Volume 5 Chapter 16 The Hundred Days of Study and New Magic
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
It has been several months since I took refuge in the Village of the Silver Moon, the hidden sanctuary of the elves. If I remember correctly, winter was just settling in when I left the town of Grimm, so the outside world must be seeing the first thaws of spring by now.
But here, sheltered by the immense geothermal heat of the Dragon Vein and the protection of the Ancient Trees, the seasons are irrelevant. The village is thick with subtropical humidity. My lungs fill with the sweet, cloying scent of fermenting mulch and the overwhelming, suffocating perfume of flowers. The air clings to my skin, slick and heavy, giving me a strange sense of claustrophobia—like being trapped inside the womb of some colossal, slumbering creature—while simultaneously offering an eerie, twisted peace.
(I wonder how Nier is doing right now.)
Each time I wipe the sweat from my brow, the image of Nier and the others waiting for me in that snowbound mansion grows more distant, like a memory from a foreign land.
I am currently in the process of fundamentally redesigning the basic architecture of my own existence.
Sometimes, flashes of my distant past flicker through my mind. That day, when I was young, when I broke my leg on a train station staircase and was crushed by the sheer fragility of my own flesh. I remember staring at my leg, thin and withered inside the plaster cast, feeling the pathetic helplessness of being a biological organism.
But now, the surging life force circulating within me is overwriting even those miserable memories, as if they were nothing more than outdated files from a previous life.
By rebooting the World Tree, I have caused the environment surrounding the village to change dramatically. The concentration of magic elements floating in the atmosphere has spiked, and in response, the spirit power of the elves grows stronger by the day.
My practical training with the Elder, Erland, has vividly highlighted the stark differences in how magic functions in this world. She is a living grimoire who has mastered every technique, her knowledge seemingly bottomless.
”O scarlet essence that fills the atmosphere, answer my call based on our ancient covenant. Spin, converge, and become the jaws of the Crimson Lotus to pierce my foe… Flare Burst!”
Erland’s chant was resonant and sharp. Lines of geometric light ignited around her. After a twenty-second construction period, a condensed fireball obliterated a massive boulder before us.
BOOM!
A heatwave brushed my cheek, and the charred scent of scorched stone stung my nose. For a human with scarce mana, this was grand sorcery that would require several times the concentration and chanting time. Even then, success would be far from guaranteed.
But I went further.
For me, possessing vast stores of mana and the ability to directly convert magic elements from the air, the tedious procedure of chanting was unnecessary. I simply rendered the final result of the Elemental Manifestation1 directly within my mind and slammed my mana into it. That was who I was.
Erland watched my deviant learning speed with astonishment, yet she continued to teach me the underlying principles of magic with fervor. I grasped their essence, refined them further with my own mana, and made them my own.
What I was aiming for was a self-contained strength independent of my environment. If the magic elements around me were to wither away, I would revert to nothing more than a helpless human.
The terror of becoming that powerless middle-aged man again—the one who tumbled down those station stairs the moment his mana ran dry—was what drove me.
It was a fundamental rule of crisis management I had learned in my old world: relying on a single supply source was too dangerous.
I needed a technique that required absolutely no external magic elements, one fully realized using only my internal mana, just in case.
One such answer lay in the application of body manipulation.
”Here I go, Erland,” I said. “Accel Glide.”
I forced wind-attribute mana into the blood vessels of my soles and legs under extreme pressure. My muscles groaned, and I could feel the veins stretching to the point of rupture.
The moment I kicked off the ground—
Thump.
An explosive propulsive force launched my body forward. This was not the elegant flight of typical magic. It was violent physical movement, manipulating the friction coefficient with the ground to accelerate like a jet engine.
In the blink of an eye, I was inside Erland’s guard.
”Wha—so fast!?” Erland exclaimed, her eyes widening.
I thrust my right palm forward, stopping mere centimeters from the tip of her nose.
Normally, I would release a fireball here, but I did not.
Release created diffusion, and diffusion caused heat loss.
I kept the thermal energy contained beneath the skin of my palm. I accelerated the molecular vibration to its limit, releasing it only at the moment of impact.
”Flare Palm.”
A directed thermal shockwave erupted from my halted palm.
