Chapter 17 - 200,000!?

Name: Ryouma Takebayashi

Gender: Male

Age: 11

Race: Human

HP: 11,052

MP: 198,000

Domestic Skills

Domestic Chores Lv10

Etiquette Lv7

Musical Instrument Lv3

Singing Lv3

Calculation Lv5

Battle Skills

Close-Combat Mastery Lv7

Sword Mastery Lv7

Knife Mastery Lv6

Hidden Weapons Mastery Lv7

Spear Mastery Lv4

Bow Mastery Lv6

Staff Mastery Lv6

Weight Control Lv4

Throwing Weapons Mastery Lv7

Stealth Mastery Lv7

Traps Lv6

Body Control Lv6

Spirit Cultivation Lv5

Magic Skills

(Note: All levels in this section were previously Lv1.)

Monster Taming Lv2

Barrier Magic Lv2

Healing Magic Lv1

Alchemy Lv2

Fire Magic Lv3

Water Magic Lv3

Wind Magic Lv2

Earth Magic Lv4

Neutral Magic Lv3

Electric Magic Lv1

Ice Magic Lv2

Poison Magic Lv2

Wood Magic Lv3

Light Magic Lv2

Dark Magic Lv1

Space Magic Lv3

Magic Perception Lv3

Magic Manipulation Lv4

Increased MP Recovery Lv2

Production Skills

Pharmacy Lv6

Smithing Lv1

Architecture Lv3

Woodworking Lv3

Molding Lv4

Drawing Lv4

Resistance Skills

Physical Pain Resistance Lv8

Mental Resistance Lv9

Health Lv7

Stench Resistance Lv3 (NEW)

Special Skills

Survival Skills Lv3

Focused Mind Lv5

Greater vitality Lv3

Greater Stamina Lv6

Super Regeneration Lv3 (TL change only. No change in raws. Previously, Greater Regeneration.)

Titles

Usurper

One Who has Lived Through Misfortune

Favored Child of the Gods

Disciple of the Sage

Disciple of the Martial God

Blessings

Blessing of Gayn, the God of Creation

Blessing of Kufo, the God of Life

Blessing of Rurutia, the God of Love

Blessing of Tekun, the God of Liquor

Well, the mana is about as expected. I was told beforehand that it would increase as long as I keep using magic, so there's no surprise there. The skills, on the other hand… A lot sure have leveled up. Not to mention, that's a lot of magic skills… Hmm? What's with this disciple stuff? Oh, this must be the setting the gods provided to ensure that there's nothing suspicious about my high skill levels. There're also the blessings from Gayn's group and the Liquor God. Anyway, let's hide everything else except for the name, age, and gender just like I was told.

"Done." [Ryouma]

"I'll lead you to where your chaperons are waiting then. I suggest asking them if you want a more comprehensive answer to your questions." [Nun]

When we left the baptism hall, I heard the sound of children coming from outside.

"Wait!" [Kid 1]

"Ahahaha! Over here!" [Kid 2]

I turned toward the source of that sound, and there I saw children dressed in old clothes playing.

"They are children under the care of this church. They're always so lively, so after finishing their chores, they would go out and play just like that." [Nun]

Not sure if they're orphans or children who simply don't know their own family, though.

"Please follow me." [Nun]

I followed after the woman to a room in the church where Reinhart-san, the madam, Reinbach-sama, and the ojousama were eagerly waiting.

"The baptism has ended without any problems." [Nun]

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." [Ryouma]

"It's fine." [Reinhart]

After Reinhart-san said that, the woman immediately excused herself.

"I'll be excusing myself now then. Please feel free to use this room until you leave." [Nun]

"Thank you." [Reinhart]

I also thanked her.

"Thank you very much." [Ryouma]

"You're welcome. Well then…" [Nun]

I saw the woman off as she left the room, then I turned to Reinhart-san with a puzzled expression.

"She seemed to be in a hurry… Is something the matter?" [Ryouma]

"The information within the status board is private information, so she's being considerate." [Reinhart]

"This room has also been prepared so that the baptized and his relatives may be able to talk among themselves away from prying ears." [Madam]

"So that's how it is." [Ryouma]

"It's best not to speak needlessly of one status, after all. Hiding one's status board in the past was illegal, but because of that there were a lot of people who used that information for evil. As such, it's currently common practice to hide it." [Reinbach]

"Revealing one's status information reveals one's fighting style and abilities, not to mention HP, MP, and other battle-related stuff, so it's usually only revealed to people one can trust. Blessings aren't revealed for the same reason. Normally, only one's name, age, race, and – depending on the person – titles are shown." [Reinhart]

"I see." [Ryouma]

"Which is why, Ryouma-kun, you should make sure to hide your information, ok? You can ask us if you have any questions, but if you don't want to reveal something, you don't have to." [Madam]

These people really are so kind… I'll figure out later what to show.

"I understand." [Ryouma]

As I said that, Reinbach-sama nodded in satisfaction, then he spoke with a serious face.

"Now that you have a status board, there's something I have to tell you." [Reinbach]

"What is it?' [Ryouma]

"It's about your abilities. From what I've seen so far, your abilities should be extremely high compared to other children your age. Because of that I'm sure a lot of people up to no good will approach you. If you don't want that to happen, you should hide your skills, and gain a position to protect yourself.

The problem is you're too skilled, so it won't be easy to keep a low profile; therefore, I think it would be best if you register at a guild as soon as possible and get a good position, or more specifically, a high rank. If anything happens, I'll help out, but you should still exercise caution." [Reinbach]

"Your abilities don't match up with your age, so anyone can immediately tell that you've received a blessing from a god, but depending what kind of blessing it is, your life can seriously be in danger, so be careful." [Reinhart]

…It's true I haven't really been holding myself back that much, but have I really done anything odd? It's not like I've given my all or anything…

"I'll be careful." [Ryouma]

"…?" [Ryouma]

As I said that, it occurred to me that the ojousama was looking at me oddly like last time. I haven't really done anything in particular this time, so I wonder if there's anything she wants to ask?'

"Is something the matter?" [Ryouma]

"Eh!?" [Elialia]

"I thought there might be something you wanted to ask." [Ryouma]

"That's…" [Elialia]

When I said that, the ojousama started speaking honestly.

"Actually, I'm a bit curious about how much mana you have." [Elialia]

"Mana?" [Ryouma]

"Yes. Ryouma-san, last time you used a lot of magic, but you never ran out of mana. According to father, the amount of mana you used that time was enough to make a normal person faint, so I was wondering how much you actually had." [Elialia]

Mana, huh. It'll probably be fine even if I tell these people. Especially, since they've already seen me use enough mana to make a normal person faint. I was only using it like I did back when I was living at the forest, though… Ah! That must be why I was told to hide my abilities. Now, I get it.

"Ah… I just checked awhile ago, and it seems I have 198,000MP." [Ryouma]

When I said that the people of the ducal family all opened their eyes wide and the ojousama looked at me with a complicated gaze, but that was all.

Huh? Isn't their reaction a bit lacking?

"198,000MP, and yet you could cast so many spells." [Elialia]

"Well, the bigger your mana pool is, the more spells you can cast." [Ryouma]

"Eh? O-Oh, that's not what I meant. I mean you're able to use magic properly." [Elialia]

"Properly?" [Ryouma]

"H-Huh? D-Did I say anything odd?" [Elialia]

For some reason, the conversation was running completely parallel. The ojousama was starting to be troubled, so Sebasu-san interjected.

"Ryouma-sama, could it be that you don't have any difficulties using magic?" [Sebasu]

"Difficulties? Is that supposed to happen?" [Ryouma]

When I replied like that, everyone was taken aback.

Apparently, while a bigger mana pool gives a big advantage, it also makes it very difficult to control it, making it difficult to learn spells.

Trying to release a small amount of mana, for example, would usually result in mana gushing forth like a broken faucet or something. Because of that, people with huge mana pools need to train more extensively on control compared to those with smaller mana pools.

…I think I have a clue why I'm like this. When I first came to this world, the first spell I used was Break Rock. At that time, the most I could do was to open a hole just big enough for my finger to get into.

It was my first time, so I didn't realize it then, but I certainly did fail to control the mana I released, causing much of it to disperse. When that happens, the spell cast won't have any effect. In other words, I was soiling myself with mana, and I was just using a tiny bit of the mana I had.

As I continued to use magic, that problem became apparent. And after more practice, I started to be able to control it better. Better control meant less mana consumption and more effective spells.

Three years later, I'd improved greatly, and the result were those spells I used when the road was blocked. Although it's the same spell, my current earth magic is leagues above that when I first came here. From my perspective, it's normal not to be able to use magic, so I didn't find anything odd about it. I just thought I'd grown a bit, but it seems, this was a bigger deal than expected.

From the perspective of this world, someone who is able to control a vast amount of mana is a skilled person who's gone through harsh training.

…It feels a bit weird calling myself skilled, but anyway, I get it now.

"I never had anyone to compare myself to, so I never noticed. Sorry." [Ryouma]

"Ryouma-san, don't you know how amazing you are for being able to use magic so easily? I'm the same age, and yet I can't use magic at all." [Elialia]

"Huh?" [Ryouma]

"…Actually, my mana pool is at 200,000MP" [Elialia]

"200,000!?" [Ryouma]

That's more than me! So that's why the adults' response was so lackluster! Gayn and the others were right. Elialia has definitely inherited much of her ancestor otherworlder's blood. She was probably looking at me oddly because she thought I had a huge mana pool and was wondering how I could use magic well.

