Chapter 3

When they emerged from the cave, they found themselves in the middle of a forest. Xiaoming took a deep breath of the fresh outdoor air.

The rustling sound and scent of new leaves were nostalgic, and he reappreciated the value of nature. He wanted to enjoy a leisurely forest bath, but it seemed that wasn't possible.

After all, a girl was fighting a monster here.

Name: Baphomet

Attack: 543

Defense: 512

Speed: 144

Magic: 1

"Haa... Haa...! Why isn't it working?!"

The girl, judging by her appearance, seemed to be a magician. The bull-type monster on the other side was a Baphomet, classified as a Level 3 monster. It was a bipedal bull-type monster, somewhat similar to a Minotaur. The difference was that it had low intelligence and no weapons. However, its arm strength could crush even an adventurer's mediocre equipment. It was said that if one could defeat it, they could make a living as an adventurer without much luxury.

In other words, the girl's strength could be gauged by the fact that she was fighting it.

Name: ???

Attack: 2 + 320

Defense: 2 + 320

Speed: 2 + 320

Magic: 565 + 100

Skill: Halved Casting Time

Her magic was properly reinforced, and her magic power wasn't bad. A magician's strength lies in their ability to enhance their physical abilities to the level of a front-line fighter using magic. Halved Casting Time is a very rare skill, enough to be called upon as a court magician. If the magic amplification value of her staff wasn't around +100, she could have won normally. Still, in a life-or-death battle, "what-ifs" are meaningless. That was the knight captain's catchphrase.

"I'll help you."

"Eh..."

She severed Baphomet's head with a spatial cut. The massive body fell forward and sank into the forest soil.

"Eh? What, what is this?!"

"I'm sorry for startling you! Since we're in the forest, I avoided flashy magic! Only spatial magic could tear the monster apart!"

"Space...?"

"...Well, anyway, I'm glad you're safe."

Due to the rare interaction with another person, he misjudged his emotional balance.

"Baphomet is a tough monster with excellent attack and defense. Just randomly casting spells won't defeat it. There's a trick to it, but... Is something wrong?"

"No, who are you?"

"Ah, I'm sorry again. I'm Soa..."

He started to say "Soalis." The holy maiden Soalis was a criminal who had used forbidden magic drugs. He didn't think he would be identified as her, but it was better to be cautious—

"I'm Soa."

"Ms. Soa? Thank you for helping me! I'm the adventurer Elna! Uh, how did you do that?!"

"Instead of standing here talking, let's go somewhere more comfortable."

"Let's go back to town! Although, I'm not sure if it will be comfortable..."

The girl's expression darkened. It seemed there was some backstory.

* * *

On the way, the number of monsters that attacked was abnormal. There were no more Baphomet-class monsters, but the sheer number was still unsettling. When the Demon King appeared and invaded the kingdom, there were many, but things calmed down after they were defeated. It was supposed to be peaceful, but something was off now. Moreover, Elna's strength was surprising. She had struggled against Baphomet, but it was due to a lack of technique and knowledge. With proper training, she could improve a lot.

"We're here. This is the town of Kadoina."

"Kadoina..."

Hearing the town's name, he finally remembered. It was close to the border, and tough kingdom knights were dispatched here. By building a reputation here and showing it to the kingdom knights, one could join the regular army. The whole town had a tense atmosphere. It did, but now it was clearly lacking vitality. There were fewer people, and many stores were closed.

"I thought this was a town where many adventurers visited. I've heard that some people joined the knights from here."

"It was like that before the Holy Maiden Sealing Incident 20 years ago."

"Huh, 20 years ago...? Eh?"

"The incident where the Holy Maiden Soalis was sealed for using forbidden magic drugs. It caused a great upheaval in the country. You didn't know about it?"

He felt dizzy. His mind couldn't keep up.

The Holy Maiden Soalis, meaning I, was sealed for 20 years? No way!

"I wasn't born then, but it's a famous incident. By the way, where are you from, Soa? You must be a famous magician to use such powerful magic!"

"It's not like that."

"Eh? But cutting a monster silently with magic is too amazing!"

"It's not like that."

Next to the cheerful Elna, he struggled to maintain his composure. Twenty years, he couldn't believe it. Was the flow of time different inside the dark sphere compared to here? Or did it take that long to create spatial magic? It might have. After all, if he had the luxury to think about other things, spatial magic wouldn't have been completed. A myth-level magical artifact that couldn't be fully understood by even a complete magical formula, how formidable. That meant it was likely a being completely outside the realm of magic and magical power. In fact, it definitely was.

"E-Elna, how old do I look?"

"Huh? Well, I'm sorry, but you don't look much different from me."

Elna also looked around 15 to him. At least her physical age was 16. Considering the seal, it might be pointless to think with the common sense they had. Still, it was a miscalculation. What had happened to the kingdom 20 years later?

If you found this interesting and are eager to read more, please bookmark this and click or tap the ☆☆☆☆☆ below! It will motivate me!