32. Homing Guidance 2

"Alright, so how exactly do we install the spirit?" Shiro asked.

"Simple," Mitoka replied lightly. "For homing, you need a mid-tier spirit capable of target recognition and tracking. Given your mana level and consciousness threshold, let's install about eight for now."

"...Wait, really that easy?"

"Ha ha. Normally impossible, of course. Only a few spirit kings in the world can pull that off. And your consciousness level is quite high, too. Plus, it's me—connected to you at the soul level," Mitoka explained, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"...Are you blushing? Well, I guess you are pretty impressive, Mitoka."

"Yes! Feel proud as my progenitor!" Mitoka beamed with delight.

"Then, next up—memory enhancement. How do we do that?"

"Neurotic Concentration, probably best."

"...Wait, really? A card game all of a sudden? And there's no deck around here—do I have to make one?"

"No, it's already equipped in the cabin."

"..."

Shiro hadn't paid attention to what was in the cabin—spent every day exhausted from training, eating dinner, bathing, and collapsing into bed straight after.

"...Well, if it's really that simple, then fine. Though I do appreciate the little touches from the goddess," Shiro silently thanked the goddess.

"Shiro, the training is full-force Neurotic Concentration—remembering card positions through memory while maintaining the energy aura."

"Ah, right. So this doubles as a stamina aura exercise, huh?"

Shiro nodded in understanding, setting aside hunting for now, and returning to the cabin to dive into Neurotic Concentration.

Back at the cabin, enjoying neurotic concentration—training for two hours, starting to feel pretty worn out—

——『[Memory Enhancement] Level 1 acquired』

——『[Photographic Memory] Level 1 acquired』

“Ooh, nice. …Wait, why Photographic Memory too?”

“Shiro, one of the benefits of memory training via Neurotic Concentration is that trying to memorize things exactly as they appear leads directly to the Photographic Memory skill!” Mitoka puffed her chest out proudly, one hand raised triumphantly, grinning as she explained.

“…That’s impressive. Seriously, a double win! Kudos, Mitoka!” Shiro shouted, excited.

“Now, finally, it’s time to implement the target-lock-on, multi-trigger, homing guidance system.”

“Is the skill name really that long?” Mitoka sighed, clearly unimpressed.

“No, I haven’t named it yet, but that’s the general idea,” Shiro explained.

“Target lock-on works the same way as identification—once you select a target… wait, hold on? What exactly is this ‘selecting a target’? Is it magic? Or what?”

“Shiro, that’s a trigger-based target selection magic function. The magic sprites are programmed to react to various physical entity actions. In other words, event handlers. And in this world, event handlers for conscious selection—via sight, for example—are already implemented. That selection function is built into the identification and scouting skills.”

“So, can other skills use it too?”

“Yes, they can. When a selection event triggers, you get the ID of the selected entity.”

“Ah, I see. So if I memorize that ID using the Memory Enhancement skill…”

"No, Shiro, with the Memory Enhancement skill, you can store the ID of the selected entity as a special memory in the temporary memory space. You can reference it later as a variable in subsequent spells."

"That’s handy. So selection is just reusing an existing function. After the selection event, use 'Lock-on' as a keyword to save the selected ID as a special temporary memory. Multiple saves are allowed. Then, reference that ID as the target—uh, direction vector or something like that—and cast the spell, right?"

"Yes."

"Right, so homing guidance is part of magic control, right? Was it the movement option?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

"Good. So now I can attack eight targets with homing magic?"

"Shiro, it’s 96."

"Wait—why so many?"

"One medium spirit can handle up to 12 concurrent processes. Lower spirits handle 8, by the way. Think of spirits like CPUs—each CPU has 12 cores, so you can reliably run 12 threads simultaneously. Here, each thread corresponds to a spell activation. By training, you can double that number, up to 24 threads—hyperthreading..."

"…No, got it. Don’t need to say more," Shiro cuts in.

"Right, so with eight spirits installed, it’s like adding eight CPUs. 12 times 8 gives 96 simultaneous spell activations. That means I can do barrage-style attacks!" He beams at Shiro, excitement in his eyes.

"…Alright, registered as 'Lock-on.' Now, just need multi-homing skills per element."

And so Shiro registered his skills—each one tailored to a specific element: Multi-Homing Ice Ball, Multi-Homing Wind Ball, and so on.

——『[Earth Magic] has reached Level 3』

——『[Water Magic] has reached Level 3』

——『[Ice Magic] has reached Level 3』

——『[Wind Magic] has reached Level 3』

——『[Fire Magic] has reached Level 3』

——『[Thunder Magic] has reached Level 3』

——『[Light Magic] has reached Level 3』

“Finally hit Level 3,” Shiro said, sounding pleased. “Does that mean I can use advanced spells now?”

“Precisely. Homing-type magic is classified as advanced spellcraft.”

“Hey, Mitoka— is spirit magic implemented in this world too? Or is the naming getting confusing? I mean, the kind of spirit magic where you make a pact with a spirit and request it to perform magic.”

“Yes, it exists. To put it in your terms, Shiro, it’s the externalization of advanced spirit modules. Normally, spirit magic operates as a spell execution module directly linked to the soul, but at the advanced level, spirits gain independent will—so they can act on their own.”

“I see. That’s why you kind of feel like a spirit yourself.”

“Huhu. Well, I *am* the Spirit Queen, after all!”

“So… can I use spirit magic too? Preferably one that lets me install a program-like spirit?”

“…Well, usually, external-type advanced spirits are high-level spirits of a given element—people ask them to cast spells, not customize them. And if I’m here… isn’t that kind of redundant? Come to think of it, does this count as cheating?”

Mitoka suddenly gave Shiro a look that was half-angry, half-sad—but then her expression shifted, brightening like a child who’d just found a new toy, and she stared at him intently.

“Eh? N-no, not that kind of thing—I mean, as a programmer, I just felt like I should investigate this external execution module out of sheer curiosity, or duty, or whatever…” Shiro flustered, somehow.

“…Just kidding, Shiro… No need to panic like that. It’s fine… Anyway, for the kind of high-tier spirit you’re after, we’ll need a brand-new, attributeless white-tier spirit. I think it’d be best if I, as the Spirit King, created one from scratch. Give me a moment—I’ll look into it…” Mitoka suddenly went dead serious.

"Uh, got it. I'm counting on you."

And so, Shiro made his request.

If you found this interesting, please consider rating and bookmarking it—it really helps!