Yujun Drew Up His Mana
Yujun drew up his mana. The array was nothing like conventional magic. The mana itself was no faster than before—if anything, it had slowed—but he had not built a downgraded spell. What he had given up in speed, he had gained in efficiency, settling on an arrangement that could wring more power from less mana.
Rewriting the mana array of a spell as it formed was recklessly dangerous. Yujun, however, had developed a spell made for this array from the start, so the risk was all but gone. Stability had actually improved.
Slow. In exchange, efficient and stable.
"What are you casting? Is it dangerous?"
"It's not an attack spell."
"Really? That's unexpected."
"What's unexpected about it?"
"If you were going to create a spell, I figured you'd start with an attack spell."
"Why?"
"You like things with a lot of punch. Always have."
"...Fair. But it's my first time, so I started with the one that looked most likely to work. Get an attack spell even slightly wrong, and it can blow back on the caster."
"A wise choice. Pretty impressive, for an apprentice."
"You mocking me? Find this funny?"
"I do. Teasing you is genuinely fun..."
"And what have you got to show for yourself?"
"Nothing."
"Why are you so proud of that?"
"Being bad at thinking isn't a crime."
"..."
She had a point. It wasn't that Manuela was dull. Unless one was a genius born once in an age, creating a spell was, frankly, absurd. Yujun had only managed it because he enjoyed advantages no one else did.
"Hurry up and show me. I'm curious."
"I already cast it."
"Huh...? I don't see anything."
"Then it worked exactly as intended. You're not supposed to see it, or feel it."
"So what is it? You did cast a spell, right?"
"There's a little mana still lingering in the air."
"And the effect?"
"Magic Enhancement."
"...You're strengthening magic? With magic?"
"Yeah. I made a formation that raises a spell's power. You could call it a barrier, except no one can break it or dispel it. That's the difference."
"How'd you do it? Try it."
Yujun casually formed a Fireball. The sphere of flame that bloomed was larger and hotter than anything his Hellfire had ever produced. His basic magic had always rivaled respectable high-tier spells, but the spell he had just created swelled it further still. The power was obvious enough that there was no need to test it.
Manuela's mouth fell open.
"W-wait. Isn't this way too good? What's the mana cost?"
"Not that high. The problem is range. Push it even a little wider and the cost jumps dozens of times over. I only just made it, so I'll have to refine it."
"How wide is it?"
"About ten of these fireballs put together?"
"Hmm..."
It was certainly not wide enough to deserve the name of a barrier. But strengthening magic—that effect alone put most cost-efficient spells to shame.
"You're incredible. How do you just whip up a whole spell in that little time?"
Manuela, a pure-blooded witch and a player who lived by magic, could only admire it in earnest. Players who cast well, and players who wielded devastating spells, were everywhere. Mages who combined magic in clever ways and amplified its power were not uncommon either. Creating a spell from nothing, though, was another realm entirely.
"Yenil made her own spells too, you know."
"She's the Black Sorceress. There may have been mages stronger than her back then, but none smarter. Her reputation reached all the way to the Demon Realm."
"You heard that yourself, huh."
"You're about to make another crack about my age, aren't you."
Manuela cut him off before he could say it. Her eyes were sharp.
"...I would never."
"Anyway, even that Yenil probably only made a handful of spells herself. I don't know for sure."
"I don't think making spells is just about being smart."
"Then what?"
"I think the skill rank of your magic just has to be high."
"That matters, sure, but there's a limit to how high you can raise a rank."
"Getting smarter is harder, isn't it? Skill rank has more room to grow."
"If you told me to raise my skill rank right now, I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Get a skill gem. Or a Fruit of Evolution."
"You make it sound so easy. If it were, everyone would be sitting on SSS rank or higher."
"Well, I'll agree that raising skill rank is hard."
In Yujun's case, luck had dragged his ranks up to absurd heights. Ordinary players almost never saw a skill or trait climb that high, even when they spent one of those precious Fruits of Evolution.
Then his face went hard.
"What's wrong?"
Manuela asked, and Yujun set a finger to her lips. A gesture for quiet. She nodded without a word.
"Yenil's coming this way."
"Is that worth a face that grim?"
"Yes."
He said it with perfect seriousness.
"I see."
"I'm screwed."
"Now what?"
"Her instincts are sharper than I thought. She's heading straight here. I even set a presence-concealing barrier earlier."
"You went that far."
"If she realizes I lied to her, there's no telling what she'll do."
"Didn't you make a soul contract?"
"I'm still uneasy. It's not exactly a contract without holes."
"You just made a spell. Can't you just teach her that?"
At Manuela's words, Yujun's eyes went wide.
"You're right."
"Idiot."
"Will this be enough to satisfy her?"
"More than enough. I don't know Ancient Magic, but I can't imagine anyone being disappointed by a spell that strengthens other spells."
"Right?"
"It's not like you to get this anxious."
