Chapter 25: Can I Know Your Name?

This staff is indeed a magical artifact.

Seeing Jeral pick up the staff, Mo En was not surprised; a staff is a relatively common type of held magical artifact.

The magic of Eslanden can be divided into two major categories: held magic and ability magic.

Put simply, held magic is magic that can only be used by combining one’s own mana with a magical artifact—it absolutely requires a magical artifact to function.

“I can use hypnosis magic; no beast can harm us.”

Jeral spoke, and as his words ended, the staff glowed brightly as he unleashed his strongest spell.

“Mist Naraku!”

A faint magical glow flickered, and Wendy collapsed first—children’s bodies are good; they fall asleep instantly.

Mo En’s eyelids grew heavy, his consciousness sinking gradually; it was unconscious—he didn’t even realize what was happening, he simply wanted to sleep, to sleep without a care.

“Hum!”

In the starry sky, the Pegasus constellation shimmered.

Mo En suddenly opened his eyes, his mana surging chaotically; tiny starlight seemed to fall from the heavens, clinging to his body and helping him break free from the hypnosis spell’s grip.

“Incredibly powerful!”

Seeing Mo En unaffected and still alert, Jeral’s eyes filled with shock—he had never encountered anyone immune to his hypnosis magic before.

His “Mist Naraku” was extremely potent; it could knock down anyone it touched, and that was his sole advantage while traveling alone through this world.

“Itachi bastard! Don’t just cast magic on people randomly!”

Mo En snapped back to himself, gritting his teeth as he scolded Jeral; he was still shaken—the feeling of losing control over body and mind, of being overwhelmed by an irresistible urge to sleep, was terrifying.

Fortunately, his will was strong; before he truly fell asleep, he sensed something was wrong and felt an intense sense of danger—this danger drove him to frantically activate his internal mana source, successfully breaking through the daze and dispelling the hypnosis.

“Sorry! I had no ill intent—I just wanted to demonstrate my ability.”

Jeral, still stunned, immediately canceled the hypnosis spell and sincerely apologized to Mo En; his “Mist Naraku” had no lethal power—it even induced a deeply comfortable sleep, which was why he’d used it so carelessly.

Mo En shook his head, calming his inner mana; just now, he had briefly reconnected with the Pegasus constellation again. Though it lasted only an instant, it had helped him escape the hypnotic state. Now, recalling that sensation, he still couldn’t grasp its mechanism.

“Is this staff a special magical artifact?”

Mo En dropped the thought and turned to Jeral, the odd fellow, curiously asking.

Jeral was not using “held magic”—as Mo En had sensed, this man had no mana inside him at all; he used magic entirely through his magical artifact!

This was completely different from Eslanden’s “held magic,” where even magic users relying on held artifacts still possessed their own mana, and the artifacts required mana to activate.

Strictly speaking, what Jeral used could not be called “held magic,” since he didn’t use even a single drop of his own mana.

“Yes, the staff contains a mana crystal.”

Jeral replied calmly; his body indeed held no mana—he relied entirely on the staff in his hand.

“That’s truly unusual.”

Mo En’s eyes widened in surprise; enchanted mana crystals weren’t rare, but artifacts with this level of power were extremely uncommon.

Artifacts embedded with mana crystals were usually civilian tools, like movie projectors or magical lamps.

Combat-oriented magical artifacts rarely used mana crystals, because mages themselves possessed mana, and using their own mana to activate artifacts was more convenient and faster.

Mana crystals generally stored only limited mana, because storing too much was dangerous—there was even a one-time-use item called “Explosive Mana Crystal,” created when too much mana was stored, usable only as a single-use magical bomb.

Combat magic consumed vast amounts of mana, meaning that artifacts embedded with mana crystals had to be frequently recharged—a tedious process.

Most importantly, mana crystals couldn’t be easily manufactured—they were extremely expensive! Most people simply couldn’t afford them.

In short, such strange magical artifacts were rare in Eslanden.

“With this ability, Itachi could make it out. Is your staff’s mana still sufficient?”

After witnessing Jeral’s hypnosis spell “Mist Naraku,” Mo En no longer insisted they travel with him—provided Jeral’s staff still had ample mana.

“Plenty.”

Jeral answered with certainty.

“Good. Hand me the map—I’ll draw Itachi a route.”

Mo En nodded, asking no further questions, and extended his hand, waiting for Jeral to hand over the map.

“M-map? I don’t have one.”

Jeral looked embarrassed; he’d just arrived—how could he possibly have a map?

“Itachi don’t even have a map? Itachi’re bold to venture in here—are Itachi just fearless because Itachi’re skilled?”

Mo En glared, unable to resist mocking him—he thought this must be some rich kid’s idiot son.

Such a powerful magical artifact must be extremely expensive—only the very wealthy could afford it. And Jeral’s manners and speech clearly showed he’d received strict upbringing; Mo En didn’t need to think to know this guy’s background was extraordinary.

With no choice, Mo En pulled out his own spare map and drew the exit route—he’d personally mapped this path, and it was one of the easier ways out.

“Here. Next time Itachi go out, prepare properly. I don’t even know what’s in that huge bag of yours—Itachi don’t even carry a map.”

Mo En tossed the marked map to Jeral, then couldn’t help adding another jab; he’d seen Jeral’s massive green pack, like a turtle shell, and assumed the guy was well-prepared—turns out it was just decoration.

“Thank Itachi, that—”

Jeral took the map, his face filled with gratitude, but he didn’t turn away—he stood there, hesitating, as if wanting to say something.

“What? Is there more?”

Mo En had already re-packed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Seeing Jeral’s awkward hesitation, he frowned and asked.

“...Can I know your name?”

After a moment of hesitation, Jeral finally voiced the question.

This guy seemed terrible at making friends—Mo En had noticed it already; Jeral spoke with difficulty, as if he had a mild social barrier.

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(End of Chapter)