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“Is there anything else you want to know, Miss Sylvia?” Mister Milton asked hurriedly.

“Well… let’s see… I am a little curious about the so-called Wannabe Mage. How do they draw the mana from the surrounding just by swinging their staffs around?” I only asked out of pure curiosity, but Mister Milton seems very delighted with my question.

“Hahaha… that is a good question, Miss Sylvia! Allow me to enlighten you!” Mister Milton seemed really proud and puffed his chest before he continued, “We are not merely waving our staffs at random while casting spells!”

“Oh? Interesting… tell me more about it!” My eye shone with the light of curiosity. Continue reading [Vol 2] Chapter 4: Wannabe Mage

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“Miss Sylvia… just… what are you?” Mister Milton broke the silence and pointed his staff at me. It seems like he will attack me at a moment’s notice.

I wonder if someone with darkness attributes is treated as a villain in this world. Well, I guess that’s only normal… because everyone is skeptical like that. But judging someone purely based on their attributes is just plain stupid. I don’t believe in the light is justice and darkness is evil kind of crap.

“Hahahahahaha” I lifted my head, used my right hand to cover my eyes before I started laughing madly! Continue reading [Vol 2] Chapter 3: Demon Lord, Logia

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Yup… I guess I should apologize first, “Sorry… I will explain later. More importantly, is the Guild Card ready?”

Sheena heaved a sigh and said, “It’s just right in front of you…”

“Huh? Already? How much time have passed?” I tilted my head in confusion, and Sheena said, “About 30 minutes…” before she moved out of my field of vision, revealing the card and equipment placed on top of the table.

Wow… 30 minutes have passed already? It only felt like a few seconds have passed since I closed my eyes… and sitting on top of the sofa at the other side of the table is the Guild Master, Mister Milton!

“Oh uh… Mister Milton… how come you’re here?” Since Milton seems like a busy man, I didn’t expect he would have time to sit down and chit-chat with us.

“Hahaha… I came here to personally present you the reward of course!” Mister Milton said that nonchalantly.

“Huh? But why? Why would a busy person like you personally present the reward to a newcomer like me? Aren’t you the Guild Master?” I was suspicious of him, he must have some ulterior motives!

“Hahaha… oh come on, it’s not everyday you get to meet a Hero after all. I’d like to have the opportunity to personally give Lord Hero the reward!” Mister Milton said something non-sensical.

“………………Huh?” After a long moment of silence, that’s the only word I was able to spout.

“Hm? From your expression, I take it Lord Hero does not know anything?” Mister Milton asked me in return after seeing my confused expression.

“Would you care to explain?” I asked honestly.

“Hrm…………” Mister Milton squinted his eyes, and look directly into mine for a long while before he said, “Alright then, it seems you really do not know.”

Then he just turned his head to Sheena before saying, “As her Master, you should have explained these things beforehand.”

Sheena just lowered her head in embarrassment, “Sorry, she just fainted after we completed our contract, and I was too excited that I forgot to explain to her properly. Allow me the honor of explaining it to her!”

“Well better late than never I guess…” Mister Milton nodded his head in agreement.

Then Sheena, who was sitting beside me suddenly turned to my side and grabbed my hands that was on top of my lap. I turned to face her before she continued, “Okay… listen carefully. Since a few decades ago, Professor Colbert collaborated with the Void Mage to study their familiar summoning, and he successfully developed a Hero summoning ritual!

The Hero summoning ritual require a ridiculous amount of mana so it requires a few dozens of people to successfully summon a single Hero. Therefore it cannot be used consecutively.

The summoned Hero are mostly intelligent species, and most common are the humanoid familiar. These summoned Heroes were also granted unique powers when their contracts are sealed!”

Sheena stopped here to catch her breath, and remained silent for a while. I broke the silence and asked, “Hero summoning……? Did you summon me with similar methods?”

Sheena frowned for a moment and said with uncertainty, “I don’t know…… I don’t think what I did was that different from the rest of my classmates…”

Mister Milton suddenly raised an eyebrow, “Could it be?! Are…… are you a Void Mage?! T-the… successor of Josette?! Hahaha I don’t believe it! Today has been a great day! Not only did I get to meet a Hero, I was able to meet the Legendary Void Mage too!”

Sheena suddenly stood up and waved her hands in front of her, “No, no, no! Mister Milton, I am not a Void Mage! I can still use elemental spells!”

“Oh…” Mister Milton seems obviously disappointed, but he still lifted his mood and continued, “Well, doesn’t matter. Let’s just proceed and get this ceremony over as soon as possible then. You guys need to get back to the Academy by today no?”

Then Mister Milton prompted me to take a look at the equipment on top of the table first. There were a set of breastplate, a shoulder-pad, a belt, a pair boots with white knee-length socks, and lastly a pair of long white gloves with arm guards attached. They all have the same silver color and gold outline.

“These are…” After examining the armor, I looked at Mister Milton in confusion.

“Your reward. This set of armor is called the Silver Gold! I thought they’d go well with your one piece white dress!” Mister Milton happily introduced the equipment to me and end with, “This armor is best suited to a beginner like you. They are what we call the growth armor, they will grow stronger along with the user!”

Upon hearing Mister Milton’s last word, my jaw dropped and I started to hesitate, “Such…… such a good set of armors… A-are you sure you want to give this set of armors to me?!”

“Hahaha… pay it no mind! Let’s just say this is my investment in you. Being an Adventurer is a dangerous job, you never know when you might die!” Mister Milton make up an excuse and laughed it off as usual.

“Die? But Mister Milton… doesn’t the Guild Card provide a life insurance?” Hearing Mister Milton mention of death, I couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes that is very much true but… there are scenarios where you can get killed in one shot. Or when the teleportation failed to activate in time. It does provide a sense of security but it’s not flawless so you have to be careful!” Mister Milton warned us that this Guild Card is not onmipotence, so we have to be careful even if we have the protection if this card does provide us with a chance of survival.

“I see… something like that could happen huh……” I understood what Mister Milton was trying to say, and consented by nodding my head twice.

“Now then… let’s proceed to sealing this Guild Card with your blood then! The paper works are all done, you just need to drip your blood on this card, and everything will be settled!” Mister Milton said so while pushing the tray on the table in front of me. The tray contained the Guild Card and a needle.

“Aw… I hate these blood contract thing…” I pouted but I still took the needle, and lightly pierced the tip of my finger.

I dripped a single drop of blood on the Guild Card and it glowed dimly. After a while, the light dispersed, and my picture along with some basic information was displayed on the card. Fantasy is truly amazing! It reminds me of how people used to print photos in the old days, with the film and all.

I was only slightly surprised when I saw the age since if I think about it, I am currently an elf. Being 163 years old should be normal.

But I frowned when I saw the Race and Attributes! Seems like my suspicion was right… I had attributes with Darkness and my race even indicates me as a Spirit, not an elf!

Everyone was curious after seeing my expression, so they took a peek at the information written on the card.

Their body shook involuntarily. Sheena and Albert fell on the sofa while Mister Milton just stood in front of me, looking at me warily and asked, “Miss Sylvia… just… what are you?”

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Author’s Note

Welp… that card took a while to make… 😮

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1. N/a

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With that, we arrived at the Guild Hall safely, along with Mister Milton and his Elite Adventurers.

Upon entering the main hall, Mister Milton immediately parted with the Elite Adventurers, he seems to be very busy. Well I guess he is the Master of the Guild after all.

But before he parted, he didn’t fail to say this to us, “Enjoy your stay here. If you want to register at the Adventurer Guild, please do so at that counter over there. I’ll be sure to inform the clerk to give you a little reward for helping us stalling and subjugating the Abyss Beast.” Continue reading [Vol 2] Chapter 1: Analyzing Elemental Laws

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“Accept it!!” Sheena grabbed both sides of my shoulders strongly and shake me twice, then she looked into my eyes with a powerful gaze.

I feel like answering to her call but I feel that I shouldn’t. I will surely regret it if I accept that proposal… and besides, just because she is my Master does not mean I have to listen to her every command, I have to make my own decision. And a good servant should not blindly follow orders from their Master, but to help them develop into a better person. ⌈¹⌋

With that thought, I shook my head, “No… I’m afraid I can’t accept your proposal, Mister Milton. I appreciate your consideration, but I’m afraid I am not ready to take on the responsibility of an S Rank!”

