Chapter 428 – Chapter 428 Magic School Shutra (3-39)
Karin looked around her and told her soldiers as the sun disappeared from her tracks.
“… Let’s camp here.”
“Yes.”
With Karin’s voice, all of her soldiers quietly began constructing the tent.
Unlike the barracks tents, they were tents with only space to lie down and sleep.
When the soldiers tried to build Karin’s tent, Karin immediately stopped them and gave orders.
“Let me do the same. It just needs to be at a level where you can lie down and sleep.”
“But Karin-sama… It will be very difficult.”
“It’s okay, let me make the same for my tent.”
“… All right.”
The soldiers who listened to Karin’s words began to set up a small tent for one person as she said, even though they had troubled faces.
Karin’s tent, which was set up so quickly, was so small that she had to lie down and sleep.
‘I don’t think it’s necessary to go that far.’
In fact, Karin’s actions could not be seen as right.
She may appear to be considerate of her soldiers, but they will be uncomfortable with her actions.
However, that order would not contain only the justification of consideration.
When Karin entered Thorim Valley, she showed a strong appearance, but she showed weakness in the cold throughout the search.
‘Gosh… Look at the blue lips….’
Seeing that she was fighting with Karin, at first she complained that she was weak because of the cold, but as she continued the search, she began to feel sorry for her.
Especially when the sun went down and it became night, she couldn’t hide the paleness of her hard expression.
The soldiers would have had the experience of enduring the cold, if not to the level of Torim Valley.
In comparison, Karin would have less experience exposed to harsh environments.
She is a woman who cannot use magic and has not been trained physically.
No matter how talented she was, no matter how strong her willpower was, in the end she had a limit as a normal woman’s body.
Karin said that as soon as her one-person tent was set up, she immediately started giving orders.
“Please minimize the number of campfires.”
The idea was to minimize bonfires and prepare for an unexpected attack by lighting bonfires only in places where one stood guard.
“I understand, but… If we reduce the number of campfires like that, the soldiers’ sleeping space will also become a problem.”
“….”
Karin also seemed troubled by the soldier’s words.
There was nothing more terrifying than being attacked while she was sleeping. In particular, this is the area where the stronghold of thieves exists. It was an extremely dangerous place compared to other areas.
However, if the fire is not properly lit in such a harsh environment, it will adversely affect the condition of the soldiers the next day.
Karin seemed to be starting to get into her troubles.
Is it the morale of the soldiers or the safety of the soldiers?
While her Karin was worried about her, I sighed as I saw her like that.
‘If a bonfire is dangerous, you can use a hot pack….’
[….]
There were hot packs in all the pockets of the uniform I was wearing.
It is happiness.
I was so happy that I wondered if I could feel this kind of happiness if I ate ramen at the top of the snowy mountain.
As I was thinking such crap, a soldier came and talked to me.
“How do I set up a tent?”
“Please make me a one-person tent.”
“You don’t have to follow Karin-sama. Rather, it is more difficult for us.”
At first glance, Karin’s actions might seem like she’s taking the initiative and boosting the morale of her soldiers.
However, as I thought, the soldiers felt rather uncomfortable with Karin’s behavior.
“If you get sick tomorrow, the other soldiers will be anxious.”
“Yes? Then why not explain it like that?”
“Whew… Everyone knows Karin-sama’s personality, so they can’t talk.”
The soldiers here belonged to the duke’s family, so they already knew Karin’s style.
Once a decision is made, there is no going back.
He’s great as a human being, but when he was a boss, he was just as tired.
Even Karin’s own decisions prevented her soldiers from questioning her decisions, as she took full responsibility for her own decisions.
Because she is so responsible….
After the soldier said so about Karin, she glanced at me and began to wonder.
“By the way, you are great. I can’t believe you didn’t show it at all even in this cold…. Was she by any chance from a cold country?”
“No.”
“Her… You’re amazing. I thought I’d give you this if it’s cold….”
What the soldier held out was a piece of cloth the size of a fist.
“What is this?”
“There is a lump of heated iron inside.”
The soldier unwrapped the cheap cloth and showed the iron ore the size of a fist inside.
The iron ore was heated by fire, giving off a reddish color and giving off a haze.
Looking at the soldier, I had a question.
“Did you bring it?”
Haha, no. This is the iron ore you picked up a while ago.”
He explained that iron ore sometimes roams in Thorim Valley.
“I picked it up when I came earlier and put one in the bonfire.”
“Five… Then, if you pick up a lot of them and heat them up, you can spend the night warmly.”
I couldn’t make a lot of bonfires, so I had high expectations that I could spend the night safely if I heated up a lump of iron and wrapped it in a cloth like that.
Once heated, it will be warm for a while, so you can put it in the tent….
However, the soldier gave a disappointed answer.
“That would be great, but there is a problem. The point is that it sparks too much when heated.”
It was said that even if a single piece of iron ore was put into a bonfire, sparks flew in all directions, illuminating the surroundings.
