Chapter 17

The day after the fish-catching experiment.

Mika was walking towards the place where she had practiced earth magic.

Thinking about yesterday, she couldn't help but smile to herself.

After the church, when she went to share the fish with Ninetiana, it turned out Diego was also back home, and he rejoiced with Ninetiana.

At home, Amelia and Loreta were so surprised that their eyes widened, and they expressed their joy and praise in an exaggerated manner.

Since she was usually no help at all with household chores, when she suggested bringing fish every day, she was told not to.

The conversation was about how it wasn't good to monopolize the blessings of the gods.

Mika didn't think she could deplete the river's fish by herself, but indeed, taking too much wasn't good.

Thinking that using magic to catch fish might draw too much attention, she reconsidered.

So, when she said she would bring fish occasionally, Loreta said she was looking forward to it.

Amelia, on the other hand, worried that the river was dangerous and told her not to overexert herself.

Still, the grilled fish they ate as a family of three was incredibly delicious.

Even though it was just sprinkled with salt, it tasted better than any high-end fish she had ever eaten, perhaps because of the simplicity of the Noisheim family's usual meals, or perhaps for another reason.

Family.

Mika thought about her family in the world she used to live in.

Ritsuo Hisahashi's family had a slightly complicated situation.

While divorced families are not particularly rare, the long-term discord between his parents since childhood had left Ritsuo with a slight sense of disappointment in "family."

This was not the only reason he chose to be a single noble, but he could never bring himself to build a new family, and over time, the presence of others in his territory became a source of discomfort, and he became increasingly reluctant to have a romantic relationship.

As he became able to earn a living on his own and established a life of living alone, this tendency became even more pronounced.

But what about Mika in this world?

It was impossible for her to survive alone, and she relied on Amelia and Loreta for care.

Moreover, they showered her with so much love that it felt like she might drown, and they interfered in her life to an excessive degree.

At first, she was greatly confused by these two and struggled with how to interact with them, but now she accepts it as a matter of course.

Ritsuo's slightly distorted view of family was being overwritten by the Noisheim family.

On the one hand, she was happy about this, but on the other, she felt guilty.

This love is not something I should receive, she thought.

I'm sorry to the real Mika Noisheim.

I'm also sorry to Amelia and Loreta, who have been deceived without realizing it.

Mika truly wished, from the bottom of her heart, never to lose this family, which she had come to cherish deeply.

Walking to the edge of the village, she found the remains of yesterday's "earth wall."

Stopping about five meters away, Mika pointed her left hand at it.

"Limit Release, Stone Bullet."

She created three stones and shot them at the earth wall.

After firing three more "Stone Bullets" three times, the earth wall was blown away to the point where it barely retained its original form.

"...That's why I will definitely protect this family."

She muttered to no one in particular.

Mika sat down in the grass and thought about the "Stone Bullet."

The power was more than sufficient.

"...What I need to confirm next is the effective range, right?"

Since "Stone Bullet" is a magic that resembles a gun, the items often considered in terms of gun performance and specifications came to mind.

Effective range is also necessary information for other magic, but it had never occurred to her before.

However, in the village, she couldn't do anything too flashy.

To confirm the effective range, a certain amount of space is naturally required, and if she couldn't restrict access, there was a risk of involving villagers in an accident.

It was necessary information, but it wasn't practical to confirm it now.

"In that case, I guess I'll develop new magic."

She had practiced "Stone Bullet" a few times as a review from yesterday, and it was easily reproducible.

She would continue practicing "Stone Bullet," but today she would develop new magic.

Incidentally, Mika used "Stone Bullet" in sets of three.

In shooting basics, there is a technique called "double tap" or "two-shot burst," where two shots are fired in quick succession.

Firing just one shot often misses or doesn't cause enough damage to prevent a counterattack.

To ensure a kill or prevent a counterattack, two shots are fired in quick succession.

Additionally, there is a technique called "three-shot burst," which, as the name suggests, involves firing three shots in quick succession.

While with guns, there are considerations such as the limited number of bullets, the increased cost and potential issues with additional parts, leading to the sentiment that "if you have a two-shot burst, a three-shot burst is unnecessary," with magic, these are almost negligible issues.

Therefore, she judged that a "three-shot burst" was effective for ensuring a kill or dealing more damage.

As her magic power increased, she thought she might eventually be able to fire a rapid succession of shots like a machine gun.

Sitting in the grass, she thought about wind magic.

She already had ideas for the magic: "Gust" and "Wind Blade."

She tried to create a "Gust" by extending her left hand, but nothing happened.

She concentrated her magic power and tried to impart kinetic energy to the air in front of her hand, but it didn't budge.

She tried again, imagining the movement of the air, but still nothing happened.

"Hmm?"

She picked up a stone from the ground and pinched it between her fingers.

She tried to imagine the stone flying like a "Stone Bullet."

