HP: Sacred Gear Chat Group (2) - Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Chapter 7 - Tempest Voltia

As we wandered into the bookstore we had passed when entering the city, I immediately noticed how deserted it was. The store consisted of three bookcases, with volumes of the same titles lined up in twos and threes. Each book cost around one gold coin.

Since books were written by hand in this world, they weren’t cheap. And that was only the price for books whose main purpose was entertainment, mostly stories and myths.

The ones that interested me were kept in the remaining space at the back of the store. Inside a locked bookcase, I found books whose main purpose was to share knowledge, such as a Botanical Dictionary, a Monster Lexicon, travel guides, history books, tomes on etiquette, and a book on arithmetic. Pretty simple stuff in general, at least from the perspective of someone who was born on Earth.

Yet those books weren’t cheap either. While prices started at five gold coins, the average hovered around ten Asuran Gold Coins.

Fortunately, the case also contained some books on magic. One was the ‘Guide to Magic’, which I already possessed. It seemed to be a pretty common book for teaching magic, even if part of the information inside was wrong. Not that mages knew that at this point in time.

The first person to discover that would probably be Rudeus Greyrat, the protagonist of the Mushoku Tensei series.

Then there were the other two magic books, ‘Sig’s Summoning Magic’ and ‘Healing Magic: Fundamentals’. Each one cost ten gold coins, meaning twenty percent of my Asuran Gold Coins would disappear just for those two probably very basic books.

Not like I could afford to be picky. I wanted to expand my magic repertoire and gain a few trump cards that others in my world didn’t have. I would have to be satisfied with whatever I could find during my journey.

What I couldn’t forget was the fact that I still had two Gacha Rolls I could use. Maybe I would get more magic books from them. Still, I should probably start learning from the ones I already had first. No matter how many books I obtained, they were useless if I didn’t actually use them.

Alternatively, I could head for Ranoa Magic University, the greatest institute of magic in this world if you ignored the few individuals who stood beyond it. Their classes taught magic up to the Advanced Rank, aside from two branches of magic controlled by a religion. You could even find Saint Rank spells there.

Magic beyond the Saint Rank, such as King Rank or even Emperor Rank in rare cases, was treated as a state secret. That wasn’t even mentioning God Rank magic, which was the kind of stuff found in myths and legends.

But I would have to travel in the complete opposite direction from the Demon Continent. If I managed to get admitted, I could gain access to a much larger library.

That sounded nice, but in the end, I only had six months here. It wasn’t enough time to learn much from such a massive library. It would be a different matter if I knew a spell that could copy books, but I didn’t, so that was that.

And I didn’t think any of the books I had brought with me contained such a spell.

No, studying while traveling, gaining practical experience as an adventurer, and picking up as much magic as I could along the way was my best bet.

“Are these the only books you have on magic?” I asked the owner of the store, who had been watching me like a hawk ever since I entered.

“Unfortunately, yes. Most books on magic are traded through the Magic Guild and sold to their members,” the man replied, relaxing his stance slightly now that I seemed to be an actual customer. “If you’re looking for more and you’re a mage, you can always join them. While their branches are rarer than those of the Adventurers Guild, we have one here as well.”

Hmm, that was useful information.

“Thank you. I’ll take those two books and the ‘Botanical Lexicon’.”

And with twenty-eight fewer gold coins in my pockets, since the man refused to haggle, I left the bookstore together with Ghislaine, who had been waiting for me at the entrance the entire time.

As for why I had also bought the ‘Botanical Lexicon’, the explanation was simple: potion ingredients. My father ran an apothecary, so if I could bring him completely new plants from another world and find a way to grow them, sooner or later we could become the sole supplier for an entirely new branch of potions.

Of course, it would require a lot of research and work, but it was still a way to establish a solid foundation for a wealthy life.

Money was an issue right now, after all.

Now then, it was time to look for some magic items. I wanted to make some profit from rich ladies like Rias and Irene. I didn’t think there was any iconic food in this world worth selling to Yamato, but maybe I would come across something interesting.

Where did the receptionist say that fancy equipment shop was again?

———

— Rias Gremory POV —

“Squeeeeeee~!” The scarlet-haired heiress of the Gremory Family couldn’t help but squeal as her newest purchase landed on top of her desk in the Occult Research Club building they had moved into earlier that year.

It was a beautifully crafted staff made from dark, bone-like wood, with strange white branching patterns running across its surface. The curved tip of the staff was adorned with a yellow Magic Stone.

A real Mage Staff from a fantasy world. No, even better, it was from a Light Novel, Manga, and Anime series!

Sure, it had been quite a bit more expensive than what she usually spent on her hobby, costing 100,000,000 Yen, or 1,000 Asuran Gold Coins, but its practical value might go far beyond simply being a collectible.

The Supernatural World also had staffs, wands, and other magical foci, but they were usually just that: tools used to channel Magic and help concentrate one’s magical power. In many cases, they served as substitutes or crutches for Magic Circles.

