Chương 69: He returns pocket sized!

Another day had passed on the coast, and the training area had settled into a kind of exhausted routine. Since they didn't have a place to rest... they crew was forced to By sunrise on the second day, everyone had found their own corner of the beach to work through their own struggles.

Krystal spent her mornings further down the shore, running through her family's blade forms against the surf, adjusting her footing again and again on the shifting sand until her stance held steady no matter how the ground moved beneath her. Max had taken to hauling driftwood and half buried boulders up and down the beach, insisting loudly to anyone who asked that it was "for balance," though Tony was fairly convinced he just liked showing off.

King spent his mornings a short distance from Amelia, running drills of his own while keeping half an eye on her progress, offering a suggestion whenever her shield sputtered out. Tony, for his part, had appointed himself the group's official supervisor, which mostly meant lying in the shade and occasionally shouting encouragement that nobody had asked for.

And a little further inland, past the tree line, Ace had been doing push ups since before the sun came up, counting under his breath, sweat running down his back despite the cool morning air. Amelia stood in the middle of the training area, both hands held out in front of her, a faint blue glow flickering weakly around her fingers. She gritted her teeth.

"Come on...." The glow brightened for a moment. A thin, unstable barrier flickered into existence around her body. Then it collapsed entirely. Amelia lowered her hands, shoulders sagging.

"It's no use." Mochi and King, who had wandered over between their own training, exchanged a glance.

"It's been almost two days," Amelia said, "and all I can manage is a flicker that lasts maybe three seconds." King folded his arms, considering.

"That's still progress, though. It wasn't lasting at all yesterday morning."

"It doesn't feel like progress." Mochi crouched down beside her.

"It is, though. You're getting closer every time, even if it doesn't feel that way from where you're standing." Amelia sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I guess." It was Tony who noticed it first, ears twitching from where he lay sprawled in the shade near the cliffs.

"... Do you guys hear that?" Everyone paused.

"Hear what?" Max called over. Tony sat up slowly, head tilted toward the rocks.

"That. Right there. A sort of... beeping." King frowned and listened. Faint, but there, a small rhythmic pulse of sound coming from somewhere among the boulders scattered along the base of the cliffs.

"That's mechanical," King said. Amelia's expression shifted instantly.

"Mechanical?" Everyone went quiet, the training forgotten. Krystal jogged over from the shoreline, blade still in hand. Max dropped the boulder he'd been carrying without a second thought.

"Could be nothing," Max said, though he didn't sound convinced.

"Or it could be one of RoboGeneX's forces scouting us," Krystal said grimly. King raised a hand.

"Let's find out before we assume the worst." They followed the sound together, picking through the rocks at the base of the cliffs, the beeping growing steadily louder and more distinct the closer they got. Tony's nose led the way more than anyone's ears, his tail low and cautious.

"It's coming from under there," he said, pointing toward a narrow gap between two large boulders. Mochi knelt down and peered into the shadow. Two small, familiar lights blinked back at him from the darkness.

"... Wait a second." He reached in carefully and pulled out a small mechanical figure, no larger than a house cat, its casing scuffed and its lights dim with what looked like low power. Amelia's breath caught.

"RoboZ?" The tiny robot's head turned toward her, and the beeping cut off immediately.

"Amelia," he said, voice quieter than usual.

"I had hoped someone would locate me before my power reserves depleted entirely." Amelia rushed forward and took him carefully into her arms.

"RoboZ, you're okay!"

"I'm relieved to see you as well," he said.

"My apologies for the state you found me in. I have been attempting to reach this location for the better part of a day, and my remaining charge was not cooperating." Mochi's eyes went wide.

"Wait, you were trying to find us?"

"Correct. I calculated that you would eventually make your way to a coastal training site, given the region's known lunar properties. I simply arrived before my systems were prepared to announce myself properly." Amelia held him a little closer.

"But how are you even here? We saw you get pulled into the fusion." RoboZ gestured toward his own small frame.

"Before the fusion protocol activated, I constructed a secondary vessel for myself, in case control of my primary body was lost. I transferred a backup of my consciousness into it in the final moments before I lost autonomy." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Mochi's expression lit up.

"That's actually incredible."

"I suspected there was a strong likelihood I would not retain control of my original body," RoboZ said.

