The Proper Way to Use a Cheat

While reading, Aibo discovered that magic power in this world could not only be used to construct magic arrays and cast spells, but could also strengthen the body like inner force.

He immediately thought of many possible uses for magic power, inspiration bursting forth. When he casually checked his Inspiration Points, he was shocked to find that they had surged by several dozen points.

So Aibo guessed that if he wanted to gain a large amount of Inspiration Points, he might need to let his imagination run wild and create new magic or something.

After all, they were called Inspiration Points. They had to be related to inspiration, right?

However, magic in this world had a long history and encompassed everything. With Aibo's current level of magic, creating an entirely new type of magic was not very realistic.

Still, he had not planned to truly create a new kind of magic. Proposing new ideas and devising new techniques should count as "inspiration" too.

As long as the ideas he proposed genuinely had a chance of being realized in this world, he would definitely gain a large amount of Inspiration Points!

So, Aibo set his sights on Gray.

After all, he did not have many options right now. In the guild, Gray was the only capable person willing to help him.

He was not close enough to the older children, Cana was still learning and refining her own magic, and the adults would be even less likely to pay attention to him.

Gray-boy was still a little tsundere, but he was straightforward and easy to fool. Super easy to handle.

"...But Gray, Sister Airo gave me the day off today. I want to see how you train."

"Haha! Did you hear that, Cana? Hand him over!"

Gray snatched Aibo from Cana's arms and arrogantly dragged him out of the guild.

"Come on, Aibo. I'll teach you how real men train!"

"Hey! You two, wait for me!"

Watching the three little kids leave the guild, the uncles laughed heartily as they drank.

"Our guild's new blood is really full of energy!"

"That kid Gray has gotten a lot brighter lately. He doesn't look as sour-faced as when he first arrived."

"Same with Cana. It's definitely all thanks to Aibo."

"A toast to Aibo!"

"Cheers!"

Meanwhile, the three of them chased and played their way to the riverbank outside town, where Gray began showing Aibo how he trained.

"Watch closely, Aibo. The first step of training is taking off your clothes!"

Cana furiously punched Gray in the head.

"Don't teach my little brother bad things!"

"Ahem, fine, you don't have to take them off. Anyway, this is a secret teaching of our school! Taking off your clothes heightens your awareness of magic power, letting you learn how to use ice magic faster!"

Rubbing the huge bump on his head, Gray muttered,

"But I've already passed that stage. Taking off my clothes now is just a habit. As for my real training method—"

"Ice-Make Magic—Ice Hammer!"

Gray brought one open palm and one clenched fist together in a clap, his magic power forming an invisible magic array in an instant.

A massive ice hammer half as tall as a person slammed onto the open ground ahead, smashing out a fairly deep pit.

"Ice Hammer!" "Ice Hammer!" "Ice Hammer!"

Gray created three more identical hammers in quick succession. The four ice hammers stood in a row, sending out a chill.

Gray panted lightly and placed his hands on his hips.

"Impressive, right? My shaping speed is faster than that of plenty of adult wizards. I can make ten hammers like this in a row!"

Cana crossed her arms and curled her lip.

"Your training is just endlessly making ice hammers here?"

"Of course not! First, I use up all my magic power, then I run along the riverbank while waiting for it to recover. Once it's fully restored, I keep practicing techniques, then run again. I just keep repeating the cycle."

"Huh? What kind of idiot training method is that?"

"It's not stupid! My master said that the body is the foundation that carries magic power. The stronger your body is, the more magic power it can withstand and store. Cana has no one teaching her, so she doesn't understand at all!"

"Huh!? I might as well meditate with that time! This is what Gildarts taught me!"

"Idiot! What are you going to do when you run into an enemy who fights at close range!?"

"You're the idiot! We're wizards, not warriors! Just figure out how to keep them from getting close! You're misleading a child!"

"Idiot Cana!"

"Bastard Gray!"

Aibo helplessly watched the two argue fiercely in front of him and start throwing punches, eventually turning into a tangled cloud of classic white dust.

Honestly, Aibo thought Cana was right. A mage should act like a mage. Wizards could not possibly strip shirtless and brawl with people, could they?

But what Gray said seemed to make some sense too. After all, magic power in this world could directly enhance the body.

And the three attributes displayed by his cheat system were [Stamina], [Strength], and [Magic Power]. He had a feeling this lousy system would not include them for no reason. Strength definitely had a major impact on combat.

But he did not need to think too much about that for now. He had not come here today to watch little brats beat each other up.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting! Don't argue!"

Aibo forced his way between them and only managed to separate the two after considerable effort. He first sighed and looked at Cana.

"Sister Cana, is it really okay for a girl to be this wild? What if you get hurt from fighting? Don't let the uncles in the guild lead you astray..."

Cana's little face flushed. She tucked the hair by her ear into place and put on a demure, bashful act.

"Ahem, don't misunderstand, little Aibo. Your big sister isn't normally like this. It's mainly because Gray is just too infuriating!"

"Huh!?"

Aibo immediately turned around.

"Gray, after watching your magic, I noticed that you mainly use shaping magic for physical attacks. But shouldn't an ice wizard mainly deal damage with low temperatures?"

Gray was usually a single-celled creature, and his attention was immediately diverted.

"Oh! Aibo actually noticed that? You're right. My main method of attack really is shaping magic rather than ice magic."

"That's because lowering the temperature also consumes magic power. But my current magic power isn't enough to deal low-temperature damage and shaping damage at the same time."

Gray spread his hands indifferently.

"Can't be helped. I'm only ten years old. It'll get better later!"

"I see..."

Aibo naturally put forward his idea.

"Then, Gray, can you make mirrors out of ice?"

"Mirrors? If I change the arrangement of the ice elements while shaping it, I should be able to. Why?"

"A mirror is also a kind of ice shaping, right? I think special ice mirrors could be used to visually deceive enemies.

"For example, you could set up several ice mirrors in front of an enemy, create an image in one mirror while hiding behind another, and then when they attack you..."

The more Aibo spoke, the brighter Gray's eyes became.

"You can do that!? I think it could work! I'll try it right now!"

Without another word, Gray created several ice mirrors and began excitedly studying the reflection and projection of light, completely forgetting about Cana.

And just as Gray successfully made an ice mirror, Aibo, who had been staring fixedly at his system panel, noticed:

[Inspiration Points: 540 → 710]

It works!! I knew it would work!

My line of thinking was right after all! This is inspiration! Hahaha!

Just as Aibo was overjoyed by his discovery, a subtle sensation suddenly brushed against his cheek. With a soft "Mwah," he fell into a soft embrace.

"Wow! My Aibo is a genius! You came up with such an amazing idea! You're incredible! Let big sister kiss you again! Mwah~~!"

[Inspiration Points: 710 → 1001]

!?

Aibo froze. He looked at Cana, who was pressed close beside him, then at Gray in the distance, and finally blinked at the panel.

[Inspiration Points: 1001 → 1111]

Aibo: ????