Such tools were mostly needed by Human Magic Users. Most Supernatural Races, such as Devils, possessed the innate ability to use Magic without relying on them. Sure, Devils still needed Magic Circles for most spells beyond their innate Gifts, but they weren’t an absolute requirement. They simply made Magic stronger and easier to control.

However, this staff might be a complete game-changer.

And not only because it came from an Anime World!

While their world also had wood with magical properties, they had nothing quite like this Magic Stone, which had once been the Core of a Monster.

“Why are you squealing this time, Rias? Did you get more imaginary friends?” her best friend and Queen, Akeno, asked with a teasing smile as she stepped into the Club Room.

The tight fit of the already far too sexy Uniform for a School, Akeno was wearing emphasized her sizable breasts far more than necessary.

She had definitely chosen such a tight fit specifically to tease the other students. Still, who was Rias to judge? They were Devils, after all, and her own uniform wasn’t much better since Akeno had ordered hers as well.

“I already told you! They’re not imaginary. You saw the pictures from the background check. Alistair is real, and he is quite the looker!” Rias giggled, ignoring the slight annoyance caused by her best friend’s usual teasing before proudly holding up the staff. “And look at this! A real Magic Staff from another world!”

Akeno stared at the staff in confusion.

“That’s what you’re making all this fuss about? Sure, it looks well made, but we’re Devils. We don’t need a Magic Staff to use Magic.”

“Ignoring the fact that this is a staff from a real Anime World, compared to similar staffs in our world, this one might actually be on the level of a Mid-Tier Sacred Gear,” Rias explained triumphantly.

Akeno’s expression immediately became more serious.

“How? What makes it so different?”

“This treasure isn’t merely a Magical Focus. It’s also an amplifier. It’s called [Tempest Voltia]. Normally, it multiplies the strength of any type of Magic by two. Water-Type Magic is amplified by a factor of three, and most importantly, Thunder and Lightning-Type Magic are amplified by five!” Rias declared with a wide grin.

Akeno stared at her in disbelief.

“But… that’s…”

“It’s basically a Sacred Gear that’s even better than [Twice Critical], which only doubles the power of its User. The only downside is that this staff works exclusively with Magic! Isn’t it amazing, Akeno?” Rias asked, unable to hide the excitement spreading across her face.

Of course, such a tool wasn’t exactly world-changing since [Twice Critical] was considered one of the more common Sacred Gears, but that wasn’t the important part.

“It must have cost a fortune.”

“That’s exactly the point.” Rias raised a perfectly manicured finger toward Akeno. “While it was extremely expensive for a collectible, as a purchasable Sacred Gear, it was basically nothing.”

Sacred Gears were soulbound tools. While [Twice Critical] was one of the most common examples, Sacred Gears themselves were already exceptionally rare. On top of that, only Humans or those with Human ancestry could normally awaken them.

Not to mention that a Sacred Gear couldn’t simply be transferred from one person to another.

The process killed the original owner.

Even if someone was willing to sell theirs, the true price would literally include their life.

Akeno suddenly seemed to realize something.

“Wait, you said it came from another world. Does it even work with our Magic?”

Rias held the staff out toward her.

“I already tested it with a few smaller spells, and it works exactly as promised. But how about we go outside and train for a bit? [Tempest Voltia] is practically perfect for you! We should find out whether there’s an upper limit to how much it can amplify a spell!”

With that, the two girls left the Occult Research Club building. Along the way, they grabbed a certain confused white-haired girl who had just arrived before heading toward their usual training spot.

After a good training session, Rias finally came to a decision.

———

— Alistair Davis POV —

Heheheheh!

It was such a great feeling not having to worry about money! One thousand Asuran Gold Coins. It had only been one day, and I already had five times the amount of money in my pocket that I had initially exchanged in this world.

[Tempest Voltia] had been a really lucky find. You could even call it a bargain.

The Staff had been crafted from the wood of an Elder Treant that had been struck by Lightning during its lifetime, combined with the Magic Core of a Storm Lion, an A-Rank Monster with a strong Lightning Affinity.

Both materials had a strong Affinity for Lightning, and together they made a perfect Staff for the Lightning Element. It was just too bad that there was no proper Magic Category related to Lightning.

The four offensive Magic Elements were Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. Lightning wasn’t one of them.

There were some Spells in the School of Water Magic that utilized Lightning, but they only started appearing at the Saint Rank. The really practical one was simply called Lightning, a King Rank Spell that was basically a version of Sasuke’s Kirin from the Naruto Universe. It created thunderclouds before calling down a powerful bolt of Lightning onto a designated target.

That made [Tempest Voltia] particularly cheap compared to other Staffs made from materials of similar quality. Both Elder Treants and Storm Lions were A-Rank Monsters, making their materials quite expensive.

But why would a Water Mage buy a Staff with a Lightning Affinity when they could simply get one with a Water Affinity instead? They would gain the same amplification effect for all their Water Spells rather than only a select few that started at the Saint Rank or above.

