The Water Magician (水属性の魔法使い)

Water, come forth.

The Water Magician

Where am I...?

Just so you know, this isn't the afterlife.

You are Ryo Mihara, yes?

Yes, that's me.

That's a relief. It's been a long time since I last had a visitor.

Ryo Mihara, you sadly passed away in an accident.

Right. I remember that.

Are you... god?

No, I am not. To put it into terms you'd be familiar with...

an angel would be most apt, I believe.

I'll file him as "Fake Michael" for now.

I understand I'm being reincarnating, but what do I do once I start my new life?

By all means, live however you please.

I was not informed that you'd been sent with an agenda

or any sort of mission to complete.

I'm to live as I please?

In that case, I'd love to live the slow life.

The world you will be reincarnating into is one full of magic.

Abel?

We have dubbed this world "Phi."

In Phi, roughly 20 percent of humans can cast spells.

The element with which you are most compatible is water.

As you've requested the slow life, we'll have you reincarnate in the Forest of Rondo.

A house and two months' worth of food will await you.

An icehouse for storing food? This has got to be magic too, right?

Your house has been prepared so that monsters will avoid the immediate vicinity.

Consider it to be something like a barrier.

The Monster Compendium, Beginner Edition?

I can read it even though I've never seen the language.

This Flora Compendium, too.

Water, come forth.

Water! Aqua!

I guess if I can imagine what I'm doing, I don't need to vocalize it.

I've always thought incantations were cool, though...

Looks like what I conjure is tepid.

And here I was hoping to make good use of this nice tub. That bites.

Oh well.

Not happening!

Gotta know when to give up.

The sun?

Freeze!

This is harder than I thought.

But I need to figure out how to make ice, too.

I'd love to cast one of those "Ice Spear" kinds of spells.

Compress the water while removing the heat...

Picture the H2O molecules at the heart of the water.

If I can connect an oxygen atom to the hydrogen atom of the molecule next to it...

I win! And all thanks to hydrogen bonds.

Now, if I can shape it how I need...

Bingo!

I'd say that was a pretty productive first day.

I think I can make hot water if I apply the thinking that got me ice.

Magic sure makes life easy.

Now then, I've got plenty to do tomorrow.

Michael prepared two months of food for me.

I guess that means I'll have to start hunting once I work through my supply.

The woods fall outside of the barrier, so there will be monsters.

I doubt a single knife will be enough. I'm going to need offensive magic.

For a secure and safe slow life, I had better start practicing, huh?

Water Ball!

My first attack spell is a success!

Although... not much of an attack.

I mean, that makes sense.

Nevertheless, I have a trick up my sleeve.

If Water Ball won't cut it, then out comes Water Jet.

Narrow the outlet. Picture a thin, high-velocity stream.

Go!

I lose.

Oh, one last thing. How do I use magic?

The foundation to magic is imagination.

Water Jet!

You need to picture clearly what you're aiming for, then work toward that over time.

Water Jet!

Water Jet!

It's looking a bit better now.

Good!

Seems I was right about using the opposite process for ice to get hot water.

Hot! Too hot!

Creating ice out of thin air...

It's not fast, but looks like it's doable.

Which leads us to my main goal for offensive ice magic: Icicle Lance!

Now fly!

Guess it's not as easy to project as water.

Given the difficulty of conjuring it and its limited range,

I have my doubts about practical applications in combat.

For now, practice makes perfect.

I feel like I'm going to pass out. Is this some kind of... mana depletion?

Oh, of course. I can't do this the way I have been once the sun sets.

Icicle Lance!

Good. I'm able to form them instantly now.

Still not much of a projectile, though.

Now then, it's time to venture...

outside of the barrier!

Bingo!

Quartz! I had a feeling I'd find this along a riverbank.