Chapter 20: Training(2)
Chapter 20: Training(2)
Lina was dreaming.
The images were still vivid in her mind: her comrades, more valiant and just than anyone, being brutally slaughtered.
People sing of a hero's death. They glorify and praise it, calling them heroes who saved the world.
But having faced that reality firsthand, Lina knew all too well how cruel and horrifying it truly was.
There was no honor in death. The only ones who bestow honor upon the dead are the living.
No one cared how miserably and painfully the fallen heroes had died, or what unspeakable humiliations they had suffered.
A comrade renowned as a righteous outlaw had his entrails devoured by beasts while he was still alive. The terrible screams he’d let out were beyond imagination.
[Aaaargh! Just kill me! Kill me!]
The Saintess, blessed by the goddess, died while her entire body was violated and mocked by her enemies.
[Hyaah! No! Don't spread me open there! I don't want you to see! Noooo!]
Victoria, who had always defended her comrades on the front lines, was hacked to pieces by countless enemy blades until she was nothing but a lump of meat, her form unrecognizable.
[Lina. Please, live on for my sake.]
There is no honor in death. Lina knew this well. As she kept her eyes closed, the final moments of her dying comrades replayed endlessly in her mind.
None of them had deserved to die like that. They were great figures, worthy of being called heroes.
And the one who had led those heroes was Lina herself.
Every time a comrade died, Lina saw their ghosts.
Those ghosts would ask why she couldn't save them, questioning if their deaths had truly held any value.
Lina could not answer.
Even when she reached the very end and won the Holy War, she could not answer.
Because there was no one left by her side. Lina stood alone on a land of red blood and corpses.
‘In this life… I won’t let that happen to anyone. I’ll protect them, no matter what.’
Lina’s dream continued.
It was a dream of Victoria, whom she had cherished like a real sister, crying after losing her family and being wounded in body and soul, just as she had in the past life.
Victoria resented Lina, asking why she couldn't save her.
Lina screamed as she awoke from the terrible dream.
"Noooo!"
She was awake. It was a relief that it was only a dream.
But as she came to her senses and looked around, she saw her comrades, who had been sleeping in a circle around the campfire, now awake and staring at her.
She felt like she could die of embarrassment, especially when her eyes met Kerry’s.
"I-I'm sorry!"
With that apology, Lina pulled the blanket all the way over her face.
*
Lina’s party was on their way to save Victoria, a comrade from her past life. Just like before, Victoria had become a target for assassination by the Organization.
Lina desperately wanted to save her.
The party bustled about, packing up and preparing to move.
Kerry took care of everything, so there was nothing for Lina to worry about.
Besides, Lina was clumsy with this sort of thing.
Her kind nature made her uncomfortable ordering others around.
It was a small thing, but she was grateful for Kerry’s presence.
"Alright, everyone, let's get moving."
The party boarded the carriage and began their journey.
Inside, everyone was staring intently at Lina.
"Lina. You must have had a nightmare last night. I've never seen you scream like that before."
Kerry playfully mimicked her, crying "Nooo," which Lina found incredibly annoying.
Her face flushing slightly, Lina turned her gaze away and replied.
"Yes… I had a rather bad nightmare."
It was understandable from her perspective. Victoria, the comrade she considered a sister, had become a target, just like in her past life.
Lina’s mind was consumed all day with thoughts of how to prevent that horrific massacre.
Kerry was teasing her about last night, but he knew the truth.
‘It seems whatever happened to this Victoria person we’re going to save was pretty damn awful.’
It was an inference he could make only because he knew Lina was a regressor.
Lina had also smiled far less frequently ever since seeing the assassination order.
‘Hang in there, Lina. I’ll do whatever I can to help.’
The journey was smooth. Goblins and kobolds would occasionally appear and cause a nuisance, but they were no match for the party.
If anything, they just became an outlet for Lina’s stress. Natasha, also itching for a fight, actively slaughtered the creatures.
It was a leisurely trip. They were told they would arrive in just a few more days.
It was a long way. A major reason for the slow pace was that they couldn't travel after dark.
The nights were a nuisance, but today, Kerry was eagerly awaiting nightfall.
Because when night came, he could finally be alone.
"Hoo. I can finally charge the Magic Storage Orb."
The White Witch had told him he had to be the one to charge it.
She had already given him a thorough explanation.
[Think of it as accumulating mana in the orb, just as you accumulate it in your heart. However, it is not as slow as accumulating it directly in your body. An hour should be more than enough time to charge it.]
An hour. And that was with the White Witch factoring in his high aptitude.
Dawn arrived. Kerry checked to see if the others were sound asleep.
‘Everyone’s sleeping well. The coachman said he’d take the night watch, but he’s fast asleep too.’
The entire party seemed to be in a deep slumber. Needing a quiet place to concentrate, Kerry slipped into the empty carriage.
The cold air inside jolted him awake.
"Alright, shall we begin?"
He sat down in a meditative posture and placed the orb in front of him.
Kerry began to focus.
His inner world naturally formed in his mind.
A world that was identical to reality, yet where he could see things that were normally invisible.
Kerry now knew that this invisible something was mana.
Charging the orb was a bit different from accumulating mana in his heart through breathing.
According to the White Witch, the orb was far more durable than a human body, so he could push mana into it without restraint.
She had described the sensation as inserting a gentle whirlpool into the orb.
