Chapter 106 : Southern Jungle (1)
The serene lakeside of the Evergreen Forest was peaceful today as well.
Sunlight shimmered on the gentle waves, and a cozy breeze rustled through the leaves.
After finishing the sandwich lovingly made by Levana, Ariel turned to Lakia and asked if she could teach her magic.
“Of course, I can teach you! If that’s what you wish, Ariel!”
Lakia nodded enthusiastically with a radiant smile.
“What kind of magic would you like to learn? Shall we start lightly with Meteor Storm? Or Blizzard? Hmm, maybe Giga Thunder or Explosion…”
Engulfed in her enthusiasm, Lakia rattled off spells one after another.
Each was a high-level spell boasting incredible destructive power.
“Oh! For practical use, Rain of Apocalypse is probably best! If you’re planning to conquer the continent, mass destruction spells are essential! Like a Hurricane Tempest to wipe out the human empire in one go…”
“Lakia.”
Ariel quietly interjected.
“…I just want to learn basic elemental magic.”
“B-Basic elemental magic?”
“Yeah. I don’t really have plans to conquer the continent.”
“Oh…”
Lakia awkwardly scratched her head.
“O-Of course, I can teach you basic elemental magic too!”
She quickly adjusted her attitude, worried that Ariel might decide not to learn magic at all.
Thus, Ariel began learning basic elemental magic from Lakia.
As always, no complex processes were necessary.
Just by hearing the principles and formulas, Ariel was able to comprehend and wield all elemental magic.
Moments later, Lakia asked, “Shall we try some practical training now?”
“Sure.”
Ariel moved closer to the lakeside.
Levana, Ghost, Black, and Ash, who had been lounging under the shade of nearby trees, watched Ariel with interest.
As Ariel reached the lakeside, she extended her hand and gathered mana.
A tiny droplet of water began to form in front of her palm.
“Ah! You’re doing great, Ariel! That’s it!”
Though it was a very basic elemental spell, Lakia exaggerated her praise.
From Lakia’s perspective, it didn’t feel like she had taught much, so she took the chance to make herself seem more useful.
Meanwhile, Ariel stared curiously at the droplet of water forming in front of her palm.
Creating water out of nothing in the air seemed truly amazing.
It struck her how incredible magic really was.
With this, she could wash herself or quench her thirst anytime, anywhere.
Deciding to make the droplet larger, Ariel infused more mana.
The droplet quickly grew to the size of a fist.
As she added even more mana, it soon became as large as a person.
Ariel moved the water mass toward the center of the lake, continually feeding it mana.
The water mass kept growing bigger and bigger.
She then tried spinning it.
SPLASH!
A massive water column shot up from the center of the lake.
The towering column, seemingly piercing the sky, grew even larger and transformed into a truly overwhelming sight.
“Yes! That’s it, Ariel! You’ve got it!” Lakia cheered, jumping up and down in excitement, while Levana, who had been petting Ash nearby, looked on with a bewildered expression.
‘How is that basic elemental magic…?’
The water column Ariel had summoned was far beyond the level of basic elemental magic.
It looked powerful enough to engulf an entire human city in an instant.
As Ariel dispersed the water column into the sky, rain began to fall over the Evergreen lakeside.
Ash gleefully dashed around, and Levana used her Holy Shield spell to protect her saintess robes from getting wet.
The scent of fresh grass lingered after the rain stopped.
Having tested water magic, Ariel decided to try fire magic next.
From her earlier test, she realized that as long as she could channel mana into a spell, mastering high-level magic wasn’t strictly necessary.
She could adjust the power of her magic through application alone.
Of course, this was a fundamental concept of magic. No magician was unaware of it.
However, applying it often resulted in significant mana loss, and controlling magic wasn’t easy, so mastering advanced spells was generally more efficient.
Ariel extended her hand again, preparing to cast a fire spell.
At that moment, a frantic voice called out from the other side of the lakeside.
“Big sister! Big sister, big sister!!”
Lu was flying toward her at high speed.
In his hands was a book larger than his body, which he seemed to carry with the help of some flight powder.
Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible for him to hold such a heavy tome with his strength.
