Chapter 59

Ian watched as the Fairies worked their magic.

Their plan was straightforward: to separate a certain amount of magical power from the magic sword.

The power of the magic sword would weaken, but the Fairies could borrow the magic power they so desired without Ian needing to hand over the entire thing.

Ian nodded without much hesitation.

It was impossible to fully harness the power of the magic sword at the moment anyway.

The sword was only usable as a sort of medieval firestick, so a slight reduction in its power wasn't a big deal.

In exchange, they could get expensive Fairy Silk, which was clearly a profitable deal.

However, Ian himself didn't quite see it as beneficial.

Let's say the Fairies gave Ian the Fairy Silk.

But what would Ian do with it?

Make clothes? Sell it to the nobility?

That's a merchant's job, not a wizard's.

Ian was not a lower-class citizen desperate for money and power. He was a wizard in pursuit of mysteries.

He could travel and do business on the side, but Ian hadn't planned that far yet.

"The magic contained in your magic sword, we plan to transfer it to the rune stones of our village," said the Fairy Queen, asking to borrow Ian's magic sword.

"Then I'll come along."

"...You won't have anything to do there."

"It's my sword, so I think it's right for me to come along," Ian argued.

The Fairy Queen was persuaded by Ian's argument.

"If that's your reason."

Ian went with the Fairy Queen, but the others didn't.

Fairies lived a life minimizing contact with the outside world for survival.

Though some playful Fairies did interact with humans, those were exceptions.

They did not allow any humans other than Ian.

Not one of them was dissatisfied with that decision.

"Take care, Ian!"

"I'll be back."

In truth, humans were also afraid of the Fairies.

Fairies were famous wizards.

For medieval people who feared magic, encountering Fairies was a painful experience.

"Ian, before we enter the village, please make a vow."

"A vow?"

"Yes. Swear that you will not harm us Fairies, with all the mysteries you explore as your witness."

"..."

As the Fairy Queen spoke, Ian felt the attention of both great and small mysteries around him.

Fairies are born with magic.

To put it in D&D terms, they're a race that casts magic through charisma.

Unlike Ian, an INT wizard, Fairies could cast magic without studying the Maronius language, thanks to their innate ability to interact with mysteries.

As the Fairy Queen invoked the mysteries, Ian couldn't help but feel tense.

Of course, mysteries despise liars.

Who lies to a friend in this world? People like that, they're no longer friends.

If Ian were to swear an oath to the mysteries, he would have no choice but to keep it.

"I swear."

"Really?"

"Only as long as I am treated as a guest."

"There shouldn't be any problem with that."

The Fairies had seen Ian communicate with nature several times and were wary of his abilities.

Just seeing him control a terrifying beast like a eagle owl was enough to know how dangerous Ian could be.

"This is the village of the Fairies."

Ian was impressed by the Fairy village he was shown by the Queen.

[Achievement Unlocked!]

[You have witnessed a new mystery!]

[Bonus Skill Points: +50]

[Skill: Space-Time Magic (10/100) - In Progress]

'Space-Time Magic?'

Ian was puzzled by the status window.

Witnessing a new mystery had increased his progress in the mystery of space-time magic.

That meant...

"Is space-time magic applied here?"

When Ian asked, the Fairy Queen looked surprised.

"How did you know?"

"Just a feeling?"

"Your intuition is very sharp."

The Fairy Queen's praise was not just praise; she was wary of Ian's abilities.

Ian was right.

The village of the Fairies was under the influence of space-time magic.

One couldn't simply walk in; entry was possible only with permission from the twisted space, a sort of different world.

'Space-time magic...'

Space-time magic was incredibly useful to Ian.

Even just for the fact that teleportation magic fell under space-time magic.

If he could manipulate space, Ian could somewhat mimic the actions of a wizard class in JRPG games.

Like summoning a stone from thin air or summoning monsters.

However, Ian remembered Eredith's warning.

