- Before -


    “AKI!!! OVER HERE!”


    Shrouded in a light morning mist, Aki could see a man waving enthusiastically at her from a distance away. Takeshi was on the verge of jumping up and down in excitement. Maybe with his monstrous strength a few houses will collapse due to the impact, Aki chuckled.


    “Morning Aki.”


    Heiki was leaning against the gate while double checking on the route that they had planned together on his smart brain, in the form of a ring. After an enthusiastic discussion led by Takeshi, they have come to an agreement to travel to the capital together while teaching Aki magic.


    Going around to help Aki get her supplies was also another adventure. Despite having gone on so many quests, she did not possess even a flint to light a fire. Aki shrugged and explained how she can make do without a fire if the worst comes to worse.


    Takeshi and Heiki glanced at each other.


    “Aki…”


    Heiki placed both of his hands on Aki’s shoulders.


    “You know… when you have the choice, it’s better to always live comfortably. Why go through such troubles when you don’t have to?”


    Aki looked puzzled. She did not understand the notion of comfort. Heiki and Takeshi thus took charge and bought everything they thought Aki needed without asking for her opinion. It felt like she was being spoiled and fussed over - a new experience that left her feeling off-centered but a strange sense of joy surfaced within her.


    But deep in her bones screamed for her to never be too comfortable. With a set routine and tools that make you feel safe, it''s a dangerous path down to being complacent. Aki needed to remain sharp.


    Yet, some part of her wondered if staying on the edge like this were just the remains of all the training that really didn’t matter anymore. She was not returning..


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    “Okay, nothing’s missing. Let’s set off!”


    “Whoooo!!! Here we come, ADVENTUREEE!!”


    The two trekked ahead against the rising sun, appearing so dazzling to Aki’s eyes. Noticing that Aki was not following them, both of them turned back.


    “Aki! Let’s go!”


    Running up to them, Aki felt like she was running into warmth so cozy that she never wants to lose.


    -


    “Water.”


    Light shimmered from Heiki’s open palm and a small stream of water poured forth, overflowing and spilling onto the ground.


    “Form. See, this is now in a ball. Technically magic doesn’t need any chants but it helps in directing intent and channeling the mana that’s in you. Some recite them in ancient spells to cement the image or to borrow power from the ancient words but it''s not necessary if you know how much mana to use and the form that it’ll take.”


    “But chanting spells is so cool!! Like… Fiiiirrreeee Tornado! “


    Takeshi did a series of exaggerated pose sequences and pointed his deep blue staff ahead. The sapphire gem embedded at the top glowed a faint red and a huge flame swirl appeared a few meters away from them. It first twirled near the ground before dramatically shooting up into the sky into a huge fire pillar.


    Well, it was a tornado.


    “Takeshi!!! What did I tell you before! You shouldn''t needlessly use so much mana, especially when we don’t know if we’ll encounter any dangers!”


    “But still…”


    “No buts!”


    While Heiki was arguing with Takeshi, Aki tried to channel and direct her intent at the swirling fire pillar. Slowly the fire dwindled down and vanished into thin air. Stunned, Heiki’s and Takeshi’s argument got cut off.


    It was so quiet and you could hear faint birds’ chirping.


    Aki saw Heiki and Takeshi mouth open with a silly expression which made Aki smile.


    “You… what did you just do?”


    “There wasn’t water or anything and the fire just… disappeared. YOU CAN DO UNIQUE MAGIC??!!”


    Aki tilted her head in question and a moment later, a glint appeared in her eyes.


    “There’s unique magic? You’re talking about things like space and time?”


    “WAIT wait wait wait wait!! Please don’t try that out now.”


    Heiki rushed to Aki and stopped her. Trying to control these two wild magicians alone are taking a toll on him. Aki picked up magic so fast as if she was born to use it. Mana flowed into her easily and she was able to project her intent smoothly without need of using any chants.


    Heiki helplessly trotted behind them as Takeshi was enthusiastically showing Aki the magic that he invented and Aki trying them out one after another.


    Just as they were starting to get carried away, suddenly a scream tore through the air as a loud roar made the ground vibrate. It was coming from a distance ahead of them.


    “OOOOO is this what they call a fateful encounter?!”


    “That sounds like a Sertes, an A class monster. But they don’t usually appear in these parts of the forest.”


    “LET’S GO LET’S GO! An adventure is waiting for us!!!”


    “He-Hey wait! BAKASHI!!!”


    Takeshi rushed straight ahead as Heiki had no choice but to follow up, leaving Aki behind with a weird expression on her face. Isn’t it more common to avoid danger instead of rushing towards it? Walking leisurely behind Takeshi who was like a puppy that found his bone and Heiki who was shouting after him, Aki hummed a little tune.


    Maybe doing this sometimes was also not that bad.