Water Magician - Chapter 408: Taking the Initiative

TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations. 

Of the seven floors, from the ground to the third floor was the wall surrounding the arena, and from the fourth to the seventh floor were audience seats.

The first place the four of them exited was the sixth floor.

They suspected it would be possible to suck out the magical power of those sitting on the seventh floor by drawing a magic circle on the ceiling of the sixth floor or pasting paper with a magic circle drawn on it.

But… even after looking around, there was nothing like that.

“There’s nothing…”

“Yeah, nothing…”

Ryo murmured, and Etho murmured back.

Niels and Amon were keeping watch of their surroundings.

“Let’s take a look at the fifth floor.”

Ryo said and the four of them went down to the fifth floor and looked around.

“There isn’t anything here either…”

“Yeah…”

Ryo and Etho both nodded.

It was clear with that.

“It’s not a magic circle, it’s an alchemy tool. It seems like it’s going to be a fairly complicated tool, but Cardinal Sacharias seems to be a pretty amazing alchemist. It might be possible if it’s him…”

After saying that, Ryo stopped speaking.

“Ryo?”

Etho asked suspiciously.

Ryo frowned.

After a while, he finally opened his mouth.

“I just detected that person with …”

“That person?”

None of the three of them knew who he was talking about.

“Yes. Neil Andersen, an alchemist.”

Finally, he found the missing Neil Andersen!

However, even though he finally found the person he was looking for, Ryo’s expression was sullen.

“Ryo, is there something wrong?”

Niels asked.

“Probably. I’ll look into it a little more closely.”

After Ryo said that, he paused and then chanted.

“”

is passive.

The movements of objects are detected and analyzed through the movements of the water vapor in the air.

Suppose a fish jumps in a still pond. Ripples will spread across the water surface from where it splashed.

The target would be the fish and you can imagine Ryo to be in the middle of the ripples that are spreading.

On the other hand, is active.

The ‘ping’ emitted from Ryo travels through the water vapor in the air, hits the target, and is analyzed after it bounces back.

Due to the nature of passive sonar, it is difficult to detect objects that do not move.

However, active sonar can capture everything, whether there is movement or not.

However, the amount of information coming in is surprisingly large, so much so that even Ryo suffered headaches in the beginning…

“As expected… he’s in an open space that spans from the first floor to the third floor. There’s a three-meter-class golem next to him. Neil-san is next to a box I imagine is an alchemy tool, big enough for one person to fit in. He has something on his head… similar to a knight’s helmet.”

“Golems are troublesome.”

Niels frowned as he answered Ryo’s explanation.

However, they have no choice but to go.

“Are there any enemies on the way?”

“No. I don’t sense anyone like that.”

“Okay. Then let’s go to that atrium.”

Niels gave the command, and the three of them nodded.

Two minutes until arrival.

Indeed, the four of them were able to get close to the atrium without being obstructed by anyone.

“That looks like… a heavy knight’s helmet…”

Niels looked at Neil from afar and whispered.

In both the Central and Western countries, the so-called ‘Heavy Knight’ style, which is a full plate and a helmet that covers the entire head, is not mainstream.

Knights’ armor is indeed amply ‘thick’ compared to adventurers, but it’s not to the point where their skin is completely invisible.

As a result, heavy knight helmets are rarely seen on the battlefield.

Niels thought for a while and gave instructions.

“Amon and I will deal with the golem. Ryo and Etho, go to Neil Andersen. If that box of alchemy tool is a magic power extraction device, stop it.”

“Okay.”

Ryo answered, and Amon and Etho nodded.

He didn’t want to ask now if Niels and Amon could fight a golem together.

Leader Niels’ decision had been made.

From there on, just follow the instructions.

Even though Ryo usually speaks harshly about Niels, if he makes a decision as a leader, he will follow it unconditionally.

In workplaces where lives are on the line, they have to act once a decision has been made.

That’s the basic principle.

Could the leader give the wrong instructions?

Of course, that could happen.

So what?

If you don’t want your leaders to give the wrong instructions, the right thing to do is to have them train their judgment during normal times.

Subordinates must work in that way during normal times.

They need to build a good relationship of trust with their leaders and make them believe that they will never make a mistake.

By doing so, leaders will be able to develop their judgment skills even in normal times.

What matters is how well you prepare during normal times.

Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Whether it’s sports or studying, prepare regularly so you don’t fail in the actual performance.

The same goes for work.

It is important to prepare in advance.

Not for anyone.

It’s for you.

For your own sake, ask your boss or leader to train you in your judgment skills during normal times.

That’s why Ryo always says things that improve Niels’ judgment!

It’s not like he’s bothering him for no good reason or messing around.

Yes, definitely not!

… Probably.

“Let’s go!”

At Niels’ command, Niels and Amon jumped out and ran toward the golem.

Seeing that, the golem quickly turned towards the two.

After confirming that the golem was facing them, Ryo and Etho jumped out.

They ran toward Neil Andersen at the back of the stairwell.

In the back, Neil Andersen was operating a moderately sized alchemy tool, but he must have noticed that Ryo and Etho were heading toward him, ignoring the golem.

His whole body turned towards the two of them.

“”

A muffled voice echoed from inside the helmet, and a blade of wind flew out from Neil Andersen’s hand.

That is a suppressive fire attack magic that splits into five blades before impact.

“＜Ice Wall 20 Layers＞”

Ryo created a wall of ice in front of himself and Etho while running.

The five wind blades were all repelled by the ice wall.

“Neil-san, it’s me! It’s Ryo!”

Ryo shouted while running.

But…

“”

Attack magic again.

The blade of wind once again flew into the ice wall that was still deployed in front of the two moving people, and was deflected.

“He doesn’t recognize Ryo.”

Etho whispered next to him as they ran.

“I guess it’s because of the helmet he’s wearing. Is it manipulating his consciousness or something? Furthermore, that kind of thing might have some kind of mechanism that will cause it to explode if you try to forcibly pull it off.”

Ryo said with regret.

The so-called gunpowder that causes an ‘explosion’ is not yet common even in the Western Countries.

At least, he hadn’t seen one since he came to the Western Countries.

Of course, it cannot be said that it is common in the Central Countries yet… ‘Room 10’ is holding onto some at the direction of King Abel, and they must submit regular reports.

Well, anyway, he didn’t think he put it on himself.

It’s hot, visibility is limited, and he can’t see anyone…

“I found out it was Neil-san because I searched with sonar, but normal people wouldn’t even know that it is Neil-san…”

“No matter how you look at it, he’s a suspicious person… He cast magic, so if the guards saw him, they’d probably try to kill him.”

Ryo said, and Etho nodded in response.

“There’s no help it… I’m sorry, Neil-san.”

After Ryo said that, he chanted.

“”

The sudden downpour around Neil Andersen froze and forcibly trapped him in an ice coffin.

Neil Andersen is a top-notch alchemist.

A top-notch alchemist is also a top-notch magician.

And magicians can’t be frozen… no, they couldn’t.

It is impossible to encase a magician’s body in ice up to about 10 centimeters from the skin.

Perhaps it’s a magic control issue.

So Ryo thought of another method.

generates ‘Ryo’ water around the target.

That water is then frozen.

Since that water is ‘Ryo’s water’, it is under Ryo’s magical control.

By doing so, it invades the target’s personal space in relation to magic and also freezes the surface of the target’s skin.

It freezes the inside of a person’s mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, and other parts connected to the skin on the surface of the body one after another, and finally surrounds everything with a coffin of ice…

There’s just one problem.

Actually, this method is not perfect either.

Magicians who are better at magic control than Ryo, or even similar to Ryo, cannot be frozen.

For example, Sera.

The reason he was successful this time was simply because the Neil Andersen in front of him was not in his usual state, his mind was dull and his magic control was lax.

It might be because of the helmet he was wearing.

Isolate Neil Andersen and first stop the coffin-sized alchemy tool.

“＜Scan＞”

The magic he created to thoroughly examine Abel’s body was cast against the coffin-shaped alchemy tools.

No matter how elaborate the alchemy tool is, there must be space.

There must be air containing water vapor in that space.

If so, Ryo can explore it!

“Yeah. This is it. There was a very complicated magic ritual along the way, which I can’t understand at all, but… Maybe this is the one that is sucking out the magical power from the audience seats… from the audience seats of the Central Countries delegations and storing it here temporarily. Once it’s full to a certain extent, it will send it all at once underground and start running that giant magic circle.”

“Is it possible to reverse something like this and return the absorbed magic power to the original person?”

“I can’t do that. It seems like the magic power gets mixed up when it passes through this alchemy tool. Once that happens, it’s impossible to separate the magic power, so it’s impossible.”

“I see.”

Etho let out a small sigh at Ryo’s explanation.

“And… it is also constructed to collect something other than magical power? It seems like a capture tool but… I don’t understand… Does this target something like the ‘Fragment of God’? Hmm… Well, there’s a possibility that magical power will run rampant around here if I destroy this coffin, so I’ll end alchemy for now.’’

When Ryo said that, he cut the ‘line’ of the magic circle inside the coffin with .

Buonbuonbuon….

The sound gradually became quieter and the coffin stopped.

“Now!”

Niels shouted as the golem’s sword was flung diagonally backward following a thrust.

“Okay!”

At the same time, Amon jumped up onto the golem’s outstretched arm and used his momentum to thrust his sword under its head, into its throat in human terms.

