Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Encountering Magic (3)
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A child looked at Shirone's clothes and frowned.
“Headmaster, he's not a noble. I think he's a commoner.”
“Commoners aren't allowed in here. Hey, you! Get out of here!”
Alpheas hadn't realized he wasn't a noble either, and he scratched his eyebrow in slight awkwardness. But, befitting a mage who pursued intellect, he didn't discriminate based on status and beckoned him over.
“It's alright, come here. So, what words of this old man captured your heart?”
Shirone stood hesitantly. He wanted to approach Alpheas, but the children's glares were stopping him.
It was as if they were saying that a mere commoner like him had no right to invade their territory.
“Please show me magic.”
“Ho ho, have you never seen magic before?”
“I've read about it in books, but I've never seen it in person.”
A child pointed a finger and shouted.
“Liar! What kind of commoner reads books?”
Alpheas stared intently into Shirone's eyes, as if trying to discern the truth. It didn't seem like a lie. However, children of that age were also known to lie to adults as easily as they breathed, all with innocent faces.
“Alright, what kind of magic would you like to see?”
“Anything is fine. Please, just show me something. I beg you.”
Realizing his position, Shirone bowed his head respectfully. Alpheas let out a hearty laugh and waved his hand. Magic on the level of playing around with children wasn't a difficult task.
“This old man's only joy is showing magic to my little dears. Very well! Then this time, I shall show you a spell that conjures the wind.”
“Whoa! It's the wind, the wind!”
While the other children clapped their hands, Shirone was gripped by tension, his fists clenched tight. It was only natural, as he knew nothing about magic.
The moment Alpheas waved his hand, Shirone's eyes widened at the unexpected feeling of floating. The world sank below him, and his vision opened up. He could see all the buildings of the magic academy at once.
“Aaaaaah!”
Shirone screamed without realizing it. In contrast, the other children, finding Alpheas's magic amusing, were even doing somersaults in the air, enjoying the spell.
A moment later, Shirone plummeted at a tremendous speed. Seeing the ground rush up to meet him, he squeezed his eyes shut and curled into a ball.
But the devastating impact never came. When he cautiously opened his eyes, he found himself floating gently just above the ground.
The children pointed at Shirone and burst out laughing. Alpheas, too, watched with a broad, crinkly smile.
“How was that? This is magic.”
The only thing Shirone could hear was the pounding of his own heart. The first magic he had ever experienced surpassed the vague fantasies the boy had dreamed of.
“What is magic?”
“Hmm, let's see. Magic is…”
As Alpheas chose his words with a playful look, an impatient Shirone added.
“It's okay if I don't understand. Please just tell me exactly what you think.”
The children's faces stiffened. Alpheas was a famous mage, known throughout the kingdom. That was why even the children of nobles acted like meek lambs around him. For Shirone to say something so presumptuous was, in their eyes, utterly astounding.
Alpheas found him bold, but he didn't take offense, as he could see the desperation in his eyes. His beautiful appearance, unusual for a commoner, also helped to ease the sense of incongruity.
“Haha! No need to be so tense. It's not a difficult topic, really. But if you wish, I'll raise the difficulty a bit. Magic is the act of shattering common sense. To put it another way, it is a mental process of exploring the truth of phenomena.”
Shirone blinked, lost in thought for a long while.
“It's okay to say you don't know if you don't.”
“It's different from common sense, but in fact, that's the truth?”
Alpheas pushed out his lower lip. It was a habit that only appeared when he was genuinely surprised.
To grasp the true meaning from just a few words is only possible when one has a perfect understanding of something.
Moreover, that was precisely the insight Alpheas had always emphasized.
“Where did you learn such a thing?”
“Uh, um, from books.”
“Are there books that contain such content?”
“Not the content itself, but it came to me while reading. The thought that common sense isn't always right. I also thought that to reach the truth, one must ultimately fight against common sense.”
Alpheas nodded.
It made sense.
‘No, it's not just that it makes sense—it's the truth. Does he really understand what he's saying? Anyone can parrot something they've heard. But if that's not the case…’
Is he even twelve yet?
Once an idea achieves the status of common sense, it is extremely difficult to destroy it. To already be aware of the essential nature that is the primary goal of magic was a sign of considerable talent.
‘Truly bright. No, he has insight. Is he really a commoner? What a shame.’
Sensing he couldn't stay here for long, Shirone asked his second question.
“How can I learn magic? Do you need a special power?”
“I don't know what you mean by a special power, but it does require considerable mental strength.”
It was a surprisingly mundane answer. Shirone thought Alpheas might be hiding the truth.
“Is that really all there is to it? If I just think 'I want to create wind,' I can fly in the sky like before?”
“That's quite a difficult problem. But to put it with some exaggeration, yes. Of course, it's not possible just by thinking. A mage's mind must perfectly synchronize with the world. You could call it an extremely sensitive mental state.”
The children, seeing the Headmaster in a serious conversation with someone for the first time, didn't even dare to interrupt.
“How can one feel that extremely sensitive mental state?”
Alpheas saw through Shirone's intention and a faint smile graced his lips. This wasn't simple curiosity. This child was exploring. He truly intended to learn magic right here and now.
‘It's a pity, but he's a commoner. He'll likely never have the chance to learn magic. Better to let him experience this now than to have him live a life of frustration.’
