The Three Pillars of Magic

Veronica had never taught magic to anyone before. So after pondering how to conduct ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the lesson, she decided to start with a review of the basic concepts.

"The key is how you form mana and then how you manipulate it."

"Mana!"

Looking at Diana, whose eyes sparkled with excitement, Veronica wrote three words on the ground again.

μεσολάβηση, μέσο, υλικό μέσο.

"Intermediary, medium, material medium."

"…?"

At first, Diana seemed completely unable to understand the words Veronica had written.

"Meghe, mece, mezil…?"

But soon, she pronounced them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in fairy tongue, reading the Elenika script.

'Translation…? Or maybe a spell that lets her grasp the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meaning embedded in the intermediary?'

A magic that allowed her to naturally understand the intent behind words or writing, even if she didn't know the language. Once again, she was using an extremely advanced spell as casually as breathing, just like her dimension magic.

'…I can't tell if she's actually interested in magic or not.'

She wielded high-level spells that took months just to analyze and comprehend, yet she showed zero interest in interpretations or applications that any mage would find fascinating.

On the other hand, her eyes lit up at the most basic, obvious knowledge that even non-mages would know. Truly, her thought process is so fairy-like—utterly incomprehensible, Veronica thought.

"There are three main ways to manipulate mana."

Veronica drew arrows from each word pointing toward "magic."

"The intermediary directly connects and channels mana, incorporating the most of the mage's consciousness—"

"Teacher, this—"

"…To put it simply, through actions—"

"This, explanation, no need—"

True to her capricious fairy nature, Diana had grown bored midway and tried to interrupt, but—

"I know. Super stressful. But study lots, good."

"……."

"I'll explain as concisely as possible."

Ignoring Diana's opinion entirely, Veronica pressed on with her explanation.

"When people think of mages, they usually picture casting through intermediaries."

The intermediary was the method by which a mage manifested magic through actions.

Chanting incantations aloud, drawing spell formulas in the air, striking specific poses or gestures.

This series of processes infused with the mage's emotions and will became magic itself.

"Intermediaries often act as the trigger to activate magic. Of course, it's not impossible to cast solely through intermediaries."

Veronica glanced briefly at the flower she had fully bloomed.

"But relying only on intermediaries inevitably leads to longer chants or overly exaggerated actions."

1+1+1+1+1 = 5. Intermediaries had limits on the amount of mana they could process at once.

To bloom just one flower took five syllables. If Veronica had tried to bloom as many flowers as she did against the wolves using only chants, she'd have been muttering nonstop for half a day. Naturally, she'd have been devoured by the wolves before finishing.

"That's why we need mediums to assist with mana flow and calculations."

Smiling brightly, Veronica dangled the pendant she held in her hand.

"Ah, of course, it doesn't have to be a pendant like mine."

Staves, crystal orbs, swords or bows, even parts of the mage's own body. Mages stored and manipulated mana using mediums tailored to their preferences.

"Ah, and it's not impossible to cast using only a medium without intermediaries."

Veronica infused mana into her pendant. It transformed into magical power, generating a new bolt of purple lightning.

Pazzz—.

The lightning, charged for a few seconds before firing—

"As you see, without the mage's intent, the magic's output is greatly reduced."

—faded away before even reaching the ground.

1X5 = 5. Mediums shone brightest when combined with other methods rather than used alone.

"Plus, if you rely too much on a medium, you're in big trouble if you lose or break it."

There were high-rank mages who could improvise any object they touched into a medium, but that was extremely rare.

Mediums were typically items mages infused with their own mana over months or even years. Studies also showed they wore out faster when used to construct magic alone. So over-reliance wasn't ideal.

"Finally, material mediums— Hmm… Ah."

Veronica stood and headed to the pile of supplies. She picked up one of the arrows shot at them last night and held it before Diana.

"This is a good example."

"…This, material medium?"

"No, it's already expended its effect as one."

Shaking her head slightly, Veronica pointed to the arrowhead, which was charred black as if burned, though it had originally been silver.

"There was probably a hefty dose of material medium used for the magic around here."

