WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Made Magic Easier by Changing the Formula ◈
Chapter 18: A Training Ground Bestowed by the Gods
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‘...This won’t be easy.’
Every part was incredibly complex.
Forms I had never seen before.
Layer upon layer, stacked one atop another.
But even these unfamiliar sealing circles ultimately began with the basic formulas of magic.
All magic in the world was made through combinations and transformations of fundamental formulas.
That applied not only to the first and second tiers, but higher tiers from the third onward as well.
‘It’s hard to recognize magic that unfolds in real time at a glance, but...’
Magic circles were different.
I could examine the formulas one by one.
‘...This is a variation of a formula combining two elemental attributes. This is an application of a second-order sealing formula...’
I didn’t know who had made it, but to think they could twist basic formulas to this extent.
‘Amazing.’
I meant it.
But amazing was amazing.
And what could be undone could be undone.
‘If I can see the root, I can find the knot.’
I gathered mana at my fingertips and carefully traced the outermost knot.
When the first formula came undone, the second was revealed. When the second came undone, the third followed.
It was quite tiring work.
Yet I lost all track of time.
Why?
‘Because it’s fun.’
I had completely forgotten that I was trapped in prison as I focused on unraveling the formulas.
How much time had passed?
At last, the final line came undone.
‘Done.’
What had the sealing circle been hiding?
I had hoped, if nothing else, that it would open an escape route, but...
‘The wall is still there.’
Contrary to expectations, the rock wall did not budge in the slightest.
Then...
Whoooosh!
I was startled.
‘...The amount of mana has increased enormously.’
Until just moments ago, mana had only seeped out in tiny drops.
The instant I undid every sealing circle, it began pouring out violently, as though a hole had been opened.
Whoooooosh!
It was cool and refreshing, an energy that invigorated me to the depths of my lungs.
‘...Hup!’
My mana core reacted.
The mana that had been exhausted rapidly filled up like spring water bubbling forth.
“This is unbelievable.”
The speed was abnormal.
It was far faster than the Mana Reflux Magic Circle made with intermediate mana crystals.
No, they could not even be compared.
It felt as though I had plunged into a massive river of mana.
‘...What is this? There must be a reason.’
The wall was made of cold stone.
I placed a hand against it and closed my eyes.
Hummmm!
A huge pulse of mana throbbed beyond it.
‘Beyond the wall... there’s something incredible.’
A mana crystal vein?
Or ancient magical ruins?
I didn’t know.
It was a strange phenomenon I could not explain with my current knowledge.
But not knowing the cause did not mean I could not use the result.
A smile spread across my lips.
‘A place with an infinite supply of mana exists.’
However, the mana released from the seal seemed to have nowhere to go.
It shot out several meters from the wall’s surface, then split apart and scattered through the air.
Even so, the minute amount of mana lingering in the space was enough to completely surpass an intermediate mana crystal.
‘...I can’t leave it like this.’
If such an enormous amount of mana continued pouring out, the cave would soon be filled with mana light.
Then it would only be a matter of time before Count Valderk noticed.
‘I need to contain the mana.’
The moment I finished thinking, my body moved first.
Right before the erupting mana, I firmly leveled the floor closest to the stone wall and pressed my finger into it.
‘If I make a Mana Reflux Magic Circle here, the mana will flow into it.’
Scritch. Scritch, scritch.
The Mana Reflux Magic Circle possessed the mysterious ability to restore mana.
To do that, it rapidly absorbed and stored the mana around it.
That was exactly what I would use.
Sssst! Sssssst!
The streams of mana that had scattered through the air bent toward the center of the magic circle as though drawn by a magnet.
But there was so much pouring out that mana still leaked in every direction.
‘I need to catch even the leaks.’
I used the formulas from the sealing circle I had just dismantled in reverse.
I quickly drew sealing formulas around the Mana Reflux Magic Circle, forming a wall through the surrounding space.
Scritch. Scritch, scritch.
‘With mana overflowing, even drawing magic circles is easy as child’s play.’
The effect appeared immediately.
The mana that tried to burst outward became trapped within the sealing wall.
Eventually, it was drawn into the reflux circle on the floor.
Without wasting a single drop.
“Done. It worked.”
The prison’s entrance curved inward.
From the iron-barred door, this spot was a perfect blind spot.
On top of that, the sealing formulas contained the mana’s light and energy, so from outside, it remained pitch-black darkness.
A perfectly sealed-off chamber.
The days of desperately worrying over depleted mana were over.
Just sitting at the center of this magic circle and breathing would replenish my exhausted core.
‘This is a training ground bestowed by the gods.’
At the center of the Mana Reflux Magic Circle, the mana concentration was ten times, no, easily more than twenty times that of the outside world.
‘What on earth is beyond that wall?’
What could be there to produce such an incredible flow of mana?
‘Count Valderk doesn’t seem to know about it at all.’
If he did, he would not have built a prison here and left it unattended.
‘Either way, it doesn’t matter.’
What mattered was that, at this very moment, this immense resource existed solely for me.
‘I’m not tired.’
Mana flowed through every corner of my body, through my veins.
Thanks to that, my exhausted body fully regained its vitality.
“Hehe...”
A laugh slipped out on its own.
To think such luck would come my way.
“Good. Let’s begin right away.”
I closed my eyes and began visualization training.
I created countless imaginary enemies in my head.
I fired Spatial Stitching Needles and subdued them with Invisible Thread.
Fwap! Fwap, fwap!
Though they were only imaginary, I used mana intensely enough to shrivel my mana core dry.
But here, mana filled me up like an inexhaustible spring.
