INFINITE - 25
Juro then motioned his finger again.
Marc's open mouth gently closed.
A faint smile appeared on Juro's face.
"Goodnight, kids."
His voice softened slightly.
"You both worked hard today… now get some proper rest."
Then finally.
Juro turned off the lights.
-------------
After turning off the lights, Juro quietly stepped out of the room before gently closing the door behind him.
The hallway of the inn was calm and dimly lit as he slowly walked downstairs.
Instead of going straight to sleep, he headed toward the small bar area inside the inn.
A few villagers were still awake drinking and chatting amongst themselves, and before long, Juro casually joined into their conversations.
Small talk turned into laughter.
Laughter turned into stories.
And somewhere along the way, Juro somehow ended up making several drinking buddies despite only being there for one night.
Time quietly passed.
Eventually, Juro stepped outside the inn and stretched both arms upward toward the night sky.
"Haahhh…"
The cool night breeze brushed past him as he slowly began walking through the quiet village streets alone.
Then his thoughts drifted back toward the bald man from that day.
"Hmm… that bald guy I fought that day…"
Juro narrowed his eyes slightly while walking.
"From what I managed to get out of him before handing him over to the knights… he mentioned something called "Curge Sin"…"
A small grin appeared on his face.
"PFF Aha… what a terrible name."
He continued walking casually with both hands resting behind his head.
"Apparently they're somewhat infamous in certain villages and towns, but not enough for the main kingdom to seriously focus on them yet."
His footsteps gradually slowed.
"Still…"
Juro's smile slowly sharpened.
"I think I got myself involved somehow considering they already tried assassinating me once."
He eventually stopped walking altogether.
The quiet village wind softly passed through his hair.
Then slowly
Juro grinned.
"Well… if I run into them again outside the villages…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"There won't be any knights around for me to hand them over to."
A small amused chuckle came from him.
"So I guess I'll have to improvise."
..
…
…..
Time passed.
Morning finally arrived.
The day the three of them would officially leave Lonan Village.
Inside the inn, the three sat around a table eating breakfast together before departure.
Marc, meanwhile, was practically inhaling his food from excitement alone.
He could barely sit still.
The thought of finally exploring the outside world again had completely filled him with energy.
Bell casually ate his breakfast while Juro sipped his drink beside them.
Then suddenly
Marc accidentally swallowed too quickly.
"GHK—"
He immediately started choking.
Juro instantly burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Meanwhile, Bell calmly grabbed a nearby cup of water and handed it over without even changing expressions.
Marc hurriedly drank it.
"COUGH— cough— haaah…"
Juro wiped a tear from his eye while trying to calm himself down.
"Haaahhh… alright, that was funny." He shook his head while chuckling again. "But slow down. We still have plenty of time before leaving, so eat properly."
Bell also spoke while continuing to eat.
"Yeah. We're about to see even more of this continent anyway."
Marc grinned brightly again.
"I just can't help it! I've always wanted to explore the world and see more wonders about magic!"
Juro pointed at his plate.
"Then eat up properly so you'll actually have the energy to explore."
Marc nodded rapidly while stuffing food into his mouth again.
"MHM MHM."
As the conversation continued, Bell quietly drifted into his own thoughts.
"Last night…"
His eyes subtly lowered.
"I clearly remember falling asleep on the floor."
"Yet when I woke up… I was on the bed beside Marc."
Bell quietly stared at his drink.
"Which means…"
"I didn't notice mana or magic being used on me at all."
A faint thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
"I wasn't even able to wake up or sense it…"
Bell subtly tightened his grip around the utensils in his hand.
"Is this how weak I've become…?"
His gaze quietly shifted toward Juro.
"Or… is that man simply this powerful?"
Bell stared at him for a brief moment before letting out a small sigh internally.
"Oh well…"
"I was pretty exhausted last night."
He calmly continued eating.
"For now, I'll just focus on growing at my own pace."
..
…
After finishing breakfast and gathering their belongings, the three of them finally stepped out of the inn.
The cool morning air greeted them as they began walking toward the village gates.
This time.
They were truly leaving Lonan Village.
Marc's excitement was practically impossible to hide.
Even while walking, he tightly clutched the book he brought with him, his expression full of anticipation for whatever awaited them outside the village.
Juro noticed immediately and smiled.
"Really excited, huh?"
"Yup!"
Marc answered without hesitation.
Eventually, the three of them reached the village gates and stepped outside.
For a brief moment.
Silence filled the air.
Then suddenly.
"Marc! Bell! And Mister!"
A voice shouted from behind them.
All three turned around at the same time.
A familiar figure was running toward them at full speed, panting heavily with sweat across his forehead.
It was Alex.
Marc's eyes instantly widened in surprise.
"Alex!"
He immediately smiled and shouted back.
For the first time since meeting them, Alex shouted as loudly as he could despite the distance between them.
"Come back again sometime!!"
He continued waving while trying to catch his breath.
"Next time, me and my family are gonna treat you to dinner!!"
Marc's smile grew even brighter.
"Okay!!"
Alex softly smiled before shouting one final time.
"Good luck on your journey!!"
Sweat covered his face from running all the way there.
But despite that, a huge smile had appeared on his face.
Marc happily waved back.
So did Bell and Juro, small smiles appearing on both of their faces as well.
Then slowly.
The three turned back around.
Ahead of them stretched a vast world waiting to be explored.
The morning wind flowed gently through the grass as they walked away from the village together.
And among the three of them.
Marc's smile shined the brightest.
..
…
As they continued traveling down the road, Marc suddenly pointed ahead.
"Ooo, is that a carriage??"
Bell glanced forward.
"No. It's a wagon."
Marc's eyes sparkled again.
