Volume 6 Chapter 11 The Gate Of Ascetic Practice
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Following the hero old man, we passed through the stone gate of the ruins.
Ah, we came casually. This feeling, like a slight dizziness… Ah, it’s a teleportation gate.
The comfort—or rather, the experience—of using a teleportation gate varies with each facility.
The one at the Valley of Trials doesn’t even feel like it teleported.
The one used inside Schulz’s nest jitters slightly when you exit.
The teleportation gate here has a gentle, fluffy feeling, quite similar to the one in the Puppeteer’s dungeon.
Each has a different magic formula, and the teleport distance and mana consumption are completely different.
While the dragons teleport to different spaces, the one in the Puppeteer’s dungeon only moves a few hundred meters.
I think this one here is just for simple movement, probably.
Fixed-type teleportation gates have a much higher success rate compared to teleport magic. However, the destination is fixed.
I believe it’s similar to warp navigation in sci-fi, bending space to leap over.
For teleportation gates, since it’s fixed, once connected, there’s no need to worry about coordinate errors.
By choosing easily connectable places, mana consumption can also be reduced. Just analyzing the magic formulas alone probably won’t be enough to reproduce it.
How to measure the coordinates? That part, I have no idea at all.
* * *
The destination after teleporting was a stone corridor.
It seems to be a place where sunlight doesn’t reach.
Lighting magic tools are sporadically shining on the ceiling. Despite being magic tools, they don’t seem to use magic stones. They’re reacting directly to the mana in the earth’s veins.
The structure looks simple enough that I could probably make one myself, but conversely, the simpler something is, the more it might not work just with a small difference.
Becoming able to make magic tools changed how I see the world.
Even everyday items I had overlooked before now seem fascinating.
As a magic tool craftsman, I am still just a beginner, but just thinking about making all kinds of things from now on excites me.
A magic tool that works only with natural mana is charismatic.
It reminds me of the germanium radio I made in elementary school.
A radio that doesn’t need batteries was just so mysterious to a child’s mind.
For me at that time, that was also magic.
Of course, everything has its seeds and mechanisms.
The germanium radio was using radio waves themselves as the power source.
The advantage of using a magic stone is that it can supply stable mana to the magic tool, but as long as you have mana, there was no need to rely on a magic stone.
If it’s a magic tool you wear, it can use the mana of the wearer.
Ms. Claire’s collar worked flawlessly using that method.
Using natural mana is theoretically the same.
The problem is that the amount of mana is much smaller.
Except for special places like power spots, the mana flowing through the earth’s veins is minimal.
But with a magic tool that consumes little mana for illumination, there’s no problem.
Whether you can make a practical magic tool depends more on ideas than on technology.
Also, manufacturing cost is probably part of practicality.
If it’s cheap, everyone will want it, but if it’s too expensive, they simply can’t buy it.
If you’re selling, design might also be important.
I like thinking about designs, though whether my designs will sell is unknown.
* * *
Anyway, being surprised just by a magic tool is not necessary.
Upon closer inspection, even the stonework of the passage is splendid.
They’re doing a great job; without a doubt, the craftsman who made this is a master-level skilled person.
They have assembled hard stone materials into an arch, supporting the ceiling, and it’s finished beautifully in any case.
An arch structure is fundamental in stone construction, but the skill of those involved in design and construction is also easy to see.
The gaps in the stonework are finished so precisely that even a razor blade can’t slip in.
Probably, after assembling the stones, they further flattened and polished the surface.
Even at the royal castle, there was no such meticulous finishing.
The top part of the pillar is decorated with elaborate carvings that seem overdone.
The wings of the angel-like female statues are so thin, finished thinner than an eggshell, that just dusting them off might break them.
They probably take care in cleaning them, though from what I see, there’s not much dust or anything built up.
Come to think of it, there’s not much sign of aging or deterioration. It doesn’t seem newly made, but it’s a strange story… I wonder what this place is?
”Over here, over here. Come quickly.”
The old man proceeds without hesitation, moving forward steadily.
Following behind, I jump into one of the many entrances lining both sides of the corridor.
The sensation of being transported somewhere else happens again.
”No way, are all of these teleportation gates?”
”See? Isn’t it amazing?”
The old man boasts with a proud look. Indeed, having so many teleportation gates lined up is quite impressive. Naturally, I assume they all lead to different destinations.
Probably, this corridor functions as a hub connecting teleportation gates all over the world. It’s strange that there are no other people around, though.
”Keep following properly. If you get lost, you won’t be able to get back.”
The teleportation destination again is a similar stone corridor. The teleportation gates are lined up again.
I start to understand the mechanism somehow. By passing through multiple hubs gathering teleportation gates, it must be possible to travel all over the world.
After teleporting more than ten times, I finally arrive at a room that seems to be the final destination.
Still, Mr. Escalion has an excellent memory of the route. I think the 5-digit numbers carved above each teleportation gate are the addresses of the destinations.
Could it be that, if you only know the destination’s address, you can eventually reach it? Maybe it’s similar to phone numbers.
It’s amazing how people thought about systems like phone numbers before there were computers. I am sure they were much smarter than me.
