NoveLight ™
Chapter 2
As It Turned Out, She Wasn’t Alone
"Leon! Are we playing cops and robbers?"
I thought I had snuck out without anyone noticing, but suddenly all five of the kids were huddled around me.
Cops and robbers was a game I had casually suggested to the kids when I wanted to entertain them. They seemed to really enjoy it.
This time, they seemed to think it was another one of those games.
I gave up on escaping.
“Looks like you caught me, haha.”
I laughed it off and went back to the room.
The next evening, Leah called me out.
It was the same time we always used to take our walks.
In truth, after I checked the quest, I’d been making excuses to put off those walks with Leah.
That was because I needed that time to read the theory book.
But this time, Leah spoke unusually forcefully, so I ended up following her out.
“Yesterday, you were really trying to leave, weren’t you?”
Leah seemed to have figured it all out.
I felt like I could be honest with Leah, who was known to keep secrets, so I nodded. I felt a bit guilty about sneaking away from these innocent children.
When I agreed immediately, she seemed to think for a moment before cautiously speaking.
“To learn magic…?”
I was taken aback by her words, and I couldn’t respond right away.
Was she aware of everything?
“I knew you were always hiding and reading books.”
“How did you…?”
“I just came to know.”
How could she just know?
Even though I tried to keep it a secret, had it been that obvious to the kids who were used to group life?
“Other kids don’t know how to read well, but I do. So I found out that you were reading books about magic, Leon.”
The kids learned letters from the director in the morning, but few of them learned properly.
They were still children who loved to play the most. From the moment I had been transported here, I was already able to read the letters.
Among the kids, Leah seemed to have learned the letters the most diligently.
I had no choice but to nod.
“Yes, I’m going to become a magician.”
“Why?”
She didn’t even ask how I could become one.
Even though the director had often mentioned in passing how much of a dream it was for ordinary people and how hard it was to learn magic.
The director often told stories, saying that magicians were “chosen ones,” like reading fairy tales.
Realizing that she was seriously considering what I said, I responded with equal seriousness.
“I’m going to wander the continent with these two feet and understand the foundation of this world.”
There was sincerity in my eyes.
It was unusual to talk about the foundation of the world to a child.
“This world is said to be made of mana. A magician is someone who can recreate those dreams in their palm using that mana.”
For Leon, who had lived in modern times, magic was a mystery in itself.
“Wouldn’t it be so much fun to slowly approach the source of mystery, awakening mana…?”
Maybe I was too earnest.
In the end, I trailed off.
When I thought I had explained too grandly to a child, I watched for her reaction.
She nodded absentmindedly.
“That’s amazing….”
“…Huh?”
“I’ll support you.”
For some reason, Leah seemed to be impressed.
“Did she really understand?”
Or maybe the word magic just touched the emotions of a child.
After that, with Leah’s help, I was able to have much more learning time.
A day later, I completed my first quest.
The first part of the theory book explained the process of realizing mana.
The foundation for realizing mana was to feel mana as part of life.
After the vague explanation, there was also a method written to achieve it.
In short, I had to meditate.
The idea was that by breathing in mana and trying to feel the process with focused awareness, the moment of realizing mana would come.
I hadn’t yet tried the breathing technique explained in the theory book.
That was because the quest required “learning the theory.”
I didn’t hesitate and pressed complete.
▶ -------------------
The quest content disappeared, and suddenly the content next to the arrow started spinning around.
Like a spinning slot machine.
“Was the reward a gacha?”
While I watched blankly, the spinning quest window gradually slowed and settled on new content.
▶ You have acquired Single Element (Water) (Apply/Cancel)
I felt slightly disappointed.
I didn’t expect to be able to choose the trait I wanted from the start.
I didn’t know it would be a gacha…
The quest content that demanded a steady path of training and the reward system designed to induce dopamine addiction didn’t quite match.
But I composed myself.
I didn’t want to hope for luck.
The protagonist’s quality for steady growth is, after all, composure.
The reward was just an additional element; I didn’t intend to be absorbed by it.
For now, I didn’t apply the newly acquired reward and canceled it.
Water magic seemed better than the earth magic trait I had, but I already had the basic earth magic book.
There was no need to change to a trait without a magic book for the same single element.
Pressing cancel inevitably brought a momentary sense of emptiness.
The only way to overcome it was through training.
The quest with the same content was renewed.
“Will it stay the same for a while?”
When I closed the quest window, the black orb caught my eye.
I hadn’t been paying much attention to it since it felt like a chicken rib, but the newly emerged change caught my attention.
The number “0” written on the surface had changed to “10.”
“What is this?”
I picked up the orb and examined it from various angles.
