The Adventurer Who Lacks Magic Power

I woke up early in the morning.

Next to me, my father was sleeping, exhaling a boozy breath and snoring.

I cleaned myself with magic, washing away dirt and sleep sweat, and splashed my face with cold water.

Even with the magic of cleaning, the refreshing feeling of washing my face with cold water in the morning couldn’t be replaced.

I ate the leftover bread, washed it down with water, and hurried to the market to help with the stall preparations.

First, I neatly arranged the products on the stall, cleaned the surroundings, and received five iron coins for 500 dollars.

The next task was carrying goods with a cart.

I brought the goods from the warehouse to the location of the stall, and for this, too, I received 500 dollars. That concluded my morning work.

I cleaned off the dirt from work, making myself presentable, and then headed to the church.

Once a month, those who turned 15 gathered at the church to receive magic from the God of Creation, Elmart.

I had turned 15 this month, so I came to the church to undergo the Bestowal Ceremony. Surrounded by parents and dressed-up boys and girls of the same age, I sat down with an uneasy expression.

Not everyone is bestowed with magic. Those who cannot use basic life magic are said to be without magical ability. I was here because my life magic manifested when I was 9 years old.

The priest ascended the pulpit and prayed to the statue of the God of Creation, Elmart.

When one’s name was called, they went up to the priest and prayed to the Elmart statue to receive magic.

Those who received magic placed their hands on the nearby magic power plate to measure their magical power.

One by one, as the priest called out names, people went up to the stage and prayed to the Elmart statue. Some received multiple magics, while others were declared to be without magic, going home disappointed, crying.

Those who received magic and were told they had magical power of 100 or 120 were overjoyed. Those with magical power of 60 or 70 were disappointed, but they could still use magic, so they quickly went home.

Kaito and I were called, and we went to the priest and prayed to the Elmart statue. I felt a sensation of overflowing light in my head and realized I had received magic.

“Kaito, under the protection of God Elmart, you have been bestowed with earth magic, teleportation magic, and spatial storage.”

Amid the surrounding noise, I placed my hand on the magic power plate.

“Kaito’s magical power level is 40. Don’t be disheartened; keep striving,” the priest said.

“Yes, thank you very much, Father.”

Feeling dejected, I tried to leave the church, but behind me, I heard snickers and blatant contemptuous voices.

“Hey, kid, wait!”

“Yes, is it me?”

“I am the representative witness of the lord. Regarding your bestowed teleportation magic and spatial storage, even with a magical power level of 40, if there is potential, the lord will employ you. You are Kaito, right? Three months from now, report to the servant entrance of Viscount Hamawar’s mansion. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good, now go!”

Ugh, what a hassle. Being told that having magical power of 40 makes me a failure of a magician, I know that much myself. But there’s no way around it. I can’t just not go.

Anyway, I need to go home and plan for the future.

When I got home, my father had been napping since midday.

“Oh, you’re back. Did you receive magic?”

“Yeah, I got it, but my magical power level is 40.”

“Huh, 40? Useless brat. The wife died, and the kid is good for nothing,” my father said.

“Well, what can you expect from parents like mine? My mother used up even her medicine money. What did they expect from me, born under my father?” I retorted.

“You’re a pain!”

Ignoring the flying cup, I prepared to go to the market.

If I helped clean up three stalls in the evening, I would earn 1,500 dollars.

If my parents wouldn’t feed me, I had to earn my own food. With a child’s earnings, I couldn’t even afford medicine. Just earning enough for both of us to eat was a struggle.

My mother had passed away, leaving only my father and me. Our life together was just empty.

I sighed at being born into such a miserable world. I never thought I’d be born into a world like a light novel where magic existed.

I didn’t even know when I died. I remembered being a Japanese person living in a big city, but I didn’t know the city’s name or location. I think I had parents and siblings, but it’s vague.

Vague memories of friends and work floated in my mind, but even those were unclear. How to drive a car, the contents of books I read, enjoying beer while watching a campfire—I remembered these things vaguely.

Tomorrow morning, after finishing my work at the market, I planned to try out the magic I received while going out to collect herbs.

My life magic had manifested when I was 9 years old. My mother taught me, and I became able to use life magic freely. I had not neglected practicing magic control for the time when I received magic.

