“Current swirling as shield, rapid stream as blade—‘Flowing Water Protection.’”
As soon as the incantation fell, Lulumia was instantly shrouded by a swiftly swirling current of water. She pointed with her finger, and the stream shot toward a tree branch outside the window. With a “crack,” the thumb-thick branch was snapped by the water, startling countless crows into scattering in all directions.
“The power’s gotten this strong…”
Her emerald vertical pupils widened slightly as Lulumia stared in surprise at her right hand. Through her tireless daily efforts—expending all her mana three times a day, morning, noon, and night—she had finally reached Level 3.
As she had expected, the mana required for Level 3 wasn’t 30 points but 40. From Level 1 to Level 2, the requirement was 10→20, while from Level 2 to Level 3, it was 20→40.
So, by that logic, wouldn’t Level 4 require 80 mana? Level 5, 160? Level 6, 320? Surely, this couldn’t be exponential growth, right? Otherwise, wouldn’t Level 30 need over 5.3 billion mana? That was inhuman.
Lulumia’s hand trembled. Even though it was 99% likely that the mana requirement didn’t grow exponentially, the frightening possibility before reaching Level 4 still left her anxious. Even with her status screen letting her track her growth in real time, numbers this large could easily sap one’s motivation. For the first time, she realized that being able to see precise numbers wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Haven’t hit Level 4 yet, so don’t worry about it.”
Slapping both cheeks to clear her mind, Lulumia tossed her worries aside.
According to the information she’d gathered from various books, it took an average person at least one to three years to go from Level 1 to Level 10, earning the title of First Rank Warrior or First Rank Mage Chanter. But she had spent just over a week practicing magic every day, and was already at Level 3—definitely among the ranks of geniuses.
This was all thanks to the status screen’s title bonuses.
Eno, Sinrella, Tilan, and Lijie had all given her buffs to mana growth speed. On top of that, the higher the level of magic she used, the more efficiently her mana grew. The two factors stacked together, letting her achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Alright, keep working hard!
Having lived a second life, she couldn’t be lazy like before. She had to cheer herself on to become a great mage and never go back to being a wage slave!
With these words of encouragement in her heart, Lulumia tidied her collar and began her day.
She stuffed two pieces of bread into her mouth and headed out. As always, the nuns in the hallway greeted her warmly. But lately, there were new faces among those who greeted her: the Holy Knights who patrolled inside and outside the temple.
As for the reason, on one hand, Lulumia was often taken out by Eno for combat training, so everyone became familiar with her face. On the other hand, it was Lulumia’s own efforts. She almost always practiced magic with her bedroom door open and sometimes even trained in the courtyard, making it hard for the patrolling Holy Knights not to notice her.
No one disliked a hardworking child. Even though Lulumia’s foundation was weak, her recent improvement was obvious to all. Sometimes, she would even randomly grab a passing Holy Knight and pitifully ask for help with some “difficulty” in magic—in reality, she was just pretending. Once the Holy Knight pointed out her “mistake,” Lulumia would promptly “correct” it, and soon enough, she became a favorite topic among the Holy Knights during meals and chats.
Most Holy Knights came from commoner backgrounds and were especially interested in combat. Seeing a junior also working hard at battle, especially one who was both obedient and cute, Lulumia naturally became the focus of attention among the temple’s Holy Knights.
“It’s Mia, heading out for battle training with the Holy Son again?”
Seeing Lulumia pass by in her white-and-gold long dress, a Holy Knight in the courtyard greeted her with a smile.
“No, not today. I’m going to help Lord Kren clean the old chapel.”
“Ah, Lord Kren? Then you’d better be careful. Lord Kren is very attached to that old chapel—this can’t be touched, that can’t be touched.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“If it’s too much, don’t force yourself. Lord Kren’s notorious for having a temper,” another Holy Knight chimed in. One without a helmet, looking rather handsome, even stepped forward and handed over a peeled apple.
“Take this for the road. Always eating bread must get boring.”
“Aha, Henrick, so that’s why you’ve been peeling apples since morning—you’re trying to win Mia’s favor,” teased a slightly chubby Holy Knight, draping an arm over the handsome one’s shoulder. He warned Lulumia, “Mia, don’t take it. This guy relies on his good looks and has received who knows how many love letters from girls.”
“Come on, I’m just giving Mia something nice to eat. Besides, you saw it too: Mia’s ‘Flowing Water Protection’ can already break branches. I didn’t advance that fast when I learned it. Mia, take it. It’s a reward for your hard work.”
“Thank you, Henrick! Henrick, you’re the best!”
“You’re welcome, it’s just an apple.”
Lulumia hugged the apple, her eyes sparkling with gratitude, making the handsome knight a little embarrassed, while the others clicked their tongues and gritted their teeth.
This cute little sister routine is a bit too strong.
Lulumia took in all the knights’ reactions, thinking to herself that she had only wanted to turn around the protagonist’s terrible reputation, but the results were better than expected. In the eyes of these Holy Knights, Lulumia saw the same adoring look certain otaku from her previous life had when watching “little sister” characters—not the weird kind, but the wholesome kind.
“I’ll go find Lord Kren at the old chapel, then?”
“Go ahead. We’ll handle the branches for you, but try not to use them as targets next time—the cleaning nuns will get mad.”
“Thank you, brother~”
“I got it.”
Just as Lulumia was about to get away with it cutely, an elderly nun approached, her head covered with a veil—it was Sharina.
Lulumia stiffened a little. She always felt somewhat unnatural around Sharina. But seeing that Sharina had no intention of scolding her, Lulumia quickly regained her well-behaved, modest little girl manner and gave a respectful bow.
“Sorry… I won’t practice magic on the branches next time.”
“Oh, what are you saying? It’s just a branch—practicing magic is far more important.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Lady Sharina, the Holy Son really found an excellent mage automaton. She’s polite and works hard—much more pleasant than the others. Sometimes, I forget Mia’s even an automaton.”
“Yes, thanks to everyone’s care. The Holy Son truly did find an outstanding mage automaton.”
Sharina gave the Holy Knights a dignified bow.
Ever since that time she helped Sharina out at Sander’s, Sharina’s attitude toward her had changed dramatically… Lulumia still wasn’t quite used to it.
But being acknowledged was a good thing. Before, Sharina hadn’t liked her because of the protagonist’s poor reputation. Now, having turned that around and become a familiar face to everyone in the temple—well, except the High Priest, who only knew her because of that incident with the late-night toilet run—everyone’s attitude toward her was friendly. This, in turn, reflected well on Eno, earning him more positive recognition. Sharina naturally wouldn’t say anything negative anymore—probably.
After a few more pleasantries, Lulumia took a bite of her apple, leaving a cute bite mark, and happily walked out of the temple.
Now that she thought about it, these Holy Knights were really generous.
Apples were a rare commodity during winter in the Ounheim Kingdom. There was no greenhouse technology in this world, so there was basically no fresh fruit or vegetables in winter. The last time Lulumia passed a fruit stand, she saw apples sold individually, each costing two copper coins. That was the equivalent of 60 yuan for a single apple—an astronomical price.
Sigh, come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I had fruit. Even in a world with magic, there are inconveniences; so many things taken for granted in modern times simply don’t exist here.
Once the newspaper office is set up, I should bring in a running water system, too.
Lost in these thoughts, Lulumia finished the juicy apple, washed her hands with a ‘Water Bullet,’ and by then, she had already passed the commercial street and arrived near the old chapel.