“How do you use it?”
It seemed to be an artifact.
I tried exerting force, focusing my awareness, holding it close to my heart, and placing it on my head.
None of it worked.
“Do I need to use mana?”
In that case, it was still beyond my level to use.
I hadn’t yet fully realized mana.
Once again, my thoughts turned to escaping the orphanage.
Isn’t it really time to escape and focus on growth now?
Leah was helping, but it was just a bit of help. It didn’t reach the essence of why I first decided to escape.
And I took immediate action.
To avoid making the same mistake as before, I woke up early in the morning to escape…
Only to fail again.
It was because of a man who visited the orphanage at dawn.
The director had risen early in the morning to greet him politely.
He wore an elegant robe that anyone could tell was high-class.
The director instructed me to wake all the kids and bring them.
When all the kids gathered, the director spoke.
“You will follow this gentleman and live there from now on.”
Naturally, the kids, including me, looked bewildered, having heard nothing of this.
The kids who were attached to the place were already on the verge of tears.
It was almost a miracle they weren’t already throwing tantrums about not wanting to leave.
Or maybe it would start once they finished crying.
I scrutinized the man who had come to the orphanage.
His expression seemed emotionless.
He showed no change of expression even when looking at the crying kids.
He just waited.
Until the kids grasped the reality and calmed down.
From his perspective, it seemed like an “efficient” choice.
When the kids stopped crying and were now curious, the moment they wanted to ask questions, he stretched out his hand toward the kids and shouted.
“Fly.”
And our bodies all floated into the air.
“Wow!”
“Eek!”
Leaving behind the kids, who were already filled with curiosity and looking below, as well as those who were calming their surprised hearts from floating, I found myself looking at the man who was floating in the air with us.
“A magician….”
I suddenly remembered the director, who had always spoken about magicians with great favor and praise.
Did he have some connection with the magicians?
Was this orphanage run to provide children to the magicians?
Various thoughts raced through my mind.
Meanwhile, as we climbed higher, we discovered a carriage floating in a corner of the sky.
“Get in.”
The man said curtly.
The kids’ bodies naturally went into the carriage.
He manipulated it and placed us inside.
The carriage moved, and before long, it stopped again.
The kids, who had been looking out the window, were the first to get off when the door opened.
I cautiously followed them.
As I was about to look for an escape route the moment I got off, I found myself opening my mouth in awe with the kids who had gotten off before me.
Unlike the orphanage surrounded by nothing but mountains, there were tall buildings lined up, and people wearing conical hats soared through the air above them.
I felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere that exuded a dazzling and sophisticated feeling.
“Welcome to Wydia, the magic city.”
Only then did a small smile form on the man’s face.
Soon, someone descended from the air beside him.
When he pressed the button on the short staff he was holding, the intangible energy surrounding him was retracted.
The man, who had already wiped away his smile, introduced him.
“This man will guide you. See you later.”
And he disappeared, floating in the air.
The man left alone opened his mouth.
“Nice to meet you. This is the magic city of Wydia, and you will be tasked with various things in the place closest to magic from now on.”
Despite being forcibly brought here and assigned tasks, the kids’ expressions were bright.
Were they drawn by the mention of being close to magic?
I thought it was all thanks to the director who had wrapped up magic in advance with fantasies.
“You there, friend. Don’t worry too much. We’ll provide you with money, a place to stay, and food.”
The man pointed at me and smirked.
I didn’t like his face.
“Yeah, right.”
But I didn’t show my dissatisfaction.
I had already felt enough helplessness on the way here.
Revealing emotions when you have no power to resist is the stupidest thing to do.
I realized once again that getting stronger was the most important thing.
“Oh, right. The most important thing. When you work, you’ll get paid… Well, it’s called contribution points. If you use them well, you can get a chance to become a magician.”
The kids’ faces brightened even more.
Even I was a bit surprised by this.
“It’s cute how you get excited just hearing the word magic. Actually, you can learn magic right now.”
He pulled a crystal ball from his pocket.
It was the right size to fit nicely in the palm of your hand.
“Would you like to come out first?”
The man pointed at Leah.
When she hesitated and didn’t step forward, he approached her directly.
“It’s not something strange, okay? The kids who came this time are very cautious. Well, I guess that’s understandable.”
He held the crystal ball in front of Leah.
“Put your palm on it.”
As Leah carefully placed her palm on the crystal ball, it briefly flashed brightly.
And then, a letter appeared on the now calm crystal ball.
I couldn’t see it from where I stood.
But the man’s face, watching Leah with eyes wide open, vaguely explained the situation.
“A light element?”
His next words made me open my mouth in surprise.