Sheena’s expression was ugly to behold and she grabbed my shoulders with even more strength, “What are you talking about!! It’s not everyday you get an offer to be an S Ranker! Just accept it!! Do you know how much benefit you can get just by being an S Ranker?!”

Benefits? There are such things like that too huh… but I still look into her eyes and said firmly, “Master… no matter the benefits, I still can’t accept it! Think about it, if I am given the title of an S Ranker, I would probably be forced to go on an almost impossible quest! What do you expect me, a newbie who doesn’t even know his ⌈²⌋ left and right yet, to do? I can’t even protect you, my Master, properly! How do you expect me to finish an S Rank quest? I’d rather start at the bottom and climb up slowly like everyone else! Only when one achieved something through their own hard work will there be meaning.”

“Muu……” Sheena puffed her cheeks and didn’t say any more.

“Hahaha… is that so? That’s such a shame… I was really looking forward to request something of you…” Mister Milton said resignedly.

What?! So he really have something in mind… Oh am I glad I rejected his proposal.

On the other hand, Albert was laughing out loud, “Khh… HAHAHAHA!! Oh god… Hahaha… I don’t believe it, there is actually a familiar capable of refusing to follow the Master’s command! Hahaha… oh… phew…”

Albert wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and continue, “I guess there’s a first time for everything…” And then he patted Sheena on her right shoulder once.

“Fuuuu………” Sheena let out a long breath and looked at me again before saying, “Okay, fine… I understand. But at the very least. you have to register at the Adventurer Guild. Even if it’s the lowest rank, there’s still a minimal benefit that can guarantee your safety.”

“Huh……? Guarantee my safety? There’s such a convenient item?” I was secretly surprised! I have never heard of any such things that can guarantee a person’s well being even in the fantasy novels that I like so much!

“Yes…” Sheena took out a card from her pocket and showed me, it looks kind of like an identity card. There’s the picture of Sheena on the card, her name, her race, her age, her attributes, her guild rank and total amount of money.

“This is…?” I peeled my sight from the card, and asked.

“A Guild Card.” The Guild Master of Swinford moved forward and said so.

“A Guild Card?” I tilted my head in obvious confusion.

“Yes, that is a Guild Card. As you can see from the surface, it function as a sort of identity card and credit card. You can store your money in the card and use it to purchase items at any affiliated store ⌈³⌋.” Mister Milton stopped momentarily to clear his throat.

And then he continued, “Ahem… aside from that, card holders of any rank gets the benefit of life insurance!”

“Um… can you please elaborate further?” Clearly not understanding what does Milton mean by life insurance, I asked him to go into more details.

“Gladly! You see… this card is bound directly to your soul, so that even if it is stolen, other people won’t be able to use it. But more importantly, it can detect your life force and display it in the corner of your sight. If your life force falls below critical value, you will be teleported to the closest Adventurer Guild to receive medical treatment!” Mister Milton seemed really proud when he spoke of it.

I was flabbergasted and it clearly showed on my face with the jaws opening so widely. Even Sheena and Albert seemed to find it funny and started giggling on the side.

“B… But how?! How in the world did you make something like this? It’s impossible, this is too cheat!” I still find it very hard to believe and ask for an explanation.

Mister Milton was delighted with my response and opened his mouth, “Hmhmhm~ This is all thanks to the wealth the dungeons brought us.” Then he just stopped abruptly!

“Dungeons? What does dungeon have anything to do with this? Please stop leaving me in the dust and pause every once in a while just to see my reaction!” I pouted unhappily due to Mister Milton’s obvious response.

“Alright alright~ I get it, I will stop teasing you already! I apologize for that, you are just too cute!” Having teased me enough, Mister Milton apologized sincerely. However, that last remark is unnecessary!

“Hehehe~ I know right~” And Sheena joined the fray.

“Geez! Stop teasing me already, hukhukhuk…” I cried. Well… not literally, there’s no tears coming out. Just a dry tear. ⌈⁴⌋

“Alright Alright~ I will tell you. It’s actually nothing much. We just incorporated the technique and materials found in the Teleport Labyrinth into these cards. As for the vision of your life force, that’s just an illusory spell.” Mister Milton finally explained after he have had enough.

“Guild Master! We have cleared the Abyss Beast and is ready to set out!” One of the Elite Adventurers reported to Mister Milton.

“Alright, good. Now let us head back to the Guild Hall!” With a wave of his hand, all the Elite Adventurers head toward the Adventurer Guild immediately.

I took a glance at location where the monster was supposed to be but there was nothing! Nothing at all, not even traces of blood! What did they do?! Then I turned my head towards Mister Milton with an inquisitive glance.

He took notice of it and laughed, “Hahaha, this is also one of the benefits for the Card Holders. All the monsters or bandits they kill or subdue will be teleported to the administration hall, then the loot will be distributed amongst all the party members equally. Naturally the loot and gold will be stored at the Guild Storage. They can use the gold stored in the Guild Storage by presenting their Guild Card at any affiliated stores, but to withdraw the loot and gold, they’d have to go to the Guild Hall directly, unless you’re D-Rank and above, you cannot withdraw them directly via Teleportation.”

We were talking about various things on the way to the Guild Hall, and I received a lot of new information from Mister Milton. This world feels more and more like a game now for some reason. All these convenient tools and function where you can normally only find in the game actually exist here in this fantasy world!

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The monster rushed toward Albert and Sheena at lightning speed while bellowing in rage, “Rooooar!”

Sheena and Albert quickly grabbed their magic gun, and started firing rounds after rounds of magic bullet at the monster.

Albert’s aim was not bad. At least it hits the monster, but Sheena on the other hand…… missed one after another. One of many magic bullets fired by Sheena even grazed my cheek.

Yikes!! Just a few more centimeter and it’s gonna be a head-shot! But thanks to that, I finally regained a little bit of my composure. Continue reading [Vol 1] Chapter 16: The Awakening Powers

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After Sheena gave the Silver coins to Sebastian, we said our thanks and left the store.

On the way I asked anxiously, “So… how much money do we have left?”

“Let’s see… we have spent fifteen Copper coins to lodge in the inn last night and six Copper coins for dinner and breakfast. The Teardrop Earrings and Mana Stone cost us ninety-five Silver coins. With that, we only have four Silver coins and seventy-nine Copper coins remaining.” Sheena looked into her purse and sighed.

I feel kind of guilty since more than 90% of the money were spent on the Mana Stone and Teardrop Earrings for me, “I’m sorry…… because of me you have to spend so much money.” Continue reading [Vol 1] Chapter 15: The Abyss Beast

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I looked at Sheena and Albert expectantly. Waiting for them to explain the secondary function of the Mana Stone.

“Fu… Alright. Listen well, cause I’ll only say it once!” Sheena let out a mouthful of breath, and start to explain, “The original purpose of the Mana Stone is to recover the user’s Magic Power using the mana it collected from the surrounding.”

Albert continued from where Sheena left off, “But, the Mana Stone can also act as a secondary mana tank for the user!”

“A secondary mana tank?” I tilted my head while poking my right cheek with the index finger. Continue reading [Vol 1] Chapter 14: Teardrop Earring

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After a period of awkward silence.

“I see…… my condolences.” Albert said consolingly.

“Hahaha! What for?! It’s not like she’s dead. She’s just in a coma, that’s all!” Sebastian tried to lighten the mood.

Wait… the legendary artifacts bound themselves with the soul of owner right? If that is the case, then doesn’t that mean the soul of the previous owner is already long gone? Can you really call that being alive?

I wanted to retort but doing so would only make the mood heavier so I held back.

“Haha! Now now, let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s just drip a tiny drop of your blood on top of this dual bow-gun and it’s yours, lass.” Sebastian ended the topic with that and passed a needle to me.

“Mm… alright.” I took a needle offered to me by Sebastian, and reluctantly poke the tip of finger with it.

“Ouch!” The needle pierced my skin and a little bit of blood starts flowing out from the opening. I dripped the blood on top of the weapon, and they glowed dimly for a few seconds.

“Shiiing! Shiiing!”

“Huaaa… What is it? Morning already?” A voice rang out in my mind as soon as the weapon stopped glowing.

“Hm? Did you say something?” I looked at Sheena as I asked, since she is the only girl here other than me.

“No? Did you hear something?” Sheena answered while tilting her head.

“No…… never mind, maybe I just misheard.” Seeing Sheena’s innocent face, I don’t think she was lying, so I just shrugged off as my imagination.

