Chapter 18 - Chapter 17: The Alchemy Challenge and the Trump Card Experiment
About ten days had passed since Mika completed the four elemental magics.
"Gu, guuuu..."
In the afternoon under the scorching sun, Mika sat down in the grassy patch beside the house, concentrating with all his might.
Believing that concentration would drop after eating lunch, he repeated the same task for several hours with only a little water intake.
He didn't care about the massive amount of sweat pouring down, continuing to visualize desperately.
That beautiful form shining in golden light.
"......Why can't I do it...!"
He slumped his head in defeat.
Tears blurred from the sheer frustration, but those tears fell to the ground along with the sweat.
"This is strange! It's weird! It doesn't make sense!"
Mika put all his anger into his fists and slammed them against the ground.
"Damn it!!!!!!!"
The story goes back to this morning----.
"Alchemy, you say?"
Ninetiana nodded at Mika's words.
Dur was sleeping soundly and comfortably in Ninetiana's arms.
Recently, Mika had stopped his magic practice early and often went to listen to Ninetiana's stories.
A major factor was that the development of magic had reached a pause, giving him more time to think about how to use magic effectively.
And for that purpose, Ninetiana's stories were very useful, as she taught him about various things in this world.
Mostly, however, the content seemed to be common knowledge for people living in this world.
And right now, they were having such a conversation.
"It's actually quite a famous story among adventurers. They say there is a book somewhere that records that secret art."
"Heee...."
"Oh, you don't believe it? Actually, there are multiple requests posted at the guild. They are all huge, high-paying requests, you know?"
"Heee...."
An absent-minded reply slipped out involuntarily.
If requests keep piling up without being fulfilled, doesn't that mean no one has found it yet?
(It existed in my original world too. Buried gold of XX, or a golden train full of amazing art treasures and treasures.)
As he thought with a strange sense of admiration that no matter how the world changes, similar stories exist everywhere, Ninetiana became earnest in her explanation.
"Hey, Mika-kun? The Great Secret Book of the Saint really does exist! It doesn't just record alchemy; it records various secret arts, and if you get your hands on it, you could even become king!"
"Yes, yes, I understand. ...Is it okay? You're shouting suddenly, and Dur is getting startled."
Dur, who had been sleeping soundly and comfortably in Ninetiana's arms until just now, twisted his face in surprise and looked like he was about to cry.
Ninetiana panicked and tried to soothe him, but it was already too late.
It was so loud that one couldn't help but wonder where such a big voice came from as Dur cried out loudly.
Mika jumped down from the chair and headed for the entrance.
"Well, since you seem busy taking care of Dur, I'll take my leave."
"Oh, wait, Mika-kun! Help me soothe Dur!"
"That was completely your fault, Ninetiana-san. You should properly cheer Dur up."
Giving a light wave with a "Chao," he left Ninetiana's house.
His attitude toward Ninetiana had become completely relaxed, but in reality, Mika regarded Ninetiana as a master.
She never treated him casually like a child; she answered each of Mika's questions carefully.
So Mika thought, "One must show appropriate respect to one's master," and treated her politely, but she dismissed it with, "That's kind of creepy."
She even suspected he was plotting something, so he stopped treating her so formally.
Mika wasn't used to such formal occasions either, and since he had a nature where his shoulders would stiffen up, he couldn't blame her for feeling that way.
So he decided to be polite but not show it too much, and just treat her normally.
"The Great Secret Book of the Saint, huh."
While walking, he recalled the conversation from earlier.
It was probably just another legend of a treasure found everywhere.
A get-rich-quick scheme, or a one-shot reversal of one's life.
He could understand to some extent the romance of wanting to get his hands on something like that.
He wouldn't say he would risk his life to chase it, but in a way, it might be one of the important qualities of an adventurer.
Although, such excessive curiosity could easily lead to one's destruction.
"But still, the Saint being a king and alchemy... What a greedy monk."
Moreover, the fact that it's called the "Great" Secret Book makes it even more suspicious. What is this "Great Secret Book"?
He didn't know what alchemy was like in this world, but in his original world, alchemy did exist.
Regardless of whether it succeeded or failed, it was certain that such thoughts existed.
He was sure they tried to turn base metals into precious metals or create elixirs of immortality.
It was a standard setting in fantasy games, and he remembered the Philosopher's Stone and Elixirs appearing.
(A secret art somewhere in the world? Rather than such an uncertain thing, isn't there something more certain in this world?)
Mika felt more attracted to the power of mana, which hid immeasurable potential, rather than vague alchemy.
This power was a terrifying force that could obtain vast wealth depending on how it was used.
Depending on how it was used, it could truly rival ten thousand gold bars.
For that reason, he needed to know more about this world, and more accurately.
