「Wait. Wait a second.」

Looking at the result displayed on the Orb of Examination, Rei unintentionally spoke out loud.

「Guru~?」

Set, who had been admiring the jewellery box a short distance away, sensed something, turned around, and looked at Rei.

Rei noticed the Griffon’s gaze and shook his head slightly while involuntarily burying his face in his hands.

「My magic aptitude is only fire? Is that it? Is it because I fused with Zephyr, who was a fire magician?」

As he muttered to himself, Rei realised the situation was a bit different from what he had initially assumed. According to Zephyr’s memories, the man had indeed called himself a fire magician. However, he only identified himself as such because it was what he was best at, and it didn’t mean he couldn’t use other magic. Although he hadn’t mastered all of them, Zephyr could also use wind magic, space-time magic, alchemy, summoning magic, and ancient magic.

「In other words, my aptitude is purely specialised in fire magic……is that right?」

He possessed magic power so immense that even Zephyr had marvelled at it. With that kind of strength specialised entirely into fire magic, he would undoubtedly possess incredible combat potential. But……

「A complete novice like me using fire magic in the middle of a forest?」

That was the problem. Naturally, if you are a fire magician, you manipulate fire. And fire can easily spread to the surrounding forest. If he misjudged the scale of a spell, given his massive magic power, there was a very real possibility he could burn the entire forest to the ground. Both he and Set were completely inexperienced.

「Out of earth, water, fire, and wind, you can safely practise any of them in a forest except fire……ugh, this isn’t the time to worry about that. Either way, we’re going to be forced to leave this mansion tomorrow. We have no choice but to make do with what we have.」

Even if there was normally enough food left for ten days, that calculation only accounted for Rei. With Set’s massive 2m body, the remaining food would only last for a few meals. They would starve to death if they stayed here. Therefore, Rei concluded that they had to head out tomorrow and reach a village or town as soon as possible.

「In that case, the first thing I need to do is confirm whether I can actually cast magic properly.」

Thanks to Zephyr’s inherited knowledge, Rei had more than enough information to master fire magic. But that was still just Zephyr’s knowledge, not Rei’s own experience. Ultimately, magic relies heavily on the caster’s personal qualities and mental visualisation. If he relied entirely on Zephyr’s memories without testing them, he might make a fatal, irreversible mistake in a real emergency.

「Gurururu~!」
「Ah, move over there for a bit, Set. It’s time for some magic practice.」

Rei answered Set’s questioning cry and stepped away from the magic formation, stopping a safe distance from it.

According to his inherited knowledge, the magic formation on the floor wouldn’t react to anything other than the Magic Beast Art, but it still paid to be cautious.

Grasping the Death Scythe, he activated its magic casting effect. Then, he took a deep breath to focus his mind. He could naturally sense the magic power flowing within his own body.

Using an incantation meant imbuing spoken words with magic power to deceive the world and temporarily rewrite reality, an art used to manifest one’s desires. Because of this, the required incantation varied depending on the magician, and it was nearly impossible to achieve the desired result simply by mimicking someone else’s incantation. Furthermore, despite their elemental differences, the fundamental principles behind earth, water, fire, wind, light, and darkness magic remained the same. This naturally applied to the fire magic Rei possessed an aptitude for.

『Fire, gather at my fingertips.』

Uttering the incantation, he imbued the words with magic power. The most crucial part of this process was visualisation. Even if the process of rewriting reality with an incantation was identical, the clearer the mental image of the desired outcome, the greater the final effect. For Rei, who loved subcultures like novels, manga, anime, movies, and games, visualising these kinds of fantastical images was incredibly easy.

The laws of the world were rewritten by the incantation, taking the form of Rei’s mental image.

『Small Flame』

With the visualisation anchored by the incantation, a fist-sized flame appeared hovering just above the index finger of his right hand.

「……Alright. The first spell of my life is a success.」

Strictly speaking, the Magic Beast Art was the first spell Rei had cast in his life. However, that ritual simply absorbed the caster’s magic power when an incantation was spoken over the specific formation drawn on the floor, an almost automatic process designed to produce a magic beast. This fire spell, on the other hand, was something Rei had executed entirely of his own volition from start to finish. It could truly be called the first spell he had used in his new life.

「Okay, fire magic is usable without any issues. ……However, practising anything higher level than this in here is going to be difficult. I might accidentally burn the entire mansion down if I make a mistake. At the very least, I have to avoid damaging the Magic Beast Art formation at all costs.」

He glanced across the room, his gaze settling on the large magic formation drawn in the centre.

「Gururu~」

Seeing Rei’s posture relax, Set approached with light, seemingly weightless steps and affectionately rubbed his eagle-like face against Rei’s cheek.

「What is it? Are you worried about me?」
「Guru~」
「Well, you see, I can’t really practise any more spells safely in here……」

Rei gently petted Set’s head as he spoke. As he looked down at his arm while stroking the Griffon, he realised there was still something important left to do.

「Right, I can’t forget to choose some equipment. There’s no point in having all this gear if I don’t actually equip it, just like in a game.」

While continuing to stroke Set’s neck with his left hand, he mentally brought up the list of items contained within the Misty Ring.

「……It’s a bit hard to search through all this. No, wait. Maybe.」

The list was a mess. Next to a ‘Dragon Fang’ was a magic recovery potion, and right below that were meteorite fragments and the roots of a Mandrake. Rei involuntarily grimaced at the sloppy organisation. Remembering that Takumu had created the Misty Ring’s interface, he mentally pictured the command Sort, hoping it would work.

「Yep, there it is.」

The next moment, the massive list displayed in his mind was neatly categorised by item type and updated.

「Just as I expected of Takumu.」

If it was designed to function like a game interface, a sorting feature was a given. The Misty Ring adapted to his expectations perfectly.

