Chapter 28

Chapter : 28

“There are three major talents in magic. If you divide them out, they are innate Mana Capacity, Perception, and Control.”

Ian explained the three elements that made up magic.

Mana Capacity, Perception, and Control. They were essential abilities for using magic.

To explain it simply, mana could be thought of as the power source that ran a machine, Perception as the number of functions the machine possessed, and Control as something like the machine’s output.

Even after laying that out, Ian went on to explain what each talent made one suited for, what each made one poor at, and so on.

I listened closely and turned his words over from every angle, trying to sketch out where I myself stood.

For me, it was one circle and two X’s.

I had been born with a large amount of mana, but compared to that amount, my Perception and Control were somewhat lacking.

Even so, they were still above average, though from Ian’s position at the very top, that probably made little difference.

It wasn’t enough to rely on magic as a primary weapon.

Fortunately, I only intended to use it as support, so it wasn’t a serious problem.

It was only lacking by Ian’s standards. My talent for magic was more than sufficient. Even so, there was too much risk in relying on magic alone.

My judgment was that if I mixed swordsmanship, magic, and my knowledge of the Original Work in the proper measure, I could at least stay safely around the middle without taking on too much risk.

This should be good enough.

I was feeling rather satisfied with that conclusion when Ian said,

“There’s no need to regret it. If anyone were told to choose only one of the three talents, they would choose mana. You’ve got the best one in your hands.”

Hearing that from the bastard who had been born with all three made my insides twist.

“From now on, I’ll teach you how to make use of your talent.”

Twelve Mana Bullets rose behind Ian’s back and spun in a circle.

They each moved in different directions and struck down the training dummies in the distance. Their speed was so swift and their trajectories so chaotic that it was difficult even to follow them with my eyes. My vision started to spin.

“You want me to do that too?”

“No. That’s impossible for you. I only showed you so you’d understand that you can never do it, and shouldn’t even dream of it.”

“Ah. I see.”

“You should do it like this.”

Ian generated several times more Mana Bullets than before.

There had to be at least a hundred of them, and as they all vibrated at once with a low hum, the pressure they gave off was intense. It put a man on edge the way hearing the cry of a wild beast would.

The Mana Bullets moved.

Unlike the earlier display, when he had sent them all down different paths as an example of something I couldn’t do, this time the trajectories were simple.

Every one of them flew in a straight line and struck the training dummies.

But their force was far greater.

Each time a Mana Bullet hit, the metal dummies rocked violently from side to side.

DUDUDUDUDU!

Repeated impacts of the Mana Bullets.

The dummies trembled and staggered as if they were dancing, and the sight made me laugh.

As I watched him, I said,

“That one I can do?”

“Yes.”

“Then should I try?”

I pulled out Mana Bullets without overthinking it.

Unlike Ian’s, mine differed slightly in size and shape from one to the next.

I didn’t care.

This wasn’t a performance for showing off to others. It was a technique meant to hurt things.

So what if the arrows were a little ugly? As long as they flew well, that was enough.

There were around twenty Mana Bullets.

I fired them at the training dummies.

“Ah.”

The moment I fired them, I realized it. I understood what the difference was between what Ian had done earlier and what I had just done.

If you fired Mana Bullets in a straight line at a target, it was simple in every way. You cast the spell, you fired, and that was the end of it.

But the moment you tried to alter the trajectory of the Mana Bullets, the difficulty of the spell increased several times over.

You had to remain involved in the magic all the way to the end while maintaining your concentration, so it became extremely delicate.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Some of the Mana Bullets I fired struck the target, while others missed. Watching that, Ian commented,

“For a first attempt, not bad. Next time, pay a little more attention to controlling the bullets.”

For Ian, it was generous praise.

“Wait. Let me try just once more.”

“There’s no need. Do it after your mana has fully recovered…”

Ignoring Ian’s words, I moved again.

It hadn’t appeared in Cinderella Rhapsody, but in one of my sister’s other novels, there had been a method for increasing Perception.

It was the thing I’d done before entering the Academy. Searching with my eyes closed for Mana Stones that were emitting mana.

Using that method, it was possible to improve Perception, if only by a tiny amount.

And I had repeated it for a long time.

I pulled out Mana Bullets. Compared to Ian’s, they looked rather modest.

But the number of Mana Bullets was the least important part.

I reduced the number to show that I, too, could do it. First of all, the size and shape of the bullets were identical.

Hmm.

So this is how it works?

Ian had altered the firing directions of the Mana Bullets in real time, but that much was beyond me.

Instead, I set their trajectories in advance before firing. One would take a gentle curve. One would go straight. The remaining two I would guide directly.

TWA-A-A-ANG!

I fired the Mana Bullets.

Just before release, I discarded the two whose paths I had already set from my mind. That left two.

I focused on those. I forcibly held on to the Mana Bullets as they kept trying to slip out of my control. Then I poured strength into them.

“Ah!”

I hadn’t intended it, but the Mana Bullets accelerated. In the process of feeding mana into them, their output had been reinforced even further.

The Mana Bullets traced different lines and struck the training dummies.

A hit.

All four of them.

“Excellent.”

