“Instant Death Magic”

T/N: A very long chapter, enjoy

———————————–

I turned ten years old. I’m just a regular Sachie.

It’s been five years since Mulberry took me in. I’ve been living in this forest house longer than I spent in the Gracier family mansion. I never thought I’d be taken care of for such a long time.

At first, I was planning to go to town after a month and seek help from the church or an orphanage, but the atmosphere and air quality in this house were too good to leave. Mulberry’s cooking is delicious, and she is kind.

Even when I tried to leave on my own, Mulberry always found a way to make me stay, like saying “Why don’t you wait until tomorrow?” or “Why not eat first and then think about it?” It made it difficult for me to leave.

So I ended up staying for a long time, and before I knew it, five years had passed. I’ve become so used to living with Mulberry that I can now help with household chores effortlessly.

“Phew, that’s enough.”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I packed as many vegetables as I could into the straw basket. Then I straightened my back and looked at the neatly arranged vegetables on the ground, taking a deep breath.

This is Mulberry’s magic vegetable garden, which is located not far from the forest house. I don’t know how it works, but it’s a facility that almost automatically grows vegetables.

These types of magical technologies are also used inside the house. Mulberry, it seems, is quite a talented mage. She even received the prestigious title of “Sage” when she was young.

From the moment she saved me with her incredible magic when we first met, I suspected she was a skilled mage. But I never imagined she would be world-famous.

Without magic, she is just a shy and expressionless “older sister.” It’s hard to believe she’s a world-famous figure.

This magic vegetable garden is also created with highly advanced magic techniques, and anyone who sees it can feel Mulberry’s incredible skill. I used to think magic was only used for fighting, but apparently, it can be used to create useful tools by mixing magic stones and materials from magic beasts. These are called “magic tools.”

“Alright, let’s hurry and head back.”

I finished my work for the day and carried the heavy straw basket on my back as I left the magic vegetable garden.

As a ten-year-old girl, it was quite a heavy load, and I had to catch my breath as I made my way back home. I was afraid that the basket might tip over, so I focused on keeping my balance.

It was my idea to help out in the vegetable garden. I felt guilty for staying here for so long without doing anything to help, so I suggested it when I was around six years old.

At first, Mulberry told me not to worry about it, but I persisted and said, “I want to help!” until she gave in.

I didn’t want to waste my time just lazing around at home, and I wanted to contribute to Mulberry’s household in any way I could.

“Ugh, this is so heavy. I can do this…just hang in there, me.”

Anyway, now I help out with harvesting the vegetables until evening. However, Mulberry has been warning me to come back early because there are reports of a magic beast called the “Lord of the Forest” becoming more active lately.

Depending on the situation, I might even be forbidden from going out for a while. Apparently, the “Lord of the Forest” is a very dangerous magical beast that Mulberry has been battling for several years.

Even though Mulberry is a powerful mage, she hasn’t been able to defeat it after several years of fighting. I was optimistic and said, “I’ll be able to go this time for sure,” but it seems that the situation is more serious than I thought.

Anyway, Mulberry instructed me to run away immediately and inform her if the “Lord of the Forest” appears. I walked home nervously, hoping that I wouldn’t encounter the magic beast on the way.

“Welcome back.”

“I’m home.”

As I placed the basket full of vegetables in front of the entrance, Mulberry came to greet me right away.

She had the same familiar expressionless face, and her beautiful braids had grown even longer since we first met.

Her black-themed loungewear gave off a gentle older sister vibe, rather than a magician, and it looked different from her usual hooded robe.

Over time, I gradually learned more about Mulberry.

She rarely changed her expression and spoke in a monotone voice. However, she wasn’t a cold person; she felt joy and sadness deep down.

In fact, she was relieved and let out a small sigh of relief now that I had returned safely.

She simply wasn’t good at expressing emotions because she lacked experience in socializing.

By the way, I really love it when Mulberry turns red and gets embarrassed.

“Mulberry, is this enough?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s fine. Well done, Sa-chan,” she replied.

Mulberry took the basket from me and began to struggle as she carried it to the kitchen.

Although Mulberry was an amazing magician, her strength wasn’t much stronger than mine.

After we managed to bring the basket filled with vegetables to the kitchen, a tantalizing aroma tickled my nose.

“Hmm! Is it stew today?” I exclaimed.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s almost ready, so please wash your hands and come,” Mulberry said.

