Chapter 208 - Chapter 207: Various Nicknames
The 2nd Month of Fire, the 4th Week, the Day of Water.
Mika crouched low in the bushes, holding his breath.
He stared fixedly at a single point, waiting for his prey to enter range.
Kasa...
Grass rustled.
Mika calmed his heart, reducing himself to an existence like a pebble.
Kasa...
Slowly, slowly, it approached Mika.
Not yet.
Just a little more.
Kasa...
Gasa!
At that moment, Mika leaped from the bushes and pounced on his prey.
"Hah!"
"Kuh...!?"
Gin!
Even as Basal blocked Mika's Short Sword, his stance collapsed.
Mika did not miss the opening, launching a fierce assault.
The advantage of terrain belonged to Mika.
The forested area of the training ground.
He had specifically lured Basal into a place with many trees.
Gin-gakin-gin-gin-gakin!
To make the length of their weapons work against Basal, Mika used the trees to unleash a barrage of strikes.
Mika maintained a position where, even if he swung with all his might, he wouldn't hit the trees.
Conversely, even when Basal tried to receive Mika's attacks, his Sword would collide with the trees.
He was forced to block in awkward postures.
Mika adjusted his position with exquisite precision, mixing vertical and horizontal movements into his continuous strikes.
Originally, a Short Sword is easier to handle than a Sword.
On top of that, he further utilized the terrain, forcing Basal into a cramped battle.
Byu!
Mika's horizontal slash stopped precisely at Basal's neck.
Basal froze with a twisted expression.
"That's enough."
"Ugh, kuu..."
And so, he twisted his face in frustration.
Basal let his hands hang limply by his sides and looked up.
"To be pushed back so one-sidedly..."
"You shouldn't have relied on the opponent's terrain advantage, Basal."
"I knew that... but I thought I could do it."
"Well, you underestimated me too much."
In their usual special training, one-on-one spars, Basal usually had a higher win rate.
After all, the length of a Sword and a Short Sword are different.
While a Short Sword is easier to handle, the weight of a single strike is significant, and dodging it is difficult.
Even when trying to increase the number of strikes, he was often killed there.
"But it was fun. I hope we can do it again."
"That is so. Next time, I will crush you before you can lure me in."
"Ahhaha, do you think I'll let you?"
Today, the opponent team for the exercise was Basal's team.
Students from the 3rd and 4th years, who hadn't been allowed to participate in exercises last year, began participating this year.
Although they have conducted exercises many times this year, today was the first time facing Basal's team.
"Then, I'll go take down the base."
"That is so. I'll be going now."
Mika moved through the forest, crossed the bridge over the stream, and went near the base placed on the flat ground.
After hitting the base with the conversion light of [Explosive Flame] about four times, a loud whistle sounded.
It wasn't just Mika and Basal exercising.
They both had teams.
However, the members of both teams had already been defeated.
And what remained were only Mika and Basal.
These two "so-called mages" had wiped out each other's entire teams.
Mika had been undefeated since last year, and Basal since this year.
While their teams might lose, individually, neither had ever been defeated.
However, Basal's streak of victories ended here.
By fighting Mika, he finally suffered his first defeat.
"Well, I suppose I'll be defeated eventually too."
Against Basal, it wouldn't do to keep winning forever.
Personally, Mika didn't care much about records like that, but he certainly had no intention of losing on purpose.
However, the knights of the Knight Academy couldn't afford to lose face.
They seemed desperate to defeat Mika, who hadn't been defeated even once since last year.
If the same mage defeats Mika for the first time, it might feel even more embarrassing for them...
Currently, Mika's team has the highest win rate in the exercises by a wide margin.
Of course.
Since the mage Mika cannot be defeated.
From Mika's perspective, it is a "failure" if an ally mage he intended to keep alive gets defeated, but his exercise record is almost entirely white wins.
And the team with the next best record is Basal's team.
The reason is the same as Mika's.
Since the mage cannot be defeated, it is natural that the win rate becomes abnormally high.
In the first place, this exercise itself does not assume the existence of such a ridiculous mage.
Usually, both mages are defeated, resulting in a draw, as if it has been decades since a single mage survived alone at the end.
That is why the knights bear the role of protecting that mage and leading them to the destruction of the base.
However, if there exists a mage that knights cannot defeat, the very premise collapses.
Therefore, the teams to which Mika or Basal belong are almost guaranteed to win just by having them.
