Chapter 18 – Mage Tower’s Strange Investigation Quest #3

By the creek in Morris Woods.
In this place, the size of all creatures had grown to the limit.
The sparsely grown trees were all huge, like hundreds of years old trees. The grass reached up to my thighs, and the mushrooms growing on the trunks of trees were the size of rocks.

“Oh-.”
“Joe, that’s fucking big!”

Me and Rebecca couldn’t keep our mouths shut as we looked around the creek.
I wonder if this is how halflings feel when they visit the world of humans for the first time. The gigantic phenomenon I encountered in real life was surprising enough to exceed my expectations.

“Wow. The progress of the gigantic phenomenon has increased a lot more than I heard in the Mage Tower! It’s good that I got the quest before it’s too late.”

Lily started talking in her agitated tone.

“I’m a student, so I don’t know… I’ve heard about the root cause of magical phenomena. It’s mana pollution.”
“Mana Pollution?”
“There is a mysterious energy called mana floating in the atmosphere of the Midgard continent. Luke-sama is also a wizard, so you know about mana, right?”
“Yes, I know the basic knowledge.”
“Mana originally has the property of circulating like air. However, with a rare probability, there are times when mana becomes stagnant in an area, and then mana becomes contaminated with turbidity. Contaminated mana causes magical phenomena in various parts of the continent. It’s like nature itself using magic-“

The nature of circulating mana.
Pollution occurs the moment it becomes stagnant.
It’s a story that makes your head unnecessarily complicated. I decided to just know that it was all because of the damn mana anyway.

“Crazy-.”

As soon as the explanation was over, a dragonfly flew away in front of my eyes. I almost mistook the drone for an instant at the sound of flapping wings.
Staring at a dragonfly as big as my forearm, I suddenly thought of someone.
In my previous life, I was the director of a AAA game that I played passionately.

‘Todoki Hawado of Bedasda.’

Here are some of your favorite giant worms.
Seeing it in person is so fucking detailed.

“It’s all about sightseeing. The goal of this investigation quest is to collect samples of giant animals and plants. Cut off the large ones you see around and bring them to me. In the case of animals that move, you can draw blood.”

Lily came out and instructed Rebecca to do her work. It is a style that seems to play the role of leader in group assignments. The three of us each collected samples of plants and animals that had grown scattered.

Bark.
Mushroom epidermis.
Things like plant roots.
In the case of animals, I found several raccoons while searching near the creek. They were raccoons who were washing their food in the stream. The raccoons also grew in size, almost the size of a baby wild boar.

“Kyarrururrrr.Ll)”

Raccoons baring their teeth as soon as they see me and Rebecca.
Like a raccoon with a bad temper, he was screaming at the two of us like a motor running.
However, Rebecca and I, who dealt with those damn raccoons, were now strong. When he thought of the 1 silver he would receive after completing the request, his lack of courage rose up.
After all, adventurers’ motivation rises according to the money they receive.
Me and Rebecca took down the raccoons in one go.

“Don’t be fooled, you guys!”

I filled my anger and shot the magic sphere at the raccoon.
Whenever the sphere touched, the raccoon’s body exploded.

“You man…? What is that again?”
“It’s the nickname I used to call raccoons in my hometown.”
“It’s a cute nickname.”

Me and Rebecca collected the dead raccoons and brought them to Lily.
Upon bringing her body, Lily pulled her glass bottle from her backpack.
She then squeezed the raccoon’s blood and poured it into her glass jar.

“We still don’t have enough types of samples with this one. I think we need to collect more.”

Lily’s backpack containing her samples was about half full.
She noticed that she couldn’t wait for the job to be finished until she had filled her rucksack.
Around the time Lily drained all of the raccoon’s blood.
Suddenly, Rebecca opened her mouth in a flowing tone.

“Come to think of it, I saw a strange flower in the forest.”
“A weird flower?”
“There were bright red flowers blooming on the dirt floor. The shape was disgusting. Most flowers are pretty, right? But those red flowers have leaves that look like human tongues… I almost got sick while looking at them.”
“Leaf like a human tongue? Was there such a flower in Morris Forest?”

It was the moment when I put on a questioning expression.
Suddenly, Lily came closer to Rebecca and spoke to her in an urgent voice.

“A red flower? Did you really see that?”
“Yeah? Uh… I’m sure I saw it.”
“A red flower with tongue-like leaves! That’s a valuable sample not to be missed! Where the hell did you see that flower?”
“Dog, upstream of the creek. I found it while walking along the creek…”
“Let’s go there right now! Pack your things and follow me!”

With Rebecca in the lead, Lily walked quickly upstream along the creek. As if Rebecca hadn’t seen anything wrong, she found a red flower blooming on a mound of dirt upstream by the creek.
A large size that cannot be compared to ordinary flowers.
Looking at the diameter through the eye, it seemed to exceed 5m. Although I had a history of frequenting Morris Forest, I had never seen such a red flower before.
The moment I got closer to the flower, I grabbed my nose.

“Ugh…”

A terrible stench permeating the surroundings.
A smell like rotten meat was emanating from the flowers.

“It smells awful.”
“This is a plant called Big Rafflesia. It is an unidentified flower that appears in areas where gigantism has occurred. I heard that the scent of this flower accelerates the gigantism even more.”
“Huh? Aren’t we in danger right now? Aren’t we going to change like giants after we stay still?”
“Don’t worry. Smelling it for a day or two won’t change anything in your body. But I’ve heard some funny stories. Wearing Rafflesia next to you for a month can make your breasts bigger.”
“Effect to enlarge breasts! Woohyo!”

