12 Chapter 12: Eastern Forest (5)

Over this short night, I've come to realize one thing. The longer I use my cursed energy, the harder it becomes to control both it and my actions. The "curse" is slowly but surely devouring my sanity. Although the effects might not be noticeable after just a few minutes of use, "Rikugan" was more than capable of doing so. Additionally, the power of one of the "Six Eyes" weakens the impact of the cursed energy on me, allowing me to use it, though not as long as I'd like.

As it turns out, committing murders also has its unpleasant consequences.

So, there are two abilities of my eyes that I can be certain of: one that can see magic and other forms of energy, let's call it "omniscience." And another one that somehow allows me to control mana and curses, let's call it "monitoring system" or "monitoring eye," like the computers from my world. Now, I'm left to discover the remaining four. Knowledge of my abilities will greatly aid their effective use. I'll need to think about that thoroughly, but such an endeavor requires a calm and clear stream of thoughts. I'll leave it for later.

"Hey, kid. What was that malevolent energy emanating from you?" my partner asked, after which all the curse finally dissipated. "It was terrifying, like someone pushed the World to the brink. Brrr," he embraced himself, shivering. I understand his reaction.

I didn't get to experience Mirajane's wrath myself, but their battle with Erza will stay in my memory for a long time.

"I don't know, and it doesn't matter right now," I brushed off his question. At the moment, there are more important matters than discussions about my newly discovered abilities. "Look over there!" I pointed towards the campfire, where seven volcanoes started to fight each other after going out of control from the mage's spell. "I don't have much strength left, and my magic is almost gone. I can shoot a water bullet once or twice, then I'll be out."

"Don't worry, we'll handle this now," my senpai tactfully refrained from interrogating me further, understanding the current circumstances. Approaching the unconscious person, he picked up the idle sword, and then headed towards the battle between the enraged beasts. "Take your shots at their heads, I'll draw their attention and lead them to you. I may not have much magic left, but I've got plenty of strength. I can handle twenty of them if need be!"

With a bold grin, he began to swing the sword-less hand in a windmill motion, warming up for a good brawl.

I was surprised, not entirely believing his words. He's strong, but twenty of them at once, and without magic? However, despite my skepticism, I began to charge a water bullet. If an experienced mage says something like that, there must be at least some truth to it.

This time, it only took me about five seconds to prepare the spell. Of course, I didn't complete the process of forming the water right away; I waited for Wakaba to draw all the attention to himself.

Once he herded them closer like a shepherd does with his cattle, my senpai gave the signal, and I shot one of them in the eye. The bullet stopped in its skull, destroying the brain. The second water ball wasn't as accurate; it pierced the throat instead of the eye.

Water magic is incredibly potent. My statement is based on the fact that it's not only strong in offense but also in defense and support. This magic is versatile and can be used effectively in combat under almost any conditions.

"That's my limit; from here on, it's all you. If I do this again, you'll have to carry me too," he yelled so that I could hear, trying to regain his composure with deep breaths. This procedure not only calms the mind but also allows you to find new strength to carry out tasks.

"Understood," dodging a massive primate's fist, Wakaba turned briefly to me. "Free these ladies and kids, and you can take a break," he ordered, pushing his blade into the second monkey's eye.

In terms of experience, I think they've completed a dozen missions like this, so the volcanoes shouldn't be too much of a problem, especially when he's using cold weapons. Until this point, he hasn't fought them seriously enough for me to gain combat experience, for which I'm thankful. Now, Wakaba can go all out.

***

After we freed all the captives, we decided to take a break. It was already dawn, and after securely tying up our "money," Wakaba launched a red-colored signal rocket into the air, which exploded like fireworks. Thanks to my senpai's partially restored magic and the unique properties of the substance within the rocket, the smoke would linger in the atmosphere for some time.

As he had told me, the rocket indicated the location of a better resting place. So, Macao should come here with all our stuff; it won't be a problem for him. He has the ability to control the properties of fire, giving it any shape, density, and temperature.

Right after all this, I lay down to sleep right on the grass. I was utterly exhausted, my entire body ached, and my eyes were half-closed due to the burning sensation, so my body persistently demanded rest.

During this time, the freed captives slowly began preparing food. Water was nearby. The continuation of the river we saw in the previous camp was just part of a much larger river, which in turn flowed into the sea, so there should be plenty of fish. They found roots to make a kind of fish stew.

I woke up only in the evening. I think it's been a couple of hours, and the sun is about to disappear below the horizon. During my sleep, they moved me closer to the campfire under a tree, placing a large piece of fabric under me and using it as a cover. My body was sore, and my eyes and head throbbed unpleasantly, but I could move. Slowly, without any sudden movements, but that's a good sign.

