Mentor and Mentee, with an Ace on Top (4)
There, right in front of the Mana Stone Mine, sat a massive toad monster called Ogamma, bold as brass. And swarming all around it was a pack of wolf monsters, Bargs.
If we have to take them all on to get through...
It was true that my Death-Seeing Eye had grown a lot by now, but I was still weak against large groups of enemies. Sure, we had Airi with her 2nd Ring mastery, but based on past experience, breaking through a whole pack of Bargs wouldn't be easy.
Or so I thought. That notion was quickly corrected.
Shwooo!
It was my first time seeing a mage in real combat up close. A flock of crows swooped down from the sky toward the Bargs.
Crack!
A long beak pierced straight through a Barg's torso.
Krunch!
The Bargs were dropping like flies under the relentless dive-bombing of the crows, utterly helpless. A path straight to Ogamma opened up in an instant.
"Head straight for Ogamma, just like that!"
"Yes!"
"Got it!"
At Ines sunbae's command, we bolted right for the toad.
"Th-that's... amazing..."
I'd never seen a mage before, let alone a 2nd Circle one. Having a teammate who could intercept monsters from long range like that felt incredibly reassuring.
Sunbae kept summoning endless crows, firing them off at the Bargs.
Shwooo!
They even sliced through the air between us, carving up Bargs as they went. Who would've thought those crows from the trainee evaluation could be used in actual combat like this?
I'd figured pushing back the Barg pack first would be a real slog, but we were closing in on Ogamma without a hitch.
Slash!
Up front, Airi was cleaving Bargs in half with single strokes. She didn't even break stride while swinging—just brushed aside the obstacles blocking our path like they were nothing.
"Whoaaa..."
Her sword flashed. Airi's eyes darted ceaselessly, capturing every incoming Barg's movements. Parry, slice. Our advance never faltered once.
2nd Ring... I'd seen a 1st Ring warrior just recently, but the gap hit me right away. Now I finally got why Airi had always topped our trainee class.
Yip!
A Barg lunged from the side, jaws gaping wide to chomp me.
"Eek!"
I yelped in surprise and rolled away on instinct. The second I dodged its charge, I sprang up and swung my dagger.
Thwack!
The dagger sliced its throat. The Barg gushed blood, staggered, and collapsed. I immediately resumed running to catch up behind Airi.
Al-right! Nailed it!
I'd dipped into the grayscale world just briefly to react to that Barg, so it barely used any mana. The roll and strike flowed out naturally from my training. Bargs were starting to feel manageable now.
Sniff.M-maybe I'm stronger than I thought?
I was feeling pretty smug when—
Fwoosh!
A thick wave of killing intent grazed past me. On pure instinct, I dropped low and slid across the ground.
Right then, a huge, blunt tongue shot over my head.
"Wha—what...?"
Slurp.
The tongue retracted. If that had hit, I'd have been out cold at minimum. And with poison on top, game over wouldn't be surprising.
Grrrk, grrrk.
Ogamma had spotted us and fired its tongue from a distance. This time, Airi was the target.
Krunch!
A sound like metal clashing against stone rang out.
Just how tough is that thing?!
And that wasn't all. It dangled its tentacles from its back and whipped them down at Airi. The air tore with a whip-crack.
Clang! Clang!
Parrying and deflecting over and over, Airi blocked Ogamma's furious assault alone, her expression unchanging. All the while, she inched closer. She looked every bit the knight.
Her stance was an immovable fortress as she swung her sword. No wasted motion—crisp, sturdy, powerful. I'd been peeking at her techniques with Transvision to learn them, so I could vouch better than anyone for how masterful her swordsmanship was.
Sip... whoo.
Airi took a deep breath, and the air around her shifted. Ogamma, probing with its tentacles, glared murderously at the opening and launched its tongue again.
"Yeah, that's what I was waiting for."
Airi's lips curved in what might've been a smile. Her wine-red hair flickered like flames overlapping with her red aura.
She wrapped her sword in red aura and rings at once, then slashed upward.
Crack!
The rock-hard tongue split in two. The instant it did, Ogamma let out a horrific screech I'd never heard before, exposing a massive opening. Airi, of course, wouldn't miss it—she kicked off the ground and charged.
Stab.
Her sword plunged deep into Ogamma's chest. The ear-piercing screech cut off as the bisected tongue flopped limply to the ground.
Whoo...
Like she'd just wrapped up a job, Airi glanced my way.
"Wow."
All I could do was gape in awe. That was an ace. That was 2nd Ring level. It was the knightly prowess I'd only heard about in rumors, embodied right there in Airi.
"Whoa, she's basically ready for active duty already."
Ines sunbae had wiped out the remaining Bargs and strolled over casually, hands behind her back.
"R-right?! Airi's so cool!"
Airi scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
"It wasn't... anything special."
"High five!"
"Wha—hey?"
I grinned wide and raised both hands for a high five, charging at her. Airi startled, dropped her sword grip, and raised her hand to match my height.
Grr...k...
