Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 116: The Mechanic Learns About Monsters

Daniel looks at the two newest additions to his team with the task of seeking out the highest populations of monsters in Mattarglos to investigate the cause and, if possible, remove it. Now that Senn has proven to be a relatively neutral acquaintance, Vaergraes suggested she accompany them on the mission to investigate monster occurrence in Mattarglos, since Rikuto should be preoccupied with the retaliatory invasion for the time being. Ahok revealed during the nightly check-in that the void artillery consumes a massive amount of mana, which required an absurd amount of ‘enhanced magic crystals’ for the necessary magic density. And, since the only known source of diamonds suitable to be magic crystals in the quantities needed for the weapons is now under Fievegal control, he can only recharge the ones he has, which is time consuming for even the small army of mages and magic artisans he managed to collect.

Daniel’s not sure where the financing is coming from, but he may be conquering a territory that will become a financial liability immediately. Thankfully, the Grand Duchy is stable enough, and ships are already being built to begin trade with the Fievegal directly, which will benefit the citizens of both territories.

In the present, though, Daniel can’t help but be amused by Senn, a legendary mage in the world of Zenkon, clutching the armrests of her seat in the shuttle as she sits with her head back, eyes closed firmly. It’s taking every bit of her willpower to relax on a vehicle even she never imagined. From what he has judged, most of the divine summons from Earth came from much older eras, while the one that caused Kaeralegier to seal herself away came from a similar era to Daniel. But, it seems she completely immersed herself in the fantasy world, abandoning virtually all of her attachments to Earth.

Daniel didn’t want to come to Zenkon, and he might’ve refused if asked. He’s happy now, but he had lots of comforts and luxuries in life, and there’s no great reason to deny himself what he can build. He has to be a little more mindful about the balance of power on Zenkon, but he became embroiled in that the moment he saved Erimaya’s life. No, perhaps sooner, when he agreed to be Wenlianna’s assistant.

Next to Senn, Veiranoei’s seat is empty. She’s in one of the corners, emptying the contents of her stomach into a disposable bag made out of a dried animal skin.

Vaergraes remarks gently, “Poor girl. You’ll get used to it in time.”

It hits Daniel suddenly, and he says softly, “I can’t do anything now, but remind me before we return. I have some medicine for you, Vaeranoei.”

“M-Medicine…?” asks the poor young woman wearily. “C-Can’t I have some now…?”

“I don’t…” Daniel trails off. The placebo effect can work both positively and negatively, and he knows from personal experience, this treatment works. He doesn’t need to plant any ideas in her mind.

“Sure, let me find it.” Daniel cycles through his magic bag, and Hekate asks, “What are you looking for? Antivenom potation?”

“Nope. Even better.”

Daniel keeps some fresh in his magic bag in case he ends up on a boat and needs it for himself, though he’s working on drying plenty for distribution.

And, that would be ginger, a plant Daniel was able to find thanks to Geirahoel’s tireless and unfaltering efforts to extract things Daniel likes from him to improve her repertoire. Just describing it was enough for her to find a few that matched closely, including a couple she considered weeds before Daniel revealed that they add great flavor to meals, such as mint and rosemary. They aren’t exactly like the Earth mint and rosemary, but the flavor is close enough, and Xyreko confirmed they are non-toxic.

As for ginger, he’s pretty sure it is a nearly identical plant, down to the flowers that it grows and the root which contains the magic of the plant -literally and metaphorically-.

He finds some ginger root, and he cuts off a few pieces in small chunks, roughly the size of his index fingernail. He needs to figure out the right size for actual dose measurements, which could end up being different for a gatonine anyways, but he’ll start small and work his way up.

Daniel walks carefully to the back of the shuttle, which is flying rather smoothly. He offers her one of the pieces. “Take two of these now, and take the other two before we take off again. It should prevent you from feeling sick on the way back.” She nods, taking them without hesitation while Daniel swiftly gets his water canteen, handing it over for her to wash them down. It’s obviously spicy, but she manages, and she coughs a little. She asks wearily, “Th-this will really help?”

She looks absolutely pitiful, but Daniel sympathizes. He has been seasick many times on smaller boats, and a few times on his carrier. But, thankfully, unless the sea was really rough, and as long as he stayed hydrated, he usually didn’t have any issues. “I personally can vouch for it. Sorry I didn’t think to ask before.”

