CH 29

A few days after the boar hunt, I received a letter from Horacio.

He had enclosed a letter to me in the letter he had written to his parents.

It was the first letter I received in this world, and it was written in his typical meticulous handwriting.

Nyango, how are you?

I’m fine.

The Royal Capital is an amazing city, just as Nyango said.

It is bigger than the mountains around Atsuka Village and is full of castles, mansions, and other amazing buildings.

I want to be able to show Nyango around the city before you come to visit, but I have hardly left the training school at the edge of the city.

The only time I have been outside is when I went to carry the knights’ luggage, and I don’t think I will be able to show you around for a while.

The training to become a knight was so tough and hard that I cried many times.

But when I have a hard time, I light the magical tool that Nyango gave me.

The flames of the magic tool remind me of the scenery of the village and the festival that I went around with Nyango on the day I left for the Nest Leaving Ceremony.

From the flames, Nyango seems to be encouraging me to do my best and become a knight for sure, which always cheers me up.

I think the rigorous training will continue, but I’ll keep my promise to Nyango and become a knight without fail, so please come visit the Royal Capital someday.

I look forward to seeing you again.

Horacio

I heard from Mr. Zeol that knight apprentices are made to train hard to build up their basic physical strength.

Horacio is gentle and strong, but even though he is strong, he has a mentality at the level of the children in the village… I guess he has to be very disciplined in order to become a knight.

When I imagined Horacio staring at the magic tool’s fire while crying, I started to worry if he was really okay.

I start to worry when I think back to my previous life, wondering if he is being bullied or mistreated for being a country boy.

Still, he writes strongly that he will keep his promise to me and become a knight for sure, so I will believe his words.

And I also renewed my determination to become a full-fledged adventurer who can travel all the way to the Royal Capital so that I can keep my promise, too.

The day after I received the letter from Horacio, it was time for a staff art sparring, even if my motivation ran high, I was still beaten to a pulp.

“That’s all for today.” (Zeol)

“Thank you.” (Nyango)

“I don’t know what happened, but it takes time to grow strong.” (Zeol)

“Of course…” (Nyango)

“Go take wash off with the water and cool off…” (Zeol)

It is the season of dazzling fresh greenery, and when I finish my practice, I am drenched in sweat and dust, so my recent pattern is to take a quick wash near the well, have a cup of tea, and return home.

At first, I wondered what kind of medicinal tea he was good at, but recently, the tea he brews is delicious without words of flattery.

“Mr. Zeol, what is a magic tool?” (Nyango)

“Why, you’re asking strange questions out of the blue.” (Zeol)

“If I am going to be subjugating monsters and beasts, I thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of water magic tool.” (Nyango)

I felt the need for magic tools when I killed the orc, but I realized that I lacked knowledge about magic tools in the first place, so I asked him while drinking tea.

“Well, yes. Nyango has void attribute, so you’d better have some water magic tools to wash away the blood that got on you during the dismantling.” (Zeol)

“I was thinking that, too, and next time I have a chance to go to the town of Ibouro, I’m thinking of looking in a magic tool shop, but I don’t know what or how to choose.” (Nyango)

“Oh, I see. Then I’ll show the ones I have.” (Zeol)

There was a total of four kinds of magical tools in Mr. Zeol’s house.

The water magic tool, the fire magic tool, the light magic tool, and the last one is the wind magic tool.

“I don’t need the wind magic tool because I have the wind attribute, but this one was given to me.” (Zeol)

In my house, we use a well for water, my mother’s magic for fire, a lamp for light, and a fan for wind, so there are no magic tools.

The price of magic tools is not so expensive that even a poor family can’t afford them, but we can get by without them.

“This water magic tool is the type that can be used with a magic stone or by pouring your own magic power into it. When dismantling, I use a string to tie the carcass to a tree trunk or something, so that the magic stone comes in contact with this part below, letting the water flow out.” (Zeol)

The water magic stone is a board, 5 cm wide, 15 cm long, and about 2 cm thick, with a leather string threaded through a hole drilled in the edge.

The material is smooth stone, and a magic circle is engraved on the opposite side of the strap.

The magic circle consists of several concentric circles and a complex pattern, with a line extending from the outermost circle toward the handle.

At a quick glance, it looks like an otaku’s Peropero candy. [T/N: Peropero candies are flat candies with a character’s face embossed/indented on the surface.]