That's when I caught it in my peripheral—a flash in Ogamma's eyes, the one we'd thought was dead. They turned blood-red, and the tentacles twitched.
No.
My body moved first. In the colorless world, I gripped my dagger. The red death line on Ogamma's body...
Huh?
No red line. I slowed time perception to its max, racking my brain.
Why isn't it showing?
No line meant it was dead. Every living thing has an end, and my eyes let me see it. If it was still moving, there had to be something.
Instinct like with the board?
No, that didn't fit—moving those tentacles was too complex for instinct.
Then... then...
This had never happened before. A target I meant to kill, with no red line?
I shut my eyes and sharpened my senses. I had to find a way. No choice.
Or Airi gets hurt!
Squirm.
Without sight, I felt a presence.
Squirm.
Not Airi or sunbae. Not something with arms or legs... more like a wriggling worm, emanating killing intent.
Ah... got it.
I opened my eyes and activated Transvision on Ogamma. There, in its brain—a parasite the size of my palm.
And just as expected, the parasite had a red line.
Found you.
No hesitation in my actions. In that moment, fear vanished, and my body moved freely.
I faced death head-on.
Bang!
My body shot out like a bullet. I twisted midair into a spin.
Slash slash slash!
I shredded the tentacles firing at Airi. They rained down in chunks.
I'd launched too hard and skidded across the ground. To brake, I jammed my dagger into the dirt.
Scraaape!
Then yanked it hard to accelerate again, charging Ogamma. I leaped at point-blank, landed on its head, and drove the dagger into its brain.
Squelch!
Clear as day in my eyes: the damn parasite in Ogamma's brain, pumping mana. And now it was bisected by my blade.
Huff... huff...
I gasped for breath. Felt like my lungs were wrung dry. My heart pounded right in my ear.
Had I ever moved that hard in such a short time?
"Airi... y-you okay?"
I pulled out the dagger and stood. Ogamma died on its feet. Looking down at Airi right below, she was staring up at me.
"Airi?"
"You... you're the real deal."
Her lips moved. Just as she started to speak, Ines sunbae rushed over in a panic.
"K-kids! You okay? What the heck happened?!"
Sunbae looked totally dazed, like she'd never seen this coming.
"No way... Ogamma was definitely dead when I checked..."
"There was a parasite in its head."
"Really?"
Sunbae approached the corpse and snapped her fingers. A crow from the sky landed and sliced off Ogamma's head with its wings.
Thud.
She rummaged through the head, stuck her hand in the hole I'd made. A sticky sound followed.
Ew.
I grimaced involuntarily. Sunbae pulled out the parasite from the brain.
"Whoa, for real? H-how'd you know?"
"Uh... I saw it. Inside its head."
"You saw it?"
"Yeah."
Sunbae blinked in stunned silence, then pulled an empty glass vial from her pocket. She dropped the parasite in, tucked it back into her jacket.
"Now I get why the team leader had me keep an eye on you. You've got all kinds of talents. And that movement just now... how does a kid like you not have a ring yet?"
"I-I actually wanna make one, but I can't quite get the feel..."
"Hmm."
Sunbae pondered seriously, then knelt on one knee to meet my eye level.
"Yufir."
"Yes."
"Close your eyes."
I did as she said.
"That movement earlier? No way you pull that off without using mana."
"Y-yeah... that's true."
Mana had definitely been consumed. Not by my will, but still.
"Recall that sensation. It was recent, so the residual feeling should still be there."
I replayed the motion. How did I pull that off? Where'd that power come from? Couldn't have created something from nothing. The answer was inside me.
Energy. A lingering energy. Fading fast, but still there.
Mana.
I sensed the mana in my body. Expanding the sensation, I felt it circulating through paths all over me.
This is it.
I had a hunch. I drew one flow toward my heart.
To weave a ring, I needed a clear image. What would work?
Dark lakeside. Red vortex.
Right, and in that dream, someone told me...
Who was it again?
Swish...
"Huh."
The gathered flow scattered. Right when I needed to focus on one, memories from the dream distracted me.
"Ehehe... failed!"
I blushed and laughed it off.
"Well, it doesn't come that easy."
Sunbae chuckled and patted my head.
"Still, I saw the flow move. You guided it well toward your heart, especially."
Airi sheathed her sword and approached. She'd watched my attempt closely.
"R-right! It was my first time sensing mana for real. And moving it too."
"Oh? That's huge progress. Everyone struggles to grasp it, but once you can move the flow, weaving a ring isn't far off."
"Yufir, looks like it's your time to weave one soon."
At their words, I clenched my fists tight.
"Alright! I'll weave it up super fast and shock Bina and Edmon!"
"Haha, first let's finish the mission, yeah?"
We peered into the Mana Stone Mine. Mana stone lanterns lit the walls, but the depths stretched on endlessly.
"The parasite and all... something's definitely waiting in there."
Sunbae took the lead.
"Stay on your toes from here on. In a tight, dark place like this, anything could happen."
We followed her into the Mana Stone Mine.