“It’s okay…”

“If you can, I’d like to return you to your seat. It’s safer if something happens.”

She nods, and Daniel helps her up, escorting her back to her seat as she slowly lumbers forward, carrying her bag in her left hand. Daniel gets her seated, and he says gently, “You will get used to it, but it can help if you can keep your eyes on the horizon. Otherwise, don’t look at anyone or anything that can move.”

“Daniel…” groans Senn softly.

“Yes?”

“C-Can… I have some medicine, too?”
Daniel replies, “Sure.” He retrieves the ginger once more, cutting it into similar small pieces. He carefully takes Senn’s hand, turning it over while holding her wrist to help her feel secure.

She asks, “Wh-what happens if I take all of it now?” She also doesn’t look great, but she’s enduring.

“To my knowledge, the worst it should do is make your insides feel like they’re burning, with some damage possible, but…”

Senn immediately pitches the full amount Daniel gave her, swallowing it forcefully. She gasps as she coughs from the spiciness. Daniel quickly gives her his canteen, and she drinks vigorously.

Hekate taunts them a little, “For someone so mighty in magic, you’re nearly crippled by simply travelling?” She snickers behind her hand.

Daniel reassures both of his patients, “Don’t mind her. She’s afraid of heights.”

“Daniel!” Vaergraes, Doephluev, Kera’tai and Neith all chuckle at her.

“C-Can I take the rest of m-mine too?” asks the gatonine knight. Daniel replies, “Yes, though it might be a little less effective, and could trigger you to… uh… expel, if it irritates your stomach. Next time, it’ll be in powder form, which absorbs much more quickly and takes effect even faster.”

Veiranoei nods. “P-Please do.” She gets her own water bottle this time, drinking from it and taking the rest of her ginger. Daniel prepares some more for them so that they have it handy for when the group makes the return trip. Though Daniel doesn’t usually see the void bag technology in the east, Senn has one, which she stores the ginger in. He’ll try to remember to ask Senn later if she knows why that is. Just from what she has mentioned, she has to be several millennia old, but she acts very down-to-earth, so to speak. At times, she can speak like a stoic anime elf skilled at hunting evil demons with her human apprentice, observing time on a much different scale than anyone else. At others, she gets airsick in a magic shuttle.

Daniel takes his seat again, and Hekate immediately takes his hand to chew on his wrist, grumbling, “Why gyou got goo bwab abou’ tha’ thin’?” grumbles the childish feldrok empress through her teeth gnawing on Daniel’s bracer.

Daniel chuckles, and Vaergraes offers gently to defuse the situation, “If it makes you feel any better, Hekate, I am afraid of deep water.”

The feldrok cocks her head with Daniel’s wrist still in her mouth, her ears flopping to the side with her curiosity. “Wa’er?”

Daniel scoffs, and he gently pries her mouth off of his wrist, though she still holds his arm with her hands. Vaergraes also giggles, “That’s right. I don’t know why, but I don’t favor the sea or even deep lakes… like the one that spreads around the Citadel.”

“Then, why do you live with us?”

“I don’t mind the water being there. I just can’t be over top of deep water. I never have been able to. I think my grandfather used to take me on a boat, but I never liked it.”

Hekate ponders for a moment, and she plops back down into her seat. “I suppose it’s natural then. Daniel, what are you afraid of?”

“Tons of things. Spiders are probably the main one.”

“But there are no spiders on Zenkon!” retorts Hekate.

He laughs. “What? You want me to have fears readily available? Besides, Arachne is kind of like a spider, which is actually how I chose her name.”

“Really?”

Daniel nods. “She’s named after a woman who challenged a goddess to a weaving contest and won, and the goddess was enraged by her hubris for even comparing herself to the gods and goddesses, so she turned the woman into a spider.”

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“I think you told me that one, now that you mention it…”

“Speaking of Arachne,” starts Vaergraes. “Should we need her aid, I can summon her to our location, though it will take time and most of my mana to do so.”

“Sounds good. We’ll leave her on defense with the others, though. For our investigations, we want to be small and fast.”

“There should be few monsters that can handle this party,” states Neith. “Yourself and Veiranoei will be our priority to defend.”

