"The Grand Mage Who Hears Souls"
The Magic Theater shimmered like a cathedral built from crystalized sound.
Mana-lined sheet music floated midair, drifting like glowing feathers.
Students filed in, awestruck.
Lucilla whispered, "Mana density here is… oppressive."
Rhazor clutched his chest. "Oppressive? Bro, I feel like my bones are being serenaded."
At the front of the theater,
Long violet pigtails, tied with silver rings.
Dark crimson eyes that could see through lies.
She looked nineteen.
But she was really thirty-seven.
A baton slid between her fingers.
"Sit."
Everyone obeyed.
Even Asura.
Mary tapped the baton into her palm.
"Magic is not force.
Magic is understanding."
She swiped the baton through the air.
A glowing sheet of musical mana floated into existence — notes instead of runes.
She drew the first measure.
PING.
A resonance swept the room—
like a whisper from the world itself.
Students felt tension leave their bodies.
Cuts healed. Mana fatigue vanished.
Rhazor choked. "She cast… a healing spell using sheet music."
Lucilla nodded in awe. "That was a mid-tier healing spell. She didn't chant."
Mary's voice slid like silk across the room.
"Knights bend themselves.
Mages bend the world."
Asura raised his hand.
Mary sighed. "Yes, transfer?"
"This won't be the first time I ask this," Asura said, casual, "but what Tier do you need in mana and aura to become a Magi?"
Half the class gasped.
Rhazor: "HE'S DOING IT AGAIN."
Lucilla buried her face in her hand. "He already asked Velgor…"
Mary stopped moving.
"You asked Velgor?"
"He said Tier IV in both mana and aura. I just want to confirm with someone who isn't—"
"A fraud?" Mary finished.
Asura shrugged. "Well, his cape was lying louder than he was."
Mary exhaled.
"…Velgor was correct."
The class froze.
Mary tapped her baton against her palm, expression unreadable.
"To become Magi, you must reach:
Tier IV in Aura
and
Tier IV in Mana.
If you are not extraordinary in both…
you die."
Asura nodded like she just told him bread prices.
"Cool. Just checking."
Lucilla hissed, "STOP ASKING COOLLY."
✦ Asura thinks
Not because I lack Mana Tier…
He already surpassed the mana requirement.
But because—
(I barely use magic… even though I have Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Ice, Dark, Light, Space, Spirit, Void, Time, and Poison… and the only spell I've ever used was… Fireball. At age four.)
System:
[ Host is magically lazy. ]
Asura:
(I am not lazy. I am… time efficient.)
System:
[ Host is procrastinating limitless potential. ]
Mary's gaze locked onto Asura.
"Magic becomes more powerful when expressed through what you love most."
She flicked her baton.
Notes ignited.
FWOOOM.
A column of wind spiraled upward in perfect harmony.
Lucilla leaned toward Asura. "That's Musical Mana. She's a Resonance Caster."
Rhazor added, voice hushed:
"No one knows why she teaches here. Rumor says she only teaches average mana theory on purpose."
Lucilla continued, "But if you happen to be good at music by pure coincidence, she takes you aside… gives private lessons… and you come out different."
Rhazor shivered. "Nobody comes out normal."
Asura blinked.
(Private lessons… power-up arc… dramatic training montage…)
His brain processed only the important part:
Music = OP personal power growth.
✦ Asura: Internal Monologue
(If I learn music… she might teach me advanced mana.)
Reminiscence Codex warmed inside him.
[ Suggestion: You could acquire a "Music Skill" instantly. ]
[ Only 1 Codex use required. Skill options: Singing • Instrument Mastery • Melody Weaving ]
Asura remembered.
When he first came to this world—
He tried to get a singing skill.
(I wanted to be a protagonist who sings his own theme song…)
System:
[ Host is about to weaponize karaoke into a power system. ]
Asura smirked.
(Yes. Yes I am.)
He lifted his head slightly.
[ APPRAISAL ]
Name: Mary Lysanthis
Age: 31 (Appears 19)
Race: Magi
Rank: SS
Level: 600
HP: 180,000
MP: 2,800,000
STR: 95,000
AGI: 120,000
INT: 3,200,000
VIT: 140,000
Class: Grand Mage (Musical Resonance) / Tier IV Knight
Core Affinity: Melody Mana (Unique Origin — Resonance Casting)
Skills (Partial):
• Symphony Domain (Ultimate)
• Resonance Weaving (Master)
• Crescendo Burst (Advanced)
• Conductor's Will (Passive)
Threat Level: Cataclysm-tier (if emotionally provoked)
Behavioral Tag: Passion Fixation
Note (System): Target detects soul resonance. Avoid humming.
