After finishing work, Aito walked past a crowd of wasted drunks and returned to his private room in the men’s dormitory.
He stared at the System Panel in front of him and fell into deep thought.
Just moments ago, he’d invested 1,000 Inspiration Points into Pict Magic.
Then the system underwent an unexpected change.
The original display— [Molding Magic LV0, 333/1000] [Pict Magic LV0, 1/1000] —had turned into— [Molding Magic LV1, 334/10000] [Drawing LV1, 1/10000] After spending 1,000 Inspiration Points, Pict Magic had vanished.
In its place were LV1 Molding Magic and LV1 Drawing.
This had never happened before.
‘What the hell does that mean?’ ‘This damn system really needs an instruction manual.’ Did subordinate skills merge their experience into higher-level skills once he allocated points?
If so, had he gained something or lost something?
More importantly, apparently his Skill Panel wasn’t limited to magic.
It could record ordinary life skills too?
‘Then Writing should count as a skill too, right?
Why isn’t it there?’ Just as the thought crossed his mind, the panel changed again.
[Writing LV1, 107/10000] ‘What the hell?!
It appeared?!’ ‘Does this stupid system patch itself?!’ ‘No, wait.
Calm down.’ Maybe the real problem was simply that Aito still hadn’t completely figured out how the system worked.
Before today, he’d never consciously considered writing a “skill,” so the system hadn’t displayed it.
Thinking back, this wasn’t actually the first time something similar had happened.
Almost every skill name on his panel came from someone else teaching him what that ability was called.
When Aito first regained his memories, the first ability displayed by the system had been— [Telepathy LV4] After Gildarts told him that his awakened ability was Telepathy Magic, [Telepathy] changed into [Telepathy Magic].
Aito hadn’t paid much attention to that minor detail at the time.
Now, however, it seemed to reveal something important about the system.
The system’s recognition of skills was guided entirely by Aito’s own perception.
In other words, it was basically an idiot-proof passive system.
It could quantify and organize information, but Aito himself had to discover what functions it could actually perform.
‘Then…
does cooking count as a skill?’ [Cooking LV0, 233/1000] “…” Aito genuinely couldn’t cook.
But for some reason, he felt like the system was mocking him.
‘Then running, exercising, and working out should count too, right?’ [Physical Training LV0, 69/1000] ‘Whoa.
Seriously?’ ‘What about music?’ [Music LV0, 6/1000] [Inspiration Points: 4377→4496] ‘Wait.’ ‘Something’s wrong with my Inspiration Points.’ Aito suddenly realized the number had fluctuated several times.
It recovered almost immediately, but he was certain it had dropped first.
‘So “creating” a new skill also consumes Inspiration Points?’ Still, compared to the happiness he felt from this discovery, the tiny amount consumed barely mattered.
If he could create ordinary life skills this way…
Could he deliberately create magic-related skills too?
Mages needed to control their magic.
So surely controlling Magic Power itself counted as a skill.
[Magic Power Control LV1, 555/10000] ‘It actually worked!’ [Inspiration Points: 4496→3245→4063] ‘!?’ The number jumped several times right before Aito’s eyes, startling him.
‘What the hell?!
That cost more than a thousand?!’ ‘Still…
worth it!’ ‘Absolutely worth it!’ [Inspiration Points: 5156] ‘I’m basically Superman!
Happy Superman!’ Then the other residents returned to the dormitory.
‘Hehehe~ Once tomorrow’s job is done, I’ll go see Miss Jenny.
That big ass of hers~ Hehehe~’ ‘Ah, Tom comes back next week.
I should visit his place a few more times before then.
Who knows when I’ll get another chance?’ ‘Sigh…
all the hot women in the guild already have boyfriends.
When will my spring finally come~~?’ “…” Aito’s face darkened.
‘Damn it!
Those horny bastards are back!’ His good mood had been completely ruined.
Aito angrily threw several punches at the air in a burst of useless rage.
After accomplishing absolutely nothing, he sat down at his desk and tried to work on his novel instead.
Unfortunately, the chaotic voices in his head never stopped.
They mixed together with countless random thoughts until Aito could barely concentrate.
“AAAAAGH!
I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” “I’M MOVING OUT!!” Aito grabbed his hair and violently messed it up until it looked like a bird’s nest.
He had finally reached enlightenment.
Moving out could no longer be delayed.
Every extra day in this damn dormitory was torture.
Aito needed happiness to grow stronger.
