Mind, Spirit, Body
Mind, Spirit, Body
A weekend morning. An empty lot near Ian's dormitory.
In the hours when the early-morning chill still lingered, Ian and Danya stood facing each other.
"In the end, it comes down to three things."
Danya's eyes went wide at the three fingers Ian raised.
"Three things? What are they?"
"Mind, energy, body."
"...I have no idea what you're talking about."
The moment difficult words entered the conversation, Danya's eyes began to glaze over.
But Ian had already worked out how to handle this cat beastkin. He wiggled his fingers, and Danya's gaze followed them reflexively.
Ian resumed his lecture.
"First, mind. Mind means your mental attitude."
"Mental attitude?"
"Exactly. Your state of mind. How serious you are about growth—that's what it refers to."
"Hmm."
"Look around. Do you see anyone else who woke up early to train like we did? No, you don't. So your mindset passes."
Mind, energy, body.
The theory Ian was explaining to Danya was not the "Mind-Energy-Body Virgin Theory" that circulated in 21st-century South Korea.
Calling it the "Mind-Energy-Body Growth Theory" was more accurate.
A weekend with no classes.
But even on weekends, there were no off days for training.
Ian had woken up early as usual and was training near his dormitory when Danya appeared.
—I-I was just passing by and happened to see you, that's all!
Or so she claimed.
Well, training alone or with a partner was about the same in terms of efficiency, so Danya ended up joining in.
"Next in Mind-Energy-Body is energy. That means mana."
"Mana... mana is hard, nya."
Danya's ears and tail drooped.
That tracked. As a beastkin, her overly developed senses made it difficult for her to filter out only the mana of her own element.
Ian, on the other hand, had no trouble handling mana. That Pongpongi bastard had grinded so obsessively at Emilia's trading post that mana sensitivity had been beaten into his bones.
"Hmm. Wait a moment."
"...?"
Watching Danya tilt her head in confusion, Ian continued thinking.
'Among all the elements in mana, isn't there a way to isolate just the plant element?'
Danya was a plant-attribute mage. If she could learn to sense only plant-attribute mana, there was a real chance her growth would explode.
Danya was, after all, the first friend Ian had made at the academy. Trustworthy enough to throw herself into that dark pit after he had fallen into a deep tunnel.
Helping Danya grow didn't seem like a bad investment. And learning to sense mana in finer detail would probably aid his own growth as well.
"......"
Ian closed his eyes lightly and began to expand his senses.
Paradoxically, having been a modern person made it easier for Ian to feel mana. When you eliminated the familiar sensations one by one, the alien sensation that remained—that was mana.
'Normally, I only felt the earth element.'
But this time, he focused more deeply. The faint scent of soil drifting from the earth element. He pushed a little further and imagined a seed. Then a tiny sprout emerging from that seed. The fragrance of grass swaying in the wind, and a dance of light cascading through fluttering leaves.
'<Extraction>'
The moment he caught hold of the sensation, Ian used Extraction and Transformation magic in rapid succession.
"......"
Ian opened his eyes. On his outstretched index finger sat a small green droplet-shaped crystal.
As if entranced, Danya drew closer.
"That... no way?"
"Touch it."
"Oo... ooohhhhh."
Like a cat who'd just received a favorite new toy, Danya fiddled with the green plant-element crystal from every angle.
As Ian watched her with a gratified smile, Danya clutched the crystal preciously and looked his way, eyes sparkling.
"Ian! You really are a genius, nya!"
Something Ian had recently noticed: Danya sometimes tacked "nya" onto the ends of her sentences when surprised. A childhood speech habit she was trying to suppress, perhaps?
In any case, the girl was visibly excited.
"I've never heard of a mage who can crystallize other elements!"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah!"
"Isn't that just because you spent all your time in the Holy Land?"
"Muuuu...! Now that you mention it, maybe."
"Just kidding."
After teasing a sulking Danya for a moment, Ian fell into thought.
'Is this really that difficult?'
To be fair, even in the Fanta X Aca setting, no characters appeared who could handle multiple elements.
'Well, calling this handling another element is a bit of an overstatement anyway.'
Truth be told, he had only used the most basic (to Ian) earth magic: <Extraction> and <Transformation>.
