— Ah… Man, am I alive?
Looking around, still a bit disoriented, I see that I’m lying in my room at the inn.
— Did something go wrong? I just blacked out…
I lift my upper body as I feel a familiar pain in my arm, but without worrying about it, something catches my attention.
— … What is that?
My attention goes straight to the center of my chest, and I see a strange bulge beneath my clothes.
— Seriously… Is that still alive!?
In the center of my chest, a small flower with yellow petals has appeared, and I immediately recognize where it came from.
I try to touch it, wanting to rip it out immediately, but just pulling on it slightly causes intense pain spreading throughout my chest and left arm.
— Haa… What do I do?
I release the flower and take a deep breath, waiting for the pain to subside. When it finally lessens to something bearable, I reassess the situation more calmly.
I already knew the flower might still be alive, but what I didn’t expect was for it to have moved from my arm to the center of my chest.
Analyzing its position carefully, I finally realize the reason for this change.
— It’s… exactly where I found my magic point.
I stare at it for a while. I don’t know if it had already been migrating to this part of my body since the island, or if it followed the trail of my magic when I connected to the core. Trying to remove it now would be basically impossible without killing myself in the process.
— At least it isn’t targeting my brain… And it isn’t trying to kill me either.
There are still many mysteries surrounding this little flower, such as why it’s in my magic point, whether it will continue to grow, and what it’s done to the inside of my body, but one thing is clear: I need to keep it hidden.
Although this world has magic and some advancements created with it, much of it still follows medieval logic. Therefore, if they suspect I’m a monster or am contaminated by something they don’t understand, I’ll be killed on the spot.
Especially since I’m a man, as I barely have any rights.
— Alright… let’s take a look at my magics. Open panel.
═══════════════════════════════════
| [Name]: Rafael | | [Race]: Human |
| [Level]: 02 | | [Magic Power]: 85 |
───────────────────────────────────
[Skills]
[…]
| [Determination]: 48 |
[…]
| [Magic Attunement]: 10 |
[…]
| [Survivor]: 51 | | [Tolerance]: 53 |
───────────────────────────────────
[Magics]
| [Connection]: 32 | | [Protective Membrane]: 32 |
| [Remembrance]: 37 | | [Trail]: 28 |
═══════════════════════════════════
— My skills have changed only slightly, and a new one has even appeared, but… my magic power and my magics have improved relatively well.
I glance briefly at [Magic Attunement], a skill I’d never heard of before, but considering I’ve already acquired a skill like [Immunity], I just think about its nuances for a moment before focusing on the main thing, the magics.
Honestly, I didn’t expect them to go up that much, but it must be because of the crazy thing I did.
— Using magic to connect to the core… Now that I think about it, that was really crazy.
I was so excited about successfully understanding my magic that I didn’t stop to think about the risk I was taking.
— I know it was dangerous, but… That was a gamble that guaranteed me a way to grow faster.
If I’m careful and only use it when I go to sleep, I’ll be able to train my magic and magic power much faster than I expected.
Especially knowing that it takes about fifteen to twenty years to reach 1,000 in magic power, the average for the adult population in this world.
Closing my eyes slowly, I let out a small sigh as I feel my body.
— I still think there’s something strange…
Not just the flower, but something else seems off. I can’t quite describe this feeling. It’s as if the hairs on my body are standing up.
— I wonder if it’s because of the flower or some side effect from using the magics…
I open my eyes again and see that there’s nothing and my body looks normal.
— …Time to go fishing. I’ll think more about this later.
With that, I put my worries aside for now and go about my usual routine. Always keeping my shirt tightly closed so no one notices the flower.
[…]
After another exhausting day, I return to my room at night. I don’t know exactly what happened, but many people are talking about a Saint who came to visit the city.
— The Saint… If I remember correctly, she’s one of the few characters who follow the hero into the final battle.
She has a relatively kind and calm personality, acting more like a sister to the protagonist than a girlfriend.
I remember her description saying that she is incredibly beautiful, almost divine, to the point that people unconsciously kneel before her.
— I wanted to see her… I should have spent a little more time with Estela.
Since every time I passed by the church, they were still making preparations, I ended up not noticing that they had finished and missed the event.
Besides, they say the Saint even screamed in the middle of her ceremony, making me curious about what could have happened.
— Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now.
Anyway, it’s time to continue my tests. This time, I decided to fully recover my magic power, avoiding using it, to see if I can prevent fainting.
