Chapter 15: Sun Boost Under Control
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In the middle of lunch, I stuffed my face with pourage paired with nuts and berries. The taste was delicious, but while enjoying my food, I got careless, and my spoon bent. I stopped chewing and looked down at it. The metal handle had folded crazily between my fingers, Mob-style. "Not again." I let out an annoyed sigh.
Even when I tried my best to hold back, the moment I got too relaxed, my concentration slipped and something broke. Whether it was a spoon, a cup, or a training sword, something always ended up broken. This was the fourth spoon this week.
It was becoming increasingly frustrating. Ever since I tapped deeper into my abilities and gained Sun Boost, my body has become harder to manage during the day. Don't get me wrong, having explosive power made me feel a lot safer about future threats, but it was getting in the way of my life.
Like this one time, during one of the morning sparring sessions, my strength had been too much for Simon and the other soldier to handle. I hadn't meant to hurt anyone, but I accidentally sent Simon sliding back so hard he ended up with bruises across his body. One of the soldiers took a serious hit too, and the session had to be canceled so they could get treated. They needed to use some expensive medicine from the Church to heal their injuries, which I apologized profusely for after that.
Thankfully, Simon and the other guy weren't mad about it. They told me to be more careful next time. Simon especially was laughing himself to death.
Because I couldn't control my strength properly, I wasn't improving my swordsmanship. The only time training felt somewhat normal was at night, when I was at my weakest, but you can guess why that is a problem.
Additionally, I was unaware of the reason, but it appeared that my physical strength was increasing daily. I couldn't measure the exact difference, but I noticed it rising drastically throughout the day, peaking at noon until night, and every morning the baseline seemed a little higher than the day before. I'm getting absurdly stronger day by day, is what I'm saying.
"I'm really turning into Escanor." I shook my head with crossed arms.
The only things missing were the arrogance... and the hulking muscles... and a majestic mustache. That one was very important. Jokes aside, part of me wondered if whatever sent me here had given me something like Sunshine as a boon. "Or maybe a sick joke."
Whatever their reasons for giving me this power and dropping me here, this power was making people fear me. Most of the students didn't even look at me when training. Whenever I asked, they either declined immediately or gave some weak excuse. Only Simon and Kem remained on board, which made me thankful.
I stared at the bent spoon, then at my hand, thinking, If only I could turn this passive ability off. "Wait. Could I?" I thought for a second. "Meh, what do I have to lose?"
I pushed the plate aside, placed the bent spoon down, and sat properly in my chair. Closing my eyes, I focused inward, searching for the familiar heat that always burned inside me. Sun Boost was distinctly different from how I use my light magic. Whereas my light magic can be generated from my large reserves externally to make constructs and blasts, Sun Boost affects me both externally and internally. It increased the power of my light and my physical attributes.
Sun Boost was, in essence, a rising flame. At night, it dimmed to nothing, leaving me feeling less. During the day, it roared, and so did I. I focused on the heat and gave it one simple command. 'Stay dormant until I call you.'
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For a moment, nothing happened. But then the scorching warmth inside went silent. And with it I felt the strength in me go. It wasn't gone. I could still feel it somewhere deep inside, waiting beneath the surface, but it no longer filled every inch of my body.
I opened my eyes and looked down at my hands. "So it did work." I flexed my fingers. The strength wasn't flooding me anymore. I didn't feel like my nighttime self either. I felt like I did when I first arrived in this world. Normal.
I stood and walked over to the nearest barbell. With Sun Boost active, I could lift it with one hand without thinking, which was insane considering it had about four hundred and twenty-five pounds on it. I bent down, grabbed it with one hand, and tried to lift, but I couldn't even budge it, so I used both hands. The barbell shifted, barely leaving two feet above the ground before I had to let it drop back down.
Before getting too excited, I sat down again and closed my eyes. Turning it off was great, but I had to find out if I could bring it back. I breathed in slowly and pictured the quiet flame inside me reigniting.
And it answered. Heat surged through my right eye as the flame roared back to life. Power immediately rushed through my veins, filling my muscles with strength as a golden aura wafted around me. The room grew hotter. There it was.
I stood, went to the barbell, and picked it up with one hand. Then I raised it above my head and spun it on my fingertip. "Fuck yeah!" It was official. I had the power to turn Sun Boost off and on.
