Read Novel Full Chapter 72, Simple and Clean
Chapter 72, Simple and Clean
Translator: Barnnn
Question: Why was Ize’s magic so powerful?
Answer: After eight months of continuous magic use, her magical circuits had optimized, allowing her to cast spells with minimal energy consumption.
“Hey, do you think I could pull that off too if I tried?” Hal asked, watching Ize work her magic.
Fieda gave him a flat look. “And how exactly would you keep water or wind magic running that long?”
“…Yeah, fair point. Besides, keeping Eye of Appraisal or Art of Negotiation active all the time would be annoying.”
“Can’t you adjust how Appraisal appears?” Ize suggested.
Hal frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how it works for you, but wouldn’t it be better if you could tweak it so it’s less intrusive… like, reduce the font size or something?”
He mulled it over. “It doesn’t really show up in front of my eyes — it’s more like the information pops into my head. Hmm… maybe I can fine-tune it. Thanks, Ize. I’ll give it a shot.”
“All right, back to the actual discussion,” Fieda cut in.
“”Yes, sir,”” Ize and Hal chimed in unison.
Being able to cast spells with reduced energy consumption was undeniably an advantage. If Ize ever learned teleportation magic, her range would likely depend on her magical reserves. Realizing that now was a stroke of luck.
“Overall, I’d say it’s a huge benefit. I’ll try to look at it positively,” she said.
“The next step is figuring out how to control your output,” Fieda noted.
“Makes the bangle feel useless,” Hal muttered.
“It’s fashion.”
“It’s a magical girl’s Morphin’ Brace.”
“It’s fashion,” Ize insisted.
“You two…” Fieda sighed.
“All right, all right. C’mon, Hal, stop derailing the conversation,” Ize said with a grin.
“Okay…” Hal relented.
After several tries, Ize finally managed to tone down her high-powered light spell to something closer to a smartphone flashlight — still bright, but no longer blinding. At least they wouldn’t have to reenact that movie’s colonel’s scene again.
“Magic is a lot more instinctive than I expected,” she commented. “I thought it’d be more logical and rigid.”
“Because it’s so abstract, your mindset has a huge influence,” Hal explained.
“I can’t use magic myself, but I’ve heard that the great mage houses — especially those descended from Sages — teach mental discipline from a young age,” Fieda added.
“Sounds like a lot of baggage,” Ize muttered.
“Best not to dig too deep,” Hal advised.
The last thing they needed was some emotionless mage firing off lethal spells without so much as blinking. Both Ize and Hal wisely let the topic drop.
“By the way, how’s your dark magic practice going?” Hal asked.
“I don’t think I’ve grasped the core concept yet, but there’s a spell I’d like to try. Fieda, can I use that target over there?”
Ize pointed at a humanoid-shaped training dummy mounted on the wall.
“Yeah, sure thing.”
Fieda walked over, unhooked it, and secured it onto a freestanding base in the center of the room before stepping back.
“What are you planning?” Hal asked.
“Shadow Bing — a classic dark magic spell. I want to see if it could work on larger Mystic Beasts.”
“That’d be useful,” Fieda nodded. “We wouldn’t have to get so close to immobilize them.”
“And you could even create extra shadows with light magic,” Hal added.
Ize beamed. “Exactly! You’ve got a great sense for this, Hal. As expected of–”
“–Not an engelord.”
“Aww. Well, time to test it out.”
Since the spell didn’t seem particularly dangerous, Fieda and Hal stood beside her, watching the target closely.
“Here we go!”
With an oddly cheerful chant, Ize invoked her spell. The shadow beneath the training dummy stretched upward, twisting and writhing like living tendrils before snapping tight around it.
Then…
–Crack. Creak. Splinter.
The ominous groan of splintering wood sent Fieda lunging forward.
“Ize, stop!” he shouted.
“Eep!”
Hal hurried over to inspect the damage while Ize, looking guilty, peeked over Fieda’s shoulder.
“Whoa… it’s really crushed,” Hal muttered, prodding at the dummy’s torso.
“This is a bit more than just immobilization,” Fieda observed.
“…Do we have to pay for this?” Ize asked weakly.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Fieda ruffled her hair in reassurance. “Honestly, this spell has a lot of potential. Being able to restrain an enemy at range is a huge advantage.”
“And now Ize can take over slowing enemies, instead of just me using water walls,” Hal added.
“Your method’s still useful for steering them into position. We can use both strategically.”
Fieda continued messing up Ize’s hair while Hal happily patted the groaning dummy.
“One day, I want to try creating shadow spikes — something that can pierce straight through an enemy,” Ize chuckled.
“That sounds terrifying,” Fieda muttered.
“Don’t fall to the dark side, Ize,” Hal added dramatically.
“Why!?”
Their reactions weren’t exactly encouraging, but if a technique was possible, it was worth testing.
And so, Ize spent the next several minutes unleashing every dark magic idea that came to mind. The dummy, once merely dented, was ultimately reduced to an unrecognizable pile of debris.
Later, several Guild staff reported seeing a very cheerful Ize emerging from the training area — accompanied by a completely drained Fieda and Hal.
◆
The next day was a Dungeon exploration day, and their run was set to start early in the morning.
Now that Ize could finally fight as a proper mage, she was practically bouncing off the walls. Hal had to rein her in more than once, like a jockey trying to settle an overexcited racehorse.
“You do realize you’re switching roles with Take, right?” he remarked.
“What do you mean?”
