Chapter 38

Dialogue-heavy. It feels like it's getting a bit out of control.

Can't control it.

9/11

Some additions

Changed the last line slightly

Nord received the package from Master Reisen and then proceeded to Elyseo's room.

After leaving the building of the Magic Academy, they walked for a bit. Along the way, Elyseo pointed to another stone building within the academy grounds and said, "I study there."

Then, they arrived at a stone tower within the Magic Academy.

Inside, a spiral staircase led up to the top floor, with an open central area. Doors were attached to the walls along the staircase. This seemed to be a dormitory.

After climbing the spiral staircase for a while, Elyseo took out a key from her pocket.

It was a long brass key that glowed golden. She inserted it into the keyhole below the doorknob and turned it with a click.

"Here it is. It's a bit messy, but please come in."

"Thank you for having me."

Elyseo said this, but the room was actually quite tidy.

Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with books that seemed to be about magic.

A small two-seater desk was by the window, with a few books left out. The setting sun cast a crimson glow over the room.

To the right of the entrance, a wooden door was visible.

Elyseo, who had entered the room before Nord, turned around in the sunset-lit room.

"Nord, could you wait here for a moment?"

"Sure, I understand."

With that, Elyseo opened the door leading to the back of the room slightly and slipped inside.

The room they were in seemed to be a dining area, with dishes visible. However, it didn't seem to be a sleeping area, so the room beyond the door was probably the bedroom.

Perhaps the messy room was the one beyond the door.

While waiting, Nord, feeling restless, decided to observe the room.

Unlike the cluttered rooms of his teachers and Master Reisen, this room was clean and well-kept. The room was almost dust-free, as evidenced by the sunlight streaming in from the window.

The books on the bookshelf were arranged by height, silently indicating the owner's meticulous nature.

The room smelled of herbs or something similar.

(Magicians don't seem to fit this at all.)

The only signs of magic were the titles of the books on the desk and in the bookshelf.

Nord picked up one of the books on the desk.

It was titled "The Magic Metals of the World" and had an ornate cover.

The author was someone he had never heard of, but the name suggested a high-ranking noble.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Nord noticed something.

There were several books on the desk, but they came in two types: ornately bound and simply bound.

The simply bound books—covered with plain leather—had smooth handwriting in ink, and one of them was also titled "The Magic Metals of the World."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. I was looking around without permission."

As he apologized, Nord carefully placed the book back on the desk.

"Oh, that? It's fine."

"Is this a copy?"

"Yes. I couldn't afford to buy it, so I borrowed it and made a copy myself."

Elyseo said this with a slight blush, which was hard to see in the sunset-lit room, but her cheeks and ears were probably red.

Books are expensive.

Even a blank notebook like the one Nord uses isn't cheap.

Books containing someone's knowledge are even more expensive.

Especially if they are not fairy tales but specialized magic books, they would be out of reach for Elyseo, who came from a commoner background.

"So, Nord."

"Yeah?"

"Would you please accept this?"

"This is?"

Elyseo handed Nord a short sword. The blade was quite thick but didn't seem to be made of metal.

"This is a magical artifact I created, imbued with fire magic."

"Wow!"

"The blade is a magic stone, and it gets smaller each time it's used."

"It has a few uses left," Elyseo continued.

"I wanted to give you something as a thank you for helping me before, but unfortunately, this is all I have to offer..."

"No, but this is such an expensive item..."

"It's okay! It's a prototype. But it does work properly."

Magical artifacts, though numerous in the world, are generally very expensive.

Especially if they are magical weapons, their value in silver coins is beyond Nord's estimation.

"The only thing to be careful about is that, as a prototype, it has low durability and can only be used a few times."

"...I understand. I'll gratefully accept it."

Feeling grateful, Elyeo pressed the magical artifact—flame sword—into Nord's hand, and Nord reluctantly accepted it.

The blade of the flame sword looked like a red crystal.

The handle was like a regular short sword, but the non-metallic blade was dull and wouldn't even cut paper. As a weapon, it was practically useless, serving more as a magical artifact.

"So, how do I use it?"

"Hold the handle firmly and shout 'Flame!'"

"I see... 'Flame'—'Whoa!! It's not good, this will catch fire'... I'm sorry."

"This contains the Fireball spell, so be careful when handling it."

"How powerful is the Fireball spell?"

Nord almost activated it inside Elyeo's room, so he put the flame sword back in his pocket.

