Master
I looked into Gaeun’s blue eyes and spoke.
“Then what we do from now on is decided.”
“What is it?”
“Live practice. There’s nothing else for it.”
“Already?”
“I think this will be better.”
In my judgment, Gaeun’s sensory gifts were exceptional. Forcing complicated formulas into her head here would only waste those strengths. Having her learn by actually casting magic with her own body seemed hundreds of times more effective.
“In that spirit— the spell you used in the gate last time.”
“You want me to try it here?”
“Yeah. Just like before.”
Basic attack magic: Magic Missile. Among all spells it was one of the easiest—simply gather the mana inside your body and fire it. That was why every novice mage learned it first. Mastering it, of course, was another matter entirely.
Anyway.
“Where should I aim?”
“Anywhere. Whatever feels comfortable.”
Thanks to the subspace I had unfolded with my own magic, there were no spatial limits, and nothing we did would affect the real world. No need to worry about breaking anything.
Gaeun nodded at my explanation. She stretched one hand forward at once and focused mana at her fingertips.
“Then…”
Magic Missile.
A white bullet streaked through the empty air. Yet the projectile that had been flying so fast simply vanished mid-flight, snuffed out like a candle in the wind.
“Ah…”
Gaeun stared at the empty space where the bullet had disappeared, looking disappointed.
“How did it feel?”
“Somehow… different from when I was inside the gate.”
“What was it like inside the gate?”
“It’s hard to put into exact words, but… um…”
She frowned, thinking hard.
“Back then the mana felt stifled. Like something was blocking it.”
“And now?”
“That feeling is gone.”
She turned fully toward me and met my eyes.
“If anything, it feels like it’s pushing me forward.”
“Of course it does.”
“Is that natural?”
“Look at your stats and you’ll understand why.”
Hunters, I had been told, could see a status window—something like a magical display that showed their current abilities as numbers, along with traits and skills. Only one’s own window was visible, so I couldn’t check hers myself.
“Just a second. Wait—huh?”
“Something wrong?”
“My mana stat looks weird. There are way too many digits.”
Gaeun stared at her status window with wide, startled eyes. The number written there was something that simply should not exist under normal circumstances. Status windows did not glitch; this was not a game. The odds of her eyes going funny were higher than the window itself malfunctioning.
“Of course. You’re sharing my mana, remember?”
“Part of it, yes.”
“So it’s only natural.”
“Pardon…?”
“Why the surprise all of a sudden?”
I had told her this several times already back at the hospital, yet she still reacted like this. Why did my disciple refuse to believe her master? All right, right now I was a crow tit, but in the other world I had been an archmage—not just any archmage, but one who had soloed the Demon King. An archmage like that could never possess ordinary mana reserves. Sharing even a fraction of that power was bound to produce results like this.
“But it’s so far outside common sense…”
Magic-type hunters usually had three-digit mana stats; four digits at the absolute most. Even those called S-class only reached five digits. Yet Gaeun’s mana stat right now was…
“One, two, three… seven.”
“Oh. Unexpected.”
“Right? Isn’t it way too high?”
“No—I thought it would be higher than that.”
“Excuse me…?”
Gaeun gave me a strange look. I shrugged my wings as if to answer her stare. What? Why? What are you going to do about it?
I puffed out my soft white-feathered chest and declared,
“Get it through your head. Your master is even more impressive than you imagined.”
“Well… you’re a crow tit, not a person, but… to some extent.”
“Aigoo, just let the little details slide.”
Anyway.
“Having this much mana and still casting the same as before—that would be the strange part.”
Previously her mana had been so meager she could fire only a handful of Magic Missiles. The gap was inevitably extreme. When the raw resource pool itself was different, everything else followed.
“All right, explanation’s over. Try again.”
“Ah—yes. Then…”
“This time draw out as much of your mana as you can.”
“What about control?”
“I’ll keep a light hold on it from the side.”
