Chapter 2

1.

I reconstruct the magic.

That sounds grand when you say it, but the principle itself isn’t all that difficult.

For example, just as changing the plus in 1+1 to a minus changes the answer from 2 to 0.

Change one symbol or move a connection, and the flame grows bigger, smaller, or even bursts somewhere completely unexpected.

Of course, the difference was that a mountain of complex formulas sat in between.

If I had to calculate all of that by hand, it would indeed be a difficult task.

I didn’t mind much since the AI did it for me.

“Reconstruction, huh. How long does it take?”

[Estimated time required is 3 hours and 47 minutes.]

“……That’s a long time.”

[I am redesigning the magic formula to match your unregistered mana engine.]

I don’t understand the complicated details.

But I waited twenty years, so what’s four more hours?

I folded the scroll and tucked it into my chest.

I decided to eat first.

Because even if I could use magic, it would all be for nothing if I starved to death before then.

“One hard bread, please.”

“Five coppers.”

The bakery owner wrapped yesterday’s leftover bread in paper and handed it over.

As I took a bite, an ominous crack sounded from my teeth.

[Strong impact detected on your lower right molar.]

“Did it crack?”

[No damage detected.]

“Good to hear.”

I soaked the bread with a little water and ate it.

It didn’t taste good, but it filled my stomach.

Honestly, I wanted soup with meat in it, but in my current state, even a single hard bread was a blessing.

Still, once I could use magic, I’d probably be able to easily afford soup.

Just lighting fires would earn me money, or I could roast skewers on the street and sell them.

Thinking about using the magic I finally obtained after twenty years on a street stall felt a little pathetic.

But even a turbulent life requires a full stomach to keep going.

I tucked the remaining half of the bread into my chest and stood up.

2.

The place I headed to was an abandoned warehouse on the city’s outskirts.

A shabby place with not a single person around, half-collapsed roof, and holes punched through every wall.

The reason I came all the way here was simple.

[Reconstruction of the basic fireball is complete.]

“Right on time. Finally, four hours have passed.”

It was basic magic, but fire was fire.

If I tested it in a crowded area and accidentally scorched someone’s clothes, that would be a problem.

If I was really unlucky, I might burn down an entire shop.

And then, forget compensation—I’d be sent straight to the detention center.

If I, with no bail money, got arrested?

That’d be a life sentence ending for me, wouldn’t it?

[The output formula and safety formula have been adjusted to match your mana engine.]

[Expected casting success rate is 57.2%.]

“Slightly over half.”

[No mana control experience has been confirmed for the user.]

There was no helping that.

In my original world, I never had to move mana directly.

If I said “lights,” the AI would gather the mana, set the coordinates, and even adjust the brightness on its own.

All I had to do was enjoy the result.

Just like turning on a faucet without caring where the water came from.

“Alright. Let’s give it a shot.”

I extended my right hand forward.

The mages I’d seen on the street all seemed to take a similar stance.

“Fireball.”

[Assisting with casting.]

My palm grew warm.

I also felt something stir deep in my lower abdomen.

‘Oh. This time it might actually work.’

I looked at my palm in anticipation.

There was nothing.

[Casting has been interrupted.]

“Why?”

[The user stopped supplying mana.]

“When did I?”

[Mana output lasted only 0.8 seconds.]

“I didn’t even feel like I was supplying mana!”

It felt like being told I suddenly stopped breathing when I never knew I was breathing in the first place.

“How do I keep it going?”

[Maintain the flow of mana from your core center through your right arm.]

A faint red line appeared before my eyes.

A line that started below my abdomen, passed through my chest, and extended to the tip of my right arm.

I focused on that part.

A warm energy stirred deep in my belly.

I slowly pushed it toward my right arm.

[Output 7%] -> [10%]

[Output is decreasing.]

My palm grew lukewarm, then cooled again.

“This is hard.”

The second attempt failed too.

On the third, a single red spark appeared, then immediately went out.

Fourth attempt.

Fizz.

A small ember flew out and caught on my sleeve.

“Ah, hot!”

I frantically shook my arm.

The ember fell to the ground and went out.

A hole the size of a finger had burned through my sleeve.

My already tattered clothes were now even more tattered.

“You said it was customized for me.”

[The magic formula has been adjusted to match the user’s mana engine.]

[But the mana output must be maintained by the user personally.]

“Can’t you handle that part too?”

[Physical mana supply is not supported.]

In the end, it meant I had to do at least the bare minimum myself.

This other world’s magic was truly inconvenient.

In my original world, all I had to do was move my mouth.

I extended my hand again.

This time, I didn’t just pour in force blindly.

From my belly to my arm.

From my arm to my palm.

I carefully kept the warm flow from breaking.

[Output 8%]

[Output is stable.]

A small flame bloomed above my palm.

Slightly bigger than a candle flame.

But calling it a fireball felt a bit embarrassing.

It flickered like it would go out at the slightest breeze, and it didn’t even look strong enough to light firewood.

Still, it was fire.

Coming from my own hand.

“……I did it!”

My voice rose before I realized it.

This was magic I’d only watched others use for twenty years.

It wasn’t all that impressive.

Any street mage could produce this while yawning, and it was too small to earn a single clap from anyone.

But for me, it was different.

I just stared at the flame above my palm for a while.

[With the current output, you can maintain it for 18 seconds.]

“Can’t I keep it longer?”

[It is possible if you lower the output.]

“Just enough to warm up some bread.”

[Reflecting requested parameters.]

The flame shrank to half its size.

The heat weakened too.

I took the remaining bread from my chest and held it over the flame.

[The surface temperature of the food is rising.]

“Now this is useful.”

[The surface is beginning to char.]

“Ah.“

I quickly pulled the bread away.

One side was blackened, but it had warmed up a bit.

I tore off the burnt part and took a bite.

It was better than before.

The first magic I’d learned in twenty years, and the first thing I did with it was warm up hard bread.

Well, there was no rule saying magic had to be used only for killing monsters.

I extinguished the flame, then created it again.

The second time was a bit faster.

By the third, fire ignited within seconds of extending my hand.

Thanks to the AI constantly showing me the flow of mana.

Since I could see with my own eyes where it broke off, I got used to it quickly.

“Hey, can I shoot this thing?”

[Application of the coordinate formula and propulsion formula is required.]

“Apply them.”

[With the user’s current mana control ability, accuracy will be low.]

“How low?”

[Expected coordinate error is 83 centimeters.]

“That’s way off.”

Still, I decided to try it.

I came all the way to this empty warehouse—if I couldn’t do it here, where could I?

The only things to hit were the wall and a broken jar.

I pointed at the jar on the opposite side.

“Send it over there.”

[Travel distance 3.2 meters.]

[Applying propulsion formula and collision formula.]

The flame above my palm curled into a sphere.

A moment ago it was flickering like a candle, but now it had become a fist-sized red orb.

“Fireball.”

The ball of fire shot forward.

It wasn’t fast.

If I really wanted to, I could probably sprint and catch up to it.

And sure enough, it missed.

The fireball grazed past the jar and slammed into the wall.

BOOM!

The sound was louder than I expected.

Stone dust and debris sprayed in every direction.

I shielded my face with my arm and stepped back.

“……Is this really a basic fireball?”

[Yes.]

The dust slowly settled.

A hole about the size of two fists combined was punched into the wall.

The fireballs I’d seen on the street weren’t like this.

They’d scorch the wall black, or at best, chip the surface a little.

“Why is it so strong?”

[I suppressed unnecessary heat dispersion.]

[I concentrated the output at the point of impact.]

“Why would you change that on your own?”

[This is the optimal method for efficiently destroying the target designated by the user.]

I told it to hit the jar, not to punch a hole in the wall.

But still, I succeeded.

……I succeeded.

I stared at the hole in the wall.

A smile crept across my face on its own.

“……Hell yeah!!!!!!!!!”

Twenty years of living on the streets—that life was over now!

With power like this, I didn’t need to settle for lighting fires or selling skewers.

If I became an exclusive mage somewhere, I might even get a warm bed and meat soup.

At the very least, it would beat a life of soaking hard bread in water.

I hummed a tune as I brought my face close to the hole in the wall.

The scenery on the other side was clearly visible.

And beyond that, a person was standing there.

“…….”

“…….”

A woman with long silver hair.

She wore a pure white robe and held a staff as tall as I was in her hand.

She alternated her gaze between the hole in the wall and me.

“……What was that just now?”

“A fireball.”

“That?”

Her tone was a bit strange.

I looked at the hole again.

I supposed it did come out a little strong.

“My mistake.”

“Mistake?”

“It was my first time.”

The woman’s expression hardened.

“First time?”

“Yes.”

“You’re saying you used a fireball for the first time?”

“I just learned it today.”

A moment of silence passed.

The woman walked around the broken wall and entered the warehouse.

Up close, I could see a silver emblem on the chest of her robe.

A tower reaching toward the sky, surrounded by three stars.

I could tell she was a mage wearing expensive clothes.

Beyond that, I had no idea.

The woman traced the mark left on the wall with her finger.

“There’s almost no explosion residue.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t spread the flames—you concentrated them solely on the point of impact. The propulsion formula is short too, and there’s minimal output loss.”

The woman turned to look at me.

“Who taught you?”

“I’m self-taught.”

“Did you make this magic formula yourself?”

“I made it by looking at that.”

I pointed at the scroll lying on the ground.

The woman picked it up.

It was a ruined piece of trash—charred black, with a hole burned through the middle.

Her gaze darted between the scroll and the wall several times.

“This scroll has already been used up.”

“I know that, but….”

“More than half the magic formula is gone too.”

“That’s probably why it took so long.”

[Affirmative.]

The woman slowly raised her head.

Her eyes had changed slightly.

“Are you saying you restored the fireball just from the remaining parts?”

“Well, I’m not the one who restored it.”

“Then who did?”

That was a difficult question.

If I tried to explain that I had an all-knowing intellectual in my head who solved everything in an instant, she probably wouldn’t believe me.

I might be treated like a madman, or get dragged off for being possessed by some strange evil spirit.

“It’s a bit hard to explain.”

The woman paused for a moment.

She looked down at the scroll again, then asked.

“Your name?”

“Leon.”

“Are you registered as a mage?”

“I’m a beggar.”

“Your master?”

“I don’t have one of those either.”

The woman’s expression grew increasingly strange.

Worried that picking up the scroll might be a problem, I quickly added.

“I found it discarded. I didn’t steal it.”

“That’s not important.”

“It’s important to me.”

I didn’t want to be falsely accused of theft.

The woman let out a short breath, then pulled a small silver badge from her chest.

And tossed it to me.

I caught it by reflex.

It was a metal badge engraved with the shape of a tower.

“Come to the tower entrance tomorrow morning.”

“The tower?”

The massive structure rising in the center of the city.

Looking up from below, you couldn’t see the top, and they said monsters and treasures came out of it.

It was a place that had nothing to do with someone like me, who had neither money nor status.

“Why?”

“I need to verify whether what you just did was a coincidence.”

The woman turned to leave.

I hurriedly called out to stop her.

“Wait a second.”

“What?”

Her eyebrow twitched slightly.

“If I come, do I get fed?”