I heard that the Knight Academy is quite troubled by this abnormal situation.
The results of this exercise account for a very large portion of a knight's individual score.
Even if you are defeated, if your team wins, points are added to your score accordingly.
This is meant to evaluate actions like "surviving is best, but contributing to the team's victory even at the cost of your own life," such as protecting allies with your own body.
However, the teams with Mika and Basal are different.
Victory and defeat are decided on a completely different dimension from the power of those knights.
In this case, it is impossible to calculate the knights' scores, and knights who ended up on the same team as the two become "lucky."
From the perspective of those assigning scores, they want to say, "What are you doing!?"
By the way, Rimliche's team is also among the top teams in terms of results, but it is not exceptionally high.
They are simply maintaining high results as usual.
The rest of the Leventein Group are like that too.
Mostly settling in the upper-middle range from the top.
Exercise results depend heavily on the knights' abilities rather than the mages' abilities.
Originally...
"Boi."
"Boi."
"Kuh..."
Returning near the entrance of the training ground, Rimliche, who had returned earlier, made a peace sign at Mika.
By the way, Rimliche started copying this peace sign after Mika did it.
Basal, walking beside Mika, hung his head.
"Amazing, Mika-kun won!"
"What is it, Rimliche-kun? Did you think I would lose?"
When Mika spoke in a strange tone, Rimliche made a slightly awkward expression.
"...As I thought, the Reaper won."
"Tch... Kasa."
A student of the Knight Academy, watching Mika and the others from a distance, spat out the words quietly.
Curse Mage (Kasa).
It is now common knowledge even in the academy that Mika holds a nickname as an adventurer.
"Dispeller," who even crushed the church, is a famous story.
Well, in reality, Mika was just imprisoned in the tower and did nothing, but thanks to the Information Broker Guild spreading the story with exaggeration, the tale spread in a fun way.
When that happens, jealousy inevitably arises.
Thus, the nickname "Curse Mage (Kasa)" was attached to "Dispeller" as a sort of spite.
This nickname is not limited to within the academy.
It spreads normally among adventurers and the general public.
However, adventurers don't say it so openly.
Whether it is because adults have some sense of propriety, or because they worry about rumors surrounding the Dis-pel-ler, I don't know.
Inside the academy, especially at the Knight Academy, various things are said about Mika.
Reaper, Curse Mage (Kasa), etc., he just listens to them as the whining of a losing dog.
Little Devil is fine, but anyone who starts saying Mi-ji-n-co will absolutely not be forgiven.
Whoever said it first, come out, you bastard!
However, even if Mika ignores it, those around him seem to care.
Rimliche looked at the knights with an annoyed expression.
Basal also turned to look at the knights with a slightly cold gaze.
"Hey, hey, don't pay them any mind."
Mika turned Rimliche around, pushing him toward the Leventein Group, and pulled Basal along as well.
"If knights are getting beaten by a mage who isn't even using [Physical Enhancement], it's embarrassing, isn't it?"
"If you resolve your own immaturity with insults, you should be corrected for your own sake—-"
"That's why, just leave them alone."
For Mika, it was more tiring to soothe Rimliche and Basal who reacted to the gossip than the gossip itself.
And so, after struggling to bring the two along to join the Leventein Group...
It turned out that only Cleiria, Charl, and Murt had returned.
Judging by their expressions, Charl's team seemed to have won, but Cleiria and Murt's teams seemed to have lost.
Especially Murt, who seemed to have been defeated himself today, looked quite frustrated.
They discussed how today's exercise went, this and that.
"In that case, it's said to retreat once."
"If you had successfully defeated the enemy knight with conversion light at that moment, there would still have been a chance..."
"Everyone else didn't follow, leaving me isolated. Why retreat there?"
"...Today, I destroyed... the base..."
"Good job."
Everyone held their own review meetings.
And, boasting and complaining sessions.
Since the team review meetings were already over, they just waited for the teams that hadn't finished yet to return.
Such was the usual scene after an exercise.
It was revealed later that there is no record of a victory decided by a direct duel between the last surviving mage from each team.
Or rather, this isn't an exercise (game) like that.
It's strictly about which side takes down the base first.
Someone somewhere must have shouted, "Do you even understand the rules properly!?"
Establishing a new record, they say.
Having one mage survive while all enemies and allies are wiped out has become a rare occurrence these days.
It happens normally, you know?
■■■■■■
The 2nd Month of Fire, the 5th Week, the Day of Wind.
