Memoirs of the Returnee
chapter-34

To do list (3)

I headed straight to the library as soon as the class ended, due to Layla’s request for a two-person play.

It wasn’t particularly difficult, and I completed it in 30 minutes, tailored to Layla’s level of Latinel.

[Thank you!!! As expected !!!]

[Here’s the remaining 1,500 Ren~ ^-^!!]

I had asked for 3,000 Ren. Of course, she would have happily given twice as much if I had asked.

But, there’s something I realized while navigating the underworld.

If you poke a baby bear, the mother bear comes out, and if you eat too much, you get a stomachache.

The Hilton family is dangerous. They are one of the wealthiest families on the continent, but I had never heard any rumors about the Hiltons while navigating the underworld.

A family with no good or bad reputation. A family instinctively avoided and shunned by the residents of the underworld.

It’s best to only take as much as you give.

[I know a guy who’s really pathetic, and you’re much better than him~~ He’s really pathetic!!!! His name is Shion Ascal, a total idiot lol. If he ever requests something from you, please reject him rofl.]

[Wait a minute?!]

[Did Shion Ascal request something from you first? His Latinel was suspiciously good!!!! ㅡ_ㅡ]

“……I should have asked for 5,000 Ren.”

Anyway, I finished writing for Layla, and looked at the study material I had to work on.

「From Magic to Mana Formulas」

It’s a second-level Magic book. This textbook is labeled as ‘Magic High School 2nd grade level’, but it’s probably a 1st grade course by Endex standards.

I opened the cover.

[Introduction]

[Magic leads to mana formulas. Of course, the development of Magic is not a mana formula. Magic is a pure academic discipline, and mana formulas are empirical. Magic merely helps to understand mana formulas more easily……]

To put it in a metaphor, mana formulas are machines. Simple machines. Mana spells are complex machines.

On the other hand, Magic is a tool that interprets those machines and teaches how to use them.

Some geniuses possess the ‘intuition’ to handle these machines without tools, but the rest of us need these tools.

[Chapter 1: Basics of Circuit Diagrams]

The reason why Magic is a tool is because of this ‘circuit diagram’.

[The most meaningful utility of Magic lies in discovering the ‘circuit’ of mana formulas. It’s about using the tool of Magic to analyze mana formulas and construct circuit diagrams……]

If only a mana formula is left, it’s nothing more than a geometric pattern. Shapes and lines are mixed chaotically.

But when you analyze them with Magic, you can finally see the ‘circuit’, and the blueprint that represents it is called a ‘circuit diagram’.

The circuit diagram tells the order of mana to implement the mana formula. Like an electrical circuit diagram.

A mage can implement a mana formula only by manipulating mana without deviating from this circuit diagram.

[Example 1: The mana formula 「Generation: Fire」, and the Magic equation that explains the mana formula. Please complete the circuit diagram.]

[TIP: It’s important to find the starting point first.]

“……”

Example.

I stared blankly at it.

There was a mana formula. One large circle, one large triangle inscribed in the circle, three small circles attached to the large triangle, and several lines connecting them.

Underneath the mana formula was an equation expressed in Magic. It seemed that solving this would yield the circuit diagram.

“What is this?”

I had no idea about the Magic equation, so naturally, I wouldn’t know the circuit diagram of the mana formula, right?

I should know, right?

“What the…”

My eyes widened.

I could see it.

Suddenly, I could see the circuit diagram of this 「Ignition: Fire」.

The example mana formula in the textbook. Suddenly, a ‘starting point’ flashed blue on the symbol-less formula, and from there, a blue stem originated, winding around the mana formula in the correct order.

I did nothing, but the circuit diagram of the mana formula naturally ‘became known’ to me.

“…Why?”

I blinked blankly. I didn’t understand what was happening, but naturally, I suspected the 「Notepad」.

[93 / 103 (-1)]

■ Diary

■ Memory

└Perion

└Heart

└Latinel Ⅰ

└SZX-9500

└Paper Sparrow

Capacity history within the last 24 hours 0

It’s the same.

The capacity is the same, the Memory list is the same.

Then what on earth… wait a minute.

