For several hours our team wandered around. We killed a bunch of monsters and collected their crystals. Of course, most of the kills were theirs. I only had one, and that was just finishing off a dying monster.
Even without me, this team was strong enough:
Sylvianne was a knight with physical strength pretty impressive for her class. Add in physical buffs from Lyra, and she could kill three monsters at once.
On the other side, Borin was a mighty tank who used an axe as his weapon. I think he's more suited to be called a monster than the monsters attacking him, because they were completely helpless even when surrounding him.
But even though they were quite amazing, it couldn't be denied that I was the person with the most important role in this team:
"Hey, take this." Sylvianne tossed the crystal she got from a giant spider toward me.
I caught it and put it into the bag. Yeah, that's my role. The crystal collector.
Borin then added his crystal to my bag. I pretended to object even though I was actually fine with it.
"Do you mind? I-I can help you carry some." Lyra said with a worried face.
"No need. I… can still manage." I gave a thumbs up.
Suddenly Borin pulled the bag off my body without asking and put it on himself.
"Borin, I told you I can handle it, right?"
Borin acted as if he didn't hear me, then said, "Just from your face alone, I can tell you can't. Besides, didn't you just say you recovered? Honestly, I'm impressed you could heal from an injury that severe. I saw you when you were attacked by the cult."
"Oh, you saw me?"
"Yeah, clearly. I couldn't do anything back then because my power was clearly on a different level from theirs. Well, consider this my apology."
"It's not your fault."
He ignored me. Fine, whatever. My shoulders feel lighter now.
"Whoa, with this many crystals, we might at least be in the top ten." Lyra's eyes sparkled as she looked at the bag.
"Ehem!" Sylvianne broke the friendly atmosphere. "Our exam is still ongoing."
"Oh, come on Sylvi, can't we relax a little?" Lyra said.
Sylvianne shook her head, her face still stiff.
Looks like she's the persistent type of extra.
"Hey look, there are people."
A man's voice. Not Borin's, of course. Someone else.
Turning around, I saw two men and two women emerge from the bushes.
Honestly, I know them all. But the most conspicuous one there was Gideon because he's the Minor Villain who was supposed to be defeated by Lumian in this exam.
Wait, wasn't he supposed to lose to Lumian in the original plot? That should be the case, but because I took Lumian's cheat, I guess the plot changed. So, did he defeat Lumian, or did they never meet at all? I don't know. Don't care either.
"Wow, you guys have collected a lot of crystals. Thanks. With that, we don't need to bother hunting monsters. I'll just rob you instead." Gideon stepped forward confidently.
In this exam, participants were allowed to take other participants' crystals. So, this was perfectly within the rules.
Sylvianne quickly got into her stance. Borin dropped the crystal bag and handed it to me before going to help Sylvianne. Lyra stood behind them, ready to give buffs.
"Oh, you want to fight? Don't you know who I am, huh?"
Gideon raised his sword arrogantly, then his eyes found me behind my teammates. With sharp vision, I saw him flinch in fear before quickly hiding it with a cough.
I guess Gideon is afraid of the original Julian. Geez, if this is the case, the fight won't happen.
"Just focus on the enemy. I-I'll protect these crystals." I said in a nervous tone while putting on the bag with deliberate difficulty.
But that only made Gideon step back while scratching the back of his neck. "Ahaha, I think… uh, I'll just go."
What, is my own created character this much of a coward? I'm truly disappointed, really...
"I won't let you." Sylvianne suddenly ran toward Gideon. Lyra immediately gave her a speed buff.
Finally, a fight is about to happen!
After monitoring Sylvianne's strength so far, I think Gideon should win in a sword duel. Then Borin and Lyra will also fall after that, and that's when I'll show my power!
Seeing Sylvianne's charge, Gideon immediately swung his sword to clash.
But something unexpected happened—
—Clang!
Gideon was sent flying backward, tumbling across the ground.
