Chapter 40 - First Assignment (4)

Something became certain from this series of events.

Magic tools that emitted waves of magical power outwardly tend to be more imperfect than expected. It wasn't a problem with the internal formulas or combinations, but simply due to the capabilities of the mage who made the magic tool.

No matter how great the formula used to make a magic tool, if the manufacturing process wasn't perfect, it was natural for there to be defects.

Of course, to ordinary people there wouldn't appear to be any particular problems, but for those highly sensitive to magical power like Acel, it was true that they would be reluctant to use such magic tools.

Especially now that he realized it was possible to overload magic tools with external interference.

There was no need to spend a lot of money to buy magic tools in a precarious state.

So Acel didn't take much interest in the magic tools even while walking around the store.

He had been quite interested because they were Magic Tower-made tools, but his interest cooled just as quickly.

Well, not all mages affiliated with Magic Towers could make excellent magic tools.

They, too, needed to go through trial and error and experience to make proper items, so perhaps it was natural that the results of those trials were here.

From an ordinary perspective, even the byproducts formed in the process of making flawless magic tools were impressive items. It wasn't for nothing that they sold them for expensive prices.

Still, there were a few items that caught his eye. The item Acel was examining right now was one of them.

A magic tool in the form of a small pocket watch. But it could only point to 8 times, and strangely had no minute or second hands.

Since there was no residual magical power, he couldn't see it operating, but Acel could detect the sleeping formula just by intensely staring at the magic tool.

High-level elemental magic. Different high-level formulas are engraved for each time, and the magic activated differs depending on how much magical power is input.

It was a type of magic tool that could never be made without a thorough understanding of elemental magic. Acel slightly raised his gaze to check where the magic tool came from.

[Luendel Magic Tower-made]

[Harmony of Elements]

Luendel Magic Tower, huh? 

Acel recalled information about them and let out a small thoughtful sound.

The Luendel Magic Tower was quite a unique case among Magic Towers. Although they handled elemental magic, instead of dividing them, they recognized them as one and the same magic, becoming a tower of diversity that gathered all kinds of elemental mages.

As a result, mages affiliated with the Luendel Magic Tower, such as fire mages or water mages, tended to coexist harmoniously without dividing into different elements.

This magic tool must also be one of the products created through the cooperation of such mages.

Different elements don't invade each other's domains. The mages who assembled the formula seem to have mild temperaments.

Naturally, Acel didn't think this magic tool was made entirely by one person. This was because the nature of the magical power contained in each formula was different.

For one person to make this, they would need to have multiple personality disorder at minimum, and all those personalities would need to be mages capable of using high-level magic.

How could that be possible?

Acel chuckled and straightened up from his bent position.

Various elemental formulas swirled in his grasp before dispersing. He had not only observed an interesting magic tool but also disassembled and acquired the formulas contained within it.

With this, he could now use high-level formulas for elemental magic that had been relatively weak in power except for fire magic. Since it was possible to handle their power without purchasing the magic tools, for Acel, this place was no different from a warehouse of knowledge.

He turned his head to look at Saya, who was carefully observing a magic tool. 

As he approached her, Saya opened her mouth without even looking at Acel, "It's a magic tool with tracking magic."

"..."

"A compass-shaped magic tool that automatically shows the location of the owner when someone's bodily fluid is injected. The price isn't that expensive, but it's more likely to break as a result."

"Hmm."

Acel glanced at the price of the magic tool at Saya's words.

A compass smaller than a palm. Its price was 15 gold coins. The absolute amount was quite expensive, but as she said, it was relatively cheap for a magic tool. Acel put aside thoughts about the price for now and carefully observed the compass.

Then he blurted out what his intuition had grasped.

"Although it's tracking magic, strictly speaking it's a type of blood magic. However, since using blood magic alone reduces its effectiveness, it's closer to a tool that adds other pure magic. It's quite a complex combination formula? The creator seems to be a fairly high-level mage."

"...You can tell that just by looking?" Saya asked, blinking her eyes.

People who first experienced Acel's talent always showed such an incredulous reaction. Since it was familiar, Acel pointed at the compass without much emotion and asked, "It's an item that would help with monster hunting, but it's not cost-effective. You're not thinking of spending that much money just for the assignment, are you?"

"I am thinking of it though?" Saya answered with a grin. 

Acel was at a loss for words. Regardless, she called over a staff member to express her intention to purchase the compass and continued speaking.

"As you said, using gold coins just for completing the assignment is a waste. But if you think of it as an investment, it's not that regrettable."

"..."

"Just one cup's worth of doppelganger blood sells for 10 gold coins. It's possible because demand is high but supply is low. But when you catch one doppelganger, you can get dozens of cups worth of blood. Due to its unique toxicity, it's difficult to collect it all, but you should be able to get more than half. That's as much as 50 gold coins."

