In the life of a wizard

New day, new things to do.

I'm just kidding; I don't have anything on my agenda, which is annoying because I've always—be it here or in my previous world—always had tasks to complete, but not today… no, today I woke up, and nothing came to mind. So, I started working out, ate some food, but still, I couldn't find anything else to do.

This lasted only a little while… until I summoned my Grimoire.

It turned out I could always check the spell modification or spell creation sections, and I would have something to occupy my time.

There were many modified spell models, ranging from a harmless lighting charm that creates fake rainbows to a very cruel and painful castration curse—which, after I read it, I couldn't unread it…

It was a dark curse designed to be painful, yes, a dark and evil curse that I would not use, even on my worst enemies—I just jinxed myself, didn’t I? Eh, doesn’t matter…

I stopped reading there—I didn't have any other newly created spells, so I closed the Grimoire. I should use my time in this world to seek inspiration and create as many new spells as I can.

With nothing else to do, I decided to start performing my Sagely duties, which is basically me sitting down, getting comfortable, and releasing most of the pure natural energy I have into my domain while absorbing the corrupted natural energy from the environment into my domain and body, in which I use the pure energy to scrub clean the corruption, destroy it, and then release the now-pure energy back, over and over again…

While doing that, I noticed that even though I have a lot of extremely pure and condensed natural energy stored in my body—which passively strengthens my body—I didn't have many ways to use it for combat; I previously utilized it as an auxiliary skill for scanning, sensing, etc.… even now, I just use my domain without actually researching more ways to use this energy…

My bad—it seems I do have things to do.

I heard a knock on my door, so I stood up and went to open it. I was so engrossed in doing my job and thinking of ways to develop and use natural energy that I didn't pay attention to the devil who arrived.

I stood face to face with a tall blond guy with silver eyes. He was carrying three different pink luggage bags. I looked at him, then at the bags, then back at him, and all I could say was, "I'm sorry, this is not a hotel. You've got the wrong address," in a professional tone—Professionalism, thy name is Harry…

"Excuse me. Are you Harry Potter? I'm Liban Crocell, knight of Sairaorg Bael. I am here to deliver the books you requested," he said with a straight face, completely ignoring what I said…

I stared at him for a few seconds, then it clicked. "You're telling me that these bags have the books I asked for?" I asked, feeling a bit weirded out. I thought they would come in a package, or maybe with an equivalent of pouches with a space extension charm; even a wooden box full of books would have been better…

I would have asked about this unusual method of delivery, but this has Kuisha written all over it—some pitiful attempt implying I should leave—still, I won’t complain about getting new bags, even if I have no use for them…

"Yes, and also my king told me to give you this phone here; his number is saved inside so you can call him in case you need anything." His answer was concise and on point—I didn't need to use natural energy sensing to know he had been instructed to deliver this and return immediately.

"Okay then, thank you." I didn’t need to say more; he just turned around and left via teleportation.

I took the bags inside, opened them, and started sorting through the books.

There were many on different topics—from magic theory to the history of human magic, both modern and ancient—involving deities and gods—to various runic inscriptions, symbols, and languages.

There were basics on magic circle creation, and books about the general supernatural world, the human magical world, and their prominent organizations, associations, and families.

Although I noticed that the books didn't cover much about devil society beyond the most well-known things.

It was very obvious that they were trying to establish a long-lasting relationship with me, guessing that I would keep asking for more books about devils and their magic…

They weren’t wrong, and it’s not like I would refuse interacting with them or anything; I liked Sairaorg, he seemed like a guy I would enjoy talking to—just his drive to become strong is enough for me—totally not because I want to know about how he manipulates his life energy…

Seriously though, he seemed like a fun guy; he was calm, controlled his emotions well, and he didn’t give off the same feeling Kuisha did, probably because he didn’t have much magic, and that’s a good thing, because I can tell I wouldn’t stay with devils for a prolonged period of time because we won’t get along…

The feel their magic gives off just doesn’t suit me; sure, I haven’t met more than three devils, but for now, this is my stance…

‘Let’s forget about them for now’…

It took a while to organize the books in the library because I did the organizing by hand—just because I could—and because I wanted my Grimoire to finish analyzing all the newly copied information so that I could begin doing what I want to do…

After that, I started my research. I began by reading the basics normally while giving my Grimoire the task of comparing the new knowledge with my old wizarding knowledge, which, now that I think about it, I have not delved into more deeply—but that’s not my fault…

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x_

I figured it out.

The reason why I don't notice nor care about how much time passes. This discovery came to me when I finally finished studying everything in the books and realized I didn't know how long it had been.

