Chapter 1 – Awoken Magic Sword

Table of Contents | Next Chapter ->

A man and woman were dashing through the dim forest with desperation dyeing their faces. The one in front was a girl around fourteen or fifteen years old. She was holding a sword, and her body was clad in leather armor. Yet, her arms and legs were riddled by many minor wounds, blood thinly oozing out of some. Behind her followed a plump man who looked to be in his forties. His shoulders were heaving up and down as he was obviously on his last legs. The backpack he was carrying was rocking up and down.

“Bloody hell. What was that about there being no monsters in the village because it’s deserted!? I totally got duped by you!”

“I-I heard it for sure. I-I’m more t-than certain…!” the man protested, his whole face drenched in sweat.

But the girl didn’t hear any of it.

I don’t know how many monsters are after us. Right now, I should be careful where I step while hurrying towards the beach.

The area in front of them became brighter, causing the girl’s tense expression to relax ever so slightly.

――Yes! A little bit more to go and we will arrive at the beach.

If they went out on the sea, they’d be safe. Monsters were unable to chase them in the ocean. But when she stepped out into the glade, her legs froze. Her face was twisted by shock and despair—several frogs with bodies as large as cows were watching the pair through the trees.

――Monsters!

The frogs had been turned into monsters through extended exposure to miasma. Their round, bulging eyes identified the two humans as prey. At once, they started croaking with joy. Their widely open mouths could easily swallow a human whole. She had heard that quite a few people fell victim to these monsters as beginner magic swordsmen. If it were just one frog monster, it wouldn’t pose much of a problem, but these monsters always acted in groups, and because of that, they were a genuine threat.

While almost being crushed by fear, the girl checked how many monsters she was dealing with.

――Seven frogs. And in addition…

Six of the frogs had green skin, which was common for this monster species. But the last one had scarlet skin, making it look as if it were on fire.

“For there to even be a superior variant among them…this is definitely a lost cause. Haha,” the girl laughed monotonously.

If it had been limited to two of the green frogs, she’d have been able to fight them somehow off, but not only were there six green frogs, but the group even included a superior variant. She instinctively knew that even escape would prove to be impossible.

The man finally caught up to her, but screamed as soon as he saw the monsters. He took a step backwards before falling on his backside as his legs had apparently given out. With a face as pale as the moon, he looked up to the girl with imploring eyes.

“…W-Will we survive? We will, won’t we…?”

“Who knows?” the girl spat out, but that was already her best effort at pretending to be tough.

At the same time, the frogs began to move. One of them opened its mouth, popping out its long tongue. The girl repelled the quickly approaching quasi-projectile with the sword in her hands. Accompanying the fleshy feedback, she could watch a part of the tongue freely wriggling through the air as it got severed by her blade. However, the girl had no time to revel in relief. She had to dodge another frog by rolling across the ground after it made a big leap towards her. And as soon as she got up, the tongue of yet another frog coiled itself around her right arm.

With her sword and movements sealed, the girl stood stock still on the spot. It took her everything to resist being dragged over by the frog. Meanwhile, the other frogs slowly sidled up to her.

――Am I going to die here? In a place like this…killed by these things…under such wretched circumstances…

One of the frogs jumped, apparently planning to swallow her whole. The incoming monster blocked out the sun. She looked up to the sky, on the verge of tears―but then her eyes flew wide open. Two objects overshadowed the sun. One was the big frog. And the other was a boy brandishing a greatsword with both hands.

A dull slocsh could be heard. The greatsword, which the boy had swung down in a straight line, had cleanly cut the frog’s torso in two halves. Miasma, a gas akin to gray mist, gushed from the cut sections, and immediately afterward, the frog’s large frame lost its color. The corpse fell to the ground and crumbled apart while turning into dust. Moments later, only black pebble-like fragments reminded one of the frog’s existence.

Yet, without sparing that spectacle a single glance, the boy, his hair short and sand-colored and his eyes black, used the withdrawal of his blade to sever the tongue still wrapped around the girl’s arm as he landed. Then he shouldered his sword before slamming the massive, thick blade against the head of a nearby frog. The frog only managed to quack some eerie gueeh before its head burst. This was accompanied by its round eyes partially popping out of its sockets as the creature followed its peer’s footsteps, scattering gray miasma from its mouth and then vanishing.

――W-Wow…

The girl watched the show unfold before her, unable to say anything because of the admiration she felt.

