"See? I don't need to do anything at the end of the day, besides my job. That's why I won't go around boasting about being a prodigy and what not."
"I see. I guess you'd also just be too lazy to do it to begin with though. By the time you're up, the entire world has moved on with their day after all. We don't have time for a late prodigy to announce itself."
"I still wake up early every morning, you bastard…"
"Well, regardless of that, there aren't too many things left that I want to ask, so I'd say it's your turn now. You said you also have questions, no?"
"Obviously. There's no way I wouldn't have questions about someone allegedly more skilled than The Commander herself in terms of magic."
"I wouldn't go that far… it's Maia who said that, isn't it?"
"How did you even know?"
"I may not have known her for anywhere near as long as you, but I feel like I get what she's like a lot more than I want to…"
"Ohhh… yeah, I think I understand, actually. Let's move on then, since I do have a lot of questions."
We both sat back down, in front of each other.
"Go on, but depending on the question, the explanation may get a little lengthy so keep that in mind."
"I don't mind, I have nothing to do today besides training as usual, but that can wait. First off all, the thing that first comes to mind is your choice of elemental magic. You've been only using lighting magic until now, no?"
"I have a contract with pretty much every single type of elemental magic."
He opened his palm, each one of them appearing one after the other while he spoke.
"Fire, wind, earth, water, lighting, ice. And I can also mix them, like for example earth and fire making lava, and so on."
"What the- what kind of lottery did you win at birth?? Were you a saint in your previous life or something??"
"A saint, huh? Probably not, haha. Though I am aware that there may not even be 100 people in the whole world with all of them, like me."
"And from the way you were controlling your lighting magic earlier, I'm assuming…"
"Yep, I can do it with all of them. It's not really hard for me, as I said. Maia can do that too, right? For that matter, not just her, even you, no? Like earlier with that sword and yesterday."
"…"
What?
"Hm?"
"What?"
"What?"
"…Cifer…."
"What's up with you all of a sudden? Why're you so quiet, and why're you saying my name like that…"
"You… thought I've been using magic until now?"
"Weren't you? That red and black thing, isn't it just your flames? Though I do have to say, it's pretty weird for fire magic to have black colors mixed in it… how did you do that?"
"Cifer…"
"Again, what's going on? You're acting weird."
"Didn't you say Maia talked to you about me?"
"I did? What about it?"
"Didn't she tell you about my abilities…?"
"Hmm, now that you mention it. I have asked out of curiosity before, but she always said something along the lines of "hehe, it'll be way more interesting if you find out on your own, my dear little brother." And never actually told me."
That gorilla…
"I see… well, how do I put this…"
"Put what? What are you even talking about?"
"Cifer, I… have no elemental magic."
"…huh?"
"For that matter, even using non elemental magic is such a pain for me that I'll probably never even learn any. I don't know much about it either."
"H-hold on, wait a second, what??"
"The only information I have about general magic is from when I was a lot younger after all. Maybe my memories are wrong? Or maybe what I do know about it isn't really accurate? I'm not really sure why, but I feel like I've consumed a lot of misinformation regarding it after all."
"Oi, I said wait-"
"That's why, I also want to ask you about your general magic, you know? I'm honestly prepared for my entire cognition of magic as a whole to be turned upside down from whatever you're about to say after all, so-"
"I said wait, you piece of shit!!"
"…! Why're you shouting all of a sudden, you scared me, man."
"I scared you my ass! You started rambling on purpose, didn't you? You sick rage baiter… this family, are you all like that?!"
"Hm? Hmm??? So you're already unsatisfied about the family that adopted you, even though you're only on the second day??? I see, is that how it is? I see, I understand. I get it!"
"You…"
"What? Are you going to run away from home now? Hmph, fine, I'll even help you with your escape plan, that's how good of a brother I am!—- ouch! Why the hell did you do that??"
"Stop rambling and explain already; you bastard…"
"You didn't have to hit me on the shoulder though… what happened to "please, explain what you're talking about", huh??"
But seeing as he was glaring at me pretty intensely, I decided to drop the rage bait, and I sighed. With a resigned smile, I began explaining.
"It's exactly as I said. I was born with no elemental contracts. I can't use elemental magic. But that's not all, actually."
"Then…"
"That was mana. Though I was also born with a malfunctioning mana stomach, and little to no mana as a whole, I'm actually extremely good at controlling it. For example, even if I take just 1 drop of my mana like this…"
I opened my palm, then a tiny little ball formed in it, which I formed into a sword.
"I can not only manipulate materialized mana, but also I can condense it to an extent that likely no one else can, with the sole exception of The Commander, of course. That's what Maia told me before. Manipulating materialized mana is something that only me and her are capable of doing it seems."
I let go of the blade shape, then formed it into a string, making it fly around us. I didn't need to move at all to do it either, so I just interlocked my hands. Cifer was visibly shook, as he kept watching the string of mana fly around.
"I have a way to replenish my mana pool consistently, and I am still steadily growing my mana density… but honestly, I don't even feel like I'd ever want to learn any magic either way. As you can see, I'm not just a swordsman "prodigy" after all."
"This is beyond prodigy territory… Maia may be a goofy gorilla, but she knows the Commander better than anyone. If she said that only you two can manipulate mana to this extent then it's definitely true."
"Haha… yeah, I guess so. I guess that being able to stretch and condense a single drop of mana into a sword… it's not regular, is it? I've already been faced with that thought before."
"No wonder Maia didn't tell me. This is a level of skill that may get you targeted by all the bad guys, to avoid having you grow too much. You're clearly a threat."
"Don't call me a threat… Well, I can't deny it either, huh? I don't plan on hiding it either way, since I'll be becoming an adventurer in 2 years and all. That's why, I plan on becoming as strong as I can, in order to protect myself and those around me."
"I see. Then we're in the same boat, huh?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I'm relieved, actually. I was honestly pretending to be open towards answering any questions regarding my abilities."
"What, are you suddenly worried about privacy or something?"
"If only it was that, haha. The truth is, I also have a world class ability. One that will definitely get me on the bad guys threat list, just like you."
"I'm not really that surprised, you know? Maia has been hyping you up after all. It makes sense for you to have something like that. So what is it?"
"It's a little complicated to explain, but I'll try to be as clear as possible with it. It may sound insanely overpowered at first, but it does also come with limitations that are just as big."
"At least you're balanced, ei?"
"It has 2 phases, I guess? Not really phases actually, but more like attributes? Or 2 natures? Well, regardless of the definition."
"Sorry my dear little brothers, but I'll have to interrupt you there."
Out of nowhere however, just as he was about to finally tell me what it was, of course…
"Huh, why?"
Maia approached us.
"Because it would be no fun if he just told you."
With an annoyingly easy to read grin on her face. I glanced over at Cifer who also seemed to understand what her face probably meant, and we shared an annoyed look at her.
"Awh, come on you two, don't look at me like that. Trust me, you'll both be happier with what I have in mind…"
"You have the same face of someone we should be wary about approaching us on the streets."
"You look as if you belong behind the bars."
"The insults doubled now…"
"Because you're giving both of us a reason."
"You're not very trustworthy either."
"Do I have to remind you that you're living under my roof…?"
"Just tell us what you have in mind already. Since you stopped him right before he told me then it better be worth it."
"Of course, it's more than that."
I guess it's not like we had any real reason to reject it, did we? I personally didn't think it was worth even arguing against, so I just remained silent. It seemed like Cifer thought the same too, since he also didn't say a word.
"Instead of just telling him about your ability and skills, why not show him, Cifer? He'll get curious anyway, I'm sure you're aware. But you can't show him properly here, can you?"
"I guess… but is it really necessary to show him? Either way, he'll see it someday."
"But he showed you his mana control, didn't he?"
"…alright. I don't have anything against it."
"Same here. You're most likely right after all. He said it's something on the same level as my mana manipulation, so I'd definitely wanna see it."
"That settles it then."
She clapped her hands once, then in the blink of an eye disappeared from our sight. Before we could even react to any degree for that matter, she was already standing in between us, then grabbed us both by our collars and started flying.
The sudden movement genuinely scared me, I'm not gonna lie. I did shout a little myself, but funnily enough my screams weren't even close to Cifer's. Maybe I was a little calmer since even if she did drop us, which I knew she wouldn't either way, but if it did happen, I could fly on my own too. Maybe he can't do it? I have no clue.
But regardless, the whole thing lasted only a little over 10 seconds or so. After that, we swiftly landed and she safely let go of us on the ground. As I said, I was mostly fine… but Cifer on the other hand, well…
I can't really blame him either.
He was on his knees, one hand on his chest breathing heavily, while holding himself with his other arm.
"M-Maia, you! Next time warn us before kidnapping us!!"
"Ah, now that I think about it, you can't fly… sorry, I forgot, tehe!"
"Tehe! My ass! My heart almost burst out of my chest!! And why do you look so calm, Cael…"
"Well, I'm kinda used to it? And it's not like I wasn't scared either, you know? Granted, even if she did drop us I'd be fine since I can fly."
"I'd never drop you to begin with, my dear little brothers."
"Is that so, my dear older sister? I seem to have different kinds of memories regarding a certain part of my training then…"
"Ah, uhm… that didn't count though. It was necessary, yep. You may have fallen a couple times but-"
"Yeah, a couple."
"Anyway! At least now you can fly, no? All's well that ends well."
"What kind of training did you put him through?!"
I placed a hand on Cifer's shoulder, who had just stood up as well now.
"You don't have to worry about it, my dear brother. Don't worry about it."
"No, no, that makes me worry even more…"
"Let's get moving you two. Follow me."
She began walking ahead while waving. Yeah, she was definitely just trying to get out of this topic as quickly as possible. However, it so just happens that I also had no intention of talking about it, for obvious reasons. Which is why, I patted Cifer's back twice, and we also began walking.
We were right outside of one of the main Sentinel training stadiums. It didn't seem like the one where the swordsmen train, but the layout was surprisingly similar so I wasn't completely lost in our surroundings. Amidst the vast green grass, there were multiple pathways wide enough for even 10 people lined up to walk on, each of them leading to one.
Some stadiums seemed to be enclosed while some had a completely free top, which I'm assuming is because some attacks are just that high range or something like that probably. Like, "I can't release this in front of me, it'll ruin the stadium! Ah, then I'll just fire it in the sky!" That seems reasonable to me.
Taking a turn to the right, she approached the doors of one, but didn't fully go in. She did open them fully wide for us to see however, and as the Recruits inside noticed her, they all began waking towards us. It seems like there were around 30 people inside at the moment, all of them having wide smiles on their faces.
"Great Lieutenant! What brings you here today?"
"Do you need something from us?"
"Are you going to train with us today?"
"Are you still single?"
"Do you have plans for dinner?"
"What's with those little gremlins behind you?"
Aren't their questions a little too unmatched??!
It was shockingly irritating. A lot more than I expected, actuality. These bastards weren't even trying to hide it either. I get that Maia is a beautiful girl, but can't you take a better look at the "gremlins" behind her, you pieces of shit?! My few white strands have been getting me unwanted attention non stop ever since I stepped foot out of our village, but right when it should be noticed, they don't even see it?
Cifer looked just as pissed when I glanced at him, so it seems like the feeling was mutual after all. Maia on the other hand simply smiled and waved her hands while replying.
"Haha, I'll burn you all to a crisp if you don't apologize to my little brothers."
"?! Wait, isn't that a bit of an overreaction??"
"That's right, Maia… it's not like we…—"
They liked it?!!
Against all odds, and to mine and Cifer's utmost disgust, when faced with a threat these guys actually began blushing! What the fuck is wrong with these people??? And the way she threatened them too, it was so casual that it didn't seem like it was a new thing either… we paled up a little, glancing back and forth between her and the group… and then just as she told them to…
"We're sorry!"
"We had no idea that you're her little brothers!"
"You don't look like her at all, that's why!"
"Why are you here though??"
"Ah… it's alright…"
"Yeah, what he said."
I want to get out of here so bad. These guys are making me shiver in disgust.
Is this what being beautiful as a girl means? Does Maia deal with perverts like these guys every day? Well, actually, these guys aren't that bad after all now that I think about it, are they? Sure, they're disgusting nonetheless, but they do seem fairly obedient.
I actually considered the other perspectives of this matter for a few seconds, since they may actually not be completely useless.
"I remember one of you useless perverts having a pretty useful speciality magic, so that's why I'm here. I'd need something pretty light right now, so which one of you has smoke magic again?"
"Me, me, me!!! It's me, great Lieutenant! I'm useful!"
Smoke magic?
I don't know why, but whenever I've been thinking about magic ever since the trial, I keep doubting the information that I know about it. It's not like I have any proof against it or reason to doubt my sources either, but it's kinda something along the lines of "but is that really how it works?" "Isn't there more to it?" "Is that really true?" And so on, but with no real explanation from myself, to myself… I may be going crazy after all.
But this one was in fact a new thing. Not to mention, Maia said that's a "speciality magic"? Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.
"Great, the rest of you back down, and you, uhm, what was your name again?"
"It's thur!"
"Right, turd. Show me your magic, right here and right now. Boys, both of you watch him carefully."
I don't think that's his name, you know?
But he seemed surprisingly happy about it. The others glared at him as if already planning a burying spot, but did obey regardless. Once the space was cleared, turd- I mean, thur! Anyway, he went further in. We also stepped in between the doors to get a proper look though.
Why are we even watching this to begin with?
"Here I go…!"
He extended his arm towards us. He was maybe 50 meters away or so, which didn't actually seem like far enough… but hey, how bad could smoke magic be, right? I don't even think it'll reach us, realistically. I was probably overreacting.
After opening his palm, and concentrating for about 5 seconds or so, white smoke did in fact sprout forward from it. It was surprisingly thick though, almost liquid from how dense it was. Was this because of mana output or something? Even its spreading speed was a lot slower than what smoke should be like.
Isn't it going to stop…? Wait, hold on, shouldn't it actually stop? Why's it still coming towards us???
But just as I started to get worried, I heard her sigh. With both of her hands in her pockets, and without even moving a single muscle, she took care of it. How, you may ask? It's very simple, actually…
Flames raged forward from her. It turns out that she created a fire wall between us and the smoke right before it would reach. However… it's still smoke… So yeah, what followed was the whole cloud catching on fire, which resulted in turd getting ever so slightly burnt at the end of it.
The flames dissipated really quickly too, most likely already under her control, clearing the view almost instantly.
"The rest of you idiots, get him to the infirmary. When he's conscious again, tell him to work on his control. He almost caught my dear little brothers in it."
"Yes mam!"
"What an idiot, he deserved this!"
"He's lucky he only got charred a little!"
"He should've been carbonified!"
Guys…
"Let's go, you two."
"Right…"
"Okay…"
And as if this was a completely mundane thing, she just turned around and began walking again.
"Say, is that something that happens often?"
"Hmmm, I guess? But those guys are all surprisingly close to each other. It may not seem like it though."
"Is that so?"
But I think the best action at that moment was to genuinely just ignore the thoughts regarding it, and move on. So with that in mind, I actually asked the more important question instead.
"What's a "speciality magic" anyway? For that matter, why did we have to watch him get cooked?"
"I see. Now that I think about it, your only knowledge of magic is probably from our parents and some random books we used to read together, huh?"
"Is my perception of magic really wrong then?"
"What, did you doubt it already?"
"Well, yeah… I don't even know why myself, I just feel as if for some reason I was misinformed when it comes to it."
"Hmm… well, you're not exactly wrong after all."
I stopped walking, and my eyes widened slightly. I may have been thinking that may have been the case, but to actually get the confirmation so easily? It felt odd. Shouldn't she hide it a little more? She may not have a reason for it actually… but still, to admit it so easily?
"What, did you expect me to deny it?"
She seemed amused, as she also stopped walking. Cifer was clearly confused, also stopping but just glancing back and forth between us.
"Don't overthink it too much, Cael. I'm telling you you're right because you are. It's not like I was hiding it from you either. It honestly just didn't really cross my head, since you probably don't even care about learning magic."
"I mean, you're not wrong…"
She turned only her head around, smiling compassionately for some reason.
"We still have a few minutes until reaching the training area I want you two to use, so I'll give you a brief overview for now. I'll tell you more some other time, so don't worry."
"Alright…?"
I was confused by it more than anything, but I also had a gut feeling that told me to just agree, and go along with whatever she was planning.
"What's with this mood since earlier??"
And also probably because otherwise Cifer would have a hard time keeping up.
"It's nothing really. Let's get moving."
"You two really are weirdos…"
"You may be right, my dear brother."
And with her leading the way and both me and him walking a few steps behind, we went right back to it.
"First off, I think the most important thing I need to tell you regarding magic, is that there are so many more types than what you'd expect, Cael."
"I assumed that's the case. Like earlier, that smoke magic seemed, how do I say it…"
"Useless? Perhaps in his hands at least, definitely."
"I see. But above all, what I'm curious about is why you called it a "speciality magic.""
"I was just getting there, don't worry. But before that, there's a few things that need to be precised."
"Alright then, I'll let you explain."
"When you're born, you either get a spirit contract or you don't. That will determine whether you have the ability to use elemental magic. Around 85% of the entire world has at least a contract, some having multiple, and a handful like Cifer over here with them all. That much you should know."
"But that doesn't mean you're doomed for magic as a whole, just because you can't use elemental one. At the end of the day, magic is simply the materialization of certain wishes through actions, catalyzed into existence by mana."
"There are countless types of magic, as I said… their origins being a little tricky to explain right off the bat, honestly. Ancient magic types and spells that have never been used, sealed or forgotten, legendary types of magic and spells, all that stuff is technically real, just not as fantastical as it may sound."
"While it's not impossible for anyone to create a new type of magic or spell, it's not nearly as easy as it sounds. Tens or even hundreds of years may not be enough. Magic research is really complicated, after all. But you don't need to know much about that, unless you're generally curious. There's other people you can ask too, like Sylara or Mivana."
"Whether you discover an ancient type of magic or a spell, which by the way, as you've noticed I am indeed separating on purpose, I'll get to it in a bit, that doesn't mean you can just use them by reading their description though."
"Learning magic requires affinity with said type. I mentioned that technically speaking magic is just wishes materialized through mana, no? In principle, you can't do something you don't believe in, hence, the same with magic. Though the logic may be a little flawed within certain circumstances, it should work generally."
"Now… oh, yeah, the distinction between spells and just magic. To put it simply, if magic is a constant subjective action, then spells are a stationary and objective one. They can be inflicted on specific targets, places or even situations. The conditions for activating them are simple and defined too, although I guess also subjective to its user's choice?"
"Regardless, the difference isn't massive… but worth mentioning, in my opinion at least. They're less commonly used in actual action heavy circumstances though, so you probably won't ever see them often.. they're not easy to use to your advantage unless you're really quick to create and utilize them."
"For example, something that would genuinely be useful is a spell that puts its target, or target area in time out. Meaning, no mana control allowed for its duration. But the issue? Spells duration, intensity and creation all depend on the user's mana quantity, experience and mana density. They take time to make, which isn't ideal for a fast paced fight, they drain your energy which again isn't ideal, and you may also simply miss your target or not manage to get them in it."
"And as annoying as it is, it also has limitations of course. Much like healing magic specifically, you can't be affected by your own spell. The only exception for spells specifically is if you apply their effects to a barrier, creating basically a domain of your own."
"That's not only a risky thing however, but also hard. Why? Because within a barrier/domain, unless you're very specific with the effect, you may dig your own grave. "You won't be able to use magic here!" As a rule, and suddenly, you also can't. If your opponent is more skilled physically? Good job, you unlocked a dumb way to die. That's why barriers are a really high level technique in general, even more if they have a specific effect."
"Now then, there may be some other things that you should probably know, but they can wait for a little. We'll pick this topic back up really soon after all. Since…"
She paused her sentence, opening the doors of the stadium we had just arrived at.
"You're about to witness a real magic show."