落とし穴外伝：才能の開花
**Pitfall Gaiden: The Awakening of Talent**
**The Awakening of Talent**
**Side: Havia**
"Whoopee!"
I've been invited by Yuki to play in the 'snowy mountains' as a break before the Great Forest survey. When I first heard about it, I wondered why we'd go somewhere like that, but it's called skiing, and it's a sport where you attach two long, board-like things to the soles of your feet and descend a snowy mountain slope at incredible speed. Well, I tumbled a few times at first, but it seems I have a knack for this, and now I can carve down the snowy slopes at a respectable speed. Of course, I could move faster using magic, but sliding down just by controlling my body is a novel and exhilarating sensation. Oh, right. It seems having prior knowledge from reading manga helped. This is really fun! As I was gliding along, utterly absorbed...
"Hold on a minute! You're going too fast!"
Noriko skillfully maneuvered her skis and caught up to me.
"Wow, Noriko-san, you're amazing! As expected from someone who lives in a snowy country."
"Some people can't do it, you know. No, that's not the point. Stop for a moment. Make a wedge."
"Okay!"
Yes, Noriko was teaching me how to ski. It turns out Noriko lived in a snowy country and would naturally ski and snowboard every winter. And her skill, as I just saw, is much smoother and faster than mine.
"Honestly. Underestimate skiing, and you'll find yourself with a nasty injury."
"Sorry, sorry. I just got a bit carried away with how fun it was to finally glide."
If I carelessly retorted, 'It's fine because I'm a ghost,' I'd probably be tethered to this spot as a lingering spirit right here, so I'd better quietly listen for now. Besides, if I don't listen or cause trouble here, I might be removed from the Great Forest survey team.
Just as I thought, 'It's fine because I'm a ghost,' it seemed she saw right through me...
"I understand how you feel. But you should be careful. You wouldn't want to die a second time during the Great Forest survey, would you?"
Oh dear, it seems my thoughts are as clear as glass.
"Yeah. Dying twice would be... Speaking of which, what happens if a ghost dies?"
"Who knows? But precisely because we don't know, you can't afford to get carelessly injured. That's why I'm telling you to be careful about things like that."
"But I'm getting pummeled relentlessly in training, what about that?"
"Even then, they seem to be careful not to break or tear anything, and besides, Souta-san is there, so there shouldn't be any problem, no matter what happens. And it's a good thing to know that minor injuries aren't an issue."
"That's true."
Yes, I'm going with them on the Great Forest survey, so Deryu has been putting me through combat training, but she really is a Demon Lord. Impossibly strong. I mean, how can she even hit me, a ghost, in the first place? Well, if I focus and make myself transparent, I can dodge, but if I let my guard down, I get pummeled relentlessly. When I asked why, she just said 'guts,' which makes absolutely no sense.
"Listen. There are places that can be 'demon gates' for ghosts, depending on the situation, so you need to move while properly considering such things."
"Demon gates, huh? Do such places really exist?"
"It's more careless to say they don't exist. In such situations, things just spiral downwards, so learn to stick to the plan. You understand, having watched movies, right?"
"Ah, yeah. I get it."
Those who act on their own either go down the death route or become the protagonist. And among the members, I'm overwhelmingly weak, and there's no way I could be conceited enough to think I'm the protagonist, so I'm definitely on the 'death route,' right?
"Good, if you understand. Well then, let's continue having fun. You can increase your speed even more next."
"Really?"
"Yes. From the way you were just skiing, you should be fine. After that, let's try skiing from the summit."
"Sounds great!"
And so, we started gliding down the snowy mountain once more. This time, I was going even faster than before, overwhelmingly quicker than running. This might even be better than enhancing myself with magic, if I'm not careful. Sliding is truly fun. The wind should be very cold, yet it feels incredibly pleasant. It felt like a cool embrace for my flushed body. And before I knew it, I had skied all the way down to where the hotel was.
"We've arrived. And how's your body?"
"Yep. No problems at all. Alright, this time from the summit!"