I was surprised that my knowledge of light novels turned out to be unexpectedly useful. But I knew I had to use whatever I had to escape poverty.

People in this world didn’t know magic control, but I knew that occasionally, using magic could increase one’s magical power.

But what’s with this magical power level of 40? What was the point of practicing magic control for five and a half years?

I wanted to complain to God, but I had never seen God before. But well, God probably exists in this world, considering I was born here and given magic.

I had planned to use up my magical power to increase my magic power, a common trope in light novels. But that plan was on hold for three months.

If my magical power really increased, there was a risk of being killed off as a disposable pawn of a rural noble.

After finishing my morning market work, I tied a bag of medicinal herbs to a small backpack.

I bought two bread and meat sandwiches from a stall where adventurers stopped by, put them in the herb bag, and left the town.

There weren’t many medicinal herbs growing today, so I headed to an unpopular place where goblins and wild beasts rarely came.

On the way, I tried making the tip of a spear with earth magic. Five and a half years of imagination and visualization, putting magical power into imagination—that’s how it was done, in light novels at least.

The spear I made with magic for the first time in my life was a bit crooked, but it was certain that I could use earth magic.

I shaped the finished spearhead and made the base cylindrical.

As it was, it was just a shoddy shortsword, but if I inserted a stick into the cylinder, it would become a spear.

No change in my condition. I was feeling unusually high-spirited, and I laughed unintentionally.

There was no one around. No sign of horn rabbits, goblins, wolves, or anything else.

I lay down on the ground, stretched out my arms and legs, and made a mark. Then I spread my arms wide and made another mark.

I thought it was too big and drew a slightly smaller line.

First, I slowly extended the surrounding soil into a thin board, narrowed the top, and made holes for lookout purposes in the front, back, left, and right, which also served as air vents.

I was tired but not to the extent where I wanted to rest physically. Using the hammer I made with earth magic, I struck the wall as hard as I could, leaving round marks on it.

I thought about it but soon realized my mistake; I had imagined a hammer with an iron head, so I made a handle that could withstand it.

I had imagined a dome based on a fish cake-shaped tent and made it with soil, but I had overlooked its strength.

I sent magical power into the completed dome with the image of hard iron. When I struck it again with the hammer, it made a solid sound, and the hammer bounced back.

I must have fallen asleep like that because it was pitch black when I woke up.

I turned on the light using life magic, pushed the cramped feeling of the dome slightly wider, and decided this would be my first magical practice base.

I gradually infused magic power each time, and by increasing the size and strength, I could create a safe shelter.

When I placed the marks for constructing the dome, I had gathered dried grass to lie on, but there wasn’t enough, so my butt hurt.

My first job tomorrow morning was to mow the grass around and make a grass bed.

Having nothing else to do, I decided to test if I could use spatial storage. But where exactly was this spatial storage?

Since I couldn’t figure it out by thinking, I decided to circulate magic power for a start, but nothing changed as usual.

If I couldn’t understand it by thinking, I had to do it practically. I created a ball the size of a tennis ball and imagined throwing it into a large bag.

I failed several times, but I created a loop by putting my arm around my waist and used that to make an image of the opening of the spatial storage bag.

I flowed magical power into that image and tossed the ball in, and it disappeared easily.

I couldn’t help but make a triumphant pose, but I thought I should try more while the feeling was still there. I created balls of earth one after another and tossed them into the loop formed by my arm around my waist.

Next, I had to think about taking them out. I imagined taking them out in a way that felt like touching the loop of my arm.

I was surprised that I could create more than 20 of them and toss them in. I needed to check their sizes next.

I started from 30 centimeters and went up to 60, 90, 120 centimeters without any problem. However, 150 centimeters was impossible. It wouldn’t fit, and 140 centimeters was also too tight.

130 centimeters somehow fit, and I realized there was a little room left. To confirm, I tried putting a 30-centimeter ball inside, and I realized I couldn’t fit anything larger.

Objects larger than the loop formed by my arm easily passed through and fit into spatial storage, which was mysterious.

Feeling tired, I decided to take a short break and lay down. As soon as I did, I fell asleep.