ASDP Chapter 19

“Absolutely, tell me if you feel even the slightest bit sick, okay? You’ll definitely do that, right?”
“I understand. I’m listening properly.”
I give advice to Theo so much that I don’t know how many times it’s been anymore. This should have reduced his motivation, and it would be best if he decided not to go to the mountains, but unfortunately, Theo followed me. From what I saw before taking today’s medicine, the swelling of the magic manufacturing organ seems to have subsided somewhat, and there is no change in his condition for two hours after drinking it.
He just needs to be careful because I don’t know what will happen if he uses magic.
Where does Theo’s high sense of responsibility come from? If possible, I want him to take better care of himself.

However, it can’t be helped if he follows me. Let’s try to care as much as possible.
When I came to the entrance to the mountain, I put on the glasses that I borrowed from my grandfather.
“Eh?”
“What’s the matter?”
After I put the glasses on once, I took them off and put them on again.
“Amazing. It’s sparkling.”
“Sparkling?”
“Hmm, magical power is flowing through the trees, and I don’t know if it’s the magic that came out of it or mana, but it’s falling from the sky. Is it magic that is running through the tree in the first place?”
It’s not like it’s stored, it’s like it’s going through and then going out. It’s like a tunnel, or like a pump…
I squat down and touch the ground. As expected, the ground is not shining, but the trees seem to be sucking up mana from the roots. The ground is connected. The maga appears like a pit in the ground, so it could be said that this ground is connected to the maga.

Suddenly, when I looked at Theo, the mushroom on Theo’s head was also releasing magic.
“Perhaps the reason why trees and plants are reversible is because they release a large amount without storing it inside?”
Humans take in mana and convert it into magical power, which is useful for life-sustaining activities, but they basically store it. And they use the accumulated magical power to perform magic and strengthen the body.
I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s okay, but my eyes are really stinging. Do you want to take a look at it too, Theo?”
“Because it’s a big deal.”
It’s beautiful, but it looks like it’s bad for your eyes if you keep looking at it.
When I hand over the glasses, I look at a world where I can’t see magic. It’s still a poisonous color of trees, but until now, I thought the color was just different from normal. But I didn’t expect it to work like that.

“This is certainly amazing, but my eyes hurt.”
“Right? Let me borrow it one more time.”
When I receive glasses from Theo, who is rubbing his temples, this time I look towards the exit once, not towards the mountain.
“It seems that there is a lot in the back of the mountain. There is obviously less near the exit. Is there more near the maga, or is it different depending on the vegetation, or is there a difference depending on the altitude…”
There are many possible causes, but the likely one is that there is more near the maga. However, it’s scary to conclude just by guessing, so you can only come to a conclusion after looking at other places.

But if plants are ejecting large amounts something into the air near the center of the maga, there is a possibility that the plants are the reason why the effects of the maga are stopped in the mountains.
“There is a distance from the maga, but the reason that crops do not mutate and grow normally may be because the trees are sucking up more mana than they need before it reaches that point.”
If this temporary assumption was correct, it was correct when my father said that materials should not be collected more than necessary. It’s too scary to change the mountain environment in this state.

“Isn’t that possible? I once went on a journey to purify a place where maga appeared in a village before, but the village had become like a forest. Instead, although there was monster damage in the neighboring village, no abnormalities of plants were seen. As far as I heard from people in the neighboring village, it only took a few days.”
“Wah”
I’m sure the people living in the village that had become a forest have been wiped out. And the saint must have been dispatched for fear of it spreading. Plants are likely to be affected by maga and limit the scope of the impact at the same time.

I take off the glasses again. But it feels like it’s still flickering in the back of my eyes.
My eyes don’t usually get this tired, so it seems like it’s going to be difficult to investigate.
“I wonder if what I’m seeing is magic? Or is it mana?”
It’s hard to tell which one is the glittering thing that falls down through this tree.
I think it’s necessary to actually see the maga, but I can’t force it because there is Theo, who hasn’t fully recovered yet.
Is there any good way to distinguish whether it’s magic or mana?
Hmm.

