Floor 1: Annihilating the Goblin Citadel

Ow! A head-splitting pain shot through my crown as I opened my eyes, only to find the world upside down. No, it was me who was upside down. I'd dived headfirst off the bed onto the floor while sleeping.

The delivery I'd ordered yesterday had arrived, so I'd changed clothes. Then I pulled out the magic book I'd gotten as a reward and started reading.

The pompously named Root of Magic Book covered the fundamentals of magic. I'd assumed it would have stuff specific to water magic since I was a water-affinity mage, but nope. It was just things like how to handle mana—nothing else. No attack spells at all.

What the hell is this? No attack magic? What am I supposed to do with that?

I kept flipping through the pages until this line caught my eye.

Magic's foundation is will. That is the root of all magic.

This book doesn't contain a single common magic circle. Why? Because they're unnecessary. With will alone, anyone can create magic. The reason mages typically use magic circles is that they make it easy for anyone to wield their will. They're nothing more than devices that output spells when you input mana as a command. Perfect for beginners.

But it also said you eventually ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to graduate from magic circles.

This book was made for those who could ride a bike without training wheels from the start.

I followed the book's instructions and began manipulating mana.

What I was trying was refining Natural Mana.

According to the book, through this refinement process, knights could convert it to aura, martial artists to internal energy, and mages to mana.

Unlike dantians or circles, refined Natural Mana changes properties during the process. For mana, that property is fluidity.

And when mana meets a person's affinity, its properties shift once more. My already fluid mana encountered water affinity and gained a flowing quality.

I created a water droplet and rolled it around.

Definitely qualitatively different from the water I'd made before. If the old stuff from Natural Mana was wastewater, this was drinking water quality.

I opened the gallery and picked up the standard water mage spells: Aqua Cutter and Aqua Ball. Water magic's advantage over other elements was that once you generated water around you, you could freely switch between defense and offense.

Floor 1 prep complete.

Plenty of time left—maybe train more? Nah, this should be enough.

Alright then. Here I go!!!

I dropped into the middle of a forest.

Sighing at the objective. This is seriously brutal.

Easy mode was just one goblin charging with a knife, right?

First, I hid in the underbrush and covered my left eye.

Moisture drained from my eyeball, blinding that eye.

This was one of the example spells from the Root of Magic Book: Water Eye (Su-an). It extracted moisture from the eyeball to form a water orb and linked your vision to it. There was a note saying creativity was key to magic—even elemental mages shouldn't be bound by their element.

The shriveled eyeball hurt a bit. Absorbing moisture back while active restored it, but the recovered vision canceled the spell. So I had to endure the pain.

I sent the Water Eye far out to scout for the citadel.

Found it. About ten minutes away—a massive fortress. Dozens of armed goblins at minimum, with hobgoblins here and there. As I was peering closely,

light glinted off a goblin on the watchtower. It squinted up at the sky.

Huh? Light?

Is that sunlight reflecting off the Water Eye?

The goblin nocked an arrow and shot at it. The arrow flew fast and pierced the orb.

Ugh!

I clutched my eye. No wound. No pain.

Oh, right—it's fake.

Ah, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's the downside. They'd spotted my scout. Better rush in before they prepare.

I restored moisture to my left eye and sprinted toward the citadel, careful not to forget protection. I generated water to shield around me.

Keruk.

Gah! I quickly ducked into the bushes. Goblin patrol—four of them prowling around. Luckily, they hadn't noticed me. Their casual vibe suggested they'd been out before spotting my Water Eye.

We were about ten meters apart, but they were closing in slowly. I'd be spotted soon. Had to take them out while they were relaxed and off-guard. I formed four Aqua Bullets.

Wait—no, let's try this here. They're close to each other; one shot could wipe them.

I rose from the bushes and released the mana gathered in my hand blade.

Keruk! Kerruk—

Shwick—

Three goblins leaped in surprise, tumbled backward, their upper and lower bodies severed clean. The survivor trembled in terror, staring up at me—too scared even to grab its dropped machete.

I approached and pointed my index finger, firing an Aqua Bullet.

Its head exploded, brains splattering.

Ugh…

No time for sentiment. One slip here and I'm dead. This has to become routine, like eating.

I wiped my tears and pressed on.

Almost out of the forest—the goblin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠citadel came into view.

Better scout it one last time?

My left eyeball shriveled again as I formed another Water Eye.

This time, low-altitude flight to recon the fortress.

I maneuvered it around, checking for outer goblins, then hugged close to the walls. The watchtower goblin didn't spot it. I slipped the Water Eye over the ramparts. Peering into the wooden enclosure—yep, goblins armed and on alert, but still chattering casually, not expecting an intruder.

Then an arrow whistled past my view. It thudded into the wooden wall, quivering. I shifted— it was that same goblin from before, loosing another arrow.

So that guy's the shooter.

Kerruk—!!!!!!!!

It bellowed.

Keruk? Keruk! Kerruk. Kekkeruk!

Goblins inside startled into full alert.

The watchtower goblin nocked and fired again.

Twang!

Ugh!

"Another Water Eye popped. Can't get used to it."

Decided to snipe that watchtower pest first. I crawled through the bushes to find a shooting spot.

"Perfect. Right here."

Clear view of the tower, me hidden by foliage. The goblin scanned for intruders.

Formed an Aqua Bullet.

"Hoo—ha!"

Fired.

Kieeeek!!!!!

The bullet punched through its chest. It plummeted from the tower with a thud.

Kieeek! Kieeek!!!

Dozens of goblin shrieks erupted from the citadel.

I burst from the bushes, formed an Aqua Ball, and blasted the wooden gate.

I unleashed multiple Aqua Cutters.

Shwick! Sslash.

Chilling sounds as the blades cleaved goblins.

I rained Aqua Bullets from midair.

The citadel turned to pandemonium in seconds.

Kieeeek!!!! Kerrrruk!!!

Pew!

I blocked incoming arrows with the water I'd suspended around me.

Keruk?

Confused goblin archer. I shot back with an Aqua Bullet, dropping it.

Kerruk!!!! Kerrrrruk!!! Keeek!!

Damn!

Hobgoblins bellowed, and goblins charged like a dog pack at a little girl—brutal visual.

I spun wide, unleashing an Aqua Cutter. The rotation stretched the blade long—over a dozen dead. Survivors ducked and charged again.

Grr!! You bastards!

I blew away the front group with an Aqua Ball, then mowed them down with Cutters and Bullets.

Haa… haa… Three hobgoblins left alive.

One with a longbow, one with a sword, one with shield and shortsword.

The longbow hobgoblin nocked an arrow infused with Natural Mana. The bowstring creaked as it drew. Can't block that—gotta dodge.

The other two crept closer, waiting. Dodge the arrow, and they'd pounce.

Creak—

Pew!

Arrow away—I rolled aside. The pair charged to kill.

Kerruk keruk!

I condensed my surrounding water into an Aqua Ball and fired.

The sword hob hit dead center, blasted back. I leaned away from the horizontal shortsword slash. The follow-up thrust I blocked with water conjured in front. It recovered its blade, hid behind the shield, and held back.

Creak again—the longbow reloading. Too close to the shield one. If I glared at the archer, it'd attack.

I strike first!

Head hot. Not just ranged—melee too!

Haaap!!!!

I generated and condensed water over the shield hob's face. It panicked visibly, dropping its sword. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠closed in tight; the longbow couldn't loose freely with its ally there. Zero-range Aqua Cutter—neck severed. I snatched the shield to cover.

Bang!

Longbow arrow slammed into the shield. I saw the shooter's panicked face. My win.