"Rather than the location of treasure, I want to know more about mana... don't I?"
At a faint flash of insight, Mika suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He crossed his arms and rested his chin on his hand, pondering right there.
(......Is that even possible?)
"Eh, no, but..." he muttered, repeating his deliberation right there.
(There is no reason it shouldn't be possible. Then... I can do it.)
He stared at his left hand and clenched it tightly.
"With mana, I can make gold!"
After several hours of bitter struggle, Mika was crushed by despair.
"......Why... why... Why is it like this!?"
Repeating "Why, why" like a mutter, he struck the ground over and over again.
No matter how much mana he concentrated, he couldn't create even a single grain of gold dust.
"I can make stone and water! Why can't I make gold!!!"
Materialization of the same mana.
The stone of "Stone Bullet" appeared to be composed of multiple atoms.
It was self-evident that creating gold composed of a single atom would be far easier.
"...Damn it..."
Mika collapsed onto the spot.
What lay there was not the figure of a seven-year-old boy.
There was the figure of a forty-seven-year-old man covered in desire.
Because hope had been visible just a bit, that despair was even deeper.
Surely, people who got hooked on alchemy had fallen into the depths while being crushed by hope and despair just like Mika now.
Mika, who had been lying on the ground, slowly stood up after a while.
His staggering body and strong fatigue were not caused solely by a lack of mana.
He had been outside for hours under the scorching sun and was on the verge of heatstroke.
"Muttering 'Waterball'..." he created a mass of water the size of a basketball and stuck his head inside.
After lightly washing his face and head in the water, he burst out of the "Waterball" forcefully and dropped the water onto the ground.
He ruffled his hair, carelessly shook off the water, and staggered into the house.
He poured water from the water jar into a cup and drank it all at once, then filled the cup again.
Sitting on his usual seat with the cup, he let out a deep sigh.
"Why..."
Slumping his face onto the table, he let out another deep sigh.
The failure of generating gold through magic had greatly depressed Mika.
Mika was not challenging alchemy for his own private gain and profit.
No, of course, private gain and profit were a major reason, but Mika intended to give that gold to Amalia first and foremost.
If he gave such a thing suddenly, it would cause a huge commotion, so he needed to think carefully about how to give it, but he wanted to give it to Amalia, who always took care of him.
Considering the current economic situation of the Noisheim family, he thought it would make their lives easier.
He didn't understand why their lives were so hard despite working their bodies to the bone every day, but he wanted to improve that situation even a little.
Even when Mika asked about the family's economic situation, Amalia answered with a smile, "It's not like that," but it was obvious she was forcing it.
As a child, Mika couldn't work, and in the rural Rish Village, he couldn't even earn pocket money properly.
He had subtly asked Kifrod if he could earn money by catching fish, but it seemed that while everyone shared what they caught, they didn't sell it for money.
In the first place, it seemed rare to catch enough fish that the family couldn't eat, and even if they did, they gave it to the church or close friends.
A spirit of mutual aid typical of the countryside.
Thanks to that, Mika's means of earning were blocked, and he was left only to rely on others unilaterally.
"...I'll just have to rely on others for a while longer."
Mika let out another deep sigh.
■■■■■■
On the evening of the day Mika was discouraged by the failure of alchemy, he caught a fever as expected.
It was heatstroke.
By the next morning, the fever had subsided considerably, but he had worried Amalia and Loretta quite a bit.
Mika said he was fine many times, but Amalia took time off work because she was worried and took care of him.
Because of Mika, Amalia had incurred extra burden and economic loss.
(What am I doing?)
He reflected deeply on his own actions one week ago.
And now, Mika had come to the forest for the first time in a while.
He had been restraining himself from practicing magic in the forest because it was dangerous.
He told himself, "Just today, just once," but ended up coming anyway.
"Really, what am I doing?"
He was dumbfounded at his own rash action, but since he had come, there was nothing to be done.
He would quickly finish his business and return to the village.
The place he always used for magic practice.
A log where he sat to eat lunch was in front of him.
That log, left unattended for a long time, remained exactly as it was even though the village was gathering timber now.
It seemed that this log had been forgotten.
"Well, I'm glad it's still here."
He had a use for this log today.
A magic he thought of while bored during his rest from heatstroke----.
No, it was actually a magic he thought of quite seriously.
He had come to the forest for this experiment.
He had spent this past week preparing, or rather, practicing the preliminary stage, and today was, so to speak, the verification experiment.
"...There are quite a few more than I thought."
Looking at the log, there were many holes bored by insects.
From Mika's perspective, there would likely be similar holes bored by insects on the opposite side of the log that he couldn't see.
"To fit the whole thing... well, it might barely work?"
About two meters away from the center of the log, Mika turned his back to the log.
"Limiter Off."
