He was thirsty. That single need was all that kept Kaito moving. His lips were cracked, his tongue felt like rough paper, and his eyelids were heavy as lead. From the wound on his left arm, something hot seemed to be pulsing out relentlessly. The morning sun of the Gales Wasteland burned the distant hills a deep red. The sky was vast, without a single cloud. A sky so beautiful, yet here he was, caked in mud, dying. His legs tangled. He collapsed. "……Ngh." He tried to stand, but his hand slipped on something slick. Blood. His own left hand. The wound on his arm had split wide open, the inside visible. Five days since he'd fled the Graozan Mercenary Corps. His water had run out yesterday morning. Food, even earlier. Inside his head, sounds crackled and snapped. When he stayed still, that scene painted over everything. Talis's voice. *"Hey, why did you run away by yourself?"* That wasn't it. At that moment, the pursuer's sword had already bitten into Talis's shoulder—there was no way to save him. Talis had looked at him with eyes full of terror, and then, his head was severed. "U, u-ah……" His vision warped. The tears wouldn't stop. Just being alive should have been enough. Thinking that, he had defied the order to attack the village. He had fled with his comrades so they wouldn't have to do cruel things. And yet, was he going to die alone in a place like this? Clawing at the mud, he pushed forward. Crawling was useless—run, run, run. "I don't want to die yet……" His voice was hoarse, barely more than air. He leaned his body against the shade of a large boulder. Just escaping the sunlight made breathing a little easier. How had it come to this? He had joined the mercenary corps to survive. Before he knew it, he'd been standing in the middle of a bewildering wasteland. His clothes were in tatters, and on the back of his right hand was a star-shaped birthmark. He had his memories, but he had absolutely no idea where this place was. A man named Volg Graozan had picked Kaito up. A big guy, an ossan who always grinned with a greasy face. He'd been told, "Become a mercenary," and had no way to refuse. But it was a mistake. They were the kind of scum who attacked innocent villages in the dead of night, set them on fire, and laughed while listening to the screams. Kaito couldn't take it. He deserted with a few comrades, but the pursuers were persistent, fast—Talis was killed, Gen was killed, Rem was— "It's my fault……" He squeezed his eyes shut. They were still chasing him. He couldn't run any further. But if he stopped, he was dead. The wound on his left hand throbbed. It smelled of pus. An insect landed on his face. He didn't even have the energy to brush it away. At that moment, the ground rumbled. The boulder trembled. The sand trembled. The very air trembled. Kaito moved only his neck. From the dust cloud fifty meters ahead, it appeared. Its wingspan was four meters. A massive body, neither bird nor lizard, slowly thrust its face out from the rocky outcrop. Its glaring eyes were fixed directly on Kaito. Its fangs bared. "A Ga-Gallus Gryphon……" He had heard rumors. But this was his first time seeing one. He tried to stand, but his legs tangled. His body wouldn't move. He fell face-down onto the ground, biting into the sand. The magical beast broke into a run. The ground shook with every step, its mouth opening wide. Its sharp fangs gleamed, reflecting the morning sun. *I'm going to die.* He thought. Ah, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't protect anyone. A worthless nobody like him, in a place like this. In that instant. The air burst. From a distant direction, a thin, white, dazzling arrow of light flew in and sank into the Gallus Gryphon's head. The beast's head crumpled, crushed. It burst. Chunks of flesh and bodily fluids were splattered across the desert, and its giant torso collapsed sideways. Kaito couldn't comprehend what had happened. But, he vaguely thought, that arrow of light might be something he'd only heard of once in this world—magic, something called Mana Vein Magic. Because its speed and destructive power were impossible in reality. And to pierce so precisely through that thing's head just as its jaws were closing in on him—he couldn't imagine it being anything other than magic. But even that thought didn't last long. All his strength drained away, and Kaito's consciousness was painted black. — A lukewarm breeze brushed his cheek. It smelled of cloth. Blood, grass, and something else—a sharp, medicinal scent. Kaito slowly opened his eyes. His vision showed the blurred fabric of a ceiling. He was inside a tent. Candlelight flickered, making shadows dance. "……Where, am I?" "[serious]Don't move. I'm still in the middle of closing it." A low, calm voice spoke right beside him. Kaito turned his head. There was no pain. But his left arm was wrapped tightly in something. A man was looking down at Kaito. His long, ash-silver hair was tied back in a single bundle. His bangs were long enough to cover his left eye, and his right eye, a deep blue clear even in the candlelight, was staring intently at him. His left eye remained closed. An injury, or some kind of accident—at any rate, that's how it looked. He was tall. Nearly 180 centimeters. He wore a dark, almost black indigo