A month has passed since the Martial Arts Tournament ended and I returned to the Akses Duchy in Arcadia.
“Congratulations on your victory, Aike.”
My father wore an indifferent expression at the news of my tournament win, yet somehow, I could sense his genuine happiness.
“Congratulations, Aike.”
My mother smiled broadly, a joy apparent to anyone who looked. It felt like the warm family environment I’d only seen in TV shows or books.
And it’s been a month since I only communicated with Reina through letters.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I would send a letter, while on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays Reina would reply.
There was nothing particularly special to discuss. We just exchanged everyday stories as we always had.
However, it was a bit regretful that I couldn’t speak freely, considering the letters could be seen by someone else.
Spreading my magical power and circulating it, I slowly assumed the stance to stop.
“Hoo.”
I cleared my thoughts, slowly but heavily swinging my sword.
A soft sound followed, followed by the sensation of something being sliced. I felt it.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a metal plate completely split in half, collapsed on the ground.
“…Done.”
After a month of not holding a sword, thankfully, I didn’t feel awkward at all.
Initially, I planned to challenge it the day I returned to Arcadia, but my body wouldn’t allow it.
Just spreading my magical power sent agonizing pains throughout my entire body, especially in my scarred side.
After examining my condition, I was informed that the path of magical power—a magical circuit—had been completely twisted.
Particularly the one near my side was on the verge of being completely torn apart, and upon hearing that, my father prohibited any training until I was fully healed.
And just yesterday evening, I finally received a clean bill of health.
I swung my sword relentlessly.
To make up for the month I had to rest, I moved my body more than I usually would.
The real events were set to start after I entered Arcana, but I couldn’t afford to relax.
Even now, I couldn’t follow even half of the movements from that time.
My victory over Helen was thanks to the knowledge I gained from the original work.
Beating the Crown Prince had a penalty for him, plus he was caught off guard.
Easily getting a hold of Neia and Diana was merely luck.
I couldn’t confidently say that any of it was due to my skill.
Cutting through the metal plate was the most basic trial to join the Knight Order.
To be honest, I had no intention of joining the Knight Order, but I needed at least the strength comparable to a knight.
“Shall I start talking to Father soon?”
That was the only idea that sprang to mind right now.
“Could you get me several B-grade magic stones?”
“Yes, please, Father.”
At my request, Father rubbed his eyes with his hand.
This was a habit he had whenever he was deep in thought.
“Aike. I’m sure you know what magic stones are.”
“I do.”
Magic stones are the stones that occasionally fall from magical beasts when they perish, or jewels infused with pure magical power by mages at their extremes.
These magic stones are typically used to make magical tools or as mediators during magical experiments.
In other words,
“You know that just one D-grade magic stone costs three platinum coins, right?”
“I know.”
They’re crazy expensive.
As Father said, a D-grade magic stone, roughly the size of a pebble, costs three platinum coins.
And I wanted at least B-grade magic stones.
That means the price jumps at least tenfold, even at the lowest estimate.
In other words, thirty platinum coins.
Since I needed at least five of those stones, I needed at least 150 platinum coins.
“Anyway, I plan to use all thirty platinum coins I received for winning the martial arts tournament.”
“That’s enough to buy one B-grade magic stone. Is that insufficient?”
“Yes. I think I need at least five.”
“Sigh.”
Father sighed deeply.
Of course, it was a natural reaction.
Even for a noble family like ours, 150 platinum coins was not a small amount.
“I don’t understand why you, as a knight aspirant and not a mage, need magic stones.”
“It’s absolutely necessary.”
“…Fine. I’ll think it over.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed to Father and exited the office.
There are essential talents needed for magic in this world.
Total magical quantity. Speed of elemental conversion. Implementation techniques, etc.
But the most crucial aspect is the width of the magical circuit.
“Alex, Noelle. As I mentioned yesterday, for the next week, no matter what happens or who comes, please don’t let anyone in. I don’t need to eat. Got it?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
After earnestly pleading with them, I fully closed the door.
This room is reasonably soundproof, so no sounds should escape it.
“Hoo.”
In the center of the room lay a black, gleaming magic stone.
“Shall we begin?”
I placed my right hand on the nearest magic stone.
I could feel the pure magical power sleeping inside the stone.
I closed my eyes and slowly drew magic power from my heart, then sent it flowing into the stone with my right hand.
At that moment, my refined magic power began to mix with the raw, unrefined magical power of the stone.
Tick. Tiddlytick. Tick.
The sound of flames igniting echoed from within the stone.
The stone grew hot along with the sound as if it were about to explode.
A searing pain erupted in my palm.
But I couldn’t stop supplying the magical power.
I had to grit my teeth and endure.
Minutes passed.
Suddenly, I felt a connection.
“Now.”
I forcefully drew the magic power mixed within the stone into my body, gradually feeding it into my heart.
The heart, filled with more magic power than its total capacity, began to release it.
However, I forcefully blocked the opening of the magical circuit to hold back the magic power threatening to flow throughout my body.
“…Next.”
I pushed the now ordinary stone behind, placing my right hand on the next magic stone.
My body felt hot.
The magical circuit expands the more it’s used.
And according to this width, the amount of magic power that can be instantly released from the heart increases, directly correlating to the speed of magical implementation.
Physical Enhancement Magic follows this same principle.
The amount of magic power spread in an instant determines the output of the body.
The prime example is Helen Oberon.
She flows an enormous amount of magic power through her whole body to enhance her physique.
In order to send out that magnitude of magic, Helen’s magical circuit widened continuously, resulting in her magically infused fists being stronger than most weapons.
What I’m doing now is, in a simple sense, forcibly mimicking Helen.
Cramming more magic than my total limit into my heart and detonating it.
Even if my entire body’s magical circuit is covered, the overflowing magic power remains.
To unleash all that magic, I must forcibly widen and widen my magical circuit.
This was the only method to expand the magical circuit beyond a lifetime of using magic.
It felt as if my entire body was melting away.
I imagined it might be what it’s like to dive into Marin’s furnace in Vulcanus.
“Gah!”
As I coughed, a mouthful of blood splattered out.
“…Ugh.”
Still, I couldn’t stop here.
I had two magic stones left.
I had brought six in total, so I had to use one more.
I forcibly blocked the magical circuit and sent minimal magic power into the stone.
Just reminding myself that no matter how much pain I endure, I won’t die.
And the moment the magic power from the fifth stone entered my heart, I faced hell.
This method appeared in the ancient ruins episode toward the end of the story.
The Crown Prince and the female lead found this method written on a tablet excavated from the ruins, and both attempted this immediately with the magic stones obtained from there.
At first, it was natural that they failed, unable to withstand this pain.
They exploded their magical power all at once, and their magical circuits did not widen.
They had to endure until the overflow of excess magic naturally escaped their bodies.
In the end, the Crown Prince overcame it purely through mental strength, while the female lead pulled through by alleviating the pain with a holy artifact, the Ring of the Saintess.
What I’m following now, unsurprisingly, is the former.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
Unbearable agony coursed through my entire body.
The original work’s description was nonsense.
As if it was a pain that could be withstood.
Being pricked by needles, diced with knives, having my entire body set aflame, and being squeezed; I thought none of that would hurt less than this.
Bashing my head against the wall or rolling on the ground, the pain wouldn’t disappear.
The thought of dying crossed my mind repeatedly.
But I already knew I couldn’t die.
In the end, the only thing I could do was pray for this torment to pass as quickly as possible.
“…I’m still alive.”
At some point, the pain ceased.
The hell that seemed endless finally came to an end.
I slowly raised my body and looked at myself; crimson veins were bulging all over.
Other than that, nothing particularly changed.
“Hoo.”
I took a deep breath.
Worrying that the intense pain might come rushing back, I drew up my magical power.
Then, I gradually began to flow it throughout my body.
Fortunately, the feared pain didn’t return.
But it was clear that my body had transformed.
“Well, if nothing changed, I couldn’t bear the injustice.”
The amount of magic released from my heart at once had increased, and the speed of dispersion was much faster.
My body felt lighter than ever.
Now, I felt I could match the Crown Prince from the martial arts tournament.
“I should’ve done this as soon as I got back.”
…No. That would have been too much.
Had I attempted this before the tournament, I wouldn’t have been able to withstand this pain.
There wouldn’t have been enough time during the tournament either.
All the effort, learning, and overcoming I did was why it was possible.
It felt just right that now was the ideal time.
“How long has it been?”
In the original work, excluding the period of failure, the Crown Prince took five days, and the female lead took seven days.
I shot the duration as a safer bet at seven days, but there was a chance it could’ve ended sooner.
“Should I go out and ask?”
While there was a clock in my room, it didn’t show the date.
“Noel?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
As I opened the door, Noel stood there, smiling as if it was obvious.
“It’s been exactly 6 days, 21 hours, and 52 minutes since you entered your room on Monday, September 15th, at 9:10 AM. Now it’s Monday, September 22nd, at 7:02 PM.”
“…Thank you. And good work.”
“It’s nothing. I’ll now return to my usual duties.”
Noel bowed to me before slowly walking towards the dining area.
When I opened the magical mailbox in my room, there were three letters piled up.
The sender was naturally Reina.
I had warned that there wouldn’t be any news for about a week, but it was typical of Reina not to worry.
I carefully opened the Tuesday letter first and read it.
It was the usual inane small talk.
The Thursday and Saturday letters were the same.
The only difference in the Thursday letter was an added sentiment of boredom due to no response.
“…Should I write now?”
I typically wrote in the evenings after all my duties, but since I’d prearranged with my father, I had no duties today.
So writing and sending a letter now wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Reina wouldn’t have no duties either, so I guessed a response would come tomorrow evening.
I wrote the letter without mentioning anything about buying magic stones or suffering agony.
I wrote about my victory in the tournament, my replies to her letters, and some amusing stories from my original world that came to mind.
After a few seconds, the letter melted away into the sender compartment.
“Really, this part never fails to amaze me.”
Now all I had to do was wait.
Most likely, as expected, a letter would arrive in the inbox by tomorrow evening.
But days turned into weeks, then months, and still no reply from Reina.
Thus, I turned 17 in this world.