Asura blinked.
(She can literally hear my soul.)
System:
[ Host is advised not to whistle. ]
Mary's eyes lingered on him.
"You have… depth," she murmured.
"Like a song that doesn't know its own melody yet."
Her voice lowered.
"If you ever find your music—
Come back."
Asura smiled.
"…I will."
✦ Harmony of a Demon Lord
"Two Skills. Zero Regret."
The courtyard behind the Magic Theater was quiet — a rare pocket of peace in the Academy.
Asura stood beneath a willow tree, sunlight cutting through the leaves like stage lighting. Students drifted off to lunch, leaving him alone.
Well.
Alone with the System.
He exhaled.
(If she'll train me… I need music. Real skill. Not humming off-key in the bath.)
The System responded instantly.
[ Reminiscence Codex Available ]
Skill Uses Remaining: 5
Asura held out his hand.
"System. Open Codex options for music."
A black grimoire of swirling script appeared in his palm — pages flipping like they already knew which page he needed.
Suggested Acquisitions (based on host intent):
• Singing — Voice Resonance
• Instrument Mastery — Universal
Asura raised a brow.
"Universal?"
[ Definition: Ability to play any instrument upon contact. ]
[ Skill includes perfect pitch, auditory memory, and emotional resonance. ]
Asura's mind went to Mary.
If music is how she shapes mana…
then I want music.
Rhazor's rumor echoed in his mind:
"If she finds someone talented musically — she trains them in secret."
Asura stared at his hands.
(If I get good at both… she'll have no choice but to train me.)
✦ System Prompt
[ Choose Skill Acquisition Method ]
• Muscle Memory Method: Learn from scratch; skill starts at Lv. 1 (no Codex cost)
• Memory Imprint Method: Import mastery instantly from memory (costs 1 usage)
Asura pictured:
Starting from scratchPracticing scalesLearning instruments slowlySpending months learning tone control
He imagined practicing voice vibrato for hours.
He imagined doing breathing exercises.
He imagined being… normal.
"Yeah, no."
He flicked the page.
"Memory imprint."
[ Warning: Choosing two skills simultaneously will require 1 use each. ]
[ Are you sure you want to spend 2 Codex Uses? ]
Asura paused.
Then shook his head.
"No."
The Codex pulsed—confused.
[ …No? ]
"I want both skills, but only one use."
[ Impossible. Skills require— ]
"Loophole."
He smirked.
"If I choose Instrument Mastery through memory imprint, I gain technique instantly. And if I choose Singing through muscle memory — I gain it without spending a use, but level it naturally."
The Codex rumbled.
[ Processing… parsing host logic… ]
Then:
[ Valid. ]
Asura grinned.
*(I'll master music instruments instantly…)
(…and learn singing through practice — so my voice grows with me.)
✦ Skill Acquisition
He pressed a hand to the Codex.
"I choose—"
His voice dropped to a whisper:
Instrument Mastery — Universal
(Memory Imprint)
Singing — Voice Resonance
(Muscle Memory)
The pages snapped shut.
A rush of memories tore through him —
Fingers on piano keys.
Strings vibrating under his touch.
Breathwork.
Tempo.
Emotion shaping sound.
A flood of mastery.
Asura staggered forward, catching himself against the willow tree.
[ Skill Acquired: Instrument Mastery — UNIVERSAL ]
Level: MAX (Mastery)
Codex Remaining Uses: 4
Then:
[ Skill Acquired: Singing — Voice Resonance ]
Level: 1 (Muscle Memory)
EXP Required to level: Perform / Train / Express
Asura straightened.
He didn't just understand instruments.
He felt them.
(Mary won't expect this.)
System:
[ Host has become dangerous. ]
Asura smirked.
"No. I'm becoming a Magi."
✦ Premonition of a Melody
"The Demon Lord Plays the Piano."
The courtyard faded around Asura.
And then—
his vision split.
[ Precognition Activated ]
He wasn't seeing the future.
