**Chapter 16 – Elinne 1**
“Human…? Are you saying this magic stone used to be human?”
“That’s right. Just a regular human. Same as you guys, rooted in and living in this world.”
The magic stone holding a golden radiance said nothing. What was once human but now to us is a silent stone harboring magic power.
But to Elinne, it surely seemed different. Even now, she must still see that stone as someone.
“….It was over two hundred years ago now.”
Elinne looked up. At the starry sky glittering in the torchlight, on the cave ceiling.
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There was a time when I unquestioningly believed in my talent, trusting it as absolute.
“If I stay in a tiny village like this for hundreds of years, my talent will rot away.”
Back then, Elinne left the elf village gripping her pride as a [Sculptor] and a small bundle of belongings, intent on honing her skill.
Confident in her sword talent as well, she had even more faith in the magic rings she crafted herself. In fact, even when in peril out in the wider world, she could fight through it with her sword and magic rings, even earning a living as an adventurer.
As she travelled, honing her skill and technique, gaining stimulation, Elinne’s talent and ability as a [Sculptor] became incomparable to her village days. Eventually her name became widely known, and Elinne retired from adventuring to settle down and devote herself fully to being a [Sculptor].
For her base of operations, she chose the Kingdom of Reiuell, the largest nation on the continent at the time.
She swiftly became the top workshop in the royal capital, catching the eye of the king back then who recognized her skill and appointed her the first master of the newly established royal family exclusive workshop.
Despite various difficulties, she never faltered regarding her talent and ability as a [Sculptor]. Possessing unfounded confidence that she was the world’s number one [Sculptor], that confidence swelled further after being named the first master of the royal workshop, and she became absorbed in her work.
—-However, at one point she would come to know the first setback in her long life.
It happened when she took a vacation, visiting Mount Itoel both to search for materials and seek new stimulation, craving it. Freely exploring the remote mountain, Elinne was caught unawares by a monster she encountered there.
The master of Mount Itoel. The demon boar.
A complete lapse of judgement, underestimating it as just another monster. An arrogance in a sense inevitable from having adventuring experience. Slipping off a cliff during her battle with the demon boar, Elinne found herself unable to move on the mountain alone.
“…How pathetic… If the villagers heard I slipped off a cliff, they’d mock me to no end.”
Other monsters also dwelled in the mountain. If she didn’t crawl to move somehow, she would eventually get eaten.
Yet her body wouldn’t budge an inch, not even a finger or toe.
Recovery magic rings would have been useful at a time like this, but recovery magic, apart from attribute, required having a certain degree of aptitude to use. Unfortunately, Elinne could not use recovery magic.
The best she could do was pray to the gods, but before long that was rendered futile as well, appearing mercilessly in the form of the demon boar that had rammed Elinne. The master of Mount Itoel.
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“…Heh. The gods sure are harsh on those lacking faith, huh.”
She realized this was the end for her. However, she didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to die. There was still so much left undone. She still wanted to make magic rings. That was why Elinne forcibly moved her pained, wounded body to grip her sword. Displaying the will to resist.
Perhaps the gods witnessed that.
“GUOOOOOO!!!”
A ghastly shriek. Not Elinne’s, but the demon boar’s.
For a moment she didn’t understand what had happened. She belatedly realized someone had appeared from somewhere and fiercely punted the demon boar away.
“Wha-…!?”
Having fought the demon boar herself, Elinne knew it was a monster with excellent defense and endurance. That was exactly why she was shocked by the power to be able to kick the demon boar flying like that.
“Hey, you there.”
The intruder was a girl. A cheerful-feeling girl around mid-teens.
She wore magic rings on her hands. Right now it was physical enhancement via [Strengthening]. However, for that to achieve the might she just displayed, either the user was quite a powerful individual, or the performance of the magic rings themselves was high. From what Elinne saw, this time it was the latter.
The girl who had kicked the demon boar tilted her head cutely at Elinne.
“What are you doing there? Sunbathing?”
“…That’s obviously not it.”
“Haha, yeah, you’re right~”
Matching the atmosphere she gave off, the girl brightly and energetically laughed.
She was like a warm ray of light without a hint of cloudiness.
“Grrrrlurrr….GUOOOOOO!!!”
The demon boar seemed to have regained its footing quickly.
Rising up, it glared at the girl with bloodshot eyes. Its prey had already shifted from Elinne to this girl.
“Hmm. As expected of the mountain’s master. Full of energy.”
Speaking coolly, the girl channeled more magic power into her magic ring.
“[Water Torrent Sphere]”
A spherical mass of water magic power was casually fired off.
The magic sphere that hit blasted the demon boar further back into the mountain’s interior.
When Elinne fought it, no matter how many powerful fire attribute magic spheres she struck it with, it would ignore them and continue charging…yet in one shot, this girl…
“No… No way…!”
One look told it all. She realized it immediately.
Seeing the single [Water Torrent Sphere] the girl had just fired was plenty.
The magic rings she wore were superior to the ones Elinne had crafted.
“Who… Who are you…?”
Those words spilled unconsciously from her mouth.
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