“Usually, it’s the jockey who calms the horse down.”
“I see… So, you’re not praising me.”
“Glad you at least understood that much.”
Hal laughed, striding across the plaza in front of the Dungeon entrance. When Ize glanced at Fieda beside her, he simply shrugged in a vaguely American manner — not that she knew what that actually looked like.
“So, you’re going to test your magic on Goblins first?” Fieda asked.
“I’ll dash in, blast some light, and dash right back out. Simple and clean.”
“Shouldn’t take too long, then.”
“All right, off to the tenth floor! All hail the Portal Room!”
“All hail the Portal Room!”
“…Right.”
With their chant complete, the three of them teleported to the tenth floor and quickly made their way down the staircase leading to the eleventh.
“Oh, dear brother, the scent of a hardworking old man in summer…”
“Ah, dear sister, I simply cannot believe that a creature capable of producing such a vile stench could be affected by the power of light!”
“…Why are you two talking like that?” Fieda asked flatly.
“Now, dear brother, just watch. I shall cast Cleanse, like so — poof! And just like that, the smell is gone…”
“…And so is the Goblin?”
“The Orc behind it looks like it’s struggling.”
“Uh… whoops?”
Fieda stepped forward, sword flashing in a clean arc. The struggling Orc was put out of its misery, reduced to a neat pile of meat.
“So, what now?”
“Fieda, should we test it one more time?” Hal asked.
“Yeah. If there’s another group nearby, we should.”
“Does a kilometer away count as ‘nearby’?” Ize tilted her head.
“Sure, why not… Let’s go.”
With that, the three of them started walking in the direction Ize pointed, going over what had just happened.
“So, Ize, are you absolutely sure that was Cleanse?”
“Yes, it was.”
“What exactly were you aiming for? What did you visualize?”
“The erasure of dirt and filth…”
“…And that’s what happened?”
“Damn, that’s some effect,” Hal muttered. “Maybe the spell treated Mystic Beasts themselves as filth?”
“I can’t say that’s impossible.”
“Goblins and Orcs are enemies, after all… but maybe the Orc survived because it was a stronger specimen?”
“…Or maybe because Ize subconsciously thinks of Orcs more as food than enemies?” Hal added, smirking.
“You might be on to something there…”
Both of them turned to stare at Ize.
Her eyes darted wildly. Spinning. Spiraling.
“…So that’s a yes,” Fieda sighed under his breath.
Hal nudged Ize playfully. “Well, if this weakens the enemy, it’s good news for us.”
“Really?”
“Of course. We’re not here to show off or become top-ranked adventurers. We just want to hunt safely, make money, and be strong enough to protect ourselves if danger comes. If you can defend yourself and still have enough power left to protect us, that’s all that matters.”
He pointed ahead. The Orc and the group of Goblins they’d been tracking were finally in sight.
“All right, let’s try this again.”
“This time, focus on the Orc as your main target and treat the Goblins as part of the area effect,” Fieda instructed. “Think you can do it?”
“Yes!”
Fueled by Hal’s words and Fieda’s trust, Ize cast Cleanse once more.
“Go!”
Magic surged from her, rippling outward like an invisible wave. The Orc in the distance wobbled, unsteady. Then…
–Pop! Pop! Pop!
A series of small, sharp bursts rang out.
Then silence.
Both the Goblins and the Orc were gone. Not a trace remained.
“Whuh…?”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“UwU.”
The sheer power of the spell left them speechless.
Examining the remains, they counted fourteen Magicites and pieces of meat — evidence that Ize had wiped out an entire group in a single cast, including the Orc.
Fieda turned to her, frowning slightly.
“Did you change how you cast the spell? It didn’t make a sound the first time.”
“Before, I imagined cleaning something gently, like wiping with a cloth. But this time, since you told me to cover a wide area, I pictured spraying cleaning foam all over.”
“…Cleaning foam?”
“Oh, so that’s why it made a popping sound?” Hal said, raising an eyebrow.
“Ah, maybe!” Ize grinned.
“I see… well, I’d say we’ll have to plan our battles a lot more carefully.”
Fieda let out a deep sigh but still ruffled Ize’s hair in approval. She swayed back and forth under his hand, her voice bright with excitement.
“Think we can clear all the floors allowed for C-rank adventurers now!?”
“Yeah, but we’ll need to prepare for an overnight stay.”
“Ugh, is that normal for adventurers in this city?”
“It’s normal for adventurers everywhere,” Fieda said flatly. “And we’ll have to camp somewhere inconspicuous. If we set up where other adventurers usually do, we’ll just invite trouble.”
“But… the bath…”
“And the toilets…”
“Two days at most,” he said, unmoved. “You’ll survive.”
“Without a clean morning, I lose half my energy,” Ize protested.
“And a good sleeping environment is important,” Hal added.
“…What if we stay hidden with Stealth?” Completely caving, Fieda offered a compromise.
The effect was immediate — the two practically sparkled with delight.
“Fieda, you’re the best!”
“Fieda, you’re amazing!”
Despite all his grumbling, he was soft on them.
“All right, let’s head back to the first floor, then jump to the thirty-fifth. Ready?”
“Okay! All hail the Portal Room!”
“All hail the Portal Room!”
“…Ugh,” Fieda groaned.
After testing Ize’s magic with their usual battle coordination, they confirmed everything was in order.
Now, their next goal was the fiftieth floor — the deepest level allowed for C-rank adventurers.