“Well then! Now that we have your weapon and with plenty of Silver coins left, I guess we should get you some Mana Stone.” Since we didn’t spent a single penny on this weapon of mine, Sheena wanted to get me something else. She wanted to get me something with her own money to celebrate our life-time contract.

“Mana Stone? What’s that?” Upon hearing the unfamiliar term, I turned my attention to Sheena and asked.

“Mana Stone is basically a stone that can store mana to recover your Magic Power. Seeing how much Magic Power your special ability consumes upon activation. Having one or two Mana Stone wouldn’t hurt.” Albert explained in her stead.

“Hahaha… if it’s Mana Stone you want. Then you are in luck! I have one Mana Stone with 10,000 capacity left. Normally it would go for one Gold coin but for you, I’ll sell it for ninety Silver coins!” Sebastian rummaged through his stock and grabbed the Mana Stone from under the counter.

“So expensive!! Don’t you have one with lower capacity?” Upon hearing the catastrophic cost of the Mana Stone, Sheena couldn’t help but cry out in shock.

“I’m sorry lil miss, these Mana Stone are high in demand. You would have to wait for another few months before the next stock of Mana Stones are available.” Sebastian felt helpless that there was nothing else he could do.

I pulled Sheena’s sleeve lightly, and whispered softly in her ear, “Um… perhaps I don’t understand the value of money in this world, but just how expensive is this Mana Stone?”

“Sigh… Alright, let me put it in a term that you can understand. Let’s say one Bronze coin in Halkeginia equals to 10 USD on Earth. How much do you think a single Silver coin is?” Sheena heaved a sigh and used the money that I am familiar with as an analogy.

“Um… let’s see…… if one Bronze coin equals 10 USD, then ten Bronze coins is 100 USD…… one Silver coin is equal to one hundred Bronze coins, so that means… 1,000 USD?! SO EXPENSIVE!!” I shouted in the end after finalizing my calculation.

I mean, I can’t help it right? Ninety Silver coins are equivalent to 90,000 USD!! Even in my previous life, I don’t even have more than two-tenth of that amount! It’s way too expensive!!

“Uh… um… Sh-Sheena…… umm… you know… you don’t have to force yourself to buy that for me you know?? I mean… it’s too expensive! Even if you get it for me, I would feel WAY too insecure to carry something THAT expensive on me…” I try to convince Sheena not to buy it.

“Before we decide…… can we borrow that and let Sylvia recover some her Magic Power first, Uncle Sebastian? If we encounter some monsters or rogue on the way back, with her Magic Power as low as it is now, she will only drag us down.” Sheena requested Sebastian to let us borrow the Mana Stone for a while.

“Hahaha sure, go ahead and take as much mana as you want!” Sebastian handed the Mana Stone over to me.

“Eh? Won’t the value of this Mana Stone decrease if I drain the mana out of it?” I was reluctant to do it. Since I am basically draining one Bronze coin for each unit of Magic Power!

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about it lass, these Mana Stone have a function to draw mana from the surrounding like the Magic Staff, they can collect the mana and store it within them over time.” Sebastian explained briefly regarding how the Mana Stone works.

“Oh… is that how it work?” I was truly amazed, this is truly a fantasy world, there are so many interesting things that cannot be explained with logic here!

While I was still mesmerizing at the wondrous world before me, Albert said, “Yeah, the Mana Stone usually fully recovered after ten hours.”

“Phew… then don’t mind if I take some mana out from the stone.” I grabbed the stone and then stared at it. After one awkward minute of staring at the stone…

I asked, “Uh… So how do I recover my Magic Power?”

“Pfft-ahahahahahaha!” Sheena, Albert and Sebastian broke out in laughter.

Eh? Did I say something funny? They probably knew that I do not know anything, and kept their silence to watch my reaction. How mean!

“Hahahahaha! Oh lass! It’s quite simple, really! You just have to put that stone in front of your lips and suck the mana out of it!” Sebastian is the first to snap out of the laughter and explained.

I did as he told and kissed the stone. A moment later, I can feel a surge of mana flowing into my body, rapidly recovering my Magic Power.

“Wow, I feel so refreshed!” After feeling the supply of mana is no longer flowing into my body, I pulled the stone away from my lips.

Sheena, Albert and Sebastian all stared at the Mana Stone wide eyed.

Hm…… why are they so shocked? Did I break the stone? I turned my sight to the stone nervously and let out a sigh of relieve, there doesn’t seem to be a crack on the stone.

But it is too soon to feel relieved… about one-tenth on the surface of the Magic Stone seems to have turned grayish. I wonder why… did I break it after all?

I lifted the stone in front of my face, holding it up with my palm. I looked at the grayish part of the stone and asked, “Um… this is……?”

Sheena put her right hand on top of her head and shake it twice, “I don’t believe it…”

“To think it would consume that much Magic Power…… I guess this is what you call mighty power comes with great cost……” Albert was also shaking his head while he let out a sigh.

“Uncle Sebastian, we will buy this Mana Stone after all…” After looking at the stone, Sheena finally give in and decided to buy the Mana Stone.

“Ehhhhh?! Why? Did I break it after all?” I panicked.

“No…… but your innate Magic Power and the consumption rate of your skill is too high. A normal Mana Stone would be consumed immediately.” Sheena denied the claim and explained.

“That’s right, normally, a basic elemental spell usually only consume around 10 unit of Magic Power, and a beginner mage usually have an average of 200 unit of Magic Power in total.” Albert supplemented.

Then Sebastian continued, “From the looks of it, around one-tenth of the mana has been consumed within the Mana Stone. That means around 1,000 unit of Magic Power has been drained by that special ability of yours in a one go. You get what I’m implying here?”

So… that means I have at least around five times more Magic Power capacity compared to your average beginner mage, but since my special ability consumes too much Magic Power to register itself for instacast, I had no choice but to rely on the Mana Stone.

“I see…… that is bad indeed. That means I won’t be able to register high level spell for instacast.” I lamented at the thought of it.

While I was lamenting at my inability to instacast high level spell, Sheena shouted, “That’s why we need this Mana Stone all the more!”

“Why? Does it have some other function other than recovering the Magic Power?” I was surprised when Sheena suddenly said that. I know that I need the Mana Stone now, but how does that help me in regards to register high level spell for instacast?

“Hahaha! This lass truly have good insight, she caught on frightening fast!” Sebastian was delighted at my keen intuition.

“Oh… so it does indeed have other function. What is it? Tell me already!” I looked at Sebastian with gleaming eyes. My arms are in a “v-shape” in front of my breasts, and my fists are clutched tightly.

“Hahaha, you guys explain to her. I’ll do some modification with this Mana Stone.” Sebastian pushed Sheena and Albert to do the explanation while he moved into the workshop at the back.

“Oh, does that mean the other function cannot be used with the Mana Stone just as it is?” As I thought of that, I turn my head over to Sheena and Albert looking for an explanation.

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1. N/a

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After a long period of silence…

“J-Just what was that?!” Sheena broke the silence.

“How did you do that just now?! How were you able to shoot so accurately while in the midair!! No! Before that! How did you even jump that high to begin with!” Sheena stormed me with one question after another while I was still on the ground. Sitting there with my knees together, with my body leaning against it.

I looked at Sheena, and complained with teary eyes while rubbing sore butt, “Uuuu… That’s the first thing you ask? You could at least worry about me you know?”

Just as I was saying that, Albert was already standing in front of me and offered a hand. I grabbed his hand without second thoughts, and he pulled me up from the ground.

“Th-thank you……” I was surprised, Albert collected himself way too fast. Just a moment ago, he was standing beside Sheena with the same stupid expression as her, and a moment later, he was already in front of me as his usual self. Calm and composed.

“That was most impressive Miss Sylvia. I am awed all over by your performance earlier! Splendid marksmanship, and a user of instacast to top it off! Indeed, the magic gun is an excellent weapon of choice!” Albert praised me over and over. It’s a little embarrassing to be praised so much, seriously.

“Ah… ahahaha… thank you Albert…” I bashfully responded to Albert’s words of praise.

Sheena cuts in between us, “Hey! Don’t ignore me, answer my questions!”

“Uh… even if you ask me… I don’t know how to answer…… natural instinct maybe? Hahaha……” I laughed awkwardly and scratched my cheeks.

