chapter 18
18 – Time goes by
It’s been a month since the dance competition ended and I returned to Akkad, Duchy of Axus.
‘Congratulations on winning, Ike.’
My father had a calm expression when he heard the news of my victory in the dance competition.
But somehow he could sense that his father was genuinely happy.
‘Congratulations, Ike.’
She smiled wide enough that her mother could tell that she was delighted to see.
It felt like a harmonious family that I could only see on TV or in books.
And it’s been a month since I only contacted Reina through letters.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I sent messages, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Raina replied.
There was no particular story.
We just talked normally, as usual.
However, it was a little disappointing that it was impossible to speak comfortably because it was a letter that anyone else could see.
Spreading and circulating mana throughout the body, he took a slow posture.
“Whoa.”
I emptied my thoughts and swung my sword slowly but heavily.
Suddenly, the sound of something being cut was heard. A sense was felt.
When I opened my eyes, I saw an iron plate that had completely split in half and collapsed.
“… Done.”
It’s been a month since I picked up the sword, but fortunately I didn’t feel awkward.
Originally, I tried to challenge right away on the day I returned to Akkad, but my physical condition did not allow it.
Just the spread of mana caused severe pain all over the body, especially in the scarred side.
I did a diagnosis and heard that the magic road, the path through which magic passes, was completely twisted.
Especially, the mana on his side was on the verge of being completely torn apart, and upon hearing the news, his father forbade training until he was completely cured.
And last night, I was finally able to be cured.
He swung his sword nonstop.
To make up for the month I had to rest, I moved my body more than usual.
The full-scale incident started after entering Arcana, but I couldn’t relax.
I still haven’t been able to follow half of the movement.
The reason I won against Helen was thanks to my knowledge of the original story.
The reason he won against the crown prince was because he had a penalty and he was careless.
It was only luck that I got Neia and Diana easily.
There was nothing that I could say without hesitation that it was my skill.
Cutting an iron plate was also the most basic test to join the Knights.
I honestly had no intention of joining the Knights, but I had to have at least the strength of a knight.
“Should I tell my father soon?”
And that was the only thing that came to mind right now.
“Do you want me to get several B-class magic stones?”
“Yes. Please, Father.”
At my request, my father rubbed his eyes with his hand.
It was a habit that came out when my father was in trouble.
“Ike. I think you know what magic stones are, of course.”
“I know.”
The stones that fall from the bodies of demons very occasionally when they die, or the jewels infused with the pure magic of wizards to the limit, are called magic stones.
The magic stones are usually made into magic tools or used as a medium for magic experiments.
To put this differently.
“You also know that one D-class magic stone is equivalent to three platinum coins, right?”
“I know.”
Dirty expensive.
As my father said, a D-class magic stone, roughly the size of a pebble, requires 3 platinum coins.
And I wanted at least a B-grade magic stone.
Then, no matter how low the price is set, it jumps 10 times.
In other words, 30 platinum coins.
I needed at least 5 magic stones, so I needed at least 150 platinum coins.
“First of all, I plan to use all 30 platinum coins I received for winning my dance competition.”
“That’s enough money to buy one level B magic stone. Is that not enough?”
“Yes. I think we need at least five.”
“Ha ha.”
My father let out a deep sigh.
It was a natural reaction if it was natural.
150 Platinum coins are not cheap, even for a duke.
“A knight, not a wizard. I don’t know why you, an aspiring person, need magic stones.”
“It is absolutely necessary.”
“… I get it. Don’t reconsider.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head to my father and left the office.
There are talents necessary for the magic of this world.
The total amount of mana. Attribute conversion rate. Implementation technology, etc.
But the most important thing was the width of the magical power path.
“Alex, Noel. As I said yesterday, please don’t let anyone open the door no matter what happens during the week. You don’t even need a meal. Got it?”
“Yes, boy.”
After begging the two of them, I closed the door completely.
Since the soundproofing is thorough, the sound will not leak out.
“Whoa.”
In the center of the room was a magic stone that glowed black.
“Shall we begin?”
First of all, I put my right hand on the nearest magic stone.
I could feel the pure magic sleeping inside the magic stone.
I closed my eyes and slowly drew up mana from my heart, then poured it into my right hand and then into the magic stone.
Then, my refined magic power and the unrefined magic stone’s pure magic began to mix.
Tick. Tidy Dick. Tick.
The sound of burning flames echoed from the magic stone.
The magic stone became hot with a sound that seemed like it would explode at any moment.
The pain of burning my palms hit me.
However, the supply of magical power could not be stopped.
I had to grit my teeth and endure it.
How many minutes have passed?
Suddenly, I felt something connected.
“Now.”
Forcibly pulls the mana from the mixed magic stones into the body and gradually puts it into the heart.
The heart, which contained more mana than the total amount, began forcibly releasing mana.
However, I forcibly blocked the door to the magical power path, preventing the magical power from flowing through my body.
“… Next.”
After moving back the magic stone that became an ordinary stone, he placed his right hand on the next magic stone.
Your body is hot.
The more magical powers are used, the wider they are.
And according to this width, the amount of magical energy that can be instantaneously emitted from the heart increases, which is directly related to the speed of magic implementation.
