The Unwanted Undead Adventurer: Volume 5 Page 5

  “Yes, I’m ready!” Alize shouted.

  Lorraine looked at her with satisfaction and then turned to me. “And what about you, Rentt?” she inquired.

  “I’m ready, yes,” I groaned.

  “Put some life into it,” she demanded, but I gave her a look of protest. She pointed to me with her stick. “Are you determined to refuse?”

  I gave up resisting. “Yes, I’m ready!” I screamed as loud as my lungs would permit. Alize laughed.

  We were, of course, joking around. Lorraine and I then returned to our usual demeanors, and the lecture continued.

  “Well, it’s nothing terribly difficult. Today I’ll show you how to produce a wand, the most basic magic catalyst. Rings and weapons can also function as catalysts, to name just a couple others, but those are somewhat advanced. Either way, you should learn the basics before you try something more complex. Are you following so far?”

  Lorraine watched us silently nod. “Good. Then let’s begin right away. First, let me give you a demonstration.” She reached into the materials I had collected and took out some wood from a shrub ent and the magic crystal from an orc soldier.

  “These are all the materials you need for a basic catalyst. Even this can have some depth if you want to go after the smaller details, but you don’t need to know about that for now. All right, here goes. First, I’ll draw a magic circle on this board,” Lorraine said and hit the writing board with her stick. A simple magic circle made up of circles, triangles, and squares appeared. Next, she used an ink brush to draw the same circle on a board on the table. The board appeared to be made of bronze, and the ink circle settled into the surface.

  “Give it a touch,” Lorraine said, so Alize did. The ink had already dried like the pattern was part of the board, much to her surprise.

  “Is there something special about this board?” Alize asked, but Lorraine shook her head.

  “No, it’s an ordinary bronze board. The ink is what’s special. It’s made just for drawing magic circles. Not that you couldn’t go without it, but it soaks into the material in such a way you don’t have to worry about it smudging or disappearing later. It raises the chance of success, essentially.”

  The ink was available at most magic item shops, but only mages and alchemists tended to buy it due to its high price. Besides, writing and erasing with it required magic, so it was hard for the average citizen to use. I assumed that was why Alize didn’t know about it.

  “I see,” Alize said with a nod.

  “Next, I’ll pour mana into the magic circle. Here goes,” Lorraine said, touching the board.

  The way she offered her mana looked effortless, but it wasn’t. Lorraine had just done it enough times to make it seem simple. Alize and I would need practice before we could do this, that was clear at a glance, but Alize didn’t seem to know that yet.

  “It looks so simple,” she said.

  It wasn’t. This alone would take a while to learn, but Lorraine was somewhat mischievous when it came to these matters.

  “Yeah, simple,” she told Alize. I didn’t know if she was serious or if she intended to make Alize toil to learn this in a short time. Either way, it was a frightening statement.

  “So, next,” Lorraine said when the magic circle had received enough mana. She picked up the magic crystal and set it on the circle. It began to glow.

  “Wow,” Alize whispered.

  “You can’t use raw magic crystals as catalysts, so we have them absorb these magic circles. We could simply leave it sitting for a while, but let’s get it over with quickly today,” Lorraine said and held her hands right in front of the magic crystal. She then manipulated the mana again. The magic crystal shone brighter for a few seconds before the light disappeared, at which time Lorraine picked it up and looked at it.

  “Yes, this will do. Would you like to have a look?” she asked and handed the magic crystal to Alize, who looked at it with mild shock.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “The magic circle is in the magic crystal,” she proclaimed and then handed it to me.

  Just like Alize said, the magic circle was now rotating inside the magic crystal. This was what Lorraine had meant by it being absorbed. I was used to this sight, though, so it didn’t surprise me. I still couldn’t create any magic items, but I had gotten good enough at judging them. The pragmatic side of my adventurer spirit had to ask how much this might sell for. The wand this magic crystal was being used for probably wouldn’t be worth much.