“Sigh… Alright fine, let’s just go inform Uncle Sebastian that we are done with the test already, and choose an appropriate weapon for you. As promised we will get you two magic guns.” Sheena gave up the questioning and cursed silently, “Kh… Natural instinct huh? I hate those genius who achieved good results without even trying hard. I worked so hard to get to where I am today…”

***

As we re-entered the store from the back door. Sebastian noticed us and started, “Hahaha! So the lass’ test is over now is it? How did it go?”

“She passed with rainbow colors.” Sheena seems a little bit displeased.

“Her marksmanship is most impressive, I’ve never seen a marksman with such impressive sharpshooting skill as her. Her magic aptitude is off the charts too. It is unfortunate that we can only test her aptitude for one element for now due to the high Magic Power consumption of a peculiar ability at work.”

“Hoh… special ability is it? What is it?” Sebastian was interested in the special ability and asked.

“Hmhmhm! Hear this and be impressed! My familiar is the second known user of instacast in the entire continent of Halkeginia.” Sheena’s face suddenly brightened up, and proclaimed to Uncle Sebastian proudly.

“Hahahaha!! Instacast is it? That’s impressive! Impressive indeed!” Sebastian laughed out loud.

“Muu!! I’m not joking you know?” Sheena pouted.

“Haha! I know, I know! This is just perfect! Wait here for a moment!” Sebastian told us to wait, then he went to the innermost part of the store.

After a while, he got back with two bow like gun on both of his hands.

“Eh?” I was surprised. Why is that here? Where did he get it from? Those bow-gun look exactly like the one I saw in my vision.

Sheena turned her head over to look at me, “Sylvia… is that?”

I did the same and looked at Sheena, I didn’t say a word and just nodded slightly.

“Oh? Have the lass here seen this weapon before?” Sebastian was surprised when he saw our expression.

I turned my head back to look at Sebastian, then at the two bow-gun that he laid on the counter in front of us. After that, I told him, “Actually… I can’t really say I have seen them before, I just saw them in my vision. That’s all…”

Sebastian had a very grim expression when I told him that, but he instantly changed his mood and said, “Hahaha!! Then this must be fate!! I found these weapon a little over ten years ago in the dungeon! For some reason, they come in a pair and won’t separate for more than a meter.”

“You found these in a dungeon over ten years ago? Does that mean… during the first dungeon exploration with my father?” Sheena asked.

Sebastian’s expression turned grim for a moment, then he immediately reverted back to the happy-go-lucky mood, and patted Sheena’s head, “Hahaha! Don’t worry about it. Let’s not talk about that for now.”

“This weapon… I will give it to you as a gift, lass.” Sebastian pushed the pair of bow-gun towards me.

“Eh?!?! But why……? How can I accept such a gift?! From what I heard, the dungeon is an extremely dangerous place. This weapon must be worth a lot!” I tried to refuse the offer since I would feel very bad about it, they sacrificed a lot during that first dungeon exploration from what I’ve heard, but Sebastian refuted.

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about it, this weapon is totally worthless!”

“Eh?!” I was dumbfounded, how could something excavated from the dungeon be worthless?

“True, this is a legendary artifact. But no one can use it effectively, no one other than you that is!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“What do you mean……?” Sheena, Albert and I looked at Sebastian with suspicion.

“You see…” Sebastian explained to us how this bow-gun can only be fired once, since each time you refilled it with magic, only a single magic bullet in the form of an arrow was formed, so it cannot be used continuously.

He also explained about how he used this bow-gun as a model to create the first prototype of the magic gun, and derived to what it is today.

“I see… If that’s the case, then it’s true that this weapon is not optimal for a mage. The only reason why a mage opt for magic gun is because of the ability to shoot it continuously without the need to chant for a spell.” Albert consented.

“I agree……  Furthermore, unlike magic, this bow-gun also do not have auto target assist like the rest of the magic gun, it is a single target weapon, and only have two shot at best since they come in a pair.” Sheena also agreed with Albert.

“And that’s why I want you to have this, lass! This weapon no longer serves any purpose to me. I’m sure it would be happier to be used instead of sitting here to eat dust.” Sebastian tried to push the weapon to me.

“……………” I was in deep thought for a while.

“With your instacast and remarkable marksmanship, you can fire this dual bow-gun continuously! It’s the perfect weapon for you, lass! Hahaha!” Sebastian continued to convince me to accept it.

“Alright… if you insist, I will accept your generosity. Thank you very much, Uncle Sebastian.” I bowed respectfully as I received the dual bow-gun.

“Hahaha! Good! Good!! Now you just need to soul bind the weapon, and it will be yours!” Sebastian was very delighted when I accepted it.

“Soul Bind?” I titled my head in confusion as I asked.

“That’s right, all legendary artifact require you to bind your soul with it for them to recognize you as their true owner. You just need to drip your blood on top of the weapon and it will be bounded to your soul.” Sebastian explained.

“Um… what happens if I did not bind my soul with the weapon?” I asked.

“Then you won’t be able to wield it, probably.” Sebastian answered.

“Wait… if you need to be soul bounded with the weapon in order to use it, then how do you know about the usage of this bow-gun?” Sheena thought it was strange, so she asked.

“Does that mean…… this bow-gun previously have an owner who soul bounded with it?” I asked as if that was the most natural thing in the world.

“Sigh…” Sebastian’s expression turns grim again, “That’s right…… this weapon does indeed have a previous owner. She might not be an instacast user but she is quite talented in magic herself as she is a shortened incantation user.”

Judging from his expression, I have a feeling I shouldn’t press on this matter anymore. I already have a general idea of the fate of the previous user by now. Most likely she is already……

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1. N/a

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“Bang!”

“Eh…? I missed.” I say that with a disappointed expression.

Well, of course the world isn’t such a nice place where you can be perfect in everything on the first try… I need to work hard…

“Well… the result was…… worst than I thought.” Seeing that I didn’t even hit the target dummy, Sheena heaved a sigh.

“Wait… just wait a second, let me have another try! Please?” I begged Sheena to let me have another shot. She seems unconvinced.

“I feel like I can get it right if I just try a few more times. It feels like the time when I was riding the horse.” When I was learning horse riding from Sheena, I was very bad at it. However, I get used to it very soon. I get a similar feeling when I was holding the gun.

Sheena seems convinced since she saw how bad I was at horseback riding for the first few minutes, “Alright, try as many times as you want. We have plenty of rubber bullets here anyway. You know how to reload the gun right?”

I scratches my head awkwardly, “Um… well…… actually I…… have never really held a real gun before…… Hehehe.”

“Sigh… Albert.” Sheena gestured Albert to come over and teach me how to reload a gun.

After learning the basics, I got into the proper position, took my aim, and start firing the gun.

With each shot, I feel like my aim is getting sharper and sharper. Sheena was not too surprised to see my improvement in such a short period of time, but Albert on the other hand…… was amazed.

“It’s amazing how she improved so quickly. Is this the innate ability of the elf? Their marksmanship is amazing indeed!”

“That’s enough. Now try shooting with your non-dominant arm. After  you get used to it, we will raise the level.” Sheena stepped forward and prompt me to continue shooting with my other hand.

The result was almost the same as with my dominant arm. At first, I missed the target but my aim gets sharper over time.

Eventually……

“Sylvia!” Sheena called out to me.

I turned over to look at her.

“Catch.” She throw the other gun that she was holding earlier to me.

I caught it frantically and shouted with discontent, “H-hey!! That’s dangerous! What if somebody got hurt?!”

Sheena turned her head sideways, “Humph…”

“Eh?? What did I do?” I was confused at Sheena’s fit of temper.

Could she be jealous at how I can do something that she couldn’t so easily?

I looked around and noticed Albert is not around so I asked, “Where’s Albert?”

Sheena didn’t say a word and pointed behind me. I turned to look and saw Albert walking over from a distant with nine additional target dummy floating in the air.

“Eh?” I was confused, I have no idea what is going on. Why are there so many target dummy?

“Now let’s proceed with the final test. If you pass this test, then we will acknowledge your marksmanship, and get you two guns as promised. If you fail, we will still get you one gun but you won’t be using that as your main weapon.” Albert walked towards me and explained.

“So… how are we going to test my marksmanship?” I asked interestingly.

“Simple! Can you see the colors of the mark on the dummy?” Albert pointed to the dummy.

“Hmm… yes… and?” I looked at one dummy after another as indicated.

“I will control five of the dummy with red mark using levitation magic while avoiding you, your aim is to hit them with the rubber bullet.” Albert explained.

