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Chapter 3: Become my Partner, Serie
If someone were to ask Kurtz, "What would you do if a beautiful Elf girl fainted in front of you?"
Kurtz would righteously answer that he would protect her and wait quietly for her to wake up, maintaining a respectful distance and proper decorum.
And now, that very situation was unfolding before him.
Kurtz stared in shock at Serie's unconscious form, guilt and panic warring in his chest. The reality of what had just happened hit him like a physical blow.
He immediately snapped out of his stupor and hurried over, his footsteps crunching on scattered stone fragments from their magical exchange.
He asked in a low voice. "Miss Serie, are you alright?"
Of course, the unconscious elf couldn't answer him.
Her adorable face still held traces of disbelief, as if her mind couldn't quite process being overwhelmed by a mere human's magic.
"This is... problematic. I am in trouble."
He should have realised it earlier. The Serie of this era wasn't the terrifying master of later generations; she was still young by elven standards, her power impressive but not yet absolute.
Otherwise, she never would have been knocked unconscious by his improvised spell.
Looking at Serie lying there within arm's reach, Kurtz found his scientific curiosity warring with basic human decency.
Unable to resist entirely, he extended his hand and gently prodded her round cheek. The skin was impossibly soft and smooth, like touching the finest silk or freshly fallen snow.
The texture was remarkable, unlike human skin, with an otherworldly perfection that seemed almost surreal.
He couldn't help but poke again, marvelling at the sensation.
'I must be the first person in history to dare touch Serie's face like this,' he thought with a mixture of amazement and terror at his own audacity.
Just then, Serie's long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her eyes snapped open with predatory sharpness.
Kurtz froze completely. His hand was still pressed against her cheek, fingers splayed across that perfect skin like he'd been caught red-handed stealing cookies.
"Cough, cough." He cleared his throat and withdrew his hand with exaggerated casualness, trying to project innocent concern.
"Miss Serie, are you feeling alright? Any dizziness or nausea?"
Serie's golden pupils were unfocused for a moment, like someone waking from a deep dream.
Then awareness flooded back, and her gaze sharpened, boring into Kurtz with uncomfortable intensity.
She realised immediately that this presumptuous little human had dared to touch her face while she was sleeping.
But that violation, while irritating, paled in comparison to the larger issue at hand.
This man's magic was fundamentally wrong.
Too powerful, too strange, operating by rules that shouldn't exist. She'd been caught completely off guard and rendered unconscious by what should have been a simple demonstration.
Shame and humiliation churned in her stomach, but years of training kept her expression neutral. Still, certain questions demanded answers.
"What were you doing just now?" Her voice carried dangerous undertones.
Kurtz immediately raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, projecting wounded innocence.
"Nothing, nothing improper, I assure you. I was simply checking for injuries and monitoring your breathing."
"Just basic offensive magic..." Serie studied him with suspicious golden eyes, cataloguing every micro-expression for signs of deception.
Thanks to the defensive spells she'd hastily erected, she wasn't physically injured. But the impact of his magical assault had overwhelmed her consciousness in a way that shouldn't have been possible.
The main issue was her lack of preparation; if she'd had proper warning, additional protective layers would have absorbed the shock.
"Your creation magic is... formidable."
Serie fell silent for a long moment, then rose to her feet with fluid grace. She brushed dust from her pristine white robes, and a tendril of diagnostic magic rolled around her fingertip as she performed a thorough self-assessment.
She murmured under her breath, "My mana consumption exceeded all expectations."
Not only had this human perfectly replicated her signature spell, but he'd somehow amplified its power beyond her original casting.
The implications were staggering and deeply unsettling.
Then her expression shifted, excitement replacing wariness like sunrise burning through fog. "How fascinating! Your magical ability might completely revolutionise this era!"
In this Age of Gods, all magic followed established patterns, divine arts handed down from immortal beings who'd perfected their techniques over millennia.
Innovation was rare, dangerous, and often forbidden by the very powers that shaped reality.
Serie could sense that this man's appearance would trigger a new magical revolution, one that even the gods might find threatening enough to actively suppress.
Her voice carried eager anticipation as she pressed forward.
"If I teach you more complex magic, can you 'create' entirely new variations based on those foundations?"
Kurtz hesitated. He'd never attempted anything like that and couldn't guarantee success.
But the opportunity was too valuable to dismiss. "I can certainly try."
"In that case, you should establish a base camp on the outskirts of the Elf Forest." Serie's tone became businesslike, already planning their arrangement.
"I will visit daily to provide magical instruction and monitor your progress."
Compared to the nightmare landscape beyond the forest's protective boundaries, the outer regions offered relative safety.
Ancient ward-stones still functioned here, deterring the most dangerous predators and maintaining some semblance of natural order.
