The Grand Magic Zone stretched out around us like a living maze of towering trees and harsh vegetation. Ancient bark twisted skyward in impossible spirals while vines thick as a man's torso hung between the canopy like natural bridges. The air itself felt heavy with concentrated mana, making every breath a reminder of the dangerous territory we'd entered.
When Yuwei came and found me in the village two weeks ago after I'd left her with her former pursuer, she seemed much more insistent on getting stronger. I wasn't sure what had transpired while I was gone, and I never asked how it went—it wasn't my place to pry unless she brought it up. But I could certainly guess what had happened, judging by the golden sphere of mana that had encased the room when I left.
Over the past two weeks, we'd been spending most of our time training together and trying out the different things the village had to offer, which had been almost free for us since we'd helped them out a week ago. Turns out, those Magic Knights that were supposed to come never made it. Being at the very edge of the forsaken realm, they apparently didn't deem it worth the effort. The village had come under attack from multiple mana beasts that wandered from this very Magic Zone.
Yuwei had wanted to help the village, and I saw no reason not to—plus the potential to earn some more trust points was appealing. We'd managed to kill the beasts with some difficulty, which caused extreme gratitude from the villagers and led to the free food and lodging.
Besides that minor event, we'd gotten quite close over the past two weeks. I'd even gotten her to open up about her past, which had been a particularly sobering moment for me. It was proof that dirty politics were very much real here, unlike what was shown in the bits of the anime I'd watched. But something positive had come from her opening up—she seemed to have a weight taken off her shoulders, having someone to talk to about it and discuss her ideals more intimately than with large crowds from a platform, seemed to do wonders.
I also managed to find something rather relieving, as when I asked her questions trying to probe whether her powers had anything to do with trust like mine, she had no idea what I was talking about. Dont know how I would react if she did tho.
I was pulled from my musings when Yuwei bumped my back with the butt end of her mana spear.
"Focus, you idiot. Look in front of us."
I saw a large plant-like mana beast that resembled a massive fly trap and turned to her, unbothered. "I know, I see it. Don't see what the big deal is though."
"You still shouldn't lose focus here. It could get you killed," she said seriously.
Still unbothered, I replied, "You mean like when I had to save you from some weak mage when we first met?"
Yuwei got a frustrated look on her face. "How many times have I told you to stop bringing that up? It was one time!"
I just smirked. "Now, now, is that any way to treat your hero?"
Yuwei ignored me and turned to the mana beast, which had now noticed us. "So what's the plan? Same as always? You go first, I finish it off?"
"Nah, you got this. I believe in you. Besides, don't you see I'm not wearing my suit? I'm in no state to fight," I said, very clearly lying.
"Tch, we both know that's a lie. Be serious," Yuwei responded.
"I am serious. You got this. Go get 'em—I believe in you."
Yuwei shook her head and muttered, "Fine, whatever," before charging toward the beast with a golden spear in hand.
Seeing her charge, I got a mischievous smirk and yelled, "Queen, I choose you!"
I heard a shout from Yuwei: "I told you to stop calling me that!"
Yuwei slammed the butt end of her spear to the ground, yelling, "Rule Magic: Queen's Domain!" A golden sphere expanded from her, entrapping the beast. She then yelled, "Compress!" causing the air to compress around the beast, then "Levitation!" A large boulder began to hover before launching at the plant, disorienting it. She jumped and launched her spear forward, which flew at high speeds, piercing straight through and killing it.
Landing, she walked back over only to hear me say, "Nice job, Queen!" with a grin and thumbs up.
She sarcastically said, "Yeah, thanks for all the help," then continued, "And why do you keep calling me that? I told you to quit it."
I responded, "I'll stop calling you that as soon as you stop acting all cold and formal to everyone you meet. You can be a real ice queen, you know. Besides, your strongest spell literally has the word 'queen' in it," and began to laugh.
She sighed heavily. "You're infuriating," she said, shaking her head and walking away.
I jogged over to catch up and matched her pace. "You are getting better with that spell though. It's draining less mana than before, though you're still wasting a ton of your reserves from your lack of control."
"Yeah, I'm starting to get the hang of it. What about you though? Have you thought of any of those—what you called—finishing moves yet?"
I sighed. "Still working on it. It's really annoying not having anything that can finish strong opponents off fast. I'm thinking of getting a decent sword and trying stuff out with that, but I'm also considering some other ideas."
She nodded. "At least you'll finally stop asking me to finish everything off."
"You do know that was for your training, right? We haven't run into anything truly strong yet. I could have managed fine with them."
She nodded, then turned to me hesitantly. "Are you really planning to leave though? Why do you have to go? Why not just stay and train with me here?"
I sighed. "Yeah, that's the plan. I originally left planning to travel to as many places as I could. I've already stayed way longer here than I thought I would—not that I'm complaining or anything. I've loved spending time with you, but I still want to do that."
Yuwei stayed silent at that, and I bumped her shoulder with mine. "You could always come with me, you know. Would be a lot of fun. Could even come take the exams with me and become Magic Knights together."
Yuwei shook her head. "No, that's not what I want to do. I want to keep doing what I was before. I'm starting to get somewhere—more and more people are hearing what I'm saying. Just look at the people of Sosshi village."
I sighed. "There are better ways to go about it, you know. Like becoming a knight and trying to change things from the inside."
She shook her head again. "That might be true, but I want to try my way. Maybe if I feel it's not enough or isn't working the way I think it will, I'll consider it"
"Well, it's always an option. If you need help either way, you can always ask me."
Yuwei smiled and thanked me.
I changed the topic. "Why are we even walking right now? Screw this—let's get to the village and party tonight. Don't know when we'll get the chance again."
Yuwei looked at me and said teasingly "You're not even old enough to drink yet. What do you mean party?"
I responded with a smirk "Whose gonna stop me" and with a snap teleporting us back to the inn. "Go change and take a bath. You're all sweaty from training."
Yuwei sighed. "You're not supposed to say that to a girl, you know," and left for her room.
The next morning, I woke up with a huge headache and groaned, getting up and getting dressed, then packing all my things, ready to leave. I heard a knock on the door and opened it to see Yuwei holding a coffee and a small orb.
"How are you feeling? You had quite the night last night."
I groaned in response and stepped aside as she walked in. I finished packing my things and turned to her. "Well, I'm all ready to leave. Gonna miss hanging out with you—it's been fun."
Yuwei smiled. "Yeah, it's been fun." Handing me the orb, she said, "Take this. I bought it a couple days ago. It will allow us to stay in contact while you're traveling."
I looked surprised. "Isn't this expensive?"
She shrugged it off. "Not really."
I nodded and put it in my bag, picking it up and grabbing the carpet rolled up on the bed. I turned and said, "Well, I'll make sure to stay in touch. Don't be a stranger," and held out my fist.
She looked at it and said, "I'm not doing that."
This caused me to laugh as I hopped out the window, unfurling the carpet and hopping on. Hovering, I looked at her and smirked. "And that's why I call you Queen," before flying off fast, laughing.
Looking at me getting farther away, Yuwei with a slightly irritated look said, "I definitely won't miss that."