Chapter 3: First Magic

The next day, Zeke bought a Beginner Wind Magic Grimoire and a Beginner Fire Magic Grimoire.

Apparently, Holy Magic grimoires were rare and not sold in stores.

Furthermore, grimoires were very expensive. Even if they had been sold, a Holy Magic grimoire would have been out of our reach.

Even the two beginner books cost ten gold coins each.

It seemed to be a price a normal Baronet family could absolutely not afford, but fortunately, the Bryant family "still" had money.

However, buying the two grimoires had apparently put a significant strain on the household finances.

For reference, one gold coin was about 100,000 yen in Japanese currency. Two books were equivalent to two million yen.

We moved to the garden, and each of us began our magic practice.

I knew they had high expectations, so I intended to desperately learn Wind Magic.

Ike, perhaps understanding the value of the grimoires, was working hard to learn Fire Magic.

Incidentally, Ike had also depleted his MP through magic circulation yesterday, and impressively, his max MP had risen by 1 to reach 4.

But we both had a weakness. We couldn't read.

So, Maria stayed with me, and Zeke stayed with Ike, teaching us the contents of the books.

Guide magic from the tanden to the fingertips, and once the magic accumulates, chant 《Wind》.

Little by little, I felt like I was getting the hang of it.

At first, my MP wasn't decreasing, but now, every time I chanted 《Wind》, my MP dropped by 1.

And then, after dozens of attempts, it happened.

"《Wind》!"

Magic power released from my right hand, whipping up a gust of wind.

The wind died down immediately, but the magic had activated.

The MP consumption was 5.

Seeing that, Zeke and Maria held hands and rejoiced.

I could feel a strong will coming from Ike: I'll do it too.

After depleting his MP many times over, he was able to use 《Fire》 a few days later.

One year later. I was two, and Ike was five.

Of course, I never missed a day of magic practice.

Not just magic practice—I actively moved my body, and compared to other children my age, my body had become sturdy.

Also, to strengthen my swordsmanship, I started swinging a stick in the garden.

I was still weaker than Ike, but I wanted to learn swordsmanship in earnest.

My status at two years old looked like this:

【Name】 Mars Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Commoner
【State】 Good
【Age】 2
【Level】 1
【HP】 3/3
【MP】 1952/1953
【Strength】 2 (+1)
【Agility】 2 (+1)
【Magic】 10 (+7)
【Dexterity】 3 (+2)
【Endurance】 2 (+1)
【Luck】 30
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Gift (Lv MAX)
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Eye (Lv 3)
【Unique Ability】 Lightning Magic S (Lv 0/20)
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship B (Lv 0/17)
【Special Ability】 Wind Magic A (Lv 5/19) (0→5)
【Special Ability】 Holy Magic C (Lv 0/15)

Since I had been practicing Wind Magic constantly, only my Wind Magic level had risen.

Here, I made a new discovery: for every level Wind Magic rose, my Magic stat increased by 1. Perhaps other magics also increased the Magic stat as they leveled up.

I also learned another spell listed in the Wind Magic Grimoire called 《Air Blade》. This spell could be learned at Wind Magic level 3. It consumed 7 MP and created a sword of wind. It disappeared after one swing, so the fuel efficiency was terrible. Getting carried away, I swung this 《Air Blade》 magic in the garden, lost control, and accidentally launched it, slicing one of Maria's prized garden trees clean in half.

I later learned this was what they called the intermediate Wind Magic 《Wind Cutter》, but at the time, the blood drained from my face. One wrong step and I could have hurt someone.

That incident made me decide to stick to 《Wind》 alone for depleting my MP for the time being.

Ike was growing steadily too.

【Name】 Ike Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Commoner
【State】 Good
【Age】 5
【Level】 1
【HP】 6/6
【MP】 40/40
【Strength】 3 (+1)
【Agility】 5 (+3)
【Magic】 2 (+1)
【Dexterity】 3 (+2)
【Endurance】 3 (+1)
【Luck】 10
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship C (Lv 1/15) (0→1)
【Special Ability】 Spearmanship B (Lv 0/17)
【Special Ability】 Fire Magic C (Lv 1/15) (0→1)

After learning Fire Magic, Ike focused heavily on swordsmanship.

I should have checked if his Magic stat rose when his Fire Magic level hit 1, but I was so preoccupied with my own progress that I missed it.

However, I watched closely when Ike's Swordsmanship level went from 0 to 1. It might have been a coincidence, but his Agility and Dexterity values each rose by 1 at that time.

Since Ike had turned five and become more reliable, Zeke and Maria left me in his care and went to dive into the Dungeon.

Apparently, the number of monsters had increased recently, so Count Carmel, who governed this land, personally requested Zeke and Maria to cull the monsters in the Dungeon.

Count Carmel owned his own Knight Order and Mage Order, but the knights fought mainly on horseback and weren't suited for diving into Dungeons.

As for the Mage Order, there were few mages to begin with, so they couldn't send such valuable assets into a Dungeon.

Zeke and Maria's stats were as follows:

【Name】 Zeke Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Head of Bryant Baronetcy
【State】 Good
【Age】 23
【Level】 30
【HP】 126/126
【MP】 132/132
【Strength】 35
【Agility】 39
【Magic】 74
【Dexterity】 22
【Endurance】 33
【Luck】 10
【Special Ability】 Dagger Arts E (Lv 4/11)
【Special Ability】 Earth Magic C (Lv 9/15)
【Equipment】 Magic Staff
【Equipment】 Silver Dagger
【Equipment】 Robe of Earth

【Name】 Maria Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - First Wife of Bryant Baronetcy
【State】 Good
【Age】 22
【Level】 28
【HP】 102/102
【MP】 120/120
【Strength】 18
【Agility】 32
【Magic】 60
【Dexterity】 64
【Endurance】 17
【Luck】 10
【Special Ability】 Dagger Arts E (Lv 3/11)
【Special Ability】 Water Magic C (Lv 9/15)
【Equipment】 Water Jug Staff
【Equipment】 Magic Robe

Both were typical mages.

Still, their MP was so low.

I wanted to see how they fought in the Dungeon.

It seemed they were going to dive into the Dungeon together today to cull monsters again.

Since we were here, they apparently only went to the lower floors.

When the two of them went to the Dungeon, Ike and I started our swordsmanship practice in the garden as usual.

A two-year-old swinging a stick probably didn't look like practice, but I was secretly working on a specific technique.

It involved coating my body in wind to boost my physical abilities.

I’d been trying it ever since I started practicing swordsmanship, and I still couldn't do it, but I wasn't one to give up just because I failed.

I planned to keep at it for at least ten years.

Then, as always, after three hours of sword practice, I ate lunch, used Wind Magic until my MP hit 0, and went to sleep.

After sleeping for about three hours, I practiced swordsmanship outside again.

The reason for the three hours was that my MP apparently fully recovered in that time. For reference, it took Ike, Zeke, and Maria six hours to fully recover. I recalled the Demi-God explaining that the 【Heavenly Gift】 ability increased MP recovery speed, so it must be due to that effect.

As for Ike, he practiced swordsmanship in the morning and spearmanship in the afternoon. He trained his Fire Magic before going to bed.

Since Zeke and Maria bought us a wooden sword and a wooden spear, when Ike used the wooden sword in the morning, I used a stick. In the afternoon, when Ike used the wooden spear, he let me use the wooden sword.

As we continued our practice, Zeke and Maria returned, looking very excited.

"We got two very good items today. We'll show you after dinner, so you two hurry up and shower." Zeke spoke quickly.

"Okay. Got it."

Ike said, and I nodded, chasing after him.

Then, after dinner was over, Zeke pulled a single sword from the backpack he always took into the Dungeon.

The scabbard wasn't flashy, but it had beautiful decorations, and a large red magic stone was set in the hilt. The blade was a beautiful silver.

"This is the fire spirit sword, the Salamander Sword. It's apparently a fire-attribute sword. We had an appraiser check it, so there's no mistake. It's the perfect sword for Ike, so I'm giving this to you."

"Thanks! I'll do my best!"

Ike beamed as he thanked them.

I secretly appraised the fire spirit sword.

【Name】 Salamander Sword
【Attack】 30
【Special】 Magic +2
【Rarity】 B

This was incredible.

No wonder Zeke and Maria came home so excited.

For reference, I could appraise random tables around the house too, but they just showed up as:

【Name】 Table
【Rarity】 -

It seemed only rare items showed detailed information.