'Try space-time magic, and if it's not for you, give up immediately.'

Eredith had warned him because of the second attribute of space-time magic: the power to manipulate time.

Space-time wizards can foresee the future.

And they do it as easily as eating.

They frequently foresee the future and try to change it to their liking.

If Ian were to delve into space-time magic, space-time wizards would naturally come to know of it in advance.

If the space-time wizards want Ian to become one of them, then he will become a space-time wizard.

But if not...

The space-time wizards will do everything in their power to prevent him from learning space-time magic.

They might go as far as taking his life.

This is why most wizards, including Eredith, despise space-time wizards.

They act as if they're Gods, trying to manipulate the world.

Eredith's warning meant if space-time wizards interfered with Ian learning their magic, he should give up immediately.

Because life would become very tiring for Ian if sneaky bastards who know the future, start plotting against him.

In other words, don't pick a fight with the space-time wizards.

"..."

Ian thought about investing his accumulated skill points to increase his space-time magic level.

Despite what anyone says, space-time magic is indeed convenient.

But considering the space-time wizards might freak out over Ian learning their magic, he concluded there was no need to rush into it.

Eredith had already told Ian not to worry about space-time wizards.

They're not worth the trouble.

Since they would act before Ian does anyway, he might as well wait patiently.

"Just to be safe... I hope you won't disclose the location of our village."

The Fairy Queen looked sharply at Ian.

She had not expected Ian to see through the mystery of space-time magic applied to their village.

If Ian had any ill intentions, she would be in trouble.

But Ian had no intention of harming the Fairies.

"I swear on the mysteries that I will not disclose the information."

"Thank you."

Only then did the Fairy Queen smile gently.

Unlike other humans, the wizard Ian was not greedy and knew how to respect the Fairies.

He was different from others who would destroy the Fairy village for the valuable Fairy Silk.

"Ian, the sword."

The Fairies were busy setting up a rune stone in the central square of the village.

They planned to transfer the magic sword's power into it.

"How does this work? What's the principle?"

Ian asked a very wizard-like question. It was natural for a wizard to be curious about magic.

Expecting this, the Fairy Queen called over a technician.

"I'm in charge of the rune stone construction."

The technician looked at Ian with a peculiar gaze.

It was a clear look of distrust.

"I'll explain, but I'm not sure you'll understand even if I do."

Ian was flabbergasted.

What kind of incredibly mysterious technique were they using?

Seeing Ian's reaction, the Fairy technician snorted, as if he expected such a response.

"If you pass a basic test, I'll explain it to you. It's really the very basics, so if you don't understand this, you won't understand anything else I explain."

"Your introduction is awfully long. Can't you just get to the point?"

Typical of a technician to be so proud of what they know.

But the Fairy technician still dismissed Ian.

And why wouldn't he? After all, Ian is a human!

In the technician's mind, there was no way a primitive human could understand the advanced technology of the magnificent Fairies.

And this disdain was not without reason.

"Here comes the test. So, human wizard, you can count numbers, right?"

"...Yes."

"Name a number smaller than 2."

What?

At this point, Ian was more curious about what nonsense the technician would say next than feeling insulted.

Obviously, a number smaller than 2 is...

"1."

No sooner had Ian spoken than the technician smirked evilly and asked,

"And what's smaller than 1?"

"...?"

Ian genuinely couldn't understand what the technician was aiming for.

It was a case of being baffled because he couldn't grasp the other's intentions.

And the technician...

Took Ian's confusion as ignorance!

'Stupid human, just as I thought!'

Fairies despised the level of human knowledge because, unlike humans, Fairies were proficient in mathematics.

If the idea of a math-savvy Fairy seems odd, try substituting them with dwarves.

That's right.

It's like dwarves proficient in math looking down on human mathematics!

In this medieval fantasy, Fairies are a race of skilled artisans.

Unlike human craftsmen who might not know math, these Fairies were at the forefront of technology, capable of integrating it with mathematics.

