Physics The Greatest Magic
Chapter 25 - 26: Rage

No matter how hard John tried to remember, nothing came up. His previous life was empty, having been home-schooled most of his life and only introduced to high-school after turning 14 made him a very socially awkward person.

More like he wasn't able to interact properly with kids his age. Adults, people who knew him would always say things like 'He's so smart' or 'Wow, I wish my kids were like this' But honestly, he hated it.

More like John hated himself. He wasn't very good at making friends, Even when he'd go to the park to play with kids his age, he'd always somehow manage to annoy them. Even now he couldn't remember why.

Eventually, John stopped trying. The only people who were actually close to him were his cousins and uncle. Aunty was always a bit quiet, but she deeply cared for them. His 2 cousins who were in their 20s were like older siblings to him.

Honestly, John lived with his uncle, and aunty by himself, but his cousins would occasionally visit. It was thanks to them that only recently at school he started interacting with people more often, and he felt as if he had finally made a friend.

Now that he thought back, he may not have been depressed, but he was pretty lonely at school. He thought if he studied hard, his parents would be proud of him and he'd be accepted into society. So he studied and studied and studied.

Sure it was stressful, but as long as John thought about what it would result in, his drive continued to grow, and as he was living at the best he ever had, it was then that he lost it all. A car accident, just like his parents. Ironic, isn't it?

When he first came to this world. John met Ariel, he didn't have any trouble talking with her, and back then he wasn't sure why, hell he was not even sure now. But since they've met, she's continued to amaze him. She works hard, faces her fears. She did things John wasn't ever able to do in his past life.

The more time he spent with her, the more he realised how fun it was to have someone close to you, experiencing many new things with you. Because of her, John never felt alone in this world.

'I guess she was like my first true friend? I might've had one in the past, but I can't remember.'

'I always wanted to ask her why she would sacrifice herself for me? A stranger she's recently met.' John thought.

Seeing Ariel nearly die. Seeing the same powerless feeling return, the fact that he wasn't able to do anything. John felt something inside him snap.

"I'll kill you..." John muttered.

The spider let out a loud shriek as it noticed him approaching.

"Hey spider, do you know what that feeling is called? The feeling where all your hope is crushed? That feeling is called despair. I've felt it quite a few times in my life, especially after my parent's death. I wonder what sort of sounds you'll let out once I crush your hope." John said.

The spider who had lost most of its speed used threw its web at him. John easily evaded by sidestepping to the left and waited for its next move. The spider's movement was severely lowered thanks to his Magnum Ignis, and it also appeared to be out of energy.

"What's wrong? Are you tired?" John asked.

The spider let out another shriek as it tried to stab him with its right front leg. But John also evaded it by slightly jumping forward.

"Be quiet." John said as he wordlessly cast 'Magnum Ventus'.

2 of the 10 Magic stones he got from Ariel were broken and in that instant, an insane amount of wind pressure cut off the spider's front leg. Shortly after the spider let out a shriek which was different from the others. It was a shriek of pain

"This could have been avoided," John said as he wordlessly cast Magnum Ventus again.

Another two magic stones were broken and he had cut another right leg. The spider who was having difficulty balancing its body let out another shriek of pain as it had both of its front legs and only had 3 legs remaining. There were 2 on the right side left and 1 on the left.

"Do you get it? I'm purposely leaving your only left leg intact, so I can see you struggle. I could've killed you at any moment. But I won't instead I'll hear your screams of pain as I continue to dismember you." John said as he wordlessly cast another 'Magnum Ventus'.

Another two magic stones were broken, and he had cut another of its right leg. The spider let out another shriek of pain as it only had one leg remaining on each side of its body, it could barely balance its body.

"Oh, what's wrong? Did you drop a coin? It looks like you're having a little trouble standing up. Need a hand?" John asked as he raised his hand.

Above it, a Small blue flame appeared. The size increased Considerably after 1 Magic stone broke.

"John! Stop!" Said Serena as she hugged.

'When did she get here?' He wondered.

"Let go." John coldly said.

"No... It's enough John. Just stop..." She pleaded.

"What are you talking about? We need to kill that thing. It hurt Ariel!" John shouted.

Serena continued to hold on without letting go.

"I know, I'm angry too, but you need to calm down John. If you keep going like this, you won't be able to return!" Shouted Serena as tears started to flow down her face.

"Boss, why didn't you let me purify that kid?" Asked the priest.

"What are you talking about?" asked the red-haired lady.

"The kid, I'm sure you noticed the dark miasma around him. He was cursed by a monster." Said the priest.

