Ryo somehow managed to reach home.
He froze the Kite Snake corpse and kept it in the storage.
He didn't think of eating the snake.
Even when his university friend from Southeast Asia told him 'It looks pale but it is quite delicious~', he didn't feel like eating it.
But there was a possibility that he could use it as some kind of material … like those snakeskin wallets or bags on Earth …
"A bag huh … well, there's no issue with the hemp bag … and more importantly, I don't have thread or string. I could use ivy as a replacement for string but I would need it for clothes as well."
Regarding 'Clothes', it was still extremely difficult to achieve this in his slow life in Rondo Forest.
As for 'Food', apart from the Ichizuku, he also obtained the 'Rindo' that is similar to apples during this excursion.
It was a long sought-after new fruit.
Enriching his food choices was important in achieving his slow life!
"That said, my encounter with the Kite Snake … was a close shave."
That was the first time Ryo encountered a monster that used poison.
Although it was described in the 'Monster Encyclopedia – Beginner Edition' to 'Spit poison', the area of the poison, so large that it could be called a poison mist, was completely outside his expectations.
"The 'Squall' that I made for watering ended up playing an important role in the fight … I seriously don't know what would end up being useful in which situation."
The Water Attribute Magic 'Squall' that brought down the Kite Snake poison spread across the air and washed it away was originally imagined as water coming out of a watering can.
Well, the water pressure was a little stronger, the volume was greater, and the area was wider.
That Squall was meant for the Ichizuku from his previous harvest that he transplanted.
Although he could find it if he entered the forest, it would be nice if he could pluck them from his garden when he has cravings for it at night … he planted them for such simplistic reasoning.
Of course, it was natural cultivation without any pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or organic fertilizers!
Since it was tastier that way.
It definitely was not because he didn't have any of that! Definitely not!
If he was pursuing mass production then a large amount of fertilizer might be a better method.
But for a slow life … that was not necessary.
However, there was a field of 'Food' that was not progressing well even if he took it slowly.
It was his field.
He had stored a fairly large amount of 'paddy' rice that was for planting or eating.
They were all obtained from the wetlands in the Northern forest.
However, what Ryo wanted was to improve it with a field.
And for that, he needed to make a paddy field.
He needed it but … if he could use Earth Attribute Magic, he might have a spell like 'Plow'.
Even without that, he could make a hoe and plow manually.
But Ryo only had Water attribute Magic.
"Land reclamation without Earth Attribute Magic, without farming tools like a hoe or plowing horses …"
He could not imagine himself succeeding with those restrictions.
For the time being, he tried launching Icicle Lances at the planned paddy field site.
"
It was barely noticeable.
"Let's drop it from the sky.
128 Icicle Lances formed in the sky 20 meters up and freefell to the planned paddy field site.
Zusa zusa zusa
They pierced the ground.
"Yeah … pierce … that's all. I wonder if there is a way to make them rupture after piercing…"
He was about to imagine one of the lances exploding …
"Before that, I should set up a shield."
He was standing in his garden within the barrier so he didn't even have his Ice Armor on.
"
It was the sturdiest shield he had and he separated himself from the (planned) explosive.
The Ice Wall was originally transparent as well so it didn't impede his work.
Once again … he made a mental image of one of the Icicle Lances exploding.
Bakin.
Exploded … or rather, the ice shattered and scattered around.
"That wouldn't help with the plowing …"
He targeted two Icicle Lances and imagined them exploding into even finer ice crystals.
Toshin.
The ice shattered and scattered around once again but … compared to before, the scattered ice was smaller.
"I knew it wouldn't help with plowing …"
He guessed that having the ice shatter was insufficient.
Instead of shattering, he wanted them to 'explode'.
"If it is an explosion with water, I recall the experiments that caused water to explode by adding sodium metal. But that was not realistic here. In that case, steam explosion …?"
A steam explosion was a phenomenon that happens when a high-temperature substance such as magma comes into contact with a low-temperature substance such as groundwater, causing the water to instantaneously become water vapor and explode.
The 'explosion' phenomenon occurs because when water turns into water vapor, its volume expands by 1700 times.
"But I don't have any high-temperature substances. No, if I instantaneously convert the Icicle Lance into water vapor, it should cause the same phenomenon as a steam explosion."
It could be done with the same image of increasing the vibrations of the water molecules as when he first made boiling water.
Increasing the vibrations would cause the temperature of the substance to increase.
Once it goes beyond 100 degrees, it would turn into steam …
If more heat was added to the steam, steam that goes beyond 100 degrees would reach a state called superheated steam.
On Earth, there were microwave ovens on sale that function using superheated steam.
In that sense, it was a very common phenomenon.
He tried it with all the remaining 126 Icicle Lances but he couldn't make them explode.
At a glance, it felt like he could easily cause a steam explosion but unfortunately, his fundamental knowledge was flawed so a steam explosion would never occur.
Ryo's chemical knowledge was insufficient.
In the first place, an 'explosion' was a phenomenon that occurs as a result of a sudden generation or release of pressure.
If it's ice … yeah.
-x-X-x-
"Failure is the mother of success."
Ryo would not be discouraged from failure.
"For now, I'll put aside the creation of the paddy field."
Right, he just had to postpone any problems without feeling discouraged so it was fine!
In the fight with the Kite Snake, he could not stand his ground in close combat at all.
To be accurate, it was the close combat with the Kite Snake's tail.
In other words, Ryo found it hard to defend against or avoid his opponent's attacks. Well, he hated doing that so he made it such that he could safely hunt from a distance so it could be said that the outcome in close combat was expected.
Until now, he had been training the means to attack from a distance.
Training regarding his activation time, magic control, and such, there were still many things to do.
"In the first place, generating
And also
Ryo somewhat prepared it as a defensive spell with a suitable armor in mind but it was quite effective. Or rather, without it, Ryo would be dead.
"Although it makes me look like some Saint Knight, it isn't hard to carry around and I should train to immediately equip it directly before battle for unforeseen circumstances. Ah, I could increase the weight of it and wear it when running. It might be good training."
He failed to realize that his thought process had completely detoured to a muscle brain route.
That said, it would train his stamina and having that base endurance would aid to not run out of stamina during battle.
No matter how excellent he trains his technique, he would not be able to utilize it without stamina.
Along with his daily calisthenics training and running, Ryo would perform practice swings without fail.
The bamboo blade about one meter long and weight-adjusted with an ice coating.
Originally a bamboo sword is made of four pieces of bamboo split into eight pieces but Ryo was using the bamboo in its original form.
He just looked for bamboo that was a comfortable size to grip and cut it about one meter long.
Of course, it didn't have a wrist guard but he had held a bamboo sword for nine years. His body remembered the rough length of the handle.
Regardless of Kendo or Swordsmanship, bamboo sword, or Japanese katana, the grip was the same.
The left hand would grip close to the end of the handle while the right hand would grip close to the wrist guard.
Both fists would not stick to each other.
There would be space for another fist between the two fists.
It was fundamentally different from holding a baseball bat.
The usage was different.
The difference was that, for a bat, it is important to transmit power to the bat, whereas for a bamboo sword or katana, control was more important.
Because of that, the length of the handle was always eight cun or 24 cm, regardless if it is for the uchigatana or the longer tachi.
It is believed that this was because it has long been recognized that the length was just right for swinging a sword.
Incidentally, the so-called 'two-handed sword' in the West was gripped and swung by having both fists stuck together. Just like a baseball bat.
If power was the focus, stick both fists together, and if control was important, separate both fists.
As mentioned earlier, isn't it the same for baseball bats?
When swung normally, both fists would be stuck together to convey more power.
However, if there was a need to move the bat more precisely, that is, when they want to perform a bunt, they would have both fists apart and have one fist in the middle of the bat.
How the target is moving and how to use the item held was determined from the stage of holding the item.
Fundamentally, the bamboo sword or the Japanese katana were held and supported with the left hand.
The right hand is just lightly holding it … or not entirely, the right hand also determines the trajectory of the blade.
For the left hand, the little finger and ring finger were important for 'grasping', similar to how it is in baseball, but they were fingers that are rarely used in daily life.
For that reason, repeated practice was important.
After swinging practice, head, wrist-head, torso and thrust. (TLN: These are kendo moves)
He retraced the movements he learned in the dojo many times.
Grip loosely with the left hand except for the two fingers and squeeze only at the moment of impact.
As with boxing jabs, you won't be able to speed up if you're always using all your strength.
Therefore, only swing your arms loosely without putting too much strength and grip your fist only at the moment of impact.
In the end, as it is related to the movement of the body … there were many things in common for various actions.
Not only in the handling of bamboo swords and bats, but also in judo and sumo, the little finger and ring finger play the most important role after catching the opponent.
It is the same in all Japanese martial arts, Chinese martial arts, hand-to-hand martial arts, it is normally relaxed and grasp only at the moment of impact.
By repetitive practice, it is best if you can do it until it is imprinted in the cerebellum as motor memory, not in the cerebrum as a conscious action.
And that is what many people on Earth achieved, whether they are martial artists or athletes.
That was sure to be the same in 『Phi』 as well.
-x-X-x-
"I feel like eating fish once in a while."
Ryo muttered to himself one day after finishing his morning practice.
"Grilled fish would be nice. I'd love to have it grilled with salt. To be honest, I want to drizzle some soy sauce … but that is just wishful thinking since I don't have soy sauce so I'll compromise on that. All right, let's have salt-grilled fish tonight for dinner!"
Now that he had decided on it, he should take action immediately.
There was no sea here but river fish should suffice.
That was because the images that came to mind when Ryo imagined salt-grilled fishes were grilled sweetfish and rainbow trout.
His choice for the tool to catch fish was his usual knife-tipped bamboo spear.
"I actually wanted to have a barbed tip that curved back at the end like a harpoon but … I'll have to give up on that."
Fishing was previously something that Ryo would never opt for.
"This time I won't need the hemp bag."
With the knife-tipped bamboo spear in his hand, Ryo headed toward the river located to the south of his home.
This was absolutely not because he wanted to have fun.
Right, definitely not.
Probably … not.
At that time, it so happened that there was a crocodile at the river bank.
It was not listed in the 『Monster Encyclopedia: Beginner Edition』.
Therefore it was probably an 『animal』 rather than a 『monster』.
Naturally, on 『Phi』, there were millions of types of existences that were not monsters, or in other words, ordinary animals.
The difference between monsters and animals would be the small stone called a 『Magic Stone』 located near the heart of monsters.
In addition, depending on the species, some monsters were capable of using 『Magic』.
And most of the time, monsters were more violent and stronger than ordinary animals.
For that reason, in Rondo Forest where strong monsters roam, most ordinary animal types had been exterminated.
That was the reason why Ryo had not seen any animals in Rondo Forest until now.
However, now, there was an animal in front of his eyes.
Even though it was a huge crocodile-type animal over 5 meters in length, it was still an animal …
According to a famous Japanese book on Earth … 『How to hold a crocodile』, the way to go was to approach it from behind.
It was a book a friend showed Ryo when he was a primary school student.
"That probably won't come useful" … Ryo thought to himself so he didn't read it properly.
Now he regretted it.
There really was no telling what would be useful where!
"Well, I don't necessarily have to catch it."
Right, it wasn't as though the crocodile was coming toward him.
It had not noticed him yet so he just had to secretly move upstream such that it doesn't notice him.
"Jiiiiiaaaaa"
"Guomooon"
After moving about 50 meters from the crocodile, Ryo heard the cries of beasts.
It seemed that the crocodile he saw just now was fighting something.
Despite going through the trouble of gaining a distance from it, now he was curious as to what the crocodile was fighting.
He tried to secretly catch a glimpse.
After creeping closer to look, Ryo saw a bull charge at the crocodile and pierce it with its horns, raising it above its head.
The crocodile seemed to have breathed its last breath.
"Horn Bison … as the name implies, I have to watch out for its horns. They often appear around rivers and swamps. I have to be aware of its charge using Wind Attribute Magic to wrap around its body. Oh. Right, let's try my new technique."
Ryo raised his left hand above his head and chanted.
"
An Icicle Lance with a guillotine-shaped tip flew into the sky from his left hand and gained sufficient acceleration before dropping onto the Horn Bison's neck from directly above.
"All right, success."
Ryo grinned.
The Horn Bison's head was decapitated with a single strike and fell into the water as blood spurted out from its neck.
"Maybe I can use it to practice tanning cowhide."
Ryo slowly approached the corpses of the Horn Bison and crocodile as he muttered that.
However, Ryo then saw a scene …
Basha basha basha.
The Horn Bison head and crocodile body that fell into the water seemed to become smaller and smaller.
"Hn? Hmm? What's happening …"
He quickly gripped the Horn Bison's torso and tossed it onto land.
Even then, there already were several fishes biting it.
"These seem like piranhas … they aren't listed in the Monster Encyclopedia but … carnivores … they are probably related to piranhas."
The piranha-like fishes had a body length over 40cm and possessed violent-looking teeth.
For the time being, he stabbed at the ones biting to the Horn Bison with his knife-tipped bamboo spear.
Then, he froze the entire Horn Bison torso.
During that time, he caught glimpses of the Horn Bison head and crocodile body in the water become smaller …. before disappearing.
The piranhas, which seemed to have been attracted by blood, disappeared and the river returned to its previous tranquility.
"I definitely can't play in the water here."
Ryo swore firmly in his heart.
The hunt ended in less than an hour but the sight of the piranhas was quite shocking. After all, the smell of blood attracted all kinds of monsters.
He had to keep that in mind.
He took the Horn Bison and piranhas and stored them in the storage in their frozen state.
Now then, he managed to acquire 『Fish』 in this round's hunt.
It was different from the 『Sweetfish』 and 『Rainbow Trout』 that he imagined but it was still river fish.
For dinner, he would salt-grill the piranha and one great possibility was born.
He had fish.
He had salt too.
And he didn't have soybean.
Yes, that black liquid that can be said to be the heart of Japanese … 『Soy sauce』. The possibility to acquire that was born.
But he did not have soybeans.
Originally soy sauce was born from 『miso』 which is fundamentally made with soybean.
Yes, he didn't have soybeans.
Although he didn't have soybeans, there was a method on Earth to acquire 『soy sauce』 without soybeans.
That was 『fish sauce』.
As the word reads, it is a 『soy sauce』 made fundamentally with 『fish』.
Compared to the soy sauce Japanese people are familiar with, it has a stronger aroma and often has a stronger taste.
But it was used for local cuisine all over Japan.
In other words, it was compatible with Japanese food!
It might not make it for tonight's piranha salt-grill but someday, he could look forward to drizzling some soy sauce.
"Yup, I have to do this!"
The method to make the fish sauce was extremely simple.
Pickle the fish with salt.
That's all.
All he has to do was wait a few months for it to ferment naturally.
"The question would be what barrel to ferment them in."
Barrels made with Water Attribute Magic could be created in an instant. The shape and size were up to him too.
But it would be an ice barrel so it would be cold …
For most storage, that coldness was not an issue, in fact, it was a huge merit.
But fish sauce required 『fermentation』.
A certain temperature was needed to allow the fermentation to occur to give rise to fish sauce.
If the ice container was too cold, fermentation would not occur … at the very least it had to be above room temperature.
Because of that, the first step was to create a wooden barrel.
Naturally, Ryo had never created anything like that in his life.
Even if he tried his best, the bottom might come off or the contents might leak out.
For the time being, it would be great if there was a barrel-like tree somewhere.
"I see the candidates!"
Yes, this was Rondo Forest.
Some of the trees had grown to be unimaginably thick as compared to those on Earth.
And they were right next to the home barrier.
The diameter of the trunk was approximately 2 meters. 10 meters in height. It was a coniferous tree like cedar and cypress.
With heavy machinery like those on Earth … no, it might be quite troublesome to cut down a tree of that size even with heavy machinery.
Furthermore, Ryo did not have any heavy machinery on hand.
But, in exchange for heavy machinery, he had 『Magic』.
Yes, he could use Water Jet to cut through … but that was still impossible.
Although he had been practicing Water Jet ever since he came to 『Phi』, it still did not possess the strength to cut down trees.
However, Ryo had other means.
Yes, the 『Guillotine』 that beheaded the Horn Bison in one hit.
"『Guillotine』"
Zashun
The guillotine dug roughly a meter into the trunk before stopping.
"We-well, I didn't expect to cut it down in a single hit!"
He didn't sound very convincing but he continued to chant.
"『Guillotine』"
He fired off consecutive shots of the guillotine.
Finally, he managed to slice through and the conifer fell along with a resounding boom.
There was quite a lot of deforestation around the area affected but Ryo didn't mind it.
From the fallen coniferous tree, he chose a one-meter-long section that would become the barrel and started cutting.
"『Guillotine』"
"『Guillotine』"
Here, he used the same consecutive shots of the guillotine.
With a diameter of 2 meters and height of 1 meter, visually it looked like a splendid but slightly large table was carved out.
Next would be to carve out the interior to shape the barrel.
The tool of choice was the
The
He probably could use it as a ranged offensive spell now similar to the Icicle Lance but now he didn't require that effect.
"
On his right palm, a rotating saw made of water was generated.
And he proceeded to carve the cut-out section of the coniferous tree.
It cut at a speed comparable to the chainsaws on Earth.
There was almost no resistance and no material stress either.
It took about an hour before he finally managed to carve out a satisfactory shape.
Visually it looked like a private open-air bath made of cypress wood in luxury hot spring inns.
He moved it home by creating Ice Bahn underneath the fermentation barrel. It was truly a convenient spell.
Even though the content has been hollowed out, due to the large size … it should weigh considerably heavy.
And then, Ryo noticed when he brought it home.
"This barrel … where should I put it?"
Yes, it was too big to fit through the door.
-x-X-x-
For the time being, he placed the fish sauce barrel underneath a large tree.
"On Earth, it is common to line up jars for fermentation outdoors … yup, I'm sure it will be fine."
Ryo forcibly convinced himself.
First, he spread plenty of salt at the bottom of the barrel.
And then above that, he spread the minced up meat from four thawed piranhas.
Then, he added more salt to cover all the piranhas.
Above that, he arranged wide leaves similar to banana leaves to prevent them from dying out.
And then, for a lid, he covered the barrel with wood from the same tree used to make the barrel.
That was the end.
He completed his fish sauce barrel.
If it goes well, he would be able to collect fish sauce in a few months … probably.
Finally, he would be able to eat salt-grilled fish and white rice.
At first, he expected sweetfish or rainbow trout but due to various circumstances, it had now become grilled piranhas.
Nevertheless, it was shockingly delicious.
Although Ryo generally loves meat, he occasionally wants to eat fish.
He decided that he would go to the south river if he ever wanted to eat again.
After all, he knew that if he threw an animal in, the piranhas would gather.
It was a laid-back life with a satisfying dinner, a leisurely dip in the bathtub, and finally some magic practice.
Generally, he would focus on creating ice until he fell asleep.
By creating ice, even if he suddenly fell asleep, the ice would not melt and soak the surrounding items.
Ryo believed that the magical power lines were still connected even while he was asleep.
If it was water …
"Eh? Would water actually soak into the other items? I somewhat had that image so I didn't try it."
For example, when he created Water Ball and fell asleep while moving left and right in the room … the water ball would fall to the floor and drench the floor in the shape of the Water Ball.
He had that image in his head but … there was an instance when he created Icicle Lance and practiced moving it in his room but he fell asleep.
The next day morning, when he woke up, the Icicle Lance was still floating in mid-air.
In that case, it meant that the Water Ball could maintain the state of floating in mid-air too?
"That said, there are a lot of 'what ifs' so I'm afraid of trying."
He still didn't understand many aspects of Water Attribute Magic.
"Tomorrow, I'll carve out plenty of boxes from the tree I cut down today."
He had made iceboxes using Water Attribute Magic and placed all kinds of things in them but if some kind of trouble occurred and he wakes up with complete magical power depletion … all the ice boxes would melt.
If the magical power line was cut or there was a disruption in the supply of magical power, they would turn into regular ice.
Although they would not immediately turn into water, he would prefer if they did not melt.
Yes, he already experienced it once.
His rescue of the blue pepper fruits that were flooded …
There was still some time so he realized that he could start carving some now but,
"The forest at night is still scary after all."
That's right, regardless of what era or which world, the forest at night was not a world for humans to live in.
That probably would not change on Earth or on 『Phi』.
Fundamentally, people rely on 『Visual Information』 and 『Auditory Information』 to understand their surroundings.
The darkness of the night robs people of their visual information.
Understanding the situation based on only auditory information was not possible for ordinary people.
Many living organisms, monsters and animals included, have better hearing than humans.
Furthermore, there are living organisms such as snakes and bats and the likes that can obtain information using organs that humans do not possess.
In the darkness of the night with such organisms present … Ryo felt that it was not a place for humans to enter.
At least for now.
"Now that I think about it, there are people who can perceive 『Presence』 … but what exactly is it?"
He could somewhat understand the concept of a sixth sense.
A subconscious decision based on past experiences and memorized information which is then processed by the brain.
Ryo had that understanding.
Intuition, or some kind of discomfort.
However, presence … sensing the gaze from something you can't see … he couldn't understand that.
"If I could use Wind Attribute Magic, I might be able to create a spell to sense presence or hidden enemies."
The principle of passive sonar.
Unlike 『Active Sonar』 that fires a pinger from yourself and searches for the position and surrounding situation from the information that is reflected, 『Passive Sonar』 acquires information from the changes in the surrounding born from the movements of the opponent without actively releasing anything.
Because nothing is fired off, the opponent can't detect your presence.
That mentioned above is used by submarines underwater but it may be possible to know the opponent's information by using airflow in place of seawater.
It felt possible with Wind Attribute Magic!
Of course, Ryou was a Water Attribute Mage!
"Like performing a breakdown rush, I'm a little envious of Wind Attribute Mages."
Breakdown rush … something like 『Releasing sonic blades from three body clones and assault techniques that can pursue the foe』 …
Of course, ordinarily, Wind Attribute Mages are incapable of performing such feats.
-x-X-x-
A couple of days after eating the salt-grilled piranha.
Today was once again a day to hunt in the afternoon.
The location was the usual East forest.
A place with many Lesser Rabbits and Lesser Boars.
Occasionally Normal Boars will appear but now, they were not a threat to Ryo.
He still had not planned out a strategy to win against Assassin Hawks but he probably wouldn't lose as long as he fights on land.
"I am by no means being conceited."
The moment those words came out from his mouth, a Greater Boar appeared in front of his eyes.
But now, even a Greater Boar was not a threat to Ryo … 'Rustle', he heard some rustling behind him.
Twisting only his head to look behind … he saw another Greater Boar.
(
That instant, he lost sight of the two Greater Boars in front and behind him.
"
Ice Wall 5 layers were created in front and behind him.
The formation speed was 0.1 seconds.
He had been increasing his creation speed daily.
But even that barely made it in time.
Around the same time the Ice Wall 5 layers were formed, the Greater Boars rammed into them from in front and behind.
One side had a lowered posture to target Ryo's feet.
The other side had a higher posture targeting Ryo's upper body.
They were clearly coordinating their attacks.
The destruction from the charge of the Greater Boars reached the third layer of the Ice Wall 5 layers.
The force generated from the charge was terrifying.
Ryo leaped out sideways from the Ice Walls to his front and back and chanted at the same time.
(
Both boars were close to Ryo's former spot. He could seal their movements at the same time by making the floor they stood on slippery.
But even if he sealed their movements, the Greater Boars had another means of attacking … right, the option to attack from a distance.
That aspect was completely different from the Lesser Boars!
The two Greater Boars created countless gravel, truly a number that couldn't be counted, in the surroundings.
"What, these numbers …
Since it was a competition by numbers, he overlaid multiple Ice Wall 5 layers.
The gravels were fired.
They struck the Ice Wall and formed mist or dust, worsening the visibility.
At that moment.
Hyun
A gravel collided with Ryo's right flank.
"Guha."
And another on his left shoulder.
"Ugh.
Making use of the reduced visibility, the Greater Boars bent the trajectory of the gravel.
It struck Ryo by twisting around the corner of the Ice Wall 5 layers.
"I didn't expect them to be capable of bending the trajectory …"
He received damage due to the lack of combat experience.
His torso armor and left-hand armor shattered from the impact of the gravel.
"
For now, he regenerated his armor.
But he didn't have time to relax.
The omnidirectional ice wall was just a single Ice Wall.
It did not possess the endurance of the Ice Wall 5 layers.
That said, the Greater Boars were incapable of moving due to the Ice Bahn below their feet.
They shouldn't be able to move.
Shouldn't be …
"Can they really not move?"
Greater Boars have feet capable of generating the force of a charge that approached the speed of sound.
That was naturally the power and speed of hooves that can dig into the ground.
Perhaps with time, they would be able to stand on the ice with claws and run …
The previous time he hunted a Greater Boar, it certainly did fall down a couple of times on the Ice Bahn.
However, it would be too hasty to think that all other individuals will slip and fall just because of that one individual.
Even for humans, some would fall in an ice skating rink and some could even jump without any issue.
First, it was troublesome to have two opponents at the same time.
He should defeat them one at a time.
Which should he aim for …
They attacked from the front and behind.
Similarly, with the one-eyed Assassin Hawk, the one attacking from the front is probably the leader or has more experience.
In that case, he should first defeat the one that attacked from behind.
When facing multiple foes, one usual tactic is to hit the head of the enemy and cause confusion.
However, attacking the weaker foe and shaving off their strength before targeting the tougher foe toward the end was another common tactic too.
This time he chose the latter tactic.
A foe with less experience would probably take longer to get used to moving on ice.
(
He went around the left side of the overlapping layers of Ice Wall 5 layers.
In his vision was only one Greater Boar that was slipping constantly on top of the Ice Bahn.
The other was missing.
It was probably wrapping around the overlapping Ice Wall 5 layers.
"So you are the first target.
16 Icicle Lances formed above the fallen over Greater Boar.
"And the one that is wrapping around would probably appear from behind me?"
Ryo muttered and quickly chanted.
"
Two Icicle Lances were formed on the other side of the Ice Wall 5 layers and were on standby for firing.
At that moment, the 16 Icicle Lances above the Greater Boar pierced it and caused it to shriek.
"GiiaaaaaAAA!"
Shocked by the cry, the other Greater Boar appeared from the location Ryo anticipated.
"Fire"
However, the two Icicle Lance struck its sturdy nose and shattered.
The Greater Boar's vision was momentarily obscured by the shattered ice.
"
Numerous Water Jets formed not from Ryo's hands but the area around the Greater Boar's face.
Their targets were the Greater Boar's eyes, ears, throat, and other locations that were imaginably less sturdy.
Bad visibility from the shattered ice and point-blank Water Jets.
How would it avoid the ultra-fine jets of water that was formed 30 cm in front of its eyes?
At a distance that can't be avoided and having jets of water form at its escape route … it was impossible to avoid.
By robbing its sight and hearing, it would fall into panic and he would deal the final hit … that was the procedure Ryo had in mind … but the process went amiss.
Instead of falling into panic, the Greater Boar died.
The Water Jets that entered the eyes, ears, and throat directly pierced its brain …
With its brain pierced dozens of times, there was no saving it.
"Eh … I defeated it …?"
-x-X-x-
Even though it was called a Greater Boar, it seemed that attacks targeting the ears and eyes could easily reach the brain.
That said, it was quite a surprise for Ryo to not need to deal the final blow.
"Perhaps the power of my Water Jets increased?"
After returning to the barrier, Ryo quickly set out to test it.
He planned to use the corpses of the Greater Boars he just hunted.
For a Greater Boar, the thickness of the skin above the neck and below the neck was completely different.
Because that charge was one of its primary means of attacking, the head including the nose was extremely tough.
However, in comparison, the areas below the neck were not that tough.
Even its feet were not that sturdy.
He aimed at the Greater Boar's right foot.
"
Flash.
The Greater Boar's right foot was sliced off.
"Oooh~!"
He had lived for a couple of months since reincarnating in 『Phi』.
The Water Jet that he arbitrarily decided to be the 『true attack magic for water attribute』 when he first reincarnated had finally displayed its true value.
"If I target a tree …"
Juuon
He succeeded in cutting through, but not in an instant.
Until now, when fired at a tree, he could only carve or scrape it but cutting through was impossible, or so he imagined but … it seemed that he had overcome a wall.
In the first place, a Water Jet was ordinary water fired out at an extremely high pressure and speed.
Therefore, the water shot out was of course physically ordinary water.
Such water jets had become a major method for processing various materials on Earth.
First, heat would not be generated because it was water.
In other words, it would not cause the material to change due to heat. For example, the phenomenon where plastic and such would melt and drip would not occur.
Because of that, poisonous gas would not be generated either.
It was possible to process soft and thin materials without causing them to crack too.
It could also process composite materials and laminated materials.
In Ryo's company, they had a 5-axis controlled water jet machine.
Because of that, Ryo had some knowledge about it … of course, he had never used it before.
An employee would not get permission to use it …
In that regard, even the vice president had no choice but to obey the judgment of the worksite.
That Ryo, who could not use a water jet on Earth, was using a magically produced Water Jet freely.
Furthermore, he finally started to see visible results.
Ryo was more excited than that time he could make the Icicle Lance fly on its own.
But at the same time, he was calm.
Ryo knew. There was another dimension to a Water Jet.
He had to experiment.
He was able to cut through a Greater Boar's foot.
He could slice through tree trunk too.
Then, what about stone?
Typically the water jet is recognized as capable of cutting through anything.
That was correct.
That included rocks and stones.
He had seen animation in the past where it was used to cut out gravestones from granite which is considered tough among stones.
Ryo shot it toward the stone enshrined in the courtyard.
"
It more or less carved it a little at a time.
If he continued for an hour, he might be able to cut through it.
However, that was a far cry from the 『Cutting』 image of a water jet.
Yes, 『This Water Jet』 could not cut rock.
『This Water Jet』 could cut soft items but could not cut tough or solid materials.
It was not suitable for cutting stone, metal, concrete, or glass.
But Ryo was not disappointed. Since this was within expectations.
『This Water Jet』 would be used to cut soft materials. It could be used on animals, monsters, wood, and food.
And 『Another Kind of Water Jet』 existed and that could be used to cut tougher materials.
What was 『Another Kind of Water Jet』?
It was a 『Water Jet using not just water』.
Typically it was called an 『Abrasive Jet』.
On Earth, when used to cut tougher materials, they were not cut with just water.
Tiny 『abrasive agents』 were mixed from the water outlet and sprayed at the object with water.
Water, which approached the speed of Mach 3, and the abrasive agent would cut the object by 『shaving』.
And the material used for the abrasive agent was always the same.
『Garnet powder』.
Garnet … right, that gem called garnet.
Although it was categorized as a gem, since the amount used was extremely small, the cost was not that high.
In the first place, powder form garnet was commonly excavated and was extremely cheap.
Furthermore, garnet used as abrasive agent could be reused multiple times.
The reason why garnet was used as an abrasive agent was mostly due to its 『hardness』.
Of course, Sapphire, Ruby, and naturally Diamond were harder but … using those would be unprofitable.
In addition, the shape of the crystal was also a reason.
Garnet was a rhombic dodecahedron or octahedron.
In short, it was very close to the shape of a sphere.
The principle was that the closer the grain you use to hit a target was to a sphere, the easier it was to shave off the area as targeted.
Now then, while it was established that the abrasive agent used was garnet on Earth, he did not have it available on 『Phi』.
He could not obtain garnet or such … at least, Ryo could not think of a method to obtain them.
In that case, he needed another abrasive agent other than garnet.
That was when Ryo thought of it.
Ice.
Yes, he could use tiny ice as an abrasive agent.
Ice was definitely not tough enough to be used as an abrasive agent.
That was, if it was regular ice.
But Ryo realized that ice made from Water Attribute Magic had the characteristic of becoming harder the more magical power put into it.
Of course, he did not have the leeway to do so in battle so they always end up shattering …
The problem was needing considerably small ice crystals.
Ryo had seen the Water Jet or Abrasive Jet used by the company.
The abrasive agent garnet was pretty much small enough to be called a powder.
He had to create a large amount of ice of that size and not let them melt in water.
First, he created tiny ice crystals.
He took two water H2O molecules and bound them with hydrogen bond.
The result was … too small. In fact, it was completely impossible to see.
For now, he tried connecting 30 molecules.
He felt as though he could somewhat see it … no, that was his imagination. It was still not enough.
Such trial and error continued until he went to bed.
Even when he was starting the fire for dinner.
Even when he was eating dinner.
Even when he was in the bath.
He connected a couple of water molecules to try to reach an optimal size…
The discovery of the optimal solution to that question continued.
But before he could find the optimal solution, Ryo's magical power was about to be depleted.
"Good night."
-x-X-x-
Devil changed to Akuma. Chapter 33 showed that they are different, although the translation of Akuma = Devil.
-x-X-x-
The next day.
Ryo was searching for the optimal solution during his morning training run.
"I thought about it yesterday and this magic control at the molecular level uses a tremendous amount of magical power."
As with most matters, detailed work is strenuous.
It seemed that the detailed operation of magical power was not easy too.
After running for more than five hours, the morning training was finally over.
However, he still could not find the optimal solution for the size of the micro ice crystals to be used as the abrasive.
At the moment he could only achieve between 60,000 and 160,000 molecules.
But Ryo's magical power was reduced to the point of on the verge of exhaustion just from the magical power operation in one morning.
It was not expressed numerically but he somehow got the feeling that he was about to collapse …
"Let's take a break from this magical power operation in the afternoon. All right, it shall be practice swings and readings."
Ryo, who now would feel sick if he didn't move his body, … was pretty much a muscle-brain.
He slowly, one swing at a time, devoted his entire body to the motion.
It was basically a slow life so … he didn't have to rush.
The 『Monster's Encyclopedia Beginner's Edition』 that Michael (pseudonym) prepared in the house covered quite a number of monsters.
Naturally, as a 『Beginner's Edition』, there were bound to be intermediate and advanced monsters but Ryo had not encountered any until now.
However, in the last two pages of that 『Monster's Encyclopedia Beginner's Edition』, there was a page called 『Unique Compilation』 and there were two monsters listed there.
The first was 『Dragon』.
The other was 『Akuma』.
The handwriting of these two types of Unique Compilation was different from that of the 『Beginner's Edition』. Perhaps Michael (pseudonym) added them.
Dragon: One of the pinnacles of life on Phi
Found in: The entire world
Lifespan: Thousands to hundreds of thousands of years
Strength: Entire spectrum from weak to strong (The strong ones can erase a city by itself before breakfast)
Remarks: Escape if encountered. Although there is a high chance that you will not be able to escape
(Yup, it basically tells me that it is unbelievably strong. Encountering one is practically the end. The monsters in 『Beginner's Edition』has explanations on their signature moves and such but nothing was written for the dragon. It's probably because the reader is not at that level.)
Akuma: Not … fallen angels. Origins are unknown.
Found in: The entire world
Lifespan: Unknown
Strength: Entire spectrum from weak to strong (The strong ones can erase a city by itself before breakfast)
Remarks: Pray that you do not encounter one
(Michael (pseudonym) probably wrote this … he said that he worked to 『manage』 this world … but despite that, the origins are unknown? And the final remarks are 'Pray that you do not encounter one' … what?)
"I wonder if people who are aiming to be the strongest in the world would want to fight against such beings. It seems impossible. Yup, it's definitely impossible for me. The trope for another world reincarnation is to aim to be the strongest in the world but that is merely a trope, let's leave it behind, it has nothing to do with me. My aim is for a slow life!"
After a night's sleep, Ryo's magical power was restored.
Today was the day to tackle the problem of the abrasive jet.
Yes, he swore firmly to his heart.
An hour after swearing …
"The optimal solution is 90,000 to 100,000!"
He finally solved it.
"Fufufu, I won."
Yes, Ryo won.
All that was left was to generate a large number of ice crystals formed from a combination of these 90,000 water molecules.
Normally even that was difficult enough.
But for Ryo, although he was unaware of it, his manipulation of molecules had greatly improved his mastery of magic control.
In just 10 seconds, he produced a heap of ice abrasives on his left hand.
He made an image in his head.
He imagined cutting rocks while mixing the abrasive on his left hand into the Water Jet little by little.
"
When Ryo chanted, a thin line of water stretched out from his right hand and met a one-meter-wide rock in front of him and passed through to the other side with almost no resistance. He brandished his arm to the side.
Karan
The rock was cut.
"Success!"
Finally, Ryo acquired a water sword that could cut through rocks.
On Earth, ice abrasives did not have this cutting power.
The reasoning for that was because 『Ice is fragile』.
Garnet was excellent as an abrasive because of its 『Hardness』.
In the past, there was a Japanese researcher who tried utilizing garnet, ice, or walnut shells as abrasive … around the time when abrasive jets just started being commercialized.
The conclusion was that the other materials apart from garnet were unsuitable for practical use.
Since then, several experiments and papers have been published and much verification have been conducted such as the size of the abrasive material, the phenomenon occurring at the contact point, the optimal hardness of the various parts and such, and the machines were still evolving day-by-day. These were the Water Jet and Abrasive Jet.
However, Ryo's 'Magically hardened ice' that Earth researchers could never achieve, was proven to be a sufficiently practical material as an abrasive.
It could be said to exist purely due to the presence of magic on 『Phi』.
Magic creates possibilities to do things that were not possible on Earth.
On Earth, matters that are theoretically possible but still impossible to realize could be made possible using magic … Ryo had shown that possibility.
Of course, Ryo himself was completely unaware of it.
-x-X-x-
Ryo had completely mastered Water Jet and Abrasive Jet.
Hunting with magic could be said to have become considerably easier.
When that happened, an insatiable ambition for something that has not yet been conquered was born.
Yes, it was the sea!
A sea was 500 meters to the southwest of Ryo's home.
Michael (pseudonym) told him.
Once he was accustomed to Water Attribute Magic, he could harvest salt from seawater.
Although his salt stockpile was used quite liberally for the fish sauce barrel, he still had enough to easily last him for another half a year.
However, it was necessary to verify how much salt could be harvested from the sea.
Furthermore, there was also seafood.
He could certainly eat fish by catching freshwater fish from the river.
Although they were piranha-like fishes.
However, saltwater fishes from the sea had their distinct tastiness too.
Moreover, there were shellfishes, sea urchins, squids, octopuses, and such … well, he'll have to dive to get them.
But that was okay, he grew up in the country so he was good at swimming!
To the southwest, after 400 meters from the barrier, a white sandy beach stretched across his sight.
It was a scene exactly like Phuket Island or Bali Island!
Of course, Ryo had never been to those places … he had only seen images of them.
Images are important!
He forgot the time for a while and just stared but he suddenly pulled himself back.
"Salt, I have to try harvesting it."
First, he created a one-meter diameter ice bucket and an ice pail to scoop up seawater.
Scoop up seawater with the ice pail and pour it into the ice bucket.
Pour.
Pour.
Pour.
After the bucket was mostly filled, he imagined removing the water from the ice bucket.
"
The water was removed, leaving white grains and slightly colored grains.
He licked the white grains.
"Yup, it's salty. This is salt."
Success!
"And these with the color … oh, this is sand."
Because he gathered seawater from near the sandy beach, the sand floating in the seawater was poured into the bucket.
"So I can acquire just salt if I gathered water from somewhere further away from the beach."
Since it was an experiment, for the time being, he dumped the ice bucket and the salt in it into the sea.
He aimed for the rocky area that could be seen to the north.
"It would be great if I can get my hands on some seafood."
When he reached a rocky spot, he took off everything he was wearing and jumped into the sea without hesitation.
A mesmerizing world just as he had imagined came into view.
The water was crystal clear and he could see the bottom of the sea.
There were colorful fish, coral, and other marine life that Ryo didn't recognize.
And then, Ryo found one. A delicious-looking fish!
He returned to the surface of the sea to take a breath before kicking the surface once more and headed toward the bottom of the sea.
In his right hand was his trusty knife-tipped bamboo spear.
The white fish was about 50cm in length and looked like a sea bream.
He pierced it with one thrust using his knife-tipped bamboo spear like a harpoon.
It was a brilliant stab.
However, in that instant … the world changed.
At the very least, that was how it felt to Ryo.
The sea that was heaven to him up until that point had transformed into hell in an instant.
Ryo was floating. And he had forgotten.
That this was not Earth. This was 『Phi』.
Yes, it was a sea inhabited by monsters.
The instant Ryo killed that sea bream-like fish in the sea, he had become the sea's enemy.
The colorful fishes fled and Ryo was forced to realize that the world had changed.
(This is bad. I should run.)
But it was too late.
When Ryo turned around, there was a school of fish called a Bait Ball.
The bait ball formed when sardines swarm in a spherical shape to counter tuna and other predators.
Sardines may still appear cute but the Bait Ball forming in front of Ryo appeared to be formed by monsters.
Yes, 『appeared to be』.
Ryo did not recognize the monster.
There was not a single sea monster recorded in the 『Monster Encyclopedia Beginner's Edition』.
There was just one line.
Please refer to the 『Monster Encyclopedia Sea-Dweller Edition』 for monsters that live in the sea.
It affirmed that there were monsters in the sea and that there were quite many types such that a separate book was made.
At this point, Ryo's chances of winning were much lower.
『If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.』
Just like the phrase from Sun Tzu, Ryo always had information on the enemies he battled so far.
Because he prepared using the Monster Encyclopedia Beginner's Edition』.
Even when he faced that Assassin Hawk, he was able to fight because he had information.
But now, he had no information on his enemy at all.
『If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.』
His chances of winning had dropped to 50% instantly …
There was also such a phrase in the world of war.
『Opportunities of time vouchsafed by Heaven are not equal to advantages of situation afforded by the Earth, and advantages of situation afforded by the Earth are not equal to the union arising from the accord of Men.』
Putting aside the opportunities of time vouchsafed by Heaven.
The opponent had a geographical advantage.
The sea was the home ground of sea monsters.
Ryo, who couldn't even breathe, was nothing more than a foreigner.
Harmony of men. That splendid formation of a Bait Ball … showed that their communication was perfect.
There seemed to be no chance of winning.
(The smartest thing to do in a tight situation is to retreat.)
However, that was when Ryo noticed something strange.
(I can't kick the water … I can't even push the water with my hands.)
His body was not sinking.
But he could not grab the water and was unable to move.
Ryo was a Water Attribute Magician.
Even if he was a foreigner in the sea, he couldn't understand the situation where he could not even grasp water.
The enemy did not wait idly as Ryo fell half into panic.
Monsters charged out from the Bait Ball like a missile or torpedo and flew toward Ryo.
(
It was hard to comprehend forming an Ice Wall in the sea but for the time being, as he couldn't move to dodge, he had no choice but to defend.
However, after a couple of the monster torpedoes deflected off the Ice Wall, he lost control of the Ice Wall.
It was stripped off in front of Ryo and disappeared.
(My control of the Ice Wall was stolen?)
The monster torpedoes continued without interruption.
Ryo continuously created Ice Walls to defend against that but they were peeled off from in front of Ryo and disappeared into the sea within a second of formation.
(Adding to the phenomenon where I can't grab the water, I see. They have taken control of the water around me.)
Ryo was a Water Attribute Magician.
And he had trained his magic control to quite an extent.
Molecular control had significantly improved Ryo's magic control skill.
However, this time the opponent was a bad match.
Monsters in the sea … at the genetic level, they had the technique to use Water Attribute Magic.
They had used magic control of Water Attribute Magic as part of their lives for generations.
Even though he trained at an unrivaled level, Ryo, a newcomer who just became a Water Attribute Magician just a few months ago, could not match up to them.
Moreover, the enemy numbered in the thousands.
Since they formed a Bait Ball, he could not see their actual numbers but it was probably at least a thousand.
The formation of Ice Walls barely defended against the monster torpedoes.
Although they were dispelled almost immediately after formation, he formed them just before the torpedoes collided so the Ice Walls that had served their purpose could be dispelled.
Defense was not an issue but the problem was oxygen.
Because of his daily training, he could last for about four minutes without breathing.
However, in this situation, it was 『only four minutes』.
How should he overcome it?
(For the time being, the water around my limbs, I wonder if I can put them under my control.)
When he tried to use magical power to touch the seawater around him, he felt a repelling force.
It was a similar sensation as when he previously tried to thaw the meat frozen in the storage by Michael (pseudonym).
However, the force was much stronger this time.
At the very least, for now, it seemed unlikely that Ryo would be able to snatch the control back from the opponent.
As expected of monsters living in the sea. Or perhaps it was due to the numbers?
At any rate, there was no chance of winning by scrambling for magic control.
He specifically explored the seawater under the control of the enemy.
(It's limited to around my hands and feet huh? And it is quite thin. Well, even if it is thin, I can't grasp it so isn't it a fairly efficient method? It's a shot in the dark but I have no choice but to try! The principle should be the same as Water Jet so it should work!)
He imagined it in his head while continuing to generate Ice Walls almost unconsciously.
The image of firing out Water Jet from the soles of both feet.
However, this time, instead of the usual thin stream, it would be a thick gush.
It was similar to when his Water Jet could not take shape in the beginning and was about the size of water coming out of a carwash hose, and he attached 32 to each leg.
The momentum would be on par with the Water Jet.
"
Immediately after chanting, Ryo's body rose at once due to the repulsive force of the Water Jet that was ejected toward the seabed.
He reached the surface of the sea in an instant.
And he burst out of the surface with that momentum.
But that was not the end.
He took a breath and once again plunged his head into the sea.
He was aiming for a surprise attack on the Bait Ball from directly above it.
Sure enough, the Bait Ball was confused due to Ryo's sudden rise and disappearance.
No matter how perfect the group of monsters can communicate, they could not deal with situations that they had never experienced before.
Ryo plunged directly from above while they were in that state.
And then, he thrust his knife-tipped bamboo spear many times.
And added in some side-sweeping motions.
He expected some resistance when swinging the spear in the sea but it was not that much.
It damaged quite a number of the monsters.
It seemed that the monsters were able to handle powerful magic control but their physical endurance was the same as an ordinary fish.
With a single sweep of a bamboo spear, they fell out.
It took less than a minute for the Bait Ball to crack and the monsters that formed it to flee.
(Phew, I somehow did it.)
Ryo let his guard down.
The enemy was not just one group.
The entire sea was Ryo's enemy.
The best option would have been to escape to land the first time he reached the surface.
That said, it was too late.
From the shadow of the rock next to him, a shrimp about a meter-long appeared.
(Only the claw on its right arm is unusually large … what's that? Bubbles?)
A moment later, Ryo lost consciousness.
-x-X-x-
Ryo woke up.
He was still alive.
He had lost consciousness for just a few seconds, probably only one or two seconds.
That could be deduced because the bamboo spear that he released upon fainting was still right next to him.
Why was he alive?
Although he didn't know the answer to that, it wasn't the moment to think about it.
The shrimp that was in the shadow of the rock was now confronting a crab.
Ryo was no longer on its mind.
Ryo reached out to grab the bamboo spear and rose to the surface instantly by using the Water Jet propulsion he used to escape from the Bait Ball.
He flew straight out of the sea surface and crash-landed on land.
He hurriedly put on his sandals, picked up his waistcloth, and ran toward his house as quickly as he could.
Only after he entered the barrier did he take a breather.
"This time I survived …"
"That said … I'm so weak … a Water Attribute Magician's control of water was taken away from him."
Ryo was depressed.
In the first place, he completely did not imagine that the product of an opponent's magic could be hijacked.
"I'm guessing that only those made from the same attribute of magic can be hijacked but … if it can be done against other attributes, that would be a threat …"
Leaving aside the thought of hijacking products of other attributes, it turned out that taking the product of another being's magic and making it your own was a skill that must be acquired.
Otherwise, just like this time, his magic products would be snatched away at will … and his ice walls would be dispelled one after another.
Of course, the goal was not to be under the control of the other party but … honestly, he had no idea how to prevent his control from getting taken away.
Ryo called it 『Magic Control』 for convenience but he honestly still did not understand the fundamentals of 『Magic Control』.
His first experience was when he tried to thaw the frozen meat produced by Michael (pseudonym) and his magic was repelled.
Adding to that was today's battle in the sea with the Bait Ball.
The seawater near his hands and feet seemed to had been placed under the monster's control.
That was the second example.
Both repulsions occurred when Ryo tried to apply a spell.
And that 『repulsion』 was conveyed to Ryo's mind.
How did he thaw the meat frozen by Michael (pseudonym)?
"I felt for the concentration of magical power and disconnected the molecules. Then moved on to the bond next to it. And then the next one. And the next one. The molecules that were unbonded turned from ice into water."
He didn't actually do anything special but perhaps with more magical power than usual as he unraveled the spell Michael (pseudonym) cast one molecule at a time …
In the case of Michael's (pseudonym) frozen meat, he had the conviction that it could be thawed because Michael (pseudonym) prepared it so he believed he could do so and was able to concentrate on doing so.
Fundamentally the circumstances in the underwater sea battle were different.
First of all, there was no way to tell if it could be dispelled even if he concentrated on it.
While having no conviction that he could dispel it, he would have to work on it at a molecular level, one by one … and all while he was in battle.
That was impossible for him at the moment.
Although it was impossible for him at the moment … the fact that there were monsters that could control their opponent's magic meant that he must acquire the ability to counter that.
It was directly linked to his survival.
How could he learn it?
He felt that perhaps the right way of doing it would be to improve his skills in affecting the bonds and vibrations at the molecular level.
Was there no other way …?
Right, there was an orthodox training when it came to 『Magic Control』 or 『Magical Power Control』.
In the case of Earth Magic, it would be something along the lines of making figurines.
"Geh, that would be for Earth Magic … why did I choose Water Magic …"
The grass was always greener on the other side.
"All right, I will create Tokyo Tower with ice."
He had seen it in some anime.
The slime was doing it!
"The other thing to sort out is … that shrimp …"
Ryo felt like he had seen it somewhere but … he couldn't remember.
"No idea. I'll put it on hold."
Moving forward was important.
"Next matter would be why didn't I die …? Shrimp-san was satisfied with just knocking me out? No no, that would be an overly convenient interpretation."
In the first place, during that time, Ryo sensed that the entire sea was his enemy.
And he felt that his sensation was not mistaken.
The shrimp attacked Ryo immediately after the Bait Ball so the assumption that 『Ryo was the enemy of all sea life』 was the most fitting.
Of course, Ryo was reaping what he sow for killing the sea bream-like fish in the sea without thinking.
Ryo, who was the enemy of the entire sea, fainted from the shrimp's bubbles …?
That meant that Ryo's presence or atmosphere, including his consciousness itself, disappeared.
Perhaps, at that instant, he became an existence that was『incapacitated and no longer an enemy』. In that case, it was certainly possible that the situation became,『Ryo was not an enemy of the entire sea』, and the sea returned to normal, where the shrimp and crab battled for survival.
"Yeah~ I don't know for sure but I guess that might be the case. Nevertheless, I can only say that I was really lucky … there wouldn't be a second chance."
There were so many things that he had to train.
He might had become a little conceited from the fact that he defeated two Greater Boars and was able to use Water Jet at a practical level.
The sea monsters taught him that he was still had a long way to go.
Ryo thought about it.
There was no use feeling depressed forever!
From the next day, he ran while practicing magic control.
Well, that aspect was not much different from before.
While running, he would either model a palm-sized Tokyo Tower with ice or construct a huge five-story pagoda with ice in the center of his running circle.
Apart from that, Ryo also did some experimenting when hunting.
His targets were the Lesser Rabbits that would become his delicious meal after that.
In the case of humans, about 60% of their bodies were made of water.
That should be the same for monsters too.
Although there may be differences depending on the type of monsters, he could imagine that they had about 50% to 70% water content.
If so, Ryo wondered if he could directly manipulate the 『Moisture』 within the monster's body.
He imagined it in his mind.
Freezing the moisture within the body of the Lesser Rabbit leaping at him, specifically the blood that was pumping in its body.
"
...
It was repelled!
Just like when he tried to thaw the meat frozen by Michael (pseudonym)
And similarly, Ryo received feedback in his mind that it was 'repelled'.
"This can be used for training."
From then, whenever he hunted rabbits and boars, he made sure to practice freezing their blood before dealing the final strike.
But he did not succeed in freezing their blood even once.
Blood Freeze was unsuccessful even on the blood that flowed out from their bodies.
However, once the monsters died, the freezing could succeed.
In that case, it becomes possible to freeze the entire body of the monsters.
As an extension of the experiment, how about freezing a living monster?
Or to be more precise, was it possible to freeze the water molecules in the air around the monster?
Starting from the conclusion, Ryo couldn't do it.
It was still possible to freeze the space that was 10cm away from the monster but if he tried to freeze the water molecules in the space nearer than that, it would be 'repelled'.
In other words, the air around the monster may be 『under the control』 of the monster.
Was that what they call personal space …?
In the past, he succeeded in forming dozens of Water Jets at a short distance to the Greater Boar and skewering it but it seemed that he succeeded because they were launched 30cm away from the Greater Boar.
The more he tried, the clearer magic became. And now there was magic control.
"There's still so much that I must know."
Ryo vowed in his heart.
-x-X-x-
Probably about a year passed since the time Ryo lost consciousness in the sea.
Till today, he has not had success with 『Blood Freeze』.
That said, it would be impossible to succeed in just a year or so …
Nevertheless, he did not skip any of his daily magic control training.
Incidentally, he could now thaw the frozen meat prepared by Michael (pseudonym) in an instant.
And that Ryo, for the past few months, has been visiting a certain location every night.
It was the shores of a lake in the central part of the large wetlands, beyond the Northern Forest.
When the moon reaches the highest point in the night sky, it would appear.
A headless horse ridden by a headless knight, an existence called a Dullahan.
That Dullahan was not holding onto his head with his right hand.
Why was there a headless knight in the Rondo Forest?
Perhaps there was a prospering nation in the past where Rondo Forest currently stood.
That said, he had not seen any signs of past human life and he had not found any man-made objects.
In Earth's mythology, Dullahans are Ireland fairies and are not a knight's apparition ….
With that in mind, Ryo casually changed his assumption from there were humans here in the past to it might be a fairy or something that traveled into Rondo Forest.
To Ryo, the value of that Dullahan's existence was to be his sword mentor.
Of course, since it was missing its head, it couldn't speak.
However, when Ryo holds up his sword … he calls it a sword but it is just a carved out wooden sword coated with ice on the surface to improve its durability … the Dullahan would hold up its sword too.
Somewhat along with the feeling of 'Again? … this troublesome fellow'.
Of course, it didn't have a head so this was entirely imagined by Ryo.
And so the sword fight began.
In the first place, the Dullahan was not recorded in the 『Monster Encyclopedia Beginner's Edition』.
In other words, it was either 'Not a monster' or 'Not at beginner level'.
Looking at it from the standpoint of whether he could defeat it, the current Ryo was probably still incapable of that.
It didn't use magic. So Ryo didn't use magic either. He only wore 『Ice Armor』 that protected his body.
But it was considerably strong in terms of just sword technique.
Furthermore, he had to look up at it.
"I'll act as your training partner."
He felt it convey that intent … naturally, it didn't have a head so it was all in his imagination.
The Dullahan would turn away once it dealt three successful attacks that would cause fatal damage to Ryo.
"Come again whenever you wish."
It seemed to convey something along that line.
Conversely, Ryo didn't know what would happen if he dealt three fatal blows to it.
In the first place, he had never even dealt damage to it even once …
Recently, their battle duration had increased considerably.
In the beginning, it was an instantaneous kill but nowadays, the battle would continue for about an hour.
Of course, he still had a lot of discontents.
In the first place, there was no other way to improve interpersonal battle, whether it is martial arts, wushu, or even in games, than to have repeated interpersonal combat over and over until your body personally gathers the experience, knowledge, and movements.
In that sense, that was an extremely valuable experience for Ryo who always performed practice swings on his own … but his opponent was a Dullahan.
To some extent, 『Breathing』 was crucial in understanding interpersonal combat.
Although it is important to adjust one's breathing, it is also important to read the opponent's breathing.
But the Dullahan doesn't breathe … in fact, it doesn't have anything above its neck!
As such, Ryo could not accumulate experience in 『Reading your opponent's breathing』.
In addition, there is also something called footwork, or footsteps.
Footwork is important in any battle.
In interpersonal combat, one could obtain important information with footwork and use it to predict the opponent's movements.
That is the reason why kendo and kenjitsu practitioners wear hakama.
By wearing a hakama, the opponent will not see your footsteps and will not be able to gain an advantage from it.
The Dullahan doesn't wear a hakama so Ryo wanted to learn that too … but due to the overwhelming difference in combat ability, the Dullahan hardly moved from its spot …
It looked as though a kendo master parrying children without moving at all.
That's right, Ryo was still being treated as a child.
"In that case, I have to become stronger and make it move!"
Of course, there were benefits too.
No matter what kind of martial arts or wushu you practice, by practicing on your own, the content will inevitably be biased toward attacks.
But that was not ideal.
Especially in 『Phi』 where he was constantly in a life-threatening situation, neglecting his defense would be foolish.
In that sense, it was quite practical to parry or avoid the Dullahan's attack before retaliating.
However, Ryo still didn't understand much.
But tonight, Ryo was different from usual.
His body movements were sharper than usual and he was able to accurately anticipate the Dullahan's attacks.
Perhaps because of that, he parried the Dullahan's continuous attacks, was able to evade the final downward diagonal slash with a half step, and followed up with a slash at the Dullahan's right arm.
Well, if the opponent was a human or an ordinary monster, the arm would have been sliced off but the Dullahan's arm did not fly off.
At the same time, the Dullahan's sword that was headed toward the ground from the downward diagonal slash transitioned into an upward diagonal slash and struck Ryo's torso.
Tonight, Ryo once again fell after the third fatal blow.
There was almost no damage to his body due to the ice armor but he fell because of the mental damage.
Normally the Dullahan would sheath its sword then and disappear after kicking the headless horse but today was different.
It approached Ryo who had fallen and took out a knife with a distorted shape.
The blade was about 10 cm long, the protrusion between the blade and handle called the hilt was also about 10 cm in total length but the handle was long … longer than 20 cm.
Ryo noticed.
The length of the handle was the same as the wooden sword he was holding, about 24 cm long.
Therefore, when viewed from the side, the knife looked like a cross.
Ryo had never heard of such a knife.
The Dullahan placed its left hand on the knife handle and when it placed its right hand on the base of the blade, it moved its right hand beyond the tip of the blade as though there was an invisible blade.
Then, a blade of water formed along with the movement of its hand.
"A water blade …"
And when the Dullahan put in magical power, it froze and became an ice sword.
"So that explains the handle length."
The Dullahan dispelled the ice blade and handed it to Ryo.
"You're asking me to use this?"
When Ryo accepted it, the Dullahan kicked its headless horse as usual and disappeared.
"That was such a fantasy setting …"
Even on his way home, Ryo repeatedly formed the ice blade on the sword.
Magic could flow through that sword without any stress to an astonishing level.
As though it was made for Ryo.
It could be said to be a sword made specifically for Water Attribute Magicians.