Lia's Mentor
After Leon awakened his mana, the contents of his quest had completely changed.
Basic Magic Training (0/10)
Now that you have awakened your mana, train in the fundamentals of magic in earnest.
The magic tomes currently in Leon’s possession were a single book titled Basic Earth Magic Tome—its exact elemental school unclear—and the Brem Clan Spirit Medicine Manufacturing Magic (Lower) that he had already examined in the Old Magic Library. He intended to methodically search the Old Magic Library for tomes on water, wind, and earth—the attributes that matched his own—but for the time being he would train using only these two. Apprentice-rank mages had no need for high-level magic yet. Unique spells established by high mages or advanced magic itself could only be wielded after reaching the Esoteric rank.
With a heart full of excitement, Leon opened the Basic Earth Magic Tome. The introductory text carefully walked the reader through every step required to manifest magic in reality. The most fundamental stage was spell calculation. Whether the formula had been created by someone else or by the caster themselves, identical computational results produced the same spell—differing only in efficiency and power. Once the formula for a given spell was calculated, the next step was to visualize it in the mind, followed by the incantation that called it forth into the world. In short, magic manifested through three stages: calculation, visualization, and incantation.
Apprentice mages had to perform every single one of these steps without omission. Because each stage felt awkward and difficult at first, it took a long time for the magic to actually appear. Only after advancing to the Esoteric rank could a mage drastically shorten the time required for each process. Mages like Leon, still stuck at the Apprentice stage, needed to learn the Memorize spell if they wanted to reduce that time even slightly. By storing the magic in advance, one could activate it instantly with just a trigger word.
An Apprentice 1st-Class mage could memorize only a single spell. Leon focused on learning the Memorize spell, several basic earth spells, and the spirit medicine manufacturing magic. The formulas had to be memorized first so that calculation would become second nature—an academic endeavor. After that, the only way to grow more proficient or increase his total mana capacity was to cast the spells repeatedly.
"O master of the earth, respond to my call."
⟨ Earth Wall ⟩
He stretched out his hand and chanted. In the middle of the dense forest, a stone wall the height of an adult appeared.
“Haa… haa…”
Leon was already on his umpteenth cast. Normally, an Apprentice 1st-Class mage would run completely dry after two or three spells. Leon was no exception, but the thick mana inside the Chrono Orb helped tremendously. No matter how many spells he used, his mana kept replenishing. The long time it took him to complete each incantation only made the recovery more noticeable. Of course, after six or seven casts he would still run dry. Yet the moment he sat down, crossed his legs, and regulated his breathing, his mana would quickly fill again.
This was clearly a positive sign for his training, yet Leon faced a serious problem. While working as a librarian in the Old Magic Library, he could not train at all. In fact, there was no suitable place in the real world to practice magic. As a result, his quest progress had stalled. He filled that emptiness by consuming the spirit medicines he had gathered.
“Nom.”
With his mana once again depleted, Leon stepped out of the orb, sat down, and tossed a noll essence into his mouth. Heat surged through his body as powerful energy rushed toward the core located at his solar plexus.
“Huu…”
He could sense it—his core had grown, if only by a tiny amount. Consuming spirit medicine had nothing to do with the Chrono Orb, so he usually ate them in reality and spent time stabilizing the energy afterward. After calming his mana for a while, Leon returned to the dormitory and fell asleep.
A month had already passed since he arrived in the magic city of Widia.
The solution Leon had found was simple: memorize everything. During work hours at the Old Magic Library he searched for every spell related to water, wind, and earth, committing them all to memory. Once he finished reading, he practiced inside the Chrono Orb. These days he had moved on from the basic attribute spells he possessed and was examining more unusual ones. Perhaps because it was the Old Magic Library, there were many fascinating tomes. All of them were outdated magic, of course.
Creak—
Into the quiet space—filled only with the sound of Leon turning pages—the door opened and someone entered. Leon closed the book and turned his head. When he saw the familiar face, he shot up from his seat in delight.
“Lia!”
“Leon!”
Leon instinctively caught Lia as she ran toward him. It was a reflexive action born from the joy of seeing her after so long. Lia, who had been jumping excitedly in his arms, finally stepped back. It was rare for the usually quiet girl to show this much enthusiasm. Knowing that, Leon pushed down his own surprise, smiled, and asked,
“Did you come looking for me because you knew I was here?”
“Yeah. I asked the other kids and they told me.”
“Ah, the other orphanage kids?”
“Mhm.”
