Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Men's Friendship 2
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Once upon a time, my teacher had asked me a question.
"What do you think is the most important thing about magic?"
It was a question she had thrown at me as a test, when she had recognized my talent around the time I was working as a janitor at the Blue Magic Tower.
An ordinary mage would likely have opened their mouth to talk about power or scale, claiming that casting the strongest magic was what mattered.
After all, the Tower was a place of education that researched magic unseen in the world and trained more powerful and efficient mages.
Even though each Tower had different values or orientations, the cold reality was that weak mages were inevitably weeded out and discarded.
Working as a janitor in this Tower, I had seen such people all the time.
It was a rule that no one remembered the names of those who left the Tower because they lacked talent, didn't inherit a bloodline from their parents, or had lower comprehension or learning ability than others.
But...
"...I think it's whether or not it can save people."
Having lost everyone precious to me in the past, I couldn't think any differently.
No matter how powerful the magic, no matter how grand and beautiful the magic, if it couldn't save a single life, it was meaningless.
"Hoh, why do you think so?"
"In the past, I was arrogant about my talent. Because of that, I was incredibly prideful and insolent, unable to face reality properly, and I once thought that magic just had to be strong."
I continued my story with a complicated heart. I was covered head to toe in dust and a mess, but what hurt more than my body was my heart.
Saving everyone is as difficult as deliberately choosing all the wrong answers on a test. When it comes to human lives, there is no such thing as a correct answer.
"So, you even spied on my lectures and taught yourself magic in secret? You're really something!"
"That's right. I thought your magic would have some kind of correct answer. Unlike others, you taught magic that was helpful in daily life or efficient magic."
Hearing my answer, Blue Tower Master Charlotte Snowrain showed a gentle smile.
I heard later that if I had spoken about the scale or beauty of magic in a commonplace way here, she would have kicked me out of the Tower immediately.
Because if one obsessed over superficial values like strength or beauty without a noble purpose or will, they were prone to become a twisted mage somewhere.
p>Originally, mages were beings obsessed with something, so it wasn't uncommon to see them fall this way.
"...You know the story I usually tell when teaching students, right?"
"You often said that magic is the study of failure."
"Right. Can you guess the reason why?"
Charlotte said that while brushing all the dust off my body with a single gesture. It was a spell cast without incantation, something only mages who had reached a certain level of mastery could do.
Seeing her much more favorable reaction than before, I could instinctively sense that I had passed some kind of test.
"I don't know. Is it to remind us that anyone can fail?"
Here, I honestly said I didn't know. I felt I shouldn't pretend to see through her intentions or put on a show of bravado.
"...Close, but that's not the answer I wanted. Shall we take a walk? That's the best way to organize one's thoughts."
Charlotte suggested we take a walk. Leaving behind the high and authoritative place that was the Tower, we continued our conversation while walking around a wide, open lake.
"Who do you think was the first person to create fire magic?"
My teacher, Charlotte Snowrain, brought up this question to teach me 'what she considered most important about magic.'
"Probably a mage from the Red Magic Tower, right? Or maybe a housewife preparing to cook..."
"Wrong. Not something simple like that. Imagine, fundamentally, who would have most wanted fire."
Charlotte shook her head upon hearing my answer. Just as curiosity was rising in my mind about who, fundamentally, would have wanted fire...
"...It would have been someone shivering from the cold. Someone flailing desperately, wanting even a tiny bit of warmth."
She gave an unexpected answer. It wasn't the mages of the Red Tower, famous for their firepower, nor ordinary people needing a spark in daily life.
"Because magic is the study of defeat. It's most likely that a weak person, who lost someone precious to the cold and had to find any method to survive, created it."
"......"
"Isn't it contradictory that powerful magic, which can burn people to death, can also save those shivering from the cold?"
Saying that, Charlotte raised her index finger and created a small spark. A person's life depended on such a tiny bit of magic.
Something truly simple, but precisely because of that, an important fact that was all too easy to forget.
