Souls in a Bottle (3)

The summary of a news article I once saw was as follows, [Elise is trapped in the magical realm of the mage camp]. Not for a day or two, but almost a month.

So, what is this magical space?

Literally, its a space made of mana. To explain it a bit more simply, its a space created within mana.

There are two main ways to enter this magical space.

The first is through a magic circle connected to the magical space. You enter through the magic circle of summoning and reverse summoning.

Elise was trapped here because the magic circle of reverse summoning was damagedsomeone had damaged it.

The second way is through a gap that directly connects to the magical space. In this case, you can walk in with your two legs.

I found that gap and came in. It was quickly discovered when I scanned it with SZX-9500.

So, youre on a trip?

Yeah. A trip and an exploration.

I beat around the bush with Elise.

I saw something interesting and when I looked, I ended up here. It was a gap in the tree roots.

Elise glanced at me with suspicious eyes. I shrugged nonchalantly.

What a coincidence. I didnt know there was such a magical space.

Did you come alone?

No. I came with Soliette.

At that, Elise pouted her lips slightly.

Where is Soliette?

Shell be here soon. Whats up? Sit down for now.

I sheath my sword and pointed to the fishing chair. By the way, I had already taken care of the phantoms last night.

What

Elise sat on the chair. I glanced at her as I gripped the fishing rod.

Hey.

Hey.

Why are you calling me?

You also play Bethune, right?

How did you know that?

Bethune is hot these days. Youre a famous NPC in the community.

The number of concurrent users in Bethune has increased 30 times recently.

Rich people flocked in because of the rumor that it grants wishes, and gold diggers flocked in because of the rumor that rich people were flocking in.

In that respect, Elise is the only doctor in the beginners village. Her job is a High Priest, which is quite rare.

Im not an NPC, how can I be an NPC? Im a user.

Thats just a figure of speech. Anyway, What level are you?

Why are you asking?

I have something to ask. What level are you?

Elise answered in a small, somewhat embarrassed voice.

23.

23 is quite high. She seems to have worked hard.

Thats high.

Whats high? If you play for three hours a day, you get like this. If your level is lower than mine, youre lazy.

She talks a lot unnecessarily. She must be embarrassed about playing the game so hard.

Then

I was about to suggest a party when I belatedly noticed Elises condition. She had dark circles under her eyes and her face looked quite worn out.

Lets talk later. Rest for now. Go ahead and sleep.

okay.

Elise, who responded curtly, leaned into the fishing chair. She fell asleep right away in that state.

She must be tired.

I gripped the fishing rod.

Hello!

The doll, Cookie, hanging from her waist waved at me.

I glanced at Elise. She was almost half unconscious.

Hello!

I spoke to the greeting doll.

Youre Yael, right?

The doll Cookie fell silent.

He stared at me with doll eyes and asked.

How did you know?

His voice deepened. Too deep for a rabbit.

I have good eyes.

The color of magic captured by SZX-9500 is different.

Well, nice to meet you.

Yael. Elises older brother by blood. The benefactor of my life before regression, my first friend.

He was watching over Elise through a rabbit doll.

When did you connect?

Not long ago. After the second quarter of the College Board ended, my sister visited me once. Thats when I did it. I was curious about the outside world too.

Really?

Yes.

I looked at Yael. He perked up his rabbit ears.

Friend. Im curious about something.

What is it.

Why are you helping Elise?

The reason for helping Elise.

It was a strange question.

I shrugged my shoulders.

Because shes your sister.

Thats it?

At first.

At first, it was because of Yael.

Yael, who sacrificed his life for me before regression. To fulfill his promise to protect Elise.

And now?

Now Ive received quite a bit of help from Elise. So, Im trying to make it even.

I dont want to owe Elise. I dont want to owe anyone.

Perhaps we feel the same way, so we help each other.

You dont have to. We owe you too much.

Thats your thought.

Rustle

Just then, the sound of brushing through the grass.

Hello!

Yael turned back into a rabbit.

I looked in that direction.

It was Soliette.

Shion. I found the exit.

