Volume 2 Chapter 5 My First Magic
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The Poison Snake sold for a much higher price at the Adventurer’s Guild than I expected.
Total take: three gold coins, two silver coins, and five copper coins.
That’s about 325,000 yen if I’m converting it back to home currency.
My wallet was finally feeling heavy.
At this rate, I might actually be able to make a decent living just by hunting monsters.
The next morning, I grabbed some breakfast and immediately went back to sleep.
The best part of this world? I don’t have a company to report to anymore.
There was no need to wake up at the crack of dawn and work myself to the bone.
After finally crawling out of bed, I went searching for the equipment shop that was supposed to be on the same block as the Guild.
It was easy enough to find; the sign featured a sword and a suit of armor.
I stepped inside expecting a dwarf, but instead, I found a middle-aged guy with a face that looked distinctly Japanese.
He had the aura of a master craftsman, like one of those old-school carpenters you’d see back home.
”I’m looking for some armor,” I said.
”Sure thing. Take your time and look around,” the shopkeeper replied.
He seemed pretty laid back.
The shop was packed with gear that looked like standard soldier equipment.
It was mostly layers of leather stacked together with iron rings scattered throughout-some kind of chainmail, I assumed.
I tried lifting a piece with one hand, but it was incredibly heavy.
I wasn’t planning on going to war, so lighter was better.
Besides, I’d be in the forest; I needed to be mobile.
I decided to stick with leather.
I picked out a leather breastplate and a waist guard.
I added some leather gloves and boots to the pile, then figured I should probably spring for a new set of clothes and trousers while I was at it.
The total damage was two gold coins and five silver.
It wasn’t exactly cheap, but I considered it a necessary business expense.
The shopkeeper mentioned he’d take the three pairs of boots I’d “acquired” from the men in the forest for five silver coins, so I offloaded them.
I didn’t want to spend another second carrying around boots that probably smelled like someone else’s athlete’s foot.
Next stop was the tool shop.
The place had a sign with a bag on it and sold all sorts of handmade knick-knacks.
The drawstring pouch and leather canteen I’d stolen were starting to gross me out, so I replaced them.
I got a silver coin for the trade-ins, so I only ended up down four silver coins.
I passed a bakery on the way and stocked up on hard bread.
Three copper coins’ worth.
There was a butcher shop on the main road toward the river.
Right out front, they were breaking down a pig while it was still alive.
A long knife sliced its throat open, and blood came gushing out in torrents.
(I guess you can still squeal even with your throat cut…)
The people walking by didn’t even blink.
It was just part of the scenery here.
The butcher had just tossed the pig’s guts into a pile by the door.
The stench of rot was thick enough to make my eyes water.
I bought a good amount of pork jerky from him.
Two silver coins.
Meat is a luxury in this world, apparently.
Milk was pricey too, but I grabbed a liter.
I finished up by hoarding some daily essentials: cloth for toothbrushes, plus five towels and five pairs of underwear.
”Toothbrushing” here just meant putting salt on a scrap of cloth and scrubbing your teeth.
The only seasoning available was salt, too.
Pepper was way out of my budget.
And since this world hasn’t heard of toilet paper, I bought a mountain of rags to wipe my ass.
Wipe and toss-that was the new reality.
After a light lunch, I headed back to the Guild.
The same girl from yesterday was at the desk, so I asked her about the local work.
”For work inside the city, we’ve got delivery, construction, or street cleaning,” the girl said.
”Cleaning? Like, shoveling horse shit and trash?” I asked.
”Exactly. Five large buckets dumped in the pit outside the city walls gets you five iron coins,” she replied.
One iron coin per bucket… cheap.
Even if it paid well, I wasn’t interested.
”Just curious—who usually takes those jobs?”
”You know the bridge over the Melin River on the west side? It’s the people living on the other side of that,” the girl explained.
”The Melin River, huh? If it’s past the bridge, isn’t that outside the walls?”
”Yeah, the slums. A lot of poor people live out there.”
”I see.”
So there was a district outside the city.
I’d have to check that out later.
”What about monster hunting?” I asked.
”No specific subjugation orders right now. Those fall under ‘Standing Requests,’” the girl said.
”Explain those to me.”
”Well, if we don’t thin them out, the Magic Forest¹ would just overflow with monsters. So there’s a permanent bounty on them.”
”A culling request, then.”
”The reward depends on the size of the Magic Stone². A Goblin-class stone gets you two copper coins as a bounty. The Guild buys the stone itself for one silver, so you’re looking at one silver and two copper total. Oh, but we don’t buy the Goblins themselves. Please don’t bring them here!”
”No one eats Goblin, I take it. What’s a step up from that?”
