The Magic City (1)
“Heading east, you say. What on earth could that mean?” I muttered from atop the carriage. We were moving east exactly as Elera had instructed, but I wasn’t sure if this was the right decision. Was it really acceptable to set off without any clear destination?
“That’s why I asked before we left, and Lady Ruina said prophecy magic is originally like that, so we should just go.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
It had already been several weeks since we left Elera’s house. During that time we had passed through two villages in total, yet no matter how thoroughly we searched them, there was no trace of Adelian. Complete wastes of time, both of them.
“But the prophecy said we would meet if we went east.”
“Let’s do this instead. Among the cities to the east, we’ll head for whichever one catches our fancy.”
“Is that allowed?”
“It’s better than wandering completely aimlessly, isn’t it?”
I answered while glancing around at the others. Leon, Muran, Jerry, and Noa all nodded. They agreed with me. Decision made.
We huddled together inside the carriage and began our meeting. Since a wooden soldier was driving, we didn’t need to worry about that. Leon spoke first.
“Is there any particular place Your Ladyship wishes to visit?”
“I have none.”
“Me neither.”
Jerry and Noa answered in turn. Leon turned his gaze to Muran, but she simply shook her head.
“…I only need to teach Lady Ruina.”
“Understood.”
Three members of the party had handed over their voting rights. That meant the opinions of the remaining three—myself, Leon, and Chris—now carried the most weight. Chris raised her hand.
“Lady Ruina! I’m starting to want to earn money again!”
“Noted. And you, Sir Leon?”
“Any location where Sir Adelian might be is fine with me.”
For Chris, money was paramount. For Leon, the Holy Grail came first. As for me? Obviously magic was the most important.
In that case…
“How about the magic city of Arginel as our next destination?”
“That sounds perfect! Magic is the best!”
“You mean money is the best, right? Sir Leon?”
“Indeed, that city would be a likely place to find Sir Adelian. I approve.”
Excellent. I sprang to my feet on the carriage and declared.
“Our next destination is Arginel! Once we arrive, we’ll absorb as much magic as we possibly can!”
“Lady Ruina? I thought our goal was the Holy Grail?”
“We can look for Sir Adelian at the same time.”
I was excited. I sat back down on the carriage and looked up at the sky. It was clear. The date was early January—a time when snow wouldn’t have been strange at all—but fortunately none had fallen. Instead it was simply cold.
“Lady Ruina, I’m freezing!”
Chris came shivering and threw herself against me. Still hugging me tightly, she murmured.
“So warm.”
“Please stop using me as a portable heater.”
“Lady Ruina is so stingy. Why do you only cast temperature-control magic on yourself?”
“Because maintaining it over a wide area for the entire journey is exhausting.”
It was fine for short periods, but keeping a large-scale temperature-control spell active throughout the trip was tiring in every possible way. Growth magic possessed autonomy—once cast, it could be left alone—but temperature control did not. It made me appreciate the performance of Growth all over again. There was a reason unique magic was unique.
Growth
Flora’s unique magic. Once activated, it operates autonomously. Accelerates plant growth, creates wooden constructs, and summons plant-based entities.
“Then there’s no helping it. We’ll have to keep doing this.”
“How about learning magic yourself, Miss Chris?”
“Is that really okay?”
“If you have the aptitude, there’s nothing I couldn’t teach.”
“I want to learn! I want to learn!”
Fundamentally I shared a similar mindset with Adelian. Magic should be shared with everyone. That way more people could learn it, and more magic would be born. The only reason I hadn’t taken any disciples until now was a matter of my own level. At the very least I should be fourth-circle before accepting students—what business did a third-circle mage have taking disciples? I had only accepted Noa because his guardian had begged so desperately, yet even now I remained uncertain whether I could properly raise him into a true mage.
But if it was Chris? I felt relieved knowing I wouldn’t have to train her seriously.
“Lady Ruina. Aren’t you being a little too harsh on just me?”
“So, Miss Chris, are you prepared to devote your entire life to becoming a mage?”
“I’ve already devoted my life to gold coins, though?”
“Exactly.”
To Chris, who had uttered an understanding “Aha,” I handed over the elemental aptitude detection tool. Her eyes sparkled.
“I’ve seen this. It’s the one Noa used, right?”
“You determine elemental aptitude by rolling the bead that falls from it. I believe it’s a product of the Croft School—most likely something Sir Adelian created.”
“Really?”
Simply holding it allowed one to discern elemental aptitude. Though it rolled around like common trash, it was in truth a magical tool incorporating extremely advanced techniques. Mass production would be unthinkable for anyone short of a grand mage.
“What’s my elemental aptitude?”
“Wait a moment.”
At my words Chris began spinning the disk. Once, twice, three times, four times….
“……”
“……”
“Lady Ruina. How much longer do I have to wait?”
“You’ve waited long enough.”
“Really? That’s strange. When Noa touched it the bead rolled around like crazy.”
“That is the normal reaction.”
