Ch. 200

A typical mage must reach the Class 3 to finally be certified as a 'Magic Warrior.'

If those with ordinary talent work hard, they were expected to reach the Class 3 level in their late 20s to early 30s.

Considering this, the path to becoming a Magic Warrior was not as easy as one might think.

Becoming an official Magic Warrior was not the end.

They must continue their studies and training while accumulating experience through missions to barely reach the Class 5. By that time, several years would have passed, allowing them to receive some recognition within the magic tower or guild.

In other words, to reach Class 4, it generally required an immense amount of effort and time.

"Ah, I'm serious! Mister. Don't you believe us?"

"Oh dear. These kids..."

Gerrwin, the branch manager of the Steel Pine Adventurer Guild's Lahendark City branch, couldn't hide his troubled expression as he looked at the two girls before him.

"So, you two are saying that you are both Class 4 mages... And you want to join the Karakorn Mountain exploration team?"

"Yes."

"Sigh, how can I believe that..."

Other adventurers waiting in the Steel Pine Guild office also glanced at the two girls.

The girl with hair as refreshing as a cascading waterfall and the girl with short black hair had such stunning looks that even adults would steal glances.

Their mere presence attracted attention from all directions, and on top of that, their claim of being Class 4 mages drew even more eyes.

"Don't you see the Stella uniform? Look at this. It's Stella. Here's the pocket watch too."

The short-haired girl Edna pronounced clearly as she held out the Stella pocket watch, and Gerrwin accepted it with a reluctant expression.

Then his eyes widened. "This is... real."

"Right? You can recognize that, can't you?"

"Yes, I understand that you are from Stella. But... it's hard to believe that being first-year students, you're already in Class 4."

Although Edna and Eisel's faces had appeared in newspapers a few times, not everyone could recognise and remember them.

Additionally, while the certification was updated for official mages with each class, students were not officially certified yet, so Edna and Eisel had no other way to prove their abilities.

That was because it was extremely rare for teenagers to reach Class 3, and it was mostly from prestigious magic schools like Stella, so it wasn't legally regulated.

"Oh really, you frustrating old man!"

Feeling stifled, Edna pounded on her chest.

They had boldly set out from Stella to find the New Moon Silver.

However, although Edna and Eisel were both Class 4 mages, they were still young and inexperienced.

Wandering around dangerous areas alone was inefficient, so they decided to join an expedition team.

Fortunately, there had been an expedition team with a similar purpose to theirs for several years.

But there was one fact she overlooked: society is not as lenient with young mages as one might think.

"Ugh, even if it's true, you guys are too young. Stella's students sometimes get sent out on missions, but they are at least in their second year."

At that point, Edna had somewhat figured it out. Gerrwin seemed reluctant to include Stella's prominent students in the expedition team.

After all, if an accident occurred, it could cause trouble. Although there was a clause stating that Stella's students would be responsible for any injuries they sustained during their missions, the unease was unavoidable.

"Damn it..."

As Edna pressed her pink lips together in an effort to swallow her frustration, a tanned woman drinking strong liquor alone at a distant table stood up and spoke.

"Gerrwin, just take them."

"Kayla... What're you saying all of a sudden?"

"I'm interested in these kids. I'll take responsibility, okay?"

"You'll take responsibility?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Gerrwin alternated his gaze between Kayla and Edna. Then, he sighed deeply and nodded.

"Well, if you say so... Actually, even an inexperienced Class 4 mage warrior can still be quite useful..."

"Wise choice, branch manager!"

Thwack!

"Ouch!"

Kayla, who had smacked Gerrwin's back hard, approached the two girls. She put her arms around their shoulders and leaned closer.

"Now, to celebrate our new partnership, shall we go for a drink?"

"... We're minors."

"Hey. What does that matter!"

Eisel found this woman named Kayla somewhat excessive, but Edna beamed and grabbed her hands with both of hers, shaking them up and down.

"Let's have a drink together, sister!"

"Yes, we get along well!"

"Of course!"

And, the next morning.

"Ugh..."

Watching Edna, who had gotten completely drunk despite being a minor, Eisel sighed deeply.

"If they catch us, we'll be suspended..."

Despite the warning, Edna had nonsensically claimed, "My heart is of an adult," and drank recklessly. Judging by her ease, she had definitely drunk before and was surely a delinquent student.

"Sigh."

She straightened Edna, who was lying on the bed in a drunken stupor, and then left the room to take a shower.

When she went outside the inn, she saw Kayla, who had been drinking heavily with Edna last night. She was squatting in front of the main building with a grim expression while smoking a cigarette.

"Oh, sweetheart. Did you wake up?"

"Yes. How's your stomach?"

"Not good. I feel like I'm going to die."

"... We're leaving today. Why did you push yourself so hard?"

"Oh. Are you worried about me?"

"Not really..."

Kayla took a deep drag on her cigarette, exhaled a large cloud of smoke, and stood up.

"Kid. Do you know why I decided to take you guys along?"

"Huh? I'm not sure..."

"I've seen your faces in the newspaper a few times. Those idiots probably don't even read the news properly."

"Oh, really...?"

"Yeah. So, I got interested. I wanted to see how the famous Stella cadets would fare in the Karakoram Mountains. Do you know why we're going on this expedition?"

