The wind wavered slightly, heading straight for the target brick.
As the air popped, one of the bricks shattered into pieces. When another Wind Blade was released in quick succession, this time two bricks split in half.
“Yes! Success!!”
“Alright!” Yuma made a triumphant pose.
“What do you think, Akito? This means I can use magic properly, right!? Let’s go tell Dasha-san and Kaira-san!”
Akito gave Yuma, who was speaking so cheerfully, a wry smile.
“No need, no need. It’s already decided that you can enter the Dungeon. Besides, even if you can use it, it’s just basic Wind Magic.”
Yuma pouted at Akito’s negative opinion. “What’s with that?”
“But it’s amazing that you’ve become this good in such a short time.”
Yuma’s face brightened at Rui’s praise, and he said, “Right!?”
After finishing their Wind Magic practice, the three decided to return to the school building. On the way, Rui opened his mouth thoughtfully.
“Considering the type and size of the Green Magic Gem that Yuma drank, I’d say his Mana Index is around four to five thousand.”
“Is that so? That’s quite a lot.”
Saying that, Yuma looked at his hands.
Now he can use Fire, Water, and Wind, as well as Recovery Magic. He can also use Physical Enhancement magic, so all that’s left is Thunder Magic.
He had gained many types of magic, but he didn’t really feel it.
“I can use more types of magic, but there are few that I can actually master.”
As Yuma muttered discontentedly, Rui smiled and said, “That’s not true.”
“At least we know you’re good at Wind Magic, so if you keep practicing, you’ll get even better.”
“Yeah… I guess so. I’m going to practice a little more. You two go back to the room first.”
Rui nodded in agreement, and Akito replied, “Okay, don’t push yourself too hard.”
Yuma parted ways with the two and returned to the vacant lot where he had been practicing. He looked for bricks to use as targets, but he had already destroyed all the suitable ones.
“I wonder if there’s a better place to practice?” Yuma thought, leaving the university grounds and heading into town.
As Yuma searched for a place to practice, he looked around the Indian town. Being near the Dungeon, the town had suffered directly from the Monsters.
Half of the buildings were completely destroyed, and although some buildings remained intact, there were no signs of people.
The residents had already evacuated and were no longer in this town.
As he looked around for an open space to practice Wind Magic, his eyes stopped on a vacant lot in a corner of the town. Someone was standing there.
“I wonder what they’re doing?” he thought, approaching, and saw that it was Dasha.
“Dasha-san.”
“Hmm? Oh, Mitaka. What are you doing in a place like this?”
“I just came for a walk. What are you doing, Dasha-san?”
As he said that, Yuma noticed that there was an unnatural mound on the ground within the site.
There were traces of something being buried, and they were arranged in a regular pattern. He knew it instinctively. This was definitely a cemetery.
Dasha looked downcast, then slightly raised the corner of her mouth.
“These are the people who died in this town. When the Monsters first overflowed, they were attacked without being able to escape… The damage to their bodies was terrible, I heard.”
Yuma couldn’t say anything and listened in silence.
“They must have been so scared without knowing what was happening…”
Dasha turned her gaze to Yuma.
“I’ve heard that your country has also suffered considerable damage. Is it about the same as here?”
“Ah, yes, the damage is certainly severe, but it’s limited to certain areas, so it might not be as bad as India. I didn’t know it was destroyed over such a wide area…”
Japan’s capital region was devastated, but other areas were not as badly affected.
In contrast, he had heard that almost all regions of India had been damaged, to the point where recovery was difficult.
The Green Lord and the swarm of insects were ravaging this country.
Dasha said, “I see,” and averted her gaze. Her profile looked somewhat melancholic.
“Um… how much longer until we enter the Dungeon?”
If possible, he wanted to enter as soon as possible, but—
“Ah, it will take another three days. Some of the more powerful Seeker Clans have yet to arrive. Once we have enough personnel, we’ll be ready to go at any time.”
“I see… I understand.”
Yuma bowed and turned to leave. Dasha called out to Yuma’s back.
“Mitaka-kun.”
“Yes?”
Yuma stopped and turned around.
“Are you really going to enter the Dungeon? Most of the people on this expedition will die. You are no exception. You can still quit now, you know.”
Dasha’s expression softened for a moment. Akito said that the Indian Seekers were in a “mutually exploitative relationship,” but at least Dasha seemed to be worried about him.
However, Yuma’s answer was already decided.
“I’m going. There’s something I absolutely have to accomplish.”
“I see…”
Dasha didn’t say anything more. He thought about leaving, but Yuma suddenly stopped.
He looked at Dasha’s profile again.
“Dasha-san, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Before coming here, I heard about a Stone Tablet in Indonesia. Apparently, information about Monsters sometimes comes from it. Do you know anything about it, Dasha-san?”
“A Stone Tablet…”
Dasha put a finger to her mouth and thought with her eyes downcast.
“Certainly, information from the International Dungeon Research Organization (IDR) sometimes comes in. But it’s very limited. It might not be what you’re looking for.”
“That’s okay! Please tell me what you know.”
He wanted to know more about his power and about the Black King.
“…The information I know from the Stone Tablet is about Unique Monsters. Recently, it seems that things written about the Six Kings in particular have been excavated.”
“The Six Kings…”
“As you may have heard, the world’s communication situation is dire. The higher the Mana concentration, the more radio communication is disrupted, and infrastructure is being destroyed by Monsters. The information that comes in under such circumstances is fragmented and inaccurate. I want you to listen with that in mind.”
“Yes.”
Yuma gulped.
“It seems that ancient humans left behind a Stone Tablet, and it shows that they were studying the Six Kings. Well, they must have been a threat to humanity.”
That was easy enough to understand given the current state of the world. Dasha continued.
“The ancient humans gave names to the Kings and clearly distinguished them from other Monsters. The IDR also followed this classification and began calling the Six Kings ‘Named Monsters’.”
“Named Monsters…”
“Originally, the names of the White King and the Black King were known from previously excavated Stone Tablets. But it seems that the names of the Red King and the Green Lord were written on newly excavated Stone Tablets. Those names are—”
The names of the two Kings were spoken from Dasha’s mouth.