Chapter 5 - Nothing to Fear

Chapter 5 - Nothing to Fear

"Didn't I mention it?"

"You didn't say you could see behind!"

"Ah, I see."

"People can sometimes use detection magic, but to see all the way around—this is unheard of..."

"Is it rare?"

"Of course! I've never seen anything like this. Mago, we need to run more tests on you..."

Kinjo said, his eyes sparkling, his voice full of excitement.

"Anything's fine, but let's do it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why?"

"Because the limit you mentioned is now."

So, two days later.

"Let's wrap it up for today. Here, take this."

Kinjo handed me a piece of paper.

I unfolded the paper.

[The Lake]

— Date: January 1-2, 607

— Usable within 24 hours: 2 times

— Duration per use: Approximately 5 minutes

— Range of the lake: Approximately 50m in diameter

— Special notes: If eyes are opened during use, it consumes one use regardless of remaining time.

After two days of experimentation, the results were clear.

Twice a day, 5 minutes each.

The lake's circular range had a radius of about 50 meters.

That was the limit.

Kinjo had assisted, but the results were the same as my solo experiments from my previous life.

It turned out just as I had expected.

"I thought there'd be a limit, but only two uses a day seems a bit too little."

"Kinjo, do you think it's possible to extend the duration? Maybe twelve hours or so?"

"As I said before, it's theoretically possible. But you'd need a master to train you."

"Can't you teach me?"

"I can't use detection magic myself. The only thing I can help you with is strengthening magic—adding fire to your weapon. That's it."

"Adding fire to my weapon... Kinjo, about that magic."

"Honestly, for you, adding a small fire is probably pointless. It won't be very useful."

"No, it could be effective."

"Effective, you say?"

"I've thought about it, and for me, it would be a huge help."

When everyone in the war said it was a useless magic, and even I thought so...

At least for me, it wasn't useless.

But it was only after Kinjo died that I realized that, and it became a constant source of regret.

"If I put the fire on the enemy's weapon instead of mine..."

At that moment, a louder voice swallowed mine.

"I found it. Black hair and white hair. The black-and-white chaos."

Strange voices.

Unfamiliar faces.

Unexpected guests had arrived in the open space.

Four men.

"Mago, I think they're looking for us."

"They look like thieves."

"Eh?"

"The troublemaker from before. The one who drew his blade first... They don't seem like regular people. Looks like they're with him."

"So, they're here for revenge?"

"Probably."

I nodded and glanced behind me.

After a brief pause, we dashed out, as promised, at the same time.

"Catch them!"

"Stop right there!"

We entered an alleyway.

Every time we reached a corner, we veered inward.

The pursuit continued until we reached a dead-end.

"There's always a wall like this."

Kinjo looked up at the stone wall blocking our way.

"Kinjo, stay behind me."

I turned my back to the wall and Kinjo.

Soon, the four thieves approached.

They took a deep breath and drew daggers.

All of them wielded daggers.

The shapes and lengths were all different.

Before they could get any closer, I closed my eyes.

I focused.

I envisioned the lake in my mind and waited for a drop to fall.

"What are they doing?"

"Haha... Are you praying with your eyes closed?"

They babbled aimlessly.

"Mago, what are you doing?"

Kinjo's voice came through.

It was just faint, not the clear sense I had when using the lake.

My eyelids remained pitch-black.

"We already used it twice today."

"I was hoping it would work again, just like when I first got it. Maybe I could push the limit if I was in danger. But no luck."

The experiment had continued until today.

Twice today.

I had used it to the limit.

There was no way to fight four of them with my eyes closed.

And if I opened my eyes, their daggers were too clear to ignore.

"Sorry, Mago. I don't think I can help. I can't use strengthening magic. You're unarmed, after all."

Kinjo muttered.

"I told you earlier. That magic might still be useful."

"Huh?"

His strengthening magic.

The fire on the weapon.

"Look."

I pointed at the daggers the thieves were holding.

"Put the fire on those, and we can fight."

"You want me to strengthen their weapons? Are you serious?"

Without a word, I pulled my left leg back and clenched both fists.

"Making the enemies stronger...?"

"Hey, White Hair."

One of the thieves called out to me.

It had been a long time since I'd been called like that.

"Are you done praying?"

I ignored him and slowly closed my eyes.

Until Kinjo lit the fire.

"Mago, getting cut by a red-hot blade will hurt like hell."

"I know."

"You could die from it."

"I know."

I continued answering with my eyes still closed.

"So, is there another way?"

At that moment.

"No."

A red light spread beneath my eyelids.

I opened my eyes at the same time.

Flames were gripping their daggers.

Wavering heat waves.

Flames that shook freely with every moment.

Naturally, there was no sharpness in the flames anywhere.

"Alright. That's enough."

It was enough.

"Magic!"

The thieves reacted to the flames.

The fire on their daggers.

Their reactions were all different.

"Huh?"

"Isn't this actually a good thing?"

"What are we supposed to do now...?"

Now.

I rushed at the confused ones.

One of the thieves, closer to me, swung his dagger.

"Urrghh!"

I lowered my posture and dove inside his guard.

I punched his chin with my fist.

He was sent flying backward.

He tried to get up quickly but soon lost consciousness.

Second.

I tripped his legs and stomped on his face.

A scream echoed from the sole of my foot.

"Nice job, Mago!"

