I feel a little frustrated."
On the way back, Sylphy said.
After I succeed, Sylphy tried as well.
After a failure, she succeeded in casting Water Saint Magic [Cumulonimbus].
But [Lightning] failed.
Failed, and she also depleted her magic power.
Looks like magic compression is extremely difficult.
I can do it, probably because I happen to have always been using it.
But Sylphy is clever, so I think she'll figure it out in a few tries.
"I still fail one out of five attempts."
Roxy said that to comfort Sylphy.
Even though it was easy for me, I think Sylphy's failure helped Roxy keep face...
From this, it seems that Sylphy's magic power exceeds Roxy.
Probably because she practiced so frequently as a young child.
But Roxy's magic power is by no means low either.
"Rudi did it on his first try. That's amazing!"
"Yeah, I thought it might be possible. But with such ease, I feel a little lost."
"..."
I don't know how to respond.
Indeed I have been practicing magic since 2 or 3, and worked hard to increase my magic capacity.
But even though, to reach this level, I have to chock up to my special constitution too.
I made effort, but I feel like I cheated somehow.
Thus, I don't know how to join the conversation.
No matter what, bringing my two exhausted wives home safely is my job.
And I should massage their shoulders when I get back.
No sexy time with them today.
They're tired.
"Ah, Rudi, look! It's so pretty!"
I look towards the western sky where Sylphy is pointing, where the crimson sun sets,
That kind of natural beauty is the same in any world.
"Ahh, how pretty."
No, you're prettier. I should be saying.
"Phew..."
Sylphy is tired too, she leans lightly against my body.
We should be home before night fall, but I should stay vigilant.
Right now, neither of them can use magic.
If a magic beast appears, I'll protect them.
So pay attention to my surroundings.
"... Recently, sometimes I wonder if this is a dream."
Roxy suddenly said.
Sylphy tilts her head in confusion.
"Dream?"
"Erm. Whether I'm still trapped in that Labyrinth, a sweet dream before I die, like that."
I stay on guard as I listen in on their conversations.
Those two chat slowly, with exhausted voices.
"The past half year has been wonderful. Married, becoming a teacher like I wished for. Even if Sylphy considered me just an hindrance, the three of us riding together like this, I can't help but feel blessed."
A hindrance, when she said that, Sylphy shudders a little.
"Eh? Hindrance? That's impossible. I'm happy to live at peace with Roxy. If Roxy wanted to take Rudi away, I don't think I can win."
Sylphy said without an ounce of confidence, because of that, I tighten my hug.
With one hand at the rein, as if to tell me "I know" she caress mine with her other.
"In my view, I was just lucky to meet Rudi when he was still young... If not, Rudi probably wouldn't even look at me."
"That's not..."
"If I haven't met Rudi, I wouldn't be alive right now."
If I haven't met Roxy and Sylphy when I was young.
What kind of life would I be living right now?
At least, without meeting Roxy, I might still be a shut-in right now.
If I never left, I would not have met Sylphy. After the Metastasis event, would I have survived the Magic Continent?
If I never met Sylphy.
Then I wouldn't have headed to Fortress City Roa.
Then I wouldn't have met Eris and Ghyslaine either.
But I might have gone to school.
On the magic side, sooner or later I would hit a bottle neck, and request to attend the Magic University at Sharia.
Maybe under different circumstances, Paul wouldn't demand that I wait until 12, and okay it right away.
But, Sylphy won't be there. Not even if I waited.
Perhaps I would still befriend Pursena and Rinia, and eventually even become lovers.
Then, after graduation head to the Great Forest to live with the Beast Race.
No, after the Metastasis Event happens, I probably would head back to Asura.
But I got a feeling that I'll still meet them eventually, and reunite with them.
In Science Fiction this would be called Cause and Effect.
In other words, fate.
Destiny.
"..."
I reach out my hands and hug Roxy and Sylphy together.
"Rudi..."
What has happened.
What hasn't happened.
What's important right now is just to cherish these two.
In the setting sun, we head home.
Part 4[แก้ไข]
After coming home, I attempt to summarize Water King Magic.
[Lightning].
The logic behind this magic is fairly simple.
Pour enormous amount of magic into the sky, then compress it, and strike a designated spot.
That's it.
Make cloud, get lightning.
With that consideration, [Cumulonimbus] and [Lightning] are two spells of the same vein.
Strength-wise it's the strongest spell in my arsenal.
Concentrate the most magic consuming spell I know, [Cumulonimbus], into a single point.
In destructive power, it might even exceed Stone Cannon.
With this much power, without a doubt it'll come in handy in the future.
Even though it's called "Lightning," fundamentally it's magic compression.
Perhaps other King Ranked magics operate under similar principles.
Regardless of what, as long as I recite an incantation once, thereafter I can always use voiceless incantation for it.
Next time, I should try to shorten the time from [Cumulonimbus] to lightning strike.
But even with practice, there might not be an opportunity to use it.
As a single target spell, Stone Cannon should be plenty.
[Lightning] might be OVER KILL.[1]
Let's weaken it slightly.
With that thought I try out various tactics, and incidentally created an electric current.
I can use voiceless incantation to form a miniature thundercloud, compress, and designate a target for [Lightning], and strike.
Perhaps the voltage is too low, its power is visibly weakened.
I don't really understand the principles, but just as well.
It might be weak, but when it flew off my hand, I still zapped myself.
Oh well, I won't die.
At worst I just feel numb for a bit.
This kind of magic can cause self-harm, so it won't do much in an emergency.
But, a little more practice.
Disabling an opponent is an useful skill to have.
Electric strike is hard to avoid.
And the electricity numbs the nervous system, so it might come in handy against people that wear touki.
I don't have a test subject right now, but if Badigadi ever come back, I'll ask him to help test this out.
Maybe it can become my trump card one day.
By the way, even though it was already named [Lightning].
To distinguish this, I gave it a new name [Electric].
I learned some awesome magic today.