Hearing Zirko's story was a reality check for Taka. This world felt like a game to him, but the people living here were definitely real. It reminded him of when he was a little kid and his mom would come home and tell him about work; she was an emergency room doctor. No matter how many stories he listened to, how hard he tried to empathize, he would never be able to fully grasp the severity of that kind of life. That's why he went to university for communication: more interesting than business, more stable than the creative side of the media industry. He had two interviews scheduled -- one for an entry-level copywriting job, and the other in HR. Both were fine: good pay, easy hours... exactly what he wanted. Neither excited him, but... it didn't matter now.
Taka noticed Zirko staring at him and realized he had zoned out again while the lizard man was doing what he asked, if not more.
Apologies, sent Taka, please, continue.
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After destroying the "Holy Tree," the fighting settled down. The enemy general disappeared, went just as the Demon Lord said. He revealed his plan to Jukartha, who of course resisted, but Vanz'goran convinced him to take up the mantle of running the empire they had established. Jukartha had the most brilliant mind of anyone Zirko had met, and all the soldiers within the Demon Lord's army respected him, so putting him in charge made the most sense. Even more valuable than his brilliance was his sense of justice. He believed in a true meritocracy and had a fierce moral conviction to right all the wrongs he saw, which made him someone the people could look up to.
The Demon Lord chose to build a new castle in the marshlands, next to the dying town of Kronkswell. It was in the area Zirko was from, another village of lizard folk that had been terrorized by the Spirit Kingdom for decades. But now that the war was over, Vanz'goran wanted to rebuild, and so he decided to take residence there. He had wanted a reasonably sized cottage for himself and Syla, but Jukartha would not allow it; the compromise being that Jukartha relented on the remote location, under the condition that a proper castle be constructed.
For the first few years, Zirko did not let his guard down around Syla. The child was shy at first, but a very powerful elf, with a mana capacity that easily surpassed his own. However, Syla's genuinely innocent nature eroded at Zirko's walls, and eventually he began to think of the elf as his own clansmen. Within a decade, Syla thought of him as her uncle, a title which Zirko happily accepted, although he refused to let his emotions ever be on full display.
Syla showed exceptional talent for magic. Her mana capacity was the only one that could even begin to compare to the Demon King's, and the elf had a genuine passion for magic. Within fifty years, Syla had learned everything about battle magic and everything else that Zirko could teach. The only downfall the elf had was in concentration, and consequentially, control. Syla could understand the concept behind any spell, how the magic worked, what it did, and was able to use the sufficient mana to cast it. For traditional battle magic, that worked fine, as most spells were singular casts: you visualize the spell, pour mana in, and cast. However, with other types, such as enhancement or advanced wind magic, many spells require prolonged casting, keeping magic flowing throughout your body or into the spell, in order to enhance your physical strength, or even fly. Syla understands magic thoroughly on a conceptual level, but due to an extraordinarily high magical capacity, this kind of magic is proving difficult to master.
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"To this day, I have been unable to help Mistress Vonmish overcome this obstacle. One cannot change their magical capacity, and as a battle mage, my own magic and skillset are not suited to teaching others magical arts outside the realm of combat. I have studied the theories of magic my entire life, broadening my scope beyond combat for the past half-century, but I have reached a point that I am unable to overcome. I have tried all I can think of..."
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Taka understood. Zirko was ashamed he couldn't think of how to help Syla improve their magic any further. He couldn't see that he had already done so much for the elf and was even willing to bear his shame to a complete stranger for Syla's sake. Taka couldn't help but like the guy; Zirko genuinely cared for Syla like his own kinfolk.
Please, Sir Zirko, allow me to assist in honing Syla's magic, Taka sent. You've clearly taught Syla well, and if we work together, I have no doubt we can help Syla reach a level we can only dream of.
Taka knew the importance of understanding a person's desire, what makes them tick. Zirko was clearly a loyal man, and a dangerous one. One who would make a fine ally. And at this point, their interests seemed to align, making the decision to try to work with the battle mage a no-brainer.
Zirko's eyes gleamed with a newfound vigor, "Your words ring true, and I choose to believe in you. Let us go to the training hall, we can talk more there."
Without another word, Zirko scooped up the basket Taka sat in and took off out of the room.
The training hall was far more grand than the throne room. It had the same feel as the training facility for a professional sports team, except it was a massive, open room. There was an armory's worth of weapons, from glowing swords to spears to every size dagger one could make, piles of practice dummies, sectioned off sparring arenas, and through a set of barn doors, a target range outside. Zirko walked through the hall without breaking stride, but Taka noticed younger soldiers staring at the man in awe, and all bowed their heads at the lizard man as he passed by. There was a much wider mix of species, from lizard men to various other kinds beast folk, to orcs and goblins, and a few demons with different sorts of horns. To Taka, the training hall seemed out of place in such a small town. But at the same time, this was the retired Demon Lord's personal castle, so it made enough sense...
Zirko brought Taka outside, and walked to a tree about a hundred meters away from the field. He set the basket down on the ground, and leaned against the tree.
"So, do you remember any of the basics? Or need I start from the beginning?"
Taka wasn't sure how to respond, and Zirko took his silence as an embarrassed confirmation of his query.
"Magic has been studied for thousands of years, but only since the Demon Lord's victory have non-fae otherkin been accepted into the world of magic study. Before then, all our knowledge was passed down between tribes, and eventually, compiled by the Demon Lord. That us all to say that my description of Magia may be different than what you've known. If anything I say is something you remember, tell me, as I do not wish to waste either of our time."
Zirko looked to Taka, and Taka nodded his body in response. Zirko looked up at the sky and continued.
"Magic, as we know today, is the processed output of mana. The purest form of Magia in this world is raw magic. Most living beings fulfill the natural conditions to use it, but are unable to do so due to its difficulty to use. Raw magic is entirely unprocessed, going through no change from its natural state in the world, and for that reason, it does not obey the same rules of casting that all other types of Magia, processed magic, does.
Processed magic, which most just refer to as magic here, can be broadly categorized into 3 different forms: elemental, enchantment, and ancient.
Elemental magic is what most magic-wielders use. All basic conjurations and spells that manipulate the world as is are elemental. Within elemental magic, there are various types of magic: wind, fire, water, psychic, light, dark... the list goes on. All are just mana processed through a singular type of filter to cast a spell.
Enhancement magic refers to the result of infusing mana to something or someone. That can come in the form of an enchantment to craft a magical sword, or to a person, to enhance their physical strength or heighten their senses. It is adjacent to raw magic, and skilled mages can enhance themselves with pure mana, but that is the extent of its accepted, or rather, raw magic's realized practical use in the current world of study.
The final form is ancient magic. Magic that cannot be explained by our own laws, derivative of raw magic. Spirit magic, divine magic, and demon magic are the three established types, but there are stories of spells that do not fall into those. The knowledge of ancient magic is closely guarded by their practitioners, and so even the currently accepted categorization of three separate types is no more than mere conjecture..."
Finally, some answers, Taka thought to himself. He was glad he hadn't revealed that he was, according to his display, at least, able to use raw magic, as well as his MANA TRANSFUSION skill which was probably related.
"Now," Zirko said as he began gathering a ball of darkness in his hands, "let us compare our abilities. Ready yourself, Sir Filo," he continued as he rose from the tree. "I challenge you to a duel."