Chapter 46 - Fountain of Jade Light
In conclusion, our march through the darkness came to an end in mere seconds.
The path was a perfectly straight line, and despite it being an unsafe area, the ambush I had been wary of never came.
The classic event where a frightened Sora adorably clings to me in the spooky darkness also failed to occur.
Guided by the glowing crystals that sporadically lit the way, we arrived at that place.
"—This is, again…"
I was used to being struck speechless in Arcadia, but it was almost always from being overwhelmed by some bizarre spectacle. This might have been the first time I lost my voice from being utterly captivated.
At the end of the dark passage, we were greeted first by a sheer cliff. The path came to an abrupt end, as if it had been cleanly sliced off—and the true view spread out below us.
"—It's beautiful…"
A whisper, as if in a trance, escaped from Sora, who stood beside me.
From the mouth of the passage where we stood, there was a drop of about ten meters. The cliff sloped downwards, forming a bowl-shaped basin.
It was simply filled with light.
Sitting in the center was a familiar jade-green object. The verdant light it emitted was caught and scattered by innumerable crystals that stood like attendants around it.
It wasn't a dazzling light; we hadn't even noticed it until we peeked down from the end of the passage. It was a faint yet fantastical light, one that slowly captured your heart and refused to let go—that was the kind of scene it was.
Each crystal reflected the light in a different direction and with a different intensity. And in response to the great scale pulsing and showering light, the sea of green constantly changed its expression.
"…………The goal, I guess."
"…………Yes, I think so."
After a good ten seconds—or perhaps even longer—of stunned silence, we exchanged whispers, our eyes still captivated by the sight.
"Haru-san, is that…"
"Yeah… well, judging by the color, it looks like it."
Sora and I both followed the same line of sight. First, to the object in the center, then to our own hands—or more precisely, to the [Desert Eel Leather Gloves] we wore.
Even from a distance, the color was nearly identical. Furthermore, though Sora didn't know this, the eyes of the [Bastide, Scion of Dust] I’d caught a glimpse of had also been the same color.
Nine times out of ten, it had to be something related to those serpents.
"Well, for now, let's go down… Do you think it's safe to go down?"
Though the fantastical verdant light looked harmless, I asked for Sora's opinion just in case.
"I think it's okay… but either way, it doesn't look like there's anywhere else to go."
"You're right."
Sora answered while looking around, and I nodded as my own gaze swept the area. There were no other paths in sight; it seemed that object served as the endpoint in some way.
"Alright, let's head down… ah, how would you like to proceed?"
Even though it became a slope partway down, it was still about as high as jumping from the second story of a building. Figuring she might be scared to jump on her own, I spread my arms and offered my services as a personal elevator—
"Hmph… Th-Thanks to a certain someone, I've gotten a little used to jumping and falling!"
Sora's face turned red as she averted her gaze from me in a huff, then leaped off the cliff without hesitation.
Rejected, I watched as she landed safely on the slope and slid down skillfully without stumbling.
"…She's gotten so tough."
Have I become so accustomed to my role as her guardian that I'm now feeling a slight pang of loneliness?
I followed after her, jumping down. Fortunately, the light was as harmless as it looked. No change in my status; I wouldn't have to worry about poison or anything of the sort.
"—Alright then."
We quickly reached the center of the not-so-large basin and stood side-by-side, tilting our heads at the mysterious object. Only one question remained: what in the world was this thing?
"It’s… not a stone… is it?"
"Hmm… What about the texture?"
Its faintly translucent, glowing appearance was well-suited to the word "gem," but the texture didn't quite seem to fit. It was sparkly yet strangely lifelike; I intuitively sensed something organic about it…
"A scale… or maybe a bone…? I don't know."
It was probably part of one of the serpent creatures, judging by the color.
"Hmm… What are we supposed to do with this?" I wondered.
"Well, honestly, I was banking on an event triggering the moment we got close or touched it."
I stood before it and dramatically placed a hand on it—thump—but there was no reaction at all.
A dead end with no other path, a suggestive-looking object, and no sign of an automatic event progression… which meant the only course of action I could think of was—
"…Guess I'll break it."
"Wha… Huh?"
After she did a picture-perfect double take, she gave me a look that practically screamed, What is this guy talking about? But I wasn't joking, nor had I lost my mind.
Based on my experience playing a fair number of games, any "object that's desperately seeking attention" usually reacts to being hit. That's the standard procedure.
Bizarre, strange, flashy, beautiful, glowing, moving, noisy—all these attention-grabbing traits given by the designers are, in essence, a message saying, "Please do something to this thing."
