Growth (3): Rainy Lessons and Symbiotic Secrets
"Alright! Today's a practical lesson!"
"…"
It had been a full month since Dante started taking lessons from Kracto.
Finally, at long last—he had crawled out of the lake.
"Ah! Now this is weather fit for living!"
"…"
It was because a fierce storm had begun to rage.
Standing under the pouring rain, Kracto wore the happiest expression imaginable.
"Back in my hometown of Umtum, it rains like this for half the year!"
Is that place hell by any chance? Dante almost asked, but held his tongue.
Kracto hailed from a region where torrential tropical downpours were an everyday occurrence.
"It's just a bit chilly, that's all. If it were hotter and steamier, it'd be perfect."
Dante made a mental vow. I'll never set foot on that new continent...
No human could possibly survive in a place like that.
"Teacher."
"Hahaha! What is it, student Dante!"
His tension skyrocketing, Kracto bellowed with enthusiasm.
Dante asked cautiously.
"The weather's too awful. I don't think we can do class right now."
Kracto burst into laughter.
"Oh! On the contrary! There are rare bugs you can only spot on days like this, when the downpour hits!"
Should he say it? Dante hesitated for a moment.
But he decided to be honest.
"I don't know about Bangkatoria, but the bugs around here... they don't come out when it rains."
"…?"
"This place isn't as bug-friendly as your hometown, Teacher..."
Kracto focused his mind in confusion, searching for insects through their mana.
Then his mouth fell open.
"Wh-what? There's nothing? No raindrop bugs!!!"
"Yeah... It's too dry here for bugs like that to live."
"This...! Damn you, Cortkus! There's not a single decent thing here!!!"
Bug-hunting in the rain. Total failure.
Dante wasn't particularly disappointed—he'd tried it himself already.
"How about we just do theory class instead?"
"…"
Kracto's energy plummeted instantly.
A whole month of nothing but theory... and just when he thought he'd finally show off some cool practical stuff...!
"D-do... I even deserve my salary...?"
"You do. I've learned a ton from you, Teacher."
"Waaah...! Thank you, Dante!!!"
Dante soothed Kracto with a sigh.
Ah... Bug taming is no easy meal ticket.
After calming his mentally shattered(?) teacher, the downpour finally let up, and scorching sunlight began to beat down.
Kracto's spirits soared through the roof.
"Kuhahaha!!!"
Hot and humid. The discomfort index was off the charts, leaving humans limp and sweaty as they shuffled about in misery.
But Kracto was ecstatic, bouncing around like a madman.
"The weather's perfect! Every day like this! I'd have no regrets if it stayed this way year-round!"
"…"
Dante's own energy had tanked so low he could barely speak.
The mansion was running full-blast cool air magic right now...!
Having bug magic lessons outdoors in this sweltering, sticky heat...!
He'd chosen this path himself, but regrets were inevitable.
Maybe I should've learned some other kind of magic instead of bug taming...?
"Alright, student Dante!"
"...Yes, Teacher."
"On a fantastic day like today, what's the easiest insect to find?"
"Mosquitoes or mayflies, probably?"
"Correct! I'll summon a mosquito swarm—watch closely!"
Kracto gestured with his hand.
In an instant—an enormous number of mosquitoes gathered like a cloud.
"Kyaaah—!"
"D-don't look over there! Turn your head!!!"
The passing maids screamed and fled in terror.
But Dante and Kracto paid them no mind.
They were bug tamers, after all.
"Whoa... Impressive, Teacher."
"Hm. Cortkus mosquitoes are pretty small, huh? Are these not adults yet? The ones in Umtum are three times that size."
"Three times bigger mosquitoes?"
"That's right!"
"I'd love to see them someday!"
"Oh, come visit Umtum and I'll show you! Dante! Hahaha!"
The mansion maids whispered, 'That young master... he's lost his damn mind...'
But no one scolded them.
It was just that incomprehensible.
"Let's make up for lost time with practicals while the weather holds!"
Kracto spent the entire day teaching Dante bug taming.
He usually skipped practicals (or couldn't do them), so this was his chance to teach properly.
"Alright, student Dante!"
Kracto called out boldly.
"Time to teach you about the properties of magic waves!"
"Oh."
Both Dante and Kracto were mages. They knew more than the basics about magic waves.
"Magic waves cancel each other out upon collision. That's the wave annihilation theory."
"Ah, right...!"
Reviewing theory alongside practice made it sink in much easier.
Dante dove into the lesson, hooked by curiosity and fun.
"Student Dante! Summon an insect swarm!"
"Yes!"
Dante released mana, calling forth a horde of insects.
The local bugs all recognized his mana, so a massive number gathered in seconds.
Kracto was secretly impressed as he continued the lesson.
"You must practice commanding insects a lot on your own."
"Whenever I have time."
"Excellent. Now I see why you're progressing so fast."
Kracto nodded, then released his own mana.
