Two years had passed since taming Slarin.
Over those two years, he had focused on studying magic under Grandpa's guidance.
As a result,
Name... Tenma Oturi
Age... 8
Race... Human
Title... Sage's Disciple, Tamer, (Child of the Gods)
HP... 11,000
MP... 16,900
Strength... C-
Defense... C
Speed... C+
Magic Power... S-
Spirit... A+
Growth... SS-
Luck... B
Skills... Magic Power Control 8, Taming 8, Familiar Enhancement 8 (10), Cooking 7, Butchery 7, Fire Magic 6, Water Magic 6, Wind Magic 6, Earth Magic 6, Light Magic 6, Bestowal Magic 6, Throwing 6, Night Vision 6, Endurance 6, Traps 6, Archery 6, Hand-to-Hand Combat 6, Staff Arts 6, Lightning Magic 5, Dark Magic 5, Space-Time Magic 5, Swordsmanship 5, Magic Boost 5, Alchemy 5, Spear Arts 4, Axe Arts 4, All Magic Attributes 3 (7) (Appraisal 10, Detection Ability 10, Concealment 10, Technical Skill Enhancement 10, Growth Power Boost 8, Life Force Boost 8, Recovery Boost 8, Abnormal Status Resistance 8, Sense Boost 7, Physical Boost 7, Destruction Boost 5, Creation Magic 5, Destruction Resistance 5, Instant Death Resistance 5, Martial Arts Mastery 5)
Gift... Blessing of the Gods
He had grown considerably overall. Grandpa gave his seal of approval, saying that with his current combat strength, he could probably beat both Dad and Mom. Dad looked pretty dejected when he heard that.
More important than all of that is the fact that I learned alchemy. Alchemy! Alchemy!
That's it—just by putting my hands together like those famous alchemist brothers the Steel, I'd be able to use alchemy too! ...That's what I used to think. In reality, it wasn't that simple at all... Tenma... Tenma... Tenma...
So yeah, that's roughly how I got discouraged for a while. Obviously, just putting my hands together wasn't going to cut it. Grandpa was exasperated with me too... He said I needed to use a proper magic circle...
That's when it hit me—like some famous robot's pilot of a new humanity going "Kyuppin! Right there!"—if Steel didn't work, maybe Fire would! If I drew a magic circle on a glove like their boss did and used it to perform alchemy, it might actually work! And the result... was a success!
Once I channeled Magic Power through the glove with a magic circle drawn on the palm, I could use alchemy—well, not quite on the level of those brothers, but still, it worked to a reasonable degree! I was so moved!
Also, since I'd learned Space-Time Magic, I tried making a "Magic Bag," but that was seriously tough. After using Appraisal on the ones my Dad had and going through a lot of trial and error, I finally managed to make two, so I showed them to Grandpa—but the first one I made was...
Dimension Bag
...is what it turned out to be.
This "Dimension Bag" and "Magic Bag" are similar, but their effects differ slightly. With a "Magic Bag," capacity is determined by materials and craftsmanship. Space-Time Magic is used to expand and fix the space and stop time, so food doesn't spoil—but living things cannot be placed inside.
On the other hand, a "Dimension Bag" is what you sometimes end up with—rarely—when you put too much or too little Magic Power into creating a "Magic Bag," causing neither space nor time to be fixed. The ones you commonly see are just ordinary bags that happen to be slightly roomier on the inside than they look, and they're generally considered "failed creations."
But the "failed creation" I made had activated not just Space-Time Magic but also Creation Magic when I channeled the Magic Power into it, so it ended up with enough capacity to hold what seemed like roughly fifty meters on each side.
When I told Grandpa about it, I figured it was just a handy "failed creation," but he told me that at this level, it could attract unwanted attention, so I should register contracted users with magic and add defensive functions using Bestowal Magic.
So yeah, that's roughly how things have been. Lately, I've been exchanging ideas with Grandpa and trying out all sorts of magic, so I've been spending my days pretty productively.
But lately, Monsters have been spotted wandering out of the Great Old Forest more often, and more people in the village have been falling ill, so Grandpa keeps saying, "I've got a bad feeling about this... I just hope nothing happens..."
I really do hope nothing happens. The thing is, bad premonitions have a nasty habit of coming true, and that's what worries me.