"I prepared accordingly." Amelia smiled, relief plain on her face.

"I'm really glad you did." King crouched down to get a better look at him.

"You said you were trying to reach us. Do you know something about what we're training for?" RoboZ's eyes flickered toward the coastline behind them, toward the strange, too bright moon still visible faintly even in daylight.

"You are training beside the threshold to another world," he said.

"This coastline becomes exactly that once the moon reaches its most aggressive state." Amelia tilted her head.

"How do you already know that?"

"It is recorded in old data my original body once catalogued," RoboZ said.

"Along with a number of other things that may be useful to you now." Krystal folded her arms.

"Then you know about Lunar Shield?" RoboZ's eyes brightened.

"I do." Amelia's whole posture straightened.

"Wait, really?"

"I would need to confirm the details," RoboZ said, "but yes, I believe I retain relevant information." Amelia's face lit up with hope for the first time in two days.

"Please. Anything would help at this point." RoboZ raised one small hand.

"Allow me a moment to search my archived data." His eyes dimmed briefly as he worked. Mochi leaned in close, watching with open curiosity.

"How long does this usually take?"

"Searching." A few seconds passed in silence.

"Located." Everyone leaned forward at once. RoboZ's eyes displayed a short stream of information only he could read clearly.

"Lunar Shield," he said.

"Classified under the Lunar branch of the Quinta Wheel. Primarily a defensive technique used against long range magic, and, more relevantly to your situation, protection from lunar radiation." Amelia blinked.

"Wait. The Quinta Wheel?" King looked equally lost.

"That's the second time I've heard that term and I still don't know what it means." RoboZ continued, unbothered.

"Lunar Shield is not a conventional Magic Skill. It belongs to a separate category entirely." Mochi scratched his head.

"But you just called it a skill."

"It is a skill," RoboZ said.

"It is simply not a Magic Skill. The distinction matters a great deal. Lunar Skills, along with four other branches, were established by the five legendary gods over five thousand years ago." The group went quiet. Amelia looked genuinely fascinated despite her exhaustion.

"The five legendary gods?" RoboZ raised a finger.

"Lunar Magic." A second finger.

"Solar Magic." A third.

"Creation Magic." A fourth.

"Destruction Magic." And finally, "Life Magic."

"Each branch carries properties fundamentally different from ordinary Magic Skills," he went on.

"Their traits allow a user to overcome certain barriers that conventional magic simply cannot." Amelia looked down at her own hands, turning them over slowly.

"So what does it take to actually learn one?"

"There are three known requirements," RoboZ said.

"A user must satisfy at least one." Everyone listened closely now.

"The first. The user must be a descendant of Meiko, Goddess of the Moon." Amelia's brow furrowed.

"The second. The user must possess God Magic." Her eyes widened slightly at that.

"The third. The user must carry some form of Meiko's own DNA." Amelia stared at her hands like they might answer for her.

"I don't think I qualify for any of those." Mochi shook his head immediately.

"That can't be right."

"What do you mean?"

"We've all seen the shield flicker," Mochi said.

"That has to mean something's actually responding in you. You wouldn't get anything at all otherwise, right?" King nodded slowly.

"He has a point. Something in your magic is reacting to it, even if it isn't stable yet." Amelia looked back to RoboZ.

"So which one is it? Am I descended from a goddess? Do I have God Magic? Her actual DNA?" RoboZ tilted his head.

"I am unable to determine which condition you satisfy. My scans are not equipped to identify divine lineage or god class magic signatures with certainty." He paused.

"But given your results so far, it is highly probable that you meet at least one." Amelia's expression slowly shifted from confusion into something steadier.

"Okay." She clenched her fists.

"Then let's figure out which one, starting with actually getting this thing to work." RoboZ raised a hand.

"Before you attempt it again, may I offer an observation?" Amelia paused.

"Please."

"You have been invoking your abilities the same way each time.

'Magic Skill,' followed by the technique's name. Correct?" Amelia blinked.

"Yeah. That's just how it's always worked."

"That may be precisely the issue," RoboZ said.

"A Magic Skill and a Lunar Skill do not draw from the same source. If you continue to invoke it as though it belongs to the same category as your Cracker Wall, your own magic may be resisting the shift, out of habit rather than inability." King's eyes widened slightly.

