Crackle. Hoooo...
The explosion decimated the area, its embers reaching out to the sky.
The heat of the fire caused the air to bend and twist.
Its rage affected the forest, causing it to spread among the trees.
Amidst the aftermath, in a region that should not have welcomed life, a branch broke on the concrete.
Crunch. Step. Step.
"Phew... that was unexpected" Klein looked at himself and his torn clothes, sighing regretfully.
He would have lost a lot more than his army uniform had he been a little closer to the explosion. He didn't have enough mana to supply his shield for it to withstand something of that caliber.
He was only a 3rd circle mage after all.
Klein looked around, past the burning bodies and half-surviving civilians, moaning in pain with what little energy they had.
"Ah!" Klein spotted what he was looking for a little further away from him.
He approached it, crouching down and picking it up.
'My cool hat'.
Klein stood, fixing the hat on his head.
"Hey... brat..." Captain West sat against a tree, weakly gesturing for him to approach.
'Yikes, he don't look too good' Klein approached and tried casting the soul link spell to communicate.
'Ah...' Klein lamented.
He was completely out of mana.
Shielding the explosion, even at a distance, seemed too much for him.
'Well, suppose I can humor a dying man'
The man's arm had blown away, along with half of his face.
"Hm?" Klein walked up to him and crouched, meeting him at eye level.
The army captain spoke between weak breaths, and Klein attempted to catch the foreign-sounding syllables. He occasionally responded with an "Uh-huh" or an "M-hmm", pretending that he understood.
Eventually, the captain's eyes lost its luster, and his body slumped to the side.
"Phew..." Klein got up and looked around. There was hardly anyone in decent condition, but those that were had already run into the forest, which was beginning to blaze. The once imposing griffins had also died in the explosion, leaving flaming or charred corpses.
"Quite hot in here, huh." Klein retrieved his knife as he walked, his foot stumbling upon an M16A4.
He stared at it, and it seemed to glance back at him.
He gulped, turning his head this way and that to ensure no one was looking.
He swiftly picked it up and held the weapon in his arms, imitating the manner in which he had seen the alien warriors do it.
Klein then began searching the beast corpses for any magi-crystals, but unfortunately, he only managed to retrieve one more.
After all, It was too much of an ask to walk further into the blazing inferno of...
'What did they call it? A gas station?' Klein shuddered. It seemed like alien architecture had the tendency to explode. Klein swore that he would remain as cautious as possible the next time he encountered anything alien-related.
The fire was blazing all around him, and Klein was beginning to feel suffocated.
He tried to get a better look around him in the blistering heat for anything he could use to get out of his current predicament.
And then he saw it...
There, between the crackles of flames, upon the grass, demanding Klein's attention, remaining proud and arrogant, stood an armored personal carrier.
'... An Ay Pee See' Klein's eyes shone. That piece of alien craftsmanship did not seem to catch the flames, nor did it seem like it was going to explode.
He quickly ran towards it in excitement, his palm scalding as he opened its entrance.
"... Hot hot hot" Klein blew on his hands even as he closed the door and began to operate the vehicle.
He had seen how that alien warrior had done it, and he had been intently observing that man's actions in order to learn how to ride.
And now was the time for him to maneuver the fascinating carriage.
Vrrr...
He succeeded in starting the engine, and he hurried it along, pushing his foot down on the pedal and turning the steering wheel slightly.
To Klein's delight, it began to drive in the way Klein had intended, earning himself a joyous smile.
He drove through an area where the flames were less dense, for while he loved the APC, he didn't trust it entirely.
'You never know with alien stuff', that was a lesson he had learned the hard way.
As he drove, Klein pondered on a few things.
'I wonder how many managed to run away. I didn't see Dave anywhere, or the other guy' He thought back to Lieutenant Sid and his first alien friend who had the magical rectangle.
"But first, I should probably learn some alien things. 'English' and 'Precise engineering' should be at the top of the list. Can't keep using soul-link whenever I have to converse. What did the warrior say? A library..." He began talking to himself and continued to do so without stopping, allowing himself to internalize his plans for the future.
"...I need to learn about their warriors. I should also go and find more of them, and pretend to be an alien if I wanna learn more things about their combat methods" Klein sighed, thinking of all the work on his list, but then smiled.
It had been a long time since he had any hope for the future, but the recent disaster had presented so many opportunities for him.
He had thought that he would remain a mediocre mage, never improving beyond his limit, and never being able to accomplish his heart's most ardent desire...
But with the number of new things he had seen today, his mind had opened up to infinite possibilities. It had barely been a full day, but he was already thinking about ways he could utilize alien knowledge for his own benefit.
"Oh, and after all's said and done, I should go back to the Academy and pay Mr. Weathers a visit" Klein had a childish expectation for the future.
That he would be able to return to the old man as an accomplished and renowned combat mage who had managed to complete a seemingly impossible goal.
"I'd like to see the look on his face, hahaha" He chuckled as he finally escaped the influence of the raging blaze behind him, discovering a broken alien road to drive more smoothly on.
Traveling further into the distance.
And so, the laughter of a lunatic wizard wearing a tattered and charred army uniform rang along a deserted road.