According to Elyeo, the Fireball spell creates a fireball the size of Nord's torso, which, upon direct impact, explodes and engulfs the target in flames.

From the description, it seemed that the spell was powerful enough to strip most of the life force from a crystal-level monster in one hit.

Since activation requires holding the sword, Nord thought about incorporating it into his shield later.

"Thank you for the valuable gift."

"No, no, I'm the one who should be grateful for your help..."

"But this is clearly too much. I'm receiving too much."

Elyeo, being modest, but the flame sword Nord received was clearly an overly expensive gift.

Nord, though reluctant to accept, did so out of politeness, but from his perspective, he had only slightly beaten up some thugs. Receiving such a valuable item in return felt almost fraudulent.

"I'm not... well, I'm not wealthy either, so I can't pay you, but if you ever need help with anything, I'll do my best to assist you."

"Do you have any problems? Is there something?"

Initially, Elyeo seemed to want to decline Nord's offer, but then she seemed to remember something.

Nord quickly pressed her to share her concerns.

Elyeo hesitated for a moment but then seemed to give up and spoke about her troubles.

"Well... to be frank, I have a problem I'd like to consult you about."

"Please, tell me."

"Alright..."

And so, Elyeo began to speak about her troubles.

"Earlier, I mentioned that I was being turned down by the teachers I was looking for at the Magic Academy, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's true, but I have about half a year to find a teacher, so it's not a problem yet."

According to Elyeo, the Magic Academy is a three-year program where students learn magic and then graduate. However, to become a mage and eventually a master at the Magic Academy, one must study under a master-level mage and pass the Magic Academy's exam.

It's a difficult path, and Elyeo, who currently has no connections, has been unable to become a disciple of a mage.

The Magic Academy's exam is held after the spring thaw, so there is still about half a year left, but...

Nord raised his hand to interrupt Elyeo's story.

"Sorry, but can I ask a question?"

"Yes, of course. Please go ahead."

"How old are you, Elyeo?"

"Me? I'll be fifteen next spring."

So, she is currently fourteen—meaning she entered the Magic Academy at twelve.

"Is that normal?"

"Well... yes, most students enter the Magic Academy around the same age as you. It's not uncommon to see students over twenty."

"How are your grades?"

"To be honest, I'm the top student."

Elyeo said this casually, but the content proved that she was a genius.

The Royal Magic Academy, being the pinnacle of magical education in the kingdom, naturally attracts students with great pride. However, a much younger person had entered and outperformed them.

The difference in talent is cruel.

Elyeo had mentioned before that there were people in the Magic Academy who harassed her, and the reason was most likely jealousy. While Nord certainly didn't condone their actions, he could understand their feelings.

"Sorry, please continue."

"Okay. So, to be accepted as a disciple by the masters, I think it would be easier for a commoner like me to show clear 'achievements.'"

"I see, you want to sell your skills and potential."

"Yes, I'm glad you understand."

Nord was accepted into the Iron Dragon Knights because he found a way to tame a dragon, which was highly valued. This was a kind of accidental achievement, but what Elyeo was trying to do was similar.

She wanted to show undeniable achievements—something that would clearly demonstrate her value to the masters of the Magic Academy.

"So, I thought I would create magical artifacts to sell myself."

"Magical artifacts, like this one?"

"Yes, actually, the flame sword I gave you is a prototype I made as an experiment."

"Is it okay to give me something like that? Shouldn't I return it..."

"No, no, please keep it! I found points to improve from this prototype, and I'm now working on a new magical artifact incorporating those improvements."

Elyeo waved her hands to stop Nord from taking out the flame sword from his pocket. Seeing this, Nord put it back.

Elyeo continued.

"However, I can't get the materials I need for this..."

"What kind of materials?"

"Sprite crystals."

"Oh..."

Nord knew what Elyeo was talking about.

Sprite crystals are special magic stones that contain the power of sprites like ice or fire.

The ice sprite stones Nord had mined in the snow mountains before were actually magic stones, but they were inferior to sprite crystals.

Sprite crystals, often called the "blood of sprites," are more powerful magic stones that contain even stronger magical power.

Acquiring them is simple: defeat a sprite.

Sprites in nature possess powerful magic and have a core in their bodies. This core is the sprite crystal, and when a sprite is defeated, it disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving behind the sprite crystal.

The problem is...

"They are quite expensive, right?"

"Yes, that's true..."