"So the words actually matter."

"The words shape intent," RoboZ said.

"And intent shapes which well your magic draws from. Try calling it precisely what it is. Not a Magic Skill." He looked directly at Amelia.

"A Lunar Skill." Amelia stared at him for a moment, letting that settle.

"A Lunar Skill," she repeated quietly, testing the words in her mouth. She closed her eyes. The sound of the waves faded into the background. She slowed her breathing the way King had taught her, let her shoulders drop, and instead of reaching for her magic the way she always had, she let it come to her instead.

"Lunar Skill." A strange, cool blue light began curling around her body, entirely unlike the glow from her previous attempts. King's eyes widened.

"That's different. That's already different." RoboZ's sensors flared.

"Lunar energy signature detected. Significantly stronger than previous readings." Amelia opened her eyes, and for the first time in two days, she felt the shape of it clearly, waiting just beneath the surface.

"Lunar Shield." A brilliant blue barrier erupted around her, curving smoothly along her body like a small, captured moon, its surface etched with faint, glowing crescent patterns that pulsed gently in time with her own heartbeat. The pressure of it rolled outward across the beach. Mochi's mouth fell open. King stared, speechless. Krystal's eyes went wide. Max, several meters away, actually dropped the boulder he was holding. RoboZ's scanners flickered rapidly across the barrier's surface.

"Successful activation confirmed." Amelia stared down at the shield surrounding her, reaching out to touch its surface with one trembling hand. It held, steady and solid beneath her fingers.

"... I did it?" Her eyes lit up.

"I did it!" She jumped, laughing.

"I actually did it!" Mochi threw both fists into the air.

"Yes! There it is!" King let out a relieved breath.

"Excellent work." Krystal clapped, smiling.

"You did it, Amelia." Max jogged over, grinning.

"Guess all that struggling finally paid off." RoboZ gave a small, satisfied nod.

"Congratulations, Amelia." Amelia spun around, practically glowing herself now.

"Master Benkay! I did it!" She took off running back toward the guild's temporary camp, shield still humming faintly around her. Under a nearby tree, Benkay was seated comfortably with a magazine he clearly had no intention of letting Faesha anywhere near, one arm lazily draped over his knee. Faesha stood beside him, arms crossed.

"Uncle Benkay."

"One second, Faesha." He kept reading, entirely absorbed.

"Ooh. Now that's interesting." Faesha tilted her head, trying to peek over his arm.

"What are you looking at?" Benkay snapped the magazine shut instantly.

"Nothing."

"Can Faesha see?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're far too young for it." Faesha puffed out her cheeks.

"Just one peek."

"Absolutely not."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Faesha, no." Amelia then called out..

"Master Benkay!" Amelia's voice rang out across the coast before Faesha could argue any further. Benkay finally looked up, and his eyes landed on Amelia sprinting toward them, the glowing crescent shield still wrapped around her body. The magazine slipped clean out of his hand.

"... Well, would you look at that." He rose to his feet, genuinely impressed.

"She actually did it." Faesha jumped up and down, delighted.

"Good job, Amelia! Faesha knew you could do it!" Amelia beamed, breathless.

"I did it!" Not far off, near the tree line, Ace was still working through his push ups, counting quietly under his breath.

"Five thousand nine hundred and twenty nine." He lowered himself one final time.

"Five thousand nine hundred and thirty." He stopped there, sweat dripping steadily down his face, and glanced over just in time to catch the blue glow of Amelia's shield reflected faintly in his eyes.

"Good." He rose to his feet, rolling one shoulder.

"Then we can finally go into this so called new world and actually get something done." Benkay glanced up at the sky, considering.

"Yeah. About that." He paused.

"It's not three in the morning yet." Ace stared at him flatly.

"... What?" Benkay shrugged, unbothered.

"We still have to wait." Mochi's excitement deflated instantly.

"We came all the way out here early just to sit around and wait?"

"Pretty much." Tony, who had wandered over just in time to hear that, collapsed face first into the sand.

"You have got to be kidding me." Amelia looked down at the shield still faintly glowing around her, and smiled anyway. At least now, whenever three in the morning finally arrived, they would actually be ready for it.