Soph protested, but he was the one who suggested turning the staff into a stone spear
Before we left the base.
The mage led me to a secluded place and had me attach the black stone to the spear.
When I hung the black stone on the spear, Soph cast a spell.
It was magic that changed the shape of the black stone. The black stone, which had looked like a pebble, gradually began to change.
As the black stone transformed into the shape of a spearhead, Soph spoke.
[When you went to Earth, you hung the black stone on it to use magic, didn’t you? In truth, the black stone is needed here as well.
As you saw when repairing the black stone, a modified black stone can not only release energy, but absorb it too.]
Soph’s explanation ended along with the spell.
The spearhead looked like a beautifully shining, translucent jewel, but...
In the end, it was a stone spear.
As I watched the spear, it began absorbing the energy I possessed.
Whoooosh.
The black stone attached to the spear tip was devouring my energy.
I tried to stop the flow of energy.
Soph stopped me.
[A modified black stone can be used as a separate temporary storage without touching the energy inherent in the black stone itself. It can store far more energy than a mage possesses.]
What Soph meant was that a battery that couldn’t be charged had, after modification, become a charger capable of both charging and discharging.
The black stone hanging from the stone spear was one modified in that way.
Just as Soph said, the black stone continued absorbing until my energy was nearly depleted.
Even after leaving the base, I filled the black stone with energy whenever I had the chance.
I had spent half a day charging the black stone with energy, and now it was time to show the result.
The spear flew swiftly and dropped into the center of the rabbit monsters scattering in every direction.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The rabbit monsters scattered quickly, but I did not lose sight of them.
They were moving fast enough to dodge arrows, and several of them were moving at the same time, but I kept up with every movement.
It was partly because my senses had grown stronger, but detecting and tracking enemies had been my specialty even before.
As the spear approached the ground, Soph’s voice sounded faintly.
[Lightning Net!]
At Soph’s words, lightning poured out from the spear.
It was not a single bolt like last time.
There were nine in total.
The same number as the scattering rabbit monsters.
Crackle!
The lightning spread out like a net and struck every monster I had targeted.
Kiiiiiiek!
The rabbit monsters struck by lightning screamed.
Their bodies trembled violently, and in the end, they collapsed while giving off smoke.
Every rabbit monster that had been scattering had fallen.
My companions, who had been preparing to fight, stared at me in surprise.
Hanna, who had been delighted after catching a rabbit monster with her bow, was no different.
“What on earth was that?”
Tom asked as he lowered his shield.
“How many times are you planning to shock us...? At least give us some time to be surprised by Hanna’s bow.”
Margreta pouted as she shook the rope she had taken out.
Hanna, who had somehow retrieved her arrow, was looking at me with admiration in her eyes.
Under everyone’s gaze, I shrugged and walked toward where the spear was stuck.
I had been hiding my abilities all this time, but I could not keep hiding them forever.
Now that I had become the leader of the exploration team, I could not put the team in danger by concealing my skills.
At the very least, within this exploration team, I intended to show what I could do.
Of course, I would not reveal Soph or certain other secrets, but I still intended to display my actual ability sufficiently.
There remained the problem of my abilities becoming known outside the exploration team.
But that seemed controllable.
“Hmm. You have more secrets than I thought. This must be another ability of that spear relic, right?”
Perhaps because she was bound by contract, Margreta was pleased by my strength, which was greater than she had expected.
She found the reason I could use magic on her own.
And it was not exactly an incorrect deduction.
It seemed there would be no need to explain it to her separately.
For the sake of her own interests, she would keep the secret.
There was no need to even mention Hanna.
Seeing her eyes sparkle, making Hanna keep the secret looked far easier than dealing with Margreta.
‘What’s left is Tom’s mouth.’
When I looked at Tom, Margreta made a circle with her fingers.
“Tom needs money. I’ll handle Tom myself.”
Indeed, most things could be solved with money.
Since Margreta was stepping forward, there was no need to worry for the time being.
The problem seemed to have been resolved, so I walked toward the spear.
The spear had flown far.
Only after walking for quite a while was I able to retrieve it.
I grabbed the spear and frowned.
“This won’t do if it’s like this...”
There was no energy left in the black stone.
With a single spell, all the dark energy I had stored in the black stone had vanished.
The black stone’s own energy remained, but if I used that, I would have to return to the terraforming ruins.
I would have to repair the durability that had been shaved away there.
Perhaps the staff’s energy had been used up as well, because Soph was silent.
At this rate, it would be difficult to use magic for a while.
“As expected, it’s a one-shot spell.”
It was an impressive and powerful spell, but it had limits.
In truth, it did not need to be this strong.
When Soph woke up, I would have to ask him how to divide the energy usage.
The smell of barbecue drifted in on the wind.
It was the smell of rabbit meat cooked by lightning.
“Let’s eat before we move.”
It was just about mealtime.
We decided to eat on the spot.
The rabbit monster cooked by lightning was tastier than expected.
Once we added spices brought from Earth, it tasted even better than the meat I had eaten on Earth.
“It’s really delicious. If we could send this to Earth, I think it would sell for an absurd price.”
