"Concerning our conversation yesterday..." She starts to say after some time of walking inside the forest.
"Wha---!? I thought we agreed you wouldn't say I look like a frog anymore!"
Trying to make me remember those unpleasant memories… Just how much evil can this grumpy parasite hold inside her body…?
"Yeah… I did compare you to a 'wart', not a 'frog'. Also, I was referring to our conversation about mana expression and conversion."
Ah! Oops... Tehee! My bad for jumping to conclusions. But she didn't have to be so specific…
"Haha, sure, I knew that… I was just making a joke…"
I had no idea at all.
And she didn't seem convinced at all either, but she continued anyways.
"As I said, I'll give you a demonstration now. Before we run into any unexpected trouble."
There is a sudden change in the air, as she closes her hand into a fist and suddenly hits a tree with impressive speed.
Contrary to my good old sense, what ensues after isn't her hand breaking due to the extreme speed and the trees hardness. Instead, the tree shakes violently, as if an earthquake had just struck the forest and ignored everything else, except for this single tree.
What is left, as she removed her hand, was a single hole, the size of her fist, right in the center of that huge tree…
Only then do I understand that her confidence wasn't just an exaggeration. If something like that were to hit me, then I'm pretty sure my death scene could even receive a nomination for one of those games from the C@rpse P@rty series… The monsters inside this forest must be weaker than that, but just how much strength could they have?
On the other hand... Is it ok to simply destroy a tree like that? Does she not care about the environment? Are there no environment protection laws in here...?
I think that if we just leave it like that, it's own sap will eventually cover part of the hole and it will recover by itself… But even so, red hair shouldn't just start beating random trees out of nowhere… Does she even know how many years it takes for a tree to reach this size? I mean, this one apparently only took instants since it was created with magic, but that is beside the point! It usually takes many years. Compare it to beating up an elderly person and saying it's ok as long as you don't kill them…
Anyways...
She then looks at me with a smug face.
Ah!
Could this be the feeling you get when your strength measuring device breaks because your enemy's power has surpassed its measuring capability? It`s over 9000!
"Heh! Well, to tell the truth, this is quite simple. Pretend there is some sort gas trapped inside your abdominal region, then slowly release it to the regions you wish for it to go."
…
I don't think she's aware of it, but she just described the process of farting...
"Why are you making such a face? Hurry up and try it at once!"
Ok… Leaving aside the fact she seems to be asking me to fart in front of her--- and that it wouldn't be the most disgusting thing to happen so far today… I try to imagine a 'gas' in my abdomen, as she told me to…
Whoa! Surprisingly, I can actually feel it! It's not really a gas, but there is this feeling of malleability... I can feel it running to different parts of my body on my command! Actually, I think I can even send it outside... Ah! That's probably how they reinforce their armor and weapons!
"By the face you're making, can I assume that you understood it as well?"
I nod at her question.
"Good. However, do not forget that your mana is limited, and every time you do this, you lose a bit of it. So you should not allow for it to zero out. With time it will recover on it's own, so plan accordingly."
Oh, that's good… I expected mana to recover on its own, but you never know. I wouldn't be surprised if each person only received a limited quantity through their entire lives and had to manage it carefully… Or that we could only recover mana at specific places or with specific objects...
"What happens if it reaches zero?"
"They did say something about a coma or worse."
"Worse?!"
"The way I understood it, it would be easier to use a battery for reference. The same way your smartphone will continue running uninterruptedly if you charge it right, it will take a while to recharge and turn it back on if you let the battery deplete. It would be even worse if you somehow ended up using even the separate battery for the system core functions."
That sounds way more serious when thinking about living beings. Is it the same even for us? We didn't have mana before coming here, did we?
"By the way, what is your capacity level?" She asks out of nowhere.
Capacity…? If I remember it correctly, it was…
"High, if I'm not mistaken… Why do you ask?"
"*Tch!* Mine too."
Did she just click her tongue…?
"Next, about conversion… I'll have to show it to you another day. It wouldn't be a good idea to use it inside here, I should have thought about it beforehand."
"Wait, so you've been making fun of me this whole time, but you can't use it right now either?"
"There's a great difference in not being able to use it and choosing not to do so. Consider it a last measure. Of course, I'll use it if we're in danger. But believe me when I say that using it in here for no reason would simply cause unnecessary risks."
Right… Sounds like bull…
"But it shouldn't matter too much either way, since you can't use it. But in the future it might be dangerous if you can't recognize someone else using it and end up dying to some random conversion."
Damn you red! Now she's just making fun of me, again.
"Yes... Thank you very much for your concern..."
Somehow, I feel like my feelings and my reaction just don't match... It might have something to do with the fact I just saw her almost bending a tree with a single punch…
…
…
…
Wow, isn't mana expression really convenient!?
I mean it! You can basically cover any part of your body with it, plus objects that are making contact with you!
Not only that, I don't know why, but instead of simply getting harder, the material keeps its original consistency, it only turns more resistant. My skin remains soft and the leather in my equipment also remains malleable. Powerful, but comfortable to contact… Hmmm… What kinds of uses could this have? Don't ask me, since I have no experience on those kinds of things…
Anyways, it also makes you faster, increases your stamina and reaction time... It has various effects depending on how you use it! Convenient, right?
Who needs magic when you become some kind of superman, right? It's not like I wanted to use lighting, or fly, split the sea, create mountains, summon creatures, incinerate stuff, freeze my enemies, or use lightning...
It's not like I wanted any of it...
They say that if you manage to keep your v-card for forty years, you can turn into a wizard… Or was it that you only get a movie…?
Ok, now I'm even more depressed...
"Hey, you!"
