Chapter 36

"Aller, I'm sorry, but that's quite difficult."

When I asked my father to teach me magic, those were his first words in response.

"Sure, you might have acquired sword skills that no one can match, even though you are a 《Jobless》. But that was possible because it was a sword. Magic is different from a sword."

According to my father, even the most basic magic requires one to have a job that allows the use of magic.

This is because, in general, people do not possess magical power.

Only by being given a job like 《Mage》 does one's body begin to harbor magical power.

Therefore, it is impossible to use magic with any other job.

"Of course, it was the same for me. I only became able to use magic after undergoing the blessing ceremony. It's natural that I had no magical power before that."

My father said this as if to advise me.

"The difference between a sword and magic is this: If you have the skill, anyone can wield a sword, and with training, you might improve even without innate talent. But with magic, you don't have the skill to begin with. How can you even train? No matter how much you are Aller, you can't use magic like that."

Hmm.

Indeed, my father's argument seems logical.

But I countered him.

"First, let me correct one thing. You can wield a sword even without arms. You can use your feet or your mouth."

It's not necessarily true that you must use your arms.

I do have two healthy arms, but if I didn't, I would have approached it from a completely different angle.

It's important not to be too rigid in your thinking.

"Hmm..."

My father made a subtle face and grunted.

"I think you're the only one who can do that..." he muttered.

"Second, there's another point in your argument that needs correction."

"…?"

Tilting his head, my father looked at me questioningly.

"Why do you say that people don't have magical power?"

My father was momentarily stunned, then he made a difficult face.

"Well, that's what is generally said..."

"Of course, I know that."

I had done some preliminary research from books and other sources.

"But nowhere is there a clear basis for this. At most, it's just 'people can't recognize magical power, so they don't have it.' But that doesn't mean you can definitively say people don't have magical power, right?"

Maybe it's just that the amount of magical power is too small for people to recognize it. Perhaps everyone, no matter who they are, has a tiny amount of magical power?

"That was my hypothesis."

"Hmm... Indeed, you can't say it's impossible... But what do you mean by 'was'?"

"I actually tested my hypothesis, and this is the result."

"…?"

In front of my father, who looked puzzled, I released a tiny amount of magical power from my body.

Even though it was a very small amount, my father's bangs floated up slightly.

"Huh?"

"Something like this."

It took a lot of effort to be able to recognize the magical power within me.

Actually, I had been secretly challenging myself ever since I saw the 《Magic Sword》 in the city of swords.

Once I understood my own magical power, focusing it, moving it, or releasing it wasn't that difficult.

However, I haven't yet managed to actually "cast" magic.

"There was an exception. This means that the common belief that people who haven't been given a magic-using job through a blessing don't have magical power is not absolute."

I concluded.

I think everyone has magical power, but with only me as a sample, I can't say that for sure.

"M, m, m..."

"What's wrong, Father? Why do you look so strange?"

For a moment, my father's mouth opened and closed like a fish's, but then he suddenly shouted.

"A, again, Aller is doing something outrageous!?"

Even if I can recognize my own magical power, it's just the starting point. Since I have only a tiny amount, I can't really use magic effectively.

"So, first, I want to know how to increase my magical power."

"O, okay..."

My father nodded smoothly, but he still seemed a bit excited.

"I, indeed, I do know a few ways to increase magical power... But these are methods used by people with magic-using jobs, so there's no guarantee they will work for you."

"Well, if it's difficult, we'll deal with it when we get there. But I think it's much easier to go from one to two than from zero to one."

"..."

The method my father taught me was very simple.

Use magical power.

That's all.

People with magic-using jobs know from experience that the more they use their magical power, the more it grows.

Hmm. It's the same as muscles.

Muscles get stronger the more you use them.

"Simple."

Of course, recognizing your own magical power is a prerequisite, and reaching that point is quite challenging.

But I'll give it a try.

So, I started releasing my magical power—

"?"

"Aller!?"

—And I collapsed on the spot.