Chương 79: Mysterious Man

Someone that is always playing with rocks? The only thing I can picture is skipping stones. Try to make it bounce as many times as possible. Bonus points if you hit a giant goldfish or something. I'm sure she would say something about us trying to steal her water again. Maybe not.

[So what exactly is that guy doing usually?]

"He picks rocks up then lowers them again. Usually at another spot."

Hmm, let me see. Oh, actually there is one thing I can think of.

[Any chance he can be setting up formations?]

"What's a formation?"

[Well it's possible to cast magic by drawing runes, right?]

"This bear knows how! Ah, but only the hiding one!"

[Well it should be possible to arrange stones into patterns to produce a similar effect.]

"I'm not sure I …"

"Ah, I know! I know! It is like how when flying one can see cool natural patterns!"

[Precisely! That is what this is about. So, wolf do you think this is what he is doing, or is it something else?]

"Ah, now that I think about it…It is that for sure! I always thought he was weird but now it makes sense!"

"*Proud* Of course teacher would know about it!"

Then we keep journeying. All until we reach a clearing. There awaits us something that looks like Stonehenge. Well, there are way more rocks all over the place here.

Huge boulders all over the place. I can't seem to see a pattern in it, at all. Is this place itself a formation? Is there any danger?

"Teacher, what kind of thing is a formation?"

I'll just share my knowledge. How accurate is fiction to deal with an IRL situation? Who knows? I'll just bullshit this as if we were talking hypotheticals. Novel knowledge, time to shine!

[Well you see there are many types of formations. They are made of arrays. You can see arrays like special patterns one has to follow to cast magic.]

"That sounds hard!"

[Yes, not only does one need to know it perfectly, but the design changes based on the emplacement too.]

"How?!"

[One needs to take into consideration various factors. For example, the surroundings and the mana there.]

"Wow."

[The first one is a protective array.]

"It sounds powerful!"

[It is, but all it does is block enemies and attacks. Similar to the noise-canceling barrier you made before but this time protective instead.]

"What about the others teacher?"

[There are confinement arrays. These would make one lose their senses upon entering.]

"Couldn't we just fly away?"

"I can't fly! X2 (in unison)"

[No, that wouldn't work. The scary thing about such a formation is that it beguiles its target. You will have the feeling to be flying but in fact, you will probably be lying motionless on the ground.]

"Staying on the ground isn't that bad, no?"

[*Chuckle* By then you are an easy target for anyone passing nearby. There is something even scarier. A strong one might even trap you until you die of old age.]

I can hear gasps of terror.

[While this one is scary there is worse. There are killing arrays that will directly attack you with magic.]

"This wolf agrees! This one is definitely the worst!"

[Nope. There is something way more dangerous.]

*Gasps again*

[You see it is possible to mix them all. Beguile the victims while killing them with killing formations. Then if they try to run away using special means you can have a protective array to physically block their path.]

"Teacher! Which one is this! Should we simply leave?!"

That is the thing. I have no clue. Should I invent a story again?

[Well, you see this right here is simply…]

"Not a formation at all!"

Interrupts a voice. Coming out of the forest is a man. Wearing a monk-looking robe. On his shoulder, he is carrying a huge boulder. Completely full of bulging muscles.

This guy would make a green muscular superhero look thin. Surprisingly this isn't even his most noticeable feature. No, he is so damn hairy! He has hair all over his head, his chest, his arms, everywhere!

This is insane! There is no way this is humanly possible! As he comes closer, I can only reiterate this statement. For he is not human but a gorilla. Yeah, that makes more sense. He looks directly into my eyes.

"You are him, aren't you?"

[Meaning?]

"Yggdrasil's Pupil or something."

[Yes, who have you heard about me from?]

"The guardians, also the siren. She says that you are a bully."

[*Sigh* I'll have to teach her a lesson sometimes for spreading false rumors.]

"What were you explaining exactly? About a formation?"

[It's a discipline that allows one to show power using the landscape mostly.]

"You mean I could be arranging rocks in a way to create magic?!"

[Indeed.]

"Teacher, show us!"

"NO! I do not want to be shown!"

The gorilla denies the request categorically.

"I have spent most of my life working with these rocks. I do not believe I won't be able to do it as long as I try enough!"

That's very admirable. He wants to figure it out by himself. Unlike how I've been begging people to teach me. Oh well, to each their own. Comes the roc's voice from above.

"But...if you are not doing that …thing. Then why are you bringing rocks here?!"

Asks the bird to the extremely muscular gorilla. Geez, I truly wonder what he does with these! He doesn't even deign to answer. He simply lifts the boulder he is carrying up and down.

"This wolf doesn't understand, how is this fun?!"

He raises his boulder even higher.

"What do you know! This is the best thing ever! To slowly feel the burn from working out for days! The feeling of satisfaction from feeling yourself becoming stronger! The…"

[What he means to say is he is training his muscles.]

"Exactly and it is the best thing ever! You guys should start too and…"

Okay, he likes to train. One day I'll have to build a gym for this guy. Also, how would they all train with rocks? For the bear, it kinda works. I've seen him do it with his initial base. The wolf I'm not sure how that would go.

As for the bird...would he fly with rocks at his feet? Bobbing up and down with difficulty. Would be hilarious. Then again with the size of these boulders that would easily become a weapon. Fly high up and drop it on the enemy. GG well played. The enemy is now meat paste under it.

"They keep calling you teacher…can I ask something too then?"

Please, not a trick question! …