Magic (1)
[Acquired Magic List]
◆ Combat Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Mana Arrow
★☆☆☆☆☆ Shockwave
★☆☆☆☆☆ Ice Spear
★☆☆☆☆☆ Flame Arrow
★☆☆☆☆☆ Full Power Manifestation
★★☆☆☆☆ Fireball
★★☆☆☆☆ Shadow Bind
★★☆☆☆☆ Large-scale Barrier
◆ Transformation Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Light Creation
★☆☆☆☆☆ Attribute Grant
★★☆☆☆☆ Earth Wall
★★☆☆☆☆ Crystallization
◆ Illusion Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Sound Block
★☆☆☆☆☆ Illusion - Small Animal
★★☆☆☆☆ Auditory Hallucination
★★☆☆☆☆ Confusion
◆ Summoning Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Summon - Guide Fairy
◆ Search Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Direction Detection
★★☆☆☆☆ Clairvoyance
★★☆☆☆☆ magic detection
★★☆☆☆☆ Life Detection
Derrick learned the basics of Combat-type magic from an old elderly man.
And he learned proper Illusion-type magic from a fallen noble named Katia.
Indeed, the influence of a master cannot be ignored. Even after that, Derrick continued his mastery of magic on his own, but most of his achievements progressed centered on Combat-type magic and Illusion-type magic.
He had never neglected his training in Transformation-type, Search-type, and Summoning-type magic. However, no matter how much he tried, there were parts that stagnated as if blocked by a wall.
"It seems you've already completely grasped Search-type magic."
How much time had passed since he had been buried only in magic inside this dark cave.
Drest Wolftail said so one day. It was rare for the old man to speak first about Derrick's mastery of magic.
"…. It still feels a bit stagnant."
"The rest is the part the boy must master on his own."
At those words, Derrick ended up feeling somewhat regretful.
An opportunity to receive direct instruction from a 6-star Search-type mage is never common. Since it had come to this, he wanted to receive everything he could.
However, he also knew that in learning magic, one's own reflection and mastery are just as important as having a good master.
"If you could realize all truths of magic just by sitting in a corner of a cave, then all the great masters of the world would be people who lock themselves in rooms and never come out."
"I have heard that there are many such people."
"… Anyway, from my perspective, it seems I've done everything necessary."
Derrick raised his palm and tried clenching and unclenching it several times in front of himself.
Then he gently closed his eyes and once again felt the flow of mana.
Watching and imitating Drest Wolftail's use of mana, he constantly tried to gauge that vast energy.
He gathered the mana lingering before his eyes back into his chest and, as if吐, released it into the world.
The sensation of part of his body burning, and another part freezing cold. That cold and heat mixed together at once, colliding throughout his whole body and turning into mana.
Not long ago, he had felt a similar sensation in the labyrinth.
That strange discomfort where the output of magic did not move as he wished. The unique movement of a mage who had stepped into the entrance of the next stage, unable to easily control that vast mana.
In the past days, as he followed Drest's use of mana and struggled to master the various Search-type magic he used, he had felt that sensation many times.
It was a repetition of days where he reached out toward something of a higher realm that was not yet his own stage.
He suppressed the sensation of fighting against the rampaging mana by repeating it again and again.
As if subduing a difficult beast, he clenched his teeth and controlled the sensation of the mana lingering in all things of the world gathering in one place and about to go berserk.
And finally, he gathered the mana lingering at his fingertips into a single point.
"…."
As if drawn by something, Derrick placed his hand on the cold stone floor and, following where his heart led, released that mana.
–Whoosh!
Even though he had steeled himself and manifested mana with all his might, there was no change in the surroundings.
"…."
It was the moment when a brief sense of emptiness surged up.
—Rumble, rumble.
—Crackle!
A tremendous vibration began to spread throughout the cave.
The aftermath was not enough to cover this entire huge cave, but at least it was enough to turn over this massive open area.
The trembling gradually intensified, several stalactites broke and fell, and cracks began to form in the walls.
—Rumble! Rumble! Crackle!
Before Derrick could even grasp what had happened, Drest quickly drew up his mana and manifested a barrier.
Then, with telekinetic magic, he shoved Derrick hard and quickly moved his body toward the cave entrance.
—Crackle! Boom! Rumble! Crackle!
The entrance of Laspa Great Cave.
Derrick was sitting collapsed, looking at the collapsed cave entrance.
From the aftermath of releasing the mana he had drawn up to the very bottom, his fingertips were trembling.
Behind him, Drest stood straight with his arms crossed and let out a hollow laugh.
Derrick was now at an age where he would soon hold his coming-of-age ceremony. However, the magic Derrick had manifested had already completely collapsed the entrance of Laspa Great Cave.
"Huh.....huh....."
Derrick, who was drenched in sweat, somehow got up while steadying his trembling hands.
Feeling the aftermath of the vibration, it was the moment he was about to ask what had just happened.
[Newly Acquired Magic]
3-star Combat-type 'Crustal Shift'
Derrick ended up swallowing his dry saliva.
To find a commoner mage who had learned 3-star magic at this age, one would have to search through history books or biographies of great figures.
As always, the old mage with sagging wrinkles placed his hand on Derrick's shoulder from behind.
"As I said, at this point in time, it seems there is nothing more to teach you."
*
The stars were clearly visible.
They said that Adelbert, who first devised the concept of magic star ranks, also gained inspiration by looking at the sky full of stars.
Derrick sat around a campfire with Drest at the collapsed cave entrance and lay his body between the darkness of the night.
Derrick was staring blankly at his palm with a dazed expression.
Just now, he had completely turned over the surrounding ground.
3-star magic. Even among nobles, from 3-star mages onward, they were called 'Upper-level Mage', and an atmosphere formed where they were acknowledged as figures who had reached a certain level of mastery in magic.
If it were said that a 3-star mage had appeared among commoners, even nobles would respect that blood-and-sweat effort. Because most 3-star mages of commoner origin were people who had lived their entire lives buried only in magic.
However, there would be no 3-star mage as young as Derrick. It was doubtful whether people would really show such favorable eyes even after seeing Derrick.
That living witness was the old mage named Drest sitting across the campfire.
"As I said before, as a mage of commoner origin, you can't survive with half-baked talent."
"…."
It was said as if giving notice without any emotion, but the weight of the years embedded in Drest's words could be felt.
Drest was a mage of commoner origin who had lived his whole life, and he was a person who had sacrificed far too much to preserve his life and even bring down nobles.
"You must be overwhelming. You must rise to a point that hands cannot even reach, so that people hold reverence. It is human nature to try to pull down someone who stands at a position that seems within reach."
"If it has to be overwhelming, then just how much are we talking about?"
If someone said that Derrick had learned 3-star magic at his age, most mages would all widen their eyes in surprise.
Even so, Drest only kept his eyes gently closed.
If you intend to fight against the world, there are only two outcomes: either an overwhelming victory or a miserable defeat.
Drest quietly looked at Derrick with that clouded gaze. Years approaching a century had thickly accumulated in those eyes.
As he looked at the now-blooming existence called Derrick, he seemed to be overlapping something from the past.
"That is for you to decide."
Saying that, Drest raised his emaciated body.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll go get some fresh air for a bit."
"…."
Saying so, Drest shook off the hem of his robe.
The darkness of the night filled the forest around the cave. To someone, that darkness might have looked like endless emptiness.
In the appearance of Drest, who was completely old and looking at the twilight of his life, there was not the slightest sense of the majesty that flowed from the world's top-ranking mages.
Even though he was the greatest commoner mage, he had the most ordinary appearance of all.
His shoulders were small, his arms and legs were dried up like dead branches, he wore a completely worn-out robe, and he nibbled on the food that commoners ate.
He was a person who lived like that, and died like that.
Derrick knew. Drest's end was not very dramatic compared to the value of his name.
Reflecting on his turbulent life, he wandered like that, and one day, sensing his death, he returned to a certain village on the outskirts of Zeblon Count's territory.
In that quiet countryside, now completely burned down and left only as ruins, he casually entered a house, casually sat on a worn-out chair, and rested his chin.
And quietly closed his eyes, and never opened them again.
That was the way he lived and left.
"The night air is still very cold, Master. Please stay by the campfire a bit longer."
Derrick said so.
Then Drest fell into thought for a moment, and soon, as always, did not show any expression.
"It's fine."
"…."
"Be careful of Kohela."
After tossing out such a completely contextless warning, he quietly blended into the darkness of the night.
And Drest did not come back again.
Derrick also knew that it would be so.
At the place the old man had left, Derrick sat alone and idly poked the campfire with a stick. A crackling sound rose.
After going around and around, he was sitting alone as always.
The old beggar was like that, Katia was like that, and Drest was like that too .. all the same. Those who embraced you like a cradle would eventually leave your side.
Once you realize that, at some point you come to realize that farewell is also a natural part of life.
It was one of the many principles of life.
*
Derrick returned after a long time to his residence prepared near the commercial district of Ebelstein.
He washed his body, and laundered and maintained all of his mercenary clothing and equipment.
He sharpened the rusted blade. He oiled it too.
He cleaned the dust-filled room and threw away all the spoiled food.
He washed the bedding. He placed incense candles here and there in the room.
He repaired the worn-out door, threw away the old furniture, and bought new ones.
He neatly trimmed his shaggy hair and shaved.
He pushed the Magic Book that Katia had left him deep into a drawer. It was no longer a realm that needed this Magic Book.
Dressed neatly like that, he checked all the piled-up letters.
Ones from the mercenary corps, ones from the three great families, ones from the Ebelstein main office, and ones from employers who wanted to hire Derrick separately. Many others had looked for Derrick, but Derrick had not replied to any of them.
After finishing the basic tidying, he went out to the front of the house where sunlight came in. The smell of bread drifting over from the bakery across the street was unchanged.
Ebelstein was still a city with a thousand faces.
It was Derrick's hometown.
*
"We received contact from that man called Derrick. He says he would like to meet Duke Beltus once. What should we do?"
Claven, the head butler of the Beltus family, reported while feeling dumbfounded. How could a mere commoner talk about wanting to meet the Duke of a nation.
However, Derrick was a successful magic instructor. Recognized magic instructors sometimes voiced their own opinions even to high-ranking nobles.
In fact, Derrick had already sent letters several times and asked various conditions of the Beltus family.
"So he said he was going into magic training, and now it seems he's roughly finished and come out?"
The Duke Beltus had already become very spirited just from the fact that he had once bent the pride of the Duke Duplein, who had boasted that Derrick would definitely come to the Duplein family.
Since Derrick had chosen the Beltus family instead of Duplein or Belmiard, he could not help but wear a satisfied expression.
"He'll be teaching Denise magic, and lately Denise's magic achievement has also been stagnant, so this is good timing. If he is such a capable magic instructor, he should produce sufficient results, right?"
"There are already many rumors that he produced outstanding results when working for the Duplein family and the Belmiard family."
"Good. It was Denise who lured him in, and he will also be the one who teaches Denise from now on, so for now I should tell Denise to meet him separately. There is a lot of urgent territory work, so I will leave that side to Denise."
Thus, Duke Beltus began moving his quill to write a letter to send to Ebelstein.
Seeing that satisfied expression dripping off his face, the head butler felt relieved that there seemed to be no need to worry.
"That magic master is said to be visiting the mansion today."
"Hiik.....! "
As always, Denise, who had been stuck in her room, swallowed her dry saliva.
After returning from the main house, Denise had been lying quietly in her room, slowly sorting her complicated thoughts.
She could not read at all the way of thinking of that magic master who insisted on teaching her, leaving Aiselin and Ellente aside.
After considering various hypotheses and possibilities, she even ended up thinking that this decision might be a kind of punishment.
In any case, Denise had tried to use him, and even though she did not like magic that much, she had pretended passion. Some mages said they considered that an insult, so she thought that he might try to harm her in some way.
How could a commoner hold a grudge against the Young Lady of the Beltus family. However, he was not an ordinary commoner. He was a magic instructor that all three great families were eagerly trying to take.
When her thoughts reached that point, she ended up realizing that her position had become a bit strange.
'She fixed up Young Lady Diela, earned the recognition of Young Lady Ellente, and even kicked aside Young Lady Aiselin, and I brought in that unprecedented magic instructor as my master.....If there is not even any achievement.....?'
No matter how much of a slum-born commoner mercenary he was, he was a person who had built up that level of achievements.
If there were no achievements here, who would people point their fingers at? There was a strong possibility that their gaze would turn toward herself, who was being stagnant even with such a master.
She had not thought she would fall into such a self-contradiction, but there was also no escape route to run away.
"Bella.....I just want to lie down and do nothing.....can't I just cut him off at my discretion.....? "
"You know better than anyone that that won't work.....the Duke won't stay still....."
After washing her face with dry hands several times, Denise finally stood up. Just staying like this would not solve anything.
"Greetings. It has been a while."
Ebelstein noble district, the mansion of Young Lady Denise.
With servants guiding him, Derrick could be seen striding down the corridor.
He approached with his cloak draped and greeted Young Lady Denise. As always, he looked blunt.
However, Young Lady Denise could not help but widen her eyes.
It was the first time she had met Derrick properly dressed. Of course, the first time she saw him was from the spectator seats of the sparring arena, but during the time she spent trying to lure him in, that first impression had already faded.
The image of Derrick in Denise's mind was a strange person who was buried only in magic in a corner of a cave that no one visited, with a dirty face and shaggy hair.
When he greeted her neatly dressed and with proper manners, she almost failed to recognize who he was for a moment.
"De, Derrick.....? Was it.....? "
"Yes. Thank you for everything at Laspa Great Cave. The supplies you gave were a big help."
"Ah, no.....you were someone who even knew how to show proper manners.....? "
"Hm?"
"…."
No matter how faint Derrick's sense of status was, he would not behave the same in a corner of Laspa Great Cave where there were almost no eyes and in her base, the mansion.
That was actually natural, but Denise, who had not properly adapted to Derrick's change, stopped thinking for a moment.
'Th, this is not the time to be flustered over something like this. There are too many things I need to ask, and I need to find out what he's plotting.'
He had been buried only in magic training in a corner of a cave. His magic skill must have grown by one stage.
Young Lady Denise subtly gathered mana and manifested her specialty, Search-type magic, around her eyes. She at least intended to gauge that amount of mana.
"…"
However, to Denise's eyes, Derrick's amount of mana could not be gauged at all.
Either the mana was so faint that it could not be seen, or he had learned how to hide mana from Search-type magic.
If he was a person with such a knack, then unless one's realm became higher than his, it would be impossible to gauge his mana amount.
At a glance, he was a person seeing a wider scenery than Denise.
Denise swallowed her dry saliva and spoke.
"Y, you must have had a hard journey. You will be teaching me magic, right?"
"Yes. That is correct."
Derrick brushed off his hands several times and showed a faint smile.
"I heard that you hold great disillusionment toward magic."
"…."
"Honestly, wouldn't your pride be hurt? At a point where you have not properly glimpsed that realm, hastily judging whether magic is good or bad could be an insult to magic. Above all, I am someone who has lived clinging to magic my entire life."
"Alright. I might have been thinking a bit shallowly. I apologize. Is that enough now?"
"No. I am grateful that you apologized without reservation. But isn't it too regrettable? To live with only disillusionment and aversion toward such good magic. That cannot be."
Denise met Derrick's eyes. In those deep eyes that seemed to suck her in, some kind of indescribable strange energy was flowing.
It seemed like endless seriousness, or perhaps madness beyond that.
'Hiik.....'
Denise realized. She had touched someone she should not have touched.
If you are going to touch someone, you must first find out whether that person is someone you can handle. It was common sense, but the gap in status between commoners and nobles sometimes made people forget even that.
Unfortunately, the principle of the world was that what had already passed could not be taken back.