The level of intellectual understanding Fairies had of humans was exactly this:

Humans don't know what's smaller than 1...

And that was a fact.

Medieval people didn't know what's smaller than 1.

Huh? Isn't 1 the smallest number?

Technically, that's true when you're only considering natural numbers.

Unlike the ignorant humans, Fairies knew about the existence of '0'.

The number smaller than 1 is... zero.

Even the people of the ancient Golden Empire, who achieved a brilliant civilization, did not know about zero.

They didn't think 'nothingness' could be a number.

Nothing at all!

Why would that be a number!

Given the level of mathematics in the Empire, it was no wonder that medieval people in this post-apocalyptic era didn't know about zero.

They were using wooden sticks, counting one by one... that was the extent of medieval mathematics.

Wizards were no different.

In this medieval fantasy, wizards are not scientists; they are more like liberal arts scholars.

Just by looking at how they memorize pictograms similar to Chinese characters and speak in Maronius language, it's obvious.

So, the Fairy technician naturally assumed Ian would fail the test!

Thus, when Ian threw out an unexpected question, the Fairy was taken aback.

"So, you're asking for a number less than 1 among the natural numbers?"

"Natural... what?"

"Countable numbers. If we're talking below natural numbers, obviously it's 0. Or what, are you talking about negative numbers? What is it?"

"???"

The Fairy was flustered as Ian suddenly started spouting what seemed like alien language to him.

Negative numbers?

The Fairy tried to translate Ian's Imperial language into Fairy language but couldn't make sense of it no matter how hard he thought.

After a moment, it was the Fairy who asked,

"Uh... um, sorry, but what are negative numbers?"

"Minus. Like -1."

"...What?"

Minus? What the heck is that, you nerd?

The Fairy technician couldn't understand the concepts Ian was casually mentioning.

Frustrated, Ian picked up a stick and started sketching a graph on the ground.

"Zero is nothing, right? Negative numbers are those smaller than that."

"How can there be something smaller than nothing? That doesn't make any sense."

"Jeez. Do you know what an equation is?"

It's not like he's a middle school math teacher.

Ian began an impromptu math lecture, scribbling symbols on the graph.

"So, negative numbers essentially represent a concept that doesn't physically exist..."

"So they only exist in equations?!"

"Yes. It's a concept applied to one side of the equation. So, when you move something from the left side of the equation to the right, that's considered a binary operation..."

As Ian rapidly wrote and erased equations, the Fairy technician's eyes bulged in shock.

The concept of mathematics Ian was introducing was utterly shocking to him.

Fairy mathematics was far more advanced than human mathematics but it hadn't yet moved beyond physical space.

But then, out of nowhere, Ian presented the concept of 'a number less than nothing,' causing a total brain freeze.

'Heh... Negative numbers are even more non-existent than non-existence itself!'

'??? What does that even mean?'

Meanwhile, Ian, who had once considered majoring in mathematics, was thrilled to be crunching numbers again.

Even if it was just middle school level math.

"No way... How can this be..."

The technician was panicking as if he'd seen a cosmic horror.

"Are we done talking?"

The Queen, who had no interest in mathematics, had no idea what the technician and Ian were discussing.

"Ah. Yeah, more or less."

"Then let's proceed with setting up the rune stone."

Right. That was the main topic.

As Ian and the Queen approached the rune stone, the technician hurried over and exclaimed,

"Wi- wizard!"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to personally calculate the formula for the rune stone?"

Oh. Ian was intrigued.

It might be fun to play with numbers again after a long time?

Ian entertained himself with the Fairy technicians by solving the mathematical puzzle known as the rune stone's formula.

Some Fairies were shocked and fell into a trance witnessing the splendid intricacies of modern mathematics unfold from Ian's fingertips.

Setting aside the adorable nerds, the Fairies successfully separated exactly 33.333...% of the magical power from the magic sword.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"Don't mention it."