“Paper Sparrow?”

Paper Sparrow.

The magic formula of Asillen, the person in charge, which I left without deleting just in case, or to be honest, I forgot to delete.

Could it be because of this?

“…Wait a minute.”

It’s obvious.

I ‘Memoried’ the ‘magic formula’ of the Paper Sparrow. Not just the shape, but the entire movement of the magic circulating in the formula.

And the magic formula is superior to the mana formula. The magic formula itself includes the mana formula, a broader and more complex concept.

Let’s think about it here.

If someone can understand the circuit diagram of a magic formula, wouldn’t they naturally be able to understand that of a much simpler mana formula? Shouldn’t it be so?

Whether it’s a magic formula or a mana formula, they both operate on the same magical principle.

“Like branches spreading out…”

Simply put.

Like the proverb, “know one and you know ten,” the process of interpreting the mana formula was intuitively carried out by applying the Paper Sparrow of the 「Notepad」.

In other words, the Paper Sparrow of the 「Notepad」 became the base of my intuition.

It’s a ‘database’.

“But why didn’t the group assignment… Ah, I see.”

The magic formula of the group assignment is much larger and more complex than the Paper Sparrow. This Paper Sparrow is made up of four mana formulas, while the group assignment has six? No maybe even more than that.

Anyway.

I understood the circuit diagram.

Unexpectedly, not in the way of a prodigy, but in the way of a genius—’intuitively’.

“…I wonder if it will work.”

Nevertheless, there is a problem left. The next step after understanding is implementation.

It’s not that I’ve never succeeded in implementing a mana formula before. I didn’t even know what a circuit diagram was while going back and forth between the hospital and school, and I didn’t have the money to buy textbooks, let alone private lessons.

I had just been scraping by, hoping to somehow finish my third year, cheating with 「Notepad」. In my own way, I was a physical type, having a father who was a knight, and indulging in self-gratification.

It was a sick body, a sick mind.

“Phew….”

I raised my finger. On it, I invoked the magic formula of 「Ignition: Fire」 as it was in the circuit diagram.

Whoosh-!

A small flame sprouted. The magic power was reasonably consumed.

“……It works.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

Something I’ve never done in my life, yet so simple.

Silently, I lit a fire on my finger.

Extinguished it.

Lit it.

Extinguished it.

I repeated this dozens of times.

“……Perhaps?”

Suddenly, I became interested.

If this works, wouldn’t it be possible to implement a paper sparrow directly into Asillen’s 「Notepad」 memory?

I placed my hand on the paper with anticipation.

“Ah, no, it won’t work.”

I gave up immediately.

There’s not enough magic power. It’s absurdly insufficient.

After all, memory and implementation are completely different stories.

It’s only natural that ‘implementing’ is more difficult.

“Ugh….”

I stretched out.

“I’ll do the rest tomorrow.”

I’ve done enough for today. My head hurts like hell.

As I got up, I noticed a person on the other side.

A man who was an art and sculpture in himself, engrossed in reading a book propped up at an angle, Gerkhen Kal Doon Kal Doon.

When did he come?

I looked at the book he was reading.

“Explorer’s Dictionary”

It was an Explorer’s Dictionary. Is he preparing for Friday’s group project?

I slowly approached him.

“Hey.”

“……”

Rustle- Gerkhen Kal Doon looked up at me as he turned the page.

“Where’s your team’s exploration area?”

If it’s Mist Mountain, that’s a bit…

“C.”

Fortunately, it’s not.

“It doesn’t overlap. Where did you get that book? Let me read it too.”

“Everyone else borrowed them, this is all that’s left.”

“……Ah, really? Can you read it as quickly as possible and give it to me?”

I almost pleaded. Gerkhen Kal Doon exhaled with a calm, expressionless face.

Whether he likes it or not.

There’s no other way.

“I’ll give you this in return.”

I offered him the chocolate I had saved for when I was low on sugar.

It’s a foreign chocolate given by the owner of a meat restaurant. He said he bought it when he went to the Kingdom of Ballia last winter.

“How about it?”

“……”

Gerkhen Kal Doon looked at the chocolate.

