Chapter 22: Obtained the Long-Awaited GOTO Statement!

“Yessss! The GOTO statement exists after all! My father wasn’t lying!!”

Isamu’s high-energy exclamation echoed through the workshop. His excitement was so great that his dialogue resembled something out of a certain castle in the sky.

Eto, who was drawing an energy-efficient magic circle nearby, jumped in surprise.

“Huh?! What’s going on?! What happened?!”

“Eto-san, take a look at this! I finally got my hands on the long-awaited GOTO statement! Look at this! I can even use labels! Ah, I’m so happy!”

He eagerly pushed the GOTO statement in Eto’s direction, but naturally, Eto couldn’t understand it, and he looked puzzled.

“It’s not structured, and there are no subroutines or functions, but as long as I write without making mistakes, it won’t turn into an infinite loop.”

“Ugh, can’t you calm down already?”

“Ah!”

Eto was fed up and finally raised his voice to Isamu.

Isamu snapped back to his senses after Eto’s thunderous reprimand.

“Huh? What did I do?”

“Geez… So, what did you find? What’s this GOTO thing?”

“Oh, right. I found the GOTO statement. It’s a bit hard to explain, but just think of it as expanding the possibilities by about 100 times.”

“A hundred times? Really?”

“Yes, it’s not a joke. The GOTO statement opens up a multitude of new possibilities. It’s like going from not having fire at all to being able to use fire, maybe?”

“Hmm, the difference between having fire and not having it… I guess it really is quite something.”

“Exactly. It’s that kind of discovery. For example… Up to this point, small magic stones couldn’t be used because they lacked the required magic power output, right?” 

“Hmm. Basically, the size of a magic stone is directly connected to the amount of magical power and output. You can’t use magic stones that are too small. At best, it’s just powdered and put into magic ink, so it’s only a couple of sentences.”

“Right? What if I told you that there is a possibility that you could use it if you had this GOTO statement?”

“What!? What do you mean?”

Eto instinctively leans forward at Isamu’s comment.

“Well, it’s just a theoretical theory that hasn’t been tested, so of course there will be various restrictions… At the very least, there is no doubt that we will be able to find new ways to use things that have not been given much attention to before.”

The reason you can’t use small magic stones in the first place is because they don’t have enough magical power output.

However, by combining the GOTO statement with the previously discovered magic variables, there’s a possibility of pseudo-increasing the output. In other words, the magic variable can temporarily store magic power, similar to a capacitor.

For instance, suppose a spell requires more than 10 magic power to activate. If you used a magic stone that can only produce 5 magic power, it would never activate. But by using a magic variable and creating an algorithm like this:

1. Take 5 magic power from the magic stone.

2. Put it into the magic variable (0 + 5 = 5).

3. Check if the magic variable contains 10 or more magic power.

4. It only contains 5, so go back to step 1.

Extract 5 magic power from the magic stone

Put it in the magic variable (5 + 5 = 10)

 Check if the magic power variable contains 10 or more magic power

It’s OK because it contains 10

Activated using the magic power of the magic variable

By repeating this process, you could potentially use a magic stone with a normally insufficient output of 5 magic power.

The key point here is the step 4 process. Thanks to the GOTO instruction that allows you to jump back to step 1, repeated processes can be implemented. While similar results can be achieved by repeatedly writing the same process if you know the flow of magic power, it’s not one-off, and the amount of magic power is unknown. Moreover, repeating the process would result in the magic circle getting larger. GOTO statements resolve these issues.

“Of course, this is just one example. I hope you will think that we have found something with more and more unlimited possibilities.”

“Huh…Indeed, it’s still hard for me to fully grasp its significance, but if Isamu says so, it must be amazing.”

“Yes, because I finally obtained the last piece I needed. With this, I should be able to put my knowledge from my original world to use. However, at this point, I’m not sure how much magic can be stored in the magic variable, and the stored magic will likely deplete after use… We need to verify many things.”

“True, but you’ve achieved so much in just seven days. There’s no need to rush.”

“Hahaha, that’s true. At first, I was desperate to be helpful, but I’m enjoying it more and more. Even now, just thinking about what else we can do gets me excited.”

Eto responded with a smile to Isamu apologetic grin.

“That’s what it means to be someone who creates things. Ever since you first saw the magic circle, I’ve been convinced that you’re one of us. Kukuku. Things are about to get exciting and busy from now on, aren’t they?”

“Hahaha, you saw right through me. Yes, now that the analysis of the activation circle is complete, I’ll start a thorough examination of functional circle. Together with that, I’d love to see more and more magic tools.”

“Exactly. Tell the young lady and start by visiting various magic tool shops in the city. Buying everything will lead to bankruptcy, so just looking is enough.”

“If that’s the case, it might be a good idea to go and see the city outside. This city may thrive on making magic tools, but we can’t see high-end or limited edition items, or artifacts here. For artifacts, Belcour in Kalenberg, and for luxury items, Felucca in Felker’s territory should be the real deal.”

“Kalenberg… Felker… Isn’t that a name I’ve heard somewhere?? Is it far from here? ”

“It’s about four days by carriage to Belcour, and from there, it’s another two days to Felucca. Since these territories are adjacent, it’s better to visit them together.”

“Thank you. Once I’ve checked everything in this city, I’ll ask Anne-Marie to accompany me.”

“Sure. Starting tomorrow, I’ll bring various magic tools from the workshop, so let’s start with that.”

“Yes, please. Thank you!”

And so, Isamu’s research on magic circles moved on to the next step.

Let’s go back in time by about two days.

In the afternoon, Isamu continued his research on magic circles, while in the morning, he focused on both lecturing about old magic and practicing his own magic.

Representing the Klaufeldt territory, four people were leading the way in learning old magic: Nicolette, the lord’s wife; Annemarie, his daughter; Liddell and Marcella, both members of the knight order.

Of course, Isamu was also boldly challenging himself to acquire magic using old magic right from the start. However, Lord Selfers, as a candidate, occasionally only observed due to his poor health.

The Klaufeldt territory, surrounded by forests, faced a significant threat from monsters compared to other regions. For this reason, an expedition to subdue monsters took place at least once a year, spanning one to two months. It was said that the members of this expedition team often suffered from a mysterious illness referred to as “Expedition Disease,” which could lead to unexplained fatal bleeding. Unfortunately, Lord Selfers was currently undergoing treatment for this ailment.

When it came to the proficiency and, especially, the power of the new magic, it heavily depended on the amount of magic power invested:

Nicolette > Liddell > Marcella > Annemarie > Isamu

In the Klaufeldt territory, Nicolette’s magic power was particularly outstanding, earning her the nickname “Forest Witch.” However, when it came to old magic:

Annemarie > Marcella > Isamu > Nicolette = Liddell

Of course, increasing the amount of magic power invested would help close the gap, but old magic had a distinctive characteristic of significant differences in power even at the same magic power input. In Isamu’s case, he was still a provisional rank since his control of magic was not yet skilled enough, even with standard magic power.

The difference in the power of old magic was thought to be due to “differences in imagination,” at least that’s what Annemarie and the others believed.

“‘Invisible blade, cut with the wind. Wind Cutter!'”

After Annemarie’s chant, an invisible blade hummed and flew toward Marcella, who stood in front.

“‘Spiraling winds, protect us. Wind Wall!'”

In response, a swirling wind filled with magic surrounded Marcella. This was a wind-based barrier spell, and she cast it to counter Annemarie’s Wind Cutter. Upon the impact, a high-pitched noise was heard, and both spells were dispelled, scattering gusts of wind around.

“You’re doing well, Marcella.”

“You too, Young lady. You’re casting pretty potent spells with that sweet face of yours.”

After learning the meanings of the magic words from Isamu in just three days, both of them had reached a level where they could use basic wind and water magic as old magic. To test what would happen when they increased the power further, as well as for practical combat scenarios, they incorporated simulated battles into their training.

As for everyone else, they were still working on consistently controlling the power of their spells.

“Wow, the difference in power is this significant… It’s practically like they’re two completely different types of magic now.”

“Yes. Anne and Marcella’s old magic is probably better than the new magic that I put all my magic into. Since the amount of magical power is more than double, it simply means that the power is more than double. There’s no way I can describe it as a threat…”

While watching Annemarie and Marcella having fun with old magic, Selfers and Nicolette were engaged in a serious conversation.

“Even with beginner-level magic, I’m curious to see what will happen with more powerful and larger-scale magic… I’m looking forward to it, but we need to be careful in many ways.”

“That’s right… Besides, the two with the intuitive talents are the only ones who can use it well right now. As for me and Liddell, we still haven’t mastered it. But thinking about spreading it in the future, well…”

“Those two aren’t suited for the role of teachers. For the sake of spreading it within the territory, we’ll need someone who can explain it properly. It might be tough, but I hope we can count on you.”

“Yes, of course. Besides, it’s frustrating not to be able to use it as it is. I’ll definitely make it perfect!”

Looking at his wife, who was excitedly saying this, Selfers had no doubt that they were indeed parent and child.

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