The Water Magician

Just a little more until the City of Run.

"Still... nothing happened during this journey..."

"...Huh?"

Ryo's mutter reached Abel, who was walking beside him.

"After having your left arm cut off, to say something like that, Ryo is beyond my imagination," Abel thought sincerely.

"No, to clarify, I meant that there were no typical light novel events like 'bandit ambush' or 'rescuing a noble lady' during our travels, you see?"

"Yeah, I really don't get what Ryo's talking about half the time."

"Look, normally, when walking down a highway, you'd be attacked by bandits, defeat them, and scoop up the treasure they had hoarded. Or you'd rescue a noble lady who was being attacked by monsters or bandits, and then get various favors from her noble family, right?"

Ryo passionately described the significance of these events.

"I don't think any of that is happening."

However, Abel denied it outright.

"Hey, Ryo."

"What is it? More about money?"

"That's not it! I've never begged you for money!"

Abel got angry in an instant but quickly returned to normal.

"This is serious. I wonder why you didn't freeze Leonor when you fought him."

"Oh..."

At Abel's question, Ryo recalled the fight with Leonor for a moment and glanced at his left hand.

There were no scars left from the severed injury.

"To put it simply, not everyone can be frozen."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I’m not sure if it’s a problem with magical power or something else, but generally, powerful magicians can't be frozen. At least, not yet."

"Not yet...?"

Abel reacted to Ryo's last words as if he were hinting at something.

"Nobody knows what will happen in the future, right? That's all it means. Also, I tried freezing him before with Sera, but it was completely impossible. Well, since Sera is an elf, there might be another reason she couldn’t do it."

"That's 'Spirit's Protection,' then."

Abel muttered, drawing from his knowledge of royalty.

"You know a lot! Sera said the same thing. Also, I had a chance the other day to try it with Arthur from the magical association, but he also couldn't do it."

Arthur Velasis, the advisor of the Royal Magic Guild.

He was a high-ranking figure in the kingdom who came all the way to Stone Lake at Ryo's request.

"You've been trying various things, huh... even sacrificing Arthur..."

"That's rude! He just helped me develop my magic. I want to know the limits of my magic, after all. Well, I haven't tried it directly on Leonor, but I probably can't freeze him."

Ryo said with a slight frown.

It would have been the easiest way if he could have frozen him... that seemed to be his unspoken wish.

"By the way, I actually wanted to ask you something, Abel."

"What is it?"

"Come on... if you didn't reply with 'What is it? More money?', you'd be much better off. You're still quite behind, huh?"

"What are you expecting from me?!"

"Of course, your talent for humor..."

"Ryo, should I make it so you can never laugh again?"

Saying that, Abel pretended to reach for his sword.

"Of course, I'm joking, come on now..."

With that, Ryo burst into laughter.

Abel's fast-draw was quite swift, and Ryo understood that he was at a disadvantage at this range.

In his mind, Ryo was always thinking about combat... perhaps he had turned into a "muscle-headed" type, with muscles even in his brain.

"What I wanted to ask is about combat techniques and sword techniques."

Combat techniques are the 'skills' that those who fight with weapons, like swordsmen and spear warriors, develop.

From Ryo's perspective, these techniques seem distinct or even alien compared to the skills acquired through rigorous training.

Almost like magic or something.

"Are combat techniques a kind of magic for physical jobs?"

At Ryo's question, Abel widened his eyes slightly.

"There are researchers who advocate that view. The actual truth is still unclear, though."

"You use them, but you don't understand?"

"Yeah. In the first place, we don't fully understand why magic can do what it does."

"Well, that's true."

As Ryo reflected on various magics, including his own, he replied.

"There are those like Ryo who can activate magic without incantations, and others who can't activate magic without them. Not just humans, but even monsters use magic... Speaking of which, there were monsters that could nullify magic..."