183. Change (2)
“What did you come here for?”
Oliver’s basement. I asked while cleaning up the lab/workroom.
Oliver would normally have cleaned it himself, but suddenly Merlin came and left the mortuary doll-helper 1 and Duncan, the sniper, and the warlock, and Oliver treated Merlin.
“Am I not where I am? What happened to the temporary master? A master always has the right to visit and annoy his pupils. But what is that?”
“Coffee. Infused with alcohol… I brought it to drop you off. Would you like to eat?”
“You know how to treat guests. what? Why is it delicious?”
“Fortunately, the. I rode it as I was taught, but it suits my taste.”
“Did you learn to brew coffee? where?”
“It’s an angel’s house.”
In the past, when Oliver learned how to make-up from Coco, he also learned from other employees how to make coffee, how to distinguish luxury goods, and how to recognize customers’ backgrounds.
It was a field of little interest, but it was quite a bit of fun.
“It’s an odd name. It looks like a castle.”
“What is a Yugaku?”
“…don’t you know what a Yugwa is?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of it a few times, but I don’t know the details.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, I really don’t know. Can you teach me what?”
“What is Yugwa? But, are you in control of all those corpse dolls right now?”
Merlin suddenly pointed to the corpse dolls cleaning out the lab.
“Yes? oh·····. no. I’m not in control. To be precise, the Child is controlling it.”
“Child?”
“Yes. Wait····. Can you help me for a second?”
At Oliver’s call, Helper 1, who was organizing with six arms, approached.
Perhaps because the three bodies were put together, the sound of heavy footsteps resounded with every step.
A helper who came to Merlin and Oliver’s front. After a while, a small chunk of meat, surrounded by black smoke, emerged from the center of the head.
“This is a child.”
“Hey…”
Merlin looks at him with interest.
Child was wary of Merlin, but calmed down when Oliver reassured him.
“Black magic. It’s a creative line.”
“Do you know about black magic?”
“You know a little more than ordinary wizards. The scope is just as important as the depth. In that sense, are you great?”
“Am I?”
“Yeah, the Creation series has a reputation for being difficult to learn regardless of its power.”
Five···. What Merlin said was true.
Among the books on black magic that Oliver read in Joseph’s library in the past, there was a book that explained the basics of each series and evaluated the introductory difficulty.
As with ordinary black magic books, the accuracy was questionable because it was in the form of a thesis that reflected one person’s thoughts rather than verified content.
Anyway, according to the book, the most difficult to learn of black magic is the creation series.
“Each individual is different, but this is because it requires various materials such as emotions, vitality, and magical power, and also requires ambiguous parts such as the caster’s creativity and imagination. Aside from that, there are many things that have not been revealed because of the late learning of black magic. It’s such a difficult series.”
“Yes, you got it right. It was written that way in a book I read. You are a wizard, how do you know so much about black magic?”
“Did you tell me? Scholars say that scope is just as important as depth. It’s not that hard to learn. If you defeat the warlocks during the war mage, you can capture their research and books. It’s illegal, though.”
“ah····.”
“Anyway, the idea is interesting. A creature who controls the Invoice Doll. This will save the effort of manipulating the Invoice Puppet. Of course, as long as the creature doesn’t harm you.”
Oliver was interested.
“Do creatures even kill their masters?”
“Of course, I don’t know—”
“-Kyayahhhh. Shut up! bald!”
“right! Shut up! old man!”
“bald! bald! bald! bald! bald!”
The children, who were quietly cleaning, shouted at Merlin in extreme excitement.
Instead of being angry, Merlin reacted in surprise.
“Can you speak?”
“Yes, but limited to basic words.”
Oliver calmed Child and answered. Child immediately followed Oliver’s words.
“Oh, great. Saying bald is very offensive, but interesting. Could you tell me from the beginning?”
“Wait. first. Enter the Road Invoice Doll.”
First went into the Invoice Doll-Helper 1 as Oliver told him to.
“Kyah… we. not betrayed. Kahhhh…”
“Of course, I know. Please clean it too. You worked hard today, so I’ll take care of your meals later.”
“Kahhhh…”
Child who entered Helper 1 trudged back and started cleaning again.
“… it wasn’t something I could say from the beginning. As I continued to feed them with emotions, vitality, and magical power, my intelligence grew along with my size.”
“Well, that’s interesting. A creature that can speak like a human…”
He couldn’t see through Merlin’s insides surrounded by a massive magical barrier, but he seemed to be serious.
“By the way, may I ask what you came for? Doesn’t it look like you’re here to see Child?”
“ah! right. look at my mind Thanks for telling me. It’s temporary, but I’m here to serve as a teacher.”
“Yes?”
“Teacher.”
***
Whoa hey hey!
In front of Merlin’s mansion. Oliver was walking head-on against the wind mixed with snow.
“Stop it now.”
Merlin, who was walking behind me, said.