Even the sound of sparks popping was said to be loud.
Previously, it was quiet because they heated one, but the moment they increased the number, they said that the sound of the sparks would grow loud enough to reverberate around them.
The number of soldiers now is about 50, and it was said that it would be safer to set up a campfire than to heat enough iron ore to cover everyone.
The soldier explained that, but it seemed that the situation was regrettable.
I told him that
“I don’t get cold easily, so don’t worry.”
Haha… You are so amazing. Then, I will bring this to Karin. What… You won’t want to take it again.”
“Do you have any more iron ore?”
“It’s not easy to find because it’s at night, but if you look around closely… Oh, it just happens to be under my feet.”
The direction the soldier pointed was under my feet.
I lifted the brown iron ore from rust.
It was the size of a fist, similar to the iron ore held by a soldier.
While I was looking intently at the iron ore, Armonia began to understand the condition of the iron ore and explain it.
[The iron content is 80%, which is very high. It is estimated to be of great value in this world.]
Iron smelting technology is excellent only in modern times, so even if the content is low, it’s okay, but this side’s smelting technology was only in the Middle Ages.
As such, the content of iron could be said to be the first factor in creating iron tools or weapons.
It was interesting that the smelting technology had not developed even though there had been such a big war in the past.
It seemed like it was because anything other than magic was treated as backward compatible.
However, what I was curious about was not such a smelting technique.
I asked Armonia just in case.
‘This… Can it be burned with electricity?’
..
..
What are the downsides of brain attribute magic?
A typical example is mana consumption.
Most magic, once activated, flies to the enemy while maintaining the status quo, but magic with lightning properties had to be used with tremendous output so that the current did not cut off in the middle.
In other words, the farther away the place where you need to use magic, the exponentially increases the amount of mana you consume.
The next problem is the control of brain properties.
No matter how well you draw the thunder attribute magic circle, it is easily transformed by the surrounding environment while flying after using it.
The magic that had been spreading in a straight line suddenly spread in all directions under the influence of nearby metal blocks.
There were also cases where most enemies were electrocuted in that way.
The problem is… Allies were also electrocuted.
In the end, the thunder attribute magic, which had the modifier of enormous mana consumption and out of control, was not used in the Continental War, and classes were not being conducted in Shutra due to the death of the current professor of thunder attribute.
It can be said that he was abandoned in both practicality and academic aspects.
But the guy who was abandoned by people for those two reasons gave me the best talent.
Although I haven’t mastered thunder attribute magic perfectly, in terms of utilizing it and maximizing it, there is probably no one in Stra who uses thunder attribute magic better than me.
And while using brain properties like that, I found out something really important.
That’s distance and variable elimination.
As for the thunder attribute, mana consumption is minimized as the distance is reduced, and efficiency is maximized as variables are removed.
Typically, my bean sprouts.
It seems to deflect bullets and kill enemies from a distance, but in reality, it is a method of miniaturizing the brain attribute magic circle, placing it right in front of the bullet and passing current through it.
If it had been the method of passing electricity through bullets from a distance, I would have been mummified like the assistant professor by now.
And the same goes for variables.
The material of the bullet was made into a superconductor so that the current does not act as a variable.
In other words, because of the scientific approach to brain attribute magic, the effect could be maximized.
And now it was a situation where you could enjoy scientific effects by using those brain properties.
I drew a yellow magic circle on the iron ore on the wooden board and started passing electricity through it.
Pajijijik!
Several iron ores began to glow red, connecting sparks of yellow light to each other with the sound of electricity flowing.
There was often a popping sound of sparks, but the sound itself was at the level of an electric current moving normally.
Everyone looked at it and began to quietly exclaim.
“Wow… It’s the first time I’ve seen magic right in front of me.”
“But what is that? It’s not fire, but it looks like it’s frying something?”
“They say it’s brain-attribute magic. You know that Lightning falling from the sky.”
“Is that what it is? Oh My God… To make something like that….”
In my eyes, electric current was nothing special, just something to be careful of, but to the soldiers, this magic with lightning properties was a real mystery itself.
Born in this era, the existence of electric current they see will be only lightning falling from the sky.
The thunder attribute was not even popular, so even court mages could not use it.
As the electric current flowed in, the iron ore suddenly turned red and gave off a haze.
I said to the soldiers who were staring blankly.
“It is done. Wrap this in a cloth and give it to the soldiers.”
“Bur, are you already? Oh, I see!”
The number of soldiers was not small, around 50, but if you put electricity through several at once, you will be able to heat up enough to cover them all.
And if you make a spare later and arrange it well in the tent, you will be able to survive this bitter cold.
“I brought some more.”
“Yes. Place it on a wooden plank, and let everyone fall. These are not just empty words. It’s really dangerous.”
“Yes Yes!”
Everyone feared to be cursed, so after placing the iron ore on the wooden board, they began to fall backwards.