The thought that his understanding of this world was still lacking crossed his mind once again.
"Ahem."
Ian rose from his spot and extended his final finger. The last piece of the Mind-Energy-Body Growth Theory.
"Finally, body. The physical body."
Danya narrowed her eyes like she was looking at a con artist.
"What's with that look."
"A scrawny kid like you saying that..."
"Right in the weak spot, huh."
"Heh. You've gotta be at least my level."
Springing up, Danya jumped onto a nearby tree stump and raised her arms. A small body, but one that looked taut and elastic.
Ian's gaze slowly swept over Danya's figure. She really was built differently, probably because she was a beastkin.
Right around when he was examining her pectoral muscles, Danya abruptly hugged her body.
"Where do you think you're looking?!"
"Not like there's much worth looking at."
"...Why you!!!"
He caught a few smacks. He felt wronged. He swore he was only talking about pectoral muscles.
The beating did drive one thing home.
'Pongpongi's body really does lack muscle.'
Naturally. There was no way Pongpongi had done anything that qualified as exercise. Walking around while stalking the heroines was probably the extent of it.
Which meant his body was practically indistinguishable from a bag of bones.
Ian was paying attention to that aspect too. Push-ups, planks, lunges, and the like. The plan was to start serious weight training once he'd built up a basic core.
"Anyway, the balance of Mind, Energy, and Body is what matters. That's the point."
"I see."
Danya nodded this time, as though convinced.
But Ian felt differently. Even after saying it aloud, something still felt missing.
'What's missing?'
The deliberation didn't last long. There was one element that had quietly slipped out of the Mind-Energy-Body Growth Theory.
'Knowledge.'
Specifically, he lacked knowledge and experience concerning this world.
Sure, he'd stayed up all night playing Fanta X Aca and memorized even the minor setting details. But that was ultimately a world experienced and learned from behind a screen.
The library. He needed to go to the library.
That was why, after parting ways with Danya, Ian headed to the academy campus on a weekend.
◆
As always, he got lost. The academy had a tendency to be far too enormous.
He wished there were at least a minimap.
—Eek! I-It's Ian! Sorry, I have a boyfriend now!
When he tried asking for directions, everyone he approached reacted as if he were a pest, making normal conversation impossible. Such was the reputation he'd earned from his past behavior.
After much wandering, he arrived at the library. The smell of paper and books was genuinely warm and comforting.
It was also remarkably vast. At a glance, the place seemed to stretch on endlessly. Fortunately, a librarian sat near the entrance, though she was so absorbed in her book she paid no attention to anyone approaching.
Somehow, interrupting her felt rude.
"Excuse me. I'd like to ask a question."
"Name."
"Ian Blackangus. Do I need a library card or something to read here?"
The librarian shook her head.
Well, could you really call that a shake? The motion was so microscopic that only her sky-blue hair briefly lifted and settled.
"Reading privileges confirmed. You may read."
"Is borrowing possible as well?"
"Your grades are low."
"That stung, rather suddenly."
"One book for borrowing. Unlimited reading. If your grades rise, you may borrow more."
...Isn't something off about this?
"Wait."
At Ian's words, the librarian looked up indifferently.
"Shouldn't it be the other way around? Someone who struggles academically should be allowed more books. Why does someone who does well get to borrow more?"
He didn't necessarily expect an answer. But even so, the librarian's gaze remained apathetic.
"......"
She lowered her head again. So it wasn't even worth answering. That stings a person's feelings, you know.
Then, in a small voice, she spoke.
"Books must be read quietly and must not be damaged. Return them to their proper places when finished."
Ian shrugged. 'Not like I planned to borrow anything anyway.'
Back at the dorm, his time was instantly consumed by practicing magic and exercising. He'd just read at the library.
"Ah. Could you recommend a book, if possible?"
The librarian's head bobbed microscopically. A yes, most likely.
'Hmm.'
Come to think of it, describing the type of book he wanted wasn't easy. How should he phrase "a beginner's introduction to the Fanta X Aca world"?
Ian pondered for a moment, then spoke.
"If there were a traveler who had just set foot in this world for the first time, recommend a book that would help them understand it."
"......"
