Chapter 18

It had been about ten days since Ridi's class started.

The month had changed to September, but the intense heat showed no signs of abating.

The magic class remained the same, with thirty minutes of lecture and thirty minutes of practical training. During the lecture, they learned about the characteristics of each attribute and the structure of spells. In the practical training, Sharon continued to practice sensing magic, while I had graduated from that and moved on to practicing moving magic.

"Magic can be given to a spirit from any part of the body. However, magic appears from the place where magic is given. Therefore, it is necessary to move magic to a convenient location."

In other words, magic could be given from the navel, but if it was given from there, the magic would also activate from there. While I thought it might be possible to shoot a stone from the navel, it would probably be easier to use the fingertips or the palm of the hand.

"Once you can sense magic, try to change its shape. If you give magic through your arm, you need to adjust its thickness to match the arm's size..."

Changing and moving magic was relatively easy. The key was to imagine it, and it could be anything.

In my case, I thought of magic as an amplification circuit, so I just needed to make a slight change. By imagining magic as electricity and nerves as wires, I could easily move magic to my palm, which I thought of as a capacitor or a battery.

Ridi was amazed at this.

"You were quick to sense your own magic, but moving magic usually takes about a year. You did it in just thirty minutes... Releasing magic will come later. For now, practice controlling magic."

With that, she focused on Sharon's training. I had no choice but to play around by moving magic to various parts of my body. When I got bored, I started moving magic instantly from my right hand to my left hand or wrapping it around my entire arm.

(Now that I think about it, there was something called 'Madojutsu' in character creation. Is this what it's about?)

I recalled the description of "Madojutsu" from character creation.

(I remember it said that by wrapping magic around something, you could increase the power and success rate of attacks. What I'm doing now is exactly that, right?)

I moved away from Ridi, who was focused on Sharon, and tried jumping with magic wrapped around my feet. I felt like my jump height had increased slightly, but it was barely noticeable. Wondering if my MP had decreased, I checked my status and saw that my MP had gone from 82 to 81.

(If my MP decreased, that means I used magic. But I didn't use a spell or a magic circle, and I didn't make a pact with any spirit... I need a manual or a wiki...)

Incidentally, Dan and Mel slept during the lecture and played during the practical training, so I had them read books to study. When they thought I had started playing, they quickly approached me.

When Mel asked, "Master Zack, are you done already?" I lied, saying, "Not yet, I'm still training while moving my body."

Ridi noticed my actions and, after separating us, asked what I was doing.

"I thought about wrapping magic around my body to improve my movements. Is that strange?"

She sighed deeply.

"That's the same as what high-level Elven mages do. It's something that mages who have lived for hundreds of years can finally do."

When I asked if it was a technique only Elven mages could do, she shook her head.

"I've heard that some people can do it unconsciously. But those who do it consciously are only high-level mages. Being with you is never boring. Hahaha."

In the end, she laughed, going beyond being amazed.

"This is one of the powers given to you by the gods. That's why you can do it."

At her words, she stopped laughing, crouched down, and met my gaze.

"That technique doesn't use the power of spirits. It directly converts your own magic into power. So, it should consume more magic than regular magic."

Then, she gently hugged me.

"I think you'll be fine, but be careful. If you have nothing to do, I'll accompany you at night. So, don't use magic when I'm not around."

Moved by her seriousness, I could only nod.

After dinner, I went to Ridi's room as promised. When I entered, she was already sitting in a comfortable chair, sipping wine and waiting for me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. So, let's start the magic lesson," I said, and she gave me a seductive look.

"Really, you're so unsentimental. You come into a woman's room and immediately talk about that?"

She seemed a bit tipsy, and her voice had a sultry tone.

"There's no sentimentality with a four-year-old. I can't drink alcohol in this body, and I get sleepy quickly."

She chuckled and said, "Just kidding," finishing her drink.

"Let's start, then. I'll cast a spell outside the window."

I waited, excited to see my first real magic.

Ridi changed her expression to a serious one, stood by the window, and began chanting a spell.

"O God of Light, ruler of light. Grant me the sacred light, the radiant arrow, from your holy servant, the spirit..."

Particles of light gathered in her right hand and gradually formed a rod.

"...I offer my life's power as a sacrifice. Come forth! Arrow of Light."

When she finished the spell, a light arrow shot out from her right hand. Outside the window, the silent light arrow shot through the night sky like a meteor, briefly illuminating it.

I watched, speechless and dazed.

"How was it? What did you think of your first magic?"

Without realizing it, her expression had returned to its usual gentle one. I didn't know how to respond, so I just said, "Ah, ah."

She leaned in, smiling, "How was it? Pretty impressive, right?"

(The special effects in movies aren't this realistic... The way the light particles gather is like an anime come to life...)

As I recovered from my daze, a surge of excitement hit me. I took her hand and half-shouted, "It was amazing! Incredible!"

Ridi looked a bit embarrassed and said, "You're being too loud," but she smiled when she saw my excitement.

"Light, wind, wood, and water are the attributes I have, but I'm best at wind. However, it's dark, so I used light, which I'm not as good at."

She said this with a slightly proud look, puffing out her chest.

"That's your weak point? How far can it go? How many can you shoot? Did you learn the spell at school? What's its power..."

Excited, I bombarded her with questions. Despite looking a bit exasperated, she answered them.

"The Arrow of Light can go about 100 meters. At that distance, it has almost no power, so for attacks, it's best within 30 meters. As for the number... I think I can do fifty, but I'm not sure..."

Summarizing her words, the range and power were similar to a regular bow. Intuitively, the magic used was about one to two percent of total magic. She had a basic grasp of the spells but wasn't limited to them.

She looked a bit exasperated by my barrage of questions and said, "You really look like you're having fun. Do you really want to use magic that much?"

"In my world, there was no magic. It only existed in stories. It's hard to explain... It's like a childhood dream. Even knowing it's a fairy tale, I once wanted to use it..."

I was still excited and spoke passionately. Later, Ridi told me, "Zack was so excited that he seemed like a different person. I was surprised."

After about five minutes of talking, my excitement finally subsided.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by my behavior, I tried to play it off and bowed, saying, "Then, please teach me magic, Teacher Ridi." She chuckled and said, "Very well, let's start the magic lesson."

The magic lesson lasted about an hour.

"Since you're good at adjusting magic, I think you can use magic right away. But let's start with something simple. First, let me explain the spell..."

A spell is a word that efficiently communicates what the caster wants to the spirit of the desired attribute. The structure of a spell involves calling the name of the attribute god to specify the attribute, telling the spirit what form to take, and giving the spirit magic. When the spirit's power takes the desired form, the caster chants the activation keyword.

This is the structure of a spell, but just chanting it isn't enough; it's important to strongly imagine it.

(So, a spell complements the imagination. I don't really understand what a spirit is. Can they be seen?)

I couldn't quite imagine the unseen spirits.

"Can spirits be seen? I've met a god, so I know what they look like."

She sighed deeply and said, "You really are exceptional."

"Many people can see spirits, but I've hardly heard of anyone who has seen a god."

"Well, I don't really know if it was a god. But since there are gods, there are many stories of people meeting them, right?"

"The only one I know is the founder of the Church of Light, who claimed to have met the God of Light. Even he only met the God of Light. Meeting all the gods, from the Creator to the three main gods and the attribute gods... It's beyond words."

I was wary of religious talk and asked, "Is it really that dangerous?"

"Yes. If you say that to a priest of the Church of Light or the Temple of Light, they might call you a heretic or say you're blaspheming. But most people would just think you're crazy."

When I asked more about the Church of Light, it seemed to be a radical group that revered the God of Light, Lux, as the only absolute god. They had risen up in the west of the Kaelm Empire and even created the Holy Kingdom of Lux.

(A combination of state power and religion. That's the worst. I must avoid attracting the attention of a theocratic state... Oops, I'm getting off track.)