Both of them have been told by Ryo about what can be said to be the only weakness of the Holy Knights.

During the Golem battle within the Republic, the battle between the Holy Knights and the Civilians, the Civilian’s spear pierced the Holy Knights’ necks with a single blow.

For all ten.

Furthermore, from the remains of the Holy Knights seen after the battle, it was confirmed that the throat was made of a softer material compared to other parts.

With a total length of 3 meters, it must have a wide vertical field of view to fight a human who is about half its height, or a golem that is almost the same height.

To do that, it is absolutely necessary to move the neck upward and downward, and of course, the throat part cannot be made of hard material…

It can be said that this is an unavoidable structural weakness.

The two aimed for that.

Normally, when it comes to battles between humans and golems, attacks don’t reach the golem’s throat.

The part that can be called a jaw is made longer than a human’s, and it protects the throat.

Therefore, even magic attacks will not be able to hit the throat.

But Niels and Amon did it.

Niels’ ‘parry’ technique and Amon’s body movements.

It was only when both were together.

While Niels and Amon were fighting, Ryo was examining Neil Andersen, who was trapped in an ice coffin.

In Ryo’s ice.

The precision of the he cast there was incomparable to that of his investigation of the coffin alchemy tool.

But that’s precisely why he understood that the helmet on Neil Andersen’s head was quite troublesome.

“…This magic formula is troublesome… If you mess with the magic formula, it will counterattack… It’s an aggressive barrier… Moreover, it is a double trap as it will attack Neil-san too… Needles will form inside the helmet. Is this an Iron Maiden?”

Ryo closed his eyes and mumbled something like that.

Etho stood a little further away and watched without saying anything.

He understood that his turn was not now, but after he took off the helmet.

The two who defeated the golem also arrived there.

“Are you having a hard time?”

“Ryo-san, you’re sweating so much.”

Niels said with a frown and Amon also noticed Ryo’s unusual behavior.

The easygoing Ryo was desperately trying to analyze something.

They could understand without anyone telling them that the helmet was quite troublesome.

“It’s okay, Ryo can do it.”

Etho’s voice was soft, but he spoke confidently.

There was no clear basis for that.

But he had no doubts that he would be successful.

The same was true for Niels and Amon.

After Etho finished speaking, they both nodded at the same time.

The three believe in Ryo’s strength.

“…Multiple layers of compound locks…The person who put this on doesn’t want it taken off… In conclusion, I can’t take it off…”

Ryo opened his eyes and glared at the helmet that was placed on Neil Andersen.

Should he give up?

No! No no no!

Never give up!

Neil could die?

He won’t let that happen!

He will never let him die!

“…If I can’t remove it, I’ll make it disappear.”

The skill is there.

He has been successful before.

It’s just that what used to take minutes or hundreds of attempts must be done in one second and with one attempt.

There is a small gap between Neil Andersen’s head and neck and the helmet.

There, in an , the helmet and Neil’s body were fixed with ice.

Ryo’s ice got into the gap between him and the helmet, and basically the helmet was not in contact with Neil’s body.

But of course, he can’t pull it off in this state.

If he forcefully pulled it out, Neil’s head will be skewered by the needles generated from the helmet.

Even if he’s head is covered with Ryo’s ice, it’s still a helmet made by a top-notch alchemist… if the mechanism produces an output that can penetrate Ryo’s ice for an instant…

Ryo’s analysis was not perfect.

It was too risky.

However, the most troublesome thing was a thin iron rod that extends from the inside of the helmet into Neil’s mouth.

Needles will be generated from there as well, filling Neil’s mouth with holes…

Even this rod must disappear in an instant.

Ryo repeated over and over again.

In order to perfectly imagine in his head the shape of a helmet that would disappear with a single blow.

All of that allows him to momentarily turn ice into water and generate magic at the same time.

“Okay.”

Ryo murmured a little and raised his right hand to shoulder height.

Extending only his thumb and index finger, and bend the other three fingers.

Then he pointed his index finger at Neil in the ice.

“＜Bang＞”

Dogon.

The moment Ryou chanted, only once, a loud and heavy sound rang out.

It was the sound of the helmet covering Neil’s head disappearing due to underwater plasma.

“”

At that moment, the ice that covered Neil Andersen disappeared.

Neil Andersen was about to fall, but Ryo caught him.

“Neil-san! Are you okay?”

Neil opened his eyes at Ryo’s call.

“Ryo… dono…”

“Oh, don’t say anything more. Etho, please!”

“Lay him down there.”

When Ryo yelled, Etho ran over and gave instructions.

Neil Andersen was placed on the floor and Etho began healing him immediately.

Finally, Ryo was able to take a breather…

TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations. 

If you like my translations, please support me on Patreon and unlock early chapter releases! 7 day free trial is available for Bronze tier now!