Chapter-04 · EP-069
Episode 69: Wh-Wha-Wha-What Have I Done?!
Slimes were gathering in the puddles of water left from using Water Magic earlier.
Now, should I use Water Magic to gather slimes, defeat them, and collect potions?
Now that I could use Healing Magic, did I even need Rank 1 potions?
Well, if I decided I didn't need them, I could just sell them. They apparently sold for around 10,000 yen, so they were good for earning money.
Besides, I couldn't use Healing Magic in front of others, so it might be good to have one on hand in case I got injured in public.
Also, using Water Magic might raise its skill level. Or maybe skill experience was only gained when dealing damage to monsters.
I decided to test that as well.
For now, I struck and defeated the slimes that appeared.
They dropped the usual Magic Gems.
I set Water Magic to Inactive on the status screen, then back to Active. Having to reset the usage count like this was a hassle, but it couldn't be helped. I'd keep the status screen open.
I again lightly moved my hand and floated a water sphere. I gripped the ball-shaped water with my right hand and threw it. I was getting used to the range, making it hit the wall as intended.
If you gathered slimes in one spot, they could merge into a Huge Slime, so I scattered the water as much as possible.
After a while, slimes came swarming in again.
It was becoming routine, but I didn't dislike it.
While repeatedly resetting the usage count of Water Magic, I suddenly thought: how could I raise my Healing Magic level?
Water Magic would probably go up naturally as I fought. But Healing Magic apparently only increased by healing injuries. However, dungeon exploration was all about avoiding injuries as much as possible. If so, wasn't raising Healing Magic level incredibly difficult?
"Hmm…"
Since I had the chance, I wanted to raise my Healing Magic level too.
At Healing Magic level 1, you could only use it inside the dungeon. At level 2, it could be used outside the dungeon, though with reduced effect. So I definitely wanted to raise it to at least level 2.
Should I deliberately injure myself and use Healing Magic…?
But I didn't have that kind of self-abusive tendency. Simply put, I didn't like pain.
I wish there were plenty of conveniently injured people…
While thinking about such things, I kept popping the gathered slimes one by one.
Then an idea struck me.
Would healing a slime raise my Healing Magic level?
The moment I thought of it, I put it into practice.
First, I damaged a slime just enough not to kill it.
I lightly tapped it with my wooden sword.
It died and dropped a Magic Gem.
"That's no good…"
My level had risen to 4, so my attack power might be too high.
This time, I touched the slime with the tip of my wooden sword.
Ripples spread gently across its surface.
Had that dealt any damage?
Next, I cast Healing Magic on the slime.
"Heal! …Hmm?"
The spell didn't activate. Was my magical power too weak? Or maybe…?
I crouched down, held my palm close to the slime, and cast Healing Magic again.
"Heal!"
This time, it sparkled, showing that Healing Magic had activated.
"I see. So with my ability, it doesn't work at a distance…"
I felt sad about my lack of magical aptitude (probably low INT). I started to think that even if a warrior type like me could use Water Magic and Healing Magic, it was kind of pointless.
…No, it shouldn't be pointless!
I changed my mindset.
After that, I discovered that by holding my wooden sword over the slime and casting Heal, I didn't have to crouch down. Yes, when doing repetitive experience-gaining tasks, efficiency was key.
And so, I repeated a bizarre routine: use Water Magic to gather slimes, lightly tap them with my wooden sword to damage them, then heal them, and finally defeat them.
My speculation was that this would raise my Water Magic and Healing Magic levels while also collecting potions.
It was just speculation, though.
I continued the work silently, over and over.
I reset the magic usage count from the status screen many times.
If someone had been with me, they probably would have said "let's stop" at some point. But I was solo. I could do whatever I wanted until I was satisfied. Even if this didn't raise my magic skill levels, I would at least learn that offensive magic only levels up by attacking monsters, and Healing Magic only by healing humans. It wasn't a waste.
Yes, it wasn't a waste.
I kept telling myself that and continued the work.
I'd probably collected over a hundred Magic Gems. Normally, a potion should have dropped by now. But my drop rate seemed bad; potions just wouldn't appear, and my skill levels weren't increasing.
Gradually, I started wondering if I was doing something pointless.
I checked my watch. I'd already been at this for over two hours.
"Ah, enough!"
I got a bit annoyed.
Then, I noticed. The numbers on my status screen had changed.
Shirou Ichinose: LV4 ▶
Skill: Skill Camouflage (Hide) ▶
Healing Magic LV2 (Inactive, Hide) ▶
Water Magic LV1 (Inactive, Hide) ▶
Party: None
Healing Magic had gone up to level 2!
Surprised, my hand slipped. Instead of just touching the slime, I poked it a bit too hard and defeated it.
"Heal… Ah!"
Out of habit, I used Heal without thinking. Even though the slime was already dead.
I thought I'd made a mistake, but from the tip of my wooden sword, Healing Magic activated on the spot where the slime had vanished.
"Huh? Why?"
Healing Magic shouldn't work on an empty space.
The slime should have been dead.
I looked at the tip of my wooden sword. There, on the ground, lay a blue gem with a "1" written on it.
Then, sparkles rained down from the tip of my wooden sword onto the Rank 1 Heal Gem.
The next moment, I couldn't believe my eyes.
The number on the Heal Gem had changed from "1" to "3"!
"Whaaat?!"
I hurriedly picked it up.
I held it between my thumb and forefinger, staring at it.
It was unmistakably a super rare item: a Rank 3 potion.
"Wh-Wha-Wha-What have I done?!"
This concludes Chapter 4.
Thank you for following Shirou's growth so far.
Chapter 5 is still being written, so daily updates will pause here for a while. Once I have built up a buffer, I will resume daily updates. Please wait a while.
If you enjoyed it, I would be very happy if you could support the work by following it and giving it a ★ rating. I also look forward to your comments. They encourage me!