Magic Crystals

"Wave of Despair."

As Tyler activated the spell, he wasn't sure it would work. Even if it did, a Tier 1 spell would, at most, create a visual effect in the presence of demons capable of killing what he believed to be a Tier 4 or even Tier 5 Magic Beast.

That said, his only goal was to create a distraction. He hoped the visual effect of the spell would bother the two women, even if only slightly. After all, they didn't know how strong he was. Even though demons were arrogant creatures (or so he had heard), they wouldn't be foolish enough to underestimate an enemy they had no intel on.

He hoped they would hesitate before launching an attack, focusing instead on resisting the spell's controlling effects before realizing it was just a Tier 1 spell. The moment they hesitated, that would be his chance to escape. Even at Tier 3, he doubted they could catch up to him in such terrain—or so he hoped. At the very least, this would give him a fighting chance.

As the aura wrapped around his body, Tyler felt a flicker of pride. This looked better than he had expected, and his confidence in escaping grew slightly. It will work. I can make it, he thought, motivating himself as he prepared for the next step.

He had to move the moment the aura left his body to have the best chance of escaping unnoticed. After all, to high-level opponents, anyone who used a Control spell as their first move must be confident in themselves and the spell.

Just before the aura exploded from his body, he planted his feet and prepared to run. The moment he felt the first stir of mana within him, he made his move. However, as he tried to take a step forward, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

Confused, he lay there, completely out of breath. He could no longer feel his arms and legs; his body was hot and getting hotter, and he was sweating profusely.

An absurd amount of energy surged out of him as the aura exploded outward. The exhaustion worsened, and he could hear his heart pounding against his chest, as if it might burst.

He fell to the ground, his muscles aching yet numb, with an overwhelming urge to sleep. Then, hunger joined the mix as his stomach growled.

His eyelids felt heavy, his vision blurred, and he wanted to close his eyes and nap. Just as he was about to drift off, a chilling thought jolted him awake. He was still in the forest, in front of two powerful demons. Now that his plan had failed spectacularly, he needed to find another way to escape.

His mind raced, scrambling for solutions. I have to get up. I need to do something, anything. He struggled against the fatigue and pain, forcing himself to stand.

After considerable effort, he finally rose, his arms dangling lifelessly at his sides.

Tyler felt the blood rush to his head as he stood, making him dizzy and nearly sending him back to the ground. He managed to steady himself, fighting through the dizziness.

He raised his head, trying to look at the women who, for some baffling reason, had yet to attack him, even though he had lain defenseless for several seconds.

His vision cleared, and the dizziness subsided. He could now see what was in front of him. What's going on?

He was dumbfounded. The two women, whom he had believed to be hero-level (Tier 4) mages, were lying unconscious on the ground.

The entire forest around him had fallen eerily silent. This sent a chill down Tyler's spine. He felt more terrified by the silence than he had by the prospect of facing a monster. "Did I do this?" Tyler muttered, confused. It didn't make sense. A Tier 1 spell would always be a Tier 1 spell. He knew there were higher-tier versions of the spell—he had seen the Tier 2 and Tier 3 versions in the library—but a Tier 1 spell shouldn't have been capable of this.

He had chosen the Tier 1 version of the spell as one of the safer options to practice. Yet, even a Tier 3 Control spell wouldn't be enough to knock out a Tier 3 mage, let alone a Tier 4 or Tier 5 mage. At most, it would paralyze them or send them into a panic.

Not even a Tier 4 or Tier 5 mage could amplify a Tier 1 spell to this extent. To exert enough pressure to render a mage unconscious was no small feat. At that moment, an eerie breeze swept past him, jolting him out of his thoughts. He didn't dwell on it further; this wasn't the time or place for speculation.

"What now? Should I just leave?" he muttered, standing there with a complicated expression. After a moment of hesitation, he took a few difficult steps toward the women.

As he approached, he noticed something: one of the women was changing. The white-haired lady no longer looked as pale as before; her skin had gained a bit of color, and her hair was darkening. Before long, her bluish-white hair had turned blonde. She no longer radiated the cold, terrifying aura she had before, and the strange sensation that had drawn him here had vanished.