Considering his features and his medium build, the boy is probably one or two levels above me. But his movements show almost no waste, and he easily waves around a greatsword that is as tall as himself.

Furthermore, the leather armor on his body was reinforced with iron plates in several places. One could see minor cuts as well as frayed spots here and there, but instead of looking ragged, it actually worked as proof that the boy had weathered countless fierce battlefields.

Two frogs had been watching the situation due to the unexpected intruder while lowering their bodies in vigilance, but now they made their move. One of them swooped down at the boy from above, trying to crush him, while the other had remained at its low stance, now using it to launch its tongue.

The boy calmly thrust his sword right above himself, its dark gray blade piercing through the airborne frog’s belly, just to appear on the other side again. The monster was then slapped onto the ground as the boy swung his sword downward, bursting into miasma particles and scattering.

However, the girl yelped. After all, the tongue of the other frog had twined itself around the boy’s leg. The reddish-brown, slimy tongue was reeled back towards its mouth with a terrifying force. The boy immediately lost his balance, toppled over, and was dragged across the ground. The frog’s ugly mug drew closer, causing the boy to get goosebumps as he lifted the corners of his mouth and smiled. He poured his strength into his abdomen, shoulders, arm, and the hand grasping the sword, and swung the blade sideways with all his might. Moments before the boy’s foot entered the frog’s mouth, the monster’s head was blown away. He had deliberately allowed the frog to catch his leg to close the distance between them. Now he lightly breathed out and quickly stood back up on his feet.

With two of their buddies butchered in no time and another two being obliterated right after, two out of the remaining three frogs perceived that they were at a disadvantage. One of the two green frogs had been injured, and thus it readily crawled away, back into the forest. Its green friend followed by jumping. But the frog with the scarlet skin didn’t flee. It made its belly inflate by sucking in air, just to open its mouth wide and spit out a cluster of fire. The cluster of fire had the size of a human’s head. It flew straight at the boy while dispersing sparks.

Still sitting on his bum, the bum of a man was positioned directly behind the boy. Thus, if the boy were to evade the fireball, it would most certainly hit the man. As such, the boy readied his sword while clenching his teeth with a shiver. In the next moment, he swept his blade at the incoming cluster of flames. The feedback was dull. A sound as if a bag full of water had been cut open filled the air. Sparks and extremely hot splashes hit the boy’s body, scorching his skin. Just as the boy readjusted his hold on the sword, the frog monster released its second shot.

However, just then, a new figure entered the scene―a girl who appeared to be of the same age as the boy. Her glowing golden hair had been tied into pigtails with a few strands on either side having been elaborately knitted into loosely hanging braids. She wore red armor above her clothes while her shoulders and back were covered by a white manteau. But although you could call it armor, it consisted of several disconnected parts, exposing her upper arms and thighs for the whole world to see. In her left hand, she held a small shield which also functioned as a scabbard for her small sword.

“Light GuardWard!” yelled the girl as she positioned herself in front of the boy as if to cover him while drawing her small sword and thrusting out her left arm right in front of her.

A violet light emanated from the small shield in her hand, crystallizing into a large, semi-transparent shield. The crimson flames of the frog hit the shield squarely, but immediately dispersed without leaving even a blotch on the shield.

“Elicia!” the boy raised his voice in delight.

On the other hand, the girl he had addressed whirled around, scowled at him full of fury, and bellowed without a shred of mercy, “Roc, you godforsaken idiot! I’ve been telling you again and again to not run ahead by yourself, didn’t I!?”

“Don’t be so mad. It was a fairly close call, even with me going ahead. Right?” Roc sought approval from the dumbfounded girl and man without showing even the slightest hint of remorse.

But, being suddenly pulled into the argument, neither girl nor man could form coherent words on the spot. On the other hand, the scarlet frog quacked throatily, making its displeasure known, before unleashing yet another fireball. Even so, that clump of fire shared the fate of its predecessor. It clashed in vain against the violet crystal shield, burst apart, and disappeared.

“Roc!” shouted Elicia as she started to run towards the monster while holding her shield up.

Roc responded, “Ayes,” and shouldered his sword once more while running next to her. The monster scrutinized both with its eyes. Realizing that its chances at victory were slim at best, it acted quickly, attempting to leap on top of a nearby tree. However, at that moment, a giant hammer came flying from who-knows-where and struck the frog from the side. The hammer seemed light compared to its size. But, although it didn’t have as much force behind it as one would imagine from its appearance, it was still more than enough to throw the frog off-balance totally. Using that opportunity, Roc raised his sword and jumped.

