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The vortex-like sky suddenly came to a halt without any warning. Even the center of the vortex froze in place, and the light within it gradually faded at a visible rate.
Seeing this, Noah, who had just been considering whether he should leave, froze where he stood.
"Whoosh—!"
Before Noah's eyes, a fierce gust swept through the enormous vortex in the sky. It seemed to blow down from higher than the heavens themselves—or, more accurately, from above the clouds—violently churning the vortex-like black cloud layer into chaos.
Staring blankly at the scene and at the entire irregular sky being thrown into disorder, Noah was at a loss.
After Makarov had first taken him in, Noah had worked extremely hard to learn this world's culture and knowledge so that he could adapt to life as soon as possible. In just two or three months, he had learned all the writing and picked up quite a bit of knowledge related to the magic world.
But this development had long since exceeded Noah's understanding. No wonder he was bewildered.
Still, his confusion lasted only a short while.
A moment later, Noah noticed something.
The gale that had disrupted the vortex-like sky appeared to be blowing down from above the clouds. However, under Noah's exceptional senses, the true force driving that gale had nowhere to hide.
In Noah's perception, the power that had churned the vortex-like sky into a mess was a surge of magic power shooting up from the ground.
Clearly, this was man-made!
Moreover, the source of that magic power was not somewhere else. It was deep within this forest, not far from Noah!
Realizing this, Noah immediately turned his gaze toward where the magic power had erupted, his eyes flickering.
Should he go take a look?
"Noah..." Wendy, who was in Noah's arms, seemed to have recovered somewhat from her fear. She tugged at his clothes, her watery eyes staring straight at his face as she pointed toward the sky.
"The sky and the air... they've all become so strange and chaotic..."
Noah lowered his head in surprise and met Wendy's gaze.
"You can sense the condition of the sky and the air?"
"Mhm!" Wendy nodded without concealing anything.
"I'm a Sky Dragon Slayer Mage!"
Only then did Noah understand.
Dragon Slayer Magic was a powerful form of magic that transformed its user's body into that of a dragon, meant to fight and slay dragons.
However, Dragon Slayer Magic was not limited to a single type. Like the entire magic system, it had a whole series of variations.
For example, Natsu was a Fire Dragon Slayer Mage. He used Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, making him like a fire dragon. Not only did he possess tremendous destructive power, but he could also restore his magic power and stamina by devouring flames.
Wendy was a Sky Dragon Slayer Mage, so naturally, she used Sky Dragon Slayer Magic.
Therefore, it was not strange for Wendy to be able to sense the condition of the sky and air.
Raising his head, Noah looked at the vanished vortex and the sky that was gradually returning to its original calmness. Then he glanced at the source of magic power deep within the forest, which was also gradually subsiding. After a moment of thought, he stood up.
"Wendy." Noah set Wendy down and pointed toward the nearly vanished source of magic power. "I'm planning to go over there and take a look."
"I'm coming with you!" Wendy said without hesitation, tightly grabbing a corner of Noah's clothes as though she were about to cry.
"Noah, don't leave me alone!"
"All right, all right!" Noah could only smile wryly and compromise, taking Wendy's hand. "Don't worry. I won't leave you alone!"
"Mhm!" Only then did Wendy break into a smile through her tears.
Holding Wendy's hand and following his senses, Noah kept his footsteps as quiet as possible as he slowly headed toward the location where the magic power that had disrupted the vortex-like sky had completely disappeared.
The surrounding darkness blocked most of Noah and Wendy's vision, while the low growls of wild beasts lingered among the nearby trees and brush. Yet Noah continued steadily toward the source of the magic power, while Wendy hid behind him, her face filled with fear.
Before long, the two arrived at a vast clearing.
The magic power that had disturbed the vortex-like sky had been released from here!
Now, that magic power had disappeared.
But Noah could clearly sense that within this clearing, something sharing the same origin as that magic power was still present. It had not simply vanished!
At the center of the broad clearing, a figure about Noah's age seemed to be standing there with his back to Noah and Wendy.
Wendy nearly hid her small body entirely behind Noah, only poking her head out. Her little hands, clutching Noah's clothes and hand, tightened further as she grew nervous.
Noah, meanwhile, fully displayed his ability to control his emotions. The more it came to a moment like this, the calmer he became. Holding Wendy's hand, he walked into the clearing.
Only after entering the clearing did Noah clearly see the figure's back.
It really was someone about Noah's age.
Moreover, the other person had short dark-blue hair, not too different from Wendy's.
However, judging from his back, he appeared to be a boy.
From this boy, Noah sensed the magic power he had felt earlier.
There was no need to say it—the magic power that had disrupted the vortex-like sky had been this person's doing!
"Noah..." Wendy, hiding behind Noah, nervously and fearfully tugged at his hand.
Noah stopped walking. Without turning back to look at Wendy, he stared fixedly at the figure ahead and spoke in a low voice.
"Who are you?"
"..." The figure with his back to Noah and Wendy slowly raised his head, then turned around, revealing his face to them.
The instant Noah saw that face, he was struck speechless. Wendy's entire body trembled, and she became even more frightened.
That was because the right side of the boy's face bore a savage tattoo stretching from his eye socket down to his cheek, like the eye of a demon.
If they had seen it during the day, it would have been fine. But now, under the cover of night and the tense atmosphere, the tattoo appeared somewhat sinister and made people deeply uncomfortable.
Noah instinctively shielded Wendy behind him. His other hand had already clenched the strip-shaped cloth bag, and his voice turned colder.
"Who are you?"
The second question still received no answer.
Yet Noah and Wendy both froze.
"Thud..."
The tattooed boy's body suddenly went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground without moving again.
"Ah..." Wendy let out a small cry, and even Noah furrowed his brows.
The scene suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
"Noah..." Wendy peeked out from behind Noah, her childish voice full of confusion. "Is that person feeling unwell?"
"That's exactly why I'm troubled—I don't know whether he is or not." Noah wore a helpless smile. "I'll go take a look. Wendy, wait here for a moment!"
Wendy immediately hesitated, but she also knew Noah was protecting her. Though unwilling, she obediently nodded, released Noah, and ran behind a nearby tree trunk to hide.
Only then did Noah walk toward the tattooed boy lying on the ground. Reaching his side, he crouched down, stretched out a hand, and checked his condition.
The tattooed boy lying on the ground was breathing somewhat rapidly, and his complexion did not look good. He even seemed to be in slight pain, but his eyelids were not trembling.
From this state, Noah could easily determine what had happened.
"He used up too much magic power, so he fainted?"
Noah pondered for a moment. Then, seeming to make some decision, he helped the boy up.
"Wendy, since you live here, you should know where there are caves or somewhere similar, right?"
Wendy froze.
Before you continue