Level 1 Strongest Sage ~

Just what is going on with Halt’s body?

How could he stay at the center of the impact that was so powerful it could shake a deity’s shrine and be fine afterward?

There were so many things I couldn’t understand…

However, more than the desire to understand them, I wanted to surprise Halt.

I was the only one getting shaken, after all.

I’m a deity! Deities couldn’t just let humans shock them one-sidedly, right?

Hm, what to do?

— it was then that it hit me.

“Hey, Halt. How about this?”

I created countless fish with magic — the so-called magyou— around me.

“Alright, go!”

I made those magyou attack Halt.

Although they were slower than me, those multiple magyou automatically coordinated with each other as they closed in on Halt, blocking his escape.

“— Urk?!”

Halt chose to run away, probably because he didn’t know what would happen if he were to touch these fish.

That was correct.

However, he missed one thing — he wouldn’t be able to escape from this place.

Halt was faster than me, so it was only natural that he could outswim those magyou.

If he continued swimming away from the shrine, the magyou wouldn’t be able to catch up with him.

However, Halt chose to stay within my range.

Because of that, the magyou blocked his escape.

— Checkmate.

The magyou pressed closer towards Halt, whose escape had been cut off.

“Oh no —”

Halt activated a magical barrier around his body.

Once I confirmed this, I sent the magyou charging at him.

The magyou exploded the moment it touched Halt’s barrier.

A single magyou could cause an explosion that was powerful enough to disintegrate a sea serpent, which was already an A-ranking monster.

There were around a thousand of them now.

This magic was powerful enough to drive even the Divine Beast Leviathan to the verge of death.

However, I thought that Halt would be able to resist this magic.

Just in case he didn’t, I planned to revive him.

And my guess was —

“That was close. Sea God-sama, that spell was terrible!”

Right.

Halt was as healthy as he can be.

The magical barrier didn’t even have the teeniest crack.

“Hey, Halt. The magic you just blocked could destroy an A-rank monster in a flash.”

“Eh, is that so? By the way, that fish, they were moving like they had their own consciousness, but… Did you manipulate them, Sea God-sama?”

Halt wasn’t interested in the strength of the spell, apparently.

“No, I didn’t manipulate them. Each of them has its own consciousness, just as you said.”

“...Did you infuse a spirit within the spell?”

“...Are you an idiot! As if I can do something as cruel as that!”

Creating a golem that could follow simple commands was a piece of cake. However, it still takes some ingenuity to come up with a spell that could move autonomously and could even decide its own actions.

There were several ways to do that. One of them was just as Halt said, and that was to infuse a spirit into the magic.

However, there’s no way I could place a spirit in a spell that would explode in contact with the enemy, as if!

“Then, how did you do it?”

I didn’t want to tell that trade secret to someone I’m fighting against, but… I just asked Halt how he was able to move so fast underwater.

I, a deity, asked for information from Halt, and yet won’t tell him anything — that was a bit…

Yeah, unfair, right.

“Ah, can’t help it then. Alright, I’ll make an exception and teach you.”

“Wow! Thank you very much!”

“Can you manipulate your mana? For example, making your magical spell you released bend midway?”

It was different from controlling the mana’s influence. This [Manipulation] was an advanced skill, but —

“I can do it!”

Well, Halt could probably do it. He’s a Sage, after all.

He promptly replied, but I won’t be taken aback by just this.

“It’s easy to explain, then. There is a “core” within these fishes —”

I summoned one of the fishes and made it stop in front of me, then showed its stomach to Halt.

It was impossible to see the core without magical vision.

It was a skill that only a handful of ordinary humans possessed.

But, if it’s Halt, then he could see it.

“Ah, I see it. It’s that octahedron thing?”

…See.

This Bakemono shouldn’t be treated as a mere human.

“Right, this is the spell’s core. Think of it as the brain of magic. You must concentrate and imagine “how this spell would move” while creating this core.”

“Can’t I just picture that with the spell itself?”

“That’s fine, but the degree of freedom will be less.”

“Degree of freedom?”

“For example, this fish is of the offensive type of spell. It has the ability to [move speedily through the water] and [generate an explosion upon contact with the enemy]. If you tried to add the ability that would allow multiple fish to work together to hunt the enemy down, then you’re gonna have a lot of flaws.”

To be precise, they would swim slower and their attack power would go down.

It was better to keep the [attack ability] and the [operation ability] separate.

By incorporating a core that had a clear image of 'how it should operate’, into the center of a pre-made spell, it is possible to make magic that was capable of autonomous action while maintaining its power.

“I see… So, I just have to clearly divide the attack ability and operation ability while constructing the magic.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I got it now! Thank you very much for teaching me. I will try it in a bit!”

I would come to regret the decision of teaching unnecessary stuff to Halt right after this.

“Fire Lance!”

A knight — one man, one horse — ablaze in roaring flames suddenly appeared when Halt chanted.