Chapter 147: A Contest of Magic

Following Selfanka, we were led to a sparsely wooded grassland—an ideal place for a magic contest.

“Since Olivaien and Sir Leon were the ones who proposed this, I’ll have them create the domes,” said the village chief.

“Village Chief, a smaller dome would be advantageous. Please make them the same size.”

“Hm. Sir Leon, is that acceptable?”

“No problem. But could you place them more than fifty meters apart? And allow freedom in choosing the attack position.”

“Olivaien, that works for you as well?”

“No problem. I’ll show you how easily I can pierce a wind magic dome with a single Stone Lance!”

Oh wow—he’s really fired up.

After identical domes were erected at each position, Klanrenska gave the signal and Olivaien began attacking my dome.

Standing about thirty meters away, he began an internal chant. With a shout of “Hah!” a Stone Lance shot forward.

Boom!

It struck with a satisfying sound but bounced off, and he glared at the dome in frustration. His Stone Lance looked like a thickened version of the short spears sold at the adventurers’ shop. Even after rebounding, it didn’t break, so it seemed quite sturdy.

“Once more!”

“Wait. We’ll alternate attacks so the comparison is fair.”

At Klanrenska’s words, Olivaien nodded, then glared at me.

“So, can you break my dome with wind magic?”

He had a point. Compared to wind magic, earth magic generally had greater offensive and defensive power. But my magic… was a little unusual.

I would make sure he understood that.

“Everyone, please step back about fifteen meters from me.”

“Why do we have to move that far?”

“If you get caught in the wind, you won’t just end up injured.”

Some of the adults grumbled, but Olivaien was pulled back by the arm by Klanrenska and reluctantly retreated. The others stepped back as well.

I moved slightly farther back than Olivaien’s firing point and stood about forty meters away, then checked behind me.

It had been a while since I’d used this.

“[Strong Wind!]”

I shaped it into a cylindrical form, tossed in a rock about the size of a child’s head, and then changed it to [Gust!].

Inside the invisible tube of air, the gust propelled the rock forward.

It flew out at about the speed of a crossbow bolt.

Boom!

Nice sound—but unfortunately…

Behind me, a loud commotion erupted. Olivaien pointed at me with his mouth hanging open.

“Hey, Leon… what was that just now?!”

“Huh? I just rode the wind and sent this rock flying.”

I showed them a stone about the size of a child’s head that I had taken from my magic bag, and both men froze.

“Throwing something like that with wind magic is cheating!”

“Why? Earth magic launches Stone Lances, doesn’t it? When wind blows, it’s not only leaves that fly. Strong winds can rip off rooftops. So why would a rock flying be strange? Besides, I’m using magic to send it.”

“True… You couldn’t throw a rock that big by hand. Since it’s a magic contest, we’ll recognize it as a magic attack.”

At Klanrenska’s words, Olivaien fell silent.

His second attack used the same Stone Lance as before, and the result was the same. Disappointed murmurs rose from the spectators, and he flushed red.

“Hey, hurry up and go already!”

Alright, alright—this time I’d give it a serious one.

I dropped the stone into [Vertical Ring Spin!], increased its rotational speed, and launched it with an underhand motion.

BOOM!

With a surprisingly simple sound, a hole about the size of the rock appeared in the dome.

It was a level below what Lindy or Farana could do, but still… maybe it could withstand a charge from an Armor Buffalo.

Cheers erupted behind me, but Olivaien stood there trembling, his face bright red.

“Klanrenska, could you have him make another reinforced dome?”

“Y-yeah.”

At my request, Olivaien performed a long chant and raised a new dome, then looked at me challengingly.

I placed another rock into the [Vertical Ring Spin!] and fired it.

BOOM!

The sound was a bit harder than before, but a hole still opened.

He must have tested the strength of his own dome with his Stone Lance. He probably never imagined a rock the size of a child’s head being slammed into it at high speed.

Olivaien stood there as if his confidence had been shattered.

Klanrenska fired Fireballs into both domes.

BOOM!
BOOM!

Neither dome broke.

They weren’t fragile structures—but perhaps their creator had simply been overconfident.

Klanrenska fired repeatedly at both domes. Olivaien’s dome collapsed on the third Fireball, but mine didn’t budge.

After all, it was a reinforced dome designed to withstand repeated charges from an Armor Buffalo. I was confident it could even endure a dragon.

“I can’t break it with my Fireball… I can’t believe this was made with wind magic.”

“Klanrenska, let us attack that dome too.”

One man stepped forward, and soon a line of proud mages formed, waiting their turn.

“Leon, right? Fight my barrier!”

