The Hero Demonstrates Magic
The news that the hero had demonstrated magic spread throughout the entire Magic Tower before a day could even pass. Thanks to the tower’s closed spatial nature and its short-range transmission spells, nearly every mage had already heard the story.
“Damn it…!”
One of the central figures in that rumor—the man named Bill who had collapsed from the humiliating attack—lay on a bed in the infirmary.
“But Lady Cheiran told me to do it…!”
Beside him, the woman fidgeting beneath a black robe was Cheiran, a senior mage. She too had been knocked down by Leon’s strike.
“S-sorry… I didn’t realize he would be that violent…”
“It still hurts!”
“Ugh… sorry…”
Leon had assumed Cheiran used her authority to order Bill to provoke him, but the truth was different. She had indeed asked for a favor because she wanted to learn more about the figure called the hero, yet Bill had already disliked Leon from the start. Knowing his hot-blooded nature, Cheiran had simply given him a small nudge.
“Still… it didn’t break, right?”
“It didn’t break!!”
Leon had not intended to cripple anyone with a mere prank, so he had adjusted his strength. The impact had hurt enough to make Bill fear something was truly broken, but the examination showed he was perfectly fine.
The hero… is he supposed to be that terrifying? This is nothing like what I imagined….
Cheiran fell into thought as she watched Bill rage. The word “hero” carried a powerful image. Most of the stories that had spread across the continent were overwhelmingly positive—tales of him fighting an invading demon tribe alone through the night to protect a village, or charging weaponless into enemy lines to rescue a kidnapped child.
I heard he was the most righteous and talented among all the previous heroes….
The sight of him striking Bill and slamming her into the floor clashed violently with that image. It felt utterly alien.
…On purpose?
For what possible reason?
While Cheiran pondered, Bill took a deep breath. Seeing her stay silent, his anger gradually cooled.
“But are you all right, Lady Cheiran? You clearly took a brutal hit…”
“Me? Oh, I’m… pretty sturdy!”
She was famous for always wearing a recognition-inhibiting cloak. Rumor even said no mage in the tower had ever seen her true face. Because of that, no visible wounds showed on her. Still, word had it she had collided with the floor from a fairly powerful impact.
“Is that so? Either way, all this chaos because of a single hero… what a mess.”
“Mm… rest for now, Bill. I’m sorry you suffered on my account.”
She patted his bed twice and rose to her feet.
I’ll have to watch a little longer.
A faint trace of wild mana rose from her steps. Subtle violet energy slipped into Bill’s lungs and flashed.
“Huh…? What? Who was I even talking to…?”
She vanished in an instant, as if she had never existed there at all.
What do the mages of the Magic Tower usually do with their time? They maintained an organizational hierarchy based on circles and status, but the general atmosphere was one of independent research. It was rare for them to unite under a single shared objective.
Even so, there was one occasion when all of them gathered: once every quarter.
The total solar eclipse. Because of the spatial distortion, an eclipse occurs once every two months.
On the day the sun and moon overlapped, the Sun Tower and Moon Tower gathered in the same space for presentations and debates. Researchers announced their work to seek sponsors or collaborators. Discussions were held when difficult equations arose in magical formulas. Major decisions requiring votes also took place on eclipse days.
“Master, what sort of research will you be conducting?”
“Call me Hero.”
“Huh? Yes… So what research are you planning?”
Niel was personally cleaning every corner of my lab, sneaking glances at me the whole time. I had clearly told him to use cleaning magic, but he insisted that doing it by hand gave it the proper “feel”—an absurd reason. Still, his desire to do something for his master was admirable, so I simply watched.
“Research on the stagnant type.”
“What?! Is it for me?! Thank you, Hero!!”
“It’s not that.”
“Aw~ You’re lying~”
It was impressive how nothing could break his spirit. Well, with that kind of energy, even a stagnant type could survive in the Magic Tower. Discrimination by social status had largely vanished, but it was impossible to stop people from judging one another by magical talent.
After all, everyone here had gathered for the sake of magic. Those with outstanding talent received favorable evaluations; those who fell short received harsh treatment. It was simply human nature.
That may be exactly how the demon took root.
I set the book I was reading down with a thud and pressed hard against my temples.
It was true I had infiltrated the tower to capture the demon, but I had no intention of spending all my time on pursuit alone. I had become a senior mage and earned time for actual research. Even if the position was honorary, the Tower Master’s consideration had granted me access to a great deal of data and materials.
“But Hero, what is your circle rank? Since you’re originally a swordsman, I’d guess around third circle?”
Niel’s guess was reasonable. It was structurally difficult for a swordsman who had reached Sword Master to climb past fourth circle. Beyond personal talent, the problem was fundamental. Raising one’s circle required weaving rings of mana that constricted the heart, yet the way knights circulated aura was intimately tied to that same organ.
The basics involve spreading aura from the dantian through the heart to the entire body.
The more rings one formed, the harder it became to regulate heartbeat, and aura flow suffered as well.
Mages, on the other hand, use the rings to keep their heart rate perfectly steady and maximize rational thought. Both paths have strengths and weaknesses.
That was why I—
“I have no circles.”
“Huh?”
I had never formally woven any rings.
“Then… how do you cast magic? Without mana rings, implementing a magic circle should be impossible…?”
The rotation of mana flowing through the rings. The circles naturally created by that rotation formed the foundation of every spell—a blank canvas given to a painter.
“I use a trick. It’s a method I’ll teach you too.”
“M-me?”
“Lead the way. Where is the magic training room?”
Niel tossed the cleaning rag aside and strode toward the door as if to guide me at once.
…I lifted the rag with aura and flung it at his face.
“Ow! Why?!”
“You’re quite lacking in manners, talent or not.”
On non-eclipse days, the place where mages gathered most often was the magic training room. It was mainly used by apprentices and proficient-rank mages. Senior mages were usually too busy with research to practice trivial spells.
Yet right now even the senior mages had crowded together in a messy throng.
“Watch closely, Niel.”
The hero had appeared.
The news had spread in the blink of an eye, drawing not only apprentices and proficient mages but even the seniors. Among the crowd were Lucy and Semiranne, who had been practicing their spells.
“What is the hero trying to do this time?”
“Ah, ahaha… I have no idea either…?”
Under the eyes of countless mages, Leon spread his palm toward a wall made of heavenium. Heavenium was a mineral extracted from meteorites, renowned as the metal with the highest mana resistance. It was famous for remaining unscratched even after taking the full force of most anti-magic spells.
Sonic Boom
The instant the word left his lips, a deafening explosion tore through the air. A shockwave slammed into the wall—
BOOM!
—and left a massive crack.
“Wait! This is impossible!”
While the mages clutched their ringing ears and stared in shock, one man stepped forward in outrage. Senior mage Henry, a renowned scholar of magical design theory.
“What exactly do you mean?” Leon asked.
“Hero, just what… did you do?”
“That’s what I’m asking you.”
“You cast magic without drawing a magic circle!”
Exactly. Leon had drawn no circle. He had simply opened his palm and spoken the chant. It was as if every fundamental principle the mages lived by had just shattered.
“And I have never heard of a chant called Sonic Boom!”
“Is something impossible simply because you’ve never heard of it? Is that the attitude of a mage who claims to pursue truth?”
“…I cannot accept it. That cannot be magic. It is clearly the art of an apostle that distorts the truth.”
Henry refused to acknowledge what he had just witnessed. No matter how much freedom magic allowed, skipping the circle was an act that obscured its very essence.
It’s like setting up a ukulele and insisting it’s a harp. Like it or not, I cannot overlook this when I think of the mages who will be influenced by the hero…!
His strong reaction came from his concern for his students. Among the senior mages, Henry took the most disciples and taught them with genuine passion. Teaching apprentices was normally the role of proficient mages, but he wanted the younger ones to grow in a better environment. Some even called him “Grand Master,” an almost excessive title.
What now.
Leon already knew Henry’s character. He had done his research before entering the tower. The man wasn’t particularly unpleasant; he had devoted himself to the younger mages. Honestly, Leon had hoped a different senior would pick the fight.
Of all people, it had to be him. I can’t humiliate him in public.
After a brief pause, Leon spoke.
“I didn’t skip it.”
“Are you playing word games? Just now you clearly—”
“It is magic that fuses the chant and the circle together.”
“…What?”
Leon flicked a finger. A magic circle floated into the air. Its elegant, brilliant composition was the first thing Henry, a master of theory, noticed.
“I know the standard process—emit the ring through mana, fill it with the spell, then converge. I’m well aware.”
“But how…”
“That method is too slow.”
“Too slow for what?”
“For defeating demonkind and saving those who are dying.”
“…!”
Mages possessed overwhelming peak power. Their creed was that, given enough preparation time, they could defeat any foe. Yet without someone to buy them that time on the battlefield, their effectiveness could drop by seventy percent depending on the situation.
That was why Leon had shattered the three rings he once possessed. On the front lines every second mattered. Better not to use magic at all than to be too late.
“So I designed the formula in advance and fused it with the chant.”
He tapped his dantian.
“The place where sound begins. From below the navel, the circle is pre-formed and rides my throat along with the chant.”
Then he pointed to his mouth.
“That way, the moment the chant is spoken, the spell activates instantly.”
“But… is that even possible? Even then, destroying heavenium should be—”
“Because,” Leon lowered his finger back to his dantian, “I stored mana inside the dantian where aura condenses. The fusion of aura and mana is one of the cores of this technique.”
“…!”
Heavenium was indeed extremely hard and possessed supreme mana resistance. However, its base durability was not enough to withstand a Sword Master’s aura. That was why it had shattered so easily beneath Leon’s spell.
“If listening to the principle still makes it hard to accept, how about a bet?”
“A bet?”
Leon tapped Niel’s shoulder and nodded.
“This is the disciple I have taken. On the next eclipse day, let our disciples spar. The winner takes all.”
“…What are the stakes?”
“If I lose, I will entrust the Holy Sword to the Magic Tower for one year.”
“…!”
The Holy Sword was the hero’s symbol.
And… one of the transcendent items that stand outside the laws of this world…!
It was an object mages who pursued truth coveted with open greed.
“And if I win… I will establish a school in the Magic Tower under my own name.”
At those words, sighs, curiosity, and fury rose from every corner of the gathered mages. Establishing a school was not something an outsider should casually declare.
Tei fled the scene the instant Leon spoke of founding a school. His bold demeanor and the height of his magic had been impressive—almost admirable.
Yet disappointment and rage surged inside her, far stronger than any admiration.
My mood… feels strange.
Why? It had never been like this before….
The fact that Leon had taken a disciple kept igniting her anger. The sight of him trying to share the techniques he created by opening a school filled her with irritation. An outstanding being should exist alone, pure and untouched. He shouldn’t keep trying to give pieces of himself away.
Idiot. Stupid Leon…!
Wrapped in an irrationality far removed from her original personality, she entered her laboratory. She drank the medicine the black-haired, black-eyed man had given her and lay down on the simple bed. Sweet hallucinations and a perfectly ordered world flooded her vision.
I must not give anything away…!
The woman of god who abandoned her duty after falling into lust. The hunter who walked the wrong path because of jealousy. And….
A mage captured by greed.
“Just a little longer… just a little longer…!”
Amidst pleasure, the mage waited for the day that was coming.