I proceed with training at the back of the school.
"Now then… let's continue our trial and error," I muttered to myself.
Last time, I cast crystallized water magic.
The problem with that is the lethality is abysmal.
Even the Earth Bullet isn't that lethal, but the water crystal is much less durable than the Earth Bullet.
Then… let's try to infuse more mana.
A small crystal formed in my hand, and I shot it forward.
"Thud."
It left a mark like the Earth Bullet, but it didn't bounce. Instead, it shattered on impact.
"Hmm…" I frowned. The mana required to do that shot is equivalent to two and a half waterballs.
With just that result, the mana requirement is huge.
This way of doing things is inefficient.
Yes, I can cast more, but how many of these can I use to kill one goblin?
Even the Earth Bullet can only stun the enemy, and it's slightly more powerful than my crystal waterball.
I pondered… what's my next move?
I began to sit and look at the sky.
"Sign… I feel like I want to sleep for today," I sighed.
When I'm stuck with a problem I can't fix, it's best not to rush things.
Let's take some time to walk for a while.
I began to look at the stores for some goods and visited some blacksmiths' shops.
As usual, this town is lively.
Stores are bustling with activity.
I began to look at the stores for some goods and visited some blacksmiths' shops.
As usual, this town is lively.
The streets were alive with movement. Merchants shouted over one another, advertising wares: "Fresh bread! Best honey in town!" "Armor for sale! Handmade, enchanted steel!" Adventurers haggled with shopkeepers over prices, their voices rising and falling in the heated exchange of coin and goods. Some pointed at weapons or potions, arguing over quality or magical properties.
Some adventurers were browsing casually, testing the balance of swords, flipping through scrolls of spells, or examining enchanted trinkets. A few children ran between stalls, laughing and weaving through the crowd, occasionally tripping over crates of vegetables or barrels of ale. Town guards patrolled steadily, their boots clattering on the cobblestones, occasionally stopping to check suspicious individuals or quiet an argument.
The blacksmiths' forges glowed orange, sparks flying into the air as hammers struck hot steel. Nearby, a stall sold spices, their pungent aroma mixing with the scent of freshly baked bread, roasting meat, and the tang of metal from the smiths. Every so often, a bell rang as a shop door opened, letting in the murmur of conversation from inside.
I wandered into a clothing shop. They sell clothes to everyone.
They also sell magic clothes for mages.
Browsing the magic clothes, the store owner said, "These clothes enhance mana regeneration."
Well, that's quite something.
Then, at the corner of the store, I saw some sewing materials and fabrics.
Hmm… maybe I can make my own clothes.
I know a thing or two about sewing, for it was an extracurricular subject in my high school days.
Looking at the sewing needles, they are much bigger than sewing needles on Earth.
The needles are almost as big as my fingers.
I can make these into weapons, a hidden one, and coat them with poison.
But I need to know how to throw them.
"Wait… throwing needles."
What if…
I hurriedly ran toward the back of the school.
It might work.
Panting, I hurriedly calmed myself and breathed deeply.
I focused on myself and cast a crystal water ball, but this time I made it pointy.
I focused on the shape, like the needles I saw.
Then, a crystal needle formed.
I flung it at a tree.
This time, the crystal water needle didn't shatter; it remained embedded in the tree.
"Yeah! Success!" I exclaimed.
The needle penetrated almost halfway through the trunk.
I have the lethality of spells now, and it only cost me one and a half waterballs' worth of mana.
I cast some more crystal needles and observed their aerodynamics.
The aerodynamics of the needles are good, they are bigger than usual.
For now, this is all I can do. The bigger the needle I cast, the less power I can wield.
I still have a lot more training to do, but this is a huge improvement.
I tried using them in rapid succession. It doesn't cost additional mana, but the accuracy decreases.
"Interesting…" I murmured to myself.
Now, I still have more time to practice, and I still have more mana in me.
I can experiment with some more spells.
For now, I'm satisfied with my attack, for I only plan on hunting weaker monsters.
So… let's try defense.
Basically, water has no specific form, so forming a water barrier for now is not practical.
But I have my water crystal, so I formed a buckler shield in my hand, then hardened it.
The buckler shield was formed, and I can use it.
The mana requirement for this is astronomical; I can only use three of these spells when my mana is full.
