There was a phrase that had been lingering in the corner of Sato Sho's mind ever since he saw the announcement for the practical exercise. The words Emilia had written in the margin of her analysis notebook——"If surrounded by multiple magical beasts in the forest, it's game over." That night, Sho had turned those words over in his mind countless times while lying in bed. That one successful palm-sized fireball. The sensation still lingered in his fingertips. But one success was just one. There was no guarantee of a second time. Well, somehow it'll work out. With that conclusion, Sho had fallen asleep. ——And then came the morning of the exercise. Standing at the entrance to the Verde Great Forest, the density of the trees was beyond imagination. About 80 kilometers south of the academy, a primordial forest that took several hours to reach by magical carriage, the air quality was already different from the entrance. The scent of green was thick, the grass beneath his feet was damp and soft, and when he looked up, the leaves overlapped so much that he couldn't make out the color of the sky. In the distance, he could see threads marking the territory of Bramble Spiders stretched between the trees. Bramble Spiders——hybrid magical beasts inhabiting the Verde Great Forest, possessing the characteristics of both plants and spiders. The smaller ones were about one meter in body length, while the larger ones exceeded three meters. They were D-class danger level, but according to the pre-exercise briefing, they had the habit of moving in groups, making them troublesome when surrounded by multiple ones. Sho checked the ancient textbook in his bag while glancing at Emilia standing beside him. Silver hair tied back in a single ponytail, clear aquamarine eyes quietly observing the surroundings. She wore light exercise gear, but her posture remained composed. A small mark was visible on her left cheek. "[serious]Team confirmation is complete. We'll be assigned to the middle layer as a pair. I'll share the map with you." "Understood." Emilia handed Sho a small map generated by magic——a bird's-eye view drawn from above using magical essence. Their hands touched slightly. Emilia quickly withdrew hers. That was when it happened. "——Wait, wasn't south this way?" A figure emerged from the tree shade, head in hands. Curly blonde hair, bright green eyes wearing a troubled expression. He was taller than Sho, and when he smiled, dimples appeared on his cheeks——that face now wore the complete expression of "someone who was lost." Jack Callistia, seventeen years old. A cheerful, joking guy who boasted he could liven up any situation, had somehow gotten lost just thirty minutes into the exercise. "You... weren't you in a different team?" "That's the thing! But I couldn't figure out how to read the arrow on the magical compass——I thought north was this way but it was south, I got separated from my team, and when I wandered around in circles, I ended up back near the entrance." "You managed to get lost that much in thirty minutes?" "No, isn't that a talent? What's the probability of randomly walking and ending up back at the entrance?" Sho couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, he got it. "I got the dormitory building wrong three times on my first day at the academy." "I know!! The distinction between the east and west buildings is seriously impossible! They're too similar!!" "Right?!!" The two hit it off from their first meeting with mysterious camaraderie. A directionally-challenged alliance kind of atmosphere was established in a second. "......What are you two bonding over on first meeting?" Emilia spoke in a quiet voice. Her eyebrows raised slightly. "This is a forest where C-class dangerous magical beasts appear. I don't think this is the time to be bragging about being directionally challenged." "'Yeah, we totally get this type~'" Their voices overlapped completely. Sho and Jack exchanged glances and grinned. Emilia took a small deep breath. She seemed to judge that saying anything more would be pointless. "......For now, the three of us will move together. Jack, please come with us too. Leaving you lost would be more dangerous." "Thanks! I'm Jack. Nice to meet you, Emilia." "......Please to meet you as well." As they walked, Sho thought: Jack had this quality where being around him made things easier. Different from Emilia——their rhythm just matched somehow. * When they entered the middle layer of the forest, the air changed. The trees grew taller, and the light falling on the ground became dappled. Bramble Spider threads occasionally appeared in front of them, and the three proceeded by ducking under or dodging them. The threads were thick and nearly transparent, strong enough that touching them would cut your palm——Sho now understood why they were used in construction materials. It appeared when they reached a small clearing. The grass rustled from all four directions. "......Here they come." Sho's eyes moved quickly beside Emilia, who spoke in a low voice. Four emerged from the grass. Bodies exceeding two meters in length, greenish-brown in color. Spider-like joints were visible in various places, and plant vines were tangled around their abdomens. Eight eyes, all looking at them. The Bramble Spiders released their threads all at once. "'Whoa!'" The three scattered in different directions. Sho rolled and stood up, drawing knowledge flowing from the textbook. Incantation, Igna Fol, circle with right hand. Let's try it. "Igna Fo——" His body responded to the ancient style. BOOOOOM!!!! A flame pillar three meters tall fell sideways and swept horizontally, mowing down two of them——and at the same time, a nearby tree was uprooted from its base. The ground shook with a heavy thud. "Why is the tree falling too?!!" "I can't control it!!" Emilia was already moving. She spread both hands and quickly deployed magical essence. A