NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8
It’s been two years since I was reincarnated as Jin, and I’ve already turned seven years old. But seriously, these past two years have been eventful.
I’ve been diligently practicing magic every day, occasionally dealing with psychopaths who show up, and enjoying tea time with Mea. And once a month, I’ve endured the painful ordeal of gathering with my family for a meal, which is nothing but an agony.
…It was so awkward when the family got together… I mean, I’m the black sheep, so my older brothers and father look at me with disdain, and I could strongly feel the intense hatred from my mother. I wanted to tell them, “Hey, don’t give a five-year-old that kind of look, we’re family…” but I was just too scared to say anything.
Yet, perhaps because I’ve been focused solely on practicing magic and neglecting swordsmanship, a new nickname has emerged among the servants: “Slacker Mage.”
Yeah, the rumors are steadily piling up. Let’s just call it playing the villain, as expected. Well, personally, I don’t really care about the reputation around me, so I’m just ignoring it. Right now, I’m still devoted to practicing magic. Lately, Mea has become my teacher and has been teaching me various kinds of magic.
“Jin-sama, what kind of magic will we be practicing today?”
“Hmm…”
What should I choose today?
I haven’t told Mea my basic attributes, but I can already use them up to the highest level. I can also use most of the derivative attributes up to a decent level, except a few… But if I use the highest level, my magic power will run out after a few dozen shots. Well, magic does end when you run out of magic power anyway.
…Oh, I’ve got an idea.
“Hey, Mea, is there any way to increase the amount of magic power?”
“What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?”
“Come on, isn’t that a bit much? I’m not mentally strong, you know. I might cry.”
“If you cry, it will just create a new set of rumors.”
“Oh? Is it possible that you’re the source of these rumors about me, Mea?”
As I’m left stunned by this shocking revelation, Mea’s face loosened up for a brief moment.
Oh… Mea was a fallen angel, huh?
An angel-like little devil… That’s just the best. How far do you intend to grasp my heart!? It seems like she’s about to take control of my life soon!
“Don’t tell me to die, Mea.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind… So, is it impossible to increase magic power?”
“It’s impossible. Trying to forcefully increase it could be fatal.”
“I see…”
Well, there’s a vast amount of magic power in this body, so I won’t run out of magic power easily. But thinking about the future, I’m a little uneasy. I once tried creating a pseudo-magic organ, thinking it might increase my magic power, but it didn’t work at all… Huh? At this moment, a genius idea crossed my mind.
I could absorb the magic power from the surroundings using the pseudo-magic organ!
“Mea! How about absorbing the magic power from the surroundings!?”
“Absorb?… If you mean using a method similar to magical interference, where you manipulate natural magic power with your own, it might be possible.”
“Oh, great! …What’s magical interference? Can you do it, Mea?”
“Of course, I can. Well then, starting today, I shall teach you about magical interference.”
“Let me make this clear upfront: Magical interference is one of the most challenging concepts among the basics. To put it into perspective, it’s on par with time magic. This is because without mastering magical interference, you can never hope to learn time magic—it’s simply impossible.”
Oh, damn… That sounds insanely difficult.
The only thing I couldn’t manage beyond the basic level in a year was time magic.
It’s ridiculously tough.
In time magic, I can use abilities like 【Time Acceleration】 and 【Time Deceleration】 on myself, but in spatial magic, I can’t even trigger a single spell without creating a 【Gate】 for teleportation.
Seriously, how do people just zip around through space instantaneously? It’s absolutely impossible no matter how you look at it! With that in mind, I haven’t really delved into it much lately.
However, if it’s on par with that… It’s definitely going to be challenging.
“Currently, how well can you manipulate magical power external to your body, Jin-sama?”
…Huh?
Is there even a way to manipulate magical power outside of the body?
Could it be that thing, where you freely alter the trajectory of magic spells?
Wait, but I can’t do that at all.
It’s actually my first-time hearing about such a concept existing in this world, too.
“…I haven’t done that before…”
“Then let’s start there. Can you perceive magical power, Jin-sama?”
“Yeah, I can do that much.”
I activate what’s called 【Mana Sight】.
By doing so, the world becomes illuminated with the presence of magical power.
“It seems you can do it. Now, please observe my magic once—【Fireball】!”
Mea held her palm forward, and from it, a fireball about 20 centimeters in diameter shot forth.
It hurled toward the target at an astonishing speed, but just before impact, it sharply ascended at a right angle.
Then, it traced a wide arc and smashed into the target on the opposite side.
Oh… Wow… The thing that was flying suddenly took a right-angle turn…
As I stood there with my mouth half-open in awe, as Mea turned her gaze towards me.
“Now, try to replicate that.”
“But I have no idea what I’m doing!?”
My exclamation echoed through the magic training facility.