Chapter 24 – Things Begin to Change

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The moment I jumped down from above and swung my mace, I could tell from the sensation in my hand that the attack had landed solidly.

The green mushroom, which had been wobbling as it walked, scattered a cloud of spores and toppled backward. I didn’t miss the opportunity.

“Hyah!”

As I regained my balance, I continued my assault. The moment my leg pushed off the ground, I transferred the force to my waist. Then, with a slight twist of my waist, I added rotation to my swing and struck with the mace.

Thud—!

Another satisfying strike. The mushroom monster, which had been rolling away, scattered drop items and crashed into a corner.

The certainty of victory gave me confidence.

I was someone who could become infinitely stronger against weaker opponents.

“Supreme!”

“I’m fine!”

Before engaging in combat, I had confirmed that there were no other monsters nearby. Here, at least, I was the strongest.

I charged toward another mushroom.

Thud—! Crash—!

I didn’t give it a chance to react, landing consecutive strikes.

The green mushroom, which had been staggering around, inevitably spat out drop items and rolled into a corner.

As I continued hunting, I coordinated the movements of my arms and legs.

It had only been a month since I became the 12-year-old girl Supreme, but my movements were still awkward in many ways.

“Hyah!”

The mace swung through the air, missing its target. My stance faltered, but I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t alone.

[Fireball!]

As I expected, a massive fireball flew in and obliterated the mushroom that had been about to attack me. The charred mushroom scattered spores and drop items as it collapsed to the ground.

A mage’s reliable damage-dealing ability. It was Isolin’s attack.

Isolin adjusted her pointed hat and approached me. Clutching her staff, she kept glancing around nervously.

“There’s no boss here, right…?”

“Of course not. I checked before jumping down. There are only walking green mushrooms around here.”

“But…”

I patted Isolin’s shoulder in response. The Isolin from before wasn’t this timid. It seemed that after the incidents with the king lizard and the gray bear, she had become more cautious.

“Have some confidence, Isolin. You’re a level 19 apprentice mage. No one around here can beat you.”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah. You’re strong, Isolin.”

Even though we had run away in a ridiculous manner from the gray bear and the king lizard, Isolin was genuinely a powerful mage.

At this stage, a level 19 mage was quite respected as a damage dealer. Isolin needed to believe in herself more.

“I’m a strong mage…!”

“That’s right. Isolin!”

“I’m strong!”

Whoosh—! Isolin raised her staff high into the sky and began unleashing spells. Fireballs, ice spikes, and bolts of lightning rained down, causing countless mushrooms to burst into clouds of spores.

Isolin stood atop the mushroom monsters’ corpses, a triumphant smile on her face.

Her cheeks flushed with excitement.

“Isolin. Come down. We need to gather the Calf Mushrooms.”

“Ah.”

Isolin quickly descended at my call.

Isolin and I opened the guidebook and began gathering Calf Mushrooms. To be honest, gathering just meant plucking them by hand. Each time we plucked one, spores scattered everywhere.

“Do you really think these will taste like beef?”

Isolin tilted her head, shaking the mushroom she had gathered. I snatched the Calf Mushroom from her hand, just in case.

“We’ll find out after cooking.”

“I wasn’t going to eat it raw…”

The amount of Calf Mushrooms we found wasn’t much. At most, we had seven. And each mushroom was only about the size of my index finger.

Isolin and I wandered the forest, looking for another cluster of mushrooms.

The countless mushrooms released countless spores. The spores carried by the wind occasionally inflicted debuffs like poison, confusion, or hallucinations on us. Of course, since I was a priest, it wasn’t a problem.

We stopped gathering mushrooms after collecting about 50 Calf Mushrooms.

The sun was setting, painting the sky red. It was the perfect time for dinner.

We had good ingredients. We had a friend to eat with. The next thing we needed was a scenic spot.

Isolin and I left the mushroom forest and climbed a nearby mountain.

Hop hop— We climbed the steep slope like rabbits. Since our bodies didn’t tire easily, we could scale even tall mountains in no time.

The place where we stopped was a valley with a massive waterfall. The remnants of ruins suggested that there had once been a city here.

“I didn’t know there was a place like this near Foxtail…”

Isolin murmured, gazing at the wide, shallow water. The red sunset reflected hazily on the water’s surface.

The sight of the girl with long pink twin tails standing before the massive waterfall was like a painting.

“Supreme.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s sleep here tonight.”

It seemed our mage had taken a liking to this place. I looked up at the red sky and nodded.

If this were the real world, preparing dinner would have taken a lot of time.

We’d have to start a campfire, take out various utensils, and prepare the ingredients.

Only after that,  we could start cooking.

It would take at least an hour before we could eat.

But in this world, we didn’t need such complicated steps. We just had to sit by the campfire and use the cooking system.

Isolin and I made stew with half of the Calf Mushrooms we had gathered and grilled the other half.

The stew and golden-brown grilled mushrooms on the white plate emitted a savory aroma that whetted our appetites.

Munch munch—

We devoured the grilled mushrooms despite their heat. Even if the roof of my mouth burned, it was fine. I had the [Heal] skill.

The Calf Mushrooms really did taste like beef. Of course, the texture couldn’t compare to actual meat.

Using a large rock as a table, we buried our heads in our meal. Time flew by, and the red sunset faded, giving way to a dark night.

As I sipped the lukewarm stew and gazed at the night sky, I noticed a faint glow in the corner of my vision.

At first, I thought it was starlight. But no. The light was coming from flowers blooming near the valley.

“Wow…”

As if absorbing the moonlight shining down from the sky, countless flowers began to bloom. A soft light emanated from the fully bloomed flowers.

As the self-illuminating flowers bloomed, fireflies began to gather around them. The scenery created by nature was enough to captivate Isolin and me.

Normally, we would have gone to sleep right after dinner. But Isolin and I, without a word, ran toward the shallow valley water.

Splash—!

Our bare feet stomped on the water’s surface, distorting the night sky reflected above. Isolin and I splashed water without saying a word.

Even without conversation, it was fun. We smiled at each other as we splashed water.

The cold water soaked our faces and clothes, but we just laughed. We were that happy.

There’s a trick to splashing water. It’s not just about stomping as hard as you can. You use the broad surface of your foot.

If you stomp at an angle, more water splashes up.

With my overwhelming technique, I drenched Isolin completely.

Of course, I was just as soaked. Isolin and I got out of the water and sat by the campfire.

Crackle crackle—

We stared blankly at the burning campfire, letting time pass. Then, suddenly, I thought of something I wanted to ask Isolin.

“Hey, Isolin.”

“Yeah?”

Isolin responded, tilting her head. She was pulling at her clothes, wringing out the water. The hem of her robe had ridden up, revealing her white legs.

“What do you think of this world?”

Isolin fell silent, lost in thought. She untied her hair, letting it fall to the sides.

“Hmm… I think it’s a good world.”

A good world. Not a bad answer. At least it meant she didn’t view this world negatively.

I cautiously asked the next question.

“Then, what if you could return to the original world? What would you do?”

“Hmm. I think I’d have to see when the time comes.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. When I first fell into this world, I wanted to go back to where I came from. But as time passed, I started to like this world more. So, when the time comes, I don’t think I’ll be able to decide easily.”

Isolin answered with a smile. For some reason, I felt a little closer to her

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