“I can’t believe I used a magical attack. Your Elemental Gun is incredible!” Jin-Woo said. “Although, it overheats quite easily.”
“We’re lucky I could figure out how to use Pure Magical Energy Crystals to make the Elemental Gun work or who knows what might have happened.” Oliver said. “We have only encountered Muna Imps after killing the spider. Weirdly enough, some of their Magic Stones had no energy.”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen a Magic Stone that was just taken out of a monster that had no energy. I mean if it had happened before it would have been recorded by someone.” Jin-Woo said. “Also, I feel as if the Muna Imps are becoming weaker; I can deal with them way easier the more I fight them.”
“As for me, they feel the same.” Oliver replied. “I guess you’re a battle genius that grows as he fights.”
“Maybe, or it might just be my consolation prize for being the only person that can’t use Magic!” Jin-Woo laughed and then raised the Elemental Gun. “And now thanks to this, I can also make Magic attacks.”
“I feel four different Magic Powers coming this way.” Oliver said. “I think we finally found them.”
After a couple of seconds Oliver and Jin-Woo could see Aria, Nicole, and Yuri running towards them. Aria and Nicole each hugged one of Oliver’s arms, while Yuri hugged Jin-Woo. Roger was walking behind the girls, and he had a smile after spotting Oliver and Jin-Woo.
“Jin-Woo, I’m glad you’re fine!” Yuri hugged Jin-Woo tightly, tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t want to lose you. We already lost our parents; I don’t want to lose you too!”
“There, there! I am fine!” Jin-Woo patted Yuri’s head. “Me and Oliver are fine because of his quick thinking.”
“Oliver!” Aria said her eyes were watery. “I didn’t … know what to do. I couldn’t do anything as you fell into the hole.”
“You don’t know how worried I was.” Nicole was sobbing. “I charged ahead, killing anything that stood in my way, so that I could find you faster! This was supposed to be a simple mission.”
“We’re fine, thanks for worrying, Aria, Nicole!” Oliver tried to comfort them. “We ended up doing more than expected on the first day, so it should take us less time to complete the mission.”
“Did you guys encounter any other monster apart from the Muna Imps?” Roger asked.
“Yeah, a Fire Spider.” Oliver replied. “It was a tough fight!”
“If it wasn’t for Oliver making an Elemental Gun, then we wouldn’t be able to kill it.” Jin-Woo added.
“Wait, you made an Elemental Gun that didn’t fall apart! Good job!” Aria was surprised.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“How? Just a few hours ago you were saying that you still needed more time to find materials!” Nicole was confused.
“Let’s just say that before leaving Lunaria, I happened to get some steel reinforced by Magical Energy, so I used that to create parts while in the spaceship. Then, I used the Pure Magical Energy Crystals and a Magic Stone to get the energy and the element to make a Magic attack without the user having to use any Magical Energy.” Oliver explained. “The issue right now is that it overheats.”
“Impressive, so that means Jin-Woo can finally make Magic attacks by using it.” Yuri said with a smile. “Oliver, you’re the best!”
“Oliver, you know my Mom will also yell at me when she finds out her secret stash of materials was raided!” Aria said, glaring at Oliver.
“Well, my actions saved me and Jin-Woo.” Oliver laughed nervously.
“I guess if Oliver raided the secret stash, then it’s not that secret.” Nicole commented.
“You don’t understand, Nicole. When my Mom is in scolding mode, she is scary as hell.” Aria said. “And now I am going to get scolded thanks to someone.”
“At least you won’t be getting scolded by yourself.” Oliver responded. “I’m going to be there too.”
“You owe me dinner!” Aria pointed at Oliver.
“I wouldn’t have guessed Mrs. Hashimoto was that scary.” Yuri commented. “She seems like such a kind lady.”
“Then, let’s start heading out!” Roger commanded. “We still have 6 more days to clear the cave from monsters.”
Everyone could feel the fatigue building up but decided to save the potions for an emergency. They walked, paying attention to their surroundings, making sure not to run into any more troublesome monsters. They quickly followed the path back to the entrance and any Muna Imps that got in their way were gunned down. Once outside the cave, they felt they could finally relax.
“Not collecting those Magic Stones felt so uncomfortable. I wanted to collect them, but I guess getting out is more important.” Nicole said.
“We can get them tomorrow when we come back.” Aria said. “It’s not like the corpses are going anywhere.”
“Yuri, use the radar and find where the base is located.” Roger commanded.
“Yes, sir!” Yuri took out a radar from her backpack and began to look at it. She then pointed to her left side and spoke. “I detect the signal from this direction. It should be about 500 meters away.”
“You heard her, let’s continue!” Roger said. “Oliver, what have you found out so far about the Pure Magical Energy Crystals?”
“They can be used like a rechargeable battery and if you combine some force with a Magic Stone, you will produce an attack matching the Element of the Magic Stone.” Oliver replied. “I also have to look into the overheating issues and find out how and why they are happening.”
“How much do you think it will benefit the Inter-World Spaceship Project?” Roger questioned.
“They recharge from the Magical Energy in the environment, so they will be great to supply backup power and if my analysis proves they are efficient, they can even be used as main power. We can also use them for weapons just like the Elemental Gun I built.” Oliver responded.
“It looks like the research part of the mission is going well.” Roger said. “Now, clearing the cave looks tougher than expected. There are multiple ample floors and if there are more monsters like those two, then we might not make it by the deadline.”
“Then, we’ll just do as much as we can.” Aria said. “We have the Elemental Gun on our side and from what Oliver and Jin-Woo said that weapon is powerful, and we can save our Magical Energy.”
“Can you make more of them, Oliver?” Roger asked.
“I could, but I don’t have enough materials and I doubt they have any spare steel reinforced by Magical Energy.” Oliver replied. “And before you ask, no other material can withstand the recoil of the Magic attack fired by the Elemental Gun.”
“I see, but at least we have one.” Roger said, scratching his head. “It’s always a lack of supplies, we in Sol City always get the short end of the stick, while the capital gets everything. And we are the ones making the most advancements.”
“My Dad is always complaining of the lack of real support from the capital.” Nicole said. “He always must argue with the big shots just to get enough supplies. They just see the Inter-World Spaceship Project as nothing important, but I believe that project will benefit everyone in Lunaria. I bet if it was Professor Su’s project, it would get all the funding he wanted.”
“I am glad Mrs. Hashimoto is my mentor because I learned how to make the most of what I have.” Oliver commented. “She is so resourceful.”
After a couple of minutes, the group reached the base. Everyone quickly headed to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. They quickly ate their food and headed towards their rooms. Oliver took a quick shower and as soon as he laid on the bed, he fell into a deep slumber.