Chapter 2 - Budding Echo Warrior

The land of magic was not a safe place to travel through.

Due to the abundance of magic particulates in the air, the emergence of powerful and dangerous monsters was as common as seeing a bird fly through the air. For the normal populace, they had no hopes of being able to defeat a monster without some form of training or protection.

That was why there were those that trained in order to defeat such foes. While the number of occupations and roles that dealt with such opponents were myriad, the most common type were those that dealt with magic as a tool to fight such creatures. Taking the essence of magic into their hands, they weaved patterns and closed paths of energy into something called [spells] to enact phenomenal outcomes such as creating fireballs or projectiles of earth to attack others.

“And so,” Text concluded. “If you want to be able to defeat monsters, you need to learn some magic.”

Mary wanted nothing more than to throttle Text for acting like it was a simple task to accomplish. Having barely survived fleeing from what appeared to be a giant beast with two heads and a scorpion tail, she wanted nothing more than to hide in the nearest hole and never emerge again.

“And how exactly am I supposed to learn magic?”

“Well, duh? I’ll be teaching you, of course!”

His frivolous tone grated at her. “If you already know magic, then why can’t you defeat those monsters on your own?”

“Because I can’t use magic,” Text replied. “I mean, the reason why we made a contract in the first place is that I’m helpless on my own. If I were able to use magic without any limitations, then the whole world might suffer as a side effect of feeling my full strength. Not even that brat who calls herself a Magic God would be able to match my power if that happened.”

That caught her attention. “You know the Magic God?”

“Well, ‘know’ is a strong word. I’m vaguely aware of what she’s like, if that’s what you mean.”

It was rare that Text revealed a part of himself to her like this. Mary was vaguely aware that Text was more than he seemed, even though all she really knew about him was that he was most likely someone who was once very powerful but was no longer the case. That much was apparent when they first met, having saved her from a situation where she thought death was certain for her.

“The current Magic God inherited her position from her father,” Text continued. “The former Magic God was a powerful person named BEL, and he was famous for his vast repertoire of magic spells as well as his close relationship to the Demon God. When he decided to pass down his title to his daughter, many were surprised to learn that it was even possible. After all, who would have guessed that it was possible to pass on their divine position down to another person?”

“Why exactly did he do it?”

“Dunno. I doubt anyone who isn’t close to the former Magic God would know his reasons either. But we’re talking about his successor, not him. The current Magic God was formerly a human girl who forsook her mortal name in order to take on the title of ABEL. Her initial ascension as the new Magic God was not without difficulties, since around the same time a rumor began to spread that it was possible to steal her title if anyone managed to defeat her in battle.”

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“People thought that you could defeat a god in battle?”

“Maybe they underestimated her since she was supposedly a newborn god. But whatever their reasoning, ABEL managed to prove her worth by accepting all challengers and defeating them all after another. Even when multiple guilds banded together to all ambush her, she prevailed not through the might of her divinity but by systematically targeting their weak points and having them collapse from within their own ranks.”

“From the way you make it sound, it seems like the Magic God didn’t overwhelm her opponents through force.”

“Well, ABEL was always the type to use her abilities as efficiently as possible. When compared to the likes of Martial God or Demon God, she tends to favor the soft approach rather than relying on brute strength.”

Mary took in what he just said before eventually shaking her head. “I guess it would help to know some magic if I ever run across another monster.”

“That’s the spirit!” Text happily replied. “Since you’re in a contract with me, you technically already know a few magic spells. I’ll take care of the specifics so that you can quickly get used to the process, but you’ll still have to be the one to enact the spells.”

“How do I do that?”

“Your body will naturally know how to cast them, but the words will have to come from the depths of your heart. Don’t think too hard about it and just say whatever comes to mind when you enter battle.”

Those words remained in her thoughts even as she came across another group of monsters. This time, it was a large number of bipedal wolves carrying what appeared to be clubs and other makeshift weapons crafted from their surroundings. Their growls rang out as they noticed her approach, and they all began to head in her direction.

This time, she pushed down the fear threatening to bubble up and spoke the first thing that came to her.

“Echo — The War Song!”

Strength and courage filled her body as she dashed forward with incredible speed, her physical parameters far surpassing her previous state as she descended upon the wolves with her limbs.

“Mana thresholds exceeded,” Text’s voice echoed in her ears. “I’ll adjust your output so that you don’t strain your muscles, but make sure to not overload your body in the future.”

She made a mental note of that as her fist burrowed into the chest of one wolf, emerging from the other side as she punched through its body. Without even thinking about what she just did, her body whirled around its neck until she planted her feet on its shoulders while pulling out her hand. Leaping off its shoulders, she met another monster’s face with her outstretched leg, slamming into its stout and feeling something break against her appendage.

The other wolves tried to swing their weapons at her, but she disarmed the first one and found herself swinging a rusted sword at the others. Mary realized with a start as she bisected one of the wolves that her blade was covered in a layer of dim light, as if the same energy that was empowering her had transferred to the weapon as well.

“Try another spell,” Text recommended. “Use that blade to expel a blast of magic at your opponents.”

Taking his advice, she spoke at the same time her sword swung down.

“Echo — Lunar Bright Steel!”

Silver light exploded into brilliance as an image of a waxing moon emerged from her blade and sliced through the remaining monsters in an instant.

Seeing that there were no monsters left, Mary allowed herself to calm down as the effects of the spell left her body.

Text started to speak. “Strengthening your body beyond its mortal limits and unleashing a blast of energy to cut through your opponents. Those are some of the basics of magic combat that many people are introduced to during their apprenticeships. This applies to anyone who learns how to fight, whether you are a martial artist or a magician.”

“Is it supposed to feel this natural?”

“That’s the benefit of being in a contract with me,” Text explained. “While you do get some minor perks such as your understanding of languages and peak physical condition, the main one is access to all of my knowledge and experience. Even if you cannot comprehend the scale of the spells at your command, I can help aid you in learning how to understand them.”

Only now did she realize how fortunate she had been to encounter Text when she first found herself wandering through this world. If not for him, she doubted that she could safely traverse this land without encountering danger like before.

It was due to her contract with him that she could fight so capably without any need to learn or train to develop this strength.

This was the advantage of being an Apostle to the being known as Text.