For reference, this guy loves sweet food. Chocolate, hotteok, ice cream, slush, anything sweet. Thanks to his master, I know his habits and eating habits quite well.

Even when eating popcorn, what was it, caramel popcorn? He alone would eat all of it.

“This is a foreign chocolate. Look, the packaging isn’t even in Edsilla’s common language-”

“I understand.”

“Okay. When will you finish reading? As soon as possible-”

“Thursday. I’ll give it to you during the Swordsmanship class.”

“Deal.”

I handed over the chocolate as a token. Gerkhen Kal Doon accepted it without a word.

“I’m leaving.”

Rustle- As I heard the sound of the wrapper being torn, rustle-rustle- I left the library.

Rustle-rustle-rustle-!

He’s tearing it up quite noisily.

Is he already done eating and tearing up the wrapper?

I returned to the old building. Even though I had only been studying, my whole body was exhausted.

This is why they say using your brain is also work.

“……Huh?”

However, on the path leading to the old building, there was the old man Belthos.

It’s natural for the old man to be there, but why is he cutting a tree on a ladder?

“What are you doing, old man?”

“……Can’t you see? I’m managing the trees.”

“But it’s just the old building.”

The old building used to be a classroom building. So, the arrangement of the trees leading to the entrance is quite straight. The problem is that they’ve been neglected for so long that they’ve grown like ghosts.

“If they grow too wild, magical energy can inhabit the forest.”

He’s right. Trees, like humans, breathe and absorb mana.

That’s why mountains are the most common places for magical phenomena.

“True. Don’t you have more tools? I’ll help you.”

“You helping is you staying still.”

“Hey. You don’t know me. They’re in the basement, right? Wait and see.”

I searched for [Gardener] on YouTV and went down to the basement of the old building. There was a video titled [Find the Master: Gardener Edition].

Holding a ladder and garden shears in one hand, I went back outside while watching the video.

“……”

I sat down with a thud after placing the tools on the ground. I fixed my eyes on the smartphone screen.

—When cutting branches, the starting point is important. You have to cut from the main branches of the tree. Considering the direction of growth and balance.

“What are you doing, kid.”

Belthos old man called me from below.

“Wait a minute. I’ll do it after I finish watching this.”

I need to acquire some know-how. It’s a one-hour video, so it should be enough.

—When cutting branches, it’s good to cut at a 45-degree angle. It helps the branch regenerate and creates a more natural shape……

Hmm.

Nodding my head, pretending to understand, and admiring the work created by the gardener for an hour.

“I’m done watching.”

I turned off my smartphone and set up the ladder. I climbed up and began to snip-snip- with the shears.

As I’ve said repeatedly, ‘Look-See-Do’ doesn’t mean you can do everything well just by watching. It’s just that the starting point—technically called the Floor—is at a much higher level than the average person.

So, you can skip the beginner stage as soon as you learn and become an intermediate right away.

Thanks to this, I can almost instantly acquire movements and senses below the intermediate level in any field, but to become like the master I just watched on YouTV, I have to put in proper effort.

Of course, I can momentarily upgrade my level by infusing magic, but it’s only temporary, so it’s more convenient to put in effort like this.

From the start, I need much less effort than others, and I can reach high levels much more easily. Once I see something, I won’t forget it and can naturally incorporate it into my body.

Some might say I’m taking too much for granted, but isn’t this much okay?

I’m on borrowed time.

Snip-snip-

I wiped the sweat flowing down as I trimmed the tree.

This is surprisingly fun. I could make it a hobby.

“Done. Old man, how is it? I finished one.”

I called the old man after 15 minutes. One tree was well trimmed into a mushroom shape.

“Stop making noise- Huh?!”

The old man turned to look at me and his eyes widened. He almost fell off the ladder.

“Whoa. Be careful.”

“……What is this?”

Old man Belthos compared the tree I had trimmed and the tree he had just trimmed.

Honestly, I did a little better.

“What are you? Where did you learn that?”

The flustered old man even spat out a dialect. I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and grinned.

“It’s called YouTV. Old man, you should take a look too.”