The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

"Alright, that's the last one," I said as I slashed through the Gigant Ant's neck with my "Blade Shift" technique. The scratching sound of footsteps that had been audible until now ceased.

Just to be sure, I had Elen use her "Full Scan" to check for enemies, but it seemed there were no survivors left in the mine shaft. Finally, we had achieved complete extermination.

I took a deep breath and looked back at the tunnel.

The lantern on my waist illuminated the pitch-black path. Corpses of Gigant Ants were strewn about in heaps.

A single Gigant Ant is a C-rank monster. Their shells are hard, but magic passes through easily. Since they nest in tunnels, fire magic can't be used, so it's an A-rank quest when considering group combat.

Well, thanks to my mithril dagger, the power of "Blade Shift" has increased, allowing me to cut through even their hard shells like butter, so it wasn't much trouble for me.

I'm glad I got such a good weapon.

"Well... time to gather materials," I said.

"Mm, let's do our best," Elen replied.

We defeated about 50 Gigant Ants.

I don't need any materials for myself, but we need to bring back the antennae as proof of subjugation.

It's troublesome, but we have to do it. Even if it's troublesome.

As I cut off the antennae and Elen stored them in her item box, we silently continued our work. Suddenly, I heard an ominous sound.

It was the flapping of wings.

A fine, layered sound of wings beating.

The flow of air changed slightly.

"Elen," I called out.

"Full Scan," she responded.

Elen finished her chant in an instant and activated the spell.

Her chanting time has been getting shorter and shorter lately.

"Mm, it's coming this way. Beelzebub," she reported.

"Oh, our next target is coming to us," I remarked.

It was probably attracted by the smell of blood. Like a moth to a flame.

We paused our material gathering and prepared ourselves once again.

This time it's a one-on-one fight, so I'll take care of it. Elen handled most of the group fight with the Gigant Ants, so I should do some work too.

I confirmed the approaching sound of wings and—

"Burst Bullet," I cast.

I unleashed a coordinate attack right between the eyes of the Beelzebub as it came into view.

With a light "pan" sound, Beelzebub's head was blown off.

The King of Flies fell to the ground, scattering bodily fluids as it rolled.

It probably didn't expect to be killed instantly upon meeting us... sorry, but I really hate bugs.

"Mm, as expected," Elen commented.

"Now, let's resume gathering materials," I said.

With one Beelzebub mixed in with the Gigant Ants, our task remained the same.

For Beelzebub's materials, we cut and collect all parts of its body surface. They're all hard and light, so they sell for high prices as materials for weapons and armor.

Well, among A-rank monsters, it's not very popular. It is a fly, after all.

"Mm. It's done," Elen announced.

By the time we finished gathering materials, we had returned to the entrance of the abandoned mine.

Looking at the sky, it was a little past noon. The sunlight was hot.

Since it's lunchtime, let's have a meal.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked.

"Vegetables," Elen replied.

It seems she's in the mood for vegetables today.

We moved to the shade of a tree, and when I asked her to take out the vegetables she wanted, summer vegetables came tumbling out of the item box. These were seasonal items we had just bought from a street stall in town before departing. From among them, I chose the ones that seemed to have the highest nutritional value.

For the menu... let's go with cold pasta.

First, I sauté eggplant, onion, and red bell pepper in a frying pan. Salt is enough for seasoning.

I slice tomatoes, cucumbers, and myoga ginger raw. I finely chop half of the myoga to create a difference in texture.

I boil water in a pot and cook the pasta. Pasta was one of the staple foods of the Stoania Kingdom, so we have plenty stocked up. It's not as thin as the pasta from my previous life, but it's chewier and more fragrant.

Next is the soup. I add salt, chicken bones (with meat attached), and wild boar meat tied in a bag to the boiling water. Once the broth is ready, I remove the bag, skim off the scum, and season further with salt and pepper.

Now, here's the important part.

"Elen , cool this down," I requested.

"Mm. Ice Area," she cast.

She uses magic to chill the hot soup until it's ice cold.

I cool it until the meat fat turns white, then remove the solidified oil. Elen looked a bit disappointed, but animal fat isn't very good for you when it's cold, you know.

I drain the cooked pasta, arrange the grilled vegetables and sliced raw vegetables, and then boldly pour the cold soup over it.

Finally, I decorate it with small ice cubes, and it's complete.

A colorful cold pasta dish with summer vegetables.

"Well then, let's eat," I said.

"Mm, eat," Elen agreed.

We start with the summer vegetables on top.

The umami of the ingredients sautéed with just salt melts on the tongue, blending with the chicken bone soup. The eggplant is rich, the onion is sweet, and the red bell pepper has an explosive flavor.

The raw vegetables are of course fresh and delicious. The juicy cucumber and tomato, and the crisp, fragrant myoga ginger.

And the chewy pasta is also delicious, cold and coated with the soup. The chopped myoga that enters the mouth along with the noodles adds an exquisite accent.

"Mmm~," Elen hummed contentedly.

The young lady seems satisfied too.

Even the hot, glaring sunlight now feels pleasant with this cool meal.

Having finished our job, we spent our time leisurely.

Since we had no urgent business, we slowly walked back to town after leaving the forest, taking a stroll.

To pass the time, I asked Elen various questions about magic incantations.

It's well known that chanting speed differs from person to person, but Elen's speed has been increasing rapidly. Even for "Full Scan," which should take quite long, she can now complete it within seconds. This is slightly shorter than the chanting time for intermediate magic of average magic users.

When asked why she can do it so quickly, it seems that magic proficiency and talent for imagery are involved.

To begin with, magic is a formula that converts magical power into attribute information and releases it.

What's needed is magical power as fuel, incantations for conversion, and the name of the formula for output.

Among these, what can be omitted is the incantation. If you can successfully convert magical power into attributes using words and imagery, the incantation becomes shorter.

There are parts necessary for activation and parts that can be shortened without problems. These differ by individual talent and for each magic, but apparently, you come to understand more and more as you use them. This rate of improvement is also included in the status of proficiency.

For Elen, whose magic proficiency is many times that of others, chanting time is minimal. Moreover, she can almost completely omit chanting for intermediate level magic.

As expected of Elen.

However, "silent magic" is still technically impossible. Complete omission of chanting is close to it, but it's essential to say the formula name when activating.

Of course, reproduction is possible if there's a tool with a magic circle engraved—in other words, a magic device.

However, unlike daily-use magic, attack magic has a lot of information and consumes dozens of times more magical power. If you try to make it into a magic device, it becomes quite large, so it can only be used in situations like defensive battles in wars.

It's not impossible to miniaturize, but apparently, it requires metals with very high magical power transmission like mithril, so practical application is impossible due to cost.

Hmm~ the world of magic is deep.

If almost all of humanity has the talent to research and realize this, it's no wonder it's the most developed technology.

"Mm, but mystical arts are amazing too. Can transfer," Elen commented.

"That's right. Within the scope of summoning law, substitution law, and ideation law, mystical arts are not inferior," I replied.

The possibilities of mystical arts are not non-existent.

By the way, if I were to briefly explain the laws I've understood so far, it would be like this:

Summoning law is "using existing objects and ethereal elements regardless of location to affect objects, events, and phenomena."

Substitution law is "using existing objects at hand and interacting with objects, events, and phenomena using ethereal elements."

Ideation law is "using ley lines to affect reality with collective consciousness recorded in the world tree, even if it doesn't exist or isn't at hand."

I think this interpretation is not wrong, except for some exceptions.

Therefore, conversely, things that have definitions but are not fixed (for example, attributive things without form that are always changing like fire, wind, water, etc.) cannot be manipulated.

That's why attribute formulas are almost exclusively for magic.

Magic has a small influence on reality per spell, but it's exceptionally easy to use.

Mystical arts are difficult to use per spell, but have a large influence on the target of effect.

"Mm, magic manipulates reality," Elen said.

"That's right. Mystical arts distort reality. This interpretation might be close," I agreed.

And theoretical arts are techniques that change reality as it is. In other words, science.

The three major technologies are deep.

"Mm... need to study more," Elen said.

"That's right. We'll have a junior disciple joining us too," I replied.

I said that to Roze, but we can't afford to lose.

As we were talking like this, it happened.

Smoke was rising from ahead—from the direction of the town.

A fire?

No, the scale is too large for that. Something must have happened.

"Elen, let's transfer," I said.

"Mm," she agreed.

We immediately transferred to near the town.

The soldiers who should have been at the gate were gone, smoke was rising from various parts of the town, and screams and chaos seemed to be spreading throughout.

"What's happening...?" I wondered.

"Full Scan," Elen cast.

Elen released her enemy search magic.

"Mm... the town is under attack," she reported.

"Under attack? By whom? Terrorists or war?" I asked.

"Mm, this magical power... demons?" she replied.

What did she say?

I doubted my ears, but Elen's enemy search magic shouldn't be wrong.

Come to think of it, I heard about demon sightings at the border of the Bargia Dragon Dukedom. Have they come all the way here?

But why would they attack this town? It's not the royal capital, nor is it an important point for national defense or economy. What purpose do the demons have in coming to a place like this beyond the great forest?

With the current information, we don't know anything.

For now, I was about to ask Elen about Roze's whereabouts to regroup with her—

"Amazing! Amazing!"

"It's amazing! The divine magic!"

I heard a grating voice nearby.

What was there were fairy-like creatures that looked like goblins with small wings.

Demi-goblins. E-rank monsters!

I immediately drew my mithril dagger and was about to strike, but just before that, a large presence swelled up right behind us.

"Kufu~! Could this be an unexpected find~?"

It had brown skin and pointed ears like an elf.

However, its eyeballs were bloodshot red. It had sharp fangs, looking like a dark elf who had just pulled an all-nighter.

So this is a demon.

I intuitively understood.

The red-eyed demon licked its lips and let out a delighted voice as it gazed at Elen.

"I came to get the factor of destruction~, but who would have thought the seed of the Demon King would be in the same place. This is an unexpected feast for Lord Saturn~... Now then, in this case, would it be alright for me to help myself~?"