Chapter 20

It's late at night, and I woke up.

"Still a beautiful full moon, huh?"

A large moon shines in the sky.

While Earth's moon is considered huge for a satellite, the moon in this world appears several times larger. Whether it's due to the closer distance or simply being a larger star, I can't say.

Thanks to this, the nights in this world are quite bright.

Of course, not as bright as the urban areas in Japan, but definitely brighter than the rural nights in Japan.

On full moon nights, Yuria comes.

I have to wake everyone up.

Most of the veteran members have already mastered the anti-curse techniques, but the newly arrived children haven't.

Moreover, members like Soyon, Tera, and Ruru are exceptionally talented and still have room for growth, so I can't let them slack off.

"I'll wash my face first."

Among the children, Tera is the worst at waking up. It takes a lot of effort to wake her up.

But if I leave her for last, she gets upset, so I have to wake her up first.

It's quite a battle, so I need to be fully awake to win.

I take a torch and head towards the stream in the village.

It's used for washing, agriculture, cooking, and drinking water.

Though, it's hard water, so I can't say it tastes good.

"Ah..."

There was already someone at the stream.

A white back caught my eye.

Noticing my presence, the person turned around.

It was Tera.

Our eyes met.

A few seconds later, Tera's face turned bright red, and she sat down.

The stream is shallow, so her body isn't hidden by the water.

"Did you see...?"

"I only saw your back."

"…That's the problem. Did you really not see anything else?"

Is it that bad to have your back seen? I don't get it.

"I didn't see anything weird."

"Okay."

Tera seemed to be convinced and relaxed. She stood up, wrapping a piece of cloth around her body.

"Can you get my clothes over there?"

"Ah! Sure."

I picked up Tera's clothes from the ground and handed them to her.

Looking at her like this, Tera is indeed a beautiful girl.

While farm work naturally tans and roughens the skin, Tera's skin is very beautiful.

Her chest isn't particularly large, but considering she's only thirteen, it's more than enough.

There's plenty of room for growth in the future.

"Actually, I made something amazing. Can I show it to you?"

"Sure, why not... What did you make?"

As I asked, Tera smiled mischievously.

"You'll see."

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

"Hey, Yuria. Do you know what Tera made?"

"Hehe. Yeah, probably. You'll be surprised."

Yuria laughed happily.

I shifted my gaze to Tera. The other members also focused their attention on her.

"This is what I want to show you."

Tera unfolded a piece of paper in front of us.

On the paper, geometric patterns were drawn in what looked like red ink.

What is this?

"This red is my blood."

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I washed it with water and applied alcohol, just as Almus said."

Tera showed me her thumb, wrapped in a piece of cloth.

I taught her the method of alcohol disinfection, but I wish she wouldn't take such risks.

"I'll be more careful from now on."

With that, Tera neatly laid the paper on the ground and placed her hand in the center.

"Light up."

As Tera murmured, the geometric patterns began to glow faintly.

What is this...

"Almus, try it."

"What! Me? I don't have the talent for this."

Unfortunately, I have average talent for magic and can only perform anti-curses.

Only a few girls can use other types of magic besides anti-curses.

So far, there are ten people in our village who can use magic besides anti-curses. Only Tera, Soyon, and Ruru can perform highly advanced magic.

"Go on."

Tera pushed me from behind.

I have no choice. I'll give it a try.

I placed my hand in the center and murmured the same words as Tera.

The geometric patterns began to glow faintly!

"What's going on?"

"As you know, there are differences in talent for magic. There are two reasons. One is the individual differences in soul power... or curse power. Generally, women have stronger curse power than men, but there are significant differences even among women. Only a select few women can perform magic. Got it so far?"

"Yeah."

As I nodded, Tera continued her explanation.

"The issue of curse power can be easily resolved. You can supplement it with external power. Sacrifices, the blood of magicians, and curse stones can be used."

A curse stone is a stone containing curse power.

It comes from the ground.

There are theories that it's the condensed resentment of people, or parts of fallen gods, angels, or spirits, or the remains of fairies.

The truth remains a mystery.

"The second reason is that constructing spells requires very advanced techniques and a lot of experience."

Excellent magicians can use simple spells instinctively, even without being taught.

Therefore, it's very difficult to teach others.

It's like being asked to teach someone how to breathe. Few people can do it.

So, how do you teach it?

By speaking to the soul.

Excellent magicians can interfere with the soul.

By using their own soul to perform the spell, they can help others grasp the sensation.

If you can't learn it in about ten tries, it's said that you lack the talent and should give up.

"Spell construction can be partially compensated for by actions like dancing or singing."

Magic can be performed just by willing it.

However, to succeed just by willing it, you need a steel-like concentration.

That's why methods like incantations were developed to reduce the burden.

But even dancing and singing require talent, so they don't solve the problem.

People like Yuria, who have curse power dozens of times stronger than ordinary people, steel-like concentration, perfect pitch, and high motor skills, are very rare.

"This is a pattern representing the spell for making light. My blood is supplementing the curse power. It should last about ten seconds."

"…So, are you saying that you've represented all spells as geometric patterns?"

"Yes. Patterns can be written on paper and carried around. Plus, the spell is already complete, so all you need to do is will it to activate."

Many magicians could only create spells through methods like singing, dancing, or incantations because they couldn't theorize magic.

Empirically, it was easier to succeed in magic while singing and dancing. It was only that level.

The success of a spell ultimately depends on the magician's ability.

She has overturned all of that.

"How did you figure out these patterns?"

"I tried them bit by bit. And here. Follow these to draw the geometric patterns."

Tera handed me five sheets of paper covered in equations.

"The root of all things is numbers."

Are you a Greek philosopher?

"I decided to call this a spell formula."

A formula representing a spell, so a spell formula. Makes sense.

"Wouldn't magicians become obsolete if this were put into practical use?"

If that happened, Yuria's character would become less distinctive. Her personality would be just a beautiful royal girl... No, that's already distinctive enough.

"That won't happen. There are things that can't be represented by formulas."

"That's right. There are things in this world that can't be represented by numbers, like pi or square roots. It might be possible to reproduce natural forces like fire and wind, but it seems impossible to represent spells that involve emotions or barriers."

That's a relief.

I was a bit worried that I might be drowned if someone said square roots don't exist.

"So, combining traditional magic with these spell formulas would make the strongest combination!!"

Ruru said, getting excited.

"By the way, have you all understood this so far?"

Tera turned to Ron and the others, who had been silent.

"It's amazing, I guess."

"Well, that's enough to understand."

I can't understand most of the equations written on the paper.

After all, I can't use magic.

"But, it feels a bit off to call both the things that can be represented by patterns and those that can't, magic. They seem like different things now."

That's a good point.

It would be more convenient to have a distinction.

"Then, Almus, you decide the name."

"Me? Okay... How about 'sorcery'?"

Creating fire or wind reminds me of RPG magic.

I want to call it magic, but it feels better to call it sorcery to match the term 'curse'.

"The 'sorcery' part is a bit concerning."

"Curse is also part of the term 'curse'."

Both names are equally ominous.

"That's true."

"Then, from today, it's sorcery. I'm the world's first sorcerer... Yeah, that sounds cool. My title could be 'The Ancestor'."

Tera whispered, grinning.

Is she at that age now...

I'm worried.

At this time, Tera created the prototype of what would later be called a magical artifact.

In ancient history textbooks, her name is a must-mention after Almus.

Incidentally, 'The World's First Sorcerer' and 'The Ancestor' are names that have been passed down for thousands of years, worldwide.

Good job, Tera!

And we're about halfway through this chapter.

Next time, 'Transformation'.