As Yerina held Luke’s hand and hummed while walking through the forest, she thought.
Three years, if it’s three years, Luke should be able to adapt to the world sufficiently.
If she could find a partner within three years, that would be nice, but honestly, Yerina didn’t have confidence in herself for that.
‘If there’s a good person…’
But since she had never experienced romantic feelings for anyone since birth, she didn’t know how to start a relationship, which was the problem.
Of course, Yerina also wanted to experience love.
Because everyone said it was nice, she was curious, and she wondered what it would feel like to be loved by someone other than her parents.
‘I wonder what I’m thinking.’
Three years is quite a long time even by elven standards.
Well, I’ll think about it later.
Let’s just focus on the walk today.
And as she glanced down at Luke’s reaction, Luke indeed seemed much calmer and more at ease walking in the forest than in the city.
In the city, her eyes moved restlessly, looking around, but now they were surprisingly serene and calm.
‘Looks like Luke really enjoys being in the forest.’
She seemed to be smiling somehow.
***
Luke was currently meditating.
Generally, meditation is a difficult task that requires maintaining a peaceful mind while sitting still, but for Luke, it was no different from breathing.
So, of course, she could do it even while walking.
Maintaining a peaceful mindset.
As a Archmage well-versed in the laws of mana, she couldn’t fail to control her own state of mind.
“….”
While in the forest, Luke continued to meditate even as she read books and accumulated knowledge.
Even in the forest, mana depletion occurred to the extent that it could be considered local.
‘Considering how much mana I absorbed at Yerina’s house…’
Then it’s understandable that a mana fee of three million lengths was incurred.
At that time, she didn’t realize it because she was intoxicated by the mana she absorbed, but the mana Luke absorbed at that time was enough for an ordinary family of four to use for over a year and still have some left.
“However, even after absorbing so much, are you saying I still haven’t formed the 2nd circle?”
Luke couldn’t help but be amazed at the mana sensitivity her body possessed.
Once again, she savored the taste of the highly concentrated mana from that power plant.
The concentrated mana, which was 400 times that of its natural state, was essential for Luke now.
She wanted to reach the 2nd circle quickly to alleviate the stress of managing this natural mana consumption.
But, considering the incident last time, she couldn’t just enter that place as before.
Moreover, now that she knew the value of mana, she understood that it amounted to theft.
She didn’t want to repeat the act now that she knew it was theft, even if she hadn’t realized it at first. Instead, she would repay it later.
So, the forest was perfect for Luke now.
Unlike in the city, mana in the forest wasn’t quantified.
In that sense, the forest was quite advantageous.
The problem was the appearance of monsters drawn to mana.
Luke’s eyes scanned cautiously, vigilant of this.
Because she was still at 1st circle.
1st circle.
With only one circle, inevitably, there was insufficient resilience in maintaining it, causing gathered mana to dissipate.
Thus, 1st circle wizards diligently replenished mana, aiming to reach the 2nd circle quickly through repeated meditation.
Of course, usually, the amount of mana that emerged wasn’t much of a threat.
Ideally, the 2nd circle should be achievable with a small amount of mana, but…
Due to her current body being so exceptional, driven by curiosity and greed, the amount of mana in her 1st circle had become ten times what she originally remembered.
So, the amount of emerging mana was also ten times that of a typical 1st circle.
She seized the dispersing mana, crafting the 2nd circle with additional mana.
No mad wizard had done such a thing in the forest before.
Because monsters sensitive to the flow of mana wouldn’t leave such a wizards alone, and typical 1st circle wizards were defenseless against such monster attacks.
“But, isn’t it too quiet?”
Of course, Luke wasn’t expecting monster attacks, but it seemed unreasonable that there were absolutely no signs of monsters.
She asked Yerina, who was walking the forest path humming lightly.
“Yerina, is the forest normally this quiet?”
“Well, it’s winter now, so there are no insects, and the animals seem to be hibernating, that’s probably why it seems quiet. Why?”
“It’s just that there’s no sign of monsters at all.”
Suddenly, Yerina thought.
‘Oh, maybe she wanted to see monsters?’
Yerina looked down at Luke with a grin.
Since there were so many scenes in fairy tales where heroes faced monsters, maybe she had developed a fantasy about monsters.