“Remember we’re not trying to burn down the country. We want to minimize collateral damage if we can.”

Ucahote’s voice calls from the cockpit, “Your Grace, we are approaching the location.”

“Bring us low, but keep us airborne and watch for ambushes. I assume there are avian monsters just as there are any others.”

“Of course, your Grace. Descending now.”

The shuttle angles slightly as the golem pilots it lower, and Neith asks, “My Liege, I have a request for a time when things are rather tranquil. Would I be able to learn to pilot these shuttles?”

“Of course. Reducing the roles of golems where possible is a goal of mine longterm, but we need to get our population up.”

“Thank you, Sire. If there is anything else I can do to assist, always be sure to tell me.”

“Sure thing.”

Hekate climbs up to look out of the side windows, looking down. The area they’re in consists of rolling hills covered in large swaths of green of the various trees. “This land is beautiful…”

“I agree,” murmurs Kera’tai as she watches the forest below on the rolling hills.

Daniel looks out the same window, replying gently, “It is, isn’t it? There’s something about seeing new terrain that just adds to the beauty.”

Hekate and Kera’tai both nod. The feldrok girl teases, “We should conquer it.” She looks at Veiranoei deviously, while Vaergraes and Neith chuckle.

Daniel stands up and asks, “Any signs of trouble, Ucahote?”

“None currently, your Grace, though I can identify several monsters.”

“Is it as simple as too much mana that mutates them?” asks Daniel.

Senn, having settled her stomach a little, murmurs, “It's difficult to witness the change occur, and can be slow or fast. I’ve only encountered two people that could create monsters intentionally; an elf and an archoneldwyn. Though, I suspect the feldroks could have. They just refused to do so.”

Hekate hums proudly, “Hmm-hmm. Of course.”

“Hekate, you weren’t even born at that time,” retorts Daniel playfully.

“So!?” She crosses her arms, puffing out her chest. “It’s good to know that my probable ancestors were good people, right?”

“It’s fine, but it’s more important how their cute little descendant behaves,” replies Daniel as he ruffles her hair. 

The human mechanic studies the terrain, looking for any obvious living creatures. But, his simple human eyes can’t spot anything obvious through the trees.

Senn finishes her answer, “To answer your question, I don’t know for sure. Though, it seems to be the main cause. They end up with a lot of mana for a non-sapient being, and they don’t need sustenance to survive.”

“Ucahote, any obvious concentrations of mana?”

“The center of the world, your Grace,” replies the golem without hesitation.

Daniel scoffs. “You can’t narrow it down?”

“Not in the way that living things and their mana can be detected.”

“Mana is refined in the body,” explains Kera’tai, beating Senn and Doephluev to the answer. “In the world at large, it is noise, where in a living being, it is a voice. Finding a person through their mana is like looking for their voice, and seeing how strong they are, when it isn’t concealed, is like looking for the loudness of their voice.”

“That… makes a lot of sense. Thank you, Kera’tai.”

Doephluev pouts and hugs his right arm. “I was going to say the same, my love!”

Hekate grunts, “Ugh… So, what do we do now?”

Daniel thinks for a moment. “Well, radiation is kind of the same way. You can’t hear it, so to find it, we made a device that could detect the near exact amount of radiation by clicking faster or slower based on how much is present. At least, that was one method.”

“And, you have an idea on how to detect natural mana in a similar manner?” asks Vaergraes, intrigued by Daniel’s train of thought.

“I do. And, we should have the parts we need to do it on the airship, so long as we can get a hold of glass from a craftsman back in town.” He looks at Veiranoei, who is also recovering from her airsickness.

“Glass? Th-That’s all you need?”

“Yes. Wenlianna once explained that glass glows pretty easily when exposed to mana because it dumps the mana just as quickly.”

Senn retorts a little coldly, “I would like to think someone would have noticed if glass could track down mana.”

Daniel smiles. “And, if the device I intend to make existed already, then I probably wouldn’t have anything to offer Mattarglos. I’m not a fool. Well, not in general, anyways. I know greater minds than mine would have been pursuing answers to the monsters for much longer than I could ever hope to live, but one of my favorite quotes from my world is this; ‘if I have been able to see further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ Sir Isaac Newton.”