“Wait! Try breaking my shield!”

“What kind of ridiculous attack method was that? Are you really a wind mage?”

“Leon, before you deal with them, make two or three more domes.”

When I turned around at Klanrenska’s request, there were far too many people waiting. Some stubbornly kept attacking without giving up after one or two tries, while those behind them grew impatient.

Every attack was followed by a storm of commentary and advice from the crowd.

“What’s that about?”

“They’re putting the pride of Faranka’s mages on the line… though it’s really more of a game. After seeing an outsider’s magic, they don’t want to lose. Look at Olivaien. He underestimated Wind Magic, lost, and now looks as though his soul has left his body.”

At Klanrenska’s request, I created three more domes with [Dome!] before facing the challengers.

One by one, I smashed apart the domes and shields they confidently created. Eventually, the only one left standing was mine, and the uproar finally settled.

By the end, so many spectators were watching with drinks in hand that I had become slightly tipsy myself.

“So the last dome standing was made by a wind mage… and the one who destroyed all of ours was also a wind mage.”

“I never imagined wind magic could be this powerful.”

“I never expected something like that to be hurled at us.”

“To think the four great offensive elements—fire, earth, ice, and lightning—couldn’t make a dent… how embarrassing.”

“Elder Vilasenka, how could anyone beat such an outrageous mage?”

“Yeah. When I heard he’d swung a dragon around and thrown it with wind magic, I laughed. But I didn’t realize he was this absurd.”

“I was the fool for laughing.”

They all had plenty to say, but I was satisfied. My dome had endured every kind of magical attack—and even a combined assault.

With this much offensive power in the village, I could understand how they had managed to kill and eat a dragon.

* * * * *

After everyone saw me off, I took off from Faranka Village. I first flew toward the rocky mountains, then changed course toward the valley.

Unsure where to land, I flew deeper into the area so the villagers wouldn’t notice and took a break.

I wanted to test something I’d been thinking about since accompanying them on the herb-gathering trip.

Summoning the spirits, I took out a sample herb.

Holding a Martincas leaf—an herb that enhances potion effects—I silently asked them:

“Please help me find this.”

I searched the surrounding area with Detection.

I didn’t expect an immediate response, so I moved to another location and repeated my request before beginning to search for herbs.

After about two hours of walking and searching, I managed to gather a few Martincas leaves—but there was still no reaction from the spirits.

My Detection skill could locate not just beasts but birds as well, so it should theoretically be possible to find herbs too.

There should also have been spirits associated with the Cultivation skill that could help.

But even when I asked them for assistance, there was no response.

Maybe I was doing something wrong. Maybe I was overlooking something.

But nothing came to mind.

I was probably the first person to ask spirits to help search for herbs.

I didn’t expect it to be easy… but it looked like a long road ahead.

* * * * *

I went to see my sister, who was busy preparing the shop—really, making potions—and laid out the herbs I’d gathered.

“You went to Faranka Village?”

“Yeah. I asked Claudins to teach me about herbs, and he wrote a letter of introduction to Faranka’s elders. Carlandas, Makrandis, Luciange, Enbes, and Seraphins are gathered by specialist herb collectors, so the people guiding me didn’t know where they grew. Elder Kristinka showed me samples, though, so I’ll try to find them. Also, if you can use Water Magic, you can make magic water simply by infusing the water with mana, so apparently Octanble isn’t necessary.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard that someone who can use water magic can make magic water. So how do you infuse the magic power?”

“What about the water created with magic?”

“That big bottle in the back.”

I followed her pointing finger and groaned at the enormous bottle. I asked her to fill a larger, flask-shaped container with water instead.

After chanting internally, water began to fall from just above the container and stopped when it was about eighty percent full.

“You’ve improved.”

“Well, of course. Whenever we need water, I produce it with magic.”

“Then what’s that big bottle for?”

“Lisette uses it.”

Right—Lisette could use household magic but hadn’t been granted true magic.

Lifting the container of water, I cast Appraisal.

“Water.”

Well, obviously. Water produced with Water Magic was drinkable, just like water produced with Household Magic.

Now then—if I was supposed to infuse it with magic power…

If I pushed magic directly into it, it might just leak out. Maybe I should release magic the same way I did when casting a spell.

I decided to try.

Placing my palm on the container, I released the amount of magic used for one spell.

[Appraisal — Magic Amount: Trace]

“Trace? That’s a pretty vague result.”

Next I released the amount equal to five spells.

[Appraisal — Magic Amount: Small Amount]

“So, how’s it?” my sister asked.

“I released the magic power of six spells into it… and the appraisal says it only counts as a small amount.”