— The steps are simple, but… Is that flower going to get in the way?
I lower my eyes to the flower on my chest, its yellow petals swaying slightly in the breeze blowing through the room.
— …I think it should be fine.
I feel that after what I went through on that island, there’s nothing left in this world to worry me. Not even a damn flower that might be sucking the life out of me right in the middle of my chest.
— So many worries… Let’s just end the day using the same combination of magics as yesterday.
Since I’d already used it once, I was able to perform the same process much more quickly and easily than last time.
The only problem is the enormous drain on magic power, which caused me to black out again in the very same instant.
[…]
I’ve been living in this world for a few weeks now. My arm has been healed for some time, but a lack of money has kept me in Maralto.
Currently, I’m looking for a way to get to the Gate of the Abyss, where the Abyssal Dungeon is located. After thinking a lot about it, I decide to stick with the plan to reach level 50 and earn my title.
— It would be nice to have fast transportation like the magic carriage nobles use, but the cost is extremely high…
A trip to Fortunia, the city that connects various cities such as Maralto and the Gate of the Abyss, takes about a week or more in a regular wagon.
Meanwhile, a magic carriage should take, at most, two days.
— The difference is huge, but there’s nothing I can do… I’ll have to find a wagon.
Estela, sitting next to me on the usual stone bench, looks at me strangely.
— I've gotten into the habit of talking to myself… Just ignore it. — I tell her before getting up. — Come to think of it, I'll go buy the ticket today.
I see her lower her face and look at her own feet. I don't know exactly what she's thinking.
— By the way, school is about to start… You’re going to one in the area, right?
She nods slightly.
I still don’t know exactly which school Estela is going to, since I simply don’t know any schools in this world besides Noctis, but that doesn’t matter.
The only thing I know is, if she were going to Noctis, she would have left Maralto weeks ago to get there.
I stand still for a moment, looking at her as she keeps her head down. I don’t know what came over me, but seeing her head like that, I end up stroking her hair.
When I realized what I was doing, I quickly pulled my hand away, only to see Estela lift her head and look at me questioningly.
— Is she wondering why I stroked her head, or why I stopped? It’s hard to understand this girl… — I think, as I remain silent.
After spending so much time with her, I realized that Estela wouldn’t answer questions like that, forcing me to guess based on her actions and expressions.
This ends up making communication relatively difficult at times, but also comfortable at other moments.
— At least she tries to express herself with gestures…
To this day, I still have many questions about her, her behavior, why she lives so isolated, and a few other details, but I’ve never gotten a single answer.
— We’re… close, right? — I think as I try to place my hand on her head again.
The girl accepts it and watches me as I ruffle her hair.
— Well, thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me, and I hope I can see you again someday.
— …
Estela doesn’t answer right away. She just watches me in silence for a long time, and I, not knowing what to do, keep messing with her hair. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her hair so messy before.
— ...Bye. — she murmurs, slowly getting up and walking back toward the orphanage.
— Bye…
Watching her leave, I turn and head toward the city while feeling a strange discomfort in my chest.
— Hmm… I don’t like this feeling.
After walking for a while, I arrive at a building near the entrance to Maralto. It’s a relatively large structure, with a stable right behind it.
When I step inside, it looks more like a restaurant than a transportation hub, but since the trips must take days to get there and back, they probably use this place to make a profit in other ways.
Trying not to draw too much attention, I head over to a wall where the trips are listed.
— There aren’t many destinations you can reach from here… So I’ll have to go to Fortunia.
Fortunia is a trading city located at a strategic point. If I want to travel across the continent in the future, I’ll end up passing through there often.
There are some very interesting places I’ll be able to visit while passing through there in the future, like the Noctis Kingdom itself or Wonderland, but I’ll only do that once the protagonist has resolved all the story’s problems.
— He should be done by the time he graduates, so in three years?
Putting that aside, now that I have the money and the destination, it’s time to hit the road and set off.
— Sorry, kid, but the next wagon with open seats doesn’t leave until next week. — says the owner of the establishment.
— Okay… Get me a ticket anyway.
She writes my name in a time-worn logbook and hands me a crumpled ticket stamped with the facility’s seal.
After leaving there, realizing I still have a week to spare, I decide to go back to the orphanage to see Estela and then go fishing.
— I wonder if she misses me already. — I think, with a smile on my face.
[To be continued…]
[???]:
— …Come to think of it, where’s the owner of this place?
— I’m on vacation! I shouldn’t be looking after this world for her!