Third Outer World Story Series: Pumpkin Sorcerer - Chapter 15

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

“So what did you do?”

Mizuki questioned Pumpkin with a stern stare.

Even if you ask me what I did, I don’t exactly know… I should explain at any rate.

“Well, I gather the magic power to a single point…”

He created a sphere of magic in his right hand.

“And here is what I do.”

From there, he moved the sphere of magic power by repeatedly imagining it to contract and expand as if it were a racing heart, and sent more and more magic power into the sphere to synchronize with its beat.

“Then I’ll make more than one.”

He then produced several of the same things, and adjusted the rhythm of the beats so that they were aligned with each other, shifting the beat slightly.

“!?”

“Then it will look like this.”

At the instant when the beats were perfectly synchronized, the brilliance of the magic light emitted by the spheres became significantly stronger.

Mmm. Given Mizuki’s loss of words, is my way of controlling magic power not normally exercised?

In principle, it’s the same phenomenon as when waves and waves superimpose on each other and only grow in size.

Well, having been taught by Mizuki myself, it is not like I can say anything great about it.

“H-How can you wield such a large amount of magical power with such a composed expression?”

“That’s the result of my daily training. I practice it like this.”

“What!? Your magic attribute has changed!?”

Pumpkin changed the color of the magic power in front of the mystified Mizuki.

Judging from Mizuki’s reaction, the technique he just used didn’t seem to be a proper one either. Perhaps this was a technique that would be better off kept secret if Pumpkin ever stepped out of the forest.

“This is impossible. Where in the world would you learn such a technique from…?”

“As for the amplification, I was only taught that, but I’ve been doing a lot of color changing and I’ve learned how to do it.”

“You were taught?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When Pumpkin was manipulating the magic to intimidate the animals earlier, he remembered that he had been focused on the technique but all of a sudden his consciousness was sent to a strange space…

————–

“Huh? Where is this place?”

The sky was below him and the earth was above him.

In the sky, the days and nights were ferociously repeating, and on the earth, a multitude of plants was sprouting, growing, and withering away.

“Even my body is back to the time when I was a human being…”

In such a space where everything was undergoing a violent transition, where heaven and earth, as well as common sense, had been inverted, he was floating in the air as he had been when he was a human being in his former life.

“Where am I really?”

“This is the Outer World.”

“!?”

Hearing a voice answering his question that he didn’t expect to receive a response to, he turned in the direction of the voice in a panic.

However, he could not sight anyone who was supposed to be there.

“I can’t let you catch a glimpse of my appearance. Even my voice, if it were true, would not be heard. But you may be able to put an end to the repetition. So for now, I’ll just tell you one power I possess.”

“Ugh…”

As this enigmatic voice, whose age and gender was indistinguishable, spoke rapidly, something flowed into Pumpkin’s head.

That was a technique, a way of thinking, that would combine multiple waves and amplify or attenuate that wave. And its application.

“[Resonance]. I hope you put it to good use.”

“Wait… you are…”

Before he could ask the owner of the voice anything, his vision was rapidly darkening.

—————–

“So, by the time I realized it, I was brought back here, and I used it right away.”

“…”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Pumpkin gazed at Mizuki who was murmuring something and absorbed in contemplation after summarizing what had occurred to him.

Even Pumpkin himself was wondering about that phenomenon earlier that made him question his own sanity, but the power of [Resonance] itself was indeed handed over to him.

The [Resonance] that he can use now was only to resonate magic power and objects to draw out effects, and it could be used to assist him in learning the magic he had in mind. 

“Sigh…”

At this point, Mizuki heaved a sigh as if she has given up on something.

“Hmm? What’s the matter?”

“For the moment, I just gave up on a lot of things because they were so out of the ordinary, so don’t worry about it.”

“What?”

Mizuki’s words now caused a look of consternation on his face.

Indeed, I’ll admit that I’m out of the ordinary.

“I will ask you just in case, you don’t know the name of this forest, right, Pumpkin?”

“Or rather, I know well-nigh nothing about this world.”

He answered Mizuki’s question honestly.

In fact, having been stuck in this forest since his early reincarnation, most of the knowledge he obtained about this world originated from Mizuki.

“I get it. Then I’ll make sure I teach you everything I know.”

Mizuki turned to Pumpkin with a serious face. Her eyes were brimming with a powerful radiance.

“First of all, I told you that this lake is called Lake Accumulate, didn’t I?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“And this forest is called Lean Forest by the humans.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“And the most revered god for those who live in this world is also called ‘Lean’ by the people.”

“Hmm? Wait a minute…”

He was surprised by all the information he was abruptly given and tried to stop Mizuki’s words once in order to sort out the information.

But Mizuki, not caring what he said, articulated in a single breath, “I won’t wait. And let me make this crystal clear: this forest is known as Lean Forest because legend has it that it is the forest where the God is reported to be sleeping. Perhaps the person you met is Lean themselves, Pumpkin.”

“!!?”

After hearing Mizuki’s words, Pumpkin was left with no choice but to become completely speechless.