Life Magic Lessons

After completing the 'Blade' spell, I began to reflect on utility magic. The person who named it 'utility magic' was the sage who created spells like 'Light' and 'Push'.

If it were up to me, I would have named it D-Particle Manipulation Magic instead of utility magic. However, the question remains whether utility magic can possess the same power as attack magic. I have my doubts.

The essence of utility magic lies in manipulating D-particles. However, creating powerful magic requires gathering a large number of D-particles, which takes time to activate. This makes it impractical for dungeon exploration, which might be why the creator focused on making spells useful for everyday life.

Still, many utility spells seem quite inexplicable. For example, what were the purposes behind creating spells like 'Push,' 'Roll,' and 'Swing'?

"I'm hungry."

I made some instant ramen, ate it, and then went to bed.

**◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆**

The next day, Amane woke up in her dorm room. Her roommate, Yukari Kimijima, was sitting in front of a small three-sided mirror, brushing her hair.

"Good morning."

"Oh, you're up. Good morning. I didn't ask yesterday because you seemed tired, but you went to the dungeon alone, didn't you?"

Seeing how exhausted Amane had seemed when she returned, Yukari had been worried.

"Yeah, I wanted to raise my ranking even a little..."

"That's dangerous."

"I know."

Amane recounted the events of the previous day to Yukari.

"No way, the utility magic user, Mr. Grimm?"

"It's true. He used utility magic to defeat monsters."

"It's hard to believe. Utility magic includes spells like 'Light' and 'Push,' right?"

"He defeated a Ripper Cat using 'Push.'"

"How?"

After Amane explained, Yukari nodded in admiration.

"Wow, so there are ways to use it like that. Maybe I should take utility magic classes seriously."

"Of course you should."

Amane got dressed and headed to the dormitory dining hall for breakfast.

"Good morning."

She heard a greeting from Keigo Kurotsuki, who lived in the boys' dormitory.

"Good morning."

Amane and Yukari returned the greeting.

"What did you do during the break, Kurotsuki-senpai?" Yukari asked.

Keigo, a year older, was someone Yukari seemed to be interested in.

"Oh, I went into the intermediate dungeon, Mizutsuki Dungeon. I got to the twelfth floor."

"That's amazing. The twelfth floor means there are Orc Knights, right?"

"Yeah, it took about twenty minutes to defeat one with my team. They are really tough monsters."

After breakfast, Amane headed to school. The first period was utility magic.

Mr. Grimm appeared with his hair still messy, giving the morning greeting.

**◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆**

I looked around the classroom, checking attendance. It seemed like no one was absent. However, not even half the students would likely listen attentively to the lesson today.

But there was one student who seemed keen to listen: Amane. Incidentally, I remember the full names of my favorite students, while I only remember the last names of others.

Even as a temporary teacher, I know I should treat all students fairly, but it naturally ends up this way. I began explaining the 'Pure' spell.

"Mr. Grimm, 'Pure' is a spell that extracts a single substance, right?" asked Yuki Yuki Arisa, the top student in the class.

"That's correct. You can extract pure water from muddy water, for instance."

"That can also be done with a water purification filter, right? What else can it do?"

Arisa, a studious girl with glasses, is the type of student I'm not particularly fond of. However, she transforms into a kinder-looking girl when she removes her glasses for physical activities or dungeon exploration.

"You can also extract a specific metal from an ore."

"Wow, it can do that too? But you wouldn't have the leisure to do that in a dungeon."

"That's true for solo adventurers."

While safe spots in dungeons are rare, you might have the time to use 'Pure' in such places. Explaining this seemed to satisfy Arisa.

In the class, only about ten students were paying proper attention. The others were either staring at the magic circles in their attack magic textbooks or doing something else.

One of the students not paying attention was Ninomiya, a troublemaker who neither listens in class nor studies for tests, resulting in failing grades. However, that's his own doing.

"Mr. Grimm, which utility magic spell would you choose to use in a dungeon?" Arisa asked.

I can learn utility spells in thirty minutes to an hour because my magical talent is ranked S. For others, it can take several days (Rank D) or even over a week (Rank E). So, choosing spells wisely is essential.

"Let's see... probably 'Push.'"

Arisa seemed surprised by my answer.

"I thought you would choose 'Repair.' May I ask why?"

"Because it can stop small monsters from attacking."

"But the D-particle plate formed by 'Push' is fragile."

"It can stop frenzied rats or ripper cats. Plus, its applications expand as your magic level increases."

The students listening wore expressions of disbelief.

"Should we give it a try?"

"Sounds fun! I'll give it a shot."

The student who had been glaring at the combat magic textbook earlier, Ninomiya, stood up.