For some inexplicable reason, I found myself in front of the King.
Why? Just… why?
"We are grateful for your efforts in eliminating the nation's threat," the King said solemnly.
That was a national threat? Seriously? It was just 20,000 orcs.
Surely, the royal army could handle that many without breaking a sweat.
"Ha-ha, it is an honor, Your Majesty," I replied, trying to sound as respectful as possible. I hadn't exactly been trained in court etiquette, so I stuck with the basics.
"As a reward, what would you like?" the King asked, looking at me with genuine curiosity.
A reward, huh? I definitely didn't want to be named an heir or anything close to that—managing lands sounded like a complete bore. There was really only one thing I had in mind.
"Well, there was a misunderstanding... word got back to my family that I had died for half a day. As a result, my engagement was called off. I'd like to restore that engagement."
The King furrowed his brows. "It's inappropriate to annul an engagement before mourning is over. They should've waited at least a year. It's disgraceful, as if they're trying to usurp your family's status. Very well, I will personally ensure your engagement is reinstated."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," I said, barely containing my grin.
Yes! Karina's mine again.
I clenched my fist in triumph. Plink would be upset, but who cares? If it came down to it, I'd be happy to duel him over Karina.
When I returned to the dorm, Karina was already there waiting for me.
"Finally, everything's back in order. My family has agreed to the engagement again," she said, smiling warmly.
"All thanks to the King's intervention," I replied.
"Indeed, I'm grateful for that," she agreed.
Later, we went to the dining hall, where whispers filled the room.
"Did you hear? A love reclaimed! How romantic!"
"It's like a storybook! They'll write songs about this one day!"
"Cancelling an engagement after half a day? That's ridiculous. Must've been about money."
The rumor mill was working overtime, painting me as a hero and Plink as the villain. My handling of the orc stampede certainly didn't hurt my reputation.
But I had bigger things to worry about—specifically, my magic. I was still unable to transform my raw mana into specific magical elements. It felt like I was painting with invisible ink. If only I could give my mana an element, then I could cast recovery spells and much more.
That gave me an idea: a magical tool that could attribute mana with elements.
Once dinner was over, I rushed to Samantha-sensei's research lab and knocked on the door.
"Come in," her voice called from inside.
"Sensei, I'd like to cancel my previous order. I've had a new idea. Do you think you could create a tool that adds elemental attributes to raw mana?"
"Hmm, attributing an element to unformed mana? That's tricky. I can convert mana into specific spells, but you want something that can do this at will, right?" she asked thoughtfully.
"If it's too difficult, never mind."
I tried to hide my disappointment, but it was a hard pill to swallow. Of course, it wouldn't be that simple.
"But... it's an intriguing research topic. I'll give it a try," she added with a smile.
"Thank you!" I said, my hope renewed.
However, I couldn't rely solely on others. I had to figure things out for myself as well.
Later that night, I picked up my exchange diary with Karina. As I flipped through the older entries, one line caught my attention: "My feelings for you are like waves, constantly washing away the sands of doubt in my heart."
Waves. Yes, waves.
Up until now, I had only been focused on circulating mana as quickly and in as large amounts as possible. But perhaps speed and quantity weren't everything. Like electricity, mana could also flow in waves.
Waves, I mused. This could be the key. Even if it didn't result in immediate success, it would make for excellent training.
Lately, my training had felt a bit monotonous. But if I could pulse my mana like a heartbeat, creating rhythmic waves, I might be able to unlock something new.
I sat cross-legged on my bed, closed my eyes, and began circulating my mana in slow, deliberate pulses. The rhythm came slowly at first—a gentle ebb and flow. I set a goal of sixty pulses per minute, trying to time it like a heartbeat.
Grr… this is harder than I thought.
My mind struggled to keep up with the rhythm. I needed a way to maintain the pace without constant thought.
That's when it hit me—a pendulum. If I imagined a pendulum swinging back and forth in my mind, it could keep the rhythm for me. I pictured the steady tick-tock of a pendulum, and sure enough, my mana began to follow.
Soon, the pulses quickened, surpassing my ability to consciously track them. Just as I was about to give up, I felt a change—a flicker of magic as mana flowed from my body, igniting a small flame.
I did it. I just cast magic through mana manipulation alone!
Waves. That was the secret. Regular people must do this subconsciously, or maybe they had some innate organ that handled it. But for me, this was a breakthrough.
With this, I could master any magic, regardless of attribute.
Now, I just had to figure out which frequencies corresponded to which spells. Healing magic, for instance, wasn't something I could easily discern.
I'll need Samantha-sensei's help again, I thought as I jumped up and rushed back to her lab, knocking at the door once more.
"Come in."
"It's me, Ride. Sorry to bother you again."
"It's no bother. What's on your mind this time?" she asked kindly.
"I've discovered that magic operates through mana waves. I was wondering if you could create a tool to measure those wave frequencies."
Samantha's eyes widened in surprise. "That's a huge discovery! I've never heard of such a theory before. If magic is mana waves, then I might be able to create a tool to add elemental attributes after all. For now, I can definitely make a Mana Sensor to detect these frequencies. It could represent them with different colors. That should be simple enough."
Before long, Samantha-sensei had crafted the Mana Sensor. We tested it immediately, and sure enough, each magic spell produced a different colored frequency.
Now I had a reliable way to compare the mana I produced with established spells. Healing, barriers, body enhancement, detoxification, fireballs, waterballs, stone bullets, lightning—all were now within my grasp.
Technically, I didn't need magic tools anymore. But the stun-gun tool would still come in handy for situations where I didn't want to kill. And I wasn't going to cancel my order for the elemental attribute tool. Something told me it would still prove useful in the future.
I decided to name my new technique Converter—no incantation required. I could cast magic just by willing it, which even made Samantha-sensei a little envious. After all, incantationless magic was the stuff of legends.
With this new power, I felt like I could overcome nearly any obstacle. From here on, it would just be a matter of refining my skills and adding to my repertoire.
As for Karina and our re-established engagement, that was great too. But discovering magic's true nature? That was equally thrilling. In a way, both victories belonged to the two of us.