TL/Editor: raei
Schedule: 5/week
Illustrations: None
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'Lucky ,' Ian thought with a smile as he checked his Arcana cards.
Originally, Ian had 8 cards. But with the addition of the [Death] card, he now possessed 9 skill cards in total. The number of skill magic spells he could use also increased to 9.
'I'll think about which magic to imbue later.'
A skill card could hold one type of magic. Ian had verified the power of skill magic in real combat many tis. Skill magic, which bypassed the process of communicating with mystery and produced instant results, was truly unfair cheat magic, to say the least. While others were muttering incantations, it felt like he alone was clicking skills like in an RPG.
The more skill cards, the better.
Ian felt a mont of curiosity. Getting skill cards was good, but what were the conditions?
'Do I need to recruit companions?'
Nothing happened when he was traveling with Jubal. But when he recruited Maria, a skill card appeared.
'The status window ntioned sothing about fate,' he recalled. Pioneering fate, was it?
Ian thought of a certain wizard who had a suspicious fondness for the word 'fate' - the space-ti wizard Gerard. He made a ntal note to ask Gerard about skill cards when they t again.
Ian inserted the newly acquired [Death] card into his Arcana deck.
---
---
Ian's group steadily advanced toward their destination. There were still no attacks or ambushes, and the weather was ridiculously good. The party mbers were relaxed, exchanging silly jokes. Thanks to this, Maria quickly beca friends with the others.
"So Belenka is from the east?" Maria asked.
"Yes. A place called Wintz in Baekguk... Not a very nice place."
Belenka had left her holand as if she'd been chased out. It was a land with no particular mories or affection.
"It doesn't matter where you lived. What's important is the land I'm standing on now."
"You're a strong person" Maria said with a chuckle.
Surprisingly, Belenka and Maria conversed well. The exile code of being driven out of their holand also matched quite well.
"Didn't you also run away because you were sick of your village?"
"Well... I can't deny that," Maria admitted.
Belenka and Maria laughed together.
Thinking that Maria was adapting well, Ian called her and Kira over for a magic lecture-orientation.
"Kira. You're studying Maronius language well, right?"
"Uh... yeah?!" Kira's shoulders twitched.
Ian narrowed his eyes.
"You should've been able to review on your own, at least?"
"O-Of course! Definitely! I've been reviewing!"
Kira shouted, quickly turning her head away.
Ian was truly a good person, but he was terrifyingly scary when talking about magic! Kira thought Ian's education was strict. This was because Ian and Kira had different magical standards.
Ian himself wasn't aware, but he had acquired Maronius language very quickly due to his innate magical talent. Even Eredith, the super-genius wizard, had taught him with admiration. Ian was a case of growing into a wizard through one-on-one education with Eredith.
Of course, he had no idea what the learning developnt level of other wizards was like!
'She's been skipping studies again,' Ian thought, looking at Kira with disapproval.
It was a misunderstanding that would have killed Kira with indignation if she had known. In reality, Kira was diligently reviewing Maronius language. It's just that her progress didn't et Ian's standards...
"Kira. Fire magic is incredibly difficult. No wonder my master tried to dissuade when I said I'd beco a fire wizard."
"..."
"If you neglect your studies, you'll definitely regret it later."
As Ian lectured seriously, Kira made a sulky sound.
He wasn't trying to tornt Kira. He was worried about her. Ian was concerned that she might be consud by her talent for fire magic, that she might draw power beyond her control.
Maria quietly watched as Ian scolded Kira. Then she spoke up.
"Um. Is Kira in a position to learn magic from you, Ian?"
Ian nodded. There was no particular need to hide it, as they were traveling together as companions.
"Kira has excellent talent for fire magic, but lacks control."
"Control?" Maria asked.
"Mystery shows interest first, but she can't properly deal with it."
To draw an analogy, Kira was in a position of being subjected to a confession attack by mystery. When mystery approached first and spoke first, it naturally beca easier to use magic. But after that? What goes around cos around.
You need to form an appropriate relationship with mystery. If it becos a one-sided relationship of just taking and using, mystery gets pissed off too. If you keep trampling on its pure heart, it turns into a thug.
"If mystery goes berserk, there's no way to handle it then. That's why we talk in advance to prepare for the worst."
Ian's explanation was easy enough for Maria, a magic novice, to understand.
Maria nodded and said, "Kira... seems to be in a similar situation to ."
It was an accurate conclusion. Kira was much better off than Maria. In the past, before learning Maronius language, Kira had given pleasure to the mystery of fire by setting off firecrackers. This ant that mystery didn't tornt Kira. But Maria was only receiving attention from the mystery of death, unable to communicate with it. That's why Maria's situation was more dangerous.
"Maria," Ian said.
"Yes?"
"From now on, you'll learn Maronius language together with Kira."
He had ntioned this before. Instead of being surprised, Maria made a troubled expression.
"Magic... you an? But how could I possibly..."
"You can learn it," Ian said firmly.
Unless soone is especially gifted or dull, human learning abilities are more or less the sa. There's an anecdote that during World War II, African tribesn were brought in and trained as airplane pilots.
Most people laughed, wondering how primitive people who went "uga uga" in the bushes could beco pilots. But... the tribesn did it. They were primitive in technology, not stupid in the head.
Even barbarians easily acquire civilized ways when given civilized education. Because they're human too. Given the sa education, they produce the sa results. Being of a different race or civilization level doesn't an a person is stupid.
"Wizards don't receive so impossibly difficult education. It's much simpler than you think. You study letters, study pronunciation. Later, you contact mystery and converse with it. That's all."
"... But," Maria spoke as if anxious. "Is it alright to teach such a precious skill... to a lowly woman like ?"
It was an unnecessary worry.
"From now on, saying 'lowly' is forbidden. I'm a farr's son too. Kira isn't of noble blood either," Ian said.
"Ah..."
"And I don't think magic is a power that should be monopolized by a few."
Maria watched Ian speak with her hands clasped together. Ian, who expressed his thoughts without the slightest hesitation, seed to exude a mysterious aura.
'Indeed. This person...' Maria nodded vigorously.
She thought the wizard Ian was a man worth devoting her life to follow. Even if she gave her all to him, it wouldn't be a waste. That's who the wizard Ian is.
"Good. Then let's start learning slowly from now," Ian said, clapping his hands and beginning a simple lesson.
---
---
Magic, Maria had vaguely thought it would be difficult. In reality, magic was indeed difficult. Even Ian had accumulated knowledge through repeated seclusion training with Eredith.
But...
"No, no. You can't draw the line like that," Ian said.
"Is that not right?" Maria asked.
"The stroke is crooked. Then it's hard to tell if it's 'ere' or 'daom'. Do you know how many cases there are where aning changes with just one stroke difference?"
"..."
The magic she actually encountered was difficult beyond imagination. Maria followed Ian's lesson, floundering helplessly. The word "followed" was a bit of an exaggeration. It would be more accurate to say she was dragged along.
"This won't do. Kira. Show her an example," Ian said.
"M-?!" Kira exclaid.
"Who else is there besides you? Should I bring Belenka?"
Kira wrote letters on the sand with an expression like a student called out by the professor during a lecture.
"This is 'ere'... and this is 'daom'..."
"No, no! Don't write them so close together!" Ian shouted.
At that mont, Kira and Maria felt a chill run down their spines... Sothing invisible appeared behind them!
Drawn by the Maronius letters Kira had written too close together, sothing had approached!
Ian hurriedly erased the letters on the ground and shouted, "[Go back!]"
The mystery disappeared smoothly as if nothing had happened. Thankfully, it was just the curiosity of a resident out for a neighborhood stroll.
"Geez! I told you before! If you write the letters too close together, it becos a magic circle!" Ian scolded.
"S-Sorry..." Kira mumbled.
"What do you do when it's ambiguous? I told you to write in a circle, didn't I?"
Ian started frantically writing letters on the ground with chalk. Kira and Maria just blankly watched Ian write letters with machine-like precision.
'So that's a wizard...' Kira thought.
'A real wizard looks like that...' Maria mused.
Ian dusted off his hands and said, "This is enough!"
In reality, Ian truly thought it was a really, really easy task. Well... he had only written letters on the ground! But to the two newbie wizards, Ian looked like a hardcore veteran.
Ian's letters, so natural and smooth, were arranged in a circle as if drawing a perfect circle. They looked like a work of art. It was a level that Kira or Maria could never imitate even if they were reborn.
"It's so... difficult?" Kira said.
Ian replied in bewildernt, "Difficult? This?"
Ian looked at Maria to check. Maria shook her head and said, "It's amazing skill. Soone like could never even imitate it."
"???"
Ian was confused. He just wrote letters on the ground?!
As Ian made a face of incomprehension, Kira and Maria sighed simultaneously. This is why geniuses... This wizard... doesn't understand the hearts of ordinary humans!
"Hmm. It might feel difficult since it's the first day. Right?" Ian tried to reassure them.
"..."
"It's not... right? Guys?"
Watching Ian laugh awkwardly, Maria quietly turned her head away. Magical language was, indeed, incredibly difficult. Thinking about having to learn such letters in the future, Maria felt her vision go dark...
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