He’s From the Strongest Guild and She’s a Newbie - Chapter 10 – Magia Tour

Haruka Sumeragi’s POV

After school I enter the world of Magia, and lay my eyes on its beautiful scenery, in no way inferior to the breathtaking views from yesterday. It’s so pretty! Makes me all excited.

In high spirits, I make my way to the observatory from where you can catch a glimpse of Magia’s Flamehammer, just like I did yesterday. As was decided this morning, today my classmates are going to show me around.

When I arrive at our meeting spot, everyone is already there, happily chatting and laughing.

“Hi, sorry for making you wait! Seems I’m late.”

“Yo! You’re right on time, don’t worry. Your player name is… Can I call you Haruka?”

“Huh? Ah! Yeah. Haruka is fine.”

“Uwah! Masa [irl: Masaya Satou], you’re suddenly calling her by her first name?”

“What? Isn’t it normal to call each other by player names? Don’t make fun of me.”

“I know, I know. Just wanted to tease you.”

“Shut up.”

I see, we’re in-game so we shouldn’t use our real names. With Kurotsuki-kun we called each other the normal way, but I guess I should call him “Kuro” from now on. And he should call me Haruka… Oh no. Just imagining it is embarrassing. Maybe I should’ve chosen a more nickname-like player name instead of my first name…

“Haruka! When we’re here, call me Nao [irl: Naomi Aizawa].”

“Sure, okay! So it’s Nao from now on! And also Suzuki-ku… Oops! And also Shou-kun! [irl: Shougo Suzuki]”

“Yeah. Ha-haruka…san.”

“Shou… If you’re going to get embarrassed, just add the honorifics from the start.”

“S-shut up! Whatever! Let’s go!”

“Ah! Sorry, can you wait for a moment?”

I recall that Kurotsuki-kun mentioned sending me a gift. …Ah! It’s probably this icon, right? Hmm… “You have received a gift from Kuro”. That’s it! Let’s click it…

“Wait, what?!”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Haruka?”

“Oh, um, it’s nothing! Just wait a bit more, okay?”

Kurotsuki-kun! What’s up with that “Mana potion (low-grade) x900”?! How can you casually give this many!

And on top of that, beginner’s magic books and a magic staff… Healing potions (low-grade)… Ah, so much stuff… A-anyway, I’ll put it in my inventory and think about it later!

“Sorry for the wait, ready now! Let’s go!”

“Hmm? Harukaaa? Aren’t you hiding something from me?”

“Huh? No… Ah, let’s not waste any more time! Where are you taking me today?”

Although awkwardly, I somehow steer away from the topic, and with Satou-kun leading the way, we begin our tour.

This town, where the Flamehammer of Magia lies, is known as the Central Area, the main area of Magia Nasina Online.

The main street is lined with medieval-style buildings dedicated to handling various administrative tasks, as well as cafes and other facilities for players to take breaks. In the area right next to the main street, there are stalls selling weapons, armour, crafted items, and items no longer needed. I’ve learned that it’s a good idea to visit these stalls, because the prices here are often lower than at shops run by NPCs.

Besides Magia’s Flamehammer, there is one more famous place in the Central Area – The Guild Battle Arena, a large colosseum-style building visible from anywhere within the Central Area. It is where most players aspire to fight, as the matches held there are only for the select few, they include the finals of the Guild Battle Tournament and battles among the top guilds.

The matches hosted here are also streamed online in the real world, so these are the ones we usually watch.

I approach the entrance to the Arena, and with every step I take I feel more and more overwhelmed by its size. Even though I’ve seen the venue packed to capacity during live streams many times, I’ve never imagined it being this large.

Kurotsuki-kun regularly fights here as a member of Sun and Moon, right? It’s hard to picture, considering his usual self at school. Maybe I’ll sneak in here to watch him next time…

After walking around the Central Area, we arrive at vast grasslands, the Kisre Plains. This is an area often visited by beginners and intermediate players, where they can fight monsters of their own level, while maintaining distance from each other. I look around and notice monsters that even I can defeat, so I decide that it might be a good idea to fight here for a bit.

“Let’s go! Beast Form, Wyvern!”

“Then I’ll join, too… Beast Form, Rakshasa.”

Masa-kun and Shou-kun activate their Beast Forms, since Nao asked them to show her the second we got here.

Masa-kun’s Beast Form is called Wyvern. He grows a tail and huge black wings from his back, and as one would expect, he can fly, which is part of his fighting style. His class is dragoon, and his appearance and fighting style are similar to Wataru from Sun and Moon.

Shou-kun’s Beast Form is called Rakshasa. His hair turns red, and two horns grow from his forehead. His class is samurai. The look of a red-haired demon in armour wielding a katana would probably appeal greatly to foreigners.

It seems that their Beast Forms are rare among players levelling up in this area, as many of them are casting their gaze towards us.

“Haruka, Nao, so what do you think about my Beast Form? And come over here, you two!”

“Wow! Evolved Beast Forms really have a different vibe, huh?”

“Masa-kun’s Beast Form looks so fun with its ability to fly. And Shou-kun’s gives off such a strong vibe!”

Both of them seemed pleased by the envious glances from the surrounding players and said “Alright! Let’s spar!” Then they started fighting a little away from here.

An evolved Beast Form… It certainly seems strong, but after seeing Kurotsuki-kun’s Beast Form yesterday, I can’t help but compare them.

That overflowing, intense, faint magenta magical aura shimmered brilliantly, creating a truly fantastical sight. The feeling of my racing heartbeat as he looked at me with his amethyst eyes is still fresh in my mind. And it seems that ever since he gave me the barrier stone ring yesterday, I have developed a habit of unconsciously touching it all the time.

