Chapter 16
The loss of mana from using magic caused me to feel dizzy, as if my blood pressure had temporarily dropped. Apparently, I passed out. I can't believe I made the same mistake twice...
"Reiji-kun, even without a Talent Jewel, you've learned to use basic 【Flower Magic】! Y'know!"
While I was feeling dejected, Mimino-san was in high spirits.
While I was unconscious, the Charcoal Wolf was dealt with, and Dantes-san carried me as we moved on. Now that we'd finished eating, it was time for Mimino-san's herbal tea before bed.
Incidentally, tonight's menu was dried meat again. It's insanely delicious, though. Raikira-san, if you're going to eat it with such a miserable look on your face, I'll take yours, okay?
"I-is that so...?"
"Mm-hmm! It's way more amazing than when I first used 【Flower Magic】. With a Talent Jewel, you'd become a full-fledged 【Flower Magic】 user! Y'know!"
"That won't mean anything without a Skill to increase your mana capacity first."
Raikira-san interjected and, apparently disliking herbal tea, declined it and chewed on the stem of a bitter-tasting plant instead.
"Sure, but, Raikira, a Talent Jewel for 【Mana Capacity Increase★】 is insanely expensive, y'know?"
According to Mimino-san, her 【Mana Enhancement★】 and 【Magic Aptitude Enhancement★】 were sold cheaply because they appeared frequently, while 【Mana Capacity Increase★】 was traded for about as much as a three-star one.
It was true that fewer stars meant a Talent Jewel was more likely to appear, but even in the three years Lark and I had spent mining, I had never once seen 【Mana Capacity Increase★】. The appearance rates must differ even among Talent Jewels with the same number of stars.
"Mana" was the equivalent of "MP" in an RPG. The more you had, the more magic you could cast. I must have had an absurdly small amount.
"By the way, it seems 【Mana Capacity Increase★★】 was used by the Warlock-sama who was also known as the 'Sage of Snowwind,' while there is apparently a record of 【Mana Capacity Increase★★★】 being discovered, though it's locked away and closely guarded in some country."
"Huh. So the same kind can have more stars?"
I had never heard that from Elder Hinga.
"That's right. By the way, equipping one 【Mana Enhancement★★】 is more effective than equipping two 【Mana Enhancement★】, you know?"
"Ohhh!"
That made sense. If two one-star Talent Jewels had the same effect as a two-star one, what would be the point of a two-star Talent Jewel?
"By the way, what does the 【Mana Enhancement】 that you have, Mimino-san, actually do?"
"It simply increases the power of your magic, y'know."
"What about 【Magic Aptitude Enhancement】...?"
"I guess it broadens the range of magic you can use. And 【Mana Control】 lets you fine-tune all sorts of things when casting magic."
I see.
Taking ease of acquisition and usefulness into account, Mimino-san seemed to have chosen her Skills accordingly.
"Does your mana capacity increase if you keep using magic?"
This was important. I had no money for the time being, after all.
"Well... that's the thing. Nobody really knows, y'know."
"You don't know?"
"Some people say, like you did, 'It increases when you use it.' Others say, 'It increases with age,' while others say, 'It increases as your body grows.' Then there are even people who say, 'It differs by Race'... so, we don't know."
"Oh, darn... Then I don't know what'll happen to me from here on."
"But you'd better practice using it. It'll help even if you learn other magic, too!"
"Yes!"
"Let's do our best!"
"Yeah!"
"..."
"...? What's wrong, Mimino-san?"
Mimino-san stared intently at me, and I felt strangely uncomfortable.
"No, I was just thinking, Reiji-kun, that you managed to use magic even though I barely taught you anything... Even I had to be taught quite a lot by my big sister."
Mimino-san has an older sister, apparently.
My older sister... I wonder how Lark is doing by now.
"Ah, y-yeah, I guess so!? How strange—I mean, it's my first time using it. No, really."
Raikira-san gave me a suspicious look, but all I could do was laugh it off. I didn't understand this world's common sense at all! Help me, 【All Creation】! ...Yeah, I knew. I knew you wouldn't answer. You're not some convenient Skill like that, after all.
