Chapter 4: Magic Knowledge

“Can you tell me everything you know about magic?”

Eclara, my magic teacher, asked me a simple question. Since I’d done nothing but read books, I was quite confident in my knowledge.

“Magic is a miraculous power that was given to us ‘Humans’ so we can survive in a world where many different races live together.”

“Good. Then what about the ‘Magic Language’?”

I knitted my brows at that question.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know that.”

Eclara slowly walked toward me. Even though she was only 10 cm taller than me, she patted my head to console me.

“That’s okay; it’s expected not to know.”

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“Then why did you ask me that question?”

“I thought you knew about it because you spoke about magic with such familiarity.”

I started pouting in the middle of her explanation. When she noticed, her expressionless face softened a bit, and a small smile appeared.

“Okay, let’s start by discovering the magic words for the basic spells.”

“Discover?”

Hearing the word ‘Discover’ instead of ‘Learn’ surprised me. I tilted my head to the side and asked her.

“I meant it literally. Didn’t you say that magic is a miraculous power given to us by God?”

I nodded to her statement and waited for her to continue.

“That means all we need to do is meditate and look into ourselves.”

I made a sullen face at the mention of ‘Meditation’. When I thought about meditating… it brought to mind monks sitting in the lotus position and breathing deeply. It had only been a day, and I was already feeling down.

“Please sit under this tree, milady.”

I followed Eclara and sat under one of the trees lined up in the garden. When I was about to sit in the lotus position, she stopped me and asked why I was crossing my legs.

“Weren’t we going to meditate? Then sitting cross-legged is correct, right?”

“I don’t know where you got that idea, but that's wrong. You only need to sit comfortably and close your eyes.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and adjusted to a more comfortable position. Following her instructions, I closed my eyes. After a little while, she started talking to me.

“Let’s start with fire. First, imagine how or why fire occurs. Form an image around that thought. Continue doing this, and a word will float up in your mind. That word is the magic word for the basic spell ‘Fireball’.”

When she finished speaking, I started thinking of the fire triangle. For a fire to start, we need ‘Oxygen’, ‘Heat’, and ‘Fuel’. Since oxygen is plentiful in the atmosphere, I didn’t need to consider it. For fuel, I used my own mana, and for heat… well, let’s just use my body temperature.

Now that that was done, I thought about where the fireball would appear. It should be a place that satisfies all those conditions. I then remembered a game I played in my previous life, which featured a magic swordsman with a flaming hand.

I was satisfied with this image and concluded it was fine. I stretched out my hand and imagined it was on fire. I began to feel a warm sensation in my hand. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw that my hand was indeed on fire, but it didn’t burn. Instead, it emitted a warm sensation.

Strange… shouldn’t a word float up in my mind? Well, since I was able to cast this magic, everything seemed okay.

“Good, you learn fast. I didn’t hear you say the magic word. I’m quite curious about this fireball though. Usually, a ball of fire would float in front of the caster. In your case, it was your hand. Could you tell me the magic word for this?”

“...”

My cheeks twitched a bit when she asked me for the magic word, and I answered in a small voice.

“... There was no word for this.”

Upon hearing this, Eclara’s expression shifted from shock to disappointment.

“You’re able to perform chantless magic? That’s a rare talent, found in only 1 out of a thousand mages. If only you had a larger mana pool, you could have become a great archmage.”

“... I’m sorry that I only have a small amount.”

Even though I had just started learning magic, my emotions had been on a wild roller coaster. Maybe it was better to stop.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault. For now, let’s focus on mastering the basic spells. Since you can perform chantless magic, I think we’ll only need to work together for four days at most.”

“That’s fast. Is magic really that simple?”

“Well, since I can only teach you basic spells, this speed is quite average.”

At least I can do magic. A thought then floated into my mind.

“Umm... what would happen if I overused magic and depleted my mana?”

“Don’t worry. If your mana is low, all you need to do is calm yourself and take deep breaths.”

Hearing her answer, question marks started floating above my head.

(Deep breaths? Why deep breaths?)

After a few moments, I realized why. God created the world and bestowed mana to each of his creations. This means mana exists in the air, earth, water, and everything I see in the world.

Understanding this, I nodded a few times and then faced her.

“Please continue teaching me the rest.”

“Yes, milady.”

***

Five days have passed since then. My daily routine changed due to magic practice.

My mornings remained the same, but my afternoons were now dedicated to magic practice. I managed to master all five elements.

I mastered fire magic on the first day, and by the end of the day, the heat was just enough to boil water. For water magic, being able to create three pitchers of water was exceptional for me. For earth magic, I needed to use almost half of my mana to create a chair and a table for two. Finally, wind magic was, in my opinion, the best. I was able to cast a cool and refreshing breeze around me.

Since my magic was chantless, I could manipulate its form according to my wishes. With the amount of mana I had, the most useful way I could use magic was for tea time.

Which is what was happening right now.

“Are you really leaving, Eclara?”

I asked Eclara, who sat in front of me as I sipped a cup of black tea.

“Yes, you have already mastered magic. I have nothing else left to teach you.”

“Is that so? It would’ve been nice if you stayed with us. I really enjoyed spending time with you.”

I offered her a plate of butterscotch cookies.

“I, too, enjoyed my time with you, milady. But I have to continue my search.”

She accepted the cookies and took a bite.

“You still need to find a master who meets your criteria, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Then at least for the last time, won’t you enjoy this little tea time with me?”

“It’d be my pleasure.”

When we finished our tea party, Eclara stood up, picked up the luggage that lay near her feet, and prepared to leave. Even before we had our tea, she had been ready to depart. Although it’s a bit sad to part ways, it’s a part of life. If I had forced her to stay, it might have strained our good relationship.

“Then, I’ll take my leave. Thank you very much for the food and for the time.”

“No, no, I should be the one thanking you.”

She gave a wry smile and walked back toward the mansion from our garden, waving her hand. I gave her my biggest smile as a parting gift and continued waving until her figure disappeared from view.

***

At night, as I slowly closed my eyes, I suddenly remembered something.

“Ahhh! Eclara Dien Rot! Isn’t she a character from the last game I played before I died in my previous life?”

In the game, she was an archmage who could cast giant fireballs and create tornadoes that could decimate entire armies. She was a servant of the noble house with the hawk on a red background. In the game, she was 17 years old and charming due to her loli appearance.

“... But she doesn’t have a surname… so she must be a different person? She looks almost the same, though. Plus, during our first meeting, she felt like an adult. Maybe she is a different person. I must be overthinking things… haha, let’s go to sleep before any more crazy ideas pop up.”

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