Chapter 25
At Jake's answer...
Jessica broke into a bright smile.
"Wow!"
"So I don't have to start calling you 'Mage' or 'Sir Mage' now, right?"
"No."
Jake smiled.
"Just call me what you always do."
Perhaps because she had already been shocked so many times...
Jessica simply seemed happy that Jake had become a mage.
"Then can we finally take the treasure and leave the dungeon?"
"No."
Jake's eyes briefly turned cold.
"There's one thing I need to take care of first."
The two left the underground chamber containing the magic circle.
Then they headed toward the massive dungeon where the expedition team was still descending.
They entered the larger dungeon through what looked like an ordinary wall.
With Jake guiding her...
The two rapidly moved through the enormous dungeon.
Not long afterward...
They stopped in front of a newly opened door.
-This passage leads to the food storage facility.
Fatima spoke inside Jake's mind.
-As expected, it opened when the mage's room was unlocked.
Jake could now understand her without any translation magic.
He ignored Fatima for the moment and explained to Jessica.
"When the Reality Replication Magic Circle copied both dungeons..."
"It dragged the entire expedition into that world along with us."
Jake raised the wand.
"But humans weren't the only things caught inside."
The wand began shining brightly.
Jessica looked startled by the sudden spell.
Jake stared down the corridor behind the door with a dark smile.
The light illuminated the passage far ahead.
There...
A black scorpion about the size of a wild dog stopped moving.
The sudden light had surprised it.
"They were Burrowing Scorpions."
Jake continued.
"They dug tunnels all over the place."
"Eventually, they discovered the food storage room protected by preservation magic and made their nest there."
"Then they were dragged into the replicated world along with the dungeon."
What followed...
Was a brutal struggle for survival between humans and monsters.
A hell where both sides killed and ate one another.
The expedition team was wiped out.
Amber died.
Jessica died.
-I had no idea something like that would happen.
Fatima apologized.
-I'm sorry.
-I truly didn't expect it.
Jake did not accept her apology.
Inside the replicated world...
He had forgiven everything.
But the Fatima who had existed inside that world...
And the Fatima here...
Were technically different.
Jake intended to use this chance to knock some of the arrogance out of her.
-We'll talk about that later.
-For now, keep the light active.
Jake made Fatima maintain the Light spell.
Then he drew his crossbow with his free hand.
He began casting magic on it.
"Mana gathers within my hands and awakens existence."
"Existence follows repeated law and moves once more."
"Recall your memory."
As Jake spoke...
A strange light appeared around the crossbow.
A moment later...
He aimed the weapon toward the Burrowing Scorpion beginning to move.
Jessica looked confused.
There was not even a bolt loaded.
"Load."
At Jake's command...
The crossbow string drew itself back.
A bolt flew out of the quiver on his back.
It loaded itself into the weapon.
Jessica's eyes widened.
"You made a magic item?"
Jake shook his head.
"No."
"It's being moved by magic."
"But it isn't a magic item."
It looked almost exactly like one.
But unlike a magic item that anyone could use...
This crossbow only moved because Jake was directly controlling it through magic.
"Magic can do things like that?"
Jessica stared.
She had only ever seen ordinary offensive magic.
Fireballs.
Ice arrows.
Things like that.
Jake's magic seemed completely bizarre to her.
But to an ancient mage...
This was perfectly normal.
Magic items themselves were simply objects enchanted so that people other than mages could use magic placed on them.
Unlike modern mages...
Or rather, magical technicians...
Jake, as an ancient mage, could directly place magic on objects in a similar way.
Jake pulled the trigger.
The small scouting scorpion was pierced by the bolt.
He walked past the dead black scorpion.
Jessica followed.
Then she tilted her head.
"Why do you look like that?"
"My idea of a mage is just really different."
Jessica answered.
"Every mage I know throws fireballs or ice arrows."
"But you..."
She pointed at his weapon.
"You just shoot a crossbow."
"Using mana would be a waste."
Jake shrugged.
"If an ordinary bolt can kill it, why convert mana into flame just to shoot it?"
Then he admitted,
"Though I suppose using magic to pull the string because I was short on hands was also a bit showy."
Behind Jake...
The bolt pulled itself free from the dead scorpion.
It flew through the air...
And slipped neatly back into his quiver.
"And I'll show you some proper magic soon."
Jake stared toward the far end of the passage.
A meaningful smile appeared on his face.
Jessica looked slightly uncomfortable.
She was having trouble adjusting to the Jake who had suddenly changed so much.
"Don't worry."
Jake spoke without turning around, as if reading her thoughts.
"I'm not different from before."
He paused.
"I'm just a little excited because I finally have a chance to repay a debt."
Hearing the same familiar voice as before...
Jessica relaxed.
"Still..."
She looked down.
"Now that you've suddenly become some amazing mage, it feels like it'll be hard for me to keep up."
Her casual words accidentally revealed her true feelings.
She was afraid Jake might leave her behind...
Just as Conrad had.
Jake could have reassured her again.
Instead...
He changed the subject.
"Once we leave the dungeon, you should start training too."
"Training?"
"You need to learn how to use mana."
Jessica stared at him.
"What?"
"You think I'm Conrad?"
"Only geniuses become mana users."
"Jessica."
Jake looked directly at her.
"You're a genius."
"I'll turn you into a mana user within two months."
Jessica froze.
"Huh?"
"You weren't joking?"
Jake spoke with absolute certainty.
Jessica became completely confused.
But Jake was confident.
Inside the replicated world...
Jessica had successfully awakened mana.
Jake had watched the entire process beside her.
He understood her talent very well.
Of course, it's going to be an extremely painful two months...
From Jake's perspective...
Watching it would probably be quite entertaining.
The corridor was long.
Jake and Jessica encountered several more Burrowing Scorpions.
As they approached the storage facility...
The scorpions became progressively larger.
Still...
None of them could stop the two.
As the scorpions grew larger...
Their shells became tougher.
But they still could not withstand the bolts Jake and Jessica fired.
Jake had enchanted their bolts with reinforcement magic.
The faintly glowing projectiles pierced even shells too hard for swords to cut.
Before long...
The two reached the food storage facility.
