After slipping out of the castle using Hermit, I used Flight—another spell of the Wind System Magic—to reach a wasteland far removed from the city.
The wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see, with no towns or people in sight. Yes, this looked like the perfect place to experiment with magic to my heart's content. Oh, but first, I should check in with Grimo.
I pressed my fingers to my temple, closed my eyes, and focused my thoughts. "Grimo, can you hear me?" "Yes, Lloyd-sama, I hear you-ssu. I’m currently in the library reading books-ssu. I’ve passed by a few people, but no one seems to have noticed anything-ssu." "I see. Let me know if Sylpha shows up." "You got it-ssu!"
For now, it seemed there were no problems on Grimo’s end. I should be able to focus on my experiments for a while. "Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I can cut loose with my magic."
Ever since I destroyed my room with a Fireball when I was born, I had refrained from using offensive magic because it was simply too dangerous. The most I could do was master the theories from magic books or set up a barrier to test spells at a fraction of their power. I felt a mix of trepidation and excitement at the thought of what would happen if I fired my magic at full strength...
Feeling a sense of awe, I manifested a mouth on my palm and began Double Casting. "■■■, ■, ■■"
Using a Spell Bundle, I chanted the highest-tier Fire System Magic, Scorching Flame Fang, alongside the highest-tier Earth System Magic, Quaking Rock Fang. Mana swelled along with the incantation, and I unleashed it just as it felt like it was about to burst. A heavy thrum shook the earth as the ground rose up violently. Simultaneously, flames erupted. It wasn't just stone—it was a mass of red-hot, molten lava. Hot, hot... I should probably move that away.
I directed the coordinates forward, and the lava collapsed, incinerating the wasteland as it flowed. The rocky hills it touched melted with a sizzle and a plume of white smoke, and the lava projectiles created pillars of fire wherever they struck the ground. This was... even more terrifyingly powerful than I had anticipated. An area of two hundred square meters in front of me had been turned into a scorched wasteland. Even with High Magic, the area of effect was usually less than ten square meters... Such was the power of Double Casting.
"So, Double Casting Fire and Earth results in lava. It’s exactly as I imagined. If this holds true, then other combinations will likely... Anyway, let’s try out a few more."
I continued test-firing Double Casting Magic until I was satisfied. Blocks of ice pierced the earth, lightning raced through the sky, and tornadoes swirled. As I watched the tremendous sounds of destruction and the shockwaves raging through the air, I nodded to myself. "I see. So Double Casting Magic really does take the form of combining the base elements of the original spells."
Magic is strongly influenced by mental imagery. A Fireball won't activate unless you have a vivid image of a ball of fire. The same applies to Water Ball and Earth Ball. When it comes to High Magic, mental imagery alone isn't enough, so it’s reinforced by incantations, spell formulas, and the use of mediums. Therefore, Double Casting activates exactly according to the combined image of the two base spells. For example, Fire and Earth make lava, Water and Earth make ice, Fire and Wind make lightning, Wind and Earth make sand... and so on. Well, this was within my expectations. I already knew about these combinations from my reading. While they were rarely seen, Double Casting itself had existed since ancient times. It could be performed by someone with a technique like Grimo’s, or by two mages acting in perfect synchronization. I was simply confirming the practical results.
More importantly, there was another combination I wanted to test. First was this: the Illusion System Magic, Mimicry. This spell involves covering one's body with a film of mana to take on the appearance of someone else. Imagery is particularly crucial for this magic; you can't transform into someone unless you are intimately familiar with their appearance. But what would happen if I used Double Casting? If things went as I imagined... Deciding to give it a shot, I used Double Casting with Mimicry. Upon activation, my body was enveloped in light.
"...Uh, mirror, mirror... Oh, this looks good." Reflected in the mirror was a form slightly taller than my own, with hair that was a few shades lighter and a quite handsome face. Yes, I had used Double Casting for Mimicry, using myself as one template and Albert as the other. The mental images of my appearance and Albert's had blended, resulting in a look that was right in the middle. With this appearance, even if I were seen outside by chance, my true identity wouldn't be discovered. Plus, it wouldn't cause any trouble for Albert. Wait, I just fired off a bunch of High Magic, so someone might be coming to investigate. It would probably be better to move to a different location. After all, a storm of tremendous destruction had just raged right in front of me. If I stayed near a site like this, it would be impossible to claim ignorance.