“Okay!”

I rushed to the sink, letting out the liveliest voice I had all day.

Mulberry’s cooking was the most delicious in the world.

Well, I couldn’t remember eating anything else besides that hard bread and thin soup.

So for me, Mulberry’s cooking was the taste of a mother.

After washing my hands, I sat down at the table, and the dishes were quickly placed in front of me.

Then Mulberry and I said “Itadakimasu” together.

I enjoyed the delicious food as usual, and talked to Mulberry about what happened today, ending a pleasant dinner time.

“Thank you for the meal. It was delicious today too. I give it a score of 150 out of 100!” I said.

“I still don’t understand why you are giving me more than a 100 points, but I’m glad it was to your liking,” Mulberry replied.

After dinner, we spent a relaxing time drinking tea.

In the middle of that, I suddenly thought of something and asked Mulberry, who was sitting across from me.

“Hey, Mulberry,” I said.

“Yes?” Mulberry replied.

“Can you teach me how to use magic?”

“Eh…” Mulberry widened her eyes in surprise at my sudden request.

“Why do you want to learn now?” she asked.

“I’ve always been impressed by your magic, Mulberry. I think it’s so cool how you can knock down magical beasts with a bang. Since the first time you saved me, I’ve always thought that your fighting style is amazing and wonderful.”

I wanted to use magic like Mulberry, to fight for someone else’s sake. It could be useful in various aspects of life, but more than anything else, I’ve always admired the cool Mulberry who saved me at that time.

“That’s why I thought if you teach me how to use magic, I can become a cool magician like you. I know I don’t have talent, but I still want to try,” I said with a self-deprecating smile.

“Sa-chan,” Mulberry lowered her voice sympathetically, although her expression remained stoic.

“I thought you disliked magic because you didn’t have many good memories related to it.”

“Well, that’s not really important now. Although I did have some unpleasant experiences related to magic in my home, I don’t remember them very well because they were from my childhood,” I explained.

I barely remember anything from that time.

I didn’t dislike magic just because of those experiences.

“Well, I do regret not having any talent for magic. But in the end, it was good because I got to meet you, Mulberry,” I added.

Mulberry looked stunned at my casual comment, and then she turned her face away and let out a secret smile, looking happy.

After a while, Mulberry turned back to me, her expressionless face back in place, and nodded her head.

“I understand. Although I am also still an inexperienced person, I would like to teach you about magic to the best of my ability,” said Mulberry.

“Yes, please! Thank you, Master!” replied Sachie.

Mulberry hesitated and said, “Well, maybe you shouldn’t call me ‘Master’ just yet.”

Then she began to teach Sachie about magic.

“Now, can you show me your magical essence?” Mulberry asked.

“Oh, you mean the magic power appraisal? Or was it the magical essence appraisal?” Sachie replied.

“Either term is correct. Basically, it’s a way to examine the magical essence sleeping within you, and to determine your magical aptitude and special abilities,” Mulberry explained.

Since each person’s magical essence is unique in terms of size, quantity, color, personality, and brilliance, their aptitudes for magic also vary accordingly. By examining their magical essence, it becomes clear which type of magic they should focus on and which talents they should develop.

So Sachie offered her arms as if to say, “Please examine them thoroughly.”

However, Mulberry looked puzzled and furrowed her eyebrows. “Well, magical essence appraisal usually requires physical contact with the subject, so it’s better to touch their hand or something,” she said.

“Oh, I see,” Sachie said, and offered her right hand.

Mulberry gently wrapped Sachie’s hand with her smooth and delicate hands, and soon she made a difficult expression.

“What’s wrong? Do I have no talent?” Sachie asked.

“Well, actually…” Mulberry hesitated.

Although the magical essence appraisal should have already been completed, Mulberry seemed hesitant to say anything. Sachie didn’t really care if she had no talent, but it seemed like Mulberry was trying to spare her feelings.

However, it turned out that Mulberry was worried about something else.

“Indeed, it seems that you don’t have much magical aptitude based on your magical essence. Your magical essence is quite small, so you have very little magical power. The color is also transparent, and you don’t seem to have any special abilities. But…” Mulberry paused.

“But what?” Sachie asked.

“Well, your magical essence’s brilliance… your luck value is extraordinarily high,” Mulberry said, looking puzzled.

