Volume 9, Chapter 13 – Conceptual Trigger-activated Magic Items

“They’re starting.”

As Lin’s voice fell, Yisi and Mary began their first test. However, contrary to what Lin and the other two had imagined—that Yisi would be the one wearing the trigger-activated magic items and having the magically-armored Mary trigger them—the reality was the exact opposite.

“She’s already wearing top-grade armor, but she’s also wearing trigger-activated items? Why? Even if that half-elf is important, there’s no need to give her so much, is there?”

“Let’s wait before jumping to conclusions, Red. They might just be trying on equipment they just acquired.”

“But they’ve been with us the whole way, they shouldn’t have had a chance to buy such expensive magic items… Could it be that they already bought them in the Hels Kingdom and just waited until now to wear them so we wouldn’t find out? These items aren’t in the treasury, either, so His Holiness the Pope couldn’t have lent them to them.”

She’s overly meticulous.

Lin’s estimation of Yisi rose another notch. Most people, after acquiring magic items, would be eager to put them on and test them immediately. She had spent more than half a month on the road with Yisi’s group and had never seen Yisi take these items out. Considering the importance of trigger-activated items—since they were trump cards for saving one’s life at a critical moment, they should never be easily shown to others—her patience in waiting until now to test them, all to protect a secret, was worthy of praise.

“First, they’re testing the headband? Lin, can you see what element is attached to it?”

“It’s earth element. It’s probably not a simple [Earth Wall] or [Earth Shield] spell. The earth element for defensive magic is usually more compact.”

“But since it’s made into a trigger-activated item, it should be a spell like [Stone Spear] or [Falling Rocks], right? To counter an enemy during a sneak attack for a surprise effect. Unfortunately, both [Stone Spear] and [Falling Rocks] are too weak. As expected, that soft armor is still the most valuable piece.”

“Wait.”

The moment Lin spoke, Yisi aimed her palm at Mary and released the Tier 2 spell [Ice Lance]. Immediately, the sky dimmed as if something had covered it. Mary, standing still, was suddenly enveloped by a wall of mud that erupted from the ground. From the perspective of Lin and the others, Mary had completely disappeared inside an earthen sphere. As a defensive spell, it was more than qualified.

But this was only the first stage of the magic.

When the [Ice Lance], as thick as an adult’s arm, shattered upon impact with the earthen sphere, the ground began to soften. The solid earth turned into a flowing, dark-brown liquid and, like a plague, began to spread in all directions. Everything the dark-brown liquid touched, whether it was the stone-paved path, the rats hiding underground preparing for hibernation, or the plants in the courtyard, was swallowed up by the churning earth, buried without even making a sound.

What left Lin and the other two dumbfounded was that Mary, encased in the sphere of mud, was not only completely unharmed but could even control the sphere, moving it left, right, forward, and back across the mire at Yisi’s command.

“Hey, hey… what kind of magic is that? [Blessing of the Earth Spirit]? But how do you explain the mire on the ground? It’s an offensive and defensive spell… Could it be using the Tier 4 magic [Earth Element Mastery] to control the earth element for protection, while simultaneously softening the ground to prevent a second attack? But since when did [Earth Element Mastery] become a spell that can be put into an item? And it’s being cast by a warrior who’s not even level 20 and knows nothing about magic? Besides, if the wearer has to actively control it, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of a trigger-activated item being for sneak attacks!”

“Purple, never mind that right now! We have to get down there and stop her, or the walls and streets will be destroyed!”

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The red-haired girl anxiously patted Purple and Lin on the shoulders and shot to her feet, her face full of tension. Although this level of magic would be hard-pressed to work on them—they just needed to jump away before the mire reached their feet—magic wasn’t just for use against those who understood it. If this item were used in a group battle, detonating it in a crowd could instantly incapacitate nearly a hundred people.

And by the looks of it, this wasn’t the mire’s maximum range. Since Purple said it was Tier 4 magic, it should be able to spread to at least a hundred meters in diameter. What was even more terrifying was that the mire seemed to move along with Mary’s earthen sphere. In other words, the user could move to the most crowded areas at any time, causing massive casualties. People who couldn’t fly wouldn’t even be able to escape; they would only find release when the sphere caught up to them and they were drowned in the earth.

“The user is also protected by the earthen sphere. It’s impossible to even try to counterattack…”

To let a half-elf carry such a tactical magic item around was, in Red’s eyes, no different from madness. Such tactical items, while not exactly phoenix feathers and kirin horns, were still things one wouldn’t show to others except at the most critical times. To have a little girl carry one around… one could only imagine how wealthy someone would have to be to pull this off. To give an example, even Red, as a Hero’s attendant, had only touched a Tier 4 magic item once since joining the Divine Religion, and that was a one-time-use magic scroll, not a reusable item.

