Chapter 58 – Perfecting magic
A few hours passed after the battle with the stone bird.
The young man finally arrived at the source of the magical remnants.
And, as he had expected, there stood a settlement of Elven people.
But there was one thing which the young man did not expect.
At the entrance of the village, Elven men were gathered and held bows aimed at the young man.
The young man stopped in his tracks, and took a closer look at an Elf holding his bow.
(I’m not sure because their face is hidden with cloth, but it appears that their ears are long
According to folklore, they were masters of the bow… but those are just normal, unenchanted arrows. Still they could kill me if I were to deactivate the barriers, so it’s best I keep vigilant
But their attitude certainly sticks out.
They’re obviously scared.
Perhaps they hid their faces to mask that fear?
Even from an amateur’s perspective, I’m quite relaxed, while I can tell that they aren’t hostile but rather horrified.
…Don’t tell me that rock bird was their trump card?
It was powerful, but…
Anyone properly equipped with combat gear could win.
…to be fair they have been isolated for a long time, so maybe they can no longer compete with magic from the outside world…
…No, their magic is still a work of wonders.
After all, such good efficiency cannot be seen with outside magitech.
If only they could somehow cooperate with this investigation…)
The young man looked at the men while pondering to himself.
Then an elderly man walked forward.
He squeezed out his voice while glaring at the young man,
「We do not know who you are or what you have come to do.
We do not know… but if you wish to do us harm, then we will fight to our dying breaths.
Even if our magic is ineffective or our arrows cannot pierce you, we will fight until the last one!」
Stimulated by the old man’s declaration, the men stretch their backs and pull their bows to their limits.
…They knew they could not beat this young man no matter what.
Sweat dripped from their bodies while they held their bows, buying time for their families to escape. To that end, they were willing to throw their lives away, if even to just buy another second.
But their determination was a bit wasteful.
The young man dropped his wand, dropped his equipment, raised his hands, and declared,
「um.. I’m not really here to fight.
I just wanted you guys to teach me your cool magic.」
…
????
A little while after the mess of a welcome, the young man was allowed to enter the elder’s residence.
Around him, Elves stood armed with bows. The ender spoke to the young man,
「I would love to teach you our magic.. but does it not seem as if your magic is far superior to ours?」
The young man answers him fully.
The happenings of the outside world.
And the efficiency of magic in the outside world.
He explained everything.
The elder listened and pondered.
He wondered what path the Elven people should take.
(To continue to repel barbarian invasions would be impossible.
Should we appear once more in the outside world?)
Yet… yet…)
In the end the elder could not quickly think of an answer, so he invited the young man to wait for a day. The young man accepted the elder’s proposal, and stayed in an unoccupied house in the village.
When the young man leaves the elder’s home, an Elf asks the elder,
「… If that brat falls asleep, do you want us to kill him?」
But the elder shook his head.
「Do not be foolish. Failure would spell our doom.」
「…but…」
「I know. … well, leave it to me.」
「…Understood」
After confirming the young man had entered the house, the elder began to contemplate the future.
????
By the time the young man began to relax in the assigned house, the women and children who had fled into the forest had been called back to the village.
People then begin to gather around his house, glancing through the window and trying to peek inside. The young man who noticed those gazes took something out of his backpack and went out of the house with it.
The people were surprised as the young man suddenly exited the house, and cautiously observed his behavior.
The young man gave it out to those people
It was chocolate.
Thick chocolate with the Republic’s coat of arms.
The Elves who were given a black board were confused by his actions.
Then the young man started eating a piece on the spot.
He swallowed the chocolate and opened his mouth wide to show people that it wasn’t some lethal poison.
But they didn’t understand his gesture, and simply consulted each other in confusion.
Among them, there was one woman who had never tried chocolate before. She closed her eyes and bit down.
Eyes gathered on her. The woman chewed and tasted the chocolate, then shouted,
「!! What is this!?
It’s so good!! It’s sweet, too!!」
… Unexpectedly, this chocolate was the trigger that would determine the future of the Elven people.
