The Infinite Water Cheat

"Alright, head back out. You remember what I told you earlier, right?" Since the heavy lifting was done, I sent the golem back out to scavenge. From now on, even without specific orders, the golem would systematically loot the rest of this building and move on to the neighborhood shops.

Now then... First, I opened my status window. I wanted to check the materials required to upgrade the Magic Tower to the next level.

"Are these material amounts for real...?" Just the required amount of Magic Stones had jumped more than tenfold. And what on earth was an Ether Crystal? I searched the Free Registry and managed to find a few old posts.

"So they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠drop from high-level magical beasts..." Could those zombies be considered magical beasts? Probably. Mana flowed through their bodies, and they moved using that power. I didn't have any elixirs, and learning alchemy was something I needed to think over more carefully.

Maybe they drop if I kill a special zombie or something. For now, I decided to just keep that much in mind regarding the tower's upgrade. Looking at the conditions, I had to learn at least five spells and master two of them deeply anyway, so it was impossible for the time being.

Then what should I do first? Should I make another golem? Research Magic Modification? Or learn elemental magic first? Or maybe...

"I'm not doing dark magic! I'm not becoming a battle mage!" Honestly, I knew it too. Because of my unique environment and unique abilities, I was currently in the perfect position to become a dark mage or a pure mana-type battle mage. But still. Maybe I was just being stubborn because I had enough to get by now.

Even if I didn't have the Magic Tower, even if I were on the verge of death, I'm someone who could never have imagined fighting zombies in the first place.

On the very first day, when a zombie was trying to break down my room door, I was a total coward who just collapsed on the floor, unable to do a single thing. I knew myself too well—how easily frightened I was, and how I'd lose my mind if I saw something gruesome.

I didn't want to force myself to do something so agonizing. Besides, I could probably hunt zombies reasonably well with just basic magic if I played my cards right. Did I really need to dissect corpses, drain blood, and make sacrifices just to use dark magic?

But it would be incredibly embarrassing if I said all this and then died a dog's death somewhere. I absolutely must not die. I'm going to wipe out the zombies in this city without taking a single step out of this room.

I poured myself a glass of water and downed it in one go as I pondered. Strengthening the golem was fine, but for now, I wanted to learn elemental magic first to resolve several annoying issues. Thus, after digging through the Magic Archive for a long time, the spell I chose was...

It was the starting spell of the school known as 'Multi-Elemental Magic', or 'Five Elements Magic' depending on the dimension.

Why is the Enlightenment condition already unlocked for this one too? I figured it was probably because I had crafted Magic Stones. One way or another, I had manipulated two elements: water and rock. Well, good for me.

That's how I should learn.

Perhaps because the golem was diligently running around, fortunately, I wasn't short on experience points yet.

It's increasing bit by bit in real-time. Though slow, my experience points were ticking up even now. They said that if you keep repeating the same action, the amount of experience gained gradually decreases until it barely rises at all.

The system was designed from the start to encourage learning, modifying, and experimenting with various spells. Seeing as there was even a Disciple System, I could probably train others in the magic I learned and mass-produce mages.

Enough idle thoughts. I immediately pressed the learn button. Just as its alias 'Five Elements Magic' suggested, this spell allowed me to use the power of five elements: water, steel, grass, earth, and fire. Although its power paled in comparison to spells like Fire, the basis of fire magic, or Spark, the basis of lightning magic...

There's nothing better than this to use as auxiliary magic.

Since I was getting hungry anyway, I headed to my food pantry and grabbed a water cup and a pack of chicken breast. The chicken breast I had scavenged from the room next door.

It was damp, soggy, and dry, but without a refrigerator, it was the kind of food I had to eat quickly before it spoiled. However, I was going to grill it using this magic, following the principles explained by the Magic Archive.

I drew mana from within my body and channeled it out of my hand in the form of a small stream of water. I was gradually getting used to drawing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana from my body and dispersing it around me. What this spell taught me was how to condense that mana into a specific shape and attribute.

"Ah, cold." A chilly sensation flowed over my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand. Cool water, enough to fill about half a cup, materialized. This alone was already an incredibly magnificent spell, practically equivalent to infinite water, but I immediately chained it. Small vines sprouted from the water flowing over my hand, leaves unfurled, and they grew in an instant before dying just as quickly.

"Now then..." Chaining once more. A tiny spark flared up from the withered, dark brown vines. The fire grew larger as it consumed them.

"Whoa!" The flame blazed hotly in my hand as if I had lit a campfire. Even though a large flame was burning right in my palm, I only felt a slight warmth and didn't get burned.

After all, it was common sense that fire mages didn't get burned and ice mages didn't get frostbite. Though that might not always be the case. At any rate, considering the first water I made was only half a cup, the effect of the elemental chain was quite substantial.

"Al-alright. Direct-flame mana grilling." I gently held the frozen chicken breast over the rising flame. The surface of the chicken breast began to sear to a dark brown.

"If I just sprinkle some pepper on this..." Black pepper, which people of the past valued so highly. Regrettably, even in this zombie-infested wasteland, we were still better off than the Middle Ages in that regard.

Eating the pepper-sprinkled chicken breast paired with some weeds I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grown with grass magic, it felt like a remarkably healthy meal. Meanwhile, the golem returned from its scavenging run. Food was piling up far faster than I could consume it.

Starting with instant meals and fresh foods that needed to be eaten right away, to foods that could be preserved for a fairly long time like instant ramen and snacks. Canned goods and raw rice that would keep for ages. On top of that, sweet treats like instant mix coffee and candy.

"I could not obtain much water. And..." Perhaps because not many people stockpiled water in these tiny studio apartments, unfortunately, the only water that came out of the golem's backpack was two 2-liter bottles.

"It's fine. I already have quite a bit of water anyway." I was an infinite water cheat user now. "I can make as much as I need to drink with magic."

Despite being a magical creation itself, the golem looked amazed. I smiled at the golem, letting water droplets drip-drip from my fingertips. However, after watching me for a moment, the golem stopped me as if it had something to say.

"There is something you must know regarding the zombies. In the direction of the distant plaza, I detected traces of a battle involving mana."

"Mana?"

"It appears that zombies used magic to fight a group of human survivors escaping in a vehicle. Because I had to erase my own tracks, I could not confirm what became of the humans, but..." Oh my god. They really did exist—magic zombies!

"Judging by the traces of other zombies being detonated, the magic the zombie mage uses is presumed to be necromancy-type dark magic. Furthermore, it seems to possess considerable intelligence." A dark mage zombie... I wondered if an Ether Crystal would drop if I killed it.

"Do you think you can take it?" I asked the golem. The golem shook its head. It babbled on about how the enemy's mana seemed too strong. But I still had plenty of things left to do. Like modifying the Mana Absorption spell.

Or finding a way to strengthen the golem using the newly learned Multi-Elemental Magic. I had to prepare quickly before that zombie noticed my existence. "Then I'll modify you until you can."