VOLUME 1 (PROLOGUE)
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"Ryo-san, please calm down and listen."
It was the phone call announcing the death of his parents.
Having just entered the second year of college, Ryo took a leave of absence, returned to his hometown, and took over the family business.
That said, because he didn't know the ins and outs, Mr. Shige, who was the managing director, became the president and Ryo became the vice president.
The employees were all people who had played with Ryo since he was little.
… Although he was the vice president, his salary was the lowest … but he learned the work little by little without garnering any particular dislike.
After 11 months, March.
"Ryo-san, shall I help you?"
Seeing that Ryo was still working on his computer even though it was late, Mr. Shige, the president, asked.
"It's okay … it's something the youth club is doing so …"
The Youth Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry … It was very troublesome for Ryo, who was only a young manager.
It was an organization that was everywhere in the rural areas and many small and medium-sized enterprises belong to it … Of course, there was no problem even if you do not belong to it and there was no merit for Ryo's company.
However, the previous president asked to be affiliated with it so the current president, Mr. Shige, was still affiliated with it.
Ryo, frankly speaking, was not struggling with his company but was spending time on 『relations with external parties』.
"Mr. Shige, when looked at this angle, our company really has very few documents."
Ryo, who was creating documents, presentation materials, event manuscripts, and such for the youth club, was impressed by the small number of documents internally.
"That's right. Our predecessor said. 『I don't need report documents』. It is a waste of time to write a report. Money won't come in even if you write reports. Sales will not increase. The more time spent on writing reports, the lower the productivity. That action which occupies many hours out of the eight hours of work a day would not form a normal company. Instead, use that time to develop one of the business partners, hone your skills or come up with another idea … I wish you use the time for such matters. And so, if you wish to report, do it verbally. Superiors, if you want to know something, go to the people in the field, because that is the basics."
Of course, it would not work if it was a huge organization but the company had 97 employees, including the management team.
"『The people in the field know best about the field』 so that's why many people in the field have a lot of authority."
"Although it is not easy. When something happens, not just the people in the field have to take responsibility, but also the boss … Of course, that includes us the management team."
Mr. Shige smiled wryly.
"What you need in management is that preparedness. That is why, without a human resource department, human resource matters are exclusively matters of the management team. Placing a person in a position means taking responsibility together when that person fails."
Mr. Shige smiled and said.
"So now, I have to convey to Ryo-san who is working too hard, the words from the predecessor."
"Don't work until you are exhausted."
Ryo and Mr. Shige's voices overlapped.
And the two of them smiled.
Of course, those were not words to spoil the employees to support laziness or hesitation.
It was purely from a management perspective.
Failure, mistakes, re-do … problems occurs no matter how carefully you work.
However, there is a common reason for many of these cases.
Those were 『fatigue』 and 『having no leeway』.
Re-do … all the time, effort, and materials spent so far are wasted.
Moreover, more time and effort are required to restore the original state.
If all those wasteful things could be eliminated … the company would be grateful.
Of course, there is the aspect where employees grow by learning from their mistakes so it is a case-by-case basis.
Ryo's father grandly told his employees to 『Don't work until you are exhausted』 … and as the same manager level, he once again found it amazing but more than that, Ryo found it even more amazing that he was forming the company such that the employees don't have to work until they are exhausted.
"Fuu …"
Ryo said to Mr. Shige after sighing.
"You're right, father would be angry if I worked to exhaustion."
"That's right, Ryo-san."
Mr. Shige smiled.
Although hard work is important, 『Exhaustion』 and 『Hard work』 were opposite faces on the same coin.
"I'll go home."
Ryo left the company.
His feet may have been swaying a little due to fatigue.
Nevertheless, the traffic light was green. He confirmed it.
He was crossing the pedestrian crossing properly. That was also certain.
But that had nothing to do with the dozing truck driver.
Ryo was struck and hit the ground hard.
He could no longer feel any pain.
His consciousness was slowly becoming faint.
(Ah, this is bad ...)
The first sensation Ryo felt was not the fear of death. Nor was it peace.
He didn't know where it was directed at, but he held a little regret knowing that tomorrow was his 20th birthday.
"This is, the afterlife?"
Ryo found himself in a white world after waking up.
"Mihara Ryo-san, right?"
In the white world, a man emerged as though he floated out of it.
He seemed to be in his mid-twenties.
The man had long blonde hair and a calm atmosphere, seemingly a handsome European man?
He held something like a tablet in his left hand.
"Yes, you are correct."
Ryo answered and the man smiled.
"Great. To be honest, you are the first visitor in a long time."
And then, he said with a slightly sorrowful expression.
"Mihara Ryo-san, you died in a traffic accident."
(Ah, as expected.)
Ryo recalled a little.
About how he died in the accident.
"Yes, I remember."
Ryo answered with a nod.
The man changed from his sorrowful expression and started talking with a slight smile.
But the content had many parts that Ryo failed to understand.
"This is part of the reincarnation system of your world. You died in the 7770777 world line of Earth but occasionally there are instances where people reincarnate or transfer across world lines. This time, Mihara Ryo-san has been selected for that."
" … Excuse me?"
"I guess it is hard to understand. Well, to put it simply, do you wish to reincarnate in a different world from Earth while possessing your current memories? That's the offer."
The man smiled with an expression that showed he was certain this would work.
"Ah, other world reincarnation … Just like in novels …"
"Yes, yes, you are correct. It seems to be popular on Earth these days … the explanations became easier because of that."
Ryo was grateful to be given the chance to live again.
That said, he had one question.
What did this person want to achieve by letting him reincarnate?
"I have a few questions."
"Sure, any question is welcome."
The man waited for Ryo's questions with a smile.
"Are you God?"
"No, I am not God. If I reference your knowledge, I am something close to that of an Angel."
(I see. Angel. If he calls himself an angel … let's call him Michael (pseudonym))
When Ryo thought that internally, he sensed Michael's (pseudonym) eyebrows twitch slightly. A very slight movement that could have been his mistake …
(Hn? Did he read my thoughts? Well, it doesn't matter.)
Michael (pseudonym) continued waiting for Ryo's questions with a smile.
"What is your purpose for reincarnating me?"
"Sorry, I cannot answer that question."
His smile suddenly transformed and Michael (pseudonym) said apologetically.
"We do not decide your reincarnation. The 『God』 that Ryo-san mentioned just now makes the decision. For that reason, I do not know the purpose."
"But in that case, what should I do after reincarnating?"
Michael once again smiled and answered.
"Please live as you wish. I have not heard of anybody told to do something or given a mission."
Life as you wish.
That's a wonderful phrase!
Yup, let's have a slow life.
"Understood. I accept your reincarnation offer."
Ryo answered and a smile bloomed on Michael's (pseudonym) lips like a flower.
That smile alone could captivate many women in the world … it was such a smile.
"Ooo, that is great. Then, I will explain about the world you will reincarnate in."
According to Michael's (pseudonym) explanation, it was a world with swords and magic.
Gunpowder was not yet commonplace.
The size of the reincarnation planet was the same as that of Earth and the molecular composition was also the same.
Most of the physical phenomenon was the same as well.
"But it is a world with magic?"
Won't it differ from the physical phenomenon on Earth if there was magic?
"Yes, there is magic. But, there was magic on Earth in the past too. Well, things happened and it seems that it can't be used now."
That was quite shocking to Ryo.
(Earth has magic too? What's with that? Is he referring to those out-of-place artifacts? But those were explained as coming from aliens or ancients … It's true that in legends and such on Earth, magicians and magic appears frequently …)
"Ah, sorry. It looks like you are confused. But no matter what I said, Ryo-san has already decided to reincarnate so it is not good for your mental health to ponder Earth's past."
