LIGHTNOVELWORLD Episode 15
Chapter 15
“I-I had a rough time,” he said.
“Are you okay? When I went under mana awakening, I felt uncomfortable, but the pain itself wasn’t that bad, so I didn’t think you’d suffer that much. Maybe my method was just clumsy?” she wondered.
“…I’m not sure. Noble families have been dealing with mana awakening for generations, right? So, unlike me, a noble commoner with a distinguished lineage, they might have adapted to it to some extent. I can’t say for sure,” he replied.
Even in the previous world without mana, the differences in skeletal structure were minimal between hunting tribes and farming tribes.
In the current world with mana, it wouldn’t be strange for nobles, who have been handling mana for generations, to have a different constitution from commoners… rather, it would be more accurate to assume so.
But right now, the focus should be on the changes in my body after awakening the mana.
I can feel mana flowing throughout my entire body, but I don’t feel a surge of power or anything like that.
I wonder if my physical abilities have really increased. Let’s try jumping right here and now to test it out.
“Wow!”
As I jumped with all my might, my feet clearly left the floor by a meter. There is a big difference between knowing by theory and actually experiencing it in practical.
I couldn’t believe the difference in power before and after awakening mana. It was beyond what I expected. Alshade was right; I could easily take on several adults who couldn’t use mana. With my athletic abilities and knowledge of martial arts, I could defeat even amateur adults, taking into account the difference in physique.
“Well, it’s only natural to be cautious,” he said.
“Huh? Did you say something?” she asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” he replied.
The cute girl in front of me, who tilted her head, was undeniably strong, able to take on several adults. It was like something out of a fantasy novel.
“Right, I want you to teach me basic magic,” I said.
“Sure, basic magic is quite handy, and it might be a good idea to learn it before we head out,” she agreed.
Magic and mana were inseparable. Once you could use mana, it was natural to want to try using magic. Even if it was just basic magic that was weak and not even listed as an option in a game.
“Well, when it comes to teaching, basic magic becomes something anyone can use as soon as they release mana, so there’s not much to teach. Do you understand how to control mana?” she asked.
“Yeah, kind of,” I replied.
“Since controlling mana is all about feeling, that should be enough. Now, gather a bit of mana in your right hand,” she instructed.
I nodded and followed her instructions, gathering mana in my hand. The feeling was like drawing new mana from around my whole body and directing it towards my right hand, rather than using the mana that was already coursing through my body.
“…I did it,” I said.
“Good. Now, try to release a thread of mana from your right hand and imagine a ball of light at its tip,” she continued.
“Like this?” I asked.
I struggled a little to figure out how to release the thread of mana, but eventually a thin strand came out of my hand, forming a familiar ball of light at its tip.
“Congratulations. But you don’t seem very excited. I remember being quite excited when I used magic for the first time,” she commented.
“I am happy, but it’s just so strange,” I said.
While I was excited and happy to use magic for the first time, as someone who had learned about science about twelve years ago, it was still incredibly strange to see a ball of light materialize.
From a scientific perspective, it was probably a conversion of mana into light energy, but being able to bring about that transformation with just my own will was hard to comprehend.
Well, in this world, there are plenty of things that directly contradict the laws of physics, so thinking too much about it would be futile.
“Yeah, I guess I was also intrigued when I first saw magic… It’s been a long time, so I don’t remember it well,” she said.
“Well if you didn’t know about magic, you’d probably either be scared or revere it, don’t you think?” I asked.
“True,” she agreed. “In a world without knowledge of magic, anyone would be amazed or even fearful of something like creating light balls out of nowhere.”
“Or perhaps they’d worship it,” she added.
That’s right, I nodded. In this world, where the existence of gods and spirits was real, it would be even easier for people to see such mysterious powers as magical or divine and either fear or worship them.
The ancestors of this world’s nobles must have built their positions as rulers, protectors, and priests based on their control of magic.
