Chapter 41: Run through the forest

Rudy and Carl were riding on an aero bike, dashing through the forest.

Rudy, equipped with a three-dimensional terrain map from Nike, and the aero bike receiving safety support functions through its electronic brain, swiftly maneuvered through the trees at speeds exceeding 70 km/h.

Initially, Carl would scream every time it seemed like they would collide with a tree. However, being a seasoned warrior, he gradually got used to it and began to enjoy the current situation.

“Wow, this thing is amazing! I had no idea we could go this fast!”

“We’re slowing down because we’re in the forest. When we’re serious, we can go up to 350 km/h!”

“I don’t really understand what that speed means, but I know we can go even faster!”

As they rode the aero bike, they noticed a fallen tree ahead.

“Lower your head!”

Following Rudy’s command, Carl ducked his head as the aero bike swiftly passed under the fallen tree.

“Woohoo!”

Carl looked back, sweating coldly. However, a smile adorned his face.

“So, how much longer until we reach the village?”

“Normally, it would take around two hours by going all the way around. But we’re taking a shortcut.”

“A shortcut… You don’t mean jumping over a cliff, do you?”

Carl was astonished by Rudy’s words. Between the entrance of the forest and Noemi’s house, there was a cliff that split the land. Usually, to get from the village to Noemi’s house, they would have to make a large detour to the south, avoiding the cliff.

“That’s exactly what I mean!”

However, Rudy answered that they would indeed jump over the cliff.

Carl was taken aback by Rudy’s response, but he immediately thought of Nina.

“I entrusted my life to this guy. It’s too late to start getting scared now!”

His momentary hesitation quickly vanished, and Carl shouted loudly to Rudy.

“All right, go for it!”

“Don’t wet your pants from being scared!”

In response to Carl’s remark, Rudy shouted back at him.

As the cliff approached, Rudy increased the speed of the aero bike.

Narrowly passing through the gaps between the trees, a 60-meter wide gap in the earth appeared in front of them.

“Hold on tight!”

Carl clung to Rudy’s body.

The forest leaves that covered the bike disappeared, and the aero bike shone under the sunlight.

The aero bike soared high into the air.

Overwhelmed by the sudden brightness of the sun, Carl’s vision recovered, and he realized they were flying over the edge of the cliff.

“Whoa!”

Excited by the experience of flying, Carl shouted with joy.

Looking down from the cliff, he saw a river flowing far below. Looking up, he noticed the opposite cliff drawing closer.

The aero bike landed on the other side of the cliff and bounced.

While twisting the brake grip, Rudy brought the aero bike to a stop.

“That was quite dangerous.”

“Yeah…”

Although Carl had a great time flying through the air, a cold sweat streamed down his whole body as he looked back and reflected on the experience.

“Rudy, we might have gotten carried away.”

“Yeah… I feel the same way. It’s my fault for provoking you when we left.”

Rudy blamed Noemi for their recklessness, and then, slightly reducing their speed, they raced through the forest once again.

“Atchoo!”

Meanwhile, Noemi, who had received unwarranted criticism from Rudy, was on the terrace of her house, letting out a loud sneeze.

“Noemi-sama, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Franz expressed his concern, but Noemi waved her hand, assuring him that everything was fine.

Noemi had said that she would show Franz her magic, but she had never taken on an apprentice or guided anyone before. Even Rudy, the only person she had taken as an apprentice, couldn’t use magic due to a lack of mana. The extent of Noemi’s role as his mentor was limited to talking about magic during drinking sessions.

Noemi had doubts about her suitability as a teacher, but since Rudy seemed satisfied, saying that “theory is important,” she thought, “Well, I guess it’s fine.”

So, Noemi, who had never taught anyone before, asked Franz to show his magic and created a humanoid target in the yard using magic.

Franz, surprised that Noemi effortlessly created the target with earth magic, answered, “Understood,” and demonstrated his proficiency in wind magic, his specialty, aiming at the target.

From Noemi’s perspective, Franz, who boasted about it, was indeed talented. He maintained the power, minimized mana consumption, and displayed sufficient concentration, hitting the target with his wind blades without missing.

While watching Franz’s magic, Noemi recalled the time when they were the same age.

Back then, I used magic without thinking about consumption… Wait! There’s nothing to teach him!

Realizing that there was nothing particular to teach him, Noemi held her head in her hands.

On the other hand, no matter how many times Franz hit the target with his magic without breaking it, he felt frustrated.

“Huh?! It still won’t break… How much mana did she pour into that doll?”

The humanoid target made by Noemi’s abundant mana was so sturdy that Franz couldn’t break it no matter how much effort he put in.

Although Franz’s evaluation of Noemi had risen due to this, the person herself was completely unaware and was lamenting.

“Okay, let’s take a break here.”

“Ah, sure.”

After Noemi had seen Franz’s magic, she led him to a table on the terrace and had him sit down.

“I have a sports drink for you.”

“Sports? Huh? Oh, thank you.”

When Franz sat down, Solairis offered him a cold sports drink.

“…It’s delicious.”

Feeling uneasy about the white beverage he had never seen before, Franz decided that it probably wasn’t poisoned and drank more than half of it, finding it surprisingly tasty.

“So, Naraku-sama, how was my magic?” (T/N: Another name, how many does Noemi have?!)

“…It was average.”

As Noemi responded to Franz’s question, he visibly slumped in disappointment.

“Just average…”

“You have the basics down. Now… you need to add some creativity. Earlier, you just threw wind blades, but if you add originality to it, it becomes more interesting.”

“Creativity?”

Not understanding how to add creativity to a simple wind blade spell, Franz tilted his head in confusion.

“For example, Franz’s wind blades were transparent, but even if you sense mana, you can’t tell where they’re coming from. So, try adding colors to the blades. Humans prioritize visual cues over mana sensing, so if you shoot blades with colors and then split them to generate colorless blades, the opponents often focus on the colored blades and don’t notice the colorless ones. Like this.”

After explaining, Noemi recited an incantation herself and shot out red-colored wind blades. The wind blades flew straight toward the target but bounced up along the way, missing the target. However, unnoticed by Franz, colorless blades were created from the colored blades and sliced the target vertically.

“…Amazing.”

Witnessing Noemi’s magic for the first time, Franz was amazed by the creativity of the magic and the power that effortlessly split the target he had tried to destroy.

“Anyway, that’s the idea.”

“I find it helpful.”

Franz looked at Noemi with eyes full of admiration.

“…Now, let’s focus on the theory. Let’s think together about what kind of variations we can create from your magic.”

“Yes!”

Franz understood the meaning of “theory” that he had heard from Rudy and nodded.

On the other hand, Noemi, while thinking, “Is this really okay?” was content with Franz’s satisfaction and thought, “Well, I guess it’s fine.”