For a brief moment, the librarian's expression seemed to shift. Did the corners of her mouth twitch upward just a little? Did she find the question peculiar?
The librarian scribbled something on a white slip of paper and handed it over.
"Thanks."
A rather peculiar librarian.
Ian bowed his head. As he turned to leave, her voice came again.
"Also," she slid a thin, small index finger under her glasses to adjust them and looked up at him. From her slightly parted lips came a voice like a whisper. "Confessions, romantic advances—prohibited."
That bastard Pongpongi. Did he go around confessing even here?
"...Understood."
Ian pressed his fingers to his aching forehead and walked on.
Setting that aside, this library... was absurdly enormous. A single floor of this building seemed about the size of a soccer field. Amazing at first glance; daunting after walking for a while. How was he supposed to find books in here?
Befuddled, Ian checked the slip the librarian had written.
"Her handwriting looks exactly like it was printed by a computer."
[ History of Lichten ]
[ Around the Continent on Foot ]
......
How in the world was he supposed to find these in this gigantic place.
Overwhelmed by the sheer scale, the dormant "modern man Kim Ian" inside him surfaced.
These primitive fantasy idiots. No book search system, and you just scatter books all over creation? Isn't the organization absurdly inefficient?
'Maybe I should bestow upon them the modern marvel of the <Decimal Classification System>.'
Tsk, tsk. If you're going to get possessed, an episode like this adds flavor, doesn't it.
Just as unfounded confidence was swelling in Ian's heart—
—flash!
The slip the librarian gave him glowed. Then it displayed the direction of the book he was looking for. Surprisingly intuitive and helpful.
"Ah."
Ian was convinced. Truly, magic beat science.
◆
Ian went through the books on the list, one by one, focusing on the core content.
[ History of Lichten ]: A book about Lichten Academy and the history of the city-state Lichten to which it belonged.
[ Around the Continent on Foot ]: A book describing the continent's key nations—Holy Constantine in the south, the Kingdom of Gallia in the west, the Prussian Empire in the north, and more—along with its core geography.
And then there was [ Gods of the Elements ], which he could not afford to skip. Naturally, the publicly available books contained no secret methods related to mana or magic, but the tales woven around each element offered even greater detail.
'...This is more specific than I expected.'
Above all, it offered concrete descriptions of Gaia, the Goddess of Earth—passages that would prove enormously helpful when he later sought her blessing.
He crammed as much of it as possible into his memory. By the time he'd skimmed the essentials with such intense focus, he had reached the end of the list.
———
......
[ The Biography of the Hero Dave ]
[ The Taciturn Wicked Young Lady Prefers Her Rough-Tongued Butler ]
———
The biography of the Hero Dave appeared to be a children's fairy tale. No, wait.
"...?"
What was up with that last book?
"Did she write it wrong?"
Ian recalled the librarian's face. A face of endless rationality and composure. Would someone like that read a book like this?
"Nah, no way."
She had been half-closing her eyes as if sleepy, after all. She probably just made an error. He decided to pretend he hadn't seen it.
'Then consider the last book nonexistent.'
The Biography of the Hero Dave.
Following the guidance of the slip, he naturally made his way to a bookshelf packed with fairy tale books.
'Why would she recommend a fairy tale?'
Skimming over the titles crowding the shelf, Ian fell into thought. Perhaps the librarian wanted to talk about "common ground." Maybe she wanted to tell him that even if it was just through a book, sharing the childhood that people in this world lived through could create connection.
'Romantic.'
In the middle of scanning the spines, he found it.
...
[ Dragon Hunter James ]
[ The Biography of the Hero Dave ]
"Found it."
He reached for the book.
—thump
And at the same moment, his hand bumped into another that had also reached for it.
"I apologize."
Ian quickly lowered his head.
"...I-I."
But the other person's reaction was strange. Why was she stammering like that?
When Ian lifted his head, he immediately understood.
"You... Ian...?"
Black bangs, messy enough to cover her eyes. A figure ample enough to contain all the holy power she held within. A mental state as unstable as her gloomy disposition. And a candidate for sainthood.
"Aria?"
Aria Lumines Bell. Standing there was another heroine—and Pongpongi's childhood friend.