Chapter 32: Chapter 32 – A new Start?

A hearty breakfast and a few minutes of preparing, that was all that was needed to get us ready for our adventure. Mabel had gathered several knives, her swords and daggers, a tent and a large backpack that carried various other tools and proviant. I felt useless for having brought nothing, but Mabel made sure that she didn’t blame me for that. She knew of my background and lack of wealth, after all. And being a magician, there wasn’t much reason to bring too much stuff anyway. Still, I should at least have brought my own food.

“Don’t worry about it too much. It’s my treat!”
“At least let me carry the tent!”

She did let me do at least that, only to toss even more of her stuff at me once she realized what my magic could do. With my Itembox magic, I could simply store most of our equipment without needing to fear its weight. What the ‘Fox Edition’ aspect of it was, I could easily tell, since it came in a roundish fox head shape of all things.

At least it was easy to understand. With just saying its activation word, the portal opened up where I could stuff all kinds of items in. Saying the word again would give me back my items.

With only one of her knives to my hips and the rest safely stored away, we quickly made our way outside of the town and into the great wilderness. Or whatever wilderness there was, with fields over fields of wheat and other crops.

“Where are we going to hunt?”
“Just at the edge of the forest, where there are no goblins.”

The forest was visible from the town gates, but that didn’t mean we would reach it within minutes. If anything, it would take an hour or two! At least this time I didn’t need to swallow some random potions to keep me going. A few hours was just in my scope of abilities. And it gave me the chance to check on my new skills.

I breathed in twice and began reading.



『Magic:

⇒Novice Magic (Fox Edition)
Foxfire, Fiery Shield, Charm, Illusion, Foxy Care

⇒Intermediate Magic (Fox-Edition)
Orb of Lia, Radiance, Confuse, Foxfire Mastery (Passive)

⇒Advanced Magic
Item Box (Fox Edition)』

 

“Foxfire Mastery? What does it do?”

 

『Foxfire Mastery: Increases damage and mana cost of all Foxfire spells.』

 

Surely enough, both Foxfire and Fiery Shield had changed, each costing five more mana points now. Summoning multiple of them still did cost the same, which I was more than happy about. The same seemed to apply to Fiery Ballet.

After a bit of hesitation, I turned towards Mabel, who was walking in front of me.

“Fiery Shield!”

A single ball of blood-red fire formed in front of me. It was bigger than any of the foxfires I had summoned before, but still not bigger as a hand of mine. After spinning around and changing into a perfect round orb, the ball shot out to hover around Mabel, who was more than just surprised by this, going by her sudden yelp. It was only when the Foxfire disappeared again, that she realized it was me that had sent it.

“Sorry!”
“What are you doing?!”
“I am testing my new magic.”
“New magic?”
“I got three new spells that I learned the day before.”
“I see. What do they do?”

My eyes went back to the screen, searching for a magic I would be able to test right here and now without a target to shoot at. The very first magic on the immediate list seemed to fit both categories.

 

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『Orb of Lia: Sends out an orb of nature magic that rejuvenates the area close to it. Heals allies and foe alike. Mana cost: 50.』

 

“It heals enemies?”

I immediately chose to test the magic. Anything was better than accidentally healing your enemies, so I needed to know exactly that this magic was doing.

My eyes were already searching for a viable target, only to find none. There was no wounded old man to heal, nor maidens to save. Instead I found fields of wheat surrounding us on both sides.

“It shouldn’t matter too much…” I thought and used the magic anyway. “Orb of Lia!”

 A pumpkin-sized ball of green light sprouted into existence. It quickly shot forward, into the field, only to lose more and more of its size the further it traveled. Every stalk of wheat it touched, however, quickly grew in size. They shot into the air, as if enchanted by the sun to do so, only to return to being your regular plants once the orb had traveled too far from them. When it finally had disappeared, a cone-shaped area of the field had gained a few weeks if not months of growth. I could only assume what this meant for its healing capabilities.

“That- that was awesome!” Mabel’s eyes were almost shining from excitement.
“It heals anything it touches, including enemies.”
“Good thing you got to test it then.”

The next magic spell seemed to be the most useless I had got so far.

 

『Radiance: Makes a part of the body glow. After activation, effects can be altered by thoughts or vocal commands. Mana consumption depends on the percentage of body surface covered and brightness of the glow. Initial mana cost: 10. Costs another 1-5 mana per minute to maintain, depending on body surface covered.』

 

Radiance was somehow a flashlight of some sort. I could use it to make any part of my body glow in a dazzlingly bright, white light, making me look like a ghost. Seeing my arm glow like this, I couldn't help feeling reminded of a certain manga I had read years back.

“Is she trying to turn me into a squid girl?!”

Mabel looked at me confused when I started making the light pulsate like I had seen squids do in documentaries.

“This is somehow fun.”
“It doesn't need mana?”
“Barely any.”
After I had played with the dancing colors a few more moments, Mabel looked even more confused. “Why would there be a spell like that? You look like a firefly!”
“I honestly don’t know. But at least we won’t get lost in the darkness now!”
“I didn’t plan on moving through the forest at night.”
“Then it is really useless,” I laughed.
“Got anything more useful?” She asked.
“Just one more thing.”

 

『Confuse: Dazzles opponents with a series of Illusions. Effects may vary.

Mana cost: 10』

 

“This one is a spell that confuses enemies,” I explained, “it should be harmless.”
“Do you want to test it out?”
“I could, I guess. It is only ten mana.”
“Then use me as a target! I can handle it!”
“It should be safe…” I breathed in deeply before using it. “Confuse!”

A white, glowing mist appeared in front of me. It changed into a silhouette, then into a body, before it eventually gained color. I stared at the illusion open-mouthed.

It was me! My own, new body! 'I' had appeared two paces in front of me and right next to Mabel. The illusion closed in to her, placed its hands on her chest and leaned in to steal a kiss. Mabel was petrified. She couldn't fend off the completely nude fox girl. It was only when her gaze wandered down "my" body, that I could free myself from my own shock. I attacked instantly.

“Don’t look!”

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