“Luke! Luke!”
Feeling a gentle shake near his ear and hearing the voice of the spirit calling her name, Luke reluctantly decided to open her eyes.
“Yawn… Oh, right. Pie, did you sleep well too?”
“Luke!… Luke!”
The spirit spun around her as if joyous that she had woken up, giving Luke a feeling akin to that of a pure child. With a smile on her lips, Luke spoke, “Pie, what’s the matter?”
“Yerina!”
Seemingly anxious as Yerina wasn’t visible upon waking up.
“Oh, Yerina left earlier. She’s the forest keeper, so she heads out for patrol before I wake up. Mornings are when magic is most abundant, so she goes out to clear out any monsters beforehand.”
“Ah, I see. Yerina is indeed a diligent one.”
Although it was a task usually reserved for the person on duty, Yerina, who had to stay in the forest, had been helping with the task for the past few weeks while staying at the lodge with Luke.
Even though it wasn’t her duty, she volunteered to help.
Though it was a bit early, Luke also had things to do in the morning.
The dew clinging to the flowers at dawn.
They’re particularly imbued with magic, easier to extract essence for potions compared to those collected at other times.
The sunrise, heralding the start of a new day and holding significant magical meaning.
The first crow of a rooster in the morning carries the magic to soothe curses and repel demon-type monsters.
Moreover, the silence of dawn helps concentrate the minds of wizards.
As such, the magic of the morning is special.
That’s why all wizards meditate in the morning.
Since it’s the time when meditation is most effective, Luke begins her meditation to accumulate mana as usual.
Or, she intended to.
“Luke! …! Luke!”
“Hmm.”
It’s annoying when she’s trying to absorb mana, and the spirit keeps bothering her.
Tapping her head or pulling her cheek, or simply calling her name repeatedly.
“Ugh…”
Ignoring it and trying to concentrate, suddenly emitting irritating noises in her ears was frustrating.
Luke frowned and exclaimed, “Pie, why are you doing this?”
“Luke! ……!”
“Oh.”
Luke opened her eyes and saw Pie’s body slightly blurred compared to before.
Spirits are mental beings made of mana.
Moreover, the arrangement of mana that constitutes their bodies is akin to nature itself.
Luke could exercise control over all ‘natural’ mana around her, so theoretically, she could engrave the spirit’s body into her heart’s circle.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
Now she understood why the spirit didn’t want to approach a wizard.
The circle represented ‘control over mana.’
It was like a chain connecting mana and one’s will.
Thanks to that, wizards who could exercise control over mana around them would naturally be like enemies to spirits.
Of course, if the spirit were stronger, the opposite situation would unfold, but Luke was among the very pinnacle of all wizards.
Having mastered all the principles and laws of the ten circles, she could become a superior being to this small spirit with just the authority of the first circle.
“Well then, Pie. It would be better if you stayed away for a moment. Meditation is important to me.”
-Luke…?
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. I don’t know the spirit language.”
-…!
“Indeed, I don’t understand the meaning of your words.”
-…?…!
The spirit seemed to continue trying to converse, but Luke, who didn’t know the spirit language, naturally couldn’t understand a word.
If there had been more time, Luke might have pretended to understand the words, but she didn’t have the luxury of time now.
“If you can’t understand, then stop! We’ll lose the morning’s magic if this continues!”
To Luke, who was stressed by the natural mana loss of the first circle, meditation, which was a means to transition to the second circle, was more important than anything.
Even if it was a spirit, it wasn’t okay to be disturbed by someone.
Luke opened the window and pointed outside.
“Pie, I’ll say it one last time. Stay away from me. Even if you continue to disturb me and get swept away, I won’t care.”
-Luke…?
“Go. I’ll count to ten.”
With Luke’s firm declaration, Pie seemed to deflate.
“10.”
-…
“9…”
Continuing to count down, Luke finally could concentrate on meditation after the spirit completely disappeared before his eyes.
“Hmm.”
Meditation ended as usual when localized mana exhaustion occurred.
Perhaps today was the end.
Feeling the vortex of mana surrounding a single circle in her heart, Luke sighed.
“It’s slow. Really, too slow.”
At this rate, it seemed it would take until the end of spring to reach the second circle, even if she repeated meditation in the forest every day.
“It doesn’t matter to me, but…”
Yerina was the issue.
