Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Toward a Wider World
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‘From left to right, ricocheting like a chain reaction…’
Crackle!
The speed of lightning was instantaneous. The moment the flash erupted, it struck its targeted foe—a swift spell. It was far beyond what gnolls wielding rusted swords and crudely made bows could withstand.
‘Once more… following their movements…’
Whirr—
The starlight glow dwelling in my eyes slowly rotated, perceiving my surroundings. Even in the pitch-black night, I could discern objects and the movements of living beings as clearly as daylight. Of course, the magic embedded in my eyes didn’t end there.
Everything seemed slowed. It felt as if the world’s speed had been halved or even reduced to a third. In this decelerated world, the most free element was the blue lightning bolts flying in split-second bursts.
Boom!
Every time azure bolts poured from my hands, death without screams descended. This was different from with Cardia. The blue lightning fully inherited the power of the spell I remembered.
I overlaid a new law onto an existing completed spell. It was simple. After all, this was the form it was meant to take from the beginning.
Five gnolls collapsed in an instant, and the smell of burning flesh wafted belatedly.
I caught my breath for a moment in that state. The stronger the power or law added to the spell, the more mana it consumed. Though my heart’s firmly established circle supplied mana, I needed a brief pause to replenish what I’d used.
Two breaths.
Time to start again.
Boom!
Every time lightning burst from my hand, five or more gnolls fell without fail. I’d already taken down over twenty that way.
“I-It’s the voice of the gods!”
“The mage is unleashing the gods’ wrath!”
I’d heard from Durel. How the people of this world viewed lightning. Unlike the modern world I’d lived in, they believed bolts from the sky were intimately tied to the divine.
That was why even mages rarely dared imitate it with magic.
‘Except for one school…’
That wasn’t the point. One more breath. Panting, I took a step forward and unleashed lightning once again.
Boom!
That was the moment. While concentrating mana for Chain Lightning, a gnoll’s arrow flew in at the perfect timing.
If I hadn’t completed the magic in my eyes by now, I wouldn’t have noticed.
The instant I sensed the danger, my body reacted immediately. The mana, which had begun taking on lightning’s properties, instantly incorporated a different law. That sparked the heterogeneous fusion.
Crackle!
The moment transparent wind mixed with blue lightning, the arrow flying toward me veered off and slammed into the ground.
It should have simply bounced away. The spell’s fusion had greatly weakened its power. Yet in this phenomenon, I sensed a possibility.
The fusion of spells with entirely different properties. The resulting clash. Success? Failure?
‘Not now.’
But it wasn’t an application I could use right away. Focusing on one spell was far more efficient for now. Perhaps later, when the number of circles in my heart increased.
I halted my thoughts and caught my breath. The malice surging from all sides had vanished. As my excitement subsided, I could finally take in the surroundings properly.
‘It’s over…’
A cool breeze brushed my cheek softly. At the same time, the clouds in the sky slowly parted, revealing the hidden moon.
The battle had ended before I knew it.
“We won… we won!”
“Wooooah!”
Relief at escaping danger. Excitement from the fight. Terror wrapped in fear. All those emotions mixed into a massive cheer that echoed loudly.
My tension released, leaving my legs weak. I lightly perched on a nearby large crate. While wiping sweat from my brow,
Durel approached from the side and, quick as ever, handed me a water bottle.
“Great work… But those eyes, could they be…”
I gave a light smile at Durel’s question. Even after watching me invent new magic several times from the sidelines, he still wasn’t used to it.
Now that the spell was complete, it was time to name it. I blinked my eyes and opened my mouth.
“Arcana.”
“A-Arcana…?”
I nodded. A word carrying the meaning of mystery. No name suited this magic better.
Eyes that see the mysteries hidden in this world.
Always-active magic.
Arcana.
That was the new perspective on the world I had gained.
After the gnoll raid, Durel seemed to have many realizations. Among the adventurers escorting the caravan, he sought out the best swordsman and asked for instruction.
Honestly, it shocked me. I hadn’t expected a guy who’d lived his whole life as a mage to bow his head to a non-mage commoner.
When I asked why, Durel answered.
“I’m a guy who can’t use proper magic… That day, I strongly felt I needed something to compensate for my shortcomings. I was utterly frustrated by my own powerlessness, unable to do anything. The most I could manage was showing illusions to the gnolls charging the adventurers, making them hesitate.”