Kinjo cheered from behind.

The other two.

One of them charged forward.

I quickly grabbed his arm and twisted it.

Twisting it, I moved further ahead.

As I moved forward, his arm twisted in a more painful angle.

"Ugh, aaahh...!"

The man staggered back, trying to extend his twisted arm.

That left only the last one in front of me.

I gripped his arm harder and threw him toward the last thief.

The two of them tumbled and rolled on the ground.

In an instant, the situation was over.

In this life, my weaknesses began to fade away.

The lake.

Kinjo's enhancement magic.

It wasn't perfect yet, but even when I opened them, I could fight.

I clenched my fist, overwhelmed by the joy that surged up.

I immediately searched through the thieves' belongings.

"Nothing useful."

"Naturally, stealing from thieves, huh."

"Still, I got some real combat experience thanks to these guys."

"Yeah, asking me to help the enemies was a ridiculous order, though."

Kinjo laughed as he responded.

"There's still a month left until we join the training camp, but more of them will keep coming, right?"

Just like he said, it wasn't going to end here.

Other ones would keep coming, trying to crush us.

"Do you want to join the special forces? It's not an easy place to get into, just because you decide to."

"Of course, I want to. The Black Knights, they're cool."

"Not for that reason."

"Above all, you get to kill the most monsters."

I said it flatly.

As if it was the most natural thing.

"Alright, so let's say that's our goal."

"Say what?"

"It might be a good idea to try syncing our moves first. Against thieves, that is."

***

The capital, packed with refugees, had problems as numerous as the people inhabiting it.

Disputes were common, and worse yet, there were assaults and robberies.

There were even more filthy and heinous acts.

The refugees' uneasy psyche manifested in their behavior.

The more unsettled they were, the bolder the thieves became.

Their numbers grew with each passing day, and the damage they caused expanded as well.

Kinjo Shua surveyed the inside of the building, scanning for threats.

His eyes gleamed a brighter blue than usual.

He was concentrating and channeling mana.

He was using an x-ray spell.

He spoke toward the ceiling.

"Mago! Move a little to the right! That area is reinforced with iron!"

There was no reply.

"Did you hear me?"

Moments later, thieves emerged from the shadows.

'So it's true. How did Mago know this was the thieves' base?'

There were five thieves, and they looked at Kinjo with irritation.

"Hey, who are you?"

"Can't you hear us? What are you doing here?"

"The hell? Looks like he doesn't even know where this is."

"Hey, if you're lost, go somewhere else. There's nothing for you here."

The thieves joked among themselves and tried to push Kinjo out.

"No. I arrived just fine."

Kinjo pointed to the ground.

"Hah, here?"

"If you know where this is, are you trying to fight us?"

Kinjo stopped using the x-ray spell.

The glow in his eyes vanished.

His eyes looked heavier than before.

The thieves, sensing the change, immediately drew their weapons.

Axes, daggers, longswords, knuckles, and wooden clubs.

"Quite the variety," Kinjo smirked.

"Get in!"

The lead thief shouted, and the others moved.

At that moment, Kinjo set their weapons on fire.

The sudden flames caused the thieves to freeze in place.

"A magician...!"

Flames wrapped around each of their weapons.

Distorting heat waves swirled through the air.

"What is this, it's not an attack..."

"What are we supposed to do with our weapons enhanced like this?"

Kinjo let out a wry laugh.

"I'm getting used to that kind of reaction."

He pointed upwards.

"It's not just your weapons that are burning."

Hearing Kinjo's words, Mago knelt down.

He had already gone up to the second floor and was waiting for a signal.

From the first floor, you could see the skylight.

From the second floor, you could see the floor.

The spot Mago was sitting in was the location Kinjo had identified with his spell.

A ceiling made of several planks of wood.

The weakest point among them.

Mago slammed his clenched fist onto the floor.

Next came the signal.

"There is a bomb falling."

Though he laughed at Kinjo calling him a bomb, his movements were anything but soft.

With precision, he drove his fist into the designated spot.

The second floor shattered beneath him.

Mago fell to the first floor.

Wooden splinters and dust scattered everywhere.

"What...?"

"Up there...!"

Before the thieves could finish their words, Mago silently took them down.

With every punch, another one fell.

He knocked them out cleanly and quickly.

The thieves tumbled to the floor, defeated in an instant.

Mago exhaled deeply.

"Kinjo."

Mago walked towards him.

"M-Mago."

"I've told you every time, this is the fifth time now."

"Wait a minute, Mago."

Kinjo took a step back, raising both hands in surrender.

"Don't use the enhancement spell all at once. Cast it on one person at a time, in time with my signal."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Do you have mana to spare? Why did you put it on the knuckles and the wooden club?"

"It was a mistake, a mistake! There were five of them, alright? Casting it on one at a time was hard."

"A mistake or not, if your mana runs out..."

Before he could finish his sentence, more thieves appeared from another room.

Mago slowly closed his eyes.

***

At the same time.

A soldier spoke.

"This is the application for the next intake."

He handed a stack of papers to the head instructor of the Imperial Army's first training camp.

The instructor accepted the pile with his hand that wasn't holding a cigarette.

"Let's see what kind of idiots are coming this time."

He quickly flipped through the heavy applications.

Idiot, this one's an idiot as well, he muttered as he turned the pages.

Then, he abruptly stopped at one page.