Those who heard the joyful woman’s cry sipped on their piece with trepidation that lasted only until they got a taste,
「What’s this! I’ve never tasted anything so delicious!」
「There’s such a thing in the outside world!? I would know for sure if this existed in the forest!!」
「Hey! Your piece has a little more! Unfair!!」
「What’s with that!? I’m older than you, you know!? It’s perfectly fair!」
People quickly devoured the small pieces of chocolate.
And those who didn’t get the chance looked at the youth greedily.
In response to such a sight, the young man is taken aback.
He had run out of chocolates, and at best there were only candies and biscuits meant for recovery and nutrition. There was still some more in the magical transport, but definitely not enough to satisfy an entire village.
When the young man apologized and explained his situation, the women who heard him rushed towards the elder’s residence.
They barged straight into his home, while the elder was still deep in thought. They grabbed his shoulders and shook him out of his trance, complaining to him directly.
「The days where one can live only in the woods have passed!」
「It’s time to look to the outside world!」
「The people in the outside world have advanced skills! They are not barbarians!」
「They wish to learn from us, naturally we must learn from them too!」
「「「「Come on!! Please order us to become teachers!!
We demand you give us permission to study abroad!!!」」」」
The elder, who lost to the fervent spirit of this mob of women, gave in and granted them permission to work and study abroad as teachers.
A few days passed.
The young man returned to the Republic with a few Elven girls coming as teachers and international students who were “selected” by the elder.
At the same time, researchers dispatched in addition to him found other Elven settlements. From every village, girls who were “carefully selected” by their village elders visited the Republic of the Sages.
Since then, research regarding ancient Elven magic mainly took place in the Republic.
From the results of various experiments, they were able to understand the difference between ancient and modern magic.
They learned just how wasteful modern age magic was.
And they understood that ancient magic was quite limited and unable to be used in daily life.
The Elven girls also learned a lot in the Republic.
They learned about the convenience of modern magic.
They learned about their unusually high magic efficiency.
But that’s not all.
They learned something they deemed far more valuable.
????
「Today’s the day, right?」
「Without a doubt.」
「Oh… I’m so excited that I haven’t slept at all yesterday…」
「I haven’t eaten yet… but it will soon be worth it!」
The girls lined up in the morning in front of a small store.
Although the sun hasn’t even emerged from the horizon, not just the Elven girls but girls from all sorts of races politely wait for the store to open.
And their wait is about to come to an end.
The store is unlocked and a large door rattles open.
And a woman with a gentle face appears, informing them,
「I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. We’re open for business!
????
This store is a small candy shop run by a world renowned confectioner. Such a store will open today..
Moreover, limited edition sweets that will only appear on this day will be sold as an opening promotion.
With that in mind, many girls living in the Republic of the Sages lined up in front of the store.
With the store opening, they entered the store one after another, and their eyes sparkled in front of the assortment of colorful sweets.
The Elven girls were diligently working as teachers and studying as students. At the same time, they understood just how little wealth they had in their villages.
They discovered various entertainments, schools of thought, landmarks, attractions, and delicacies that could not be found in the forest.
Even those who used to wear simple clothes back in their tribe now preferred to wear luxurious ones. While the men were stuck in their villages, the women were actively pursuing scholarly fields.
Above all, they felt that life in the outside world was much more comfortable.
In the forests, they washed with frigid water in the cold winters. In the hot summers, the only way to cool down was to bathe in the rivers.
But that was not so in the Republic.
In this land of Scholars, magic can be used to live comfortably in any season.
They also felt as if the men were more refined.
Experiencing this world, the girls no longer wished to return to their tribal lives.
In fact, one Elven girl who received a temporary return letter from her village elder looked as if she had been given a death sentence. The girls around her could only try to comfort her.
????
As a result of the efforts of the Elven girls and the collective efforts of those in the Republic, The hybrid magic was finally perfected.
This magic had the same efficiency as ancient magic, but was as unshackled and free as modern magic.
With the spread of this groundbreaking innovation, people from around the world felt the dawning of a new era.
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