Really Won't Die?

Chapter 42: Are We Really Not Going to Die?

The next day.

As dawn was just beginning to break, the campfire at the campsite at the foot of the mountain was extinguished.

While Shien was still sound asleep, Vivian entered his tent and dragged him out.

"This is precisely the time when nocturnal monsters return to their nests, and diurnal monsters mostly appear after dawn. Now is the best time for us to enter the mountains."

Vivian gathered everyone with this reason.

However, the young ladies seemed to have been prepared for this, or perhaps they were already accustomed to this lifestyle, as they all appeared energetic and showed no signs of sleepiness.

Only Shien, amidst the energetic young ladies, kept yawning, looking like he could collapse at any moment.

"Honestly, this is too careless. Go wash your face and wake yourself up properly."

Vivian, like a worried older sister, sent Shien off to wash up, causing Shien to smile wryly.

I thought I had gotten used to waking up early after coming to this world, but it seems I still can't compare to proper adventurers.

As adventurers, not only do they have to stay on guard for several hours in the middle of the night, but they also have to get up early to sneak into the mountains and complete commissions. It's truly arduous.

What's more, once they enter the mountains, they have to encounter all sorts of dangerous monsters, leaving no room for carelessness. Therefore, even with insufficient sleep, they must remain alert and not let their guard down. This aspect is equally demanding.

Don't they consider getting some beauty sleep or something?

Shien wash his face absentmindedly, thinking about such things, until he splashed cold water on his face and rubbed it vigorously, finally feeling somewhat awake.

Then, Shien returned to the side of the young ladies and, together with the fully prepared girls, prepared to enter the Mangal Mountain Range.

"Everyone, come over here."

Vivian called everyone over and took out a map from her luggage, spreading it out in front of everyone.

It was naturally a map of the Mangal Mountain Range.

The map not only had detailed path markings but also several special symbols.

There were markings with a red "×" and icons that looked like pools of water, along with some other miscellaneous symbols. This map was drawn with great care.

"First, let's confirm our objective for this trip."

Vivian's gaze swept across everyone.

"Now, we have already cleared out the Blood Sucking Vines. The remaining two tasks are to collect spring water from a medium-sized Magic Power Source and to obtain the hide of a Fire Lizard."

Vivian first confirmed this and then said.

"There are a total of seventeen Magic Power Sources in the Mangal Mountain Range: one large, three medium, and the remaining thirteen are all small. Therefore, let's first eliminate all the small Magic Power Sources."

As she spoke, Vivian took out a quill and marked the thirteen pool icons on the map with an "×."

It was then that Shien realized that those pool icons indicated the locations of all the Magic Power Sources in the Mangal Mountain Range.

"Next, we will also not go to the large Magic Power Source," Vivian said. "Although the client will surely be ecstatic and announce that we have completed the commission if we bring back water from the large Magic Power Source, and even pay us extra rewards, large Magic Power Sources generally gather the highest-level dangerous monsters in the region. It is said that the large Magic Power Source in the Mangal Mountain Range is also inhabited by a powerful monster of level eighty. For safety, we cannot approach there."

Vivian crossed out a pool icon on the map whose color was a brilliant gold, and also crossed out a nearby pool icon.

She probably crossed out that one because it was too close to the large Magic Power Source, right?

"This way, there are two remaining Magic Power Sources. One is relatively close to us, and the other is in another direction of the mountain range. It's clear which one we should go to."

Vivian decisively crossed out the other pool icon, leaving only one pool icon.

Immediately after, Vivian traced the path from their current location to the remaining pool icon with her quill, marking the route on the map.

"This is the closest path to the target Magic Power Source, so we'll go this way," Vivian said, pointing at the path with her pen tip. "If we follow this path, and everything goes smoothly, by the time we reach our destination, it should be exactly the time when the monsters start becoming active. We'll strive to collect the spring water before then, and then wait near that Magic Power Source. When the monsters approach, as soon as we spot the Fire Lizard pack, we'll hunt them immediately."

Thus, the tasks could be completed successfully.

"This is the operation plan. If anyone has any questions, you can ask now."

Vivian asked everyone.

Tier, Lumya, and Merika did not speak, implying they had no issues.

However...

"I have a question."

Shien raised his hand with a serious expression and asked.

"What exactly is a Magic Power Source?"

Shien had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

Up until now, Shien still didn't know what a Magic Power Source was.

However, upon hearing Shien's question, Lumya and Merika couldn't help but lean sideways, almost falling to the ground. Even Tier exuded an atmosphere of speechlessness, and Vivian was also dumbfounded.

"It seems you have a severe lack of common knowledge, Shien."

Vivian said with some helplessness.

However, Vivian no longer looked at Shien with the same questioning gaze as before.

"You should know that everyone has magic power within their bodies, right?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

"So that's how it is."

Vivian began to look at Shien with a gaze that was even sympathetic, even pitying.

Even the other girls felt more or less helpless, leaving Tier silent, Lumya at a loss, and Merika with a subtle expression. Shien felt as if he were being treated like a bad student with poor grades by an elementary school teacher, chuckling dryly.

"Then I'll explain it to you from the beginning."

Vivian chuckled lightly, then began to explain patiently.

"Everything in the world has the potential to carry Magic Power, especially life itself. From birth, living beings possess Magic Power because the essence of Magic Power is life force."

"Life force can be converted into Magic Power. Therefore, even commoners have Magic Power within them, it's just very weak. Only by raising oneself to a certain level can one possess a considerable amount of Magic Power to use Magic and Skills."

"And the world, as the entity that nurtures all life and things, has its own extremely vast life force in operation."

"Therefore, whether it's the atmosphere or the earth, the world's Magic Power flows. When this Magic Power gathers in large quantities in one place and solidifies, it forms a source."

"This is a Magic Power Source."

Vivian's explanation was quite simple and easy to understand, allowing Shien to instantly grasp the nature of a Magic Power Source.

However, there was one thing Shien had wanted to ask for a long time.

"Magic Power is converted from life force, right?"

Shien said this in a tone that seemed like he wanted to complain.

"This setting is indeed very common, but I've always wanted to say, if you consume a lot of Magic Power, consume life force, won't people really die?"

This was a question that had bothered Shien for a long time.

I have a goal! That is to write out all the plot holes I've often felt when reading books in this book! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so frustrated!