......
......
“Whoa~, so that’s how it went down~!”
Semiris listened to Hulim recount her day’s ordeal, her eyes sparkling with unbridled curiosity.
“Hahaha~! That little girl named Fran is such a walking disaster! I bet she won’t be able to sleep soundly for weeks~!”
Staring at the fairy who showed not a shred of sympathy but was clearly relishing Fran’s misfortune, Hulim glanced down at her torn sleeve with a helpless sigh.
“Probably. She looked absolutely terrified......”
After all, when Hulim had handed her over to the guards, the girl had clung to her arm like a lifeline, refusing to let go no matter what—as if everyone else was out to kidnap her.
Though, how was she going to explain this torn sleeve when she got home......
“Never mind Fran, though. Say...... Semiris, why haven’t we done any practical combat training lately? Instead, you’ve just been making me practice the same old magic spells over and over again.”
“Ah——, right about that......”
Semiris cut off her laughter, turning to look at Hulim as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“You’re right. You’ve adjusted well enough by now. It’s high time we move on to the next phase of your training.”
“The next phase?”
“Yep, that’s it. Hulim, you’re ready to start learning Third-Tier Magic.”
“Huh?”
Semiris’s sudden announcement made Hulim’s eyes widen in shock.
“Third-Tier...... You mean...... Has my mana already reached C-Rank?”
Semiris nodded, a playful grin spreading across her face. “It sure has! You hit C-Rank a few days ago. But I held off for a bit to make sure it stabilized—and now your mana is firmly locked in at C-Rank, no doubt about it.”
【Hulim Heyerar
Race: Human (Female)
Age: 9
Vitality: D+-Rank
Mana: C-Rank
Magic Affinity:
Fire Affinity - S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy Queen)
Water Affinity - S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy Queen)
Earth Affinity - S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy Queen)
Wind Affinity - S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy Queen)
Light Affinity - S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy Queen)
Dark Affinity - S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy Queen)
Non-Elemental Affinity - S Rank (Blessing of the Fairy Queen)
......
】
“Third-Tier......”
Hearing Semiris’s confirmation, Hulim was momentarily dazed. Her heartbeat, which had remained steady even during her earlier fight, quickened involuntarily.
C-Rank.
It didn’t sound all that impressive on the surface,
but this rank was worlds apart from D-Rank and E-Rank—levels generally regarded as the domain of novices and amateurs.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
C-Rank, by contrast, was a true mark of a seasoned veteran and a core combatant. Among adventurers, it was synonymous with reliability and strength; in the military, it guaranteed an immediate commission as a squad leader. Simply put, a C-Rank mage was a force to be reckoned with anywhere, and counted as elite among any race.
After all, there were only a handful of publicly known C-Rank individuals in the entire Mentor Town—one of whom was Hulim’s father, Rezelian.
“......Am I really about to reach Father’s level?”
Having a clear benchmark to compare herself against made Hulim finally realize just how far she’d come in such a short time.
“Haha, don’t get ahead of yourself, Hulim! You’re not going to be on par with someone who’s been C-Rank for years overnight! You still have a ton to learn, and......”
“......Training?”
“Bingo! Exactly—training!”
Hulim’s excitement gradually subsided, and she spoke in her usual calm, steady tone.
“I know what I need to do next.”
“Atta girl! That’s the spirit! Worthy of praise!”
Semiris lifted her chin proudly, then slowly rose into the air, her wings glowing with soft green light.
“So then——”
“Let’s kick off your Third-Tier Magic lessons with a bang—by taking flight!”
“Wait...... Semiris, what’s this? What do you mean by ‘taking flight’?”
Hulim stared at the green aura spreading around her, a sudden sense of foreboding creeping over her.
“Haha~! Taking flight means exactly what it sounds like——”
“Off we fly~!”
“EEEEEEK——!!!”
A shrill scream echoed across the forest sky, fading into the distance as Hulim was whisked away at breakneck speed.
......
Whoosh——!
Deep within the Monster Forest.
A swirling gust of wind suddenly plummeted onto the peak of a mountain, sending every creature in the vicinity scrambling for cover in a panic.
“Ugh——!”
Hulim tumbled to the ground, her face pale and her stomach doing somersaults.
“Tsk tsk, Hulim—you’ll have to master flight on your own sooner or later! You can’t go looking like you’re carsick every time! It’s totally unseemly!”
“Semiris, you...... Urk——”
The dizziness was so intense that Hulim nearly threw up the moment she opened her mouth.
She clamped her lips shut, focusing all her energy on steadying her breathing.
After several long minutes, she finally began to feel better, and shot Semiris a resentful glare.
“Semiris, that was way too sudden! You flew so fast I couldn’t even open my eyes!”
“Alright, alright, don’t pout~! I’ll warn you next time, okay?”
Semiris said, completely unapologetic.
“What? There’s going to be a next time......?”
Hulim’s eyes dimmed instantly, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
“Enough about that, though! Look around—what do you think of this place? I searched for ages to find it! No one’s going to bother us out here!”
At Semiris’s words, Hulim finally took notice of her surroundings.
She looked out at the endless expanse of trees stretching as far as the eye could see, with no sign of civilization anywhere.
“Um...... Semiris, where exactly is this?”
“This? Why, it’s the heart of the Monster Forest, of course!”
This was the most dangerous place imaginable!
The Monster Forest was a vast woodland spanning over a dozen countries, including the Pasara Empire. It had earned its name due to the countless monsters that roamed its depths. Rumor had it that it had once borne a different name, but that name had long been forgotten by history, and now only its fearsome title remained.
For most people, the Monster Forest was a forbidden land. Even parties of C-Rank adventurers dared to venture only into its outer regions; only B-Rank and higher elite adventurers had the courage to set foot in its depths.
Mentor Mine had originally been discovered on the very edge of the Monster Forest. The so-called “expansion” efforts were essentially campaigns to conquer parts of the forest—and the cost of such endeavors was staggering. Of course, the rewards were equally immense, which was why the Heyerar family had traveled thousands of miles to participate in them all those years ago.
And now here she was—a mage who had just reached C-Rank—standing in the heart of a place that even imperial armies had once dared not tread......
Hulim glanced at the fairy beside her, who was floating leisurely in the air, looking completely at ease.
Semiris: “?”
Correction—the Fairy Queen.
Suddenly, the depths of the Monster Forest didn’t seem all that terrifying anymore. It was just trees, and more trees.
“Semiris, why did you bring me all the way out here?”
Was her next training session going to be wilderness survival, like what Brother Zieg had put her through?
“Simple! Third-Tier Magic is way too flashy! If we’d trained with it back in town, we’d have drawn attention the second you cast a spell!”
That made perfect sense—a perfectly valid reason.
“But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
“Huh——”
Semiris blinked in surprise, clearly caught off guard by Hulim’s perceptiveness.
“Well...... okay, fine! There are also plenty of suitable opponents lurking around these parts!”
“I knew it. That was bound to be part of the reason.”
Hulim’s calm acceptance left Semiris flustered and speechless.
“Huh?! That’s it? You’re not even surprised?”
“Why should I be surprised? You’re the one who brought me here, after all. Anyway—what’s the first Third-Tier Magic spell I’m going to learn?”
“Ugh......”
Semiris huffed, still miffed by Hulim’s lack of reaction, but quickly got down to business.
“Alright then.”
“Before we dive into Third-Tier Magic, there are a few things I need to tell you, Hulim.”