「Weapons aren’t a problem since I have the Death Scythe. In that case, I need protective gear next.」

As he scanned the protective gear category in his mind, he immediately stopped scrolling when a specific name caught his eye.

『Dragon Robe』

It sounded blatantly expensive, and it seemed to boast incredible performance. He hurriedly searched through Zephyr’s knowledge for details.

The robe was crafted from the skins of dragons that had lived for several hundred years. Because the material was treated and finished by coating it in dragon’s blood and crushed, magic-infused dragon bones, it boasted unprecedented magic defence. Furthermore, the robe was constructed by layering two pieces of dragon skin with actual dragon scales sandwiched between them, making its physical defence exceptionally high as well. Because the skins used came from a fire dragon and a water dragon, it automatically regulated temperature, keeping the wearer cool in the heat and warm in the cold. Finally, the alchemist who created it, Esta Nord, had enchanted the already high-performance magic item with additional effects, such as concealment.

While the high physical and magic defences were impressive, what truly surprised Rei was that the robe basically came with built-in air conditioning.

「This will definitely do for temporary protection.」

He selected the Dragon Robe in his mind, and the next moment, a pitch-black robe appeared on his right.

「Alright, weapon and protective gear sorted. Next up, shoes.」

When he checked the footwear category, his eyes immediately stopped on one item, just as they had with the Dragon Robe.

『Shoes of Sleipnir』

Sleipnir was a monstrous horse with eight legs. It boasted the highest speed of any monster that ran on the ground, and notably, it could also run through the sky. These shoes were crafted from the leather of that very monster. They passively increased the wearer’s movement speed and allowed them to briefly step on air, effectively granting the ability to jump and stay airborne for a few seconds.

「Perfect, shoes are sorted.」

Just like the Dragon Robe, the Shoes of Sleipnir were drawn from the Misty Ring and placed on the floor.

「Guru~」

Set watched with wide, round eyes as each item was pulled from the Misty Ring, then abruptly rubbed his head against Rei again.

「Hmm? What is it, do you want some equipment too?」
「Gurururu~!」
「Hold on a second. What would actually be good for you to equip……」

While scratching Set’s head, Rei pulled up the Misty Ring’s item list again and selected several items that looked promising.

『Bracelet of Wind Manipulation』

When equipped, it can completely block a single magic spell. Once activated, it cannot be used again for 10 hours.

『Bracelet of Herculean Strength』

A bracelet that significantly increases the physical strength of the user.

『Bracelet of Magic Absorption』

If the user attacks and damages an enemy, they absorb magical power from the target proportional to the damage dealt.

『Love of Shizukuishi』

A pendant shaped like a water drop. Esta Nord created it by processing a Unicorn magic stone using alchemy. It grants the wearer a continuous, passive healing effect.

「Well, here are the options. Set, which ones do you want?」

Hearing Rei’s words, Set seemed to fall deep into thought. After making a few soft noises, he picked up the Bracelet of Wind Manipulation, the Bracelet of Herculean Strength, and the Love of Shizukuishi in his beak.

Rei stroked Set’s neck, involuntarily giving a wry smile at the sight.

「All three, huh? ……Well, my partner probably needs that much equipment anyway. The pendant can just go around your neck, but what about the two bracelets?」
「Guru~」

With a small cry, Set held out his left and right eagle-like forelegs.

「Are these……actually going to fit?」

No matter how you looked at it, the Griffon’s claws were much larger than the metal bracelets. Figuring it would be fine since they were magic items, Rei brought the Bracelet of Wind Manipulation near Set’s right leg. Just as he hoped, the bracelet automatically resized itself as it drew close, sliding on perfectly. The Bracelet of Herculean Strength fit just as neatly onto the left leg.

Magic items really are convenient, Rei thought admiringly as he finished gearing up his partner by placing the Love of Shizukuishi around Set’s neck.

「Gurururu~!」

Set rubbed his head against Rei, letting out a happy cry at receiving the magic items from his master.

Afterwards, Rei equipped the remaining Bracelet of Magic Absorption on his own left arm, finally completing their preparations.

The Death Scythe, a weapon born from the Magic Beast Art. The Dragon Robe, protective gear forged from dragon skin. The Shoes of Sleipnir on his feet. The Misty Ring on his right wrist, and the Bracelet of Magic Absorption on his left. Rei himself wasn’t fully aware of it yet, but counting the magic items Set was equipped with, they were currently decked out in gear that would be considered absolute, super-top-tier legendary artifacts in this world.

「Guru~……」

As Rei looked over their equipped items with satisfaction, an anxious cry from Set brought his attention back.

「What’s wrong?」
「Guru~……」

Even though he was a magic beast born from Rei’s magic power, Set couldn’t actually speak words. However, Rei could generally understand the nuances of his cries.

「Gururu~」

Crying sadly again, Set rubbed his head against Rei’s stomach. At that, Rei finally understood what Set was trying to say.

「Are you hungry?」
「Guru~」

Set nodded, as he was definitely complaining about being hungry. Prompted by the Griffon, Rei suddenly realised he was actually quite hungry himself.

「Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything since I woke up. Yeah, I’m starving too. Alright, let’s head to the dining room. It’ll be our last meal before we leave.」
「Guru~」

Together with Set, Rei left the laboratory and headed toward the cafeteria.

On a side note, even though Set boasted a considerable size of over 2m, he was able to easily pass through the laboratory door. It had been explicitly designed with the assumption that anyone using the room would eventually be leaving with a large magic beast.

After reaching the kitchen, they soaked some dry, incredibly stale black bread in water and choked it down. Exhausted after finishing their severely lacking dinner, Rei and Set returned to the bedroom and fell fast asleep.

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