I only noticed that time had passed by the unpleasant smell in the place—the unclean cooking utensils… when did I cook? I have no freaking idea! The dusty surroundings, the various plastic wrappers, and last but not least, me. Even I smelled bad!!

I don't usually stink; magic and natural energy keep my smell fresh—Oh, don’t get me wrong, I still shower daily, sometimes more than twice a day, but still—I shouldn't smell…

All of this is not important right now.

I tried hard to figure out why and how I blocked everything else—how did I not care about time, and why didn't this happen to my younger self? etc.…

It turned out it did happen to my younger self; he just always had someone waking him up from his trance…

Anyway, where was I? Oh right, the reason—well, the reason for this is simple: I don't have a biological or internal clock like most people.

It seems the old man was right about the side effects of being in the 'void.'

So yeah, even if there are people like me who can focus and fixate on one thing so that they forget everything else around them—they could still snap out of it after some time to do something else or just lose focus—I can't do that.

I pretty much leave my body on autopilot, and that, coupled with my lack of the urgency brought on by time—because unlike most humans, I will not die from age for a long time—explains almost everything for now.

I may be wrong, but that's the most plausible explanation I have for what happened.

It took me a while to get everything in order again; the cleaning was done by magic though—I am not cleaning this mess by hand. The shower was pleasant, and I felt like a new person afterward.

I also figured out how long I had been studying—ten days, that's how long. I still don't know how I still have food in the fridge after so long—I sure hope that I didn't go to the grocery store… that would have been awkward…

Oh, and I also figured out a way to tell the time while purifying energy… I just ask about it, and I'll know.

Oh, I know there are different charms for that, but if I don't really know the current date, time, and such to go by, then why use them...

Anyway, now I need some sleep.

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x_

And done!!! … finally!!

For those who are wondering what happened, I just created and incorporated an alarm spell into my Grimoire—Exciting, I know…

The concept of the spell is simple: it sends a mild electrical shock through my body to notify me when the time I set is up. It's ingenious because even if I forget to set the time, it will still shock me if more than 24 hours have passed since the last time I actively purified natural energy.

It's a great way to ensure I don't lose track of time again. My only fear is that I will somehow adapt to it, rendering it useless—but hey, let's not be negative before trying it out.

Now that I'm finished, it's time to actually plan what I want to accomplish—I've come to realize that I need more techniques, knowledge, and resources to excel and gain more power in this world—and to do that, I need to establish my presence.

I need to have influence, and to gain that, I need to create something new and let it bring me those connections.

I can think of many ways to help myself in achieving this, such as potions, alchemy, and warding.

Now that I have the basics of runic symbols and inscriptions of this world, I can finally create those wizarding-world-based wards, incorporate them, and maybe even create new ones that are far superior to those currently available—because let's face it, if there's anything the wizarding world excels at, it's hiding.

Then there's alchemy—I haven't yet studied how alchemy is practiced here or in the wizarding world, for that matter. Now that I think about it, what should I name this world? I can't keep referring to it as "this world" repeatedly in my head… How about "DxD"? You know, because there are two dragon gods who are known to be the strongest in this world… Yeah, let's go with that.

Anyway, I also have everything I need to start delving into the alchemy of the wizarding world recorded and analyzed inside my Grimoire… Yeah, I will have to start studying this soon...

There's also enchanting, artifact creation, and numerous other methods, but I think I'll start with wards first.

It's the easiest and most available to me now.

And start I did. I went to the office room, opened the hidden compartment under the trapdoor, took out the ward stone, and disabled it.

Now comes the hard part: I don't have a new one, so I will have to permanently transfigure this one into a new circular disc-shaped one. It will be a waste of magic, but I regenerate magic very quickly, so I'll be fine.

Some might consider permanent transfiguration a myth in modern wizardry, but that's only because very few can do it properly.

First of all, to transfigure something permanently, you need a significant amount of magic—I mean, it takes 4 to 5 McGonagall's worth of magic just to achieve permanent transfiguration for something as small as this warding stone…

Although now that I think about it, transmutation might have been a better option, with a very low magical cost too, if only I knew what ward stones are made of and how they're constructed—but unfortunately, I do not.

Hmm… maybe I should try to create an inspection spell or perhaps an analysis spell?

I'll think about that later. For now, focus!!

"Engorgio!" I cast an Enlargement spell on the ward stone, condensing pure magical energy in my index finger—which, by the way, made my finger feel like I had just dipped it in a mix of hot and cold water, and let's not forget the ticklish sensation too.

It's very different from natural energy, but now is not the time to describe the differences.

Focus!!