For the ones that display a helpful text box when you press Circle or A, you just follow the instructions. But for the ones that prioritize atmosphere and don't provide that kind of action…
"You hit it. Every gamer would do the same."
And so would I. I'm open to dissent, but I won't accept any objections to this raised right hand of mine.
"Seriously…?"
I wonder if a girl would be put off by a guy who tries to smash a pretty, gem-like object "just because." The look she was giving me, like I was some kind of freak, did a little damage, but I had no intention of stopping.
I told Sora to step back, then swung my raised, empty right hand down—[Quick Change].
Since I’d decided to smash it, there was no need for restraint or a test run. I summoned the merciless [Distorted Iron Lump Hammer]. The ultra-heavy, deceptively fast swing struck the stationary target dead-on, and—
"—Gah…!?"
"Haru-san!?"
A roar, a flash of light—and as I was sent flying back with tremendous force, Sora's scream chased after me.
My feet were off the ground.
My trajectory: backward.
Behind me: a wall—and countless (rather sharp) crystals.
"Crap—!?"
My relaxed thoughts instantly kicked into top gear, and at the same time, I felt that familiar sensation of my body moving on its own, something I’d experienced many times recently.
Having let go of the hammer, I summoned a great axe into my now-empty hands and, without a second's hesitation, slammed it into the floor. The mysterious impact had sent me flying backward with too much force to be stopped by that alone, but the kinetic energy I’d slammed downwards sent a definitive recoil through my body—
"Hh!"
—New skill, [Floating Leaf], activated. The detailed effects of this skill are quite complex, but to put it simply, its property is the manipulation of kinetic energy.
Activation conditions, effect application requirements, and all those other details I'll toss aside for later. For now, what this skill brought to the table was this—it forcibly changed my trajectory from backward to upward.
"Ugh… Phew, that was clo—I'm not safe yet!!"
I’d managed to avoid being turned into mincemeat by crashing into the countless crystals, but the inertia that had been slammed into my body by that mysterious force showed no signs of stopping.
My trajectory had shifted from horizontal to vertical, but my body was still flying with incredible momentum. In fact, the kinetic energy I’d manipulated with [Floating Leaf] gave me even more acceleration, sending me straight toward the ceiling…!
"Aaaargh!!"
My whole body, weighed down by what felt like an absurdly heavy stone, groaned as I forcefully regained control. I landed on the ceiling—more like slammed into it—and, despite feeling a bit dizzy, I performed a desperate mid-air leap and managed to return to the ground—
"…………………………"
"…Please stop. Don't look at me like that."
I gently averted my gaze from her incredibly cold and dry stare.
"Um… from my perspective, you looked exactly like someone getting what they deserved."
Could you please stop with the chilly commentary? I'm fully aware that, objectively speaking, this whole sequence of events can be summed up with the word "idiot," so this is really embarrassing…
"W-Well, at least we learned that hitting it is a bad idea. That's progress…"
"If it hadn't been you, Haru-san, I think that would have been a game over…"
Even I would have died four times out of five just now. Being able to use a brand-new skill on the fly like that was a minor miracle.
"Um… Sora, do you know what just happened? From the victim's point of view, I got hit with a flashbang, so I have no idea what sent me flying."
"Wouldn't it be more accurate to say the aggressor's point of view, since you were repelled…?"
Though she shot me a deadpan look, Sora answered my question. Apparently, the moment my attack landed, something like a shockwave radiated from the object.
A visible, ring-shaped energy wave sent me flying and also touched Sora, but thankfully it passed right through her without any effect. Wait, if she had been caught in the crossfire and ended up being the only victim, I would have been a world-class screw-up, wouldn't I…?
"Uh… Sora-san."
"Yes?"
"I'm officially sealing the command 'just hit it.'"
"Okay."
Here’s a little tip: when my beautiful partner's replies become short and clipped, it's a sign that she's in an "angry state."
While her deadpan stare is filled with incredibly cute components, I’ve learned over the past week that taking a flippant attitude in this state leads to regret.
Thus, I made a sound judgment call and offered a swift, groveling apology. This time… judging by her expression, it seemed I had managed to avoid truly getting on her bad side.
"Look, I'm sorry. Let's just chalk it up to me being tired…"
I was aware that my thought process was about fifty percent cruder than usual.
I felt bad for taking advantage of Sora, who probably felt indebted to me for her earlier logout, but I’d appreciate it if she could consider this latest act of stupidity as payment to cancel that debt.
"Honestly… you're impossible."
What I received was a single, exasperated yet adorable, wry smile. Having been forgiven, I let out a rather pathetic sigh of relief.