Chapter 111

“Hey, Daniela.”

“What is it, Asagi?”

Our usual back and forth started on the bed in the morning.

“Yesterday, when I came out of the store to call you. It looked like you were talking with someone. Was someone else there?”

“Ah, I was speaking with the wind spirits that time. You know, like, ‘it is quite chilly today.’”

“Huh. I see.”

So that’s why it looked like there was no one there.

Daniela was able to see these wind spirits through her ‘Fresh Green Eye’ skill. And I suppose being able to see them meant being able to talk with them.

“Actually, no. You must have a high affinity with them first. I am an elf, a resident of the forest. Well, I was raised in the plains, but my ancestors were from the forest.”

“Hmm…is that right.”

“That is right.”

So she had just inherited that affinity?

“What are these spirits anyway?”

“It is said that they are beings born from the mana from the dragon vein. Attributes change depending on the mana in the area, and so the dragon vein’s attributes also change depending on the location. And so the spirits have different attributes as well.”

“So…ice spirits in cold places. Fire spirits in hot places…like that?”

“Yes. I have heard that there are people who specialize in studying spirits, but I have yet to meet any.”

Well, the world was a big place. Not even Daniela had reached every corner. I would need a weapon known as knowledge in order to continue with her. Now that I think of it, there was so much about magic that I didn’t know. After all, it’s something that I never had before.

“Since we’re here, why don’t you teach me a little about magic today?”

“It is not as if I know everything, but I will tell you what I do know.

And so Master Daniela’s magic class began.

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We ate breakfast in the inn’s dining hall and then returned to our room. I sat on the opposite side of the table to her and pulled out some parchment and a pen.

“So, magic. Explaining magic is very difficult for me. It is a skill, a phenomenon that is so natural for me. It is like teaching someone to breathe.”

“The ‘don’t think, just feel’ thing, I suppose.”

“Something like that.”

It was easy to imagine it. Games and movies had it all the time. As long as you could imagine it, you would be able to realize it. Still, I didn’t understand how it worked.

“There are three things to keep in mind with magic. The first is the presence of magic power in you. You cannot use magic without it. But I have never seen someone who had none at all.”

Well, for a moment I had thought that I was one. I wasn’t from here after all. And I seriously thought that that was just how it was.

“The other thing is attributes. There are seven general attributes, fire, water, ice, earth, thunder, wind and dimension. And then there is also void. It is with one of these eight attributes that magic can be used.”

“Can anyone have this void attribute?”

The others all had to do with what you could imagine. The heat when I was stabbed in the stomach. The coldness of losing sensation in my limbs. The flow of blood that rejected my wish to continue living. All of that existed in me as the fire, ice and water attributes.

And what if I had not had that experience? Maybe then I would have only had the void attribute.

“You could say that the void attribute is in everyone, or in no one. No matter who you are, you will have an internal image of things. And if that image leans towards an attribute, then the void attribute will become a zero. However, there are rare people who are especially suited to the void attribute alone.”

“Like that Adventurer in front of the gate.”

“Indeed. That was impressive void magic. Usually, you would not be able to remove such stains completely. Removing mud is usually about all you can do.”

Who was she anyway? The only thing I knew for sure, was that she was fan number one.

And that she used void magic.

“The Hero, Yasushi Matsumoto was good with light magic. This is an attribute that was said to have existed in ancient times. There was even shadow magic back then.

“Was? So it doesn’t exist anymore?”

“That is the case. These were attributes that occurred in a Hero long ago. Some of the Hero’s descendants were able to use it, but that line has long been extinguished.”

“Matsumoto sure was lucky, being a Hero and all.”

“Does he have the light attribute because he is a Hero, or is he a Hero because he has the light attribute… Well, those who wish to know should find out for themselves.”

Yeah. His protagonist compensations had nothing to do with me.

“Well, that is what I know about attributes. The last thing to keep in mind is the ability to imagine. If you can correctly imagine the phenomenon that the rules of magic will achieve, then you will be able to use it perfectly. But if you cannot do that…”

“You chant.”

“Correct. It is the first thing that they teach you in magic school. I have never enrolled myself, but I heard this from one who did. If you wish to unleash a fireball, you must say these words, ‘Gather around my palm, O laws of fire. Gather and fly, fireball.’”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything more embarrassing.”