Gaeun nodded and faced forward once more. She stretched out her hand and focused mana at her fingertips—exactly as before. The difference came next.
“Sss… hooo…”
The volume of mana gathering at her fingertips was incomparable to the earlier attempt. It was so vast the difference was visible to the naked eye. If the first try had been a gentle breeze, this was a full-blown typhoon. A white storm of mana swirled around Gaeun. Yet, like the calm eye of a storm, the girl standing at its center remained utterly composed.
The mana at her fingertips swelled larger and larger—
“……!”
—Bang!!
A mana bullet bigger than a human head tore through the air. Not figuratively—it literally ripped the air apart. The speed was overwhelming enough to produce a sonic boom. With a sound like a cannon firing, the projectile shot into the distance.
—Kwaaaaaang!!!
The explosion was enormous—so loud it hurt even a crow tit’s ears. A towering pillar of fire flashed and filled my vision. First my ears, now my eyes. Truly a disciple determined to make a crow tit’s life miserable.
And that hopeless disciple was currently flying through the air.
“Ugh…!”
She had taken the full magical recoil head-on. Still unskilled, she couldn’t help it. Watching the ground rush closer, Gaeun squeezed her eyes shut. The thought I’m going to hit filled her mind.
“What good is a master if you leave her standing there?”
“……?”
“This is when you ask for help, disciple.”
“Ah… yes…”
When Gaeun opened her eyes again, a giant soap bubble filled her vision—large enough to envelop her completely. The bubble cushioned her from every external impact. Floating gently inside it, she wore a thoroughly dazed expression.
“I’m sorry…”
“Hm? For what?”
“This happened because I couldn’t control it properly.”
“Ha? What nonsense.”
I popped the soap bubble surrounding her with a sharp snap.
“Ouch.”
Gaeun landed lightly on her rear and sat on the floor.
“I told you to do it. Why are you apologizing?”
“……”
“If you really feel the need to say something, try ‘thank you’ instead.”
“Th-that’s true.”
Her blue eyes met mine directly. Those eyes held the color of a high, boundless sky.
“Yes, Master. Thank you.”
“Hmph. Now that you know, do better from now on.”
“Yes…”
Aigoo, this kind of thing is so not my style! Talking like this makes me sound like some stuffy old fogey and leaves me feeling weirdly awkward!!
Burdened by Gaeun’s gaze, I whipped my head the other way.
Watching the crow tit turn its head away from her, Gaeun thought,
Looking at it like this, it’s only about the size of a fist…
Why had it seemed so large a moment ago? That had been while she was flying from the spell’s recoil.
Falling would definitely hurt. I should have held back more.
A small regret settled in. Hadn’t she ended up like this by forcing the magic? She should have controlled it even a little. Truly reaping what she had sown.
She squeezed her eyes shut by reflex against the coming impact—yet no impact came. Instead, a soap bubble appeared before her eyes.
Is this the crow tit’s magic?
As her senses returned, words slipped out of her mouth on their own.
“I’m sorry…”
“Hm? For what?”
I created this situation, didn’t I? That’s reason enough to apologize.
The moment she thought that—
—Pop
“Ouch.”
The soap bubble surrounding her suddenly burst, and she dropped onto her rear on the ground. Questions like Why? What just happened? rose in her mind. A dazed look filled her eyes.
Looking at her like that, the crow tit began to speak. Still sitting on the floor with a blank expression, Gaeun listened.
“I told you to do it. Why are you apologizing?”
“……”
“If you really feel the need to say something, try ‘thank you’ instead.”
Hearing those words, a sudden thought crossed her mind.
I might have ended up with a better master than I expected.
Holding that thought inside, she rose and followed the crow tit walking ahead.
“Master, let’s go together.”
“Well… do as you like.”
The crow tit answered in its usual prickly tone. Yet a faint smile lingered on Gaeun’s face as she heard it.