Common Magic
Gareth, the Secret Magic mage assigned to oversee this round of general disciple examinations, examined the two sheets of paper in his hands one after the other. They were the answer sheets of the final candidates who had passed the general disciple test.
One was exactly as he had anticipated—an earnest effort from someone at a civilian level. It met his expectations, so there was no reason to fail it. The problem was the other sheet.
“Hmm… I see…”
The more he read, the more impressed he became. And the more suspicious. Is something like this even possible for a civilian?
The test had asked applicants to create a regular flow of patterns following their own logical framework. Whether it was technically correct didn’t matter. Since every applicant was expected to be an ordinary person with only a single elemental affinity, no one had anticipated any real magical talent. The exam was simply meant to determine whether they possessed the intellect necessary to awaken mana.
Yet the answers written on the sheet Gareth now held completely surpassed those expectations. Lowest-grade water magic. Even further, a gentle flow. He hadn’t quite reached that final conclusion, but the response had arrived at the threshold with perfect clarity. The logical structure was impeccably clean. It was almost as if the writer had seen straight through the essence of the magic and was merely pretending not to understand it.
No matter how I look at it, this shouldn’t be possible…
If he gave this same problem to an academy student right now, could they produce an answer this refined? They might reach the water magic conclusion more quickly, but building such a clean logical progression along the way would be extremely difficult.
Gareth clicked his tongue as he continued studying the neatly written answers. What a shame. To have a mind this sharp and yet never obtain magical talent.
That, however, was not something he needed to concern himself with.
He decided to call both candidates in for a final interview. He would perform one more physical examination to be safe and confirm neither was a spy from another magic tower. In particular, he resolved to scrutinize the one named Leon—the owner of the answer sheet in his hand—with extra care.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the door to Gareth’s office burst open.
“Who—!”
Gareth frowned and looked up, only to jump to his feet the instant he recognized the intruder.
“Hup—Lady Arpina! What brings you here?”
Mystery mage Arpina Winterfritz. The moment this silver-haired, red-eyed mage—who held a position directly beneath the tower master within Widia—appeared, Gareth’s face filled with confusion. A high-ranking mage who had no reason to visit this place, who would consider even paying attention to it a waste of time… why would she come here?
“Have the general disciple interviews finished?”
“Not yet… I was just about to begin.”
“There’s one named Leon, correct?”
Gareth glanced down at the paper and nodded hurriedly. “Yes, there is.”
“Just pass him. I already conducted his interview.”
“Ah… I see?”
Gareth barely managed to stop himself from tilting his head in bewilderment. If Lady Arpina said so, then it was so.
“Understood. Shall I call in the remaining candidate for his interview?”
“Yes, handle that as you see fit.”
“Understood!”
Gareth answered with crisp enthusiasm, but Arpina simply turned on her heel as though her business was concluded.
What was that about?
Gareth looked once more at the name Leon written on the answer sheet. Is she interested in him?
Otherwise, there would have been no reason for someone of her stature to personally involve herself in such a trivial matter.
As expected…
There was no way an ordinary boy could have produced an answer sheet like this. With his mind now clear, Gareth decided to remember the name Leon. Anyone who had caught Arpina’s attention was likely to rise far.
The acceptance notice had been posted on the bulletin board. Among the two names written there, Leon’s was included. Since he had passed without even attending an interview, it seemed Arpina had put in a good word for him.
The orphanage children crowded around Leon to congratulate him. While a few looked on with envy, most offered pure, heartfelt celebration.
“Even after you become a mage, don’t forget about us, Leon!”
It was the boy who used to pester him endlessly to play cops and robbers back at the orphanage. Leon naturally reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. For a brief moment, he savored a purity that could never be found among the cold-hearted mages.
The next day, Leon stood in front of a five-story building facing a brown-haired young man who appeared to be on the verge of adulthood. He was the other successful candidate.
“I thought I was the only one who passed since I didn’t see you at the interview.”
The young man quickly struck up a friendly conversation, but Leon only responded politely as they entered the building together. A bespectacled man waiting by the door greeted them.
“I’m Peter. I passed last year. I’ve been waiting to explain the basic rules and show you around the building.”
Under Peter’s guidance, Leon familiarized himself with the layout of the five-story structure. The first floor served as a space for occasional lessons from visiting mages or for receiving guests. The second and third floors were entirely training rooms, while the fourth and fifth housed the dormitories. A small sparring arena lay underground.
Quite modest.
In its own way, it was appropriate treatment for general disciples. The training facilities had never been designed with Secret Magic mages in mind. After all, it was considered impossible for someone with only a single elemental affinity to reach that level.
“You can move your belongings after today’s training ends.”
“Got it.”
While Aaron answered promptly, Leon politely declined.
“I have a personal room already.”
“Oh, you must have earned quite a few merits.”
Peter didn’t scold him. Since the room had been assigned based on achievement points, no one could complain if he used it.
Once the tour ended, basic magic education began immediately. This was handled by an established mage other than Peter—one responsible for overseeing all general disciples and evaluating their training progress.
“If you came here dreaming of grand magic, you’d best wake up. A mage is ultimately no different from a scholar pursuing the root of wisdom. In the cold world of magic, those without the ability to carve their own path will inevitably be left behind. Keep that in mind.”
The mage, Robert, spoke at length about topics that would likely intrigue civilians like Aaron who were only now encountering magic.
