Chapter 10

Ricardo stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

However, even when the vibration occurred, it did not turn red but remained gray. It seemed that the frequency and wavelength were incorrect. He tried to make the vibration more detailed, and the color of the magic power changed to a light brown.

"This color is the same as when using the [Earth] catalyst, isn't it?"

He tried casting the [Flying Pebble] spell. The magic power reacted, and a stone the size of a fist appeared in the air and flew forward. The stone, which flew with great force, fell into the river with a splash.

While watching the ripples spread across the river,

"The spell was activated. Do I really not need a catalyst?"

He felt both excitement and a sense of calm as he observed the facts.

While proving that magic without a catalyst was possible, he realized that this method was not suitable for practical use. Concentrating on magic power made him lose the ability to pay attention to his surroundings. This was too dangerous to use in battle.

He predicted that with training and practice, it might become usable in battle, but it felt like it would take years to get there.

After trying magic without a catalyst several times, he returned to the mansion.

He entered the attic room and thought about the future.

He intended to continue training in magic control to make other types of magic possible without a catalyst, but it seemed that this alone was not enough.

He pondered his current position as a magic apprentice.

He thought he was safe as long as Alessandro needed personnel for demon tree hunting. However, he had noticed that Massimo disliked Ricardo.

He could understand Massimo's feelings of disliking Ricardo, his younger apprentice who had quickly learned magic and seemed more competent than himself.

If it was just Massimo, it would be fine, but if Alessandro also started to feel jealous, it would be troublesome. It might be better to hide his true abilities as a magician.

He wanted to become a full-fledged magician as soon as possible. Regardless of the lifestyle he chose, the title of magician would be a significant advantage.

To become a full-fledged magician, he needed to pass an exam. The exam was held twice a year, and Massimo planned to study during the winter and take the spring exam.

The problem was the exam fees. The exam was held in the capital, so he needed money for the journey, accommodation, and the exam fee. The exam fee alone was five gold coins.

In an ordinary household, one gold coin could comfortably sustain a month of living. Five gold coins was a large sum.

"I received eight silver coins from demon tree hunting, but only half is left after buying catalysts and new clothes."

To become a magician, he needed to earn money— at that moment, he hadn't even considered that his master, Alessandro, might pay the exam fees. He knew that Alessandro did not want Ricardo, who had just become his apprentice, to become a magician before his own son.

Perhaps he had no choice but to hunt magic beasts. However, the materials from the headbutting rabbit were cheap. Should he change his target to a different magic beast? Hunting magic beasts that sold for high prices would naturally be more dangerous. Without even recalling the giant bear he encountered during demon tree hunting, he could predict that it would be difficult to defeat it with the Warpick and [Flying Spear].

He thought he might be able to defeat it with the [Fire] magic [Molten Flame Bullet], but he was worried about starting a fire.

Normally, learning a higher-level [Earth] magic than [Flying Spear] would solve the problem, but the textbook only listed up to the intermediate level.

Alessandro and Massimo were unlikely to teach him, and he couldn't access the magic books in the study as long as Massimo managed them. In that case, there was only one method left.

He would have to develop it himself. Fortunately, he knew the method for developing [Molten Flame Bullet].

He began to examine the magic words from the textbook's "Basics of Magic Language" one by one. He extracted the words called "system words" that were chanted at the beginning of spells.

The system words listed in the textbook were "Fana," "Shena," "Esna," "Amril," and "Glory," corresponding to [Fire], [Wind], [Water], [Earth], and [Life].

Looking at them, he realized that the first four might represent the four states of matter: "Plasma," "Gas," "Liquid," and "Solid." Plasma is a state where matter is divided into electrons and positive ions, and auroras and lightning are examples of this.

Ricardo thought the four systems of magic might be "Plasma," "Gas," "Liquid," and "Solid" because [Molten Flame Bullet] was completed using [Fire] and [Water] catalysts.

[Molten Flame Bullet] is a combination of flame and magma. If "Fana" represents [Fire] and "Esna" represents [Water], it would be contradictory.

However, if "Fana" represents plasma and "Esna" represents liquid, the contradiction is resolved because magma is a liquid state of matter.

After thinking this through, he reviewed the magic words again. Among them were "Lazareu" and "Corbes." Combining these with "Fana" might allow him to cast a spell like lightning.

However, this spell would require a slightly higher-quality catalyst, which would cost money.

Magic was too expensive. He decided to put the new spell on hold, which meant he needed a weapon to replace the Warpick.

The next day, Ricardo went to the city and headed to a weapon shop.

The commercial district was bustling with people. The sound of passing carts and the haggling between shoppers and merchants filled the air.

He saw a shop with signs for swords and spears. The weapon shop had a sturdy stone structure. Inside, he saw numerous swords and spears displayed.

He picked up a short sword nearby. It was heavy, and he thought it would be impossible to swing it. Ricardo's body was underdeveloped, short, and lacked muscle.

Thinking about it, he was only nine years old, which would be around third grade in elementary school in Japan.

Reflecting on this, it seemed unreasonable for an elementary school student to hunt magic beasts.

"I feel like I might die if I push myself too hard. I should think of this as a time to lie low."

Just as he was about to leave, the shop owner called out to him. The owner was a man in his forties with a mustache.

"Hey, what a cute customer. What are you here to buy?"

"I just came to look for a usable weapon."

"Hmm, are you planning to become a magic beast hunter?"

