The part that was dark reminded me of the cursed magic stone.
āā¦Maybeā¦ā
I thought as I pulled some weeds out of the ground and threw them towards the darkened stone.
And then⦠The grass that touched the black part of the stone shriveled up and died.
But the grass that touched the blue parts were unchanged.
It was as if a part of the stone had become cursed.
ā¦This made me even more confused as to the truth of this stone.
Out of my acquaintances, the only person who was likely to know anything wasā¦the Dryad.
āIs the Dryad busy now?ā
I asked the slimes that I had left behind in her forest.
Some of my slimes were there in order to protect her if something happened.
The Dryad herself was able to teleport in an instant, so she could come if she was free.
Well, she couldnāt teleport if I was on a different continent.
āSheās not doing anything!ā
āIāll call her!ā
The slimes said as they went to call the Dryad.
And thenā¦a few minutes passed, and the Dryad appeared from the shadow of a nearby tree.
āWhat is it?ā
āI found this strange magic stone. ā¦What do you think?ā
I said as I pointed at the part that had darkened.
After I stopped getting close to it, the stone had not changed in color at all.
āHmmmā¦ā
The Dryad began to inspect it.
And then after a while, she answered.
āIt seemed like it is absorbing the magic energy from its surroundings. ā¦I thought the magic energy was very thin here, maybe its related to that?ā
Absorbing the energyā¦
I hadnāt noticed it myself, but could it be because of the stone?
I wondered. Then the Dryad looked at the darkened area and continued.
āThe black part is just like the cursed stone. ā¦But I donāt know why it only affects a certain areaā¦ā
āItās because thatās the spot that I tried to touch. ā¦It turned black right when my hand touched it.ā
āSoā¦maybe it means that it turns black when that spot has absorbed a lot of magic? After all, you would have much more than anything in this forest.ā
I see.
So it turns black after absorbing a lot.
In that caseā¦
āSo this blue stone, itās what a cursed stone is originally?
āWhat do you mean?ā
āYou said that it sucks in magical energy from its surroundings, yes? And then when that is finished, wouldnāt it be a cursed stone?ā
āā¦Maybe!ā
In that case, perhaps we were witnessing the birth of a cursed stoneā¦
But the problem was, why was it hereā¦
āDo blue magic stones just grow naturally like this?ā
āNo. Itās definitely made by humans. ā¦Besides, I sense human magic that isnāt yours, Yuji.ā
So maybe it really was the Blue Moon of Salvation that left it hereā¦
It was good that we found it before anything happened. But they really were up to no goodā¦
But it was just as I thought thisā¦that I remembered that Rikardo was currently experiencing something very strange.
ā¦Had nothing really happened?
āHey, Dryad. Do places that have less magic energy become colder?ā
āOf course? There are places, like near volcanic mountains, that are very hot. And itās usually because there is too much energy there. ā¦Though, there are some warm places where itās very thin.ā
In other words, this weather could be due to the magic stoneā¦
āI suppose I should just purify it for now. Also, we have to find the culprit.ā
There was a part of me that wanted to keep it as a sample. But I couldnāt make the slimes carry something so dangerous.
But it would turn into a cursed stone if I touched it. I would be treated like some kind of terrorist if I walked around carrying that. And it would be my own fault.
āYes⦠If there is someone who wanted to make it, then they should come back to pick it up later!ā
āRight. ā¦And there seem to be a few of them here. So the enemies base might not be too far away.ā
So saying, I created a barrier around the magic stone and activated purification magic.
Perhaps it was because there wasnāt enough energy yet, but no monsters appeared this time.
āDid you find any more magic stones?ā
āI did!ā
āOver here!ā
āThere are so many!ā
Apparently, this forest was full of themā¦
āIāll purify them one at a time, so tell me when you find them! Also, continue to hunt the Greedy Boars!ā
āUnderstood!ā
āOkay!ā
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