I tested its hardiness. I lifted a huge rock and threw it at the shield.
"Clank!"
The shield withstood it, but it got a small crack.
Well, for a novice spell, it's quite good.
Further experimenting, I noticed that the needles that struck the tree had vanished.
So… this water crystal will become water after a few minutes.
That's understandable. The one binding the crystal is only my mana. If the energy that binds it depletes, it shatters or returns to liquid form.
I took the crystal shield and infused more mana into it. The crack suddenly vanished.
So… if I put enough mana, it will repair itself.
In theory, if I have enough mana, I can coat myself in crystal armor.
I could even form a crystal sword but that would depend on how much mana I have.
I have a path now. I could be a magic swordsman, but I prefer long-range combat if it's possible.
Time to rest for a while.
I'm still full from all that eating earlier, but let's just eat some fruits as snacks.
My mana is almost depleted anyway.
I can test this out tomorrow.
Naturally, I still need to pay attention to my surroundings.
If only I had detection magic or something like radar magic.
But that's another task for the future.
I need to learn the magic I have for now.
After finishing the fruit, my mana was somewhat recovered.
It's not fully recovered, but enough for training.
Let's think… what's in my arsenal now? I have crystal needles for attack, I have a crystal shield for defense… all I need now is escape magic.
Naturally, the library doesn't have that kind of magic.
All I have now is water magic to use.
"Think, Sylvan…" I whispered.
I can make a skate.
"No… that won't work," I muttered.
Now, I can make things out of nothing with just water.
Let's think of every form of water…
Water like rivers, oceans, rain, clouds.
"Clouds…"
If I make clouds, I need evaporation, but that requires heating, which means I need fire magic. And I still don't know fire mana manipulation.
Steam is out of the question too.
So the last one I have is mist.
I think it might work.
Mist is like very small water droplets that float in the air.
"Then… let's do this," I said, determined.
I formed a waterball, then made it as tiny as possible and in as many quantities as I could.
The water droplets only fell.
I need them as small as possible, but also light enough to float in the air.
I need to remodel them at the molecular level again.
I formed a waterball.
Then, instead of compressing them, I expanded them and scattered them.
The waterball evaporated, leaving a slight haze, but still visible, and then it disappeared within a second.
"Oh… that works!"
If a small waterball only has this effect, then how about a gallon of water?
I conjured water in my palm. The moment the water left my hand, it turned into mist and dispersed rapidly.
I kept doing that until visibility in a 200-square-meter area was gone.
The mist was beautiful, shimmering all over, indicating a rich water mana environment.
Wait… I can sense the mana around the mist.
Within the mist, I can sense moving living creatures.
So, in the mist, I can detect any living things like a radar.
But I still can't pinpoint exactly what creature is moving.
I just sense movement, and that's it.
I can also sense trees and bushes moving with the air. Then, suddenly, the mist vanished.
It lasted ten seconds.
That mana was worth ten waterballs.
The dissipating of the mist isn't the problem; it's the sheer volume of water I need to conjure to form that kind of mist.
Well, at least it's effective.
So, my preparations are complete. I can hunt tomorrow and test my new spells.
I don't have any classes anymore, so I can hunt as much as I want.
I want to earn money to afford a carriage to the baron's castle.
Well, I do have enough here, but having more won't hurt, right?
Looking at the sky, it's starting to get dark.
The stores for the day are starting to close, and the taverns are beginning to fill.
I opened the door to the inn.
"Hello, Miss Karen," I said to the innkeeper. "I want my portions today to have meat on it. I'll pay extra."
The innkeeper smiled. "Okay, if you insist."
I placed a silver coin on the counter for the extra payment and waited for my food.
The inn was bustling. Patrons laughed and argued over dice games, mugs of ale clinking against each other. A bard strummed a lute in the corner, the soft notes weaving through the chatter. Adventurers discussed their recent hunts, some boasting loudly, others quietly recounting skirmishes. Waitstaff darted between tables, balancing trays stacked high with food and mugs, narrowly avoiding colliding with patrons or stray children running through the room.
There are a lot of people here today.
The dinner at the inn was lively, warm with the scent of roasted meat, spiced stew, and freshly baked bread.
"Also… add some beer to that." A slight celebration for my success today is fine.
I drank until I was satisfied, then went to bed.