“Ah. I see. Let’s check the attributes.”
“Attribute inspection? Well, attributes are magic, aren’t they?”
“That’s right. Magic is known to have attributes, right?”
Attributes are like blood type, and it does not necessarily mean which attribute is superior, but there is a difference that the magic of the attribute you have is easier to use.
Therefore, it is essential for magicians to be tested for their attributes. By the way, the attribute of the saint is pure [light]. Some people have mixed light attributes, but in that case, they couldn’t become a saint.
“And if you belong to the temple, you know the birth test that all girls born in the same year are gathered together and received, even if you have never seen it, right?”
“Ah. You go there once a year, right? I’ve never actually seen it.”
Newborn girls are determined whether they have light attributes in a birth test. If you have this light attribute, the child who is determined to have a light attribute will check all the attributes at the next five-year-old checkup.
The absolute definitive diagnosis of attributes is said to be from five years old. Until then, weak attributes may not be able to be measured well. But the attribute that appeared will not disappear, so if you have a light attribute, the temple will regularly check its growth as a candidate for a saint. It is not uncommon for other attributes to appear and not be a saint in the end, but the temple will keep an eye on the safety of the saint candidates so that the saint will not be harmed.

“But what does that have to do with what we’re going to do?”
“Magic always has attributes, but mana has no attributes. So if this glitter doesn’t have an attribute, there’s a high possibility of it being mana. Wait a minute. I’ll write a magic circle so that I can use it with what I have now.”
When I take out the testing device, paper and pen, Theo’s eyes widened at how well prepared I was.
“Why do you have such a thing?”
“I use the magic testing device when I want to know the attributes of the materials to be collected. Because not only humans but also trees have attributes. The attributes of the transformed tree are different from normal ones.”
There are several props in the bag that allow me to complete the request. In some cases, it may be modified a little and used on the spot.
“Originally, if you put some of what you collected on this tool, the attribute will shine. But this time, it’s difficult to collect, so I’ll use the magic circle to measure the attributes of the things above the magic circle. If it can’t detect magic at all, it will not activate in the first place, so theoretically it should be able to tell whether it has an attribute or not.”
This sparkle is a mixture of things from various trees, so it can’t be limited to which tree it came from, but if it is reflected in the glasses like this, there should be some kind of reaction.

“Do you also learn this in the magician department?”
“That’s right. The basics are learned in the magician department, but it feels like a technique combined with the wisdom of an alchemist. Basically, a magician’s territory is medicinal herbs and magic, and magic circles and magic tools are the territory of alchemists. But when it comes to attributes, magicians are also involved.”
The boundary between alchemists and magicians is often ambiguous.
Even a magician can make magic tools, and in fact, I also made my own earrings to adjust my body temperature. On the contrary, alchemists also deal with medicinal herbs in Elixir experiments.
But basically, it is the alchemist who makes magic tools, and the magician who does the doctor’s job. And alchemists don’t use the magic of chanting. Because chanting magic uses the magic power in your body, so it requires repeated practice like physical strengthening used by knights.

I place the paper with the magic circle on the ground and place the palm-sized attribute testing device in the center. Then the stone began to glow, and Theo, who was looking into it together with me, gave a small voice of surprise.
“Wow. It’s shining.”
“The activation has started. The fact that the stones of each attribute glow first is proof that it is activated normally. Originally, I put a small amount of material in the box to check it. Wait a moment.”
If it activates, it means that it recognizes something.
As far as I can see, the top of the magic circle is empty. In other words, what it recognizes is something that you can’t see unless you wear the glasses.

All the stones glowed and disappeared, and finally nothing glowed and it remained silent.
“Um, in other words, does this mean that there are no attributes?”
“I activated it, so that’s what happened. Let’s try putting the leaves of this tree into the magic circle.”
I put a blue leaf on the magic circle to make sure it wasn’t a malfunction. Then, because it became aware of another magical power again, the attribute testing device starts to activate. Then, it fell silent, leaving only the blue and orange stone shining.
“This means that it has the attributes of water and earth. Originally, except for special plants, it is only the attribute of earth, but it must be that it has changed due to the influence of maga. But now I know that the attribute inspection device has not malfunctioned. In other words, it’s mana that is pouring down from these trees, and these glasses can see not only magic but also mana.”
This completes one proof.
There are still a lot of things to investigate, but a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As I found out more, I nodded with satisfaction.

One hypothesis has been proven!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!