Published at 20th of December 2020 05:55:22 PM
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
The Gravity Balancer and Roy’s Growth
Katy apparently used Hikaru’s story of how the wingless Gray Noble Drakon flew in the air as reference when developing the Gravity Balancer . Drake didn’t possess the level of power to make a huge body like that float, but his body was equipped with the same function as well, which Katy studied .
Holy mana’s effect on gravity obeyed certain laws which she explained using a blackboard . Though it was too technical that Hikaru could only get the general gist of it .
「So basically, holy mana isn’t used like a wing to glide through the air, but rather it exerts direct influence on gravity or repulsive forces, and doesn’t obey any existing laws of physics . Instead, it has its own laws . 」
「Exactly . I’m glad you catch on quick… but you don’t seem that surprised . 」
「Well, yeah…」
This world has magic, so that doesn’t really surprise me at all .
「There’s a similar air Spirit magic spell called Air Wall which creates an air cushion, but this one works on a completely different fundamental principles . 」
「Hmm… Let’s give it a try, then . 」
「Do you want me to do it?」Lavia said . 「It requires mana, right?」
Hikaru barely had any mana . But he thought there wouldn’t really be a chance for Lavia to use it, unless she fell from a high place or she needed to land on water for a moment . Then again, she could probably use it to fly . However, Hikaru decided he would do the first test run . He didn’t want Lavia to do anything potentially dangerous .
「I’ll try it first with my measly amount of mana . 」Hikaru said .
Since he already had their party bracelet on his right arm, Hikaru put on the wristwatch-looking device on his left arm instead .
「Hmm… Oh . 」
With Mana Detection, Hikaru watched his mana flow into the Gravity Balancer . Then he felt his body become lighter, like all the hair on his body stood on end .
「This is incredible . 」
「Did you float?」
「Yeah, it sure felt like it . 」
「You can think of it this way: that device’s effects has a two-meter radius range . 」
「Got it . Thank you . Though I hope I don’t have to use it anytime soon . 」
This needs more tests, Hikaru thought .
「Hahaha . Right, I have a parting gift for you as well, Lavia . 」
「For me?」
Katy returned to the lab and came back with a massive book . Lavia’s eyes brightened . Its leather binding was worn-out, the blurry characters on the front unreadable . It was about 10 by 7 inches in size .
「Are these… notes?」
「More like a codex . It was left here a long time ago by someone from the academy . It was handed over to my lab by chance, but I never found it useful . 」
「What’s it about?」
「It’s a grimoire . Advanced fire-type Spirit magic is written in there . If I recall correctly, you use fire type spells, right?」
Lavia could use widely-known spells like Fire Breath, Flame Wall, and Flame Gospel . Only those who studied fire-type Spirit magic could use anything more advanced than those . Most of them were either secret techniques known only to the one who developed it, or spells that were for exclusive use only .
Not a lot of documents remained about them, and most of them were kept by royal families or research facilities .
「C-Can I really have it?」
「Of course . Just don’t expect to find terribly destructive spells . It’s just a bunch of tricky spells that are hard to use or requires much skill to cast . I even forgot about the book until now . 」
「Still, I’m sure it’ll be of great help!」
Katy watched Lavia with a smile as she embraced the grimoire in her hands .
After bidding farewell to Katy, they made their way to the training area where they found Professor Mikhail and his students who just finished preparing the grounds . The professor wore a complex look when Hikaru told him they were leaving Scholarzard .
「I see . I knew you would leave one day . You probably don’t have much to learn from this academy . But you being here really encouraged everyone . 」
Mikhail’s great sword students watched Hikaru with glistening eyes . They had practiced here a lot, but in the end, not one of them managed to land a hit on Hikaru . As they grew and improved, so did he . They failed to close the gap in skills; in fact, it only grew bigger . Most of them were from Jarazack .
「Professor, please allow me to fight Hikaru one last time . 」
「Hey, no fair! I wanted to ask first!」
「Me too!」
「No, me!」
The first one who raised his hand was not a citizen of Jarazack, but a young man from Rumania, Roy “Yellow Tiger” Rumania . Hikaru was curious about the serious look in his eyes .
