Chapter 320: Magic is for the Weak (3)
Chapter 320: Magic is for the Weak (3)
"I really don't understand."
After a moment of silence, Han A-bin finally spoke.
"What don't you understand?"
She was speaking without context, so I had no idea what she was getting at.
"How was he cleared of all charges? Not just found innocent, but cleared of suspicion entirely?"
Ah, that's what she meant.
"I told you several times on the way here. He's an acquaintance of mine named Meteor, and he's... a special type of ability user."
"It sounded so preposterous that I thought you were just making things up."
Fair enough. Honestly, even for us, it sounds like a joke if you don't have the prior knowledge of how his ability works.
"You'll probably run into him again soon anyway, so you can ask him yourself then."
Since A-bin wouldn't let go of her suspicions even after the Bureau cleared him, that was the only way. Meteor usually hangs around with the Yellow King as a set, so we’ll likely run into him when we go to see the King.
"Anyway, that's enough of that. Meteor died, but the world is still spinning without a hitch, and we have work to do."
Even if the whole 'abandoning a corpse after a car accident' thing was shocking, we had to move on.
With that, I ended the conversation about Meteor and quickened my pace toward the Magic Society building.
A-bin hesitated as if she hadn't fully let go of her doubts, but she soon sighed and followed, speaking up again.
"By the way, I was so distracted by that incident that I forgot to ask—why are we going to the Magic Society?"
"Hm? It's the same reason as when we went to the Martial Alliance. To release magic theory to the public."
Martial artists and mages. These are the two paths that ordinary people can reach without an Awakening.
Of course, unlike the Awakened, the amount of Otherworldly Power accumulated within them is extremely small. Except for a very few, they are weaker than even The Lowest-rank Awakened. Regardless, they are still realms where one can attain special powers.
"I mean, about that... hasn't magic theory already been spread quite a bit?"
"It has, hasn't it? You can find the simple stuff with a quick search, even if the complex theories are hidden."
In fact, for the most common Type S of simple magic—Runes, Ogham, and Hanja—there are even strange books titled things like Magic Even a Beginner Can Easily Follow.
These days, most middle schoolers try them at least once, deluding themselves into thinking they have some special talent.
Of course, most fail. But the reason for their failure isn't a lack of talent for magic. It's something else.
"Then, isn't there no need to visit the Magic Society?"
"No, we had to come. The people at the Magic Society need to go public with something else."
"What kind of thing?"
Hmm... explaining that requires a bit of background knowledge.
I pondered how to explain it for a moment before speaking.
"Have you ever tried to perform magic?"
"...I'm a Magical Girl, Senior."
Hearing her call herself a 'Magical Girl' directly always felt a bit awkward. Both for her and for me. Aren't we a bit old to be called 'girls'?
Anyway.
"I don't mean using it instinctively like that. I mean magic performed strictly according to procedure. Be careful, because there are plenty of lunatics among mages who will flip out if you tell them you used Magical Girl magic."
They're the type to foam at the mouth even over necromancy.
There are more than a few who would lose their minds if you said, 'Huh? I just use it.'
Mages aren't famous for being eccentric for nothing.
"Uh... I have tried to follow the procedures before."
Right, it would be weirder if she hadn't.
"Did you succeed?"
"No."
I figured. If she had succeeded, she’d be sitting in a magic department somewhere sighing, just like that poor manager back at the repair shop.
An existence with power, despite being an ordinary human. There are fewer people than you'd think who can resist that allure.
"I'll explain that part to you. Let's set up an interview with that Macbeth fellow first, and I'll explain during our downtime. Si-hyun, have you ever—"
As I was meticulously planning out today's schedule.
I turned my head to ask my other disciple, only to find Un-ho, myself, and Han A-bin.
"...Where's Si-hyun?"
As I asked in bewilderment.
"...She's probably sleeping in the grass?"
A-bin replied, her voice laced with sudden realization and panic.
We quickly ran back toward the repair shop to find Baek Si-hyun.
* * *
Fortunately, we found Baek Si-hyun quickly.
Our dear disciple was fast asleep in a sun-drenched patch of grass, snoring and scratching her stomach.
To be honest, it wasn't entirely Si-hyun’s fault, so I woke her up quietly.
Afterward, we returned to the lobby and scheduled an interview with Macbeth.
Luckily, Macbeth wasn't too busy, and the word came back that we could meet him around evening.
To kill time, I rented an empty classroom for the promised magic lecture.
"Alright, first question. Han A-bin, you said you tried but failed. What about you, Si-hyun?"
Even if I called it a lecture, there were only two students.
"Wow, I feel like I'm back at the training center."
The ferret sitting on the desk was likely a mage several times superior to me, so he was an exception. Though I couldn't be sure if he was a 'normal' magic user.
Anyway, when I threw the question to Baek Si-hyun.
"What kind of magic, Master!"
Perhaps because she had slept her fill during the trip, Si-hyun raised her hand energetically as she answered.
"I'm asking if you've ever tried using magic. Not Magical Girl magic. The kind mages use."
"You mean drawing Magic Circles and stuff?"
"Yeah, that."
"I've tried, but it took too long and was annoying, so I gave up!"
Right, I expected as much from you, Si-hyun.
I'm glad you didn't let my expectations down.
Anyway, it meant both had no successful experience.
"Then, do you know what the first step is for an ordinary person to be considered a mage?"
It's probably written in some internet trivia encyclopedia.
The power of collective intelligence is amazing; they've written about every little thing.
Though the reliability is quite low.
I could only give a bitter smile when I saw Happiness Drop described as some kind of pushover.