This wasn’t so much a trigger-activated defensive item as it was a magical weapon specialized for group warfare.

“Alright Mary, you can dispel the magic. Any further and the whole mansion will be swallowed up.”

“Eh? O-Okay!”

Before the mire could spread to the walls, Yisi, standing in the courtyard, stopped Mary, her brow furrowed in slight dissatisfaction.

The trigger-activated magic item Mary was using was [Swampification · Diffusion Type], which used one of the currently known magic circuits Avis had told her about. Because it combined [Swampification] and ‘Diffusion Magic’, the range of the swamp was much larger than the original. The magic that enveloped Mary in a sphere and protected her was [Magic-Devouring Barrier], a higher-tier spell than [Earth Shield]. The two were triggered by two different magic items.

The reason the two spells appeared simultaneously was that she had set the trigger points on both magic items to be identical. When the wearer was attacked to a certain degree, both items would activate at the same time, misleading people into thinking it was a new, singular spell. While maximizing the wearer’s protection, it could also intimidate suspicious attackers.

Although, based on the result, she had succeeded—the two items had successfully combined into an offensive and defensive tool—she also discovered a problem: this combination didn’t seem very practical.

My original intention in designing this item was to repel the attacker with offensive magic while simultaneously stopping their assassination attempt. But a spell like [Swampification] alone isn’t enough to create the sense of crisis needed to force them to give up. For example, an attacker could just jump or fly to avoid the mire and then launch a second attack on my companions.

“This is a big problem. Why didn’t Andrea and Boris bring it up… If I swapped [Swampification · Diffusion Type] for [Stone Spear]… Hmm, [Stone Spear] is only a Tier 1 spell, which seems inadequate. Changing it to the Tier 3 [Arcane Spear] would achieve the goal of forcing the attacker to retreat, but it’s too powerful. If there are bystanders nearby, it would harm the innocent. Wait, no, even without bystanders, [Arcane Spear] is problematic. How would the item know which direction to fire the [Arcane Spear]? It would be ridiculous if an attacker was behind, but the spear fired forward. I can’t just add more magic circuits to make it fire indiscriminately in all directions, can I?”

If I did that, the material being unable to withstand multiple circuits would be a minor issue. The bigger problem is that multiple circuits would increase the item’s size. It would be neither aesthetic nor convenient to carry.

It seems I’ll have to find a way to improve this. If it’s impossible, I’ll just have to give up on the idea of making an all-in-one offensive/defensive trigger-activated item.

Thinking of this, Yisi let out a long sigh. At first, she thought this was an invention that would change the future of trigger-activated items, but now it seemed it wasn’t nearly so easy to implement. After all, just making the trigger points of two items perfectly identical was an insurmountable challenge for the crafters of this world. Pure manual crafting wasn’t like an industrial assembly line; it was extremely difficult to make two identical items, let alone precise tools like magic items. She had only managed it thanks to the convenience of her forging platform. In other words, the pair of items in Mary’s hands was the only one of its kind on the entire continent.

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“Haaah, I’ll just have to discuss solutions with Pepe and Camilla. Maybe they can think of a way. By the way, why are Lin and the others on that roof over there? Are they monitoring me?”

But if this could be called surveillance, then specially trained surveillance experts would be out of a job. I’ve never seen monitors sit so openly on someone else’s roof without even using a simple concealment spell. It’s more believable they’re just admiring the scenery. Compared to them, the maids in this mansion are more like the ones watching me.

Yisi tried waving in the direction of Lin and the other two.

“Lin, Lin! She’s waving at us! We’ve been spotted!”

Lin just sighed helplessly at Red’s overreaction.

“…Isn’t that obvious? We didn’t even use concealment. Let’s go down. There’s no point in staying here. I never thought we’d see much from an impromptu decision like this anyway.”

“That’s true.”

Echoing Lin’s words, the purple-haired girl followed her off the roof. The three of them entered the backyard through the main door and came before Yisi, who greeted them kindly.

“Good morning, Lin. And Red, and Purple.”

I had curiously asked Red and Purple if those were aliases, but they both insisted they were their real names. All three Heroes used a single character for their names.

Is she mocking me?

The thought flashed through Lin’s mind, but seeing the smile on Yisi’s face, which held no trace of ridicule, she suppressed it.

“Good morning. What are you and Mary doing?”