She concentrated her magic power in her hand, and the stone was enveloped in magic, but still nothing happened.

When she created a "Stone Bullet" with her other hand, she could make it fly as she imagined.

"..."

Why couldn't she use wind magic?

What she was imagining was the movement of the atmosphere.

Wind, of course, is a phenomenon caused by the flow of air.

Low pressure and high pressure, warm air rising and cold air descending.

Various factors cause the atmosphere to move, and this movement of air is what people call "wind."

While wind is often referred to as horizontal movement relative to the ground, vertical movement is also considered wind.

So, she was imagining the movement of the atmosphere and trying to impart kinetic energy to the air in front of her palm, but nothing happened.

(Why can't I do it? I don't have to consciously think about it, and it usually converts to kinetic energy on its own. Why can't I do it now?)

She crossed her arms and rested her chin on her hand.

Hmm... something was nagging at her.

She picked up a stone and tried to imagine it flying like a "Stone Bullet."

She concentrated her magic power in her hand, and the stone was enveloped in magic, but still nothing happened.

When she created a "Stone Bullet" with her other hand, she could make it fly as she imagined.

"Can't I interfere with things that already exist?"

Magic power seemed omnipotent, but there was an unexpected pitfall.

She could interfere with kinetic energy and thermal energy in substances created by her magic power, but not in substances that already existed.

However, she realized a contradiction.

She stared at her right hand.

"Then, why could I heal burns...?"

Her body, by this classification, should be a substance that already exists.

Was her body an exception?

(No, no, no. Don't be ridiculous. Don't make exceptions so easily.)

What did she really know about magic power?

She had only just begun to use it and was still learning how to handle it.

There must be a reason.

A reason why she could interfere with substances she created and her own body, but not with substances that already existed.

The basic principles of magic. There must be theories she didn't know yet.

"I could interfere with my body because I met the conditions for interference. I can't interfere with this stone because I'm missing some condition for interference."

She didn't know what that condition was.

She wished a genius physicist would descend and solve it for her, but that wasn't possible.

So, she would have to accumulate experience and solve it herself.

(Don't decide that you can't do it on your own. Don't set limits on the possibilities of magic power.)

Imagination is important in magic.

If you think you can't do it, you won't be able to do it.

Don't limit the infinite possibilities by deciding you can't do it.

Now, she had stumbled on the "Gust" magic, so she decided to change her approach.

If she couldn't interfere with the existing air, she would create air that she could interfere with.

"I think the ratio of nitrogen to oxygen in the air near the ground is about 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen, right?"

There might be a more precise definition, but roughly speaking, that's about it.

There are other components like carbon dioxide and dust, but she didn't need to go into that much detail.

She would create a mixture of 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen with her magic power and spray it in a certain direction.

"Is this okay...?"

She had a slight unease.

She had never scuba dived, but she had heard of accidents like "nitrogen narcosis" and "oxygen toxicity" during diving.

These accidents are more likely to occur at depths of tens of meters, but they are caused by changes in the concentration of nitrogen and oxygen in the blood due to pressurized environments.

At ground level, and with a concentration similar to the atmosphere, it should be safe to breathe, but she was hesitant to stake her life on half-remembered, incomplete knowledge.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that the air she created would be nitrogen and oxygen.

Was it really safe...?

"Well, I'm not going to use the 'created air' for scuba diving right away. It should be fine... I hope."

She regained her composure and tried the "Gust" magic.

She called it "Gust," but she didn't intend to create such a strong wind right now.

Of course, the ultimate goal was to create a wind strong enough to knock down a large tree, but she wouldn't try that now.

If she created such a wind, she would probably be blown away in the opposite direction.

Mika, who often learns from failure, realized that this particular failure would likely result in fatal injuries.

A wind strong enough to knock down a large tree. How far would Mika's body fly?

She praised herself for realizing this before trying it.

"This is just a test. A hair dryer level should be enough."

She extended her left hand and pointed it at the weeds in front of her.

She imagined creating air and giving it kinetic energy in the forward direction.

"Gust."

The weeds in front of her began to sway vigorously.

When she pointed her left hand at her right hand, she could feel the wind on her right hand.

"Wow. It really feels like a hair dryer."

She hadn't done anything with thermal energy, so it was just a normal temperature wind.

She tried directing the wind at her neck and face.

"Hahaha. This is great. It's quite cool."

In a world without air conditioners or even fans, being able to direct wind where she wanted was more useful than she thought, especially in the summer.

She played around with the wind speed, switching between "high" and "low" like a fan, and then remembered that she had another magic to work on.

In fact, she had delayed developing wind magic because of this magic.

"Wind Blade." A blade of wind that cuts through objects.

Also known as a "kamaitachi," a phenomenon where a vacuum is created, causing cuts.

"...No way. That's impossible."

"Wind Blade" is a staple of fantasy magic, but it didn't seem like something she could actually achieve.

