noveltune Chapter 7 – Second Magician
Chapter 7 – Second Magician
Chapter 7 – Second Magician
— Leon Greyrat —
“Atta boy! Put some more oomph into it!”
Dodging Paul’s obvious thrust, I pressed my back foot against the ground before launching towards his open chest as I swung my sword from the side.
Thwack!
But before it could reach him, he twisted his blade just in time to parry me.
“Hehe. Nice try, but it’ll be a while before you can hit me,” he mocked. “But don’t worry! Even if you did get me, it’s not like it would hurt much!”
Dammit... this guy really knew how to get under my skin.
That must be due to the Water God style’s provocation techniques... or maybe it was just him and his normal annoying self.
Leaping back, I raised my sword once again to defend against any strike he sent my way, but instead, Paul simply rested his sword against his shoulder while stroking his chin in thought.
“Hmm... know what? I think at this point, you can call yourself a Beginner swordsman,” he said with a grin.
“Really?” I asked doubtfully.
While my skills have definitely grown over these past months, I still have yet to hit the guy, after all.
And I was worried he was just teasing me again.
“Yep! While you’re still weak, that’s just because you’re a kid and because you’re fighting me. With a real blade in your hand? Yeah, I could see you putting up a fight against a swordsman. Especially with your skill in parrying,” he answered.
As he said, while I didn’t care for any particular style, I found the Water God techniques a bit easier to learn as the art of parrying didn’t need much strength to perform.
“Well... that’s great then. Which style am I a Beginner in?” I asked.
“All three of them! I mean, there’s not much of a difference between the three at the Beginner rank, since you’re just learning the basics. But now that you got them down, I can start showing you some cooler stuff!” he exclaimed.
Ignoring his childish antics, I looked down at my wooden sword and the hand, which was previously so smooth, that was now covered in callouses and blisters.
It seems like the hours spent swinging my sword and training my body weren’t for nothing.
I’m glad.
“What? Are you worried about how worn out your hand is now? Don’t worry, my son! That’s just proof of your dedication. And besides... women really like that rough texture in bed, you know~” he said, making a beckoning motion with his fingers.
Gross.
I hated that I knew what he was referring to, and I hated it even more that I could hear the moans of my mother every night, likely due to said actions.
Damn this cursed knowledge of mine.
My lips curled into a frown, “...I’m telling Mama you said dirty things.”
“Hah? You wouldn’t! This is something to keep between men, you know!”
Then you should keep it that way, and not tell it to innocent little boys like me.
“Just don’t infect Rudy with your... Paulness. I might have the mind to not follow your example, but he’s young and impressionable. I’ve already caught him stealing panties from the laundry more than once,” I said, shaking my head.
“That’s my son!” Paul said proudly.
“You’re not helping...” I murmured sadly.
Turning away from his annoying smile, I took in the beautiful scenery.
The rolling hills and fields were painted in a thin layer of snow, creating a serene view that stretched as far as I could see, sparkling under the effect of reflecting sunlight.
Looking toward the village, I could see the various houses and cottages with roofs dusted in white, contrasting with the black plumes of chimney smoke from many of the abodes.
The air was crisp and still, and the surroundings quiet, save for the odd chirping bird.
It was so... peaceful.
And with my recent advancements in magic, the worst part of the winter, the cold, had all but been eliminated.
It took a little while, but I was finally able to generate heat without causing a fire, primarily by imagining the molecules in the air vibrating a little faster.
Hmm... thinking about that made me feel a little more motivated.
“I’m gonna practice my magic now,” I said.
“Huh? Alright. Just don’t use up all your mana, okay? I don’t want to go draw water in the cold like this,” Paul said with a shrug.
Seriously? So lazy...
But I’d rather him ask me than Mama, so...
“Fine. I promise.”
With Paul heading back inside, I made my way out of the yard and toward the hill next to our house.
Since I was now learning Intermediate spells, I didn’t want to damage anything or hurt anyone with my practice, so I asked Mama if I was able to bring my studies outside.
She accepted, of course, but only as long as I didn’t harm the villagers and made sure to stay within sight of the window.
And this hill was perfect for both requirements.