  That reminded me of something. “Alize, have Lorraine show you one of her wands. It’s neat,” I suggested. Lorraine had a heap of staves, rings, and other magic catalysts. I thought it might be nice to let Alize see one she regularly used.

  “Right, that might make things easier to understand. Here,” Lorraine said and then grabbed a wand leaning against the wall and handed it to Alize.

  “Alize, look at the magic crystal on it,” I recommended.

  “Wow, this is amazing!” she exclaimed and opened her eyes even wider than a moment ago.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “Right?” I said.

  Alize nodded and peered at the magic crystal again. “There’s so many magic circles, and they’re folded together so they look kind of spherical,” she observed as she gave me the wand.

  I knew what was there, but I took a look while I had the opportunity. Magic circles far more intricate than the one Lorraine had just created were packed inside. And they were all interconnected to form orbs, totaling three in all. Each orb remained far enough from the others to not touch them, and they all rotated in different directions. It was like looking at an hourglass, hypnotic enough that I could keep watching it forever.

  “These are called three-dimensional layered magic circles. By structuring the magic circles three-dimensionally, it’s possible to write in more information. Magic circles contain information in each individual pattern and character, and it’s a challenge to see how efficiently they can be assembled. Three-dimensional shapes can store far more information, of course. If you want to get more complicated, there are multi-dimensional layered magic circles, which are four-dimensional— Oh.”

  Lorraine paused when she noticed Alize was getting increasingly confused. I knew how she felt. I learned a lot from the books I’d borrowed from Lorraine, but Alize grew up in an orphanage, so this had to be rough for her to follow. Lorraine seemed to get the same idea.

  “Sorry. This would be easier to understand if I taught you math first. I was talking to you like I talk to Rentt. That’s not right,” Lorraine apologized.

  Alize shook her head. “No, I at least got the sense that it’s something remarkable. Rentt, do you understand this complicated language?” Alize asked.

  “More or less. Reading Lorraine’s books happens to be a hobby of mine. I’ve been doing that for a decade, so I’ve learned a thing or two,” I said.

  As to how much I’d learned specifically, a commoner would see me as fairly informed. For someone like Lorraine, however, I couldn’t do much more than talk to them. I did have a great deal of adventurer-related knowledge pertaining to this city, but academics were outside my field of expertise. Back in my hometown of Hathara, the mayor and an old medicine woman taught me some fundamental academics, which was enough to read Lorraine’s books by myself, but that was nothing special.

  Lorraine disagreed. “Rentt’s pretty good. How a man like him was raised in a village in the middle of nowhere is a mystery,” she said, complimenting me.

  It was a mystery to her because I mentioned very little about my origins or my hometown. I had mentioned the medicine woman and the mayor’s teachings in passing, but that was it. Lorraine never tried to pry either. Adventurers tended to have a history they’d rather keep secret. If one chose not to discuss their past, then others shouldn’t ask.

  “Well, enough about me. Let’s get back to making that wand,” I said.

  Lorraine took a step back. “Right. I stopped at putting a magic cir
cle in the magic crystal, I believe. The next step is dealing with the grip of the wand, but there are many ways to go about this.”

  “Really?” Alize asked.

  “Yes. For example, the most old-fashioned way is to shave it down by hand. You can use a knife or other tool to shape it as you see fit. That’s how it was done in the past, but it takes ages, and mistakes can have disastrous results. I wouldn’t recommend it, but a skilled craftsman can create wands of the highest caliber that way. You could try it if you plan to become an artisan, but we’re focusing on the basics right now, so you don’t need to go that route,” Lorraine rambled.

  “The easier and more widely-known method is to shape your wand with magic. For example, you can do this,” she said as she began to pour mana into the shrub ent wood. She watched until it was filled with enough mana, and then she employed the mana to peel off a part of the wood and make it float in the air. It was the length of an average wand, around 30 centimeters. She manipulated the mana further to reshape that part bit by bit. Mana wrapped around the wood like a spiral, gradually shaping it into a wand. It was structured so the bark formed the outside surface of the wand, and the shape went from thin on one end to increasingly thicker as it approached the other. This could be called the work of a craftsman.

  “Here comes the hardest part. The magic crystal and the wand have to be combined. Here goes nothing.” Lorraine poured mana into the magic crystal with one hand and into the wand with the other, making them float and approach each other. Light blue sparks flew from the tip of the wand, and when the magic crystal drew near, it latched onto the wood. Once fully joined, the wood around the tip of the wand shifted and wrapped around the crystal.

  As Lorraine picked up the wand, the light from it and the magic crystal faded away. “Well, that’s how it’s done. It came out okay, I suppose,” she muttered and looked at the wand from multiple angles.

  “That was a strange sight to see. It was pretty, but sort of scary. I’m not sure I could pull that off,” Alize said timidly.

  “Alchemy is a skill set that helps us understand each step of this process. I know how you feel, but I’m positive you can do this. As far as alchemy goes, this is the most basic of the basics. In cooking terms, it’s like learning to use a kitchen knife. Getting further than this will depend on practice and talent, but anyone can do this with some training. Don’t worry,” Lorraine reassured her with a smile.

  Someone with no mana would have been bewildered by what Lorraine just demonstrated, but she wasn’t one to lie at times like these, so what she said must have been the truth.

  I questioned whether I could do what Lorraine demonstrated as well, so I was glad she said that to Alize. I had more nimble fingers than most, but if and how that might be applicable to alchemy was a mystery. I could never handle mana that well either, but I had at least gotten more efficient at it over the last decade. Chances were it would be fine, but I was uncertain. My top priority was to not let Alize see me fail. I didn’t know if Lorraine understood how I felt or not, but she moved on.

  “Now why don’t you two try it? Choose whatever materials you wish. All the goods Rentt collected are high quality, so anything should work.”

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  Alize and I were unsure which materials to use, but we came to a decision after some time. I let Alize choose first, naturally. I gathered it all for her to begin with, so if I took the best goods before she had the chance, it would all be for nothing. I could live with the leftovers. Ultimately, I could collect more materials if I wanted to.

  Alize selected wood from a birch shrub ent and the magic crystal from a mine goblin. I recommended using the magic crystal from a terra drake instead.

  “This one is prettier, so I want this one,” she said, picking up the mine goblin’s magic crystal. It was a beautiful blue and was appealing to the eyes, but its quality was only middling. In contrast, the terra drake’s crystal was bright red and of high quality. It was nothing compared to a tarasque’s magic crystal, but out of what was available, the terra drake’s was the best.

  Lorraine seemed to pick up on my thoughts. “It’s not like we’re making the ultimate wand here. It’s her first one, so let her make what she wants. She’s more likely to succeed that way. There’s no need to make her use something better,” Lorraine said.

  In that case, I supposed it was fine. The terra drake’s magic crystal was my favorite of the bunch anyway, and I liked the ebony wood.

  “Now that you’ve both picked your materials, it’s time to paint a magic circle. Do you have brushes?” Lorraine asked.

  We both did. Two ink bottles were sitting on the table too.

  “Good. Then first of all, fill your brushes with mana. I did so earlier, but I’m sure you didn’t notice. You don’t need to use too much. If you overdo it, well, you just shouldn’t, so I suppose I don’t need to explain that. At any rate, pour mana into your brush little by little, then keep the mana steady as you dip the brush in the ink. Let’s begin.”

  I did as described and filled the brush with a small amount of mana. I was used to this type of work by now, so it was a breeze. It was no different from adding mana to a weapon. Alize, however, had never done this before, so she was having some trouble. A decade of experience made all the difference compared to a beginner, but Alize appeared to find that a bit frustrating.

  “You won’t beat me, Rentt!” she said and hyped herself up, but it was for nothing.

  “Uh-oh, don’t use too much mana,” Lorraine cautioned.

  “Huh?”

  Alize poured tons of mana into her brush and dipped it in the ink, causing the black fluid to quiver and burst out of the bottle like a fountain. I grinned, garnering a glare from her pitch-black face.

