◆Tracy ◆



""""Thank you saint!!!""""



Having joined the pilgrimage, we left the town of Harwen next.

Here again, Lakshi and his friends were very active, and the residents were all there to see us off as we left the town.



"I wish they would have stopped with the saints..."



"Well, actually what we're doing is what you might say ...... Laxi is doing."



"Yes, yes."



"What?　I'm the only one?



　You all say so, but in fact, other people besides Mr. Rakshi are also doing a great job.

　To tell you the truth, all of them are doing a great job, as if they were saints.



"...... except for me."



　Yes, except me!

　Everyone is doing amazing things, and I'm the only one not doing anything!

　I'm already following you!　No, I'm being held up on the road to catch up with the participants ahead of me, so I'm already baggage, baggage!



"Kyuhuhn!"



　While I was thinking about this, Mr. Lakshi's pet Fluffy put her paw on my leg as if to say, "Well, don't worry about it.



"Thank you, you're comforting me."



　She's such a sweet girl.

　I remember that she is following Laxmi and the others on her legs.

　He's so small.



What kind of creature are you, anyway?　A dog?　A cat?　A furball?"



　I can see all kinds of pets in the Holy City, but I wonder if there are places I don't know where there are many pets like her?



"Tracy, we're getting ready to run, please get in the car."



　While I was talking with Fluffy, Lakshi squatted down and asked me to get on.

　Ugh, he's running that fast again, isn't he?

　Also, like a piece of luggage ......



"...... What's going on, Tracy?"



　While I was thinking about this, Mr. Lakshi was looking at me with concern.



"Oh, no, it's nothing important," he said.



"What's troubling you?　Oh, perhaps my back was uncomfortable to ride on?



"No, no!　That's not ...... that's not ...... that's not ...... that's not ...... that's not ......."



　I can't say it's not, but that's not what I was worried about now. ......



"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not very bright."



　But my stuttering seemed to have made Mr. Laxhi think that it was because he was not comfortable with his ride.



"Well, I'm at a loss. I would have preferred a horse-drawn carriage or flying magic, but the pilgrim's journey is forbidden by law to use vehicles or any other means of transportation that leaves the ground. ......"



""What?""



　Lakshi's words made me feel a sharp needle prick.

　Yes. It is customary on pilgrimages to travel on one's own legs.

　It is one thing to temporarily carry a wounded person on your back, but can you really say that you have participated in the pilgrimage if you are carried on your back from the beginning to the end of the journey to the holy place?

　But how can I ...... I can't run as fast as Raxi and the others, and ......!



"Well, if you could magically create a cushion of air between me and Tracy, it would cushion the impact and make it easier ......."



"Sir!　Mr. Laxi!"



　I called out to Mr. Lakshi.



"Yes, what is it?"



Can you teach me how to run as fast as you and Lakshi?



"What?　The way to run?"



"Yes!　I don't want to slow down Laxi and his friends any longer!"



　That's right!　If I don't want to be a burden to them, I can follow them on my own two feet!

　To do that, I just need to learn how to run faster from Mr. Laxi!



"So you want to learn body enhancement magic?"






"Shin?　Uh, yes!　Yes!　As it is, I'm just baggage!"



　I don't know, maybe that's it!



"Yes, ...... it would certainly help me if Tracy could run on her own so that I would have a free hand in case of emergency. But then you'll have to stay around here for a while to practice, so you won't be able to catch up with the group ahead of you. ......



"Ah."



　Ha!　It was!　We were definitely chasing the other Temple participants ahead of us.

　But if we get stuck before we catch up with the other participants, we'll have nothing to show for it!

　Ugh, I don't want to slow you down, but I've got to win this pilgrim's journey or I'm doomed!



　Then Mr. Lakshi hit his hand with a snap and said something like this.

"Okay, then, let's train in some strengthening magic while we run!



"What?



　What do you mean?



While running?　But I don't know how to run that way yet!



"Yes. So I'm going to force Tracy to run faster while giving her a lecture on body strengthening magic so that she can run on her own.



"Oh, you can do that?



　I can't even imagine what you're going to do!



"It's a bit of work, but you can do it if you work hard.



"Wow, I know. ......"



""""""Stop it!!!"""""Chew!!!"



　Then everyone who had been listening to us rushed to interrupt our conversation.



"If you want to save your life, stop it!"



"Yeah, man!　You need to take better care of yourself!"



"There's no shame in not being able to do something!　Don't be desperate!"



"People are not cut out for this!　You don't need to take the easy way out and step into hell!"



"That's right!　The best way to be human is to be down-to-earth!　It may take time, but it's best to do it slowly and steadily!"



"Gyuhuhn!　Gyuhuhn!　Gyuh-huh!"