It was the moment when he drew a magic circle to send electricity back to the iron ore.
“….”
Karin is beside me… No, he was staring at the magic circle I was drawing.
Karin, who had been stern and serious until now, was staring at the magic circle I was drawing, like a child fascinated by something strange.
Her pupils contained only my yellow magic circle, and without saying a word, she was staring at my magic circle as if she were watching a really enchanting scene.
I didn’t pay attention to Karin’s appearance, and continued passing electricity through the iron ore the soldiers brought.
While making iron ore like that, I felt that the area around the tent was heating up before I knew it.
Guards were also carrying one by one, and after carefully putting iron ore containing heat into the tent, everyone was enjoying the warmth with bright smiles.
I said to the soldiers.
“Please wake me up if there is any problem. You don’t have to worry.”
“Yes.”
Recognizing that everyone was hiding in the valley, they lowered their voices and answered happily.
The soldiers each began to head to their positions.
After that, it was the moment when I was about to go to the tent to go to bed.
A woman’s voice reached my ears and seemed to melt my eardrums.
“Thank you.”
“… Yes?”
I wondered if I had heard it wrong, and when I looked behind her, Karin bowed her head and began to thank me for her thanks.
“Thank you very much. If it wasn’t for you, I and the soldiers would have suffered in the harsh winter. Really… Thank you.”
“….”
Her pale blue face, which had been bluish until earlier, had regained vitality and had a graceful expression as usual.
And above all, Karin’s expression showed her sincere gratitude.
How to put it, there was no sense of desolation after winning such a futile fight.
‘I was like a child.’
[Did you know now?]
‘….’
I wouldn’t say it via communication….
I smiled at Karin as I took the wrong turn, regretting it so much.
“I just did what I could. On the contrary, if I had found out sooner, the search would have been much easier…. Sorry.”
“… You don’t have to apologize.”
Karin wasn’t angry, but she didn’t seem to like what I was saying.
I already knew a woman who didn’t like a man’s apology.
‘Aha… She looks exactly like Anna.’
I felt once again that the power of real genes is amazing.
As Karin realized the aloof expression she had made on her, she began to hesitate as she loosened her expression.
“By the way….”
“… ?”
I waited for Karin’s next words with her questioning expression on her face.
After procrastinating a few times, she glanced at me and handed me a piece of iron ore.
“If you don’t mind, can I ask for one more?”
“Oh, of course you can.”
When I answered lightly, Karin answered with a bitter smile.
“What might seem like a big deal to someone else seems like a simple thing to you… That’s amazing.”
Haha….”
I laughed awkwardly and placed the iron ore on the wooden plank, then cast the brain attribute magic using the magic circle.
Jigsaw….
Unlike before, there was less sound coming out, perhaps because it was a single piece of iron ore, and there were no bright lights like before.
Still, Karin stared at my magic as if she were watching a wonderful scene, she murmured.
“This… Can I not touch it?”
“Yes, you must never touch it during magic. To put it simply, you can think of it as a miniature version of lightning falling from the sky. It is more dangerous than fire.”
I briefly explained the brain properties.
He explained that it was dangerous enough to destroy not only the outside like fire, but also the inside of a person.
Like a student who listens to me whenever I tell her, she has been asking questions.
“… Is it something that erases the soul or something?”
Haha… It’s not like that. It just confuses the functions of the human body. And if it goes further… As you know, life is in trouble.”
“… You are honest.”
“Yes?”
Karin erased her dazed expression and smiled softly at me.
“A person like me only occasionally encounters magic through books. Even if you overestimated your abilities, we would have just believed you and accepted you as untouchable.”
Karin might have some knowledge about magic, but that was all she had.
Unless she was a student of Strauss, it was magic that it was not common for her to see the real battle in front of her, let alone experience it.
Besides, no one learns brain properties….
In other words, if I use an unknown power that people don’t know about and show off that power and overestimate it, people will have no choice but to think of me that way.
But I… I don’t like such useless bravado.
“I value trust.”
“Trust me… You have such a great mindset.”
Karin looked at me with a smile to see if she liked what I said.
But when I saw her expression, her playfulness started to kick in.
“I think deceiving one’s ability is the same as someone who hides and eavesdrops.”
“!?”
“Hiding and hiding are, after all, an act of looking down on the other person.”
“….”
Karin was looking up at me with an expression similar to the one she had when she was taken aback by her dean’s words earlier.
At this point, Karin must have understood the intention of my words.
Because she is such a smart woman.
I slowly approached her and stood in front of her, and Karin stepped back in surprise.
I said to her with a smile on her face.
“Okay, that’s all done. I hope you have a warm night.”
“… Thank you.”
I started to head for my tent, letting go of Karin’s shy answer.
‘Heh… Good! Won!! This is it! The thrill of victory!!’
[… Didn’t you reflect that you were like a child earlier?]
‘What if you’re a child! Winning is the best! [#112]
That’s how my first conversation with Karin was able to end with my complete victory.