The dilapidated house in District 3.
Mika, Ojisan, and Adelriese were sitting at the table discussing things.
Research on "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" has also progressed significantly.
In the end, the system was changed to conduct research as a team, not just Ojisan and Adelriese.
Only Ojisan and others attend the meetings, but regarding the research, only those recognized as possessing rare knowledge and technology who can keep secrets participate.
Ojisan recruited three selected eccentrics from his group of craftsmen into the research team.
Of course, they are all true craftsmen who would say they don't need rewards for the sake of high-purity "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)"!
Adelriese similarly gathered skilled eccentrics.
They are true material lovers who run magic tool shops in the shadows in the country's second and third largest cities and other major towns.
The system is to have Ojisan and Adelriese as leaders, adding three research members.
Mika thought the grandfather from Sarbengeal he knew might be called, but he was wrong.
That person runs a famous shop on the surface.
In other words, a legitimate shop.
And the ones Adelriese gathered were shop owners of famous shops in the shadows.
People who wouldn't even care about the law for the sake of magic tool materials.
The forbidden Spaelement that Mika purchased was obtained through this connection, it seems.
Both the blacksmiths and the magic tool technicians are people who say they don't need rewards if they can handle high-purity "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)."
However, of course, Mika pays the rewards properly.
Two million Rats per person, per month.
Well, it seems even that money is being poured into research funds.
I am paying the research funds properly though...
Ojisan puts the ingot of "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" given by Mika into the Magic Bag.
"Then, I have definitely received it. I transferred the money to your account the day before yesterday, so please check."
"I checked yesterday. I was a bit surprised that the price didn't drop unexpectedly."
"It won't collapse that easily yet. In the first place, there was hardly any supply. Even if a little circulates, there is no need to lower the price. Rather, recently it has stimulated demand, and the price has gone up instead."
Ojisan laughed like that.
Ojisan had been selling the "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" given to him for research purposes after using it to a certain extent.
He mixed it with copper to lower the purity to around 70% or less, and sold it through middlemen.
The portion given to Adelriese was also circulated into the market in the same way.
There were mainly two purposes.
One is money.
Even "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" with a purity of about 70% exceeds fifteen million Rats per kilogram at the retail price.
The money coming into Mika's hands is around twelve to thirteen million Rats per kilogram.
And one ingot is about twenty-five kilograms.
He mixes about three kilograms of copper to increase the volume and sells it.
Since there is a difference of nearly four times in specific gravity, the amount of copper feels small, but this increases the volume by about thirty percent.
In other words, one ingot sells for 420 million Rats at the retail price.
Between 340 million and 360 million Rats roll into Mika's hands.
Since four ingots' worth of "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" have already been circulated into the market, over 1.4 billion Rats have been deposited into Mika's account.
It feels like the middleman margin is a bit high, but since multiple merchants are involved in between, this is unavoidable.
Not only for Mika, but to keep Ojisan's blacksmith name out of the picture, merchants are interposed.
By relying on trustworthy merchants, they are doing a certain level of risk control.
The magnitude of the numbers has increased so much that working feels foolish at this point.
Why am I still fulfilling commission requests?
Well, I did accept them once...
And the other purpose is to make "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" a familiar sight.
It might look like I am lowering the value of "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" myself, but actually, it is not so.
In the first place, what is circulating in the market is a degraded version of the "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" that Mika possesses.
Even if Mika wears equipment made of pure "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" in the future, he can avoid being noticed with "Ah, I see that often these days."
However, while the appearance might be close, the contents are completely different.
The effects and performance granted are on a completely different level.
An environment can be created where even wearing equipment of national treasure level, or even myth and legend class, goes unnoticed.
Adelriese placed the magic tool blueprints in front of Mika.
The attached documents listed the required materials and an estimate of the costs.
"We will start making prototypes. Please transfer the funds."
"Ah... first, seventy million Rats? The market is going to be messed up... I'll go to the bank again after today and transfer the money."
"Please do."
It feels like his sense of money is becoming completely off.
However, if you try to fully utilize the performance of "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)," this kind of thing happens.
This is something discovered through research: high-purity rare metals do not just increase the effect of [Enchantment].
The amount of [Enchantment] that can be applied itself increases.
Until now, the power residing in one material was [Extracted] and [Enchanted].
Rare metals were used as catalysts at that time, but with the increase in the amount of [Enchantment] that can be applied, the amount of material needed became ridiculously large.