"Ooooo. Let's go check it out!"
Juro shrugged casually.
"Sure."
The three of them walked closer toward it.
A man stood beside the wagon stretching his arms while warming himself up.
Next to him was a brown horse calmly standing in place.
One of the wagon wheels had completely broken off and now rested separately on the ground.
The man soon noticed the three approaching.
"Oh? Hey kids! What brings you here?" he asked casually while still stretching his body.
Marc smiled brightly before answering,
"We were just walking around and saw your wagon, so we came to check it out!"
Then Bell spoke up from beside him.
"What are you doing, mister?"
The man continued stretching his arms while replying casually,
"Warming up."
Marc tilted his head.
"Warming up?"
"Mhm!"
"What for, mister?"
The man pointed toward the damaged wagon wheel lying on the ground.
"Well, as you can see, my wagon hit a hole on the road earlier. One of the wheels came flying off." He rolled his shoulders while stretching again. "So I'm warming up before lifting the wagon and fixing it myself."
Marc's eyes widened slightly.
"Ohhhhh. Then mister, can we help?!"
The man paused mid-stretch before looking at him.
"Hoho… such enthusiasm." He laughed lightly. "But it's alright. I can't exactly let two kids do all the heavy work."
He flexed one arm jokingly.
"I may be old, but I'm not that old yet. I'm only sixty-eight. Still got plenty left in me."
But Marc continued insisting with a huge smile.
"Cmonnn, mister! We can help! We can use magic!"
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Hoho? Magic?" He glanced toward the others. "Are you kids mages?"
Juro casually placed a hand on Marc's head.
"They're currently training to become one."
The man looked thoughtful for a second before glancing back toward Marc's sparkling face full of excitement.
Eventually, he laughed.
"Hohoho… alright then." He smiled warmly. "If you'd really like to help this old man out, I'd appreciate it."
Marc's smile immediately brightened even more.
"Yes! Of course! Watch carefully, mister!"
The man first untied the ropes connecting the horse to the wagon before gently leading the brown horse aside and patting it calmly.
Before Marc could start, Bell suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't overdo the mana, Marc." Bell calmly warned him. "We don't want the wagon ending up in the sky."
Marc immediately nodded seriously.
"Okay!"
He then handed his book over to Bell.
"Hold this for me for a second!"
Bell took it while Juro and the old man stepped aside to watch.
Marc slowly reached out his left arm toward the wagon.
His palm opened.
Marc took a calm breath.
Then mana began flowing out from his hand.
The mana spiraled around the wagon before slowly transforming into streams of flowing wind beneath it.
The air currents gradually thickened.
Then slowly.
The wagon lifted off the ground.
"Ooo…"
The old man looked genuinely impressed.
"That kid's good."
Juro immediately grinned proudly.
"Of course he is. I'm the teacher, hehe."
Bell silently stared at Juro after hearing that.
( ￣-￣)
Still, Bell couldn't help quietly thinking to himself.
"He really is talented…"
Meanwhile, Marc carefully stabilized the wagon at the perfect height.
Then he stretched out his other arm toward the broken wheel lying on the ground.
Mana immediately began flowing out from his right hand as well.
But unlike before.
Instead of the mana moving toward the wagon wheel…
The mana wrapped around Marc's own hand.
Marc grinned.
"Hehe."
The moment Bell and Juro saw that.
Both of them looked slightly surprised.
As mana completely engulfed Marc's right hand, the flowing mana suddenly stretched outward toward the broken wagon wheel.
The mana elongated further and further.
Until it finally took the shape of a large translucent hand.
Just like the one Juro created earlier for Alex's little sister.
Marc grinned slightly.
Then he moved his real hand as if grabbing something.
The manifested mana hand copied the motion perfectly and grabbed the broken wheel from the ground.
Slowly and carefully, Marc guided it toward the wagon.
Then finally.
Click.
The wheel connected back into place perfectly.
The old man's eyes widened in genuine amazement.
Meanwhile, Marc used the mana hand to stabilize the wagon while slowly lowering it back down.
At the same time, the streams of wind beneath the wagon gradually weakened and faded away.
The wagon carefully descended until its wheels touched the ground once more.
As soon as the wagon settled properly.
The manifested mana hand slowly dispersed into particles of blue light before vanishing into thin air.
Marc puffed his chest out proudly before wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"Phew… that was harder than I thought…"
He laughed awkwardly.
"Trying to be careful made it difficult."
Bell walked up beside him before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You did well, Marc."
Then he handed the book back to him.
Marc happily took it back with a bright smile.
Meanwhile, Juro silently stared at Marc with clear amazement in his eyes.
"This kid's understanding of mana flow is on a completely different level…"
Juro glanced toward the spot where the mana hand had disappeared.
"He only saw me use manifested mana once… yet he was already able to imitate the mana flow structure almost immediately."
A faint grin appeared on Juro's face.
"Sure, it wasn't perfect… but for a kid his age, this level of mana understanding is crazy."
Then Juro recalled Marc's earlier words.
"And he said the difficult part was "being careful"…?"
Juro almost laughed.
"Which means even after doing all that, he still had enough mana left to accidentally send the entire wagon flying if he lost control."
Juro finally walked over before ruffling Marc's hair proudly.
"Ahahaha! You did great, kid!"
Marc smiled happily from the praise.
Then he noticed the old man closely inspecting the repaired wagon.
Curious, Marc walked over toward him.
The old man soon turned around with a wide grin.
"Hoho! You did amazing." He patted the wagon proudly. "The wheel's perfectly attached now."
He looked back toward the road ahead.
"Thanks to you, I can continue my travels as a merchant again."
Marc's eyes instantly widened.
"Oooooo! You're a merchant, mister????"