Chapter 18

It has been a week since then. Thanks to Reedia showing me magic every day, I have become able to sense mana.

Once you understand the existence of mana, you can also sense the mana circulating within your own body.

The next step seems to be moving and manipulating your own mana.

At first, you gather it at the tips of your fingers, then cover a single finger.

Once you can do that, you move on to one arm, both arms, one leg, both legs, and eventually your entire body.

I am at the stage of gathering mana at the tips of my fingers. Reedia says that once you grasp the sensation, it becomes easier, but it’s quite difficult.

However, I have plenty of time, so I plan to practice whenever I get a chance.

If I can use magic, what would I want to do?

I think the first magic I’ll be able to use will be earth magic. It seems to be the one I’m most suited for.

Using earth magic to till the fields? But using a divine tool as a hoe might be faster.

Creating a defensive wall with earth magic? But a wooden wall would do just fine.

Hmm? It seems there are fewer things I can do with earth magic. Maybe I don’t really need earth magic that much?

No, there’s also water magic and wind magic.

With water magic, I can drink water whenever I want, which is very convenient.

I’ll keep moving forward without thinking pessimistically.

As usual, while I was taking care of the fields, Rento returned from the forest.

He was dragging a large wild boar, which he must have just hunted.

It was quite big, and even Rento had a hard time carrying it.

"Welcome back, Rento. That’s a big catch today."

As Reedia and I approached, Rento showed us the prey.

"…Devil Fang."

"Wow, that’s its name. The pattern does look like a demon’s face, so it makes sense."

It’s a large wild boar that can sometimes be seen in the forest. When viewed from the front, it has a terrifying pattern that looks like a demon’s face, which is why it’s memorable.

I’ve hunted it a few times. It’s a powerful monster that can break the trees used to restrain it. However, it’s easy to deal with if you use the right method to restrain it, despite its short limbs.

"It’s a pretty strong monster…"

"One punch from Rento, though."

"Seems so."

Looking at the broken tusk and sunken side of the Devil Fang, it’s clear how it was hunted.

To Rento and me, it’s a natural prey, but it might be different for Reedia, who looks pale.

"Good work. As usual, please take care of the butchering."

Rento nodded and dragged the Devil Fang to the butchering shed.

After watching him, we resumed our field work.

I cast growth promotion on each field and use plant manipulation to pull out weeds.

Reedia checks the growth of the crops and looks under the leaves to see if there are any insects or diseases.

Thanks to the Insect Killer, insect damage has been greatly reduced, but there are still cases where larvae or eggs are attached, so it’s best to check just in case.

The Insect Killer seems to know this and has recently been extending its vines to check the leaves, which is very helpful.

While we were taking care of the fields, Rento finished the butchering and fed the scraps to the Kira Plant.

There are things that should be discarded from the butchering, of course.

However, even such things seem to be a treat for the Kira Plant, which was happily eating them. Especially the meat of strong monsters is a good source of nutrients, and thanks to the growth promotion I cast, it has grown quite large.

It won’t take long for it to return to its original size.

After feeding the Kira Plant, Rento handed me a purple stone that glows.

A beautiful stone that always comes out when a monster is butchered. In the past, that’s how I thought of it, but now that I can sense mana, I know it’s different.

Since there’s a knowledgeable person here, I’ll ask.

"Hey, Reedia. This purple stone contains mana, right?"

"Yes, that’s right. It’s called a magic stone and contains the mana of a monster. It’s highly valued in the city as a material for processing weapons and magic tools."

I see, that’s what I thought. It’s a good thing I kept the magic stones from the monsters I butchered in the past.

"The stronger the monster, the stronger the mana it contains, so it can be sold for a high price. I don’t know if Hashira plans to go to the city, but it’s a good idea to keep them just in case."

"Got it."

I like the self-sufficient life in the forest, so I don’t plan to go to the city for now.

However, there are things that are hard to get in the forest, so I want to trade.

Spices, clothes, seedlings, and various other things are lacking and inconvenient.

It’s a wise choice to keep magic stones for such times.

But I knew there was another use for magic stones in my knowledge.

Holding the Devil Fang’s magic stone, I headed to the Gravelingo field.

"What are you going to do with the magic stone?"

As Reedia followed me with a puzzled look, I dropped the magic stone.

Then, the magic stone sank into the soil, as if the soil was absorbing water.

"The soil swallowed the magic stone!?"

Ignoring Reedia’s surprise, the crops began to glow with an emerald light, as if I had cast growth promotion.

As we watched, the branches and leaves grew rapidly.

The small fruits grew visibly larger, about twice their size.

"...The crops grew."

"It seems the magic stone is a good source of nutrients."

My power is to enhance the growth of crops by manipulating them. If I overdo it, the plants will absorb nutrients from the ground and surrounding areas to grow.

However, since the magic stone is used as a nutrient, this doesn’t happen. It completely uses up the magic stone but helps the crops grow more safely than growth promotion.

"I’ve always thought Hashira’s fields were strange. I’ve never heard of magic stones being a source of nutrients."

"Can’t it be done in normal fields?"

"It can’t be done."

It seems it can only be done in the fields I’ve cultivated. In normal fields, spreading magic stones has no effect.

"Let’s try other magic stones."

There are other magic stones in the house. I want to see what effects they have.

I hurried back to the house and went to the shed where I store the magic stones.

I’ve defeated various monsters, from strong to weak, so the size and quality of the magic stones vary.

I picked a few at random and spread them in the Gravelingo and Pink Cherry fields.

"It seems the effect and range of growth depend on the quality of the magic stone."

As Reedia said, it depends on the quality of the magic stone.

A high-quality magic stone like the Devil Fang has a remarkable effect, but an average-quality magic stone doesn’t even match growth promotion. A small, low-quality magic stone shows no noticeable effect.

Incidentally, the small magic stones were appreciated by the Insect Plants.

"Use high-quality magic stones on crops, and the rest can be used as light fertilizer or food for the Insect Plants."

"That’s right. It might be efficient to use them on crops that take a long time to grow or require a lot of effort."

Fruits like Gravelingo and Pink Cherry take years to grow even with growth promotion.

Using them to shorten that time would be best. Also, it’s good to keep them for crops you need to harvest in emergencies.

I thought I could only store magic stones for cash, but finding an unexpected use for them was a good harvest.