“And I will control the other five with blue mark, obstructing you. But you cannot attack them. Once you do, you fail!” Sheena curved her lips upward, “Be careful~ I will occasionally ram into you, hehe.”

“Oh… moving targets… just…… perfect…… and I have to avoid hitting those with blue marks too……” I am not so confident I can hit moving target yet, so I feel rather dispirited.

Furthermore, with two guns occupying both my hand, trying to reload the gun will be difficult, unless I have super godly reflexes. Magic gun is another story since I can just use instacast to instantly reload the gun, but these guns are different, I have to reload them manually.

Each gun can load up to ten bullets, that means I will have twenty shot with two guns. In other word, I can spare five bullets per dummy. I can do this, I have plenty of bullets to spare!  If I really can’t take down five targets with twenty bullets, I really have no rights to hold a gun.

“Ok, let’s begin then!” Upon my signal, Sheena and Albert simultaneously used levitation magic to lift the target dummy to surround me.

With the blue dummies blocking my view in the front, while the red dummies at the back are floating left and right, up and down.

When I pointed a gun at the red dummy, the blue dummy came into view.

Whoa!! How am I supposed to shoot the red dummy if the blue dummy keeps blocking me. Seems like I can’t stay in one place forever. I will have to get behind the blue dummy to aim properly.

With that in mind, I started running towards one of the blue dummy.

The blue dummy tried to ram into me, but I side stepped and narrowly dodged the blue dummy’s reckless charge.

“Skid…!” With my left hand and knee on the ground, I immediately pointed my non-dominant right hand at the red dummy and pulled the trigger.

“Ding!”

“Score!! One down, four more to go!” I shouted in joy as my aim was right on the mark.

“Tsk!! It’s not over yet!” Sheena suddenly commanded all five of the blue dummies to encircle me at high speed.

“Damn!!” I cursed silently as I was trapped in the center of these five blue dummies.

I saw a gap in between the blue dummy so I pointed my gun at one of the red dummy that is floating around aimlessly behind one of the gaps, and waited for the right moment.

“Bang!”

I pulled the trigger again, and with a “Bang!”, I hear the sweet “Ding!” sound which indicates I hit the target. Oh sweet! Another one down, three more to go!

“Khhhhh!!” Sheena seems infuriated that I was able to hit my target in that situation. Then all of a sudden, three blue dummies charged toward me at high speed.

Without any time to think, I jumped up into the air to avoid getting squashed by the three dummies. I jumped higher than I thought and avoided the dummies by a hair’s breadth. The dummies rammed into one another while I was still upside down in midair.

I took a quick glance at my surrounding and saw two red dummies at the distant. I quickly spin around my body while still upside down in midair, and saw the third dummy at the opposite side.

Without losing my momentum, I spread out both my arm and focused like I never have before, and then I pulled the trigger one time, two times, three times, while spinning around in midair.

“Ding! Ding! Ding!”

That signals the end of my marksmanship test! All five red dummies are down, and not a single blue dummy were shot! But I don’t have time to rejoice at the moment, because I’m losing altitute, and is about to fall to the ground head first!

I tried to balance myself by doing a somersault, and turn my body into the upright position. Then my feet touched the ground first, and I am standing upright with my arms spread. A perfect landing!

As if! I landed hard on my butt first!

“Owowowowow! That hurts!” Tears are welling up in my eyes as I rubbed my sore butt.

Although that took a while to explain, only a few seconds have passed in reality.

Sheena and Albert stared at me wide eyed from the distant with their jaw dropped. I guess I couldn’t blame them. What I did just now even surprised myself. If I was the one watching from the sideline, I probably would have the same expression as them right now.

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1. N/a

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When Sheena and Albert recovered from their shock.

“In…… Instacast!!” Sheena and Albert shouted at the same time.

“Wh-Wha…? Why did you shout so loudly? Did I do something wrong?” I was covering my ears with both of my hands for a while. Since the both of them shouted so loud, I feel like my ears are still ringing.

“You… that was… that was AMAZING!! I’ve never seen anyone casted magic without chanting before! This is just amazing!!” Sheena was holding both of my hand and jumping up and down excitedly while praising me.

“Indeed… I’ve only heard rumors, the only other person able to instacast in the entire continent of Halkeginia other than you is the Vampire Queen, Evangeline A.K. McDowell.” Albert explained calmly.

Hm… he’s quite composed despite how he was utterly shocked out of his mind earlier. As expected of a Crown Prince, he’s able to adapt to any situation quickly and analyses things in a composed manner.

But wait… Did he say Evangeline A.K. McDowell? Isn’t that the name of the immortal vampiress from Mahou Sensei Negima? Just what is this? First I found myself in the world of Halkeginia, now even the name of the Vampiress pops up.

Am I really dead after all, and this is just a dream in the after world based on my imagination?

……Oh well, who cares? Let’s stop thinking about difficult stuff and just enjoy the moment while it last.

But I’m still curious after all, “Um… Sheena, this Evangeline… isn’t she…”

“Your guess is probably right, she’s probably the same character as the one from the manga you once read.” Sheena confirmed my suspicion.

“Oh… so you read that manga too?” I was surprised that Sheena know about it. After all, not many girls read that manga due to the excessive fan service. But it is a good manga despite all the fan service.

“Sigh… My dad liked that manga, and forced me to read it ever since he learnt about the existence of Evangeline A.K. McDowell in this world. He suspect they might be the same person.” Sheena explained wearily.

“Oh… Did you learn anything about her?” I asked.

“Only that… she is an immortal vampire, and a very powerful mage. There’s probably only a handful of people who can fight with her on an equal footing. Even though she’s a mage, she’s good in close combat too. She’s just too powerful. And what’s more, she can even instacast now, she’s basically a cheat character!!” Sheena complained while grinding her teeth.

Wow, that’s the first time I see her like this. Maybe it would be wise if I never mentioned that name ever again, but what she said next surprised me.

“But, with this!” Sheena grabbed my hand again and continue, “With this! We can finally see a glimmer of hope! Magic are powerful, but they require time to prepare. If we have you on our side, we can finally win against her!”

“Wha… WHY?! Why do we need to fight against her? Did she do something wrong?!” I was surprised indeed.

“No… she haven’t done anything yet……” Sheena gripped my hands tightly.

“What do you mean…?” I was confused, if she haven’t done anything, then why do we need to fight her?

“Rumor has it that some people saw her using magic stone to summon the magic beast. People suspect that she might be the one who created the dungeons a few decades ago, and summoned the magical beast to keep people from entering the deepest part of the dungeon. She might be the mastermind behind all of these mystery.” Sheena conjectured.

“She’s the creator of the dungeon? But why?” I don’t understand the intention of this Vampire Queen, for what reason did she summon the dungeon? But the real question is, was she really the one who summoned the dungeons?

“I don’t know either… my father told me he met up with her once, but she wouldn’t say anything more unless he can hit her at least once. My father was pushed back easily, so he gathered a group of people to explore the first dungeon instead.”

Sheena loosened her grip, and heaved a sigh before she continued, “They managed to make it to the deepest part of the dungeon but… only a handful of people were able to survive in the end… My father wouldn’t tell me what happened in the depths of the dungeon, and told me to never approach it.”

“What?! The group that supposedly saved the world from a certain calamity! Wiped out just like that?” I shivers upon thinking about it, just how dreadful the dungeon is.

Sheena let go of my hand and clenched her fist, then she look into my eyes with a strong gaze, “That’s why! That’s why we will defeat Evangeline A.K. McDowell, make my father acknowledge me, and find out the truth from her personally!”

Sheena then stretches her right hand towards me and say, “Please lend me your strength!”

I hesitated for a moment and thought it might be impossible, I mean… she’s probably more than 700 years old and she’s an immortal, with our experiences and short lifespan, we might not even be able to beat her in our lifetime.

But I remember a famous quote once say, if you say it’s impossible, then it will really be impossible. The words you say will bound you and put a limitation on yourself. That’s why you should always believe in yourself and never give up before even trying.

There’s also another famous quote that says miracle is but another name for “hard work”. That’s why I need to work hard!

With renewed resolves, I take hold of her hand and shake on it, “I will work hard to exceed your expectation!”

“Um… I’m happy you girls are having a fun chat…… but should we continue the testing session?” Albert cuts in unhappily.

He’s holding two guns on his hands, I guess he went and borrowed it when we were happily chatting away?