So, we immediately took the lift up to the summit. And the sight that greeted us from there was...
"Wow, it's beautiful!"
"It is. But half of it is artificial, isn't it? No, all of it."
"Let's not talk about that. I heard it's modeled after a famous ski resort in Japan."
It was truly a magnificent sight. And far in the distance, a Japanese town shimmered, a place forever beyond our reach.
"I mean, this mountain's elevation is at least 200 meters, so this floor must be even higher, right? What kind of underground space is this? Well, compared to the size of a planet, 200 meters isn't much, though."
"Huh? Is that so?"
"It is. The Mariana Trench, a canyon in the ocean, is about 10,000 meters deep, I believe."
"Ten thousand!?"
That's amazing. There are even taller, no, deeper places in the ocean.
"Well, never mind such difficult things, let's just ski quickly. And then take a break."
When she said that, I checked the time and realized lunch had already passed. I hadn't felt hungry or anything, so I guess that means I was completely absorbed.
"Alright, let's go."
"Yeah."
And then we started gliding down from the very top, feeling a speed unlike any before. Ah, just as I was realizing anew what it meant to truly enjoy something.
"Yahoo!"
Just as I thought I heard a shout approaching from behind, a snowboarder whizzed past us with a *zazazazaa* sound.
""Huh?""
My words overlapped with Noriko, who was skiing alongside me. A woman, maintaining that breathtaking speed, launched herself off what appeared to be a jump, soaring into the air. I panicked, thinking, 'Isn't that dangerous?', but she executed a beautiful spin, landed perfectly, and continued to glide down.
And then, furthermore...
"What kind of talent awakening is that!? Wait, Yayui!"
With a whoosh, Luna-sama shot past, chasing after her at an astounding pace...
"Lilishe-sama~ Here we go~"
"Oh~ I'm worried about Yayui-chan~"
Following them, Hobis and Lilishe-sama glided down the snowy mountain, displaying a surprisingly masterful technique.
"Alright, Orelia. Even if it's on a sled, we're going after them!"
"W-wait..."
Hairen-sama and Orelia, surprisingly, were racing furiously onward on sleds. How are they getting that speed? And they're even making beautiful turns...
"We'll go at a steady pace."
"Yes. But Yayui certainly had an unexpected talent."
"Fighting and exercising are different things, aren't they? It really makes me happy to see things from new perspectives."
"Indeed."
While chatting leisurely about such things, Senal-sama and Fiora-sama glided past us at a speed that effortlessly outstripped our own.
"...Let's go."
"Huh?"
"To overtake someone from a snowy country like that, what nerve!"
"Hey!?"
Surprisingly, even Noriko, who had just been urging caution, started descending at an incredible speed. I hurriedly chased after her. I pushed my limits, pouring all my strength into accelerating and maintaining control. Ah, ah... this is fun. I'm testing the limits of my own power. But it's not the result of grueling training. It's simply because I want to catch up to the people in front of me.
And then...
"Huh? Havia, what are you doing!? So many people just now..."
"...Th-that's an incredible speed. M-me, I'm fine going slowly."
Because I spotted some classmates leisurely skiing.
"See ya! You're so slow!"
I said that and sped past without even time to wave goodbye...
"Nairua! Let's chase them!"
"B-but I said I'd go sl-slowly... Ughyaaa!?"
It seemed Nairua started spinning, but I didn't mind. Come on, let's feel this world even more. The ecstatic time I was savoring didn't last long, and soon we had skied down to the hotel.
"That was fun, Luna-sama!"
"Yes... it was. More importantly, how can you do those kinds of tricks? A 1080 is impossible..."
"Huh? Was something strange? More importantly, let's go again!"
"Alright. It's interesting to watch Yayui."
"""..."""
Everyone except Yayui, Luna-sama, and Hairen-sama looked utterly exhausted, making me wonder just how fast and skillfully they had descended. Needless to say, when we skied again in the afternoon, I witnessed Yayui's miracle and my eyes widened in utter disbelief. The world really is vast. You never know what will trigger an awakening. That's why I think the world is so fun.