Magic, and How to Do It!

Haru's body was vibrating in both excitement and anticipation.

Magic———it was a concept that only existed in fantasy stories in his past life.

As someone who had watched anime and read manga and novels with such a concept, Haru had dreamed wielding this mystical power. But alas, it was impossible to happen in his past life.

Thankfully, Haru had a chance to wield this mysterious force in this life.

"All right, there are several hours left before 42 hours pass. Let's spend my remaining time here to do some magicks!"

Like a child in a toy or candy store, Haru was so energetic and full of excitement and anticipation.

Haru then sat cross-legged on the ground and started meditating. Since there was a lush grass under him, he had no problem with his location. At the very least, sitting on lush grass was better than sitting on a barren wasteland. He was feeling glad that Innovate Clear had developed to the point of creating something that seemed like a Paradise.

After meditating for a little, Haru could feel something he labeled as Magic Circuits and Magic Energy in his body. It felt weird because Magic Circuits overlapped the location of blood channels such as major and minor veins and arteries, yet their location was conceptually different. Meanwhile, Magic Energy felt like his blood, though it traveled across the Magic Circuits. Magic Energy also originated from something he labeled as Magic Core that overlapped his heart; it moved through Magic Circuits and would enter what he dubbed as Magic Reservoir if he didn't use it. For your information, Magic Reserve existed between his bellybutton and crotch.

In truth, the existence of Magic Core, Magic Reservoir, Magic Circuits, and Magic Energy only existed in a spiritual/metaphysical plane. An ordinary human who never dabbled in the field of mysticism would be impossible to sense their existence.

As a former ordinary human, Haru shouldn't be able to sense their existence. However, he cheated; he used his authority as the possessor of Innovate Clear to help him sensing his Magic Core, Magic Reservoir, Magic Circuits, and Magic Energy that resided in his spiritual/metaphysical body.

After discovering their existence, a notification screen popped up in Haru's vision in spite of him closing his eyes. In fact, Haru could see his Status Board and the pop-up screen, whether his eyes were open or shut. After all, the system was a divine artifact that fused with his existence.

Putting all digressions aside, Haru shifted his focus to the notification. It was a notice about a new Notable Ability he had obtained.

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You obtained a new ability: Magic Detection!

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You obtained a new ability: Magic Control!

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Haru dismissed the notifications and focused his attention on his task; he wanted to know his limits in utilizing his newly unlocked mystical power. Before long, he found his limits; his magic energy's reserve and quality were too low because of the low MAG stat.

Without breaking out of his meditative state, Haru accessed his Status Board and put 1 Stats Point to his MAG attribute, increasing it to 1.1 points. He immediately noticed the difference; the space of his Magic Reservoir improved, the potency became thicker, and the quality grew higher.

Haru exited his meditative state and raised his right hand until it became parallel to his chest, his palm facing upward. He controlled his magic energy to move to his right hand, coaxed it to come out of the openings or nodes in his palm, and condensed the energy into a ball of raw magic energy—no, let's call it Mana to shorten the name.

When Haru saw a softball-sized something floating on top of his palm, he knew that he succeeded. But alas, it broke off his concentration and dispersed his Mana into the air.

As an aside, it seemed like Mana didn't have color, or maybe, Haru's Mana didn't have any. Other than the Magic Detection that helped him sensing Mana, space where the Mana appeared seemed distorted as if caused by the heat.

Haru sighed exasperatedly and then formed a wry smile. "It looks like it won't be easy. Concentration is vital in controlling my Mana, and a small lapse in concentration can break the spell structure. Since it's only a ball of raw Mana, it didn't explode and hurt me. But, I can't be sure if I will stay unscathed if it explodes when I am crafting a complicated spell," Haru hypothesized calmly. "Fortunately, I have raised my INT stat. If I utilize the full potential of my mind, controlling my Mana won't be a problem."

Haru then thought about another matter; he wanted to know if he could produce elemental spells. He tried to convert his neutral Mana into elemental Mana but found that he was unable to do it.

"It seems like I'm unable to cast an elemental spell. Is it because I have no aptitude?"