"It's an investment for that?"

"That's the idea. It's something that helps with the assignment and will be helpful later, too. Buying it here won't result in a big loss."

She seemed to genuinely think so. Acel didn't particularly argue with her words either. If she was going to purchase it with her own money, there was no point in making a fuss about it.

As long as it helps with the assignment, anything is fine.

He thought this and turned his thoughts elsewhere.

The first assignment started tomorrow. Acel planned to finish gem crafting before then. He also needed to thoroughly examine the elemental formulas he obtained from the magic tool shop, and gradually wrap up other tasks as well.

As always, time flowed without a moment of boredom since becoming a formal mage. But he didn't entirely dislike it.

Acel smiled slightly for no reason and followed Saya as she left the store. Afterwards, the two of them went around various stores to purchase necessary items, had dinner, and then returned to their respective dormitories.

As soon as Acel entered his room, he immediately went to the research lab and took out the gem he had thrown on the desk.

Time was tight if he wanted to finish crafting before departing for the request in the early morning.

He started the crafting work, pulling out magical power like thread without looking back.

***

"Phew..."

Acel exhaled deeply and wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. Looking at the clock placed on the desk, the hour hand had long passed midnight.

The crafting work ended much later than expected. It was inevitable since he was trying to do something for the first time perfectly without anyone's help.

Still, fortunately the result turned out well. Acel rolled the round-cut gem between his fingers with a satisfied smile.

With this, he had finished everything he needed to do before the first assignment. The rest could be continued after finishing the doppelganger hunt. There was no point in rushing, so it seemed good to take some leisure here.

Thinking this, Acel carefully wrapped the crafted gem in cloth and stored it in a drawer. He could just leave it there and pack it right before departing.

Coming out to the living room, he immediately touched the messenger bird. He injected magical power into the metal body and put one of Ena's hairs containing her magical power into the bird's mouth. Then light entered the eyes of the messenger bird that had been lying like a corpse, and it raised its body, flapping its wings.

[Coo.]

"I'm counting on you."

Acel put the folded letter into the bird's body that opened with a clatter, and stroked its cold metal head.

Flap flap!!

The messenger bird looked at him once and then flew out through the open window.

The messenger bird, moving with Acel's magical power as its driving force, felt its body was much lighter than usual and burst into laughter while drawing spirals in the air.

[Coo coo coo!!]

Acel closed the window only when he could no longer hear its cries and stretched out fully.

Knock knock.

At the same time, someone knocked on Acel's door. Acel's face tilted slightly to the side. He instinctively manifested a detection spell to check who was knocking.

"Grace?"

A unique energy both sticky and sharp. As soon as Acel confirmed it was her, he approached the dormitory door.

He couldn't know the reason for her visit, but given the time, it probably wasn't a simple matter.

He had been thinking he should have a sincere conversation with Grace, anyway. Although they hadn't met long ago, the length of acquaintance didn't have much impact on honest conversations. Rather, there might be things they could say openly because they didn't know each other well.

However, he wondered about this time being the dead of night. Still, it meant the other person was that urgent, so he could overlook it.

Thinking this, Acel flung open the door. Then he put on the most benevolent expression he could muster.

"What's the matter, Grace? Do you have something to say?"

The answer didn't come immediately.

Acel didn't continue speaking either. He frowned as he stared at Grace, who was looking up at him with blank eyes.

A strong smell of alcohol wafted over. Her disheveled bangs were in her mouth, and her cheeks and face were flushed red. Her breath dripped with undisguisable intoxication.

Anyone could see she was drunk. She was so intoxicated that if thrown on the street, she might not notice if someone carried her away. She was far from being in her right mind to have come for a sincere conversation.

But Acel wasn't disappointed.

A swordsman of Grace's level should be able to evaporate intoxication at will. If such a swordsman deliberately left the intoxication...

It's either something she can only say under the influence of alcohol, or she's been mentally driven to the edge.

Neither was a good sign. Acel approached her and asked in a worried voice.

"Grace, are you okay?"

"Gren."

"...What?"

"Call me Gren. Like before."

"...I've never done that."

Acel frowned as if to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?” But Grace was adamant.

She pushed her body into Acel's wide open arms. A faint smell of alcohol, strong perfume, and body odor infiltrated Acel's nostrils. His body stiffened momentarily because of this.

While Acel was flustered, Grace lightly kissed his neck.

Smooch.

Sticky saliva connected from Acel's skin to Grace's lips.

"Puh, haa..."

It happened in an instant. Grace exhaled excitedly. 

Acel, who suppressed his rising desire with extreme patience, frowned deeply and said, "You crazy bitch."

He couldn't hold back.