“Is it really that amazing?” Sachie asked.

“It’s not just amazing, it’s scary how brilliant it is. If I were to put a number on it, it would be at the limit of 999,” Mulberry replied.

“Luck value of 999… But luck value is meaningless for a magician, right?” Sachie remembered hearing that before.

It was said that luck value was more useful for business people than for magicians. People with strong magical essence tend to have good things happen to them in their daily lives and not face financial difficulties.

But as for Sachie, she felt like she was currently at the peak of happiness, so the credibility of that theory might be relatively high.

In any case, it was clear that luck value had no direct impact on the power of magic.

“Indeed, in modern magic theory, luck value is considered a meaningless number. However, in the past, there was research into the possibility that luck value could have some impact, and some magic spells that varied in effect according to luck value were discovered,” Mulberry explained.

Her tone was more animated than usual, and it seemed like she really enjoyed talking about magic.

Sachie was interested in magic, so she leaned forward on the table, eager to hear more of Mulberry’s lecture.

“As we know, the power of magic usually varies according to the magical essence’s magic power value,” Mulberry continued.

“Right. So people with higher magic power value are more talented as magicians, right?” Sachie asked.

“Of course, that’s true. However, there are also spells whose effects vary depending on luck value, and through research, we have discovered some of them,” Mulberry said.

“Really? I’ve never heard of that,” Sachie said.

She had never heard of spells whose effects varied according to luck’s value. Even though she lived in the Gracier family, which was famous for producing top-class magicians, she thought she knew a fair amount about magic.

“There are only a limited number of such spells, and they were only briefly discussed a long time ago, so I think most magicians don’t know about them. Even if they did, it wouldn’t be very useful information. I just happen to like researching magic and reading old texts,” Mulberry explained.

“I don’t think they teach this at magic academies, do they?” she added.

Spells whose effects varied according to luck value. It seemed like they had little practical use, but Sachie didn’t think they were completely useless.

Maybe they would be like gambling, where they occasionally produced a positive effect. It sounded interesting to her.

However, the reality that Mulberry presented soon changed Sachie’s thinking.

“There are some magic spells that depend on luck, but all of them are said to have a success rate of ‘one in ten thousand’ at best,” the speaker said.

“O-One in ten thousand!?” I exclaimed, feeling speechless at the overwhelmingly hopeless probability.

While it sounded like a fun gamble, relying on magic spells with such a low probability of success as one in ten thousand would be worthless. If you attempted ten thousand times in a battle, you would become the prey of magical beasts in no time.

“There are also ‘magic spells that do nothing’ that require millions of attempts before anything happens. So, I think it’s safe to say that they have no practical use,” Mulberry added.

“…Isn’t that just a ‘magic spell that does nothing,’ rather than one that depends on luck?” I asked, wondering who would even attempt to use it millions of times.

“Because they rely on a probability-based activation, their practical use in combat is almost non-existent. No magician would leave everything to chance and fight magical beasts like that,” she replied.

“So, they’re not taught in magic academies, and they’re forgotten by magicians,” I summarized.

“That’s right. However, through the research of diligent magicians of the past, the mysteries of these spells were gradually unraveled. As a result, it was discovered that individuals with a stronger magical aura had a slightly higher success rate than the average when using such spells, depending on their luck,” she explained.

That’s what Marberry called a ‘probability magic’ that relies on luck. A special type of magic where the effect is determined not by the amount of magical power but by luck.

“So, if Sachie has an incredibly high luck value of 999 and her magical aura shines as bright as the sun, she might be able to turn such spells into something practical, don’t you think?” Mulberry suggested.

“…,” I remained silent.

It was true that relying on probability-based magic spells that depend on luck might be more realistic than using ordinary magic spells, given that my magical power was only one. If I relied on probability-based magic spells, which depend on luck, there might be some hope for me. But, what difference would it make with a luck value of 999? Would the probability change from one in ten thousand to around one in five thousand? Even then, it would be utterly useless.

“【The dice have been cast – Guided by the gods – Blame your destiny, not others if you hate】”

Suddenly, Marberry began chanting what seemed to be a spell and turned her right hand towards me.

“【The mischief of fate, Fortuna】”

Instantly, a yellow light emitted from her palm, and my entire body was briefly bathed in yellow light. Other than that, nothing else happened.

“What was that just now?” I asked.

“It’s a ‘restraint spell’ that can immobilize the target with a probability of about one in ten thousand. If successful, it can render the opponent unable to move, regardless of their magic power, making it quite powerful ‘if’ it works,” Marberry explained.

“…’if’ it works,” I repeated.

I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

So, it failed, as expected. With a success rate of about one in ten thousand, it was no surprise.

Marberry probably tried it on me with the assumption that it might fail.

I glanced down at my right hand and murmured, “Can I do it too?”

“Although your magical aura is small, the amount itself is normal, so it’s possible for you to use magic. Try chanting like I did earlier,” Marberry encouraged.

“Um, okay. I got it.”

Let’s see…I remembered the chant.

“【The dice have been cast – Guided by the gods – Blame your destiny, not others if you hate】”

I recited the same chant Marberry had spoken earlier and extended my right hand forward.

“【The mischief of fate, Fortuna】”

And just like Marberry did earlier, my right hand glowed brightly.

I did it! I could use magic too!

Well, a magic spell that only works once in every ten thousand tries was nothing more than just a fancy light show.

As I was thinking that, suddenly…

“Ugh…”

Marberry, who was sitting in front of me, suddenly collapsed onto the table with a thud.

It was so sudden that I was left stunned.

Upon closer inspection, Marberry was convulsing, gasping for breath.

“Um, excuse me, Mulberry-san?”

“Huh…?!”

Despite calling out, there was no response. Mulberry remained prostrate on the table, as if under some kind of spell.

Trying to understand what was going on, I watched as Mulberry suddenly jolted upright, eyes wide with shock.

“Pant…pant…pant…!”

Afraid of what I was thinking, I timidly asked Mulberry:

“Umm… Was… was some kind of magic just cast on you?”

“Y-Yes. I was bound by a spell.”

As I had suspected, Mulberry nodded.

It was the ‘Binding Magic’ called 【Fate’s Trick, Fortuna】, which could immobilize the target if successful.

I wondered if the first use of this spell had worked, or if my luck was so high that I managed to succeed on the first try.

“Wasn’t it a one in ten thousand chance? Maybe my luck is high and that’s why it worked on the first try?”

“That… that’s a possibility, but it’s still strange to succeed on the first attempt. It could be that you just happened to draw the one in ten thousand chance… “

So, the conversation led to “let’s try it again.”

I raised my right hand again and began to chant the spell I had just learned.

“【The dice have been cast… Guided by the gods… If you resent something, resent your own destiny】… 【Fate’s Trick, Fortuna】!”

And then…

“Ugh…!”

Mulberry once again fell forward onto the table, just like before. It was exactly the same scene as before.

Seeing her fall in the exact same way, I furrowed my brow and asked, “Mulberry-san, you’re not acting, are you?”

“Ugh… groan…!”

“If you’re acting, please stop now. If you don’t stop, I’ll play a trick on you.”

I began to suspect that Mulberry was pretending to be under the spell because it was too strange for the spell to work twice in a row.

So I approached her from behind and inserted my hand into her side to try and confirm if she was acting or not.

“Hey, hey, stop it!”

“Oh, hehe… sto…p…!”

I thought Mulberry was acting, but she didn’t resist at all. Wow, even Mulberry couldn’t move and was writhing in agony. I was unilaterally tormenting a master magician. I felt like I had become an amazing magician myself.

After a while, Mulberry jumped up again, panting heavily and with a bright red face.

“Ha…ha…ha…!”

Sweating profusely, I asked her if she was really not acting.

“I’m not acting! It happened the same way earlier too, and you tickled me while I couldn’t move…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Mulberry was unusually shaken. I didn’t think the magic would work every time on Mulberry.

I just tickled her to make sure. I heard that people with high magical power also have high resistance to magic, so I thought my magic would be meaningless against Mulberry.

Apparently, both magicians and magical beasts unconsciously emit the power of magical elements outside their bodies and wear it like armor to protect themselves from harm. This protective film generated by the magical elements is also called the “Magical Armor”.

This is why blades and explosives have little effect on skilled magicians and dangerous magical beasts, and magical attacks are the most effective.

However, I’ve heard that if there is a difference in magical power, even small spells can be easily deflected. But as Mulberry explained, this spell seems to be able to bind the target regardless of the difference in magical power, as long as it succeeds.

