Crossover
Chapter 9: Lazurias Forest
When Bryer and the others had finished building a new door for the house, the others bid farewell and walked back home. In the evening, the Xenophil’s and Kuro ate at the dining table lit by a dim candle. They chatted about their lives before proceeding to their own rooms to sleep.
In the morning, the sun had yet to rise. Bryer and Kuro had a light breakfast and started their journey towards the nearest and safest forest near the capital, the Lazurias Forest. Bryer lent Kuro a sword and instructed him on what to do when he entered the forest, including the beasts Kuro could hunt and should avoid.
“The Lazurias Forest is the safest forest to venture into because not many strong beasts appear during the day. However, there are still some that come out to hunt for food, so it's always better to be careful. Ah, look, there it is!” Bryer pointed forward.
Kuro saw an expanse of sparkling trees. Since the sun hadn’t risen yet, the sparkling view could be seen from afar. For this reason alone, Kuro was awestruck and stopped in his tracks. The scene in front made his mood even better.
Bryer stopped when he noticed no one beside him. He looked back, “Hahaha! Shocked, are you? Among all the forests on this continent, Lazurias Forest is the only one where no dragons live. As a result, the forest has remained unharmed and preserved!”
Kuro agreed. Lazurias Forest was composed of lush and sparkling greens. Various species of birds chirped and plucked fruits from the trees. If it weren't for the fireflies, the entire forest might be as dark as the abyss, but since there were tons of them, the scene was magical.
“Well, I will wait here. Just shout if you need help, and don’t wander too far. Are you sure you don’t need any help from me?”
“No need. Thank you for assisting me here in the forest. I’d like to hunt alone in peace; I’ll consider this as training.” Kuro resolutely replied.
Helpless at Kuro’s stubbornness, Bryer shook his shoulders in defeat and gave his final warning, “Remember to only hunt the weak ones and stay further away from suspicious-looking things; they are usually traps where strong beasts lurk.”
Kuro nodded, “Thank you.”
He entered the forest and was still amazed at how the fireflies brilliantly lit the entire dark forest. As he walked further, he occasionally saw some strange-looking animals and plants, but he did not hunt nor pick any of these.
His original purpose was not to hunt but to be isolated far away from Bryer’s family for a moment. After ensuring that he had a safe distance, he opened the bag he had, and something jumped out from the inside.
Immediately, a swirl of black threads covered that thing, and it turned into a man in black butler clothes.
It was Crescent; he bowed to Kuro, “Good morning, master.”
Kuro’s eyes twitched, “Eh… can you save the formalities? You can just directly address me and stop that bowing.”
Crescent shook his head, “I am afraid I can't do so, master. As a butler, I should treat my master with utmost respect. Nevertheless, I can refrain from consistently bowing to you most of the time.”
Kuro sighed in defeat, “Fine then. Now, it's time for you to properly explain things.”
Crescent laughed, “Of course, master. Where do you want me to start?”
Kuro became stern and serious, “First of all, who the hell are you?”
“As you know, my name is Crescent, and I am a werecat. I traveled through several worlds in search of a person. However, I didn’t notice that my magic was depleted at that time and landed in your world as a normal black cat. Your parents found me and took care of me. At that time, I had no choice but to be in your parents' hands.
Most of the time, I tried to regenerate my magic power by absorbing the existing stream of magic energy in your world, but I found out that there was only a thin amount of magic energy existing in your world, so my plans to go back were delayed.”
Kuro curiously asked, “And who is this person you are looking for?”
Crescent gave a general smile, “Why, you, of course. It could only be my master!”
Kuro was taken aback and found his answer so ridiculous. “And how are you sure that it was me whom you are looking for?”
Crescent now beamed with delight, “Instinct!”
Kuro couldn’t help but question a certain cat’s instinct and trust towards others. He sighed in distress.
‘Nevertheless, I can't find any hint of lies in his words…’ Kuro glanced at Crescent, who was uttering praises and observations about Kuro’s life.
‘But he is too fanatical over me…’ Kuro sighed in defeat once more.
With a troubled expression, he spoke, “I’ll believe you then. If you had any ill intents against me, then you should've done it a long time ago. For now, let's figure out how to get back to our own world. One of the solutions is to actually find out the reason how we got here in the first place.”
Crescent stopped his praises. He spoke with seriousness and a little bit of concern, “Actually, master, one of the main reasons why I was able to refuel my magic power was you.”
Kuro tilted his head, puzzled, “Eh?”
“When you were born, I immediately noticed that you have a latent ability to easily absorb different kinds of energies. At first, I thought it was a good thing. But as you grew up, the amount of magic energy you absorbed became overly abundant, and some of it leaked out from your body.