It seems there are highly skilled mathematicians even in this world, so it’s not surprising if similar inventions exist.
The villagers can’t even do proper calculations, but that doesn’t mean they are inferior to Earth in top-tier realms.
Even just looking at one of the Astronomy skill’s formulas, orbit calculations and all that are just incredible. It’s completely over my head. I wonder if smart people at NASA can understand it?
I want to be smart too. If I combine sniping skill and orbit calculations, I think I can do something like artillery.
”This is my proud training ground.”
Hoh, this is quite impressive. It looks like a stone-built dojo.
The ceiling is a magnificent dome. Every time I see the massive dome made of stone, I wonder, how on earth did they build something like this?
The strength is ensured by the weight of the stones themselves, similar to an arch structure. I understand that, but the problem is, how do they support the stones during construction?
Could it be that they built it all at once with magic? I’d love to see a building under construction.
I probe the outside using Radar Scan, but I can’t detect anything.
Or maybe it’s just an empty space? There are no windows in the room, and light sources—magic tools—are arranged at regular intervals on the walls.
The floor is lined with various outlines, giving it a true martial arts training ground vibe.
Although there are no spectator seats, it could probably host a small martial arts tournament.
The large tiles covering the floor are made of a material similar to pumice.
They have a moderate grip and flexibility.
Even if beaten against the floor, if you break your fall, it probably won’t be fatal.
I get that the old man is really serious about training.
Honestly, I think it might be a little fun to train here too.
But I’m not that free.
I’m busy preparing for moving the village and various other things.
”I would be grateful if you could train me, but unfortunately I don’t have much time. If there’s another chance someday, I’d appreciate it then.”
”Being a warrior is a business where you might lose your life at any time. You say ‘another time’? Fool! If you don’t want to die, endure my training with all you’ve got.”
He suddenly attacked with a serious slash. Of course, I desperately dodged.
His behavior is reckless! It could cause serious injury if I’m unlucky! No, I might even die!!
Truly, he is a troublesome old man who doesn’t listen to others. Uno’s training is more life-threatening, so this level of danger doesn’t scare me.
This must be some sort of fate, so I’ll go along with it for a bit. He’ll be satisfied once he gets tired of rampaging.
”Since you’re doing such dangerous training, you can use healing magic, right? You can heal even if your arm gets cut off, right?”
During training with Uno, no matter how serious the injury, I could recover immediately with magic. There was a sense of security knowing that anything short of instant death was fine.
”I can’t use magic, but don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you as much as I can. Anyone who gets seriously injured during training just has no luck. Someone with no luck will die soon anyway.”
He spouts an absurd theory that is hard to understand.
The fact that he seems to have no ill intent makes it even worse.
I bought a few low-grade potions just in case. They can’t fix major injuries, though.
If I had known this would happen, I would have stopped by the Valley of Trials first. If I make it back safely, I’ll beg Uno for a lot of Dragon God’s Herb.
With one Dragon God’s Herb, it’s practically like gaining an extra life.
”Ah! That’s right. Let’s use this. It’s a practice bamboo sword I made.”
I’ve never felt so glad to be prepared. I made this prototype in case I ever trained with Uno again. Including the prototypes, I have about a dozen in my magic bag.
I made it by bundling arrow bamboo and wrapping it in leather. It’s a bit different from a kendo bamboo sword, but the important thing is that it’s much safer than a real sword.
”Oh, this is interesting.”
Mr. Escalion seems to like the bamboo sword I made.
That’s good. Now I won’t get seriously injured.
”You’re smart after all. With this, you can go all out without holding back.”
Even though it’s a bamboo sword, it still hurts when you get hit. And the old man gleefully swings it with no regard for rules.
It didn’t take long for me to become battered and bruised.
”Young people these days rely too much on superficial techniques. In that regard, you have a good spirit. Yes.”
After training was over, Mr. Escalion’s attitude suddenly changed. Being called “kimi” in a cat-like voice was a little creepy.
Come to think of it, the old man didn’t use swordsmanship skill. It seemed he was enhancing his physical ability with mana, but that was all.
In the end, I was simply beaten with a bamboo sword under the guise of training, but thanks to that, I was able to learn a few things.
If I abandon attack and focus on evasion, I can dodge quite well even against an expert. The results of training with Uno are starting to take shape here.
In real combat, as long as you can somehow endure the initial attack, you have a chance to stealth and escape.
Because stealth is a major skill, countermeasures are well known, and there’s a possibility it could be exposed by area attacks, etc.
After all, it’s Mijin-Gakure. Making the opponent believe you have self-destructed can divert their attention away from stealth possibilities. As expected of ninjutsu, it also thoughtfully considers psychological warfare.
* * *
I was surprised to find a large bathhouse next to the training ground.
An elegant facility reminiscent of ancient Roman therms, the hot spring continuously flows with a slightly lukewarm temperature.
Even when there are no people, the water flows constantly—what a luxurious facility.
Thanks to that, the inside of the bathtub is perfectly clear to the bottom.
I like turbid hot springs too, but high transparency is also exciting.
I wonder what the mineral content of this spring is?
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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