In a final stand, the scarlet frog tried to attack the approaching menace, but tongue and fire were both too late. In contrast to the other frogs, the greatsword caused a clang, as if having hit a rock, when it slashed the monster’s head and back. Faster than the creature could crash into the ground, the two halves of its corpse turned into dust and vanished. Only black fragments rained down on the ground.

Around the time when Roc started to pick up those fragments, a small girl with blue hair that reached down all the way to her waist stepped out from between two trees. Despite her lovely countenance, it was hard to tell what she was thinking thanks to her expressionless face. Her body was clad in a robe, its hem loosely hanging down around her knees. A ridiculously bulging bag was suspended from her shoulders. In her hand, she carried a satchel. Unlike Roc and Elicia, anyone would immediately agree to call her a scholar rather than a warrior. The hammer, which had struck the frog, drew a gentle arc in the air, landing in her hand.

“…Roc, you alright?”

“Yeah, thanks a bunch, Phil. I was able to take down the frog thanks to you,” answered Roc with a smile, passing her the fragments he had picked up.

Phil’s expressionless face began to fall apart. While she accepted the fragments with a bashful smile on her lips, she handed the satchel to Roc, as this was his. Elicia sighed lightly after watching that scene and then turned around to the other pair.

She held out a hand and asked, “Are you guys okay?”

◇

————– End of Part 1 —————

“Seriously, thank you. Back then, I thought I was a goner,” confessed the girl, her eyes sparkling with heartfelt admiration.

“Heh, it’s great that we made it in time. You haven’t suffered any injuries either, so all’s well in the end,” Roc smiled while scratching his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. At the same time, he didn’t notice that Elicia was watching him with an unhappy, huffy face.

“It’s been a good while since I was moved so deeply. I had heard stories that the skin of that red frog is as hard as thick steel, yet you cut the monster apart with a single slash.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve gone through quite a bit of training.”

Fortunately, the battle ended without serious injury to the girl or the man. They came out of this with a few minor cuts and bruises. Hearing that they had no other group members, Roc and his two friends decided to accompany them. The five people headed towards the beach with Roc and the girl in the lead, Phil and the man behind them, and Elicia being the rearguard.

“Also, if you want to thank someone, you should talk to Phil. She was the one who noticed your predicament, not me.” Roc looked over his shoulder, directing his gaze at the blue-haired girl who was talking to the plump man.

“That girl is a spirit alchemist? She certainly doesn’t look like a magic sword wielder, though.”

Roc nodded in response to the girl’s question. Spirit alchemy was the art of transforming and refining materials by borrowing the power of contracted spirits. And spirit alchemists referred to those versed in the art of spirit alchemy.

“Is your companion also a spirit alchemist?”

Roc’s question was based on three reasons: the man’s body build; his attire of linen clothes, leather tunic, and backpack; and lastly, his not looking like a magic sword wielder at all.

“No, that guy’s just a poor merchant,” answered the girl with a shrug. “You see, there’s a small village not far from here. He said he wants to grab some amazing magic steel and asked me to serve as his guard.”

“Just you alone?” Roc furrowed his eyebrows.

You would be hard-pressed to find magic swordsmen on this monster-infested continent who worked alone. Roc knew of a few exceptions, but the majority were moving in groups like his party.

“That guy isn’t rich, you know. Well, the same can be said about me as well, though,” quipped the girl and then stuck out her tongue in a cute manner.

Roc could come to terms with her explanation.

Looks like their interests matched, seeing how he apparently can’t hire more than one guard, and she direly needs money, even if she has to brave some dangers, since she’s run out of cash.

“I mean, I heard stories about hardly any monsters being around when you remain in the close vicinity of the beach. But, thanks to that bullshit story, we ended up getting chased by a crazy number of monsters.”

Before long, the two parties arrived at the beach, which was littered with rugged rocks. The deep blue ocean, sprawling beneath the transparent, azure sky, was calm, and the whispers of the waves were gentle on the ears. An island was visible in the far distance.

“Around here?” asked Roc.

The girl advanced around a dozen strides along the beach before she suddenly crouched down. Thrusting her hand into the water, she quietly recited a chant. In response, the surface began to bubble and gurgle, followed by a dugout canoe emerging from the water. It was wide enough to seat two adults side by side, but its length was only slightly longer than its width. Roc speculated it’d be full if five or six people boarded it.