"No, I want to become a magician."

"Really, you want to be a magician? Well, there are some wands over there you might want to look at."

Ricardo was interested in the wands.

The owner led him to a shelf in the back right corner where several wands and rods were displayed. There were not many, and the variety was limited. This was probably because there were few magic users in such a rural area.

Among the rods, one was priced at fifty-two gold coins. It was placed in an iron birdcage-like box and securely locked.

He pointed to it and asked,

"Why is this one so expensive?"

The owner proudly puffed out his chest and took out the rod, which was about a meter long, from the box.

"This is a magic-formed rod I bought in the capital."

"Magic-formed rod?"

"You don't know... The wands and rods used by magicians are usually made from processed wood and coated with varnish made from the sap of the demon tree Trill to make magic power flow more easily. However, a magic-formed rod is made from processed branches of the demon tree, and a magic worker uses magic to change its surface."

The process of changing the surface with magic is called "magic coating," which requires advanced magic control.

Looking at the surface of the rod, he saw patterns like snowflakes. The wood's surface had changed due to magic, and the patterns had emerged.

"Beautiful patterns are aligned and emerge, right? High-quality magic-formed rods have the same patterns beautifully aligned."

The magic-formed rod, when infused with magic power, becomes as sturdy as steel and generates a shock wave when used to strike an enemy, causing damage. This was the same information he had heard from Patrick.

"Amazing."

"Right? This one is a custom order from Magician Flavio."

Ricardo envied Flavio, who could afford such an expensive rod.

After listening to the owner's boasting, he looked at a few wands and rods. They were too expensive for him to buy.

Moreover, he didn't think they would be more powerful than the Warpick. He gave up on weapons and left the shop.

He returned to the mansion and organized his thoughts.

His immediate goal was to become a magician. To achieve this, he needed to either pass an exam or have his research recognized by the Magician's Guild. If the exam was too expensive, the fastest way might be to conduct some research, write a paper, and have it recognized by the guild.

"Still, what kind of research should I do?"

Researching already studied topics would not be recognized by the guild. To gather information, he went to Edel's mansion. Edel was the third magician employed by the Fabius Viscount family and Patrick's mentor.

Edel's mansion was a short walk down the same street.

At this time, Edel should be in the castle, so only the apprentices were at home.

When he visited, Patrick greeted him with a surprised look.

"Hey, isn't that Ricardo? What brings you here?"

"I came to ask about magicians. Is it okay to bother you?"

Patrick made a strange face.

"Ricardo sometimes acts like an old man."

Ricardo was momentarily startled but laughed it off. ...I need to be more careful.

Patrick seemed to be alone, as Ivan was out shopping.

He was led to Patrick's room, which was about twice the size of the attic room, with a large window and a sturdy desk. There was also a bookshelf with magic-related books and history books.

"So, what do you want to know?"

"When magicians conduct research, how do they check if it's already been studied?"

"Oh, they check the research paper catalog published by the guild."

Edel also owned one, so he showed it to Ricardo.

The catalog listed the titles of research papers submitted to and recognized by the Magic Guild, year by year.

Most of the papers were about combinations of magic words and their effects. The next most common were papers on catalysts, studying the effects of using rare magic beast materials as catalysts.

"Are you planning to start some research?"

Ricardo hesitated.

"To become a magician, you need to either pass the exam or have your research paper recognized, right?"

"That's right, but passing the exam is easier."

"Is it?"

"Most of the combinations of magic words and catalysts have already been studied, and it's difficult to find something new and make a successful spell."

Patrick mentioned that the combinations of magic words had been thoroughly studied, but the spell for [Molten Flame Bullet] was unknown to the full-fledged magician Flavio.

"Didn't you use a [Fire] spell during the hunt? Did you know that spell?"

Patrick shook his head.

"No, I've never seen that spell before. Is it a trump card you learned from Alessandro?"

Ricardo denied it.

"It's a spell I created by chance."

Patrick exclaimed in surprise.

"Really? If that's true, writing a research paper might get you recognized as a magician."

To confirm, he checked the research paper catalog to see if a spell like [Molten Flame Bullet] had been published. Checking only the titles in the catalog might not be accurate, but it gave a general idea.

There were no matches, and he confirmed that [Molten Flame Bullet] was a new spell.

Patrick was looking at Ricardo with a strange expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Alessandro should have the research paper catalog. He could have checked it himself... Maybe Massimo is bullying you?"

"Bullying... No, I'm not being bullied, but I've been told to only study the three textbooks for now."

Patrick looked unconvinced. He wondered why an excellent apprentice who could develop a new spell was being made to study textbooks.

Ricardo changed the subject.

"Are you planning to take the magician's certification exam?"

"Yeah, I plan to go to the capital in the spring and take the exam."

"How many times?"

Patrick looked uncomfortable, probably recalling his previous failures.

"Twice."

"What will you do if you become a magician?"

"I plan to become a staff member of the Magician's Guild."

"Wow, you'll work in the capital?"

"Even if I become a staff member of the Magician's Guild, I might not necessarily work in the capital. There are branches in major cities in this country."

"I see. I didn't know that."

Patrick sighed and looked at Ricardo with a pitying gaze.

"Since you just came from the countryside, I guess it can't be helped. You should study more about the world."

"You're right."

Ricardo thanked him, left Edel's mansion, and returned to the mansion.

From that day on, he began to write a paper on the [Molten Flame Bullet] spell.