Come to think of it…

“Why does this magic work multiple times? Even if success rate changes depending on luck, it shouldn’t work every time, should it?”

“I thought it should have been like that, but maybe…,” murmured Mulberry to herself.

She then began to hold her head in thought for a while, trying to comprehend what had just happened. It was understandable that a research-minded magician like Mulberry would be troubled if a luck-based magic kept succeeding repeatedly.

Not wanting to interrupt Mulberry’s thoughts, I simply watched her silently.

Suddenly, another voice could be heard from outside, interrupting Mulberry’s thinking.

“Gwoooooo!!!”

“Wha-!?” Both of us were startled by the sudden noise.

We quickly ran to the entrance to peer outside and saw a massive silver-haired boar with two large tusks, thick limbs like logs, and sharp red eyes glaring at us. It was so terrifying that I felt like crying even at my age.

Judging by Mulberry’s reaction, it seemed that this was the infamous “Forest Lord.” It was rampaging through the nearby magic garden, destroying everything in its path while emitting a horrible scream.

Seeing this shocking scene, I trembled with fear and looked up at Mulberry.

“What should we do, Mulberry…?”

“Don’t worry. Sa-chan, please go inside and stay quiet. The time has finally come to settle the long-standing feud. I will definitely defeat the Forest Lord,” she said, giving me hope that she would take care of it.

However, she didn’t continue with her promise to defeat the Forest Lord, leaving me puzzled.

As I stared at Mulberry in confusion, she suddenly grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the shelf next to the entrance and quickly wrote something on it. She then handed the paper to me.

“Sa-chan, before you go inside, could you try chanting this?” she asked.

“What? At a time like this…?”

From what I could tell, it was a magical incantation. I didn’t know what kind of magic it was, but it seemed that Mulberry wanted me to use it against the magical beast.

I wondered why she chose this moment to give me this spell and what kind of magic it was, but since it wasn’t too long, I decided to try it out and use the spell to escape inside the house.

“Atto… [Life or death – Reaper’s scythe – Cut the enemy’s neck in one go.]”

In that moment, I suddenly realized my hidden potential as a magician.

“[Devil’s message – Death Notice.]”

Suddenly, a menacing jet-black light was emitted from my right hand towards the Forest Lord. Simultaneously, the Forest Lord, which was only a short distance away, was enveloped in a black mist.

For some reason, the Forest Lord, which was dancing wildly just a moment ago, suddenly stopped moving and froze, as if time had stopped. The area was filled with complete silence.

“Guh… Gaahhh…!”

After a short while, the Forest Lord let out a groan of agony. It slowly collapsed onto the ground as if it were a toppled piece of furniture, without any further movement.

It didn’t get up, nor did it even breathe. It had become a part of the forest scenery and was completely motionless.

In other words, from any angle, it was clear that the Forest Lord was dead.

“No… way…”

I trembled as I looked down at my outstretched right hand. Then, I slowly looked up at Mulberry. She was gaping at the fallen Forest Lord, which had taken her years to defeat, in disbelief.

The magical beast that Mulberry had been unable to defeat for years had suddenly died in just one moment.

Could it be…

“I-Is the magic I used just now…?”

“W-Well, with a probability of one in a million, it’s the 【Devil’s Omen Death Notice】, a ‘death magic’ that can definitely end the target’s life.”

“…”

A death magic. If successful, it can kill the target without fail, truly a devilish magic. It doesn’t matter how ferocious the magical beast is, or how strong their magical armor is, it can be taken down in a single blow. Of course, the success rate is very low, with only one in a million chances.

And yet, I have managed to succeed in this extremely low probability magic with just one attempt.

“I-It was just a whim to try out the death magic, I never thought it would actually work…”

I thought so before, but it’s true. I have the ability to succeed in magic that has a very low probability of working. Whether it’s a restraining magic that only works one out of ten thousand times, or a death magic that only works once in a million times, I can definitely succeed in it. All thanks to my luck stat of 999.

“Y-You’re amazing, Sa-chan… Your talent might even change the common knowledge of magic.”

With those words from the legendary mage Mulberry, who was once called the “Sage”, I finally gained confidence.

I may have been expelled from a prestigious family of mages due to my low magic power stat of 1, but with my luck stat of 999…

Perhaps I have the talent of a mage after all.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like