Akatsuki Translations

Once, the “White Witch” who sealed the Dungeon of Sin had taken disciples.

It’s unclear exactly how her disciples came to apprentice under the White Witch, how they inherited her techniques, and why she generously shared her rare and secretive arts with disciples who were not even related by blood.

It’s said that she felt the need to prepare for a crisis, or perhaps she had devoted too much of her life to the battle with the Dungeon of Sin and, sensing her time was near, wanted to pass on her techniques. What’s certain is that she took disciples and taught each of them.

One of those disciples was an ancestor of Lynne.

At that time, that ancestor had neither an official rank nor even the surname “Leyline.” In fact, they didn’t even have a name.

After all, Lynne’s ancestor was a slave.

The hobbits, before the dungeon appeared, were a discriminated race.

How the White Witch came to choose a hobbit as her disciple is also shrouded in various theories, but let’s put that aside for now. In any case, this hobbit learned her technique and at the same time received the Leyline surname. Later, they were accepted as a member of the City of Sin, Lust, and the White Witch’s techniques were passed down to their descendants.

However, the magic that was inherited was “special.”

Magic circle.

That was the magic Leyline inherited. It wasn’t something rare in itself. It’s a basic magic that anyone with a bit of knowledge in sorcery could use. If one were to walk through the city, it’s undoubtedly something one will come across—the most basic of all magic.

But it was Leyline’s magic that turned what was “ordinary” into the “extraordinary.”

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Leyline paints and dances.

She uses a witch’s “writing instrument” that is about as tall as she is. It’s called a 【White Brush, 】 a magical tool that creates magic circles, passed down through the Leyline family. By infusing it with magical power, carving it into the ground, and drawing lines of magic, the light of the infused magic power blinks brightly while remaining in place.

Layers of patterns and formulas take shape, forming intricate lines of powerful light that pulse as if creating a painting.

It had been more than 10 minutes since Lynne started drawing the magic circle.

“…I understand why Diz said to bring something to kill time.” -Ur

《What are you reading, Nii-tan?》-Akane

“A monster encyclopedia. It’s not very interesting.” -Ur

《The art’s pretty.》-Akane

“I wonder if the library here would lend me some books if I show them the ring…” -Ur

Ur sits, flipping through the monster encyclopedia, quietly answering Akane’s voice coming from his pocket. While Lynne constructs her magic, Ur kills time by reading.

At first, he watched her work properly, but it became clear that it was impossible to keep watching for at least an hour, and he quickly gave up. After all, there was little for Ur, with his shallow knowledge of magic, to gain from watching. He needed to check how much time was required, but beyond that, he could only judge based on the results he’d be shown later.

Ur thought that Lynne might get a bad impression of him starting to do something else, but whether she was prepared for the spectators to get bored, or she was too focused to spare a glance elsewhere, she continued drawing the magic circle without resting her hand.

“…!!…ugh…!!” -Lynne

With a fierce expression, she uses her entire small body to swing her broom around. She looks frighteningly serious.

Ur felt somewhat guilty reading in front of her, but the matter of the Poison Omen Bird was also a serious thing for him. It was the main purpose of this companion search… but rereading the guidebook didn’t offer much new. It wasn’t that the knowledge in the monster encyclopedia was insufficient. However, Ur had already read it several times, especially carefully concerning the Poison Omen Bird.

So, rereading it now didn’t lead to any new discoveries.

“Well, in that case…” -Ur

Ur carefully packed the book in his bag and took out something else. A ball small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, like the ones children play with.

“Shall we continue this morning’s training?” -Ur

《Can I help?》-Akane

“Mmm… if other students come, hide, okay?” -Ur

With a cheerful “got it,” Akane laughs.

Ur pats Akane’s head and places his adventurer’s ring on the back of his hand. His mana appears on the back of his hand.

“……【Two Marks】 huh. I’ve finally caught up with Shizuku.” -Ur

Ur’s mana had one more stroke compared to before.

【Two Marks】

Considering that it had only been a little over two months since he became an adventurer, it could be said to be an abnormally fast progression. However, Ur’s combat experience was far from ordinary. In one month, he shattered the crystal golem bounty, and in two, he crushed an army of the undead. Given that, it could even be considered slow.

Mana reflects one’s magical characteristics, in other words, it’s the visualization of the soul, which is almost like an “organ for storing magical power.” An increase in the number of markings of mana means that the soul has absorbed magic and become stronger.

And as the soul strengthens, it reflects the person’s wishes and environment, bringing about significant changes to the body… at least, that’s what’s supposed to happen.

“Soon, some kind of special ability should manifest… right?” -Ur

《Nii-tan is the same old Nii-tan, right?》-Akane

“It’s depressing.” -Ur

Ur had yet to acquire a special ability like Shizuku, who had awakened her【Hearing】.

Though he was certainly aware of the simple physical enhancements due to absorbing magical power, he hadn’t yet experienced changes in his body at the level of special abilities.

He had heard that usually, by the time one acquires a copper ring, their body undergoes characteristic strengthening. Even if Ur had obtained the ring in an exceptionally short period, he was a late bloomer.

《Is Nii-tan lagging behind?》-Akane

“It’s tough.” -Ur

Ur was not so detached as to not feel anxious about being outpaced by Shizuku, who had started at the same time as him. Even understanding that Shizuku was an exceptionally talented girl, he couldn’t help feeling impatient.

However, he also understood that being impatient wouldn’t make him any faster. He didn’t want to make the foolish mistake of rushing, stumbling, and falling, so Ur took a deep breath and cautioned himself.

“Alright, here I go, Akane!” -Ur

《Come on, Nii-tan! 》-Akane

Ur grabbed the ball he had taken out earlier, swung it back, and then threw it towards Akane, who was soaring in the sky. The ball, propelled by Ur’s magically enhanced physique, flew with incredible speed straight towards Akane.

Then, at the moment the ball was about to hit, Akane transformed its form into a “large palm” and caught it. And then threw it back to Ur.

Essentially, this was practice in throwing. Since the subjugation of the necromancer, Ur had been continuously practicing his throwing. From time to time, he had Akane help him in this way. He aimed at the targeted spot, threw with all his might, and tried to hit the mark.

《Nii-tan, you in good shape? 》-Akane

“Yeah, recently, I’ve started to get the hang of it.” -Ur

《The hang of it? 》-Akane

“Watching the target closely helps you hit it.” -Ur

《You’re bragging about something obvious. 》-Akane

Thanks to this, his accuracy had significantly improved. It didn’t matter what he held in his hand – a ball, a pebble, dirt, a branch, a sword, a spear, or even a dragonfang spear. He had reached a considerable level of proficiency in a short time.

However, this only applied when he was not under threat to his life from enemies. Of course, he continued to practice such scenarios, but it was difficult to say how accurately he could throw in a real situation.

To dispel those uncertainties, what he needed was, after all, practice.

No matter how much he tried to stretch time, Ur didn’t have enough time to diligently accumulate experience with hard work. Still, he devoted himself to training, even if it might be a futile effort…

“What’s this? Is someone occupying the public training ground and wasting their time with futile efforts?”

Ur thought to himself, “I’m going to kill you.”