DOOOOM…
Despite not making contact, the giant tree behind Erland was hollowed into a perfect donut shape and obliterated. The shockwave passed through her, destroying only the target behind her.
As charred wood chips danced through the air, a heat haze still emanated from my palm.
”…Ah… hhh…”
Erland collapsed to the ground, her knees giving out.
Her eyes were wide with terror, but her cheeks were flushed and her mouth hung slightly open. Faced with such overwhelming violence, she had forgotten her dignity as an Elder; her primal instincts as a female were clearly stirred.
”Minimize the loss of mana to the outside. Reduce the time to impact to zero. Everything is contained within the palm,” I explained.
”Terrifying…” Erland whispered in a trembling voice. “You treat magic not as mere Elemental Manifestation, but as an extension of your own body… Such physical mastery is a realm even the martial artists of the elves have never reached. My, how utterly… commonplace.”
I see.
In this world, the division of labor is common sense: mages are the rearguard, warriors are the vanguard.
But to me, having begun to understand the logic of magic, that line was nothing but a blur.
”We are not done yet. There is still room for improvement,” I said, extending a hand to her. “Keep me company, Elder.”
Looking at my fingertips, Erland took my hand with a look of trepidation.
”Y-yes… If the Spirit King wishes it, this old body will serve you until it shatters… Fufu, being shattered by you… that too is a pleasure…”
During our break, Erland began recounting ancient legends, still clearly exhilarated.
”But still, you truly are an anomaly. This level of spirit power, and a learning speed that defies common sense… Watching you reminds me of the tales of ‘border distortions’ found in the old texts.”
”Border distortions?”
”Yes. A legend from the ancient past—when the rotation of the stars goes awry, the path to a place governed by laws different from this world’s can occasionally connect…”
I stopped mid-sip, my hand hovering over my waterskin.
A path.
Surely not…
”Are there any records of someone coming through that path?”
”No… The only thing recorded is death. Those who fall into the gaps between different laws are said to have their souls shattered, unable to maintain their form. Even those like us elves, who possess powerful spirit power.”
Erland spoke quietly, but with a solemn resonance.
Her words sent a chill down my spine.
The other passengers on the train.
I was the only one in my immediate vicinity at that time.
If that is the case, did they all vanish in a transfer accident?
If so, why was I the only one who survived?
…There is no answer.
I shook my head and forced the thought to the bottom of my consciousness.
The reason I am alive is because I have things to do.
For now, the training before me takes priority.
—
Summary:
The protagonist continues his rigorous physical and magical training under the Elven Elder, Erland, within the hidden sanctuary of the Village of the Silver Moon. By integrating his internal mana with physical martial techniques, he creates a devastating combat style that leaves the Elder both terrified and enthralled. Their conversation shifts toward forbidden lore about “border distortions,” hinting at the catastrophic nature of the protagonist’s arrival in this world and the potential fate of his fellow passengers.
—
Trivia:
The protagonist’s magic style prioritizes zero-diffusion energy containment.
The village humidity is described as being like the inside of a creature’s womb.
The protagonist views his past human fragility as a primary motivator for his current strength.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Grimm – Grimm, the Mansion’s master and protagonist, is a powerful sorcerer wielding divine magic who speaks all languages and braves the dangerous Forest of Magic. He shares his name with a nearby, large, walled city under his influence—a bustling, diverse settlement with a vibrant marketplace that also suffers from a legalized slave trade and severe lack of sanitation.
• Nier – A 27-year-old Japanese head maid, former merchant, and farm girl with refined features, long black hair, and a voluptuous physique. Deeply devoted to her Master, Ryuichi, she manages his estate, serves him with physical obsession, and grapples with the void of his absence. Driven by maternal trauma from losing her daughter, Mia, she guides, disciplines, and protects the younger slave girls.
• Erland – A 320-year-old elven village Elder, master of ancient magic, and “living grimoire” with bottomless knowledge and sharp features, she is a weary leader wearing silver-rimmed glasses who manages village infrastructure. Holding high status among her people, she shifts from analytical detachment to deep, pious devotion toward the new Spirit King, maintaining a respectful relationship with the deity.
• 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.
• Spirit King – The male protagonist who acts as the sole source of mana for the Elf village ritual. He possesses limitless stamina and approaches his duties with detached efficiency.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply