Chapter 307 - The Path to Becoming a Mage
This is an episode omitted from the main story "Chapter 9: First Magic".
Kasa-kasa-kasa...
The grass bushes sway.
The swaying grass grows quiet, and only the sound of insects echoes around.
Hyoko.
Mika pokes his head out just a little from atop the grass bushes.
Look right.
No human presence.
Look left.
As expected, no figures.
Well then, let's cross the crosswalk.
"No, there isn't one."
He retorts to himself, then pulls his face back in again.
And so, the grass rustles quietly once more, kasa-kasa-kasa...
What Mika is aiming for is the fence surrounding the eastern side of the village.
Speaking of fences near the house, the eastern side is the closest.
It is suspicious behavior, blatantly so, but there is almost no worry of being caught.
Because Rish Village is ridiculously wide, one will hardly meet anyone at the edge of such a village.
Especially during the daytime.
One might think, "Then there's no need to sneak around," but that is for safety's sake.
He wants to avoid being seen by someone, just in case.
It is not that he would be embarrassed if someone saw him doing suspicious things.
No, certainly, if he were seen, it would be embarrassing, but there is a purpose.
This purpose alone must never be known by anyone.
That is why he is moving while hiding like this.
When Mika reaches the fence, he looks around.
"Should have been around here... Ah, here it is."
A place where the horizontal planks of the fence are broken and partially missing.
Actually, the fence surrounding Rish Village has several such broken spots like this.
The villagers seem to be aware of them to some extent, but they were mostly left as is.
Is it because there is a lack of materials? Or a lack of manpower and time?
Mika has no way of knowing, but as a fact, the fence is broken.
Hyoko.
Mika pokes his head out from the grass bushes once more, looking around.
As expected, no one is there.
Mika, with his heart beating just a little fast, slips through the broken part of the fence.
"It... It's okay, right?"
He shivers slightly as he proceeds into the forest.
There are beasts in the forest surrounding Rish Village, and sometimes they cause damage to the village... apparently.
He has heard the stories, and it is also in the memory of young Mika.
But he has never experienced it himself yet.
The first time entering a forest, he feels a little insecure.
"Is this spot good enough?"
About twenty or thirty meters from the village.
Going too deep inside would truly be dangerous.
Mika's purpose is to not be seen by people and to not be heard by people.
As long as those two things are achieved, there was no need to go that deep inside.
"Alright. 'Limiter Off'."
When he consciously begins to move his magic power, a clear kiiin... sound begins to be heard.
Mika extends both hands forward, making a shape with his hands as if holding a basketball.
And so, he stares fixedly at his hands.
What matters is the image.
"'Waterball'!"
He clearly speaks the magic name aloud, controlling the movement of magic power.
He pushes out the magic power gathered in both hands, containing it within his hands.
A faint blue light appears within his hands.
As he continues to pour magic power in, it finally begins to transform into water.
A magic that accidentally manifested just two days ago.
Yesterday he practiced in the grass bushes next to the house, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy about the surroundings.
Therefore, he thought of the forest as a place where he wouldn't have to worry about people's eyes.
He has been told many times not to go into the forest.
That was something that had been said for a long time since before Kuhashi Ritsu was reincarnated, even back when young Mika was around.
But unable to think of any other good place to practice magic, Mika decided last night to go into the forest in secret.
Above all, what is most scary is the accidental discharge.
A terrifying power where thoughts become reality.
To reduce the danger of such accidental discharge, he must master the conditioning as soon as possible.
Of course, there is guilt in breaking the rules.
However, what is most scary is getting his family involved in a magic power discharge.
Leaving this danger unattended is simply not something he can do.
Thinking so, he needed a place to practice the conditioning properly.
Even if he followed the rules, if Amalia or Loretta got involved in an accidental discharge, the regret would be immeasurable.
If he is going to have such regrets, he should tackle this conditioning with all his might.
Mika shifts his gaze from the mass of water to the tree in the distance.
He imagines hitting that tree, which is a few meters away, with the mass of water he created.
Then, the mass of water flies violently toward the tree and splashes apart.
"...As I thought."
The mass of water flew as he intended.
Actually, moving it like this was the first time.
Yesterday, after creating the mass of water, he just dropped it.
No, saying "dropped it" might not be the correct way to put it.
Precisely, he "didn't think about anything."
He didn't even think about dropping it.
In that case, the mass of water naturally fell.
However, until then, it remained within Mika's hands.
This remaining, he suddenly thought after yesterday's practice, "Is it within the range I am imagining?"
Because remaining in mid-air is extremely unnatural.