Something astonishing happened.
"Huh...?"
The insects Dante had gathered—most of them reacted to Kracto's mana and switched sides!
Kracto said,
"Did you see that?"
"…"
"That's mana wave cancellation."
Wave cancellation. Mana of the same nature nullifies each other.
The magic Dante had cast on the insects was canceled by Kracto's, vanishing entirely.
Kracto then took control of the freed insects.
"Mana wave cancellation only works between mana of the exact same nature."
"So a fire mage can't cancel a bug tamer's magic."
"Correct. You catch on quick, Dante."
Same-nature mana. Fire mana cancels fire mana. Water cancels water.
Just like how Kracto had canceled Dante's insect mana with his own insect mana.
"So if a more skilled bug tamer casts magic on them, I have no counter?"
"According to mana wave cancellation theory, yes."
"...But there are other ways."
Kracto nodded.
"Proprietary magic."
"Proprietary magic?"
"Generally speaking, the mana we use comes from all beings in this world. We call it common mana."
Kracto explained.
"As you just saw, common mana cancels out when similar waves collide, returning to nature."
"Then..."
"But proprietary mana is different."
Proprietary mana.
"I mentioned earlier—mana arises in every being in this world."
"…"
"Dante. You have Dante's mana flowing through you. Naturally, I have Kracto's mana."
Dante grasped it immediately.
If common mana was the generic kind everyone shared—
Proprietary mana was unique, produced by only one individual.
"Magic made from proprietary mana becomes proprietary magic."
Since proprietary magic used proprietary mana, it couldn't be canceled.
If Dante created proprietary magic to command insects...
Even against a superior bug tamer, his spells wouldn't cancel.
"Proprietary magic can't be canceled, making it superior to common magic."
But proprietary magic had a fatal flaw.
"However... the difficulty of creating the spells is on another level."
"Makes sense."
Common magic was shared and refined by many. Collective wisdom, easy mana access.
Proprietary magic? Hard to source mana, harder to craft spells.
Less than half of all mages used it.
"Do you have proprietary magic, Teacher?"
Kracto replied,
"I do."
As expected... He was no ordinary talent.
As that thought crossed Dante's mind—
Kracto let out a booming laugh.
"Dante. You still don't fully grasp that you're a bug tamer!"
"...Pardon?"
Kracto asked, grinning mischievously.
"Think about it. What would a bug tamer's proprietary magic be?"
"…?"
A bug tamer's proprietary magic?
Dante pondered calmly.
Bug tamers command bugs. So their unique magic would be...?
"Ah."
It clicked somewhere deep.
He answered.
"A bug tamer's proprietary magic... is commanding special bugs itself."
Kracto shouted, laughing.
"Correct! You're a joy to teach! Hahaha!"
Yes.
A bug tamer's proprietary magic was none other than—
Commanding special bugs, plain and simple.
If bugs obeyed only your call...
Even lowly flies could be proprietary magic.
Because they were special bugs that heeded your call alone!
"For bug tamers, creating proprietary magic is easy yet hard."
Kracto eyed Dante with amusement.
"Just raise symbiotic bugs inside you."
"Symbiotic bugs...?"
Dante flinched.
Symbiotic bugs... Did he mean the ones swarming inside him right now...?
"Symbiotic bugs are strange insects straddling the line between magic and life."
Kracto extended his hand.
In that moment—Dante sensed it.
The mana from Kracto's body wasn't insect mana.
Nor was it purely Kracto's mana.
It was mana emitted by the symbiotic bugs inside Kracto.
"Ah...!"
His mind flashed with realization.
Symbiotic bug mana was the bug tamer's mana.
Bug tamers fused their mana with their symbiotic bugs' to create proprietary magic!
"Here! This bug is commanded by my proprietary mana."
It was a common mayfly.
But commanded by mana from Kracto's symbiotic bugs—
Dante could never steal it.
"That's how you turn special insects into your personal minions."
"…"
"That's a bug tamer's proprietary magic."
"…"
"Well. To perfect proprietary magic, you need symbiotic bugs first!"
Dante closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
The world looked a level clearer now.
He felt newfound gratitude for his lizardman teacher.
"Teacher."
"Oh! A question, student Dante?"
"For symbiotic bugs... is it like this?"
"…?"
Dante released mana exactly as Kracto had.
Not from nature—but from the symbiotic bugs living inside him.
For Dante, it was effortless.
"!"
Kracto's eyes bulged.
He couldn't miss it.
Symbiotic bug mana was emanating from Dante's body!
"You...! No way!"
Kracto cried out in shock.
"You're raising symbiotic bugs...?!"
Dante answered quietly.
"I didn't raise them."
"Then...?"
Kracto looked into Dante's eyes and felt his heart sink.
They weren't the eyes of a ten-year-old child.
"They're the symbiotic bugs my mother raised."
"…"
"She passed them on to me."