As long as he avoided reckless exploration and respected the territorial boundaries of magical beasts, his survival chances were reasonably good.
Moreover, no other elf possessed Serie's restless energy, constantly seeking new experiences but lacking the courage to venture beyond familiar territory.
"Something like a master-student relationship?"
"If that's how you prefer to frame it." Serie had never taken a formal apprentice before, and the prospect of guiding this unusual human held definite appeal.
However, something in his expression suggested more ambitious intentions.
"Then I must respectfully decline, Miss Serie." Kurtz's tone grew serious, carrying unexpected determination.
"I want to explore this world properly, experience its wonders and dangers firsthand. Rather than a traditional master-student dynamic, I'd prefer to invite you as my travelling companion."
While becoming Serie's disciple would offer incredible learning opportunities, Kurtz hoped to establish something more meaningful, a partnership built on mutual respect rather than hierarchical obligation.
He was tired of pretending to be less than he was. Time to reveal his true ambitions and see how she responded.
Serie's eyebrows rose slightly, surprise flickering across her features before transforming into genuine amusement.
This human continued exceeding her expectations in the most delightful ways.
Her smile held playful mischief as she tilted her head, golden hair cascading over one shoulder like spun sunlight.
The gesture was artlessly graceful, unconsciously highlighting her ethereal beauty.
"Companion?" She rolled the word around her tongue, licking her lips, testing its flavour.
This marked the first time anyone had extended such an invitation to her.
Throughout her centuries of existence, relationships had been formal, distant, and defined by rigid social structures that left little room for genuine connection.
Elves tend to be free, naturally emotionally detached as they grow, and maintain cool civility even among their own kind.
While there was warmth, the companionship was not that deeply prevalent among most of the Elves' age groups.
Serie was no exception to these cultural patterns, having spent decades in relative isolation, drifting here and there, but not really attached to anything.
Maybe she was; who knows? It was hard to express it when everyone had all the time in the world.
"Do you understand the implications of what you're suggesting, human?" Her voice carried a subtle challenge, testing his resolve.
Kurtz met her gaze directly, unflinching. "Absolutely."
"Intriguing." Serie crossed her arms, studying him with renewed interest.
"Then explain to me what makes a short-lived, physically weak human worthy of being my 'companion'?"
"This." Kurtz raised his hand, and gentle light condensed around his fingertip.
But unlike the destructive magic from their earlier demonstration, this illumination was purely utilitarian, warm, steady, completely non-threatening.
This represented new magic he'd analysed and synthesised from Serie's light manipulation, adapting her techniques for entirely different purposes.
"This is original magic I created by deconstructing your spell structure." His voice carried quiet pride.
"It provides reliable illumination in darkness without combat applications. I call it the 'Light Orb Spell.'"
"You..." Serie's pupils dilated slightly, shock breaking through her composed facade. "You completely analysed my magic in that brief observation?"
This was light-attribute magic unique to the Elven bloodline, developed over centuries of careful refinement.
Yet this human had casually dissected its fundamental principles and rebuilt them for new purposes.
Was this extraordinary talent unique to him personally?
Or did it represent some hidden potential of the human race that had gone unrecognised?
"Replicating and interpreting magical structures, then reproducing them with modified parameters to create entirely new applications, that is my gift."
As he spoke, the light in his palm began shifting, colours deepening and brightening until it resembled a flower made of pure radiance, petals of luminescence floating in his cupped hands.
This was a magic Serie had never witnessed before, beautiful, purposeless, existing solely because someone had imagined it into being.
"Creation indeed." She whispered softly, eyes gleaming with unprecedented fascination. "How wonderfully impossible."
Kurtz allowed himself a small smile. "So, will you be my companion and travel with me? I can create more magic you've never imagined, and you—"
He paused, his tone growing earnest and vulnerable.
"You can teach me how to survive in this world. How to navigate its dangers, understand its peoples, maybe even find my place in it."
Serie remained silent for a long time, golden eyes distant as she weighed possibilities and risks. The outside world was genuinely perilous; even she rarely ventured beyond the forest's protective boundaries without careful preparation.
Gods and demons, being alike, walked the earth, ancient grudges sparked into devastating conflicts, and mortals were often casualties rather than participants.
But this human was genuinely fascinating. She found herself eager to witness more of his impossible magic, to see what other innovations his strange mind might produce.
"Ha-Ha-HA-HA" Finally, she laughed softly.
A sound like silver bells touched by morning wind. "Very well!"
It would be a brief adventure by elven standards, but potentially the most interesting experience of her long existence.
Something worth remembering through the centuries to come, a bright memory to revisit during the inevitable stretches of boredom that defined immortal life.