"Elder...?"
He was gone.
Not in the underground laboratory, not in bed, not in the vegetable garden.
The only thing visible was the inferno blazing in the distance.
It was only natural that Hio’s urgent steps carried him toward it.
"No way...... It can't be, right?"
It can't be. It can't be.
He repeated it ceaselessly in his mind, but no matter how much he tried to console himself, his anxiety only grew.
He couldn’t even...... afford to worry about Bereuga.
He had no room to even think of the anxiety Bereuga must have felt, suddenly left alone.
No, even if he had possessed such leeway, there was nothing he could have done.
Who could have imagined he would fail the conquest of the Abyss’s 1st Floor, let alone be dragged back to Earth the moment he failed?
"When I see you, I’ll beg your forgiveness on my knees...... so please don’t do anything foolish, Elder."
Without Bereuga, from whom was he supposed to learn magic?
Every magic tome available in the point shop was written entirely in the ancient language.
Hio’s level was barely that of someone who had just learned the alphabet.
There were no mages besides Bereuga, and textbooks for magic were unlikely to exist, so he was an absolutely necessary existence to Hio.
Surely...... that was why.
Why he felt so anxious, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Why his sprint with all his strength felt so dizzying.
It must be because Bereuga was the last person from whom he could learn magic.
So please.
"Please......"
Let it be nothing serious.
Let nothing have happened.
Hio’s legs finally entered Kobold territory.
* * *
Bereuga closed his eyes and quietly waited for the pain that would soon arrive.
But what came to him was the crunching— sound of something easily shattering, and
"Oh my. What is an old gentleman like you doing in such a dangerous place?"
An unfamiliar voice.
"Do people still live deep in the mountains like this?"
"Grandfather. Are you alright?"
The ones who miraculously saved him at the critical moment were mercenaries whose names he did not know.
Of course, it was a salvation Bereuga had never wished for.
"We were just about to launch a night raid, but what a windfall this is?"
"Did the old man here start this fire?"
As if they were mercenaries specialized in monsters, they dispatched two Kobolds in an instant and headed toward the cave.
They steadily killed the Kobolds one by one as they stumbled out of the cave in a panic, reeking of smoke.
"This is so easy I’m about to yawn."
"No wonder I was suspicious about a request that’s over ten years old."
"That’s why I said we shouldn’t take the request. Coming all the way out to this countryside must’ve cost more."
"Hahaha! Just think of it as a break. The atmosphere these days is unusual. My instincts are telling me so."
"......Your instincts are garbage, though."
Bereuga, who had been blankly staring at their sudden appearance, finally came to his senses.
"Y-you rascals. You mustn’t. Those bastards are my...... mine......!"
They were the enemies of his master, and the enemies of his disciple.
A revenge decades in the making.
How could they so easily...... so easily accomplish the revenge he had been prepared to throw his life away for?
Waving his hands, he hurriedly ran toward the cave.
"Huh? It’s dangerous!"
"Let go! Those bastards took my one and only disciple......"
"Hey! I said it’s dangerous. What’s wrong with this old man?"
"Let go! It’s something I must do! Even if I die, I must be the one to die!"
He screamed as if coughing up blood and moved like a madman toward the cave, but his aged body was far too easily restrained.
And then, an all-too-familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Elder...?"
"......."
He faltered for a moment, wondering if he was hearing things, but he soon realized it was no auditory hallucination.
"H-Hio?"
For what his quickly turned gaze caught was none other than his disciple, whom he had believed to be dead.
"Elder. What are you doing here?"
"......Ha."
Seeing that carefree face, he felt relief, yet an overwhelming emptiness surged up within him.
"Ah. Are you the old man’s grandson? Please take him away quickly!"
"It’s dangerous, so hurry!"
Kobolds coughing as they burst from the cave, and six mercenaries slaughtering them without hesitation.
And Bereuga, somehow, with a hollow expression.
Though he couldn’t accurately grasp the situation, Hio took Bereuga’s hand and pulled him along.
"......Let’s go back, Elder."
Bereuga looked somehow drained of strength.
"I thought you...... had been killed by the Kobolds."
"That’s...... something unavoidable suddenly came up...... I’m sorry."
"You’re safe, and that’s all that matters. It’s fine."
An awkward silence hung over them as they trudged back home.
What broke that silence was Bereuga’s gloomy voice.
"I was trying to die."
"...What?"
Hio couldn’t find the words to reply to Bereuga’s sudden statement.