That was when I found out that you have a condition called ‘Energy Surplus Syndrome.’
This is a super rare condition. The body easily absorbs energy inside it and stores it regardless of whether it is full or not. Once it starts to be overloaded, the body will leak the energy it stored, and eventually, the body will not hang on for long and die.
Because of the energy leak your body has, I gradually recovered my powers. And because of that, I concluded that you must be the strong person I was looking for! I just had to wait for the right time so that I could help you circulate that energy to avoid death.”
Kuro became instantly worried with the thought of dying. He never expected that he had a condition like that. If he died... He didn't want to even think of it. He wanted to go back to his family.
Kuro reminisced all the weird things that happened to him a day before – dizziness, high blood pressure and heart palpitations, drowsiness, and incessant severe headaches that happened for just one day!
“Would I have died that day?”
Crescent fell silent for a moment. Kuro didn’t have to wait for his response to know the answer.
“I see…”
“But, master, not all of it were signs of your condition.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“That constant headache that you have, it’s the sign of your abilities awakening. I know it for sure since, like I said, right from the start, I know that you are a strong person! Worthy of my master!”
Kuro gave a warm yet dangerous smile, “So you were following me that day. Otherwise, you wouldn’t know that I had those weird things that happened to me. In any case, is there a way to cure this disease?”
Crescent shook his head and ignored the first half of Kuro’s statement. “I am afraid that it is innate and cannot be cured. But there is a way to mitigate it.”
“Hm?”
“If you are able to properly circulate and make use of your stored energy, you can gradually deplete it, while at the same time, recover it! Furthermore, if you train yourself on how to use the energy inside your body, it will also enlarge your body’s capacity to store energy!”
Kuro became somewhat relieved, “So is that the training you were mentioning before?”
Crescent nodded, “Constant use of your abilities would somewhat allow your body to adapt. When you became unconscious before, a black portal appeared and transported us here. It is proof of your ability awakening, albeit you had no complete control of your powers that time. Fortunately, when we fell to this world, little Rosalie found us. She immediately told her parents, and you should know what happened next.”
Kuro became stiff, “So the reason why we are here is because of me? And that portal you mentioned is my ability?”
Crescent happily nodded, “Yes, my master.”
Kuro’s mood instantly brightened, “Then I have a chance to go back to my world after all!”
Crescent shook his head, “I am afraid that there are a lot of things we have to consider before being able to use your ability to go back to our world.”
Kuro sighed in disappointment, “Figured. Maybe I’ll have to start training my abilities first. But the issue is, I don’t know how.”
“Master, with your level of intelligence, I believe that you will be able to immediately summon your portal again. But first, let me distinguish the difference between magic energy and magic power. Magic energy is a type of energy that is constantly flowing around us and in the universe. Once the energy is absorbed and circulated inside the body, it becomes magic power.
In order to summon your portal, all you need to do is to visualize it while circulating and exerting the magical energy stored in your body. Think of the energy as your blood and circulate it across your body. If you are able to do that, you will be able to feel that energy becoming part of yours.”
Kuro closed his eyes and started trying to feel the energy inside his body. He could feel and hear his heartbeat as he concentrated. Suddenly, he felt that his consciousness was being directed somewhere. He felt warmth toward where his consciousness was directed. This warmth enveloped his consciousness and gradually spread toward his entire body.
His eyes, originally a deep sapphire blue, glistened as he raised his right hand and commanded, “Black portal.”
The space in front of Kuro distorted, and a deep black portal appeared in front of his hand.
“So… This is the portal I went through. It’s a little bit small, perhaps due to my inability to control it efficiently. Regardless…” Kuro inserted his right arm inside the portal. It felt a little bit cold and empty inside.
Crescent was immensely amazed, “It seems that master has completely grasped his powers! As expected!”
Kuro was also amazed at this feat, but his gaze shifted to the tree on Crescent’s back. His eyes immediately sparkled in excitement and totally forgot the portal. Its fruit had a yellowish-red color and looked like a big strawberry. He plucked a piece, peeled the fruit, and ate it.
'Delicious!!'
His taste buds were absolutely surprised every time he took a bite of the fruit until he finished it. “Hmn! This fruit tastes like strawberry and mango! It's very sweet like a ripened mango and has a faint sour taste of strawberry! This should be perfect for the cupcake that we sell in the café!”
“It’s too bad that I don’t have a lot of these; otherwise, I’d have a heavy load to carry.” He wanted to try eating it as a cupcake, but even if he brought some, the pastry chefs might get suspicious of the fruit’s origin.
“Master,”
“Yes?”
“I have a perfect idea of how to solve your problem.”
Kuro quickly regained his spirit. “Ehh?! Do tell me!!”
