Chapter 51
Even with hoods on, we could smell bullshit without having to see their faces.
They hurriedly waved their hands and spoke, "Ah~ don't look at us like that."
"We understand your suspicion, but hear us out."
The two first introduced themselves, "I'm Berk. Martial artist."
"Sean. Elemental Mage. Wind specialization."
The two demonstrated their credibility by showing off aura and wind elemental magic.
Even with magic vision, they weren't deceiving with illusion magic.
Aura and mana couldn't coexist.
Considering that, they'd shown more than half their strength.
"Your rank?"
"Ah, I'm eligible for Senior promotion. This guy's just Regular rank," Berk said.
But being eligible for Senior promotion means you're still just Regular rank, right?
Like a student bragging about getting into a top university through early admission before even taking the entrance exam.
Just like failing the minimum requirements meant rejection, failing the promotion exam meant one was still just a Regular ranked explorer.
"We're also a team without guild or school affiliations. Makes it quite hard to find help."
"Us too."
"Explorers who wear hoods usually have no backing. Those with affiliations tend to show them off. Especially those with strong support."
Berk's explanation was quite plausible.
I mean, it was true that if one had good backing, they would show it off rather than hide it.
"But would three Novices be any help?"
"Hmm, I think you'll be plenty helpful. Right, Sean?"
"Yeah, we just need people to supply me with mana. You're all mages, right? I see that you all have automatic defensive magic, that’s good. However, remember it has the downside of revealing you're mages."
Just a few exchanges showed what kind of insight one could gain from various experiences as an Explorer.
"The reason we need mana—"
"That's enough! Beyond that is trade secret," Sean cut off sharply.
Trade secret, huh?
Worried we might just take the information and go off on our own?
"Give us some time to think about it."
After saying that, I led our team a bit away from them.
We were on the same wavelength now.
Leaf immediately constructed a barrier to block sound.
Though cruder than those of Holson, who specialized in barrier magic as a Sanctuarier, it was sufficient for blocking sound.
"Are we really going to follow them?"
I shrugged at Rei's question.
"Doesn't seem bad? We were planning to go to the Floating Island anyway."
"My instincts tell me this."
Rei crossed her fingers.
While usually meaning good luck, it could also mean deception.
Though the exact usage differs, among Explorers it was a hand signal meaning “it's a trap,” or “it's a lie.”
"I think so too."
"I know."
They tried various deceptions, showing off aura and casually using magic.
But one would have to be an idiot to trust someone just because of that.
Having been enslaved once for being far too trusting, I couldn't trust them even if I wanted to.
"Well, we can just bolt if there's trouble."
With Axis-enhanced Blink, I could reduce the mana cost for coordinate measurement enough to transport both of them somehow.
"True. Either way, Rei and I could probably handle them ourselves."
Rei's not being honest either.
She could just say she wants to see the Floating Island too.
"Really... are we just trusting Roman? Okay then."
That settles it.
§
"Hey~ good decision."
When we indicated our intention to join, Berk's face lit up with enthusiastic welcome.
"When else would we get to see the Floating Island?"
"That's true."
I played along with Berk's words.
"The Floating Island we found is quite far though."
"Hmm."
"Hey, there you go again. It's not some kind of bait or anything."
Berk was quite a cheerful person.
The days of travel weren't boring thanks to Berk's entertaining retellings of his experiences.
Sean occasionally added comments, suggesting they'd been teammates for quite a while.
"With Sean? Yeah, it's been a while. Three years now?"
"About four."
"Already? Time sure does fly. Basically right after getting our licenses."
"Pretty much."
As they started reminiscing between themselves, we had our own conversation.
"Looks like we're almost there?"
Rei pointed upward.
A Floating Island drifting above.
We could definitely feel how close it was now.
"It's quite high."
Leaf, speaking while extending her staff with one eye closed, looked quite like a surveyor.
"Oh... Leaf, you know triangulation too?"
I suddenly recalled that Leaf was indeed a mage.
Honestly, I thought she was like me—just asking spirits to do everything.
Is she doing proper mage-like calculations through surveying?
"Eh, ehehe, I'm just copying what I've seen..."
Ah...
"Hey, we're almost there. Let's begin."
Unlike Berk calling us, Sean was drawing a magic circle on the ground.
'Looks like a summoning circle?'
Though there are differences, the overall structure was similar to Devil Summoning Circle.
Of course, it could just be a magic circle for amplifying magical effects.
Are they planning to use us as sacrifices?
While I was carefully examining the magic circle with such thoughts, Rei asked Berk, "Couldn't we get closer to the Floating Island?"
"Ah, we could, but he says this distance is better."
Berk pointed at Sean.
Sean, having completed the magic circle, explained, "I'm going to summon my familiar to ride up."