Either way, Bereuga continued.
"I was trying to die. Having lost my master, and believing my disciple had been captured by the Kobolds as well."
"Haha...... your disciple is very sturdy. Don’t worry."
Even though Hio deliberately struck an exaggerated pose, Bereuga’s downcast expression didn’t ease in the slightest.
"That is the result of staking one’s life. Merely setting fire at the entrance. Merely making them inhale a bit of smoke."
"......."
The words he finally spat out with a deep sigh.
"This...... is the reality of magic."
The mage who had once overflowed with pride for magic had finally admitted it before his disciple.
Monsters that could be so easily defeated even by those who only roughly handled weapons.
The magic he had honed his entire life was truly, utterly useless.
"How futile has my life been."
But at Bereuga’s lament, Hio looked as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
"Come on...... that’s not true, Elder. You’ve gone too far."
Smiling, he took the wrinkled hand and led him along.
"Stop talking nonsense and let’s hurry home and eat together. And tomorrow, you have to teach me the second spell."
"......Yes. You’re right. Let’s hurry."
"Yes sir!"
"Hehehe......"
Behind the two of them, Kobold screams echoed long and far, mingling with the black smoke.
* * *
He hadn’t realized it when they met, but upon arriving home, Bereuga’s physical condition was far more serious than he had thought.
Perhaps because he had overexerted his already decrepit body, a fierce fever raged within him.
"Elder, please hold on. You have to pull through quickly."
Hio nursed Bereuga with all his heart and sincerity.
Wasn’t Bereuga himself partly responsible for collapsing like this?
He stayed by his side day and night, changing cool towels, boiling soup and feeding him at mealtimes, and when time remained, he studied the ancient language and glyphs he still lacked.
When such a life had continued for about a week, Bereuga rose from his bed.
"Ahem! Come here."
The place to which the somewhat recovered Bereuga took Hio was the underground laboratory.
Following him down below, Hio displayed a subtle sense of anticipation.
There could be only one reason for him to insist on going underground.
The Skill Book.
He must be going to show him that Skill Book he had supposedly researched and successfully created.
That was surely what Hio thought, but.......
Only after descending to the third basement floor and receiving the two books Bereuga handed him did Hio’s expression turn bitter.
"What are these......?"
The two books Bereuga handed him looked far too distant from anything resembling a Skill Book, no matter how he looked at them.
"I have organized all the knowledge I possess, so read them when you have the time."
\- Ancient Language Compendium for a Worthless Disciple
\- Glyph Compendium for a Foolish Disciple
"And take this as well. I inherited it from my master, but I haven’t had much use for it."
What Bereuga handed over was a pouch.
「Subspace Pouch \- Small (Rare)」
It was a spatial expansion artifact imbued with subspace magic, and one of Hio’s primary goals in coming here.
Spatial artifacts were rare and expensive even when purchased with points, so it was something he had desperately needed.
Yet despite achieving one of those goals, Hio’s expression was far from bright.
"Why this......?"
Why was he suddenly giving him something like this, as if he were going somewhere?
Seeing Hio’s uneasy expression, Bereuga clicked his tongue, smiling.
"It’s time for me to retire too. What’s wrong with passing it down to my disciple?"
"No, that’s not it...... Then while you said you were researching the Skill Book, you were making these?"
"Skill Book, you say......"
Bereuga’s laughter transformed into a bitter smile.
"It was an empty bluff I insisted on despite faintly knowing it was impossible. How could a mere human create a tome of the gods?"
"No, that can’t be right......?"
Then what about the two Skill Books he had obtained inside the game?
"I spent my life researching, trying to prove magic, but the conclusion I ultimately reached is this. The Skill Book was never within the domain of magic."
Bereuga spoke as if it were nothing, smiling, but Hio’s expression only worsened.
It felt as if he had learned a truth he had never wanted to know.
"Let us go up. Now I shall teach you all the magic I know."
* * *
When they came outside, the weather was quite chilly.
Dead leaves were piled thick on the ground, and barely any leaves remained clinging to the trees.
Autumn must be deeply passing.
"It’s quite cold. Are you alright?"
Even to Hio’s worried question, Bereuga snorted shortly and immediately began his explanation.
"Watch carefully with your excellent sensitivity. How the glyphs combine with one another."
Mana gathered around Bereuga.
Glyphs formed as he manipulated the mana with extreme delicacy.