"Now that that’s decided..." Using Flight, I left the area. I literally flew between the rocky peaks and reached a point quite far from where I had started.
"Hmm, what’s that...?" Looking down, I could see figures fighting. It seemed like a group of humans and a pack of monsters were in combat. Oh, I had never seen a real monster before. Alright, I'll hide and observe.
I landed in the shadow of a rock and peeked at the battle from there. The person fighting the monsters was a young girl. She had glossy black hair tied into buns on either side, with the rest hanging down. She wore what looked like martial arts attire that seemed designed for movement, with a deep opening at the chest and the character for 'Martial' engraved on her back. The girl was toying with the monsters with light footwork, fighting with nothing but her fists.
"She’s probably an adventurer." Adventurers were like handymen who hunted monsters or gathered materials to earn a living. They were divided into classes based on strength, ranging from rank E to rank A, if I recalled correctly. To be honest, I hadn't been very interested, so I didn't know much about the specifics. The girl was surrounded by giant creatures with pig-like faces. Those were Orcs, right? I had seen them in the monster encyclopedia at the castle.
"Se-yah!" With a shout of spirit, the girl delivered a palm strike that sent an Orc flying. The defeated Orc foamed at the mouth, its body twitching and convulsing. Looking closely, several Orcs were already lying defeated around her. I believe it was written that Orcs were fairly strong monsters. To take down that many of them alone... she was quite impressive. The girl glared sharply at the remaining, flinching Orcs.
"Pugyigi!" "Pugyee! Pugyee!" The Orcs let out screams and scrambled away. Ah, I wanted to see more... What a shame.
"Who’s there-ne!" While I was thinking that, the girl called out. Was she talking to me? Thinking so, I poked my head out, and the girl was indeed looking in my direction. To notice me even though I was quite far away... They say masters of martial arts can sense the presence of others at a distance. I guess I should just give up and go out. I raised both hands to show I had no hostile intent and stepped out from behind the rock.
"...Uh, hello. I’m not a suspicious person." "!?" The girl who saw me blinked in surprise for a moment. Could she be an acquaintance? No, that shouldn't be possible. I just created this appearance. After a long silence, she muttered softly. "...Who are you-ne? You."
A name, huh. Come to think of it, I hadn't thought of one. "Uh... I’m Ro...berto. I’m an adventurer, but I got separated from my companions..." It would be a hassle if she got too suspicious, so I decided to pretend to be an adventurer. The girl thought for a moment before speaking. "I’m Tao-ne. My adventurer rank is B, and my job is a martial artist, as you can see-ne."
"I see. Are you alone, Tao-san?" "I just don't have a hobby of hanging out with weaklings-ne." The girl calling herself Tao replied as if bored by my question. It’s not good to have too much contact with people I don't know well. My time isn't infinite, either. I should probably just slip away now. I secretly turned my back to Tao.
"Ah, well, I’ll be going now..." "Wait-ne!" My shoulder was grabbed firmly. Ow, what incredible strength. "This is a dangerous wasteland where monsters appear-ne. You look weak, so you’ll be eaten before you get back to town-ne. I’m heading back now too, so I’ll take you to town-ne." "No, no, I’m an adventurer too. I can fight well enough on my own, so I’m fine." "No-ne. If I abandon you here, it would bring shame to my name as a woman-ne."
Those sharp eyes left no room for refusal. This intensity somehow reminded me of Sylpha. ...It’s probably not good to reject someone’s kindness so bluntly. Besides, this is a chance to observe the battle style of an adventurer and a martial artist up close.
"Alright. I’ll leave it to you then." "Yeah, leave it to me-ne!" Seeing me sigh, Tao broke into a broad smile. Then she turned her back to me and started walking.
(Here he is—! An incredibly handsome man-aru! He’s exactly my type-ne! If I do him a favor here, I can expect at least a wall-slam of gratitude... Heehee, heeheeheehee...)
...I wonder what’s up. I feel like she’s making a very wicked face. Well, whatever. If anything happens, I’ll just make a run for it.