"Familiar? You're a Summoner?"
"Most Elemental Mages multi-class."
Like Alexandra who handled multiple elements or those who dabbled in completely different classes.
Elemental Mages focusing on just one element were actually less common.
"Anyway, my familiar has a large maintenance mana cost."
"So you want us to share the mana cost?"
"That's right."
Sean stepped aside and guided us to the magic circle.
Three blank spaces among the characters densely filled the outer circle.
A structure where we'd share the mana burden by writing our names and providing mana there.
"There don't seem to be... any traps," Leaf whispered as she approached.
I thought the same.
Sean wasn't stepping out either.
It was structured with Sean as the main tank and us as sub-tanks.
"Alright. Let's write."
Ray seemed to share the same thought, writing her name decisively.
Leaf and I followed, completing the magic circle.
"Very decisive. I'll proceed with the summoning."
Sean began chanting.
And with the summoning call, a huge shadow appeared with magical light and covered us.
Something diamond-shaped floating in the sky.
To us looking up at it, Sean proudly said, "First time seeing one, right? Understandable. It lives on the Third Floor of the Abyss. This is..."
"A sting ray?"
"Yes, a sting ra... huh?"
"It's definitely a sting ray."
The size was different but it looked exactly like one.
If we had to be specific, maybe a Charismatic Big Ray?
I think I saw whale-sized sting rays in old documentaries. Is it like that?
But there was a huge difference between sting rays and Sean's familiar.
This one's flying in the sky.
"No, wrong! It's a Stormray!"
"Stormray...?"
Muttering that name, Leaf turned toward Rei.
Rei, noticing Leaf's glance, spoke irritably, "I know what you're thinking, and I'll kill you if you say it."
"...Pfft."
Leaf covered her smiling mouth under her hood.
That was the limit of Rei's patience.
"Die!"
Ignoring the squabbling of my teammates, I examined the sting ray.
"Can we ride this?"
"Yeah, my magic will lift us up. But shouldn't we stop them?"
"Aren't kids supposed to grow through fighting? They'll stop on their own."
They're both so childish.
I absolutely didn't think anything like, “What if Rei goes out on a stormy day? Storm-Rei!” or anything like that.
"So we're riding this to the Floating Island."
"Right. I can fly since I'm a wind Elemental Mage, but it's too much to carry others up. I'm not particularly strong in mana."
So that was why they needed us as mana shuttles.
"Hey, Leaf, Rei. That's enough, come here. Let's go up."
"...Huff, I'll get you later."
"Hic, pfft, Storm-Rei..."
"Argh! The letters are different!" [Yep, final straw I needed to change Ray → Rei. Been thinking about it for a while.]
Somehow we managed to get on the Stormray using Sean's wind.
I suggested just landing it for us to board it but apparently that uses more mana.
Once everyone was on the Stormray's back, it took flight.
And shortly after beginning the flight, Berk and Sean's demeanor suddenly changed.
"Ha, what annoying people."
"But it worked out well."
Sean chuckled at Berk's irritated words.
"What's this? Too tired to speak already? Their mana pools must be tiny."
"Seems beast-folk are no different. Well, they're amateurs who can't even properly see mana formula structures."
They spoke as if they were certain we were already incapacitated.
"Then let's relieve some stress. Pretending to be nice was such a pain."
"Take it easy. They should be in mana depletion. Without defensive, one hit could kill them."
"I know. How many times have we done this?"
So the magic circle wasn't just for sharing mana but for draining excess?
I thought the magic circle looked strange, and sure enough.
However, unfortunately for them, we were a team overflowing with mana.
"You should keep your pranks in moderation."
"Huh?"
Undine took form gathering moisture from the air, and silver light enveloped Ray's fists.
Mana depletion?
The scene seemed to scream, “What's that?”
"Eh? Ehhh?"
Sean finally let out an amazed gasp.
Finally, noticed, huh?
A bit late on the uptake, aren’t ya?
Sean frantically tried to draw up his mana but nothing happened.
"What's wrong, Sean!"
"T-this... my mana, my mana...!"
The magic circle takes more mana from us.
If I had to explain it in simple turns, say the three of us together put in 9 mana. Sean would then be forced to put in 1 mana.
However, that meant if I alone put in 9 mana, Ray and Leaf didn't need to contribute while Sean must put in 1, and if I put in 90, Sean must put in 10.
"What's wrong, having mana problems?" I mockingly asked the panting Sean.
Sean desperately tried to reverse the summoning without even answering my question, but it was futile.
A master who couldn't provide mana couldn't be called a master.
The moment Sean was out, control of this familiar transferred to me, who was providing the most mana.
In other words.
This Storm-Rei belongs to me now!