　For some reason, even Fluffy seemed excited and slapped her paw at me to stop me.

　Uh, uh, what?　Is it that bad?



"It's all right, gentlemen. I will support you with my magic, and I have recovery magic and potions in case of emergency. There is no way that Tracy will be seriously injured.



"Oh, I see."



　I'm a little concerned about the term "serious injury," but still, if you say you have contingency plans in place, can I trust you?

　Lakshi and her team are great people, and if they have trained so hard to gain such great power, it is only natural that I should be in a little danger as I try to gain that power in a short period of time.

　Then ......



"Okay!　I'll do it!　Even if it's dangerous, I'll do it so that I don't slow you down!"



"""""" Acha~""""" Kyuf~n."



　When everyone learned of my decision, they sighed.



"Thank you all for your concern. But as a servant of the Lord God, I want to complete my pilgrimage on my own!　I'm going to report to the Temple Director with my chest out!"



"Well, I didn't mean it like that.



But you won't listen to me any more, will you?



Well, if you've been through it, you'd understand.



Why do people voluntarily step into hell?



We'll pick up the bones when the time comes.



"Kyuhuhn."



　For some reason, everyone looked at me with a gaze that could neither be described as resignation nor compassion.

　What?　What is it with you people?




　You're looking at me like I'm a zombie welcoming a new friend.



　◆



"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!"



　I was running.

　Laxhi had one hand on me and I was running.

　Faster than a carriage.

　A huge monster was chasing us from behind.



"Don't worry! All you have to do is to be conscious of your gait as I taught you and keep the magic power flowing through your body and maintain the body strengthening magic."



　But Mr. Lakshi continued his lecture on body strengthening magic as if the demons behind him were invisible.



"That's definitely not the only thing you can do!



"That's why I told you!"



"Why do people keep making the same mistakes ......?"



　I could hear the voices of Lilieira and the others, but none of them seemed to want to help me.

　Oh, why did this happen? ......



　The first time I saw a man who was not a good person, I was surprised to see him.



　It all started way back, right after we left town.



"First, I'm going to cast a speed-enhancing spell on Ms. Tracy."



"A speed-enhancing spell?"



　From what I've heard, it's a magic that makes you move fast, isn't it?



"Yes. The person who is cast this spell will be able to move faster. But this magic consumes magic power quickly, so the effect wears off soon after it is cast.



"Wouldn't that be pointless?"



"Yes, so Tracy, please use your own magic to maintain the magic.



With my magic?　You can do that?



　It's true that I can use recovery magic too, but I've never made the effect of someone else's grant magic last!



Don't worry. The grant magic we are going to use now is a magic that can be maintained by anyone as long as he or she pours magic power into it. In other words, I will prepare the kindling for the bonfire and you will light the wood yourself afterwards.



"I see. I see what you mean.



　I don't really understand the principle, but that's how it works.



"Tracy, please hold my hand. Okay, I'll do the magic right away. Investaxel!"



"Crap!"



　Lakshi invoked the magic, and I felt something flow into my body from our joined hands.



"Is this your magic?



"Yes, let's try to run lightly. When you run, step out with your right foot like this and your left foot like this. Your body should always be stretched out as if you are suspended by a string from above, and your breathing should be like this.



　Lakshi gave me a light lecture on how to move my body when running, then pulled me by the hand and started to run.



"Whoa!



"Tracy, please stay calm and be aware of how you move your body.



"Yes, yes!"



"First, let's run to that tree over there."



"Yes, yes!"



　I move my body and run as I am told.

　In no time at all, I passed the tree that was my destination.



"What?　No way!



　It was a long way to this tree, but in an instant?

　I can't believe I ran this distance by myself!



"This is the power of acceleration magic. I'm going to cut off your magic power now, so please maintain it on your own.



Yes, yes!



　Soon I couldn't feel the magic flowing from Laxi's hand and my body started to feel heavy, so I hurriedly put in some magic power as if I was using recovery magic.

　I immediately started to feel lightness in my body again.



"It seems that the magic is maintained without any problem. Then let's try running in that state.



"Yes!"



　I was careless to say such a thing.



"Well, the magic power is ......"



　This acceleration magic seemed to consume more magic power than I had expected, and I ran out of magic power very quickly.



"Tracy, please drink this.



　Then Mr. Laxi offered me a small vial.



"What is this?"



"It's a potion to restore magic."



""""" ugh """""



　For some reason, as soon as everyone heard the name of the potion, their eyes clouded over with despair.

　What?　Could it be that these things taste terrible?






"But, I can't not drink it, no matter how bad it tastes!"



　I willingly down the contents of the vial I have received.



"Huh?"



　Surprisingly, however, the contents of the vial tasted normal.