“Here, these guns are for you. You said you wanted dual gun style right? These are just normal guns with rubber bullets.” Albert said so and passed the guns to me.

“Thank you Albe…… I mean Alby. Pfft…!” I almost laughed again when I called him Alby.I hurriedly cover my mouth with my right hand.

Alby… I mean Albert glared daggers at me and continued, “Are you really sure you want to use magic gun? With your instacast, all the advantages of a magic gun is nullified. There are no merits.”

“That’s right… it’s true the magic bullet are indeed faster than magic and have more penetrative power but they are single target weapon. Unlike magic where you can hit multiple opponent at once, you can only hit one opponent at a time with the magic gun.” Sheena supplemented.

“That’s not true… you say the speed and penetrative power is higher right? When fighting stronger opponent, speed and power is everything. If you cannot hit or injure your opponent, then it’s pointless. Now I’m not sure much about magic, but even with instacast, I still need a good amount of concentration. Let’s say if I want to cast a water ball with increased penetrative power and speed, I need some time to adjust it. But with a magic gun, I can just cast a simple water ball, and it will increase the penetrative power and speed for me. It’s killing two birds with one stone!”

Sheena and Albert were both speechless when I keep on yapping about this and that. Then Sheena started, ” Uh… you sure know a lot… do you have experience with this? You sound like an expert.”

I scratches my cheeks awkwardly and say, “Uh… hahaha… no not really… I just read a lot of fantasy novels… and played fantasy games……”

“Sigh…… Well, if you insist on having a gun, I won’t stop you. Go ahead and try it first before deciding. We need to test your dexterity first. Let’s start with one gun for now, do not be greedy, I will hold on to the other gun.” Sheena snatched the other gun from my hand while saying so.

And finally… we’re going to see test my dexterity. If I am able to shoot the target, I get a gun… or two, depending on my result.

If my dexterity is bad, we get one gun but it will only be used as a secondary weapon, then my main weapon will definitely be a staff or wand.

If my dexterity is extremely good, I will get two magic guns as my main weapons.

“Well here goes nothing……” I readied myself to start the test at any moment.

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1. N/a

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After we exited from the backdoor of the weapon store, the first thing that entered my sight was a vast field about the size of a soccer field.

Where did he get the permission to have such a big field at the back of his store, I wonder. Oh never mind, stupid question. He’s a good friend of the legendary hero, Saito, anyway. This much is only natural.

After all, Saito is also a Noble who possessed his own land, and a good friend of the queen. Bestowing a few lands to his good friends should be an easy matter.

Anyway, this field is amazing. There are so many people testing their new weapon here with enough space to spare.

I can see a swordsman swinging his sword, and hint of ice covered the target dummy. I guess that’s a sword infused with ice magic? I can also see a wannabe mage waving a magic staff around in the air to generate a Fireball and shoot it at the target. So is that how a magic weapon works? You just have to swing it around?

Now I’ve grown more curious towards the magic weapon, how did they make something like that?

“Um… Uncle Sebastian, do you mind if I ask you something?” I couldn’t hold back my curiosity, and tried to ask Sebastian.

“Hm? Sure, go ahead, lass! I will answer all ya question for ya, hahaha!” Sebastian prompted me to go ahead and ask.

“Um… I’ve been wondering… how do you make these magic weapon? If you use the same principle as the magic gun, wouldn’t the infused magic power run out over time, and it’d become nothing more than an ordinary weapon?” My question was logical since magic power is not infinite, the magic weapon would then be useless to warriors, or other people not capable of using magic.

“Hahahahaha……! Good! Very good!! This lass has good insight! How about it? You want to become my disciple?” Sebastian teased.

“Stop joking around Uncle Sebastian! She’s my familiar!” Sheena pouted at that comment.

“Hahaha… I’ll tell you, it’s not a big secret after all. You have heard about the dungeon right?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes… I heard about it from Sheena, about how it suddenly appeared out of nowhere after the great war a few decades ago.” I answered honestly.

“That’s right… even after a few decades, we still don’t know how it happened and magical beasts keep swarming out of the dungeon.” Sebastian sighed.

“Magical Beast?” I questioned.

“That’s right, Magical Beast. These Magical Beast appeared at around the same time as the dungeon, and they are stronger than your average beast. Within these magical beast contained a magic stone. The stronger the beast, the higher the quality of these magic stone.” Sebastian explained.

“Oh… so you mean… you mean… you fused those magic stone with the weapon to create the magic weapon?” I came to these conclusion after hearing Sebastian’s story. These magic stone can probably recover the magic power by itself over time so it is not necessary for a mage to refill it with magic power.

It is also possible to implement this on the magic gun, however the recovery speed is very slow. At best, you only have five free shots per day.

“Hahaha…! You really do have good insight lass! You should really consider… Ouch!” Sheena kicked Sebastian before he could finish his sentence, and glared at him like a snake.

“Alright, alright! I get it already, hahaha.” Sebastian just laughed it off and continued, “Well, even if you know the principle, not everyone can do it.”

“Why is that?” I tilted my head. He kept asking me to become his disciple, and now he says not everyone can do it? I’m not sure if he’s serious or just playing around…

“You need to be able to use magic, Transmutation magic at that! Otherwise you won’t be able to fuse the magic stone with the other material.” Sebastian claimed.

“Oh… I see… makes perfect sense…” I assented.

“Well, we’re here. Take your time, lass. I will be going back to tend the store.” After arriving at the empty spot in the field, Sebastian bid us farewell and went back into the store.

“Yes… thank you very much Uncle Sebastian.” We all thanked Sebastian as he walks off, leaving us at an open field.

“Alright, now let us begin shall we?” Sheena was very excited to start.

“YESS!!” I am very excited too, and shouted with enthusiasm.

“So let’s start by testing your aptitude for magic.” Seeing how excited I am, Sheena displayed a bright smile.

“Uh… so how do we test my aptitude for magic?” Before we even started, I was already stuck at a roadblock.

“It’s simple, I’ll explain.” Albert stepped forward and pulled out a wooden wand from his cloak, and then he hand it over to me.

“Just hold on to that wooden wand, and chant the incantation for the most basics of the elemental magic. The wooden wand will automatically absorb your magic power, and turn it into a spell. Then you just need to lock on to your target and fire it.” Albert explained in details.

“Oh… so I just need to chant an incantation huh… that sounds simple enough…” I nodded after I heard Albert’s explanation. However, I still feel a bit confused. Don’t you normally test for magic aptitute with a magic crystal or something of the sort?

“We will do this four times. One for each basic type of elemental spell. Do not worry if you failed. That just means you do not have the aptitude for that element. Most mage only have aptitude for one or two elements, and needless to say, the commoners who can’t use magic do not have a single aptitude for any of the four elements. So don’t feel too bad if you fail.” Sheena explained in further detail.

“Then let’s start with wind magic first, select that dummy over there as your target.” Albert say that as he pointed towards the target dummy with his index finger.

“Then follow after me as I chant the words for the incantation.” Sheena advised me to chant after her.

“Alright! Please begin.” After the preparations are done, I prompted Sheena to begin.

Sheena begins to mumble the incantation for the spell, and I closed my eye to focus on her every words intently.

“O’ Spirits of Wind…… Grant me your blessing……  and bestow power upon me…… to eradicate the opponent before me…… WIND CUTTER!!” I opened my eyes and shouted the name of the spell excitedly while pointing the wooden wand towards the direction of the target dummy.

Upon firing the spell, the runes on both of my hand glows brightly, “Wh-What’s happening?!”

After a while, the light finally dissipated and I felt my body become somewhat heavier, I slumped onto the ground… I feel so empty inside, and my head feels slightly dizzy, I guess this is how it feels when a mage runs out of mana huh?

“Wh… What was that?! Are you ok?” Sheena ran over to my side, worried.

“I’m fine… I just feel like my body become much heavier is all…” I tried to ease Sheena with my words.

“Impossible……! For a single elemental spell to consume that much Magic Power is unheard of.” Albert turned over to look at the dummy and continue, “Besides… the power of the spell seems to be normal too. Just what…”

I stopped him and explained, “I think I know what happened… just then, when the runes on both my hands started to glow. I can feel the elemental essence of the wind flowing into my body and formed into a single spell… Well, it’s hard to explain but I think the runes have registered the spell into my body system or something like that?”

“What for…?” Both Sheena and Albert tilted their head and ask.

