kscans

Chapter 46 - Fountain of Jade Light

In conclusion, our march through the darkness lasted only a few dozen seconds.

The path was completely straight, and despite it being a non-safe zone, there were no surprise attacks or anything of the sort.

And there was no cliché event where Sora, frightened by the eerie darkness, would cling to me adorably.

Guided by the glowing crystals that dotted the path, we arrived at that place.

"—This is, again..."

I was used to being struck speechless in Arcadia, but it was usually because I was overwhelmed by some bizarre sight. This might have been the first time I was left breathless, completely entranced.

At the end of the dark passage, we were first met by a sheer cliff. The path ended as abruptly as if it had been cleanly cut off—and the view unfolded below us.

"—It's beautiful..."

A whisper, as if in a trance, escaped from Sora, who was standing next to 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 depression.

And it was filled with nothing but light.

At its center sat an emerald green object that looked vaguely familiar. Countless crystals surrounding it caught the emerald light emitted by the rugged, oval-shaped object and reflected it in a dazzling display.

It wasn't a blinding light; we hadn't even noticed it until we peered down from the end of the passage. It was faint, yet fantastical, a sight that gently captured your heart and refused to let go.

The direction and intensity of the light reflected by each crystal were different, and in response to the great scale that pulsed as it scattered light, the sea of green constantly changed its expression.

"............The goal, I guess," I murmured.

"............Yes, I think so," Sora replied.

After a good few dozen seconds—maybe even longer—of stunned silence, we exchanged whispers, our eyes still captivated by the scene.

"Haru-san, is that..."

"Yeah... well, judging by the color, it seems likely."

Sora and I both followed the same path with our gazes. First, the object in the center, then our own hands—or more precisely, the [Desert Moray Leather Gloves] we wore.

Even from a distance, the color was almost identical. And though Sora didn't know it, the eyes of the [Scion of Dust] I had briefly seen were the same color as well.

Nine times out of ten, it was something related to those serpents.

"Well, for now, let's go down... and do you think it's safe to go down?"

The fantastical emerald light looked harmless, but I asked Sora for her opinion just in case.

"I think it's fine... but either way, there's nowhere else to go."

"You're right."

Sora answered my question as she looked around, and I nodded in agreement as I scanned the area as well. There were no other paths in sight, and it seemed that the object was indeed serving as the final destination in some way.

"Alright, let's go down then... ah, how would you like to proceed?"

Even though it sloped partway down, it was still about the height of jumping from the second story of a building. Thinking she might be scared to jump on her own, I spread my arms and offered myself as a personal elevator, but—

"Ngh... W-well, thanks to a certain someone, I'm a little more used to jumping and falling now!"

Her face turned red for some reason, and she averted her gaze from me before unhesitatingly leaping off the cliff.

As I watched, jilted, she landed safely on the slope and slid down deftly without losing her balance.

"...She's gotten so tough."

I'd somehow gotten used to my role as a guardian, and I felt a slight pang of loneliness.

I followed her down, and fortunately, the light was just as harmless as it looked. No change in my condition (status), so I probably didn't have to worry about poison or anything like that.

"—Alright then."

We quickly reached the center of the not-so-large depression and stood before the mysterious object, tilting our heads in unison. There was only one question left: what exactly was this thing?

"It's... not a stone... is it?" Sora asked.

"Hmm... what's the texture like?"

Its slightly translucent, glowing appearance was well-suited to the word "gem," but its texture didn't quite seem to fit. It was sparkly, yet somehow raw, and I felt an intuitive, biological quality to it...

"A scale... no, a bone...? I don't know."

It was probably a part of one of the serpents' bodies, given the color.

"Hmm... what are we supposed to do with this?" Sora wondered.

"Well, to be honest, I was banking on an event triggering as soon as we got close or touched it," I admitted.

I stood before it and, striking a cool pose, pressed my hand against it with a dramatic "Hmph..." but there was no reaction.

A dead end with no other path, a suggestive object, no sign of an auto-triggering event... The only course of action that came to mind was—

"...Break it, I guess."

"Huh... what?"

She did a perfect double-take and then gave me a look that said, "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, "objects that scream for attention" like this were usually the kind of thing where something happens if you "just hit it."

Bizarre, strange, flashy, beautiful, glowing, moving, noisy, and so on—all these assertions of self given by the designer were, in other words, a message saying, "Please do something to this."

For those that displayed helpful text when you pressed O or A, you could just follow the instructions. But for those that were more focused on atmosphere and lacked that kind of action...