Oliver paused as instructed and turned around.
“Old man. Do you like cold places?”
“Not at all. rather hate it I just like to see other people shiver in the cold. So take off your coat.”
Oliver took off his jacket as instructed.
When I took off even what I was wearing, the cold got worse, and the pain came over me.
The feeling I felt for the first time since mine days.
It felt like the blade of cold cut through the skin and stabbed the muscles, organs, and bones below.
“Come on, take it.”
Merlin tossed a test tube of magical power at Oliver.
Oliver snatches the test tube from the air.
Oliver extracted the mana of the test tube and wrapped it around his body as explained in advance.
It was an instruction whose intention was completely unknown, but it was cold and cold, and it was the teacher’s command, so I followed what he was told.
shuh ah
After drawing out the magical power in the test tube at once, she mimicked Merlin and applied magic to her magic to block the cold by enveloping her body with thermal insulation magic.
First, he created an outer wall and an inner wall using magical power, wrapped around the body in two layers, and then raised the temperature between the outer wall and the inner wall with magical power.
Then the cold gradually subsided, and his condition improved as if he was wearing warm clothes.
“Are you done?”
“uh····. Yes.”
Oliver looked at his body and then answered.
“How did you do it?”
“Yes?”
“How did you do it? Don’t ask, answer. Concentration.”
Merlin spoke quite seriously, not in a playful manner as usual.
His posture was also different from usual, and he had an upright posture, giving off a completely different atmosphere.
Oliver replied with an apology.
“sorry. Elderly…. It was like seeing and mimicking the old man’s magic.”
“mimicry?”
“That’s right. He looked at the magic that he put on his body and imitated it. The body was surrounded by two layers of magic to block the cold, and the space between them was heated with magic to maintain body temperature.”
“How about doing it?”
“Convenient and good. If the magic permits, you can stay in a place like this even in light clothes.”
“But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Even if you reduce the consumption of magic to a minimum, the amount of magic is consumed for a long period of time, and if you want to keep it, your concentration will be consumed and you will quickly get tired. Most of all, it’s difficult for most wizards to control their magic so delicately. Just wear thick clothes.”
“Really?”
Oliver asked, surprised. what to say It was slightly unexpected.
“Is it the harm of factory education? It’s not boring among wizards these days. In the first place, only effective education is provided for efficiency, so the delicate parts are naturally neglected. Of course, it’s a system problem, so it’s hard to blame only the students, but it’s still a problem. Its original purpose is to invert and collect points. Thanks to that, the number of wizards has increased, and their abilities are stable as if they were made in a factory, but there are many people who are weak except for specialized subjects. Less flexibility.”
“That’s a little sad.”
Oliver said sincerely. If you’re going to learn, it would be more fun to learn everything.
I didn’t quite understand. Is there something Oliver doesn’t know?
“So, children with backgrounds or connections go directly to the school’s master-level disciple and receive further education. Then, you can receive a more detailed education.”
“Oh, does the old man have such a disciple?”
“Not many, but there are. Getting back to the point, how long do you think you’ll be able to maintain the magic you put on your body?”
“Ummm… until the magic power runs out.”
Oliver said quietly. Not by pretentiousness or arrogance, but by accurate self-judgment. However, it was never easy.
Magic is not simply the possession of magical power, but it requires several factors such as the concentration, stamina, and will of the magician.
It was the difference between lifting a 10-kg dumbbell briefly and holding it for an hour.
“You said you saw my magic and imitated it on the spot, how did you imitate it?”
“When I saw the flow of magic that was wrapped around my body, I just followed it.”
“Do you know how to use magic?”
“No, I don’t know the exact theory because I haven’t learned it. I just look at it and imitate it. Then if there is a more convenient way, I change it.”
Oliver says it doesn’t matter. However, those with a knack for magic could never be treated like that.
Merlin opened his mouth.
“Magic. It’s about gathering an appropriate amount of magical energy in your body, giving the magic power the corresponding magic, and then bringing the image in your head to reality. If you dig a little deeper, there are a few more detailed steps, but I won’t go into detail. You can do that later.”
Oliver nodded silently at the very adept, but pointless, teaching, and listened to Merlin’s instructions one by one.
Magic is to conjure up an image and bring it back to reality by giving magic to magic.
I thought it wasn’t that different from black magic. Upon speaking of this, Merlin drew a firm line.
“No, different.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, to put it simply, magic is math. According to the set rules, by granting a spell to exert the desired power. Of course, skilled magicians can change the form to their liking, but the basic rules are the same. It doesn’t deviate from the rules. It’s the same with me.”
“Isn’t that black magic?”
“Black magic is closer to drawing than math. It has a shorter history than magic, and it may be because of the lack of systematic research, but skilled warlocks create their own unique black magic. There are a lot of things that break the rules.”
Oliver thought of puppets, auction house raiders, Marie.