Alpheas relaxed his expression, as if to lighten the mood.
“When a mage concentrates, their mind becomes so sensitive that they can sense everything around them. Mages call this entering the Spirit Zone. I'll give you a demonstration, so watch this child here. Shuamin, would you enter the Spirit Zone?”
“Yes, Headmaster.”
A girl named Shuamin answered confidently. Before coming to the academy, each of these children had been called a genius, so it was natural for them to want to show off their skills.
As Shuamin closed her eyes and focused, the other children quieted down on their own, as if such an attitude further highlighted their own superiority.
“I've entered the Spirit Zone.”
“Then let's begin.”
Alpheas took out some coins and shook them. Then he snatched them and held out his fist.
“Now, how many coins are in here?”
“Six.”
When he opened his palm, six silver coins lay there. Ignoring Shirone's surprised expression, Alpheas repeated the action.
“Now, try again.”
“Three.”
This time, too, she was correct.
He tried a few more times after that, but the result was the same. With a satisfied expression, Alpheas put the coins away and spoke.
“That's enough, Shuamin. You did very well.”
Shuamin let out a long breath. Despite just guessing the number of coins, beads of cold sweat had formed on her forehead.
“This is that extremely sensitive mental state. The moment a mage enters the Spirit Zone, they can perceive the external world with extrasensory awareness. Skilled mages can even count the number of leaves on a distant tree. Of course, the skill Shuamin demonstrated is also quite impressive.”
Shirone felt like he understood. He, too, had used insight to grasp an impossible point that couldn't be found with human senses, allowing him to succeed with Thunder Break.
He surmised that Shuamin hadn't counted the coins. She had focused all her senses and perceived the entire situation inside Alpheas's hand.
‘An extremely sensitive mental state. The Spirit Zone.’
Shirone mulled over Alpheas's words. In the process, a question naturally arose. Could I really do it? No, maybe I can?
“Anyone can do it.”
said Alpheas, having seen through Shirone's thoughts.
The Spirit Zone was something anyone could attempt. But it was not something just anyone could achieve.
Innate talent.
Magic was that kind of world.
“Try practicing in a quiet place. First, you must feel yourself. Then, you erase it. If you can do that, a world different from anything you've known will unfold. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I understand.”
Shirone understood.
“Because if you can't feel yourself, it would be impossible to erase yourself.”
Alpheas was once again impressed. This was not the kind of insight a twelve-year-old could appreciate.
In that case, there were two possibilities. Either he truly had talent, or he was a child sent by a mischievous acquaintance as a prank.
“Would you like to try? Right here.”
Having no reason to refuse, Shirone closed his eyes. He thought he could somehow manage it by drawing on his experience with Thunder Break. But when he actually tried to concentrate, it was different from finding the weakness in a tree.
He couldn't picture anything. Even when he tried to recall his own appearance, it was mostly just a construct based on visual information. The fact that he knew almost nothing about himself was shocking.
‘What am I? This being called 'me'?’
Shirone delved endlessly into his thoughts. Eventually, he arrived at the thought of himself thinking.
‘The brain. A human is their brain.’
No matter what he thought of, he couldn't come up with a clear definition of himself. A human is merely the function of a brain. If thinking is the only thing that makes me 'me', then the moment I erase thought, I too will disappear.
Shirone gradually began to erase the functions of his brain. It was something anyone could attempt, but not just anyone could do.
His consciousness felt like it was being sucked into an abyss. It felt like he was seeing the shape of concentration for the first time. The nervous system connected to his five senses seemed to melt away, and he could no longer distinguish between smell and touch.
And finally, Shirone disappeared from his own brain.
Shirone's eyes flew open.
The scene before him was peaceful. Children were yawning, and girls were pulling out strands of hair to play with. Shirone didn't realize that ten minutes had already passed.
“How was it? Did you hear anything?”
Alpheas wasn't expecting much. He acknowledged the concentration that lasted ten minutes, but the Spirit Zone wasn't something one could enter just through effort. If all it took was standing with your eyes closed, then any Tom, Dick, or Harry could become a mage.
“Yes, I heard.”
At the unexpected answer, Alpheas's eyebrows shot up.
“Oh? Really, what did you hear?”
“Sounds. I heard all the sounds.”
“Ho ho, is that so.”
Alpheas nodded. Shirone probably hadn't entered the Spirit Zone. Even an ordinary person would hear all sorts of sounds if they concentrated for ten minutes. But what happened in the Spirit Zone was on a completely different level.
First, one experiences synesthesia. You smell sounds, taste light, and feel images through your skin.
‘As expected, it's too much for his first try? A shame. The boy has talent.’
If he were a noble, if he had trained from a young age, wouldn't he have achieved something similar to the children here?
But that alone wasn't enough to change Alpheas's mind. The world was full of talented people, as numerous as the stars. Even the children present here had no guarantee they would become mages.
“You did well. If you keep practicing diligently, you'll be able to hear even more sounds.”
Alpheas patted Shirone's head and walked away with the children. Shirone knew he was disappointed. But the fact that he didn't watch to make sure he left the academy was a considerable courtesy in itself.
Shirone climbed back over the wall. And then he ran like mad. It was only after he stopped running and collapsed to the ground that he noticed his heart was pounding against his ribs.
“It really worked.”