I asked Wendy and Shiro to handle the cleaning—something most single men find a hassle—as a way for them to make up. Meanwhile, I locked myself away in the alchemy room.
As usual, I crafted five vibrators and stored them in my magic space.
Then came the message.
『Spatial Magic skill level has increased to 3』
Ohhh.
Finally hit Level 3.
Hopefully, this means I can use teleportation magic now or something along those lines.
【Spatial Magic Lv.3: Invisible Jail
Solidifies a cubic area of space. Size is adjustable.
If no target is specified, space around the user will automatically solidify.】
Hmm…?
Solidifying space?
And what’s with the ominous name, Invisible Jail?
Well, guess I’ll try activating it for now.
……
Hmm?
Did anything change?
「Master! The dishes are all done!」
The door burst open as Shiro came flying at me.
「Gwah…」
「Hey, Shiro. I told you to knock first… Wait, what are you doing?」
「Shiro, you okay?」
Just as she usually does, she tried to leap onto me—but about one meter away, she smacked into something and came to a sudden stop.
「Oww… I hit something」
「Ah—sorry about that」
So that’s what Invisible Jail does.
It creates a solid wall by hardening the space.
If I don’t specify anything, it surrounds me. If I do, it centers on the designated target.
Makes sense why it’s called a jail… If I don’t specify a target, I trap myself.
「Hmm… I can’t reach lord. Why not?」
「Shiro… you’re floating…?」
Shiro was climbing against the invisible wall and now hovered about fifty centimeters above me.
Seriously? It even creates footing?
That’s surprisingly useful.
「Sorry. I was testing out a new skill I just learned. I’ll deactivate it now」
「A new skill?」
「Yeah. Spatial Magic just hit level 3」
As I said that, I canceled the spell and Shiro dropped right into my arms.
I caught her in a princess carry and gently lowered her to the floor, only for her to immediately climb into my lap again.
Well, might as well experiment a bit more while I’m at it.
「Wendy, could you stay right there for a second」
「Eh? Sure」
This time, I cast Invisible Jail around both her and Shiro.
「Alright. Looks like it works even with Shiro inside」
「Hmm? Feels kind of fuzzy」
「Uh… is it already active?」
「Yeah, it’s up and running」
Good. It works even with people other than me inside. Now for the next test…
「Wendy, switch places with Shiro. Shiro, go to where Wendy is standing」
「Hmm? Got it」
「Understood」
Shiro moved to where Wendy had originally been, while Wendy slowly stepped forward toward me, cautiously reaching out her hands.
「Ah, there really is something here」
「Lord, I got in. But I can’t get back out」
So, you can exit from the inside.
「Shiro. Catch」
「Hmm」
I picked up a nearby empty magic stone and tossed it to Shiro.
It passed cleanly through the barrier, and she caught it with ease.
「Oooh. So it can freely pass from the inside」
Things, whether living or not, can pass from inside to outside.
But the reverse doesn’t work.
Which side is the prison, exactly…?
「Next is durability. If it were infinite, that’d be too overpowered… Shiro, try attacking the invisible wall for me」
「Aye」
Shiro drew a large knife from her waist and slashed at the Invisible Jail.
I could feel the durability of the wall drop, even if I couldn’t see it.
「One more time, Shiro」
「Hmm」
Just as I suspected.
While there’s no visible gauge, I could tell another two hits would bring it down.
「Two more strikes, please」
「Got it」
With two quick slashes, the barrier silently shattered.
I knew the wall was gone the moment it broke.
「Is it down?」
「Yeah」
「Then… hyaa!」
I immediately reactivated the spell.
I wanted to know if there was any delay before reactivation.
Apparently not.
Naturally, Shiro dove forward again and smacked right into the newly formed wall.
「Lord… you’re cruel…」
「Ah, sorry. I figured this could be useful in an emergency, so I wanted to test it thoroughly while I could…」
I quickly deactivated the wall, scooped her up, and gently stroked her head to calm her down.
「Master, I don’t really understand spatial magic, but can it block spells too?」
「Hmm. Good question. Let’s test that too」
「Then, if you’ll allow me」
I reactivated Invisible Jail around myself and Shiro, waiting for Wendy to cast her spell.
「Here I go. 『Aqua Shot』」
Several orbs of water formed around Wendy and launched toward us, but they collided with the Invisible Jail and were stopped cold.
Just like with physical attacks, the wall held—but I could tell its durability was decreasing with each impact.
「Whew. I guess it functions like a limited-use defensive spell」
「Haah… Seems that way. At least it blocked my magic and didn’t hit Master」
This is great.
In a world where you never know what might happen, having a skill that can protect you when it counts is a real comfort.
As a bonus, it looked like the capacity of my magic space had increased too.
What used to be slots 0 to 9 had become 0 to 19.
I hadn’t even been using all ten slots before, but having more room is always a good thing.
「It wasn’t a teleportation skill, but at least I can stop Shiro’s charges with this now」
「Noo, don’t block me」
Shiro flailed around on my lap, clearly frustrated. I wouldn’t mind her so much if she’d just stop leaping at me like that.
It actually hurts a bit… and the knife on her hip is pressing into me. That really hurts…
Now, the issue is how much MP it uses…
「Looks like the MP cost depends on the size. But even if I make several of them, it doesn’t seem to drain an excessive amount」
「Convenient」
「Yeah. Actually… this is a good chance. Let’s test the skill with a little game」
「Game? What kind?」
「First, go outside the room. I’ll call you once it’s ready, and then you can come in」
「What should I do, then?」
「You too, Wendy. Since you’re here, you can join the game. It’s a race—whoever reaches me first wins」
「Shiro will win…」
「It seems like I’ll lose when it comes to physical ability…」
「Well, don’t worry about that」
I had the two of them leave the room and began setting things up.
To be honest, it’s just a maze made with invisible walls.
Since the room is small, I formed narrow, thin sections of Invisible Jail. And you know what?
Making them thin and narrow is much more MP efficient.
I figured the MP cost was probably based on the total internal volume.
So if I create flat, thin walls like partitions, I can significantly reduce MP usage.
If I need to defend from attacks in multiple directions, I can still just make a full enclosure.
This skill might actually be pretty useful.
Anyway, I built dead ends and forks, and after a little work, the maze was done.
「Alright, you two can come in now. First one to reach me wins」
「Hup! Oof」
「Shiro, I told you we’re testing the skill. You can’t just run straight at me…」
「There’s a wall… I can’t tell where anything is…」
「Naturally, breaking the walls is not allowed. Anything else goes」
「Muuu, Master is being mean」
「If you break it, there’s no point to the game」
I put effort into making this, so I really want them to try and finish it.
From where I stood, watching the correct route, Wendy seemed to have a slight advantage.
She wasn’t getting lost as much and was making her way to me steadily.
「Hmm… ah, with this, I win!」
Just as expected, Wendy reached me first, keeping her pace steady.
「Muu…」
「Shiro, you kept going back and forth in the same spot」
「I could do it if I followed your scent…」
「Ufufu. As the winner, I shall claim a seat on Master’s lap」
「Eh, wa—」
ZUGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!!!
「I can’t accept that」
S-Shiro-san? Did you just destroy all the walls at an insane speed to get here?
Is this skill… really okay?
Can it even work as a proper defense skill!?
Also, please put that knife away. It’s dangerous.
Your progress is a bit… intense.
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