"Awake, Sato?" Makao, who was eating soup, addressed me. He wasn't alone; there were children and several women with him. They looked at me with gratitude, nodding as a greeting, but there was a hint of wariness in their eyes. It seems the cursed energy was quite powerful, even those who didn't possess magic could sense it.

"Is there more?" I walked over to them and sat down.

"Yes, of course, I'll pour some for you," the same woman who spoke to me last night approached from behind. Now, there was no hint of that barely perceptible emptiness on her face, only quiet joy. "Here you go."

The girl handed me a bowl of soup and sat down beside me. After an awkward pause of about a second, she looked at me seriously and began speaking.

"I want to thank you on behalf of all of us, Satoru. We won't ask about what happened with you, nor do we need to know. After all, wizard's affairs are not the concerns of ordinary people. Your friends said everything is fine, and there's nothing bad about that aura. Just... thank you so much," tears welled up in her eyes, and she immediately bowed to me, touching her forehead to the ground, which others did as well, but not as low, thanking me from above with a few words of gratitude.

"If it weren't for you... then..." sobbing into the grass, another woman thanked me again, unable to continue the words she clearly wanted to say.

"It's all right," I gently raised the woman's head and pressed it to my shoulder, simultaneously running my fingers through her hair. In turn, she hugged me tightly. I could only groan in pain, and she, apologizing, loosened her embrace. "After all, I'm still a Fairy Tail wizard."

It was a bit awkward, but at the same time, I felt a certain pride in myself.

By this time, Wakaba was approaching, carrying two of the volcanoes I had incapacitated. Seeing me and the woman, he smiled in a certain way, giving a thumbs-up, and then headed towards the river. I smiled back and half-focused on my other comrade.

"What's our plan from here?" I asked Makao, who had just finished eating, handing the dishes to a girl who had come over.

"We'll freshen up the remaining two," he said, gesturing to those being carried by Wakaba, using the hand that had held a plate just a moment ago. "Then we'll get some rest, and tomorrow morning, we'll head to the guild. We'll leave the prisoners in the city's care; they'll manage everything themselves."

"We've already taken down fifteen?" I asked without much surprise. The hunt turned out to be quite successful.

"Yes, I captured five, you got three, and he took down seven. You, in turn, will get all the rewards for the bandits, and we'll split the mission's reward among the three of us. Sound good?"

"Sure," I tiredly smiled. The woman released me once again, apologizing, and then went to wash the dishes with the others. Meanwhile, I started on the long-awaited meal.

"Here you go," Wakaba approached, placing a can of beef and rice next to me. He had brought the volcanoes, but the work was left to his friend, and then he joined me. "We gave the rest to the kids; they need it more. You don't mind, right?"

"No, that's fine," I calmly responded, tossing the metal can onto the fire to heat it up.

"That's great," he continued, watching the campfire. "As for the magic, don't worry too much. Mira has a similar thing, and you had very good control over it, so there shouldn't be any problems. You can approach her; she might be able to teach you how to use it."

Seeing my slightly downcast mood, he reassured me with his words. Although I'm not particularly worried about it, I'm very grateful for his concern. It's nice when people treat you this way; it warms the heart.

"But be sure to talk to the master; if anything, he'll guide you and help. And also retrieve the volcano that you moved with magic. We'll freshen that one up too."

"Okay," I nodded in agreement, chewing on the fish with the roots. Focusing, I probed the carcass in my subspace and pulled out my prize.

As for the master, I'll have something to ask him about this.

I experienced an unpleasant event, but I'm grateful that it happened this way. In this day, I realized and understood a lot: firstly, I am one hundred percent "Satoru Gojo," and there's no reason for me to doubt it any further. Secondly, I am still weak. It's not enough to learn a bunch of spells and types of magic; I need to hone my skills, toughen my body and spirit, gain experience. My defeat showed that, morally, I'm not as strong as I thought. Not everything is what it seems, and I'll remember that forever. And thirdly, I urgently need to learn how to make my magic infinite, as Satoru does it. I don't know how he did it, but I just have to, otherwise, even with my extensive reserves and excellent control, what happened recently could occur again.

With the setting sun, everyone except Makao went to sleep. He decided to stand the first watch, and I couldn't fall asleep, so I sharpened my skills with my best move: the water gun. It's a very powerful spell, especially if you compress it tightly enough. Of course, you can't keep condensing the water indefinitely, just like you can't increase the speed of magic flight, but you have to get the most out of it.

I didn't touch lightning and cursed energy; they could wake up the people who were tired from the day. After all, I'm not that selfish and tactless.

Having played around with magic, I also went to sleep around midnight.

***

In the morning, I was awakened by Makao, and we set off back as a group. I carried all our bags and the heads of the volcanoes in my subspace, while a couple of sempais took care of the skins, bones, and meat. The journey took up most of the day, and by the time we got back to Magnolia, it was almost evening.

I had only been absent for two days, but I had missed this place so much; it's indescribable.