Before anyone at the summit could react, Daichi Yayahara had already vanished from sight.
The others discussed briefly, but since Daichi had never acted rashly before, they decided not to follow.
Once out of sight, Daichi immediately cast a Tier 2 Wind Step spell, sending his speed skyrocketing.
With full acceleration and downhill momentum, his speed reached nearly three times the human limit.
He flew past several classmates on the trail—none even saw his face before he disappeared like a phantom.
Within minutes, he reached the area where the forest had changed. The natural energy here was unstable, as if forcibly activated.
Sensing his surroundings, Daichi found that spells would be amplified in this zone—but at the cost of uncontrollable mana drain. A double-edged sword.
He moved forward, activating his Detection spell. In this zone, his range more than doubled—he could now scan within a 100-meter radius with absolute clarity.
But his head began to throb slightly—his brain overwhelmed by the surge of incoming data. Still, it was manageable.
As he pushed forward, he noticed that even the local wildlife had grown—twice or even thrice their usual size.
After several minutes of scanning, he found Nobita's group.
He rushed over to find the familiar five-person ensemble—no, four and one cat—of Nobita, Gian, Suneo, Shizuka, and Doraemon.
But one was missing: Dekisugi.
"What happened? Why are you all covered in dirt? And Doraemon, this forest—your gadget's doing, right?"
Doraemon, slumped on the ground, weakly waved his hand. "Don't even ask. My gadget got stolen by a monkey—the Performance Booster. The thing splashed it all over this forest and… well, this is the result."
"And the antidote got stolen too. No clue where it is. But the effect should wear off in an hour."
Daichi nodded, then asked, "Where's Dekisugi?"
"Uh… well…" Doraemon scratched his head. "The monkeys… kinda kidnapped him."
Before he even finished, Daichi had sprinted off.
With a lead, he could now cast a more precise spell.
"Tier 2 Spell—Detection Branch: Tracker Sprite!"
A small sprite resembling a puppy formed in his palm.
"Go. Follow the monkeys' scent and find him!"
The sprite sniffed around, then darted down a narrow trail. Daichi followed close behind.
"Damn monkeys—always making trouble! Why didn't that booster upgrade their brains too?"
His speed surged again.
After a few hundred meters, he sensed Dekisugi's presence near a small pool, surrounded by monkeys.
Dekisugi was tied up with thick vines. One monkey sat proudly on a rock—snacking on the pastries Dekisugi had made.
Daichi's eyes twitched. He was about to charge in fists blazing when he noticed a strange energy signature from one monkey.
Focusing his senses, Daichi's face shifted from tense to elated: the monkey was wearing a necklace embedded with a Nature Mana Stone!
These stones were rare treasures, formed only after thousands of years of condensed natural energy deep underground.
And this one… its energy dwarfed his own—at least dozens of times over. A high-tier stone, easily millennia in the making.
That stone is mine.
But he knew this wouldn't be easy. First, the monkey could channel magic through the stone. Second, in this forest, magic power was doubled. Even a low-tier spell could be lethal.
Plus, Dekisugi was right there—one misfire could maim or burn him.
I need to get Dekisugi out first.
He took a deep breath. Mana surged and quickly refilled his sigils.
He cast Wind Step again, ready to dash. Simultaneously, he began chanting—a Tier 2 Wind Blade spell forming in his palm.
At the moment the spell launched, Daichi shot out from the bushes like an arrow.
The forty-meter gap vanished in a flash.
Before Dekisugi could even react, the vines binding him were slashed apart. Daichi had already reached halfway.
But the old monkey was faster than expected.
As Daichi lifted Dekisugi, a fireball erupted from the monkey's hands.
It wasn't trained magic—just instinctive channeling through the stone. But that alone made it dangerous.
What should've been a basic Tier 1 spell now rivaled Daichi's own Tier 2 Fireball—twice as large.
Had he been alone, he could've easily dodged. But carrying Dekisugi reduced his speed by nearly 40%.
They ducked into the trees, but the fireball locked on.
Just as it was about to hit, Daichi finished his chant—a Tier 2 Barrier Spell. He pushed Dekisugi aside, suspending him midair with a levitation spell.
The fireball exploded.
The barrier shattered instantly, blocking most of the heat and force—but not all.
The shockwave slammed Daichi through the forest, sending him rolling ten meters before coming to a stop.
Coughing up blood, he knelt on one knee.
Dekisugi rushed to him. "Are you okay? Speak to me!"
Daichi didn't answer. He was already chanting—healing magic.
Lines of arcane words tumbled from his mouth—over forty chants in total.
A soft green light spread over his body.
In moments, the burns and bruises faded. His injuries mended.
While he was at it, he decided to fix one more thing—his paralyzed face.
He'd adapted to life here. No more reason to hide behind a blank mask.
Another breath, another cough of blood, and he stood.
"I'm okay now," he said finally.
Dekisugi stared. "That was… magic, wasn't it?"
Daichi nodded.
"So… when you punished Karizaka the other week—that was magic too, wasn't it? I see. That makes sense now. Back then, I had no evidence—just a gut feeling. You could've denied it, and I would've believed you. Why didn't you?"
"Do you really think I'd bother lying about something so trivial?" Daichi replied flatly.
"That guy called your room in the middle of the night. He clearly wanted to distract you, sabotage your grades, and steal first place. He just didn't expect me to be there. I never hid that it was me. I had no reason to."
"People like him—talented but petty—only end up exposed and condemned. Someone like that is a danger."
"No! That's not true!" Dekisugi protested. "Even if someone makes a mistake, they deserve a chance to make it right! He was just acting out—why go so far? Why hurt him like that? He—"
"I gave him a chance!" Daichi cut him off.
"I knew it was him the next morning. If he hadn't called again that night, I would've let it go. But he did. He chose this."
Dekisugi opened his mouth to argue, but Daichi waved it off.
Then he turned and began walking.
"Wait—where are you going? That monkey's still there!" Dekisugi cried.
Daichi looked over his shoulder. "You really think it'll let us go after this? Listen."
Dekisugi paused—and heard it too. Branches rustling. Something—or many things—approaching fast.
"I'll handle them. It's easier alone. Trust me—I'm stronger than I look." Daichi gave him a confident smile.
"Find Nobita and the others. I'll meet you all at the summit."
He pointed to the path he came from, then sprinted straight toward the sound of the monkeys.
Dekisugi hesitated, then turned and ran toward the others.
Only once he was gone did Daichi step out of the forest, cracking his knuckles with a grin.
"Stupid monkeys. You think a fireball will take me down? Let me show you what real magic looks like."
(End of Chapter)