Water Magician

Welcome readers! I picked up this new series and will be translating the first few chapters to gauge if it’s good 🙂 let me know if you like it!

The story is probably a slow burner slow life at the start, as the MC slowly gets to know his powers but will likely become an OP MC as gleamed from the reviews. He will show his power after that when he meets his companions and rival (perhaps in vol2), and they are apparently fleshed out/developed and not only there to display the power of the MC. Anyway, I am reading this as I go and hopefully it turns out to be a nice read 🙂

Edit 22/06/21:

Well I have read a lottt further into the raws (About chapter 120+). I can say I am hooked to it. The story really picks up in world building and character building once MC meets other characters from Chapter 28 onward. The other characters are quite well built, the banter between MC and others is interesting and hilarious at moments, the MC is seriously OP but its not as though the world around is hopeless without him (Almost the entire first arc battle is done without MC at all), and the battles are interesting and diverse, not those one hit and its over kind of fights.

The con for some might be that the story is slow life at times so some may not enjoy the slower pace. The MC isn’t one of those shonen protagonist that goes around solving everybody’s problems. There is some romance but is pretty one sided toward the MC at the moment.

At any rate, give the novel a chance until you finish Volume 1 Part 4 (Chapter 74)!

Prologue

“Ryo-san, please calm down and listen.”

It was the phone call announcing the death of his parents.

Having just entered the second year of college, Ryo took a leave of absence, returned to his hometown, and took over the family business.

That said, because he didn’t know the ins and outs, Mr. Shige, who was the managing director, became the president and Ryo became the vice president.

The employees were all people who had played with Ryo since he was little.

… Although he was the vice president, his salary was the lowest … but he learned the work little by little without garnering any particular dislike.

After 11 months, March.

“Ryo-san, shall I help you?”

Seeing that Ryo was still working on his computer even though it was late, Mr. Shige, the president, asked.

“It’s okay … it’s something the youth club is doing so …”

The Youth Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry … It was very troublesome for Ryo, who was only a young manager.

It was an organization that was everywhere in the rural areas and many small and medium-sized enterprises belong to it … Of course, there was no problem even if you do not belong to it and there was no merit for Ryo’s company.

However, the previous president asked to be affiliated with it so the current president, Mr. Shige, was still affiliated with it.

Ryo, frankly speaking, was not struggling with his company but was spending time on 『relations with external parties』.

“Mr. Shige, when looked at this angle, our company really has very few documents.”

Ryo, who was creating documents, presentation materials, event manuscripts, and such for the youth club, was impressed by the small number of documents internally.

“That’s right. Our predecessor said. 『I don’t need report documents』. It is a waste of time to write a report. Money won’t come in even if you write reports. Sales will not increase. The more time spent on writing reports, the lower the productivity. That action which occupies many hours out of the eight hours of work a day would not form a normal company. Instead, use that time to develop one of the business partners, hone your skills or come up with another idea … I wish you use the time for such matters. And so, if you wish to report, do it verbally. Superiors, if you want to know something, go to the people in the field, because that is the basics.”

Of course, it would not work if it was a huge organization but the company had 97 employees, including the management team.

“『The people in the field know best about the field』 so that’s why many people in the field have a lot of authority.”

“Although it is not easy. When something happens, not just the people in the field have to take responsibility, but also the boss … Of course, that includes us the management team.”

Mr. Shige smiled wryly.

“What you need in management is that preparedness. That is why, without a human resource department, human resource matters are exclusively matters of the management team. Placing a person in a position means taking responsibility together when that person fails.”

Mr. Shige smiled and said.

“So now, I have to convey to Ryo-san who is working too hard, the words from the predecessor.”

“Don’t work until you are exhausted.”

Ryo and Mr. Shige’s voices overlapped.

And the two of them smiled.

Of course, those were not words to spoil the employees to support laziness or hesitation.

It was purely from a management perspective.

Failure, mistakes, re-do … problems occurs no matter how carefully you work.

However, there is a common reason for many of these cases.

Those were 『fatigue』 and 『having no leeway』.

Re-do … all the time, effort, and materials spent so far are wasted.

Moreover, more time and effort are required to restore the original state.

If all those wasteful things could be eliminated … the company would be grateful.

Of course, there is the aspect where employees grow by learning from their mistakes so it is a case-by-case basis.

Ryo’s father grandly told his employees to 『Don’t work until you are exhausted』 … and as the same manager level, he once again found it amazing but more than that, Ryo found it even more amazing that he was forming the company such that the employees don’t have to work until they are exhausted.

“Fuu …”

Ryo said to Mr. Shige after sighing.

“You’re right, father would be angry if I worked to exhaustion.”

“That’s right, Ryo-san.”

Mr. Shige smiled.

Although hard work is important, 『Exhaustion』 and 『Hard work』 were opposite faces on the same coin.

“I’ll go home.”

Ryo left the company.

His feet may have been swaying a little due to fatigue.

Nevertheless, the traffic light was green. He confirmed it.

He was crossing the pedestrian crossing properly. That was also certain.

But that had nothing to do with the dozing truck driver.

Ryo was struck and hit the ground hard.

He could no longer feel any pain.

His consciousness was slowly becoming faint.

(Ah, this is bad ……)

The first sensation Ryo felt was not the fear of death. Nor was it peace.

He didn’t know where it was directed at, but he held a little regret knowing that tomorrow was his 20^th birthday.

“This is, the afterlife?”

Ryo found himself in a white world after waking up.

“Mihara Ryo-san, right?”

In the white world, a man emerged as though he floated out of it.

He seemed to be in his mid-twenties.

The man had long blonde hair and a calm atmosphere, seemingly a handsome European man?

He held something like a tablet in his left hand.

“Yes, you are correct.”

Ryo answered and the man smiled.

“Great. To be honest, you are the first visitor in a long time.”

And then, he said with a slightly sorrowful expression.

“Mihara Ryo-san, you died in a traffic accident.”

(Ah, as expected.)

Ryo recalled a little.

About how he died in the accident.

“Yes, I remember.”

Ryo answered with a nod.

The man changed from his sorrowful expression and started talking with a slight smile.

But the content had many parts that Ryo failed to understand.

“This is part of the reincarnation system of your world. You died in the 7770777 world line of Earth but occasionally there are instances where people reincarnate or transfer across world lines. This time, Mihara Ryo-san has been selected for that.”

“ … Excuse me?”

“I guess it is hard to understand. Well, to put it simply, do you wish to reincarnate in a different world from Earth while possessing your current memories? That’s the offer.”

The man smiled with an expression that showed he was certain this would work.

“Ah, other world reincarnation … Just like in novels …”

“Yes, yes, you are correct. It seems to be popular on Earth these days … the explanations became easier because of that.”

Ryo was grateful to be given the chance to live again.

That said, he had one question.

What did this person want to achieve by letting him reincarnate?

“I have a few questions.”

“Sure, any question is welcome.”

The man waited for Ryo’s questions with a smile.

“Are you God?”

“No, I am not God. If I reference your knowledge, I am something close to that of an Angel.”

(I see. Angel. If he calls himself an angel … let’s call him Michael (pseudonym))

When Ryo thought that internally, he sensed Michael’s (pseudonym) eyebrows twitch slightly. A very slight movement that could have been his mistake …

(Hn? Did he read my thoughts? Well, it doesn’t matter.)

Michael (pseudonym) continued waiting for Ryo’s questions with a smile.

“What is your purpose for reincarnating me?”

“Sorry, I cannot answer that question.”

His smile suddenly transformed and Michael (pseudonym) said apologetically.

“We do not decide your reincarnation. The 『God』 that Ryo-san mentioned just now makes the decision. For that reason, I do not know the purpose.”

“But in that case, what should I do after reincarnating?”

Michael once again smiled and answered.

“Please live as you wish. I have not heard of anybody told to do something or given a mission.”

Life as you wish.

That’s a wonderful phrase!

Yup, let’s have a slow life.

“Understood. I accept your reincarnation offer.”

Ryo answered and a smile bloomed on Michael’s (pseudonym) lips like a flower.

That smile alone could captivate many women in the world … it was such a smile.

“Ooo, that is great. Then, I will explain about the world you will reincarnate in.”

According to Michael’s (pseudonym) explanation, it was a world with swords and magic.

Gunpowder was not yet commonplace.

The size of the reincarnation planet was the same as that of Earth and the molecular composition was also the same.

Most of the physical phenomenon was the same as well.

“But it is a world with magic?”

Won’t it differ from the physical phenomenon on Earth if there was magic?

“Yes, there is magic. But, there was magic on Earth in the past too. Well, things happened and it seems that it can’t be used now.”

That was quite shocking to Ryo.

(Earth has magic too? What’s with that? Is he referring to those out-of-place artifacts? But those were explained as coming from aliens or ancients … It’s true that in legends and such on Earth, magicians and magic appears frequently …)

“Ah, sorry. It looks like you are confused. But no matter what I said, Ryo-san has already decided to reincarnate so it is not good for your mental health to ponder Earth’s past.”

“Ah, yes, you are right.”

Let’s not think about stuff that can’t be solved just by thinking.

(I will think forward!)

“And so in the world with magic, for convenience, we call that world 『Phi』. About one-fifth of the humans on 『Phi』 can use magic. Ryo-san’s attribute is 『Water attribute』.”

“Water …”

It could be said that using magic was a staple aspect of reincarnation and transference.

(But even if it is staple … something like fire magic with high attack power … or earth magic that is easy to use … like making a swamp or stopping the movement of the enemy, creating a fort in an instant to change the battle situation, I wanted to try something like that but … no no, in the first place, if I am to reincarnated, I would want all attribute suitability! That would have been great.)

“Erm, if possible, could you change it to fire or earth …”

Today, Michael (pseudonym) replied with many apologetic faces.

“Sorry, but I can’t change it. Because Ryo-san’s magic attribute is within the scope of 『Creation』, it is the territory of the 『Gods』. It is outside the scope of 『Management』 that we are in charge of. Also, magical aptitude is determined at birth on 『Phi』 and can’t be acquired after birth.”

“In other words, I have to keep living with water attribute?”

Perhaps Ryo’s face was filled with despair as Michael (pseudonym) added in a hurry.

“That is true but water attribute aptitude is very good for humans. For example, water is needed no matter where you live. You will not have any trouble procuring water. Furthermore, 80% of the humans on 『Phi』 can’t use magic. From that aspect alone, Ryo-san is already quite blessed.”

(That’s true. Water and salt are crucial for human survival. When talking about a sword and magic world, it is standard that they do not have a water and sewage system in cities. The worry about water might be a huge thing.)

Mihara Ryo was fundamentally a positive person.

“By any chance does Water magic encompass Healing magic or has healing properties …”

“On 『Phi』, Healing belongs to the domain of Light attribute magic.”

“Ah, okay …”

After that, Michael (pseudonym) continued his explanation.

There are six attributes of magic on 『Phi』. Fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness. Also, there is the neutral attribute that is not included among them.

“As the neutral attribute magic is not included in the six attributes, it is possible to learn it but … the possibility can be said to be close to zero. To be honest, do not have expectations for it. Instead, I recommend you extend your mastery of the water attribute that you have an aptitude for.”

Michael (pseudonym) continued talking while looking at the tablet in his hand.

“Ryo-san’s physical strength is about upper-middle tier. On 『Phi』, there are no 『Level』 systems or 『Skill』 systems so steady efforts are the most important.”

(I’m among the average as expected. In other words, I’m slightly better than average? Then I have to put in a ton of effort or I might die immediately …)

“How can I grow my physical strength of magic?”

“The physiques of humans on 『Phi』 and Earth are the same. So the way to gain ability is the same too. On Earth, the human body becomes stronger the more your train, right? If you do strength training, you will build muscle. If you keep running, your cardiopulmonary ability will improve. Or some African tribes look at distant things since young and have eyesight above 5.0, on the contrary, people who are blind have no choice but to rely solely on hearing to collect information and have good hearing. It is the same. All you have to do is use it. Then it will grow.”

After receiving some other explanations, it was finally time to ask for Ryo’s wish.

“I wish to live a slow life in a place where nobody can reach!”

Michael (pseudonym) nodded after hearing that and operated his tablet.

“In that case, I will make Rondo Forest your reincarnation destination. I will prepare a house and two months’ worth of food for the time being. During that time, please become proficient in hunting using water attribute magic. I will make it such that monsters don’t come near the house. It will look like a barrier. In Earth units, it will be about a radius of 100 meters. Also, about 500 meters southwest of the house is a sea so once you are used to water attribute magic, you will be able to collect salt from seawater. Please do your best.”

“All right. Ah, one final question. How do I use magic?”

At the very end, Ryo asked the most important question.

“Magic is by mental image. Draw a clear image. And gain experience. It is the same for everything; you won’t become a master suddenly but get better after countless tries. The same goes for magic.”

“I’ll give it a try. Thank you for everything.”

After finishing, light wrapped around Ryo’s body and he disappeared.

Michael (pseudonym) remained on the spot.

“Slow life huh … that sounds good. Will I be incarnated someday and live a slow life somewhere in the world?”

Finally, he lowered his sight to his tablet … and noticed that there was an oversight.

“Ah … I forgot to mention that his amount of magical power is considered quite large on 『Phi』. Well, he’ll notice as he lives.”

But, there was something else.

“Hidden characteristic? Why is such a thing? It’s been ten thousand years … since the first girl I reincarnated that I saw hidden characteristics. I wonder what kind of hidden characteristic does he have?”

Characteristic: Perpetual Youth