Chapter 7

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

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

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Regarding replies to comments and impressions, I will take the liberty of expressing my gratitude collectively in the preface or afterword. I hope you can kindly overlook my laziness for not being able to greet each one individually. I apologize.

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Good morning.

It's the morning of the second day in the other world. Currently, guided by Alma, I am at a grassland north of the city, ostensibly for a picnic, but actually to gather medicinal herbs. I'm digging up herbs one after another with a spade, relying on the menu screen. ...It's rather monotonous.

Incidentally, after finishing the tour, Alma is continuously practicing her sword swings. She's very dedicated to her training. Oh, does her sword sometimes glow when she swings it? Am I imagining things?

After digging up more than 60 herbs, Alma called a stop. She said that digging up too many Hilda herbs weakens the soil, making it harder for them to regrow, so it's best to do it in moderation. To begin with, it's difficult to accurately gather only Hilda herbs among the many similar-looking herbs around, even for someone with the Appraisal skill. Even veterans often mix in a few different herbs. Yet, I managed to gather a considerable number of Hilda herbs quickly and accurately, which surprised her. I'm sorry.

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After a break, we had lunch: half-cooked egg sandwiches and ginger pork sandwiches.

Don't say, "Ginger pork again?" We have limited ingredients and repertoire.

Yesterday's slightly early dinner was so well-received that she looked eager to eat more while I was preparing it. So, I prepared a portion for Alma as well. While we were eating, I suggested that if she would like, I could prepare her meals in the future as long as she pays for the ingredients. She replied, "Is that really okay? I would really like to ask you."

The main reason is to repay her, but I also thought her help would be necessary to learn about life and common sense in this city and world. It's like training and getting help. ...I'm pretty low, aren't I? But if it bothers her, I hope she can live as she did before without worrying about me. I don't want to be a burden.

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We returned to the guild and submitted the Hilda herbs.

"Um, this includes Alma's share, right?"

"No. Hikaru dug them all up alone."

"Alone? And I have to appraise all of this by myself?"

"Try your best."

"That's not fair!"

The receptionist was struggling to appraise each herb one by one. Does she have enough MP?

[Appraisal Level 1 Skill: Appraisal display does not consume MP, but analyzing the target causes slight fatigue.]

...If she appraises all of these at once, won't she collapse from overwork? Is she okay? I feel a bit guilty, like a salesperson who takes on too much work.

After waiting for a while, the receptionist, looking like she was about to die, announced the results.

"Hilda herbs, 62, for 6200 gold... Thank you. Oh, and could I have another request card for herb gathering?"

"Again? Please, no more..."

The receptionist handed me the card with a tearful face. ...I'll be more restrained next time.

"Ah, and here's your guild member card."

"Member card? Like an ID card?"

"Yes. It also identifies the adventurer's rank."

"Can you tell me about the ranks?"

"Oh, I haven't explained that yet, sorry. The Adventurer's Guild has a guild rank system, divided into 8 levels from S to G. The more requests you complete, the higher your rank goes, and the higher the rank, the more valuable the rewards, such as money and useful items. However, the difficulty and danger also increase."

"Is herb gathering a G rank?"

"Yes. To raise your rank through herb gathering, you need about 80,000 gold in total... Huh!?"

"Is that so! Then to raise my rank quickly, I'll gather twice as much from tomorrow!"

"No, no, please don't!"

Just kidding. Don't cry.

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After that, I stopped by to buy food and cooking oil. After finishing the food shopping, I went to the armorer to buy equipment. I should have equipped myself earlier, but if I couldn't earn a stable income, I might not be able to pay for lodging, so I decided to buy equipment if today's income was sufficient.

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Arriving at the armorer, I wanted a powerful weapon, but what I needed now was inexpensive equipment for basic self-defense.

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Iron Sword: 10,000 gold

ATK +30

Bear Leather Chestplate: 12,000 gold

DEF +15

I bought these for now. I chose a small iron sword like Alma's. I can't use a weapon that's too heavy for my strength. It might seem expensive, but in Japan, these would cost 5 to 10 times as much. The sword would be illegal under the Sword and Firearm Control Law.