Two spherical gems――an emerald and a jasper――were embedded in the somewhat curved prow. It gave an onlooker the impression of the ship having odd eyes.

Despite being underwater for an extended period, the canoe’s interior was almost arid. The luggage, stuffed with provisions, water, oars, a removable thin mast, and a sail, was fine too.

“It happens every time, but this moment makes me appreciate the existence of spirit alchemists the most,” the girl muttered while breathing out in relief.

All boats setting over to the continent were endowed with two kinds of spirit alchemy. One that would envelop the boat in a bubble should the boat sink out in the sea by borrowing the power of a water spirit, and another one that would allow a boat to continue onwards by generating a weak wind through the power of a wind spirit. Without those two, boats would be destroyed by monsters while the owners were away.

“Thanks for bringing us all the way here,” the girl said, expressing her gratitude once more and exchanging a firm handshake with Roc.

“Really, we were only fine thanks to you people,” the merchant repeatedly bowed while grinning at Roc.

“Don’t worry about it. Come to think of it, did you find what you were looking for?”

“Oohh, right. Do you want to see it?”

Before Roc could reply, the man set the backpack down and retrieved something wrapped in several layers of cloth. Once he removed the cover, a fist-sized black stone came to light. Snake-like patterns had been carved on its scraggy surface, and a greenish radiance shone through here and there.

“Pretty big, isn’t it? Looks like it’s going to sell for quite a hefty sum, no?”

Magic steel―a mysterious metal which was often procured from monsters, just like the ones that came out of the big frogs defeated by Roc. Its use widely varied, but for the most part, it was employed as material to craft magic swords. It wasn’t unusual for magic steel of high quality to be traded for jewels, not to mention large amounts of gold and silver coins.

Seeing Roc’s face brimming with admiration, the man happily nodded, “You’re probably right. I thought I was dead several times, but it was worth it to put my life on the line.”

“Stop yapping and get into the canoe, old man,” the girl urged the man.

Once he abided by her demand, Roc asked, “You know the way to Plotmiles?”

It was the city closest to here. It was also the place where Roc, Phil, and Elicia lived. The girl nodded with an affirmative grunt, then leaned forward and quickly planted a kiss on Roc’s cheek. But it lasted only an instant. She immediately separated from him and sat back down in the canoe. Meanwhile, Roc stood stock-still, dumbstruck by the surprise attack.

“You guys do your best as well, okay? Be careful out there.”

As soon as the emerald started to glow, the canoe left the coast while engulfed by a gentle wind. Seeing the girl and man off as they waved their hands, Roc turned around to Elicia and Phil while scratching the place where her lips had touched moments ago.

“Now then…we should try to head out anew, I guess,” he announced, but quickly noticed that Elicia was looking at him with a terribly sullen expression.

Her eyes had always been stabbing, but thanks to the added menace, they now seemed to be even harsher and colder than before.

“Is something wrong? Which reminds me, you’ve been oddly quiet for a while now.”

When Roc tried to probe whether she felt sick or something like that, Elicia folded her arms and spat, “I’ve been silent because I’ve been vigilant of our surroundings. All because someone was hitting on girls while leering.”

“I’ve been paying proper attention to our surroundings while talking, you know?” Roc waved his hand dismissively as if just the thought of him doing what she said was already unimaginable, but Elicia only harrumphed without paying attention to his defense.

“It didn’t look like that at all. As soon as she told you she was deeply moved, you started to beam, with a sloppy face. It was so hideous that I wanted to thrust a mirror in front of you.”

Being addressed with such a toxic tone, even Roc couldn’t help but become upset.

“Then you should have pointed it out at once, no? Why are you bringing it up now!?”

“It’d have been a waste of time and air to talk to you back when you were grinning like a pervert. You constantly ogling the slit in her attire was so damn embarrassing.”

“No, wait a sec. I actually paid attention to keep my eyes clear of that place.”

“Then how do you explain the k-kiss on your cheek just now!? I don’t know what a face you pulled there, but I think it might be better for me not to know anyway. It had to be extremely ugly.”

Phil silently watched the back and forth, but then she pulled her eyes away, lowered her bag to the ground, and started to check its contents.

