The Blacksmith and the Mage, Birds of a Feather (6)

Magic is the art of altering magic power with spell formulas, adding attributes to it, and causing phenomena as intended.

The spell formulas that affect magic power take various forms, such as spoken words, patterns, and human will.

Naturally, if a spell formula other than one required for the magic affects the magic power, the magic will fail.

Thus, human will—a spell formula especially prone to affecting magic power in the least desirable way—is an element that must be eliminated as much as possible.

Of course, one cannot simply sever the human mind and cast it aside somewhere, so mages place great importance on mental discipline in order to remain calm and composed in any situation.

"I just had an idea."

During meditation meant to strengthen my mind, an idea suddenly occurred to me, so I called out to Kaushuman, who was meditating beside me as well.

I wasn't sure talking during meditation was really appropriate, but this idea seemed fairly important, so I wanted him to hear it as soon as possible.

It had been a year since I started learning magic and he started learning smithing.

We had come to understand each other fairly well, so Kaushuman knew I wouldn't call out over something trivial at a time like this.

"Hmm... What is it?"

He slowly opened his eyes and asked.

Since this was a thought I'd only just had, I was a little worried about whether I could explain it properly, but after thinking for a few seconds, I somehow gathered the words in my mind.

"The reason magic tools aren't commonplace is that you can't use them unless you can channel magic power, and if you can channel magic power, people think you might as well use magic yourself, right?"

First, I needed to confirm the premise.

If that understanding was wrong, my idea was meaningless.

"Yeah, if I wanted to light something, I'd actually find it faster to use magic myself than a tool."

Kaushuman said this with a wry smile.

Even he, a researcher of magic tools, thought using magic was more convenient.

But wasn't that because he was assuming a mage was in a situation where they could remain calm?

"But that's only true in peacetime. For example, if we were ambushed, wouldn't a magic tool be more reliable than botching a spell with a rattled mind...?"

It was a proposal for magic tools to be used for self-defense or as weapons.

When words are used as a spell formula and infused into magic power, an agitated mind is liable to ride along with them, throwing off the desired result.

If so, wouldn't wearing a magic tool that allowed one to cast a spell simply by channeling magic power in an emergency increase a mage's chances of survival?

For example, I felt that the mage I imagined really ought to carry a staff.

Whether you called it a wand, rod, stick, or staff, anything was fine, but I thought a staff created the right atmosphere.

"Look, if you engraved a spell formula into the tip of a staff, the magic would activate at a point away from the body, making it less likely for extraneous elements to interfere. And carrying a staff around all the time wouldn't seem unnatural, either."

As I talked, the words I wanted to say gradually came together in my mind, and while I was enjoying my explanation, I suddenly noticed that Kaushuman was staring at me with both eyes wide open.

Honestly, the intensity in his eyes made his face look frightening enough to make a child cry.

But that wasn't because he was angry.

"Mages can use many kinds of magic, so there's no need for a magic tool with only one function. In that case, magic tools have to prove their worth by targeting situations where that one function is useful, right?"

Aside from self-defense, what about tools for movement?

If a mage were using magic to slowly raise their body and an unforeseen event made them panic, they would plummet headfirst to the ground.

There wouldn't be many mages who could regain their composure and cast the spell again in the middle of that.

But if it were a magic tool, all one had to do was channel magic power, so it would be more reliable than normal spellcasting.

Other spells requiring prolonged concentration could also be replaced with magic tools.

With this approach, I thought we could increase the demand for magic tools—in other words, increase their value.

...How much time had passed? Kaushuman had been thinking the whole time, then let out a long, deep sigh.

"...No good. I don't know. I can't tell whether this would make magic tools accepted and needed. I don't even know whether it would work. But it sounds interesting. I want to try it."

But when he lifted his head after sighing, his face was lit by a broad smile.

It was a smile that combined curiosity about something new with the desire to make something.

"Then let's try it. If we're going to engrave spell formulas into it, a short metal staff would be best, wouldn't it?"

Once that was decided, there was no time to keep meditating.

When I unfolded my legs and stood up,

"No, since I'm afraid of failing at first, let's make an extremely long staff and have it cast a spell that produces water from its tip. Once that succeeds, we can gradually make it shorter and move on to more practical magic step by step."

Kaushuman stood up as well.

Although excited, his refusal to neglect safety was reassuring.

We both stretched once, then set off toward the smithy.

The anticipation that something new was about to be born seemed to push us onward, and we hurried along.