Chapter 10

I was distracted by controlling magic from a distance and forgot something important.

-- Bullet curtains are power.

If I'm going to be caught in a powerful magic attack, I might as well carpet bomb! So, I tried to see if I could create multiple fireballs. I managed to create two easily. I tried launching them together. The explosive power was the same as usual, but the MP consumption was exactly double. The fireball with added magic power consumed about four times the MP, with a range 1.6 times larger, and an area 2.56 times larger. This option is cheaper in terms of cost per area.

Huh? 1.6 times? 1.6 x 1.6 x 1.6 is 4096 ÷ 1000, so it's roughly 4. MP consumption is also four times. Magic control at twice the distance consumes eight times the MP. 2 cubed. Does magic consumption often scale cubically? Especially with fireballs. If the explosion range is 1.6 times larger, the firepower at the center might be nearly four times that of a normal fireball. The ground scorched by the fireball was also more intense. I thought it was due to the range, but it might have been the firepower.

I'll continue testing the bullet curtain. I can create up to seven fireballs at once, but beyond that, the creation speed drops. Up to seven, I can fire them in 0.5-second intervals. The diameter of a normal fireball's explosion is about 70 cm, so if I line them up, I can burn a distance of about 5 meters. MP consumption isn't linear like a water hose, but it still consumes about 10 MP per second at maximum. My hypothesis seems correct.

With my current MP, I can maintain maximum output for about three minutes, but my maximum MP increases by 500 with each level up, so it will likely continue to grow. I don't want to fight monsters that can survive three minutes of this firepower, though.

Alright, this should work for multiple opponents. Next, I need to reinforce the rock spears without involving the surroundings.

The power of rock spears also increases with more MP, and I can create up to seven at once without slowing down. However, the size of the rock spears also increases with more MP. They scale up proportionally. I don't understand the principle, but magic itself doesn't follow the law of conservation of mass, so it's understandable. A physicist would probably be furious if they heard about magic. Or maybe they would try to find the cause. Whatever.

Water also increases in quantity with more MP, so fire seems to be the exception. Water and earth depend on quantity, while fire depends on firepower (temperature?). Next, I need to work on detection. ...How do I do that?

I closed my eyes and focused on sensing the surroundings. Concentrating... I can see it!

I punched in the direction I sensed an enemy. There was a solid impact. It was a tree. It hurt. This is broken. I need to go to the hospital.

I can't claim damages since there's no one around. There's no enemy. I chose this place because there's no one here. My hand hurts. The skin is peeling off. I remember the guild people talking about healing magic.

I imagined my hand healing. I visualized a scab forming and then healing over time. It worked. It healed. But my bones still hurt. They might be cracked. I visualized the cracks healing. The pain subsided.

Is this healing magic? I thought it would involve green light or something, but there was no special effect. I used about 2 MP in total. It's fine for me, but a normal mage might run out of MP trying to heal a major injury.

That's why there are potions. They're also necessary when there's no mage in the party. I should probably buy some just in case.

Anyway, detection. Since I can't sense the presence, I need to think of another method. I tried imagining a wind sensor reaching a tree 1 meter away, but my MP consumption didn't increase... There is a sensation.

Huh. Is it okay to control it from a distance? I extended it. The further I extended it, the more MP I consumed, but it didn't accelerate. The consumption also felt very small.

I reached my limit at about 20 meters. I couldn't extend it further. It seems I only consume MP when extending it, not when sensing. I can feel sensations along a straight line where the sensor (tentacle?) is. I don't know why I can feel sensations where there shouldn't be any.

I touched a leaf, but it didn't move. The sensor works as a sensory organ but doesn't interfere with objects. However, without visual confirmation, I can't tell what's there.

I tried spreading the wind in a plane. MP consumption increased exponentially with distance, but it was proportional to the square of the distance. Since the initial MP consumption is low, it's not noticeable. I extended it 4 meters and consumed 1 MP. Extending it 20 meters consumed about 25 MP, but it was light for me.

