Chapter 32: A Magician"s Natural Enemy
「So anyways, let me experiment Media」
「So that"s why you came to my tent ……」
We were visiting the scorched ruins of Media"s mansion, right now she is living in a tent.
If we"re here then even if some strange magic is accidentally released it would still be fine, for example if something were to happen people would just say『Ah, the sage is developing some strange magic again』
「Well, I did say you can come ask me anything you wanted to know and since you did also help me get some money for repairs, I suppose it can"t be helped. But like I said many times before please contact me in advance」
「Ah, sorry my bad, I will contact you properly next time」
「Umu, then it"s fine」
It would be helpful if we could get to the topic as quick as possible.
「What magic is it this time?」
「This one spell called《Curse》」
When I said that Media widened her eyes in surprise.
「Again……you learned something rather troublesome……」
「So you know about it!? As expected of the sage Media-san!」
「You don"t have to force yourself to praise me. I didn"t say I was familiar with it, I just know some minor details」
Hm, what"s with that response?
It"s unusual and rather ambiguous
「Curse would be a dark magic and I know they"re generally said to be a malicious existence. Since dark magic places a heavy burden on the body, normal humans wouldn"t use it. But that"s about all I know」
Oh, after hearing her explanation it"s starting to feel a bit scary.
「Well, since demons have practically unlimited stamina they tend to use it a lot」
Because they are immortal, they can disregard factors like stamina and burden.
When I think about it this way demons are quite underhanded.
「So, what are the effects of dark magic?」
「Dark magic is a type of magic that saps the opponent"s physical strength and energy. Well, you will understand once you try it」
So with that, for now I decided to try using it against a target made from tree branches.
I had the grimoire opened in one hand that way I wouldn"t misp.r.o.nounce the name written there, I then shouted.
「《Curse》!」
I unleashed the magic and in an instant a black light penetrated the target.
It certainly is a rather dark display.
「……The effect……what？」
It didn"t feel like I had sapped anything.
This doesn"t feel like it should be fired recklessly.
「Well, dark magic will not work unless you use it against a human or animal」
「Please tell me earlier……」
So there are those kinds of magic.
This is the first time I have heard of it.
「Sorry my bad, I wanted to see it first. I was wondering whether it was the spell I thought it was」
「So, how was the result?」
「Umu, it"s the dark magic I thought it was, the scope of it"s range and pattern of the magic formation, along with how it weakens the user. It"s definitely one of the spells the demons use」
I see, the demons are indeed quite scary now that I think about it.
「Well then, it"s time for a real test run. I can resist it so please go ahead and use it on me」
「Eh……i-is that really okay?
「Judging from the previous light it seems it"s not too dangerous yet」
She can tell how dangerous it is by just looking at it?
「Umu, the soul will shine according to how powerful the magic is. If the magic is able to reach the level of killing someone it would be considered quite powerful enough …… but that curse is nowhere near that level」
It"s convenient, to be able to see the soul.
So it can even be used for such a thing.
「Well, it"s fine. I will shoot because you said it"s okay, you won"t regret it?」
「I will provide you with a few days worth of food if I regret it」
「If so that"s a small price to pay. Well then――《Curse》!」
In an instant a black light hits Media.
「Nu……!」
And after the light penetrated through her it returned back to my body.
「Fumu……did you feel anything increase?」
「Rather than increase, I just feel even more tired and it feels like my stamina is decreasing ……」
「Fumu, by the way I only became slightly tired. Even if I can resist it I thought it would at least bring me to my knees…….I think it took away about 10% of my stamina?」
「So the effect is stealing stamina」
It"s rather useful, or well, it would be useful.
I am also tired but by just using this I can reduce my opponent"s stamina.
……But is this really the only……?
Aside from that, I actually do feel like something has increased.
……Somehow, it"s the same feeling as when I receive a login bonus every morning――
And when I thought that something came to mind.
In a hurry, I looked closely inside of my grimoire and it seems my intuition was correct.
「……I knew it, Fire has increased by one!?」
「W-What!? ――Wait, don"t tell me……」
Then the surprised Media took out something that looked like a notepad.
Is that her grimoire?
「M-My barrier decreased by one! So it can take someone"s magic too……? Kouta-kun, Did the number of any other magic change?」
「A-Ah……let"s see」
Ice and wind shock are still one digit and although the highest tier magic is a joke figure it"s still the previous number.
「Only fire was at zero if I recalled correctly?」
「Oh, is that so」
「Then let"s use《Curse》to replenish your magic that has the lowest number」
「Ehh? Do you mean using the number of Media"s barrier to replenish the number of my fire?」
But the magic is different so I wonder if we can successfully pull it off a number of times.
「The origin of magic is all the same so it"s not impossible」
「Seriously……!?」
This curse really is strong.
「I have seen several incidents where demons use this kind of magic to absorb other types of magic. It"s just…….I didn"t expect this sort of thing to happen. ――Kouta you may become the bane of all magicians……」
Media was looking at my face with a shocked expression.
「Amazing! It"s amazing, Kouta-san!」
Soulas turned into her human form and began clapping her hands.
「Eh, wait a minute so with just the risk of exhausting a bit of my stamina I will be able to shoot such a convenient magic…….?」
I am seriously surprised. Even if I can"t steal the number of their magic I can still reduce their stamina. Was it really alright for me to possess such a convenient magic?
This was the first time I was able to feel this way since coming to this world.
「Umu? Magic is usually convenient and useful you know?」
「Unfortunately, I haven"t had that usual experience until now……!!」
Magic of overwhelming power, magic that caused unexpected accidents, magic that was only useful for practical reasons, those were the types of magic that I have been able to learn so far.
However, a convenient magic then suddenly came along.
「For magicians it"s a curse that can also be called a natural enemy…… ……it"s quite horrible」
Ah, it truly horrible. Or rather it provides a horrible sense of stability.
Even if it steals no magic hitting the opponent with this will still reduce their stamina.
「……Hey, Soulas」
「Yes, what is it?」
「Demons are amazing」
「Eh……what is with you all of a sudden? I"ll become shy if you keep praising me……」
Soulas blushed but rather than praising Soulas I was actually praising Erigos.
Apparently to complicate matters it seems the power of the demon is more stable than my other magic.
……Thank you, thank you very much, lolicon gentleman demon.
On that day, I gave thanks to the demon who gave me this magic.