The reason he came all the way to the forest today was also to verify this.
"I need to experiment on how much I can control it, but it is confirmed that control is possible."
Muttering so, his cheeks involuntarily relax.
This is bad, my excitement is rising.
"Being able to freely move objects made by magic, isn't that really like a mage?"
Mages appearing in fantasy worlds.
Poor physical stamina, defense is tofu, no decent equipment, yet they are indispensable in fantasy worlds. That is the mage.
"Thinking about it, the conditioning called a magic name isn't such a bad idea, is it?"
Chants vary, sometimes done, sometimes not, but shouting the magic name to manifest is the standard.
It has become a stylistic beauty at this point.
"Even if they say there is no need to say the magic name, it's human nature to want to say it. 'Waterball'!"
Mika chants the magic name cheerfully, then concentrates again to create the mass of water.
Somehow, a time lag occurs between chanting the magic name and actually manifesting it.
Because he needs to concentrate and imagine.
"I even think that even this time lag is 'so'."
Depending on the game, time for chanting occurs, which is a common thing with magic.
"Alright, let's practice vigorously!"
And so, Mika, having obtained an environment where he doesn't have to worry about people's eyes, happily devotes himself to practicing magic.
■■■■■■
About a week has passed since Mika started practicing in the forest.
"'Waterball'!"
When Mika speaks the magic name, a mass of water is created instantly.
When he hits a tree with that mass of water vigorously, he immediately creates the next mass of water.
He thought image was important, but now, if he says the magic name, it manifests immediately.
(Is this what they call the image becoming solid?)
Even Mika himself, when he says "Waterball", easily pictures this mass of water.
Does this mean the conditioning was successful?
"...But still."
He has been creating masses of water relentlessly, but how useful will this be?
During this week, he confirmed it can be used as drinking water, so he knows it is very useful.
However, what Mika is thinking about now is 'in combat'.
"If there were fire attribute monsters, water might be their weakness."
That said, not all enemies have water as a weakness.
Or rather, do monsters even exist?
Well, setting monsters aside, whether he can drive away wolves, let alone stray dogs, is dubious with this.
Without a doubt, it will have no effect on people.
The effect when hitting them is probably just annoying them.
"Hmm..."
Mika crosses his arms and rests his chin on his hand, pondering.
How to drive away beasts using this water?
(Hmm...?)
Wait a minute?
Mika stares fixedly at his hand resting on his chin.
"Maybe other magics are possible too?"
There is no need to limit what he creates to water.
Since he creates it by imagining, surely things other than water should be possible.
Speaking of mage classics, it is fire, after all.
Mika tries to create a ball of fire, and suddenly realizes something.
And so, he looks around the surroundings.
"...As expected, this place won't do."
Playing with fire in the forest is not sane.
For now, since he can create water, he has little anxiety about extinguishing it.
Still, if his magic power runs out, he cannot create more water, and he should not underestimate the danger of a forest fire.
"Maybe I should just spray water first?"
If he wets a slightly wide area beforehand so that sparks don't fly, he should be able to reduce the danger of fire significantly.
"What could be a target...?"
As expected, he cannot use a tree as a target like he did with the masses of water.
No matter how much he wets it beforehand with water.
Looking around like that, he notices a rock a little further away.
This is perfect.
"Alright, let's spray water. 'Waterball'!"
Mika creates a mass of water and smashes it against the rock.
And so, again and again, he hits the rock.
He hits about ten masses of water against the rock, then the surroundings of the rock.
Methodically, methodically, he sprays masses of water around.
"Ugh! It's endless!"
He throws a tantrum at the stage of spraying water on the ground around him.
Moreover, this is not the end.
He needs to spray water on the surrounding trees, which are combustible materials.
"This is troublesome... Can't something be done about this?"
He grumbles such things.
(Can something be done...?)
Won't it?
After all, it is a magic for doing something about it.
"...I see. There is no need to limit it to masses of water."
Since he is imagining himself, he can decide the shape he wants to use, the 'form'.
"It's not a fixed concept, but I was too caught up in the first shape I made."
However, if so, what kind of shape would be good?
If spraying water... a watering can?
That is too methodical for that as well.
At least, he wants to spray water like a hose.
And so, suddenly, an idea strikes him.
If spraying water, the peak of that would be...
"A fire hose."
A fire hose can spray water over twenty meters even in a horizontal direction.
If tilted up a little, it seems it can reach about forty meters.
He doesn't need that much, but if he is to imagine, this is good.
Mika extends his right hand straight forward.
He inhales, then slowly opens his mouth.