“So that’s why you’ve been looking around like that?”
“Yeah. But, there’s not a trace of monsters to be seen anywhere.”
Patting Luke’s head with a puzzled expression, Yerina said, “I deliberately walk in directions where there are no monsters. Monsters are dangerous, you know?”
“Hmm?”
Luke was puzzled.
There really was ‘no’ sense of monsters at all.
To move like this, the range of tracking magic had to completely cover the forest.
However, Luke couldn’t feel a trace of tracking magic at all.
Even if Yerina’s race was known as the forest elves, it was an unreasonable thing.
Something, perhaps she was using magic that Luke didn’t know about.
Driven by that thought, Luke’s eyes sparkled as she asked Yerina.
“How do you know the monster’s location? What kind of magic are you using?”
“Oh, we have tools given to our forest keepers. Haven’t I shown you before?”
Yerina pulled out a rectangular object about the size of a palm from her pocket.
“This is…”
It resembled a cellphone, but it wasn’t.
It was thicker, and the magical array indicating communication was more robust.
“Is it communicating with something?”
On the screen was a map that seemed to depict the forest from above.
Luke was slightly surprised.
“The map is so detailed. It’s like… a ‘picture.'”
It was an incredibly intricate and flawless map.
However, it wasn’t a typical map; blue and red dots caught her attention.
But what did these red dots mean?
Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be moving slightly.
“It seems like the dots are moving?”
“Oh, that. The blue ones are forest keepers, and the red ones are monsters. As you can see, other forest keepers are diligently driving away monsters.”
“What…?”
Luke was greatly shocked.
In the past, scouting with trained birds of prey was the best option. Even that wasn’t entirely reliable, and the cost to prepare for monster attacks was considerable.
In times of war, to obtain more accurate information, wizards were hired to share their vision, administrators marked locations on maps directly, and orders were given in real-time.
But the manpower and time wasted in the process couldn’t be ignored.
Yet, this skipped all those steps and displayed everything at a glance.
If such magic existed back then, how different would things have been in the war against the demons? Perhaps millions could have been saved.
This was such an incredible magical device.
“What’s the name of this map?”
“It’s called GPS.”
A map that shows the real-time locations of monsters and allies.
If something like this existed 5,000 years ago, merchants and military leaders would have bought it regardless of the cost.
But to give these to all forest keepers…
“Isn’t there a security concern with this? If someone steals it, there’s a high potential for misuse, isn’t there?”
“Well, it’s password-protected, so…”
Yerina pressed a button to lock the screen and showed a window saying, “Password required.”
“Oh my.”
“It even has its own security… Truly an artifact straight out of dreams. But, I have no idea how it works.”
Luke slightly furrowed her brows.
“The primary function seems to be just communication magic…”
No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find any magic related to “tracking.”
As a wizard, not being able to understand the principles of a magical device like this made her feel quite uneasy.
In fact, Luke didn’t know yet, but a GPS terminal simply received tracking information sent from magical satellites; it wasn’t working alone. No matter how much she delved into it with magic sight, understanding its principles wouldn’t be easy.
Seeing her expression, Yerina thought, “Did Luke really want to see the monsters that badly?”
Yerina urged Luke on.
“Lu, if you really want to see monsters, let’s do it later at a safe place like a zoo. Wild monsters are dangerous.”
“Is that so.”
In fact, Luke wasn’t particularly interested in monsters, so she casually responded without understanding Yerina’s words.
At this moment, Luke had to uncover the secret of the GPS.
With a combination of curiosity of a cat and a magical enthusiasm, Luke, as if it were a lifelong wish, said,
“Can I keep holding this magical device and keep looking at it?”
Her tone was full of earnestness.
‘It’s like when I first saw a cellphone…’
Yerina laughed at her appearance and handed her the device, saying,
“Well then, would you like to guide the way, Luke? But, let’s go in the direction without monsters. If we encounter one, we’ll pretend the zoo doesn’t exist.”
It was a promise offered to dissuade Luke from taking unnecessary risks just because she wanted to see monsters.
“Got it. Of course, that’s the way.”
Naturally, Luke nodded vigorously and accepted the GPS device.
Encountering monsters in this forest was something Luke didn’t particularly welcome either.
She wasn’t interested in zoos either, after all.
