Midori shot me a sideways look, the kind that judged your whole life in half a second. She held her hand over the fire, popped a few logs into existence to keep it alive, then let out a heavy sigh before launching into her lecture.

  “Perfect. Just perfect,” she said. “Your first job as a lord is to run into a mountain you know nothing about, get lost, and maybe die there. Do you even hear yourself?”

  She turned to me and touched my leg she had just wrapped. “I leave you alone for a moment, and this is what happens… and don’t talk like this is your first time facing death.”

  Then her voice softened, and something inside her faded with it. I could feel it. She cared. The anger, the sadness, it all came from that. I liked it more than I should have. In this strange world I barely understood, having even one person stand beside me and make me feel like I mattered eased the pain, just a little.

  “Yeah, I get it,” I snapped. “But… you have no idea what I went through. My whole life was miserable. I hid in stories about heroes and magic just to get away from it. I always wanted to be like them. And now that I finally have the chance… I’m still screwing everything up.”

  “Whatever happened back then is over,” she said. “And like you said, you got a second chance. Not everyone does. You just need to make it count. But you can’t expect everything to happen at once.”

  “I know. I mean, I’m trying,” I said. “But from the very start, even my death… no matter what I did, it always ended in the worst possible way. Back then, and now too.”

  I sniffed, drew in a shaky breath, and stared straight ahead. I couldn’t look her in the eyes. The night pressed down, nudging something awake inside me, and before I realized it, words were spilling out.

  “I never got anywhere. Not because I was lazy. Not because I was stupid. Okay, maybe a bit stupid… But I worked my ass off. I did my best every time. And every single time, something I couldn’t control showed up, just to toss me right back to the start!”

  My voice tightened. I took a deep breath and finally gathered the courage to look her in the eyes. “Just like this morning. I only wanted to prove I could do something, that I was useful a bit. And now I’m standing here because you teleported at the last second and stopped me from killing people I care about.”

  Midori’s eyes softened. She leaned her shoulder against mine, the warmth cutting through my anger. “I know,” she said quietly. “No one should have to live like that every day.”

  “Sometimes,” I said, sniffing, jaw tight, “I wish the Demon Lord hadn’t failed to take me over...”

  “Oh, great,” she snapped, bumping her shoulder into mine. “So he kills you first and then comes after me? Are you an idiot?! If I’m standing here right now, it’s because you somehow resisted him.”

  “...Resisted?” A bitter smile crept onto my face. “I didn’t resist anything. It was just luck. An accident. That’s all—”

  “Whatever!” she cut me off. “Ugh, you’re exhausting. So what if a few things went wrong and you accidentally became a lord? If it annoys you that much, then go earn the damn title they shoved at you!”

  “I—” I sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s what I’ve been doing since day one. I owe this power to the Demon Lord. I respect his last words. I will protect his people.” I looked away, teeth clenched. “That’s why I’m going to that mountain. Not to die. But to go, even if death is waiting.”

  “Not to die, but to die…” She sighed, took the stick from my hand and stirred the fire herself. “You know,” she said softly, “the difference between a fool and someone brave?”

  Then she turned to me. I shook my head. I was angry, sad, and confused, with no idea what she was about to say.

  “A fool walks into death without seeing it. A brave one sees it and walks anyway. I’ve met plenty of both. They all came at me for their own reasons,” she said, looking at me. Then she gave a tired smile. “Funny thing is, once they’re dead, it doesn’t really matter. They all end up on the ground the same way.”

  “I knew death would be close the second I came to this world,” I said, staring ahead. “I knew this place was already falling apart too. Yeah, I won’t lie, I tried to back out at the last moment. I really did. But I still ended up here… So at this point, it feels like none of it even matters.”

  “It does!” She said, her voice rising. “Don’t get me wrong. Those brave words and that silly look on your face make me proud. But you’re young, green. Whatever’s waiting over there, you’re not ready for it. Not yet—”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “I can’t know that without going,” I cut her off. “And I don’t even know what being ready means. I can’t judge myself until I see the danger first.”

  “Fine,” she said at last. “You’ve got a point. Either way, we would go and take a look from a safe distance. And if you’re not ready, which you aren’t, we turn back. Deal?”

  My gloom vanished in a blink, replaced by a dumb burst of excitement. I hadn’t seen that coming at all. I stared at her with wide, hopeful eyes. “Okay. S-so… when?”

  “That’s the problem,” she said. “My mana is almost gone. I need at least two days before I can teleport us there without collapsing again. And if we go on foot, it’ll take over a month.”

  “Oh, right,” I said, “why was teleporting so hard this time?”

  “Because I didn’t have enough mana. I dumped everything I had into it. After that, I barely had enough left to breathe.”

  “I’m really sorry… I mean, I—”

  “Yeah, yeah. Not your fault,” she cut in. “I took the risk. That’s on me. But I’ve decided something.” She stared at me, dead serious. “Next time, I’m just knocking you out. Way safer.”

