Chapter 13
The place they reached after leaping down the cliff was the entrance of a cave, its walls densely embedded with small, violet stones.
“Are these magic stones?”
“…They’re amethysts.”
Arin, momentarily turned into a fool by her mistake, didn’t lose spirit and joked, “Really?” She had only ever known the general flow of the original story. It was actually weirder that she could feel mana and use magic so naturally. She didn’t worry much—if she didn’t know something, she could just learn.
Deneb intended to teach her how to distinguish items imbued with mana. To him, Arin seemed like someone lacking in basic life knowledge because she’d supposedly been hiding away somewhere, yet still radiated a bright innocence.
“Raise your mana and spread it out. If anything responds to your mana, that’s a magic stone.”
Arin did her best to release her mana. She had so little mana inside her that spreading it even a meter was difficult. Deneb found her efforts impressive. Compared to the time she used necromancy, this was a remarkable improvement.
“Remember this—items made by mages also respond to mana.”
With those words, Deneb stepped into the cave.
Following his advice, Arin extended her mana and focused on detecting any responses. Meanwhile, Deneb, even while walking swiftly, spread an immense amount of mana to scan the area. As he expected, there were no magic stones left. Instead, he moved toward where the natural mana converged and flowed.
“Get down.”
Despite the commanding tone, Deneb bent his knees to let her down from his back more easily. Arin carefully got off and looked around.
They were now in a small space, just large enough for five or six people. Surrounding them were much larger amethysts than those at the cave entrance.
Deneb pricked his index finger with a dagger and used the dripping blood to draw a magic circle. Seeing this, Arin pulled out some healing ointment and waited. Once he finished drawing, she gently applied the ointment to his wounded finger. The sticky cream and the warmth of her touch wrapped around his finger.
“There, all done.”
As her hand moved away, Deneb lightly caught it and slowly extended another finger.
“This one too.”
There was a barely visible scratch on the new finger, almost healed. Arin tilted her head in confusion.
“Does it hurt?”
“I don’t want it to get worse.”
As she absentmindedly applied the ointment again, Deneb’s eyes glinted with mischief. From a corner of the cave, Yellow, sitting with his butt on the floor, covered both eyes tightly.
‘Fool. You idiot.’
After their healing session, the three of them gathered around the magic circle to begin crafting the magic stone.
There were two main steps in crafting a single-use magic stone: first, infuse the gemstone with two or more types of mana; then, at the end, inject a tremendous surge of mana. Even a small amount of varied mana created a sturdier stone, so Yellow and Arin helped with the infusion.
Arin gently placed her hand atop Yellow’s tiny paws, which were already resting on the amethyst.
“Let’s begin.”
At Deneb’s cue, Arin and Yellow carefully released their mana into the amethyst. The gem gradually absorbed the trio’s mana, glowing brilliantly. As Deneb had explained beforehand, once the gem started glowing, Arin and Yellow quickly backed away.
Deneb, who had never needed to use his own mana until now, began injecting it into the amethyst. The surrounding cave heated up rapidly due to the immense mana, and slight tremors could be felt through the ground.
Unlike earlier, Arin found it hard to breathe—like she was in a sauna. Sweat dripped down her face, and Yellow hovered around her worriedly.
[So weak. This is tough for you, huh?]
“Yeah… a little.”
Arin’s breathing became shorter and faster.
Yellow looked utterly shocked, as though he’d never seen such a delicate creature before. Even if she disrespected him and hurt his pride sometimes, this foolish girl was still his precious subordinate. Determined to protect her, Yellow sat at her feet to stand guard.
Noticing Arin’s struggle, Deneb cast a shield. A white circle with a diameter of one meter appeared around her. Inside the glowing shield, a cool breeze blew, creating a stark contrast to the sweltering air outside.
Thanks to her, Yellow also ended up within the safe zone and promptly sprawled out on the floor. He decided being protected under the Conqueror wasn’t such a bad life. Safety was something Yellow had always dreamed of.
Once he confirmed she was safe, Deneb drastically increased the amount of mana he was pouring in. The cave’s weak foundation meant he couldn’t sustain the flow for too long.
The excessive mana that the amethyst couldn’t absorb darkened the cave, saturating it in black energy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cave trembled violently as if it were about to collapse. Arin crouched down and shut her eyes tightly, reminded of the earthquake that had brought her here in the first place. Then, something soft and wet pressed against her hand—Yellow was nuzzling her palm with his little black nose.
