I can do magic now... #Kazu

I had mastered some amazing tricks, such as spinning the sharp knives as I drew them from my waist holster and twirling them between my fingers with dazzling speed and precision.

But it was a perilous and agonizing trick, and it left streaks of blood running from my hands with every spin. I clenched my teeth and bore the pain anyway.

Kazu, out.

◇

I feel a thrill as I face this monster, a mix of excitement and exhilaration. It is smarter and more cunning than me, but I don't let that intimidate me. I see it as a challenge, a chance to test my wits and skills. I want to prove it wrong, to show it that it underestimated me, to beat it at its own game. It thinks it has the upper hand, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

I lie motionless on the grassy ground, playing dead. A sharp blade is hidden under my chest, ready to strike. I stare at the monster, waiting for the right moment. It thinks it has me cornered, but it's wrong. I'm smarter, more cunning, better. I'll beat it at its own game.

The monster creeps closer to me, wary and cautious. It has been shooting magic in my back for so long that I almost restart. This damn cautious asshole can't even recognize a dead body!

Crack! A twig snaps under its heavy foot as it closes the gap between us. But before it can touch me, I spring up and hurl my blade at its throat with all my might.

It chokes and gasps as blood gushes from its wound. It clamps its hands on its neck, trying to stem the flow. Its scales turn crimson, and its eyes bulge with shock and fear.

I slash my own neck with a swift motion, feeling a brief sting before everything fades to black.

I hear a dull thud as I come back to life. The monster lies beside me, motionless and silent. It reaches for something in the air with its clawed hand, as if pleading for mercy or forgiveness. Tears stream from its eyes, making its scales wet and matted. Pathetic.

The battle is finally over. With a soft thump, its head falls to the side, and its eyes close forever. It's dead. I've killed it.

I feel a wave of relief and satisfaction wash over me. Finally! I can now resume my magic experiment.

I whisper to myself as I stand up and walk away from the corpse.

"That's what you get for messing with me, you scaly asshole."

I smile wickedly as I think of how I tricked it into thinking I was dead.

Flipping over its limp body, I slice open its skin beneath the scales just above the abdomen. Then I plunge my hand inside the wound, searching for the magic stone that I need. The monster's flesh squelches and writhes around my fingers as I dig deeper into its innards. Where is it?

The wet flesh and sticky blood cling to my hand, making me shudder with a smirk. Fuhhh, how fun.

Pshhhk!

A fountain of crimson life gushes out from the gash, staining my face with its warmth. I ignore it and continue my search for the magic stone inside the monster's body.

Pshhhk!

I finally locate it! But to my surprise, it is not in the stomach, where I expected it to be, but around the solar plexus, near the heart.

It is tiny. Much smaller than I anticipated.

Did it deplete most of its magic in our fight, draining its vitality? How disappointing.

Well, something is better than nothing. I still require it for my experiment.

It is barely half the size of the previous magic stone I experimented with.

I yank out the magic stone with a grunt, wondering if I can still weaponize it somehow.

These monsters always emit a red flash from the area where they release their magic. For this one, it was the palm that glowed when it hurled an air spear at me.

With a swift motion, I sever its hands at the wrists, sending them rolling to the ground. I gaze at the hands with a cold smile, feeling no remorse for the green-scaled creature.

I survey the bloody carnage I have wrought without blinking, no remorse or disgust.

How far I have strayed from the person I once was before I was transported to this world. Back then, I was a normal college professor who had just landed a teaching job, and was eager to meet my first students. Now, I am a ruthless killer who savors harvesting magic stones from these beasts and experimenting with them.

I don't regret it. Even if you ask me, I have nothing to say.

Maybe curiosity drives me.

Maybe excitement fills me.

Maybe madness consumes me.

◇

I rack my brain to figure out how to activate the magic. The last time I tried, the stone burst into spikes of earth and turned the monster into a porcupine. How does the magic work when the horn and the stone are inside the creature's body? Is there a special organ that I missed? Or does the body's warmth trigger the magic? I furrow my brows as I try to solve the mystery.

Suddenly, I hear a growl behind me. I turn around and see another green beast with red eyes and sharp claws. It leaps at me, trying to ambush me. Swoosh! Thud. I throw a knife at it and kill it instantly. It is the same type of beast that keeps attacking me at night. They have green scales, but they are very different from this one that can use air spear magic. They differ in size, shape, and movement. The one that can't use magic is smaller and more agile, crawling on four legs like a dog, while the one that can use magic has hands and walks on two legs.

I wonder how their magic works. Sometimes monsters come to this place like this. Maybe they smell the blood. Blood? Blood!!!

Is blood the trigger for the magic? That sounds possible. I decide to test it out. Maybe if I mix some blood with the hands and the stone, something will happen. Or maybe I need to inject some blood into myself, like a vaccine.

That sounds risky but also exciting. I have nothing to lose anyway.

"Here goes nothing," I mutter as I place the magic stone on one of the severed hands.

With a knife, I slice a small wound on the monster's corpse. Blood seeps out of the torn flesh, staining my fingers.

Careful not to spill any more, I drip three drops of blood onto the stone. It begins to glow faintly, emitting a soft hum.

Swissshh… Swishhh…

A faint breeze caresses my face, tickling my nose and making my eyes water. It whirls around the hand in a frenzy, lifting it slightly off the ground. It continues to do so without stopping, as if it has a mind of its own.

Intriguing. This is different from what happened before, when I implanted the horn and the stone inside the monster's body. That time, it instantly burst all its power in one breath.

As soon as I wipe off the blood from the stone with my cloth, the breeze vanishes. With a thud, the hand drops back to the ground. The stone loses its glow and returns to its original color.

It seems that the blood is necessary for activating the magic.

Hmmm.

I experiment with various ways to manipulate the wind. I change the amount of blood, the exposure time, the distance from the stone, and the combination of items. I deduce some patterns and rules.

Awesome. I think I get it!

The process can be divided into three aspects: source, medium, and trigger. The source is the magic stone that contains some mysterious energy. The trigger is the blood that activates the energy and makes it flow. It is like how house appliances work: just the mere contact between the source and trigger can be considered as a power outlet that is always available, waiting to plug in a device or appliance. The medium is of course the appliance that uses the energy and performs some function.

Like these two hands that I have here. They can produce wind just by plugging into the power outlet that is created by the magic stone and the blood. They can produce wind even without actual contact with the power outlet. Just being near it is fine. But only around one meter away from it. More than that is not possible. What is the reason for this limitation?

The power of the wind can increase by increasing the amount of blood that the magic stone is exposed to. I dip half of the magic stone into the bowl of blood, and surprisingly it is powerful enough to cut a deep wound in my arm with a gust of wind. It also reduces the size of the magic stone visibly. The magic stone melts like ice, losing its original size and shape. It becomes as small as a ping-pong ball, round and smooth. Also, when I try to use my own blood instead of the monster's blood, it does not work at all. I wonder why?

I grin and rub my hands together. "Let's do some actual magic", I say to myself.