“I agree completely. You would look like such a novice. This is why everyone tries their hardest to be able to cast spells by imagining them. But casting without any form of chanting is difficult. Most will have to at least say the name of the spell while casting.”

In other words, you had to say ‘fireball’ to launch one. Complete silence was nice but saying the name was kind of cool too. At least, the kid in me still thinks so…

“I do have one question.”

“What?”

“Do my spells, Ice Sword, Ice Arrow, Upside-down Icicle and Ice Bind have official names?”

“Indeed, they do. But, Asagi, you clearly have no talent for naming things.”

“Seriously?”

What’s wrong with keeping it simple!

“Frost Sword, Icicle Inverse and Frostheim.”

“What’s the difference between ice and frost?”

“Mastering levels. Frost is harder to learn. And there is a ‘Winter’ level above frost. That is the most advanced level.”

“And uh, icicle?”

“Yes, that complicates things. Aside from general names, there are original names that someone, somewhere have coined. There used to be many of these until the schools of magic were established and the names unified.”

“I see… So basically, none of that even matters.”

“You could say that. It is much more important to imagine it correctly.”

“And none of my spells were original. I’m quite sad about that.”

Sad, but at least I learned that my naming scheme was perfectly fine. I was relieved. I guess? But perhaps I would use official names if I ever had to say them out loud. That would make things easier for everyone!

“Ah, we have gone off course. This is all because of your naming sensibilities, Asagi.”

“I guess, but so what? And do you have to diss me like that?”

“I think you understand the principles. Now, let’s move on to the use of magic.”

“Hey.”

Daniela forced a cough and stuck up two fingers.

“There are two types of magic.”

“Huh?”

“Or it might be more accurate to say that there are two ways of using magic. Magic occurs when power flows into mana and the image in your brain creates a phenomenon. The amount of magic also comes into play, but we will talk about that later. Magic can be activated by using your own power and mana alone, or you can use a medium of some kind.”

“A medium?”

“Yes. Like using a nearby flame for fire magic.”

So you can create a fireball from nothing, or use the fire from a torch or bonfire.

“So, what is my ice magic being made from?”

“Either the moisture in the air or you are creating it out of mana. I believe you are using them separately without really thinking about it.”

“Hmm… I wonder which I was doing for the ice magic in the bar yesterday?”

“You used magic in the bar?”

Daniela hadn’t seen it, because she was too busy talking to invisible people outside. And so I told her.

“Hmm…it must have been mana then.”

“How do you know?”

“Did you not say that the ice cracked and disappeared? That was because the mana was returned to the air. If you had used moisture, it would have remained ice, even after the mana left it.”

“Oh, right.”

So, ice magic was magic that ‘robbed heat’ as a method for freezing. Taking away heat made it sound like the fire attribute, but I suppose it was just a matter of how you framed it in your mind.

You used mana and magic power to rob something of heat. And once you did this, only frozen moisture remained.

If you just converted mana into ice, then the ice would crumble and return to normal mana once the flow of magic stopped… I wrote all of this down and nodded.

“Magic is hard.”

“No, it is easy. You can do most things if you can just imagine it.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Well, the amount of magic also limits you. You may be able to imagine that the world has become encrusted in ice, but that will never happen if you do not have the magic to do it.”

“How extreme.”

“But easy to grasp, no?”

“I guess.”

This world allowed you to do a lot more than I had thought. If you could imagine it, anyway. As we came from worlds with fantasy works, films and games, Matsumoto and I have a headstart in a way. Many of the residents of this world saw the different phenomenon as mysteries. They did not know what the speed of light was, for instance.

Daniela had a weapon known as knowledge, which she acquired through many years of living. I could only see it as a gift, that she was able to reach something close to modern people in just three hundred years…

“Phew… I am tired. I think it is time to go eat.”

“We just ate a moment ago…”

But Master Daniela declared that it was time for a food break, and so we went out into the city streets. Then we found a nice park to walk in as we snacked on some of Veiken’s meat skewers. This was the park that Daniela waited in last night. And so we ate here and the lesson continued.