She had grass in her ruffled hair, and her eyes widen.

Oh. Shion, you found Elise too.

Yeah. She seems really tired.

Snore

Shes snoring, albeit very quietly.

Lets go when she wakes up.

Yes. Understood.

* * *

The next day.

As Soliette and I walked towards the exit, we suggested Elise join our Bethune party. Elise shook her head with a contemptuous attitude.

You guys. It seems like youre misunderstanding something. Its still the exam period. The third quarter hasnt ended yet.

I know. Anyway, the operation will be carried out after the entrance exam.

Even after the entrance exam, I have a full schedule.

Youre really good at pretending to be busy.

Its not pretending to be-

Whatever. But youll regret it, wont you? Its an opportunity to turn a game into reality.

Did you take some drugs? How can a game become reality?

I glanced at Soliette. It was a gesture asking her to explain.

Soliette cleared her throat awkwardly.

Miss Elise. Allow me to explain. The story Im about to tell is not at all frivolous, nor is it a hallucination or auditory hallucination stemming from drug abuse

You guys sometimes believe in too many frivolous things.

Despite Soliettes explanation, Elise still looked skeptical.

Its not a lie. Why else would the number of users increase?

The number of users, huh

As Elise was about to refute Shions words, suddenly.

She remembered the Aventagher twins.

The Aventagher, a great family, had moved within the [Bethune Dungeon]. Both successors were involved.

It was by no means an ordinary event.

Are there any other party members besides me?

The only ones you would know are from Aventagher.

Elises mouth opened slightly.

Soliette didnt miss the opportunity.

The goal of this quest is to destroy the Soul Vessel created by the Count. Then, the Bethune Dungeon will be incorporated into reality. If we fail, countless souls will be exploited by the Counts selfish desires.

Whos this Count?

Count Knightmare.

Knightmare?

Elise looked at Soliette. Her gaze was somewhat worried.

Soliette. Youre not still-

Knightmare is alive.

This answer came from Shion.

Elise sighed and rubbed her temples.

Haah You guys are all

Elise, who was about to say something, suddenly froze.

Because of the phantom that appeared in front of them.

Please, take care of it.

Saying so, she hid behind Shions back. Shion chuckled in disbelief.

Hey. Why are you whining about something like that?

Whining. Its the worst match.

Why?

Because its not tangible. Telekinesis doesnt work.

Says who?

Its science, science.

Elise pouted from behind Shions back.

All matter has magnetism. But things that do not have matter do not have magnetism. Therefore, telekinesis doesnt work.

Such an obvious fact-

So whats the problem? If theres no magnetism, you can just apply it.

Huh?

Shion put his hand on her head. His large fingers tightly gripped her small head.

Ah, what are you doing? Let go, let go!

Think a little. Dont set your own limits. If theres no magnetism, you can artificially apply it.

Elises eyes widened slightly.

Thinking about it, he might be right.

Her Spectrum is not using magnetism.

It is magnetism itself.

I got it. Now let go.

Shion didnt let go of her head. Instead, he rubbed it refreshingly.

Ah, haaah No.

Thanks to the refreshing sensation, Elise unknowingly moaned, but soon she pushed him away.

Let go.

Then she took a deep breath. She stretched out one hand. The phantom, which did not possess magnetism. Towards the non-material entity.

Elise sent her magic to its heart. First, she precisely set the vector point, and then artificially applied magnetism to the corresponding area

Thud-thud

Blood rushed to her temples. Her nose bled.

At the same time, a definite sensation arose.

I got it.

She clenched her hand in the air.

Zap!

The phantom was squeezed into a single point.

Not a trace was left.

Elise, panting, wore a vacant smile.

Shion put his hand on her shoulder.

See. The compatibility is rather the opposite. If you just apply magnetism, because its not mater, you can squeeze it much more easily.

Wow. Youre amazing, Miss Elise.

Soliette also clapped her hands. Elise licked her lips, glancing at Shion.

Hmph. Its nothing big.

Wipe your nose if its nothing.

Huh?

Elise touched her nose with her hand. A clump of blood came out.

Gasp.

She quickly covered her face. Shion gestured.

Follow me. Lets get out.

You, you go ahead. Ill follow.

Shion. Lets go.

Whether Soliette understood Elises feelings or not, she dragged Shion away.

Elise inadvertently watched their retreating figures.

Soliette and Shion, walking side by side. The two of them, sharing some conversation, giggling about Bethune or related stories.

She bowed her head for a moment.

Once, she had seen a very interesting statistic.

Adult mages are surprisingly often single, or the proportion of strategic marriages is high. Even if they get married, the divorce rate is 53%.

On the other hand, knights are surprisingly often bound in a hundred-year pact with other knights, and the proportion of love marriages is high. The divorce rate is much lower than that of mages.

But

Elise wedged herself between Soliette and Shion. She almost separated the two.

She asked Shion.

Are you sure about that?

What.

The closer Soliette gets to Shion, the more dangerous Shion becomes. Because Arkne is not a normal family.

That the game becomes reality.

Oh, of course.

Soliette quickly answered. Elise asked one more question.

Bianca. Can I bring my pet camel too?

Pet camel, you have something like that?

Yeah. My hospital is the Bianca Clinic.

Hmm Well, it should be possible. Ill make it happen.

Despite Shions uncertain answer, Elise hesitated a bit, then nodded as if sighing.

Okay. Im in.

Nice!

Soliettes cheer, not Shions. She scratched the back of her neck, seemingly embarrassed by the words shed blurted out unknowingly.

Hahaha Im just too happy. High Priest is a precious class. Its a very valuable class, Miss Elise. Ill protect you so that you wont be disadvantaged. Im a top player in Bethune, Miss Elise. Just trust me.

Is that so? Thats a relief.

Whooooosh!

At that moment, a gust of wind blew in from behind. It was mixed with an ominous smell.

We turned to look. Four men in robes were standing there with their Magic Bodies activated.

Shion drew his sword and said,

Looks like theyre the ones who damaged your magic circle.

The ones who damaged the reverse summoning magic circle and blocked Elises reverse summoning.

In other words, the mages who tried to kidnap Elise.

The motive for this incident itself is nothing special.

The arrogance of the magic families.

An act to intimidate Ken Petra, who didnt sponsor the magic community despite trying to raise his child as a mage.

If Ken Petra sponsors them, they would release Elise, but of course, Ken Petra didnt sponsor a single penny. He considered this itself as a hardship for Elises growth.

Stop right there. If you dont want to see blood.

Four mages, in black robes and even wearing masks to hide their existence.

Theyre probably the offspring of the magic community. Their research, their mage career depends on the sponsorship of the magic community, so they would be desperate no matter what the order is.

Go ahead. Ill handle this alone.

Shion said so, picking up a branch from the ground.

He intended to use the branch instead of the sword. Because mages are national talents, if something goes wrong and they get killed, it would be a big problem. He could get in trouble for no reason.

Soliette and Elise frowned.

Alone? Dont underestimate active mages too much.

Thats right, Shion-

What are you talking about? You know me.

Shion brushed it off calmly.

What a senseless thing to say

Elise seemed about to scold him, but then a thought seemed to cross her mind, and she wore a subtle smile.

Come to think of it, youre right. Lets go, Soliette.

Huh?

Elise dragged Soliette away.

Its okay, just guide us to the exit.

But still

Soliette glanced at Shion as she was dragged away.

Dont do anything foolish!

The mages growled, releasing their magic.

Whooooosh! A Gale blew fiercely. But there were no other effects.

With one swing of Shions branch, everything was destroyed.

Its okay. We just need to go.

Elise explained to Soliette, who still looked a bit puzzled.

When I think about it, Shion Ascal

Shion has a peculiar trait. Whether its anti-magic or something else, its a power whose identity is still unknown.

As a result, he has tremendous resistance to various magical interferences that try to invade his body, whether its magic, formula, or whatever.

Therefore.

Hes a mages nightmare.

He will not lose to mages.

Whether the opponent is an active mage or whatever, he has a diabolical advantage that can easily overcome at least three tiers of difference