“I don’t know either…… maybe we’ll find out if I try to cast Wind Cutter one more time.” I don’t know the answer either, and suggested to cast the spell again to find out more.

“Can you do it? With your remaining Magic Power…” Sheena asked worriedly.

“The consumption of a single Wind Cutter is not that bad, I think I should still be able to cast it at least ten more times before completely running out.” I tried to convince Sheena.

“Alright… just be careful not to use up your remaining Magic Power. I wouldn’t want to carry you all the way back to the academy after all.” Sheena warned me to be careful.

“I will… thank you, Mas… I mean Sheena!” Sheena glared at me when I try to call her Master, so I immediately changed my way to address her.

I stood up on my own two feet, and started preparing to cast the spell again. Just before I start chanting the incantation, the image of Wind Cutter spell appeared in my mind, and magic power already started to flow towards my hand and then to the wand.

“Eh? What happened? I haven’t even started chanting……” I was confused but well… whatever, I’ll just shout the name of the spell, “Wind Cutter!”

I cast the Wind Cutter spell, and hit the target dummy just like that. I turned over to look at Sheena and Albert, and I saw them gaped at me.

[Eh? What happened? Did I just do something amazing?] I thought to myself as I look at their dumbfounded expression.

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After we left the inn, we departed for the so called Uncle Sebastian’s Weapon Store immediately.

On the way there, I asked quite a few questions, “Why do you call him Uncle Sebastian? Are you blood related?”

Sheena looked over and smiled charmingly, “No, we’re not related by blood. Uncle Sebastian is a close friend of my father, and he visits us often when I was still a young child.”

“Oh… ” I nodded in acknowledgement.

“Uncle Sebastian and my father became quick friend due to their interest in weapon. I believe you already know this but my father have a power that allows him to wield any weapon, and Uncle Sebastian on the other hand… is a Transmutation Master! He can make any weapons infused with magic, ranging from sword to shield, even firearms such as gun or rocket launcher.” Sheena puffed out her chest and exclaimed proudly.

“Weapons infused with magic?” I asked interestingly.

“That’s right, like the magic gun for example or swords that can generate one of the four elements when you swing it. There are even magic staves that can absorb mana from the surrounding air, allowing the user to cast magic. So there’s a lot of wannabe mage amongst the Adventurers, they are completely useless in combat once they lose their staff though.” Sheena said that while she heaved a sigh.

“Wow… that sounds… amazing!” Although I had no idea what Sheena was saying at the time, I am still amazed.

“Yup, Uncle Sebastian is amazing indeed. I admire him!” Sheena seemed to shine so brightly when she talks about this Uncle Sebastian, I guess she must have respected him a lot!

At this time, I thought about something, and posed a question to Sheena, “Speaking of which… you mentioned about the magic gun earlier right? Did Uncle Sebastian make them too?”

“Indeed… it is a gun that is designed for the mage only. As long as you have enough Magic Power left, you can refill the cartridge with magic bullet infinitely. It doesn’t require any solid bullet, someone with no affinity for magic cannot hope to use them, unless the cartridge was previously filled with magic bullets already.” Sheena paused for a moment to catch her breath, and then she continued.

“To refill the cartridge, you just simply have to pour your magic power into it while casting a spell. The power of the spell will be reduced dramatically, retaining only 20% of its original power, and you cannot target multiple foes at the same time. However, on the upside, you can fire a few rounds instantly, the penetrative power is immeasurable, and the speed of the magic bullet is not one whit inferior to that of a normal bullet. The magic guns are more powerful on a single target. In contrast, a normal spell is more powerful on multi-target.”

Since Sheena know so much about the magic gun, I thought it was strange that Sheena didn’t have one, so I asked, “Wait a moment…… If a magic gun can only be used by a mage, and they can be fired instantly as long as there are still magic bullets in the cartridge, why don’t you have one?”

Sheena looked at me silently for a moment before she opens her mouth, “I never said I don’t have one.”

“Eh…? Then why didn’t you use it earlier when the bandits approached us?” I tilted my head and asked.

At this moment, Albert cuts in and join the conversation, “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Why?” I turned around to face Albert and asked.

Sheena got in front of me, then she smiled impishly, and looked straight into my eye. She said with a low and playful voice, “I wouldn’t mind using it if you don’t care about friendly fire.”

I shuddered involuntarily, “Uh… hahaha…”

I understand just from that one line, that her dexterity is low. However, something still bothers me, “But you also attack with magic from long range right? How come you are so confident when you are using magic?”

“Well… you’ll understand if you can use magic. Unlike the bow or gun, you can still somehow change the trajectory of your magic spell with minimal control.” Albert explained.

“I see… magic sure is convenient…” I am honestly impressed with the mythical thing called magic.

“It’s here!” Sheena shouted excitedly as we arrived in front of the weapon store.

While we were chatting, I didn’t realize just how much time have passed, but we reached the store eventually.

Sheena excitedly opens the door and shouted with joy, “Uncle Sebastian, I came to visit!”

Sebastian was dealing with some customers when we entered the store, but as soon as he heard Sheena’s voice, he turned over to face us, and his expression immediately changed into a bright smile when he saw Sheena.

Sebastian is approximately around 1.8 meter tall. He got a shiny white hair and beard. His eyes are pale blue in color, and his body build is muscular and bulky. I’m guessing he’s in his late 50’s in age?

“Ooohhh!! If it isn’t Sheena! Come over here you little rascal. Hahaha.” Sebastian was very excited when he saw Sheena and spread his arms wide.

Sheena rushed forward immediately and jumped into Sebastian’s arm.

Sebastian hugged Sheena and patted her head twice, “You sure have grown up big, in various ways…”

Sebastian glanced at Sheena from bottom to top, measuring her three sizes with his eyes.

Sheena chopped Sebastian’s forehead, “Come on, stop doing that already Uncle Sebastian.”

[Ah… I guess the other reason why Sebastian and Saito become friendly so quickly was because of their personality… I heard plenty about Saito from Anabelle this morning…] I secretly thought to myself.

“Hahaha.” Sebastian was all smile, it seems he has forgotten his other customers already. Luckily there’s a shop assistant here, and he’s already attending to the other customers.

I walked beside Sheena, and when Sebastian saw me, his smile was gone and his face immediately turns grim…

Why I wonder… first, Anabelle, and now, Sebastian… is elf not being treated well here?

“You…” Sebastian said with a grim face.

“Hm? Is there something on my face?” I touched my cheeks with both hands and asked.

“No… Never mind…” Sebastian’s expression turns paler, then he muttered in a very soft voice, “There’s no way she can be here…”

With my enhanced hearing ability, I can somehow hear what he muttered.

[Hm…? Who’s she?] I thought to myself.

Sebastian turned his sight back to Sheena.

“So to what honor do I owe today for your humble visit?” Sebastian’s mood immediately brightened up and asked merrily.

“I came here today to procure a weapon for my familiar.” Sheena said proudly.

“Ohh! A familiar!? It’s finally that time of the year huh? So where’s your mighty familiar? With someone of your caliber, I bet it’s going to be a mighty dragon right? What do you need? A claw? Hahaha!” Sebastian kept muttering non-stop as he thought about what weapons he should make for Sheena’s familiar.

Sheena tapped on my shoulder twice, “This is the one.”

Sebastian stared at me and blinked twice, “HAAAAAAAARH?!?! Hahahahahaha! Oh come on you lil’ rascal, stop teasing me already and show me your familiar!”

“This is my familiar!” Sheena looked into Sebastian’s eye strongly.

“……” Sebastian remains quiet for a while.

Looking at how serious Sheena gazed at him, all he can say is, “Seriously?”

“Seriously serious.” Sheena said in a very solemn tone.

“Haah……” Sebastian exhaled a mouthful of breath, “Alright then…… I guess a proper introduction is in place.”

“I am Sebastian, the Transmutation Master of Swinford Town, I can craft anything, you name it, I make it. Weapons such as Sword, Spear, Dagger, Mace, Bow, Shield, Grenade, Gun, Magic Staff and so on, or even utensils such as Kitchen Knife, Shovel, Chisel, Magic Lamp, Magic Heater and…”

“Uncle Sebastian! Is that how you introduces yourself?” Sheena stopped Sebastian in his track.

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I got off the track.” Sebastian apologizes.

“…I am Sylvia. Pleased to meet you, honored Transmutation Master” I introduced myself politely.

“Hahaha… she’s a polite one isn’t she?” Sebastian was pleased.