As Yerina held Luke’s hand and hummed while walking through the forest, she thought.
Three years, if it’s three years, Luke should be able to adapt to the world sufficiently.
If she could find a partner within three years, that would be nice, but honestly, Yerina didn’t have confidence in herself for that.
‘If there’s a good person…’
But since she had never experienced romantic feelings for anyone since birth, she didn’t know how to start a relationship, which was the problem.
Of course, Yerina also wanted to experience love.
Because everyone said it was nice, she was curious, and she wondered what it would feel like to be loved by someone other than her parents.
‘I wonder what I’m thinking.’
Three years is quite a long time even by elven standards.
Well, I’ll think about it later.
Let’s just focus on the walk today.
And as she glanced down at Luke’s reaction, Luke indeed seemed much calmer and more at ease walking in the forest than in the city.
In the city, her eyes moved restlessly, looking around, but now they were surprisingly serene and calm.
‘Looks like Luke really enjoys being in the forest.’
She seemed to be smiling somehow.
***
Luke was currently meditating.
Generally, meditation is a difficult task that requires maintaining a peaceful mind while sitting still, but for Luke, it was no different from breathing.
So, of course, she could do it even while walking.
Maintaining a peaceful mindset.
As a Archmage well-versed in the laws of mana, she couldn’t fail to control her own state of mind.
“….”
While in the forest, Luke continued to meditate even as she read books and accumulated knowledge.
Even in the forest, mana depletion occurred to the extent that it could be considered local.
‘Considering how much mana I absorbed at Yerina’s house…’
Then it’s understandable that a mana fee of three million lengths was incurred.
At that time, she didn’t realize it because she was intoxicated by the mana she absorbed, but the mana Luke absorbed at that time was enough for an ordinary family of four to use for over a year and still have some left.
“However, even after absorbing so much, are you saying I still haven’t formed the 2nd circle?”
Luke couldn’t help but be amazed at the mana sensitivity her body possessed.
Once again, she savored the taste of the highly concentrated mana from that power plant.
The concentrated mana, which was 400 times that of its natural state, was essential for Luke now.
She wanted to reach the 2nd circle quickly to alleviate the stress of managing this natural mana consumption.
But, considering the incident last time, she couldn’t just enter that place as before.
Moreover, now that she knew the value of mana, she understood that it amounted to theft.
She didn’t want to repeat the act now that she knew it was theft, even if she hadn’t realized it at first. Instead, she would repay it later.
So, the forest was perfect for Luke now.
Unlike in the city, mana in the forest wasn’t quantified.
In that sense, the forest was quite advantageous.
The problem was the appearance of monsters drawn to mana.
Luke’s eyes scanned cautiously, vigilant of this.
Because she was still at 1st circle.
1st circle.
With only one circle, inevitably, there was insufficient resilience in maintaining it, causing gathered mana to dissipate.
Thus, 1st circle wizards diligently replenished mana, aiming to reach the 2nd circle quickly through repeated meditation.
Of course, usually, the amount of mana that emerged wasn’t much of a threat.
Ideally, the 2nd circle should be achievable with a small amount of mana, but…
Due to her current body being so exceptional, driven by curiosity and greed, the amount of mana in her 1st circle had become ten times what she originally remembered.
So, the amount of emerging mana was also ten times that of a typical 1st circle.
She seized the dispersing mana, crafting the 2nd circle with additional mana.
No mad wizard had done such a thing in the forest before.
Because monsters sensitive to the flow of mana wouldn’t leave such a wizards alone, and typical 1st circle wizards were defenseless against such monster attacks.
“But, isn’t it too quiet?”
Of course, Luke wasn’t expecting monster attacks, but it seemed unreasonable that there were absolutely no signs of monsters.
She asked Yerina, who was walking the forest path humming lightly.
“Yerina, is the forest normally this quiet?”
“Well, it’s winter now, so there are no insects, and the animals seem to be hibernating, that’s probably why it seems quiet. Why?”
“It’s just that there’s no sign of monsters at all.”
Suddenly, Yerina thought.
‘Oh, maybe she wanted to see monsters?’
Yerina looked down at Luke with a grin.
Since there were so many scenes in fairy tales where heroes faced monsters, maybe she had developed a fantasy about monsters.