However, the information was too cluttered, and I couldn't tell what was happening. I tried firing a fireball, but I only felt the impact without knowing where it came from. It felt like being hit on the head with a frying pan. This is terrible. It's not suitable for combat.

I had an idea and tried to process the information directly. A black-and-white cross-section of the forest appeared in my mind. Information processing is impressive.

But a cross-section isn't very useful, so I tried to focus on living things while thinking about information processing. The cross-section in my mind changed to a dark image with only my position glowing white. Information processing is on a different level.

I can test if other things appear in the city. I decided to create 50 plates at 20 cm intervals, 10 meters high, and call them touch plates. The touch plates consumed a lot of MP. I'll leave the management to information processing and keep them active. I have less than 500 MP left. It's almost lunchtime, so I'll eat and then go to the blacksmith. The radar-like screen in my head disappeared when I thought it was distracting.

As I approached the city, I could sense many people. It seems I can sense presences even without the touch plates. This might be convenient.

I noticed while checking my status that the touch plates are a perception magic, not wind magic. They are level 3. I appraised all my other magic, and they are all level 3 as well.

I showed my ID to the gatekeeper and walked to the blacksmith. I wonder if the tempering was done correctly. It's a technology that should be relatively early in the original world, so it shouldn't be too difficult, but it's the first time in this world. Someone might have thought of it.

I opened the door to the blacksmith. Dovlarug was still hammering something.

"Excuse me!"

"Shut up! Wait quietly!"

He's still the same. This time, he's tempering the sword after finishing it, so the wait time is about 10 minutes longer.

The sword isn't bent. It seems to have worked.

"Hey, tempering is amazing. The recent carbon steel is hard, but when tempered, it's even better. Regular cheap iron doesn't get much harder when tempered, though. But I only use carbon steel anyway."

Carbon steel... It's probably steel. Regular iron is probably wrought iron, made in blast furnaces or reverberatory furnaces. I don't know how they make it, but it's probably not in a converter. If they were using a converter, wrought iron would likely be obsolete. Even if they use a converter, steel might be more expensive due to phosphorus in the iron ore.

"I'll bring you the sword. Wait a moment. It's a confident work from yesterday's tempering."

Dovlarug brought a sword from the back. It's about 80 cm long, including the hilt. It's quite large.

"Try swinging it."

I pulled the sword and swung it straight down. It felt good.

"Wow. You might have been a swordsman in the past. Your form is terrible, but your movement is solid. If you practice, you'll get better."

Talent in martial arts is impressive. I'll practice later.

"It's easy to handle. Thank you."

"Thanks to you. I can now consistently make better swords than before. But is it okay? This is a technique that could be a secret, but you taught it so easily."

"Yes. I don't mind if it spreads. Technology is meant to be used."

If good weapons are cheap and widespread, it will strengthen the forces and make my life safer. I'll store the sword in my item box for now.

"You're pretty smart for a young guy. If you need anything, let me know. By the way, you're not wearing armor. Do you not need it?"

I realized I wasn't wearing armor. Armor would significantly increase my defense, but if it makes me immobile, it would be counterproductive. A leather armor might be okay.

"I want a light armor, but I don't have the money, so I'll get it later. I want something that doesn't hinder my movement. Is leather armor the best option?"

"Yeah, leather armor. I only make plate armor, but I know a good leather armor maker. It should cost around 15,000. Is that okay?"

Armor is more expensive than the sword. The sword I got was free, but it would probably cost over 10,000 if bought normally. 10,000 is for untempered swords.

But it's a reasonable price for me. It's about a day's worth of herb gathering. I can afford it.

"Please, at that shop."

"Go to the second left from the guild. They sell cheap armor for beginners, but if you say you're from Dovlarug, they'll prepare a solid armor for you."

"Understood. I'll go now."

I wonder if the person will be like Dovlarug... But since they sell cheap armor for beginners, they might be kind.

I'll go and see.