The same goes for body strengthening magic.
The body’s output is determined by the amount of mana it spreads in an instant.
The representative runner is Helen Oberon.
Strengthens the body by channeling a tremendous amount of mana all over the body.
In order to channel that much magic, Helen’s magic continued to expand, and as a result. Her fists, which she imbued with her magic, are stronger than most of her weapons.
To put it simply, what I’m doing right now is forcibly copying Helen.
Injects more than the total amount of mana into the heart to the limit, and explodes.
The mana that overflows even if it covers the mana passages of the whole body.
Forcibly widening, widening, widening the magic path in order to pour out all of that magic power.
It was the only way to widen the magic path beyond using magic for a lifetime.
It felt like my whole body was melting.
Maybe this would happen if I jumped directly into Marinen’s brazier, which I saw in Vulcanus.
“Keah!”
When I coughed, clots of blood came out.
“… Next.”
Still, I couldn’t stop here.
There are now two magic stones left.
Since the total number of magic stones I brought was 6, I had to use 1 more.
Forcibly blocking the magic path, the minimum amount of magic flowed into the magic stone.
I endured the pain of running, reminding myself that no matter how painful I was, I would never die.
And the moment the mana of the 5th magic stone entered his heart.
I saw hell.
This method comes from the Ancient Ruins episode at the end of the work.
This method is written on the stone tablet excavated by the prince and the heroine from the ruins, and the two immediately try this with the magic stones obtained from the ruins.
It was natural at first, but I couldn’t overcome this pain and failed.
The two forcibly released all of their mana, and the mana didn’t expand.
I had to endure until the excess mana naturally drained out of my body.
In the end, the prince literally overcame it with mental strength.
The heroine endured her suffering by relieving her pain with the holy spirit, the ring of the saint.
And what I did now, of course, was the former.
“aaa!!!”
Unbearable pain ran through my body.
The original description was bullsh*t.
It is a pain that can be endured.
I thought it would hurt less than this even if I was stabbed with needles, hacked up with knives, burned all over, and squeezed all over.
Even if I hit my head against the wall or roll over on the floor, the pain didn’t go away.
I kept thinking that I’d rather die.
But I already knew that I couldn’t die.
In the end, praying that this time would pass as quickly as possible was the only thing I could do.
“… Alive.”
At some point, the pain stopped.
The hell that never seemed to end is finally over.
When I slowly got up and looked at my body, I saw red and red veins protruding from all over my body.
Other than that, nothing has changed.
“Whoa.”
He took a deep breath.
Worrying that the intense pain might come again, I raised my mana.
And then slowly began to flow throughout the body.
Fortunately, there was no pain I was worried about.
But my body has definitely changed.
“Yes. If nothing has changed, I can’t live because I feel unfair.”
The amount of mana released from the heart at once increased, and the speed at which it spread was much faster.
My body felt lighter than ever.
I felt like I could compete with the prince at the dance competition on an equal footing now.
“Shouldn’t you have done this as soon as you arrived?”
… No. It would be impossible
If I had tried it before the dance competition, I wouldn’t have been able to endure this pain.
Time would have been tight during the dance competition.
I made a lot of effort, learned, and overcame it now, so it was possible.
I felt that now was the right time.
“How long has it been?”
In the original work, it took 5 days for the crown prince and 7 days for the female lead, excluding the failed period.
In case you didn’t know, I called the period 7 days, but there’s a chance it ended sooner.
“Should I go out and ask?”
I have a clock in my room, but it doesn’t show the date.
“Noel?”
“Yes, boy.”
When I opened the door, Noel stood there, smiling naturally.
“How long has it been since I entered the room?”
“The boy entered the room at 9:10 on Monday, September 15th. It is now Monday, September 22 at 7:02. Exactly six days and 21 hours and 52 minutes have passed.”
“… Thank you. And you suffered.”
“No. Then I will return to my normal work now.”
Noel bowed his head to me and walked slowly towards the dining room.
When I opened the magic mailbox in the room, there were 3 letters piled up.
The caller, of course, was Raina.
I told you in advance that there would be no news for about a week, but it was Reina-like not to care.
I slowly opened and read the letter that came on Tuesday.
It was a casual chatter like usual.
It was the same with the letters that came on Thursday and Saturday.
If there was anything different about Thursday’s letter, it was that he was bored because there was no reply.
“… Should I use it now?”
Originally, I used to write it in the evening after every routine, but I asked my father in advance, so I didn’t have a routine until today.
Then it wouldn’t hurt to write a letter and send it now.
It’s not like Reina doesn’t have a routine, though the reply will come tomorrow evening.
I wrote a letter and put it in the outgoing section of the magical mailbox.
There were not a few stories about purchasing magic stones or suffering from pain.
I wrote a reply to a letter from Raina, or interesting stories from the original world that suddenly came to my mind.
The letter that went into the outbox melted away after a few seconds.
“As expected, this part is amazing no matter how many times I watch it.”
All you have to do now is wait.
As expected, the letter should be in the inbox by tomorrow evening.
However, no reply came from Reina even after days or months.
That’s how I turned 17 in this world.