"Of course."

The Karakoram Mountains had been famous for strange phenomena since ancient times.

Entire groups of adventurers would disappear and then reappear ten years later in the same place without aging a day. Or a child's diary, written three years in the future, would be found lying on the ground.

There were other mysteries too. For example, objects falling only to stop in mid-air for years before suddenly dropping and causing accidents, or ancient items appearing brand new. It was a place full of mysteries.

Countless adventurers had tried to uncover the secrets of the place, but most returned empty-handed.

For this reason, expeditions to the area had become rare recently as there was little to gain.

"If it weren't for the recent disappearance, we wouldn't be doing this futile task."

The reason for organizing such an expedition was obvious. Wealthy people grasped at straws because their important relatives had gone missing, so they would hire adventurers.

Mage warriors and adventuring mages were fundamentally different categories.

While mage warriors broke through Persona Gates and hunted dark beings, adventurers specialized in solving those mysterious incidents...

Yet, even those adventurers had admitted defeat at the mysteries of the Karakoram Mountains.

"Futile task...?"

"Yeah, that's right. It's bound to be another wild-goose chase."

She flicked the ash off her cigarette.

"I've been doing this mercenary work for twelve years, and this is my fifth time in Karakoram. But every time it's been a bust. There's nothing to find despite struggling."

Perhaps the adventurers didn't know, but the source of the mysterious phenomena in the Karakoram Mountains was likely the 'Divine Spirit of New Moon Silver.'

Eisel knew this fact, but there wasn't much that could be done about it.

Just knowing what's there doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to find it.

"So, this time, I thought I'd bring you guys along."

"... What?"

"If you're Stella cadets, your brains must be quite impressive. Besides, there are rumors that both of you are geniuses who only come around once in a thousand years."

"That's quite an exaggeration."

"Haha, don't be shy. Anyway, I'm counting on you for this expedition."

With that, Kayla went back into the inn.

"Phew..."

Eisel knew that it was a relief to have at least one person being kind to them in such a strange expedition team.

But why did she still feel uneasy...?

What was it?

This strange and ambiguous feeling.

She couldn't quite figure it out yet.

——-

In the end, Florin's judgment was correct. Even without a duel, just spending time together in the city at night was enough to evoke the resonance of the divine artifact.

As a result, Baek Yu-Seol was able to successfully absorb part of the abilities from Florin.

[You have partially absorbed the 'Blessing of Yeonhong Chunsamweol' from Florin.]

The moon set, and the sun rose. In the early morning when everyone was still asleep.

Florin secretly took off her veil and embraced the warm sunlight.

Watching her stretch her arms as if to hug the sun, a feeling of pride welled up.

However, it wasn't all good news.

[Warning! If you absorb any more of the target's abilities, a curse may be imprinted.]

In the end, Baek Yu-Seol hit his limit.

He hadn't even fully absorbed Florin's curse yet, but he had taken in the 'Blessing of Yeonhong Chunsamweol.'

Now, even with Mana Accumulation Retardation Syndrome, it was overwhelming.

[The Blessing of New Moon Bronze is protecting you from excessive energy!]

Fortunately, another blessing from the New Moon prevented the excessive energy from overwhelming him...

But this wasn't enough. He still needed to receive at least twice the amount of blessing from Florin, and it would take at least a few more years for him to fully grow.

'How did Edna manage this?'

In the original game, the character Edna was known to resolve Florin's curse in one go in the story.

Maybe... It was just a guess, but he thought Edna might have overcome the curse of Yeonhong Chunsamweol through the power of intense emotions by completely winning Florin's heart with the power of love.

Does that sound absurd?

Don't expect too much from a romance fantasy game.

The word 'romance' itself is already a fantasy, and adding 'fantasy' to it just makes the world full of ridiculous things.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes... Yeah... It feels really good..."

As Florin smiled and embraced the warm sunlight, Baek Yu-Seol realized that stealing her heart was impossible for someone like him.

So, he must find a way to resolve her curse in his own manner.

He needed to grow.

He needed explosive growth, enough to handle Florin's curse.

However... The more you rush growth, the slower it becomes, and it requires taking the long path to build up gradually.

Therefore, there was only one method left.

… To receive the power of another of the Twelve New Moons.

He had already met two of the Twelve New Moons and accepted their powers. Does it seem too hasty?

Absolutely not.

He believed that the Twelve New Moons were the key to guiding this world in the right direction.

So, he planned to meet as many of the Twelve New Moons as he could before graduation.

Even now, there were a few of the Twelve New Moons he could seek out and meet. Even if he didn't receive their blessings right away, it was not an entirely impossible task.

'Visiting them shouldn't be an issue.'

There wasn't much left of the summer vacation anyway, and he didn't expect to win over the hearts of the Twelve New Moons and receive their blessings in such a short time.

For now, just meeting them and increasing their goodwill towards him would be satisfying.

So, the next Twelve New Moon he planned to meet was...

'The New Moon Silver.'

A very unique New Moon who possessed the extraordinary ability to manipulate time. However, he hid all that power, blended into the mundane world, and lived among people.

Baek Yu-Seol decided to seek out that person.