“That’s thanks to you.”

“Yes. It is. Because I taught you well.”

It was strange enough that he seemed to have developed a sense of humor now, so I studied his expression.

He was completely serious.

He genuinely thought that I had improved because he had taught me magic so well.

That was true, but the way he was being so explicit about it felt awkward. So what was the reason?

It could have simply meant that I ought to be grateful to him, but my own reading of it was a little different.

He was telling me that he had gone this far for me, so what exactly had I been doing?

It was a plausible interpretation.

I had persuaded Ian that, in order to catch Dimagen, we needed Agares’s cooperation.

After that, I had gone to Agares in Ian’s place and explained the situation. Agares had refused to help us, but only once.

From Ian’s point of view, I might well have looked lazy.

“All right. All right, I get it. I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”

He was pressuring me to go to Agares again, as though asking just once and giving up was an attempt to loaf my way through the matter.

“What are you talking about?”

“Stop pretending. I’ll go see him again later.”

“Go where?”

“Forget it. Forget it. Let’s just stop here.”

---

Last time, Agares had seemed to be in an unusually good mood.

Judging by the fact that I had deliberately rambled nonsense at him and he still hadn’t argued, something special really must have happened.

What was it?

As I carefully searched my memory, I felt as though I understood.

Introduction to Giant Beast Hunting.

He had been pleased because I took full marks in that course.

If he had merely been interested in the subject itself and liked it for its own sake, then my taking first place would have meant I had effectively beaten him, so he wouldn’t have been that pleased.

Thinking back on the conversation then, the point had been that I had studied that course seriously.

“Hm…”

The North was a barren wasteland. Crops did not grow easily there, and it constantly had to defend itself against outside incursions.

It was a miserable land in every respect. Agares was always searching for a way to solve that.

The North was a land with many enemies.

There were the other races he called demons, and there were the monsters that arose naturally.

A giant beast was the term for a monster that had become enormous for one reason or another.

At least the other races could talk.

Monsters, by contrast, were living calamities that attacked people on sight.

It was common for the people of the North, and for its soldiers, to die at the hands of monsters.

“This is it.”

Agares had misunderstood when he saw that I’d taken full marks in the course.

He thought I too had an interest in hunting monsters.

“Not bad.”

The more carefully I considered the situation, the more it seemed there was no need to correct the misunderstanding.

Things had turned in my favor.

The moment class ended, I went to Agares and said,

“Do you remember the time we spoke about the Dark Mage hiding in the North?”

The moment I finished speaking, Agares frowned as though he was already tired of hearing it. He gave a snort and replied,

“This again? You really don’t know when enough is enough. I already explained it well enough last time.”

“Yes. That’s true. Which is why this time I’d like to make a somewhat different proposal. Last time, I asked for your help unilaterally. This time it’s different. If you’ll cooperate in capturing the Dark Mage, then I’ll help you as well.”

“You’ll help me? How?”

I tapped the textbook for Introduction to Giant Beast Hunting with my fingers.

“Don’t you intend, someday, to wipe out the monsters of the North?”

“And?”

“I’ll help you do it.”

Agares burst out laughing. Pulling the corners of his mouth up wide, he said in an amused voice,

“Good. Your intentions are admirable, and it’s truly a fine offer.”

“Then…”

“If you had the ability for it. But would you actually be any help?”

“What?”

Agares tapped the textbook with his hand, just as I had.

“Even if your knowledge is extensive, it’s awkward to make use of it in real combat. More than that, you’ve never actually been on a monster hunt, have you? And you expect me to place you in command from your very first real battle? Impossible. So what exactly can you do?”

“……”

Agares shrugged. Resting a hand the size of something that could lift a watermelon one-handed on my shoulder, he said,

“In battle, your head is useless. More than that, with your level of combat strength, you’re even less to look at. So how, exactly, are you supposed to help me?”

Agares’s expression was dead serious.

And, hearing him put it like that, I really did sound useless.

It didn’t seem as though I’d be able to talk my way into persuading him, so I smiled blandly and said,

“Come on. Even so, wouldn’t I still be better than nothing?”

“You’d be very little help.”

“Come on. Even just this much. This much, surely I’d still be of some help, wouldn’t I? I mean, I’m at least somewhat decent with a sword, so wouldn’t I really be of at least this much use?”

I spread my fingers a little, leaving only the tiniest gap between them.

At that, Agares reluctantly nodded.

“Yes. Better than nothing, at least.”

There it is.

I clapped my hands and agreed at once.

“Exactly. See? So I really would be of some help, wouldn’t I? If Lord Agares helps me once, and then I help Lord Agares once, isn’t that fair?”

Agares shoved me away and said,

“The only fair part is that it’s once for once, isn’t it? And even you ought to know that makes no sense. The labor involved is different, and the risk is different.”

That was true.

The offer leaned far too much in my favor.

Putting on an apologetic look, I lowered my head and said,

“I knew it was asking too much. I’m sorry.”

“Hmph. No need to apologize. Still, this conversation is more pleasant than the last one. If, more than that Dark Mage, you turn out to be more useful to my plans, then I’ll accept your offer.”

“Yes. I’ll think it over and come back.”