「You heard him, Hikaru . What do you say?」the professor said .
「Well, since it’s the last one… and as long as it’s only Roy, I’m in . 」
「What?!」
「No fair!」
A few complained .
「Have some shame, men . It’s first come, first served . Get ready, you two . 」
Hikaru left his stuff with Lavia and performed some warm-up exercises .
「I didn’t expect to see you here . 」Hikaru said . 「I thought you’d be with League . 」
Roy, who was also doing stretches, looked at Hikaru . At first, students made fun of these warm-up exercises, but eventually did it themselves when they realized its usefulness .
「Right now, Lord League needs competent men . I still have a lot to learn . 」
Hikaru was genuinely impressed . When he first met the guy, he was just a student studying the great sword—a weapon that didn’t quite suit his stature—and sulky at being treated as the black sheep of the family .
Hikaru took a look at his Soul Board .
【Soul Board】Roy Yellow Tiger Rumania
Age: 19 Rank:4
16
【Magical Power】
. . 【Mana】1
. . 【Spirit Affinity】
… . 【Air】1
【Physical Strength】
. . 【Strength】1
. . 【Weapon Mastery】
… . 【Great Sword】1
Roy had gained two ranks and one point each on Strength and Great Sword . He even had affinity to Air Spirit magic . Even the moron made considerable improvement .
I guess it’s true what they say . You gotta watch out for those you haven’t seen in a while .
Hikaru was surprised at Roy’s progress . I should be careful, then .
「Are you two ready? One, two… fight!」
The fight began .
「No way…」
Roy lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily . Fifteen minutes later, just when Hikaru was starting to warm up, Roy already collapsed from total exhaustion, having been on the full-power offensive .
「Roy . 」Hikaru said as he stood beside him . 「You shouldn’t get too cocky just because you became faster with your sword . You still lack the muscle strength . That’s why the great sword pushes you around . You must not neglect your basics . Your fighting style is based on Mikhail’s teachings to begin with, which assumes you have the stamina of someone from Jarazack . It’s not suited for a Rumanian body . In that case, you should try to adapt your body to it, make the adjustments yourself . 」
「Ugh…」
「But I guess the Spirit magic was interesting . 」
Hikaru pointed out his affinity to Spirit magic before which he stubbornly denied . But he learned it and added it to his arsenal . At the last stages of the fight, Roy’s eyes still burned despite being exhausted . Hikaru expected him to do something . That’s when Roy fired an air bullet at him .
「You dodged it easily!」Roy shouted .
The other students nodded . Hikaru already knew he could use Spirit magic, and with his Mana Detection, he saw Roy’s mana expanding . Dodging the spell was easy .
「Don’t worry . Normally, the enemy wouldn’t notice if you recited the spell silently . 」
「Is that supposed to make me feel better?!」Roy exclaimed, teary-eyed .
Hikaru felt a little bad . Now that I think about it, nothing’s happened lately that could boost his confidence . He might break down at this rate, he thought .
「How about testing your abilities in some other place?」
「What…?」
「You registered with the Adventurers Guild, right? You can take requests . Oh, there’s the king selection tournament in Einbeast, a martial arts tournament to choose their next ruler . Strong people from all over the country gather in that event . 」
「A martial arts tournament…」
「I’m not saying you should go there . I’m just suggesting you join similar tournaments . 」
「Professor!」Slowly, Roy got up and turned to face Mikhail .
「That sounds quite interesting . 」the professor said . 「A field trip, huh…」
「No, no, no . 」Hikaru said . 「That’s more than just a field trip . It’s a different country . Going there won’t be easy . Besides, you have classes here, don’t you?」
「Practical training is a necessity in every field . 」
「Don’t say I didn’t stop you . 」
Somehow, Mikhail and Roy’s eyes looked serious, even the other students . I doubt they’ll actually all go to Einbeast… I sure hope so . Hikaru felt worried .
And so Hikaru bade farewell to the academy . Their first stop was the kingdom of Ponsonia . He wanted to see how the nation was doing after the civil war .
Hikaru, however, received an unexpected intel .