Fantasy Galaxy: Why Are There Goblins and Orcs in Space?

Chapter 10 : Tenshiryoku and Bosoru Particles

When I told Sario about the Nayuta Realm, he was astonished.

「For the Rikageru Tenjin Race to teach the method of utilizing Tenshiryoku and the Nayuta Realm ish truly rare. We know about it too, but only shuperficial information - compared to the knowledge of the Tenjin Race, it'sh like trash.」

It was apparently truly rare. From that alone I could understand just how grateful Zorofiēnu had been.

I consulted with Sario about how we'd move to a civilized nation.

「We'll ushe the shmall shpacecraft to fly out of the shpace port and shearch for a Transh-Shpace-Time Jump Field Generator.」

「Maybe I should've asked the Tenjin to transport us to another star system after all?」

I felt a twinge of regret.

「If you'd done that, the shmall shpacecraft would have been left behind. Being moved to another shtar shyshtem without money would only caushe problemsh.」

「Can't be helped. Guess we'll search other locations. In that case, the problem is monsters.」

We had almost no bullets left for the space machine gun, so we'd need a different weapon. When I checked whether the five-light-diameter laser cannon mounted on this small spacecraft could handle them, the answer was it could only take down something like a small Space Clione.

「Can't you ushe your power to defeat them shomehow?」

「My power? Oh, you mean Tenshiryoku. But I don't know how to use Tenshiryoku to repel monsters.」

Sario nodded.

「Among the representative techniquesh of Toryū Ryōhei who ushe Tenshiryoku, there'sh one called 'Particle Shtrike.' It'sh a method of attacking monshtersh by accelerating a mashsh of Boshoru particlesh ushing Tenshiryoku.」

Among the Toryū Ryōhei - space adventurers - there were apparently those who specialized in utilizing Tenshiryoku, which could only be described as magical power. Those individuals were called 'Tenshiryoku Users' or 'Mages.'

I decided to call them 'Mages.' The foundation of being a mage was controlling Tenshiryoku. From that day forward, I began practicing Tenshiryoku control while studying 'Tenshiryoku Drive Engineering.'

The Power Conduit was always connected to the Nayuta Realm, so opening the Control Gate let Bosoru particles and Tenshiryoku flow into my body. But I could only control the amount that trickled in at about two or three percent open.

This Control Gate was like a water faucet - when you turned it just a little, water trickled out, but when fully opened, tremendous Tenshiryoku rushed into the body with incredible force. Incidentally, Bosoru particles were proportionally fewer.

I designated the current trickling state as 'Release Level T.' 'T' meant Trial, or Three, and from there I defined 'Release Level 1' through 'Release Level 10' in ten-percent increments. This method was apparently standard among the Tenjin Race.

I began practicing controlling Tenshiryoku in the Release Level T state. At first I had absolutely no idea how to control it, and the Bosoru particles and Tenshiryoku just leaked out of my body.

But after continuing in that state for one day, two days, something was born within me. It was a field of consciousness that had leapt outside my body, a sensory organ resembling a tentacle. This new sensory organ was apparently called a 'Consciousness Field.'

I extended the Consciousness Field and tried to control the Tenshiryoku. Unable to control it well, the Tenshiryoku spilled from the Consciousness Field. Again and again I tried to gather up the Tenshiryoku.

After continuing practice for about five days, I finally grasped the knack of controlling Tenshiryoku. The trick was to imagine unifying the Consciousness Field with my spirit.

Having unified my Consciousness Field and spirit, I expanded the Consciousness Field outside my body. I expanded the radius one meter, two meters, reaching my limit at four meters.

The Tenshiryoku energy I could handle at Release Level T should pack enough power to take down Space Clione. I continued practicing to handle Tenshiryoku and Bosoru particles freely.

Meanwhile, Sario began modifying the small spacecraft. He installed a battle room on the upper hull about five meters from the bow. Surrounded by dome-shaped transparent high-strength resin, it became a room that gave the feeling of floating in space. Skilled mages would go out into space to fight, but inexperienced mages apparently fought from the battle room.

By the time that construction finished, I had mastered the basics as a mage. I'd acquired the ability to convert Tenshiryoku into propulsive force. This enabled me to use 'Particle Strike,' the most basic tactical magic technique. Tactical magic techniques were the skills mages used when fighting.

Around that time, I found something called the Generator Method in the 'Tenshiryoku Drive Engineering' I'd been studying. This was something that would let me acquire the method for moving large objects like ships using Tenshiryoku.

Executing that Generator Method would apparently form something called an Acceleration Force Field Circuit in the mind. The Generator Method was like an application installation program, activated using willpower.

I hesitated over what to do, but judged it would be better to acquire the Acceleration Force Field Circuit in order to master 'Particle Strike' quickly. I made this judgment because there was information stating the Generator Method posed no danger when executed.

I executed the Generator Method with my willpower. That instant, my consciousness blacked out and I collapsed. When I came to several minutes later, I felt a ferocious headache.

「Zen, are you all right?」

I heard Sario's voice.

「It hurts - the information didn't say it would give such a bad headache.」

「What are you talking about? You shuddenly collapshed - what happened?」

I explained to Sario. Hearing this, Sario let out a sigh. Seeing gestures like this made me think the Kūshī race was just like humanity. After about thirty minutes, the pain subsided.

「I'm going to practice 'Particle Strike.'」

After calling out to Sario, I changed into the Anubis-made space suit, left the small spacecraft, and headed for the large factory. That factory's wall had a massive hole opening onto space.

Wearing the space suit, I opened the Power Conduit's Control Gate only to Release Level T while looking at space through the transparent helmet. Then Bosoru particles and Tenshiryoku flowed into my body. The Bosoru particles leaked out from inside the space suit.

I expanded my Consciousness Field, gathered the Bosoru particles overflowing from the space suit, and formed them into a ball-shaped particle bullet. I accelerated that particle bullet all at once using Tenshiryoku and fired it forward. Then the particle bullet began flying forward into space while emitting a pale light.

The particle bullet flew at a speed like a person walking. Rather than flying, wouldn't 'drifting' be the correct description - that's how slow it was.

「Pathetic. Even an elementary schooler could probably bat this back.」

So pathetic I had to call out my own performance. After firing about ten particle bullets, I began to understand what I needed to do.

By the time I'd fired about forty particle bullets, my concentration began to break. When I'd started practicing, I'd needed about seven seconds to fire one shot, but it had shortened to about four seconds. According to Sario, you couldn't call yourself competent unless you could fire in about 0.3 seconds.

Incidentally, the Acceleration Force Field Circuit had absolutely nothing to do with 'Particle Strike.' I couldn't apply it to the technique at all. I stopped practicing 'Particle Strike' that day.

After that I continued practicing 'Particle Strike' every day, and after continuing for about forty days I could fire a satisfying particle bullet. Its flight speed exceeded eight times the speed of sound. Without at least that much speed, it wouldn't be usable in the vastness of space.

When I returned to the small spacecraft, Sario was instructing the maintenance robots to build sleep capsules.

「How'sh 'Particle Shtrike'?」

「I think I could defeat a Space Jellyfish about eight meters across.」

「Shall we shtart preparing to take the shmall shpacecraft out into shpace shoon?」