Gems, reagents, powders—various catalysts with high mana absorption could serve as material mediums. Good ones offered far greater stability and effect than intermediaries or mediums. However—

"They're consumables."

Material mediums lost their power and vanished the moment the magic activated.

Since they weren't cheap, unless you could cultivate them yourself like the elves, using them as disposables was burdensome. Not something to use lightly.

"Still, it's wise to stock some for emergencies."

With that, Veronica hung her pendant back around her neck. That concluded the explanation of the "basic concepts" of mana manipulation.

"Next, the interplay between these three methods and how to distribute mana for more efficient formation—"

Just as Veronica, now fully heated up, was about to dive into a full lesson—

"Explanation, stop!"

The little fairy, who had endured up to a point, finally couldn't take it and raised her fork high.

"Pardon…? Th-that was just a rough overview, and now we're finally getting to the main—"

Veronica tilted her head, unable to comprehend the fairy's fury, but—

Shuuuk. Shuuushuk. Shuk.

"Stooop!"

"Ah, got it. S-so, stop— Kyaaak?!"

No matter how brilliant the mage, the fork spear was an equal-opportunity silencer.

Every profession has its stereotypical image.

Soldiers seem rigid and straitlaced. Game developers look like they'd wear plaid shirts and grind endlessly without clocking out. Bassists give off mysteriously quiet, otherworldly vibes.

These tropes are borrowed heavily in fiction, becoming clichés.

So in this world, rooted in "fiction," professions likely followed similar stereotypes. Thus, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mage archetype went something like this:

Takes forever. Intellectual show-off. Boring and pedantic. 100% chance of debate. World ends without magic talk.

Of course, prejudices aren't always accurate.

"Teacher, lesson, magic teaching, no!"

"…It is teaching magic."

"No!"

At least Veronica, puffing her lips in dissatisfaction at my critique, perfectly embodied the classic mage.

"I mean, this is the minimum prerequisite knowledge for learning magic—"

"Magic teaching, no!"

"Nooo…."

We don't need to dissect a car or smartphone's internals to use them. What I wanted was how to use magic, not its blueprints.

I jabbed my fork at the convoluted scribbles and diagrams on the ground, shaking my head vigorously. Veronica made a pouty face.

"…So what do you want from me, exactly?"

"Diana, magic, use. Need."

"……Pardon?"

"Diana, magic, learn, use. Want."

Screw intermediaries and mediums—just tell me how you grew those plants. Before I get "mediumed."

"Th-the rapid growth…? Is that it?"

As if.

"Veronica, magic, know, all tell."

"E-eh… All of them?"

Yeah, every spell you know. All of 'em.

About 30 minutes later, Veronica's one-sided magic showcase unfolded like a fever-dream montage.

'She really knows a ton of spells.'

Halfway through, her mana ran dry, so the remaining three hours devolved back into tedious theory. But—

Listening to all that boring, pedantic talk wasn't entirely pointless.

Just listening generated new skills and leveled up existing ones.

'Though I didn't get a single practical spell.'

Veronica tried her best, even drawing diagrams on the ground to teach mana manipulation. But the only magic-related gain was—

'Mana Detection.'Whoosh—.

—being able to check my current and max mana. Nothing else.

'36… enough for about seven translation spells.'

Not useless, but not what I wanted.

'I wanna cast magic too….'

Why have mana if I can't use it? Staring endlessly at my useless status window in frustration—

"Um, …Diana-nim?"

"What?"

"Th-this…."

My incompetent teacher timidly spoke up, holding the arrow from her earlier enthusiastic explanation.

Oh, right. We needed to address that too.

"C-could it be, the attack last night was…."

"Elves, attack."

"…As I feared."

Elf assaults added to my already brutal wilderness survival life.

"Now, okay."

"…True, here at least—."

For now, they hadn't found the respawn spot, so we were safe. But—

"Danger continue, trouble. Fairy Realm, put you in, perfect answer, no."

"I see…."

"Veronica, life, future, have?"

If they discovered the Dimension Corridor connecting the Fairy Realm to the outside, the elves could seal the entrance and leave us to starve inside.