“Please, look at this book!”
Flying straight to Ariel, Lu opened the book to a specific page.
The book was The History of Giants by the adventurer Eras, and the page Lu showed contained details of Eras’s discoveries in the southern jungle.
Pointing at an illustration on the page, Lu exclaimed, “This picture! Eras discovered it deep within the southern jungle at a giant’s ruin. I deciphered it—it’s actually a code!”
Lakia approached, curious.
“What’s that book? Isn’t it the boring one Lionel was reading? Where’d you find it?”
“Under Lionel’s bed.”
“Under his bed? How’d you end up there?”
“Well… I was just, uh, looking for fun stuff…”
Lu trailed off awkwardly and pointed back at the page.
“More importantly, this code! I deciphered it, big sister!”
Ariel stared at the illustration.
To her, it didn’t look like a code at all—just a simple drawing.
“This drawing is a code left by the giants!” Lu declared excitedly.
“According to my deciphering, ‘Only those who seek the truth shall open the gates of Asgard.’ What do you think?”
Ariel tilted her head.
“…Asgard?”
“Yes! Asgard! That Asgard!”
Just as Ariel was about to ask what Asgard was, Levana spoke up from behind her.
“Asgard is a hidden world said to be inhabited by the ancient giants. While its existence hasn’t been confirmed, it’s believed to hold their culture and wisdom.”
“Exactly!”
Lu nodded fervently.
“The ancient giants created a sanctuary for themselves, hidden from the outside world, and that’s Asgard.”
Lu pointed to the book’s cover.
“The author of this book, Eras, spent his life searching for Asgard, exploring the continent. But in his later years, he had to stop his adventures. His last journey was to the southern jungle, where he discovered this drawing, which I deciphered as a code. I’m certain, big sister—there’s a secret in the southern jungle leading to Asgard!”
Lu’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “So, what do you think about making our next adventure to the southern jungle?”
The southern jungle was quite far from the Evergreen Forest.
In between lay the vast Kaldora Desert, teeming with dangerous monsters like griffins and hydras, and lacking water and food—an almost impossible crossing for most.
But beyond the desert lay the jungle, where the ruins of the giants awaited.
Lu’s suggestion was clear: embark on an adventure to the jungle.
“Alright.”
Ariel agreed without hesitation.
Crossing the desert to explore the unknown jungle was an exhilarating prospect.
“But, Ariel…”
Lakia spoke up hesitantly.
“If it’s the south, I can’t go with you. That area belongs to the Dragon Lord.”
The Dragon Lord, the leader of all dragons on the continent, was the most powerful among them.
“The Dragon Lord governs the entire southern region. If another dragon enters without permission, it’s considered a breach of oath.”
Dragons each had their own territories and rarely intruded on others’ domains without urgent reasons.
While most dragons claimed a mountain range as their territory, the Dragon Lord, greedy as he was, had claimed the entire southern region as his.
The mood grew somber.
Both Ariel and Lu wanted to explore the southern jungle, but they didn’t want to leave Lakia behind.
“Maybe I can find another location. There must be more giant ruins somewhere. I’ll check this book again…”
Lu tried to sound optimistic as he flipped through the book.
But in truth, he had already read it countless times.
There was no other location.
The giant ruins existed only deep within the southern jungle.
“It’s fine,” Lakia said, shaking her head.
“I don’t need to go. Besides, my mother hasn’t fully recovered yet, and the wolf cubs still need care. Ariel, you should go with Lu. I’ll stay here with Levana in the Evergreen Forest.”
Levana also couldn’t join the adventure.
As a saintess, she had to return to her sanctuary at night, and with various cathedral events keeping her busy lately, going on an adventure was out of the question.
“Promise me we’ll all go on an adventure together next time, as long as it’s not the south,” Lakia said with a cheerful smile.
Ariel reached out and patted Lakia’s head.
“Thank you, Lakia. I’ll bring back a gift for you.”
“Something shiny?” Lakia’s eyes sparkled.
“…Yes.”
“Yay!”
Lakia leaped into Ariel’s arms, and Lu and Levana watched the two with warm smiles.