"Ah, yes, you are right."
Let's not think about stuff that can't be solved just by thinking.
(I will think forward!)
"And so in the world with magic, for convenience, we call that world 『Phi』. About one-fifth of the humans on 『Phi』 can use magic. Ryo-san's attribute is 『Water attribute』."
"Water …"
It could be said that using magic was a staple aspect of reincarnation and transference.
(But even if it is staple … something like fire magic with high attack power … or earth magic that is easy to use … like making a swamp or stopping the movement of the enemy, creating a fort in an instant to change the battle situation, I wanted to try something like that but … no no, in the first place, if I am to reincarnated, I would want all attribute suitability! That would have been great.)
"Erm, if possible, could you change it to fire or earth …"
Today, Michael (pseudonym) replied with many apologetic faces.
"Sorry, but I can't change it. Because Ryo-san's magic attribute is within the scope of 『Creation』, it is the territory of the 『Gods』. It is outside the scope of 『Management』 that we are in charge of. Also, magical aptitude is determined at birth on 『Phi』 and can't be acquired after birth."
"In other words, I have to keep living with water attribute?"
Perhaps Ryo's face was filled with despair as Michael (pseudonym) added in a hurry.
"That is true but water attribute aptitude is very good for humans. For example, water is needed no matter where you live. You will not have any trouble procuring water. Furthermore, 80% of the humans on 『Phi』 can't use magic. From that aspect alone, Ryo-san is already quite blessed."
(That's true. Water and salt are crucial for human survival. When talking about a sword and magic world, it is standard that they do not have a water and sewage system in cities. The worry about water might be a huge thing.)
Mihara Ryo was fundamentally a positive person.
"By any chance does Water magic encompass Healing magic or has healing properties …"
"On 『Phi』, Healing belongs to the domain of Light attribute magic."
"Ah, okay …"
After that, Michael (pseudonym) continued his explanation.
There are six attributes of magic on 『Phi』. Fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness. Also, there is the neutral attribute that is not included among them.
"As the neutral attribute magic is not included in the six attributes, it is possible to learn it but … the possibility can be said to be close to zero. To be honest, do not have expectations for it. Instead, I recommend you extend your mastery of the water attribute that you have an aptitude for."
Michael (pseudonym) continued talking while looking at the tablet in his hand.
"Ryo-san's physical strength is about upper-middle tier. On 『Phi』, there are no 『Level』 systems or 『Skill』 systems so steady efforts are the most important."
(I'm among the average as expected. In other words, I'm slightly better than average? Then I have to put in a ton of effort or I might die immediately …)
"How can I grow my physical strength of magic?"
"The physiques of humans on 『Phi』 and Earth are the same. So the way to gain ability is the same too. On Earth, the human body becomes stronger the more your train, right? If you do strength training, you will build muscle. If you keep running, your cardiopulmonary ability will improve. Or some African tribes look at distant things since young and have eyesight above 5.0, on the contrary, people who are blind have no choice but to rely solely on hearing to collect information and have good hearing. It is the same. All you have to do is use it. Then it will grow."
After receiving some other explanations, it was finally time to ask for Ryo's wish.
"I wish to live a slow life in a place where nobody can reach!"
Michael (pseudonym) nodded after hearing that and operated his tablet.
"In that case, I will make Rondo Forest your reincarnation destination. I will prepare a house and two months' worth of food for the time being. During that time, please become proficient in hunting using water attribute magic. I will make it such that monsters don't come near the house. It will look like a barrier. In Earth units, it will be about a radius of 100 meters. Also, about 500 meters southwest of the house is a sea so once you are used to water attribute magic, you will be able to collect salt from seawater. Please do your best."
"All right. Ah, one final question. How do I use magic?"
At the very end, Ryo asked the most important question.
"Magic is by mental image. Draw a clear image. And gain experience. It is the same for everything; you won't become a master suddenly but get better after countless tries. The same goes for magic."
"I'll give it a try. Thank you for everything."
After finishing, light wrapped around Ryo's body and he disappeared.
Michael (pseudonym) remained on the spot.
"Slow life huh … that sounds good. Will I be incarnated someday and live a slow life somewhere in the world?"
Finally, he lowered his sight to his tablet … and noticed that there was an oversight.
"Ah … I forgot to mention that his amount of magical power is considered quite large on 『Phi』. Well, he'll notice as he lives."
But, there was something else.
"Hidden characteristic? Why is such a thing? It's been ten thousand years … since the first girl I reincarnated that I saw hidden characteristics. I wonder what kind of hidden characteristic does he have?"
Characteristic: Perpetual Youth
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Part 1, Volume 1, Slow Life
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"The first ceiling."
The first words in a reincarnation … it was close to a staple … although it was a little different.
But staples are important.
A bed with a luxurious canopy … there was nothing like that.
If there was a canopy, he wouldn't be able to see the ceiling.
By modern Japanese standards, it was a shabby bed.
Straw was laid on a board and a piece of cloth was laid on it.
That said, considering it was a European pre-renaissance cultural level, the bed was relatively good.
It said something about his class too. As he was not in an aristocratic mansion.
He was wearing the same outfit he wore when he died on Earth. The same shoes. He didn't bring anything else.
Ryo got out of bed and first took a walk around the house.
Bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom.
"A bath!?"
He never heard of a bath appearing in Europe before the Renaissance.
"Well, there were large baths during the Roman period so it can't be said that there has been none. As a Japanese, I am immensely thankful … Ah, I wonder if Michael (pseudonym) made it for me because I am Japanese. Michael (pseudonym) … is a great man!"
Although it was still unknown if Michael (pseudonym) was even male.
That said, Ryo's knowledge was very mistaken and there were public baths in medieval Europe too.
However, the general public's knowledge of hygiene was poor so ironically those public baths were a hotbed for infectious diseases.
There were two books and a knife on the desk in the living room. Beside them was a piece of paper.
『The food can be found in the storage outside. It has been made into a freezer room so the food can be preserved. By Michael (pseudonym)』
"I knew he could read my thoughts …"
He didn't want to make a capable man an enemy.
The books were not those heavy volumes stored in the valuable archives in university libraries … but ordinary books … right, books that can be said to have been made on Earth after the development of letterpress printing.
"Books? Not parchment but paper? Is this a world with paper?"
『Monster Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』
『Plant Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』
"This is …"
In other words, there was no such thing as the classic 『Appraisal』 skill commonly found in reincarnation stories.
"He did mention that there was no level or skill system …"
Both books were quite easy to read with illustrations.
He was very thankful for that.
The knife was about 20cm in blade length and it seemed to be quite well made.
What would you bring along if you are alone on an uninhabited island?
The staple answer will be a knife.
"Staple is royal road! Staple is supreme!"
Ryo slotted the knife on his belt for now.
Looking around, there was nothing else that stood out.
Then, he opened the door to the outside.
The image of a brilliant sun came into his eyes.
A carpet of grass surrounded the house.
And a forest directly ahead.
It fit the term dense perfectly. A forest which depths can't be seen at all.
The same forest was in the opposite direction.
However, further beyond … perhaps it was quite a distance away but there were mountains that reached the heavens.
This transferred location seemed to have a warm climate but it was snowing near the top of the mountain.
"It looks like a place where dragons might appear … yeah, I'll not approach that."
Ryo pledged to himself out loud.
He was not yet hungry.
In that case, there was something he must do.
Or rather, it was something he definitely wanted to try after coming to this world of sword and magic.
Yup, to actually try to use magic.
"I can only use water attribute. And the image is important for magic."
He somewhat put his right arm forward.
He imagined shooting water from his right hand and called out.
"
Splash.
A clump of water about the amount of a full glass came out from his right hand and fell to the ground.
It was his first experience of magic!
From an objective point of view, it was an extremely shabby display, but that was that.
Succeeding in his first magic, Ryo was struck with emotion.
"Magic truly exists in this world …"
Ryo continued to cast due to his excitement.
"
"
"
…..
"Michael (pseudonym) said that the image was important. Maybe …"
The image of water coming out of his right hand was the same.
"
In the same way, a clump of water appeared from his right hand and fell to the ground.
"
Even then, the same clump of water appeared from his right hand and fell to the ground.
Next, without saying a word, he chanted in his head.
(
Upon doing so, the same clump of water appeared from his right hand and fell to the ground.
"So there is no need to say it out loud. I yearned to chant some cool lines though …"
Men will always have some aspect of chuunibyou.
"Ah, I should have stored this in the bathtub. That was a waste of water."
After that, he quickly moved to the bath.
Then, he continued his water magic training.
"Water could only make a full cup amount of water appear. I want to have something that allows water to continuously come out. About enough to fill the bathtub."
The bathtub was made of stone and was quite well made.
The closest image would probably be those open-air baths in luxury hot spring inns.
Just relying on
"Thinking of continuous water flow, the first to come to mind will be a tap. No, wait, this is a bath. For a bath, it should be hot water. Right, I'll try to release hot water."
He made an image of hot water in his head.
He chanted out loud to solidify the image he had.
"
When he did that, a clump of water appeared from his right hand and fell into the bathtub.
That's right, not hot water but water.
"Eh? Maybe I have to imagine it better."
He chanted with the image of the hot water in a bath.
"
And then, a clump of water appeared from his right hand and fell into the bathtub.
That's right, it was not hot water after all but just regular water.
" … Yeah, let's give up on hot water for today. This Rondo Forest is quite warm so a water bath is good too."
Ryo didn't hate hard work.
But he was a man that knew the usefulness of giving up.
Yup, not everything will work well from the beginning.
"
Shaping his right hand like a faucet, a continuous stream of water appeared from his hand.
"All right, that looks good."
It was true that his procurement of hot water failed but continuously releasing water from the first day should be in the category of considerable success.
At the very least, his drinking water and water bath were secured.
Of the problems faced in daily life, the remaining major one was …
"Fire huh …"
Right, from cooking to keeping warm or to rank up his water bath to a hot bath, a fire was needed.
It would be great if he could use fire attribute magic … but he could not hope for what was impossible in this world.
Ryo would have to live with water attribute magic for his entire life.
"How can I get my hands on fire …"
Was mankind's first fire due to a tree burned by a lightning strike … or bestowed by Prometheus … either one was not plausible at the moment.
"It would have been easy if I had a flint."
A quick glance told him that there was no flint in the house.
Striking the flint with the metal part of the knife would have generated spark.
Eventually he would have to find it from a nearby cliff or riverside … but that would have to be after he got used to life to some extent.
The fact that monsters don't come within a radius of a 100 meters meant that there were monsters outside.
He felt that he should make some preparations before leaving the barrier (pseudonym).
Only after he gets better with water magic and find a way to make offensive water magic…
At any rate, for now he would have to find another method to obtain fire.
Without a flint, the other method would have to be rubbing a hard stick against a soft stick to generate fire from the friction.
"Although I totally cannot imagine myself succeeding…"
After finally generating enough water to store in the bathtub, Ryo went out.
He collected firewood while making sure to not leave the barrier.
Along the way, he picked up tinder as well.
The tinder would refer to materials that can catch fire easily to start the fire. Withered grass.
If he crushed them, he could use them without issue … probably.
Among the pile, he seemed to have been lucky to acquire some black palm bark that came from palm-type trees similar but slightly different from the palms trees he recalled.
"Yeap, I recall seeing it in a video."
Ryo's survival knowledge was to that extent.
In the house Michael prepared, there was a sickle.
Even after taking into consideration the amount of firewood to use there, he was able to obtain a reasonable amount of firewood.
The wood he would use to cause frictional heat were the pine-like tree branches and the oak-like tree branches.
"Now!"
It didn't even smoke.
Ryo worked harder.
An hour passed … two hours passed … and then he gave up.
"Let's check the food inventory for the time being."
It may be necessary to ration.
Ryo, who gave up on making a fire, headed to the storage outside the house.
The storage seemed like an ordinary small hut.
Upon opening the door, he noticed that the interior was cooling.
"Is this water attribute magic? Walls made of ice? This is just like what they call a cold room."
Michael probably prepared it for him. In the future, Ryo may be able to use this kind of magic … maybe.
The second day after coming to 『Phi』, Ryo woke up with the rising sun.
The idea to get a fire going was already in his mind.
However, to realize it, he would have to get even better in water attribute magic.
Michael (pseudonym) mentioned that the laws of physics and molecular composition of Earth and 『Phi』was fundamentally the same.
Of course, 『Phi』had magic while Earth didn't have magic. But apparently there was magic on Earth too in the past.
The molecular composition of water was H2O. That was probably the same in 『Phi』.
He brought out a pail from the bathroom.
"
He collected about 10cm deep worth of water in the pail.
After that, he would have to solidify the water and make ice.
The mental image he had was to tightly squeeze and shrink the water.
"Freeze!"
But, it didn't go well.
"Yeah, it's difficult. But I have to be able to make ice … this will likely be my weapon. I want to try making a spell like ice spears."
Perhaps it was not enough to just squeeze the water. Maybe he needed to imagine taking heat away at the same time.
Thoughts such as those ran through his mind as he repeated trial and error.
After challenging countless times, a thin film of ice finally appeared on the water surface.
But he couldn't make it completely solidify.
This time, he imagined the H2O molecules within the water in more detail.
There are two mechanisms by which ice stores thermal energy.
One is by molecular vibration.
The other is by changing the strength of the bonds between water molecules. In other words, enthalpy.
He bonded the H2O molecules together.
He connected the oxygen atom O of this H2O molecule with the hydrogen atom H of the adjacent H2O molecule.
A phenomenon called hydrogen bond was formed in his image.
At the same time, the molecular vibration stopped.
In the first place, the temperature of a substance is proportional to the magnitude of the amplitude of the vibration of the molecules that make up the substance.
Or rather, 'temperature' can be said to be an indicator of the intensity of vibration of a molecule.
The stronger the vibration, the higher the temperature of the substance and vice versa.
The state where the vibration of all atoms and molecules is almost zero is called absolute zero, -273.15 degrees Celcius.
That is why, theoretically, there is no temperature below absolute zero.
In his mental image, he made the vibrations of the H2O molecules zero.
At that instant, the water in the pail completely turned into ice.
"Alright, success! … Although I succeeded, I can't get the ice out of the pail."
He had to change the shape of the ice slightly.
While holding both hands over the ice, he imagined in his head. The ice was gradually scraped off around the edge.
Then, he took it out of the pail and held it in his hand.
A lump of ice with a diameter of 25cm and a thickness of about 10cm.
He held it in both hands and imagined deforming it in his head. He thickened the central part and thinned the periphery, making a convex lens.
After about 30 minutes, it finally reached a shape he was satisfied with.
"Fufufu, I won. The reason for victory was hydrogen bond!"
Who exactly was Ryo fighting against … no one knew.
Hydrogen bond forms the bond between water molecules but for example, a double helix DNA, is also connected by hydrogen bonds.
From science class, we learned that A-adenine and T-thymine, and G-guanine and C-cytosine are linked by hydrogen bonds to form the double-strand.
Hydrogen bond is amazing!
Now then, it was time to gather the sunlight with the created ice lens and burn the black palm bark.
Using ice to create fire. It felt a little immoral.
He was worried that the ice would melt but it didn't seem to melt if he continuously pour magical power into it.
That aspect may be the difference between natural ice and ice created by magic.
The brilliantly shining sun. And the fairly large ice lens.
Using those, the palm bark was ignited in less than two minutes.
Ryo finally acquired a way to set fire.
"Magic sure is convenient."
He could use magic to obtain the three elements of survival, fire, water, and food. Well, he did use quite a primitive method to create fire using magic …
"I wonder where does this water come from? I guess it comes from the moisture in the air … maybe?"
The Rondo Forest had a warm climate, or rather, the temperature was so high that it seemed like a subtropical climate. And there was high humidity.
That naturally meant that there was a large amount of water contained in the air.
Because of that, a beginner in water attribute magic like Ryo could quickly find the knack to release water.
Ryo thought so.
On Earth, even deserts have a few percent of humidity.
In other words, even the dry air of a desert contains moisture.
If he could extract that … magic is definitely convenient.
However … if that was not the case?
If he was not extracting water from the air but creating it from nothing?
Of course, it can't come from nothing.
To be exact, when he mentioned nothing, it only meant there was no substance, but there was energy.
Michael (pseudonym) mentioned that the laws of physics were fundamentally the same on Earth and on 『Phi』.
In that case, Ryo thought that the physics formula effective on Earth would be effective on 『Phi』as well.
The famous Einstein formula that even ordinary people on Earth know.
E=mc2
E: Energy; m: mass, c: speed of light.
"Energy is equal to the product of the mass and speed of light squared."
To put it simply, it is possible to generate energy from matter.
A prime example would be nuclear power and the atomic bomb.
However, the focus here was the equals sign.
As learned in junior high school mathematics, the right and left connected by an equal sign are equal. They are equivalent.
In other words, if energy can be extracted from matter, matter can also be generated from energy.
Of course, even on Earth entering the 21st century, material production from energy has not been established as a technology.
At best, pair production has produced electrons and the like.
In the first place, a huge amount of energy is generated from even one gram of matter.
In other words, even if you could control an enormous amount of energy, you will only succeed in generating one gram worth of matter.
How enormous?
The atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima actually only weighed about 0.7 grams in terms of energy.
In other words, even if all that energy could be converted to mass … only 0.7 grams of matter would be produced.
However, there was this convenient thing called magic on 『Phi』.
Perhaps in the depths of magic there is also a technique to create matter from energy.
Not only 'creating something from nothing', that would lead to the establishment of creating matter from energy and even the mystery of the creation of the universe.
His dreams were expanding!
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Chapter 0002 Handling Water
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Ryo, having won against who knows what with hydrogen bond, next aimed for hot water.
However, it was simple.
Ryo saw the prospects of victory.
Ice was created by stopping the vibrations of the water molecules H2O so he could perform the opposite process as well.
In other words, he increased the vibrations of the water molecules.
In the past, Ryo used to do free research during his summer vacation. Of course, it was not using magic …
Place water in a thermos bottle, cover it, and shake!
After shaking about 2000 times, the temperature of the water rose.
The temperature rose by forcibly increasing the vibration of water molecules.
That was already guaranteed success.
First, he took out the frequently used pail. He'll try with that.
(
He cast without chanting. He practiced so that he could do it while either chanting or not.
The same as when he created the ice lens, he prepared about 10cm deep worth of water.
Then, he held both hands over it and imagined the H2O molecules in his head.
Then, he vibrated them!
....
"Eh?"
There was no change in the water in the pail. It didn't feel like steam was coming out.
When he placed his hand in the water, he didn't feel any temperature change.
"Why?"
Was his H2O image insufficient?
After imagining it more clearly … vibrate!
"The temperature isn't going up."
Even though it should work if he reversed the process he used to make ice.
"What else did I do that time …"
He thought about his actions.
" … Ah, before stopping the water molecule vibrations, I combined the molecules. Maybe I have to do the opposite as well."
He once again held both hands over the water in the pail and summoned the image in his head.
An image of breaking the hydrogen bonds between the water molecules and allowing free movement.
And then imagining each molecule vibrating.
Splash
Suddenly, hot water blew up as though a geyser spouted out from the pail.
"Hotttt"
Ryo managed to somehow avoid the falling geyser.
It would have been terrible if he got burnt. Water magic has no healing aspect after all…
That said, it was great that he succeeded in making hot water.
However, the current problem was that it was terrifying to attempt this unstable boiling water technique (Ryo-style definition) in a bath.
It would be a disaster if the stone bath broke.
So how should he do it?
That's when he decided.
"I just have to practice!"
Increase his proficiency.
Experience success and failure countless times.
Slowly increase the number of times he succeeds.
Experiencing success many times would lead to confidence.
His lunch was also the same surprisingly unfrozen dried meat in the storage as yesterday … for some reason, only the dried meat was not frozen in the cold room … he repeatedly generated hot water while chewing.
It was about 3 pm in Earth hours judging from the time the sun moved across the sky.
Ryo suddenly felt dizzy and couldn't stand.
"My consciousness is swaying …"
It was his first magic depletion.
He drank a little of the freshly generated water from the pail and somehow managed to reach the bedroom before collapsing and letting go of his consciousness.
The third day after arriving on 『Phi』.
"Reflection on yesterday. Let's use up my magical power after taking a bath."
Ryo spoke out loud and reflected.
It seemed that it felt unpleasant to sleep without taking a bath.
As expected of a former Japanese.
It was then he noticed something.
"I only have the clothes I'm wearing now."
That's right, in this home prepared by Michael (pseudonym), there were no clothes prepared.
"Thinking back, what was Michael (pseudonym) wearing?"
Something like a toga worn by ancient Roman aristocrats …?
Well, at any rate, there was no cloth in the house.
No, there was one. The cloth used as his bed.
But that was necessary for sleeping!
"Well, nobody is watching so if it came to that, I have the choice of not wearing anything."
But even in the paintings of Adam and Eve, their crotch was hidden by leaves …
"When I eventually hunt animals, maybe I can wrap some skin around my waist."
Ryo had always been a man who didn't care about what he wore.
Now that he had decided on the direction for his clothes (did he?).
He had fire, water, and food.
In that case, it was finally time.
Right, a means of attack using water magic!
He had two months until the food in storage was exhausted.
Until then, he must become able to leave the barrier and procure food.
His only weapon was the knife prepared by Michael (pseudonym).
The man who made a name for himself using a knife on Earth … was not Ryo so he had zero confidence in hunting animals or monsters that attack him using that knife.
In the first place, it is almost impossible to defeat even a normal wild boar with a single knife …
It would be insane to attempt to cross a forest in 『Phi』 where monsters roam with just a single knife.
In that case, the only weapon Ryo could use was his water attribute magic.
"I wish I had the skills to make a bow and arrow and shoot it but I don't have such a thing."
Yesterday, when he made the ice lens, he thought that he could one day make an ice spear.
But it was still impossible.
Just making the water in front of his eyes into ice took a few minutes … making a spear in front of his prey and sending it flying … was not very realistic.
In that case, what can he send flying?
Right, first of all, he had to use something like a water ball.
He raised his right hand forward and made a mental image.
An image of him creating a water ball the size of his head and launching it from his right hand.
"
Splash
Just like his image, a ball of water about the size of a head was launched from his right hand and flew.
It was about the speed of a basketball pass?
After flying about 10 meters, it fell to the ground.
"Ooo~!"
Ryo did a slight dance of joy from his first attack spell (?)
This time, he'll fire it at the trunk of a tree about 7 meters away!
Splash …. drip
The trunk got wet with water.
"Yeap, it has no attack power, I knew it from the start."
Ryo said as he collapsed to both his hands and knees. It was a pose of despair.
"But I have a trump card!"
Ryo immediately stood up and declared.
"If water ball doesn't work, I just have to release a water jet."
On Earth, the water jet was said to be able to cut anything.
However, fundamentally it was not 'cutting' but 'shaving' with water.
In the past, Ryo researched water jets for company operations and was convinced that it was the likely winner for water attribute attacks.
Raising his right hand forward, he made a mental image.
The image of a thin, high-speed water jet launching from the tip of his right hand.
Water was made as thin as possible by applying pressure from the surroundings.
"
Trickle trickle
A thin stream version of
Yeah, that will likely not cut anything.
Ryo once again was on both his hands and knees on the ground and overwhelmed by despair.
"I lost …"
It seemed that he lost to something …
"Let's calm down."
Just like yesterday's lunch, he bit down on the dried meat from the storage.
(There's no need to rush. I could only use the boiling water technique fairly well after practicing for half a day. In that case, if I pile on practice for this Water jet, won't it become a strong weapon? Furthermore, I'm now able to create ice. That should be useable in the upcoming battle with monsters … I just don't know how I can use it yet.)
"I just have to practice after all. Hard work does not betray!"
He devoted himself to practicing Water jet.
After around 2 pm on Earth time, he surpassed to make a slightly more vigorous version of Water supply. However, after that, he could not focus the pressure beyond that of a car wash hose.
Then, Ryo suddenly realized.
"I have to enter the bath for today."
And in the bathroom. It was time to show the results of his half-day training yesterday.
"
The bathtub was filled with water in just 10 seconds.
He was now able to control the amount of water produced.
That was the result of the magic control he acquired after training for half a day and collapsing.
Next will finally be the time to make the water hot.
But Ryo was not worried. With yesterday's training, he was confident.
He held his right hand over the bathtub and imagined in his head.
The image of the water molecules moving around freely and each one of them vibrating.
He performed it for about half of the water in the bathtub. He didn't want it to be too hot.
He placed his hand in the hot water each time and raised the temperature while repeating the fine adjustments.
And then, finally, it reached the perfect temperature.
"Yes~"
Ryo's efforts were thus rewarded.
"Tiredness is the cause of failure. Don't work to the point of exhaustion."
It was somewhat of a signature phrase from Ryo's father.
It was true but … a difficult phrase to put into practice.
He slowly immersed himself in the hot water and organized the current situation.
Water jet still could not be used as a means of attack.
Forming ice takes a couple of minutes. Before that, he had to verify if he could directly create ice in mid-air.
(But I still want to be able to say 'Icicle Lance!' and launch an ice spear.)
Any man would like to perform cool things.
(First, I have to know a little more details about using ice with water magic. Next, if I could generate ice faster, I might be able to use it when confronting monsters.)
After getting out of the bath, Ryo went to the garden and put it into practice.
"I'll try directly generating ice from the air.
Between his hands, the same ice lens he used to create fire appeared. It took about five minutes to complete.
"It is possible to directly create ice from the air. But it takes quite a long time."
Unlike yesterday, it was made without a pail … it was actually quite significant progress but Ryo was not aware of it …
The ice lens would not melt while magical power was channeled into it. Once that was stopped, it would melt like ordinary ice.
"I wonder if I can make this lens can fly."
Swish plop
He used his arm strength to toss it and it drew a parabola before falling.
"Yup, I knew it couldn't fly. I made it to be an ice lens after all so it's natural that it can't fly!"
Of course, it was a secret that he was feeling depressed internally.
Then, next will finally be … an ice spear, Icicle Lance.
"This is the favorite for attack magic using ice!"
First, the image was important.
In his head, he imagined an icicle about 30cm long.
"
Compared to the generation of the second ice lens, this took considerably longer.
After 10 minutes, after 15 minutes, it finally took shape.
"Alright, just as imagined. Then, fly!"
Swish plop
"Ah …"
He used his arm strength to throw it and it drew a parabola before falling.
"I imagined it flying but maybe … it was not enough?"
Shooting the
But then why didn't the < Icicle Lance> fly?
"The Ice lance is heavier? But the Water ball was about the size of my head so the weight should be about the same. Hmm~ I don't know. Maybe I will find out after trying a few times."
"
From chanting to launching, it became much faster after repeated practice.
Initially, it took about five seconds from chanting to launch but after dozens of practice, he could now fire after around one second.
The distance also seemed to have extended further from the initial 10 meters.
The power was … the same as the start.
"Fuu. I've gotten used to it. Well, Water ball worked well from the start. Now, it will be Icicle Lance based on that. I'll try firing the Ice lance from my right hand like the Water ball."
He adjusted his breathing and chanted.
"
Swish plop
The instant it shot from his right hand, it fell to the ground.
"
Swish plop
It was the same no matter how many times he tried.
"The time taken to generate the spear has become much shorter but … why can't I get it to fly?"
He had probably released dozens of Icicle lances.
The time from generation to launch had been reduced to about a minute.
Then, the time came.
"Ah, I'm losing consciousness."
It was the same magical power depletion as yesterday.
While staggering, Ryo reached his bed and let go of his consciousness again.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0003 Ice Formation
-x-X-x-
The fourth day after arriving at 『Phi』.
He still could not decipher the Icicle Lance even after a night's sleep.
In fact, there was an even more urgent issue in the morning.
He was hungry.
Thinking back, he had only eaten dried meat since he was reincarnated.
Furthermore, he basically only ate lunch.
Ryo was by no means a large eater but he was a healthy nineteen-year-old.
His stomach would growl if he ate too little.
If he died of starvation despite Michael (pseudonym) preparing two month's worth of food for him … he wouldn't know what kind of face to make if he gets reincarnated again and sees Michael's (pseudonym) face.
He first headed to the storage.
After passing through the door, it was cold as a cold room. Probably due to the inner walls made of ice.
Those were probably made with water attribute magic but … the ice Ryo makes would begin melting once he stops channeling magical power through it.
But the inner wall made of ice in the storage showed no signs of melting at all.
Was Michael's (pseudonym) magical power reaching this place?
Or did this embody a higher aptitude in water attribute that Ryo had not seen?
Either possibility was interesting.
He will one day solve that mystery … but first he had to satisfy his hunger!
He could first eat the dried meat but as expected, after four days, he wanted to eat something else.
Right, that would be roast meat!
There were frozen beast and monster meat lined up in the storage.
Rabbit, boar, and chicken-like meats … and they have been dismantled, butchered, and lined up nicely.
"These meats have been through dismantling … I believe Michael (pseudonym) prepared this. In other words, he's saying that I can obtain edible meat if I dismantle them this way. Michael (pseudonym) is such a capable man."
While thanking him for his consideration, he took down two pieces of what looked like rabbit thigh meat.
"They are really frozen solid. I wonder if I can melt them. It would be great … if they would naturally start melting once they leave the storage."
Ryo exited the storage shed with meats in both hands.
Then, he placed them in the pail. The all-purpose pail!
Sunlight from the slowly climbing sun illuminated both lumps of meat.
However, they didn't seem to be melting at all.
"Is he telling me to defrost them myself as a water attribute magician …"
Holding his right hand over one of the frozen meats, he formed an image in his head.
He imagined breaking the bonds of the water molecules in the ice that covered the meat.
"Eh? I feel like I'm being repelled."
He couldn't peel off the bonds between the water molecules.
And he didn't just fail to do so. Ryo could sense clear feedback in his head.
"Is this because it isn't ice I made myself? There's a rejection because Michael made it?"
But there was no way he would give up that easily.
He couldn't live without eating.
In the first place, since Michael (pseudonym) prepared it, it should be able to melt and eat.
After all, Michael is a capable man. So it should be doable!
"I'll do it without rushing."
He didn't aim to melt the entire piece at one go but focused on a single location. He felt himself concentrate his magical power on that location and broke the bond between the molecules.
Next, he broke the bonds next to it. And next to that. And next to that …
The ice at the places where the bonds were broken turned into water.
Finally, after around 15 minutes, he defrosted a piece of rabbit thigh meat.
Even after taking that much time, the other piece of frozen meat remained rock solid and didn't show any signs of melting.
"Michael's magic is amazing. Let's experiment on the other frozen piece. I wonder what will happen if I directly roasted Michael's ice."
He prepared firewood and black palm bark in the yard.
Then, he brought the salt that Michael (pseudonym) prepared from the kitchen.
Incidentally, of the seasonings prepared by Michael (pseudonym), there was only a large amount of salt.
He skewered the thawed thigh meat on a branch and sprinkled it with salt.
And then, he made the usual ice lens.
Perhaps because he made it multiple times, initially it took him about 15 minutes just to freeze water but now it only took him two minutes to directly create an ice lens.
"I've gotten quite used to it."
It was nice to see his progress in a measurable way.
Using the ice lens, he focused the sunlight onto the black palm bark to create fire.
He blew on the embers to make it bigger and transferred it to firewood.
He then stuck the branch skewered with thigh meat on the ground beside the fire.
Then, he held the frozen thigh meat in his hands and held it over the fire.
The frozen meat did not show any signs of melting even above a fire.
"This is quite a surreal scene …"
Conclusion: Meat frozen by Michael (pseudonym) does not melt even when roasted over a fire.
The thigh meat skewered on a stick had roasted nicely during the time he took to reach that conclusion.
"Thank you for the meal."
He finally had a decent meal for the first time on his fourth day.
It was so delicious it made him want to cry.
Or rather, Ryo ate while actually crying.
Ryo used the same method to melt the other frozen thigh meat and roasted it before eating comfortably.
He thought about what he should achieve today.
First would be icicle lance … he still had no clue why it didn't fly.
He didn't get a flash of inspiration because he didn't have all the information.
He wouldn't get an answer even if he thought about it for a long time.
In that case, he should try something else and wait for the information he needed to solve it.
Time was limited after all.
He was already quite used to ice formation.
But if for example, he wanted to use it while in battle with monsters, it would probably still be difficult.
It took one minute from the formation of the icicle lance to launch. Although it still couldn't fly either.
The formation of ice lens took two minutes.
Either one had a significant reduction in formation time compared to when he initially made them.
But more. He had to shorten it even further.
When fighting monsters, he was putting his life on the line.
There was no room for compromise.
He had to be proficient to the level of completing the formation in one second.
Ryo made that decision and started practice.
He tried creating all kinds of ice.
An Icicle-shape like for an icicle lance.
It was an ice spear of about 2 meters in length.
Ice sheet, ice pillar, ice wall, and such …
He noticed something during that time.
The way to make 『Hard ice』.
Even on Earth, there were hard ice and ice that were hard to melt.
By removing the air within the water, it would become difficult to melt.
That could be achieved by first boiling the water to expel the air within before freezing it.
Now, how should Ryo form his ice to produce harder ice?
When freezing, it would be more solid if he excluded the air.
To achieve that, he tried freezing from inside out.
Normally, when water freezes, it would freeze from outside in. As such, the air contained inside water would solidify inside the water and form bubbles.
However, he could form ice using magic. So he could just freeze from within!
Ice formed that way would probably be harder than the ice made without any thought put into it.
Ryo firmly believed so.
For lunch, he had the usual dried meat as he earnestly repeated the formation of ice.
Forming with his right hand, forming with his left hand, or even forming using his feet … he practiced while assuming as many situations as possible.
While he was absorbed in doing so, he suddenly noticed that the sun was setting and it was reaching evening.
"I have to enter the bath."
He ate, took a bath, and once again repeated magic training.
Such a cultured life.
Ryo was happy.
The fifth day he came to 『Phi』.
Today, he tried reviewing what he learned up to today.
In the morning, he took out rabbit thigh meat from the storage just like yesterday and roasted it to eat.
Thawing the meat, lighting a fire, roasting, eating … it went smoothly.
And as a continuation from the day before, he created ice.
After training for an entire day yesterday, he could now produce an icicle lance in 20 seconds and reduced the creation of the ice lens to 20 seconds as well.
But it was still not at the level of being of practical use.
Of course, as long as he could not launch the icicle lance, he could not use it for battle but he would never know what kind of skill would protect him in what situation.
Furthermore, the creation of ice was likely to be a skill that he would use for this entire life.
As such, his goal was to raise it to such a level that he could form ice as naturally as breathing.
Ice spear, ice sheet, icicle, ice walls etc …
He would create and melt it, melt it and form, in a perpetual cycle of repetition.
Whole-heartedly.
During lunch, Ryo was chewing on dried meat as usual.
In the afternoon, he devoted his time to the formation of ice.
Suddenly, when he looked up at the sky, something fell on his cheeks.
"Rain …?"
He was experiencing the first rainfall since reincarnating to this land.
"Fuu, it's a good time to take a breath and enter the bath."
In the home prepared by Michael (pseudonym), there was no such thing as glass windows.
There were windows but they were in the form of hollowed-out walls and could be covered during rain with a wooden board.
And there were no lamps in the room.
And no fire.
Right, it was pitch dark.
It wasn't an issue up until yesterday.
After all, usually after entering the bath, he would use magic outside until he ran out of magical power.
Then, he would return to bed and lose consciousness.
The windows were left open and the room was illuminated by moonlight but he was usually not in the state of mind to recognize it.
Today, due to the rain, the windows were shut and there was no moonlight.
"But it does not affect magic training."
He got up from the bath, laid down on the bed, and repeated ice formation which he was doing outside.
Instead of letting it melt after formation, he made it turn into water vapor in the air.
By doing so, he could avoid melting ice that would soak his bed.
After repeatedly forming ice yesterday and today, he managed to reduce the time for ice to take shape to five seconds.
Just as he realized that, he ran out of magical power tonight as well.
Ryo let go of his consciousness as he erased the icicle lance.
For a week after that, he spent all his time creating ice.
The 12th day since he came to 『Phi』.
Finally, he could create icicle lances almost instantly, in less than a second.
However, he still could not launch the icicle lance.
That said, he finally had a goal.
What goal?
Of course, the goal of leaving the barrier.
His goal was set but his preparations were not complete.
First, he had to secure a means of recovery.
The staple of an other world reincarnation would be potions.
The plant materials that act as ingredients for potions were listed in the 『Plant Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』.
But even though it was listed, Ryo was not confident that he could secure the ingredients other than the plants needed.
However, leaving the barrier without a means of recovery was reckless and idiotic.
Even though it would not heal as much as a potion, some plants could help heal an injury by just grinding it and putting it on a wound.
So first he decided to secure those plants within the barrier.
If he could do so, then he would plan to leave the barrier the next day.
According to the 『Plant Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』, the most commonly used method to treat an injury was the Wound Grass that was aptly named.
It seemed that townsfolk regularly use it as getting a potion was difficult.
Wound Grasses were growing just behind the house.
It was so dense that it could be said to be growing en masse.
"Wonderful. Sometimes having it in easy mode is great too! It would be great if the icicle lance problem could be solved easily too …"
Ryo sighed and complained about something that would anger 80% of the residents in 『Phi』 that can't use magic.
It was a shame that he could not procure inside the barrier the other grass called Detoxifying Grass that had an antidote effect when brewed and drunk.
He would have to look for it when he exited the barrier.
Securing flint and Detoxifying grass were his first goals.
After that, he would identify if it was possible to hunt and procure food.
His only physical means of attacking was the knife that Michael (pseudonym) prepared.
The knife was considered large, having a 20cm blade but he would have to get close to his opponent if he wanted to use it as a weapon.
To be honest, Ryo didn't see himself as capable of doing so at the moment.
It would be better if he widened the reach.
"The length of the spear gives soldiers a sense of security."
The king of the sixth heaven realm said that … probably.
He made the knife into a spear.
That said, he didn't use water attribute magic.
He made a physical spear.
He used something that looked like bamboo … or rather, it was bamboo no matter how he looked at it, and cut it to the right length.
He could use it as a bamboo spear but he had a knife after all so he split the end of the bamboo and slotted the knife there.
He wrapped it with ivy that he gathered and tied it tightly so that the knife wouldn't drop.
As a final touch, he would secure the knife with ice right before leaving the barrier.
Naturally, he did not make a six meters long spear just like the Owari soldiers but a two meters long spear that was easier to handle.
The three Japanese famous spears were the Nihongo that was 3.2 meters long, Otegine which was 3.8 meters long, and Tonbokiri that was 20 shaku long, or 6 meters long … such lengths were impossible for an amateur to wield.
An ice spear could be used as a physical weapon but there was no telling what would happen in battle.
He could not say for certain that he could calmly create ice when his life was on the line.
"For now, let's take today slowly and prepare to leave the barrier tomorrow."
Ryo had been depleting his magical power almost every day by using magic before sleeping.
One of the reasons was because Michael (pseudonym) mentioned that he could train by practice.
Of course, the other reason was to gain experience and reach a point where he could use magic as easily as breathing.
However, there was no way to tell if his magical power would completely recover by the time he woke up. That was because he could not see his remaining magical power in a quantified manner.
With that in mind, he decided to rest for today to allow his body's magical power to recover to its limit before leaving the barrier the next day.
He read the 『Monster's Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』 until the day turned dark, ate roasted meat, entered the bath, and slept.
Then, he welcomed the morning of the decisive battle.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0004 Day of Battle
-x-X-x-
The 13th day after coming to 『Phi』.
It was finally the day of the decisive battle.
He started a fire with experienced hands and ate meat.
He slowly ruminated the preparations he made in his head …
After finishing his meal, he confirmed the items he would bring.
The Wound Grass had already been ground and frozen into packs using water magic. They were ready to use by just melting them and applying them to any wound.
A bamboo spear with a knife as the tip. He had strengthened the part where the knife and spear connect with created ice.
That was all.
In fact, the items he took to leave the barrier were very limited.
His goal was to secure flint and Detoxifying grass.
And to fight a weak monster … if possible, he hoped for a slime!
He didn't plan to stray too far.
If anything happened, it would be troubling if he was too far and couldn't escape into the barrier quickly.
He closed his eyes a little and adjusted his breathing.
"All right, let's depart."
He headed in the direction of southwest. The direction where Michael (pseudonym) told him that there was a beach 500 meters away.
There were a couple of kinds of rocks that can be used as flint but Ryo was not well versed in it.
The only stone that Ryo could identify as an amateur was 'Quartz', a stone with a proven track record used as a flint.
There were colorless transparent quartz called crystals but the more common opaque white quartz could be found quite easily.
A good place to find such stones was at river banks.
If there was a sea, there should be rivers connected to it.
In that case, he wondered if he could encounter a river along the way to the sea.
"Well if this fails, I can set off in the opposite direction next time. This is an adventure in a sense. There's no telling what can happen so it is an adventure."
Ryo felt a slight sense of resistance as he left the barrier.
"I guess that sensation was the outer edge of the barrier."
As he was within a forest, visibility was poor.
He listened carefully and walked slowly while relying on sound.
He could hear the sound of birds flapping their wings in the distance.
After proceeding about 100 meters outside the barrier, the forest suddenly ended.
In front of him was a river that spanned hundreds of meters to the opposite side.
"Bingo!"
However, Ryo appeared on the top of a cliff. It was a difficult spot to go down to the river to look for flint.
(I guess I'll continue walking upstream.)
The river ran from east to west so Ryo carefully walked upstream on the cliff.
"Such a wide river is only a hundred meters away from home … This scenery is a little touching …"
However, the current Ryo couldn't afford to take a leisurely look at the scenery.
After a short walk, he was able to get down to the riverbank.
And quickly found quartz.
He decided to give it a quick try to generate sparks.
He tried to hit the back of the knife attached to the bamboo spear to the quartz.
Spark spark
"Ooo, I see sparks. With this, I can make fire even when there is no sun."
There was no need to linger once he confirmed that.
A river was a place for beasts to quench their thirst. There was no telling what would appear.
He quickly climbed up the cliff where he came down from and headed in the direction of northeast.
(If I continue moving north like this, I should appear on the south end of the house barrier. If I head northeast, I should be able to move while having my house to my left.)
If anything happened, he could quickly dash into his house barrier.
As mentioned many times, that was the most important matter to Ryo right now.
In the first place, he didn't know how strong the monsters in 『Phi』 were.
He was certain that he could defeat slimes but it wasn't guaranteed that only slimes would appear.
He was able to find flint fairly quickly but he couldn't find Detoxifying grass no matter how long he looked.
He constantly moved while keeping the position of the house in mind so he didn't stray too far from the barrier.
"Well … this is quite difficult … what should I do?"
Perhaps he was recalling the page on the Detoxifying grass in the Plant Encyclopedia hoping for a hint … at the very least, it was certain that his attention strayed from his surroundings.
When he suddenly realized a boar was looking in his direction.
"Shit. That is a Lesser Boar."
The Lesser Boar charged in a straight line toward Ryo.
That was a Lesser Boar.
Charging in his direction.
He had to intercept it.
Ryo's mind was aware of those facts. Even though he was aware, his body did not move.
It was the first time he faced the killing intent of a monster head-on.
It was a clear murderous intent that he had never experienced in his life.
Perhaps it was the same principle as a frog that couldn't move when a snake glares at it.
"Shit, move, move, move~~~!"
His body finally jumped to the left. Instead of jumping, it may be closer to describe his action as falling to the side.
"Uguh …"
When dodging the Lesser Boar's rush, its fangs lightly scratched Ryo' right foot and injured him.
However, he couldn't stay down forever.
The Lesser Boar that rushed past him slowed down and stopped before turning around and staring at Ryo.
In those eyes was clear murderous intent. Or perhaps it was angered that he avoided its rush.
"Calm down."
If it was possible to calm down just by saying that, no one would have a hard time.
Ryo was not an exception.
His heart was pumping like an alarm bell.
His mind was blank … well, not completely.
Even though that was the case, his body wouldn't move as he wanted.
The Lesser Boar charged once more.
Once again, Ryo couldn't move as expected.
However, even if he couldn't move his body, Ryo had magic.
His water attribute magic that he has practiced over and over and over again.
Hard work will not betray.
"
In front of Ryo to the Lesser Boar, an ice road about 2 meters wide was formed.