I began inscribing the runic arrays I wanted. I linked them together, creating a visually impressive interwinded circle.

Basic, but impressive.

There were five wards in total: a detection ward which detects magical and life signatures…

A space-locking ward—which, by the way, was the hardest to create. I drew inspiration from the anti-apparition wards, although this one was designed to allow only my own teleportation circle to function within the ward's perimeter.

There’s also the weakening, draining, and incapacitating wards, which do exactly as their names suggest—the weakening ward is a curse-like ward that uses magic to physically weaken enemies.

The draining one, on the other hand, drains anyone unregistered of their magic or life energy and stores it inside the ward stone.

The incapacitating ward is just a stunning spell-like ward that delivers the final blow and knocks intruders unconscious after they have been weakened and drained enough.

These five are linked in such a way that they form a basic circle, absorbing magic from the surroundings or enemies to store it inside the stone.

It was a really nice ward scheme.

I can still upgrade these wards to an entirely new level, but then a problem arises: how to link them—I can't link them the way wizards do because the linking rune doesn't work. So it all boils down to knowledge; I don't have enough information about the runic languages used in this world.

I took a break and started browsing my Grimoire for some inspiration… ahem, stories, ahem.

I was led into reading a story called "Dragon Ball." After reading a few chapters of it, I came to the conclusion that—this one is far superior to the embarrassing show called "Drag-So-Ball" they have here—which I am still embarrassed about the young me liking…

And just so you know, my Grimoire rocks!!!! It knew just what to do and how to baptize me and lead me to the light that is "Dragon Ball," forever leaving the darkness…

Ahem, I might have lost it there for a bit, but in all seriousness, what I said is still true: 'Dragon Ball' is much better.

The plot, characters, and everything were just great—it included aliens, gods, powers, technology, and didn't feature monkey yokais, devils, or overpowered humans.

Who are they kidding when they wrote "Drag-So-Ball"? Humans usually lack the potential, power, lifespan, or anything significant other than the fact that they can reproduce faster than any other race—so who are they trying to fool?

I don't know who writes this anime nonsense here, but he/she is definitely aware of the supernatural—one can see it in the way he/she panders to different races while ignoring the plot's relevance.

Anyway, the stories I have in here are numerous, so I can draw inspiration from them and create some powerful spells, just like now when I was inspired to create either a gravity ward or maybe a gravity alteration circle—I still haven’t quite worked out the details yet—though this was one of the first things I decided to create because it could benefit me greatly.

At first, I thought about weight-altering wards, but then my Grimoire skipped forward, showing me the parts about the gravity chamber and stuff, and I changed my mind.

Even though the gravity ward is more challenging and harder to create, it will help me better.

You see, this all started when I thought about how natural energy passively strengthens my body, but what if I exert myself harder? Will my body grow stronger faster? I don’t actually know because I was now way beyond the natural limits of human strength…

Even if it doesn't work, it will still be an incredible defensive ward…

Ugh… I shook my head in frustration while banging the floor with my fist—all of this is nice and all, but I don't have enough knowledge to bring those ideas into reality….

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x_

Nothing beats frustration quite like ice cream—no matter what anyone says, the answer is always ice cream.

So, where did the ice cream come from? It all started with my first experiment in alchemy. I took up studying alchemy to alleviate my frustration—right? Because distracting yourself with what you love to do is always nice.

After an hour of reading about the basics of alchemical transmutation, I found myself hungry and thinking about food, so I decided to design and draw a transmutation circle to make the food for me…

The circle still needs some more work…

Anyway, I thought, "Let's start with something simple." And ice cream was the first thing that came to mind, so I placed milk, sugar, and an apple into the circle—and voilà! Apple-flavored ice cream.

After that initial success, I continued experimenting until I created a very basic flavor-enhancing alchemical circle.

Its function is simple: you point your hand at the food you want to enhance the taste of and pour your magic into it—the results vary, offering enhancements from two to five times the original flavor, depending on how much magic you use—it was a great way to pass the time and forget about everything else.

Some might wonder, "Why aren't you out searching for the knowledge you crave instead of wasting time?" Well, the answer to that is: I'm waiting—waiting for what, you ask? I'm waiting for devils to come knocking on my door again, asking questions and making deals.

Why would they come to check? Well, I just activated my new wards. This means magic is now more active in the environment—on a magical detector, it would look like a very strong flashlight suddenly burst into existence.

And let's not forget about their familiars keeping an eye on me, which, by the way, is neither subtle nor sneaky….

I haven't bothered with it before because I've been busy, but now it's just a matter of time before they show up.

I laid down on the wooden floor, staring at the ceiling, and began thinking about everything—from the unfinished job I left behind to my new unfinished one. I hadn't really thought about it until now—after I finished my flavor-enhanced food and ice cream…

Anyhow, after a lot of thought, I came to the conclusion that the old man was right—even if I was slightly unconvinced at first, after reviewing everything that happened until I woke up here in DxD, I found what he said to be true.

The only thing that explains how effortlessly everything unfolded? It was because he wanted it to be that way; otherwise, it was a shit ton of luck.

I didn't want to rely on that, but at the same time, I was tempted to ride that wave until I became strong enough to create new ones for myself.

I still don't know how to complete my job here; purifying nature is easy—that task is already half done because of the 14 years of passive purification, and I could be done with it quickly.

I could always inscribe formations onto the ley lines to continue doing the same even after I leave, but that too requires me to be strong, with excellent control over external and wild magic—which I don't have yet…

The precision and control needed for that would be akin to trying to write a thousand words on a very thin silk thread—in a metaphysical sense.

The task of finding a successor for Yehwa is what might cause trouble. I can't fathom giving that kind of power to a normal human, especially with the faith that had been accumulating for millennia.

"Knock knock."

A knock on my door jolted me from my musings. I really wanted to crack a knock-knock joke that popped into my head, but I didn't want to hurt my image with lame humor.

I slowly walked toward the door, dragging my feet, while also opening my Grimoire to appear busy reading something…

I opened the door slowly and lazily, and lo and behold, Sairaorg Bael himself stood there, all smiles, with Kuisha standing a few steps behind him.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying my utmost to sound bored and indifferent—don't get me wrong; I was excited that my predictions were correct, but they didn't need to know that.

"Harry! How are you? How's your magic study going?" Sairaorg asked cheerfully.

I continued to stare at him, saying nothing.

"Cough, cough." He faked a cough to avoid further embarrassment and continued, "Sorry if we bothered you, but we noticed your new wards and wanted to see them up close." This time, his voice was calm.

"You mean your familiars notified you, and Kuisha wanted to come see them but didn't want to come alone, so she dragged you along?" I said sarcastically, knowing I had hit the nail on the head—I mean, why would someone who knows nothing about magical wards come otherwise?

"Yes," he replied in a low voice, earning a glare from Kuisha, who had been silent since arriving.

"Well, now that you've sensed them, you can go home," I said, turning to re-enter and attempting to close the door.

"What's your problem? We came here respectfully, and you're trampling all over that respect!" she raised her voice.

"Do you want to handle this, or should I?" I asked Sairaorg, completely ignoring the fuming girl.

"Don't drag me into this," he replied quickly, taking a few steps to the side.

"Well, since he wouldn't explain it, let me do it for him. Stalking someone—either solo or through other means—isn't a good trait. Coming to someone's house without sending a notice first is poor etiquette. Showing up just to satisfy your curiosity about something that's none of your business—and then trying to take the moral high ground—is just lowlife behavior…" I said with a scolding tone, while trying to maintain my indifferent expression.

Some may wonder, 'What are you doing? Why are you arguing about trivial matters when you could be pursuing that deal you wanted?'

Well, this is just the prologue. You know, the introductory steps—and for those who didn't buy that nonsense, well, just because.

"You, you!! Ugh!! You are unbelievably arrogant. Who do you think you are? Why would I stalk you? I have much better things to do with my time! My familiar was just monitoring you to see if…" She started rambling, but I cut her off.

"Blah blah blah, and I'm the one with attitude problems. Anyway, if you have something to say, do it quickly. I have gravity wards to try and figure out," I replied in the same bored tone.

I was trying to throw her off, while also throwing Sairaorg a bone, but judging by Sairaorg's amused expression, I think he saw through it…

"What do the gravity wards you are trying to create do?" he asked me, his face full of hopes and expectations….

I stand corrected; the bone I threw worked.

"Well, I am trying to create either a ward or a stationary magical circle that can be used for training, you know—increasing the gravity on your body while working out and all that…" I explained…

"Did it work? Do you think it would? Do you need more books to make it work? Just tell me which, and I will have them delivered to you. All you have to do is promise me to install it for me as soon as you create it," he said quickly, his voice sounding excited like a kid who was about to do anything to receive a Christmas gift.

"Well, it should work. I am trying to create something that can be adjusted continuously, so if I have more books on magical circles, and runes, inscriptions and the likes—the more the better—I can do it faster," I said with a smile.

"Done!! I will have all the books delivered to you. You just need to create it and install it for me in return for the books. Deal?" He was very excited, and I can see why.

When all you have is a strong body, you want it to be stronger…

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