A clear sound of "Kiiiii...n" was faintly heard.
He concentrated his consciousness and spread his mana.
Until now, he had only focused on concentrating mana, but now he was spreading it outward from his body instead.
This was truly difficult; if mana wasn't concentrated and held by consciousness, it would easily scatter into the atmosphere.
Trying to widen the range as much as possible while preventing the dissipation of mana required considerable concentration.
To use the magic he was experimenting with effectively, he wanted to spread it to a radius of about 10 meters around Mika, but he couldn't reach that point right now.
Since this was just an experiment, he limited it to behind Mika this time, stretched the mana into an oval shape like a rugby ball, and deemed it OK if it covered the whole log.
Closing his eyes and concentrating his consciousness, he slowly spread the mana backward.
Mana that he couldn't control completely scattered bit by bit, but he continued to widen the range regardless.
After spending a few minutes spreading the mana, he was able to fit the log he had turned his back to completely within the range.
It would be easier if Mika was at the center, but for safety, he needed to keep some distance from the log.
Thanks to that, the mana had become a terribly distorted shape.
But this was the main event.
Concentrating his consciousness even more, Mika sent mana intensively into the holes bored by the insects.
Even without capturing them in his field of vision, Mika could recognize the holes bored by the insects.
This was the true nature of the unease he noticed when catching fish, but it seemed the spread mana became part of Mika's perceptual range.
It was a sensation felt by the "power to feel mana," not a physical sensation.
It was similar to the sensation when moving mana inside his body, but closer to the sensation when he couldn't move it well back then.
It was truly faint, a barely perceptible sensation with almost no feedback, but Mika could feel the holes in the log.
Following this sensation, he sent mana into all the holes bored by the insects and muttered softly.
"Thousand Edge."
Something like sawdust spurted out from all over the log.
Mika broke his concentration, took a deep breath in, and then exhaled deeply.
He felt a slight headache from concentrating too much, but he turned around to look at the log.
Getting closer to check, sawdust was coming out of many holes, and there were places where the bark was lifted or cracked.
And in some places, he could confirm holes that were unaffected.
"......There are quite a few misses."
He thought he had sent mana into all the holes, but either he hadn't noticed the holes, or the magic didn't manifest.
There was also the possibility that the number of holes was larger than expected, so the mana wasn't enough.
The number of holes Mika identified exceeded 100.
When he went around to the opposite side of the log to check the condition, the situation was roughly the same.
"As expected, it's quite difficult."
He knew this, but it seemed to take more time than expected to put this into practical use.
"Well, actually, it probably won't be that many."
In the assumed practical examples, it wouldn't manifest with as many holes as bored into the log.
By conducting the verification experiment, he was able to grasp the immediate future tasks.
Mika returned to the village satisfied with the results of this experiment, which he had done even by abandoning his self-restraint.
Praying for the repose of the many insects that became sacrifices.
"Thousand Edge."
A magic he thought of after thinking about various things while he had time during his rest from heatstroke.
What he was doing wasn't much different from "Air Cutter."
It was just generating a large number of smaller blades.
Even though they were small, the specification of generating a large number simultaneously meant the required mana exceeded not only "Air Cutter" but even "Earth Wall."
Generating it over a wide area might also be the cause of increasing the required mana.
He thought this experiment alone consumed more than half of Mika's total mana capacity.
In the completed form, he intends to perform it over a range dozens of times larger than this, so practically speaking, it's impossible to put it into use.
......For now.
So, what is this mana-guzzling magic intended for?
It is the trump card against magical beasts.
He had developed various magics like "Fireball" and "Stone Bullet," but he couldn't shake the anxiety that just those would be truly sufficient.
It might work on Agu Bear, but what if there were magical beasts with developed exoskeletons?
If there were magical beasts protected by strength that wouldn't budge even if hundreds of "Stone Bullets" were fired into them, Mika would have no way to deal with it now.
So, he thought, not necessarily for all magical beasts, but isn't there a magic that can inflict fatal wounds on most magical beasts?
That was when he thought of "Thousand Edge."
Except for our strongest life form, the Tardigrade-sama, all living things require breathing.
Even if it doesn't cause instant death, if breathing is taken away, functions will gradually stop, and eventually, death will follow.
Since he could create air, he thought about making poison gas, but it was dangerous for himself, and in the first place, the experiment couldn't be done so easily.
Operating thermal energy was the same; he thought, "If you burn it at 10,000 degrees, any living thing will die, right?" but this was also dangerous for himself, and the damage to the surroundings would be too great.
He thought about a magic that even Mika could do now and minimized the impact on the surroundings.
After thinking about such a convenient magic, he arrived at this "Thousand Edge."
The logic is as follows.
