Chapter 17: Development of New Magic
“Whoa, I’ve just unlocked the Dual Spell Skill!”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah! With the Parallel Thinking Skill, having both of these together really boosts our progress.”
It had been a day since I started living my daily life using magic. The Parallel Thinking Skill had manifested, and using it allowed me to simultaneously cast spells of different attributes, leading to the emergence of the Dual Spell.
“Shuu, that’s so unfair…”
Rio shot me a sulky glance, but given my higher growth rate, it was only natural.
“But Rio, you’re progressing quickly too, especially with magic.”
“That’s true, but…”
Even though Rio specialized in magic, her skill growth rate was only a quarter of mine. Still, it felt like she was catching up faster than that.
“Maybe Rio has some hidden talent that numbers can’t capture.”
“Do you really think so…?”
Rio’s shy smile was incredibly cute. I felt like I might just bleed from my nose.
“That might be partly due to your profession, too.”
I couldn’t help but agree with my mentor’s words. After all, I was still unemployed.
“Anyway, let’s get back to the main topic. Focus on the Dual Spell and use one thought to cast two types of magic. Then, with another thought, you can use another spell…”
“Does that mean the Triple Spell Skill will emerge?”
“Exactly! The same method applies for Quadruple Spells and beyond. Being aware of the skills shortens the time it takes to acquire them.”
“Wow.”
After a while of continuously using three types of magic, my mentor’s voice rang out again.
“Here comes the Triple Spell!”
Thanks to my mentor, I was smoothly acquiring skills. While his teaching style was strict, the biggest factor was probably that he could use Appraisal. Knowing when I had learned a skill allowed me to quickly shift to learning the next one.
“Yes!”
“Hehehe, at this rate, you’ll surpass me in no time.”
“No way! I can’t even begin to compete with you, mentor. Three hundred years of life experience is just too impressive.”
I replied earnestly, but the look I received in return was one of disbelief, as if to say, “What are you talking about?”
“What do you mean, with a growth rate a thousand times greater? Three hundred years of experience wouldn’t take even four months to catch up!”
“Wait, what…?”
I was left speechless by his outrageous words, and Rio wore a similarly stunned expression.
“That said, you can’t just gain experience a thousand times over, so it won’t happen immediately.”
“Right?”
Feeling a bit reassured, my mentor suddenly started grinning.
“What’s this? You don’t want to surpass me?”
“Well, it’s not that…”
I guess I wanted my mentor to remain my mentor. It would be lonely if there was nothing left for me to learn… Wow, that sounded really pathetic!
“I’ll show you that I can surpass you soon!”
“Hehehe, that’s the spirit, girl.”
Rio was fired up. If I didn’t get motivated too, I wouldn’t be a man.
“Let’s do this!”
I pumped myself up, but…
“Ah, well, just do your best casually.”
“That’s so dismissive!”
My mentor had already lost interest in our banter.
“By the way, mentor, is there no Ice Magic or Lightning Magic?”
I asked, curious about something that had been on my mind.
“I understand Ice, but… Lightning Magic?”
“Huh?”
Did I say something strange? My mentor was glaring at me intensely…
“Is there no Lightning Magic?”
Rio, perhaps sensing my confusion, stepped in to confirm with my mentor.
“There isn’t… Well, Lightning is considered a type of Light Magic.”
“Is that so? But electricity is different from light, right?”
“Electricity? What is that?”
Wait, what? Is he serious? I realized that my mentor only knew about the world we were summoned to and his own home, so science might not be that advanced here.
“Um, mentor, do you know about static electricity? You know, that zap you get when you touch metal in winter?”
“Hmm…? What is that? Ah, could it be the phenomenon known as the ‘Bidebu’? Wait, no way…!”
What in the world is the “Bidebu” phenomenon? Who came up with that name for static electricity? But at least it was good that a similar phenomenon existed. I couldn’t explain it in detail anyway.
“Yes, that’s exactly it. Lightning is just a supercharged version of that phenomenon.”
“What a revelation… After years of research, to discover the reason for the inability to replicate it so easily. To think it was a mistake to consider it an extension of Light Magic… No, but that hypothesis might still hold some validity…”
“Here we go again.”
My mentor began muttering to himself, lost in his own world. I decided to leave him be. And as for the Lightning Magic that was said not to exist, my interest was piqued. Perhaps I could unlock a brand new elemental skill for this world…!
Um, if I remember correctly, electricity is the movement of electrons. Alright, let’s visualize the electrons moving from my right hand to my left hand and channel my magic power…
After about an hour of trial and error, I still felt like something was off. I had the sense that I was close, but what was missing? Was it because the gap between my hands was too wide…? I recalled hearing that high voltage was needed for air discharge. If I slowly brought my hands closer together…
ZAP!!
“Ouch! …But I did it! Could it be that I just unlocked a new skill?!”
“…Shuu, you really are a skill enthusiast.”
In my excitement, I completely missed Rio’s quiet remark.