Unlike the impression she had given at first, Hanna was inhaling the meat without a care.
I shook my head at Hanna’s words.
“No matter how tasty it is, moving this all the way to Earth is impossible.”
It might be different if people like me were common, but it would be difficult to transport monster meat all the way to Earth just for gourmet food.
“No. As unsightly as it is, there really are people who eat it.”
Margreta, who had been talking with Tom while eating meat, cut into my words.
When I looked at her at the sudden remark, one of her eyebrows had risen sharply.
Judging by her expression, it seemed she had thought of someone unpleasant.
“Those people who only know money and power. When I see them wedging themselves in the middle and lining their own pockets, it makes me want to quit on the spot.”
It seemed America was no different from Korea.
After we finished eating and rested for a short while, Soph woke up.
[I never imagined I would faint. I thought I could control that much... Is it a memory problem?]
At my question, Soph clicked his tongue.
[I would like to get angry and call that nitpicking, but this time I cannot.]
What I had said half as a joke received a serious answer.
[I never imagined you would target all of them.
There were nine, so I thought you would miss at least a few. To think you wouldn’t miss a single one...]
I was left speechless by Soph’s sincere admiration.
[Thanks to that, I used far too much energy. This is my fault for misjudging your skill.]
And on top of that, an honest apology.
With an awkward expression, I looked at the spear.
[Your targeting skill is the finest talent a battle mage could have. If even half of that talent existed in your magic, you could become an archmage...]
However, this time as well, it ended as a lament about my magical ability.
By now, the mage’s complaints no longer bothered me.
I decided to erase the final words from my mind and remember only his praise.
[This stone... spear will be of great help on Earth as well. You can charge it with dark energy here before going, and if it runs short, you can use the black stone’s inherent energy while accepting a loss in durability.]
On top of that, it seemed this black stone would also be useful on Earth.
Simply swapping it for the black stone had made the spear extraordinarily powerful.
As expected, Soph was an amazing and excellent archmage.
After listening to Soph’s explanation, we got to our feet.
Then, after packing up all the deliciously roasted monster meat, the exploration team set out again.
Like that, one day passed, and then two.
The farther west we continued, the rougher the road became.
The ground was soggy and full of moisture.
It was hard to find a proper path.
“The ground is getting worse. It’s uncomfortable to walk. If it gets any worse, it’ll be difficult to walk in our current shoes.”
Fortunately, thanks to the items stored in the box, sleeping was not a problem.
I thought back over the items I had stored in the box.
Leather, cords, even thin bones. It was enough.
“We can make overshoes. We have plenty of materials.”
At my words, Tom nodded.
As the path grew rough, everyone tired quickly.
The number of times we looked for water also increased.
While drinking water taken from the box, Margreta asked,
“We’re fine because we brought it in the box, but drinking water must be a problem for others. Could they purify and drink the water on this ground?”
At her words, Soph shouted loudly.
[No! If they drink it, they will die.]
Only I heard it, but I could feel Soph’s desperation.
[I am sorry. I only remembered just now.
This land is contaminated. The Akzar... the monsters contaminated it. Walking over the ground is fine, but you must be careful about drinking the water on the ground or rolling around in the soil.]
At Soph’s belated apology, I could only click my tongue.
I had nothing to say to the claim that he had only just remembered, but this was something we should have known in advance.
After letting out a sigh, I warned the group of the danger, making it sound as if I had confirmed it with my senses.
My senses were becoming more omnipotent by the day, but thanks to the trust I had built so far, the exploration team members believed me.
The danger had increased, but we did not turn back.
Two days had passed since we left the base, and we were already almost there.
We hurried on while being sufficiently cautious.
That afternoon, we were able to arrive at the ruins before making the overshoes.
The ruins we arrived at had been destroyed.
We could see ruined buildings half-buried in the soggy marshland.
On top of that, there were weapons and relics so damaged their shapes were unrecognizable.
It was difficult to find anything intact, let alone usable materials.
A long time had passed, but it was immediately clear that a great battle had taken place here.
As everyone looked at me in disbelief at the absurd sight, Soph’s voice sounded.
[These are the traces of the final battle. Those who guarded this place were all annihilated here.]
[Did you know?]
[Would I have guided you here without knowing the circumstances?]
For someone saying that, he had not known about the contamination of the land.
But it seemed better not to say that.
[Let us go in. There is a separately hidden storehouse. That place should still be safe.]
I led the group into the ruined building.
The inside of the building was also filled with traces of battle.
Naturally, I could not sense any living people.
There were not even skeletons left, only broken armor and weapons scattered about.
And in the center of the ruined building was a huge fossil.
“What is that?”
The group was startled when they saw the fossil.
Perhaps because it was in the marshland, it had not rotted away, but had long since dried into a white husk.
It was the fossil of a bizarre-looking monster.
The group had seen various monsters before, but they could not help being shocked by this fossil.
Because this fossil was different from those monsters.
I was greatly shocked when I saw the fossil as well.
For a different reason than the others.
The reason I was shocked was that I had seen this fossil before.
I had seen this monster in the footage Soph had shown me.
[It is him. Akzar. The monster who destroyed this star.]