Their black magic was obviously black magic, but the ark had a different level of generality.
“Well·····. Maybe it’s because of the devil?”
“It could be…. But there are very few magic wands like you who use magic properly. In other words, it’s proof that magic and black magic don’t work in the same way. If I receive systematic education, I don’t know.”
“Then why am I like that? I think I can use it in moderation. Is there anything I missed?”
“No, it’s probably because he’s a so-called genius.”
“A genius?”
“Yes, someone who can see the flow of magic, unconsciously grasp the essential principle, and use it right away. Such a person is usually called a genius… But he doesn’t look very happy for that.”
What Merlin said was true. Oliver didn’t seem very happy with the special word genius. it’s just dull
“It’s amazing. It’s not easy to hear the word genius from me, but the reaction is so boring.”
“Ah, sorry. just what to say I don’t think much of it.”
Oliver answered honestly. Oliver was interested in gaining knowledge or discovering new things, but he had little interest in his talents.
Of course, I was grateful to help achieve this goal, but the tool was nothing more than a tool.
Merlin nodded quietly after hearing the answer.
“Well, that might be a good attitude. Talent is certainly a blessing, but it is also a curse.”
unknown words. However, before even asking about it, Merlin immediately said the following:
“I will start training you on an irregular basis in the future.”
“Is it irregular?”
“Yeah, you’re also working as a solver. Shouldn’t you be concerned about that? Or can I rest for a while?”
oh·····. That was difficult.
It didn’t matter a few months ago, but it’s a different story now.
In addition to earning money for research and living expenses, Oliver was working partly as a solver to get to know the world. The people I met along the way were also fun.
To be honest, my current work as a problem solver was both a study and a hobby for Oliver.
“No, that would be a little difficult.”
“So that’s it. A poor old man like me cannot take care of your livelihood…”
It wasn’t convincing for an old man with a mansion in the backcountry, but Oliver nodded without questioning.
Whatever it was, caring was caring.
“thank you.”
Pak-!
At the same time as Oliver answered, all of the magic that was on his body was consumed and the magic was broken.
As Oliver said, he maintained it without any problem until his magic power went down.
The cold rages with him again.
“Can you give me some more magic?”
“No, don’t go in here.”
At Merlin’s suggestion, Merlin and Oliver entered the mansion.
Inside the mansion stood wooden dolls-golems and mortuary dolls.
Each held out a towel to their master.
The wooden doll-golems are silent.
The cemetery doll makes a cahahaha sound.
Merlin, who did not protect himself with magic, refused the towel and continued the story.
“I will give you a way to communicate with me. Let me know when it rains there. Then, I will arrange for you to be on time with me.”
“Thank you again for your consideration. Could I ask what kind of education you would like to teach?”
“First of all, we will do basic theoretical education, and the rest will be filled with practical skills. In terms of proportions, it would be 8 to 2 to 9 to 1.”
“All right.”
Oliver answered with satisfaction. It’s not that I hate practical skills, but I was more interested in theory now that I don’t have enough theory.
“And when the basic training course is over, then I will allow you to enter the tower.”
“Matop?”
“Ah, not a student, something like an employee.”
tower.
One of the institutions where Landa and other cities are discriminated against.
A pan-school wizard organization established for the purpose of research and exchange, where wizards gather in Landa, where legal regulations on wizards are low.
Even though they exist in Landa, everyone spoke from a distance as if they were referring to another world, so Oliver couldn’t believe what Merlin said.
I wondered if I heard it wrong, but Merlin reminded me again and again that it wasn’t.
“I hope I can read a book there or take a class there. It’s not that I’m bothered to teach every single thing, so don’t get me wrong.”
“no······. Don’t get me wrong. It’s simply surprising. By the way, can I really enter the tower? Are you a warlock?”
“Of course you have to hide that you are a warlock. And don’t worry, there’s a way to get in.”
“May I ask how?”
“Even an outsider can get a job within the tower if the master-level professor guarantees it. It’s a right in the official document. Because of that, every year, back money and lobby come and go.”
I don’t know the details, but it seemed like a huge right.
To use that right for Oliver.
“thank you. Do you even do that?”
“yes? Oh, you’re wrong. I will not use mine.”
“······??”
“It’s a waste of mine, so I’m thinking of handing you over to my disciple who will return to the tower after completing his military service just in time.”
“Will he allow it?”
“Will you allow it? Because he is my disciple, and I have weaknesses.”
“…are you threatening to disciple?”
“I only disciple people I can intimidate. Are you surprised?”
Oliver pondered.
“No, my first master also tried to kill me… It seems ordinary. Then, I must prepare myself.”
“What are you ready for?”
“As you said, if you want to go to the tower for theory, you have to acquire a minimum of basic knowledge, and I think you have to deal with the work in advance……. Can I use a communication device here?”
Oliver asked, pulling out the Forrest direct communication device.