Tale of Discovery

Chapter 192: Desert ; Oasis ; Magic

"Gabriel, ask Tiffania if she's sure of the location she gave me."

[Understood.]

Having relayed my order, I stay afloat in the clear skies, waiting for a response from Tiffa.

Looking down at the ground below me, I see nothing more than sand. Well, that's to be expected from a desert, but still, I should be seeing some signs of civilization already.

[Father, she says that she is certain of it.]

Hearing her response, I let out a small sigh and say,

"Very well."

This is troublesome. According to the directions Tiffa gave me, I should've reached the oasis quite some time ago.

The only possible explanation I can think of would be that the elves have made use of some illusory magic to make themselves invisible.

I mean, the Kingdom of Gallia could use such magic, so I can't see why the elves wouldn't be able to do so as well. Perhaps, this is how Joseph got his hands on such magic.

Shaking my head in exasperation, I disable Flight so that gravity can pull me down to the ground.

As I land on my feet, I crouch before placing my palm against the hot sand underneath me, while focusing on a notion I had in mind for a while now.

{Alchemy: Stereokinesis discovered.}

I knew it. This had been on my mind ever since I made use of Alchemy to punish the courier a little.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I proceed to form the image of a long-sword inside my head while gathering the tougher minerals present within the sand.

Soon, the sword I had in mind is physically formed as a cluster of minerals pressed closely against one another.

With the first step done, I proceed with the second step which is heating the minerals by pyrokinesis.

As they're already hot, it doesn't take long before the minerals have entered a state of matter that's easy for molding.

I wait a short while for it to cool off before using Alchemy once more to gather more minerals for a repeat of the process.

All of a sudden, my vision changes once more, this time in a manner different from when I punished the courier.

The world seems to become bereft of most colors once again, with the only colors now visible being minerals in the sand as well as the sword.

Upon closer inspection, I realize that the minerals I can see are the ones used to create the sword I just created.

{Alchemy: Replication discovered.}

Oh? That's a great thing. Although, its usage is limited to situations similar to the current one, it's an extremely useful application if one knows how to make use of it properly.

Not wasting a moment, I immediately begin using it to create four more copies of the sword I made earlier.

What's strange is that I didn't need to use pyrokinesis this time, yet they all ended up being completely alike in all aspects.

Now then, it's time to make use of these five swords.

I float back into the sky while telekinetically holding the swords.

Compared to swords made of steel, these are practically useless, but that's not the reason I've made them.

I did this for two reasons.

The first one is to see if I can manipulate solid particles. How detailed could something I make be?

The other reason is the main one I actually bothered doing this.

Positioning the swords all around myself in five different directions, I telekinetically move them forward a little before using Vector Manipulation to multiply their vectors several times.

As such, under the blazing heat of the sunny sky, five shimmering swords get thrown into the distance far from one another.

With my purpose clear, I keep an eye on the swords as they fly off, only to be pleasantly surprised by the sight of one of the swords abruptly disappearing.

A smile makes its way to my lips as I begin to fly in the direction that I believe where the oasis I've been looking for is.

Soon, I find myself passing through some thin membrane before the sight in front of my eyes completely changes from the endless sand to a fascinating oasis.

The heat from the sun seems to disappear as I find myself slowly floating to the patch of grass on the ground.

"Finally," I subconsciously mutter, "They really did make the whole damn oasis invisible."

Shaking such thoughts aside, I observe everything that's within my sight, only to find myself mesmerized by the beauty of the whole place.

However, I soon notice something is off.

Instead of numerous houses, there is only one white house.

Could it be that I've arrived in the wrong place?

As such questions arise within my mind, I sense some to my left quite a distance away.

After a few seconds, two figures appear from behind the tree.

A male and female elf.

The female elf has a smile plastered to her face, while the male elf glares at me with clear malice apparent in his blue eyes.

The two of them are both dressed in clothes similar to what Tiffa wore when I first met her.

Deciding to ignore the male elf's malice, for now, I turn my body to face them before saying,

"Good day, no?"

The male elf scoffs as a response to my words while the other one decides to humor me by saying,

"It's a fine day indeed."

"Enough of that," the male elf immediately says, "Who are you and why are you here? How did you find this place?"

Well, I expected something like this to happen, however, now that I'm unsure of this place being what I've been looking for, I should pry them for some information first.

"Allow me to introduce myself," I say while clearing the dust off my attire, "I'm a Magic Knight from the Kingdom of Tristain."

"A savage," the male elf mutters as his look turns to one of disgust.

Before I can address him for his poor behavior, an excited voice reaches my ears as the female elf hastily approaches me and asks,

"You're a human? Did you just say that you're Magic Knight? What's that profession and what are the requirements for becoming one?"

Hearing her quickly blurt out a series of questions, I take a moment to think before replying,

"Yes, I'm a human," at least, partially, "A Magic Knight is one who is capable of making use of both magic and sword arts simultaneously."

"Oh! Could you show me something only a Magic Knight would be able to do?"

"Luctiana," the male elf says in a firm tone.

"Shut up, Ari," she harshly responds.

That guy Normally, I'd say that such behavior is out jealousy, but according to the way he has been looking at me suggests that he doesn't believe I'm anywhere near him.

Whatever. I shall broaden his horizons a little.

Pulling Excalibur out of my storage ring, I proceed to hurl into the sky before the eyes of the bewildered duo.

Then, before either of them can make any comments, I crouch a little before leaping into the sky.

A few seconds later, I catch Excalibur in the air before turning my body around and falling right toward the oasis.

Then, I use pyrokinesis to cover the blade in fiery flames before swinging downward.

As a result, a wave of flames escapes from the blade and directly strikes the oasis below me, leading to a burst of steam to escape as a heap of water gets blown onto the land.

That should do it.

Having done what's needed to be done, I use Flight to slowly land where the duo was.

To my pleasant surprise, the two of them both seem to have gotten splashed by water.

Their clothes are now soaked, giving me a clearer view of their bodies, especially the female elf's busts.

Before they can react, I approach the female elf, Luctiana, and press my palm against her abdomen while making use of Elemental Magic to dry her clothes.

"What are you doing?!" Ari says as he raises his arm as if preparing to cast a spell.

"Drying her off," I coolly respond with a neutral expression.

As if just noticing that his clothes are wet, he looks down at his body before looking into my eyes and saying,

"Mine too."

I shrug my shoulders and say,

"You wouldn't want to be touched by a 'savage', right? Do it yourself."

Seeing the corner of his lips twitch, I continue,

"Or, could it be that you're not able to do so? Man, what a disappointment. I thought that you elves would be able to do at least something this simple."

Ari seems to have had enough as he lifts his right leg to approach me, however, before he can take a step, Luctiana exclaims,

"Stop it, Ari!"

This causes the guy to freeze up for a few seconds before scoffing once and walking toward a small rock nearby, most likely intending to sit on it.

"What was that?" Luctiana immediately asks with an intrigued expression.

"Magic."