Gifts for the Shadow
“Benny! I brought you a present!”
“What are you, some kind of cat that drags home cockroaches?! I don’t need it!”
Benny recoiled in disgust after I’d gone to the trouble of cutting off a kobold’s head. How rude. Feeling a little dejected, I turned toward her shadow and asked in a small voice.
“How about you? Want it?”
——————!
The shadow monster let out an indescribable, grotesque sound and fully emerged from the darkness. Countless mouths lining its body gaped wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
“Hyah!”
I tossed the kobold head toward the nearest mouth. Crunch! Something shattered, followed by wet chewing sounds. After a few bites, the creature swallowed it whole and began waving its tentacles happily.
Looked like my gift had been well received.
“Hehe. Glad you like it.”
When I reached out, the shadow immediately extended what I assumed was its head. The surface felt soft, squishy, and strangely alien. I gave it a thorough pat.
Grrrn.
After about ten seconds of petting, the satisfied monster let out an adorable growl in that terrifying voice of its before melting back into the shadows.
Benny, who had been watching the entire scene, shook her head in disbelief.
“Unbelievable. You never listen to a word I say, but you listen to Yona just fine?!”
“Maybe it likes boys. You’re the same way, aren’t you, Benny?”
“I-I’m nothing like that!”
“Then maybe it likes men?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Benny’s face turned serious as she firmly denied it, even though I’d only been joking. Still, thinking about it, I could understand. It was basically the same as a little girl on Earth asking, “Do you like sperm?” Just imagining it made me shudder.
Even if it had slipped out naturally, I should probably be more careful with remarks like that.
“Sorry. Anyway, you said you wanted to see me fight, right? How was it, Benny?”
“Hey, you…”
Benny’s voice was filled with exasperation as she continued.
“You didn’t use a single spell the whole time, and now you’re asking how it was? I mean, you fought well, sure, but still!”
“Oh.”
Now that she mentioned it, she was right. Benny had come along specifically to see how I used magic in actual combat and decide on a teaching plan. Yet I’d just decapitated those kobolds using nothing but my Authority and raw physical skill.
“I completely forgot about using magic. I haven’t really had the chance to lately.”
“Yeah, I could tell. Like I said earlier—you fought well. From what I saw, you’ve already developed your own style. And it’s pretty polished, too. Throwing in half-baked magic would probably just get in the way… What magic did you say you learned again?”
“Huh? Oh, Weak Flame.”
“A basic spell. Can you show me?”
“Of course.”
I held out my empty hand and gathered mana. Following the knowledge that had been instantly implanted in me, the mana aligned in an instant. The unfamiliar ability began to burn according to my will. It was about the size of a large match flame.
“Weak Flame.”
Fwoosh.
“Oh. Even if it’s just a basic spell, this is pretty impressive. The structure is clean. It might not be the most efficient, but it’s textbook perfect. If someone saw this, they’d believe it was ancient magic from the mythological era. Even heirs from old prestigious families would have to admit you’re a step above them.”
“Ahaha…”
Of course it was. The Goddess of Love, a survivor from the mythological era, had given it to me through gacha. Still, it was a little strange. Magic had supposedly become widespread, yet it was still a fragment of a miracle. It used to be the Authority of the now-dead God of Magic, so why had it been categorized separately as “magic” instead of under “Authority” when I pulled it?
While I was lost in thought, Benny nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Your casting speed is fast, and using only the activation word without chanting is good too. Your mana flow is stable, so you should have no problem using it while moving around. Yeah, you’ve learned the spell properly.”
“Th-thank you?”
After only seeing her act like a sulky child who stomped her feet, watching her talk seriously about magic made her feel like a real expert. As I stood there dazedly nodding, Benny muttered to herself while stroking her fluffy chin.
“At this level, doesn’t that mean he has quite a bit of talent? Plus, that stealth and movement from earlier were way beyond second-floor level. And on top of that, the Goddess of Love’s…”
After mumbling to herself for a while, Benny suddenly looked up as if snapping out of it.
“Anyway, good job. Now show me the next spell.”
“I don’t have one, though?”
“……What?”
“No, really. That’s the only magic I know how to use.”
“You’re telling me the only magic you know is one single basic spell? Did you get kidnapped in the middle of learning magic or something? Basic magic comes as a set—four elemental spells plus Light!”
“Even if you say that, this really is all I have.”
As I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, Rydia approached with a somewhat complicated expression and tapped Benny on the shoulder.
“Benny.”
“Huh? What is it, Rydia?”
“You just need to teach him what he doesn’t know. That’s what a teacher is for.”