Kerry began to concentrate, visualizing a whirlpool. In his inner world, the mana inside the carriage began to stir.
It slowly started to take the shape of a vortex. At the center of the mana vortex was the Magic Storage Orb.
He had to focus.
Sensing and simultaneously moving the mana in the air was still an unfamiliar task for Kerry.
The mana in his inner world swirled like a vortex.
The blue-hued mana moved slowly, forming the shape of a galaxy.
Right now, all the mana inside the carriage was under Kerry’s control.
Starting with the mana closest to the center of the vortex, Kerry slowly fed it into the orb. The Magic Storage Orb began to emit a faint light.
It was a sign that it was working.
With each bit of mana he pushed in, the speed began to increase on its own, as if gaining momentum.
The mana, which had been moving as slowly as a galaxy, began to speed up. Sweat poured down Kerry’s forehead.
He had lost all track of time in his concentration. The hour the White Witch had mentioned was fast approaching.
Kerry was so focused he didn't even realize his whole body was drenched in sweat.
The swirling vortex of mana was being sucked into the orb at an ever-increasing rate.
There was no need to worry about an overload like with a human body. When the time came, the orb would simply refuse to accept any more mana.
How much mana had he put in?
The Magic Storage Orb flashed brightly. The carriage window flickered for a moment.
Inside the carriage was a orb glowing with a soft blue light. Kerry picked up the Magic Storage Orb.
"...Is it a success?"
It probably was. He would have to ask the White Witch to be sure, but it looked similar to what she had described.
He could use magic now! It was a momentous occasion, two years after coming to this world. He couldn't help but feel a surge of overwhelming emotion.
He wanted to use the orb to cast a spell right away, but it was the middle of the night.
The others were all asleep, so he had no choice but to wait.
"I can't test the magic right now, but I should at least confirm if this is right, shouldn't I?"
There was still time before morning.
He might be a little short on sleep, but with the prospect of finally being able to use magic, there was no way he could fall asleep anyway.
Kerry took out the seal and traveled to the White Witch.
*
"How about you make an appointment before visiting from now on? This is a lady's bedchamber, you know."
The White Witch, who seemed to have been in the middle of changing, spoke as she hastily adjusted her clothes. She looked quite hot.
A slightly awkward atmosphere hung in the air. Perhaps it was because she had been changing. On top of that, it was her bedroom.
The White Witch’s face was also faintly red. The memory of being with her in that bed kept flashing before his eyes.
As if to dispel the awkwardness, the White Witch spoke.
"To return in just one day… I see you've succeeded."
"..."
When Kerry didn't answer, the White Witch continued, flustered.
"A-And I have a question of my own. You're always the one asking, aren't you?"
"What is it?"
"Your name… What is your name?"
"Kerry."
"May I call you Kerry?"
"Do as you please. Come to think of it, I don't know your name either, Witch. What is it?"
"Andreana Carteret."
"That's fucking hard to pronounce. I'll just keep calling you Witch."
"...Do as you wish."
‘Why does the atmosphere always get so strange when I’m with this guy?’
Perhaps it was because they had already slept together once. Honestly, the memory of that moment was still vivid in her mind.
In the hundred years she had spent alone here, she had never experienced a stimulation that intense.
‘I was forced… My pride should have been deeply wounded… So why isn't the memory of that time unpleasant?’
The White Witch couldn't understand her own heart. This was a first for her.
Lately, her heart would start to beat a little faster whenever she saw Kerry.
It was Kerry who roused the witch from her idle thoughts.
"Witch. Please take a look at this."
The White Witch looked at the orb Kerry held out. It was a Magic Storage Orb, filled with brilliant blue mana.
‘He really did it.’
Without even a demonstration, just a verbal explanation, Kerry had accomplished the task in a single day.
A talent that could be called heaven-sent. As she thought, Kerry was no ordinary man, despite his appearance.
He was completely different from the men of meager talent she had seen before.
This was the first time she had ever met a man whose talent was on par with her own.
"Quite impressive… I didn't expect you to do it in just one day."
"It was easy once I imagined accumulating mana in the orb instead of my heart, just like you said."
‘If it were as easy as it sounds, no one would struggle with it,’ she thought.
The White Witch gazed at the fully charged orb.
"It seems you haven't used the magic engraved in this orb yet. Would you like to try it here?"
"I can?"
"Yes. It's possible, as long as we're outside the bedroom."
Come to think of it, he had never been outside the White Witch's bedroom.
The White Witch and Kerry went outside.
He now saw that it wasn't just a bedroom, but a massive, white castle.
"This was a castle…"
"Did you think I lived in a single room?"
Beyond the castle, a vast grassland stretched out. There was nothing there, but the atmosphere made him understand why the witch had called this place a utopia.
"This far from my castle should be fine. Go on, use your magic to your heart's content."
Kerry took the orb from his pocket. A orb holding brilliant mana. He had seen magic emerge from it twice before.
Once from the bandits, and once when Lina had demonstrated it.
The invisible blade of wind that tore through the ground with a sound that ripped through the air was a spectacle worthy of being called magic.
"Hoo."
He took a deep breath. Operating the charged orb was simple.
She had said that if he held the orb and strongly visualized the magic engraved within it, the rest would happen on its own. He didn't know the principle behind it, though.
"Wind Blade."
The moment Kerry muttered the words, his hair whipped about, and the wind around him began to rage.