Chapter 24 -
In the meanwhile, Yuishia was diligently practicing her magic through repetition and striving to improve her power by using her mana to the utmost limit every day.
My thinking was that it was fine even if she doesn't become so I didn't give her .
Anyway, by practicing her magic and consuming her own mana, she increased her mana capacity from her initial 50,000 units to 150,000 units, displaying astounding growth.
And today was---
"I'm starting then, Chise-san."
"Hmm, anytime is fine."
In these 5 years, her equipment has also changed considerably, as she now held a wand that buffed water magic by up to five times.
In contrast, I was facing her with an evergreen oak wood wand, which I used in the past, in my hand.
At present, I had a total of 250,000 units of mana out of my original 500,000 unit capacity since there was some work in the morning where I needed to spend half of my mana.
Yuishia was facing me with only 150,000 units of mana, but she could conjure up more powerful magic than me if she limited herself to only using water magic due to the amplification from her wand.
"Haaaaa ------!"
The mock battle thus began with hundreds of ice spears appearing as the trigger.
We were both also equipped with a mana tool that I made with which absorbed all kinds of damage at the expense of one’s own mana.
Well, this was just a mock battle with proper safety measures, but how we use magic must look like we were trying to kill each other to others if anyone was watching.
Cold chill pervaded the air, the ground was gouged out, and a sense of death prevailed over the surroundings.
"Her power from her growth and her water magic aptitude is even higher than mine, huh? --- ---!"
I blocked Yuishia's magic while it was descending to the ground, and further thickened my barrier to defend. At the same time, I also released my magic to counterattack which Yuishia blocked with her own magic.
Having said that, my magic, which was aiming for that gap, still struck her.
Yuishia deployed her barrier magic in an attempt to reduce the damage, but my magic pierced that and managed to damage her, which greatly reduced her mana.
"*Huff* *Huff*......This is my full power! --- ---!"
Yuishia unleashed her area ice magic to drain my mana all at once.
Ice lumps the size of mountains, innumerable ice pillars, frozen ground, and accumulated white clouds that the blizzard left behind in its wake; it was terrifying that all this magic spectacle done on such a vast area was caused by a single person.
"Amazing, even Teto would be left in a sorry state facing that."
I heard the cheery voice of Teto, who was watching this mock battle.
Anyway, the result of her magic was an ice age-like world stretching far and wide in the barren land of the , submerging it into cold and quietness.
"*Pant* *Pant*...... this means it's my...*Huff*... loss, huh?"
After she said that, I rested my wand on Yuishia's shoulder. With her breathing short due to exerting all her power, she sat down on the stop.
Yuishia may have had a conditional advantage, but I still had plenty of energy to tackle her.
"You were great. I don't have anything to say about your offensive power, but your paper-like barrier is a matter of concern. Also, you were too impatient in the end. You used up even the mana you should have kept for defense. Focus on this aspect."
As I lectured Yuishia about her blunder, Yuishia, with her eyebrows scrunched up, asked.
"How did you dodge my final attack? It was an area magic, you know."
"Well, I used short-distance teleportation with to move behind you. You see, like that."
Then, I demonstrated it to her by taking a step forward and simultaneously using to teleport a short distance away, to which she let out a dry chuckle.
Rather than thinking about how to stop a large-scale attack, it was far more efficient to think about how to evade it.
"There really is no beating Chise-san, huh?"
"You've also grown splendidly these past five years. However, when it comes to area magic, the larger its range and the more power it has, the lower its versatility becomes."
"Versatility......?"
For example, we usually just use simple magic to produce a lump of ice or blow some gentle wind, which was enough to counter the intense heat wave on a hot day.
Or magic that could make it rain or create water was enough to extinguish a forest fire or some conflagration.
"It was really tough to handle your area magic, you know. But you see, that was uncalled for. The only time it can be really helpful is either in case of a war or in a monster stampede."
"The forest would have been flattened to the ground if it was used there."
She has heard from us how we were taking care of nature on an everyday basis, and how much effort and time we put into creating these forests from a barren wasteland.
She seemed to have gained a newfound realization about the power she now possessed, which could easily ravage the forest we had raised so painstakingly, as her body shivered.