“I don’t know all the details, but I heard that this magic circle is made of a material that allows magical elements, such as the horns and fangs of monsters, to pass through. When the magic element flows through this magic circle, the magic is activated.” (Zeol)

“I see, may I try using?” (Nyango)

“Oh, I don’t mind, but the room will be flooded here, so please do it in the sink or in the garden.” (Zeol)

When I went out to the garden, grabbed the handle of the magic tool, and imagined channeling magic element, water overflowed from the magic circle.

I tried to push in extra magic elements in the manner of body enhancement magic, but only up to a certain amount was channeled.

The line extending from the magic circle seemed to be a conduit for the magical element to flow in, and even if a magic stone was pressed against this area, the magical tool could be used.

The basic structure of fire magic tools, light magic tools, and wind magic tools are the same.

“Then, the difference might be in the size and pattern of the magic circle?” (Nyango)

“Yes, in general, the larger the magic circle, the more easily the magic element can pass through the material, the more powerful the magic will be. The pattern of the magic circle differs depending on the type of magic.” (Zeol)

Indeed, when you compare them, the patterns of all magic circles are completely different.

The pattern of the magic circle is complicated, and the accuracy of the circle’s design also affects the efficiency of the magic circle.

“Mr. Zeol, is it okay if I copy the pattern of this magic circle?” (Nyango)

“I don’t mind, but are you planning to make your own magic tool?” (Zeol)

“No, I think it would be difficult to make it myself, but I just want to verify something.” (Nyango)

In this country, paper and ink are still relatively expensive, so I carefully copied the magic circle so as not to make any mistakes.

The next day, I took the magic circle I had drawn and went to the riverbank.

Using a stick made with void magic, I drew a magic circle of fire on the riverbank.

I redrew it three times to make it as beautiful and distortion-free as possible.

Naturally, even if I drew it on the soil of the riverbed, it would not catch fire.

“Well then, how about this?” (Nyango)

Like when I was tracing the magic circle on the riverbed, I used void attribute magic to solidify the air into the shape of the magic circle.

When I solidified the air into a magic circle, not flimsy like paper, but about 10 centimeters in diameter and 3 centimeters thick, flames shot up with a booming sound.

“Wooow! Awesome, it really created fire…” (Nyango)

The first time I saw the magic tools, I thought that if I solidified the air containing magic elements into the shape of a magic circle, the magic would be activated, but I didn’t think it would work this well.

I tried not only fire magic circle, but also water magic circle, light magic circle, and wind magic circle, and all of them worked.

“Amazing, I don’t have to buy any magic tools. It seems that I can even use the magic of other attributes.” (Nyango)

In this world, only one type of attribute magic can be used per person.

Many people have researched and continued to challenge, but it seems that there has never been a single person who could control multiple attributes.

If I can use this magic circle with void attribute magic at any time, I am using Engraving Magic to be precise, but it may look as if I am controlling multiple attributes by myself.

“Ah… but it looks dangerous, so maybe I shouldn’t use it in public?” (Nyango)

I felt that if I became the first in the world or the only one in the world, I might invite envy or resentment, so I should not show it to people unless it was unavoidable.

I decided to practice in a place where I would not be seen.

Further verification revealed that the size of the magic circle and the strength of the solidified air change the power of the magic that is activated, and the thickness of the magic circle changes the duration of the magic.

As a test, when I superimposed a fire magic circle and a wind magic circle, flames shot far through the air.

If I adjust the shape and power, I might be able to create something like a burner or a hair dryer.

I would love to create a hair dryer to dry my hair after a bath in winter.

The combination of magic circles is also possible with wind and water, and depending on the adjustment, it may be possible to create a high-pressure water stream or something like a dry mist.

However, I tried to combine fire and water magic circles to create hot water, but it did not work.

It seems that some magic circles are incompatible with each other and cannot be combined, but there are more magic circles used in magic tools, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the possibilities are endless.

However, the patterns of the magic circle are so complicated that I don’t feel I can make them without a sample.

When dismantling, or in a situation like starting a fire in a camp, it would be fine to look at a sample, but if I want to use it in battle, I have to be able to make it instantly and in any size I want.

“Hey, it’s impossible not to use this in battle, right? I’ll master this and become an adventurer who will knock Horacio’s socks off.” (Nyango)

Anyway, I will learn many kinds of magic circles accurately and practice to be able to form them instantly.

This new task may seem daunting, but it will be worth the challenge.