"Huh? What is it?"
Don't go cutting off other people when they're thinking about serious stuff, it's a rule of etiquette, you know? Actually does she even know my name? She has only called me as 'you' this whole time...
"Better than 'wart', I guess…" I grumble under my breath.
"You've been making a depressed and out of focus face for a while now. Don't you remember how dangerous the place we're at is? Whatever you're thinking, forget it and pay attention!"
Wow, that was unexpected coming from her...
That's true, this place is ranked with an A difficulty. Even without me being careless, it is already dangerous enough. What's more, did she actually notice me feeling down and tried to cheer me up?
"A non-mage like you is a liability enough by itself, so don't try to increase my burden even more, understand? Besides, it doesn't matter how much you're concerned by your own appearance, if you do nothing you won't be able to change anything. Adopting a self-care routine and just changing your overall attitude little by little is most effective. Not only for your appearance, but in order to improve your self-esteem itself. I bet right now you were mopping about your love life or whatever and pondering if the problem was your face or something about your appearance in general. Well, it isn't. Or at least not just that... If you don't care about yourself, then why would someone else do? You don't have to change for the others, do it for yourself and the rest will fall into place. There is nothing to be done about your conversion, though...*chuckle*"
How kind.
This whole speech that could have come directly from a self-help book almost touched my heart. She can make an encouraging speech when it is to her interest that I pull myself together… Except for the unnecessary stabs she gave me on every subject.
Especially on the subject concerning magic, the most important one... She ended her speech right there with a chuckle… A chuckle!
She was definitely making fun of me… Even though she is always grumpy, it seems she still has some sort of sense of humor--- when it is about making fun of others.
Is she trying to make me pay more attention by throwing salt on my wounds? Or is it just funny to kick someone lying on the ground?
It doesn't matter, my tears falling down right now are simply a part of her imagination!
…
Either way, it worked. Now I'm properly shifting my attention to my surroundings instead, while running away from my inner pain! Not that the whole 'build up my self-esteem' comment was entirely wrong – though its way easier said than done – but I simply cannot accept my lack of magic…
"I-I can get better at whatever I put my mind to! You'll see---!"
!!!
Without any sort of warning, I jump at Akane.
…
…
…
I had a--- bad feeling...
I can't quite understand or properly describe it. All of a sudden, I just had a bad feeling.
Imagine it as if you were swimming within the current of a river, and up ahead you spotted a huge fish, way larger than yourself, struggling against the current and heading at your direction, which makes it really stand out from the rest of the scenery. And that makes you think: 'what reasons could a fish possibly have to go against such a strong current?' Looking for such a reason, you start to observe your surroundings. Finally, you notice that there is nothing here besides you and your friend. You also notice the intent stare it gives you both as it draws closer...
Then you assume there could only be one possibility that stands out from the others… A reason that gives you cold sweats or maybe a sudden shiver, or even a stomach ache... Maybe even all of them together...
Yes... It varies from person to person, but the common point in between is this bad feeling. It appears without any warning and screams from within your chest… Building up inside of your mind, starting from the deepest part of your sub consciousness.
You may not even immediately understand its meaning or what it's trying to tell you… But as a latent headache, you simply cannot ignore it. And as you intently try to understand it, looking deeper and deeper, it'll also stare back into you. And then you'll understand…
Your most basic instinct, 'survival'…
And understanding the cause, you'll also notice what it had been trying to tell you…
As such, I jumped at Airi without any warning, throwing us both to the ground.
Almost instantly, at the place where her neck was standing just a moment ago, the upper part of a snake appears, and ends up biting the air instead of its former target.
"What the fu---!?"
Instantly, I get back up, and almost by instinct – or rather, only by instinct, but one that doesn't seem to be my own – I wield my sword and swing it diagonally at the snake, that had not yet recovered from the strike it had just missed.
"Shit..."
A shower of blood rains from its decapitated body, and its now lifeless head rolls down at my feet… It is soon followed by its former body, which devoid of anything left to control it, no longer receives any order to hold itself to the tree branch...
"What the hell just happened...?"
Gruesome, disgusting, repugnant… I fell like vomiting from the mere sight... But I merely watch as the last sparks of life drain from the snake's eyes...
I killed it...
I simply stand there, frozen over such a scene.
…
Suddenly, I'm startled by a touch on my shoulder.
"Hey, are you ok?"
…
Funny how she is the one asking me that, when it should have been the opposite...
"Y-yeah... I`ll be fine… What about you?"
"I'm good..."
She looked a little pale, but it seemed as if the light in her eyes had gotten even sharper...
Any sign of the previous playful mood was gone, replaced by a sorrowful silence…
We both stand still for some time, just imagining what might've happened had it not been for this bad feeling--- No... This stroke of luck...
For sure we were being way too careless in a place where many creatures were fighting for their lives every single day... A small, single, novice mistake, which could've robbed us of our very lives...
Now I fully understand at heart the reason why the guild provided us those freebies... An investment to reduce the number of newbie casualties… A wake up call of sorts.
A careless newbie who got hurt but ended up surviving is certain to not make the same mistake again...
Maybe it was a mistake of the clerk to allow us to take on A Rank missions off the bat…
But the guild itself allows for newcomers to undertake such requests. And Rebecca would have probably been against it if I hadn`t lied to her. I hadn`t expected that having her overestimate our abilities could end up being so dangerous… Akane could`ve died… Or gotten gravely injured in the least. I haven`t even checked out the efficiency of potions yet, so I`m not yet sure of up to what level of injuries we can sustain…
This was within expected, but when it happens in reality--- I`m still shaking a little.
As I look at the snake`s body, I can only think---
Killing sucks...