[Don’t worry, Fool. I’ll protect you.]
Arin found Yellow’s devotion heartwarming. Though small, he was determined to protect her. She smiled faintly and nodded.
The high heat produced during the stone’s creation had smoothed the cave’s surfaces. Everywhere except where Arin stood was shaking violently. As the swirling black mana was finally drawn into the amethyst, her vision cleared.
The completed magic stone sparkled with a resplendent light.
Later, Arin was waiting at the base of the rocky mountain where she had first met Deneb. He had left temporarily to refine the single-use stone further.
Deneb had told her that once the destination was locked in, the teleportation circle would be ready. He also mentioned they’d be leaving for the continent in two or three days. This left Arin with a swirl of complex emotions.
In the original story, Deneb didn’t leave for the continent until years later. If she followed him now, half the plot would become irrelevant.
“Well, nothing I can do about it.”
She couldn’t live on a deserted island forever. Leaving for the continent was the logical next step. Arin firmed her resolve as she stared into the flickering campfire.
An hour passed since Deneb had left.
The fire before her began to wane. Just as she approached it with more firewood in her arms—
Rumble!
A heavy sound echoed across the island. Yellow, who had been snoozing peacefully, leapt up with his fur bristling and hissed.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Unlike before, the rumbling was now continuous. The ground began to shake violently—another earthquake, shaking the entire island.
The tremor threw Arin toward the fire. Feeling the heat close in, she flailed desperately mid-air, trying to avoid burns.
“Enough.”
“Deneb?”
“Stop squirming.”
Deneb had appeared out of nowhere and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. Arin blinked up at him, still half-reclined in his embrace.
“Are you… Hong Gildong or something?”
Appearing suddenly whenever she was in danger—it reminded her of the legendary figure who popped up out of nowhere. Deneb shook his head at her nonsense.
“If you’re sleepy, stop talking nonsense and just sleep.”
He lifted her in a princess carry and laid her on the sleeping bag. Then, he placed her beloved plush companion, Yellow, on her stomach.
Though Yellow wasn’t exactly small enough to sit comfortably there, Arin didn’t protest and simply watched Deneb’s actions.
Now forced to rest on her belly, Yellow kneaded her stomach and settled in for sleep.
Even though the earthquake had ended, Arin still felt like the ground was swaying and her insides were churning. She couldn’t fall asleep. Deneb’s hand gently covered her eyes.
“Sleep.”
Despite being roughened by countless wounds, his hand felt strangely soft as it shielded her face. With that comforting touch, Arin’s breathing gradually slowed and steadied.
Between his fingers, he could feel her long lashes fluttering. Deneb stayed by her side until she fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Arin abruptly sat up, annoyed by chirping birds.
Yellow, who had been snoozing peacefully on her belly, tumbled onto the dirt. Feeling like the world had flipped, he flailed his limbs in confusion.
[I’m walking in the sky!]
It looked like a yoga pose—specifically, a bicycle pose in mid-air—while Yellow radiated silly vibes. Despite being the size of a large dog now, his behavior matched it too.
“So this is that infamous puppy ‘derp’ energy.”
Watching from the side, Deneb let out a dry chuckle.
“Both of you, knock it off.”
[The Conqueror is upside down. Gwahh.]
“Go wash your faces in the stream. Now.”
At Deneb’s command, Arin and Yellow scrambled toward the stream. The usual path was now riddled with cracks and fallen trees. Arin looked around in alarm at the destruction.
[Fool.]
“Yeah?”
[The ground’s been really noisy since yesterday.]
“What?”
Yellow scrunched his face like a pop diva with an attitude.
[Seriously, you didn’t hear it?]
Just as he finished speaking, the sky darkened with shadows. Arin caught a feather falling above her head.
“A feather?”
Above, hundreds of birds were flying in one direction, as if fleeing from something.
“No way…”
What started as a brisk walk turned into a full sprint. When Arin arrived at the stream, it was bubbling like a hot spring.
She thought back—her basalt prison, the large rocky mountain on the island’s eastern side, and the earthquakes. A puzzle she hadn’t even realized was there had already been completed.
“This never happened in the original…”
She recalled the massive vibration and heat generated during the crafting of the magic stone.
“…Did we just dig our own graves?”
Just as Arin feared, the island they had been living on was a volcanic island—like Jeju.