“Oh, I forgot to mention, if you use magic without creating the thread of mana, your body will emit light, and if you use a fire attribute, things will get pretty serious,” she warned me.
“I-I’ll be careful,” I replied, imagining myself glowing with light or accidentally turning into human torch.
“Alright, we’ve spent quite some time here, haven’t we?… It’s a bit regrettable, but let’s head back to the surface,” I said.
“You can come back again after it’s over,” I added.
“I understand. Please don’t push me,” she said.
Pushing Alshade’s back, who seemed genuinely reluctant to leave, we moved towards the door on the opposite side of the entrance.
There’s another room in front of the stairs to the surface, but in the original story, aside from the immobile golem, there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy in that room. Let’s quickly enter and pass through it.
“Is that a metal golem? Probably a guardian to deter intruders. It’s quite unusual,” Alshade said with a hint of surprise as we opened the door, revealing a spacious stone room with a metal figure clad in armor, standing upright with its back facing us in front of the stairs leading to the surface.
“What’s so special about it?”
“Golems come in two types: familiars and magical tools. Most metal golems are magical tools rather than familiars. While there are metal golems used as familiars, they consume a lot of mana, so not many people prefer to use them.”
The type and explanation of the golem are the same as in the original, but why would it be unusual for it to be a magical tool?
“However, magical tools require significant funds to create and frequent maintenance, so they are primarily used for displays of power. It’s rare to find a guardian golem like this actually in use.”
“In other words, they are money pits.”
If they require such delicate maintenance, it’s possible that the reason the golem in the original story didn’t move wasn’t because the protagonist had the key ring, but rather that it might have been broken somewhere.
I don’t know how many years have passed since the time of the previous generation, but ever since I’ve been able to go outside, I haven’t heard of any grand hunts or similar incidents about golems.
At least five years must have passed since it might have been left unattended. It would not be surprising that even now, ten years before the original story, something like this is broken.
“I saw one in person before, during the parade in the capital. It looked so majestic walking proudly, so I asked my father if we could have one too. He told me we could afford it, but it would strain our finances.”
“If the country doesn’t use them for anything other than displays of power, it must be quite expensive. Buying one would indeed strain the finances.”
The purpose must be to show off their military strength to the citizens and demonstrate their financial prowess to other countries.
The Baltzfeld family’s financial power must be astounding if they can afford to buy one without straining their finances.
They do have their base in the largest commercial city in the southwest of the kingdom, after all.
That greedy Hyann might have been dazzled by that financial power and couldn’t resist betraying the empire for the Baltzfeld family’s seat of power.
“We’re almost at the surface. Let’s stay focused.”
“Understood… M- My Lady!!… Ugh!”
“Kyaa! What’s happening… Rios!!”
As we passed by the golem, Alshade, who was at the front, reached the stairs. The moment we heard a slight sound, a shiver ran down my spine.
Instinctively, I pushed her in front of me and turned to the right, defending myself with my spear.
An intense impact struck the spear which I managed to thrust in after a brief moment, and I was blown backward.
“(…Use Wind to slow down and stabilize!)”
I activated “Wind“ towards my back to slow down and stabilize myself. As I felt my back approaching the floor , I rolled and redirected the impact.
“Ugh!”
I managed to take the fall relatively safely, but my back still ached from the damage I couldn’t completely evade.
When I looked up, I saw the golem with its full-face glowing white, now facing towards me and slightly bending its body.
[T/L: hearing Rios not wanting to glow w/t light, an old ad flashed through my mind https://youtu.be/GWvxt1IL9Wg… u can watch it if interested（*゜ー゜*）o((⊙﹏⊙))o., at ur own mental risk, of course]
—
If you like this novel, Please leave ratings and review in NovelUpdates.>>HERE
If you’d like to make a one-time donation to support our translations or subscribe to read up to 5 chapters or more (depending on the novel) ahead, you can do so via Ko-fi: