Chapter 83

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While Ricardo and the others were considering increasing the number of employees, in a dilapidated shack on the outskirts of the slum, eight children were living.

"Koff koff... Micol, I'm hungry..."

Pavan, who had just turned six, complained in a weak voice. He seemed to have caught a cold and was coughing.

Recently, the children who used to be called to work on the farm were starving. Until recently, they had helped with tasks like weeding and received food in return, but now, the new adults who had flowed into the slum were taking over the farm work, and Micol and the other children were no longer being called.

That day, there was a call for day laborers to weed and plow the fields, and a large number of people living in the slum gathered for the work. Of course, Micol and the others raised their hands.

Micol and the others tried to push through the crowd to get to the front and secure a job. At that moment, a man who had just arrived in the slum pushed Micol and the others aside.

"Get out of the way, you brats are in the way."

Pavan was pushed and fell on his bottom. Micol helped Pavan up and glared at the man who had pushed him.

"What's with that look? You're being disrespectful."

The man shoved Micol away.

In the end, Micol and the others did not get a job.

"There's no choice. Let's go to the sea."

The other children made unhappy faces.

"The sea... It's getting cold."

Krista, a girl a year younger than Micol, complained. It was autumn, and the wind was getting cold.

Micol and the others trudged towards the sea. Walking through the barren land with scattered shrubs, the slightly cold wind made them feel cold inside.

A large building came into view. It was the Unius breeding facility where Dario, Micol's senior, worked.

The beach, which had been bustling with bala fishing and salted bala production, had returned to its original desolate state after the bala schools had left.

Micol and the others had helped with the salted bala production and received food, but that food had run out.

When Micol and the others reached the beach, they started collecting shells. They had no fishing gear, so collecting shells was their only option.

They dug into the sand on the beach, which was affected by the tides, and continued collecting shells. Pavan, despite his cough, joined in the shell collecting.

As Pavan tried to stand up, he seemed to get dizzy and fell down.

"Hey, Pavan. What's wrong?"

Micol rushed over and lifted him up. Pavan's body was abnormally hot.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Krista asked worriedly.

"Wh-what should we do..."

Micol, holding the limp Pavan, was at a loss.

"Let's ask Mr. Antonio for help."

Krista suggested, remembering that Antonio had been kind to them when they helped with the salted bala production.

Micol and the others ran to the breeding facility with Pavan.

A small bell hung at the gate of the breeding facility, and those who had business were supposed to ring it.

Krista rang the bell with all her might.

After a while, eyes appeared in the peephole.

"Is that you, Micol? What's wrong?"

Dario, seeing Micol, asked.

"Pavan has collapsed. Please help us."

Dario opened the gate and let the children in.

"Erik, go get Mr. Antonio."

Erik, who was asked, ran towards the breeding facility in the fourth section.

Dario led Micol and the others to the work shed. Mikaela was there.

"Mikaela, one of the children is not feeling well."

Mikaela, who was weaving towel fabric, looked at the limp Pavan.

"He's wet. Take off his clothes."

Dario took off Pavan's clothes and dried his wet body with a towel. These towels were distributed by Ricardo when the production of towel fabric began, and everyone cherished them.

"Bring a blanket to warm him up."

"I'll bring a spare blanket."

Jessica ran to get a blanket. Mikaela wrapped Pavan in the blanket and laid him on the bed. At that moment, Antonio came and checked Pavan's condition.

"He'll get worse here. Use the bed in the utility shed."

The utility shed was originally built as Ricardo's office but was now Antonio's. A bed was prepared, and Antonio used it when staying overnight at the breeding facility.

Antonio laid Pavan on the bed and measured his temperature with his palm.

"He has a high fever. It's probably a cold. Ricardo used to say to give a fever reducer and cool the head when someone had a cold."

Pavan was breathing with difficulty.

Antonio gave Pavan the fever reducer that Ricardo had prepared and placed a wet handkerchief on his head.