“What?! I said I’d help a little with magic, but I never agreed to become his teacher… Still, I get what you’re trying to say. You mentioned he was an orphan, right? I guess he never had the chance to learn magic properly. I’ll teach you the other basic spells.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You can buy spellbooks for basic magic and up to the third circle at the Magic Tower as long as you have the money, and for more money, you can even get lessons.”
“What about anything beyond that?”
“You’d have to join the Magic Tower. That’s why I can’t use anything above intermediate-circle magic.”
“……Huh?”
I knew the Magic Tower was supposed to be a collusive group that monopolized magic, but I hadn’t expected it to manifest this way. When I asked in disbelief, Benny seemed to interpret it as me asking why she hadn’t joined them. She let out a long sigh and continued.
“It’s hard to cater to those old geezers at the Magic Tower, and being tied down somewhere doesn’t suit me either. Most of all, they keep trying to steal my research results. I don’t have anything to gain from them, so why should I bow my head?”
“I agree with that part, but… aren’t you a high-ranking adventurer? I heard that mages in high-ranking adventurer parties throw around fourth-circle magic, and the really skilled ones use fifth-circle spells like nothing.”
“That’s true. But circle magic isn’t the only kind of magic that exists.”
“Huh? It isn’t?”
I had set up the world so that magic existed and had once been an Authority but could now be learned by anyone with talent… but I hadn’t fleshed out the specific magic system. Those kinds of details could always change as the story progressed, so there was no need to decide everything in advance. That’s why I was even more curious. How had this world—the people—filled in the blanks of my setting?
With a pounding heart, I waited for Benny’s explanation.
“Yeah. Since the Magic Tower uses the circle system, everyone assumes circle magic is all there is… but in reality, circle magic is actually the most rootless magic system there is.”
Good grief. So in this fantasy world, using circles to classify magic wasn’t the universal standard after all. I hadn’t explicitly set that part, but I’d thought my subconscious had reflected it. Yet Benny’s next words left me genuinely impressed.
“Originally, magic belonged to the realm of miracles. But when the God of Magic died, his power became everyone’s. As long as you have talent—mana sensitivity, imagination, computational ability, willpower, and so on—anyone can use magic now.”
“Right. Right before the God of Magic died, he cast his final spell that engraved his Authority across the continent.”
“Exactly. Thanks to that, magic has continued to be passed down… but it’s become more of a technique than a miracle.”
A technique rather than a miracle. Those words somehow stuck in my mind like a thorn.
“Do you know the difference between a miracle and a technique?”
“…Not really.”
“It’s a bit complicated, but simply put, it’s a difference in understanding. A miracle doesn’t try to be understood. You just accept it, believe in it, and wish for it. That’s why it’s the purest form, but only a chosen few can wield it.”
“A miracle in the literal sense, then.”
“A technique, on the other hand, is different. You understand the principles and try to reproduce them with your own hands. The results are consistent, and with practice you can use it more efficiently. Once the theory is fully established, far more people can benefit from it… but there’s no mystery left. It means you can’t go beyond the framework.”
A miracle could respond to desperate wishes and willpower to unleash far more powerful magic. But magic as a technique couldn’t do that. It was like plugging ingredients into a formula and getting a predetermined result.
“Circles are exactly that framework. That formula. Thanks to circles, the number of mages has increased and ordinary people can benefit too, but… what I want lies beyond that.”
Beyond predetermined results. I knew what Benny was after. She’d said it herself—she wanted to separate the shadow monster that had fused with her. Since there was magic to create fire but none to separate a fused monster, it made sense that she was obsessed with non-circle magic. Though from what she’d said earlier, part of it was also just not wanting to bow to the Magic Tower.
I took a step closer to Benny, my eyes sparkling.
“Benny, then what kind of magic do you use? If it’s not circle magic, that means it’s not the kind of magic I usually think of, right?”
“…Well. I was planning to show you eventually anyway, so don’t pester me. More importantly, it’s your turn first.”
“Mine?”
“Yeah. This time, try fighting while properly using magic. I know it lacks power, so I’m not asking you to defeat them with magic alone. I just want to see how you incorporate magic into combat, so there’s no need to overdo it.”
“Hmm. Got it. I’ll try that with the next monster.”
I nodded and resumed exploring the labyrinth.
***
With its vision degenerated into cloudy eyes and its brain freshly roasted and piping hot—a kobold head. Carrying it by the snout, I scurried over.
“Ta-da! A present!”
“Agh! Why do you keep bringing me heads?! I told you I don’t need it!”
“What are you talking about? It’s not a present for you, Benny—it’s for the shadow.”
“……?”
“Geez. That’s some serious narcissism. No wonder you’re a mage.”
“Grrraaagh!”
When I clicked my tongue, Benny let out a threatening roar and stomped her feet. It was about as intimidating as a kitten.