Wait, how is that possible?
Suddenly, roots began creeping up from beneath my feet. This is root magic. With Sigil Eye, I found the source of this magic—it came from Lyra.
Then I felt my body become so light that I felt like I could jump as high as I wanted.
Now I realize—this is the effect of Lyra's root magic buff. But this isn't just any ordinary buff. This is incredibly strong. No wonder Gideon was sent flying.
"Julian, stay behind me." Lyra said without looking back.
"U-uh, okay."
The fight continued with Gideon's teammates protecting him from Sylvianne's assault. They fired magic and threw debuffs at that girl.
But suddenly Borin appeared in front of Sylvianne, putting up a transparent wall that deflected the magic attacks.
Then Borin slammed the ground, sending dust flying everywhere.
"Follow me!" Lyra suddenly instructed.
I followed her and realized she was also looking for an attacking position.
Even though there was dust flying everywhere now, I could still see the fight clearly. One of Gideon's teammates extended vines to attack, then combined fire magic with a shield to deflect attacks. The others were healing Gideon.
We were now in the blind spot of Gideon's team.
"Julian, can you clear this dust? I can't see." Lyra said.
I think for now, I have to help them win. If I haven't contributed anything at all, I'll definitely get kicked out of the team by Sylvianne. No, no, I need to hold out for the moment when she'll be impressed with me. I'm really already fed up with her.
I waved my hand while casting wind magic. The dust began to blow away until I could now see their 2 vs 4 fight, which I'm convinced they're only surviving because of Lyra's buffs.
Gideon's team didn't notice us approaching. So Lyra immediately cast her root magic at their feet and then pulled two of them hard against a tree.
Gideon looked back in surprise, but as a result, his body got pummeled by Borin's hard punch.
The last one, who seemed to be a Mage, was completely stunned by that. He then looked at Borin with sheer terror. "I-I… I'll give you the crystals—"
Before he could finish his words, he was tied up by Lyra's root magic.
We won, just like that...
...
"Phew, what exhausting work." Lyra wiped her sweat after tying all four of them tightly to a single tree with root magic.
"How dare you do this to me! Release me right now!" Gideon thrashed around, but it was useless since Lyra's root magic could absorb mana.
"Hmph! Shut up, loser." Lyra smiled disdainfully.
Honestly, I'm interested in copying Lyra's Enhancer magic with Sigil Eye. The problem is, her magic no longer takes the form of a magic circle with codes. Instead, it merges directly with the roots, which also shows that her magic control is good.
Before being able to use magic from the void directly or without chanting a spell, a beginner Mage or Enhancer uses a magic circle to convert the mana inside their body into magic. That's the initial stage that must be mastered. And because it's the initial stage, of course that magic is still easy to learn since it has codes within the circle.
So, it's impossible for me to copy Lyra's magic if she doesn't show me her magic circle. But I have one way:
Carrying the heavy bag, I still forced myself to drag Gideon's crystal bag to the resting spot. From Lyra's perspective, I must look really pitiful and pathetic, so she'll give me a buff later, and since she seems to be low on mana, she'll use her magic circle to conserve it.
"You look like you're struggling? Don't push yourself, you know. You could ask Borin for help. Also, you can carry it later after resting for a bit."
As I predicted, Lyra approached because she saw me struggling.
"I-I just want to contribute to the team. Borin looks exhausted. I can't bother him."
Lyra sighed, then her index finger, which was now emitting a golden-green light, lifted.
Then beneath my feet, a golden-green magic circle appeared, filled with intricate runes. Thanks to Sigil Eye, I immediately recognized how to use it—exactly the same as when I use my four-element magic.
[Congratulations! You have successfully copied Physical Strength Buff!]
Since this magic is outside my Affinity, I can only use the magic circle [2×] times. So, I'll save it.
"Th-thank you."
Without answering me, Lyra took Gideon's backpack and dragged it.
I walked beside her. "I can carry it."
"No."