Water Magician

Chapter 20: Magic Control

Random extra chapter release ~ Enjoy

Ryo woke up.

He was still alive.

He had lost consciousness for just a few seconds, probably only one or two seconds.

That could be deduced because the bamboo spear that he released upon fainting was still right next to him.

Why was he alive?

Although he didn’t know the answer to that, it wasn’t the moment to think about it.

The shrimp that was in the shadow of the rock was now confronting a crab.

Ryo was no longer on its mind.

Ryo reached out to grab the bamboo spear and rose to the surface instantly by using the Water Jet propulsion he used to escape from the Bait Ball.

He flew straight out of the sea surface and crash-landed on land.

He hurriedly put on his sandals, picked up his waistcloth, and ran toward his house as quickly as he could.

Only after he entered the barrier did he take a breather.

“This time I survived …”

“That said … I’m so weak … a Water Attribute Magician’s control of water was taken away from him.”

Ryo was depressed.

In the first place, he completely did not imagine that the product of an opponent’s magic could be hijacked.

“I’m guessing that only those made from the same attribute of magic can be hijacked but … if it can be done against other attributes, that would be a threat …”

Leaving aside the thought of hijacking products of other attributes, it turned out that taking the product of another being’s magic and making it your own was a skill that must be acquired.

Otherwise, just like this time, his magic products would be snatched away at will … and his ice walls would be dispelled one after another.

Of course, the goal was not to be under the control of the other party but … honestly, he had no idea how to prevent his control from getting taken away.

Ryo called it 『Magic Control』 for convenience but he honestly still did not understand the fundamentals of 『Magic Control』.

His first experience was when he tried to thaw the frozen meat produced by Michael (pseudonym) and his magic was repelled.

Adding to that was today’s battle in the sea with the Bait Ball.

The seawater near his hands and feet seemed to had been placed under the monster’s control.

That was the second example.

Both repulsions occurred when Ryo tried to apply a spell.

And that 『repulsion』 was conveyed to Ryo’s mind.

How did he thaw the meat frozen by Michael (pseudonym)?

“I felt for the concentration of magical power and disconnected the molecules. Then moved on to the bond next to it. And then the next one. And the next one. The molecules that were unbonded turned from ice into water.”

He didn’t actually do anything special but perhaps with more magical power than usual as he unraveled the spell Michael (pseudonym) cast one molecule at a time …

In the case of Michael’s (pseudonym) frozen meat, he had the conviction that it could be thawed because Michael (pseudonym) prepared it so he believed he could do so and was able to concentrate on doing so.

Fundamentally the circumstances in the underwater sea battle were different.

First of all, there was no way to tell if it could be dispelled even if he concentrated on it.

While having no conviction that he could dispel it, he would have to work on it at a molecular level, one by one … and all while he was in battle.

That was impossible for him at the moment.

Although it was impossible for him at the moment … the fact that there were monsters that could control their opponent’s magic meant that he must acquire the ability to counter that.

It was directly linked to his survival.

How could he learn it?

He felt that perhaps the right way of doing it would be to improve his skills in affecting the bonds and vibrations at the molecular level.

Was there no other way …?

Right, there was an orthodox training when it came to 『Magic Control』 or 『Magical Power Control』.

In the case of Earth Magic, it would be something along the lines of making figurines.

“Geh, that would be for Earth Magic … why did I choose Water Magic …”

The grass was always greener on the other side.

“All right, I will create Tokyo Tower with ice.”

He had seen it in some anime.

The slime was doing it!

“The other thing to sort out is … that shrimp …”

Ryo felt like he had seen it somewhere but … he couldn’t remember.

“No idea. I’ll put it on hold.”

Moving forward was important.

“Next matter would be why didn’t I die …? Shrimp-san was satisfied with just knocking me out? No no, that would be an overly convenient interpretation.”

In the first place, during that time, Ryo sensed that the entire sea was his enemy.

And he felt that his sensation was not mistaken.

The shrimp attacked Ryo immediately after the Bait Ball so the assumption that 『Ryo was the enemy of all sea life』 was the most fitting.

Of course, Ryo was reaping what he sow for killing the sea bream-like fish in the sea without thinking.

Ryo, who was the enemy of the entire sea, fainted from the shrimp’s bubbles …?

That meant that Ryo’s presence or atmosphere, including his consciousness itself, disappeared.

Perhaps, at that instant, he became an existence that was『incapacitated and no longer an enemy』. In that case, it was certainly possible that the situation became,『Ryo was not an enemy of the entire sea』, and the sea returned to normal, where the shrimp and crab battled for survival.

“Yeah~ I don’t know for sure but I guess that might be the case. Nevertheless, I can only say that I was really lucky … there wouldn’t be a second chance.”

There were so many things that he had to train.

He might had become a little conceited from the fact that he defeated two Greater Boars and was able to use Water Jet at a practical level.

The sea monsters taught him that he was still had a long way to go.

Ryo thought about it.

There was no use feeling depressed forever!

From the next day, he ran while practicing magic control.

Well, that aspect was not much different from before.

While running, he would either model a palm-sized Tokyo Tower with ice or construct a huge five-story pagoda with ice in the center of his running circle.

Apart from that, Ryo also did some experimenting when hunting.

His targets were the Lesser Rabbits that would become his delicious meal after that.

In the case of humans, about 60% of their bodies were made of water.

That should be the same for monsters too.

Although there may be differences depending on the type of monsters, he could imagine that they had about 50% to 70% water content.

If so, Ryo wondered if he could directly manipulate the 『Moisture』 within the monster’s body.

He imagined it in his mind.

Freezing the moisture within the body of the Lesser Rabbit leaping at him, specifically the blood that was pumping in its body.

“<Blood Freeze>”

……

It was repelled!

Just like when he tried to thaw the meat frozen by Michael (pseudonym)

And similarly, Ryo received feedback in his mind that it was ‘repelled’.

“This can be used for training.”

From then, whenever he hunted rabbits and boars, he made sure to practice freezing their blood before dealing the final strike.

But he did not succeed in freezing their blood even once.

Blood Freeze was unsuccessful even on the blood that flowed out from their bodies.

However, once the monsters died, the freezing could succeed.

In that case, it becomes possible to freeze the entire body of the monsters.

As an extension of the experiment, how about freezing a living monster?

Or to be more precise, was it possible to freeze the water molecules in the air around the monster?

Starting from the conclusion, Ryo couldn’t do it.

It was still possible to freeze the space that was 10cm away from the monster but if he tried to freeze the water molecules in the space nearer than that, it would be ‘repelled’.

In other words, the air around the monster may be 『under the control』 of the monster.

Was that what they call personal space …?

In the past, he succeeded in forming dozens of Water Jets at a short distance to the Greater Boar and skewering it but it seemed that he succeeded because they were launched 30cm away from the Greater Boar.

The more he tried, the clearer magic became. And now there was magic control.

“There’s still so much that I must know.”

Ryo vowed in his heart.