Senn remains quiet, accepting his answer. Hekate counters, “Daniel, you’re going to live forever. Me and those women will make sure of it.”

He chuckles and pets her head. “That remains to be seen, Sweetpea. So, what do you guys think? Should we investigate the ground a bit, or return and make a mana detector first?”

“I’d like to see these monsters myself,” replies Hekate. “We need information to formulate a battle plan! R-Right?”

Daniel nods. “That’s right.”

“I agree with her Greatness,” adds Neith. “Though I sense nothing strong enough to bring harm as long as we’re careful, knowing the class and types of monsters present should help us narrow down the possible sources once the mana detector is operable.”

“I care not what we do, so long as I get to remain by your side,” replies Doephluev with her usual smug-edged affection. She’s not instigating Hekate the way Ryuogriar does, but using the art of repetition to continuously insist on being closer to Daniel. Regardless, Hekate snatches Daniel’s left arm, pulling him towards herself. “Yeah, yeah. We get it. You’re an evil seductress.”

Doephluev giggles, “Oh my! You flatter me.”

“Any objections to scouting the ground?” asks Daniel to finally move forward.

Vaergraes smiles, shaking her head, and Senn, Kera’tai, and Veiranoei also have no objections. Daniel instructs Ucahote to land them outside a rough area containing more monsters, and he equips his weapons, checking Nemaisol.

“{You know, Daniel, I could detect mana for you. Want me to make the clicky sounds of a Geiger counter?}” A crackling sound starts to come from the sword, and Daniel quickly replies, Please don’t.

“Daniel?” asks Hekate, looking at Nemaisol.

“Don’t ask.”

She stares at the sword for a moment, deciding she has a pretty good idea of what occurred.

I appreciate the offer, Kaeralegier, but I think the device will narrow it down better, and others will be able to use it. Plus, I assume using you to detect mana will cause you to absorb more mana than you can waste.

“{Hmm… A fair point. I’ll stay in standby, then. Don’t hesitate to draw me. Like little Hekate, you are racking up quite a large debt to me. Eeheeheehee!}”

Daniel sighs to himself, though Hekate twitches. “Daniel, I feel like I was just insulted.” She glares at the sword.

“Just your imagination. Let’s go.”

The group finally disembarks the shuttle, and Daniel carries a semi-automatic rifle at the ready. Hekate carries her ice blaster, and Veiranoei grips her sword cautiously as she follows them. Senn withdraws a staff of her own from her magic bag, which looks like a very old branch from some kind of tree with a multi-pointed crystal that kind of looks like the head of a mace, but glows with a myriad of colors that swirl slowly within. Kera’tai is carrying one of Daniel’s sidearms, but she is primarily using a true magic staff to defend the group with magic.

Senn remarks, “Interesting. Though I assumed ‘demon staves’ were firearms, they do not match what was described to me in the past.”

Hekate boasts, “That’s because Daniel’s weapons are the strongest and most amazing ever.”

“They certainly hurt a lot,” adds Doephluev with a coldness.

“It is an interesting idea, but I don’t understand how a projected chunk of metal can compete with magic.”

Neith chuckles, “Then, you’ve never been hit by one.” Neith lifts his bangs to show the scar on his forehead where Daniel’s railgun wounded him badly enough that it wouldn’t heal without substantial amounts of magic, and Neith decided to keep it as a conversation piece and a badge of honor; “This is proof that I narrowly survived the Harbinger of Calamity.”

Kera’tai chuckles nervously in agreement with Neith. She wasn’t shot, but witnessed the power of his firearms firsthand as she saw the first dragon fall to a single human soldier.

“Looks like little more than a scratch.”

“And yet, it pierced through mithril.”

Senn goes silent.

Daniel adds, “Humans of Earth have been making better armor for our entire history, and for every improvement to armor, we developed a better bullet. Well, after the advent of firearms.”

“Ahead,” interrupts Doephluev. “There’s a monster approaching.”

The group spreads out a little and takes cover behind trees. While the mages have very little to fear, the purpose is investigating.

What emerges from the brush is a being roughly the size of a German shepard, but with a very different body. It reminds Daniel of a gigantic ferret, and its fur is messy and spiky looking. But, he recognizes the species.

He whispers, “A benki?”

