Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Introduction to Magic (2)
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Ridel, her face full of shock, hurriedly clasped my hand and asked.
"Aren! Are you alright? Your fingers... they didn't rupture or anything. Phew, what in the world were you thinking, firing it off that hard! Even a mana bullet has its limits—if you squeeze out more than that, it puts a huge strain on you..."
"Ridel, I didn't push it to the limit."
"Pardon? You didn't?"
Ridel must have figured I got startled by the power and tried to show off by overdoing the mana bullet.
Yeah.
If she'd been watching me all this time before I got the perk, it was natural she'd think that.
I'd often tried to play it cool in front of her, after all.
Like that time with the cat—that was a prime example.
"I just recalled how it felt when I used it before and fired it off. No idea it'd come out like that."
"Sh-shall we try it one more time? This time... a little weaker?"
"Sure, I'll give it a shot."
I aimed my finger at the target next to the one I'd obliterated.
This time, I braced my arm to keep the recoil from kicking it upward.
Weaker than before... weaker...
The first shot had been full throttle, but now I consciously held back as I gathered mana at my fingertip.
And that's when I finally realized.
Is this my mana?
Far more than I'd ever felt before was pooling at my fingertip.
That explained the monster mana bullet from earlier.
I'd just blindly thought "blast it hard" and dumped this much mana into it all at once without a second thought.
But now that I was aware of it, controlling it was something even I could do.
I dialed the mana back to about the old amount—and the power dropped accordingly.
Bang!
This time, it fired off with roughly the same punch as Ridel's.
"That one went off properly."
"Ridel."
"Yes, Aren."
"I think my mana reserves have shot up big time."
"Pardon?"
I explained to her exactly what I'd just sensed.
"No way... Your mana increased that much from before?"
"Yeah. Wanna test how much I can dish out? I'll just scale up the mana bullet size and keep the recoil in check like before."
"Go ahead and try it, Aren. But if you feel even a little dizzy, you stop right away—it's a sign of mana depletion."
"Got it."
Taking her advice, I focused on bulking up the mana bullet this time, gathering it at my fingertip.
And then...
Vrrrrmmm!
"Wh-whoa."
How big is this thing gonna get?
I'd poured mana in recklessly, and the mana bullet had already surpassed the size of my head.
"A-Aren!? You're not getting dizzy, are you?"
"I'm good—no issues yet! But seriously, how big is it supposed to get?"
"If the size is worrying you, try thinking of compressing it all into one spot! Ah, don't push it if it feels impossible!"
"I'll try."
Following her tip, I willed the swollen mana to condense into a single point.
The mana bullet's size shrank to nearly half.
And that wasn't all.
Compressing it burns some mana too. But no dizziness yet.
It gave me a better sense of just how much my mana had grown.
I kept compressing while feeding in more mana. When it stabilized at a size about one or two head-widths bigger than my own, I started feeling a bit drained.
"Ridel, I'm getting that fatigued feeling now."
"That's what happens after heavy mana expenditure. But... to only hit it now..."
"Ready to fire?"
"Yes—aim it at the target."
"On it."
I unleashed the hyper-compressed mana bullet straight at the target.
Bang!
Since I'd toned down the launch power, it rocketed forward at the same speed as the second shot.
"Pardon me!"
The instant I fired, Ridel stepped in front of me and spread both hands wide, erecting a mana barrier.
The next moment...
BOOOOM!
My mana bullet detonated the second it struck the target.
Not only did the target shatter to splinters, but the surrounding ones got caught in the blast and crumbled too.
And then the shockwave rolled in with a barrage of wooden shards slamming into Ridel's mana barrier.
"Thanks, Ridel."
"No trouble. I figured it'd be something like this—that was one massive mana bullet, after all. But... it packed way more punch than I expected."
Even Ridel could tell this mana bullet was no joke.
"Your Highness! Are you alright?!"
At that moment, Gillek and the knights came sprinting into the garden.
They'd rushed over at the sound of the explosion.
"Gillek."
"Your Highness! You're safe! Ridel, what in blazes happened?"
"We were testing how much magic power Aren has. That explosion just now? Aren's doing."
"You mean that explosion came from Aren's magic?"
Gillek and the knights alike stared at me in stunned unison.
"Caught me off guard too. First one came out stronger than I figured, so this time I gathered mana till I felt the drain, just like Ridel said."
I pointed to where the target lay in ruins.
"And it ended up like that."
The knights murmured as they surveyed the blast site.
"Didn't His Highness have no talent for magic?"
"I saw him fire a mana bullet a few years back, but nothing like this."
"Did his martial prowess and magic talent bloom together?"
"What staggering gifts you've awakened, Your Highness...!"
"At least you're unharmed—that's what matters."
"Thanks for the concern. Ridel, let's clear the wreckage and test some other stuff?"
"No. We can't."
Ridel shook her head.
Why not?
New targets or something?
"That shot alone proved your mana is nothing like before."
"Does that mean I've got more mana than you now?"
"No, not quite. But... I have no doubt you'll surpass me soon. You need someone who knows magic far better than I do to teach you properly."
Someone more expert in magic.
The first name that popped into my head...
"Calling in an imperial mage sounds like it'd drag us into some messy drama."
"Exactly. That's why I was thinking of hiring a tutor from the academy. Can we put magic lessons on hold until then?"
The academy.
In Savior of World, it was the institution that trained and produced mages.
Basically a magic tower equivalent.
The monsters there were mostly corrupted mages or chimeras cooked up by mages.
But right now, before it all went to hell, it should be full of proper mages.
And from "my" memories, they kept secrets tight if you paid them well enough—perfect for a private tutor gig.
"Sounds good. Let's send a letter right away."
"Understood. I'll dispatch a messenger bird posthaste."
The chancellor of the academy.
Gilbert Macdalion read the letter delivered by the messenger bird that had just arrived.
'The 9th Prince wants to hire a tutor... No clue what he's after.'
Gilbert was well aware of the rumors surrounding the 9th Prince.
After all, many imperial mages hailed from this very academy.
Imperial matters weren't supposed to leak out easily, but when something was too public to hide, it spread like wildfire.
And the tale of the talentless 9th Prince was one such story.
He'd given it his all once, but all he'd managed was firing off a basic mana bullet—nothing more.
For that 9th Prince to seek a magic tutor now?
Seemed like the isolation from the capital had worn him down, leaving him chasing false hopes.
'Unless a miracle strikes, relearning magic at this point won't grow his mana one bit.'
But he couldn't just turn down the request.
Not when the asker was a prince.
Talent or no, it was still a prince.
Not one booted for causing trouble, either—just deemed succession-irrelevant due to lack of gifts and quietly shipped off to keep fallout from splashing elsewhere.
Cases like that meant the prince had the character not to rock the boat and could sway his siblings.
No one would outright ignore the 9th Prince.
Refuse him, and if he breathed a word back at the palace?
Daring to snub a prince's request? Mocking the imperial family?
High risk of that spin.
The academy pulled revenue from its own operations, sure—but the massive research grants from the palace were non-negotiable. They had to dodge that bullet.
And so, Academy Chancellor Gilbert Macdalion invoked a spell to broadcast his voice across the entire academy and spoke.
"All deans in the academy—gather in the conference room within one hour. Emergency deans' meeting."