"Chise-san, Teto-san. Sure enough, isn't magic scary?"
"Yeah, that's why the use of area magic is limited even if you master it. Rather, it would be more effective to use mana into more concentrated magic within a narrower range, than using it in area magic. Having magic that can penetrate an opponent's defense, just like how I penetrated Yuisia's barrier, is also necessary."
Area magic was just flashy magic but on a larger scale and was more useful in taking down numerous small fries at once. However, when it came to dealing with individual powerful opponents, it was more efficient to use magic specifically designed to bypass their defenses and deal damage.
"Like this--- "
I utilized around half the amount of mana Yuishia had used in her area magic and created ice needles. And when I unleashed them on the ground, they spread like thorn shrubs followed by a soul-piercing chill.
"So pretty......"
"Your finger will come off if you touch it, just so you know."
"Eekk!?"
The ice thorns that Yuishia stared at while hurriedly pulling her hand back were reinforced with curse-like effects.
It wasn't magic to reduce the opponent's defense, instead, it was a lethal attack to pierce that defense as well as their body to damage it from the inside and freeze their blood and organs.
If the enemy happened to dodge them, there was still the soul-piercing chill that could be sustained with mana, and just a slight touch would be enough for the chill to enter their body and gradually erode it.
I waved my hand lightly to make the ice thorns disappear since it would be dangerous to leave them out for long, and then turned to Yuishia.
"Your magic is really an eye-opener, Chise-san. On the other hand, I still have a long way to go to become a master. Besides, the skill still hasn't appeared yet either......"
Yuishia, low on confidence, looked concerned over the acquisition of the skill.
I had around 50,000 units of mana when I got that skill, but it seemed like mana capacity requirements differ on an individual basis to acquire that skill. Though, we might still be missing a piece of the puzzle for all I know.
Anyway, I looked at the frustrated Yuishia and asked.
"Yuishia, you wanted to be a Court Sorcerer before, do you remember why you wanted to become one?"
"It was...... to earn money. To become a splendid magician to reassure my deceased parents that I am living well."
"Then, what is your definition of a splendid magician? Someone who can use strong offensive magic?"
Yuishia shook her head at my question.
"I think it's something else. Chise-san, did I make a mistake?"
Hearing her question, I realized I may have worded my question poorly.
"You didn't. But for me, a splendid magician is someone who does their best for the sake of the people."
“It's something Majou-sama always does! Saving people in need!"
"For the people...... Isn't it the same as what I've been doing all this time?"
Yuishia chuckled to herself in self-derision.
She accepted requests from people from the floating island as she interacted with them.
Like making medicine to cure a child's fever.
Conducting tests of strength to assess their strength compared to the people outside.
Teaching them about the convenient tools from the outside world.
Helping out in building their new settlement.
Healing the mythical beasts who were injured in the forest with recovery magic.
The things she could do remarkably even with minimal usage of mana and magic.
"Alright, your next assignment is to come up with a magic spell that can help the people."
"Coming up with a helpful magic spell?"
I nodded.
Yuishia, at present, has actual experience battling with C-rank monsters, but she should be stronger than that.
However, she was driving herself away from the people around her by only focusing on destructive and lethal offensive magic.
That was why learning convenience magic, magic to make one's life prosper, or magic technology to create tools among other things would help abate the people's fear of her, and would also lead to an improvement in one's quality of life.
"Majou-sama always spends her time making tools when she's troubled."
"Well, it's convenient, after all. , I mean......"
I'm preaching that Yuishia should do this or that, but I could basically skip this step since I could make them instantly with . This made me think it was a bit unfair in that regard.
And then, the serious-minded Yuishia started murmuring to herself on the spot.
From there, Yuishia continued with her magic practice as usual. However, it seemed like her compatibility with devising magic tools was a perfect fit.
Yuishia herself was a diligent person, so she repeatedly went through tiresome research on the fundamentals of magic. Her <slow-aging> made it possible for her to continue her research over a long period, and her vast mana capacity helped her in conducting experiments repeatedly.</slow-aging>
Furthermore, she herself was a skilled magician, so she also has many ways to earn her research fund.
This was also the moment where Yuishia's path as an adventurer and as a magic researcher was set in stone.