  I stifled a laugh and tried to act serious. “I see, so using too much mana will make the ink splatter. Better be careful,” I said.

  Lorraine nodded. “That’s right, but don’t fan the flames too much. And Alize, don’t get worked up. I do think competition is good, but not for this particular work.”

  “Why?” Alize questioned. She didn’t seem to understand, so Lorraine explained.

  “I assume you’ve never applied mana to a brush before, but Rentt always uses mana on his weapon when he fights. He’s been doing it for a decade. That means when it comes to this work, he’s far from a novice.”

  “What the heck? No fair!” Alize cried out.

  “What do you want? I can’t go back to being a beginner now. This is my first attempt at alchemy, but controlling mana is a specialty of mine. I’d give up trying to outdo me at this, if I were you,” I explained.

  It should have been obvious anyway, but Alize sounded a bit discontented. Still, she was obedient and amiable enough. “I thought we’d learn how to do it together,” she said. In other words, she hoped we would progress at the same pace. I knew where she was coming from.

  “We can still do that, but there are some areas where I know what I’m doing, is all. Magic and alchemy aren’t something you can use without learning them first.”

  “Are you sure, though?” Alize cocked her head, not entirely convinced.

  “He’s right,” Lorraine said. “You’re far better than Rentt was a decade ago. If you’re better than him in ten years, that means you win.”

  That was true, and I was sure she would leave me in the dust. I planned to keep getting stronger, but in a decade, Alize had the potential to become as strong as I was now.

  “I’ll do my best,” Alize responded sincerely.

  After that, Lorraine cast Linpio on her and brought out new ink so we could get back to work. It couldn’t have been cheap, so I wondered just how much she had on hand, but it didn’t matter.

  I succeeded in applying mana to my brush on the first try, but it was a struggle for Alize. Even so, she got it right after about an hour. Her talent was worthy of envy. Learning this skill took me much longer. The mana within your body was easy enough to manipulate once you became aware
of it, but expelling it from your body required some different sensibilities. I managed to figure it out after around a week, nowhere near as fast as Alize.

  “Then let’s move on to painting the magic circle. You have to keep the mana in your brush, so this demands some concentration. Good luck,” Lorraine said.

  Alize and I got to work. Maintaining the mana in the brush was as natural to me as breathing, so I didn’t need to focus that hard, but Alize was straining herself. She could do it, but her struggle showed she had some things left to learn. If she had reached my level in a single day, I would never have been able to show my face again. Though if that did happen, it would only mean Alize’s aptitude was phenomenal, so I couldn’t complain.

  “You did it already, Rentt?” Lorraine asked.

  “Yeah, can you check if it’s good or not?”

  “I always knew you had good hands. You painted it perfectly. Speaking of which, are you a good artist too?”

  “I don’t know if I’d say I’m good. Average, maybe.”

  When I was out adventuring and had to describe the traits of monsters I encountered to other adventurers on the same job, I would draw on the ground to demonstrate. I got some practice from that. Having a variety of such experiences is what life is all about.

  “Then you shouldn’t have any problems. This is usable. Now let’s see Alize’s,” Lorraine said and peered over at her side.

  “How is it?” Alize asked.

  “Not bad, but this part is a bit misshapen. It’ll still work, but bigger mistakes can prevent the magic circle from working, or even produce unexpected effects. Try to be more careful,” Lorraine warned her.

  “What kind of unexpected effects?” Alize asked.

  “There are all kinds, but a story commonly told among mages is about a mage named Conra who had no artistic talent. Conra was so gifted in the art of persuasion he became a court mage, but one day, he was put in charge of one of his country’s rituals. That wasn’t a problem in itself, but the ritual involved creating a magic circle that generated fireworks. Conra knew he was hopeless when it came to art, but he decided that if the magic circle failed, he would simply use magic to send fireworks into the air instead. But when he made the magic circle and triggered it, something dreadful happened. What do you think it was?”