Transmigrated to a Dark Fantasy World of SSS-Rank: King of the Void-Chapter 9: Magic Is Everything

Tsundere...

A person who acts aggressive on the outside but is as adorable as a teddy bear on the inside. Usually, a character like that ends up being the protagonist’s romantic interest in dating sims.

"Well, I don’t want to keep contaminating my sight with your horrible face. Now that I’ve confirmed you’re not a threat to Jeanne, I can go back to sleep," Ellegaard said.

She turned and started walking back to camp, but Mitsuki stopped her.

"Wait."

Ellegaard looked at him again, this time with a bored expression.

"What?"

’This tsundere knows a lot about magic. If I can learn something from her, I won’t be so weak that I get crushed in a single blow. I need to tell her,’ Mitsuki thought.

He wanted to ask for help, but his voice wouldn’t come out. His gaze fell to the ground, and he shrank like a frightened animal.

"How do you turn off a Fireball?" he asked timidly.

Ellegaard sighed in disappointment and pointed her staff at the Fireball burning against the tree. The spell extinguished instantly. Without another word, she turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness.

Mitsuki stared into the empty air.

’Yeah, sure. Like I’ve ever asked anyone for help. I’m the best in the world—I don’t need anyone. I can do it alone!’

He turned back toward the same tree and raised his hand.

"Fireball!"

The violent flame shot toward the trunk and exploded on impact. A small burn mark remained on the bark, the fire’s power too weak to cause real damage.

That wasn’t what Mitsuki wanted.

’It didn’t work...’

What he wanted was to create the same blue flame Ellegaard had launched.

’Again.’

"Fireball!"

The flame struck and burst softly.

The process repeated over and over. With each spell cast, the MP and Stamina displayed on his tattoo decreased.

After an hour, sweat ran down his forehead, and his body gave out, dropping him to his knees. In front of him, the tree had a scorched hole—nothing like what Ellegaard had done before.

’Even if I have more MP and Stamina than at the beginning, if I use everything consecutively, I end up completely exhausted.’

He took a moment to breathe and recover.

At the same time, behind that very tree, a translucent figure—almost imperceptible to the human eye—watched silently. It was Ellegaard, secretly observing Mitsuki’s progress with his Fireball.

When she saw him stand again to continue practicing, she had no choice but to intervene. With her invisible body, she walked toward him and grabbed his hand before he could cast again. Her body regained color as she revealed herself.

"If you keep going like this, you’ll die. You really know nothing about magic," Ellegaard said.

Exhausted, Mitsuki lifted his gaze—his vision blurry—and looked into the elf’s beautiful gray eyes.

’Weren’t you gone?’ he thought.

But weakened, he fell forward, his face landing against Ellegaard’s flat chest.

She made a disgusted face and snapped,

"Hey! You human bastard! What—!"

She stopped when she realized Mitsuki had fainted.

The tattoo displayed a notification.

[ The skill "Insomnia" has been deactivated. ]

She sighed, calming down. Then she raised her staff and summoned gentle currents of wind around him, lifting him into the air as if he were floating.

"All beginners who use magic think they’re invincible. Magic is a long and exhausting process—not something you can master overnight."

She flicked her staff, moving Mitsuki to the side of the clearing and laying him down.

"When it comes to magic, impatience is the worst mistake a mage can make. Now wake up!"

The staff glowed green. The light shot toward Mitsuki’s face, and he jolted awake, sitting upright.

"How pathetic. I take my eyes off you for one hour and look what happens. I wouldn’t have minded letting you die. In fact, I shouldn’t have intervened—but Jeanne would’ve felt guilty if I hadn’t."

Mitsuki blinked a few times.

’Huh? What is this elf rambling about? Was she hiding the whole time? That’s scary.’

He pressed a hand to his aching forehead and checked his tattoo.

[

❖ HP / MP / Stamina:

100 / 0 of 45 / 2 of 10

]

"Stop ignoring me, earthworm," Ellegaard said, grabbing Mitsuki by the arm. She frowned as she examined the tattoo more closely.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Stay still."

Mitsuki had no choice. Despite her appearance, this elf possessed far more strength than she looked. The scrawny, pale, untouched body of a 24-year-old gamer was no match for a fantasy creature like Ellegaard.

Meanwhile, she ran her fingers across his skin, sending a shiver through every inch of his body.

’What is this woman doing?! I just woke up! At least buy me coffee before doing something weird!’

Mitsuki held his breath. Never in his life had he been treated like this by a woman. Not only that, it had been years since he’d had such close physical contact with anyone. His manager didn’t count—through his eyes, that woman was a terrifying gorilla.

A beautiful young elf, however, was something entirely different.

’She smells like flowers and rain, for some reason. Wait, no! I need to get her off me!’

"I saw this thing when we found you. These are very ancient runes you have here," Ellegaard said, shattering Mitsuki’s pathetic thoughts.

"Runes?"

"An ancient language—too ancient. The phrase you used is quite good. ’When the last star is consumed and the world hangs suspended in a nameless silence, do not bow your spirit, for even in the depth where nothing answers, the promise of a dawn not yet dreamed begins to take root.’ It’s quite profound for a worm like you."

’A phrase? She can’t see my system? Why can she see something I can’t?’

His mind flooded with questions, but he didn’t have time to reflect. Ellegaard hooked his shirt with the curve of her staff.

"Putting aside the reason for the tattoo, it’s better that I teach you the basics of magic. Otherwise, you’ll kill yourself trying alone."

’Wow... She’s strangely kind all of a sudden.’

"So I won’t have to bury your corpse," she added, crushing Mitsuki’s hopes.

’Yeah... I expected too much from her, I guess.’

At least now he had a way to learn magic—no matter if his instructor was an arrogant, cruel, tsundere elf.

He stood up and looked at Ellegaard’s chest—not with perverted thoughts, but to avoid meeting her eyes.

She didn’t seem to notice and said,

"First lesson: ’Magic Is Everything.’ If you don’t understand that, forget about learning to control it."

"Okay..."

"Your little Fireball already uses the foundations of arcane magic, but it’s not enough. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would’ve died, so I have to explain this."

Ellegaard paced back and forth, leaning on her staff.

"Your body, mind, and mana are a single muscle. Train that muscle and it will grow stronger—more resilient. To do that, you must use magic constantly. Otherwise, you’ll rust."

Mitsuki nodded.

’Well, that’s something I already knew in theory. I just don’t know how to apply it properly in practice.’

Suddenly, something lifted his chin. It was Ellegaard’s staff—she was forcing him to look her in the eyes.

Instinctively, Mitsuki looked away.

"I’ve noticed you don’t look people in the eyes. It was the same in the carriage and earlier at the campfire. That’s a problem."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Mitsuki replied, shrugging.

Ellegaard shook her head.

"Whatever it is, I don’t care. If you have trauma or something like that, it’s not my concern. What I will say is this: even if you’re not suspicious for now, I won’t treat you like a friend. So lift your head and pay attention."

"Yeah... Sorry."

’Damn. This is hard. Maybe I should just go back to the Ash Castle. At least no one talked to me there.’

Despite his thoughts, he obeyed—but not completely. As uncomfortable as it was, he looked at her nose instead.

"Hmph! You should be grateful I’m wasting my time on this," Ellegaard said, crossing her arms in that typical stance.

’I am, believe me...’ he thought with a crooked smile.

This night wasn’t ending anytime soon. Fortunately, he had a skill that would allow him to stay awake a little longer.

[ The skill "Insomnia" has regained its effectiveness. ]