"..........................................................What should I name it."
He tries to speak the magic name, but stops there.
What do you call a fire hose?
"Shouting 'Fire Hose' is a bit unpleasant..."
Well, maybe it's okay if he gets used to it.
It might not look very cool.
A mysterious obsession of a chuunibyou patient.
"Water... Water jet."
He pictures the water sprayed from a fire hose in his head.
A large amount of water, splashing water droplets.
"'Splash'... 'Water Splash'?"
Considering the possibility of splashing things other than water in the future, he adds 'Water'.
"Alright, let's go with this! 'Water Splash'!"
He gathers magic power in his right hand extended forward, imagining water spurting out vigorously.
As he consumes magic power, a large amount of water flies out from the palm of his right hand.
"Whoaooooooo! This is amazing!!!!!!"
At that sight, he involuntarily shouts out.
He never thought he could do something like this so easily.
Magic power, it's too versatile!
"Uha ha, there you go!"
Getting carried away, he sprays 'Water Splash' all over the surroundings.
As expected, it doesn't have the momentum of a fire hose, but the amount of water and momentum are far greater than a hose.
He can easily spray the surrounding trees without moving one by one.
"Alright, this should do it."
Mika once stops 'Water Splash' and checks the surroundings thoroughly.
Since he sprayed it meticulously, there is almost no need to consider the possibility of sparks flying.
And so, as he tries to create a ball of fire, Mika feels a slight dizziness.
His mood gradually worsens, and he squats down right there.
"Ahhh... Damn. Not enough magic power."
Without needing to think, 'Water Splash' creates a much larger amount of water than 'Waterball'.
He doesn't think it's one 'Waterball' worth per second, at least.
But if he sprays it wildly while getting carried away, of course, his magic power will run out.
No matter how much his magic power increased rapidly in the past week, the amount of water he creates is on a completely different scale.
From now on, he should reduce the amount of water more.
"What am I doing..."
Just when he had prepared everything, he has no magic power to create the main event, the ball of fire.
He feels dizzy in another sense at his own foolishness.
"I should have adjusted it a little more... 'Limiter On'."
However, there is no point in sighing now.
Mika somehow stands up and starts walking toward the village.
In his current state where he cannot move properly, he absolutely wants to avoid encountering beasts.
Even in a perfect state, he doesn't want to encounter them.
"...Tomorrow, I'll think about spraying water a bit more. I will definitely create fire magic."
When Mika reaches the fence, he struggles to enter the village.
Since he passed through the fence with a staggering body, he got caught and made a hole in his pants.
"Uuuu... Loretta will get angry."
She will repair it, but she won't just let it go without a scolding.
"Haa... kicked while down."
Mika lets out such a complaint.
But in this case, the most appropriate expression is surely "self-inflicted".
By the way, after this, Mika falls heavily before reaching home, gets his clothes covered in mud, and makes Amalia and Loretta utterly dumbfounded.
【Author's Note】
Everyone, long time no see.
Ryuto, the knight.
This SS is a story that was only briefly explained in the narration in the main story, skipping over details.
After finding out he could use magic, he immediately started using it freely.
It is a part that was skipped over completely.
I struggled with whether to present it as a proper practice story or explain it concisely in the narration, and as a result, I released a mess of "explaining in narration that is not concise at all." (Sweat)
I am terribly sorry.
Setting that aside, the first volume of the book version was successfully published, and the book production work is finished, so I tried writing an SS.
It has been a while, so I thought it might be too late, but.
If there are still people who think "I want to read it," I would be very happy.
I would be glad if you could enjoy it even a little.
The reason I wrote this SS is also because I read it many times during the book production work.
While reading, I remembered various things from when I wrote it.
As I did so, Ryuto's 'desire to write' increased, resulting in this SS.
After all, I like this work.
Although there are many imperfect parts, it is my first work, and it is a work that many people have read.
I thought I wanted to write more.
I will probably write irregularly in the future, but it is completely undecided.
I have also started other works, and there is future book production work as well.
There is... right? (Trembling voice)
Now, let me make a promotion.
The first volume of the book version "I Don't Believe in Gods, But I'll Share [God's Miracle]" will be released on March 15th.
It contains a new episode and additional elements.
Here is the URL for the Earth Star Novel special feature page.
You can also see the beautiful illustrations by Yuzu Sakuraba.
https://www.es-novel.jp/bookdetail/168kaminokiseki.php
Some bookstores have special SS bonuses, so please check the special feature page and purchase it, and Ryuto will cry with joy.
Please do your best.
Well then, everyone, let's meet again.