robe, and the fingers extending from his sleeves were slender and very beautiful. "……You, were the one?" "[cold]I am the one who disposed of that magical beast. You collapsed. Dehydration, lacerations, and an infection had already set in. Had it been one hour later, you would not have survived." The man's hand touched Kaito's left hand. He seemed to be rewrapping the bandage. His movements were methodical, yet sure. He didn't speak unnecessarily. His expression suggested that saving someone wasn't a big deal at all. Since coming to this world—Veldogard—Kaito had only ever met enemies, or people who didn't matter. But this person felt a little different. "[whispers]Tha-nk, you……" "No need for thanks. I merely happened to be passing by." Saying that, the man touched Kaito's arm again. His fingertips stopped, twitching slightly. "……This is abnormal." Rudeus's single eye narrowed. After a moment, he spoke in a clear tone. "The flow of mana within your body is completely different from the norm. Without any chanting or forming of signs, mana is gathering at your fingertips. It's as if mana is being drawn to you, bypassing the principles of this world entirely." Kaito understood nothing, just listening blankly to the voice. "Are you…… a Transferee?" Transferee—at that word, his heart pounded hard. He instinctively covered the star-shaped birthmark on the back of his right hand with his left. "[scared]I don't know…… I really, don't even know why I'm here." That time—before he knew it, he'd been standing in the Gales Wasteland. Before that, he was just a high school student. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't remember anything more. "[serious]In the records of the Rapan Magic Academy, there are several cases of Transferees. All of them are incomplete, the kind of records that aren't even reliable, but…… if you truly are one, you are a fascinating research subject for me." The atmosphere softened, just a little. Rudeus stood up, took a canteen from the corner of the tent, and offered it to Kaito. "First, drink some water. We'll talk after that." Kaito took the canteen with trembling hands. As he took a sip, the cold water passed through his throat like fire. But it was incredibly good. "[gentle]I am Rudeus. A specially dispatched mage from the Rapan Magic Academy. Rapan is a magically sovereign nation in the northeast of this continent. I travel around various regions for investigations and research from the academy there." The Rapan Magic Academy. He had heard of it. When he was in Volg's mercenary corps, his comrades had gossiped about it. A place where mana research was the most advanced on the continent, full of excellent mages. A mage from that academy was now right in front of him. "Are you someone amazing?" "[cold]Whether I am amazing or not is for others to decide. I have no interest in it." Saying that, Rudeus relaxed the corners of his mouth slightly. It was hard to tell if he was smiling or exasperated. But Kaito thought. (*Maybe I can trust this person.*) There was no basis for it. But at the very least, right now, he wasn't trying to kill him. Silence continued for a while. The wind rustled the tent's fabric. The flapping sound was regular, rhythmic. The candlelight flickered as if about to go out, and Rudeus silently trimmed the wick. "……I ran away from a mercenary corps." Kaito spoke, haltingly. "I couldn't stand attacking innocent villages, so I deserted with my comrades. But the pursuers killed everyone. I'm the only one, because I'm a coward, I ran, and ran, and ended up here." He didn't want to cry, but tears welled up again. "[sad]I'm weak. I have nothing going for me. But at least, I wanted to protect my comrades." Rudeus said nothing, just listened to Kaito's story. After a while, he spoke quietly. "[serious]Being weak is not a sin. The issue is how you survive. You survived. For now, that's enough." Hearing that, Kaito felt, for the first time, as if breathing had become a little easier. Rudeus stood up and lifted the tent's entrance flap. Outside, the sun was already high, and hot wind blew in. "Rest here for a while. Once your wound closes, we'll head to Trasen together. It's a relay city on the Verde Highway, where information gathers easily. You can decide what to do from there." "……Is it okay, for me to go with you?" "[cold]As if I would knowingly let a research subject slip away." His tone was a bit sharp, but strangely, it didn't feel unpleasant. Rudeus looked at Kaito once more. His single blue eye narrowed, as if probing for something. "Besides," "……?" "Frankly, the way your mana flows is abnormal. If left alone, it might cause something even greater. Seeing it through to the end is likely one of the duties of a dispatched mage." Kaito didn't fully understand the meaning of those words. But this person was saying he wouldn't abandon him. That alone was enough for now. Inside the tent, Kaito took a deep breath. *I'm not alone anymore.* Just thinking that made the pain of his wounds feel a little more distant. Outside, the wasteland wind was kicking up sand. Far away, the faint sound of wings could be heard—perhaps some other creature was pecking at the Gallus Gryphon's corpse. Kaito closed his eyes. Nothing was over yet. It was all about to begin.