　In fact, it might even taste better than ordinary potions?

　As soon as I drank the potion to restore my magic power, I was filled with magic power.

　I can do it!　I can do this!



　I was naive to think that I would be able to do that.



"Well, the magic power is ......"



"Yes, a potion to restore magic!"



"Uh-uh. ......"



　The moment I saw the potion for restoring magic power offered by Mr. Laxhi, my body unconsciously retracts my hand.

　But I can't help but drink it. ......



"Oh, perhaps your strength is also decreasing?　If so, you can get a stamina potion at ......."



"No, no!　My strength is still good!"



　I quickly receive a potion to restore my magic power, drink it all at once, and concentrate on running.

　Yes, I do. I had been drinking the potion every time I ran out of magic power.

　It is true that the potion tastes good. But if you drink dozens and dozens of them, you'll get tired of it.



　Moreover, even if your magic power is restored, your strength will not last. Inevitably, I had to drink stamina potions offered by Mr. Lakshi.

　These potions are tastier than ordinary ones, but it is hard to drink dozens of them.



　In addition to that, we have to keep up our magic.

　At first I was fine with just maintaining the magic, but as I got used to it, they told me to maintain the magic and put another acceleration spell on me.

　Thanks to this, I was now using double, or even triple nerves with the gait, for maintaining the magic and draining the magic power.



"Your magical concentration has been disturbed. I will use tranquilizing magic to restore your concentration.



"Ugh!"



　That's the hardest part!



"Ugh ...... I'm tired, but the tiredness is forcing me to lose it ...... and I feel something important grinding away ......."



　I've recovered my magic, my strength, my energy, but I'm losing something, this feeling of losing something. ......



"It's here, it's here."



"I'm getting that feeling."



It's so hard, isn't it?



But it won't end, they won't let me end it.



I'm so sorry for your loss.



"Kyuhuhn."



I'm not dead yet!



　I try my best to maintain my magic so that I don't have to drink any more potions to restore my magic.

　I try to use my magic efficiently so that I can consume as little magic as possible.

　I try to reduce the magic power covering the whole body to the limit and use it for the legs or the lower body instead.

　In this way, you can reduce the amount of magic power you consume.

　In addition, the flow of magic power should be thin and even so that the magic power can flow smoothly, so that the magic power will be stable.



　And when I put that amount of concentration into my gait, I felt that my posture has become more stable and running has become a little easier.



"That's a good feeling."



　After running like that for a while, Mr. Lakshi smiled at me with a satisfied smile.



"What?"



"Now that you're maintaining your magic and your gait has stabilized, you're consuming less potions."



"Oh, really?"



　Is that so ...... if you ask me?

　I don't really understand it myself.



"Yes, it is obvious that I am consuming less energy than I did at the beginning of the run. It seems that you are successfully activating the body enhancement magic.



"Body enhancement magic?　Wasn't it acceleration magic that you had me cast?"



Yes, the first spell I cast was acceleration. And the one I was using from the middle was a normal acceleration magic that expires when the magic power runs out.



"What?　But I can keep up with you just fine!



　In fact, I am keeping up with acceleration magic, and I haven't learned any kind of body enhancement magic.



"That's the body enhancement magic. Body strengthening magic is a magic that anyone who can use magic can use. But this time I didn't have enough time to learn it, so I asked the students to get used to it by practicing acceleration magic, and then to practice mainly only strengthening their legs for high-speed movement.



"Oh, really?"



　I'm not sure. ......






"Normal physical strengthening improves physical strength and attack power, but strengthening the entire body consumes a lot of magic power. So, for the sake of efficiency, we decided from the beginning to focus mainly on strengthening the legs.



　Oh, is that how it works?



"We'll do the general physical strengthening and attribute strengthening during the break, so for now, please continue to run and concentrate on strengthening your legs."



"Yes, sir!"



　I don't know the details, but at any rate, this means I'm no longer a liability!

　Okay, I'll do my best!



"Oh, your magic power is getting low again. Here's a potion to restore your magic power.



"What?"



　What the hell is going on?　Didn't the training go well and the consumption of magic power decreased?



"Even if the efficiency of magic power increases, the magic power decreases. Now please recover your magic power before it runs out.



"What?"



　My voice leaked out involuntarily.

　Do I still have to drink this?



"Yes, how long do I have to drink ......?"



"It takes time to increase the total amount of magic, so it will take until the end of the pilgrimage."



　It was a death sentence.



"I'm going to die!"



"I'm fine. I'll recover my magic power, strength, and injuries, and I won't let you die!　Oh, there's a nice-looking demon heading towards us, so let's keep running away from him while we practice.



　We looked and saw a huge monster coming toward us from behind at great speed.

　Are we going to run away from it?



Let me die first!