pale blue defensive barrier expanded in a hemisphere, directly blocking the threads the remaining two shot at her. When the threads touched the barrier, they crackled and scattered. "[serious]I'll seal their movements. The one on the left——" The incantation flowed smoothly, and ice spread beneath the feet of one of them. Precise ice magic——accurately targeting only the joints to stop its movement. The other one charged at Emilia, and in that moment. "I'm confident in my running speed——leave it to me!!" Jack shouted and bolted at full speed in the opposite direction. "Wait, if you run that way——" The last one chased after Jack and disappeared into the trees. "......He ran. He actually ran." Sho muttered in bewilderment. Emilia silently watched the ice-sealed one. Three seconds later, Jack's voice crying out and heavy footsteps returned. Jack was shouting as he ran. "Hey, wait, it's still chasing me!!" "Coming!!" Sho ran. Toward the last one coming from behind Jack, he positioned himself this time while steadying his breathing. Calm down. The amplitude of emotional fluctuation becomes output. That's what Emilia said. Quietly. Slowly. Igna Fol. Circle with right hand. This time it wasn't palm-sized——but a smaller flame flew properly forward. It hit the last one directly. A shrieking sound, and it stopped moving. Silence returned. "......That was close." Sho placed his hands on his knees and caught his breath. Emilia approached. She stood beside Sho and after a brief pause, spoke. "Next time, signal me before you start the incantation. I've started to understand your habits, so I can deploy the barrier first." It was said casually. I've started to understand your habits. Just like that. Sho felt something indescribable. A warmth spreading gradually. This person sees me better than anyone else. If he had to put it into words, that's what it would mean, but more precisely——he was happy to be seen that way. What that meant, he still didn't quite understand. Jack slapped both their shoulders simultaneously. "Man, that combination was amazing!! My escape strategy worked perfectly too!!" "'That wasn't a strategy.'" Their voices overlapped again. Emilia's cheeks relaxed ever so slightly. * They sat down in the shade to rest. The three of them each took out their water bottles and caught their breath. Dappled sunlight filtered through, creating patterns of light on the ground. A bird's call echoed in the distance. The tension from the battle gradually eased. "Hey, Sho." Jack opened his mouth with a look like he'd thought of something. Dimples were starting to form. "What do you think about Emilia? Everyone at the academy's been talking about you two." Sho froze while holding his water bottle. "Huh, what do you mean? I'm really grateful to Emilia, but......it's not like that......" He scratched his head and looked away. "It's not like that......huh~" Jack grinned. His dimples fully appeared. Emilia heard that entire conversation——sitting directly in front of them. "[cold]I don't particularly either. Sato is a research subject for me." She said it quickly, with perfect timing. Still holding her water bottle with both hands. Sho tilted his head. "The way you say 'research subject'......isn't that kind of cold?" "[cold]It's not cold. It's an accurate expression." But her fingers gripping the bottle had tensed slightly, and the cap was slightly warped. Sho didn't notice. Jack did. He took out his notebook and started writing something. "This is......something good." "What are you writing?" "Trade secret." When Sho tried to peek, the notebook was quickly hidden. Emilia took a sip from her water bottle and directed her gaze to the tree in front. Research subject. That's what she'd said about herself. An accurate expression, she'd said. But——why had she chosen those words? There were more honest words stuck in her throat, but saying them felt like admitting something else, so she couldn't. * After the break, the three continued deeper into the forest. As they passed through the middle layer and approached the deep regions, the tree density increased and the soil beneath their feet became softer. The Bramble Spider threads were nowhere to be seen. Instead, something else had changed. Sho noticed it first. The ground. "......Something's weird about the ground color." He stopped and looked down. Until just now it had been normal soil mixed with brown and green, but what he was stepping on now was——black. Not charred, but a black as if something had been drained away, completely desiccated. Jack looked around. "......The air feels heavy here." Unusually, his expression was serious. As they progressed, the range of black ground expanded. The trees stood upright, but without a single leaf. All the branches were dead wood. The soil on the ground was cracked beyond desiccation, not a single blade of grass growing. Emilia crouched and brought her palm close to the ground. She deployed a magical essence sensing technique. A faint light glowed at her fingertips, reading the state of the ground. After several seconds, Emilia stood up. Her complexion had changed. "[serious]......The magical essence of the Lumina vein is nearly zero here." The Lumina vein——the magical essence ore vein running in a mesh pattern beneath the continent, centered on the spring point where Academia Lumina stood. The reason magic could be used in this world, the reason life grew on the land, was because of that vein's function. "It's not natural——something is draining it in massive quantities." "How large is the affected area?" "[serious]Just in the visible range, over fifty meters in diameter. If this is continuing......" Her words stopped. At that moment. Something trembled in Sho's bag. That sensation. Opening the bag, the leather-bound textbook was vibrating finely. The crest on the cover glowed gold. The light had direction——it pointed north. Toward the academy. And