"Shut up and watch." Said the red-haired lady.

"What are you talking about I'm ca- Huh... What's going on with me... Why am I crying..?" John asked as tears began to stream down his face.

The giant Ignis which was formed above his right shoulder slowly began to disappear.

"It's alright John... Ariel's fine now...," Said Serena as she stroked his head.

As his anger began to slip away, he was overcome by the emotion of sadness and joy.

"What... Happened to me..?" John asked as tears streamed down his face.

"I'll explain later..." Serena muttered as she continued to hug me.

"That kid, the miasma, it disappeared... he managed to get rid of the curse on his own!" Said the priest.

"If that kid wants to get far as an adventurer, he can't let a weak curse manipulate his mind. Now, I suppose it's my turn to head in." Said the-red-haired lady as she lept towards them.

She reached them in barely any time at all.

"Hey kid, you did well getting rid of the curse. Leave the rest to us." Said the red-haired lady as she patted him on the head.

"Thank you..." John said as he bowed.

Serena whose face was still red from the hug also bowed and said "Thank you".

The lady gave them a smile before she headed towards the spider. After she reached the motionless, weakened spider. She drew her sword and cut it in half. Had John's vision not been enhanced thanks to magic strengthening, he wouldn't have seen her movement at all. That's how clean it was.

Her skill was definitely top tier. He'd stand no chance if John were to fight her. No, in fact, he wouldn't even be able to react.

The moment the spider died, a big Green magic stone, at least 30 Cm in diameter, was formed and the door to the next floor opened.

The lady picked up the stone and carried it over to John and Serena before saying. "Here's your reward.".

He and Serena looked at each other with a confused expression before saying. "Eh?".

"Your reward." The Red-haired lady repeated.

"No, I don't get it? We can't accept this, you were the one that finished it." John said.

"Stop being such a brat. Your teammate fought for this and deserves it. I'm not so petty that I'll steal someone's money, or do I look like that kind of person?" She said as she glared at John.

'Her attitude was bad, but she seems nice.' John thought.

"O-Of course not," He said.

"So take it. Don't forget that you could have finished it at any time. I just did it so that you could get rid of that curse." She said.

"Curse?" John asked.

"Yes... When you were fighting, there was this dark air around you... It was going to possess you so before it did. I stopped you." Serena said.

"That's right, if this girl hadn't stopped you, you would've been possessed." Said the red-haired lady as she handed him the Green magic stone.

"I see... Thank you, Serena." John said as he showed her a bright smile.

"I-It's fine." She said as she looked away.

"Um... regarding that stone. How exactly will I be able to carry it back? My magic toolbox is full," John said as he pointed at the toolbox that was stuck to his waist.

"Oh, that's fine. We'll carry it for you, while we accompany you back," Said the red-haired lady.

"You'll accompany us? Wait more importantly, where are we?" John asked.

"You don't know? We're on the 10th floor of the dungeon. How did you guys get here?" She asked.

"We fell into a trap," John replied.

"I see... You can give us the details later. For now, let's go check on your friend." She said.

'Why is she offering to help a random party she just met? I don't really get her.' John wondered.

'I don't get her but... When she arrived, I was really happy.' He thought.

After reaching Ariel and her squad, John checked to see how she was doing.

"How is she?" he asked with a restless look on his face.

"She's fine, she's just sleeping right now." Said the priest.

After hearing his words, John felt his eyes start to tear up, and a giant load of weight got lifted off his chest.

"You're quite a cry baby, aren't you?" Asked Serena.

"Shut up... Something got in my eye..." John said as he covered his face.

"Sure, sure," She said with a grin.

Despite her teasing, John wasn't annoyed like usual; he was actually relieved and happy, they could still play around and joke like always.

"Hey, Serena..." John said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Thank you for protecting us while Ariel was injured, and I'm glad that you weren't injured," He said.

"W-Why are you being so kind all of a sudden, it's creepy..." She said.

'Creepy... Me...?' John questioned.

"Ah... I see..." He said with a sad face.

"Cheer up, I was joking, I'm glad that you're doing fine too, wait, weren't you injured?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah... That's right... OWW!" John shouted in pain.

The adrenaline which allowed him to handle the pain had finally run out. Seeing this, the priest who had healed Ariel rushed over to his side and started to heal his wounds.

"You shouldn't push yourself, especially after that fight. I'd like to know how 3 kids were able to weaken the spider that much. And that blue flame you created, can you show me again?" He asked. 

'Please don't ask me these things when I'm on the verge of fainting…' John thought.