This is the story of a magician and an elf girl.

"Hey, you guys..."

"!"

When they came to their senses, they suddenly realized that Jack, who was standing behind them, had already finished talking to the orcs and was just about to come over to them to check on the situation, but...

"Master Jack... this is..."

"See, I told you it's doable, right? Not bad, you guys."

"Uh……"

"..."

Jack, who was holding a fire stick in his hand, just wanted to lend them some sparks and charcoal. He mistakenly thought that they had made a fire with their own skills, so he smiled and praised them: "It is true that skills are very convenient... It will definitely be a lot easier after integrating into life... No matter who you are, you will think so... But in fact, I don’t want you to rely too much on the goddess... and the power given to us by the magician. The use of skills is at best a shortcut, or it can be said that it is a power to reverse the situation. It is naturally indispensable for the current situation, but I want you to know that even without this power, you can still survive with your own hands, understand? Creating something with your own power and obtaining something with the power of others are two different things. Remember this feeling well?"

"Ah... yes... of course..."

"Uh-huh……"

"...Master Jack... I..."

"Ok?"

"Ah... no... nothing, thank you for your guidance..."

"Well, come on."

Xiao Feng was very clear that she had let Jack down, but she couldn't tell the truth in the end. David and the others also knew that Jack had no ill intentions. He just wanted them to understand the difference between using experience and skills, and the sense of accomplishment they would feel afterwards. If they couldn't even do such a small thing, then what was the difference between them and the people who abused their intelligence in the past?

"...See...I told you not to use it..."

"I've already tried it...what else can I do..."

"Besides, don't come over here, go try it yourself."

"To be honest, I'm exhausted today. Let's talk about this next time."

"me……"

"Don't say we are not loyal enough. Come here, you idiot."

Xiao Feng, who couldn't make a fire by himself, had a slender body like a girl. Even if he was a boy, he was a living person. His fingers would have been frozen in such an environment long ago, let alone - the more he thought about it, the heavier the guilt that arose in his heart. After all, accepting David and the others' campfire meant trampling on Jack's good intentions.

"..."

Athena, who saw this situation, naturally understood the ins and outs of the matter, but if she intervened now, the problem would not be solved after she left.

She is a goddess, and sooner or later she will leave people and return to the heavenly world. If people are still the same as they are now, it will only harm them in the end. Athena hopes that they can learn a lesson and realize the seriousness of the problem themselves, instead of relying on the power of the goddess or the magician - but if they can do that, the magician will not leave now.

"Hey... Light, is there any reason why you are so powerful..."

"...What nonsense are you talking about? I am a pure-blooded werewolf. I have been hundreds of times stronger than humans since birth. There is no difference between ordinary strength and extraordinary strength for me. Now the only one who can make me realize what strength is is the magician."

"I remember... Mr. John seemed to have said at the time... Mr. Wright, you seem to be the descendant of a mercenary..."

"Hey, hey... didn't I tell you? My ancestor was a mercenary, but for some reason he suddenly quit his job and started a family. He also merged his village with other orcs. Gradually, he only passed on his sword skills to us descendants, and he passed away as the ruler of a country."

"History is really incredible... But it seems that the people in the past always threw things to us, the descendants... and left comfortably..."

"Jack, do you really think so..."

"I'm just kidding... Of course this is just my dissatisfaction, but sometimes I am still very grateful to them - thanks to this power... I was able to protect the people I love... and the companions I cherish... So I will never forget this kindness in my life."

Jack, who held the power tightly in his hands, knew that without the legacy left to him by the people in the past, ordinary people like himself would not be able to survive in this world. The world he lived in was actually the treasure left to him by his ancestors.

However, as a human, he possessed an everlasting lifespan and vast knowledge, but the magician now wanted to deny all of this and the result appeared.

"...Wendy...John...what kind of person is that magician...I only fought him once so I don't know clearly...but...from his skills...martial arts...magic...among all of this, I feel like he is ridiculously strong, like a foul. He should be able to do anything...Why did he give us so much time..."

"...Do I still need to ask...The answer is still the same - because he is a gentle person, a person that Miss Linnae trusts, and a light that no one can catch up with. During this time, he gives us the opportunity to choose."

"...That guy won't agree... He should know that..."

"Well... even Miss Linnae would not agree... This extreme approach... is obviously Mr. John's arbitrary decision. I don't agree that this approach is correct."

"But I was knocked away by that guy with just one blow... If you still want to survive, don't rush up to him rashly next time you meet him..."

"We are not you... who told you to be so impulsive."

"It's a blessing in disguise that we didn't lose our lives... Mr. John is not the kind of opponent who can be easily dealt with. It was a miracle that we were able to survive last time... If Miss Linnai wasn't still here..."

"Ah... but she's really gone this time... I don't have the confidence... Without her cover... Wright is a good vanguard, but Wendy, you're more of a backup type... I'm the tank responsible for protecting you... Her archery skills are really needed for attack..."

Jack kind of missed the time when the trio teamed up to defeat the dark elf. At that time, he truly felt an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. If he could see her again, they would definitely be more united than before and now.

"...Not only that...it is an indisputable fact that we need Linna...to that magician...Linnna is not just a partner or a companion..."

"...Remember you said, goddess...that you did something really bad to him in the past, right..."

"...Ah...That's why we understand his thoughts. John is a person who lacks common sense of emotions, but that doesn't mean he is a heartless person...He longs for love, he longs to be recognized by others, he longs to have normal emotions like a normal person, he always regards humans as objects of study and learning - but the more he does that, the more he understands that the difference between himself and others is too far. For example, some people think that chasing the sunset before sunset is an impossible thing. No matter how you run, no matter how you look for it, nothing will be achieved - if it were John, he would definitely not stop, even if the sunset disappeared and everything sank into darkness, he would continue to run and jump until the morning light appears - this is something that people cannot persist in doing, he is such a person, the only one who can surpass the light is the light itself."

"...Sunset and dawn..."

"People have no resistance to darkness... So we hope... that you can learn more about him... This is not only for him, but also for yourselves - if it were you, would you be able to persevere? At that distant and untouchable distance, in a dark and uneasy environment, would you still be able to move forward straightforwardly?"

"..."

Frankly speaking, Jack was so annoyed with making a fire that he almost gave up. If he hadn't been accompanied by Wendy and Wright, if he were alone - if he was alone... could he hold on to the very end... could he surpass the light that could illuminate the world?