The price of sugar is about 10 times higher than in Japan, and I feel there's a discrepancy in the sense of money. Ephi fruits cost 10,000 gold each. ...I really wish I had secured more.

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It's still early in the evening. What should I do?

"Since it's early in the evening, Alma, do you have any plans?"

"I didn't take any requests today, so I'll practice my sword swings."

She's so serious. No one would complain if she just lounged around at the inn.

"Ah, can I watch you practice?"

"Sure, but why?"

"I want to learn from your sword techniques and footwork. Also, I sometimes saw your sword glowing when you swung it. Was it just my imagination?"

"That's the light from using [Magic Blade]."

"Magic Blade?"

[Sword Skill Level 1: Magic Blade]

[Consumes MP to deliver a more powerful slash with increased cutting power compared to a normal slash.]

So, it's a slash with magic power wrapped around the sword. It looks simple but strong.

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I watched her practice outside the city and tried to mimic her movements, but the way she handled the sword was different from the kendo I learned in school. I need to observe her footwork, sword techniques, and the rhythm of her movements carefully. ...What? I'm not a pervert. I'm learning for self-defense.

The short sword has a shorter reach, and it's light enough to be wielded with one hand, so I need to consider how to use my hands in different situations. Alma also practices one-handed sword swings, probably to use magic with her other hand when needed. I need to think of my own strategies.

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By evening, my arms, legs, and even my abs and back were sore. Muscles I never knew existed were protesting. Despite the pain, I still had the energy to prepare dinner, so I started cooking as soon as we returned to the inn. I can't go back on my word from the first day, so I have to try hard.

Today, I made chicken rice. I'm making simple dishes, but I think that's how it is when you cook for yourself while living alone. I also added boiled spinach-like vegetables (called Spinach). It's important to eat vegetables for health and growth.

I asked Alma to prepare the fire and water. She also offered to wash and dry the dishes after the meal. I felt bad about asking so much, but she insisted, so I accepted. What a good girl.

The chicken rice was well-received. She said it was a luxury to eat such delicious meals for two days in a row. Is she trying to flatter me? Thank you.

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Before going to bed, I want to start an experiment I couldn't do yesterday due to lack of MP. The experiment is to try using magic without a ring. I can't use any skills, but I have experience controlling magic power without skills or tools.

When I released magic power after eating the Ephi fruit, I managed to prevent a magic power surge.

Yesterday, when I activated Fire and Water, I felt something inside me being manipulated by the ring to cast the spells, which felt similar to the experience of releasing magic power. Now, I can sense that something circulating throughout my body.

It feels natural, like muscles, bones, and blood. This is MP, magic power.

I can control it freely, like moving my arms, legs, eyes, and tongue.

I want to try releasing and controlling magic power outside my body, like exhaling it with air.

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First, Fire. I imagine releasing flammable gas from my fingertips and solidifying it like a flint. I strongly imagine a lighter and activate the spell.

Click

Click

Oh, something made a sound! But it didn't ignite. Maybe it's like a lighter with no gas? Hmm, it's difficult to release magic power and ignite it simultaneously from a single fingertip. Using both hands, I release flammable magic power from one and create a spark with the other to ignite it!

Crack! Boom! Whoosh!

Instantly, fire, no, flames burst in front of me. Oh no! Stop! Stop!

Oh, that was dangerous! It almost caused a fire! Nothing caught fire because I was doing it in an empty space, but I was really worried. If I caused a fire, I might be kicked out of the inn or even the city, or worse, end up in jail. I should have thought more carefully before experimenting. I need to reflect.

But, but!

I did it! I used magic! Without skills or a ring, I did it with my own hands! My control of magic power is still weak, and my MP is now zero, but the sense of achievement is great. It was surprisingly easy, but maybe anyone without magic skills can do it?

[In this world, magic power is recognized as fuel for using skills and daily magic. It's almost unheard of for someone to try to directly control magic power without skills. Direct control of magic power is extremely difficult, and it's possible that only those from another world who naturally sense magic power in their bodies can do it.]

With skills, magic power is automatically controlled, so it's easier and there's no need to go through such trouble. If you need fire or water, you can use a daily magic ring. It feels like skills and rings are there to prevent people from making the effort to learn magic power control.