They gathered to form a pattern, and the patterns gathered to create a single magic circle.
A beautiful miracle wrought by mana.
"Haste."
The moment Bereuga spoke, the magic circle activated, and a gentle wind swirled around him.
"It is magic that borrows the power of wind to increase movement speed."
The speed at which Bereuga moved while explaining had, in fact, increased ever so slightly.
Of course, it was not a particularly meaningful degree, and it was obvious far too much mana was consumed for the effect.
"Hmm...... I’ll try it."
Still, Hio recalled the composition of the glyphs and reproduced them exactly.
It was not difficult.
It was thanks to his extraordinary sensitivity—enough to be called a 'genius'—that mana was as clear as day to his eyes.
"Haste."
The wind from the magic circle brushed gently as it swirled around him.
It was no ordinary wind; his body felt lighter, but that was all.
「You have successfully cast Wind(風)-Attribute Magic — 'Haste'.」
「Will you register Wind(風)-Attribute Magic — 'Haste' as a skill?」
Even so, he had easily obtained a skill that was said to be difficult to acquire.
「Wind(風)-Attribute Magic — 'Haste' is registered as a skill.」
「Skill: Haste」
「Summons wind that lightens the body.」
「The magic formula is incomplete. It will be difficult to expect much power.」
"Hehehe...... the lad really is a genius through and through."
"Come on, why act so surprised all of a sudden."
"Then can you master the next spell immediately as well?"
"Huh? Right now?"
"Yes, you rascal. You call yourself a genius, so is that too difficult?"
"But you told me to take it slowly from the basics just the other day......"
"There are only a few spells I can teach you anyway, so let us learn them all today."
At Bereuga’s words, the corners of Hio’s mouth rose on their own.
Was that not the most welcome thing he had heard?
"Lad, is it that good?"
"No, well, rather than good...... you need a solid foundation from the basics."
"Do something about that twitching corner of your mouth before you speak."
"Hehehe."
The next spell Bereuga taught him was Aqua, magic that created water.
「You have successfully cast Water(水)-Attribute Magic — 'Aqua'.」
「Water(水)-Attribute Magic — 'Aqua' is registered as a skill.」
「Skill: Aqua」
「Gathers moisture from the air to create water.」
「The magic formula is incomplete. It will be difficult to expect much power.」
Next was Ice, magic that froze moisture.
「You have successfully cast Ice(氷)-Attribute Magic — 'Ice'.」
「Ice(氷)-Attribute Magic — 'Ice' is registered as a skill.」
「Skill: Ice」
「Freezes moisture to create ice.」
「The magic formula is incomplete. It will be difficult to expect much power.」
All of them were the most basic of basic spells from which it was difficult to expect any power.
Magic with no lethality whatsoever, the kind that might only occasionally help in daily life.
But if combined with Hio’s unique traits, they were spells that could surely become great someday.
"Hehehe...... I truly didn’t know you’d accomplish them all in one go...... You keep surprising me."
"I’m your disciple, after all. Easy."
Contrary to his claim that it was easy, he could feel his mana had dropped to less than half.
It was because his mana stat was so low to begin with.
"Lad...... yes, I should go back inside now."
Having said so, Bereuga immediately turned his back.
"Huh? Is that it?"
"Ahem...... Yes, you rascal. I need to go in and rest, so don’t overdo things for no reason and take it easy."
Bereuga’s condition looked poor as he repeatedly coughed, but something else bothered Hio more.
"What’s going on? You’re the Elder who would normally tell me not to rest but to study, aren’t you?"
"Nonsense, don’t say such ridiculous things and take it slowly. Don’t end up like me after working too hard for nothing, you rascal."
"Elder, what do you mean by......"
"Enough. Go on ahead inside."
Bereuga, coughing as he entered the house, was visibly changed.
A body grown even thinner, an expression devoid of strength.
His health had been poor even two months ago when they first met, but back then there had been an inexplicable power about him.
A will that he would not die until he achieved his goal.
But what was his current appearance, then?
An old mage who had hit his absolute limit.
A pitiful man who had lost his purpose and was merely waiting for the day he would die.
"Elder......"
A single leaf drifted down feebly over Bereuga as he walked away.
One of the leaves that had clung desperately to a branch had finally lost its strength and let go.
The reason it no longer desperately held on was likely because it knew its end was near.
It was because it had finally realized that even if it held on with all its might, it could never become a tree again.
Because after autumn passes, winter would surely come.