Chapter 54

Tisha had prepared the hot water, so we each cleaned our bodies in our respective rooms.

Even though we had done it together in the same room before, it still seemed embarrassing. Well, I guess that’s how it is.

After finishing the laundry and changing clothes, Liz visited.

“Shall we go to sleep?”

We got into the bed together.

I thought about the magic from earlier and, with a bit of a mischievous mood, decided to give it a try.

I imagined blowing out a candle and cast the spell near the flame of the candle.

There was no incantation. I visualized the result in my mind and consciously executed it.

The candle flickered out, and the room grew dark.

Alright. This is what it means to cast without an incantation.

Once you can visualize it, it’s quite easy.

When studying programming, at first, you are thoroughly drilled in the meanings of each command, variable, parameter, and so on.

Then, you move on to larger and more complex processes, repeating this endlessly. Honestly, it was a relief now, but back then, it was exhausting.

Once you reach that level, when writing programs, as long as you have a clear image of the final result, the syntax is just a means to an end, and you can write it unconsciously.

Magic is the same. In the elementary stage, you execute the syntax to learn what kind of phenomena occur from your actions, ingraining it into your body.

In the intermediate stage, you build on the knowledge and experience gained to teach a clear image of the result.

In the advanced stage, you use that image to practice repeatedly on a simulator.

I haven’t experienced it myself, but based on my past experiences, especially my student life and my work in the systems field, I can imagine it.

“Hey, are you going to sleep already?”

She had started to doze off while we were talking, so I let her fall asleep.

After confirming she was asleep, I set the alarm on my phone earlier than usual and changed it to vibrate.

“Good night, have sweet dreams.”

I kissed her forehead again and fell asleep.

In the morning, I woke up to the vibration of my phone. I operated the phone I was holding to stop the alarm.

Liz was still sound asleep, seemingly unaware.

I kissed her cheek and quietly changed clothes. The sky was already faintly bright. I took the spear without waking her and quietly left the house, heading to the yard.

I wanted to conduct an experiment following yesterday’s discovery.

I imagined wind coming from the soles of my feet, making my body float.

With a gentle rise, my body floated.

“Just as I thought.”

When I released the image, my body fell with a thud. The kinetic energy remained, it seems.

Similarly, I imagined my body floating and moving forward, backward, left, and right, and rotating.

It was like the movement in a game where you use two joysticks or assemble a robot and fight, with hover-like movements.

Like moving in a hover just above the ground using thrusters.

My body moved smoothly, feeling a moderate amount of pressure. To stop, I imagined reverse thrust.

Of course, I also imagined not being crushed by the pressure.

I gradually increased my speed and circled the yard. Yeah, I was moved by this new sensation. The feeling was similar to skating.

But, with this body, it felt like a black star with three engines.

I imagined the trees in the yard as enemies, flew in with momentum, and thrust a stick. A significant impact returned from the stick.

Yeah. This level should be fine. I switched to the spear, slid backward again, built up momentum, and thrust the spear into the tree.

It penetrated much deeper than if I had run and thrust it myself. I pulled the spear out.

While circling, I aimed at the surrounding trees, imagining a strong air gun and fired.

It made a “pew pew” sound.

When I got closer to the trees and looked, there were indeed light marks where I had aimed.

I circled again to confirm if I could perform indirect fire with a curved trajectory.

Assuming an ally suddenly appeared, I checked if I could stop mid-way and if I could cancel the shot while moving at a slow speed.

All of it was possible.

A sense of awe welled up from deep within me.

“Magic is so free.”

It will take a lot of practice to get used to it.

Even after using it so much, neither my ‘Casting Control’ nor my ‘Wind Magic’ has improved.

This must be a cheat or something outside the scope of ‘Casting Control’ and the like.

But that’s fine.

“With this, I can engage in high-speed combat.”

Given my lack of exercise and my metabolic syndrome, I was at a significant disadvantage in terms of movement and momentum during battles.

While it doesn’t directly increase my attack power, yesterday’s discovery more than makes up for it.

There’s a limit to how much you can improve your personal attack power. I’m not chasing that. If I can stir up the battlefield, that’s great. Speed is power.

I clenched my fists, raised my hands high, and jumped around.

“What’s wrong?”

Liz had woken up and come out to the yard, asking.

“Are you being hyper again? Did something good happen?”

I ran to Liz and hugged her.

“Yeah, something good did happen.”

I lifted her up and spun around, carrying her princess-style.

“Huh? Huh?”

She seemed embarrassed and confused.

“This is close. It’s embarrassing…”

I couldn’t listen to that, so I slowly and gradually increased my speed, sliding along.

“Wow, what is this?”

I circled the yard, spinning around.

“It’s magic. I realized it yesterday.”

Her hair, spread out in the morning sun, reflected and shimmered in a golden glow.