A week has passed since I arrived in this world. Saying that I didn't have an easy time in this world would be an absolute lie. With Luna the Witch guiding me, I was able to progress with my Magic Training steadily. As of the current moment, I only know three Spells and two Incantations. I was also able to somewhat master Dragon Lightning.
To be honest, I might have to incorporate Dragon Lightning into my fighting style with just how powerful this Skill is. Not only does it make anything imbued with it powerful, I can even use it on myself, but it also converts or imbues the damage dealt by that object with Dragon Lightning. This means that not only is my base damage enhanced, it also adds another stack of damage above that.
That's not my favorite part of it though. My favorite part is how Dragon Lightning can boost my speed. If my normal sealed speed is ten times faster than a normal Shattered. With Dragon Lightning, that's raised to twenty-five. With my body being surrounded by lightning and leaving a trail of lightning, I can mask my speed as something the skill does to me.
"That should be enough for today, great job, Ashborne." I was snapped out of my thoughts when Luna called out to me. I looked behind me and caught the towel that she threw right at me. "Even with that body of yours, you still sweat huh."
"Kinda glad that I still do really. That grounds me to being a bit human at the very least."
"That's fair."
For the past few days, I've been sleeping on the same bed as Luna. I could have just made another bed with Creation, but there isn't really any room to put the bed. I suggested the room where we met or the room below that, but she refused.
She kept telling me to sleep on the same bed as her, saying that it will deepen our relationship. I don't get why she's accelerating something like that… but nevertheless, our relationship did grow a bit. We were friends as of the current moment, which is better than being tested with an Ice Shard level relationship.
"How's your progress in creating 'those'?" Luna as me as she began to be touchy. And by that I mean she started to hug me from behind.
"Still no luck. The magical structure inside is just too complex to recreate. Not to mention that even one mistake will cause a malfunction in the magic sequence."
"I see… I should have expected this. Even with Creation, making 'those' really is a hard task."
"Yup…"
I sighed and just leaned back. Might as well accept her embrace. When I did accept it, she tightened the embrace even more. If there's anything I've learned about her prowess in this past week, it's her monstrous physical strength. I could practically feel my ribs shattering, but the damage was instantly healed. Even if I couldn't feel the pain, it still feels weird.
I just waited until she finally got her fill. Standing up I decided to go around the premises of the forest for a bit. Using Dragon Lightning, red lightning surrounded my body as I ran to the very edge of the forest, the same place where I saw the knight.
What I saw instead though was a camp instead. Stopping just a few ways off the camp, I hid behind some nearby bushes. Just what are they doing here?
"Captain, still no signs of Goetia."
'Goetia?'
'It is the name of a world destroyer that is said to arrive in this world. In short, it's you, Ashborne.'
That… shook me, to say the least. I was familiar with that name after all. It came from Ars Goetia, one of the five books under The Lesser Key of Solomon. This book contained seventy-two demons. For me to be named after a book… One with demons as well…
'Wait, how are you in my head-'
'Psyche Magic. It's forbidden so I'll never teach you this.' Luna said without a second thought.
'Damnit.'
With a sigh, I continued observing the camp and noticed something weird. With my training from Luna, I was able to learn how to see Mana, and what I'm seeing is just that. Vials, no, there's barrels filled with liquefied Mana. Those… pisses me off.
Liquefied Mana is a way for an individual to replenish their Mana on the spot and is widely used by the people in Starfall… But Luna told me a horrifying truth about them. To get Liquefied Mana, someone must be drained of their Mana and that drained Mana is put into a container. A single person can be drained without a limit as long as they rest enough… It feels as if they're being skinned alive, and no one will care since they're treated like cattle.
'Luna… Since you know about the source of Liquefied Mana, do you know where it's made here in Ternia?'
'Sadly, I cannot pinpoint it. I came close many times, but they're just one step ahead of me. I advise you to not go after them recklessly. Last time I came close, I sensed that a god was with them.'
That makes things more difficult for me then. I want to save whoever's being treated as livestock, but we don't even know where they are. I should set this as my very first task in this world. If I were to really rule this land, then I'll do my best to make the land better before that.
I stood up from my position and just as I started to walk away, I sensed something charging up a magic spell right towards me.
"No hostility… what could they want?"
-x-???-x-
"Are you sure about this, teacher?" I asked the man with gray hair in front of me. He had sharp ears signifying that he was an Elf. From what I've heard, Elves were a wise race that preferred seclusion more than anything else. However, I met my teacher one day while our village was raided by goblins. He said that I'll pave the way for a good Goetia. I don't know what that means, from the legends told to me by my parents, Goetia is deemed as "He Who Shall Burn the World".
"You'll see just why this is exciting me, dear student. He's finally here, after all." He said as he aimed his spell at something I could not see. He just said he'll shoot there and for me to wait.
Just before my teacher could even finish charging the spell though, a streak of red lightning passed between as. Then right after… death. The feeling of death was all I could feel. I could tell that my teacher was feeling this as well as his legs were shaking profusely.
"Who are you two and what do you want?" said a voice from behind us. I looked behind me and saw… a man, maybe around 18 or 19, who had pitch black hair and dark-purple eyes. He was as tall as me or maybe a bit taller, so around 5'5. What caught my attention more though was the red lightning surrounding his body. I've seen that in a dream before, one where I-
"You're finally here! Ahaha, Artoria, Goetia's finally in Starfall!" My thoughts were interrupted by my teacher suddenly screaming with joy. "The Great Merlin finally met He Who Shall Burn the World!"
I couldn't help but chuckle at his childlike behavior, but dread came washing down on me again as I realized what he had just said.
"You're… Goetia?!?!"