46. Training 1

Early the next morning, Shiro contacted Mitoka via mental link and asked her to come to his room. He had something he wanted to ask.

“Mitoka, can you see magic energy or vitality like that?”

“Shiro, such skills do exist. For you, it might be possible by adjusting the parameters of your entity’s visual interface,” Mitoka replied.

“Ah, so I can change it through my entity’s parameters,” Shiro recalled, then checked his own settings and decided to make the change.

The visual cortex now accepts not only optical data from normal sight, but also any information that can be rendered as imagery in this world. That is, you can choose what information appears as the main feed in your visual UI. Of course, it can also be set up as a third visual layer.

As Shiro switched between available sources,

——『[Magic Sight] Level 1 acquired』

——『[Vitality Sight] Level 1 acquired』

——『[Darkness Sight] Level 1 acquired』

——『[Heat Source Sight] Level 1 acquired』

——『[Electromagnetic Spectrum Sight] Level 1 acquired』

——『[X-Ray Sight] Level 1 acquired』

“Whoa, man, got a whole bunch of new skills,” Shiro said, startled.

“Shiro, fiddling with your parameters like that is dangerous… lucky you, the spirit registered the skills properly,” Mitoka scolded.

“Ah, well, I didn’t mean to… I just couldn’t help myself when I saw the parameter screen,” Shiro said, offering a weak excuse.

◇

As usual, Mitoka made breakfast in the morning. Simple fare—steak, salad, and scone—but Aria suddenly asked her a question.

"Mitoka-san, you're really good at cooking. This meat is delicious—what kind is it?"

"Aria-san, thank you. This is the meat of a Giant Black Forest Boa," Mitoka replied.

"「「「Eh?!」」」"

The three at the table reacted with surprise.

"Hey, is there something surprising about that?" Shiro asked innocently.

"Huh, now that you mention it... Giant Black Forest Boas are practically impossible to find. And they're not something you can just defeat normally. You'd need a full knight contingent—fifty knights or so, sent out by the kingdom—just to have a shot at taking one down."

"Wait, really? I kind of took it down easily..." Shiro answered, his confidence waning as he began to wonder just how strong he’d become.

"Shiro's a disciple. He can do anything," Shestia said, beaming.

"That's right, Shiro has gotten fairly strong," Mitoka added with a gentle smile.

◇

"Alright, today I'd like to run everyone through some basic training in magic and qi techniques," Shiro announced.

"Qi technique?" Aria asked.

"Yeah, qi technique is basically a method for enhancing physical ability—mostly used in martial arts. So, mainly for Albert. Aria and Shestia, focus on magic. Or... does this world even have a word for 'qi technique'?"

He answered his own question with a query.

"No, not really," Aria said. "At least, I've never heard it. You two?"

She looked at the other two.

"No," "No," they replied.

"Good. All three of you, first, take up your swords. Then, practice a downward slash from the high guard—really commit to it, as if you're cutting someone down for real," Shiro instructed.

"Got it," the three responded, beginning their swings. Shiro observed their movements through 【Magic Sight】 and 【Qi Sight】.

Yeah, Albert’s definitely got his aura thinned out. The other two… nothing at all. Hey, Mitoka, you’re looking just the same, aren’t you?

"Yes, I can do what Shiro can," Mitoka said.

"Okay, then I'm counting on you, Mitoka, to keep an eye on everyone and give us some advice," Shiro said, asking Mitoka.

"Alright, you three—got the hang of magic perception and magic manipulation?" Shiro asked.

Yeah, I get it. Feeling your own magic is the first step to casting a spell. You’ll sense a warm flow near your heart. Then, directing that flow toward your hand—that’s magic manipulation.

And Aria replied.

"Shiro, that's the standard way magic is manipulated in this world," Mitoka said.

"Wait, that's it? You're not going to twist and bend it into different shapes or anything?"

"Shiro, no one can do something like that. Or rather, it's more accurate to say the method hasn't been passed down," Mitoka explains.

And then,

"In this world, magic use has been based on ancient grimoires since time immemorial. Modern magic has dwindled to just the standardized spells—nothing more than basic mana perception and manipulation required to activate them," Mitoka explained.

Ah, I see. So it’s not inherently impossible from a system design standpoint. Well, if I can do it, there’s no way it’s impossible on the system level, right? Shiro thought.

"Alright, then I'm showing you now," Shiro said, eyes closed, muttering something under his breath.

A semi-transparent humanoid form materializes ahead of Shiro.

Shiro had been pondering how to teach magic more easily last night.

At the time, he thought, *probably visualization*, and wondered if he could apply a 3D UI interface. That’s when he came up with the idea of projecting his mental image into physical space.

If Mitoka can materialize, then I can too.

“Alright! Everyone, pay close attention. If this is a person, then here—right at the center of the chest, the heart. Think of this glowing red spot as the source of magical energy.”

“Manipulating magic means directing that energy, flowing from here, freely throughout the body.”

Shiro spoke as he moved the red stream within the semi-transparent figure, showing how it flowed through the body.

“Wow. That’s clear,” Shestia said, impressed.

Aria and Albert stared intently at the figure.

“Now, imagine sending a small portion of that energy to the tip of your hand, shaping it into a solid mass. Hold that shape. Then, imagine the element—say, water—and picture that mass transforming into a sphere of water.”

Shiro demonstrated, guiding the red stream out from the figure’s hand, shaping it into a ball, then making it look like a water droplet.

“Picture this in your mind—imagine moving your own magic. When you utter the keyword, the spell activates,” Shiro explained.

“Alright, try it,” he said, instructing the three to recreate what they’d just seen using their own magic.

For about thirty minutes, they fumbled and adjusted, trial and error.

“I did it!” Shestia floated a water sphere, beaming.

“Ah, me too,” Aria said, her face lit with the same smile.

“Uh-huh, I did it too,” Albert said.

—Huh. Should’ve been weak at magic, but surprisingly dexterous, Shiro thought, quietly.

“Everyone’s amazing. Did it in no time at all!”

“Shiro, thanks to your semi-transparent dummy—really helped me visualize it. All you gotta do is recreate it in your head using your own magic,” Aria said, impressed.

“Shiro, genius.”

Shestia muttered, smugly.

“Yeah, agree. We’re not supposed to have water affinity at all. And yet—making a water sphere? Groundbreaking. And just from this little practice,” Albert said, genuinely impressed.

“No, it’s because you already had some grasp of magic. Believe in your own power,” Mitoka said gently, smiling at the three of them.

"Haha. Thanks. This is what they call visualization—seeing it as an image really sharpens understanding."

Shiro said, rubbing the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

“If you can hold that image steady, lock on to your target, and either say ‘Water Ball’ out loud or just think it—boom—the sphere should fly,” Shiro concluded.

After that, the three of them experimented, and somehow, despite never having had it before, they’d mastered the water-element Water Ball spell.

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