She had just thought about not limiting the possibilities of magic power, but this was a bit...

Cutting with air wasn't impossible.

For example, a variation of the "Gust" she had just tried could cut something.

If she made the air outlet as thin as a needle and sprayed it at a pressure equivalent to tens or hundreds of thousands of atmospheres, it could probably cut through Mika's arm.

However, using water pressure would be more effective and reliable than air pressure.

(Blade... a blade...)

Just cutting something was one thing, but it wouldn't be a blade that flies.

She could make do with a makeshift solution, but she wanted to be particular about it.

She wanted to perfect it to her satisfaction and proudly use "Wind Blade."

There should be no compromise!

"Still, impossible is impossible..."

Mika lay down in the grass.

It was probably possible to tear something with a sudden movement of air.

If she could do it in a very thin area, it might look like a cut from a blade.

However, how much magic power would be required to create that phenomenon?

Creating substances was easy, so getting that level of output might not be a problem, but Mika couldn't convince herself that it would work.

Cutting with air just didn't seem to make sense.

"Alright, I'll cheat."

She changed her approach and got up energetically.

In fact, she had already considered an alternative.

When she decided to learn "Wind Blade," she had always thought, "This doesn't make sense."

She had carefully considered what form would satisfy her.

"Wind Blade."

She extended her left hand and pointed it at the weeds in front of her, and dozens of weeds were cut in a straight line.

Mika smiled with satisfaction.

Kamaitachi.

Famous for causing cuts without the person realizing it, but it's likely that these cuts are more like chapped skin.

The fact that it's often reported in cold regions is one piece of evidence.

However, there is another theory.

That it is caused by sand or small stones being whipped up by strong winds.

While most cases are likely due to the former, some may be due to the latter.

So, she adopted the latter for "Wind Blade."

First, she shaped her magic power into a flat, slightly curved shape, like a ruler. Essentially, a boomerang shape.

This shape manipulation was an extension of "Ice Spear."

Then, she turned the magic power she had launched into countless tiny stones, each less than 0.1 millimeters in size.

This was possible thanks to "Stone Bullet."

She made these tiny stones move at high speed within the flat, ruler-like area.

If there were too many stones, they would be visible, but with about 100 stones in a 30-centimeter ruler, they would be almost impossible to see.

This created a wind blade that could easily cut through weeds, but how much could it cut through?

Theoretically, it could cut through full plate armor, but there were physical limits.

After all, they were just small stones.

Improving the power could be considered later.

First, it was important to establish the "form."

"Wind Blade."

Wind magic, but the content was almost entirely earth magic.

But that was fine. As long as she was satisfied.

If she wasn't satisfied, she wouldn't allow any compromise.

But if she was satisfied, she would allow any cheat.

This kind of sensibility, if attributed to her programming days, might be misunderstood, but it's a fact that programmers have this nature.

Programmers have a set result determined by specifications, but the method to achieve it is not unique.

There are countless ways to achieve the same result.

Even with the same specifications and the same result, if there are ten programmers, there will be ten different programs.

In fact, that's exactly what happens.

The specifications Mika sought for "Wind Blade" were:

1. Invisible.

2. Specialized for cutting.

3. Maintain a rod-like effect area.

4. Fly in a straight or curved line towards the target.

These four points.

All of them were met.

So Mika could proudly say:

This is "Wind Blade."

"Finally finished."

Mika sighed.

The completion of the basic four elemental magics.

Of course, she would continue to develop useful magics in the future.

But for now, she wanted to celebrate the completion of the four elemental magics, which were her initial goal.

There were many points that needed improvement for each one.

But those were minor issues.

Even if the required magic power was too much to use now, it would naturally be resolved as her magic power increased.

For now, she wanted to celebrate this achievement of learning magic on her own.

"Well, 'Earth Wall' and 'Wind Blade' will probably be sealed for a while."

What surprised her was that "Wind Blade," like "Earth Wall," required a lot of magic power.

Perhaps because it involved materialization to create small stones and the specification of making countless small stones move at high speed in a narrow area, it consumed a considerable amount of magic power.

"For a while, I'll focus on mastering other magics. That way, my magic power will increase."

Mika lay down in the grass and looked up at the sky.

Reflecting on it, the first time she manifested magic was when she was lying down like this.

Suddenly, a large amount of water attacked her, and she panicked.

She unintentionally manifested magic, and the situation turned into a nightmare, with everything going dark in front of her.

Thinking about that, she couldn't help but laugh.

"That was a real mess. I seriously didn't know what to do."

It had only been about a month since that day.

And it had only been two months since she came to this world.

"...I've come a long way."

She sighed.

Not in terms of distance or a different world, but the feeling that she had moved far away from her former self.

She thought about her former self in the original world.

An ordinary, worn-out, middle-aged man, just like any other.

"Is it nostalgic...