- (Anna’s POV) -
About 1 hours passed and we are continuing the journey. I’m currently inside the carriage with Alice and Zoe and we have been talking about magic.
I decided to accept to teach her at least until we reach the town. I still don’t know that much about this world and Alice is a noble, so her father is the lord of the town so he might get angry if I get too close to her and chase me away. Well, I’m sure that I’m being a bit too paranoid, but from my experience in light novel, some noble are ruthless while others are very nice. I know that I should ask her father before teaching her anything, but I don’t care! I won’t hurt her, and I know what I’m doing so I guess it’s fine, right ?
Oh, by the way, it was funny again earlier when I put all the orcs in my inventory after I proposed to transport them, hehe~. Their reaction were priceless, but they told me that ‘Magic Bag’ exist, it’s an item that can transport about 10 times its size but the price is extremely expensive so only nobles and riches merchant can afford them. Only 10 times… uhh… If only they knew, hahaha~ !
Well I don’t mind giving them the orcs when we arrive, but for the future, I should keep my loot because we can do many thing with the materials; there is the meat of course but also the magic stone. With a magic stone, we can create magic items, it was something quite developed in the game but not fully explored because the possibilities are endless! And from what I heard from them; magic items are not that much developed in this world. Well you can see it with their shitty and expensive bag that can stock 1 cubic meter ONLY, hahaha.
My inventory ? I already said it before, it’s 100*100*100 meters. Not a big difference ? Well don’t underestimate the cubic, it’s actually 1 million times more spacious, hehe~ .
It might be hard to create magic item, but I already said that I’m quite good at controlling mana, right ? I also said that, on Earth, I was going to graduate from an engineer school too, right ? Well, don’t underestimate me, hehe~. *big smirk*
Well, let’s go back to the present. So, I’m currently talking about magic with Alice and Zoe. I asked them how they usually learn magic, because… I might have accepted to become a teacher, but I have actually no idea from where we can even start. I also need to know what her current capabilities are as a mage. And apparently, she can’t even cast a single spell yet, uh… But apparently there is a reason for that! She is what they call a ‘manaless’ and thus can’t use magic.
Apparently, about 0,0001% of the population suddenly become ‘manaless’ during their childhood and won’t be able to cast a single spell during their whole life. This ratio looks small, but it’s still 100 out of 1 million. So, I asked Alice why she asked me to teach her magic if she will never be able to cast a single spell. And she answered me while crying:
“ *sniff* I always dreamed to become a powerful magician *sniff* after I saw the court mages doing a performance at a party when I was small *sniff* but because I am a ‘manaless’, my dream is already a lost cause and I can’t do anything about it *sniff*. But after I saw you using some kind of magic that I have never seen before and controlling it like if it was part of you, I thought that maybe… just maybe… I could regain hope and find a way to follow my dream again *sniff*.
After hearing her answer, I was totally heartbroken, Zoe also said to my ear that many arrogant young brats are mocking her behind her back and bullying her because of that.
Her story makes me remember my childhood where I always dreamed to become a powerful swordswoman, but on Earth, you know very well that it’s useless to even think about it. There are Kendo or other similar martial art of course, but that’s not the vision of what I dreamt! But one day, when I was 12, the same age as Alice when I think about it, I discovered a very realistic game where I could eventually reach my dream!
I really want to help her, but for now, I have no idea how. But I won’t give up! A girl this cute should never cry in front of me!
There is also something that is bothering me. Apparently, everyone in this world start to learn magic by chanting and only powerful mage manage to break that barrier and cast a spell without chanting. But are those chantless’s spell the same as mine ?
The more I think about the magic of this world, the more I realize that my magic is different. I would also like to learn it, compare it, and take the best out of those two magic system. I would really like to meet a friendly and powerful mage from this world. It will be a goal for later, for now let’s focus on Alice.
I also heard that Zoe could use basic magic.
So, we are back to the present.
“Zoe, can you cast a magic spell, I would like to analyze your flow of mana.” (Anna)
“Uh ?! Sure, I hope I can be helpful” (Zoe)
By the way, Zoe is close to my character age, it means around 16 years old. She has small brown hair not going lower than her shoulders. She takes a small wooden stick out of her pocket, hold it firm in her right hand and start chanting a spell.
