Chapter 12 (2/2)
Nevertheless, if he had to comment—
“Taking time to fix the stance of your weapon is wasteful; don’t stop the strokes of your sword until you have killed.”
s.h.i.+n recalled the words of the man who in the past instructed him an ancient j.a.panese sword technique the forte of which was one-versus-many.
“…Fu, but continuing to move instantaneously while concentrating on the Mana Calculus is so difficult. You use a Manacraft, too; shouldn’t you know that?” (TN: Mana Machine/Instrument changed to Manacraft)
s.h.i.+n honestly had no idea what that woman was talking about.
It was something beyond the realm of his understanding.
Monsters that he hadn’t seen before, abnormally huge beasts, mysterious power; and words he was hearing for the first time.
He was once again reminded that it was not the planet of Earth. At the same time, however, ‘what is it then?’ s.h.i.+n, albeit rare of him, was driven by what was called the thirst for knowledge.
“The energy dispersed in the atmosphere is called Mana. And its naturally crystallized form is called Mana Calculus… you have seen that already, right? The objects that were being excavated back at the mine were Mana Calculus containing Water Energy. Apparently, there is an abundance of them in the riverhead grounds.”
While nonchalantly walking shoulder to shoulder inside the forest, s.h.i.+n heard from the woman about Mana Calculus.
When s.h.i.+n told the woman that he had come from a faraway land where such things didn’t exist, the woman had a dubious expression for an instant. The next instant, however, she kindly taught him about Mana.
“And a weapon or a tool synthesized with a Mana Calculus is called a Manacraft?”
“Correct. This sword of mine is a Manacraft, too. It has an Earth Mana Calculus in it. Its power and sharpness is markedly different… well, compared to an ordinary sword’s. If it is attached to an item made of a higher quality material, it will display an even greater power. There’s a reason why its price is so high.”
s.h.i.+n gradually sorted the mysterious phenomenon out in his head.
In this world, natural energy could crystallize, and those crystalline objects could be extracted in the same or approximate form.
Although it was something that could not easily be believed for only elements could crystallize and such a phenomenon could never take place, he had no choice but to believe for it was right before his eyes.
“So high that you can’t buy it even with all those gold coins?”
“Well, those gold coins were meant for the incorporation of the Guild… I would not be able to do so if I spent all that money on my own items. Oh well, it does feel regrettable now that it has come down to this, but I can earn all that money back.”
The expression about the woman’s face, when she said that, was lonesome. The bluffing words the woman uttered, albeit awfully terrible, were understandable.
“By the way, what’s your plan? Based on your skills… you seem to use Unarmed Style. Are you an Adventurer from Revival Kingdom?”
s.h.i.+n was reminded of the words ‘Unarmed Style User’ and ‘Southern Adventurer’, spoken by those men back in that cave.
The art of battle prevalent in Revival Kingdom, situated in the south, seemed to be bare-handed combat.
“No, well…”
If he, who was deemed to have come from Revival Kingdom, said he was heading to Revival Kingdom, it would sound ridiculous.
Since s.h.i.+n was deemed to also be an Adventurer, and he had yet to decide as to where in this kingdom he would go, he came up with something.
“The Capital, I plan on going to the Capital.”
He had heard about a place called the Capital back in the village.
He had an inkling that it was this kingdom’s royal capital. If that were indeed the case, he could only rue for he would be expected to have heard about such a place beforehand.
“I see. I’m going back to the Capital, too. The thing is, my companions are all gone now. It’s thanks to the Guild that I’m not troubled for work for the time being. The Capital is quite far from here, though, isn’t it? You’re not gonna tell me that you plan on going there without any preparation, are you?”
“Actually, I’m wondering. Honestly, I don’t even know the way.”
With a face that was looking at s.h.i.+n with a mix of laughter and astonishment, the woman opened her mouth.
“You should be glad that we are companions… it’s my nature. Whenever I see someone in trouble, I don’t abandon them. I’m Frey, Frey=Foures.”
From the woman’s words, s.h.i.+n could figure that she would tag herself along with him to the Capital.
Although he was reluctant for it would give too much of his information away, he could not move about without any destination either.
Besides, s.h.i.+n judged that he would be able to gain information on this world through this woman.
“s.h.i.+n”
She casually held her hand out. When s.h.i.+n exchanged a handshake with Frey=Foures, he found the warmth of her hand to be the same as that of a human’s.
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