Fresh from his victory over hydrogen bonds, Kenji’s next target was hot water.
The principle, he reasoned, was simple.
He felt confident he could succeed.
Ice was formed by stopping the vibrations of H2O molecules, so he just had to reverse the process.
In other words, he needed to increase their vibrations.
Kenji recalled a free research project from a summer vacation long ago. It hadn't involved magic, of course.
You place water in a thermos, seal it, and shake.
After about two thousand vigorous shakes, the water temperature would rise.
The temperature rose because the shaking forcibly increased the vibration of the water molecules.
Success felt inevitable.
First, he retrieved the now-familiar pail and decided to test his theory.
He cast without a chant, having practiced enough to do it either way.
Just as when he had created the ice lens, he filled the pail with about ten centimeters of water.
Then, holding both hands over the surface, he pictured the H2O molecules in his mind.
And then, he willed them to vibrate.
Nothing happened. The water in the pail remained still, and no steam rose from its surface.
When he dipped a hand in, he felt no change in temperature.
Was his image of H2O too vague?
He focused, picturing the molecules with greater clarity before trying again. Vibrate!
“The temperature isn't rising.”
It should have worked. It was just the reverse of making ice.
“What else did I do that time…”
He mentally retraced his steps.
“…Ah. Before I stopped the molecular vibrations, I bound the molecules together. Maybe I have to do the opposite of that, too.”
Once more, he held his hands over the pail and summoned the image in his head.
An image of shattering the hydrogen bonds between the water molecules, setting them free to move.
And then, an image of each individual molecule vibrating intensely.
Suddenly, a geyser of scalding water erupted from the pail.
Kenji scrambled back, narrowly avoiding the downpour.
A burn would have been disastrous; water magic had no healing properties.
Still, he had succeeded in making hot water. That was a victory.
The problem, however, was the thought of attempting his unstable “boiling water technique” (a Ryo-style definition) in the stone bath.
It would be a catastrophe if the tub cracked.
So, what was the solution?
The answer came to him in a moment of clarity.
“I just have to practice!”
He needed to increase his proficiency.
He would experience success and failure countless times.
Slowly, the successes would outnumber the failures.
With enough successful attempts, he would build confidence.
For lunch, he chewed on the same dried meat as yesterday, still mysteriously unfrozen in the cold storage room, and practiced generating hot water over and over.
By the time the sun’s position suggested it was about 3 p.m. Seiran time, Kenji was hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. He couldn't stay on his feet.
“My consciousness is… swaying…”
It was his first experience with magical exhaustion.
He drank a little of the freshly heated water from the pail, then somehow managed to stumble to the bedroom before collapsing on the bed, and his consciousness slipped away.
The third day after arriving on 『Izumo』.
“Yesterday's reflection,” Kenji announced to the empty room. “I'll use up my magic after taking a bath from now on.”
The thought of sleeping without washing up was deeply unpleasant. The habits of his former Kokudō life died hard.
It was then he noticed something else.
“I only have the clothes I'm wearing.”
That was right. In this home prepared by Amagi Hikaru (pseudonym), there were no spare clothes.
“Come to think of it, what was Amagi Hikaru (pseudonym) wearing?”
Something like a toga, maybe? The kind worn by ancient Roman aristocrats?
Whatever it was, there wasn't a scrap of cloth in the house.
No, wait, there was one. The sheet on his bed.
But he needed that for sleeping!
“Well, no one’s watching. If it comes down to it, I guess I could just not wear anything.”
Then again, even Izanagi and Izanami in the paintings had leaves covering their groins.
“Once I start hunting animals, I can probably wrap a skin around my waist.”
Kenji had never been a man who cared much about fashion.
Now that his clothing situation was sorted (was it?), he moved on.
He had fire, water, and food.
In that case, it was finally time.
Time to develop a means of attack using water magic.
He had two months before the food in storage ran out.
By then, he had to be capable of leaving the barrier to procure his own food.
His only weapon was the knife Amagi Hikaru (pseudonym) had provided.
Kenji was no earthly knife-fighting legend, so he had zero confidence he could hunt animals, let alone fight off monsters, with only that blade.
Defeating a wild boar with a single knife was nearly impossible for a normal person to begin with.
Trying to cross a monster-infested forest in 『Izumo』 with just a knife would be suicide.
That meant the only weapon Kenji could rely on was his water attribute magic.
“I wish I had the skills to make a bow and arrow, but that’s not happening.”
Yesterday, while making the ice lens, he’d thought he might one day create an ice spear.
But that was still impossible.
Just turning the water right in front of him into ice took several minutes. Forming a spear in front of a charging animal and then launching it was hardly a realistic combat strategy.
In that case, what could he send flying?
He needed to start with the basics. Something like a water ball.
He held his right hand forward and focused his mind.
He pictured a ball of water the size of his head forming and launching from his palm.
Just as he imagined, a sphere of water materialized and shot forward.
Its speed was roughly that of a pass in basketball.
It traveled about ten meters before splashing onto the ground.
Kenji performed a small, celebratory jig. His first attack spell! (Well, sort of.)
This time, he would aim for the trunk of a tree about seven meters away.
The trunk got wet.
“Yep,” he sighed, slumping to his hands and knees in a classic pose of despair. “No attack power. I knew it.”