[The principles of the world are not fully understood.]

Okay, okay, whatever. I just want to live as I please. I don't care why someone created these principles. I can't change anything by saying something about it.

But being able to use magic is honestly very exciting. Yay!

My MP is depleted, so I'll go to bed. Good night. What should I have for breakfast and lunch tomorrow?

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For a while after that, I had relatively stable days. Alma started taking breakfast and lunch from me before going to the forest to hunt monsters. I made herb gathering and self-taught magic and sword training at a training ground outside the city my daily routine.

I could use magic as I imagined, from small flame throwers to lighter-sized flames. I could control it freely.

I also learned to control magic power remotely, though I could only manipulate it up to about 5 meters away and it dissipated after a few seconds, so it wasn't very practical. Maybe I can eventually cast fireballs like Alma. But my MP runs out quickly. I need more MP.

Sword training was more challenging. I couldn't reproduce the Magic Blade skill. At first, I thought I just needed to wrap magic power around the sword and slash, but when I tried it on a wooden target,

Thud!

...Thud? What's this feeling? It's like hitting something with a thick cloth wrapped around the sword. It's not cutting at all. Did I wrap too much magic power, making it blunt? I'll try a weaker one next.

Swish!

No good, a bit weaker.

Clank!

Even weaker!

Slice!

Yes, it cut! I stopped wrapping magic power and it cut! What an idiot! It's pointless! I just cut it normally! Huh? The description said it would consume MP to increase cutting power, but it's not working.

When I felt the magic power wrapped around the sword, it felt fluffy and unstable. Maybe wrapping magic power around the sword makes it act like a cushion, reducing its cutting power? Then, I should solidify the magic power, making it as hard as iron and as sharp as a blade. I tried it immediately.

Hmm, it's surprisingly difficult to wrap solidified magic power around the entire blade. A bit more, a bit sharper... Is this it?

I wrapped razor-sharp magic power around the blade, maintained it, and slashed!

Slice!

Hmm, it doesn't seem much different. What's going on?

After that, I tried adding a curve to the magic blade and making it serrated, but it didn't improve the cutting power much. My MP ran out, and I had to stop practicing Magic Blade for the day. Damn, it's much harder to reproduce than magic. Grr.

The next day, and the day after, I kept trying, but it didn't work. I'm not making any progress.

Why am I even doing this? Do I want to cut something in half? What for? Why do I want to cut things? I started thinking about pointless philosophical questions out of frustration. ...I need to do something to relieve stress, like practicing magic.

Ah, right. If I can use magic, can I do this?

On a whim, I wrapped flammable magic power around the blade, maintained it, and ignited it!

Whoosh!

Instantly, I held a sword with a burning blade in my hand. Hahaha! A magic sword! A Fire Sword!

...What am I doing at my age?

On a whim, I tried it, but it seems to consume MP without much practical use. The fire is too weak to ignite anything I cut, so it's probably only good for intimidation. Using the sword and magic separately might be more effective. It's like coating a sword with oil and lighting it. Is this a CCO?

After trying it, I felt a bit embarrassed and went into a brief sage mode—

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"What was that just now?"

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Alma, who had been watching from behind, called out to me with wide eyes. What? Did she see me? Did she see my full-on otaku pose? Wasn't she supposed to be out hunting today?

"Ah, no, this... How long have you been watching? What about today's hunt?"

"Recently, Hikaru seemed troubled, so I wanted to check on you."

Ah, I tried to be careful with my expressions and attitude to avoid worrying her, but maybe I inadvertently showed something. It's really embarrassing. Stop! Don't look! Don't look at this silly old man! ...Wait, is Alma looking at me with an unusually serious expression? What's going on?

"Tell me."

"Huh? What?"

"About the burning sword! How did you do that?"

"Wh-What!?"

What, she's really interested in that otaku Fire Sword!? And I've never seen her so enthusiastic! Is she suddenly developing otaku tendencies? Because of me? What a mess!

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After that, we calmed down and had a serious talk. How did it come to this? Is it my fault?

Thank you for reading.