Hekate is crouching directly in front of him, studying it as well. Neith whispers in reply from behind another tree, “That’s right, my Liege.”

“More specifically, a kamaitaizen benki,” clarifies Doephluev from behind Daniel with her back against his. “It can use wind magic.”

“We should avoid engaging it,” urges Veiranoei. “We need a centurion and a binding mage to bring one down.”

“Why?” asks Hekate smugly. “We have the Feldrok Sorcerer. Heeheeheehee!” Her tail bats Daniel excitedly, and she requests, “Let me shoot it, Daniel. I can hit it from here.” Hekate aims her ice blaster, but Daniel gently puts his hand on her shoulder.

“Not yet. If either of us open fire, every monster in a mile radius will know we're here. Neith? Can you handle this one?”

“Leave it to me, Sire.” The grey dragon in human form vanishes in a seeming puff of smoke.

“Hrmm… I thought we came here to practice fighting monsters without destruction.”

“My Love is obviously concerned about hidden tricks behind the magic of these monsters. The thorusk hakkadel was able to counter his railgun.”

Hekate gasps. “That's why you haven't been practicing with it! And why your face smelled like the targets instead of normal.” She cups his helmet, trying to remember if he had any new scars on his face.

Daniel chuckles, but he confirms, “She's right. The one disadvantage to using unprecedented means is that the consequences are also unprecedented. Given what Veiranoei just said, a reliable strategy for a… kamai… uh, kamaitachi benki? It is to draw it in by withstanding its attacks and then trapping it with powerful magic for the centurion to finish off.”

Veiranoei gasps. “Th-That’s right! How did you…?”

“That much is rather obvious, I would hope,” replies Senn. “Lightweight monsters are what tank roles are for.”

“Tank… role?” asks Veiranoei.

“You'd waste a whole tank on a small-fry like that?” asks Hekate. Vaergraes also looks unsure.

Daniel explains, “She means a combatant that specializes in the front line, specifically drawing out enemy attacks and protecting others. It was named after the vehicle, since tanks are notorious for being immune to conventional attacks, including most rifles. You know, until anti-tank rifles were developed.”

“And then, became anti-dragon rifles, yes?” jokes Kera’tai warmly.

Hekate hums, understanding his explanation. “Yes, I see. Makes sense. I… think.”

“I’ll explain better later, Sweetpea. What I really wanted us to see is this;” He points at the kamaitaizen benki. Suddenly, a gust kicks up around it, and it leaps almost instinctively away from the side the gust originated on.

Hekate jumps to her feet. “How did it-...!?”

Neith, having been disrupted by the gust, is now visible, and though he didn’t take any damage, thanks to his armor, he is noticeably surprised, even from the distance the rest are.

Daniel explains, “The lightning bear had a passive effect with its lightning, which discharged to defend it. It could intercept ranged attacks, including bullets.”

“How?” asks Vaergraes. “I’ve never heard of monsters creating magic barriers.”

“It wasn’t. Lightning can travel faster than a bullet, which is closer to the speed of sound. The kamaitachi benki seems to have a passive wind current around it that is a lot more potent than it appears. It can probably deflect projectiles, especially arrows. I doubt it would have survived either of our weapons, but it’s what I wanted to see.”

The group watches as the benki is startled by Neith’s appearance next to it, but he quickly lunges at it, snatching it by the neck and then pivoting its head violently, silencing it at once, even as the wind picked up briefly when the benki tried to defend itself.

“Alright, I think we can move closer. Stay alert.” Daniel stands up, patting Hekate on the back. She and Doephluev bound into step with him, and Hekate asks, “How did you know?”

“I made an assumption based on another monster I met. But, I used a method to test it. The basics of science.”

“Mm-hmm. Makes sense,” replies the small feldrok empress.

Senn, Veiranoei Kera'tai and Vaergraes join the three in walking towards Neith, who waits patiently, studying the monster he just finished.

“For someone supposedly lacking magic, Daniel, you are rather observant,” remarks Senn.

“I probably got pretty lucky this time, but I wanted to expect something along those lines.” He touches his own cheek, which is protected by his helmet this time. “I got lucky last time that I was able to learn the lesson.”