Almost a year had passed since the three of them began working together, but this scene was a daily occurrence. And Phil knew that it was best to leave those two alone in most cases.

――It’s a complete mystery how those two are diligently watching the surroundings while fighting.

No sooner had she finished her check than Phil took out a map and confirmed their current position and destination. After storing the map away, Phil faced the two once more.

“Look, when you cut the red frog, you targeted its back, didn’t you? You know how hard the back of these things is, don’t you? From your position, you should have been able to cut only the face or its underside. Why didn’t you do that?”

“I managed to kill it, so what’s the problem anyway?”

“Aren’t people slandering you as a Magic Sword Destroyer because you’re always doing stuff like that? Besides, you borrowed that magic sword from Mister Barthotas, didn’t you? How about you treat it with a bit more care?”

“You know I cannot worry about such stuff in the midst of battle, right? Master is well aware of that, so he lent me a sturdy sword.”

“Just because it’s sturdy doesn’t mean it’s fine to handle it as roughly as you want. I thought you’d understand as much.”

The quarrel was still going on. Moreover, it had digressed. Assuming that it was about time for her to mediate, Phil lightly bumped Roc and Elicia’s head with the top of her hammer. The hammer itself wasn’t as heavy as it looked. Furthermore, Phil could adjust her weight through spirit alchemy, so the power behind her bump ended up being around the same as if she had lightly hit them with her fist.

“What are you doing, Phil?”

“…Both parties are at fault in a quarrel,” Phil answered indifferently as Roc and Elicia both held their heads while grimacing. “We’re going to explore from now on, so it’s going to be a bother if you keep arguing.”

“It’s not like we were quarre…,” Elicia tried to talk back, but seeing the look in Phil’s eyes, she swallowed the rest of her sentence.

For some reason, Elicia always felt weak when confronted with this girl’s intense stare, who was two years younger than her. With her hands on her hips, she looked at Roc with a somewhat awkward expression and an attitude that was far removed from an apology.

“I-I went too f-far with what I-I said. S-Sorry, i-it was my bad,” she stuttered somewhat and, without waiting for Roc’s response, she turned on her heels and walked away.

“…Roc,” Phil pinched Roc’s sleeve while watching Elicia’s white manteau flapping in the wind. She looked up to him, who was puzzled, “Elicia said all these things because worries about you.”

Her voice was smaller than usual, but she lowered the volume even further so that Elicia, who was several steps ahead of them, wouldn’t hear.

“Whenever you run off towards monsters while entrusting me to her, her face is full of worry.”

“…Really?” Roc looked back and forth between Phil’s face and Elicia’s back, doubt written across his face.

“Besides, our exploration this time has the objective of obtaining a magic sword for you, Roc. And yet you got sidetracked, so she flew into rage against her better judgment, I think.”

Phil didn’t mention anything about Elicia being jealous of the girl he rescued. Part of the reason she stayed quiet was the risk of unnecessarily complicating their relationship, but on an emotional level, Phil was Elicia’s ally. When she saw the back of Roc as he cheerfully chatted with the magic sword-wielding girl, Phil’s eyebrows had faintly moved, as if a revolting bug had entered her field of vision.

“Even if you call it getting sidetracked…it’s not as if we could have ignored them, right?”

“Elicia understands that as well. But was it really necessary to accompany them all the way to the coast?”

“Urk,” groaned Roc while scratching his head.

“I dislike moving ahead while the mood is so edgy. It puts me on the spot. Indeed, it would be truly devastating to lose my meat walls, of which I only possess two.”

“…Seriously, why do you always have to say something totally unnecessary at the end?” Roc lightly nudged Phil’s head while sighing, but then he smiled and gently stroked her head. “Thanks for telling me all that. For starters, I’ll go and talk with her.”

Leaving Phil, Roc took a few long strides to line up next to Elicia quickly. Although she knitted her eyebrows when he addressed her, she shrugged her shoulders after they exchanged a few words, her expression visibly softening.

――It seems like they made up with each other.

Watching the two from a few steps behind, Phil breathed out in relief. Each time Roc and Elicia clashed, Phil acted as mediator. In most cases, she aimed to resolve the issue by persuading Roc.

――Yeah, I really love Roc’s softhearted side. It’s a huge relief not to have to talk about the truth…

Phil readjusted her hold of the hammer and trotted up to the two.

◇

——— End of Part 2 ———

Table of Contents | Next Chapter ->

Translation Notes: