Painting Magic

The novel's serialization went very smoothly. Through the guild master's connections, the newspaper offered 3,000J per thousand words.

Aibo had no idea whether that price was high or low, but apparently, it was above the average rate.

Each newspaper installment was about three thousand words, bringing in an average of 10,000J a day—around 300,000J a month.

To the people in the guild, that was only the equivalent of a few jobs. Looking at it that way, mages really did have stronger earning power. It wasn't easy for ordinary people to make money.

Fortunately, this was only the beginning. Once the novels were published as standalone volumes later on, he should be able to make serious money.

But speaking of Naruto, it really needed a manga. It was one of the few manga he had actually finished reading. It would be nice to commemorate the past life he could never return to.

With that thought in mind, Aibo went to find Lydas, the guild member skilled in Painting Magic.

"Big Brother Lydas, have you read the novel that's been serialized in the Kingdom Daily lately?"

Lydas was nineteen this year. He dressed impeccably in daily life, nearly always wearing a suit and top hat. His personality was very gentle, making him seem utterly out of place among the guild's bunch of violent apes.

Lydas usually liked sitting in a corner of the guild and drawing. He was one of the few men Aibo had to take the initiative to approach, the introvert treasure in a guild full of extroverts.

"Ah, little Aibo. A novel in the newspaper? I haven't noticed it."

"Oh, then take a look."

Aibo directly stuffed the manuscript into Lydas's hands. Introverts like this generally didn't know how to refuse, so he just had to force the issue.

Lydas picked up the manuscript and scratched his head awkwardly. He had originally wanted to draw, but... he accepted it and began reading anyway.

"Hmm? Aibo, have you learned my Smoke Magic?"

Wakaba, who had nothing better to do, came over to tease the kid.

Wakaba was a young man with a long, curled pompadour. He looked like a punk, but he was quite warmhearted. He had taught Aibo Smoke Magic for a day before, and he and Macao, who liked using Fire Magic, were a pair of lousy friends.

"Not yet. I've been busy learning other magic."

Aibo replied with a cheerful smile. In truth, he just thought Smoke Magic was pretty useless. Its damage was low and it was all flash, so he didn't really want to learn it.

"Damn it, that Macao guy's Fire Magic is useless. I put it out easily every time. Don't learn from him."

Yesterday, Aibo had used Fire Magic in the guild. Macao had excitedly shouted that he wanted to teach him purple flames, then repeatedly showed off in front of Wakaba.

Who knew what these bored adults were competing over.

"I'm not planning to learn Fire Magic right now. I'm interested in Big Brother Lydas's Painting Magic."

Aibo shook his head. He planned to focus on Word Magic in the days ahead, but he needed to maintain the image of someone who loved learning all kinds of magic.

Maybe someday, some fool would come knocking and offer to teach him new magic.

"Aibo, this novel is pretty great."

At that moment, Lydas had already finished the manuscript, his expression delighted.

"It's being serialized in the Kingdom Daily? Looks like I'll have to buy an extra paper from now on."

"What is it? Let me take a look."

Aibo handed the manuscript to Wakaba and said to Lydas, "Big Brother Lydas, do you like it? Are you interested in turning this novel into a manga? We can work together and make a fortune."

"A manga? Wait, work together? Did you write this novel, Aibo?"

Lydas was so shocked that his glasses fell off.

"That's right."

"Fine, I'll believe that for now. But then again, how would a manga be drawn? Like one of those picture books?"

"It's a little different... How about you teach me Painting Magic first? So, are you willing to work together and make money?"

Lydas scratched his head in distress.

"If we can make money... then of course I don't mind. I already love drawing, but I don't really want to turn drawing into work..."

"In principle, I won't rush you for pages. I'll only handle the novel side. I understand not wanting to turn something you love into something utilitarian."

"Then all right, let me teach you—"

"Tch, brat, is it really okay for you to waste your talent like this?"

A not particularly friendly voice rang out, and Aibo felt someone rest an arm on top of his head.

"I heard you learned Gildarts's magic? Not bad. But right now, you should be focusing on increasing your magic power, instead of wasting time learning magic with no real future. You get what I mean?"

"Hey! Laxus! That's too much!"

Wakaba put down the manuscript, clicked his tongue, and rebuked him.

Aibo also knew who had come up behind him.

Laxus, fifteen years old, was Guild Master Makarov's grandson. He could use an incredibly powerful type of Lightning Magic and was the strongest of the younger generation. But he was sensitive inside, liked acting cool, and was a classic tsundere.

His father, Ivan, was an S-Class mage, but he was full of bad intentions and one of the few genuinely bad apples in this guild.

Aibo had judged that neither father nor son would be easy to approach. They usually had little interaction, so he had not expected Laxus to come looking for him today.

"What? Did I say anything wrong? Your magic really is weak~"

Laxus sneered like an arrogant little brat, then patted Aibo's head again.

"So, what do you say, brat? Stop hanging around these losers. How about I teach you Lightning Magic?"

See? Maintaining his image was important. Wasn't someone delivering a skill right to his door?

Aibo turned around, pretended not to understand, and gave him a sweet smile.

"Thank you, Big Brother Laxus~ But I'm learning Painting Magic right now. Once I learn Big Brother Lydas's magic, I'll come find you."

Laxus:?

Laxus had wanted to curse him out, but when he saw that the other party was only a six-year-old little brat, he let it go. He even found it somewhat boring.

"Tch, I'm leaving."

Only after Laxus had gone far away did Wakaba angrily slap the table and take a drag of his cigarette.

"That brat Laxus is getting more and more arrogant. Aibo, you absolutely mustn't learn from him."

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. Don't argue. If Aibo wants to learn Painting Magic, he first has to learn how to draw. This can only be done step by step."

"It's fine, Big Brother Lydas. Just teach me. As for whether I can learn it, I'll think of a way myself."

Lydas:?

Aibo had no intention of wasting time learning how to draw. If he didn't use his cheat, then wouldn't his transmigration have been for nothing? As long as the skill appeared on the system, he could instantly put points into it!

"Okay... Well, Painting Magic is actually a combination of Word Magic and Modeling Magic. It has another name: [Word Modeling Magic]. It's a type of Modeling Magic that grants the painting itself certain properties.

"The difference is that to materialize a painting with Painting Magic, you need to pour magic power into the entire picture 'instantly' and 'simultaneously.'

"I can't do that, so I draw the paintings on my skin and inject magic power through my body. That means I can only materialize very small objects..."

As he spoke, Lydas used a brush to paint a lifelike pink bird on his palm.

Once he finished, the little bird flew out of his palm and landed on Aibo's hand.

"Chirp chirp~"

Whether in sight, sound, or feel, it was no different from a real little bird.

Then the bird flew onto a sheet of paper. The magic was released, and it turned back into a painting of a bird.

Lydas looked at his painting and revealed a very gentle smile.

"Isn't it magical? That's why I like this magic."

"Yes, it's very beautiful magic."

Aibo nodded, but from the corner of his eye, he glanced at his system panel.

[Modeling Magic LV0, 333/1000], [Painting Magic LV0, 1/1000]

Painting Magic had appeared after the Modeling Magic entry, side by side with it rather than on a separate line.

Aibo looked at his reserves again.

[Inspiration Points: 5481]

Hmm, time to add points!