Lia looked quite happy. Her short gray bob swayed gently, as if mirroring her mood. She scanned the library, then asked carefully,
“Are you… learning magic properly?”
“Me? Of course I am.”
After seeing the other orphanage children, she had spoken with worry, but Leon answered as if there was nothing to be concerned about. Lia stared at him for a moment, then gave a small smile.
“Your confidence hasn’t changed at all.”
“There’s no reason to hide anything from you.”
At those words, her expression suddenly darkened as though she had fallen into thought.
“That day… I’m sorry I disappeared by myself…”
Leon briefly looked over her clothes. She was dressed in luxurious garments that made it hard to believe she came from the same orphanage. It was clear what kind of treatment she was receiving. She seemed to understand the difference between her own treatment and that of the other orphanage children.
“A mage suddenly dragged you away. What could you have done?”
There had been nothing she could do. And even if there had been, Leon believed it would have been foolish to throw away an opportunity after her talent was discovered.
“Still… Oh, do you need contribution points?”
“Contribution points?”
“Yeah. I heard from my mentor that they’ll soon be holding a competition for the entrance residents.”
“What kind of competition?”
Entrance residents was the term for ordinary people like Leon who performed odd jobs.
“It’s called the Strength Competition. First place gets fifty contribution points.”
Lia hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“Actually… my mentor said she needed strong workers, so she’s hosting it. You might end up being called by her for about a week.”
“Ah… I see.”
Now he understood why she had hesitated. Nominally it was a competition offering a valuable fifty contribution points to the entrance residents, but in reality it was an event meant to recruit laborers. If Leon participated, it might look like he was falling for a scheme. Normally he would have hated anything that reduced his training time, but this news was actually welcome. He couldn’t train during his librarian work hours anyway, and he needed contribution points. He currently had twenty—earned from a month of work and herb errands. A private room required one hundred points. Fifty would let him secure one in a short time.
Above all, the tome he had been reading until a moment ago was Lower Strength Magic by Spinel.
The news of the Strength Competition that Lia had mentioned was soon officially announced to all entrance residents. On the day of the event, Leon used the Lower Strength Magic he had already memorized and participated. The competition was held modestly. Contestants simply came forward one by one and moved heavy stone slabs. The people crowding the plaza were all entrance residents. Even the emcee was an ordinary person. It was a competition that failed to draw the interest of any mages. For Leon, who had cast the spell in advance just in case, this was fortunate. No one would be able to tell whether he had used magic or not.
The last two remaining were a burly, muscular man and Leon. By now the stone slab was so heavy that even an adult man using both hands could not budge it.
“What kind of strength could a kid like that have…”
When Leon lifted the slab first and carried it, the muscular man’s face flushed with shock.
“Ohh, where does such power come from in that small frame? Next up is the muscular man! It’s Gail, who works at the repair shop!”
In the end, Gail could not lift the slab. The competition concluded with Leon’s victory. Since he had won through magic, Leon felt little emotion as he accepted the contribution points and returned to the dormitory.
The next day, Leon followed Lia from early morning toward the center of the magic city of Widia. It was his first time visiting the city’s central district, and his eyes sparkled at the distinctly different scenery. Unlike the ordinary people he saw every day, the streets were full of individuals whose attire clearly marked them as mages. Light robes, conical hats, and staffs in their hands. As Leon looked around with interest, Lia spoke.
“Once you become a mage soon, you’ll dress just like them. No—when you awaken your mana, I’ll give you your first set as a present!”
He was already a mage, but… Leon chose not to say anything. There was no particular reason to hide it from Lia, but he felt it wasn’t the right time yet. While chatting with her about various things, Lia stopped in front of a building. It wasn’t particularly tall. It looked closer to a private residence than an office.
They went inside and headed straight up to the second floor. Following Lia through the opened door, Leon saw a woman with long silver hair cascading down her back, seated in a chair.
“So it’s you?”
The woman’s red eyes turned toward Leon. Sensing a slight sharpness in her gaze, Leon carefully chose his answer.
“My name is Leon. I’m in charge of librarian duties at the Old Magic Library.”
“Lia’s childhood friend?”
“…Yes.”
She rose from her seat and approached Leon with long, graceful strides. She looked down at him intently.
“Interesting.”
What exactly is interesting… Leon had been expecting questions like how someone with his body could have taken first place in the competition, or whether he could even do the work properly. While he was still flustered, she spoke again.
“You… when did you awaken your mana?”
A chill ran down the back of Leon’s neck.