CH 15

Magic Experiment Room

The purchase counter was near the back of the building and passed the reception counter. I see. So you could submit them in the back directly.

I took the medicinal herbs to the table and a guild worker in an apron and a bald head greeted me. I guess he was in charge here.

“It looks like you picked them in very good condition. It will be five bronze per bundle for the herbs, and four bronze for the antidote and un-paralysis grass. While we never have enough medicinal herbs, there were no requests out for the other two right now. What will you do?”

Hmm? That seemed a little too cheap.

“I understand. That will be fine.”

I put them back in my bag and left the guild.

But once I did, I realized something.

(Now that I think about it, I have the magic stones that I saved up in the village!)

Well, I can do that next time. I had forgotten completely.

And so I took the herbs to the eldery pharmacist woman, and she bought the medicinal herbs for six bronze a bundle and five bronze for the others.

“But I have a good relationship with the Adventurers Guild so don’t go telling others about this.”

She said firmly.

Altogether, it was three silvers and eighty-four bronze. I did it in my spare time, so it wasn’t even half a day’s worth of gathering. And yet it paid better than doing G-Rank quests at the guild. And there had been a lot growing there, which made it efficient.

However, even though I could make money, it wasn’t a quest, so my rank wouldn’t go up. Perhaps it would be better to raise my rank quickly, so my income would go up as well. Though, this was still good for raising funds for my travel.

After that, I went to a general store and used about fifty bronze to buy some thin, black rope for making deer traps.

My first day of being an Adventurer only brought in five silver and eighty-four bronze. It was a hard world.

I ate an early dinner, returned to my room in the inn, and then tried chanting in front of a cup I had borrowed from the dining hall.

“Water.”

The water started to bubble up until the cup was filled nicely.

“I can finally do magic…hehehe.”

I could not help but mutter aloud to myself.

I then checked my status for Water and Earth magic and then smirked. Apparently, there were no levels for this magic. They just used 1 MP.

I drank the water, and then tried chanting while imagining that I was gathering the moisture in the air.

“Water.”

This time, the bubbling water filled the cup and then overflowed a little.

I checked my status but the MP depletion was still 1.

“I knew it.”

I muttered and smiled again.

“Earth.”

A small pebble appeared, which I placed next to the cup.

“Earth.”

Another pebble appeared. I then smashed it open with the hilt of my short sword.

The insides were black. Plain and with no pattern. Perhaps it was some kind of crystal.

This time, I imagined that I was pouring a lot of magic energy into it.

“Earth.”

The pebble that appeared was no bigger than the others. And it also just used 1 MP.

Then I would try imagining that I was compressing it instead.

“Earth.”

Oh? Was it smaller now? When I cracked it open, it seemed harder…I think. This too only used 1 MP.

And so I tried thinking about enlarging it.

“Earth.”

So it was a little bigger! And it was also more brittle when I crushed it!

I went down to the dining hall and borrowed a cup and basin. They shouted at me, ‘Quit that racket!’ Sound echoed too much in this inn. Tsk.

However, since I am faint-hearted, I would not conduct any more experiments with earth magic.

When I returned to my room, the pebbles that I had placed next to the cup were gone. But the water remained. It was just as the old Guild Master had said. Hmm.

Next, I poured water into the cup while imagining that I was compressing it.

“Water.”

I marked the water level in the cup, threw the water into the basin, and dried it with a cloth.

This time, I imagined the water was expanding as I poured it.

“Water.”

Compared to the previous water level, it was practically the same.

“I see.”

There were a few things that I learned through this experiment.

‘The results of magic change depending on your imagination.’

While I couldn’t be certain, as my magic manipulation level was low, I thought that it was most likely.

‘The effect is enhanced through creating a precise mental image.’

The reason that the pebble disappeared while the water remained, was probably due to differences in the process of realizing substances.

Pebbles created with magic were realized with magic energy, while water was through the gathering of moisture in the air. That would explain why water magic was less effective in the desert. That meant it wasn’t the work of spirits.

‘Matter that appears through magic energy is not from the natural world.’

This was also just a theory, but I had never seen a rock that had no pattern inside.

‘You cannot use more magic energy(MP) in order to raise the effect of the magic.’

I would have to look into this more when my Magic Manipulation level went up, but at the moment, this was what I believed.

‘You can change the shape and size of magic through imagining it.’

However, the overall effect will remain the same.

‘The laws of physics are affected by the substance that appears?’

This too was somewhat doubtful. Because the water that appeared through magic was water that existed in the natural world. At the very least, the water that appeared didn’t shrink or expand based on how much magic energy I imagined. The volume remained mostly the same.

Tsk…

However, those experiments were just a precursor…I still have…10 MP left!

This was where the real experiments begin!

Enveloping your body in magic to strengthen it! Or coating your sword to make a magic blade! …I wouldn’t do such things since my magic manipulation was weak.

And I really did think that there were other attributes… Especially considering that god I had met. I could surely find a hint in the simple spells of everyday magic. It was definitely worth testing out.

First…throw a cloth into the air and quickly…

“Time.”

The cloth fell to the floor.

Look, I didn’t think that it would be that easy, alright? Why would everyday magic actually allow you to do something so powerful? No, it was ridiculous. But you had to try things that popped into your head, right? Right?

Still, I checked my MP just in case, and it was at a 10. No magic had been activated.

But! I would not be discouraged so easily! Perhaps by some miracle, there might be a tiny possibility that I will succeed!

“Space.”

MP was 10.

“Dimension.”

MP was 10.

“Gravity.”

MP was 10.

“HEA-”

“I told you to be quiet!!!”

Bang.

Someone kicked my door…angrily. Alright, I guess that was enough experiments for today.

Well, while things had not gone well this time, it was too early to conclude that those attributes did not exist.

I didn’t have the aptitude, the words were wrong, I lacked something else. There could be numerous explanations. All I knew was that right now, nothing had happened.

As for what I could do in the present, it was to get used to magic manipulation, just like the Guild Master had said.

I turned out the lamp and got into bed. Then I concentrated on the magic energy in the pit of my stomach. It felt just a little soft, and so I tried to think about kneading and slowly turning it.

It was still early, but I had to get up early in the morning. And so I closed my eyes and continued to manipulate the magic energy until I fell asleep.