You're Courting Death!

Mayuna was angry—very angry. Of course, it wasn't for any major reason. Ruben had failed to do something he had promised her, having forgotten about it because he was absorbed in developing a new product. It was a common enough problem in daily life, and Mayuna was only throwing a little tantrum. It definitely wasn't because she was unhappy that Ruben considered research more important than her.

"Are you angry?"

Ruben walked over to Mayuna's side and asked with a laugh. She was clearly an adult, yet she was getting angry over something so trivial like an elementary schooler. For the moment, he had no idea how to soothe her.

"Hmph!"

Mayuna gave a heavy snort and turned her head away, ignoring Ruben.

"Fine, fine. I won't talk to you."

Ruben obediently left Mayuna alone, took some money, and went out to buy ingredients. The two of them went through food very quickly whenever they ate together, so grocery shopping had become a routine affair.

"Woman, haven't you been getting more and more willful lately?"

For once, Dragon was not perched on Ruben's head. Instead, he stood on the table and spoke to Mayuna.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it carefully. Were you ever this petty before? Would you get angry over something this trivial?"

"Not really..."

Mayuna thought about it and denied it. It seemed she really did only get emotional around Ruben. As for why, she didn't know, nor did she want to know.

"What exactly do you see yourself as while living with my partner? His lover, his friend, or his creditor?"

"Why are you suddenly saying this to me?"

The question stumped Mayuna. She didn't know how long she planned to live with Ruben either. She only knew that the time she spent living with him was relaxing and pleasant, and she did not want to give up these feelings.

"I'm just reminding you that my partner is a strange person. Rather than being used to loneliness, it would be more accurate to say that he seeks it out."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not human, and my mental makeup differs from that of humans. I can stare at the sky without speaking for hundreds of years, day after day, but humans can't do that. Try staying in the same place for three days without saying a word to another person. That feeling would definitely be more painful than you imagine."

"I noticed my partner on his first day in this world. I'd been observing this human in secret. He could clearly have moved to Dris, yet he insisted on staying here. As long as he had enough food, he could go an entire month without interacting with anyone. The rest of the time, he just hid in his house tinkering with his things. That isn't normal, is it? The last survivor of another world—this title carries far more weight than you imagine."

Dragon spoke of many things about Ruben. It was precisely because he had seen how lonely Ruben was that he could not help but strike up a conversation with him. Naturally, the rewards he received in return had also far exceeded his expectations.

"...After saying all that, what are you trying to say?"

Mayuna fell silent for a long time. If Dragon had not reminded her, she would have forgotten how Ruben came here. That made her wonder whether, after going through so much, Ruben truly held a place for her in his heart.

"It's nothing important. I'm only reminding you that if you keep acting like this, you might lose my partner without even realizing it."

"Where are we going?"

Ruben had no idea that Dragon and Mayuna were discussing him. However, he was currently facing a major crisis. His hands were tied behind his back with vines, while three Archmages beside him watched his every move.

"To the delivery point."

The leading man answered simply. He looked vicious enough at a glance, and a huge scar ran from his left eye all the way down to his chin. The other two companions both called him One-Eye.

"So I've become merchandise. Why did you capture me?"

Ruben felt rather helpless. This was probably what it meant to get caught in the crossfire. He had been seized by these three on his way home from Dris after buying ingredients, and he could not think of any reason why.

"Probably because you don't have any magic power."

One-Eye also found Ruben's body extremely strange. After confirming it repeatedly, he found that Ruben truly possessed no magic power. In this world, magic power was equivalent to life force. If there was not even a trace of magic power in one's body, it was absolutely linked to death—yet this man was alive and well.

It was precisely because Ruben was in a small place like Dris that he did not stand out. If he had been in the imperial capital, those old mages would definitely have come every day to study his body. In this small town, however, people merely talked about that young man without magic power after their meals.

And it so happened that a certain black mage passing through this place learned of it. After hearing about it, the unscrupulous black mage issued a mission to capture Ruben.

"You're snatching food from a tiger's mouth. Let me go."