”Big game! Like a Poison Snake or a Great Boar. The bounty and the Magic Stone³ together are two silver and five copper. But the real money is in the materials—buying the actual bodies can fetch a huge price.”
”Got it. If I bag something, I’ll bring it in.”
”Please do! I’ll be waiting for you to bring back something huge!” the girl shouted.
(Man, what is wrong with this girl’s head?)
(I told her to stop shouting.)
Anyway, I got the gist of it.
Hunt stuff, bring it back, get paid.
”By the way, where’s the church?” I asked.
”The big building facing the Square. You can’t miss it,” she said.
”Thanks.”
The building I saw yesterday was indeed the place.
I left the Guild and headed over.
Inside, the structure looked remarkably like a church back on Earth.
I flagged down a staff member.
”Hey, is this the church?”
”Yes, it is,” the woman replied.
”I heard you can treat monster venom here. Do you use magic for that?”
”Detoxification magic, yes. We do perform treatments here,” the woman said.
”I see. What’s the… offering… for that?”
”For venom treatment, we ask for a donation starting at one gold coin,” she replied.
One gold coin per pop.
Expensive as hell.
I wouldn’t pay that just for a check-up, but I had a specific reason for being here.
”Fair enough. Let’s do it,” I said.
”Oh? Are you currently poisoned?”
”Got a scratch a few days ago. Just being careful,” I lied.
”I see. I’ll call the Priest. Please, wait in this private room,” the woman said.
”Thanks.”
An old man with a white beard eventually walked in.
I could feel his Mana—it was slightly stronger than a normal person’s.
It was about the same level as that woman I saw following the rich guy in town.
Maybe she was a mage, too.
”You’re here for the detox?” the Priest asked.
”Yeah. If you would.”
”And the donation to the church?”
I handed him the gold coin.
”Is this enough?”
”Perfectly. Let us begin,” the Priest said.
The Priest closed his eyes, entering a meditative state.
He began to mutter some incantation.
”The power of holy nourishment, the breath of divine blessing…”
I focused entirely on his Mana.
I wasn’t going to miss a single vibration.
I watched it pulse at his heart, then spread through his torso.
It flowed down his right arm, pooling at his fingertips.
”Remove all that withers this body…”
He thrust his hand forward, and the Mana vented out from his palm.
It hovered in the air about ten centimeters away, a sphere of energy the size of a soccer ball.
(Wait…)
Looking closely, I saw thin threads of Mana connecting the sphere to the Priest’s body.
He was tethered to it, controlling it.
He moved his hand toward my chest, and the floating Mana began to sink into me.
The Priest’s eyes snapped open.
”Cure⁴!”
The Mana vanished as it absorbed into my skin.
Unlike my Heal, there was no flash of light.
”The poison is gone. May the Gods guide your path,” the Priest said.
”Much appreciated. You’ve been a big help,” I replied.
I thanked him and got out of there.
That was the first time I’d seen someone in this world actually use magic.
So, detox is called Cure⁵.
I’ve got the hang of it now.
I bet I can do that.
I just have to visualize purifying foreign bodies—toxins, bacteria, whatever.
Back in my room at the inn, I put it to the test immediately.
”Alright. Let’s see. Cure⁶.”
I locked the image in my head and spoke the word.
A thin film of light wrapped around my body.
For some reason, mine always glows just like Heal.
The old man’s didn’t glow at all.
I assumed it worked, but since I wasn’t actually poisoned, there was no way to tell.
The Priest used the Mana from his heart.
He had to chant and meditate to wake up that tiny bit of Mana.
I don’t need to chant, but I wondered if it was necessary.
I tried it again, using only a tiny fraction of my Mana.
”Cure⁷.”
No glow this time.
I think I did exactly what the old man did.
Apparently, if you use too little Mana, it doesn’t trigger the light effect.
My high-output version seems way more powerful.
I’ll call that one Cure All⁸.
Also, that guy took nearly thirty seconds to cast.
That is painfully slow.
If that’s the standard, combat magic must be a nightmare for them.
And he was a Priest—not some amateur.
I can cast Cure⁹ or Cure All¹⁰ in under ten seconds.
With practice, I can get that down even further.
I can already fire an Ice Bullet¹¹ in two seconds flat.
So, even in a world with magic, my power is an anomaly.
That was worth the gold coin right there.
I owe that old man one.
Alright. Preparations are done.
Check the gear, check the bags, and head into the Magic Forest¹² to hunt-
-Like hell I am.
Just because I’m a little prepared doesn’t mean I’m going to go play with my life.
I’ve still got money.
There’s no reason to rush.
If I die in some forest, it’s game over.
I’m only going after I’ve done everything I can to stack the deck.