After a while, Pavan's breathing became calmer, and they decided to take turns watching over him. Dario stayed, and the others returned to the work shed.

Antonio frowned at the sight of Micol and the others. Their gaunt cheeks and thin limbs were pitiful.

"Mikaela, can you prepare some food for these children?"

"Sure, can someone help me?"

The girls went with Mikaela to the kitchen.

"Erik, are these children orphans from the slum?"

"Yes."

Antonio heard the situation from the slum children and learned about their current state. Once he knew, he couldn't ignore it.

Hundreds of people lived in the slum. Helping just these eight children wouldn't change much, but Antonio didn't think it was a waste to help them.

"Three girls and five boys... Is Micol the leader?"

Micol looked at Antonio.

"I'm just the oldest."

"Are you willing to work here?"

Micol looked surprised.

"Will you hire us... We can't do difficult things, and we're not very strong."

"I know. If you work seriously, I'll teach you jobs gradually."

"Please, please."

Micol thanked him, and the other children, understanding they would get jobs, thanked him as well.

Mikaela and the others brought the food. The children's eyes focused on Mikaela.

"Here, I've prepared the food. Eat up."

Antonio said, and the children gathered around the barley porridge prepared by Mikaela. Watching the children eat the barley porridge with tears in their eyes, Antonio remembered his own family when they lived in Unius Village.

Back then, the family was poor, but they weren't starving.

That night, Antonio told Ricardo about Micol and the others.

"I'll leave the breeding facility to your judgment. But, it might mean more work. We'll need someone to take care of the children."

"Maybe. Is there anyone we can trust?"

"Sure. I'll ask Mr. Bernardo."

The next day, on his way to the Mage Guild, Antonio stopped by Bernardo's shop to ask if there was anyone trustworthy.

"Yes... I was also thinking of getting new labor for the breeding facility."

"Is that so? Your place is also increasing the number of enchanted trees to breed, just like the Unius breeding facility."

"Yes, I was thinking of going around the nearby villages to gather young people."

"Will you not recruit in the capital?"

"The young people in the capital tend to dislike farm and breeding facility work, so I don't think we'll get good candidates."

"That's why you're going around the nearby villages. The Unius breeding facility might do the same."

"Then, shall we go around the nearby villages together?"

Ricardo was pleased with the offer. He told Bernardo he wanted to participate but would consult with Antonio before giving a formal answer.

"Yes, that's fine. We'll start the recruitment trip in five days."

Ricardo thanked Bernardo and left the shop, heading to the Mage Guild.

In the research room of the Mage Guild, Ricardo sat in a chair and thought about what to do.

He didn't need to rush to complete the next paper since he had just presented one. The development of the magic furnace was also on hold until the Galofaro workshop completed the prototype.

Incidentally, the stove-type magic furnace was designed based on the wood stove he saw in Hokkaido. It was a rectangular box made of iron plates with a door on the front.

"Maybe it's good to spend some time relaxing in such moments."

Ricardo sat in the chair, gazing out the window, and spent about three hours in a daze. In such moments, Ricardo felt happy.

"The autumn sunlight feels nice."

This happy time was interrupted when he suddenly remembered the magic words he discovered in the magic realm. Once he remembered, the magic words wouldn't leave his mind.

The magic words carved on the pillar in the magic realm were written in Optul script. Next to them, explanatory text in factor script was carved, and if he could decipher it, he could use the magic words.

He took out the magic notebook where he had copied the words from the pendant-type storage amethyst and started researching the twenty magic words not listed in Sage Manuel's "Comprehensive Magic."

The only way to research was to decipher the factor script. He started by checking if the factor script used in the explanatory text was listed on the Black Plate.

Of the twenty magic words, thirteen were found to be useful but ordinary. Of the remaining seven, three were identified, and they were special.

One was the system word 'Amval' for the combined magic of Fire and Earth, which seemed to increase the power of the 'Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet' if its system word was changed to 'Amval'.

Another was a completely new system word, 'Vazefish'. It seemed to be the system word for the element of Air, and depending on how it was used, it could be a powerful magic, but he didn't know what catalyst to use.

The last one was 'Selivator', which seemed to be a magic word specific to the element of Air.

The four magic words that remained unidentified had no deciphering hints on the Black Plate. To be precise, they were not in the data Ricardo had found.

The Black Plate had a function similar to an e-book reader, and the data or files inside were organized in a hierarchical structure.

He could read the data in the upper layers, but the deeper the layer, the more unreadable data appeared. It seemed that some qualification was required, and Ricardo did not have the necessary qualification.

Ricardo used the identified magic words to develop new magic.

The first was an improved version of the 'Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet' called the 'True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet'. He changed the system word from 'Amril' to 'Amval' and tested it.

However, simply changing the system word was not enough to complete it. He needed to research the appropriate amount of magic power to input and the ratio of catalysts to use.

For the 'Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet', the best mix was 70% grade 6 Earth catalyst and 30% grade 5 Fire catalyst. For the 'True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet', it seemed to be different.

Ricardo bought a large amount of catalysts and conducted thorough research.

The completed 'True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet' was a magic with power that could be considered a different entity from the 'Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet'.

"I taught the 'Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet' to Patrick and Tania, but what should I do with this new magic?"

Ricardo thought about teaching it to his friends in the 'Poya Poya' group, but he hesitated because the 'True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet' was equivalent to an advanced magic.

It wasn't that he was reluctant to teach it. Advanced magic required expensive catalysts and high-quality magic rods, and he was worried if Patrick and Tania could prepare them.

The 'True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet' was not the only magic Ricardo developed this time.

He decided to develop new magic because, from the experience of fleeing from the Flame Extinguishing Turtle, he thought he needed magic to defeat magic beasts with high heat resistance and defense, which the 'True Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet' might not be able to defeat.

He researched whether he could develop magic using the Air system word 'Vazefish'.

He planned to combine 'Vazefish' with 'Selivator'. The problem was the catalyst. He had no idea what catalyst to use.

He gathered all available catalysts and tested them.

He channeled magic power into the Death Prod, sprinkled Fire catalyst, and cast the spell.

"Vazefish Selivator"

The red attribute-activated magic power showed no reaction to the spell.

Next, he tried with Earth catalyst, but it didn't work. The attribute-activated magic power of Water, Wind, and Life also showed no reaction, and Ricardo slumped in disappointment.

The remaining catalyst was the Summoning catalyst, but it was regulated and he couldn't obtain it. There was only one way to check.

He would cause attribute activation without a catalyst and use that magic power to cast the spell.

Summoning used yellow attribute-activated magic power.

Through the process of making attribute color rods and magic color guns, Ricardo had many opportunities to cause attribute activation without catalysts, and his magic power control had improved.

He failed several times but succeeded in creating yellow attribute-activated magic power on the next attempt. He used that magic power to cast the spell.

"No good. No reaction at all. The only one left is black attribute-activated magic power."

The black magic power, which had a repelling effect on the catalyst's true form, was still unknown. Ricardo created black attribute-activated magic power and cast the spell.

"Vazefish Selivator"

Black magic power shot out from the tip of the rod, formed a black mass, and began to emit a rumbling sound in the air. Since it was just a test, the amount of black magic power Ricardo released was small.

The incomplete magic lost its power halfway and fell to the floor of the research room. The black mass, which fell on the wooden floor, exploded with a 'Von' sound and disappeared, destroying the floor.

"Damn!"

The destroyed floor turned into a powder like flour and floated in the air. Upon closer inspection, a hole about ten centimeters in diameter was visible in the floor.

Ricardo felt cold sweat run down his back.

The magic power Ricardo released was supposed to be a small amount equivalent to a low-level magic. Moreover, it was an incomplete spell, yet it had the power to create a hole in the floor.

It seemed that Air magic had a power far beyond other magic systems.