I know they’re testing magic items, but it’s best not to say it. This is basic, unspoken etiquette. Yisi and the others should be putting their things away now.

However, Lin received an answer that nearly made her expression crumble.

“Us? We’re testing magic items.”

Is this woman an idiot?

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Barely maintaining her expressionless face, Lin could only follow Yisi’s lead.

“I-I see… What kind of magic items?”

Just as one shouldn’t carelessly reveal their level or learned spells, one shouldn’t tell others about their trigger-activated weapons either, or they could easily be countered. Asking this question was already quite rude of me.

As if thinking about something, Yisi propped her chin on her index finger.

“Hmm… It’s good that you’re here, Lin. Maybe you can help me think of a solution.”

It’s not that I’m letting my guard down, it’s just that these items are all still in the design concept stage. I originally thought that after Boris tested them, I would only need to make minor adjustments before they were ready for use. But based on the [Swampification · Diffusion Type], Boris’s tests aren’t entirely reliable. I completely fail to understand why he didn’t report the practicality issues to me. Therefore, I’m planning to scrap all of them and start the designs over.

Yisi waved her hand at the courtyard. The yard, which had been a mess from the [Swampification], was instantly covered in an inch of green grass, making it less ugly. She could have used creation magic to restore it to its original state, but with Lin and the others here, she didn’t want to show off with such an exaggerated spell. Even so, Red and Purple, standing behind Lin, still paled slightly at the sight of the wildly growing grass, muttering things like “Nature magic,” “Intimidating us,” and “It’s just the effect of a magic item.”

Sorry for using nature magic, I guess.

“Mary, can you give me the bracelets?”

“Master, the one on the left hand or the right?”

“I need both.”

“She has two of those ridiculous items!?”

“Purple…”

“Er, my apologies.”

Her companion’s behavior made Lin’s expression awkward, but even when embarrassed, that face with its light dusting of scales was very beautiful.

She’s so beautiful but always wears a mask. What a waste. Complaining inwardly, Yisi smiled and presented the two finger-length bracelets, which looked like bracers, in her hand.

“This is a type of trigger-activated magic item. If the wearer is in danger, it will launch a Tier 1 [Fireball] spell. However, I’ve made some improvements to it, making it a bit stronger than a normal fireball, provided that both bracelets are worn at the same time.”

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“Tch, and here I thought she’d give Lin something valuable like she gave Mary. It’s just a [Fireball]. Purple can toss out a dozen of those easily. She pulls out that amazing soft armor and that earth magic item, but for Lin, she gets something this shabby…”

Hearing Red’s muttering, Lin, who had put the two bracelets on her left and right wrists, frowned.

“Red, we should be thanking Yisi for being willing to show us this item. You are being too rude. I’m going to test this item. Attack me with your magic blade.”

“Huh? Really? If I use my magic blade, I can’t guarantee I can stop before I hurt you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll dodge if it’s dangerous.”

As Lin and Red prepared to test the item, Yisi quietly pulled Mary back, bringing the purple-haired girl along as well. What Yisi found strange was that Purple, who had previously tried to tease her at every turn, was very obedient today. Her hand “accidentally” brushed against Mary, and her gaze wasn’t on Lin or herself at all. This made Yisi wary. Could Purple have pedophilic tendencies? After all, Mary was the cutest in the world, just like Andrea.

“Alright, here I come.”

The moment her voice fell, Red, holding a one-handed sword, thrusted at Lin’s chest. Activated by the attack, the trigger-activated items on Lin’s wrists quickly responded.

The gems on the two bracelets flashed white and red, respectively. Immediately, three white, slowly rotating magic circles appeared in front of Lin’s open chest. At the same time, a Tier 1 [Fireball], only the size of a fist, materialized and flew toward the magic circles with abnormal slowness.

“Huh? Is that all the speed it—Hmm?”

Just as Red was sneering at the [Fireball]’s speed, the moment it touched the first white magic circle, its velocity suddenly multiplied.

At first, it was as fast as an arrow, but after passing through the second and third magic circles, the [Fireball]’s speed became impossible to follow with the naked eye. Its size also swelled exponentially, and in the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a vicious existence resembling a firestorm, large enough to engulf the entire mansion.

This is bad.

With no time to change her stance, Red directly covered her entire body with her greatest trump card, [Degraded Demonic Blade]. At the same time, Lin, realizing things had gone wrong, also joined in to weaken the firestorm’s power. The situation was instantly reversed.

If Red had known the name of this magic item, perhaps she wouldn’t have been so careless. This was Lin’s assessment afterward.

[Fireball · Triple Acceleration Type IV]