Chapter 33

I noticed that the time had passed, and it was already afternoon, around 1 PM—more time had passed than I thought.

I’m starting to get hungry, so I’ll eat the takeout I bought from the food stall on my way out this morning.

It’s a dish with thinly grilled grain dough wrapped around some kind of meat and vegetables in a convenient stick shape—tacos, I think.

I’m not very familiar with it, but let’s take a bite—

“Oh… huh? Ah, it’s spicy!”

It has a hint of spiciness, probably from something like chili peppers, and it’s delicious.

I can’t quite identify the meat. It’s not beef—maybe pork.

It’s tasty, so it gets a passing grade.

I bought two, but one is enough to fill me up. I’ll have the other one in the evening.

“Oh, right.”

I brought a bottle of water, but since I’ve learned how to emit water, let’s see if I can drink using that.

Forming my hands to scoop water, I extend them in front of my face.

《Chant, a little water blast.》

“Oops, whoa!”

Water spills everywhere, but I manage to collect some. Then I try drinking it.

“Hmm… seems okay. With this, even if I get stranded, I won’t have trouble with water.”

But, you know… it looks like I’m emitting water from my own body and drinking it.

If it’s below… well, let’s just stop.

Anyway, magic is amazing.

Taking a break to think about magic.

I feel like magic is similar to a “programming language.”

The “blast” for water and “send” for wind could be like a loop (while statement), “diffusion” could be a conditional branch (if statement), and “water” and “wind” could be output processes (print statement).

Output specifications can be variable with variables (int, char), and the final action is “emission” (Enter key). It seems to have a structure like this.

If I could set the conditional branch more finely, it feels like I could switch between wind and water with just one spell.

Or maybe simultaneous processing is possible?

“Simultaneous emission of water and wind… oh, that’s just a typhoon!”

I could even name it something like “Storm Magic.”

—But, I can’t deny that there is still a lack of information.

I tried the expected “fire” spell, but it didn’t activate.

I sat down and tried to cast “lightning,” but it’s still invisible, and I don’t know how to gauge its power.

If I could adjust the power, I should be able to use it without killing…

For example, if I say 《Chant, small lightning》could I use it like a stun gun or a taser? I wonder if someone could try it…

I wonder if someone can try it…

And the crucial technique is whether “bestowal” is possible.

Honestly, it feels cumbersome to chant spells one by one to activate it… or rather, it seems magically immature.

Indeed, I want to imbue magic into swords and staffs to make them usable as powerful weapons.

Or rather――

“I want to create a gun.”

I really want to make it.

After all, you can shoot stone bullets with “Stone Magic.” If you can imbue it even in a stick, maybe you can shoot stones with that.

Moreover, if you embed “Wind Magic” into something like a tube, can’t you make an air gun? And a super powerful one at that.

Anyway, I want to improve my forehead launches.

If I can’t shoot it with my hands, I have no choice but to rely on something.

I came up with this idea early on.

But the method of bestowing is still not found, so it’s been on hold all this time.

I was sure it would be at the bookstore, but my guess was off.

“There should definitely be a bestowal magic.”

Even in modern times, we can create high-tech devices. I’m convinced that even in a fallen civilization, magical technology must have advanced, and there should be bestowal magic… at least, that’s what I believe.

I wonder if they teach it at the magic school… It would be great if I could ask Coolmin about it.

After the break, the magic I want to try next is Elf magic.

The one I used recently is “Growth Magic,” and there are others like “Preservation,” “Concealment,” and “Detection.”

But actually, there was a magic from a different system――

Surprisingly, there’s an “Elf version of body enhancement technique.”

《Strength》: Increases the strength when drawing a bow.

《Leap》: Enhances jumping ability.

《Swift》: Makes the legs faster.

These three.

It’s definitely an archer shift. I guess Elves really give off that “Elves are archers” vibe.

So, let’s try “Leap” right away.

Chanting it, I lightly jump――

《Leap》

Zoom―――Thud.

And I jumped about 5 meters high.

“Wow, amazing!”

Let’s try jumping a bit more.

Zoom―――――――Thud.

This time, I jumped about 15 meters.

“Whoa, whoa! Too scary! This is impossible, impossible!”

Well, of course.

After jumping, suddenly falling from a height of 15 meters is terrifying, magic or not.

It felt like my hips were pulled out.

And, getting carried away and flying too high made me feel nauseous.

“This is making my vestibular system go crazy…”

I’m not someone with a strong vestibular system.

I easily get motion sickness, like car sickness. Bus trips during elementary school field trips were hell.

And I immediately threw up.

After adjusting my condition a bit, since jumping vertically is tough, I practice mastering “Leap” with horizontal movement.

I place withered trees on flat ground at intervals of a few meters and practice landing in the targeted positions.

But it’s not going well.

“I can’t land anywhere near where I aimed!”

I try to jump towards the placed trees but can’t hit them.

I can accurately land only about 2 meters away.

This has nothing to do with 《Leap》… I’m just bad at jumping, plain and simple.

On TV variety shows, there’s a competition like ‘Jumping on logs to reach the opposite bank.’

When you watch it, people are falling off left and right.

It seems quite challenging for humans to jump and land at the target point.

If you try to extend the distance with magic, you have to practice and repeat it many times to memorize it in your body.

Originally, I’m not good at sports, and I don’t even like them.

Someone sitting in front of a computer all day can’t just suddenly move their body gracefully and do fancy steps.

“Jumping from branch to branch like in anime… that’s still a long way off, huh? Too bad.”

Placing a hand on the hip, pondering.

Understanding that you need to properly train for activities that involve using the body — just knowing that makes the effort put into practice worthwhile.

Being able to descend smoothly from a roof and do what the archer did when they attacked was a reassuring realization.

After practicing the body strengthening technique, take a short break.

It’s only natural to feel tired after moving the body, even if you enhance it.

I’m not particularly fond of exercise, and my usual mode of transportation is by car, so I’m clearly lacking in physical activity.

I’ve come to realize that building stamina is essential to survive in this world.

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