Chapter 6 Magic, Skills and then… (Patreon)

We are in the arena once again today, this might become a daily activity from now on, either going to the arena or to the library.

And today, we are still in the arena and Luina’s clothes, no, more like costume was a witch or a wizard. If my guess is right, she would teach me either about skills or about magic today based on her outfit.

When we reached the center of the arena, scarecrow like things came out around 100 meters away from us. It’s probably for target practice. Then Luina started her lecture for today.

「The goddess told me that you like magic and stuff, right?」

「Yes, things like that is only a fantasy or a work of imagination in my previous world」

「Is that so? Well, I couldn’t actually imagine a world without magic because this world works differently than that world so I don’t really know how you feel. However, I understand the feeling of wanting to learn something new.」

「I see, so are we going to practice magic today?」

「Not only magic, but general knowledge about skills including magic. It is actually quite simple, however if you don’t have the knowledge, then you won’t be able to use it」

「Okay」

「Then, let us start」

The first thing Luina did was create a fireball in her hand. Ooooh, magic!!! As expected of a magical world!!! She then explains how magic works.

「In this world, Magic is the power to manipulate Mana to create an unnatural phenomenon. Just like creating this fireball out of nowhere. Magic in itself is not separated by elements but is reliant on the imagination of the caster itself. Just like this for example」

As she said that, she points the fireball onto a target and launches it. I expected the target to either burn or explode, however I was stunned at the result that was far out of my expectation. The target crystallized and shattered. I was sure that what she released was a fireball, but its effect was not what a fireball would do. I see, so this is why she said manipulating Mana to create an unnatural phenomenon based on imagination. She then continued her explanation.

「Magic is a product of altered Mana, a kind of energy source found in the atmosphere of this world which supports life and balance of the world. Any Mana converted to magic will be returned to Mana without loss. Well this is how it was explained by the goddess. It was also the goddess who taught us how to manipulate Mana this way.」

「That’s so cool, so is there any limit on the usage of magic? Can I do anything with it? 」

「Well, if were talking about limits, it would the amount that a creature could manipulate. This limit is determined by the amount of Int and Wis a creature possess. This grows in time naturally or by training. Int determines the amount of Mana that could be accumulated while Wis determines the amount that could be controlled. That doesn’t mean that you couldn’t control all the mana accumulated with high Int and low Wis though. But this would greatly affect the refinement of Mana, resulting in the difference of quality on the phenomenon created」

「That sounds deep. So is having high Wis more relevant than Having More Int? 」

「That is not the case, low Int lowers the amount of Mana one could accumulate, so it would also limit the phenomenon that one could create. The most ideal would be having both Int and Wis on the same level to be able to create a proper phenomenon」

「So depending on the phenomenon, the amount of mana required will be different?」

「That’s right, so you will be learning about what kind of magic you will be able to use later. Skills also work the same way, and Dex is the one in charge of controlling while Int, Str or Agi would determine the power of the skill depending on what type of effects the skill do」

Hmmm, skills are more complicated than I thought. But it’s still the same concept as magic. Because of the unique skill given by the goddess, I will be able to know the requirements in obtaining skills, so I will be able to choose what path I will follow in the future. For now, I want to learn magic more than anything else. So I asked Luina to teach me how to do it.

「Luina, can you teach me how to use magic first? I want to learn it as soon as possible!!! 」

「Alright, well knowing your background, I don’t think it will be that hard. First you have to…」

Luina taught me how to manipulate Mana first. The process is either gathering Mana from within me, or from the atmosphere. She let me gather as much as I could to know the limit of what I could manipulate. Then, according to her, I could both generate and gather a huge amount of Mana so I won’t have any problems even if I’m in a place lacking in Mana.

Then instead of creating a phenomenon, she told me form that Mana into different shapes instead. At first I thought that it would be easy, however it was quite taxing mentally. She explains that this determines my current limit and manipulating speed. After slowly forming different shapes, she told me to release the Mana which I did so while imagining it dispersing into the atmosphere.

「That will be your training for today. Continue doing so until later or until you could form a shape in at least 5 seconds.」

Following her instruction, I familiarize myself with Mana gathering and shape forming until it was night time. Even though I already want to shoot fireballs and stuff, I don’t mind doing something like this too. I know that this will help me improve after all.

When we were having dinner, she explained to me about how magic is viewed by the inhabitants of this world which is similar to the common template of magic separated by elements and chanting. There are also those who doesn’t chant but they barely understand manipulation of Mana and would usually follow the image of what has commonly established.

Research on magic also didn’t go that far because they only rely on the knowledge that most people have known. The knowledge of manipulating Mana is only shared by Guardians, their subordinates and races that have high aptitude in magic. Humans and other races who don’t understand this phenomenon would usually identify this as sorcery or a skill that is different from magic.

And with that, the cycle of training and learning in the library continued along with some outing or practical training. Because of staying inside the labyrinth most of the time, my sense of time was distorted, and before I knew it, several years have already passed by. And finally, the time for me to start my journey has arrived.

I am standing in front of the forest entrance facing Luina.

「To me who have been living for a long time, I felt like it was only yesterday. However it was fun. I has really been a long time since I've enjoyed something, so I have to also thank you for the time you spent with me」

「Me too, I really learned a lot. I’ll be sure to pay a visit again if I ever come back here. It will probably be a long time before that happens though. So it will be a farewell for now」

「Oh, right, if you have the chance, please do visit the territories of other guardians. They are all excited to meet you. Especially the Chaos Dragon Ruina, she’s been nagging me for a while now knowing that the visitor from another world ended up becoming her Kin.」

「For some reason, I find that statement really scary. I really hope that I won’t end up in a troublesome situation after meeting that person.」

「Well, she is not a bad person, but well, what to say. She’s kind of hard to understand. Anyway, it’s finally the start of your journey. Please enjoy the entirety of the world that we all love and protect. It may not be perfect, but I’m sure that you will have a lot of fun.」

After nodding to her, I turned my back to Luina and followed the path near the entrance of the forest. After walking for a while, I faced the forest once more. There, I find Luina standing at the entrance waving. I also waved back before facing the road once more and continued on my journey.