And then… Afternoon came.
I went to Ryouma to ask about the spectator seats.
“How did I do?” [Ryouma]
“Good enough.” [Roche]
Just lining up some chairs to make them stand out would have been enough, but Ryouma actually went out of his way to prepare 3 rows of chairs for 15 people. He even added levels to the seats so that the people sitting in front wouldn’t block the people behind.
And then to strengthen the seats, he leveled the ground, hardened it, and built it a proper foundation on top. He even added rails to prevent the spectators from falling over and erected a barrier to protect against stray arrows and spells.
I didn’t ask him to do this much, but… He looks really satisfied, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
“Still, Ryouma. You’re going to be fighting, you know? Are you sure you should be using this much mana here?” [Roche]
Even if you don’t run out of mana completely, using spells should still put a considerable strain on him. I asked him to make the seats because I didn’t think it would affect the match, but he went and gave the full treatment for the seats just like he did for his house.
“If you’re still fine after building something like this, then you must have some crazy mana reserves.” [Roche]
“Thank you very much. I’m confident I won’t easily lose to anyone when it comes to my mana reserves.” [Ryouma]
Oh… He’s usually reserved, so he must really have some crazy mana reserves… Still…
“Hey, Ryouma. I just thought about it, but… Why did you become an adventurer?”
Now that I think about it, I don’t know anything about this guy. I heard about him from my party members and the guild master, but it was only a few days ago that I became acquainted with him.
“Money. Fame. There are many adventurers who become one, dreaming of such things, but Ryouma, you’re different, right? After all, if you just wanted money, well, you have your store. And with that much mana and skill with magic. I mean you can even use Barrier Magic, so you should be able to earn a lot as a mage even though you’re young. There shouldn’t be any reason for you to risk your life and become an adventurer, right? Or at least, that’s what I think, so I got a bit curious. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, though. I don’t mind.” [Roche]
“It’s alright. It’s not like there’s a special reason behind it. At the time of registration, becoming an adventurer itself was my goal. I had confidence in my abilities since I could to survive in the forest alone, and it was also a convenient way for me to identify myself. Also, this is a bit common, but I guess you could say it’s also because I ‘admired’ the profession. My grandparents were former adventurers… And adventurers also have a lot of freedom when it comes to work.” [Ryouma]
“I see.” [Roche]
’Admire’
That’s a reason common among youth. On that point, he acts just like his age. He’s also realistic, so his reasons aren’t bad by any means.
“Roche-san. Can I ask you a question of my own?” [Ryouma]
“Go ahead. I’ll answer as long as I can.” [Roche]
“When you said a while ago that there’s a lot of paths I could take, you made it sound like Barrier Magic was so important. Is it such a big deal? Being able to use it or not?” [Ryouma]
“…You don’t know? Even though you can use Barrier Magic?” [Roche]
“I know it’s a difficult branch of magic to study, and I did struggle with it more than the other branches, but… Unfortunately, I’ve spent too little time with other people, so there are a lot of things I don’t know about society.” [Ryouma]
“To put it simply, it requires more skill than the elemental magic that we normally use. When you release mana from your body it vanishes. This part you know, right?” [Roche]
He nodded. Of course, he knew that. It’s magic 101, after all.
“The practitioner can control mana to avoid having it vanish. This too is part of the basics of magic, but you don’t have to be too conscious about that part when it comes to elemental magic. Since in their case you can just use the mana before the mana disappears. The strength of the spell will weaken, though, so if you’re aiming to be a proper mage, then the mana vanishing issue isn’t something that can be ignored… But let’s put that topic aside.” [Roche]
Barrier Magic is a branch of magic that creates magical walls to block various things. Because of its nature, it is often used for defense. As such, unlike offensive magic, you can’t just use it for an instant. In order to use it for defense, the goal is usually to make it cover a certain location for a long time.
“To that end, you have to control the mana that’s so easy to disappear and make it stay in one place. In a sense, you could say that the minimum requirement for a mage to be able to use Barrier Magic is to be able to have at least that level of control. But this ‘least’ level for elemental magicians is something that can only be reached by those that can cast at least cast intermediate spells.
But skill in elemental magic doesn’t directly translate to mana control. Just because a mage can use Intermediate Spell doesn’t mean he can use Barrier Magic. How did you learn Barrier Magic, Ryouma?” [Roche]
“I learned from my grandmother.” [Ryouma]
An adventurer that can use Barrier Magic, huh. That’s rare.
“It’s convenient for camping too.” [Ryouma]
“It’s convenient, but it’s hard to learn. And for people who don’t have a master to learn from like you had, those teaching Barrier Magic require that their students first be able to cast Intermediate Spells. Only then can they start their training, but the training itself takes a long time.
Also, the services of Barrier Magicians are often enlisted by the rich. Most are hired along with their master, but even if that’s not the case, there are a lot of job openings for them. That’s why there aren’t a lot of magicians who become adventurers after learning barrier magic. After all, they can find a much more stable life by being employed.
In your case, you can already use barrier magic. Even if you’re not that good at it yet, considering your age, you have a bright future ahead of you. That’s why you’ll probably have a relatively easier time finding apprenticeship if you looked for one. And even if you don’t go for an apprenticeship, just having barrier magic under your resume is a bigger guarantee than anything else for your mana control. It’s a strong point to have for any magic-related job… But that’s about all I know. If you want to know more, you should talk to Lucy or Mimil. I only studied the subject so I could explain to the students, but it’s not my field. Magic is Mimil’s or Lucy’s specialty.” [Roche]
“Thank you very much. I really learned a lot!” [Ryouma]
Why are his eyes sparkling so much? That was all commonsense. He doesn’t look like he’s putting on an act either. …Now that I think about it, when I answered his question last time, he was making a face like this too… He seemed calm for his age and even knew a lot, but is this alright?
He seems to be missing knowledge in some weird places. It’s making me worry.
…Maybe this is what the guild master was trying to say…?
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