Chapter 03: Magic and Magic Power
Hiiro left the castle and got out onto the streets, mulling over what to do next.
Technically he could have asked the king and such, but there was a risk of getting dragged into something unforeseen and becoming unable to leave the country when he stayed there any longer.
(First of all, what’s with this ≪Word Magic≫ in the magic column in my ≪Status≫…? I kinda get that it’s unattributed.)
Hiiro decided to ask the townspeople about the location of the Guild. By doing so, he came to know that it was close by.
By the way, the money of this world could be stored on a Guild Card. Likewise it was possible to pay with the card. That’s what the townspeople taught him.
As his black hair and dark eyes were unusual, Hiiro became the center of attention as soon as he entered. Naturally, since he was dressed in an unfamiliar school uniform. He reminded himself to buy some gear later on.
“Hey, I want to register.”
Various quests were filed to the Guild. An adventure earned a reward by carrying out these requests. The quests were classified into levels of difficulty from F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS till SSS.
The adventurers were ranked into the same categories as the quests as well. Although there were very few adventures with a rank S or above. Particularly the SSS rank had only three adventures from the ‘Humas’.
“Huh? It’s gone?”
When he did as he was told, the card appeared in his hand. But the card wad different than before. It had been completely white, but now it had a blue border.
Hiiro listened to the explanations with nods. Looking at his new Guild Card, he confirmed the inscription.
Sex: Male
From: Unknown
Quest:
-Weapon:
-Accessory:
He was glad that the FROM column listed his birthplace as unknown. If there had been written that he was from another world, it would have been troublesome to explain. Equipment meant his gear. It was subdivided into Weapon, Guard and Accessory. But he asked about the one thing that bothered him more.
“Mh? That is the currency…”
On further inquiring, he learned that Rigin nearly had the same value as Japan’s yen and that the sixth column Quest displayed his currently active quests.
With just one single card he could trade and identify himself. Moreover, the card was usually within him and could be taken out at any time.
“Please choose from the bulletin board over there. But remember that you are a rank F. You can only accept quests up to one rank above yours, meaning E.”
“When carrying out quests and raising in levels, your rank will go up naturally.”
“Violet.”
“Yes.”
“Better not waste any time.”
Church Roof Repair F
Reward: 10000 Rigin
Collect Lucky Herbs on the Asbit Plateau.
Goblin Hunt E
Reward: 35000 Rigin
But he decided to only go for hunting quests after he went up a few levels and got used to fighting.
He accepted the quest by bringing the quest note to the counter. Since there was a penalty fee, he had to avoid cancelling a quest by all means. At least for now, when he didn’t got any money.
(I would like to read that reference book)
After seeing the picture of the plan, he got a big bag and left the Guild. The bag surely was meant for his harvest.
And even if he had high magic power, it was a waste of talent when he didn’t know how to use it. He needed to learn how to use magic as soon as possible.
Speaking of, he could just someone around here. Hiiro stopped and looked to his right. There sat a person on a chair in front of a crystal ball on a desk.
The person wore a black robe and a hood hid the face, but it certainly seemed like a fortune-teller.
From the voice he concluded that it was quite an old woman.
“Oh, is that so. But you look like you want to ask something.”
“Are you not from here? I have never seen you before.”
He looked at her a bit suspicious.
“Not interested.”
Since he wasn’t really in a hurry, he sat down on the chair in front of the desk like he was told.
She put her hands on the crystal ball and concentrated. Hiiro silently watched over her with crossed arms. It didn’t escape him that she suddenly narrowed her eyes.
“Strange?”
“Mhm~”
He stood up at once with a clattering of the chair. How did this fortune-teller know this? Hiiro felt doubtful.
Thinking that, he glared at her with a sharp look. He didn’t care that she know, but he got wary on reflex.
“…You met one before?”
“…I see. So, what’s the deal?”
He didn’t get what she was talking about, but it didn’t seem to be anything ill.
“Geh, that’s bad. I prefer to be alone.”
“Mhm~ I don’t get it. I’ll just do what I want.”
“Yeah. Like you said, I come from another world. There’s no magic in my world, so I can’t really grasp the magic here, nor do I know how to use it. I’ve to learn it as fast as possible…”
There Hiiro suddenly realized and looked at the old woman.
“I don’t mind.”
“Do you know where magic power comes from?”
That’s why I’m asking, was what he stifled to say.
“No, no. The magic power comes from the blood.”
“Yes, every living organism has blood. That is the source for magic.”
“That’s why you focus on the flow of your blood in your veins, when concentrating magic power.”
“Yes, look closely.”
“That’s magic power.”
“Well, it takes a lot of training to make it visible like this. I focused on the flow and imagined it gathering in my hand.”
“Magic is the power to imagine. And also the power of flow. A flow of magic power is currently circulating inside this sphere like blood.”
“Indeed.”
While saying so, he imagined the flow of blood only going to his index finger. Upon that, his fingertip glowed pale and became a little bit warm.
The old woman in front of him had her mouth gaping open in surprise.
“Mh? Yeah.”
“Well, I AM a bookworm, so I’m confident in my imagination.”
Hiiro had buried himself in books since he was small, so his imagination was well trained. Or rather, it was his only strong point he felt confident about. When he stopped imagining, the light and warmth disappeared from his finger tip.
“Glad to hear.”
“Quite so. Look. ≪Fire Ball≫”
“Ohhhhhhh”
“I kept it small now, but it can became bigger depending on your imagination and magic power.”
“Mh? Is your attribute different?”
“…Now that’s a rare attribute. Those unattributed are unique magic users without fail. Could it be you…”
“Yes.”
In exchange, one had a magic only usable to oneself, also called unique magic.
“What do you mean?”
That story sent a shiver down Hiiro’s spine. He never thought unique magic would be that dangerous.
“Knowledge?”
“I see. Thank you for telling me all this.”
He still couldn’t see the old woman’s face, but she must have been smiling as she raised her voice.
“So shrewd.”
Then he parted with the old woman and headed for the town gate.