CH 10

Good morning.

It's the morning of day seven of our magic sword training.

After training how to control mana emission for almost a week, Alma finally managed to at least not use it all up.

Well, she still did at the inn to raise her max MP though.

Eh? What did we do until then? She dried up her MP without sparing any left, what about it?

Since I piggybacked Alma back to town every single day, the townsfolk must be wondering what are we up to. How'd it come to that.

I myself trained on mana control next to Alma, but the mana blade reproduction effort still isn't going well.

I did manage to harden my mana with an iron-like property and a sharp blade like shape, but that just doesn't feel enough.

Since it wasn't going well, I played around with mana control instead.

I coated hardened mana on the whole sword and made it move around like a radio control.

The sword got suspended in mid-air like it had a mind on its own. Kinda scary if you've got no idea what's going on.

It looks kinda like a Living Sword in RPGs, but I can't really control it well when it gets too far, and I've gotta focus on controlling the sword making myself vulnerable, so I'm not sure about its practical usage.

Alma who saw the sword moving around funnily in mid air looked at me with a 'This guy's up to another weird stuff' expression.... Okay, I gotta pipe it down.

Well, I did manage to come up with a usable move thanks to this playing around. While neglecting the main topic, mana blade heh.

I bought other usable looking stuff in that mats store near the guild meanwhile.

They're pretty expensive for consumables, but I won't complain since the prices are right.

The old lady storekeeper would laugh 'Hiihiiihii' eerily as she dealt with me, kinda creepy at a glance, but she would kindly teach me how stuff she sells work and the likes.

I'll be her patron from now on. But they're not cheap...

And today, I saw Alma casting Ignite without the ring during breakfast.

Apparently she tried to cast a weak Ignite when she woke up and succeeded. That's dangerous, please do it outside. (Look who's talking).

I honestly didn't think she'd grasp mana control this quickly, this girl must be a genius.

Our usual training ground has been turned into a scorching ground, so we moved to another spot.

It's a rocky area so it's not like it's caused a problem, but the ground is burnt black, see?

We went somewhere in the opposite direction.

To the east of Town of Daijel, close to magic beast forest.

According to Alma, some magic beasts would very rarely wander around here, but it should be fine since only relatively weak magic beasts prowl this area.

I'm still feeling uneasy though.

The experience of getting attacked by kobold and goblins on my first day in this world seems to have turned into a trauma.

My first premonition of death ever. I don't think anybody could easily get over that.

But getting scared forever won't do me any good, it might even lead to me endangering other people.

Like how Alma ended up running out of mana and needed helping.

Alright, I've decided. Rather than letting magic beasts find us, I'll go after them instead. First strike win. Search & Destroy!

...Who's the magic beast here now.

"What's wrong, Hikaru?"

She asked me with a puzzled look as I was thinking that.

"Nah, it's nothing. Let's get to magic sword testing."

"Un...!"

She looks so happy. I just hope she won't overdo it again.

She drew her sword and took a stance.

"Coat the blade part with flammable gas, and maintain it. Then ignite it."

"Hn... Controlling mana outside your body is pretty difficult."

"You'll get used to it, I'm sure. Alright, the coating looks well done."

"You can tell?"

"Yeah, focusing mana in my head enables me to sense the surrounding mana's movement and shape somehow."

I don't actually see it, it's kinda like how I can feel hot or cold.

Rather than sense, I guess it's more akin to intuition? No, I don't think that's right or is it.

Anyway, just think of it like a radar that senses external mana.

"...You learn a new move every two days, Hikaru. To be honest, that's kinda scary."

"Well that's pretty hurtful of you, young miss. Forget about that, how's it going with the magic sword?"

"Un, I'm going to ignite it now."

Gachi! Bobou!

Alma easily reproduced the flaming sword.

Well now that she can use 'Ignite' on her own, this result is only natural.

She's staring at the blade, full of emotion.

About 10 seconds after.

"...Eh!?

Boshu...

She suddenly sounded surprised and the flame went out.

What's going on?

"...Alma?"

"Hi-Hikaru. Can you, check my stats, now?"

She asked while looking unusually excited.