Transmigrated to a Dark Fantasy World of SSS-Rank: King of the Void-Chapter 60: The Arcane Mage
After all this time, Mitsuki hadn’t thought Arcane Magic was the hardest thing in the world. In fact, he had learned it quite quickly, but without any reference to other mages in the world aside from that elf who could summon a rain of deadly bullets, he hadn’t fully grasped just how incredible the things he was learning truly were.
Just thinking about it lifted his spirits, which in turn made his mind push aside all the bad things that had happened in the past few days. None of that mattered now! Herald of the Nameless? Nonsense! Probability of world destruction? Hahaha!
Mitsuki narrowed his eyes, excited.
’Of course! Now that I think about it more carefully, everything makes sense! Ellegaard is totally a tsundere. She probably didn’t want talent like mine to go to waste so quickly, so she did all that to stop me from going to Nemoria.’
He nodded as if his thoughts were correct, but soon returned to reality. His expression fell into a false sadness, with a crooked smile. ’Yeah, right. As if that were possible. They left me behind because I’m really just a loser. That’s the truth, after all.’
"You’re lucky to have learned something from her," Monar said, pulling out a few books from his cloak. "Usually, she’s very aggressive with everyone—so aggressive that even orcs are afraid of her. She’s built quite a bad reputation, to be honest."
’Yeah, I know. It’s not like she beat me up so badly that I had to reconsider my place in the world. Even so, I’m grateful to her, Jeanne, and Aslan for not leaving me in the forest when they found me. At least that lets me know none of them are truly bad people.’
He looked toward the horizon, trying not to think about the girls and Aslan. Meanwhile, after placing the books beside him on the ground, Monar stretched his arms and let out a long yawn; his pointed ears twitched for some reason.
"But she’s an Arcane Mage, after all, which gives her the merit of being respected across all of the Land of Lamus. Not just anyone specializes in the arcane, you know? And being that young, she’s a great source of pride for her noble family."
"When you put it that way, it sounds pretty cool..." Mitsuki muttered. He had spoken without thinking much, which made him come off as more cold than shy.
Monar pursed his lips with a faint smile.
"Ellegaard is amazing, seriously. You probably don’t know this because she most likely never told you—she probably hasn’t told anyone—but it’s well known among the elder elves."
Showing interest in the story of that elf, Mitsuki pretended not to pay attention. His mind, however, was a different story.
’News about Ellegaard? Damn, I want to know. I hope it’s something embarrassing.’
Monar continued.
"Ellegaard is actually the only Whitherbark left in her family, so she never had a teacher to instruct her in the arcane, a form of magic considered useless by her race. She studied on her own using the few records left by her family, so she’s a self-taught mage with great talent."
"Oh... I see..." He regretted his earlier thoughts. ’I didn’t know any of that. Actually... I think I don’t know anything about Ellegaard or Jeanne, but they don’t know anything about me either.’
And yet, in a short span of three weeks, they had considered each other friends. They shared strange, fun, and embarrassing moments. Even though it was overwhelming, it was also fun—just as fun as any video game.
’Yeah... nobody knew anything about anyone.’
That made him reflect more deeply on Ellegaard’s actions. He didn’t know where she was, but someday they would meet again. Until then, he hoped to become strong enough to stand before her and prove her wrong.
"Hm... You talk too much, Monar. Let me sleep," Azel muttered. He was still asleep, but somehow seemed able to speak in that state.
"What a shame. It’s time to wake up. Marco will be stopping the carriage soon. When he does, we can set up a temporary camp before continuing."
’A camp... There’s no place more peaceful than the forest, the night, and a campfire. I got used to sleeping in front of the fire.’
Later that night, the group found themselves eating in front of the glowing flames of a bonfire, built from dry sticks, stones, and torn cloth. Meat was skewered on branches resting over the embers, roasting in direct fire and releasing its reddish juices.
Mitsuki sat the farthest from the group, eating a piece of meat in silence while Marco talked about whatever random thing had happened during the day.
Those men didn’t even try to include him in the conversation. They had ignored him the whole time, but this was exactly what Mitsuki wanted. Being left alone without being bothered was the best thing in the world. Besides, sitting in front of the fire in the darkness reminded him a little of his life before transmigration.
’There’s nothing better than this. I feel like if I stay like this, no one will bother me.’
That wasn’t entirely true. Monar occasionally glanced at him from the corner of his eye, as if asking him to come closer to the fire and talk with the others. Mitsuki only had to shake his head once more to avoid it.
As the hours passed, the others fell asleep in their sleeping bags, except for Azel, who stared up at the stars above. He looked content—one could even say he was genuinely happy.
From his wooden log, leaning back at a distance, Mitsuki found himself intrigued by that attitude.
’They’re all so carefree, but when it really matters...’ The Goblins. ’They turn into hunters without hesitation.’
That was something he lacked: the ability to be like these people—strong, confident, and with enough hope to believe everything would turn out fine.
"Poisoned Pastel, are you asleep?" Azel said without taking his eyes off the sky.
’Here we go again...’
