Episode 203: Fire Magic
Yuma and the others entered Mojokerto city by car. Having heard it was a city, they had imagined a group of buildings, but what came into view was a townscape rich in nature.
In Japan, it would be closer to a fairly rural area.
Passing through a residential area, they arrived at a magnificent building that stood out from its surroundings. It seemed to be a government office.
The car passed through iron gates and stopped in front of the main entrance.
A woman, followed by several staff members, spoke to the three who got out of the limousine.
“Welcome. I am Dian Mira, the Governor of East Java Province.”
“Ah, hello.”
Yuma became formal at the polite greeting. Dian, who introduced herself, was a woman in her fifties wearing a white hijab on her head.
He was surprised to meet such an important person so suddenly, but what surprised him even more was—
“Amazing! This earpiece really understands what’s being said.”
“It’s true, I can hear it with almost no time lag.”
Yuma and Akito were impressed by the performance of the earpieces. Apparently, Dian was also wearing the same earpiece, so there were no problems with the conversation.
Dian smiled.
“You must be tired from your long journey. We have prepared a hotel for you, so please rest there.”
It seemed they were being welcomed. Yuma said, “Thank you,” and got back into the limousine to head to the hotel.
It seemed they would have a detailed discussion there.
Akito muttered, rubbing his shoulders, “Ah~ I’m grateful to be able to rest at the hotel.”
Yuma was also tired, so he was grateful that they had arranged a hotel. But more than that, his desire to conquer the Dungeon as soon as possible grew stronger.
◇◇◇
The hotel prepared by the government was a more magnificent building than he had expected.
A modern exterior that was a far cry from the outside scenery. He heard it was a three-star hotel.
Yuma and the others went inside together and sat down on the sofas in the lounge. A male government official sat opposite them.
“Nice to meet you, my name is Hendri, and I will be supporting your activities. I look forward to working with you.”
“O-Of course, please do.”
Yuma replied nervously. He also had a translation earpiece in his ear. It seemed to be used quite a lot.
“It’s so kind of you to come from overseas at a time like this! Everyone in the government office is grateful!”
The official who introduced himself as Hendri looked to be in his late twenties and had a very cheerful personality.
His round face and brown skin, and the white teeth that spilled out when he smiled, left a very strong impression.
“Are we the only ones coming from overseas to help?”
Rui, who was sitting next to Yuma, asked Hendri.
“Of course. Right now, the whole world is doing everything they can to protect their own countries. No one has the余裕 to send Seekers to other countries.”
Rui nodded in agreement, saying, “I see.” Then Hendri looked around, leaned forward, and began to speak in a low voice.
“By the way, is that rumor true?”
“Rumor? What rumor?”
When Yuma asked with a puzzled look, Hendri widened his eyes and raised his voice, “What else could it be!”
“It’s the story about you defeating the 【Red King】. It’s a widespread rumor that Japan is the only country in the world that has done it.”
Yuma said, “Ah.” To be precise, it wasn’t “defeat” but “subjugation”… It seemed that it hadn’t been properly conveyed internationally.
“Well, yes.”
“So it’s true! It’s so encouraging to have Seekers from such an amazing country come to support us!”
Hendri’s face lit up with joy. They were only helping because they wanted Magic Gems, but he didn’t feel bad if they were this happy.
“We want to conquer the Dungeon as soon as possible, so can you take us there right away?”
Hendri was surprised by Yuma’s words.
“No, no, the Dungeon Conquest plan for the 【White Dungeon】 is currently underway, so we would like you to participate in that. We are not thinking of sending you to the Dungeon alone.”
“When will that plan be executed?”
Rui asked.
“In two days. Many Indonesian Seeker Clans will be gathering, so we would like you to participate with them at that time.”
“Two days from now…”
Yuma put his hand to his mouth and pondered. He wanted to start conquering the Dungeon as soon as possible, but he couldn’t go against the government’s policy.
Reluctantly, Yuma agreed and told Hendri that he would participate in the Dungeon Conquest in two days.
After saying goodbye to Hendri, who thanked them with a smile, Yuma and the others headed to their rooms. It was a very clean and spacious room, but Akito complained that it was a shared room.
“What! It’s not a private room, isn’t that a little stingy?”
Rui smiled wryly and admonished him, “Well, it’s okay, isn’t it? We’re being allowed to stay for free, so we should be grateful.”
Yuma lay down on the bed in a sprawling manner and muttered discontentedly, “Two days is a long time.”
Rui and Akito exchanged glances. Of course, they both knew that Yuma was trying to collect the “White Magic Gem” as soon as possible.
But there was no point in complaining here.
“It can’t be helped, Yuma. We just have to do what we need to do during these two days.”
“What we need to do?”
Yuma frowned at Akito’s words.
“There is, isn’t there! You haven’t been practicing your Fire Magic at all, have you? Just because you swallowed a Magic Gem doesn’t mean you can use magic right away.”
“Ah… come to think of it, that’s right.”
Certainly, he hadn’t used Fire Magic even once since swallowing the 【Red King】’s Magic Gem.
Besides, he hadn’t tested how much power the Magic Enchanted Armament, the “Variable Pickel,” could produce.
He had to adjust both before conquering the Dungeon.
“The more powerful the magic, the more difficult it is to control. You should ask Rui about how to handle Fire Magic.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll teach you.”
Rui brought a washbasin from the bathroom and placed it on the low table.
He filled the basin with water as a measure to prevent a fire.
“Okay, Yuma, put your finger over this basin.”
“O-Okay…”
Yuma sat in front of the low table and held up his index finger over the basin.
“Concentrate and try to create a small Fireball at your fingertip.”
“Got it.”
Yuma concentrated. This was the same practice he had done to use Water Magic.
If he could control it well here, he would be able to use it in actual combat. Yuma closed his eyes and put strength into his fingertip.
Then he felt a sudden burst of light.
He had struggled quite a bit when using Water Magic, but this time it seemed to activate easily.
Yuma opened his eyelids with joy. What he saw was an unexpected sight.
His hand was on fire. It was also raising a high pillar of fire.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?”
All three of them screamed.