“Then why is it like this for me?”
“Because you have no aptitude.”
“Aha.”
Chris smiled as she returned the disk to me.
“Well, if anyone could become a mage, the market value of mages wouldn’t be very high, would it?”
“You even connect that thought to money.”
“Money is everything in this world.”
“Magic is everything.”
Now that the tension had eased, Chris stretched languidly and murmured in a small voice.
“It’s a shame. It would have been nice if I could learn magic too.”
“Does it bother you that you aren’t contributing in our constant battles?”
“Not really? If I learned something like freezing magic, transporting food long distances would be much easier.”
“So the reason you want to learn magic is food transportation?”
“Lady Ruina. Money is important. Without it you can’t eat bread.”
“I understand that much, but if you became skilled enough in magic to accomplish that, wouldn’t working as a mercenary earn far more?”
“Oh?”
Leaving Chris behind as realization dawned on her face, I fell into thought. Magic was indeed a domain where talent reigned supreme and not just anyone could learn it. Even if it were distributed to the public like general education, only a tiny fraction of people would actually master it.
But that meant almost no one would be able to learn magic. Was there truly no solution?
After pondering for a long while, I turned my gaze to Noa. He sat in the corner of the carriage, making lightning crackle and spark. Since he had only just begun learning magic, he needed to practice relentlessly.
“Sir Noa. You’re working hard.”
“The road ahead is long.”
“You are only first-circle, after all. Did you know? First-circle mages are called ‘Chwiwi’—the ‘fledgling position’—to signify they are still newborns in the art.”
“Not ‘Gyeonwi’?”
“You already knew.”
He already understood terminology I had never taught him. What a pity.
“Master.”
“Yes.”
“How do I reach second-circle?”
“You must deepen your understanding of the elements.”
Mages discover characteristics within elements, delve into those characteristics, grasp their detailed principles, and thereby advance their circles. Mages described this entire process as ‘deepening one’s understanding of the elements.’ Hmm. Methods to deepen understanding of the elements…
“You should focus on the characteristic known as ‘trial.’”
“How?”
I thought for a moment. Would telling him this help Noa or harm him?
…It should be fine. Magic was magic precisely because each person walked their own path. No matter what advice they received, they would still tread their own road. A little guidance shouldn’t cause any major problems.
I continued slowly.
“If it were me, I would focus on the reward that follows the trial.”
“Reward?”
“If only the trial existed it would be nothing but punishment. Isn’t it called a trial precisely because a reward is granted upon overcoming it?”
“Is that how it works?”
Noa wore a puzzled expression—half understanding, half not. Well, I hadn’t expected him to ascend to second-circle immediately anyway. This was merely groundwork. If I planted the advice now, when the time was right Noa would use it as a stepping stone to leap forward.
Noa frowned and stared at the crackling lightning, lost in thought. I cheered him on silently and turned my eyes to the front of the carriage. A fork in the road had appeared.
I asked Chris, “It was left here to reach Arginel, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“Understood.”
At Chris’s reply I raised my will, adding detailed instructions for the wooden soldier.
Uwaaaaaaaaaaack—!
At the scream that sounded as if the world itself were overturning, I halted the carriage. Someone was fleeing toward us. A classic Western beauty of a man with blond hair and blue eyes. But I looked past him to what chased him.
Crack. Trees were being ripped out by the roots. Thud. The ground trembled. A gigantic green monster holding an uprooted tree growled as it glared at us. An ogre.
Ever since we began using a wooden soldier as our driver, bandits and mercenaries had stopped attempting plunder, so the journey had been peaceful. Monsters, however, cared nothing for such things. It simply attacked. Thanks to that, I felt the thrill of adventure for the first time in a while.
The ogre roared and hurled the tree. It flew at terrifying speed, but a wooden giant immediately erupted from the earth and blocked everything. The ogre stared up at the wooden giant in blank astonishment. Bandits and mercenaries would have fled the moment they saw even a single wooden soldier, but an ogre’s brain was still an ogre’s. It seemed the creature had only realized after the giant appeared that it had touched a carriage it should never have touched.
The ogre began to back away. At the absurd sight the blond, blue-eyed man stopped running and let out a hollow laugh. I, too, was dumbfounded. It had tried to kill us, yet now it wanted to leave alive? Without any magic? That simply wouldn’t do.
Growth — Wooden Giant
Rocks surged from the ground and coalesced into the shape of a massive spear. I launched it forward without hesitation.
The ogre’s head exploded.
The ogre collapsed. Situation resolved.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The blond, blue-eyed man kept bowing repeatedly. It was only natural to express gratitude to one’s savior, yet I frowned. Why? Because a handsome man irritated me? No. My attention had never been on him in the first place.
I raised my hand. Rustle. Soil gathered. When I flung it to the ground, a tree surged upward.
…….
With this I had now obtained both the persistent element and the wood element. It was an extremely pleasant development, yet I narrowed my eyes. Something felt off. I had acquired them far too easily.