Chapter 33 — Strategy Guide vs. Living History
Year ~3000 Before the Mythical Era
Southern Continent · Hallick Valley
Under the dimming sky of the valley, Elias folded away his farsight magic and glanced at the golden-haired elf lying flat on the grass, chewing a blade of it while staring lazily into the sky.
"Aivis's been squatting in that eastern shrub for three whole hours.
Is the Crystal Turtle really that fascinating…?"
Pfft.
Serie spat out the grass blade and didn't even bother to look at him.
"I told you that idiot is insane."
"Three months spent studying cockroaches.
Nearly got us executed at a noble banquet after he released Light of a Hundred Blades indoors.
And now he's ready to camp here until winter just to see a turtle."
"The only reason he's stopping in winter is because the turtle will hibernate.
Otherwise I'm convinced he'd wait until the end of his tragically short human lifespan."
Elias nodded.
"Yeah… that actually sounds about right."
He thought for a moment.
"Still… maybe we should check on him. We might be able to help."
When footsteps rustled behind him, Aivis's nerves twitched like a startled rabbit.
He spun around, baring his teeth in a silent snarl, gesturing violently for them to stay quiet.
Serie raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
Was the situation really this dramatic?
The idiot looked like he was lying in ambush on a battlefield, not stalking a turtle.
Elias floated soundlessly beside him, crouching down as if weightless.
"Tch… demon-exclusive flight magic, hm…" Serie muttered, lips curling.
"It's more elegant than our human levitation. I don't understand it, but it makes me mad how good it looks…"
She tiptoed over and squatted down as well.
Three heads lifted over the grass.
«(≖≖)» (≖≖) (✧‿✧)
grass grass grass grass grass…
After ten seconds of silence, Serie finally lost patience.
"So… where's this magnificent turtle you're obsessed with?"
"Ssh! Quiet!" Aivis hissed, raising a finger.
"See that huge cave on the right? That's the Crystal Turtle's nest."
"The Southern Continent strategy guide says the crystal turtle is extremely ferocious.
If startled, it activates Crystal Barrier Magic, smashing enemies to dust!"
Serie's mouth curled upward—sharp, cruel, amused.
"…What a trash guidebook."
"Because the truth is the opposite."
"Crystal Turtles are gentle by nature.
Unless attacked first, they rarely harm humans.
Crystal Barrier Magic exists, yes—but it's purely defensive."
"W-what…?" Aivis flipped through the guidebook frantically.
"But the book clearly says—"
"No need to read it."
Serie snorted.
"That book was written barely a hundred years ago."
"I, on the other hand…"
She tapped her chest with pride.
"…have walked this world for a thousand years."
"Remember this well:
When any book contradicts me, the book is wrong.
I am the standard."
The moment Serie's words fell, the entire Hallick Valley seemed to go silent.
Even Elias couldn't hold back a chuckle.
"Quite an exaggerated claim, Serie."
"You're that confident about the habits of Crystal Turtles?"
Serie snorted proudly, lifting her chin.
"Because about eight hundred years ago, I kept one as a pet."
"W—WHAT?!"
Aivis finally screeched—and at the same moment, rumbling echoed from deep inside the cave.
A massive, deep-green turtle crawled out slowly, the crystal spikes on its shell rising like shimmering towers—easily two stories tall.
Aivis's eyes lit up instantly.
"What a beautiful creature!"
"And it's way bigger than the illustration in the guidebook!"
"Serie, you actually kept that thing as a pet?!"
Serie watched the colossal turtle with a fond smile.
"Partly because I lived alone back then and got bored."
"But mostly… because I was fascinated by the Crystal Turtle's magic system."
"Their diet includes what normal turtles eat—plants, small animals—but also one essential thing: stone."
"'Stone' can mean raw ore rich in magic, or processed gemstone imbued with mana."
"They digest the stone, extract the magic, and grow crystal pillars on their shells.
When threatened, those crystals release a protective barrier.
That is the foundation of their magic."
…
By the time Serie finished her lengthy lecture, Aivis was completely stunned.
Even Elias closed his eyes, silently impressed.
So this is what a near-omniscient being sounds like…
The old dwarf calling herself "living history" might not be exaggerating after all.
"But even someone as all-knowing as I am has one question I still can't answer."
Serie turned toward Elias.
Being singled out, Elias blinked.
"Oh? The living history actually needs to ask me something?"
"Go on then. We demons have lived for thousands of years, after all."
For some reason, Serie's gaze sharpened like she was interrogating a criminal.
"My question is this—"
"In that 'previous life' you love talking about…
how did people cook turtles?"
...
Elias: (´-ι_-｀)
"Uh… usually we stew them."
"Is it good?"
"…Not bad. Pretty nutritious."
"Then can you stew that thing?"
She pointed at the three-story monster.
"…I mean, I could."
...
Aivis: (≖_≖'')
"Are you two being serious right now?"
---
As Elias sprinted through the forest, the memory faded, and he couldn't help smiling faintly.
Back then, despite Aivis shielding the turtle with his life, Serie's desire for turtle soup didn't fade for three whole months.
But now something bothered him.
According to Serie, Crystal Turtles were gentle creatures.
Their stored magic was only for defense.
So why had one become a mercenary target?
Why had it injured people so badly one nearly bled out, and another lost control of their magic entirely?
And the moment Elias sensed this particular turtle's presence…
the magic felt wrong.
Twisted.
What exactly happened—
—BOOM!!
—CLANG!!
—KUUUUNG!!
Sounds of battle suddenly erupted ahead.
"That muscle-headed mercenary girl, Julie… she already started?"
"…So impatient."
Elias stepped out of the forest and stood at the rim of a massive crater.
Trees had been reduced to splinters—something extremely violent had happened here.
At the bottom of the crater, Julie was already locked in combat with the three-story-tall Crystal Turtle.
"Damn it— EAT THIS!"
Julie leapt into the air, giant axe raised high, slamming it down toward the turtle's head—
CLAAAAANG!!
The instant metal struck the crystal barrier, the axe vibrated with a wailing shriek.
Julie herself was hurled backward by the recoil, skidding across scorched dirt and carving a ten-meter trench.
"Tch… damn barrier!"
Sweat dripped down Julie's forehead.
Her hands trembled in rage as she gripped her axe.
"No choice…! Do I really have to use the Cube Bomb?!"