Chapter 3: Requirements for Going Solo

A bolt of purple lightning instantly pierced through the goblin.
Black smoke rose up, and in the hallway lay two motionless monsters.

The masked woman let out a soft sigh, then smiled at me.

“Like this!”
“Th-that’s so cool!”

Lightly tapping the ground with her staff, the woman gave a cheerful smile. Because her mask only covered the upper half of her face, I could clearly see her expression.

She seemed a little proud, and I thought it was cute.

“I’ll explain as we walk. Oh, do you want me to take the heart?”
“Thank you very much. I’ll get it right away.”

With a quick slice to the abdomen, the 350 yen organ was stored in a bag-like pack. I put it in my bag and started walking.

“You’re efficient. You look like a complete veteran.”
“Because it’s similar to a human’s.”

“……”
“Ah, no, I was just listening to my own heartbeat, so I used that as a reference.”

“Y-yeah, that’s right! I knew that. I knew it, so it’s okay, bora~!”
“You scared me so much I turned into a volunteer mask!”

Could it be that’s how she really is? Is she forcing herself to speak politely?

“Bora~, it’s about time I explained the magic, bora.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could just explain normally.”

“You’re right.”

Ahaha, for just a moment, the receptionist’s voice returned to Mask-san. When I ignored it, she started talking as if nothing had happened.

The masked receptionist held up the fingers of her right hand, the one not holding the cane.

“To use magic, the most important thing is to specifically imagine ‘what you want to do.’ Just a vague image isn’t enough.”
“I see. So that’s why my flames weren’t hot…”

“That’s right. Unless you issue a command that acts on a more fundamental level, the magic won’t function.”

The receptionist conjured a flame in the palm of her hand.

“For example, with fire magic, you have to magically accomplish three things: ‘generate organic matter,’ ‘raise the temperature above the ignition point,’ and ‘supply oxygen.'”
“That sounds like science.”

“It is. Magic actually requires quite a bit of brain-power. Though,with organic matter you can pretty much force your way through it. I think it’s best to find what you’re good at as you go.”
“Yes.”

At the very least, the resolution had improved significantly compared to yesterday.
I’ll try various things later.

“Well then, let’s head to the next area.”

Light was shining from the direction the lady was pointing.

Having passed through the darkness of the labyrinth, we stood on a land bathed in dazzling sunlight. Spreading out before us was a forest made of large trees so large it made our necks hurt.

“The Ancestral Forest-it’s the first hurdle for beginners.”
“That’s quite an ominous name.”

“It’s actually a pretty dangerous place, so be careful. It’s on a whole different level from where we were before.”

Looking at the forest before me, I couldn’t help but think, “That’s probably right.”
Even the forests on Earth are full of dangers that could easily lead to death, and this place is inside a dungeon. It goes without saying that it’s dangerous.

The air even feels a little tense. Could this intangible something that’s tickling my senses be what they call mana?

We entered the woods. The forest was teeming with the rustling of life. Within that, there’s one sound that’s clearly approaching us.
The Lady raised her gaze.

“Isshiki-kun. There’s just one thing I want you to promise me.”

From the other side of the trees appeared a huge monkey. Its whole body covered in pure white fur with a red face. It had long, developed limbs and bared its teeth threateningly at us.

“Angry Monkey…If you can’t defeat that monster alone, you’ll need to form a party.”

I can kind of understand why she said that.

That monkey is probably a monster similar to goblins from [The Labyrinth of Beginnings].

Looking at it moving through the trees to kill us, avoiding battle in this forest was impossible.
If we don’t win, we can’t advance.

“I understand.”

I drew my knife and stepped in front of Sister.
Angry Monkey… what a long name. Let’s just call it Anmon. There was only one Anmon.

“Gah gah gah”

It repeatedly made short threatening sounds and touched the ground with its long limbs. Slightly leaning forward. Not fully bipedal, it used its arms for balance.

“Gaahh!”

Anmon screamed.

-It’s coming.

I took a stance.

The next moment.

I saw the sky.

“Huh?”

A strong impact hit my back. I was blown away. Slowly I realized my chest was in severe pain.

“Gah gah”

Anmon yells.
What happened-no, I understood the situation.

Fast. Simply fast. I was blown away before my eyes could follow.

I stood up. No broken bones. Why? If I was blown away by such a strong impact, my ribs should have broken…

Could this also be magic?

Since entering the dungeon, my body felt unusually agile. Maybe unconsciously, my body was using mana.

If that’s the case, consciously doing it-

“Gah”

Anmon stomped the ground.
I instinctively protected my head but I was blown away again. But the distance was shorter than before.

The chase continued.

“Gah!”

It pounced on me with its teeth bare.
I rolled left. My arm was cut. Blood spurted out. Anmon’s claws were sharp.

-Am I going to die?

Anmon bit me. The bones in my right arm creaked.

Blood flowed from my body. The pain made me want to scream. Anmon held me tightly with an unbreakable grip.

I…

-If it’s my life, I can stake it.

I had already made up my mind.
At zero distance, the target doesn’t move. In that case, my magic can hit.

Do or die. That’s all.

“Condense”

I felt the mana in the atmosphere move according to my will.
Ah, this is-

“[Burst]”

Bang!
A deafening explosion sounded deep in Anmon’s throat.

“G…a…”

I looked down at the monkey clutching its throat in pain and struggling.
I only made the air explode. But the inside of the throat cannot be protected. For any creature, the inside of the body is fragile.

“…So this is magic. Surprisingly, once you do it, you can do it. Haha. Ah, so interesting.”

I aimed again at the monster coughing while dripping saliva.

-it was pain.
The pain produced a lot of adrenaline, activating my brain.
Now, I felt I could do anything.

“Molecular interference, dissociation, conductor generation.”

I waved my left hand, weaving magic.

Snap!
Air exploded at my fingertips.

“[Purple Lightning Flash]”

A bolt of electric light pierced the monster-

?

“What on earth ?! What on earth is that kid?!”

Haruka was shocked to see the purple lightning strike the monster.
That magic was definitely Haruka’s. Although it was inferior in range, accuracy, and power, the key points were perfectly grasped.

Not only that, when Isshiki took the initial hit, he consciously switched mana’s effect on the body to conscious control.
That’s something only an ordinary skilled adventurer would do.

Of course, there were unstable parts, and it couldn’t be called proficient.
But acting on the belief that “I can do it” – that was extraordinary.

“Isshiki-kun!”

Haruka ran over.

-That kid will definitely become a great adventurer.

He has the talent and strong heart to not need anyone’s protection. From tomorrow on, I’ll firmly pat his back and send him on his way.

“If it’s you, you’ll be able to go on ahead-!?”

Isshiki had fainted and fallen to the side.
Haruka frantically started CPR.

“That’s right! If you shoot lightning at that distance, you’d get hit too, wouldn’t you!”