“But I have a trump card!”
Kenji shot back to his feet, pointing a finger to the sky.
“If a Water ball doesn’t work, I’ll just have to use a Water jet!”
On Seiran, industrial water jets could cut through anything.
Though, fundamentally, they didn’t ‘cut’ so much as ‘shave’ away material with high-pressure water.
Kenji had researched them for a corporate project once and was convinced it was the ultimate form of water-attribute offense.
Raising his right hand, he built the image in his mind.
A thin, high-speed jet of water, launching from his fingertip.
Water, compressed from all sides, made as thin as possible.
A weak, anemic trickle appeared, lacking any real force.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to cut anything.
Once again, Kenji was on his hands and knees, overwhelmed by despair.
It felt like he’d lost a battle against reality itself.
Just like yesterday, he bit into a piece of dried meat from storage.
There’s no need to Shinpūjin, he told himself. It took me half a day of practice just to get the boiling water technique mostly under control. If I keep practicing this Water jet, won’t it eventually become a powerful weapon? Besides, I can create ice now. That has to be useful in a fight with monsters… I just don’t know how yet.
“Practice is all there is to it. Hard work never betrays you!”
He devoted the rest of his time to practicing the Water jet.
By about 2 p.m. Seiran time, he had managed to create a stream with slightly more pressure than a garden hose, but he couldn't seem to focus it beyond the level of a car wash sprayer.
Then, Kenji had a sudden realization.
“I need to take my bath for today.”
In the bathroom, it was time to put yesterday’s half-day of training to the test.
He filled the stone bathtub with water in just ten seconds.
He could now control the amount of water he generated. That was the result of the magical control he’d gained after training to the point of collapse.
Next was the main event: heating the water.
But Kenji wasn't worried. After yesterday’s practice, he was confident.
He held his right hand over the tub and formed the image in his mind.
Water molecules moving freely, each one of them vibrating with energy.
He only applied the magic to about half the water in the tub, not wanting it to get too hot.
He dipped his hand in periodically, making fine adjustments and slowly raising the temperature.
And then, finally, it reached the perfect heat.
Kenji’s efforts had been rewarded.
“Tiredness is the cause of failure. Don’t work to the point of exhaustion.”
It was one of his father’s favorite sayings.
True, but… a difficult rule to live by.
He slowly sank into the hot water and organized his thoughts.
The Water jet was still useless as an attack.
Forming ice took a couple of minutes. And he still needed to verify if he could create it directly from the air.
But I still want to be able to yell ‘Hyōsō!’ and shoot a spear of pure ice.
What man didn't dream of doing cool things like that?
First, I need to understand the details of using ice with water magic. If I can generate it faster, I might be able to use it when I finally confront a monster.
After getting out of the bath, Kenji went into the garden to put his ideas into practice.
“I’ll try generating ice directly from the air.”
Between his hands, the same ice lens he’d used to start the fire began to form. It took about five minutes to complete.
“So it is possible to create ice directly from the air. But it takes a while.”
Unlike yesterday, he’d made it without a pail of water—a significant step forward, though Kenji didn’t fully appreciate it.
He noticed the ice lens didn’t melt as long as he channeled magical power into it. The moment he stopped, it began to melt like ordinary ice.
“I wonder if I can make this lens fly.”
He threw it with all his might. It traced a simple parabola through the air before thudding to the ground.
“Yup, knew it wouldn't fly. I made it to be an ice lens, after all. It’s only natural it can’t fly!”
He kept his internal disappointment a closely guarded secret.
Alright, next up was the real prize… an ice spear. An Hyōsō.
“This is the undisputed champion of ice attack magic!”
First, the image was crucial.
In his mind, he pictured an icicle about thirty centimeters long.
Compared to creating the simple lens, this took considerably longer.
Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. Finally, it took shape in his hands.
“Alright, just as I imagined. Now, fly!”
He threw it. It followed the same arc as the lens and fell to the ground.
“I imagined it flying, but maybe… that wasn't enough?”
The Water ball he’d made had flown for ten meters when he projected it from his hand.
Why didn’t the Hyōsō do the same?
“Is the ice lance heavier? No, the Water ball was the size of my head, so the weight should be about the same. Hmm… I don’t get it. Maybe I’ll figure it out if I just keep trying.”
With the Water ball, repeated practice had drastically shortened the time from thought to launch.
Initially, it had taken five seconds, but after dozens of tries, he could now fire one in about a second.
The range seemed to have increased slightly from the initial ten meters, too.
The power… was exactly the same.
“Hah. I’ve gotten used to this. Well, the Water ball worked right from the start. Now, I’ll try to launch the Hyōsō based on that principle.”
He steadied his breathing and focused.
He pictured the ice spear launching from his right hand, just like the Water ball.
The instant he tried to project it, it clattered to the ground at his feet.
He tried again, and again. The result was always the same.
“The time it takes to generate the spear has gotten a lot shorter, but… why can’t I make it fly?”
He had probably created and dropped dozens of Icicle lances by now.
The time from generation to launch attempt had been reduced to about a minute.
“Ah… my consciousness is fading.”
It was the same magical depletion as yesterday.
Staggering, Kenji made it to his bed and once again let go of the waking world.