“So that’s why you’ve been looking around like that?”
“Yeah. But, there’s not a trace of monsters to be seen anywhere.”
Patting Luke’s head with a puzzled expression, Yerina said, “I deliberately walk in directions where there are no monsters. Monsters are dangerous, you know?”
“Hmm?”
Luke was puzzled.
There really was ‘no’ sense of monsters at all.
To move like this, the range of tracking magic had to completely cover the forest.
However, Luke couldn’t feel a trace of tracking magic at all.
Even if Yerina’s race was known as the forest elves, it was an unreasonable thing.
Something, perhaps she was using magic that Luke didn’t know about.
Driven by that thought, Luke’s eyes sparkled as she asked Yerina.
“How do you know the monster’s location? What kind of magic are you using?”
“Oh, we have tools given to our forest keepers. Haven’t I shown you before?”
Yerina pulled out a rectangular object about the size of a palm from her pocket.
“This is…”
It resembled a cellphone, but it wasn’t.
It was thicker, and the magical array indicating communication was more robust.
“Is it communicating with something?”
On the screen was a map that seemed to depict the forest from above.
Luke was slightly surprised.
“The map is so detailed. It’s like… a ‘picture.'”
It was an incredibly intricate and flawless map.
However, it wasn’t a typical map; blue and red dots caught her attention.
But what did these red dots mean?
Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be moving slightly.
“It seems like the dots are moving?”
“Oh, that. The blue ones are forest keepers, and the red ones are monsters. As you can see, other forest keepers are diligently driving away monsters.”
“What…?”
Luke was greatly shocked.
In the past, scouting with trained birds of prey was the best option. Even that wasn’t entirely reliable, and the cost to prepare for monster attacks was considerable.
In times of war, to obtain more accurate information, wizards were hired to share their vision, administrators marked locations on maps directly, and orders were given in real-time.
But the manpower and time wasted in the process couldn’t be ignored.
Yet, this skipped all those steps and displayed everything at a glance.
If such magic existed back then, how different would things have been in the war against the demons? Perhaps millions could have been saved.
This was such an incredible magical device.
“What’s the name of this map?”
“It’s called GPS.”
A map that shows the real-time locations of monsters and allies.
If something like this existed 5,000 years ago, merchants and military leaders would have bought it regardless of the cost.
But to give these to all forest keepers…
“Isn’t there a security concern with this? If someone steals it, there’s a high potential for misuse, isn’t there?”
“Well, it’s password-protected, so…”
Yerina pressed a button to lock the screen and showed a window saying, “Password required.”
“Oh my.”
“It even has its own security… Truly an artifact straight out of dreams. But, I have no idea how it works.”
Luke slightly furrowed her brows.
“The primary function seems to be just communication magic…”
No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find any magic related to “tracking.”
As a wizard, not being able to understand the principles of a magical device like this made her feel quite uneasy.
In fact, Luke didn’t know yet, but a GPS terminal simply received tracking information sent from magical satellites; it wasn’t working alone. No matter how much she delved into it with magic sight, understanding its principles wouldn’t be easy.
Seeing her expression, Yerina thought, “Did Luke really want to see the monsters that badly?”
Yerina urged Luke on.
“Lu, if you really want to see monsters, let’s do it later at a safe place like a zoo. Wild monsters are dangerous.”
“Is that so.”
In fact, Luke wasn’t particularly interested in monsters, so she casually responded without understanding Yerina’s words.
At this moment, Luke had to uncover the secret of the GPS.
With a combination of curiosity of a cat and a magical enthusiasm, Luke, as if it were a lifelong wish, said,
“Can I keep holding this magical device and keep looking at it?”
Her tone was full of earnestness.
‘It’s like when I first saw a cellphone…’
Yerina laughed at her appearance and handed her the device, saying,
“Well then, would you like to guide the way, Luke? But, let’s go in the direction without monsters. If we encounter one, we’ll pretend the zoo doesn’t exist.”
It was a promise offered to dissuade Luke from taking unnecessary risks just because she wanted to see monsters.
“Got it. Of course, that’s the way.”
Naturally, Luke nodded vigorously and accepted the GPS device.
Encountering monsters in this forest was something Luke didn’t particularly welcome either.
She wasn’t interested in zoos either, after all.
