Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Toward a Wider World
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“Your master who taught you apparently didn’t warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“Not to be rude to a mage older than yourself. The flow of time signifies the world of a mage. The older a mage is, the larger their world becomes.”
“So?”
“That means you can’t beat me. Unless you started learning magic from the moment you were born.”
His words made sense. If I were a typical mage of this world, I might not have even considered facing the man before me. Magic is a discipline of building one’s own world. A mage’s age meant they had stacked more onto that world.
However.
So what?
“And how long have you been studying magic?”
“Six years.”
“Six years...”
“Do you get it now?”
I began loosening up my body lightly in response to the man’s question. I rolled my head and shoulders, tested the ground with my toes, then drew the Warden Stick from my bosom to complete my preparations.
“Your six years. It’s emptier than I thought. My four months are better.”
“...I’ll have to straighten out this junior’s head... You’re relying on that Warden Stick, I see...”
Suddenly, mana began gathering around the man. The telltale sign of incoming magic. The instant his foot slammed into the ground—thud!—two massive rock chunks erupted from the earth. His spell went beyond merely yanking up boulders.
The moment he pressed both hands to the rocks, they shattered into razor-sharp fragments swathed in mana.
Soon after, the mana-wrapped rock shards hurtled toward me.
The rejection-infused wall of wind softly enveloped my body.
Pew-pew-pew-buk!
A transparent ripple spread outward, exploding every incoming rock shard into dust.
“Not bad...! You’ve got some tricks up your sleeve!”
The same magic again. But this time, with an extra rock chunk rising. The rocks split apart, flinging even more shards my way.
Pew-pew-pew-buk!
The result was unchanged. The shards blocked by the wind wall crumbled into powdery clouds, shrouding the area in haze.
This guy’s the same as the rest...
Every mage I’d met so far was cut from the same cloth. Arrogant and haughty. Beneath it all, a disdain for the world. When their magic was nullified, they rejected reality in utter disbelief.
The man before me was no exception.
“What... what did you do! Right, that Warden Stick!”
I let out a light chuckle at his words. I hadn’t even used the Warden Stick yet. I’d only drawn it on a whim, just in case.
And that’s when I realized it. Mages of this world who hadn’t reached a certain level posed no threat to me whatsoever. Cardia from the adventurer guild had been far more dangerous.
Slow and utterly defenseless. Every last one of them.
Swish—
I spread my legs slightly and raised both arms. Hands made for finer wind control. It was the optimal stance.
“Try it again.”
“I was going to anyway!”
Thud!
The moment his leg crashed into the ground once more. Five rock masses surged up on either side of him. The mana churning around his body had grown thicker.
His full power, perhaps?
Slow and cumbersome.
My first impression of his magic. Crude and unrefined. Like scraping by on outdated instincts. Were all the mages in this world like that?
Raymond hadn’t been.
“Die!”
With his roar, the rocks shattered, launching sharp projectiles. As the shards flew toward me, a thought crossed my mind.
Why bother with the unnecessary step? Uprooting the rocks before firing was slower; far cleaner to launch them straight from the ground.
Let’s try something different.
I’d just used Arcana to dissect the structure of his magic and the laws woven into it. Imitating it wasn’t hard.
Keeeng—!
My Mana Circle spun, channeling mana from my heart into both hands. I twisted my body, enveloping the incoming rock shards in a gentle whirlwind. The instant I seized full control of the attack...
I lightly clapped my hands together. The wind-wrapped shards converged to a single point, forming a massive sphere that continued morphing without pause.
Crack-crackle!
What emerged was a single, razor-sharp stone pillar. Destruction and release. Through reversal, I fused it back into one solid rock. Simple enough.
At least for me.
“Wh-what... My, my magic?”
“Yeah. Your magic.”
“You, you...!”
“Here, have it back.”
A few days prior, I’d come up with an application I wanted to test. Merging two magics of opposing natures. The collision and repulsion that resulted. Rejection in my left hand, release in my right. The union of these alien forces.
A brand-new spell was about to manifest in this world. The magic slipped my control, erupting in a savage blast. But that was fine. It was the exact reaction I’d hoped for.
Perfect execution would demand more mana and finer control. For now, this sufficed.
Kwaaang!
The explosion’s backlash hurled my sharpened pillar forward with brutal force.
Screeeee!
Like an arrow slicing through the air. The pillar rocketed ahead at blinding speed. Its needlepoint tip plunged into the earth right before him, cratering the ground around it.
Kuuung!
“Hah, heuk...”
He collapsed belatedly. His trembling gaze fixed on the massive pillar impaled inches from him, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
He said he was from Durel’s family...
That’s why I spared him. Plus, Durel had warned me—killing a mage tangled you in messy webs of grudge and favor. I wasn’t keen on that yet.
“Want more?”
“You, who are you... No, sir... Are you from the Sunken Vein School...?”
“Not in the mood to answer.”
“I-I understand. Thank you for your mercy. But, senior... this is a family matter. Please, as for Durel...”
I frowned at his plea. Clearly, he’d misunderstood who I was. Couldn’t stomach the idea of a mere girl half his age beating him?
Never even considered that I mimicked his own magic.
Over-the-top self-rationalization. Just another way mages guarded their precious worlds.
“Sorry for troubling you... Senior, then... please, at least take this letter...”
With those words, he drew a lavish envelope from his bosom and set it on the ground. A total one-eighty from before. He was overly deferential now, downright terrified.
Were all mages’ worlds this fragile?
“Get lost.”
“I’ll... take my leave.”
He backed away, mounted the horse he’d tied by the roadside, and even then kept glancing back at me. Our eyes met, and he hastily bowed his head.
The moment he galloped off, I used a gust of wind to draw the fallen envelope into my hand.
Glance—
I turned to the carriage and locked eyes with Durel, who was peeking out the window. Better pass him the letter.
“Kalam!”
“Y-yes!”
Kalam came scrambling out at my call. His face was flushed—embarrassed about hiding, no doubt.
“Bring something to drink. To the carriage.”
“...Right away!”
“No booze.”
“Got it!”
Once Kalam dashed off again, I turned and headed for the carriage. As I drew near, the door swung open on its own, as if it had been waiting.
“Did he leave?”
“Gone. For good.”
“Sorry. Because of me...”
“You didn’t want to go. So you stay.”
Durel was young, but mature beyond his years. There had to be good reason for defying his family. I hadn’t pried into the details—didn’t care to—and I wasn’t heartless enough to shove back someone who didn’t want to return.
He’s my disciple, for the time being.
Raymond would’ve gotten a kick out of that. A total novice with just four months under her belt claiming a disciple.
“But how did you do that...?”
“Do what?”
“Take the opponent’s magic... and make it your own. Overwriting their control...”
I fell silent. Durel’s magic questions always threw me the most. I did it because it was possible. Tried it because it felt like it would work. Simple as that.
Like trying to explain how to breathe in minute detail. That’s what magic was to me.
“I’ll explain later.”
“...Really? You promised!”
Someday. Once my grasp of magic climbed higher, when I could unpack it all.
Then I’d explain.
The next morning.
The promised day had arrived. Durel must have risen at dawn; he was already waiting for me.
He knelt dead center in the carriage, his face brimming with anticipation.
“Master...! I’m ready.”
“Ah. Okay.”
I frowned at his words. One week. I’d figured the magic would dissipate by then. But no. It still pulsed vividly in his heart, asserting its presence.
Gonna need to watch it longer...
“Durel.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s extend it another three weeks.”
“...Huh?”
“Feels necessary.”
It was a spell that absorbed all nearby mana and converted it to its own fuel. Safer to let it fade naturally than risk tampering prematurely.
It’d be tough on Durel, a mage to his core.
But what could be done? That was the way to resolve it.
“Got it?”
“Yes...”
Durel nodded, his face fallen.