Send mana deep into the nasal cavity, oral cavity, and ear canal of the target magical beast.
Generate countless small "Air Cutters" there.
No matter how tough the opponent is, or how solid the exoskeleton is, they have no way to resist if destroyed from the "inside."
Since they are living beings, the outside can be hard, but the inside cannot be made hard.
Quietly send mana so the opponent doesn't notice, and destroy the respiratory system such as the trachea and lungs.
Targeting the ear canal is an insurance just in case.
If the semicircular canals are nearby like in humans, destroy those too.
Then, they won't be able to move properly.
It is a magic with quite cruel content, but we are desperate too.
It is a magic devised assuming a situation where if we can't defeat them, we or those around us will die, so we must be desperate.
Furthermore, there is another assumed situation.
For example, suppose the opponent is not a magical beast but a wild dog or a wolf.
Even if there is a magic that can reliably kill a wild dog in one shot, there are situations where it offers no advantage at all.
When surrounded by a pack.
It might not be a problem in a one-on-one fight, but in a one-vs-many situation, it probably won't even be a contest.
If attacked all at once by a pack, you might take two or three with you, but that's probably the limit.
So, the target radius for that is 10 meters.
This is also why he conducted the experiment with his back to the log.
To suppress them all at once when surrounded by a pack, or before the encirclement is complete.
When talking with Ninetiana, stories often come up about things that happened when she was active as an adventurer.
Of course, there are stories about encountering magical beasts or monsters and fighting them.
Since there are party members, he doesn't have to face everything alone, but no matter how careful one is, situations where one gets surrounded do occur.
And he was told thoroughly how terrifying that situation was.
Where on the body, how the injuries were sustained. How much pain the poison caused.
Even when Mika said, "That's enough," she kept telling him.
Preventing him from covering his ears, with very specific descriptions, and plenty of them.
That was, in my opinion, already abuse.
He sincerely hoped Ninetiana wouldn't do the same to Dur.
Well, there was probably also the purpose of suppressing Mika's actions, who was high on the list of people to watch out for, but didn't he think that was a bit too much?
Mika, whose tolerance for gross images from internet bulletin boards was MAX, didn't particularly want to hear pain-related stories told as experiences from veterans.
Who wouldn't want to hear, "From here on my arm, about this far, you could see the bone. And from here on my armpit, blood was spurting out and wouldn't stop. I really thought I was going to die then"?
"Well, it turned out to be roughly the shape I thought it would be. Not having enough mana isn't anything new."
Mika washed his hands with "Waterball" and entered the house.
He had used half of the daily estimated total mana capacity, so he couldn't practice magic anymore today.
Since he had no choice, he decided to think about the problems of "Thousand Edge" that he had discovered through the experiment.
Mika sat on his usual seat, crossed his legs and arms, and rested his chin on his hand.
Leaning against the backrest, he closed his eyes and recalled the results of the "Thousand Edge" experiment.
First, the required mana was too much.
Regarding this, there was nothing he could do now.
Since the usage itself was possible by reducing the scale, he would have to go in that direction for a while.
Just like "Earth Wall," if Mika's mana increased, it would solve itself automatically, so he would just have to wait for that.
Next, there were quite a few misses.
Regarding this, one cause was likely that there were too many holes to grasp completely.
Also, there was a possibility that the mana was insufficient to manifest "Thousand Edge" in all the holes.
For the former, he would have to hone his senses.
Perception by mana range could only be felt as a truly faint sensation, so grasping everything at once was difficult.
He might need to consider some practice to hone his senses.
However, just by grasping this problem, it could be said that the experiment was worth doing.
Regarding the latter, it was a matter of mana capacity, so he had to believe that time would solve it.
And finally, it took too much time to prepare.
The technique of spreading mana, which was the exact opposite of what Mika had done until now when using magic, was required.
This was also unavoidable.
He would just have to practice repeatedly and get used to it.
Lastly, this might be the biggest problem.
Mika concentrated mana in his left hand.
Then, a pale blue light vaguely enveloped his left hand.
The step of spreading mana, which was the preparation stage for "Thousand Edge."
The mana became visible at this point.
The effect range of the magic became visible.
Unless one was a complete idiot, they would immediately leave this range.
Would wild beasts or magical beasts stay quietly within this range?
"......Well, it's impossible."
Thinking normally, they should have far sharper senses than humans.
Then, he would need to prepare a means to stop them right there.
Or, a method to make the mana invisible.
Neither could be done in a day or two.
"It's quite far from the completed form."
It was useless to rush, but he felt dejected thinking about how long the path was.
(There are various problems, and even if I use it for a while, it seems it will be under limited conditions.)
For now, he reached the conclusion that it was possible to realize it in a form close to his imagination.
For the time being, he decided to be satisfied with that fact.