… …
… …
“Eh~! So that’s what happened~!”
Semilys listened to Hulim’s account of today’s events with an intrigued look on her face.
“Hahaha~! That girl called Fran is really a disaster, isn’t she! I bet she won’t be able to sleep for a long time after this~?”
Seeing the other person show not a hint of sympathy and instead brimming with schadenfreude, Hulim glanced helplessly at her own sleeve.
“Probably, she really did look badly frightened…”
After all, when she entrusted Fran to the guards, the girl clung to her arm, refusing to let go no matter what, as if anyone besides her would try to kidnap her.
But… how am I supposed to explain this torn sleeve when I get home…?
“Let’s set Fran’s matter aside for now. By the way… Semilys, why haven’t we done any combat training these past few days? Instead, you keep having me practice the magic I already learned?”
“Ah—, about that…”
Semilys stopped laughing and looked at Hulim, then fell into her own thoughts.
“You’re right, it seems you’re more or less adjusted now. It’s about time to formally enter the next stage.”
“Next stage?”
“Mm, that’s right, Hulim. You can start learning third-tier magic.”
“Eh?”
Semilys’s sudden statement made Hulim’s eyes widen in shock.
“Third-tier… You mean? Has my mana already reached C Rank?”
Semilys nodded. “That’s right, you reached it a few days ago. I waited to make sure there weren’t any problems, but now it looks like your mana has truly stabilized at C Rank.”
[Hulim Hyeral
Race: Human (Female)
Age: Nine
Life: D+ Rank
Mana: C Rank
Magic Affinity:
Fire Affinity S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy King of Fire),
Water Affinity S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy King of Water),
Earth Affinity S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy King of Earth),
Wind Affinity S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy King of Wind),
Light Affinity S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy King of Light),
Dark Affinity S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy King of Darkness),
Non-Elemental Affinity S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy King of Void),
… …
]
“Third-tier…”
After receiving Semilys’s confirmation, Hulim felt a little dazed. Even during the recent battles, her heartbeat hadn’t changed much, but now it was speeding up.
C Rank.
It might not sound that high,
But this rank is vastly different from D Rank and E Rank. D Rank and E Rank are usually considered the realm of novices or low-level individuals.
But C Rank is the true mark of a veteran, a backbone force. Among adventurers, it’s synonymous with reliability and a symbol of strength. In the military, someone of C Rank would be appointed as a squad leader. You could say that someone of C Rank is indispensable wherever they go, and among all races, they’re considered elite forces.
You know, in the entire Ment Town, there are only a handful of people who have reached C Rank, and one of them is Hulim’s father, Rezelian.
“… Am I about to reach Father’s level?”
Now that she suddenly had such a clear and definite reference point, Hulim finally realized how far she’d come.
“Haha, still, Hulim, you won’t become the same as someone who’s been at C Rank for years overnight. You still have to study, and…”
“Train?”
“Exactly! Training!”
Hulim gradually calmed herself down and then spoke in her usual steady voice:
“I know what I need to do next.”
“Mm, not bad, full of spirit! Well said!”
Semilys lifted her chin in praise, then began to rise into the air, her wings shining with trails of green light.
“Well then—”
“It’s time for the third-tier magic lesson to take off!”
“Wait… Semilys, what do you mean? What do you mean by take off?”
Hulim looked at the green light enveloping her too and suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Haha~! Take off, of course means—”
“Fly!”
“Yaaa—!!!”
From high above the forest, Hulim’s rapidly fading scream echoed in the sky.
Whoosh—! Deep inside Monster Forest.
Atop a mountain, a whirlwind suddenly crashed down from the sky.
All the creatures on the mountain scattered and fled in terror.
“Ah—!”
Hulim fell to the ground, looking a bit pale, her stomach churning as if waves were raging within.
“This won’t do~ Hulim, you need to learn to fly like this yourself in the future. You can’t just act like you’ve got motion sickness, that’s not acceptable at all.”
“Semilys, you… ugh—”
The dizziness almost made Hulim throw up as soon as she opened her mouth.
She could only close her mouth and try her best to recover.
After a long while, when she felt a bit better, Hulim glared at Semilys, full of complaint.
“Semilys, that was way too sudden! You flew so fast, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open in the wind!”
“There, there, don’t be mad~ I’ll give you a heads-up next time.”
Semilys replied with not a trace of apology.
“What? You mean this will happen again in the future…?”
Hulim’s expression instantly dimmed.
“Alright, let’s drop the topic here. What do you think of this place? It took me quite some time to find it! Now we don’t have to worry about being disturbed!”
Hearing this, Hulim finally paid attention to her surroundings.
Looking up, she saw an endless stretch of forest in all directions, with no end in sight.
“Hey… Semilys, where… is this?”
“This is deep inside Monster Forest!”
Isn’t this an extremely dangerous place!?
Monster Forest is a vast forest stretching across more than ten countries, including the Pasara Empire. It’s called Monster Forest because it is home to a great number of monsters. They say it wasn’t always called that, but its old name has long since been forgotten—now, people only remember this title.
To most people, Monster Forest is an extremely dangerous forbidden zone. Even a team of C Rank adventurers would only dare to operate at the outskirts. Only B Rank and above elite adventurers would dare to set foot in the depths.
The Ment Mine was originally discovered at the edge of Monster Forest, and what they called pioneering was actually a campaign against Monster Forest. You can imagine the price paid to operate in such a dangerous place, but of course, the rewards are just as great. That’s why the Hyeral family went through so much to get involved back then.
And now, here I am, someone who hasn’t even reached C Rank yet, in a place that even the Empire Army didn’t dare enter in the old days… Turning to look at her companion, the leisurely fairy by her side.
Semilys: “?”
Correction: the Fairy King.
Suddenly, Hulim felt that the depths of Monster Forest were nothing special. It was all just trees.
“Semilys, why did you bring me here so suddenly?”
Could the next training be some sort of wilderness survival, like what Elder Brother Qige did?
“Of course it’s because third-tier magic is too flashy. If we keep training out there, people will find out immediately!”
That makes sense, a perfectly reasonable explanation.
“And besides?”
“Eh—”
Semilys gave Hulim a surprising look,
“Well… it’s also because there are plenty of suitable opponents nearby, you know?”
“I see, so that was part of it after all.”
Hulim’s calmness made Semilys look a little at a loss.
“Eh?! That’s it?”
“Why are you surprised, Semilys? You’re the one who brought me here, aren’t you? Anyway, what’s the first third-tier magic I’m going to learn?”
“Um…”
Semilys still looked a bit unsettled, but got down to business.
“Alright.”
“Before you learn third-tier magic, there are some things I have to tell you, Hulim.”