Fundamentals of Magic

The first day after waking from that long sleep, the bed was incredibly cozy — cozy enough that I seriously considered just staying in it forever. But I had made a promise to Sylvia: I was going to learn magic.

"...I don't really seem all that talented, though."

From what I'd heard, the truly gifted manifested magic without ever being taught. And I, apparently, was not one of those people. I'd tried casting spells now and then since arriving in this other world, and nothing had ever come of it, so I'd more or less given up on the dream of magic — until yesterday, when I was suddenly hit with a proposal that wasn't quite a threat: become my disciple.

And so, starting today, I was going to learn magic.

"Ugh, what a chore."

I'd never been fond of studying. Granted, I always tested well without it, but being good at studying and liking studying were two very different things. Even if you had a brain that memorized a book at a glance, it did you no good if you never cracked one open. Not that I ever did anything quite that stupid — it's just an example.

Lost in these thoughts, I made my way to the laboratory and knocked.

Knock knock.

I always started with a calm, measured knock. In response, the door slowly swung open.

Creeeak—

As the old door groaned open, I spotted Sylvia seated at her desk, deep in research. She glanced up at me, swept her work aside, and cast a spell — and a book from the corner of the room came flying straight to my hands in an instant.

"Read that and memorize it. Ask if there's anything you don't understand. I'll be doing my research."

"Would it be alright if I asked what kind of research you're doing?"

I asked as politely as I could manage. I had no idea how large the age gap between us was, but she'd said it was considerable, so honorifics seemed like the safe bet.

At my question, Sylvia answered shortly, as if it were a bother.

"Dimensional magic."

The moment I heard those words, I understood. This woman wanted to go back to Korea.

I, on the other hand, felt no such urge. Sure, when I was dirt poor I'd wanted to go home — but now that I had room and board provided, why would I bother?

So I asked again, without thinking.

"Dimensional magic... so you're trying to return to Korea?"

"Yeah. This place is way too boring. I can't even play games."

"Can't you just make games with magic?"

At that, Sylvia fixed me with a look of profound pity.

"...If that were possible, your brain would have to be something beyond human. In which case, I suppose it might be possible."

"Ah, yep."

Pushing further would have felt like picking a fight for no reason, so I let it go, pulled out a chair, and headed for a far corner of the room. I didn't want to disturb her research, and the laboratory was spacious enough that a single corner put plenty of distance between us.

But then—

Whooom—

Sylvia used magic to drag me and my chair right back over.

"You'll study here, beside me. Ask if there's anything you don't understand."

"Ah, yes."

Look, when the teacher is watching over your shoulder, it's a little hard to focus, isn't it? That was exactly how I felt right now — like I'd done something wrong without meaning to, like I was being watched and couldn't quite grasp anything.

Feeling that awkward weight on me, I slowly checked the book's cover.

It seemed to be a book the Mage's Tower had published for its wizards. From what I could see, Sylvia didn't exactly seem to have the spare time to be authoring things like this.

With that thought, I began to read. The book had a table of contents.

'Ugh, I'm already sick of this.'

Just reading the table of contents was enough to make me tired. So I resolved to take it slowly — while doing a bit of slacking on the side.

Checking Sylvia's expression out of the corner of my eye, I opened up the Gallery. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was flooded with threads.

There was one thread I simply couldn't resist, so I clicked the first post.

"Ah."

"Hm?"

"Nothing. I just suddenly felt like I understood something."

"Mmm."

The title had lured me in, and I regretted it immediately. The comments were probably a wall of profanity. And indeed, when I scrolled down—

Plenty of people posted under their real names, but not all of them were busy grinding away in the Gallery. The reason was simple: their lives in the real world kept them occupied. The wizards were buried in their research, the farmers in their fields, the adventurers in their expeditions. It was probably the martial artists who spent the most time in the Gallery — after all, apart from wandering town now and then shaking people down for pocket change, there wasn't much else to their profession.

You could call that an insult, but it was plain fact.

With that thought, I clicked the next thread that caught my interest.

'I'll study after just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this one.'

Spending any more time in the Gallery risked getting caught, so I decided on one more post and one post only.

'What is wrong with this guy?'

Every time I saw him, I thought the same thing: if you're going to commit to a persona, commit all the way. Instead, he dangles temptation in the middle of every thread and then folds instantly, without even putting up a fight. That said, I was a little curious about this "necromancer degradation doujin." Necromancers did tend to be gloomy and well-endowed, from what I'd seen... but no, enough with the pointless thoughts.

From then on, I actually began to study. If I was going to learn magic at all, I figured I should at least know the basics.

With that in mind, I read through the first chapter.

'...Hm.'

Frankly, it was a little easy. I could actually follow what it was saying. That was probably because it was fundamentals — if even the basics were hard, no beginner would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever bother picking the book up in the first place.

And so I read through the section explaining the nature of wind magic in detail. How much time passed after that, I couldn't say.

Scratch, scratch.

Swish.

Night had fallen and the lights were on in the laboratory, where the only sounds were the turning of pages and the scratch of a pen. At some point, Sylvia had probably been browsing the Gallery too.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Ah, finally done…"

I had no idea how many hours had passed, but at last I'd read the book cover to cover. I felt genuinely proud of myself.

The moment I said so and looked over, Sylvia slid the book out of my hands. Then she stared straight at me and spoke.

"Tell me the formulas required to create a fireball."

"Ah, that would be—"

Fundamentals of Magic was, as the title promised, purely foundational. The only spells in it were weak-looking things like the fireball. That made the questions easy to answer, and I rattled them off one after another.

A moment later:

"Hmm... then the formula for a Flame Wind."

"That one wasn't in the book?"

"Then derive it. Apply what you learned."

"Um... then maybe if I do this—"

I pieced together a Flame Wind formula from what I'd learned — and it suddenly activated on its own.

FWOOSH—

The book went up in flames.

"Uh… I didn't do that on purpose."

"...Impressive how you managed to burn only the book."

It really wasn't intentional. Though I can't say I'm... entirely innocent.

And a short while later:

"Right. Time to test you again."

Sylvia restored the book to its original state with magic, then cast a barrier over it and began the exam. How long did that go on? Eventually, at last, the test came to an end.

"Good — you pass. Now take the next book and study it even as you sleep."

"You can't study while you're asleep, though?"

And with that—

Sylvia smacked me hard on the head with the wooden rod lying beside her.

"Is that any way for a disciple to answer me…?"

"Ah, I'm sorry."

And so, on the very day I mastered Fundamentals of Magic I in a single day, I was assigned Fundamentals of Magic II as well.

'Ugh… I really, really don't want to study.'

That was the honest truth of how I felt. Thanks to Fundamentals of Magic I, I'd learned the basics of magic today — you simply manipulated mana using formulas, and it wasn't all that difficult. But Fundamentals of Magic II looked like it would be a bit tougher. I'm sure I'd understand it quickly enough if I read diligently... it was just the process itself that was such a pain.

With those weary thoughts, I headed for my room.