“Hmm… I see. Well, from what you’ve told me, it’s impressive you’ve come as far as you have. But, does it bother you that you are surrounded by people far stronger than you are?”

“No. We have a common goal, and Hekate becomes the Master of the Citadel if anything happens to me. I’d wish them luck.”

Hekate grumbles, “Don’t even joke about that, Daniel. It won’t stop anyone.”

“Which is why, if I’m ever taken hostage, it shouldn’t stop you. Anyone trying to manipulate you will only ever kill me anyways. Risk my life and save me, or you’ll lose either way.”

She hesitates, but Doephluev murmurs gently, “He’s right,... your Greatness. Brosjak had no intention of turning the dragons over, even if Daniel won. He would have laughed to his death just to relish in Daniel’s anger.” She gingerly holds her hand on his forearm so as to not get in his way if he needs to aim his rifle, but for once, she doesn’t have her usual confidence or arrogance.

Hekate is also quiet for a moment, but she replies softly, “I-... I’ll always save you Daniel, because I know you’ll always save me, too.”

Daniel smiles. “Good. But let's both do our best not to be captured.” He looks at Senn, adding, “I trust the people around me. Even the most dangerous ones.” He said it to reassure Doephluev, and he can feel her twitch, her grip tightening a little on his forearm.

She does sigh, though. “You’re too trusting, my Love. Even if…”

Hekate grumbles, “For once, I agree with you.”

The mechanic chuckles. “I’m glad that you guys have all been good at heart. After all, I trusted you with my life before anyone else, Sweetpea.”

Hekate hums, her cheeks filling with color and heat, though her own helmet hides her face from Daniel.

Just before anyone adds anything else, they reach Neith, who stands up. “My Liege. It was no trouble, but I suspect you were aware of the wind barrier before I was.”

Daniel nods, explaining his thinking again to Neith.

“I see. So, you wanted to test your hypothesis.”

“Yes, though we’ll have to be careful. The kamaitachi benki didn’t seem especially strong, and its element was relatively harmless.”

“Kamaitachi?” asks Neith. “Do you mean kamaitaizen?”

Daniel cocks his head. “Oh… Yes.” He scoffs, looking at the other six with him. “Why didn’t any of you correct me?”

Hekate shrugs. “It’s a new monster for me. Why should I know?”

“I assumed you were giving it a new name, my Love,” replies Doephluev. “You are the Emperor.”

“I knew what you meant,” adds Senn.

Vaergraes smiles. “You said it rather naturally, so I was going to ask if it’s a name from Earth.” Kera’tai nods in agreement with the archpriestess.

“I… didn’t think it was my place,” murmurs Veiranoei. “A-After all, I’m… a concubine in name only…”

“I prefer consort, and your opinion will always matter to me. As you can see, I can be wrong.” He looks at the Uhl’tall priestess next. “And, kamaitachi is a spirit reminiscent of a weasel, and which has blades for paws, or wind blades; something like that. And they ride on the wind.”

“Ahh!” cheers Hekate. “Then we should just call it that! It’s just like the one from Earth!”

“It was more easily defeated than I assume a true kamaitachi would be, though I doubt even in Japanese mythology, a kamaitachi could go toe to toe with a dragon for very long. Though, I don’t know.”

There’s a sudden cacophony of chaotic noise, similar to a bunch of small mammals yowling. Everyone turns towards the epicenter of the monster zone they identified. The spread of the sound was quite wide, and it was definitely more than one creature.

Senn jokes as she readies her magic staff, “It seems like you’ll get to gauge it for yourself, Daniel. I do hope you get whatever information you seek from this.”

Daniel checks the breach of his rifle and sets it to semi-automatic, and Hekate arms her ice blaster’s primer.

The human mechanic trapped in another world remarks dryly, “I think I’m going to learn a lot of things. Veiranoei, stay close to me. Hekate, make sure to lead your targets if they’re moving fast. The rest of you, please remember the forest is a precious resource.”

Everyone confirms, and they ready themselves for a battle against numbers, which is what Daniel was trying to avoid.

What he hopes to figure out is how they noticed, since Neith managed to stop the kamaitaizen benki -now dubbed kamaitachi for Daniel’s sake- from making a sound.

Of course, Daniel has to remember that he’s in a world of magic, and as such, many things could have simpler explanations than he might think.

***