“So you’re learning the sword?”
“Illusions… magic creates insubstantial phantoms, mere eye tricks. I realized I can’t be the main force with it.”
I nodded at Durel’s words. It was fortunate he’d realized on his own what I’d wanted to tell him. I hadn’t said it before for a simple reason.
Durel was a guy whose very blood ran with mage lineage. If I’d urged him to learn the sword before he figured it out himself, he might have stubbornly clung to magic out of spite.
“You’ve found your path.”
“My path… Is this the right one?”
It was a question I couldn’t answer lightly. But so what? Judging if one’s path was right was entirely up to the individual.
Even if others called it wrong, if you believed in it, it became the right path.
That was the discipline of magic.
“If you believe it is.”
I said that while furrowing my brow. Right after creating Arcana, I could see much more. Durel’s heart-bound magic was the same. Through my starlit eyes, the spell’s structure and embedded laws flowed in naturally.
‘This again…’
It was a peculiar structure. Like how a mana circle absorbed natural mana to maintain itself, the magic in Durel’s heart sustained its existence similarly.
Durel’s mana was being siphoned away.
Perhaps dispelling that magic would be simple. After all, magic couldn’t exist without mana.
“Durel.”
“Yes?”
“The Warden Stick I gave you. Can you return it for a bit?”
“Ah, sure.”
Holding the Warden Stick Durel handed me, I said,
“For the next week, don’t use any magic at all. Can you do that?”
“Pardon…? A whole week…”
“Operating mana counts too.”
“May I ask why?”
I paused at Durel’s question and shut my mouth.
Honestly, I had no certainty. If I raised false hopes and it didn’t work out, he’d be deeply disappointed.
But.
‘No, don’t doubt.’
I shook my head. That thought was unbefitting a mage. A mage must always trust themselves—their senses and the mysteries they created.
“Perhaps—no. If you do as I say, Durel, you’ll be able to use magic like any normal mage.”
“…R-Really?”
“Of course. And didn’t you say you’re starting sword training? Wouldn’t it be better to focus on that over magic for now?”
“A valid point… I’ll do that.”
Durel really kept his word. The guy who always meditated with eyes closed, operating mana, swung a sword all day instead.
He even ran outside instead of riding in the carriage, claiming it built his lacking stamina.
As time passed, Durel’s hands became bloodied.
Then, with just one day left in the promised week, the smoothly traveling carriage suddenly halted.
“What’s going on?”
“No idea…”
“I’ll step out and check.”
The sun hadn’t set yet, and it wasn’t mealtime. Wondering why we’d stopped,
Just as Durel opened the carriage door.
—Durel! Is Durel Earthmond there?!
An unfamiliar voice called Durel’s name precisely.
“Who’s that?”
Durel didn’t answer my question. His stiff expression as he sat back down suggested it was someone extremely difficult to meet.
“Family?”
“Yes… Looks like they’ve moved properly this time.”
“Wanna go?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
I nodded and stood. There must be good reason for Durel to refuse so vehemently. Plus, it was a family that planted strange magic in hearts.
“Master?”
“Stay here.”
Creak—
As I opened the door and stepped out, gazes gathered. I was used to it now. Ignoring the looks, I walked forward.
At the front of the caravan, Kalam, the expedition leader, was arguing with a strange man. Our eyes met. Looking troubled, he lit up like he’d found a savior and waved at me.
“This is quite… Oh, Lumi? Perfect timing. This gentleman keeps insisting…”
“You’re the mage traveling with Durel?”
My eyebrows shot up at the man’s question. His casual tone from the start soured my mood.
“No Durel here.”
“Lying… You wanna die?”
“Die? You talking to me?”
“Who else? You’re the only one here.”
I glanced around at the man’s words. Kalam, who’d been beside me moments ago, was gone—having sensed the ominous air and retreated.
“Ha…”
I slowly exhaled and blinked.
Arcana.
Always-active magic. Eyes beholding the world’s mysteries read everything about the foe. That’s why I knew.
‘I can win.’
The man before me was a fairly easy opponent.
“You… those eyes… What are you seeing?”
Perhaps because he was a mage too, he sensed the mana in my eyes.
“The world.”
“The world…? Ridiculous…”
“And everything about you.”