Sprites have different personalities depending on their type, but they are generally mischievous, though not hostile.

However, if they are attacked, they will unleash their stored magical power on their attacker with devastating force.

The scale of destruction is immense, as the saying "don't wake a sleeping dragon or sprite" suggests.

Due to the difficulty of acquisition, requests for sprite crystals in the Adventurer's Guild are typically aimed at Silver-Rank adventurers.

"Sorry, but sprite crystals are..."

"No, no, of course I'm not asking for that!"

Nord wanted to help Elyeo, but sprite crystals were out of reach, both in terms of purchasing and acquiring directly, which would be a matter of life and death.

Elyeo shook her head, disagreeing with Nord.

"I knew I couldn't get sprite crystals, so I made the prototype I gave you to experiment with lower-grade magic stones to see if I could achieve higher effects."

"Did it work?"

"Yes, thanks to that, I've managed to ensure the output with magic stones."

Magic stones, also known as "sprite tears," are natural magic stones formed from the crystallization of natural magic in magic pools.

Ice magic stones, like ice sprite stones, can be collected in winter mountains, making them much easier to obtain compared to sprite crystals.

"So, you want those magic stones?"

"Yes, I heard you were an adventurer before, so I thought you might be able to get them through your connections."

Nord remembered talking about this on the way to the main street after helping Elyeo.

"Which magic stones do you need?"

"I need a combination of multiple magic stones. I have all but one. The remaining one is a fire sprite stone..."

"Fire..."

Nord pondered internally.

If it were ice magic stones, it would be easier.

Nord had collected them before, so the method was established.

Ice sprite stones can be collected in winter, which is only two months away, making it easy to obtain them by spring.

However, Elyeo needed a fire sprite stone—a magic stone from a fire sprite.

This was a different matter.

The reason was the geographical factors of the Kingdom of Hamil.

The kingdom has a vast territory extending in all directions from the capital.

Various terrains exist within its borders, including many magic pools, making it possible to obtain artificial labyrinths and magic stones.

However, there was one terrain that did not exist in the Kingdom of Hamil: a volcano.

Sprite tears, unlike regular magic stones, can only be collected in places where the power of sprites is strong, in addition to being magic pools.

For ice sprite tears, it's extremely cold places like winter mountains.

For water sprite tears, it's lakes or seas.

For lightning sprite tears, it's places where lightning strikes.

For fire sprite tears, it's places where the power of fire sprites is strong, and the only place Nord knew was a volcano.

Nord visualized a map in his mind.

According to the map, the only volcanoes were far beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Hamil.

"In that case, it might take a month or two just for the round trip..."

"Yes, so the commission fee would be quite high..."

Nord's current mode of transportation was not a shared carriage provided by the Adventurer's Guild but a military carriage borrowed from the knights, along with horses capable of long-distance travel, making the travel speed relatively fast.

However, traveling to another country would still take too much time.

While there were ways to take a week off from the Iron Dragon Knights, Nord doubted he could get a long vacation like the one he had in summer.

Requests that require travel to distant places tend to have higher commission fees.

Elyeo had considered hiring an adventurer and had received an estimate, but the amount was far beyond what she could afford as a commoner.

"Going to a volcanic area is too far for me to go directly."

"Yes... even if you did go, I couldn't pay you a sufficient amount."

The only thing I could offer besides a small reward would be to make you a magical artifact similar to the one I gave you.

Nord almost nodded in agreement but then asked Elyeo to repeat what she just said.

"What did you just say?"

"Yes, so 'I can only make you a magical artifact similar to the one I gave you.'"

"...But you don't have the materials, right?"

"Well, technically, but I plan to get extra materials... I can make as many as you want, at the level of what I gave you."

The difference in value perception is so great when someone can't objectively assess their own abilities. Nord was speechless as he processed Elyeo's words.

"Ah, so Elyeo, if you have magic stones, you can mass-produce swords like this?"

"No,"

Elyeo shook her head.

Her crimson hair, the same color as the setting sun, swayed from side to side.

"I used a magic stone as the core, but most of it was made from regular magic stones, so I can make even more powerful ones."

Elyeo (probably) has a super genius setting.

This chapter is long, so I'll post it here.

I'm writing the next chapter, but depending on the situation, I might combine some parts with this one.

When there's a lot of dialogue, my writing tends to run away, and I lose control.

I want to add more descriptions, but I end up relying on dialogue.