Flicking my hand, I send out a wave of fire to melt the snow around the top before stomping my foot, raising a small stool from the ground.
Taking a seat, I then pulled out my notebook, which had things ranging from original spell ideas to breaking down the movements of swordsmanship, and even some scientific knowledge I thought important to write down.
Anyway, as I learned more Intermediate spells, my knowledge of magic had grown, as well as my belief that the rigidity of spells was not needed, and in fact, held magicians back.
I mean, there were countless spells out there, likely enough to do anything one ever needed, but was there a need for me to learn them all when I could just produce the same effect on my own?
I didn’t think so.
But still, I would go through every spell I could and master it, seeing if any insights would be useful for my growth.
Intermediate-rank spells, for the most part, were simply more controlled and powerful versions of Beginner spells, with some merging two spells into one.
For instance, Water Cannon, which launched a large concentration of water, was just a stronger Waterball, and generally more fit for combat.
It was in this rank that I also began seeing melded magic, which, as the name implies, was the merging of multiple magics into one.
This also brought about another question of mine.
When I cast a Waterball and then heated it... was that water magic? Or was it also fire magic?
Heat was firmly in the domain of fire magic, but when I cast the spell, I imagined the water molecules vibrating to create the desired effect.
So... which was it?
And did it matter?
Mana was mana, so did it even need a defined element to work?
Casting a fireball, I poured some more mana into the spell, causing the fire to grow hot enough that the snow on the ground began to melt.
Fire magic.
I then imagined oxygen gas, generating it before injecting it into the fireball.
The air hissed as the fireball turned blue, and at this point, I could feel my face beginning to sweat.
Now... was that still fire magic? Or was it now wind magic?
Was it... both?
Releasing a sigh, I concentrated the flame into my finger before launching it at the ground, creating a small crater from the impact.
Confusing... So confusing...
But I suppose I didn’t need all the answers, and the struggle to find them was quite fun.
Maybe once I got a tutor, they could answer some questions of mine that I had, but for now, let’s do some training.
Slapping my face in an attempt to reset myself, I then summoned a ball of earth in my hand before transforming it into various shapes.
After the discovery that adjusting a spell expends more mana, I had all but discarded my focus on depleting my magic power reserves, as by training my control and precision, I was able to deplete my magic power at an even greater rate than before.
On that note, I had also tried to cast magic across my body, with... varying results.
If I had to explain it... it felt like there were... veins, almost.
Veins which allowed mana to flow throughout the body or mana veins, for simplicity’s sake.
Anyway, these veins only showed up around the hand, or rather, only led to the hands.
But I found out that mana veins were also present in the feet, though... to a lesser extent.
As seen with the stool trick, I was now able to cast earth magic through my feet, but only when I was in contact with the ground.
Something like casting a Fireball with a kick was possible, but as soon as it went away from my body, the spell dispersed, as if it had lost the connection with me.
I guess I would have to keep practising and see if that could be changed, but I had a feeling that it was just the way it was, which was fine by me.
As long as I could cast earth spells through my feet, allowing me to use them seamlessly with my swordsmanship, that was enough.
Hmm... perhaps I should start doing some practice in regard to that too?
Just getting used to casting magic while moving, that is.
It would be better to start early so that I can build up the habit, even if I don’t integrate it with my swordsmanship right away.
Hmm... Swordsmanship... Magic...
Focusing on the ball of earth in my palm, I willed it to form the shape of a sword before compressing it into a hardened, stone-like material.
This was the Beginner-rank earth spell, Stone Sword.
Quite useless for most magicians, and unless you lost your sword, pretty useless for swordsmen too.
But I wonder... could I take it further?
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the sword while imagining the lattice of the stone’s edge vibrating.
Not to generate heat, but rather to increase the sharpness, just like the Intermediate-rank wind spell Sonic Boom did to the air.
My blade generated a soft hum and I opened my eyes before summoning a small pillar of ice.
Releasing a horizontal slash with my new blade, to my surprise, the pillar was instantly bisected.
“...Cool.”
It seems that infusing magic into my swordsmanship was going to be easier than I thought.
But then, just as the thought enters my mind, I watched as the blade in my hand crumbled into dust.
“...Okay, maybe not.”
Mama got me a book on protection or barrier magic, that covered up to the Intermediate rank in spells.
Unfortunately, I had the book taken away from me soon after receiving it, so I couldn’t run off to my room to read it, but I was able to get it back into my possession after the dinner.
And from my brother... well, I got a cute smile, and that was all that I needed.
All amazing presents, especially considering our modest income.
And honestly, my family was enough of a gift, at least to me.
Of course, I didn’t sit idly as this time went by.
I was now proud to call myself an Intermediate-rank magician in every school, save for barrier magic which I had only scratched the surface of, and summoning magic, which I didn’t even have a way to start.
Alongside that, I was also now a ‘Pseudo-Intermediate’ ranked swordsman in all three styles, according to my father.
What did being a ‘Pseudo-Intermediate’ rank mean?
Well... nothing, really.
At least not to the rest of the world.
It was simply something that Paul made up as a way to accurately describe my abilities with the sword, and for such a simple man, I think it was a pretty smart description.
As he put it, I had the skill and technique to qualify as an Intermediate-rank swordsman, but due to my body, I was still a little too weak to truly be considered as one.
This was an odd state of limbo no one else had likely found themselves in, as I was both quite talented at the sword while also having the advantage of training from such an early age, and thus my mental abilities in swordsmanship outgrew my physical ones.
Anyway, back to magic, while I haven’t embarked on any Advanced-rank spells just yet, it didn’t mean I hadn’t progressed in my abilities.
While there was the fact I wanted to slowly master the basics before moving on to something more advanced, there was also something else I’ve learned from my constant sparring with Paul.
Advanced magic... was a bit much.
A bit too much, I mean. So much so that it was essentially useless in combat.
As I had learned before, the more you increase in the rank of a magic spell, the more complex it is and the more magic power that is required, and as a result, most Advanced-rank magic was for large areas of effect and weather-altering spells.
And in combat, that was quite useless.
Especially in a sword fight, where a simple and strong spell would be better than a gaudy one.
Besides, I had already started to move away from the concept of spells, and more into the realm of using magic as it was, so I wasn’t too hung up on not being an Advanced-rank magician.
Of course, I ended up using magic in a way that replicated spells, but that was just due to-
Kaboom!
The heck!?
Darting my head toward the source of the explosion, my eyes widened as I watched a trail of water vapour, originating from our house, arc across the clear blue sky.
And seeing the ball of water which was causing said trail... that was Water Cannon, right?
Intermediate-rank magic?
Mama didn’t know Intermediate-rank elemental magic, and I don’t think she started studying again, so... was it Rudy?
I knew that my baby brother had been practising magic in my room, and seeing that he was only filling up buckets with Waterball, I had decided to leave him to his lonesome.
I didn’t think he’d fire off an Intermediate spell!
And in the house, no less!
“The fuck!? Did a monster attack or something!?” Paul shouted as he sprinted into the house.
Letting out a small sigh, I released the control of my magic, causing the blue flame I was controlling to dissipate into the air as I then followed his lead.
Running up toward my room, I was met with the scene of absolute carnage, with the entire section of wall blasted to soaked splinters as Rudeus stood there in mute shock.
My room...
“The hell? Rudy, are you okay?” Paul said with narrowed eyes, scanning the surroundings carefully.
That look... it reminded me of our adventuring days.
It’s good to see our domestic life hadn’t completely eroded his skills.
“Oh my goodness!” Mama said from the doorway.
Always the calmer one out of the two, she then looked at the destroyed wall before turning her eyes to the puddle on the floor, and then to the magic book that was splayed out next to Rudy.
Her gaze shifted between the book and my brother a couple of times before she broke out into a wide smile.
“Rudy~” she said sweetly as she crouched down.
Ah... I knew that look.
It was the type of smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and for some reason, despite the warmth, sent a chill down my spine.
She did this the first time I used Intermediate-rank magic, if I remember correctly.
Well... I suppose it was Rudy’s problem now.
“Did you read the words in this book out loud?” she asked gently.
But even that soft tone couldn’t hide the tremble of excitement in the way she spoke.
“I’m sorry,” Rudy meekly replied with a tiny nod.
“Sorry?” Paul said, baffled. “That was an Intermediate-tier sp-!”
“Oh, honey, did you hear that?!” Mama interrupted, jumping to her feet. “I knew it! Just like Leon, I knew our Rudy was a genius!”
Mama then began hopping around in ecstasy, her hands balled tightly into fists.
It was nice seeing Mama so happy and act so cute, but... where was I supposed to sleep now?
“Wait, hold on a second, we haven’t even taught him how to read yet. How the heck-”
“I’ve been teaching him,” I interjected, cutting off Paul’s words.
I hadn’t taught him, really.
I’ve just been reading to him at night.
But for the past few months, Rudy hadn’t wanted to do that anymore, instead preferring to head right to bed after dinner.
That was likely due to feeling exhausted from practising magic, as well as the fact he could now apparently read on his own.
Hmm... maybe he was like me after all?
Not that it mattered much.
“Uuu~ Such a good brother you are, Leon!”
As a reward for my white lie, I was then engulfed in another one of Mama’s suffocating hugs.
Despite the fact I had gotten a bit taller over the years, I was still but an infant in front of those breasts.
“We have to get him a magic tutor right away! I’ve wanted to get one for Leon for so long, so isn’t this the perfect opportunity!?” Mama exclaimed.
Wriggling my way out of her grasp, I walked over to Lilia, who had begun to clean up the mess, before taking control of the water on the floor and collecting it into a cup.
“Thank you, Leon,” she said.
“No problem, Lilia. Now... what are we going to do with this wall?” I asked with worry.
“I do not know. But for now, you can sleep with me,” she said. “Is that alright?”
I nodded my head, “Of course. Thanks, Lilia.”
As for how I could take control of said water, well... that was another application of magic I had found in my research.
When one used elemental magic, said magic’s matter would remain even without control, effectively turning from magic into, well, regular matter.
Well, except for fire, but that was only because there was no fuel to continue to combustion.
So... what did that mean?
It meant that all matter had a connection with magic, which also meant that one could control the elements, even if they were not conjured with magic.
This made sense, as with regular elemental magic, once you conjured the form of the spell, like a ball of water with Waterball, it became regular water that you could then do what you wanted with it.
Hmm... taking control of matter through magic... thinking about that, I wonder if I could use some sort of telekinesis eventually?
“Honey, let’s head to Roa tomorrow and post a job for a tutor! We need to make sure Rudy can hone his talents!” Mama continued.
With Mama continuing her ramblings, I looked down at the silent Rudy, who was sitting there with a blank face, eyes lost in concentration about... something.
Come on, baby bro... at least apologize for messing up my room.
You’re lucky I don’t have any mementos, save for Big Sis Ghislaine’s ring around my neck, or I would be quite upset.
“Hold on a moment. Didn’t we promise that if he was a boy, I would train him as a swordsman?”
Paul, opposite of Mama, seemed less enthusiastic about Rudy’s talents.
“You can’t go back on a promise like that,” he shook his head.
“Don’t talk to me about promises! You break them all the time! And I made that promise before our son launched an Intermediate-rank spell at the age of three! Without any training, and right through our wall! Which you need to fix, by the way!”
Not wanting their spat to get any more heated, I decided to interject the argument.
“Couldn’t we just do what we do with me, and train him in both? He can study magic in the morning, and then swordsmanship in the afternoon with me.”
That seemed to put the quarrel to an end, as the two shared a look before turning back to me.
“Oh... right. Sorry, I kinda forgot we could do that,” Paul said, a little abashed.
Seriously...
Anyway, with Rudy’s training plan decided, it seemed like I would finally be getting a taste of magical education in this world pretty soon, other than what Mama did with healing magic, of course.
I hope I can actually learn something useful rather than having everything from the textbook being repeated back to me.
Maybe if I’m lucky, I can see what Saint-rank magic was all about too.
...Nah, who was I kidding.
What Saint-rank magician would come out to the sticks to teach a couple of toddlers of a low-ranked knight?
That would be ridiculous.
For now, though, I was just hoping the walls in Lilia’s room were thicker than my own.
I had a feeling that Mama would be a bit more excited than usual, and I did not want to hear that all night.