The more mana I used, the faster the walls of my core were worn away. Then it filled again, feeling wider than before.
All night, I waved my hands through the air like a madman.
The prison was silent, but inside my head was a more intense battlefield than any other.
“...Hans?”
It seemed morning had come before I knew it.
I heard Nen’s voice.
I stopped training and walked to the entrance.
“Ah, you’re here?”
Nen stuck a torch into the wall and stared blankly at me.
She carried a basket containing bread and water.
“You’re... alive and well.”
“Of course. Being locked up doesn’t mean I have to die.”
I deliberately smiled as though nothing was wrong.
Nen looked flustered by how calm I was.
“Lady Ellen spent all night crying in her room and protesting to the Count. Yet you, the person actually locked up, look as though you came on a picnic.”
“I’m fine, so please tell milady not to worry too much.”
“You really are... an impossible person to understand. Aren’t you afraid? You don’t know when you might be executed.”
“Being afraid won’t change anything. More importantly, I have a favor to ask.”
I stepped closer to the bars.
“Have the things on my workbench been cleared away?”
“No one has touched them yet. But they’re planning to remove everything soon. The Count would never allow outside belongings in the family’s secret space. They’ll probably be sent to the incinerator.”
“That can’t happen!”
I raised my voice without realizing it.
Nen jumped back in surprise.
“Could you bring them here instead of throwing them away?”
“Here? You want to bring your belongings into a prison now?”
“If they’ll be thrown out anyway, please let me keep them. Some of them must be delivered to the Magic Tower, and the tools are practically all my possessions.”
Nen looked troubled.
“...All right. The Count only ordered that they be cleared away, not explicitly thrown out. I’ll bring them for you.”
“Thank you, Nen! Oh, and!”
I urgently called to Nen as she turned away.
“Never touch the floor or ceiling around the workbench.”
“What?”
“There’s a device that only I can deactivate. If someone touches it without knowing... they could end up in a terrible state.”
Nen’s expression hardened at my serious warning.
“All right. I’ll go myself and carefully bring only the things that are in plain sight.”
“And beneath the workbench, there should be mana crystals embedded in the floor. Carefully take those out and bring them too.”
“Understood.”
Nen nodded and left.
A few hours later.
Nen kept her promise.
She pushed everything I had mentioned through the bars.
Work tools, bundles of fabric, and roughly eight hundred completed handkerchiefs.
Most importantly, the intermediate mana crystals as well.
“Thank you, Nen. I won’t forget this kindness.”
“Kindness, my ass... Just make sure you get out alive.”
Once Nen left, I immediately made a new workbench.
There was no need to hide this one, so I placed it near the entrance.
Naturally, the Mana Reflux Magic Circle deeper inside would become even less noticeable.
‘With an infinite supply of mana, the work should go faster too.’
The senses I had honed through a night of visualization training.
More efficient and powerful formulas came to mind on their own.
[First-Tier Composite Formula: Double Acceleration + Mana Guidance]
Fwap!
Whenever the needle passed through the fabric, trails of mana followed behind it.
Handkerchiefs were completed and piled up without pause, as though stamped out by a precise mana-powered machine.
Infinite recovery!
The more I worked, the clearer my mind became and the more my core expanded.
It was a miraculous place where labor itself became training.
The next morning.
One thousand [Cleansing Handkerchiefs] were perfectly packaged and stacked up.
Then Nen appeared with food.
She was rendered speechless at the sight of the tower of handkerchiefs behind me.
“Why are you making those even in here?”
“Because it’s my job.”
I smiled as I wiped away sweat.
Nen looked utterly dumbfounded.
A condemned prisoner who might die tomorrow was making handkerchiefs, so it was hard for her to understand.
“You... really aren’t in your right mind.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Chewing on bread, I approached Nen.
“Nen, could you grant me one more favor?”
“Again? What is it this time?”
“Please take these handkerchiefs to the Magic Tower’s Rowen branch. Today is the delivery deadline.”
“Hah...”
Nen glared at me as though I was absurd.
“Hans! Do you not understand the situation? You’re locked up. How can you be saying that right now?”
“I’m asking because I’m locked up. Trust is a merchant’s life. Even if I die, I have to keep my promise.”
Nen sighed, but intuitively realized she could not break my stubbornness.
“Do I only need to deliver them?”
“Once you receive the payment, please use it to buy these materials.”
I handed her a note I had prepared beforehand.
The materials needed to alter Ellen’s dress, including the finest silver thread, pearl powder, and special dyes.
“Can you tell me... why you need these?”
“They’re materials for altering Lady Ellen’s dress. The ball is next week, so we need to hurry.”
“Are you insane? Your life is in immediate danger, and you want to alter a dress?”
“It’s to save my life.”
“What?”
“Count Valderk sees me as a useless swindler. But what if I make Lady Ellen the star of the ball? I can crush the pride of House Bergen, the Count’s political rival.”
Nen’s eyes widened at my words.
“Will he still see me as nothing but a swindler then?”
“...!”
“I’ll prove my worth and survive. So please help me, Nen. This is for Lady Ellen too.”
Nen stared intently at me.
For a moment, awe passed through her eyes.
“...All right. But this is not something I can decide on my own. Taking things out and bringing things in requires the Count’s permission.”
“Then please get his permission. If you’re with Lady Ellen, it should be possible.”
Nen gathered the note and the bundle.
“Wait here. But don’t get your hopes up. The Count may become even angrier.”
Nen left.
Alone in the empty prison, I clenched my fist.
‘The die has been cast.’
Now all I could do was wait.
I had done everything I could.
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