After leaving the hideout, Mina and Arc set out for the Sealed Forest indicated in the grimoire.

  It was a considerable distance, but for Arc—now empowered by Lilia—it was apparently no great feat.

  Before, Arc’s flying had been more like bouncing against gravity, but now he could glide through the air like a soaring bird. Thanks to that, Mina was able to enjoy a comfortable journey through the sky.

  “Mina! We’re almost there!”

  “What? Already?”

  Mina surveyed the ground far below, but all she could see was an endless sea of green forest. It didn’t look like there could be any ruins down there.

  “Arc, are you sure this is right? All I see is trees.”

  “What are you talking about? Nobody hides something in an obvious spot.”

  “Well, yeah, but still…”

  “Just trust me and follow along.”

  With that, Arc began a slow descent. Mina peered intently at the ground below. Before long, she spotted what looked like a clearing—a gap in the forest canopy.

  “Oh! There’s an open area down there!”

  Arc gave a satisfied snort.

  “That’s the Sealed Forest. See that rock shaped like a cat? Behind it is the shrine where the familiar is sealed.”

  “Do you know what kind of familiar is sealed there?”

  Arc shook his head slightly.

  “No, this’ll be my first time meeting them too…”

  Mina studied his face. He looked more grown-up now, but she had a feeling he was a little nervous.

  “You’ll be fine, Arc. I’m sure you’ll get along with them.”

  Arc gave a small smile as he touched down gently on the ground.

  “I hope so.”

  He set Mina down.

  They were deep in the heart of a vast forest—about as far into the wilderness as one could get.

  “Mina, the cat rock is this way.”

  Mina nodded and followed behind Arc.

  But when they went around to the back of the cat-shaped rock, they found a gaping hole in the ground—as if the earth had caved in.

  “This is bad. The entrance to the shrine has collapsed.”

  The two of them walked to the edge of the hole.

  When Mina peered inside, it was so deep that no light reached the bottom. She had no idea how many meters down it went.

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  “What do we do? Float down with your gravity manipulation?”

  Arc groaned in thought.

  “Yeah. I’ll go check things out—you wait here, Mina.”

  “Huh? You’re going alone? Will you be okay?”

  “What are you talking about? Taking you with me would be more dangerous.”

  Arc peered into the dark hole. Then he raised an open palm above his head.

  “Light!”

  A bright sphere of light appeared above him.

  “Wow, that’s amazing!”

  While Mina was still marveling, Arc turned back to her.

  “You stay here and practice your magic.”

  “What? I have to practice by myself?”

  “Of course you do.”

  “But I read the grimoire, so I should be able to use magic already, right?”

  “You can use it, sure—but there’s the matter of affinity. Even casting the same spell, some will come easily and others won’t. You need to experiment and figure out which ones you’re best at, then develop those.”

  “Oh, so I can’t just do everything.”

  “Anyway, why not start with earth magic? It’s got great defensive capabilities.”

  Mina pouted at the suggestion.

  “Earth magic? That sounds so boring.”

  “Hey, don’t call it boring. Earth mages would be offended.”

  “Heh heh, sorry.”

  “Earth magic lets you raise walls for defense, attack with earth lances—it’s versatile and practical. Watch this.”

  Arc held his palm out in front of him.

  “Earth Wall!”

  Instantly, the ground surged upward, and a solid wall of earth rose before him.

  “Earth Lance!”

  This time, a spear of compacted earth—thick as bamboo—shot up from the ground to a height of about ten meters before stopping.

  “See? You can shield yourself with walls, impale anything that gets close, or slow enemies down.”

  “Ooh, that is pretty cool…”

  “Well? Impressed?”

  “It’s still kind of boring, though.”

  “Hey!”

  Arc nearly toppled over, then looked up at Mina in disbelief.

  “But, but listen!”

  Mina stomped her feet on the ground.

  “I want flashier magic! Like lightning magic!”

  “Huh? Lightning magic?”

  Arc burst out laughing.

  “Look, it might be flashy, but lightning magic is seriously hard to control.”

  “R-really?”

  Arc nodded.

  “Think about it. Lightning is basically static electricity created when ice particles collide in strong winds… and that charge gets released as a bolt.”

  “Hmm… I don’t really get the complicated stuff.”

  “To put it simply, you need to be able to use both water magic and wind magic before lightning magic will work properly.”

  “Nooo… my lightning magic!”

  Mina dropped to her knees in despair.

  “If you want lightning that badly, just run electricity through some mud and launch it. Anyway—beginners start with earth magic.”

  Mina crossed her arms in protest at Arc’s dismissive attitude.

  “Arc, you just made fun of me, didn’t you?”

  “I did not.”

  “Yes you did!”

  “I didn’t!”

  Arc waved her off and stood up.

  “Just stay here and practice! By the time I get back, I want you to have earth magic down. Got it?”

  And with that, Arc leaped into the pitch-black hole.

  “Hey—! Arc! Get back here, you coward!”

  Mina shouted, but it was too late.

  She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

  “Hmph!”

  Then, with one big sigh, she resigned herself to practicing earth magic.

  “Fine, I guess… Here goes nothing.”

  She began practicing. And to her surprise, she could produce Earth Walls and Earth Lances with remarkable ease.

  “Ha! Maybe I’m a genius?”

  It seemed Mina had a natural talent for earth magic. This put her in considerably better spirits.

  Riding high on her success, she decided to try lightning magic after all. But the moment she attempted to cast it, things fell apart completely.

  “Why?! I’m a genius—why can’t I use lightning magic?!”

  Her raw magical power was apparently substantial enough to actually discharge lightning. But her control was hopeless.

  The bolts never struck where she aimed.

  “Why won’t it hit?! Come on!”

  Mina stamped the ground in frustration.

  “If it doesn’t hit, it’s no big deal—that’s what they’ll say about me!”

  She slumped to the ground in defeat.

  Sulking, Mina shaped her fingers into a pistol, aimed at the depths of the forest, and began concentrating magical energy at her fingertip.

  “Take this! Thunderbolt!”

  A bolt of lightning erupted from her finger with a tremendous bang, streaked through the forest at blinding speed, and struck something in the distance with an enormous boom.

  “Oh! That one actually flew pretty straight!”

  Mina couldn’t help but grin as she examined her finger-pistol pose.

  But her triumph was short-lived, quickly replaced by terror.

  A massive wild boar had emerged from the depths of the forest.

  “Uh… oops…”

  And there, on the boar’s forehead, was a black, singed streak. Mina’s lightning had grazed its head before flying off into the distance.

  “BWROOOOO!”

  The boar was furious, and it charged straight at Mina.

  “H-hey, if it doesn’t hit, it’s no big deal, right?!”

  Chased by the enormous boar, Mina fled into the forest without looking back.