Are you saying that just smelling a flower gives birth to big breasts?
For those who prefer big breasts, it is a flower like a treasure.
A big piece full of maternal love.
If big breasts increase, everyone benefits.
Not only for the baby she’ll have, but also for the partner she sleeps with.

“Now is not the time to hold your nose, Rebecca.”

I nudged Rebecca in the side.

“They say that when you smell flowers, your breasts get bigger. Don’t hold your breath and breathe in all of it. You suck in all the air with abdominal breathing!”
“Crazy bastard.”

Rebecca turned her head away with a puzzled expression.
I still sighed watching her plug her nose in her hand. Personally, I like big breasts. I thought the bigger the chest, the better.
Fortunately, with Lily’s words, I was able to shake off my lingering feelings.

“There’s no need to worry too much about it. It’s just rumors floating around in the Mage Tower. No one has actually tested such a stupid story.”

Lily plucked off some of the petals, then she instructed me and Rebecca what to do.

“This is enough to take a sample of the flower… But I can’t just leave Rafflesia alone. If I leave this flower alone, the phenomenon of gigantism will accelerate. It needs to be dealt with the moment I find it.”
“Can I just cut it off?”
“No-. To be sure, the flowers must be burned. Do you two have any tools that can make a fire?”

At Lily’s question, Rebecca and I checked in on each other.
I didn’t have any tools for starting a fire, and Rebecca didn’t seem to have any either.
Adventurers usually carry a flint to make a fire. It was a special flint sold for adventurers at the blacksmith’s shop in the city. However, I couldn’t afford to buy flint because it was expendable and expensive.

“Looks like we’re both missing. A fire starter.”
“Is that so… It’s a big deal. As a mage of the Mage Tower, I can’t leave this ominous flower alone…”

Lily, troubled, snapped her fingers after a moment as if something about her had come to mind.
Lily’s eyes were looking at me for some reason.

“Maybe Luke can solve it!”
“Who? Me?”
“There is magic that causes small embers in offensive spells. Fire magic! It’s a spell learned by elemental wizards, but Luke-sama can use it too, right?”

I am speechless at the unexpected question.
It was because I didn’t know that this girl would ask for a spell other than magic missile.
As she flung the orb roughly, she thought she would only have to act as an escort, but she never thought she would be asked to use fire magic.
Beside her, Rebecca whispered in a low voice.

“…How do you do it? Aren’t you not good at using fire magic?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s just be honest and confess that we don’t know. The only magic you’ve learned is magic spheres and water magic.”

Rebecca is right.
In this situation, she has to make a frank confession to her client.
But the moment her facts were pointed out, I felt like her heart was splitting.
A wizard who couldn’t make even a small spark.
You look so incompetent.

“No cancel.”

There is a come
Ogiga, who cannot admit her own incompetence here.

“I can actually use it. Fire magic.”
“What, what? Is that for real?”
“Fire magic is easy. Lily-sama. Did you say you need fire?”
“Yes. Can you use it? Fire magic.”
“Of course. But I need tools to use magic. I’ll prepare the tools, so please wait.”
“As much as you like! It looks like you need a catalyst for magic.”

I picked up a thick piece of wood near the creek. Splitting a block of wood with a dagger to make a flat, thin board, and using the leftovers to make a long stick.
Soon, I laid the plank on the floor and grabbed the stick with my hand.

“Why did you make sticks and planks?”

At Rebecca’s question, Lily pretended to know.
Lily snapped her fingers and opened her mouth.

“I think Luke-sama wants to draw a magic circle! Draw a magic circle by drawing a stick on the ground. If it’s magic that starts by constructing a magic circle, it’s rune magic!”
“Runic magic. That’s a cool name.”
“Yes! It’s a way to use magic by arranging languages ​​containing mysterious power! It’s really amazing. Rune magic is a high-difficulty magic system that even professors find it difficult. How can a wandering wizard use rune magic-?”
“Huh. That’s great. I saw you again, Luke.”

Rebecca and Lily looked at me expectantly.
Rebecca has a little respect in her voice.
It’s good to lighten the atmosphere around you, but the sound is annoying.
I raised my index finger and pretended to cover my mouth.

“Shh-.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll just watch.”
“Quickly show me your rune magic.”

The two women kept their eyes focused on me and kept their mouths shut.
It was only then that an environment in which I could concentrate was created and I was able to start working.

“Fire.”

Round and round.
I rotated the stick on a flat tree.

Scratch Scratch Scratch!!
All you need to light a fire is stamina and guts.

“Luke-sama…?”

Lily called me but she didn’t answer and continued rubbing the stick. Now that things have happened, I can’t stop anymore.
If you stop here, you become an idiot, and if you succeed, you become a hero.

“Hryaaaaap-!!”

10 minutes.
It was a time when I continued to rub without stopping.
During that time, I only trusted my muscles.

“Fire-!!!!”

As soon as he shouted the magic name in a majestic voice, smoke began to rise from the flat board.
The moment he discovered the smoke, he turned the stick with all his might.

Fire-!!

Then a miracle happened.
At last a small ember had kindled on the plank!

“I made a fire as you asked.”

I proudly held up the burning wooden plank into the air.
Lily looked at me with an angry expression.

“You weren’t a wizard? Why are you lighting fire like a caveman?”
“This is Luke, the physical wizard.”