"Hmm? Isn't a mage just a mage?"
"I think it's the moment you receive a Bachelor's degree in Magic!"
...What kind of answers are these?
Is it because she's college-educated? An entirely unexpected answer popped out. The scary part was that it actually made some sense.
In any case, it seemed neither of them frequented those kinds of sites.
"Both are decent answers, but usually, to be treated as a mage, a much simpler procedure is required."
A method that is truly simple.
Perhaps even easier than becoming a Martial Artist.
"You just need to succeed in casting any spell, even just once, and trigger it. It really doesn't matter what kind of magic it is."
As I spoke, I drew the Hanja character for 'Fire' (火) on the white board.
"As an extreme example, if you were to trigger this right now and start a fire, you would be considered full-fledged mages."
When I turned around after saying that.
My disciples only looked back with puzzled faces.
"Does that mean fire?"
Un-ho, who was currently manifesting a flame in the shape of the character '火' in mid-air, was an exception.
...Wait, he's manifesting fire?
No, what is up with Un-ho?
It's not even a magic system he's familiar with, yet he used it the moment he heard the explanation.
I guess a Great Mage is a Great Mage, even if he's a bit of a hack.
For now, I ignored that outlier.
"Put that out before you start a fire."
"Got it."
Whoosh.
Un-ho’s flame died out, leaving only my two bewildered disciples.
To enlighten them, I spoke.
"Any questions?"
"I have one."
"What is it?"
Han A-bin was the first to snap out of it, so I pointed to her.
"Is it really enough to just trigger magic once to be considered a mage? Why is that?"
Her voice was full of doubt, as if she was thinking, 'Isn't that basically nothing?'
I agreed.
If that was all it took, anyone in this Society could do it.
But that 'one time' is what matters.
"The difference between having succeeded once and never having succeeded at all. That's where the gap lies."
A truly massive gap.
After dropping that line, I continued the explanation.
"Magic basically relies on the belief that a certain phenomenon will occur through a procedure. But human hearts are incredibly complex, aren't they? Even if you shout, 'I can do it!', deep down, you're also thinking there's no way it'll work."
In truth, belief isn't that vital an element in magic.
Unless it's absolute negation—the firm belief that magic cannot possibly exist—magic will trigger even with ambiguous belief.
For example, aren't most Defense Force members who use magic grenades not mages?
Of course, that makes the Magic Circles incredibly complex. They have to be sensitive enough to trigger with even a tiny bit of belief, and formulas to suck in surrounding Otherworldly Power must be added.
However, having a minimum level of belief is important.
In particular, mages who manifest magic based on themselves need a higher level of belief in the magic they use.
"The anxiety of failure applies in the realm of the subconscious, unless you're a monster who can perfectly control your own mind. But once that subconscious realm triggers even once, it awakens to the thought: 'I can do it! I'm someone who can make it happen!'"
After that, it's smooth sailing.
As if the week spent concentrating just to start a fire was a lie, you become able to start a fire within an hour, and that time rapidly shortens.
Probably just a day after the first successful trigger, you'd be able to use a spell like that in a single second.
"That's why being a mage isn't a matter of talent. Of course, to achieve greatness, you need logical thinking and calculation skills, but to use basic magic, you only need persistence and belief."
In the case of the Hanja magic I just explained, it can be manifested with an average of five days of concentration.
These five days don't mean concentrating like you're in a silent meditation retreat; it means that while doing other things, you must continuously keep that magic in the back of your mind. Sleeping is fine; just think about it for five days and carry around the paper with the Hanja written on it, and it will trigger.
Of course, since the first trigger uses the caster's own Otherworldly Power as a catalyst, it's impossible for someone like me with a constitution that makes it extremely difficult to draw out mana.
But I'm an extremely rare case, so the manifestation of magic doesn't fall into the realm of talent in most situations.
As I gave this explanation.
"...Five days?"
"That's long, Master!"
My disciples looked disgusted, as if five days was far too long.
In reality, I said five days easily, but those five days are quite long.
I said you just have to keep thinking about it, but just as we completely forgot about Baek Si-hyun earlier, it's common to suddenly forget something.
That's why doing it for five days is harder than it sounds, and that's the reason there are so few mages compared to the simple tools and conditions required.
Furthermore, it's not exactly five days; it could be six or seven for someone else, which makes the condition annoying.
If it were a fixed time, one might maintain focus, but if the finish line isn't visible, people lose focus quickly.
However, there is one interesting point here.
"Yes, five days is long. But you can drastically shorten it."
"Hmm...?"
At my words, both disciples let out a low hum and tilted their heads. Their expressions asked why we wouldn't use such a method if it existed.
But that's because it's a method that is both easy and difficult.
Ultimately, the manifestation of magic is the belief that the magic will manifest.
Of course, it's not like Reality Manipulation where everything happens through belief alone; there is a system in place.
But at least for simple magic like that, there's barely any system to speak of, so belief alone can speed up the manifestation.
Then, what if we did this?
"What if, while you're concentrating like that, other people around you kept showing you their success with that magic?"
"Uh... the belief that I can do it... Ah."
"If they can do it, why can't I!"
Their words were different, but neither was wrong.
In short, it's this:
If the belief that the magic can succeed is shared by those around you, the speed of the first manifestation increases exponentially.
The Magic Kingdom was also a society where everyone used magic and it was taken for granted.
If you grew up seeing such things since childhood, the belief that you could naturally use it would be ingrained, allowing you to manifest it with only a very short period of concentration.
And I came to the Magic Society to build that up, bit by bit.
Even though I can't use it.
Damn talent.