133 – Ghost of the Guardian Tree (12)
“Why the ball?”
“Let’s just touch it once. It doesn’t wear out either.”
“Because of how useful that information is.”
Of course, no matter how useful the information is, I have no intention of letting you touch the ball. If it’s about Sylverine, I’ll seriously think about it, but there’s no way she knows that.
“Ah… Candy, don’t you want to participate in the practice?”
“It depends.”
“Um….”
In the meantime, in the lab with the door wide open, some female students stuck their heads out and asked Cecil.
“Cecil, what are you doing? Who is there?”
Cecile came next to me pretending to introduce herself and quietly crossed her arms and said.
“Ah, my friend. I have something to tell you, but can I go somewhere?”
The female student looked at me and said with her eyebrows twitching.
“Um, yes? You worked the hardest, so get some rest. But don’t be too lazy. I don’t have too many excuses to talk to the professor about.”
She shouted as if Cecil had been waiting.
“I’ll be back!”
Immediately she led me down the hallway. She then took a quick look behind her to make sure no one was there, and then she spoke close to my ear.
“I heard that someone from the Principality of Yulicia may be present during the Combat Division practice.”
“The principality?”
“Yes. It must be Princess Gainax’s aide. However… Candy doesn’t really care about being a princess or anything like that.”
She couldn’t express that she was not interested at all, since the princess asked for contact first. She asked Silverin about Princess Gainax’s escort mission, but the answer will come sooner or later.
“So, did you call me to talk about it?”
“No, I have more exciting news than that. News that Candy will be more interested in!”
Cecil passed through the hallway and stopped at the place where the nameplate read ‘Magic Stone Lab’.
When I opened the door and entered, I saw experimental instruments whose purpose was unknown in the spacious room. On the cushion, there were rocks neatly arranged like a witch’s crystal ball.
Cecile spoke like a child.
“Our candy can’t touch anything.”
While watching the car in awe, Cecile tapped something inside her fireplace and said,
“Isn’t it cold? Come here.”
There was a black stone in the fireplace instead of firewood.
As she chanted the spell with her hand, the stone began to heat and glow like a bonfire.
Whether I was in Harman or with Silverin, I had never seen anything like this. Objects with magical powers that I cannot understand are always mysterious.
I feel like my knowledge is expanding just by looking at it.
After warming up in front of the stove, Cecile continued.
“The magic stone you asked for. How much do you know?”
“All right. That it came from the heart of a wingless dragon.”
“Hmm, Candy is very lucky. You’re going to be a little mean.”
Cecile got up from her seat and took a step behind her, opening a distance with me. Then I marked the location with chalk. I didn’t know what I was going to do.
“What do you think?”
“Fortunately, I also got a Gallimax grade magic stone. They specialize in magic stone enchantments, and there are women who treat you as friends even though you don’t know their faces. I am blessed.”
“….”
Cecil moved to the dresser and inserted the key into her locked iron box.
And what I took out after opening the box was the crystal I gave you earlier.
“Candy, stay there. Don’t move.”
Cecile gripped the crystal tightly and pulled something out of her pocket with the other hand.
It was the Frostwind Bomb.
With some guts, she activated the bomb and waited with it in the palm of her hand. It was an action intended to explode on the palm.
She didn’t know what guts she was doing.
Soon after that, a white circular shockwave spread through the laboratory with a popping sound. Frost also flew into my mask and clothes.
A thin layer of ice and frost formed around Cecile, and her body was also covered in pure white frost.
It was like a statue made of snow.
“… !”
Then she moved her body as usual.
“I’m not dead. Don’t worry.”
It was a bomb with terrifying power enough to freeze even Plantera.
But she brushed off the frost casually.
From noble mtl dot com
And her body, which should have been frozen solid, was fine with only the surface covered with frost.
She shook off the frost clenched in her fists and saw the crystal.
The transparent color turned into an opaque blue stone at some point.
“Remember that giant lizard we met in the circulatory system, the bomb didn’t work at all? It’s probably because of this magic stone. It opens an elemental adaptive barrier to its owner.”
“….”
Element Adaptive Barrier?
“I haven’t checked everything yet, but from what I’ve confirmed, it can defend against fire, cold, lightning, and even corrosive liquids. That alone is worth a lot, but besides that, there might be other resistances that haven’t been revealed yet. The Gallimar rank is only two steps below the absolute rank. At least that much. It may rise further as the research progresses.”
I don’t know, but I did know that it was very good. For an accidental gain, it is an income that exceeds expectations.
“Can’t you use it unlimitedly?”
“Instead of having great defensive abilities. It requires a large amount of mana to be ignorant. Has the color changed now? Then the function stops. If you inject magic power, it will return to its original state. Function is restored.”
“How much magic should I inject?”