  “...Safer?” I asked, suddenly tense. Knowing her, she meant it. “Also, did you say a month? I’m pretty sure the general said two weeks.”

  “Two weeks if you ride wild boars,” she said. “Those things are faster than horses and don’t slow down even on rough lands. I said a month just in case you planned to use your legs.”

  All my excitement died on the spot. I stared ahead, hollow. That left only one option. Midori would have to teleport us there. But mana stood in the way.

  “This mana thing…” I said. “I still don’t really get it. When you run out, how does it come back? Do you just wait, or do you get it from something… like food?”

  “Oh no,” she said, smiling. “Your body is always pulling it from around you. It’s very thin, almost like dust, but is everywhere. You can’t see it, and it comes in slowly. After some time, without even noticing, you are full again.”

  “From around?” I asked. “So mana is like… air?”

  “Not really,” she said. “More like something inside the air. When a living thing dies, its mana spreads out. That loose mana drifts, and other living things pull it in when they need it. That’s probably the same you saw with the dead dogs.”

  “But I never saw it like that before,” I said, confused. “It drifted to you and everything. Did you ever feel it before?”

  “No,” she said, just as confused. “I was nearly dead, so my body pulled in more mana than usual, probably. That’s why you saw it. Normally, it’s too little to notice.”

  “…Right,” I said, still piecing it together. “W-wait… did you just say your body pulls mana from around it?”

  “Ugh, please don’t make me repeat it,” she sighed. “I don’t fully get it either.”

  “No, no,” I said quickly. “You said your body pulled it from around it, right? So that means… there is still mana around us. Even now?”

  “Mana is everywhere, idiot,” she said, tapping my head. “Otherwise, how would we refill it? Some places have more, some less. Like here. This wasteland barely has any life left, so there’s not much mana around.”

  “That’s cool!” I said and almost jumped on the spot. I grabbed a burning stick from the fire and held it like a torch. Then I turned and pointed into the dark.

  “I’m going to try something really stupid. Over there. Just… wait a second.”

  I started walking away fast, too excited to slow down.

  “Hey, where are you off to?” Midori called, her voice a mix of worry and confusion.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Just—” I wasn’t sure she could hear me from that far, so I shouted. “I’m just going to use my domain. I don’t want it to affect you!”

  She had no idea what I was trying to do. To be fair, neither did I. I didn’t even know if it would work. Like I said, it was a stupid thing. But if I didn’t try, I knew I wouldn’t sleep tonight.

  Once I was far enough that my domain wouldn’t reach her, I shut my eyes and focused. Slowly, carefully, I let it spread, drawing in the drifting mana around me.

  “Don’t push it with that injured leg,” she called. I cracked one eye open and saw her walking toward me. She kept talking. “There aren’t many monsters around here, but—”

  “Wait!” I shouted. “Don’t come closer!”

  “Alright, alright…” Midori said, folding her arms. She waited there, watching to see what my brilliant idea would be.

  I closed my eyes again and focused hard. I wished the mana around me would flow in, and at the same time I tried to turn it into my own. I felt nothing. I had no idea if it was working. I just kept going and believed. A small voice inside me said it would work. That was enough.

  After what felt like ten forever minutes, I opened my eyes and tried to activate the mana vision. I didn’t expect much… and yet, there it was. Midori’s green aura glowed like some fancy neon sign, and my own black mana peeked out too, dark and creepy as ever.

  I stretched out my arm and focused, calling the flaming katana back. Fire burst from my hand, flooding the dark with light as the sword took shape. Midori froze, staring. I raised the katana and swung it from side to side.

  “I did it! I knew it would work! I knew it!” I shouted.

  The moment Midori saw it, she practically sprinted over. Like she needed to see it up close herself. When she got there, she just stared, at me, at the flames, her face a perfect mix of shock and disbelief.

  “How… how did you do that?”

  “I just used the loose mana drifting around me!”

  

  No sooner had I finished speaking than the flames died out, and the katana vanished with a sad little sound. Clearly, the mana I had gathered was only enough for that. Still, a rush of happiness hit me. When Midori’s shock faded, she smiled too. We both saw it then. The potential standing right in front of me.

  “Okay, give me a sec…” Midori paused, thinking. “So, that means you can draw all the mana nearby? Not just from living things?”

  “Looks like it!” I said, grinning. “I never knew it was always around… but if it’s there, I can just pull it in. No more relying on anyone else to do magic!”

  “Sounds amazing!” Midori said, just as happy as I was.

  “But,” I said, “there’s hardly any mana around. I couldn’t keep my katana going for even a minute… and it’s slow too.”

  “We’re in the middle of nowhere. Almost no life, almost no mana. But I can already tell this power will help you later.”

  “Exactly!” I said, grabbing her hand. “Come with me.”

  “Wait, where?”