Not only did it mean I could stop accidentally breaking things during the day, it also meant I could train normally again. I could suppress myself for sword practice, then activate the boost when I needed power. Best part, no more being forced to fight on a handicap at night just to improve properly. I can just turn it off and fight normally without feeling weaker.
I was still grinning like an idiot when someone knocked on my door. Stopping what I was doing, I lowered the barbell down and killed the golden aura. The heat faded, my eye dimmed, and I fixed my hair over it before heading to the door. When I opened it, I was surprised to see it was Kem.
"Yo. What brings you here?"
Kem raised an eyebrow. "What? I can't show up?"
I chuckled. "I didn't say that." I stepped aside. "Come on in."
"Hmph." Was all I got before he stepped in. Despite me humbling him, he still acted like an asshole, which was fine because I knew there wasn't any venom in it.
Since our little talk, things between Kem and me had gotten better. We weren't enemies anymore. I wouldn't say we were exactly best friends either, but at least there was no more bitterness between us now, or more accurately, with him.
I prepared some food, and we ate while talking about random things. In our talks Kem admitted how much he wanted to get stronger and beat me someday. When he said that, I told him that I'm also aiming to get stronger and that I'll be waiting for him to fight me anytime. I wasn't sure if he could, but stranger things have happened.
After our meal, we went outside and sparred for a while, and without the advantage of Sun Boost, the fight was more balanced. I was not casually tossing him around like a training dummy. Rather, we were both on relatively equal footing, engaging in proper learning and training. Kem was not oblivious to the difference either, but he remained silent and simply fought with greater intensity. Of course I was more skilled and stronger, but this was meant to help me sharpen my swordsmanship.
When the twenty rounds of sparring were through, both of us were on the ground and exhausted, but we both learned a lot in this moment compared to the last couple days, which I considered a massive success.
Kem wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Hey, how come you were slower today?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, man." I breathe out with a smile.
Kem stared at me suspiciously before shaking his head. "You suck."
"Not as much as you," I smirked, receiving a tongue click from the guy. I love having modern-day comebacks in a medieval world.
Kem stayed around for a bit longer, working on our forms. We also took the time to exercise together after he'd seen the training equipment and asked if he could take some home. I told him it was alright but not to overdo it. He thanks me in a douchy way and goes home with two dumbbells, but not before making sure to take a doggy bag with him.
Once he left, I looked out the window and saw that it was still daytime. I would estimate it was around three. I cleaned myself up, grabbed my usual gear, fixed up my hair to show my eyes, and then headed out. I wasn't worried about Suu finding out about my new eye color. She didn't seem the type to stress over or make it a big deal.
...
Somewhere in a port town, a big black cargo box can be seen being lifted by two burly men who, even with their strength, were struggling with it.
"Why the hell are we carrying this thing again?" One of the men groaned, his boots dragging across the wooden dock as he and his partner hauled the enormous rectangular container between them.
The box was as large as a body and was tightly sealed and locked with chains. The box also had white symbols around it. They didn't know what was inside the sealed box-like coffin, only that it was important and should never be opened. "What is even inside this thing?"
"I'd shut up if I were you. They might take our pay if we don't mind our business." The other man warned.
"Cmon." He rolled his eyes. "You're not the least bit curious?"
"Nope," he denied. "I've heard what happened to the last guy who looked inside, so I'm better off not knowing.
Curiously, his partner asked, "What happened?"
"I was on my break when it happened. The person was normal until he looked inside the box. The guys who were there all heard screaming, metal scraping, and him praying to Ilias like his life depended on it. When he came out, he was like a demon and went on a rampage to the nearest village. He was so fat that nobody could keep up with him, and by the time we heard what happened, he was already in the next village over causing a ruckus."
The first man swallowed. "Woh, scary."
"Yeah, it was so bad that our leader had to step in."
The two men continued forward, boots thudding against the dock as the ship ahead creaked softly against the waves. It was not a merchant vessel, at least not officially. The banner hanging from the mast marked it as a private supply ship. Many people were doing similar work involving the ship. The vessel was not a normal ship for travelers. They were conducting illegal activities in the dead of night. And it shouldn't be a surprise, as this ship belonged to the notorious terrorist organization Ilias Cruz.
"Hey, what are you two knuckleheads mouthing off about?!" A sharp voice ordered.
Both men stopped talking immediately. Their superior stood near the gangplank, arms crossed.
The two men straightened themselves at his voice, straightening as much as they could while holding the box.
