First Magic
First Magic
I had heard from Kalle that to use magic, one must read a book about it.
From my Inventory, as I took out the Magic Book,
-Shpat!
A Magic Book appeared on my empty palm.
If it were a game, I would acquire the magic with just one click.
Here, perhaps I'd have to read this entire Magic Book to acquire it, right?
"Hmm..., will it take a long time?"
Surprisingly, it was quite thick.
I wish I could just open the Magic Book and acquire it.
What kind of elemental magic is it?
What kind of magic is it?
Honestly, I was a little excited.
I would be using magic with my own hands, magic that couldn't even be seen in the modern world.
It was natural to be excited.
With a slight sense of anticipation and a bit of nervousness about what its contents might be, I opened the first page of the Magic Book.
"......Huh. Is this...... a drawing?"
It was a drawing.
The left, the right, the next page, and the page after that too.
And all the way to the last page.
The drawings were simple enough to be roughly understood.
From the first page to about halfway, they were drawings of Magic Circles, and from halfway to the end, they were drawings showing what kind of magic it was.
"Water...... magic?"
The drawings were so crudely done that while they were easy to understand, it was confusing whether it was wind magic or water magic.
Still, what was certain was that it wasn't fire or electric magic, right?
Whatever it was, to use magic, it meant I ultimately had to memorize the Magic Circles.
Drawn in the Magic Book, there were two complete Magic Circles.
On the front page, it showed the order in which to draw them.
Also, the Magic Circles themselves were simpler than I expected.
You just draw a round circle and then draw an unknown symbol inside it.
But as I looked at them, the symbols felt like a language.
Like drawing a single Arabic word inside a circle.
That's why it was easier to memorize.
Did it take about 30 minutes?
I perfectly understood the two Magic Circles.
Then, at the same time, the Magic Book in my hand disappeared,
[Water-elemental magic: Creation (Water) acquired.]
[Water-elemental magic: Water Sphere acquired.]
The two notifications appeared consecutively.
"Oh."
The names of the two Magic Circles must be Creation and Water Sphere, respectively.
If I learned magic, shouldn't I try using it?
I immediately took out the Magic Staff from my Inventory, then recalled the Creation Magic first.
A fantastical situation like Magic Circles being drawn in mid-air, as in cartoons, didn't occur.
However, at least in my mind, the Magic Circle was clearly drawn.
As I drew the Magic Circle in my mind, I felt energy draining from my body,
-Trickle.....
About 500ml of water, like a bottle of mineral water, poured out.
"Oh, ohh....."
Seeing magic with my own eyes was quite amazing.
Of course, it seemed like a humble, beginner-level magic among beginner-level magic.
Still, it was something that I had used magic myself!
And I could somewhat tell that the energy that drained away at the same time as using magic was Mana.
Probably, the amount of Mana I felt was enough to use Creation Magic about three times.
Since I had already used it once, the remaining amount was about two-thirds.
This time, I recalled the Water Sphere Magic Circle.
As the Water Sphere Magic Circle appeared in my mind, a small sphere was created above the Staff.
Its size was about the size of a human head?
And as it was drawn in the Magic Book, I threw it at the grass directly in front of me.
-Chwaak!
"Oh....."
The small branch in front broke.
Honestly, Creation Magic was merely at the level of creating water, so I was a little disappointed.
Water Sphere Magic had enough destructive power to be used in combat.
Of course, it didn't have as much lethality as I imagined.
Anyway, Water Sphere Magic also seemed to consume about one-third of Mana, like Creation Magic.
I should be able to gain experience and proficiency against nearby wild animals.
Finally, the time to leave this village seems to be approaching.
##
For about two days, I was engrossed in magic.
I needed to accurately know my abilities and limitations so I wouldn't fall into dangerous situations.
The information I found out that way was quite necessary.
First, what I felt since acquiring magic was that the number of times I could use magic was a maximum of three times at once.
In other words, in one battle, I could only use it three times.
And the rate at which Mana recovered enough to use magic one more time was about 20 minutes.
Therefore, after using all Mana, it would take roughly an hour to fully recover again.
In one battle, the fact that I could only use magic three times was quite fatal.
After using all three times, it would take 20 minutes until the next magic use.
During those 20 minutes, I would be completely defenseless.
If that's the case, then during that time, I'd either run away or have to endure the opponent's attacks.
And I found the biggest drawback of the Water Sphere Magic I acquired.
While it had enough destructive power to break an opponent's bones or inflict a shock, it had zero lethality.
