The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Elenora, the genius magician our party prides itself on.

Her mornings are very late.

"Wake up! Wake up, Elenora!"

Saaya was shaking the body of the ever-carefree lamb girl, trying to wake her up. Elenora, who had immediately gone back to sleep after learning it was a day off, was still sleeping soundly despite it being almost noon.

"Wake~ up~! Mataisa is in trouble~!"

They had held a strategy meeting in the morning, hastily called by Ruruk who had returned after hearing about the stampede.

Ruruk had left for Stoania with Seori.

In exchange, Saaya and the others were to head to Mataisa.

They relied on Elenora's teleportation magic to move to the royal capital, so they couldn't go unless she woke up. For nearly an hour, they had been trying to wake the lamb girl who refused to get up.

"Saaya, there's no need to hurry like Ruruk said. It'll be a while before civilians are harmed."

"That may be true, but even the adventurers and soldiers fighting have families. Isn't it better if fewer people are sad?"

"...Saaya is too good. Can't be helped, Nagi will help too."

Nagi sighed as if exasperated, and said,

"Come on Elenora, get up quickly and let's go hunt monsters. Apparently, we can hunt as much as we want today."

"...Mm."

Surprisingly, she woke up immediately. Saaya was dumbfounded.

She had misjudged the wake-up point of this battle maniac. How frustrating.

With sleepy eyes, Elenora grabbed the staff by her pillow.

"Monsters, where?"

"Just wash your face and change your clothes first. Then we'll go."

"Mm."

Elenora headed to the washroom.

A little while later, when everyone was ready, Saaya and the others teleported to their house in the Mataisa royal capital.

"Monsters, defeat."

"Wait, wait. We're going to the royal palace first. If we're going to stop the stampede, controlling the dungeon core is the fastest way."

"Mm... troublesome. Monsters, kill."

"We'll go defeat them after controlling the dungeon core! Okay!"

Saaya dragged the muscle-brained girl who was trying to head to the dungeon, walking towards the royal castle.

When they arrived at the castle, it seemed Ruruk had arranged things through Luney Trading Company, as they were immediately guided into the court. After passing through tight security, they were led to what looked like a conference room. There were two magicians in the room.

"So the little miss has come too. Here, give us a hand."

"I ask for your help as well."

One was Cardel.

The other was a middle-aged man with an impressive beard.

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Elenora. I've heard much about you. I am Lindon Landlard, a court magician. I'm embarrassed to say that Lord Cardel and I alone haven't been able to control it properly..."

"Mm. Do it."

Elenora approached the table without hesitation. A large dungeon core was emitting complex light.

The three of them began attempting to control the magical power simultaneously. Knowing that unnecessary interference would be counterproductive, Saaya, Nagi, and Punisuke silently watched the scene.

As Elenora joined in, the light gradually became calmer.

Landlard was surprised, and Cardel smiled.

"As expected of someone with experience. Your efficiency is different from ours."

"Oh my. Have you controlled a dungeon core before, Lady Elenora?"

"Mm."

"That's impressive. Even though I've gained experience as a court magician, I'm painfully aware of how much I don't know and how much more I need to study."

Landlard laughed wryly.

The three magicians continued to control the magical power, taking plenty of time.

Slowly but surely, the light settled down... but.

Just as the sun was about to set, it suddenly stopped moving at a certain state.

"...This is strange. It suddenly stopped responding."

"Indeed. It feels as if the magical circuit has been cut off."

The court magicians tilted their heads.

Elenora's expression also distorted slightly. She immediately lowered her hands, stopping the magical power control.

"Mm. This, fake."

"Eh?"

"W-What do you mean?"

The court magicians continued their control while showing agitation.

"Fake. Control, meaningless."

"That's nonsense. This is undoubtedly the dungeon core we've been keeping in the royal palace."

"That's right! We've even put marks on it to prevent substitution!"

"Mm, real. But, now different."

Elenora narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

Landlard stared at the dungeon core as if trying to bore holes in it, and said,

"But the magical circuit is connected to the dungeon! If this is fake--"

"Could it be that the control rights have been stolen?"

Cardel said with a sudden realization.

"There's no doubt that this is the main body of the dungeon core. But it's certain that we can't control it now. Then, couldn't it be that the control rights have been stolen by something else?"

"I've never heard of such a thing... No, but if we think about it that way..."

"The theft incident, that might have been the Maguu Empire's attempt to steal the dungeon core's control rights. It was a mystery why they'd abandon it in such a place after going through the trouble of stealing it, but this explanation fits. Perhaps it was after they had stolen the dungeon's control rights."

"Isn't this terrible?"

"It's already a terrible situation. It means that those who stole the control rights caused this stampede."

Cardel spoke calmly.

Controlling a dungeon core isn't something done often. They won't be blamed for not testing the recovered dungeon core... but.

"Tch, this is our oversight. We need to investigate immediately. If this is an artificial stampede, the one with the control rights should be in the lower levels of the dungeon."

"But Lord Cardel, we can't enter the dungeon now. The transfer device isn't working either, and even if we proceed slowly, it's overflowing with monsters. Who knows how long it would take to reach there..."

"It's troublesome. But we can't not go, can we?"

"That's true, but we also have to protect the castle..."

"Then, we'll go."

Saaya interjected immediately.

If they can't control the dungeon core, they'll have to stop the stampede by force. All that's left is to fight on site.

Moreover,

"Our companions are also eager to go."

"Mm. Leave it to me."

"Nagi can finally go all out too."

"I'll do my best too~!"

Next to Saaya are the top three battle-loving members of our party.

Rather, they're more suited for direct action.

"I've kept you waiting, Elenora. The opponent is the dungeon. You can go wild, okay?"

"Mm."

I felt like I saw a glimmer of mad joy in the depths of her sleepy eyes.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Rusty of [Undersea] was starting to feel tired.

A day and a half had passed since the stampede began.

Even though they were fighting in rotations and taking breaks, he was getting worn down by the endless stream of monsters.

A-rank monsters had already started to appear here and there in the dungeon plaza surrounded by double walls. Since they were ignoring all small monsters, the main battlefield had become the area inside the outer wall, but they were making sure to take down high-rank monsters here without letting them escape.

Currently, only [Undersea], Luna, and one A-rank adventurer team were fighting inside the double walls.

An endless group battle.

So this is a stampede.

"Damn, if I let my guard down, I'll lose focus."

If concentration breaks, you could die in an instant. Knowing this makes the mood even more depressing. It wasn't just the simple threat of monsters, but also a mental challenge.

Except for Luna, who had been fighting with a smile since joining the battle, everyone probably felt the same way.

Rusty continued to defeat the monsters in front of him while encouraging his allies.

Honestly, at this point, there's no room for coordination. Our party doesn't have a pure magician, so everyone can fight to some extent at close range.

But the A-rank party nearby--

"Kyaa!"

"I won't let you!"

The pure magician girl was dragged down by a Garm Wolf that had pounced on her from the side.

The leader immediately went to help, but the other monsters he had been fighting swarmed in.

That looks bad.

"Karmandi, cover them!"

"Understood!"

The butler-like companion who had been fighting back-to-back with Rusty threw several needles from his sleeve.

Most of the monsters heading towards the A-rank party fell, their joints pierced by needles. As always, his skill was impressive.

"Brother, Karmandi, above you!"

The moment Karmandi's attention was diverted, the giant ape they had been fighting used the earthen wall to make a big jump. It was trying to crush Karmandi from directly above.

Karmandi rolled to the side to avoid it. Rusty slashed at the giant ape's leg with his longsword as he dodged, but the cut was shallow.

"Karmandi, go for the head! I'll take the body!"

"As you wish!"

"Karmandi, behind you!"

From behind Karmandi, who was facing the giant ape, a Bloody Hedgehog—a hedgehog monster rolling at a ferocious speed—was approaching.

"Muu!"

"Karmandi!"

Karmandi quickly jumped back and crossed his arms in a defensive posture. But he couldn't completely nullify the momentum and was sent flying. It wasn't a fatal wound, but his arms were deeply injured.

