Chapter 16

One week after the day Ninentiana and Mika went to the river, Mika was sitting in a patch of grass along the village fence, a little away from home. He was there to develop new magic.

After the Ag Bear attack, Mika had realized the dangers of the forest and had been avoiding it since then. He couldn't practice "Fireball" and "Flame Breath" in the village because they were too dangerous, so he had temporarily stopped these exercises. Using such magic in the village would draw too much attention. He couldn't do anything too flashy in the village, so he had been experimenting with undeveloped earth and wind magic, as well as ice magic, which became possible through the manipulation of thermal energy. He couldn't shout as loudly as he did in the forest, but he continued to verbalize the magic to condition himself.

He had already developed "Ice Spear" and "Ice Breath." Creating "Ice Spear" required some effort, as it involved making water and then forming it into a long, spear-like shape, but once he got used to it, it wasn't a problem. After a few days of practice, he could manifest it in a frozen state, and he used the same technique to develop "Ice Breath."

Until now, Mika hadn't really thought about it, but the magic he manifested, such as "Fireball" and "Waterball," appeared in the air. Previously, it felt like his magic balls transformed into these forms, but now they appeared directly as "Fireball" or "Waterball." If he imagined them flying towards a target, they would do so. If he didn't think about movement, they would remain stationary.

Since he could move magic with his will, he suspected that he was giving "Fireball" and "Waterball" kinetic energy through this act of "thinking," but he wasn't sure. The fact that they floated in the air must also consume energy.

In other words, what he was trying to say was, "What the heck is magic, anyway?" Magic could easily interfere with thermal energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy, and could even create water, which is a material. If magic were a form of energy, it would mean that energy was being converted into mass. Mika had started to accept that this wasn't necessarily absurd, remembering the equivalence of mass and energy from his school days. The fact that it manifested as a large mass of water was surprising, but he began to think it might be possible. However, if energy were converted into mass, it would require an enormous amount of energy. Mika had been casually using water for preparation and cleanup during his fire magic practice, but the total amount of water he had created was probably more than a few hundred kilograms, likely reaching a few tons. The energy required to create such a mass was staggering, and Mika felt a renewed sense of fear at the power of magic.

Or perhaps, magic was a material from the beginning, easily convertible into energy and existing in the world as a substance. Mika could easily create magic balls that emitted a faint bluish light. He wasn't sure if this was the pure state of magic or if it was converted into light.

"Ah... If only we had someone like Newton or Einstein here."

Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, the geniuses of physics. Of course, there were many other brilliant physicists, but it would be great if any one of them were born in this world. The mysterious and incredible phenomenon of magic was too big for someone like Mika to unravel.

"Well, I'll leave the understanding of magic to the geniuses of the future and focus on what I can do."

Magic was a headache-inducing, mysterious force. The fundamental theories should be left to those who find joy in unraveling them... no, to the geniuses. The important thing was that, just like a TV that can be turned on with a switch, he could use magic without understanding the underlying theory. He could switch between different types of magic, and even add new ones. He wanted to focus on adding new types of magic rather than understanding the principles.

"Anyway, the basics are the four elements, right?"

In fantasy and magic, the four elements of fire, water, earth, and wind were a given. He could delve into the origins of Greek philosophy, but he restrained himself. Having spent a lot of time immersed in games and manga, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop once he started. He was confident he could talk about it all night.

He could already use fire and water, so the remaining elements were wind and earth. He had already thought of ideas for each and decided to start with earth magic because it seemed simpler. The earth magic he wanted to learn was "Stone Bullet" and "Earth Wall." Both were classic earth magic spells that he wanted to master.

"Stone Bullet."

He opened his left hand and imagined a pebble on his palm. Since he had injured his right hand, he decided to use his left hand for magic, though he would still practice with his right. If he failed, he didn't want to injure his dominant hand. ...Well, he failed often enough. He stared at the empty space on his left hand, and soon, grains of sand began to float. As he poured more magic, more grains appeared and stuck together. The grains kept forming, and eventually, they became a stone. He exhaled deeply, and the pebble fell onto his palm. It was about the size of his thumb's first joint. He examined the stone, which looked completely like a real stone. He had thought it would just be compacted sand, but it was a proper stone. He picked up a random stone from the ground and pressed it against the one he had created. No matter how hard he pressed, it didn't crumble or break.

"...It looks just like a regular pebble. It's also hard."

He examined the stone again. It was angular, gray, with some white and black specks. He remembered learning about rocks in class as a child but couldn't recall the specific types. Andesite, granite, basalt? He could remember a few types but not their characteristics.

"Creating such a pebble uses a lot of magic."

It required more magic than the "Fireball" he usually made. Even compared to "Waterball," "Stone Bullet" required more magic despite being smaller in mass. There must be some rule governing this. However, that wasn't his goal for today.

"Alright... let's give it a try."

He threw the stone and stood up, looking around for a suitable target. He found a rock about the size of a person's head about five meters away and aimed at it.

"Stone Bullet."

He extended his left hand and gathered magic, creating three stones this time. He poured magic into each until they were the same size as the previous one, but this time, he didn't let his concentration waver. He imagined the "Stone Bullet" flying towards the target rock like a bullet, and he felt a significant drain of magic. A faint sound of "shush" was followed by a loud "bang" as the "Stone Bullet" hit the target rock and shattered it.