As expected of the Heavenly Eye.

While Ike was happily holding the Salamander Sword, Maria spoke up.

"Next is Mars. Take a look at this."

She pulled a book from her backpack.

It was a Beginner Holy Magic Grimoire.

"This is for you, Mars. Study hard and learn it well, okay?"

"Thank you!"

I instinctively pumped my fist as I accepted the book.

I spent the entire night practicing Holy Magic, but I couldn't learn it right away.

Was my inability to pick it up as quickly as Wind Magic due to my C-rank talent? But Ike learned his magic with the same rank, so I should definitely be able to do it too! I decided to keep practicing without giving up until I mastered it, then drifted off to sleep.

The next day, after Zeke and Maria left for the Dungeon, we went through our usual daily routine.

Ike was practicing with his usual wooden sword instead of the Salamander Sword he received yesterday.

"Nii, aren't you gonna use the sword from yesterday?"

(T/N: Nii is informal of nii-san usually used by younger kid's.)

"Dad said the basics are important, so I'm still using this one."

When I asked, Ike gave such a solid answer I wondered if he was a reincarnated soul too.

I was going to do my best to use Holy Magic as well!

With that resolve, I chanted the beginner Holy Magic spell 《Heal》 over and over again. Before lunch, I finally mastered it.

"Nii! I did 《Heal》!"

"Awesome! I scraped my knee during training earlier, so can you cast 《Heal》 on it?"

When I told him, Ike happily asked for a demonstration.

"Yes! 《Heal》!"

Immediately, the scrape on Ike's knee healed.

Ike looked delighted and gave me a fist bump.

The MP consumption for 《Heal》 was 10. I still didn't know exactly how much HP it recovered.

Ideally, I'd never have the chance to use it, but I knew that wouldn't be the case.

I needed to train so I could activate the magic more smoothly.

You see, magic took time between the chant and the actual activation.

My 《Wind》 activated with almost zero time lag after chanting, but Ike's 《Fire》 took about two seconds to activate.

Apparently, intermediate magic and above took even longer.

While we were eating lunch after our morning training, an incident occurred.

Zeke and Maria returned from the Dungeon, injured.

I had heard their combat style was like an iron wall, but...

Because they usually didn't get injured, they could dive into the Dungeon almost every day. Ordinary adventurers weren't so lucky; usually, if they dove into a Dungeon, they would rest for two or three days afterward.

"Dad! Mom! Are you okay!?"

Ike rushed over to them.

"Just messed up a little. Sorry, but could you get us lots of wet towels?"

Zeke answered while maintaining a calm facade, leaning on Maria's shoulder.

"Sorry to worry you. We're okay, so the towels, please," Maria added, urging us with a gentle tone to ease our worries.

Ike responded immediately, turning to leave and prepare the towels, but I told him, "Wait," stopping him in his tracks. Then I appraised Zeke and Maria.

【Name】 Zeke Bryant
【HP】 32/126

【Name】 Maria Bryant
【HP】 62/102

Zeke was more heavily injured.

I chanted 《Heal》 on the heavily wounded Zeke.

"《Heal》!"

【Name】 Zeke Bryant
【HP】 47/126

One 《Heal》 recovered 15 HP.

Thinking I needed about six more for a full recovery, I chanted 《Heal》 six times.

【Name】 Zeke Bryant
【HP】 126/126

Zeke and Maria looked astonished at the sight.

Ignoring their gazes, I chanted 《Heal》 three times on Maria as well.

【Name】 Maria Bryant
【HP】 102/102

Both of their HP had fully recovered.

"Dad, Mom, how is itz? Does itz still hurt?"

When I asked, Zeke stammered, "...N-No, you saved us. Thank you."

Maria also said, "Thank you! You learned to cast 《Heal》 already!" and hugged me joyfully.

Fully recovered, the two of them went to the bath to wash off the dirt and fatigue.

Once we saw them off to the bath, Ike looked at me with an expression of relief and offered a fist bump, which I returned. The tension finally breaking, we both laughed aloud and sat down right there on the floor.

That night, after eating dinner as usual, I was about to get down from my child seat to practice magic when Zeke stopped me, saying, "Wait a moment."

The four of us sat around the table.

"We are now beginning a Bryant Family Meeting. The agenda is the future of Ike and Mars."