Tomorrow starts the training.
First: physical. I’m a fat guy.
I need to be able to move.
Second: Magic.
I don’t know a thing about swords or martial arts.
My magic is my only lifeline.
I have to grind it.
The problem is where to practice.
I can’t exactly blast ice in a rented room, and going to the forest to hide just to practice defeats the whole purpose of staying safe.
”Can I use the Item Box¹³?” I wondered.
I summoned the box in front of me.
I reached in and fired an Ice Bullet¹⁴.
It worked. I can cast inside the box.
But what is this place, anyway?
If my hand can go in, my head should be fine.
I stuck my head into the Item Box¹⁵.
”!!!”
I yanked my head out immediately.
(Gasp… gasp…! I can’t breathe!)
The inside was pitch black. Total void.
And there was no air. I couldn’t breathe.
I opened the window and checked the street. Empty.
I swung the Item Box¹⁶ through the air at high speed, “storing” the atmosphere.
I was moving so fast nobody could have seen what I was doing.
I shut the window and stuck my face back in.
I focused on pulling the air to me.
I felt it swirl around my face. I could breathe.
”Okay. That works.”
I spoke aloud inside the void.
It was absolute darkness.
Like being in deep space without the stars.
I pulled my head out and opened the room window again.
This time, I moved the box around to “store” the sunlight.
Back in. I visualized the air and light gathering around me.
It brightened up.
The light only reflected off me; everything else stayed black.
My neck was the only thing lit up.
”There really is nothing in here. Alright, let’s try the whole body.”
I manipulated the opening of the Item Box¹⁷ at my neck, sliding it down my body to my feet.
The moment my toes cleared the threshold, the entrance vanished.
”What?! The exit’s gone!”
Panic flared, but as soon as I thought about leaving, the opening appeared at my feet.
I stepped out, sliding the box back up my body until I was standing in my room again.
That was a heart-stopper.
”Phew. That was intense.”
I can go in and out freely.
I went back in, wrapping myself in air and light.
Since I’d stored a ton of air, breathing was easy.
It really was like floating in the middle of a void.
But I wasn’t weightless; I didn’t feel like I was spinning.
I was just… still.
”Oh, wait. What about my piss?”
I’d stored some urine back in the forest just in case I ran out of water.
I thought about it, and a blob of yellow liquid appeared in front of me.
”Whoa! …Gross. Is this my pee?”
It was a dark, concentrated yellow.
The kind of color you get when you’ve been holding it for hours.
”Man, that’s dark. Really glad I didn’t have to drink that.”
I touched it. It was warm. Freshly discharged.
”The pee hasn’t cooled down. Is time stopped in here?”
I’d have to drink it to see if it was spoiled, but I don’t know what spoiled pee tastes like anyway.
I’ll try it with some hot water later.
I thought the word Vanish¹⁸, and the floating piss blinked out of existence.
This place is thick with mana.
The concentration is insane.
If normal air is skim milk, this is heavy cream.
I summoned a fireball the size of a soccer ball and launched it.
It flew in a perfectly straight line until it disappeared into the distance.
No walls. No end.
No matter how much magic I used, the mana in the air didn’t even twitch.
Is this even an Item Box¹⁹?
It feels like something else entirely.
Either way, this is my new training ground.
I’d seen enough, so I headed back to the room.
The dining hall downstairs was packed.
I’d lost track of time; dinner was already over.
I spoke to the landlady at the desk and paid for an additional ten nights.
My balance was down to one gold coin.
Time to get to work.
—
Summary:
The protagonist liquidates his monster loot for a substantial sum and upgrades his equipment while investigating the local magic system at the church. After observing a priest perform detoxification magic, he realizes his own mana control and casting speed far exceed local standards. He begins experimenting with his Item Box, discovering it to be an airless, starless void where time stands still and mana is exceptionally concentrated, creating a perfect environment for his upcoming training
—
Trivia:
- The protagonist specifically converts currency to Japanese Yen as a mental baseline (325,000 yen).
- The butcher shop scene provides a dark contrast to the church, showing the visceral and callous nature of the world.
- The protagonist discovers that high-output magic causes a ‘glow’ that low-output magic does not.
- The Item Box requires manual ‘storing’ of air and light to be habitable
—
Character Insight:
Protagonist transitions from a cautious observer to a proactive scientist, meticulously testing the limits of his Mana and the Item Box’s properties to ensure survival.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Man – A roughneck wearing a hat who participated in a group assault. He suffers the loss of his right arm and later his left arm during an experiment by the protagonist before being stored.
• Priest – An old man with a long white beard who performs detoxification magic at the local church. He wears white robes and maintains a professional, albeit expensive, approach to divine healing.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply