Chapter 29: Impromptu
After borrowing a horse from the Royal Army and taking Ebert with me, we made a forced march towards the Royal Capital, returning in just seven days. Once we parted ways with the adventurers, I was dropped off at the hotel while Hyalda and Fiene took Ebert directly to the Royal Castle. Since we hadn’t sent a prior notice, I had to convey the details at the castle gate and request an audience with the Chancellor.
With Ebert bound and restrained, I waited for the Chancellor at the designated area next to the castle gate. Before long, the Chancellor and a few guards arrived. After exchanging words of gratitude with Hyalda and Fiene, he confirmed Ebert’s identity and began to inquire about the situation.
“Did you leave the remaining forces to the unit that went to secure them?”
“Yes, we captured the ringleader, which caused the disorganized mob to panic. We ordered the securing unit to engage, and deemed our presence unnecessary,” I replied.
“I will report this to His Majesty, but I expect there will be a summons for you later,” he said.
On our way back from the Royal Castle, the three of us—Hyalda, Fiene, and I—stopped by the Egdra Hotel to chat.
“Once again, it’s Kaito to the rescue. You really saved us,” Hyalda said with a smile.
“I did mess up a bit and got injured, but having Fiene around was a huge help,” I admitted.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? I wonder why my healing works. I genuinely wished for it to succeed and channeled my mana, but…” Fiene pondered.
“Well, it’s working, so that’s what matters. Nobody knows why fire or water magic works either. It’s beyond our understanding—better not to think too hard about it,” I replied.
After that, we celebrated our successful mission with drinks, and the evening ended on a high note.
By early March, the Marquis and his entourage had finished their various errands, and we were set to return to Egdra. During that time, I occasionally ventured outside the Royal Capital to measure my mana capacity. Currently, my Spatial Storage could hold a sphere with a diameter of 4 meters, but anything larger was impossible. I attempted to store a 4.5-meter object, but it wouldn’t fit. However, when I created a square frame of 4 meters, it fit perfectly. It seemed that my Spatial Storage could accommodate a space of 4x4x4 meters.
With my Stone Lance, I could shoot 66 projectiles at a distance of 40 meters, and I could fire 87 Stone Arrows. I tried creating stakes to defend against an Armored Buffalo, managing to make six, but the seventh was still beyond my capability. I realized at that moment that I had been low on mana when I created the stakes, but I felt it was the right choice not to reinforce them.
As for Transfer Magic, I could jump 400 meters nine times and 200 meters eighteen times. If I jumped 200 meters into the air and then moved 400 meters horizontally, it would give me a significant advantage for escaping, so I needed to practice. There were no tall buildings in this world, so jumping into the air felt quite liberating.
I began to understand the relationship between the distance and number of jumps with Transfer Magic. Since I could jump 400 meters nine times, that totaled 3600 meters. Similarly, with 200 meters, I could jump eighteen times for the same total distance. If I could jump 20 meters, I estimated I could jump around 180 times. I had felt this way for some time, and now I was certain. It would be perfect if I could determine the direction and jump the desired distance without targeting anything, but I was afraid to test it.
In science fiction novels, there are discussions about the risks of jumping into obstacles, where one might merge with them or face an explosion. The thought of jumping and merging with a bird, becoming a human with wings and a beak, was no joke.
In a world where magic exists, I speculated that if there were obstacles where I jumped, I would materialize either before or after them. Most likely, if it were otherwise, people in this world wouldn’t know about such risks and would jump without a second thought. I doubted the gods would grant such a dangerous magic… probably.
By the time we returned to the City of Egdra with the Marquis, March was nearing its end. We took some time to greet the local lord in the town we passed through, receiving a warm welcome and staying one or two nights, which delayed our return. Upon safely arriving in Egdra, we headed straight to the Marquis’s residence to complete our mission. I received 40 gold coins for the round-trip escort fee and an additional 50 gold coins for capturing Ebert.
“Hyalda, isn’t this a bit much?” I asked.
“When we delivered Ebert to the Royal Castle, the Chancellor mentioned that a reward would come later, so I think it’s a fair amount,” she replied.
“Well then, I’ll accept it without hesitation,” I said, tossing the coins into my Spatial Storage, thinking about how my collection was growing.
The next day, I was sent to the hotel to replenish my dwindling food supplies. I visited the market, sampling tea leaves and learning how to brew them properly. I asked the hotel manager to prepare steak for thirty people using Armored Buffalo meat, along with a pot of soup made from the same meat, which I stored away. As a token of gratitude, I provided the remaining meat to the hotel.