“For those with single affinities, it usually takes two to three years to awaken mana—even with intensive training. However, you only have one year during which you can focus solely on training. After that, you’ll be assigned duties and will have to train alongside them. Naturally, that will extend the time needed to awaken mana.”
True to a mage’s nature, he delivered even these harsh realities with a completely expressionless face.
“Awaken your mana within one year. Somehow.”
He then explained their compensation.
“Unlike when you worked as entrance residents, your salary will be paid in mana stones. Transactions between mages are conducted with mana stones, so if you can truly step onto this path, it should prove to be quite satisfactory pay.”
Leon paid less attention to the salary discussion and more to the guarantee of one full year of dedicated training time.
So I can devote myself entirely to training for a whole year?
He felt satisfied knowing he could now focus on training without worrying about anyone watching.
One year was more than enough time for him to reach Fourth Class.
I’ll train like a ghost for a year, then claim I somehow managed to awaken my mana.
It was faster than the two-to-three-year timeline Robert had mentioned, but the pressure to achieve it “somehow” suggested it wasn’t entirely impossible.
After the introductory lecture ended, Leon spent a week observing his surroundings before approaching Robert.
“Could I learn common magic?”
Robert’s brow furrowed slightly at the request. “Without even having awakened your mana? They’ll teach you properly once you reach First Class, won’t they?”
“Still, I believe it would help me understand and awaken mana more effectively if I familiarize myself with it beforehand.”
Robert found the words presumptuous, but he refrained from speaking too harshly. He had remembered the hint his colleague Gareth had given him—that this boy had caught Lady Arpina’s interest.
“Well… since you haven’t awakened your mana yet, I can’t instruct you directly. I’ll give you a tome containing common magic instead. Study the principles on your own. Who knows? You might see some results, just as you said.”
Robert spoke without any real conviction as he retrieved a thick magic tome from his subspace and handed it to Leon.
Leon accepted it with a respectful bow. “Thank you.”
After that, Leon practically lived inside the training room.
Common magic came in many forms. Several of them proved so valuable that he was glad he had chosen to learn them. Most required no incantation, making them immediately useful once mastered.
The first was basic telekinesis—a spell that allowed him to exert physical force on objects beyond his reach.
The second was detection magic. By spreading mana outward, he could sense the presence of people or traces of magical power. With some application, it could even be used to gauge an opponent’s level.
The third was appraisal magic. By infusing an artifact with mana, he could quickly discern its functions.
The fourth was mana infusion. This was the same technique Forn and Lia had used—the activation word known as Infusion. It spread mana throughout the body, temporarily granting physical abilities far beyond those of an ordinary person. However, it did require an incantation.
The fifth was Division of Will. This spell split one’s consciousness into multiple streams, enabling the simultaneous casting of different spells. For example, one could maintain basic telekinesis on an artifact while casting another spell, or calculate double or even triple spells at once.
Of course, at Leon’s current level, double or triple casting was still impossible. At best, he could manage one artifact with basic telekinesis while reciting a separate spell. Still, these were common magics that only grew more vital the higher one climbed.
There were others as well—levitation magic, basic healing magic, Clean magic, and more. Leon almost regretted not learning them sooner; each one was incredibly practical for his situation.
“Levitation magic consumes an absurd amount of mana…”
Leon’s feet touched the ground once more as the floating spell dissipated.
For two full weeks, he devoted every waking moment to mastering common magic. Since these spells were categorized under basic magic, his ongoing quest progressed exactly as before.
Once he had grown comfortable even with levitation, Leon finally emerged from the training room for the first time in weeks. Aside from brief trips to collect his meals, he had remained completely secluded. He even slept there. Having reached Third Class, he no longer needed to eat for three days at a time, which only made such intensive closed-door training easier.
Leon stretched his arms wide, then descended the stairs to the first floor. There, he encountered the fellow trainee he hadn’t seen once during those two weeks.
What was his name again… Ah.
It was Aaron. The brown-haired young man stared at Leon in open surprise.
“You’ve been shut up in your room doing nothing but the breathing method this whole time?”
“Yes.”
Leon continued to speak formally with him. He was naturally wary of people who acted overly familiar from the very first meeting.
“That’s impressive. Is it actually working?”
One of Aaron’s eyebrows twitched. Though his tone carried curiosity, a faint wariness lingered in his expression.
“It seems to be having some effect… but I’m not entirely sure.”
When Leon answered vaguely, Aaron’s face relaxed with visible relief.
“Take it easy. Robert said rest helps more than straining your mental strength, remember?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Leon gave a suitable reply and turned to head back to his room after so long away. At that moment, someone came running in through the entrance. It was Peter, the senior who had joined a year earlier.
“Perfect timing. Leon, you have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
“Yeah, a girl who looks about your age.”
“Ah.”
Did she come to congratulate me on becoming a general disciple?
Assuming it was Lia, Leon turned toward the door—only for his head to tilt instinctively at the sight of red hair poking through the doorway.
“Why are you here?”
“What… Why can’t I come?!”
It was Rowen.
“There’s no reason for you to. Didn’t you say you didn’t even want to talk to civilians?”
“Ugh…”
Her face flushed bright red. It seemed she remembered exactly how she had acted before. Seeing her reaction, Leon’s head tilted even further.
Why did she really come?
Suddenly, his gaze shifted to the object she was holding in her hands.