If it had been fire or electric magic, it might not have had destructive power, but it would have had lethality.
Anyway, so when I threw Water Sphere Magic multiple times against wild animals, it was possible to inflict enough shock to prevent them from moving for a short time,
but with Water Sphere Magic itself, it was impossible to kill an animal.
So, I always had to approach them and cut their throat with a knife.
Taking the life of a creature genuinely felt repulsive.
Not only did I dislike the feeling of directly plunging it into their hide and flesh, but watching a life stop before my eyes made me feel guilty.
Even if it was just a small rabbit, when I directly stabbed a knife into its neck, my hands trembled for about a day.
I probably won't get used to killing living creatures my whole life.
If a situation arose where I had to kill another human......
I still don't know. I should try my best to resolve it peacefully.
I should pray that such a thing doesn't happen if possible.
Anyway, my 3-slot Inventory was completely full.
A small knife, a Staff, and Flint.
Just in case it might be a trick, I tried putting various things into a bag and then putting the bag into the Inventory,
but as expected, tricks didn't work, and excluding the contents, only the bag itself went into the Inventory.
While I was researching and finding out various things like that, it suddenly occurred to me.
All this time, how should I repay the kindness I had received from Mrs. Arisa?
The best way would be to give her a material gift, but I don't have the money for that.
In that case, it would have to be something valuable......
"As expected, animal hides would be the most expensive, right?"
If I tanned them myself and gave them to her, their value might be lower than if she tanned them herself, so it seemed better to give her raw hides that were just moderately trimmed.
She usually only gets hides from small animals like rabbits or mice, so she'd probably be happy if she got deer hides.
Coincidentally, she said there were also herds of deer living a little further away.
The cleanest plan was the day before leaving the village.
Catching about two or three deer, giving them to her, and then leaving the village was a clean method.
If it's that much, it would yield at least 50 Silver, so I wondered if that would cover the cost of the favors I'd received so far.
Moreover, even the clothes I was currently wearing ended up being taken by me, so my goal was to catch as many deer as possible.
"Departure...... Should I leave early tomorrow morning......?"
After that, I'd give the deer meat to Mrs. Arisa's family and the villagers, and then leave around lunchtime.
"Ah, but what about the clothes?"
Since I was only shooting magic from behind, I hadn't really noticed, but as soon as I thought about leaving the village and camping, the clothes bothered me.
The top wasn't particularly bothersome, but the problem was the bottom.
Mrs. Arisa doesn't go hunting animals and only handles small crop farming and a bit of crafting, so these weren't clothes made with precise movements in mind.
Therefore, thanks to wearing a loose skirt, running wasn't easy, and simply moving through forest paths was difficult.
"Ah...... Are there no pants......?"
Skirts, no matter how much I wear them, I just can't get used to them.
Even after wearing it for a week, trying to get used to it, the wind whistling between my legs and brushing against my legs and underwear was a feeling I hated too much.
Especially today, I desperately missed pants with three white stripes on black cotton.
Before being possessed, I saw a lot of pictures of idols and celebrities wearing skirts.
I couldn't help but admire how they could wear them without hesitation.
But what could I do?
This is the Middle Ages, and there are no pants made for women.
In the end, I had to reform the long skirt I was wearing.
"There's no choice...... Let's cut it."
Still, while navigating rough paths, tripping over my skirt and falling awkwardly, wouldn't that be better?
When I saw them in pictures, skirts that revealed up to the thighs, or honestly, short skirts, I'd think "Thank you~" and look at them.
But now that I was actually wearing a skirt, anything above the knee was an absolute no.
Is this the heart of a father who opposes his daughter trying to wear a short skirt......?
Of course, since both are myself, I can't accurately gauge it, but anyway, I wanted to wear the skirt as long as possible.
A little later, I'd borrow sewing tools from Mrs. Arisa and reform it, but for now, let's go back to the village.
From magic practice, Inventory check, and reviewing my plans, the sun was already setting.
'Is today the last time I'll eat dinner here~'
To Mrs. Arisa, I owed so much kindness that I could never truly repay it.
Even though she was an NPC for the early part of the story, it wasn't an artificial act of generosity, but rather a kindness received thanks to Mrs. Arisa's good nature.
I probably won't forget Mrs. Arisa's kindness my whole life.
If it weren't for her, I might already be dead.
And who knows what state I might have ended up in.
"Tomorrow, I need to catch as many deer as possible."
I might not be able to return everything I received, but I should at least try my best to return as much as possible.