Whether it was worrying that she was leaving the child alone in the forest ranger’s lodge or the fact that she hadn’t returned home because of her, it had been quite a while.
“If I could go back, she would be able to rest comfortably.”
The bed in the lodge was narrow.
So, as usual, Yerina couldn’t lie down on the bed with Luke, and she offered her own bed.
Although Luke had initially refused, feeling uncomfortable about lying down on the floor, Yerina’s eyes looked sad, and she eventually said, “It’s okay, sleep there!” in a way that made her feel burdened. So, eventually, she ended up lying on the bed.
Yerina, who had given up the bed, covered herself with a blanket on the sofa and fell asleep.
“It’s absurd for the owner of the lodge to fall asleep in discomfort…”
Even so, Luke couldn’t refuse the bed.
The gaze of Yerina, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her, meant that he could only escape when she fell asleep or pretended to be asleep.
“Haah.”
Finally getting up and straightening her pajamas, Luke took out a book.
After meditation, reading was something of a routine for Luke.
Soon it would be breakfast time, and Yerina would return.
But whether it was the shock of the spirit disappearing right before her eyes or not, even after a long time had passed since the meditation ended, there was no sign of her return.
Had she returned to nature?
Well, she had only considered the spirit a friend on a whim, and It’s relationship with Luke was still one of mere curiosity.
There wasn’t much lingering attachment, but…
“I do regret what I said to him a little.”
At that time, I was a bit stubborn.
I didn’t even consider controlling my emotions, so I’m sure there was annoyance in my voice.
I could have phrased it more tactfully.
But I didn’t.
“If I can see her again, I should apologize.”
***
“Ugh, ugh.”
Yerina yawned loudly and stretched.
Sorby, who was watching her from the back seat, asked with concern, as if worried.
“Yerina unni, are you helping again today? Aren’t you tired?”
“It’s okay. Nobody asked me to, and I’m doing it because I want to.”
Yerina waved her hand dismissively and smiled faintly as if to say not to worry.
‘Well, I’m a little tired, but it’s for Luke.’
When the forest becomes safe, Luke becomes safe too. Well, that’s only natural.
Still, the usual monster response. It shouldn’t be difficult…
-Beep, beep, beep.
A disturbing noise started coming from the forest ranger GPS device.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Sorby took out the device in alarm.
“What?!”
Sorbi exclaimed in shock.
“What’s wrong? Why is it…”
Daphne, checking the navigation of the vehicle, couldn’t continue her sentence either.
Even Yerina, checking the navigation, had her expression rapidly hardened.
Red was the mark of monsters, indicating the approximate location of monsters by detecting unnatural mana flows…
…The entire screen was just red.
“This is…”
As Yerina couldn’t continue her sentence, Sorby shouted.
“This is insane! Has some dragon awakened or something?”
“A dragon…”
A dragon that lives for a thousand years.
With overwhelming power and intelligence, they were like symbols of fear and power, but now they were just monsters in fairy tales.
All the dragons had become extinct.
Why they hid themselves from this world was never revealed.
No related records remained.
Only the fact that they were no longer here remained.
Daphne pondered for a moment and said.
“Could someone have created an illusion of a dragon with necromancy?”
“That’s a possibility.”
Unauthorized necromancy was illegal under any circumstances.
Moreover, summoning high-ranking undead was a felony comparable to terrorism.
Trembling, Sorby spoke.
“An- an illusion of a dragon? Is that, is that real…?”
Sorby was disgusted by undead.
Because the sight of floating bones was grotesque.
“Well, it’s just a possibility. Let’s gather the forest rangers. It’s an emergency.”
***
At that moment, Luke also suddenly looked up at the flow of immense mana.
‘This mana flow…’
In an array of mana that he had felt before, Luke closed the book and stood up, saying,
“Pie, is that you?”
-Luke!
Pie bounced up and hit the window.
As if asking her to open the window, Luke stood up and approached the window, opening the door.
Then,
“Whoa!”
“Ack…!”
A sudden storm made of mana from nature rushed in.
Overwhelmed by the immense mana, Luke widened her eyes slightly, feeling a bit dizzy.
“Pie, is this the mana you’ve gathered?”
-Luke, …! …?
In response, the spirit bounced up and down on its hand, as if it was doing a good job.
“Huh…”
With this much mana, she thought it must have been gathered from all over the forest.
Looking down at the tiny spirit, Luke thought, ‘I’ve ignored spirits for so long… But they are no less than wizards.’
Spirits born from the mana of nature naturally have dominion over it.
Moreover, being incorporeal, they can exist anywhere and are not bound by the laws of physics.
These two synergies must have allowed them to gather mana of this level in such a short time.
-Luke! …!
Seeing Pie twisting as if embarrassed, Luke chuckled.
“Is this your apology gift?”
Nodding vigorously, the spirit made a pleasant sound.
Luke petted the spirit and said, “I was sorry too. I was a bit hasty then. Will you accept my apology?”
-…!
As if saying, “Of course!” Luke nodded and released Pie.
Now it was time to accept the gift.
‘With this, maybe two circles will be formed today…’
Luke calmed her excited mind and began meditating again.
***
The forest keepers of Lukewood forest were all called up, whether on duty or not, forming ranks.
In this situation, the one with the authority to command was Yerina, who had been a forest keeper for the longest time.
“Team 1, guard that side, and Team 2, guard the other side. The rest, defend from this side and join in when needed! We must not let the city be affected under any circumstances!”
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, the personnel moved according to Yerina’s orders.
“A rogue dragon? Who dares to cause trouble in Lukewood forest!”
“Let’s punish them all!”
“Ah, for real since morning. Do they never sleep?”
Watching them release tension by grumbling, Yerina also took her position and began to be vigilant.
‘Is Luke alright?’
“Daphne, could you go to Luke and ask him to take shelter?”
“Sure thing, Yerina-unni.”
Daphne nodded and got into a car.
If only there were cell phones at times like this, they could know about each other’s safety through contact. The worry was not just for now.
“Okay. Preparations are complete. Now…”
Beep…!
“Huh…?”
The red light that had been constantly flashing on the forest keeper’s device suddenly disappeared, and the noise stopped.
“What’s this?”
Everyone was startled by the sudden silence of the device.
“Can magical reactions disappear like this suddenly?”
“What’s going on? Is it hiding? Where are the monsters?”
Everyone was bewildered for a moment.
Yerina shouted calmly, “Don’t relax the guard yet; we don’t know what might happen!”
But nothing happened.
For the rest of the half-day.
“Luke! Luke!”
Feeling a gentle shake near his ear and hearing the voice of the spirit calling her name, Luke reluctantly decided to open her eyes.
“Yawn… Oh, right. Pie, did you sleep well too?”
“Luke!… Luke!”
The spirit spun around her as if joyous that she had woken up, giving Luke a feeling akin to that of a pure child. With a smile on her lips, Luke spoke, “Pie, what’s the matter?”
“Yerina!”
Seemingly anxious as Yerina wasn’t visible upon waking up.
“Oh, Yerina left earlier. She’s the forest keeper, so she heads out for patrol before I wake up. Mornings are when magic is most abundant, so she goes out to clear out any monsters beforehand.”
“Ah, I see. Yerina is indeed a diligent one.”
Although it was a task usually reserved for the person on duty, Yerina, who had to stay in the forest, had been helping with the task for the past few weeks while staying at the lodge with Luke.
Even though it wasn’t her duty, she volunteered to help.
Though it was a bit early, Luke also had things to do in the morning.
The dew clinging to the flowers at dawn.
They’re particularly imbued with magic, easier to extract essence for potions compared to those collected at other times.
The sunrise, heralding the start of a new day and holding significant magical meaning.
The first crow of a rooster in the morning carries the magic to soothe curses and repel demon-type monsters.
Moreover, the silence of dawn helps concentrate the minds of wizards.
As such, the magic of the morning is special.
That’s why all wizards meditate in the morning.
Since it’s the time when meditation is most effective, Luke begins her meditation to accumulate mana as usual.
Or, she intended to.
“Luke! …! Luke!”
“Hmm.”
It’s annoying when she’s trying to absorb mana, and the spirit keeps bothering her.
Tapping her head or pulling her cheek, or simply calling her name repeatedly.
“Ugh…”
Ignoring it and trying to concentrate, suddenly emitting irritating noises in her ears was frustrating.
Luke frowned and exclaimed, “Pie, why are you doing this?”
“Luke! ……!”
“Oh.”
Luke opened her eyes and saw Pie’s body slightly blurred compared to before.
Spirits are mental beings made of mana.
Moreover, the arrangement of mana that constitutes their bodies is akin to nature itself.
Luke could exercise control over all ‘natural’ mana around her, so theoretically, she could engrave the spirit’s body into her heart’s circle.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
Now she understood why the spirit didn’t want to approach a wizard.
The circle represented ‘control over mana.’
It was like a chain connecting mana and one’s will.
Thanks to that, wizards who could exercise control over mana around them would naturally be like enemies to spirits.
Of course, if the spirit were stronger, the opposite situation would unfold, but Luke was among the very pinnacle of all wizards.
Having mastered all the principles and laws of the ten circles, she could become a superior being to this small spirit with just the authority of the first circle.
“Well then, Pie. It would be better if you stayed away for a moment. Meditation is important to me.”
-Luke…?
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. I don’t know the spirit language.”
-…!
“Indeed, I don’t understand the meaning of your words.”
-…?…!
The spirit seemed to continue trying to converse, but Luke, who didn’t know the spirit language, naturally couldn’t understand a word.
If there had been more time, Luke might have pretended to understand the words, but she didn’t have the luxury of time now.
“If you can’t understand, then stop! We’ll lose the morning’s magic if this continues!”
To Luke, who was stressed by the natural mana loss of the first circle, meditation, which was a means to transition to the second circle, was more important than anything.
Even if it was a spirit, it wasn’t okay to be disturbed by someone.
Luke opened the window and pointed outside.
“Pie, I’ll say it one last time. Stay away from me. Even if you continue to disturb me and get swept away, I won’t care.”
-Luke…?
“Go. I’ll count to ten.”
With Luke’s firm declaration, Pie seemed to deflate.
“10.”
-…
“9…”
Continuing to count down, Luke finally could concentrate on meditation after the spirit completely disappeared before his eyes.
“Hmm.”
Meditation ended as usual when localized mana exhaustion occurred.
Perhaps today was the end.
Feeling the vortex of mana surrounding a single circle in her heart, Luke sighed.
“It’s slow. Really, too slow.”
At this rate, it seemed it would take until the end of spring to reach the second circle, even if she repeated meditation in the forest every day.
“It doesn’t matter to me, but…”
Yerina was the issue.
Whether it was worrying that she was leaving the child alone in the forest ranger’s lodge or the fact that she hadn’t returned home because of her, it had been quite a while.
“If I could go back, she would be able to rest comfortably.”
The bed in the lodge was narrow.
So, as usual, Yerina couldn’t lie down on the bed with Luke, and she offered her own bed.
Although Luke had initially refused, feeling uncomfortable about lying down on the floor, Yerina’s eyes looked sad, and she eventually said, “It’s okay, sleep there!” in a way that made her feel burdened. So, eventually, she ended up lying on the bed.
Yerina, who had given up the bed, covered herself with a blanket on the sofa and fell asleep.
“It’s absurd for the owner of the lodge to fall asleep in discomfort…”
Even so, Luke couldn’t refuse the bed.
The gaze of Yerina, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her, meant that he could only escape when she fell asleep or pretended to be asleep.
“Haah.”
Finally getting up and straightening her pajamas, Luke took out a book.
After meditation, reading was something of a routine for Luke.
Soon it would be breakfast time, and Yerina would return.
But whether it was the shock of the spirit disappearing right before her eyes or not, even after a long time had passed since the meditation ended, there was no sign of her return.
Had she returned to nature?
Well, she had only considered the spirit a friend on a whim, and It’s relationship with Luke was still one of mere curiosity.
There wasn’t much lingering attachment, but…
“I do regret what I said to him a little.”
At that time, I was a bit stubborn.
I didn’t even consider controlling my emotions, so I’m sure there was annoyance in my voice.
I could have phrased it more tactfully.
But I didn’t.
“If I can see her again, I should apologize.”
***
“Ugh, ugh.”
Yerina yawned loudly and stretched.
Sorby, who was watching her from the back seat, asked with concern, as if worried.
“Yerina unni, are you helping again today? Aren’t you tired?”
“It’s okay. Nobody asked me to, and I’m doing it because I want to.”
Yerina waved her hand dismissively and smiled faintly as if to say not to worry.
‘Well, I’m a little tired, but it’s for Luke.’
When the forest becomes safe, Luke becomes safe too. Well, that’s only natural.
Still, the usual monster response. It shouldn’t be difficult…
-Beep, beep, beep.
A disturbing noise started coming from the forest ranger GPS device.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Sorby took out the device in alarm.
“What?!”
Sorbi exclaimed in shock.
“What’s wrong? Why is it…”
Daphne, checking the navigation of the vehicle, couldn’t continue her sentence either.
Even Yerina, checking the navigation, had her expression rapidly hardened.
Red was the mark of monsters, indicating the approximate location of monsters by detecting unnatural mana flows…
…The entire screen was just red.
“This is…”
As Yerina couldn’t continue her sentence, Sorby shouted.
“This is insane! Has some dragon awakened or something?”
“A dragon…”
A dragon that lives for a thousand years.
With overwhelming power and intelligence, they were like symbols of fear and power, but now they were just monsters in fairy tales.
All the dragons had become extinct.
Why they hid themselves from this world was never revealed.
No related records remained.
Only the fact that they were no longer here remained.
Daphne pondered for a moment and said.
“Could someone have created an illusion of a dragon with necromancy?”
“That’s a possibility.”
Unauthorized necromancy was illegal under any circumstances.
Moreover, summoning high-ranking undead was a felony comparable to terrorism.
Trembling, Sorby spoke.
“An- an illusion of a dragon? Is that, is that real…?”
Sorby was disgusted by undead.
Because the sight of floating bones was grotesque.
“Well, it’s just a possibility. Let’s gather the forest rangers. It’s an emergency.”
***
At that moment, Luke also suddenly looked up at the flow of immense mana.
‘This mana flow…’
In an array of mana that he had felt before, Luke closed the book and stood up, saying,
“Pie, is that you?”
-Luke!
Pie bounced up and hit the window.
As if asking her to open the window, Luke stood up and approached the window, opening the door.
Then,
“Whoa!”
“Ack…!”
A sudden storm made of mana from nature rushed in.
Overwhelmed by the immense mana, Luke widened her eyes slightly, feeling a bit dizzy.
“Pie, is this the mana you’ve gathered?”
-Luke, …! …?
In response, the spirit bounced up and down on its hand, as if it was doing a good job.
“Huh…”
With this much mana, she thought it must have been gathered from all over the forest.
Looking down at the tiny spirit, Luke thought, ‘I’ve ignored spirits for so long… But they are no less than wizards.’
Spirits born from the mana of nature naturally have dominion over it.
Moreover, being incorporeal, they can exist anywhere and are not bound by the laws of physics.
These two synergies must have allowed them to gather mana of this level in such a short time.
-Luke! …!
Seeing Pie twisting as if embarrassed, Luke chuckled.
“Is this your apology gift?”
Nodding vigorously, the spirit made a pleasant sound.
Luke petted the spirit and said, “I was sorry too. I was a bit hasty then. Will you accept my apology?”
-…!
As if saying, “Of course!” Luke nodded and released Pie.
Now it was time to accept the gift.
‘With this, maybe two circles will be formed today…’
Luke calmed her excited mind and began meditating again.
***
The forest keepers of Lukewood forest were all called up, whether on duty or not, forming ranks.
In this situation, the one with the authority to command was Yerina, who had been a forest keeper for the longest time.
“Team 1, guard that side, and Team 2, guard the other side. The rest, defend from this side and join in when needed! We must not let the city be affected under any circumstances!”
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, the personnel moved according to Yerina’s orders.
“A rogue dragon? Who dares to cause trouble in Lukewood forest!”
“Let’s punish them all!”
“Ah, for real since morning. Do they never sleep?”
Watching them release tension by grumbling, Yerina also took her position and began to be vigilant.
‘Is Luke alright?’
“Daphne, could you go to Luke and ask him to take shelter?”
“Sure thing, Yerina-unni.”
Daphne nodded and got into a car.
If only there were cell phones at times like this, they could know about each other’s safety through contact. The worry was not just for now.
“Okay. Preparations are complete. Now…”
Beep…!
“Huh…?”
The red light that had been constantly flashing on the forest keeper’s device suddenly disappeared, and the noise stopped.
“What’s this?”
Everyone was startled by the sudden silence of the device.
“Can magical reactions disappear like this suddenly?”
“What’s going on? Is it hiding? Where are the monsters?”
Everyone was bewildered for a moment.
Yerina shouted calmly, “Don’t relax the guard yet; we don’t know what might happen!”
But nothing happened.
For the rest of the half-day.