Yujun nodded. Set beside New-Generation Magic—the degenerated magic that was not Ancient Magic at all—the spell he had made was a celestial maiden. It went further than that. Its effect was exceptional enough to stand alongside the higher ranks of Ancient Magic.
"I made it to teach Yenil, but I think I'll get more use out of it than she will."
"In a way, didn't things turn out well because of her?"
"True. If I hadn't been under that much pressure, I never would have thought to create a spell. The problem is..."
"The problem?"
"I have to keep making them. Just to keep Yenil satisfied. I did make a promise, so I don't have much choice."
"Didn't you say playing dumb was an option?"
"That's a last resort. For now I've bought some time, so I can relax."
The distance between them and Yenil was closing. She was coming as if she knew exactly where they were, yet she walked slowly, whether out of courtesy or for some other reason he couldn't tell.
"Since it's come to this, let's walk and run into her. If we stay here, it'll look suspicious again."
"Yeah. That's better."
Yujun thought as he walked. Feels like I'm heading in to get a test graded. Why am I this nervous over nothing?
He and Manuela strolled on until they could pretend the meeting was chance.
"Oh? Fancy running into you here."
"Yeah, really."
"Shin Yujun! I was just looking for you!"
Yenil came toward them with a smile. Yujun smiled awkwardly back and lifted a hand.
"Looking for me? What for?"
"The New-Generation Magic you spoke of before."
"I said I'd teach you after the coronation."
"I simply could not sit still. And that fellow—Setpiece, or Chessboard, whatever his name is—does not look likely to finish the coronation anytime soon."
"...Aren't you being a little hasty?"
"If I have been rude, I apologize. But you appear to be free at the moment, do you not?"
"..."
"Please, teach me a little. I can wait no longer."
She pressed her hands together and pleaded in earnest.
"Fine. But..."
"But?"
"Not all of it. A little at a time. And slowly."
"Th-the reason?"
"If you learn too much New-Generation Magic right from the start, you might not hold up your end of the contract. Even if you don't abandon your role as a companion, you could just tag along and do nothing."
"That will never happen! I shall give it everything I have!"
Yenil denied it fiercely.
"That's not something I can take on faith right now. Which is why I'm teaching you a little at a time."
"...Very well. I shall be content with that."
"And one more thing. Don't expect too much just because it's called New-Generation Magic. I did call Ancient Magic outdated, but that was only to provoke you. I never meant its level was actually inferior."
"I know. Even in the Heavenly Realm, crowded as it is with the strong, there are scarcely any beings worthy of being called mages."
"...Right."
She's not saying that because she already knows everything, is she?
A flicker of unease passed through him, but one look at Yenil's face, bright with expectation, told him otherwise.
"I'll teach you three spells."
"Only three? With so few, even grasping the system will be difficult."
"Not my problem. And even calling it a system, it isn't all that different from Ancient Magic. Just watch."
He showed her the same Magic Enhancement he had shown Manuela. Yenil looked bewildered at first. Once he explained, she nodded in acceptance.
"So it was possible. I had considered it possible in theory."
"Why didn't you try making it yourself?"
"What do you take me for. Of course I tried. I failed dozens of times, hundreds, and gave up."
"Just curious—when you fail at making a spell, does it explode and all that?"
"Mana backlash is the usual result. But if one attempts an absurd combination, or tries to force one into being, the aftermath is considerable. There were times I was left beyond recovery without an elixir."
"Seeing you in one piece, I guess you had an elixir."
Yenil nodded.
"I'll teach you how to use it."
"Excellent!"
Yujun explained the principles of Magic Enhancement and the mana array behind it, stressing the array above all else. Yenil kept tilting her head.
"Is there truly a need to use that array? The foundational array of Ancient Magic should suffice, should it not?"
"Try it, then. Just don't expect me to take responsibility for the accident that follows."
"...Then explain why it will not work."
"It just doesn't. I'm not saying it will always fail. I'm saying it's dangerous. There's no need to massively raise the risk of mana backlash just to cast a spell a little faster. Efficiency aside."
"I see. I do not fully understand, truthfully, but if you say it is dangerous, I shall commit the mana array to memory as well."
"Try casting it."
Yenil cast according to the formula he had given her, and failed again and again. Vmmm. Vmmmm. Only the mana thrummed, loud and useless.
"It looks simple. Why will it not work?"
"Of course it takes practice. Did you think it'd work on the first try? It's not something you picked up as a skill."
Magic had never been something one could use the moment it was explained.
"Understood. Now, teach me the other two quickly as well."
"I changed my mind. Go back for today."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not teaching you anything else until you've properly mastered this one."
"Is there truly a need to..."
"There is. Dump a bunch of them on you and you'll only get them mixed up. Learn one properly first, and the next will come faster."
It was perfectly reasonable, and yet Yenil felt a vague wrongness in it. Yujun's manner was too firm to argue with, so she nodded despite herself.
"I shall master it quickly and return."
"I'd really prefer you take your time."
"What was that?"
"Nothing."