Well, you don't have to use it, but it's like not using one or two out of a hundred volumes.
In that case, there is no meaning in using the super-rare material, high-purity rare metal.
Therefore, a mountain of "materials containing power" for [Enchantment] must be purchased.
Adelriese smiled and stared fixedly at the seven-colored glow of Mika's left ear.
"It suits you quite well. How is it?"
"Is it the Pierces (this one)? At first, I was a bit confused, but now I'm used to it. I can use it without any problems."
This earring is not because Mika suddenly became fashionable or anything like that.
Actually, this earring is a magic tool.
Moreover, a magic tool for mana stabilization.
A few weeks ago, the cause of the malfunction of the mana-stabilizing Gauntlets was discovered.
When I received that explanation, I requested a modified magic tool right away.
Using "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" as a catalyst, I ordered the highest performance, gathering whatever materials were needed, whether Spaelement or anything else.
It cost forty million Rats just for the materials.
The result is this earring.
Actually, this magic tool does not stand on the earring alone.
As a set, a necklace is worn.
And rings are worn on the index fingers and pinkies of both hands.
Pinkies...
While there were some thoughts about it as accessories, the effect was tremendous.
First, "Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)" can be made completely safely now.
The stability of mana is outstanding.
As expected, it is a magic tool thought up by Adelriese and her peers.
And there was an unexpected secondary effect.
I became able to handle mana as I pleased.
If you say I could do that before, that is true, but there was one thing that Mika could not control as he pleased.
Yes, retaining mana.
However, with this magic tool equipped, even [God's Miracle], which was always all-in, can now adjust the amount of mana.
With this magic tool equipped, there is no need to worry about whether [Absorb] is being manifested or not.
(Well, I'll use it as before though. [Absorb].)
Repeating using and not using it leads to unexpected accidents.
Since it has become a habit, I intend to continue it as is.
Above all, without [Absorb], Mika's mana amount is only on the "large" side.
He would no longer be able to use it freely without worrying about the remaining amount of mana as before.
So, I think I will continue to use [Absorb] as before.
Conditioned [Limiter On] might also remain as is.
It is inconvenient, yes, but I am thinking, "Is it really worth fixing a habit?"
And, with the ability to manipulate mana as I pleased, another effect appeared.
Waste was eliminated.
It seems that until now, there was a portion of mana used that could not be retained and dissipated.
Even with just one [Fireball], the mana consumed was clearly reduced.
Even with [Fireball], which consumes a relatively small amount of mana.
The difference appeared prominently in the generation of rare metals requiring a large amount of mana.
After listening to the report and schedule, a brief chat followed.
"Did you get any requests from Yaroibarov-san or Ozendorwa-san?"
"Yeah, they came recently. But is it really okay to be a monk?"
"For weapons, please ask the two of you first. My Short Sword is not the main attack... I use it because it's fun though."
"Understood. Making 'Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum)' into thread-like form is almost possible. Once that is done, we will make armor first."
"Please do."
Mika turned to face Adelriese.
"Is there anything from Adelriese-san?"
"Well..."
She thought for a moment, then made a troubled expression.
"Paraleira came the other day."
"Paraleira-san?"
"She seems to be making something similar to the boys' magic tools. But I think that output won't do anything."
"The output isn't enough?"
When Mika asked, Adelriese made a complex expression.
"I don't know how much mana is needed to create 'Copper-type Rare Metal (Orichalcum),' so I can't say for sure... but the Gauntlets made by the boy have output that is nowhere near enough, and even that requires a mana amount that far exceeds Paraleira's limit. What is she planning to do?"
"Ah..."
Mika knew that [Absorb] was nowhere near enough either.
It was the amount of mana gathered just by swinging [Absorb Wing] around.
(What is she planning? Is she going to buy it?)
I heard before that mana can be bought at the Adventurer Guild.
But I also thought she said it was quite expensive.
"She seemed to be deeply engrossed in it. It might be a bit dangerous..."
"That much?"
I had thought she was the type who couldn't see her surroundings when engrossed in something.
She might rush into experiments disregarding risks.
Well, regarding this, Mika couldn't really talk about others either.
(She's pitiful, but should I stop her?)
Generating rare metals requires too much mana.
There is the issue of money, but above all, if she experiments in the dormitory, the damage in case of failure would be too great.
(It's my own fault if I get sacrificed, but involving the dorm children and the Cafeteria Lady is...)
Should I talk to her about it?
Mika thought such things.