To get back on track, I asked, "Can you teach me a simple magic that I can do?"

Ridi put her hand on her chin, tilted her head slightly, and thought. Her pose was oddly fitting.

(She's cute when she does childish things like that. Even her slightly clingy behavior when she's tipsy is nice...)

While thinking this, she suddenly snapped her fingers.

"There's a simple one. Water creation magic. It's called 'Water Creation.' It consumes little magic, so you should be able to do it."

She immediately taught me the spell and picked up the mug she had been drinking from.

"Remember the spell I just said. 'O Guardian of the Spring, God of Water, grant me your pure blood. I offer my life's power as a sacrifice. Rise, pure water.'"

When she finished the spell, liquid began to gush into the mug. I was amazed but tried hard to memorize the spell. I repeated it a few times in my head and nodded to her when I thought I could do it.

"I'll try it now. If I do something wrong, please let me know."

Under her watchful eye, I took a deep breath and slowly began chanting the spell.

"O Guardian of the Spring, God of Water, grant me your pure blood. I offer my life's power as a sacrifice. Rise, pure water."

I finished the spell, but nothing happened. I slumped my shoulders and looked at Ridi.

"What did I do wrong? I thought I got the spell perfect."

She laughed a little at my dejected look.

"I told you before. You need to imagine while chanting the spell."

I had been so focused on chanting the spell that I had forgotten to imagine.

(How do you imagine creating water? I don't want to ask Ridi, so I'll think about it myself.)

I thought of the classic "condensation." But then I reconsidered if condensation could produce the amount of water she had. Condensation is the most straightforward, but even at 100% humidity, there's only about 20 to 30 grams of water per cubic meter. To produce the amount she did, I would need to gather moisture from a very wide area.

(Condensation is impractical. If imagination is key, I can think of water being moved through invisible pipes from a source. Let's say there's a water source underground. I'll use a magic pump to bring it up and connect an invisible pipe to the bottom of the mug... Okay, I think I can do it!)

With a plan in mind, I took another deep breath and slowly began chanting the spell again.

"O Guardian of the Spring, God of Water, grant me your pure blood. I offer my life's power as a sacrifice. Rise, pure water."

I felt the magic in my right hand flow out. As the magic flowed, water slowly began to fill the mug. I was excited to have successfully cast my first spell. However, my excitement quickly faded as the water kept filling and spilled over the mug. I panicked and tried to stop it, but in my haste, I couldn't.

"Stop releasing magic. Return the magic in your hand to your body!"

Her voice helped me stop the release of magic, and the water finally stopped.

"I'm amazed. If you succeed so easily, there's no point in me being here. Ah, I might as well go home."

She seemed displeased that I had succeeded so quickly, pouting and making a face.

(Maybe what the old man said about her mental age being the same as Mel's is true. Or maybe she's just being clingy with me, a four-year-old?)

"Don't say such sad things. I could only do it because you were here. You should be proud. I want you to teach me more, Teacher Ridi."

While wiping the wet floor, I praised the pouting Ridi. She said, "Fine, I'll keep teaching you," and hugged me.

From the outside, it looked like a beautiful older sister hugging a small brother, but inside, I was a whirlwind of emotions. I was starting to be drawn to her. It started with her appearance, but her occasional childish behavior, especially when she acted clingy, made me feel a protective urge.

(There's no way I can protect her in this four-year-old body. I really hate this small body. If I had met her when I was older...)

Her excessive physical contact was making my heart race. I had no strength to push her away and was powerless to resist.

I didn't hate this situation; in fact, I found it pleasant, but it was a cruel reminder of my powerlessness. I forced a bright tone and lightly patted her shoulder.

"Alright, I'll count on you. But we should clean up the water before it soaks into the floor."

She hurriedly started wiping the floor at my words.

(What does she think of me... There's no need to think about it. Just a child she knows. Just a student...)

I left her room, saying, "I'm tired," without any lingering excitement from the successful magic.