(Well, that was expected... but still...)

He covered his mouth, shaken by the power of the "Stone Bullet." It was exactly as powerful as he had hoped, which made him question what he was doing. He had been trying to increase the lethality of "Fireball" by making it hotter, but seeing this power made him doubt his actions.

(I don't intend to use it on people. This is for when I face a monster.)

If he had used "Stone Bullet" on the Ag Bear, could he have defeated it? Maybe if he could fire them like a machine gun, but he wasn't sure. He had never fought it, so he couldn't say for certain.

(...I'll do what I can. To avoid regret.)

He decided to do his best, imagining the despair if he failed. His enemies were monsters. If "Fireball," "Ice Spear," and "Stone Bullet" weren't enough, he would lose more than just his life. The Ag Bear wasn't the strongest monster, and if a stronger one appeared, he wouldn't know how effective these spells would be. He had to push his limits.

He refocused and decided to work on "Earth Wall." He would continue practicing "Stone Bullet" but wanted to realize all the magic he had in mind.

"Earth Wall."

He concentrated magic in his left hand and sent a magic ball the size of a basketball towards the ground. He imagined creating a wall of earth, one meter wide, one meter high, and twenty centimeters thick. The ground where the magic ball hit began to rise, but it stopped after a small mound formed.

"......Is this it?"

He watched for a while, but there was no further movement.

"Maybe I didn't have enough magic, or my imagination was lacking."

This time, he placed his left hand directly on the ground and sent magic. He aimed to create the same wall about one meter in front of him.

"Earth Wall."

He whispered the spell and concentrated magic in his hand. A large amount of magic was drained, and the earth wall he had imagined appeared in front of him. It rose from the ground exactly as he had imagined. He touched the wall, which was slightly shorter than his height, to feel its texture.

"It feels like dry earth. Well, it's as I imagined..."

When he poked it, it crumbled. It had no durability.

"This won't work for defense unless I imagine it as stone or something."

In games, creating an earth wall for defense was a familiar effect, but in reality, it was useless.

"Of course, it's earth, so the strength is obvious. Am I an idiot?"

He was still amazed at his own foolishness for not understanding until he tried. However, there were things he couldn't know until he tried.

"Even with 'Stone Bullet,' it's good to identify areas for improvement. ...But the biggest problem is—"

The amount of magic consumed. Mika's magic capacity had increased significantly since the beginning. He used to measure it in terms of how many softball-sized magic balls he could create, but he no longer did that. He could probably create thousands of magic balls now. He could create dozens of "Fireball" or "Waterball" and still have some left. He no longer drained his magic completely, so he didn't know his limits. Creating "Earth Wall" once drained a significant amount of magic, probably 30% to 40% of his total. If he tried again, he would likely feel ill.

(No matter what, the cost is too high.)

"Earth Wall" was not only useless but also had the worst cost-performance. He might need to improve the material from earth to stone, but it would be wise to put it on hold for now. He would rather practice "Stone Bullet" with the same amount of magic. His magic capacity would increase with practice, and he could try "Earth Wall" again when it was sufficient.

For today, he decided to stop practicing magic. He wanted to develop wind magic, but he didn't know how much magic it would require. If it turned out to be another high-cost spell, he might collapse.

Mika sighed, kicked down the earth wall, and walked home, wiping the sweat from his brow. Even a weak earth wall might be useful against children, he thought.

He returned home, grabbed a bucket, and went to the river to test a practical application of magic. His goal was to add fish to the Noisheim family's dinner table.

No one was at the river today, making it perfect for his experiment. He filled the bucket with river water and entered the river.

(How many should I catch? Maybe I'll give some to Ninentiana and Rade? That means Diego and Kifuro's share too... Seven, then.)

He couldn't just give Ninentiana's share and not Diego's, so it would be a significant number. Two for Ninentiana and Diego, two for Rade and Kifuro, and three for the Noisheim family. He considered Horace but decided against it, as bringing live fish to his workplace would be inconvenient.

"Seven... That's quite a lot."

He looked around the river. Today, he would use water magic to catch fish. The river had a decent number of fish, and sometimes people fished or speared them. The Noisheim family rarely had fish, usually just vegetable soup and bread, with fruit occasionally. He decided to use magic to catch fish for the family.

He was drawn to magic initially because he wanted practical benefits. He wanted to enjoy the advantages of using magic.

(But seven... If it doesn't work, I can just reduce the shares.)

His minimum goal was three. He wanted to ensure the Noisheim family's dinner was improved.

He saw a large rock where fish usually gathered. He spotted two fish but they quickly fled when they noticed his shadow.

"Well, that's to be expected."

He stepped back a few paces and submerged his left hand in the water.

"Limit Release. Waterball."

He created a "Waterball" in the water, keeping it from mixing with the river water. He had learned this technique while practicing "Ice Spear," where he extended a spherical shape into a spear. First, he needed to test if he could maintain the "Waterball" in the current.

(...It seems to work, though it's consuming magic.)

The "Waterball" resisted the current, though it consumed some magic. The amount wasn't significant, and it seemed manageable in this river.

"Alright, let's see if I can—"

He slowly expanded the "Waterball" in the river, aiming for the