The only reason [Tempest Voltia] even existed was because the particular Elder Treant that provided the wood for the Staff had been struck by Lightning. The crafter had hoped that pairing it with a Lightning Element Magic Stone would create a Staff with an amplification effect stronger than the usual five times provided by A-Rank materials.

Unfortunately, it ended up being ‘just’ five times stronger, leaving them with a Staff that had no real advantage over a Water Element Staff of similar quality.

Because of that, it was being sold for only 160 Gold Coins, barely above the cost of its materials, instead of the usual 300 to 500 Gold Coins that a Staff of this quality would normally sell for.

Lucky me, since I happened to know someone who could actually make good use of a Lightning Element Staff. That little purchase had earned me a profit of 840 Asuran Gold Coins, and I still had the feeling that I could have sold it to Rias for more than 1,000 Gold Coins.

I just hadn’t known whether it would actually work with Devil Magic.

If it did, I was definitely increasing the price next time.

Magic Items weren’t cheap! I wanted to sell some to Irene as well while getting some nice equipment for myself. My Wand was amazing and everything, but a Staff that amplified my Magic? There was no way in hell I was going to pass on something like that.

Magic Books were expensive too, even if I had yet to actually learn much Magic from them.

That was exactly what I was going to do now that we had set up camp. It was the perfect time to study.

Yesterday, I had needed to focus on practical Magic that could protect us, but today I could finally play around a little with the Magic of this world.

Pointing my Wand at a tree, I began reciting the chant I had just memorized.

“Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest. I call a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball.”

A sensation completely different from anything I experienced when using a spell from the Wizarding World spread throughout my entire body. Something flowed through unknown pathways inside me, converging in the palm of my hand like blood pooling beneath the skin.

It emerged through my palm before taking the shape of a sphere of Water slightly larger than my fist.

I admired my first Spell from this world for a moment before the ball of Water suddenly fell apart and splashed onto the ground.

It was quite a bit different from the Spells of the Wizarding World, especially when it came to maintaining them. Although the only Spell I currently knew that could be channeled for an extended period was Lumos, that one continued working as long as I remained close to my Wand. It would only go out if I moved too far away or canceled it with Nox.

With Water Ball, however, I actually needed to keep concentrating if I wanted to maintain it for longer. I would probably need to do the same if I wanted to manipulate it, since the Spell hadn’t launched itself at all.

The source of the Magic also felt different. I couldn’t exactly describe it, but normally my Magic seemed to come from somewhere near the center of my body, close to my heart. It was something I had never really thought much about before.

This time, however, it felt like the Mana was flowing from all throughout my body.

Did that mean I had two ‘Mana Pools’, for lack of a better term?

And if that was the case, where had this second ‘Mana Pool’ come from? I wasn’t a native of this world. Maybe my body had somehow adjusted after entering it?

No, that couldn’t be right since I had obtained the Book containing this Spell back home. Either Dimension Lost had caused it, or I had somehow gained this new Mana Pool just now after using the Spell for the first time.

I honestly leaned toward the second option since I could consciously feel the Mana inside my body now.

There was one easy way to find out whether I really had two separate Mana Pools: deplete the new one.

Recalling the sensation of blood flowing and gathering from before, I concentrated and guided the Mana through my body while forming a clear mental image. I gathered the power into my right hand while imagining a ball of Water shooting forward at high speed.

There it was again.

A sphere of Water formed above my right palm before shooting toward the tree I had been targeting. It didn’t cause much damage and merely splattered against the trunk, but the result itself was far more important.

It was proof that I could now perform wandless and silent Magic.

At least when it came to this world’s form of Magic.

Yet something else happened this time that I hadn’t expected. My entire body suddenly felt strained and completely drained, probably because I had exhausted my Mana. At the same time, a new sensation began flowing outward from the center of my body.

For the first time, I could clearly feel where my Magical Core was located.

My Wizarding World Magical Core.

And apparently, it was somehow connected to this other ‘Mana Pool’. I felt Magic pour from my Magical Core and spread throughout my body, rapidly refilling my exhausted reserves. At the same time, it seemed to strengthen those invisible pathways through which the Mana flowed.

This was amazing.

I had just gone through the entire process of exhausting this world’s Mana Reserves and recovering them in less than a minute, allowing them to grow in the process. If this continued, I could undergo the same training process the main character had needed months or even years to complete in only a few days.

Eventually, he had reached the point where his Mana Reserves became so enormous that he simply couldn’t exhaust them anymore.

Still, something about this was strange. I thought increasing your Mana Reserves this way only worked for young children.

Maybe it was because my Mana Reserves, at least the ones belonging to this world’s Magic System, were completely new?

“Hmm?” I muttered as someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“Food is ready,” Ghislaine said while looking at me with confusion, her eyepatch lifted and her Magic Eye uncovered.

“Then let’s eat! I’m starving!”

[-- End of Chapter --]