As a young mage, Cot considered himself quite strong and he was proud of his achievements. He was part of a strong group of warriors and he was talented in many areas.

But it all changed when Elly came and joined their group. After falling in love with her at first sight, he became increasingly distracted and irrational. Not knowing how to approach her, he acted in the most childish way possible, teasing her constantly.

She never spoke more than a few words with him, clearly uninterested in him. However, in his delusions, he saw the girl as just being shy and embarrassed, incapable of admitting her love for him.

And then a young cripple came… And just as he wanted to probe his character and make a few jokes, she immediately came to defend him. It angered Cot and it left a bitter taste in his mouth every time he saw that guy from then on.

If it happened only once he could maybe

orget it, but every time he saw him, there was always Elly to protect him.

He didn't know why, but Cot came to hate Gerald with all his heart and soul. Elly, leaving with the latter, was the last straw that broke him. He had to kill Gerald and get his love back!

But that weak and cowardly cripple… That scum that tricked Elly to go with him… 'What kind of monster is he?! Why can't I kill him?! How can he fly?!' Thoughts like these flashed across his mind when he stared at the sky with teary eyes and a trembling body.

"Too late! Some mistakes, you can't fix... Now burn!"

A column of flames descended from the skies, scorching and burning the ground all around Cot, with him in the middle.

His screams made Elly flinch as she watched his burning figure run away, only to be pierced with multiple stone spikes that came from the ground, making him fall silent. Gerald then landed from the sky as his hand continued to spew fire, burning the body to charcoal.

Then, with a movement of his hand, the ground opened and swallowed the remains, before closing back up, as if nothing ever happened.

Watching Gerald come close, Elly didn't know what to think. She never killed a person before and the sight was too brutal for her young mind to accept. She was also afraid of what would happen to her now that she knew Gerald's cold and dark side.

She took a step back subconsciously and avoided his gaze.

"What's wrong? Do you think I should let him live?"

"N- No…" she answered timidly, still unwilling to look him in the eyes.

"I can see you were not used to this… Elly." He came a step away from her and gently lifted her chin, looking straight into her eyes.

"The world is messed up, Elly. Humans or beasts are all the same, they are all selfish, just in different ways. You were lucky you met a crazy person like Cot when he was surrounded by others… If you two first met in a place devoid of people, I don't think he would stay rational for long…"

"What- What are you saying?" Elly trembled.

Gerald quietly chuckled, "I'm not saying anything, pretty girl. Just know that your beauty can be both a blessing or a curse...depending on circumstances."

"That's also why I hid my strength. Deception is far greater than strength. And you, my dear, under my lead you can become a master of it!" After saying his part, Gerald released her chin and gave her a mysterious chuckle, before turning around and continuing on his way.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

"Ah! Y- Yes, I'm coming!" Elly's body jerked forward and she ran after him.

Gerald made a quick and twisted smile that she couldn't see. "Good choice," he whispered and released the Mana he gathered around his arm. The air pressure was released soundlessly into the surroundings.

If she hesitated for even a moment, she would disappear from the world just like Cot.

"What? Did you say anything?" Elly asked after catching up with him.

"Yes! We have so much time on our hands, so we might as well start the lessons now. But first… Tell me all you know about Mana and magic!"

***

The sun hung low in the sky and painted it orange-red. After a full day of walking, Gerald and Elly were tired and decided to set up a camp for the night.

Gathering up some wood, Gerald ignited it with a simple look.

Elly's eyebrows shot up in amazement. Even after half a day she still couldn't quite accept the things that happened.

First of all, she lost what she thought was her friend, when it became clear he was just a crazy stalker obsessed with her.

Then, she got a shock of a lifetime when she saw a human capable of flight, spewing flames from the sky like some sort of deity. Gerald killed without even blinking, disposing of the body with extreme speed and precision.

And lastly, she became aware of how little she actually knew. In the conversation during the last few hours, they traded knowledge about magic, and Elly could barely keep up with what Gerald was talking about.

The concepts he tried to explain to her were so foreign she couldn't quite wrap her head around them.

"What is light?" he asked.

"Light?"

"Indeed, what is light? What is this thing that allows you to see when you have a fire in the darkness, a flash of lightning, a blinding explosion, or the sun? What is light?"

"I- I don't know…"

She remembered how confused she was at first. 'What is light?' She never heard a question like this before. Light was light, that's all there was to it. Even in magic, light wasn't something you could touch. It's even more elusive than the wind.

The spells were designed so you could imagine them even if you had no clue what the thing actually was. It was just blindly following directions, without actually knowing where they led.

"Hello, ground control to Elly, stop daydreaming standing up!" Gerald called her, pulling her out of her thoughts. "It's time to eat something."

"Sorry…" She blushed and sat down. She glanced at Gerald who was cutting a piece of meat, "That's a big...heart."

"...I'm not sharing," Gerald stated and gave her a side-eye.

Elly smiled and shook her head, taking out a small piece of meat and a loaf of bread and placed it near the fire to warm up. They ate in silence. Gerald wolfed down a few kilograms of the Queen's heart before he was satisfied.

During the last incident, his appetite skyrocketed and normal food didn't appeal to him that much anymore. The almost thirty-kilogram heart on the other hand… It was incredibly good and satisfying.

There was one more thing that changed. A day after the fight, he measured his Mana regeneration rate again and the results were quite shocking. Based on his estimations, he could now replenish 75 MP/h without doing anything!

It was a crazy increase from before. Although the Queen alone wasn't completely responsible for the massive increase, it was definitely the majority of it.

Just thinking about the immense power she had in its most weak and vulnerable state, Gerald didn't even dare to think about what would happen if she finished her metamorphosis.

He took a notebook and made a depiction of the Queen in her cocoon. It was a special notebook he made especially for all the beasts and monsters he met on his travels, and it included their strengths and weaknesses, viable strategies to fight them, and, of course, their taste.

"It's not bad… Considering I have at least half a ton of meat left, I'll be set for a few months at least…"

He shifted his position and made himself comfortable, staring at the campfire in deep thought. "We need to travel faster! I also need to order a new hand, and that's going to take me a few days at least…"

"Sigh, so much to do and so little time…"

Thinking of the possibilities, he slowly fell asleep.