Due to its momentum, the Lesser Boar slid over the ice toward Ryo. It couldn't stop itself on the ice.
"
Even though the Icicle lance couldn't fly yet, he could grow them from the Ice Bahn.
It was like a line of spears in front of Ryo.
The 16 spears grew from the ice floor at a 30-degree angle.
Without any means to stop, the Lesser Boar rammed into the mountain of Icicle Lance head-on.
"Gyooooooo"
The skewered Lesser Boar screamed from the severe pain.
But it had not died.
But the fear of death that bound Ryo was released.
He could finally move his body.
He held his bamboo spear affixed with a knife.
Ryo did kendo but of course, he didn't know how to use a spear.
However, there was no need to think about it so much. He just needed to stab.
Face, neck, groin. He stabbed over and over again.
He could move his body now but that didn't mean that he was calm.
He stabbed with the bamboo spear with all his might.
Again and again and again …
He probably stabbed a couple of dozen times.
Ryo finally realized that the Lesser Boar was no longer moving.
"I won …"
That day, Ryo defeated a monster for the first time.
"I have to quickly leave this place."
There was no telling what might be attracted by the scent of blood.
Ryo summoned his energy and stood up.
The problem was the Lesser Boar's corpse.
It looked heavy.
"So how should I carry this?"
Of course, leaving it there was not an option.
It was his first hunt.
Ryo decided that he would eat Lesser Boar meat tonight.
The barrier shouldn't be far. It was at most a hundred meters.
That was when he suddenly saw the Ice Bahn that the Lesser Boar slid on.
"Could I pull the Lesser Boar if I spread ice below it?"
If he laid down Ice Bahn until the barrier, it shouldn't be difficult for him to pull on his own.
With just a little adjustment, he created a path of ice below the Lesser Boar and pulled.
"Ooo, it's super~ easy this way."
He could easily pull the Lesser Boar that seemed close to 200 kilograms with a single hand.
Then, he passed through the barrier and arrived in front of his house.
"I'm finally … home."
There stood a young man who had exhausted all his energy and willpower.
Although he didn't get any Detoxifying grass, he obtained flint, won his fight battle, and net a Lesser Boar.
Those were sufficient results.
-x-X-x-
The 14th day since coming to 『Phi』.
Last night, he enjoyed the thigh meat of Lesser Boar.
The other parts he froze in ice and placed in the storage.
After one night, he calmly looked back on yesterday's battle and broke into a cold sweat.
The Lesser Boar was as its 'lesser' name implied, the weakest of boar-type monsters.
Of course, it was more troublesome compared to Slime or Lesser Rabbit but due to its brutal charge, it would be impossible for ordinary farmers or hunters to defeat it alone.
Nevertheless, it was listed as the weakest rank in the 『Monster Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』.
"But I'm glad my first enemy was the Lesser Boar. There was a chance of encountering even stronger foes so I was lucky."
Ryo was an optimistic person.
Although he could not launch the Icicle Lance, he could use it as a line of spears.
But even if he could use it, it used himself as the decoy to attract the enemy.
Because of that, he would take immeasurable damage if it failed.
What if the monster's speed exceeded Ryo's expectations?
What if there was a foe that wouldn't slip on ice?
Also, it would be useless if he was attacked from the sky …
As expected, since he could finally use magic, he wanted to secure a method to safely hunt from afar.
Hunting on the edge every time would be too mentally draining.
The Water Ball could be launched but not the Icicle Lance.
After trying all kinds of theories, he concluded that water could be launched but ice could not.
They were both formed using water attribute magic.
Water Ball was (probably) made by gathering the moisture in the air and then launching it.
Icicle Lance was (probably) made by gathering the moisture in the air, freezing it, and then launching it.
"Hn? Icicle Lance has an extra step? Don't tell me that, at my current ability, I can only use two-step processes …?"
He decided to prepare water first then try the 'freeze and launching' steps separately.
It would be bad if something happened to the pail so he made an ice bowl and stored water in it.
Placing his right hand over the ice bowl, he imagined in his head.
The image of the water freezing and launching along with the ice bowl.
"
Woosh
Although it wasn't a spear, the frozen water stuck to the ice bowl flew about 10 meters.
"Alright, success!"
Something that didn't work for dozens of days was resolved in an instant.
"So that's the reason. The answer came quickly once I realized the important information."
In this case for Ryo, instead of obtaining the necessary information, he acquired flint, concluded a battle outside the barrier, and came to this realization after relieving his mental stress … but it was a fact that he solved the problem so it was probably fine.
"I understand the reason. For now, it seems that it is not possible to perform three steps at once. Perhaps I will be able to do so after I am more proficient in water magic. It would be great if I can."
It seemed that he won't be able to launch ice for some time … in that case, water will have to be his means of long-range attacks.
"Now that I think about it, I have not tested the Water Jet recently."
The Water Jet that he practiced hard on the third day of coming to 『Phi』 but was only able to focus it into the strength of a car wash hose and concluded that it could not be used for attacking.
"With creating ice, I've come to understand how to handle water magic so I'm sure it will be better than last time …"
With his right hand raised forward, he made a mental image of a water jet.
"
Shuu
Compared to before, the stream of water was much thinner and more vigorous.
"There's progress!"
Next, he tried firing at the tree at the edge of the barrier.
Shuu … crack
It still could not cut the tree … but the spot it hit was slightly gouged out.
"This could work as long as I practice …"
Ryo once again started practicing Water Jet.
Four days from then, Ryo practiced Water Jet all day.
Of course, he made sure to eat a proper breakfast and enter the bath.
He ate roasted meat for breakfast. Right, roasted meat in the morning. Breakfast is important after all!
His lunch was mostly dried meat.
And he entered the bath at night.
As for dinner … he always thought of practicing Water Jet a little before preparing but end up depleting his magical power and going to bed directly … without having dinner.
Perhaps that was why he always wanted to have a proper meal for breakfast the next day.
The result of four days of practice on Water Jet … was that its power had certainly increased.
But although it increased, it could not compare at all to the water jets on Earth …
He was able to gouge deeper into the tree trunk and was able to focus the jet into a smaller stream.
But it was still far from the image of 'cutting'.
However, he acquired the skill to hit the spot he aims for with pinpoint accuracy.
If it was a stationary target 10 meters ahead, he would hit it without an error of 1mm.
"There's no telling when it will come in handy. Right, I have to train to be able to shoot multiple jets at once, not only one."
Ryo said and continued his training once more.
A positive mental attitude will save him.
His goal was to hunt safely.
Obtaining food every day by putting your life on the line … was not a slow life!
Becoming able to hunt safely and leaving the barrier was part of life too … once he was able to do so, Ryo wanted to expand his diet.
Currently, he could only eat monster meat seasoned with salt and roasted or dried meat.
He wanted some other flavor … right, he wanted to have some fruits eventually.
In the 『Plant Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition』, pepper was called 『Pepper』 too and could be found in 『Phi』.
After living here for about two weeks, Ryo felt that it was a location similar to that between the Tropic of Cancer and Equator on Earth.
From the direction of the vortex when water flows, it seemed that he was in the Northern hemisphere.
The height of the sun and the humidity meant that he was close to the Equator.
In that case, there should be spices!
Although there were hundreds of kinds of spices, Ryo only knew pepper, red pepper, Japanese pepper, and ginger.
He was never very knowledgeable about cooking in the first place so that couldn't be helped.
Among them, he had personally seen the trees where pepper grows from.
They would grow in a bunch like grapes.
(I can probably identify that inside the forest!)
Well, he would only be able to get his hands on it after he can leave the barrier with more peace of mind.