As Rusty was distracted by his companion's predicament, the giant ape thrust its fist at him. But this wasn't enough to threaten Rusty. Just as he was about to dodge at the last second and launch a counter-attack—the giant ape grinned.

"Gyagya!"

"Wha--"

Its arms increased.

It must be the giant ape's skill. Two more arms grew from its shoulders, striking Rusty who had tried to dodge. The power was incredible.

Immediately after his brain was rattled, he was slammed against the earthen wall.

"Rusty!"

"Brother!"

At his companions' cries, he regained the consciousness he was about to lose.

He reached for the high potion hidden at his waist, but immediately jumped to the side. The giant ape's kick grazed his shoulder, and he rolled over and over.

His concentration was disrupted.

For the caring Rusty, it was unavoidable that he followed Karmandi with his eyes. But that became a fatal opening.

What am I doing?

There's still no sign of the stampede ending. To be caught off guard in a place like this--

"Gyagya!"

"Guh!"

Unable to completely avoid the giant ape's pursuit, Rusty was sent flying.

Unfortunately, right where Rusty rolled, there was an A-rank monster that had just emerged from the dungeon.

"Grrrr..."

A winged wolf that uses lightning magic.

It was a Marcosias, one of the higher-ranking A-rank monsters.

Normally, they could defeat such an opponent without much trouble as a party.

But this timing was the worst.

"Nooo!"

"Brother, dodge!"

"Rusty-sama!"

"S-Stop!"

Terrible purple lightning crackled in the Marcosias's mouth, about to be mercilessly unleashed towards Rusty--

"[Air's Lock]"

The world stopped.

...No, that's not it.

All movement around had just stopped. Strong magical power continued to interfere with the air, sealing the movements of both monsters and adventurers.

Rusty looked up in the direction of the voice—straight above.

Walking slowly through the hole in the top of the dome-shaped wall was a small adventurer.

It was a white young girl with sheep horns.

She looked around and tapped her staff on an invisible foothold.

"[Full Scan]"

Simultaneous chanting!? And it's a forbidden spell!

Rusty was taken aback by the young girl who activated a forbidden spell while still under the effect of Air's Lock.

Simultaneous chanting is theoretically possible, but due to the level of skill required, it's said to be an ultra-high-level technique that only a handful of people in recorded history have achieved. Even Rusty's master—Cardel—couldn't reach this level.

The sheep girl who used it effortlessly muttered without changing her expression, as if she were just cleaning up trash.

"[Compression]"

At that moment, the frozen monsters began to shrink rapidly.

Screaming, their bones were crushed, their flesh compressed, until they became small spheres. Of course, the Marcosias that was about to attack Rusty, and the troublesome giant ape, were also crushed without any resistance.

In just a few seconds, all the monsters in the plaza were dead.

Silence fell.

"What... is this..."

What flowed down Rusty's back was awe, or perhaps fear.

The sheep girl who had killed all the monsters in the plaza in an instant tapped her staff once more with a clank.

Immediately after, they regained freedom of movement.

After confirming the safety of his companions who had collapsed from the incredible sight, Rusty looked up at the sheep girl, aware of his slightly trembling legs.

She must undoubtedly be the rumored genius, Elenora.

Rusty tried to thank her for saving them, but what came out of his mouth instead were different words.

"...And they say this isn't a demon lord? You've got to be kidding."

All the adventurers in the plaza agreed with those words.

------------------------

Author Notes:

  Afterword Tips ~ [Compression] ~

  • [Compression]

   > A new extreme-class magic developed by Elen.

   >> A wind-attribute magic that applies Air's Lock. As it reduces the area covered by magical power, it simultaneously wraps the excess magical power from the reduced area around the surface in multiple layers, increasing its strength. Only substances with equivalent strength (mithril hardness or above as a guideline) or disrupting the air to break the magical interference can resist this spell. Even among extreme-class magic, it requires considerable skill and talent in wind magic, but it's incredibly powerful in return.

   >>> This time, Elen used it after [Full Scan], so all monsters within a 10km radius (including those trying to exit the dungeon) are dead. It's the most terrifying magic that kills only enemies.

------------------------