After breakfast, I took two books and went out to work. One was Advanced Earth Magic, and the other was The Eleventh Brave.
To be honest, Advanced Earth Magic was only a cover for The Eleventh Brave. Lina's eyes could be quite sharp sometimes, so I preferred to stay cautious.
Once I finished my work, my daily habit was to soak my feet in water — it was simply too hot these days. Then, I picked up the book and flipped to where I left off yesterday.
The Throwing Ape held a rock in its hand, preparing to attack. Henry thought that if he could kill it before it threw the rock, he would be fine. But when he tried to cast wind magic, nothing happened. The rock struck his body, opening a hole through his side.
Panicked, Henry wondered why his magic wouldn't activate — but he didn't forget to heal himself. Light magic worked swiftly, closing his wound in seconds. Then the Throwing Ape hurled another rock. Henry leaped aside to dodge, then started running.
As he ran, he kept thinking — why couldn't he use his usual magic? He tried another wind magic, but again, it failed. Suddenly, the Throwing Ape appeared in front of him. Henry froze for a second and realized that since his healing magic worked, light magic was still usable.
He immediately used light magic to kill the Throwing Ape. Then he stood still, testing every wind magic he knew — none worked. He tried other attributes too, only to find that earth and light magic still functioned, while fire, water, wind, and dark magic did not.
Henry couldn't understand. Why were the special abilities given by Goddess no longer working?
As he pondered, he heard voices nearby. Quickly, he hid and peeked out, he saw the ten young men arguing agitatedly about something.
Apparently, Henry had accidentally run close to their camp while escaping. He pricked up his ears and listened carefully. They were talking about strange things — "storage," "teleportation," and other words he had never heard before. He didn't know what kind of magic they were talking about.
Henry decided it had nothing to do with him and turned to leave — but he stepped on a twig. The sharp crack was loud enough to draw attention. In an instant, a sword was pointed at his neck.
Henry looked up at the man holding the sword — one of the young men, a long-haired boy. The man demanded to know Henry's identity, but Henry was too nervous to speak.
Then another man stepped forward — a handsome boy, the same one who had struck down the Demon King. He pulled the long-haired boy back and introduced himself.
The Handsome Boy said he and his nine companions were Braves chosen by Goddess. Although their special abilities disappeared, he asked Henry to believe they were genuine Braves.
Henry didn't bother remembering their names — he would simply give them nicknames based on his first impression.
Henry's mind wandered back to the words the god had once told him. The Goddess had said that he saw hope within Henry.
Henry wondered, Could the Goddess have been lying? If not, then why were there ten braves? Perhaps the god truly had lost hope in him.
Still, he brushed the thought aside. He just wanted to return home and tell his dead friend that the Demon King was gone.
The Handsome Boy asked Henry if he was a villager nearby. Too tired to explain, Henry just nodded. The boy then requested Henry to guide them to the nearest town to rest.
Not wanting to seem suspicious, Henry agreed. After all, once they reached the town, he could go his own way.
As they walked, a revealing girl approached Henry and began to talk. She told him that there were six types of magic element — fire, water, wind, earth, light, and dark.
Most people, she said, only had one attribute, while a few possessed two. But none were born with light or dark element.
Henry was surprised. Light and dark magic weren't included among ordinary element — did that mean only he and the Braves had light magic? Still, he remained silent and listened.
The Revealing Girl continued, saying that currently, only the ten Braves possessed light magic, while dark magic belonged exclusively to demon race.
She explained all this to teach Henry the basics of magic — starting with identifying his attribute. She instructed him to recite a long chant before saying the magic's name aloud.
Henry realized why they had been muttering before casting spells — their magic required chanting. And their magic names weren't ancient words, but modern language. Henry suspected they didn't know ancient language, so he decided not to tell them.
He followed her instructions four times. The revealing girl then identified Henry's attribute as earth, and called another girl over to teach him earth magic.
The new girl timidly peeked from behind the Revealing Girl, clearly scared. The Revealing Girl pulled her forward, explaining that she was a shy girl and needed time to warm up.
Henry just wanted to end the conversation quickly. He shook his head, saying it wasn't necessary, and kept walking.
When the group finally reached the town, a crowd surrounded them. The Handsome Boy proudly announced that the Demon King had been defeated. The townspeople erupted in cheers, chanting the Braves title over and over.
Henry tried to slip away quietly, but someone grabbed his hand — it was the Shy Girl. She hesitated for a long time before saying she wanted to teach him all earth magic.
Henry didn't want to stay any longer and pulled his hand away, but she held on tightly, staring at him with tearful eyes.
Unable to refuse, Henry reluctantly agreed. The Shy Girl beamed with joy and dragged him outside the town to begin the lesson. With no choice, Henry followed her — a promise was a promise.
By the time she had only taught a part of earth magic, night had already fallen, and both of them were hungry. When they returned, they found the town bustling with celebration — a feast to honor the Braves who had slain the Demon King.
Among them, one of the Braves — a Flirty boy — teased the Shy Girl and Henry playfully. The Shy Girl flusteredly waved her hands, denying everything, while Henry remained silent, not understanding what the Flirty Boy meant.
Then, the Handsome Boy came over and apologized on behalf of the Flirty Boy, inviting Henry to join them for dinner. Henry didn't mind, so he accepted.
During the meal, the Handsome Boy asked Henry about his dream. Henry thought for a moment and answered that he was an orphan who had always wanted to see the world. Now that the Demon King was defeated, he planned to leave tomorrow.
After a brief silence, the Handsome Boy invited Henry to travel with them, saying that their hometown lay in the same direction. The Shy Girl eagerly supported the idea. Remembering his promise to her, Henry agreed. None of the other Braves objected.
They stayed at an inn that night, and the next morning, set off together. Along the way, they fought many monsters.
Henry also learned a lot about modern magic — it was divided into three levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Yet, even when he cast advanced magic with full strength, its power was weaker than his ancient magic used casually.
He remembered that the Handsome Boy had said their special abilities disappeared, but Henry's Ancient Knowledge and Magic Create still remained. Why was that?
One day, they reached a city and witnessed the chaos of a leaderless society — robbery, fighting, even worse.
The Braves ignored it, and Henry himself doing the same.
Later, the Revealing Girl brought news: a new dungeon had appeared nearby — on the same day the Demon King had defeated. She asked if they should explore it, but the Handsome Boy refused immediately, insisting they return home quickly to tell their families the good news. The others agreed, and she dropped the subject.
Henry wondered — was the appearance of dungeons related to the fall of the Demon King, or was it just coincidence?
On their way home, they encountered several more dungeons, all appearing on the same day the Demon King died.
Two years later, they finally reached the Braves' homeland. Each of them planned to return to their own family. Henry's village was still some distance away, so he decided to part ways there.
At that moment, the Shy Girl grabbed Henry's hand, saying she would take him home for a meal. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free from her insistence, so Henry had no choice but to agree to her request.