Ruben kindly advised them. He did not think they would be able to make a successful delivery. Setting Mayuna aside, that bad-tempered little Goddess of Magic was clearly fiercely protective of her own. If anything happened to Ruben, she would be the first to refuse to let these people go. Even if Dragon came after them, they would not be able to handle him.

"You mean a level-three magical beast, an Earth Tiger? I wouldn't be afraid even if ten thousand of those came at me."

One-Eye did not know who stood behind Ruben, so he paid no attention to his words. Then he felt that Ruben's calmness did not suit a hostage, so he continued trying to frighten him.

"You don't seem nervous at all. You should know that the one who issued the mission is a black mage from the Black Magic Church. Those people kill without even blinking. All sorts of experiments emerge one after another from them."

Black mages were, in truth, simply evil mages. All mages knew that magic itself had no inherent good or evil. Take Fireball, for example: used properly, it could light a fire; used improperly, it could easily take a life. Every kind of magic had both sides.

Black magic was different. These spells were created specifically to kill people. Take curses, for example. Such things could only be used on mages to inflict curses. Magic that had carried malice from the moment it was created was collectively known as black magic, and black mages were people who studied this kind of magic all day long.

"There's nothing to fear. My life was already one I gained by chance, and I don't think they'll do anything to me after getting me. At most, they'll lock me up and study me."

Ruben had that much confidence. As the only specimen of his kind in the entire world, they certainly would not harm him carelessly. At the very least, they would have to study him thoroughly first.

"The teleportation array is just ahead. We can't let you know the exact location, so take a little nap first."

One-Eye brought Ruben near the teleportation array and prepared to knock him unconscious. The cunning black mages moved between various empires, and to protect themselves, they had set up quite a few teleportation arrays. There happened to be one nearby.

Stone Magic [Stone Fist]

As One-Eye used his magic power to strengthen his body, his fist began to change. It gradually turned into a yellow chunk of rock. This was not an ordinary spell, but an innate talent he had possessed since birth. Some mages were born with such talents. Perhaps it was genetic mutation; through the abilities in their bloodlines, they could use magic that ordinary mages could not. One-Eye was one such lucky person. As long as he wished, he could turn his entire body into stone, greatly increasing his defense.

Once his fist had completely turned to stone, he punched toward Ruben's head, intending to knock him unconscious with a single blow. Naturally, Ruben could not dodge the attack. He was easily knocked to the ground, blood from his split temple running all over his face.

"You can't do it like that. There's bone behind a human's forehead. If you want to knock someone out, it's better to strike from behind, around here. Use a little less force—just enough to knock them unconscious. Otherwise, you'll kill them."

To One-Eye's surprise, Ruben did not pass out. He struggled to his feet and began teaching One-Eye the proper way to knock someone unconscious. It was for his own good too—he did not want to be hit a few more times.

One-Eye was utterly speechless. He began wondering whether Ruben was actually normal. It was one thing not to scream, but he was even teaching him how to knock people out. What exactly had gone wrong here? Still, he stubbornly struck Ruben on the forehead again. This time, the force was just right, and Ruben finally passed out.

"One-Eye, he's not dead, is he?"

The colleague beside One-Eye named Gale asked. Ruben's face was covered in blood, and he looked as though he were dead. Gale was worried that they would fail the mission.

"No. I know exactly how hard I hit. Hm?"

One-Eye was an old hand himself. He knew that although Ruben looked rather miserable, he had merely bled a little more than usual and his life was not in danger. Still, to be safe, he intended to heal him. But before he could cast a healing spell, he was startled by a figure that suddenly appeared in the sky. The newcomer was naturally Mayuna, who had come out to search for Ruben after waiting so long for him to return home.

"Ru... ben?"

Mayuna stared blankly at Ruben, who lay on the ground bleeding without stop. It felt as though something in her mind had snapped, and the magic power throughout her body began to run wild beyond her control.

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PS: Behold the enraged female lead.

PS: Thanks to reader Kaspar Odin for the 10,000 tip. Uh, didn't you give your girlfriend 520 roses on 520? Why did you still have money to tip me?! Extra chapters are so exhausting and hard!

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