Disappointed, Haru ended his meditation and flopped back on the soft grass; he absentmindedly stared at the clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds floating leisurely.

Haru forcefully suppressed his disappointment and tried to be optimistic. "Maybe, I need to unlock the aptitude for elements first? Well, I'll figure it out later. What's important is that I can control my Mana well. I wonder if I can use telekinesis with my neutral Mana."

Haru decided to test it out. He raised his body to a sitting posture and created a wooden cube with his Absolute Authority over this world. The wooden cube had a precise weight of 1 kg.

"Let's see," Haru licked his bottom lip and muttered. He then thrust his right hand forward, with his open palm pointing at the wooden cube. He put his concentration on controlling his Mana.

After his Mana existed through the metaphysical nodes in his palm, he made the colorless energy wrapping the wooden cube, and then he tried to lift the wooden cube with his Mana.

"Oh! I did it!" Haru exclaimed energetically.

However, Haru immediately lost control over his telekinetic grip because his concentration broke; the wooden cube fell on the ground as a result. He wasn't discouraged; he quickly repeated his action and made the wooden cube fly around him with his telekinetic grip.

Although it was simple telekinesis, Haru was so happy. He was like a child with his new toy. Granted, he was doing MAGIC!

Haru experimented with the limits of his telekinetic power. He discovered that his maximum weight was 67.5 kg; he could hold on that for a while before his Mana got emptied.

When Haru experienced the phenomenon called "Mana Depletion" for the first time, he realized how awful it was. It felt like you have a fever as well as having no energy to move your body; your mind was very sluggish.

Haru finally passed the first 24 hours in "Paradise" moaning and whining because of Mana Depletion. For your information, Haru had called the world of Innovate Clear as "Paradise." Although he'd spent that long inside Paradise, only one second had passed in the real world. Even though Haru was able to endure the lack of company in Paradise because he was a loner in his past life, he slightly missed his little sisters in the real world.

Several hours later, Haru recovered from his Mana Depletion condition. He also discovered that he must rest for 8 hours to fill his Mana Reservoir to the brim.

"There are more than 12 hours left until another day passes in this place. I guess I can do some power-leveling to kill time."

Haru decided on his next action and wasted no time to implement it. He created another batch of mice and killed them with a thought.

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Level Up! You're now Level 2! You obtained 5 Stats Points!

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'Man, power-leveling becomes harder as I get stronger. Previously, I need 2000 EXP to level up, but I need to collect 4000 EXP to go up to Level 3 now!'

Haru complained after discovering that the speed and efficiency of his power-leveling had dropped. Yet, he gritted his teeth and continued power-leveling.

Whenever Haru became fatigued because of depleting his stamina and mental power for creating those EXP Cashes, he would get a break and take a nap. Haru repeated it with a single-minded zeal; he convinced himself that he must milk the advantage he had.

And so, several days passed.

"Aaaah! I can't take it anymore! I miss Sora and Suzuka, goddammit!"

Haru's roar echoed in the empty Paradise.

The next moment, he exited the world of Innovate Clear and returned to his bedroom. He then exited his room in a hurry and went to find Sora in the living room.

Haru's hurried footsteps grabbed Sora's attention; she was reclining on the sofa while reading Haru's draft and snacking without a care in the world.

"Sooooora~! I miss you~!"

"Eep!"

Haru exclaimed loudly, catching Sora off guard. He ignored Sora's confused yelp and hugged her soft body tightly; he rubbed his face on Sora's head as if she was a fluffy animal.

"H-Haru! W-What are you doing?! Release me! It's embarrassing!" Sora tried to resist Haru's hug to no avail; her physical strength was lower than Haru's.

Haru ignored Sora's desperate attempt to release herself from his grip while rubbing his face on her hair and sniffing her fragrance; he really missed Sora after staying in Paradise for several days.

Because Haru was too focused on Sora, he missed that the chaos he caused had grabbed Suzuka's attention.

Suzuka had exited her room to check out the ruckus, but she became dumbfounded when she saw Haru hugging the flailing and blushing Sora. She then snapped out of her daze and shouted at them in jealousy.

"ONII-CHAN! WHAT. THE. HECK. ARE. YOU. DOING?!"