"Do not ask what is inside." The captain said. "Do not joke about what is inside. Do not shake it, drop it, open it, or attempt to hear it. You will deliver it to the ship and place it in storage with the rest of the cargo. Then you will leave."
The second man grimaced. "Sir, with all respect, if it's that dangerous, why are we taking it to the Ilias Continent in our weakest base?"
The captain's eyes narrowed. "Because those are our orders from the head."
"But—"
"Do you want to explain to the head why you questioned them?"
The man's mouth snapped shut. "Good. Now move. And be careful."
The two carriers groaned under their breath but obeyed, dragging the cargo box up the gangplank one slow step at a time. The wood beneath them creaked from the weight. Something inside the box shifted, not loudly, but enough that both men froze.
The captain said nothing, narrowing his eyes at the box. "Keep moving," he ordered.
The men got on the ship and went into the cargo hold. The cargo hold stank so badly the two men frowned as they moved quickly. Huddled along the walls were several monster girl children wearing ragged clothes and iron chains around their wrists and ankles. Some had animal ears. Some had tails. One had tiny wings folded tightly against her back. Another had small horns poking from messy hair. And another looked like a dog. They looked hungry, scared, and miserable all at the same time. A few stared blankly at the floor, while others cried softly, their thin shoulders trembling.
The two men ignored them and kept moving. "Over there." He said, nodding toward the far side of the hold.
They dragged the cargo box into place beside a reinforced storage door and dropped it with a heavy thud. At the sound the chained children whimpered.
"Finally." The first man breathed, rubbing his aching hands. "Damn thing nearly pulled my arms off."
"Let's just go." They turned to leave, but as they were there, they heard a woman's voice whisper from inside the box.
"Wield me…"
Both men froze. The voice sounded soft, trembling, and intimate, like a lover begging through a wall, but there was something frightening about that that made their hair stand on end.
"Wield me… pierce me… own me … let me out..." she pleaded, her voice trembling with desperation as if she were an addict. She spoke between breaths, her desperation evident as if she were an addict.
The men slowly turned their heads toward the box. The box sat completely still.
"Did you hear that?" He asked, and frightening them even more, the sound of sweet humming came from the box.
The cargo hold became deathly quiet. Even the crying children had gone silent, staring toward the black box with wide eyes, but unlike the men, they weren't as afraid. The first man backed away. "I'm not paid enough for this bullshit." And quickly ran out of dodge.
"Neither am I." They hurried out of the cargo hold and shut the door behind them harder than necessary.
Above deck, the captain checked items off a parchment list with a stiff expression. Monster girl prisoners: loaded. Supply crates: loaded. Cold storage cargo: loaded. Black sealed box: loaded. His quill paused over that last line. He looked toward the lower deck. Even from there, he could feel it. A sensation like standing too close to a blade pointed at his throat.
He hated that thing. He had seen what it had done to one of his comrades. Why his superior wanted it moved to the Ilias Continent, he did not know. Why they wanted it stored at their Ilias Cruz base alongside the prisoners, he understood even less. The thing had already harmed several members when they attempted to wield it. One man lost the ability to make children. Another had become unconscious for weeks, and a third tried to go on a rampage.
They should have buried it. No, not buried. Sealed it in stone, dropped it into the deepest ocean trench, and prayed no fool ever found it again.
But they had tried everything to destroy it, but nothing worked. They could not scratch it. They couldn't even leave a scratch. So cold storage it was. Until the leader issued further instructions.
The captain forced his quill down and checked the final line. "Prepare to depart."
The sailors moved at the double. The ship groaned as the tide pulled at its belly, ready to carry its cargo across the sea toward the Ilias Continent.
Inside the hold, the black box pulsed. A faint red glow leaked from its seams like blood. The room glowed red as the chained monster children could not help but stare at it. In addition to the strange red energy, the woman's voice returned.
"Cut…" The red glow brightened.
"Slash…" The box shook once.
"Mutilate…" Something inside scraped against the inner walls, slow and eager.
"Together with you, my husband…" The glow flared like blood-red fire. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Her yandere laughter echoed through the cargo hold, shrill, beautiful, and utterly nuts.
...
Far away from the ship, in the forest of the Ilias Continent, a purple-haired boy with one blue eye and one golden eye sat beside a happy slime girl near a pool of water within her cavern.
"Achoo!" I rubbed my nose, frowning. "Is someone thinking of me?" I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right.
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