"I think I understand the situation now." [Ryouma]

"That's good to hear. It's my first time meeting someone with a mana pool comparable to mine. To be honest, I'm also curious to what extent you can use magic and how you learned it, but I won't ask…" [Elialia]

"It's ok. I can show you the magic section of my status board. I'm curious too, anyway." [Ryouma]

I called out my status board and showed the column on magic.

"Hmm… I see you've learned many different schools of magic. The levels are also relatively high considering your age. You did mention that you could use all attributes, but I didn't think you'd actually be able to use them to this extent." [Reinbach]

"All the beginner spells are at least level 2, and you even have level 2 or 3 intermediate spells." [Reinhart]

"Your earth and space magic, in particular, are quite high. You've done well considering space magic is said to be one of the harder schools to level up." [Elize]

"I believe it isn't too much to say that you might surpass even me. To think you even possess Magic Manipulation, Magic Perception, and Increased MP Recovery." [Sebasu]

"It's because I used magic a lot back in the forest… Water and fire spells were used for cooking and bathing, while I used the earth and space spells for hunting, so I was using them pretty much everyday." [Ryouma]

"Hmm, did you use offensive magic?" [Elize]

"No, I mostly rely on archery and trapping for hunting. I could use the fireball spell, but it would leave the meat charred and the parts I could consume would be less. As for Earth Needle, I used it to fill my pitfalls." [Ryouma]

"I see. So you were able to improve your magic this much by using them daily. In that case, you should start studying offensive magic. There's no harm in learning them, and there are monsters immune to physical attack." [Sebasu]

Oh, right! There were monsters like that. Or I mean, it's only a given monsters like that would exist in this world. Any fantasy light novel would say so! I really shouldn't have forgotten, but I was cooped up in my little space for so long that I actually forgot. I should start practicing offensive magic from now on.

"I would like to try it." [Ryouma]

"The beginner spells are relatively easy, so you should be able to learn up to the intermediate spells with a little training. You have a lot of mana, so you might even be able to learn the advanced spells of the earth school." [Sebasu]

"You have Magic Manipulation on top of your huge mana pool, after all. Coupled with your Increased MP Recovery, you'll be able to train a lot in a day." [Reinhart]

"Those gifts of yours are very convenient as a mage. Don't waste them, ok?" [Reinbach]

"Yes, I'll do my best." [Ryouma]

While I was starting to understand how unique my skills were outside the forest, the Ojousama, who was staring wordlessly at my status board, suddenly spoke.

"So Ryouma-san trained by using his spells in his day-to-day life… Then maybe if I do the same thing, I'll also…" [Elialia]

"You don't have to use it for trivial things alone. You could also play with it." [Ryouma]

"Play with magic?" [Elialia]

She looked like she wanted to improve, so I told her of the things I did in the forest, but for some reason, she looked at me with a strange face.

"You've never messed around with the basic beginner spells?" [Ryouma]

"No. I've always been practicing my magic according to my curriculum." [Elialia]

"A person's skill in magic heavily influences his income regardless of whether he is a noble or not, so you won't hear a lot of people fooling around with magic." [Elize]

"For example, fire magic can be used in places that require strong heat like a smithery. Ice magic or space magic can be used to transport food. Earth magic or wood magic can be used for construction or farming. There are all sorts, but the demand is there. Which is why the more skilled one is, the less difficulty he'll have finding work. Or at the very least, have more options that a non-mage." [Reinhart]

I see. So it's not that playing with magic has been forbidden by religion, but that people have always looked at it as a means to put food on the table. As such, the people of this world treat playing with magic as the same as wasting mana. So, I guess she can't use this method then?

But just as I was thinking that, the three adults started supporting me.

"Playing with magic… That's not something you hear often, but Elia, if you're interested, you should give it a try." [Reinbach]

"You have 200,000MP, after all. You should still have plenty left over even if you fool around a little." [Reinhart]

"It would make for a good breather too." [Reinbach]

I asked if that was really alright, and they said that the ojousama has plenty of mana to spare. A little bit wouldn't hurt. Besides, it was something a skilled mage (me) suggested, so they figured they might as well give it a shot.

Then I guess I'll teach the ojousama how to play with magic. Or so I was thinking, but we're borrowing a room from the church right now. It wouldn't be a good idea to do it here.

"Then I'll teach you when there's an opportunity." [Ryouma]

"Really!? I'll be waiting then!" [Elialia]

The ojousama was so happy that she took my hands.

It's a simple beginner spell that any actual mage could use, but seeing her this happy makes me happy too.

"Now then, I believe we should be going soon. We've already talked about what needed to be talked about and we still have other errands to run." [Reinhart]

Just as Reinhart-san said, we still had to register at the guild.

Remembering that, we all left the church and went to the tamer guild.