Vol 7 Chapter 22

Such magic could only be maintained continuously by constantly imagining how it would affect its targets from the moment the magic began until it ended.

Then, when wanting to make those spells stronger, one had to imagine the effect being stronger on the target, and conversely, when wanting to weaken the effect, power control was only possible by continuously imagining the effect being weaker on the target.

This was knowledge Kapros had come to realize himself through using Strength quite a bit.

'I see. This might have been it.'

Though they weren't attack magic, those spells were still 'magic' all the same. If they worked in the same way, what reason was there that it couldn't be applied to Fireball?

Kapros jumped up from his spot, unable to contain his excitement. Though he wasn't yet certain if this was right, trying it would give him the answer anyway.

He unhesitatingly chanted the spell toward the nearest tree.

"Fireball!"

Until now, he had just muttered meaninglessly that it needed to be weaker, without ever imagining how he wanted the Fireball to affect the tree, but this time he strongly visualized the Fireball he shot dispersing and disappearing the moment it hit the tree's outer surface.

Bang!

The sound of branches shaking and leaves falling came as the Fireball hit the tree.

'The result...'

It was a success!

The tree wasn't destroyed but only had about half of it hollowed out. Though it wasn't quite the slight scorching of the outer bark he had initially aimed for, even this much was a remarkable achievement.

Why had he never thought before that attack magic would also need "an image of the effect on the target"?

Until now, his imaging had ended with just creating the magic and sending it off with the necessary amount of magical power. But in fact, there were aspects that couldn't be controlled by that alone!

Encouraged by finally starting to see the way, Kapros continued training with renewed energy. After doing this several times...

Pop pop pop!

'I did it...!'

Seeing the tree standing intact with only slight burn marks, fatigue and a sense of achievement rushed over him at once.

"Damn. Haa, haa...!"

When he lay down while catching his breath, his body felt so heavy he could barely move a finger. It was a signal that both his stamina and magical power were depleted.

"Potion."

When he shook the Ring of Storage on his hand, health recovery potions immediately poured into his palm. He pulled out the stoppers and drank them one after another, not caring if they spilled down his chin, and finally felt a bit better.

"Kuh, ha. Hehehe. Hahaha!"

As he threw away the empty bottles and felt strength gradually returning, unable to contain the rising elation while laughing, Superior's voice, who had come back without him noticing, came from behind.

"Finally succeeded. A feat after exactly 2,613 trees. Congratulations."

"Yeah."

"Shall we move on to the next? Or..."

"No. Still far to go."

"Huh?"

Looking at Superior's blinking face that seemed to ask what he meant, Kapros felt cheerful for the first time in a while.

"This isn't enough. From now on, I'm going to train again until I can freely control three levels of all the magic I've learned."

"What?"

So learning the next part would come after that. Superior, who had been dumbfounded, soon raised the corner of his mouth with a grimacing face as if he'd been hit.

"With that level of persistence, don't you think it might become self-abuse?"

"Why not, if there's enough time I can do as much as needed."

"Fine, do as you please. Go ahead. Whether you destroy ten thousand trees or a hundred thousand..."

As soon as that permission fell, full of signs that he would watch to see just how far Kapros could go, Kapros asked about something he was curious about.

"By the way, how do I get out of here when I want to stop training?"

"Hmm. Come to think of it, I hadn't thought about that."

Superior rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before snapping his fingers with an "Ah."

"I brought you here the first time, but let's make a promise spell so you can come and go as you please from now on. First, whether coming in or going out, close your eyes while concentrating... hmm.... Any spell name you'd recommend?"

Even if he asked Kapros, nothing particularly came to mind...

"Well..."

"Don't you have anything you like? Like a favorite color?"

Favorite color... he didn't really have that either. While silently racking his brain, Kapros suddenly looked at his clothes. The vivid black particularly caught his eye. Come to think of it, his shoes were black, his underclothes were black. Most things he wore were all black.

He hadn't really been conscious of it until now but... perhaps he had liked black?

"...Black?"

Though he answered hesitantly, Superior paid it no mind.

"Really? Then let's make the spell name Black Cerberus."

"Cerberus?"

"It's a monster, but I like it. The two combined make Black Cerberus. From now on, you can go out or come back here by chanting that spell. I might or might not be here, so call when you're done doing as much as you want."

"Alright."

"And don't stay here too long. Though time flows much slower here than outside, it might put strain on your body. Since this is my first time having another person's consciousness enter here, I can't completely guarantee anything, so it won't hurt to be careful."

A silent smile appeared on Superior's face as he said this.

"Since this was your own choice, let's look forward to the results."

Then Superior waved his hand as he passed by Kapros before dissolving into the air and disappearing at some point. Kapros looked at the place where he had vanished before turning his gaze back to the swaying field before him. The joy of success he had felt just before revived again, and he felt strength surging up.

Though he hadn't told Superior, his goal wasn't just three-level control of all magic, but beyond that to be able to freely control power at will.

He wondered just how far he could go.