With all preparations complete, I set out to investigate my mana capacity, something I had been considering for a while. It was just before noon, and the gate guards looked rather bored. Recently, due to my connections with the Marquis, Hyalda, and Fiene, I had become well-known among the guards, enjoying a sort of free pass.
I gave a polite salute and lightly bowed my head as I exited the city. After walking through the grasslands for about two hours to survey the area, I set up the Camp House and entered using Transfer Magic. I brewed tea using the leaves I had bought, thinking it still needed more practice. While nibbling on some snacks, I relaxed.
This time, I was investigating how to use my mana and how quickly it depleted, so I set up a target at a distance of 40 meters. Currently, I could fire approximately 66 Stone Lances, so I shot 33 normally, then lightly channeled my mana while keeping the same image in my mind. I focused on lightly adding mana rather than the usual heavy load. I ran out of mana after firing 33 shots the first time.
On my second attempt, I managed 35 shots before running out of mana, and on the third, I shot 33 again. The fourth time, I reached 35, and the fifth time, I shot 37. It felt like I was improving, but I was still running out of mana, so it might have been due to my increased mana capacity.
After about ten days of practice, I finally grasped the technique. I realized that I could shoot Stone Lances with the same power by firmly holding the image in my mind while lightly channeling my mana. The initial method I had tried—lightly adding mana—was indeed correct.
At the beginning of my practice, I could shoot 66 times, but now I was averaging over 90 shots. The power remained unchanged, but the number of shots had increased, which was evidence that my hypothesis was correct. I could easily shoot 120 Stone Arrows, so I suspected my Transfer Magic had also increased by 20 to 30 percent.
Having tried various things, I grew tired of testing Transfer Magic and decided to return to the city. On the way back, I encountered a pack of Rush Wolves but chose to wait it out inside the Camp House, sipping tea. Unless they attacked, I had no intention of hunting them down. My job was herb gathering, after all—leaving the dangerous work to others was the way to go.
A day later, when the presence of the Rush Wolves had completely faded, I returned to the city. As I lined up at the end of the waiting list to enter, one of the guards rushed over and saluted sharply.
“Kaito-sama, the Marquis urgently wishes to see you. Please come to the residence,” he relayed.
“Urgently, you say?” I asked, confirming with the guard. It seemed there was an urgent matter, so I had the carriage from the guard station brought out and hurried to the Marquis’s estate.
Upon arriving, I was ushered into a carriage prepared by the head butler, Efor, and we set off. We arrived at a site that resembled a crumbling old fortress. The Marquis and Fiene, along with numerous knights and what appeared to be mages, greeted me with solemn expressions.
“Marquis, what’s going on?” I inquired.
It turned out that they had been using the old building for serious training in offensive tactics and indoor suppression, but the structure had suddenly collapsed. I was informed that nearly fifty people, including Hyalda, were trapped inside. They had gathered earth mages to dig them out, but the building continued to crumble after they unearthed people, making the task difficult, as they spoke in dark tones.
While some survivors could be heard from within, their voices were muffled and unclear, leaving the extent of the damage uncertain.
I was asked to go to the area where the voices were coming from, but with the massive amount of rubble, I couldn’t tell how many times I would run out of mana before reaching the victims, even with my Earth Magic. With so many people present, it was hard to sense anything.
“Marquis, please move the people here away. I need to confirm the presence of those trapped, and they’re obstructing my ability to sense them. Please keep them quiet in a place where they can’t be seen,” I instructed.
At the Marquis’s command, the crowd began to disperse, but the earth mages showed their dissatisfaction openly, murmuring about an amateur meddling in their affairs.
I called out loudly, and though I couldn’t quite make out the response, something came back to me. The difference in the direction of the voice and the presence I sensed was likely due to the sound bouncing around.
Having figured out the general location of the presence, I steeled myself. I found myself in a situation where I had to test my doubts about Transfer Magic on the spot, but I couldn’t just ignore it. From my rank 8 Magic Pouch meant for decoys, I pulled out a practical longsword and a knife, striking the blades together to create a sharp sound.
“Marquis, if you hear this sound from inside, please assume I’ve arrived safely. If you hear nothing, then consider me dead and have those who were pulled back resume the rescue operation.”
“Wait! Kaito, what do you think you’re doing?!”
“I’m going to try one of the spells granted to me by the Creator God Elmart—Transfer Magic. This is a far more dangerous spell than you all realize. If Fi has made it inside safely, she should be bringing back the injured, so keep your wits about you.”