Zeke started, and Ike and I looked at each other.

"First, I want to tell you about Mom and Dad's job—our standing as adventurers and our combat style. We form a party called the 'Brown Shield.' It's a C-rank party. We mainly explore the Almeria Dungeon. For the record, I'm a C-rank adventurer, and Mom is D-rank. Adventurers are divided from G-rank to S-rank. G and F are fledglings, E is beginner, D is intermediate, C is intermediate to advanced, and B-rank and above can lead to being ennobled or scouted as officers for the Knight or Mage Orders. Any questions so far?"

Ike asked, "How do you become an S-rank adventurer?"

"I don't know how one becomes S-rank. I've never seen anyone higher than a B-rank adventurer myself. Though I suppose they exist in the royal capital or larger Dungeon cities. Continuing from before, the merit of forming a party is that you can take quests higher than your individual rank. For example, let's say there are four D-rank adventurers. Individually, they can't take C-rank or higher quests, but if they form a party and become a C-rank party, they can accept them. The demerit is that once you become a B-rank party, the guild can forcefully conscript you during emergencies. The guild is fundamentally independent of all nations. Even when a Stampede occurs, the guild is technically supposed to command the adventurers. However, nobles, fearing for their own safety, almost always order the guild to protect them. Perhaps because the guild can't reject the pressure from the country and nobles, they sometimes protect distant, safe nobles over the dying commoners right in front of them. Mom and I hate that, so we choose not to become a B-rank party. Our top priority is family. If push comes to shove, I will choose Maria, Ike, and Mars over some dying stranger right in front of me! I don't care what anyone thinks. Anything so far?"

The conversation was heavier than expected, so Ike and I nodded silently.

Seeing that, Zeke continued.

"Monsters don't just appear in Dungeons. There are plenty outside the city too. And recently, they've been increasing. You might already know this, but the other day, Count Carmel, who governs this land, personally came to bow his head to us, asking us to cull the monsters in the Dungeon. The monsters outside Almeria are weak, so anyone can defeat them, but the Dungeon is different. We wanted to protect the safety of this city too, so even though we were worried about you two, we dove into the Dungeon. We intended to do it with just me and Maria. But seeing Mars's Holy Magic today changed my mind. I want Ike and Mars to help us. Don't worry, I won't tell you to dive into the Dungeon suddenly. Besides, you can only enter Dungeons starting from E-rank, and you can't become an E-rank adventurer until your body is fully developed at fifteen. Until Mars finishes his Rite of Appraisal, I intend to only take quests focused on culling monsters outside the city. Originally, I thought this would happen after Ike turned twelve, though."

Ike and I remained silent.

We just listened intently to Zeke's serious words.

"Also, suddenly going outside to fight monsters is harsh, so I'll hire a swordsmanship instructor for you two. The period will be one year. One year from now, I'll look at Ike and Mars's growth and make a decision then. Also, basically, Mars will not participate in combat. I want you to support everyone with Holy Magic. The sword practice is for self-defense in emergencies. Understood?"

""Yes.""

Ike and I answered in unison.

But there was something I absolutely had to ask.

"Dad, Mom, how did you get hurtt today?"

As Zeke was about to answer, Maria, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

"It was my fault. Like always, we avoided the monsters on the first floor and fought those on the second, but I felt sick and delayed my chant. As our party name implies, our combat style is defense-oriented. Specifically, Dad uses 《Earth Fortress》 and I use 《Ice Fortress》 to fight, but my activation of 《Ice Fortress》 was delayed, and we took an attack. Dad covered me, and we managed to defeat the monster, but we ended up getting injured."

"You don't take potions with you?"

"Well... until now we carried Recovery Promotion Medicine—potions. But potions are just medicine, so they don't heal you immediately. They only promote recovery."

"Thanks for telling me. Pleaze take potions with you next time."

When Maria nodded at my words, Zeke said something very important.

"There's one more thing to tell you. You two are going to have a little brother or sister."

""!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""

That was a huge surprise.

So she was pregnant, which caused her to feel unwell in the Dungeon, leading to the injury...

"Mom, don't push yourself anymore."

"Yes. Starting tomorrow, I'll spend time at home with you two."

When I said that, Maria gently placed her hands on my and Ike's heads and smiled.