“Alright, then I’ll go fight for a bit too!”

Nao took out a staff from her inventory and, without turning back, waved her hand and went off. By the way, her class is priestess, probably influenced by Mimi-san from Sun and Moon.

…Okay. Everyone is gone.

After confirming that Nao is far enough, I decide to try out the items I received from Kurotsuki-kun.

I guess I should start with this one. Ta-da! Beginner’s magic boos!

There are books for each attribute, so I decided to start with the one I have.

I take out from my inventory an A4-sized red book with a magic circle on the cover, and tap the “use” button. The book floats up to my eye level, and the pages begin to flip over on their own. When they reach the middle, a glowing red sphere appears, then swirls around me before entering my body around my chest area. Then, as if struck by sudden inspiration, I grasp the usage of red attribute magic.

When I concentrate magic power into my palm as an experiment, a magic circle appears, and a small flame flickers into existence with a popping sound.

Huh? Amazing! A fireball! Damn! I really am a mage!

I observe the floating fireball on my palm from various angles, then clench my fist to extinguish it. Opening my hand again, I conjure the fireball once more. I start experimenting with different ideas, like making it resemble a candle by raising my index finger, and trying out other things that come to mind.

This is so fun! To be honest, I want to play with it more, but I have to learn the other attributes’ magic, too.

I take out a beginner’s magic book from my inventory and proceed to use its spells one after another. After mastering the magic of the remaining six attributes, I can summon on my fingertips orbs of five colours, each representing a different attribute. It’s an amazing feeling.

Alright! I’ve learned plenty of magic, so it’s about time I faced some monsters.

In the gift, there was definitely a staff… Huh? Is this staff the same as mine? Ah! It has enchantments on it. Um… [Proficiency Increase A], [Natural Mana Regeneration Rate B], [Mana Restoration Rate B]… What’s all this?! Wahh… This weapon must be amazing. Well, let’s test it on some monsters! Getting stronger is my way to repay him!”

I look around and spot an E+ rank capybara-like monster. As I approach slowly, the capybara notices me and takes on an offensive stance, so I point my staff in its direction.

Err… So now I should probably “use my most powerful magic” . I need to imagine it, then give it my all…

“Fireball!!!”

A magic circle appears at the tip of my staff, and a volleyball-sized fireball, woven with magic, goes whoosh! as it flies straight towards the capybara, landing and exploding with a bang. As the rising black smoke dissipates, the charred capybara falls flat and turns into a magic stone.

Whoa! I oneshot it! That explosion was definitely something… So that’s what fireball does. And the magic stone is… “Yellow magic stone [tiny]”

Since the capybara was of yellow attribute, that means green magic would be effective against it, right? I wonder which is stronger in this case, red or green magic, let’s test it out.

After storing the magic stone obtained from the capybara in the inventory, I continue to defeat various monsters I come across, trying out different spells as I go. Thirty minutes later, my level has increased to level 4.

After trying it out like this, it seems like red magic is indeed dealing the most damage. Maybe it’s because I’m naturally attuned to the red attribute. My magic proficiency is also increasing at a good pace, I need to thank Kurotsuki-kun tomorrow. Oh! It’s definitely better to send a thank-you message beforehand.

“Harukaa? What are you muttering to yourself there?”

“Huh? Oh, Nao. Welcome back. I was just thinking about magic.”

“I see… Hm? Haruka, what is this on your right ring finger? Let me take a look- Huh?! Where did you get that ring?”

“Huh? Th-this? Someone gave it to me. It’s called a barrier stone ring. Pretty cool, right?”

Nao grabbed my hand quickly, lifting it up to eye level, and stared intently at the ring.

“Obviously, I know what it’s called… Whoa! What? It’s completely transparent. Amazing… I’ve never seen it up close. Haruka, you’re casually saying someone gave it to you, but do you know the value of this ring?”

“Huh? V-value? Is it really that valuable?”

“Sigh… You, honestly… This is…”

According to Nao, the barrier stone ring is an amazing device that can defend you even against instant death attacks. Every time the barrier takes damage, the colour of the stone changes.

Transparent → 4 times damaged → White → 3 times damaged → Gray → 2 times damaged → Black → 1 time damaged → Unusable

Damage taken always counts as one, whether it’s from a weak or strong attack. A transparent ring can withstand up to 10 attacks, white up to 6 attacks, grey up to 3 attacks, and black up to 1 attack. When you leave the area where monsters spawn, the count resets, and the ring goes back to its original colour.

You can only have one barrier stone ring in possession, and having one is deemed a necessity when doing difficult quests, where the risk of dying is high.

These barrier stone rings are not rare items in themselves, they drop from monsters and are commonly sold at street stalls, but most of them are black, or grey at best.

It’s said that the quickest way to acquire a white ring is to win it at auction, but since white rings are so uncommon, they tend to fetch high prices immediately upon listing.

“Umm, so a transparent barrier stone ring is…”

“Well, those aren’t typically put up for sale. They say that you need to get it directly from a top player or people like that. Hey, Haruka… You’re not doing anything risky like being a sugar baby, are you?”

“S-sugar baby?! There’s no way I’d do something like that!”

“Yeah, I figured. That would be completely out of character. But why are you wearing it on your right ring finger? You’re single, right?”

“Huh? I-I just thought it looked nice here! There’s absolutely no deep meaning behind it! C-come on, let’s drop it already! We should get back to the others soon!”

“Huh? Hey, wait! Haruka, don’t push me!”

Worried that I might accidentally slip up if Nao keeps bombarding me with questions, so I urgently push her back, and hurry over to Masa-kun and the others, shooting desperate looks.

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