She shakes her head in disbelief, then looks at me seriously.
"Mizuki, that's absurd. Are you telling me that you came to this planet without knowing how to use magic, and then managed to become skilled enough in a few days to kill an Elder Dragon?" (Nina)
"Well…it sounds weird when you put it like that. I came from a world with no magic at all, so I didn't even know that it existed. Azazel helped me out a lot and gave me a good book on magic, and he warned me that I might get tons of magic power when I came here. He also suggested that I might have a wide range of affinities. So, I prioritized learning it when I got here." (Mizuki)
Nina continues shaking her head with an exasperated look on her face, then hangs her head and sighs deeply. When she looks back up at me, she's all smiles again.
"You're something else, Mizuki. Alright, well for now I want to test my new equipment. Later, though, I expect you to tell me about this strange magic-less world you came from. Maybe we can take a bath together while you tell me about it, hmm?" (Nina)
She ends her proposition with a coy smile. I mean it's almost impressive how frequently she finds a chance to sneak her dirty mind into the conversation. I groan inwardly, but I don't shoot down the idea. I shrug and then wink at her. I sense a wave of surprise coming off her. I fix a smug look at her.
[Just as I thought, you were only teasing me and expected me to get flustered and say no, huh?] (Mizuki)
She makes an innocent face, like 'who me?', and then a mischievous grin emerges.
[Maybe, maybe…but if you think you can tease me like that and not follow through, I'm going to be very upset later.] (Nina)
Oh, no…I might've messed up. I can't help but laugh out loud at her, though, but she doesn't seem to think it's funny. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I change the subject to distract her.
"Hey, Nina, I had something I wanted to practice as well. Didn't you want to try imbuing your arrows with fire or water element?" (Mizuki)
My reminder seems to jar her from her thoughts about bathing, and she smiles and returns to practicing with her bow enthusiastically. Perfect, now it's my turn.
I apply my body enhancement spells, seeing how far I can push it since my contract with Nina. I get into a runner's stance and launch off across the clearing. The forest's edge seems to blur into proximity, and before I know it a tree seems dangerously close to my face. I try and avoid it, but I already have too much momentum…I take the tree straight in the face and shatter part of its trunk.
Nina looks over at me with an amused expression after firing another arrow.
[Fufufu…too quick for your own good, Mizuki?] (Nina)
[Tch…maybe, but I'll figure it out. Don't you worry.] (Mizuki)
Returning to my task...yup, she was right. I may have superhuman speed now, but I'm processing things like a regular joe. If I can't find some way to improve my perception speed, I'm at my limit. Hell, the enhancements might even be a liability at this level.
Hmm…thought acceleration, maybe? I have no idea how I'd facilitate that, though. With my body enhancements, I'm just supplementing the force generated in my muscle fibers. However, my neurons are already firing electrical impulses quickly, and it's not a matter of altering the force. I'm not sure how to just speed them up, or even if that'd even make me perceive things more quickly.
There's another possibility, one that is more intuitive to me, but sounds more practically difficult – time manipulation. Space and time are part of the same fabric of reality. If I can teleport, then I should also be able to manipulate time. If it works how I was taught, I'll never be able to stop time because it would require infinite energy, but I can slow it. With my power level, I might even slow it to the point that it's useful.
I turn my attention to Nina shooting her bow. After watching a few practice shots, I can tell that the arrows are practically blurs. So, if I can get to the point that I can follow they're trajectories in detail, I can call this a success.
I close my eyes and focus on the feeling of 'touching' the fabric of spacetime around me with my magic, like I do with teleportation. This time, instead of imagining it moving towards another location, I imagine it turning to syrup. After a moment of pouring my magic into this space, my body begins to feel sluggish, like something is pressing against me from every direction.
I open my eyes and see one of Nina's arrows moving at the speed of a tossed baseball. It's working! I focus on pouring more magic into the surrounding space, willing spacetime to 'thicken', and I see the arrow slow to the pace of a dandelion drifting in the wind.
At this point, I can feel the strain on my magic, and I've started sweating. I have to see how combat appropriate it is, though. I take a step forward to see if I can run and grab the arrow. Rather, I try to…but my body seems to be barely moving, like I'm surrounded by sand.
I strain for a few moments, trying to move, until I can't keep time slowed, then I release all my spells and collapse on the ground.