"In the end, that's what magic is. Depending on the user, it can become hope or despair."
"...I'll remember that."
Charlotte nodded and handed me a blue robe.
It was originally attire only the top students of the Blue Magic Tower could wear, but she said that since I understood her ideals, I was sufficiently qualified.
"You are now a proper member of the Blue Magic Tower. Congratulations, Astal."
From then on, I stopped holding prejudices about magic that saved people. Because I realized that even the simplest, weakest magic could save countless lives.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The reason I had now disassembled the magic circle and wrapped it around my fist was also part of that line of thinking. Even though I learned martial arts to compensate for my weakness in close combat, I needed to increase variables in actual combat.
'...The number of spells I can embed in my body parts is about four.'
If I thought about mixing my legs in as Graktar advised, I could use more than just two spells—I could add more.
My right hand held a spell to bind the opponent, my left hand a spell to paralyze them.
And on each leg, I wrapped magic circles to freeze and burn the opponent.
Since this was still a trial stage, using high-level spells carried too much risk.
"WOOOOOOO—!!"
Seeing that I had finished all my preparations, Graktar immediately let out a roar towards the sky, shaking the ground.
That was one of the Barbarian's characteristics: Frenzy. By shouting and channeling rage, they gained resistance to various slashes, blows, and physical impacts.
"I won't go easy on you from the start or play mind games! What you want isn't a fight where you weigh things back and forth, but real combat experience you feel with your own body!"
Saying that, Graktar charged at me. Instantly, wind pressure rose, and his speed was so fast I couldn't follow it with my eyes, but...
'...It's similar to how Victoria opens a fight.'
It was almost identical to her method of using a dragon's brute force to kick off the ground and charge.
Because I had the knowledge of watching and learning by her side for a year, I could block Graktar's attack not by sight but by instinct.
*CLANG—!* A clear metallic sound rang out as Graktar's axe and my right hand wrapped in a magic circle collided.
"Hoh, reacting to this... As expected, you've got good potential! You'll be worth teaching!"
Seeing the tree roots that instantly shot out upon contact with something, he was surprised and widened his eyes slightly.
Seeing me trying to disarm and incapacitate him, Graktar immediately tried to kick me in the abdomen to send me flying.
This was the instinct of a born warrior. Even if something irregular happened during battle or something beyond his expectations occurred, he knew how to respond accordingly.
"Thanks for the compliment."
I immediately activated the spell on my left leg, turning the floor I was standing on into an ice sheet to slip and move. I narrowly dodged the kick at a hair's breadth; Graktar's leg grazed my hair.
"That means I'm going to work you hard, so don't thank me already."
Graktar chuckled immediately, pulled a small hand axe from his pocket, and tried to smash my skull with it right away. It seemed he had anticipated a situation like this where he couldn't use his main weapon.
"...Oh? I think it's still okay."
I caught the hand axe with my other hand. I had heard rumors of Barbarians who fought by throwing weapons, but this was my first time experiencing it.
Although I was putting on a brave face and acting like I was fine, with every exchange, I could clearly feel how strong the opponent was.
If this weren't a sparring match but an actual fight in an arena, my head would have already been separated from my body.
"Put more power into your waist and strike with the intent to kill. It would be better to mix your body weight and magic into your attacks."
*Thud, thump.*
A dull sound echoed as Graktar and I exchanged blows while fighting. Each time I allowed an attack, a powerful shock ran through my entire body, making me stagger.
"What's wrong? Where did your initial momentum go! You're not some impotent brat who can't use his waist, are you!"
Graktar spoke in a harsh tone deliberately to provoke me. Having already adapted to this kind of verbal abuse through Victoria, I didn't feel much.
The thought that she would have nodded her head vigorously if she had heard this made the corner of my mouth lift a little despite myself.
"No way."
I said while unraveling the magic circle further and wrapping it around my entire body. Originally, I had been saving it for when I fought Dullahan, but it seemed I didn't have that luxury now.