He stood still, muttering to himself, "Was it her? What exactly was that transformation? They're both demons, I guess." As he said this, he turned to look at the dark-skinned girl, his expression filled with confusion. "Is she an elf!?"

Tyler was dumbfounded once again. He could hardly believe his eyes. He had never seen an elf in his life, even after spending over three years in this world previously. "What's an elf doing in the Demon Continent? What happened in the last thousand years?" He didn't know if the girl was an elf or some kind of sub-demon race, but he instinctively decided to trust Earth's fantasy depictions of elves. After all, he was in another world.

Looking at both women, he had many questions, but he didn't know how friendly they would be upon waking and realizing he was the one who had knocked them out.

He didn't have much time to think about it before his growling stomach reminded him of his predicament. I need to find something to eat. What can I eat in the Demon Continent? He hadn't found any food in the castle—not that he expected centuries-old food to still be edible. He had hoped to find a garden or something similar.

He needed to hunt an edible beast or monster or find some wild fruits he had tasted before. But there weren't many animals on the Demon Continent, and he hadn't seen a single fruit in the forest.

The problem was, he didn't have much strength left. He could barely stand, let alone hunt a monster. That's when he remembered something. "That's right! Those Red Hawks." The name was given by adventurers who hunted the creatures; their actual name was unknown. Red Hawks weren't difficult to hunt; the only problem was that they were usually found in dangerous areas of the Human Continent.

The birds preferred tall places to rest, and unlike this forest, there weren't many giant trees on the Human Continent. He had seen plenty of them on his way here; all he needed was a way to reach them from below.

He instinctively looked around for anything useful, not expecting to find something immediately. That's when he spotted the ice sculpture he had noticed earlier. Although the surrounding ice was melting rapidly, the sculpture remained as sturdy as a rock.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he took heavy, difficult steps toward the sculpture. It took him a while, but he finally reached it. It was a magic beast, standing on all fours yet nearly as tall as he was—and he was over six feet tall.

He didn't recognize the monster; he had never seen a magic beast before, so it wasn't surprising. The creature looked like a panther covered in scales instead of fur, with comically large claws.

A part of its body was glowing; he could guess what it was. He had heard of this phenomenon before. Normally, you would cut out the valuable parts and any edible flesh after defeating a monster, but the beast was frozen solid. He couldn't extract anything, and he doubted any part of it would be edible after being frozen.

This was an incredibly valuable item in the Human Continent, and he imagined the Demon Continent would be no different. Moreover, this was likely a Tier 3 or even Tier 4 Magic Beast. He wouldn't be surprised if it was even stronger. The item would be invaluable and could greatly aid him in the future.

He hurriedly turned to find something he could use as a hammer to shatter the sculpture and retrieve the item. Then he spotted a dagger on the ground. It was dark in color with an exquisite design; he guessed it belonged to one of the women. I guess one of them is an assassin type.

He walked to the spot with difficulty and picked up the dagger. His arms felt heavy, and every movement was a struggle, but he didn't care. He just wanted the item. You could say this was the power of greed.

When he returned to the ice sculpture, he raised his right hand, gripping the dagger, and with his remaining strength and the force of gravity, he struck the ice sculpture.

Bang! Shatter...

To his surprise, the ice sculpture shattered in one hit. He hadn't expected it to break so easily. Either he was stronger than he thought, or the ice was more fragile than it appeared. Regardless, the monster had been frozen to its core, and the thought of being on the receiving end of such an attack sent chills down his spine.

It didn't take long for him to calm down. He looked at the shattered bits of frozen flesh and saw the small, glowing blueish-white crystal defying gravity as it floated down to the ground like a feather. It was a gorgeous blue gem, roughly the size of a golf ball. Though rough around the edges, its beauty was undeniable.

Tyler couldn't contain his joy and excitement as he stared at the radiant gem. The dazzling glow illuminating the area around it filled him with a sense of peace and tranquility. He could feel the boundless energy within it.

This was a Magic Crystal—the core of a magic beast.