"Well, maybe Reiji-kun just has incredible talent for magic!"
Mimino-san said this and smiled happily.
After that, Mimino-san taught me various ways to use 【Flower Magic】. However, my mana was insufficient to activate almost all of them. The same went for 【Earth Magic】. Even so—perhaps I would be able to use them once my mana capacity increased. So I watched closely and studied.
I wasn't sure whether I had managed to copy 【Mana Enhancement】, 【Magic Aptitude Enhancement】, and 【Mana Control】. After all, I hadn't been able to use magic in the first place because I lacked the mana.
Magic that sprouted branches to create footholds. Magic that made branches disappear instead. Magic that manipulated grass to create traps that made people trip. Magic that bound opponents with vines. Offensive magic that fired thorns. Magic that put people to sleep with pollen—
Magic that created walls of earth. Magic that made pitfalls. Magic that split stones. Magic that temporarily increased the hardness of metal. Offensive magic that hardened soil and shot it out. Magic that sensed enemy positions through vibrations in the ground. Magic that reinforced the walls and ceilings of caves—
In fact, I had also become able to use the healing magic Non-san cast on Dantes-san every night. That magic heightened the body's vitality and connected it to the body's self-healing ability, so I could now heal scratches and other minor wounds.
On the other hand, I hadn't learned to use the greatsword as large as a bench that Dantes-san swung around, or Raikira-san's movements. I didn't even have a blade, let alone a greatsword, and a chisel couldn't serve as a substitute. As for Raikira-san... I had no idea. I thought it was probably 【Leg Strengthening】 or 【Kick Technique】, but I couldn't imitate it. Why was that? Was it simply the innate potential of Beastmen? If so, wasn't being a Beastman alone practically a cheat?
The mystery might have been solved if Raikira-san had told me about their Skills, but of course that wasn't going to happen, and I never asked.
Still, I think Dantes-san and Non-san did tell me theirs.
Dantes-san's Skills were as follows.
【Arm Strengthening 1・Back Strengthening 1・Abdominal Strengthening 1・Dexterity 1・Greatsword Technique 2・Immunity Enhancement 2】
I had mined 【Dexterity】 Talent Jewels myself many times, but I had never thought anyone actually used one... When I asked him, it turned out to be surprisingly useful for repairing equipment and tools, as well as cooking.
The world of Skills is deep. (Second time.)
The rare 【Immunity Enhancement】 among the two-star Skills had apparently been purchased with every last coin Dantes-san had after he was petrified. He destroyed a Skill he had originally possessed to obtain a new one, leaving him not merely penniless, but in debt.
Skill "destruction" could be performed by paying a specialist, and unlike 【Orb Removal】, it only made the Skill disappear, so it apparently wasn't very expensive.
In any case, Dantes-san said that 【Immunity Enhancement】 had stopped the petrification from progressing, allowing him to resume his activities as an adventurer and repay his debt.
Non-san's Skills were as follows.
【Divine Sense Enhancement 1・Prayer Technique 1・Healing Magic 2・Support Magic 2・Holy Magic 2】
Every one of them was a Talent Jewel of the "Mystery Trait." I had thought Non-san's clothes looked like a nun's habit, but she was, in fact, a nun. When she heard that Dantes-san had been petrified, she temporarily left the Church and rushed to her father's side.
The Church received Talent Jewels of the "Mystery Trait" from the state for distribution. Non-san said that, in exchange for becoming a nun, she had been able to obtain these Skills without paying any money. Conversely, it was nearly impossible to quit being a nun; only for a special reason, such as Dantes-san's petrification, could she temporarily leave.
I wanted to see 【Support Magic】 and 【Holy Magic】, but Silver Scales never even flinched against monsters, so I still hadn't seen them.
When I asked what 【Prayer Technique】 was for, I received a straight-faced reply: "It lets me send even more gratitude to God."
This world has too many Skills, doesn't it? The world of Skills is deep. (Third time.)
Including the mine where I used to work, there were eight Talent Jewel appearance points in the entire world, so an astounding number of them must be produced every day... though the mine was probably shut down by now.