Chapter 8

After that.

I tried to teach Ginny the method of non-incantation to enhance her abilities, but...

All attempts failed. No significant results were achieved.

"…As I thought, I am just an incompetent woman."

Faced with a deeply dejected Ginny, I crossed my arms and twisted my neck.

Even if I tried to console her, it would only make her feel more miserable...

Even if I stated the fact that she has tremendous talent, she wouldn’t believe it.

Ginny belittles herself as incompetent, but that’s not true. Succubi are inherently not incompetent.

Since the time of my previous life, succubi have been a rare race, all possessing high magical aptitude. Ginny is no exception, possessing high aptitude.

Then why can’t she benefit from the training? The reason is solely due to her mental state.

One's mental state greatly affects the efficacy and acquisition of magic.

If one is confident and relaxed, the efficacy and absorption rate are significantly higher. Conversely, if one is extremely tense, they can’t exert any power at all.

...I didn’t want to teach this, but to boost Ginny’s confidence, it’s necessary. There’s no other way.

I sighed and then said,

“You shouldn’t give up. There are still things I can teach you. This is... a technique that I haven’t even taught Irena.”

As soon as I said that, both of their eyes lit up. Irena with curiosity, and Ginny with a glimmer of hope. Just as I was about to teach them a certain technique,

“Perfect timing. Let’s put it into practice against that Black Wolf.”

Without waiting, I began to act against the Black Wolf in front of me. Focusing on the approaching black puppy, I traced my fingers in the air. And—

In the next moment, the area around the Black Wolf exploded.

The control was perfect. I managed to kill it while keeping the skin intact.

“...Huh? That... huh?”

“E, Eard. What did you just do?”

Looking at me with wide eyes, I raised my index finger and answered,

“I projected a simplified magic array using broken runes in the air and activated magic quickly. I personally call this technique 'Rune Break Magic.'"

“R, 'Rune Break Magic'...!?”

“S, such a thing, I’ve never heard of or seen before...!?”

“That’s to be expected. After all, I created it.”

““Eeeeeeeeeeeeh!?””

Both of them exclaimed simultaneously.

“D, did you create your own magic concept!? S, such a thing can only be done by someone like the 'Demon King'!?”

“H, huh! T, this is Eard! Are you impressed!?”

It’s rare. Irena is genuinely surprised. She usually doesn’t get surprised by much.

...That’s why I didn’t want to teach this. I was aware that this technique is beyond the norm. I knew that if I revealed it, it would inevitably cause trouble later on.

Still, I want Ginny to gain confidence. I want to help her escape from her hell.

Just like Olivia helped me in the past, I want to help Ginny.

“E, Eard is really amazing... B, but the 'Rune Break Magic' you just used, it’s probably only usable by someone as talented as you—”

“No, anyone can use it. After all, it’s a magic concept I created with that in mind.”

“Huh?”

“As I mentioned, 'Rune Break Magic' is activated by constructing a simple magic array using broken runes. Therefore, anyone who can draw the array can use it.”

“But, if it’s that powerful, the magic consumption must be—”

“No, the magic consumption of 'Rune Break Magic' is zero.”

““Eeeeeeeeeeeeh!?””

Again, both of them exclaimed simultaneously. They were in perfect sync.

“M, magic consumption, zero...!”

“H, how is that possible?”

“The principle is very simple. I incorporated a mechanism that uses the 'Magic Elements' in the air as an energy source into the array formed by broken runes. As a result, unlike regular magic, the magic is activated the moment the array is projected in the air.”

I explained the content of the broken rune-based mechanism to the two, who were half-believing and half-doubting.

Then Irena quickly disassembled the Black Wolf. As a result,

【Black Wolf Skin (Ordinary) Value: 50 Obtained!】

Seeing the semi-transparent board appear, she tilted her head.

“I’ve been wondering, if it’s (Ordinary), does that mean there are (Excellent) ones too?”

That’s unclear, but it’s self-evident that Irena is (Cute).

After disassembling, we moved forward and encountered a few more Black Wolves.

“Let’s deal with them. Are you ready, Ginny?”

“Y, yes!” Nodding, she immediately traced her fingers in the air.

In an instant, the Black Wolves were engulfed by the explosion of 'Rune Break Magic' and died.

“Y, we did it...! We did it, we did it! It activated! Eard! ”

Her face exploded with joy, and she bounced up and down. Each time, her pink hair fluttered, and her big breasts jiggled.

Anyway, it seems my goal was achieved. She seems to have gained a bit of confidence.

“Still, the magic consumption is really zero. If this were made public, it could potentially upset the world’s power balance...?”

“Haha. That’s not possible. While it’s true that theoretically, the combat duration of a 'Mage' can be significantly increased by using only 'Rune Break Magic,' the nature of using 'Magic Elements' in the air as an energy source means that only small-scale magic can be activated. Therefore, this can only be a minor restraining technique.”

Due to these circumstances, I never shared this technique with anyone.

“...Well, let’s move on to disassembling the Black Wolves, shall we?”

Both of them nodded. Irena ran to the Black Wolf’s corpse, drew her knife, and began disassembling it. Her technique was as smooth as before.

“What a waste.”

...Ah. Bad. I unintentionally let my thoughts slip out.

“What a waste? What do you mean?”

“Umm, well, that...”

Bad, I can’t think of an excuse. ...There’s no other way.

“Both of you, please keep what I’m about to do confidential.”

After saying that, I knelt in front of a corpse and activated 'Flare.'

I manipulated the spell to change its shape to resemble a knife. Then,

“The skin of a Black Wolf can become several times stronger if peeled in a special way. Watch.”

I inserted the flame knife created by 'Flare' into the Black Wolf’s body.

“The skin of a Black Wolf becomes much stronger when peeled while applying heat. It looks no different from a regular peel, but...”

After peeling, a gray semi-transparent board appeared in front of me.

【Black Wolf Skin (Superior) Value: 300 Obtained!】

Seeing this, Irena and the others widened their eyes.

“V, value 300!?”

“By the way, there really are other labels besides (Ordinary).”

After that, we compared the durability of (Ordinary) and (Superior) skins.

We placed the specially peeled skin and the one peeled without any special technique side by side and activated a regular 'Flare.' When we burned the two skins,

“The ordinary skin didn’t even leave any ashes...!”

“The skin peeled by Eard is completely undamaged!?”

Both of them widened their eyes and asked the obvious question.

“H, how did you learn such a thing?”

“It must be Uncle Jack, right?”

“Yes, as Irena said.”

That’s a lie. In truth, it was taught to me by one of my subordinates when I was the 'Demon King.'

My subordinates had a wide range of backgrounds, including some who were adventurers.

I learned various skinning techniques from one of them.

“Uncle Jack is really knowledgeable!”

“Excuse me, but by Uncle Jack, do you mean...”

While talking, Irena picked up the skin and tried to put it in her backpack.

No way. If she takes that back, it will definitely draw attention.

“Wait, Irena. You should throw it away—”

In the middle of my sentence, a hole opened under our feet.

And in the next moment, our weight became zero—

My consciousness went dark.