He was standing in it.
A hallway of polished marble.
A door labeled MUSIC ROOM — STAFF ACCESS ONLY.
And Mary—
walking past it,
baton in hand,
purple pigtails swaying to a silent song.
Her head paused.
Her eyes softened.
She turned toward the door…
…and stopped.
(She only turns if she hears something.)
[ Future Outcome Detected: Mary investigates sound source. ]
The vision dissolved like fog.
Asura blinked back into the present.
(So if I play… she'll come.)
He smirked.
"Time to speedrun a mentor arc."
He found it exactly where the vision showed.
Massive double doors carved with musical runes.
[ Locked. ]
Lucilla would've kicked it down.
Rhazor would've given up and gone to lunch.
Asura?
He knocked.
And the lock clicked.
System:
[ Host has unlocked the door through pure protagonist audacity. ]
He stepped inside.
The room was massive—
tiered seating,
floating sound-absorption panels,
spell glyphs that hummed faintly.
Under a spotlight sat a grand piano.
Black lacquer.
Gold trim.
Keys that shimmered like moonlight.
Asura exhaled.
(First time touching a piano… and I can play anything.)
Thanks to Instrument Mastery — Universal.
He sat.
Hands hovered above the keys.
Not from nervousness.
From anticipation.
What song fits a Demon Lord becoming a Magi…?
His precognition pulsed.
[ Suggestion: Play something honest. ]
[ Your mana flows stronger with sincerity. ]
Asura closed his eyes.
(Let's give the world a prologue.)
His fingers pressed—
Soft.
Delicate.
Then slowly—
The sound grew.
Notes cascaded like falling petals, rising into a gentle swell. The chords told a story — not of strength, but of longing.
A world left behind.
A destiny not asked for.
And a boy trying to steal freedom from fate.
His aura didn't flare.
His mana didn't surge.
But something else did.
Emotion.
[ System Notice: Mana resonance detected. ]
[ Singing Skill EXP: +30 (Emotional Synchronization) ]
[ New Trait: Emotional Casting (Passive) ]
(So magic reacts to emotion…)
He kept playing, eyes half-lidded, posture relaxed.
Absolute mastery.
Students passing the hallway stopped.
Some pressed hands against the wall, breathless.
"Who… who is playing?"
"That sounds like… heartbreak."
"That sounds like—"
"—Mary."
He sensed her.
Just like the vision.
Her mana arrived before she did —
a ripple of resonance along the floor.
Mary stopped outside the door.
Her hand hovered above the handle.
She wasn't moving because she couldn't.
She was listening.
It wasn't the technical perfection that froze her.
It was the vulnerability.
She opened the door.
Asura didn't stop playing.
Mary stepped into the room, shadows and sunlight tracing her silhouette.
Her crimson eyes were wide.
"You're… playing in Melody Mana frequency."
Asura continued, fingers gliding like he was born for it.
Mary moved closer, disbelief cracking her composed façade.
"No one plays like that without… years."
He let the final chord fade—
slow
soft
lingering.
The silence afterwards was loud.
Asura finally looked at her.
"Hi."
Mary blinked.
"…You can play piano."
"I can play anything."
"…Excuse me?"
He leaned back slightly, expression casual.
"I'm good at music."
She stared at him like he casually announced he could breathe fire and tax-evade the gods.
Rhazor once said she doesn't give one-on-one training unless a student shows musical potential.
Mary inhaled— slowly.
Then:
"Come tomorrow morning.
Before class."
Asura blinked.
"…Private lesson?"
Mary lifted her baton like she was christening destiny.
"No. Evaluation.
I need to know if what I heard today was luck…"
Her eyes sharpened — hunter's precision.
"Or if you were born for music."
Asura smirked.
(Born? No.)
(But I chose it.)
✦ Preparing for the Evaluation
Rhazor slammed the dorm door open so hard it rattled the hinges.
"BRO. BRO. BRO."
He grabbed Asura by the collar and shook him like a gacha machine.
"You got Mary to talk to you.
You got Mary to LISTEN to you—
and then she scheduled a PRIVATE EVALUATION?!"
Lucilla sat on Asura's bed, polishing her spear with unnecessary aggression.
She did not look amused.
Rhazor continued, eyes sparkling like a man who saw heaven and forgot to blink.
"Do you understand the significance?! Mary doesn't do private lessons.
Mary doesn't do individually tailored guidance.
Mary doesn't even do eye contact unless you're mana in human form!"
He slapped his chest dramatically.
"I have been praying to get five seconds of her attention! Five! Seconds!
And you stroll in and she says—"
He switched to a mocking voice, fluttering his hands:
"Come tomorrow morning. Before class."
Lucilla stabbed the air with her spear tip.
"She said evaluation, not training."
Rhazor whirled on her. "It's the same thing!"
"No," Lucilla snapped.
"It isn't."
She looked at Asura, eyes sharp.
"You don't even care about magic. Or mana. Or music.
Why is she interested in you?"
Asura blinked. "I care."
Lucilla tilted her head like she didn't believe him.
Rhazor threw himself onto the couch.
"Mary is a Grand Mage. Tier V. A rumored Magi. She's the academy's dream mentor.
She chose him. HIM."
He jabbed a finger at Asura.
Meanwhile, Asura sat cross-legged with his wooden sword across his lap.
Calm. Focused.
"…I just played the piano."
Rhazor fell off the couch.
Lucilla tightened her grip on her spear.
"She doesn't respond to skill. She responds to passion."
She slowly leaned toward Asura.
"…Did you show her passion?"
Asura shrugged. "I played what I felt."
Lucilla froze.
Rhazor screamed into a pillow.
Asura found a quiet stone plaza lit by moonlight.
He summoned a practice stand with a flick of mana and set sheet music in front of him — blank pages that would soon reveal melody.
He practiced scales, resonance exercises, and breath control for his Singing skill.
[ Singing — Voice Resonance ]
Level: 1 → 4
EXP gained: Emotional expression + monotone correction
Lucilla leaned against a pillar, pretending she "just happened" to be passing by.
Rhazor sprawled on the steps, kicking his legs in the air like a girl ranting about idols.
Rhazor pointed accusingly.
"You're practicing… for HER."
Asura: "Yes."
Lucilla: "For her."
Asura: "Yes."
They spoke the same words.
Different meanings.
Lucilla crossed her arms.
"She won't go easy. If she evaluates you, she'll break you."
Rhazor flopped dramatically onto the ground.
"I can't believe my crush is going to pick HIM over NIHILISM AND DESPAIR."
Lucilla tilted her head. "That is not even grammatically—"
"She's hot, okay?! I panic!"
The Music Theater was empty except for Mary standing at the center platform.
Baton in hand.
Eyes sharp.
"Asura Satomi."
He stepped forward confidently.
"I'm ready."
She gestured to the grand piano.
He moved toward it—
And she raised the baton to block him.
"No."
Asura blinked. "No?"
"You won your entrance with piano.
I'm not evaluating if you were lucky with one instrument."
She motioned to a wall of instruments sealed in crystal.
"You will perform using a different medium.
Choose."
Asura stared at the piano like a child watching someone adopt his dog.
"But I like the piano."
"Then prove your passion somewhere else."
He scanned the room.
Flute.
Lute.
Harp.
Horns.
Viol.
His eyes stopped.
The viol — black wood, ivory inlay, string tones that resonated warm and low.
(Ancient. Elegant. Precise.)
He lifted it carefully.
The weight felt familiar.
Right.
Comfortable.
System chimed.
[ Instrument Identified: Viol ]
Matching Host Emotional Frequency…
Compatible.
Mary watched him, unreadable.
Lucilla and Rhazor had slipped into the back row quietly.
Rhazor whispered, "He picked the viol…"
Lucilla murmured, "He picks things he resonates with."
Mary folded her arms.
"Begin."
Asura inhaled—
and played.
Low.
Deep.
Sublime.
The bow slid across strings like breath across skin.
The sound wasn't flashy.
It was intimate.
It was the ache of a boy who could destroy the world—
but just wanted to be heard.
Mary's eyes widened ever so slightly.
Her baton trembled.
Rhazor whispered, amazed, tears forming:
"He's making music flirt with her."
Lucilla whispered back, jealous:
"He's not flirting.
He's… expressing."
And then—
[ Instrument Mastery (Universal) → Resonance Adaptation Unlocked ]
Asura can modify mana output through music.
[ Singing — Voice Resonance ] Lv. 4 → Lv. 5
Emotion triggers growth.
Mary slowly lowered her baton, speechless.
"…You weren't lucky."
Asura rested the bow across the strings.
"No."
She swallowed once.
"You were born for music."
Asura smiled faintly.
"Yea… I guess you can say that."
✦ Private Training Hall — Dawn
The training hall Mary chose wasn't a classroom.
It was a sanctuary.
A circular chamber lined in sound-absorbing crystal.
No desks. No benches.
Just space, quiet, and potential.
Mary stood at the center with her baton resting against her shoulder.
"Today," she said calmly, "we begin with mana control."
Asura blinked.
"...I already know how to do that."
Mary arched a brow. "No student walks into my hall knowing mana control."
Asura pointed to his temples.
"I learned from anime."
Mary stared.
Rhazor would have fainted from the audacity.
Lucilla would have stabbed him for the disrespect.
Mary… blinked.
"You learned mana fundamentals… from cartoons."
"Anime," Asura corrected.
She sighed through her nose — the sigh of a teacher who realized destiny gave her a student she can't handle.
"Fine. Demonstrate."
Asura held out his hand.
Mana gathered instantly — smooth, seamless, perfectly pressurized.
Not shaky.
Not unstable.
Not novice.
Mary leaned forward, studying the mana flow.
"Your control is… annoyingly perfect."
"Thanks," Asura said. "Now teach me something new."
Asura lowered his hand.
"Actually… I need aura more than mana."
Mary's eyebrow twitched.
"That is not my specialty."
"But you're a Tier IV Knight."
Mary crossed her arms.
"I am a Grand Mage. I specialize in mana. Aura has nothing to do with music."
Asura nodded thoughtfully.
Then dropped the bomb.
"What if I use aura with music?"
Mary froze.
The room froze.
Even the air forgot how to vibrate.
"…Excuse me?"
Asura paced a slow circle, thinking out loud.
"If aura strengthens the body, and mana strengthens the world…
Then what happens if I fuse them through expression?"
"No, no, no." Mary waved her baton frantically.
"Aura and mana do not mix. They are different systems, different philosophies—"
Asura ignored the protests and kept going.
"What if I coat the instrument with aura while using mana for resonance?"
Mary stumbled over her words.
"That— isn't— how— instrumentation works."
He held up a finger.
"Or— hear me out—"
Mary had no choice.
She listened.
"What if," Asura said slowly, eyes narrowing, "I coat my vocal cords in aura while singing mana-infused music?"
Mary dropped her baton.
It clattered on the floor.
She just stared at him.
Mouth slightly open.
Like she just witnessed someone try to solve world peace using duct tape and charisma.
"Y-You want to… aura-buff your throat?"
"Yep."
"And fuse weaponized music with combat aura?"
"Correct."
She blinked three times.
Slowly.
"…You can't do that."
Asura tilted his head. "Why not?"
Mary pointed her baton at him like she was accusing him of a felony.
"Because no one has ever tried."
Asura grinned.
"Sounds like a skill issue."
Mary inhaled.
Deep.
Shaky.
Then — something unexpected happened.
She laughed.
Not a polite laugh.
Not a teacher laugh.
A laugh that cracked her composure.
"Aura. Music. Mana. Domain. You want to mash every system together into something new."
Asura shrugged.
"I call it Protagonist Privilege."
Mary's crimson eyes gleamed with something new:
excitement.
Not the professional kind.
The scientist who just found a new species kind.
"You are either insane," she whispered, "or a genius."
"Both," Asura replied.
[ System Notice: Host is attempting to invent a new power system. ]
[ Success Rate: 0.000002% ]
[ Correction: 68% after accounting for Host's plot armor. ]
Mary stepped closer.
"Show me."
Asura blinked. "Show you what?"
"Show me aura through music."
She was smiling.
Not amused.
Not curious.
Hungry.
She picked up the viol and handed it to him.
"From this moment on… we are not practicing.
We are experimenting."
She tapped her baton against the floor.
Every sound crystal ignited.
"You and I… are going to rewrite the rules."
Asura felt his pulse quicken.
The perfect combination.
His ambition.
Her genius.
Music.
Aura.
Mana.
Mary took a step back and pointed her baton.
"Asura Satomi."
Her voice was reverent.
"Play."
End of Chapter 55