wait. That wasn't the point right now.
“What do you—”
Ian was about to ask again when—
“It feels it in the butt!!”
“Eek?!”
A weird noise burst from Ian's mouth.
“Th-that's the boon ability! It's not some weird ability… no, it is weird, but…!”
Arcia's face turned beet red as she desperately spilled out her words.
“There were definitely other people with similar boons! Same name, almost identical descriptions!”
Her words sped up more and more.
“But mine's the only weird one! It's clearly the same boon… but there's an extra description! That… that…”
Arcia's voice grew quieter and quieter.
“It… it… feels better in the… rear… or something like that…!”
She gasped for a moment.
“No! No! But I haven't tried it myself! Really! I've never done it like that!”
Arcia shook her head frantically.
“It was a little scary too…! Lots of adventurers got ruined by boons…!”
Her words started tangling up.
“Of course, I wasn't without curiosity! But I didn't! Really! I swear!”
Arcia cried out desperately, her face almost in tears.
“...”
“...”
A brief silence.
“Um… Arcia.”
Ian broke the silence first. But—
“I… really mean it! For real! I don't… do that kind of…”
Arcia's words started accelerating again, like they were about to explode.
“…I haven't even said anything yet.”
A moment.
“...”
“...”
Once more, a heavy silence settled over the room.
…Somehow, it felt like he was hearing excuses instead of a boon explanation.
…Ian felt a strange sense of taboo guilt, like he was doing something he shouldn't.
And—Arcia's face was so red it seemed like it might turn redder than her pupils.
“Um… could I hear the details first…?”
Ian asked cautiously, watching her expression.
After calming down a bit, Arcia explained the one boon she had.
Hypersensitive Resonance
Effect: Your skin's sensitivity to mana heightens, allowing you to directly sense the subtle flows of mana in the air through your skin.
Traits: Abnormal hypersensitivity in specific body parts—especially the rear.
It was something like that.
"Why the hell there of all places…"
Ian muttered under his breath so she couldn't hear.
The ability to sense mana through the skin seemed pretty useful on its own. Honestly, for a mage, it was a damn good boon. Being able to detect mana flows in the air would give a huge edge in handling magic.
Plus, this was a boon Ian remembered experiencing in the game.
Of course, without that weird trait tacked on… but he definitely recalled seeing it.
Ian glanced up at Arcia. Her face was still flushed bright red.
Like someone who'd just confessed the most embarrassing secret of her life.
“…So.”
A moment later, Ian carefully spoke up.
“Does the mana… feel good?”
Arcia's body twitched for an instant. And then—
“…It feels good.”
She murmured softly.
“…Especially in the back.”
She was completely broken.
“……”
“……”
Ian quietly nodded. And in his mind, he thought:
His own boon, and now this… this world was really fucked up.
…Of course, that wasn't the only weird thing.
“Oh, and I have two more boons.”
“…What?”
Arcia added it casually.
“Mages often get multiple mana-related boons, you know.”
With that, she started explaining again.
Dense Mana
Effect: You react more keenly to the mana within your body, allowing finer control over the mana flowing inside you.
Bursting Magic Power
Effect: The density of mana in your body increases, allowing you to hold more mana in the same vessel.
Boons like that.
The names are all so…
Fortunately, there were no weird traits attached this time. Ian let out a quiet sigh of relief in his mind.
…Phew, good.
He'd been worried there might be two more like the first one.
Plus, both were excellent abilities for a mage. One for precise control of internal mana. The other for increasing total mana capacity.
Both straight-up boosted a mage's fundamentals.
She really has talent.
Ian thought so. Three mana-related boons. Boons usually manifested based on talent or aptitude.
So—Arcia definitely had a knack for magic.
Red hair.
A face still a bit flushed.
And—that boon description that kept popping into his head.
“….”
A brief silence.
Unconsciously, Ian's gaze drifted downward.
And he glanced at the area below Arcia's waist.
“……”
“……”
…Yeah.
She definitely had talent.
…In more ways than one.
Come to think of it—back when they first met, hadn't she been awfully focused on his butt? Touched it several times, even.
“…….”
Ian nodded quietly.
A little later.
The two, now somewhat calmed, decided to test Ian's boon directly. In the process, Ian explained today's new boon to Arcia.
Arcia had been a bit embarrassed but honest about her own boons—so Ian couldn't hide his.
Thinking that, he handed her the parchment from the temple.
Arcia read it for a moment.
“…Ah.”
And soon, she looked over with a meaningful expression, murmuring softly.
“Ah… so that's why…”
“……”
Ian didn't bother asking what she meant.
No—he pretended not to know.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and shifted the topic naturally.
“Ahem! Anyway… shall we start the experiment?”
“Yeah.”
He took Arcia's hand, which was still staring intently at the parchment.
And the moment their hands touched—
A sticky sensation seeped in from inside his body.
At the same time, he felt a similar energy in the air.
Something invisible but definitely there.
Mana.
What was amazing was that the sticky mana was responding to Ian's will.
Very faintly.
But definitely.
The mana was moving slowly.
Of course, he could only feel it while holding Arcia's hand.
According to her, once he got used to mana, he might even be able to use it himself someday.
Ian had been a bit disappointed in this world.
But—the thought of possibly using magic made it seem a little better.
So next, they tested if he could cast magic while holding hands.
If he could move mana—maybe he could cast spells while holding hands too.
“Right, Ian. Focus.”
Ian closed his eyes and mustered all his concentration.
“Very slowly over your hand. Don't rush…”
Arcia advised from the side, closely observing his mana flow.
How much time passed?
Very slowly, really slowly—the mana gathered above Ian's palm.
Arcia's hand was cupped below his, overlapping it. Not just for the boon, but to try actual spellcasting.
When Ian gathered mana, she took control of it and inscribed the spell formula bit by bit.
Ian lacked both the mana control and spell knowledge to form it himself yet.
More time passed.
Once enough mana gathered for the spell, Arcia, who had been inscribing it, said to Ian:
“Ian, now just say the activation word.”
Ian was so focused he could only nod without replying.
"Concentrated mana, heed my will and take form— Mana Bolt."
It was a bit childish incantation, but for Ian's first spell, he was more serious than ever.
As the activation ended, the sticky mana clumps on his hand twisted into shape, forming small orbs.
Now visible to the eye, the magic was clearly completing.
Zzzing—
A short noise, and the mana orbs emitted bright light…
Mana Bolts manifesting above Ian's hand.
“Whoa…”
Ian let out a small gasp of admiration at the magic manifesting through his own hand for the first time.
Then—
Zzzing.
Another noise, and the Mana Bolt shook violently.
Arcia's eyes widened instantly.
“Ian—dodge!”
“Yes?”