Volume 4 Chapter 12-2 Equivalent exchange
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
They say the magician guild has this magic tool like a crystal ball to figure out your element.
But getting into that closed-off guild is no easy feat.
Only a handful meet their strict conditions.
Regular folks just pick their favorite spirit and call it their element, like some sort of elemental blood type reading.
There’s even this whole elemental fortune-telling thing, swapping blood types for the 4 elements.
According to Shea-Shea, fire spirits are serious and organized, while earth spirits are open-hearted and strong.
”You’re not exactly disliked by the Fire spirit, you know. Why not ask them directly?”
Suddenly, Lady Uno summoned a woman with exotic, brown skin.
With her fiery red hair standing on end, she must be an advanced fire spirit.
Her eye-catching red leather bikini armor is a bit much, though.
I mean, I get wanting to show off a perfect body, but still.
”Well, there’s no reason to hate you. We’re not the type to cause a scene for no reason, after all.”
What’s this, a proper Edo girl?
Her dangerous body made her look older, but she talks like she’s not.
She might even be around my age.
”If the Fire spirit doesn’t hate me, does that mean I’m some sort of dream all-element holder?”
An all-element holder is someone who can use every type of magic, literally.
It’s a rare cheat ability for heroes who get summoned, kind of like a game protagonist.
Pretty cool.
”What are you talking about? You don’t have any element. Isn’t that better?”
What do you mean?
Don’t tell me I don’t even have earth?
I’d rather not be some generic no-element loser, though.
Well, I guess it figures for a sorry excuse of a Hero like me.
I can’t use real magic anyway, so it’s not like it matters.
”Being an element holder is something humans made up recently. It’s just their shallow wisdom, that’s all.”
According to Lady Uno, humans are actually supposed to be neutral──no natural affinity magic at all.
But hundreds of years ago, this one magician went and invented a crazy ritual that forces your affinity toward one element on purpose.
Turns out, being a jack-of-all-trades in magic isn’t all that great.
People wanted specialists──mages who could hit hard with one element, not just dabble in everything.
So, these days, pretty much every magician has some kind of magic type.
It’s weird if you don’t.
That ritual to tilt your affinity?
It actually gets stronger as it passes from parent to child.
That’s what they call a “magician bloodline.”
Supposedly, only the higher-ups in the magician guild know the whole story, but honestly, with Lady Uno snooping around, nothing stays secret for long.
Now, summoned heroes? They’ve all got every attribute in the book.
But that’s a cheat skill, totally different from the old magician bloodlines.
The official name?
”Beloved by All Spirits.” Yeah, real subtle.
Normally, when you use magic, you give up some MP to the spirit, and only about ten percent gets turned into actual power.
If you’re from a good bloodline, that jumps to 20 percent──double the usual.
Kinda impressive.
But this “Beloved by All Spirits” cheat?
Other league entirely.
They get back dozens of times the MP they spend, all turned into raw strength.
That’s not even a cheat──it’s straight up broken.
”So, you wanted all the elements too, huh? Humans really are greedy. Well, I guess I could make that wish come true for you. Maybe.”
Lady Uno just dropped that like it was nothing.
…Excuse me, but just who do you think you are?
Dragons do grant wishes sometimes, I guess, but that’s more of an Eastern dragon vibe.
Doesn’t really fit here.
Well, not that it matters, since she’s rocking the whole super beautiful girl look──definitely not your average ant.
Yeah, getting all the elements sounds great and all, but if this cheat pushes your conversion to over 100%, that’s… kinda bad?
Because if you get more than you pay for, that means the spirits have to cough up the difference.
Basically, the more you use it, the more you’re just dumping the burden on them.
Just look at that Edo-girl spirit’s face──she’s making it obvious I nailed it.
”No thanks, I’ll pass. Spirits can’t keep running in the red, and it’s just more stress for me. I believe in a fair trade──give and take. That’s what matters.”
Lady Uno and the Advanced Fire Spirit are staring each other down.
Maybe the Mind Communication skill didn’t quite hit the mark.
”How amusing, you’re quite the greedy one. All right, since you’ve gone this far, I’ll grant you a special equivalent exchange ability.”
”Awesome! Hey, with this, having all attributes is no joke. You’re the best, I like you. Call me Frapatica, don’t hesitate to shout if you’re in trouble.”
Seems like there’s been some kind of misunderstanding.
It’s a positive reaction, so no big deal, but this is a bit confusing.
In the end, I ended up with this ‘equivalent exchange’ ability I don’t quite get.
Supposedly, it converts MP at 100% efficiency, like a watered-down version of ‘Beloved by All Spirits.’ But it looks like my rare type is even higher.
I wasn’t aiming to be the strongest anyway, so having the rare type is kinda nice.
Back in Japan, I was thrilled to hoard rare items with normal performance in my game inventory.
And with 100% efficiency, it’s still 5 times better than a well-bred magician’s.
I guess you could call it a cheat ability.
Still, I’m way happier that Ms. Frapatica gave me her name.
Back home, I’d be over the moon if a girl gave me her email.
But getting a name from an Advanced Spirit?
That’s a whole different level.
When a spirit gives you their name, it’s like they’re lending you their strength.
Normally, that kind of event only happens to heroes or top-tier magicians.
Huh?
But if the ‘equivalent exchange’ effect always keeps the conversion rate at 100%, does it even matter if the spirit helps out?
But hey, it’s the thought that counts.
While I’m mulling this over, suddenly, Ms. Exceneca pipes up with an introduction.
”Um, c-can you remember my name? I am Exceneca. I follow the way of water, and I humbly ask for your everlasting favor…”
”Uh, I already know who you are, Ms. Exceneca.”
”That’s not what I meant… Geez.”
For some reason, Ms. Frapatica was laughing so hard behind me, clutching her stomach.
Ah, I see. Ms. Exceneca is offering her strength too.
How rude of me to miss that!
This is bad… really bad.
My brain’s not working fast enough… I should’ve figured that out ten seconds ago.
”I’m sorry, Ms. Exceneca. I’m really happy. I mean it.”
While I kept apologizing to the pouting Ms. Exceneca, Lady Uno and Ms. Frapatica were laughing hysterically behind me.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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