Episode 46 – Fun and Games (1)

Fun and Games (1)

1:20 PM.

The College Board course was still in progress, but there was an unusual sense of leisure flowing through Clemen Hall. It was lunchtime, so many seniors were ordering food like chicken and pizza, and there were many empty seats where people had gone out to eat.

“Ah, I really can’t stand it. I really want to give that bastard Shion a piece of my mind.”

In the midst of this peace, Asher was still grumbling with a red face.

“What’s he so confident about? …No, but what’s he been eating since a while ago?”

There were a lot of hamburgers on Shion’s desk. Seven Burgers, Spicy Bacon Burgers, Spicy Chicken Burgers, and so on.

“Hey, isn’t that the same burger we have?”

Asher didn’t know that Layla had ordered it for him because he had gone for a walk with Kain when they were choosing the menu.

“Oh, yeah? Same burger. What a coincidence~”

Layla also played dumb. It was obvious that he would complain if she said she bought it for him.

“I’m not eating it. I should throw it away.”

Asher was about to throw the burger in the trash can, but quickly retrieved it. It was because of Elise’s glare.

“……Could you not do the foolish act of lowering the quality of the meal?”

Elise had been savoring her burger for a while now. She had ordered a Bulgogi Burger large set and was eating it almost melting in her mouth, taking five minutes per bite.

It was a familiar sight for Asher and Kain. She always made a fuss on the days she ate regular meals.

“Ah~ I’m going crazy, really.”

Asher was trembling on his own.

“Can you just stay still?”

Elise seemed to be bothered even by that.

Asher, who forced a smile, went outside.

“Ah, that skinny pig bastard.”

He didn’t forget to curse at Shion as he left.

______________________________________________________________________

I finished all the burgers in 30 minutes. I stuffed in 18 kinds of burgers and a whole chicken.

It was just the right meal.

“Hoo.”

Now my stomach is full, and my magic power is more than half filled.

I should try again.

I took off my gray socks and put them on the desk. I can’t take off my underwear right now, so I’m going to try it on my socks and submit it.

“……”

Holding the socks, I brought up the image of the Magic Formula 「Heater」. I already understood the circuit diagram intuitively, so I implemented it and blew it in.

“Hup!”

The Magic Formula stuck to the socks.

Now, it’s time for the enchantment.

I snapped the mana stone. Because there are two socks. I put half of the mana stone on the sock. In that state, I implemented the enchantment.

Vooooom—

The mana stone naturally vibrated and melted. It had seeped into the enchantment as a medium.

“……Is it over?”

There’s no special external effect. Maybe because it’s a low-level enchant.

I let a little magic flow into the socks. When I touched it, it warmed up like a heater.

“It’s done.”

Low-level enchanted item, if I had to name it, [Heated Socks] completed.

I repeated the same process on the other sock.

It wasn’t particularly difficult, but I almost ran out of magic.

Before I knew it, it was 5 PM.

“Those who have completed can submit and leave.”

Just then, Shelton spoke.

Of course, most of the seniors are still pouring their heart and soul into it. They seem to be continually reviewing, just in case, but I don’t need to do that.

Understanding through intuition. I’ve completed the enchantment in the way of a genius.

I approached Shelton with a pair of socks in my hand.

“Are you done?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. You’ve been dozing off the whole time. I guess you must have done it.”

Shelton’s voice was strangely lethargic, but I decided not to hold any prejudices.

The current Shelton might not be the same money-crazed bastard as before.

Yes, I think it’s worth giving him a chance.

“What enchantment did you choose?”

“A heater.”

At that, Shelton flicked through his tablet PC, searching my face.

“Shion Ascal, grade D-… It seems too difficult for your grade?”

Suddenly attacking with grades. That’s low.

“So, what’s the enchanted item?”

“These socks.”

I held out a pair of socks. A crease formed between Shelton’s eyebrows. It looked like a coin slot.

“Socks… These look like worn socks?”

“Yes. They were worn.”

This time, his expression crumpled as if he was looking at a pile of garbage.

“They’re quite dirty. Couldn’t you have bought new socks? You were allowed to go out.”

A snicker came from somewhere. There was no need to identify the culprit.

There were too many who laughed.

“I suppose. I should have bought some.”

“Sigh… Yes. Shion Ascal. I’ve received a pair of socks. The item you enchanted today will be evaluated directly at the university association’s workshop, and the grade will be determined before it’s returned to you. You can go now.”

He said that and pointed to the door. I stepped out into the hall, but I had no intention of going home.

I plan to wait a bit.

That bastard Shelton, I feel like he’s going to pull something.

______________________________________________________________________

6:10 PM.

The college board assignment: Magic Capacity Evaluation I was completely over. The seniors had all packed up and left, and the person in charge, Shelton, was ‘pretending’ to tidy up the items in the empty Clemen Hall.

“….”

He silently looked at his watch.

In 10 minutes, the university association’s supervisor would arrive, but he had something to do before that.

He glanced around. The bookshelves lined up near the podium were sturdy.

These long objects blocked the CCTV at the front of Clemen Hall, and the CCTV at the back of the hall wouldn’t capture him if he turned his back.

Therefore…

Pretending to put the enchanted item—a bucket, worked on by Gerkhen Kal Doon, into a box, Shelton turned his back and took out a syringe.

It wasn’t an ordinary syringe. It was a ‘disposable magic extractor’ that cost about 20,000 Ren each.

That was also the reason why he specifically chose Endex.

“I wonder how today’s assignment went….”

Muttering unnecessarily, he stuck the syringe into the enchantment formula of the bucket. As he sucked it up, the magic was extracted in liquid form.

The magic of the mage remains in the newly completed enchantment for about 2-3 hours, and this Artifact is targeted at that.

Of course, doing this would destroy the original structure of the enchantment, but he was an expert among experts. He could rebuild a lower enchantment in three minutes.

“….”

Shelton transferred the magic of Gerkhen Kal Doon from the syringe into a special vial, quickly reconstructed the bucket enchantment, and packed it into a box.

He then extracted from Elise’s rabbit doll and Soliette’s wooden sword in the same way.

What does he gain from this?

‘Information’.

Soliette, Gerkhen Kal Doon, Elise.

Information about the magic of the trio, evaluated as Generation Talents.

If he puts the magic extracted today into the ultra-high-performance analyzer of the magic tower and runs it, he can roughly sift through the unique attributes, potential, and even the list of possible 「Spectrum」 to bloom.

If he offers it to a scouting company, they would pay at least 400,000 Ren per person.

For three people, that’s a total of 1.2 million Ren.

It’s a business overflowing with profit, worth taking the risk.

“Heheheh….”

Shelton carefully placed the three vials containing their magic into his bosom.

He carefully turned around to avoid being caught on CCTV, opened the door, and stepped outside—

“Whoa!”

A sudden shock hit his shoulder.

His body floated up as if a car had hit him, and he tumbled over half a dozen times as he fell in the corridor.

“Ugh….”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

An unexpected indoor collision.

Someone was babbling an apology, but Shelton, who had fallen, first checked the condition of the vials in his bosom.

They were broken.

The vials, each worth 400,000 Ren, were all shattered.

The magic that had been in a liquid state inside naturally evaporated in an instant.

“Damn it-!”

Shelton, his hair standing on end, looked up at the perpetrator.

“I’m sorry. Was it something important, by any chance?”

A senior from Endex, with red eyes and golden hair.

He gritted his teeth as he glared at the guy.

“Was it important? Of course!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll pick it up for you.”

The guy picked up the glass shards scattered on the floor. Shelton put his hand on the back of his neck. He seemed to understand why people grab their necks first when they have a car accident.

The pain was one thing, but thinking about the loss made his blood pressure rise.

“……You. Do you know how much you’ve just broken? More than your body’s worth-”

“Oh, is there such an expensive item? What kind of item is it?”

“……”

Shelton was at a loss for words.

“Huh? What kind of item is it?”

The guy asked again, but he couldn’t explain.

No, he couldn’t explain.

Because if he gets caught, he’ll go to prison.

“……Never mind. It wasn’t that expensive.”

“Oh really? Even if it’s not expensive, I should compensate-”

The guy rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out. It was three pieces of paper.

“I only have 30 Ren right now, but this is……”

He said, pursing his lips. Shelton interpreted it as an apologetic expression, but in fact, he was holding back laughter.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“No, but still-”

“Give it to me.”

“Huh?”

Before he could say anything, Shelton snatched the 30 Ren.

“I’ll take this much as compensation. You’re lucky.”

Shelton, who had stuffed the money into his pocket, turned around.

Shion watched him trudge away, mumbling in a daze.

“…Wow, that guy is really crazy.”

Shaking his head, he left the corridor.

A moment of silence descended on the corridor where the two had disappeared.

Without any sound, in the quiet place, rustle-

Footsteps landed.

The one who quietly appeared picked up the glass shards on the floor. He sniffed the scent of magic.

“…It has a scent.”

The scent of magic. He could smell it. His own magic had a unique scent. If it was a side effect, it was a side effect. It caused problems with things like stealth.

“Was it on purpose?”

Gerkhen Kal Doon.

He muttered softly. At first, he thought it was just a retaliation against Shelton, who had criticized his enchanting as ‘dirty’. But considering the traces of magic that occurred when the vial broke and this scent…

“…”

Gerkhen Kal Doon silently looked at the other end of the corridor.

Shion Ascal had already disappeared.

______________________________________________________________________

Temporary residence in the old building.

As soon as I returned, I took off my underwear and put it on the desk. I was planning to use the enchanting I learned today.

Of course, I don’t have a mana stone as a medium, but I have something to replace it.

[Plants that circulate magic like mandrake can also be used as a substitute for mana stone or mana core.]

This is information I found in the 「Explorer’s Dictionary」 I borrowed from Gerkhen Kal Doon.

In fact, the amount of magic in a single root of mandrake measured by SZX-9500 is about the same as a D~E grade mana stone.

If I use this well, I should be able to attach a 「Heater」 to my underwear.

“If I use ‘Memorize’…”

However, I don’t want to consume the mandrake as a one-time use.

Is this a Scrooge’s heart? It’s not such a rare and expensive plant.

Anyway.

The way to Memorize this mandrake is simple. You just have to eat it.

It’s a substance that needs to be taken like Perion to have an effect.

It’s a bit uneasy, but, well.

It’s just one root, I won’t die.

I put the root in my mouth.

Gulp.

I felt hot inside. Heat surged up. Sweat formed on my forehead.

Feeling these very certain effects, I muttered.

“Memorize”

[101 / 103 (-1)]

It was Memoried in the 「Notepad」. Fortunately, it didn’t take up much capacity.

Maybe because it’s one root, not one leg.

I opened my hand.

Now, the next step is to emit the just Memorized mandrake as a mana core.

A mana core with the properties of mandrake, consuming just 1 capacity…

“——Load.”

Then, a ginseng-colored mana core condensed on my palm.

It’s only the size of a pinky nail, but it’s much more efficient than a C-grade mana stone.

“Okay.”

Now, let’s attach this to my underwear and properly do the 「Heater」 enchanting.