Abandoned Reincarnation

Chapter 3 – Living In A Locus Of Magical Power

Proofread by FlawFinder

It’s been three months since I have fallen here.

At first, my physical strength was in decline and my body became really fragile. I was constantly suffering from high fevers and couldn’t move my body properly.

However, as I ate the nuts and fruits that Aria brought me each day, I slowly recovered to the point that I could move on my own.

As usual, the fruits had an incredibly strong taste and made me choke as they left a burning feeling on my throat though…

Nonetheless, thanks to being able to walk around, I was able to learn a lot about this area.

The vegetation has changed to some extent, but it’s still basically the same as what one can find in the rest of the forest.

The grass and the trees are larger than normal though, that’s probably because this is a locus of magical power.

I only heard a brief explanation about it from Aria, but apparently, places with a large concentration of magical power are actually harmful to animals.

That’s because the amount of magical power one has is mostly set at birth. Even if it can grow to some extent via training, the peak is mostly set from the start.

In order to consume one’s magical power, one needs to cast spells, as there aren’t many other ways to consume it.

Therefore, if excessive magical power is added to one’s body while they cannot consume it, then that causes health issues, making them become sick.

That’s why I have constant headaches. This environment with strong magic is too harsh for people to live in.

On the other hand, plants with magical power can absorb the excessive magic and grow from it.

Additionally, since monsters, which are the natural enemies of these plants, don’t come to this kind of place, the plants can grow even bigger than one would expect.

Though hearing that actually made me worry a bit for Aria. Would she be okay in an environment that is harmful to monsters?

It seems like I didn’t have to worry about it though. Apparently, fairies are magical life forms that are formed out of magical power.

They don’t need to eat nor drink, but instead, they constantly consume magical power.

That’s why Aria occasionally visits loci of magical power to replenish her energy.

Seems like I was really lucky to have met Aria, as I happened to fall here not long before she came to replenish her magical powers.

Also, although living in this place has the disadvantage of constantly suffering from headaches, it was a relief to know that I don’t have to worry about being attacked by any ferocious beast.

Therefore, I was able to walk around freely… However, it seems like this is a hole-shaped depression. It’s completely surrounded by high cliffs, and there was no way to escape it at first glance.

And so, partially to guarantee my own safety, and partially because there is no way out, I’m staying here.

The cliffs are way too high to be climbed, and their rocky surface doesn’t seem stable enough to be climbed even if I did decide to attempt it. It’s just too dangerous, so it can’t be helped.

Fortunately, there are no problems with food due to the nuts and fruits that naturally grow here… Well, it’s troublesome that it’s really hard to eat them, but they still allow me to keep going.

But putting that aside, I need to try figuring out a way of getting on top of that cliff as soon as possible.

I looked high up to the sky. It’s summer right now, so the sun is quite dazzling.

I reached out towards the light in the distance and grabbed hold of the void above, then spread out my hands again.

It’s really far away…

“If only I could fly with magic, then I might be able to escape…” I muttered to myself.

I do have aptitude for wind magic, so I should theoretically be able to fly for as long as I had enough magical power for it, but… Well, I don’t have that magical power.

Moreover, flight magic is the highest level of wind magic. 

Sure, it’s not that hard if you just want to make a light object float, but trying to make the caster themselves fly requires a tremendous amount of magical power, not to mention requiring a tremendous magical precision that makes it almost impossible for anyone to fly around freely.

The only people that can do it are court magicians and the strongest adventurer parties… It’s just impossible for me to do it.

“… Is it really impossible though?” I muttered to myself.

Am I really unable to use it? I mean… I was somehow able to use the Storage skill, so maybe magic too would be possible?

Since I fell off that cliff and somehow remembered the memories of my previous life, I acquired the Storage skill, which allows me to store things in a subspace as I see fit.

It’s a truly rare skill that only a few merchants and adventurers have, and I somehow became capable of using it even though I shouldn’t be able to.

It’s certainly very convenient. You can put as many things as you want inside it, it’s the best kind of skill for any merchant.

For the time being, I’ve been storing some medicinal herbs and stones that grow here and there for practice.

Though it’s not like I have any use for them right now… Maybe if I was able to leave this place, I’d have a use for those things, but right now they’re useless.

So, recently, I’ve been practicing a different skill, as I’ve apparently acquired another skill other than Storage.

That skill is Appraisal. It allows me to appraise what I’m seeing and grasp their details.

Perhaps because my proficiency is still low, I’m still unable to get detailed information, but… Well, since I don’t have anything else to do, I’ve been trying to appraise everything I see.

Based on my experience from my previous life, there really is no harm in spending your time improving your skills. I was certainly quite used to endlessly grinding my skill levels in games back then, so I figured I might as well.

However, after three months of it, it’s inevitable that I got quite tired and bored of this kind of life.

“Haku, what’s wrong?” Suddenly, a weight was added to my shoulder. When I turned my head around, I saw Aria sitting there while holding a fruit in her hands.

“Well… I wish I could fly with magic.” I replied while looking up to the sky.

Of course, I know that I can’t do it, but I still wish some kind of miraculous event allowed me to suddenly start using magic.

But well, I don’t even know how to use magic in the first place, and there is no way increasing my skills would help me with that, so it’s probably hopeless.

However, Aria widened her eyes in disbelief, “Flight may be a bit too much, but if you just want to jump out of here, then I think you can do it with enough practice?”

“… Eh?” I replied.

What is she talking about?

I stared closely at her, and her gaze was telling me something like, ‘What? You didn’t notice it yet?’

But no, I have basically no magical powers at all in me, so I really shouldn’t be able to use magic.

“You really didn’t notice, it Haku? Your magical powers are slowly increasing, you know?” She told me.

“Eh? Really?” I replied.

I instinctively held my chest to check it.

Magical power is not something you can see, but one should be able to feel it to some extent.

If I imagine concentrating the magical power in my body in a single place, then I can roughly understand how much magical power I have.

I wasn’t aware of this until the ritual happened, but now I know, and…

Yeah, it’s definitely increasing. My magical power was previously about as big as a single drop of water, but now I feel like it’s about as big as a fist.

“It’s true…” I muttered.

“Well, you’ve been in a locus of magical power for this long, it would be strange if your magical power didn’t increase at all.” Aria told me.

She then started explaining it to me in detail.

From a magical point of view, a human entering a locus of magical power is like trying to force more air into a balloon that is already full.

Since the amount of magical power a human can tolerate is already decided at birth, being exposed to more than that will start harming your physical condition.

However, over time, as a result of being constantly exposed to this excessive amount, you may become used to it. It’s similar to how the rubber may stretch from you continuously trying to fill a balloon over and over again.

Therefore, staying in a locus of magical power for too long tends to lead to an increase of one’s overall magical capacity.

I opened my mouth wide open at Aria’s explanation… Does that mean that I too can use magic?

“You serious…?” I asked her.

“Of course I’m serious. Do you want me to teach you? You never tried using it before, right?” She asked me.

“Yes, please!” I instantly replied.

Now that I learned that I could use magic, I suddenly felt quite motivated.

Back on Earth, I didn’t even think magic was a thing; and in this world, I thought I had no hopes of using magic at all, so I couldn’t be happier knowing that this is not the case.

It does feel bothersome to be plagued by constant headaches each day, and being unable to sleep well is also terrible, but considering that this means I might be able to use magic, then it’s not that big of a price to pay.

“Well then, let’s start with some simple, basic spells.” Aria told me.

“I’ll be in your care, teacher!” I exclaimed.

I raised my fist to the sky and let out a voice filled with more anticipation than I had ever let out before.