"Just hit it. Every gamer would do the same."

I would too. I'm open to arguments, but I won't allow any objections to this raised right hand.

"Ehh..."

Maybe for a girl, trying to smash a beautiful gem-like object "just because" is a turn-off. I took a little bit of damage from the "what is wrong with this guy" look she was giving me, but I had no intention of stopping.

I told Sora to step back just in case, and then I swung my empty right hand down—[Quick Change].

Since I'd decided to smash it, there was no need to hold back or test the waters. I summoned the merciless [Distorted Iron Lump Hammer]. The super-heavy, cheatingly fast swing found its stationary target, and—

"—Gah...!?"

"Haru-san!?"

A roar, a flash of light—and I was sent flying with incredible force, Sora's scream-like voice chasing after me.

Both feet, off the ground.

Trajectory, backwards.

The wall behind me—and a bunch of sharp crystals.

"Crap—?!"

My relaxed thoughts instantly kicked into top gear, and at the same time, I felt the familiar sensation of my body moving on its own, a feeling I'd had many times recently.

I let go of the hammer, and in my now-empty hands, I summoned a great axe and slammed it into the floor without a second thought. The mysterious impact had sent me flying backwards with such force that this alone couldn't stop me, but the kinetic energy I'd driven downwards sent a definite recoil through my body—

"Ngh!"

—New skill [Floating Leaf] activated. The detailed effects of this skill are quite complex and bizarre, but to put it simply, its property is the manipulation of kinetic energy.

I'll toss the activation conditions, effect application requirements, and various other details aside for later. For now, what this skill brought me in this situation was—an effect that forcibly changed my trajectory from backwards to upwards.

"Ngh... phew, that was close—I'm not saved!!"

I'd avoided being turned into mincemeat by crashing into the countless crystals, but the inertia that had been slammed into my body by the mysterious force showed no signs of stopping.

My trajectory had changed from horizontal to vertical, but my body was still flying with incredible force. In fact, the kinetic energy I'd manipulated with [Floating Leaf] gave me even more acceleration, sending me straight for the ceiling...!

"Graaah!!"

My whole body creaked under the ridiculous weight of the load that had been strapped to it, but I forcibly regained control. I landed on the ceiling, almost slamming into it, and after a brief dizzy spell, I used a desperate aerial jump to return to the ground, having narrowly escaped with my life—

"........................"

"...Stop, don't look at me like that."

I gently averted my gaze from her incredibly cold and dry stare.

"Um... from the side, you looked exactly like someone getting their just deserts."

Could you please stop with the chilly comments? I'm well aware that this whole sequence of events can be summed up with the word "idiot," so it's really awkward...

"W-well, at least we learned that hitting it is a no-go, so that's something..."

"If it hadn't been you, Haru-san, I think it would have been a game over..."

I think even I would have died four out of five times just now. Being able to use a brand-new skill with a split-second decision was pretty much a miracle.

"Um... Sora, do you know what just happened? From the victim's point of view, I was lightly flashbanged, so I have no idea what sent me flying."

"Wouldn't it be more of an aggressor's point of view, since you were repelled...?"

Though she shot me a sidelong glance, Sora answered my question. According to her, the moment my attack landed, some kind of wave radiated from the object.

The visible, ring-shaped energy sent me flying, and it apparently touched Sora as well, but fortunately, it passed right through her without any effect—wait, if Sora had been caught in the crossfire and had been the only one sacrificed, wouldn't that have made me a war criminal of the highest order...?

"Ah... Sora-san."

"Yes?"

"I'm sealing the command 'just hit it.'"

"Yes."

And now for a fun fact. When my beautiful partner's responses become short and to the point, it indicates that she is in an "angry state."

While her sidelong glance is filled with incredibly cute components, I've learned from our past week together that if I take a flippant attitude in this state, I will regret it.

Hence, an accurate assessment of the situation followed by a swift and deep bow. This time... judging by her expression, it seems I've managed to avoid upsetting her.

"Yeah, my bad. Let's just chalk it up to me being tired..."

I'm aware that my thought process is about fifty percent more slapdash than usual.

I feel bad for taking advantage of Sora, who probably feels indebted to me for her early departure, but I'd appreciate it if she could let this one act of stupidity cancel that out.

"Honestly... you're impossible."

What I received was an exasperated, yet charming, wry smile. Having been forgiven, I let out a rather pathetic sigh of relief.