“Heed my call and enlighten my path, LIGHT!” (Zoe)
The tip of the stick starts to shine faintly and become more and more luminous as the time pass.
But on my side, I’m completely concentrating on her mana flow, and I saw the small amount of mana that she has moving shily from her heart, slowly to the arms and then to the stick to supply the light at the tip of the stick. Then the light disappears as the mana scatter in all the direction.
“Was that useful …?” (Zoe) She asks while tilting her head cutely.
“Yes, I think I understand a bit more now.” (Anna)
I think I understand a bit more now how the magic of this world work. The mana always stays in everybody’s heart when we don’t use it, it’s the same for everyone, me included. I think that the role of the stick is to lure the mana out of your body like a magnet while the chant is a trigger to give the mana a shape and an element.
But there is still something I need to confirm to approve my theory, so I ask Zoe:
“Zoe? Do you know if it’s possible to use magic without something similar to your stick?” (Anna)
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“Of course it’s impossible, isn’t it common sense? And it’s called ‘catalyst’ not ‘something’. Strong mages use a stronger catalyst than my wooden stick, like a ring or a necklace that they keep always on themselves. They are more expensive though.” (Zoe)
That’s it! So, this world didn’t discover yet that it’s possible to use magic without those catalyst! From what I can see from this wand, a ‘catalyst’ is made from a magic stone emptied from its mana so it will start to suck the mana of the user when we pull a trigger: the chant for a spell.
But I absolutely need to avoid people finding out that I don’t need a catalyst, or else I would be harassed by mages and nobles. Luckily, I always have a ring at my index finger, so I lie saying that I’m using it as a catalyst. The material for this ring is actually a magic stone from a lich I killed 2 years ago.
Well, now that I understand the magic of this world a bit better, let’s try to find a solution for Alice.
“Alice, please try to use the spell that Zoe used, I want to see what happen and why it won’t work.” (Anna)
“S-sure!” (Alice)
She took the wooden stick that Zoe has been using and she start to chant.
“Heed my call and enlighten my path, LIGHT!” (Alice)
I looked in disbelief at her heart, even though she doesn’t have that much mana, her mana is very pure and dense. I can see the mana wanting to go out of the heart and go to the catalyst, but it was suddenly stopped mid-track and a creature close to a worm is eating the mana. Ahhh… I know this creature too well…
Yup, a parasite.
An existence that live inside a living being by eating its resource: the mana.
I already dealt with some of those inside the game and it’s very annoying to deal with. First, it’s hard to even sense it, and second, you have to be extremely prudent to eliminate it without killing the host. But it was 5 years ago that I dealt with some, now I grew up quite a bit, hehe~. I think I should deal with it quickly before I lose it.
After finishing her failed spell, Alice asked:
“D-Did you see anything unusual ?” (Alice)
“Well, yes.” (Anna)
I continued,
“Alice, I will deal with it now so try to avoid moving as much as possible.” (Anna)
“Uhh? What will you do?” (Alice)
“Don’t worry and trust me, we will do the talk later.” (Anna)
I put my hand on her heart while she let me do my business, I send a wave of mana to locate the parasite again. Ah found it, hehe~. I send another wave of my mana but way denser while avoiding cutting any of Alice’s organ and kill the parasite in one shot.
*Sigh*
I heave a long sigh while looking at Alice staring at me and Zoe giving me some weird look, then I say
“It’s finally over” (Anna)
“Uhh, what’s over ??” (Alice)
She tilts her head on a side. So cute! I finally announce the verdict with a big smile:
“Tomorrow, when you wake up, you will be able to use magic~ !” (Anna)
Both Alice and Zoe shouted in disbelief,
““EEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”” (Alice & Zoe)
Seeing Alice with a big smile, I can’t help but become happy that I could help her somehow, she didn’t deserve at all what she went through her childhood.
I continue my sentence after a huge break,
“So, you should go to bed early, so I can start to teach you magic tomorrow morning~ !” (Anna)
In fact, Alice’s magic is very dense, which make her extremely talented but it’s also because of this reason that the parasite chooses to invade her body when she was a baby.
After that, I explained to Alice and Zoe what the cause of her suffering was, then we stopped the carriage to install the tents and we went to sleep.
- (Alice POV) –
“mghh”
I leave a small moan, half asleep, while slowly getting up. Then my memory from yesterday flash and I suddenly run out of the tent, I pick up the stick that I asked to borrow from Zoe, and I concentrate before chanting a fire spell. In fact, I know pretty much every chant for every spell since I always dreamed to be able to use them.
“Flame, come forth and burn all of my enemies, FIREBALL!” (Alice)
I can’t believe that it’s reality and not a dream, my eyes start to tear up as a fireball is really coming out and going toward a tree. I feel like this is the happiest day of my life!
I suddenly come back to reality when I realized that the fireball I just threw start to spreads, menacing to burn the whole forest.
I started to panic when I suddenly remembered that I was now a mage! Hehe~
“Water, heed my call and submerge my foes, WATERFALL!” (Alice)
The water quickly extinguishes the fire and I leave a sigh of relief. After the small panic, I’m realizing that I just used magic ‘successfully’ 2 times for the first time in my life!! An immense joy invades my entire being when a voice suddenly interrupts my madness,
“Ho ho, you sure are happy” (Anna)
She probably says that after seeing my most genuine smile that I ever did in my life. Right now, I don’t care if I am a noble or someone else, today I have no pride, there was only one thing I had to do.
I went to my knee, prostrating on the floor to welcome my savior, my goddess.
“Thank you very much for everything that you did, you not only saved me one time, but two time in a single day, I will never be able to repay for this debt, but please come to my house after we arrive in the town, I will do my utmost to repay even a fraction of what I owe you” (Alice)
I said those things putting my house on the line, but I trust her enough and I know that she would never take advantage of a situation.
“Well, you should stand up before your father see you, or else he might actually kill me, hahaha” (Anna)
That’s Anna-sama for you to make a joke in this situation, hehe~. Then she makes another declaration:
“Well, get yourself together, it’s time for your magic lesson!~” (Anna)
Which I answer:
“With pleasure, teacher!” (Alice)
Then I follow her bringing me to a place where we won’t be interrupted.
************
- (Anna’s POV) –
I hesitated a lot before taking this decision. But seeing her enthusiasm from earlier, I think I made the good decision.
I still hope that she will keep the secret properly, or else, it might shake the world. (Not even kidding)
Yes, today I will be teaching her how to use magic without using a catalyst. She said her dream was to become a powerful mage, right ? Then I shall make her become one *smirk*. Well, it will take months or even years, but whatever, let’s not break the mood! ~ Today, you shall become my living experiment, hehe~
Just kidding, I will only use a non-official way of teaching, but I think that ‘It might actually work’. Hehe~. Well, let’s already tell her the context (with a slight intimidating tone).
“Alice, do you remember yesterday when I asked Zoe if it was possible to do magic without a catalyst?” (Anna)
She is nodding so I continue,
“Well, she said it was impossible. However, she is wrong.” (Anna)
I show my hands empty of any rings, necklace, or anything else, then I lift one hand toward the sky and circulate my mana to give shape to a huge 5 meter in diameter fireball. After 10 seconds, I close my lifted hand and the fireball disappear as fast as it appeared.
Seeing her watching me with sparkle in her eyes, I continue,
“Today, I will teach you the basic of my magic, the art to control mana as if it was part of your body~!” (Anna)
She stays silent so I continue,
“And to teach you that, instead of watching you practice by yourself, I will be with you all along~!
The goal today, is to make you able to pull out your mana by yourself without using a catalyst. Start by trying to take conscience of your own mana in your heart, try to feel it! I will help you by making your own mana move inside your own body by force.” (Anna)
I bring my mana inside her body and move her own mana into different spot until she say:
“I feel it! I feel that something is moving inside of me!” (Alice)
“Good! The next step is to take control of it to move where you want it to be. I will help you.” (Anna)
*****
An hour passed, and Alice was able to move her mana inside her body, but she can’t pull it out yet.
“Good job let’s go back before the others wake up.” (Anna)
Yes, when Alice went out to test out her magic, it was still dark so now the sun is only starting to rise.
“You can keep practicing inside the carriage but do it secretly!” (Anna)
*****
Another 4 hours of carriage later, we can see the walls of the town far away.
Now, Alice can move her mana out of her body but only a little bit (I helped a bit inside the carriage too). Well, she will have time to practice at home, hehe ~
Looks like my living experiment #1 survived today! ~ Congratulation ~