If he remained here, the environment would only drag him down.
‘I!
Am!
Moving!
Out!’ Having made his decision, Aito grabbed a thick book and lay down on his bed.
Then he raised it over his face.
Bonk!
With one glorious blow to his forehead, Aito knocked himself unconscious.
…
“What?
You don’t want to live in the men’s dormitory anymore?
Why?” The next morning, Makarov stared curiously at Aito’s “resignation” from dormitory life.
“I’m planning to move near the forest east of town.
I want somewhere I can practice magic.” That was the excuse Aito had prepared.
Makarov knew he’d learned Crush Magic but had forbidden him from using it inside Magnolia.
Using training as his reason should make the request easier to approve.
“Hmm…
the eastern forest, huh…” “You don’t need to worry about my safety, Master.
I already know lots of magic.” “And if anything happens, I can use Telepathy Magic to call for help.” “No, no.
That’s not what I’m worried about.” Makarov scratched his chin.
“I’m worried you’ll recklessly use magic in the forest and get yourself into trouble.” “?” Makarov folded his arms and explained.
“An old friend of mine lives in that forest.” “How should I put it…
she’s not particularly fond of humans.” “Uh…
I won’t deliberately bother anyone.” “And I probably won’t go deep into the forest anyway.” “Fine.
As long as you’ve thought it through.” Makarov nodded.
“But what are you going to do about a house?” “Can’t I just pay someone to build one?” “That’s…
a little complicated.” “You haven’t purchased any land.
Building something near the edge of town would technically be illegal construction, so nobody will accept the job.” Aito scratched his head.
“So you’re saying people would actually be more willing to build me a house if I went farther into the forest?” “Yes.” “And if I build an illegal house, will it get demolished?” “Normally, yes.” Makarov glanced at him.
“But you’re a Mage, so no.” “…Fine.” Aito sighed and held out his hand.
“Master, do we have any basic magic books about Earth Magic and Wood Magic?” “The simplest ones are fine.” “We do, but what are you planning?” “I’m going to teach myself how to build a house.” His expression was completely blank.
“?” In the end, Makarov still found the books Aito wanted in Fairy Tail’s library.
Then he watched in complete confusion as the boy read two pages, clapped the books shut, and immediately left the guild.
In reality, Aito only needed to read enough for the system to recognize the skills.
Then he directly spent two thousand Inspiration Points to learn both.
[Earth Magic LV1, 1/10000] [Wood Magic LV1, 1/10000] [Inspiration Points: 3210] Aito suspected learning these normally wouldn’t have taken very long.
But he couldn’t wait anymore.
With a small bag on his back, Aito jogged toward the outskirts of Magnolia.
He eventually found a spot beside the river, several hundred meters from the nearest house, and selected it as his new home.
“Yeah, this place is pretty nice.” “It’s a little far from the guild, but…” “That’s exactly what I want!” By combining Elemental Magic with Molding Magic, Aito experimented several times before successfully producing Earth-Make Magic and Wood-Make Magic.
Neither was particularly smooth or easy to control yet.
But his house didn’t need to be luxurious.
It just needed to work.
‘I can treat it like I’m playing Minecraft.’ Aito first used Earth-Make Magic to construct a foundation.
Then he formed a simple unfinished house on top of it.
LV1 Wood-Make Magic normally required plant seeds, but it could also be used directly on nearby trees.
Aito found a hardwood tree and pressed his hand against the trunk.
After pouring Magic Power into it, he could guide its branches to grow in whatever direction he wanted and produce the lumber he needed.
Beams.
Doors and windows.
Wall supports.
A chimney.
Roof tiles.
Furniture.
There was no doubt about it.
In this world, magic was the ultimate productive force.
Work that would normally require an entire team could be completed by Aito alone as long as he figured out which magic to use.
And so, Aito spent the entire day playing construction worker on the outskirts of Magnolia.
By the time evening approached, he’d finally finished building his first house.
It was extremely simple.
Yet perhaps because of his LV1 Drawing skill, the little house somehow looked surprisingly pleasant.
Aito’s body was exhausted, and he’d consumed a huge amount of Magic Power.
But he was far away from the crowds now.
There were almost no stray thoughts invading his mind.
For the first time since arriving in Magnolia, his surroundings felt truly peaceful.
Aito stood before the little house he’d built entirely by himself.
An unprecedented sense of satisfaction washed over him.
‘This feels amazing.’ ‘Magic really is the best!’ [Inspiration Points: 4410] …
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