Am I really? Isn’t it just a courtesy? Anabelle said so too…

“So… what kind of weapon are you looking for, lass?” Sebastian asked while holding his chin with the index finger and thumb.

Albert abruptly cut into the conversation again, I guess he must be feeling lonely to be left out of the conversation all the time…

“We’re thinking of getting her a Magic Gun, but we haven’t tested her aptitude for magic yet, do you mind if we borrow the testing field before deciding?” Albert said so politely.

“Hm… this lass over here is?” Sebastian finally noticed Albert and asked.

“My name is Alby, sir.” Albert curtsies and introduces himself as Alby.

“Pfft……” I almost laughed but I held back.

“Bwahahahahahahahah!! Alby!! Hahahahaha! Good one lad! Good one!!” Sebastian on the other hand… laughed out loud…

Does he knows? He called Albert a lad just now, not lass.

Albert’s face turned red, and he clenched his fists. I wonder if he’s angry or embarrassed, I can’t tell.

“Hahahahaha… Alby it is then…… follow me, the lot of ya.” Sebastian finally stopped laughing, and led us to the back entrance of the store.

Finally… I’m finally going to start my journey to become the strongest!! I was clenching my fists, and feeling very excited as we walked towards the back entrance.

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When I arrived in front of our room, I knocked the door twice.

“Who’s there?” Sheena got up from the couch and asked.

I answered softly, “It’s me…”

When Sheena heard my voice, I can hear her footsteps, “Tap! Tap! Tap!” as she walked towards the door.

“Creak…” The door opened, and Sheena prompted me to come in.

“What took you so long?” Sheena said that worriedly, “Did those ruffians attack you after all?”

“No! Um… Okay, maybe they did… But the reliable Miss Anabelle helped me get rid of them.” I tried to deny it, but after receiving Sheena’s strong gaze, I couldn’t help but blurt out the truth.

Sheena asked confusingly, “Miss Anabelle? Who is that?”

I answered honestly, “Oh… she’s the clerk who works at the pub downstairs.”

“Is that so… Guess we’ll have to express our thanks to her tomorrow.” Sheena felt grateful towards the clerk, and wants to express her gratitude to the clerk before we leave the inn tomorrow.

By this time, Albert just got out of the bathroom, dressed in a bathrobe and interrupted our conversation, “Oh, you’re back. Did you get the food?”

“………You just took a shower?” I looked at Albert all over the body and asked.

“Yea… please hand over the food to me.”Albert rubbed his hair with the tower, then he extended his hand to receive the food.

I handed the food over to him and said in surprise, “It hasn’t even been ten minutes yet, you already finish showering? Did you even wash your body?”

“Oops! Oh crap, what’s wrong with me today, why is everything in my mind that shouldn’t be said slipped out of my mouth every time I talk today!” When I thought of such things, I moved both my hands to cover my mouth immediately.

Albert displayed a playful smile, approaches me and slid his index finger under my chin.

“Yes, I washed every nook and cranny. Want to come join me for another round?” Albert tried to tease me and got chopped by Sheena at the back of the head.

“Stop fooling around Albert, go and eat your dinner.” Sheena crossed her arms, and puffed the right side of her cheeks.

Albert rubbed the back of his head and turned away from me to face Sheena.
Then he laughed and say, “Fine, fine… I was just teasing her for a bit, hahaha”

“Sigh… You never change… Come Sylvia, let us take a shower first before we eat.” Sheena tried to drag me to the bathroom with her as she said that.

“What?! You…… you know about my circumstances right? To… to take a shower with you is a little…”My cheeks turned bright red, and I looked down on the floor.

Sheena draw her face close to my ear, and whispered softly, “I know, but right now, you are a girl. You need to get used to the naked body of a girl.”

Then she dragged me to the bathroom forcefully.

I’ll omit what happens next but let’s just say… That was the best moment of my entire life.

……

After a while, I came out of the bathroom with Sheena, feeling exhausted and ecstatic all at the same time.

We were wearing a beautiful nightgown prepared by Sheena.

Wait, why does she have nightgown prepared? Does that mean she already expected this to happen? Or is this what they meant by always be prepared for the unexpected.

Sheena was clinging to my right arm happily as we walked toward where Albert was sitting. It seems he already finished eating, and was heating up our food for us with magic. So I guess Albert can use both wind and fire magic? That’s pretty neat…

“Oh… so you’re finally done, took you long enough!” Albert frowned when he saw us, since we really took a long time in the bathroom.

“Sorry, I was just having so much fun teasing Sylvia. She’s just so cute!!” Sheena was moving her index finger in a circular motion on my right cheek repeatedly.

“S-Stop teasing me already!” Recalling the moment when we took a shower together, I looked down with flushed cheeks, and began to fidget.

“Hehe… C’mon, let’s eat already. I’m hungry.” Sheena said that while making an unladylike gesture such as rubbing her tummy.

“I have already heated for food for you in advance, please enjoy. I will just call it a night for now.” Albert pulled the chair for us to sit on before he walked towards the sofa and lie down…

Wow… he’s really going to be sleeping on the sofa? He’s quite the gentleman… maybe I’ll have to re-evaluate my opinion of him…

After we finished our dinner, we too climb on the bed and sleep.

***

The next day.

“Knock! Knock!”

“Uuu… who’s knocking the door so early in the morning?” Sheena frowned as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Hnnnnnnng.” I rubbed my eyes, and lazily stretches my body before getting up.

While still half-asleep, I gazed at Albert, seeing him putting on his wig and makeup.

After he is done, he looked at me and Sheena in the eye. We understood his intention and just nodded.

“Who’s there?” While approaching the door, Albert shouted.

Oh by the way, this is unrelated but Albert’s voice is different when he cros… I mean disguised himself as a woman. His voice was hoarse and manly but now it’s sharp and sweet. I guess they even have magic that changes the voice huh? That’s convenient.

“Room delivery~” The voice came from behind the closed door.

“Room delivery? There’s no such service in this inn, and we didn’t call for any room service, state your business!” Albert refuted coldly.

“Hm…? That voice… could it be? Miss Anabelle?” I recognized the owner of the voice.

“Correct~ I’m glad you remembered me, missy.” Anabelle was delighted that I still remember her.

“Miss Anabelle? You mean the one who helped you yesterday? What is she doing here?” Sheena pondered for a moment, then she raised her head, “It is fine, Albert, let her in. We need to thank her for last night anyway.”

“Are you sure?” Albert looked at Sheena doubtfully.

“I am certain.” Sheena nodded strongly.

“Fine…” After a moment of silence, Albert resigned and unlocked the door.

When the door is wide open, we saw Anabelle with two trays on both her hands.
On top of the tray were various delicacies.

“Please enter.” Albert prompted Anabelle to enter the room.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Anabelle entered the room and put the tray on top of the desk.

Then Sheena get off the bed, and stood straight with her hands crossed.

“Why are you doing this for us? I don’t remember the inn offered any complimentary breakfast or room delivery.” Sheena asked Anabelle with a questioning gaze.

Anabelle glanced at Sheena and smiled, “Let’s just say… I’m an old acquaintance of your father.”

Sheena got a little more cautious and asked, “How do you know who is my father?”

Anabelle just laughed at that remark, “Hahaha… you looked exactly like your mother when she was younger. I can immediately tell that you are the daughter of Saito and Louise.”

“So… you claim to know my parent in their younger days?” Sheena’s expression become colder.

“Hahaha, your mother was like a wild untamed dog when she was younger and Saito was…. ” Like that, Miss Anabelle chatted happily with us while enjoying the food that she brought for us.

After we ate our fill. Anabelle cleaned up the table. Before she leaves, she take a quick glance at me, and I saw a hint of sadness in her eyes.

I mean, I have noticed it when I spoke to her for the first time, but I just thought that’s her normal expression. However, I don’t think so anymore after seeing her chatting happily with Sheena today.

I wonder why… Does she know the real owner of this body and was sad that I don’t remember her? Or is there a deeper meaning…… I just don’t know… I wanted to ask but I just can’t bring up the topic…

While I was still deep in thought, Sheena said, “Alright, let’s pack our stuff and leave immediately. We need to check out from the inn and visit Uncle Sebastian’s weapon store later to test your aptitude in magic and get you an appropriate weapon.”

“Mm… ” I nods my head strongly and pack up immediately, well not that I have much to pack up anyway… Just the nightgown Sheena gave me the other night.

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