“Um…. Again and again, to the point of being ignorant. A high-ranking mage needs to put all the magic she has generated in a week to fully function. I also had a bit of trouble charging. However, once mana is stored, it is maintained, and the utilization is very, very good, so the possibilities are endless.”
“Good.”
“It can be more efficient if it is processed by a very, very skilled magician.”
“You are lucky. There is a magician who is well versed in magic stone processing right in front of me.”
“Um….”
Cecile made an ambiguous expression.
“In addition, that magician is pretty.”
The corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she tried to keep her expression. She said it reluctantly.
“Okay. I’ll look after you. But there is a condition. Allow me to submit processed magic stones to the mid-term evaluation. I’m just being judged, so I won’t be taken away by the professor.”
Sylverin’s words are rarely wrong. It’s always good to be friends with a magician. Do you have any business like this?
“Good.”
Cecile put the crystal in an iron box and locked it.
“And… ….”
Looks like he wanted more. However, Cecile hesitated a little.
“What is it?”
“…… When asked to play, play with me.”
Sooner or later, there will be another drinking party.
“Do you need a drinking buddy?”
“Oh, no! It’s because of what I drank for a while. I’m not that kind of kid!”
***
I continued to practice until night and returned to Thorn Garden.
Sylverin’s letter, which should have arrived around this time, has not arrived yet.
Trisha also went to bed early and was quiet.
I also went to bed early because I overworked her body.
And that night I had a dream.
Me and a woman were on a cliff in the blurry surroundings. And. I drew my sword and was dealing with someone.
I think I had it a while ago, but everything was blurry and I couldn’t tell them apart.
When she was with Sylveryn, she was never helped by her dreams.
However, I couldn’t tell if this dream was a precognitive dream or if it was a repetition of memories from the past.
Perhaps my precognitive ability is consuming my past and fading along with it.
***
Assistant Professor Gael walked around Eternia’s training ground, which looked like a circular arena, with his hands behind his back.
The first major class of the Combat Division.
In front of her, the students assigned to the advanced class of the Combat Division were sitting on one knee on the sand.
And behind her, there was a row of huge, square cages covered with veils.
Every time Gael’s feet moved, something inside the cage vibrated violently and shook the cage. Few students noticed what was inside.
The fear of the unknown caused the students to swallow saliva because they were so nervous.
Even if they were assigned to the advanced class, Eternia did not let them intoxicate themselves with a sense of accomplishment and pride.
On the contrary, I threw myself into an ordeal to prove myself worthy of staying there.
That was the reason they gathered like this.
Following Gael’s silence, all the other students were also silent. Only the giant monster trapped in the cage obscured the silence and struggled with the scent of the flesh.
In her tense silence, Gael scanned the faces of the students one by one.
Everybody was cowering like a frightened dog at the sound of a predator, but some of them kept their expressions unconcerned.
Shion, Gail, Victor, Lawrence … As she looked through them one by one, a student who disturbed Gael caught her eye.
Damian had met as an examiner during the Masters Class screening.
He also had a very laid-back face.
She put her chores aside and announced the start of her class.
“Think you guys were unlucky today.”
Gael skipped all of her boring introductions and went straight to the point.
She then pulled on the veil.
The appearance of a monster trapped inside an iron cage has been revealed.
“Because I met the Witchbeast without preparation.”
Chang! Visor!
A giant spider, big enough to pull her carriage, watched Gael and held her barbed wire.
Sparsely grown hair. Legs mottled like a leopard. Shiny eyeballs without whites. And on the floor of the cage, there was a pool of saliva dripping from appetite.
The students’ mouths hung open in astonishment.
“I won’t give you time to prepare, I’ll proceed right away. The person I pointed out will openly face this beast today.”
Some students raised their hands to ask questions, but Gael did not accept them.
“Again, there is no time to prepare. The Witchbeast always faces unexpected situations. Do you think the Witchbeast will wait for you to fasten the buttons and tighten the belt?”
We don’t even tell you the weaknesses, habits, or precautions you might not know about the monsters. Witches are originally meant to be greeted in such situations, and the purpose of the class was to train them to respond swiftly to such situations.
Soon after, the assistants came in carrying a lot of weapons and unwrapped them in front of Gael.
There was no kind without spears, bows, long swords, short swords, bows, maces and even axes.
“Additionally, the weapon used by you is not permitted.”
For the sake of fairness in practice, weapons must be used as provided, not as originally used, and artifacts were not allowed.
Only keen observation and a disciplined fighting sense are required.
No matter how good my sword and artifacts are, they are meaningless in this exercise.
Gael looked at Damian with a mixed feeling of anticipation and annoyance.
Then he spoke loudly as if to tell him.
“In addition, an aide from the Gainax family has decided to observe class today. It will be a doubly unlucky day for you guys.”