'So that wooden staff really is a magic tool.'
Looking at Jellal picking up the magic staff, Marco wasn't surprised - magic staffs were fairly common magic items for holder-type magic.
Magic in Earth Land can be divided into two main categories: holder-type magic and caster-type magic.
To put it simply, holder-type magic refers to magic that can only be used by combining one's own magic power with a magic item.
It's magic that must rely on a magic item to be used.
"I can use sleep magic. No magical beasts will be able to harm us," Jellal said.
As he finished speaking, the staff began to glow as he used his strongest magic.
"Mist of Nightmare!"
As the eerie magical light flickered, Wendy was the first to collapse to the ground.
Children's bodies really weak as she fell asleep immediately.
Marco also started to feel drowsy, his consciousness gradually sinking.
This was involuntary - he didn't even realize what was happening, he just wanted to sleep, to sleep carelessly without a worry.
"Whoosh!"
In the starry sky, the Pegasus constellation flickered.
Marco's eyes suddenly snapped open, magic power surging chaotically within him.
Specks of starlight seemed to fall from the sky, attaching to his body and helping him break free from the sleep magic's influence.
"Impressive!"
Seeing that Marco was unaffected and remained awake, Jellal's eyes showed a shocked expression.
This was the first time he had encountered someone unaffected by his sleep magic.
His "Mist of Nightmare" was very powerful, able to put anyone to sleep.
It was what he relied on to travel alone in this strange world.
"Hey you! Don't just use magic on people like that!" Marco snapped back to his senses and angrily scolded Jellal.
He was still shaken - that feeling of his body and mind being out of control, desperately wanting to fall asleep, was terrifying.
Fortunately, his willpower was strong.
Before truly falling asleep, he realized something was wrong and felt an intense sense of crisis.
That crisis awareness made him frantically activate the magic power source within him, successfully breaking through that muddled feeling and dispelling the sleep magic.
"I'm sorry! I meant no harm, I just wanted to demonstrate my abilities," the shocked Jellal quickly dispelled the sleep magic and sincerely apologized to Marco.
His "Mist of Nightmare" wasn't lethal and could even give people a very comfortable deep sleep, which is why he had rashly used it.
Marco shook his head, calming the magic power within him.
Just now he seemed to have connected to the Pegasus constellation again, though only for an instant.
But it had helped him escape the sleep state.
Now trying to recall that feeling, he still couldn't figure out how to do it.
"Is that staff a special magic item?" Marco stopped pondering and curiously asked Jellal, looking at this strange fellow.
Jellal wasn't using "holder-type magic" - as Marco had sensed, this guy didn't have any magic power within him at all.
His use of magic relied entirely on the magic item!
This was completely different from Earth Land's "holder-type magic".
Even mages who use "holder-type magic" have their own magic power and magic items also need magic power to activate, otherwise magic can't be used.
So strictly speaking, what Jellal was using couldn't be called "holder-type magic", because he wasn't using any of his own magic power at all.
"Yes, there's a lacrima inside the staff," Jellal said frankly.
He really didn't have any magic power within him and relied completely on the staff in his hand to use magic.
"How rare," Marco's eyes showed surprise.
Magic items with embedded lacrima weren't uncommon, but ones with this level of power were very rare.
Magic items with embedded lacrima's were usually civilian items, like movie projectors or magic lamps.
Combat magic items like this rarely had lacrima embedded, because mages themselves had magic power, and using their own magic power to activate magic items was more convenient and quick.
Lacrima usually couldn't store large amounts of magic power, as storing too much would be dangerous.
There was a type of single-use item called "Explosive lacrima" that resulted from storing too much magic power, which could only be used as a one-time magic bomb.
[TN : bruh i just check, theres even a deodorant lacrima 😭]
Using combat magic consumed a lot of magic power, which meant magic items with embedded lacrima would need to have their magic power replenished frequently - a troublesome process.
Most crucially, lacrima weren't easy to produce and were very expensive!
Ordinary people couldn't afford to use them.
In short, this kind of strange magic item was indeed very rare in Earth Land.
"With that kind of ability, you should be able to make it out. Is the lacrima's power still sufficient?"
After witnessing Jellal's sleep magic "Mist of Nightmare", Marco no longer insisted the two to follow him, provided Jellal's staff still had sufficient magic power of course.
"Very sufficient," Jellal answered confidently.
"Good. Give me the map and I'll draw a route for you," Marco nodded and didn't ask further.
He held out his hand to Jellal, waiting for him to hand over the map.
"M-map? We don't have one." Jellal's expression turned awkward.
As newcomers, how could they possibly have a map?
"You don't even have a map? You're really brave to venture in here. Overconfident in your skills, huh?" Marco glared and couldn't help but mock him, thinking this must be some rich family's foolish young master.
Such a powerful magic item must be extremely expensive - only the very wealthy could afford it.
And Jellal's manners and speech showed he had received strict education.
Marco could tell with his eyes closed that this guy's background wasn't simple.
With no other choice, Marco took out one of his spare maps and drew the route out.
This was a path he had scouted himself, one of the easier ways to exit.
"Here. Be better prepared next time you go out. I don't know what you've got in that big bag of yours if you don't even have a map." Marco tossed the map with the marked route to Jellal, then couldn't help but mock him again.
He had seen Jellal carrying a huge green backpack like a turtle shell and thought the guy must be well-prepared, but it seemed to just be for show.
"Thank you. Um..." After receiving the map, Jellal had a grateful expression.
But instead of turning to leave, he looked like he wanted to say something but was hesitating.
"What? Anything else?" Marco had already repacked his bag and put it on his back.
Seeing Jellal's awkward look, he frowned and asked.
"...Can I know your name?" After hesitating for a moment, Jellal finally asked the question.
This guy looked like he wasn't very good at making friends.
Marco had noticed earlier that Jellal had trouble speaking, as if he had some mild communication disorder.