If there’s something absolutely necessary to use magic, it’s the ability to sense mana and wield it as if it were an extension of your own body.
And for Hio, this was far too easy.
It was because he possessed the best Trait related to mana.
“Watch closely. As a commemoration of you becoming my disciple, I’ll show you something special.”
So, Hio focused all his attention on Berga, who was about to demonstrate magic.
“It all starts with sensing mana and manipulating it. I, too, could sense mana, but it took me over two years just to learn how to control it. Still, I was praised for being exceptionally talented.”
He could feel mana writhing around Berga.
A precise movement, impossible to sense from ordinary Skill users.
“You seem even more gifted than I am, but moving mana directly is a completely different matter from merely seeing it. You’ll need at least a year of training to achieve movements like these.”
Mana moved leisurely, forming each pattern.
Slowly enough for Hio to observe and sense everything.
“Next are the patterns. Patterns made from mana hold special power. Combine them and trap them in a single Magic Circle. That’s the second step.”
Dozens of different patterns settled into their places within a single circle.
“When you make one, another falls apart. If you focus on one, you can’t complete the rest. So, you must create and maintain all the patterns at once, and activate the circle simultaneously. It took me a full five years to succeed with my first spell.”
To complete a single spell, you must understand all the patterns.
You must move your mana, complete each pattern one by one, and maintain them.
Then, you must gather the finished patterns and activate them together.
This was why Berga could speak proudly, even though it took him five years to succeed with his first spell.
Even five years was a very short time.
“So, don’t think it’s easy just because I can complete magic like this! Keep training hard!”
With the completion of the spell right before him, Berga also raised his concentration.
The final touch was the incantation spoken aloud, making the last step a bit easier.
“I will burn everything to ashes! Fire!”
All the patterns were completed with mana, trapped in a single circle, and exerted their power as a miraculous ball of fire was created.
This was not some skill that popped out effortlessly, but the crystallization of decades of hard work.
It was a beautiful sight no matter how many times he saw it, so Berga turned around with a satisfied smile.
“Uhahaha! How was it? Do you get a sense now of how difficult magic is…?”
And then, he sensed something was off.
“Hmm?”
He had been too focused on completing his own magic to notice before, but now he could feel another presence of mana nearby.
Not just anywhere, but right next to his disciple, who was standing there idly.
And then, that disciple, standing there like a fool, casually muttered a single line.
“Um… Fire?”
With a voice that carried no confidence at all and a suitably blank expression, Hio recited the incantation. Berga was about to burst into laughter at the sight.
Fwoosh—
But when a ball of fire appeared, his face froze exactly as it was.
That strange flow of magic he had sensed near his disciple.
A ball of fire identical in every way to the one he had made.
This crazy kid had succeeded in manifesting magic in just one day.
Something that had taken him seven years.
And what was even more absurd—
“…Huh?”
That annoying look, tilting his head in confusion, not even knowing what he’d done.
His whole life flashed before his eyes, even though he wasn’t dying yet.
Struggling for two years just to manipulate mana.
Forgetting to eat while focusing on creating patterns.
Countless trials and failures along the way. Frustration and despair.
It should be a good thing that his disciple didn’t have to experience any of that… Ha ha.
“You absolute little brat…”
‘Why were his eyes getting misty?’
While Berga reminisced about the past, lost in his sage time, Hio was also in a state of shock.
Not because he had succeeded in magic right away.
If he could manipulate mana and see the patterns, there was no reason he couldn’t do it.
But even Hio had not expected what happened next.
[You have successfully cast Fire-Attribute Magic – ‘Fire’]
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Would you like to register Fire-Attribute Magic – ‘Fire’ as a Skill?]
“I can… register it as a Skill?”
‘Why were Skillbooks so valuable?’
Because Skills could only be learned through Skillbooks.
But now, he could acquire a Skill just by performing magic exactly the same way.
“That means I’ll get the effects of my Traits too?”
Sub-Trait, ‘Can’t Live Without Style!’
Support Trait, ‘Everything’s Doubled!’—he could get the effects of both.
And if he maxed out his endurance, he could even evolve to the Hidden Trait: Violence is Forbidden!…
“This is awesome.”
It was only natural for his jaw to drop open in excitement.
[Fire-Attribute Magic – ‘Fire’ is being registered as a Skill]
[Skill: Fire]
[Ignites a small flame]
[The magic formula is incomplete. Don’t expect much power.]
He now had a serious reason to study magic.
***
It had already been a month since he became the mage’s disciple.
His daily routine during that time was extremely simple.
Wake up in the morning and prepare breakfast.
Though most of the meal was just edible plants he could find nearby, sometimes Berga would bring back some meat.
After wolfing down breakfast, the day became straightforward.
Study.
And more study.
Study, study, study, study.
“Haa…”
The sheer volume of learning made him sigh.
“If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve quit from the start.”
He thought it wouldn’t take long at first.
After all, he had learned Berga’s magic right away.
But Berga was resolute.
“You! Absolutely! Must! Build a solid foundation from the basics! Until then, you won’t learn any other magic!”
Because his talent was so overwhelming, he needed to master the basics perfectly.
It was a nightmare for Hio, who just wanted to swipe some magic and move on.
“Be honest, old man. You’re just jealous because I’m too good, right?”
“Nonsense! What are you saying! When I die, you’ll be the last mage left in this world, so you have a duty to learn all my knowledge!”
Berga was so firm that there was no way around it.
To interpret ancient magic books, he had to learn the ancient language, and he had to memorize the power behind each mana pattern.
“Sigh… There’s just way too much to memorize.”
At least the patterns were interesting to study.
Since they were directly related to casting magic, he found some fun in memorizing them and practicing making the patterns himself.
But… the ancient language was a real pain.
“Not that I can skip it either.”
Magic had been a dead discipline for so long.
Most of the books were in the ancient language, and even the Store of Honor, which he checked just in case, only had ancient magic books with scribbled covers in that same old tongue.
Back when this was still a game, he could read it easily.
“Learning a new language is just so hard…”
Looking at the stack of papers Berga had made for him to memorize, Hio let out a deep sigh.
It was basically a vocabulary list.
No, it felt like he was starting over from the alphabet.
“Sigh, what a life.”
Hio heaved sigh after sigh, while Berga watched him with a satisfied smile.
And around that time, Berga left Hio and went downstairs.
“Keep studying. I’ll be going down for a bit.”
“…You really don’t need to keep researching that, you know.”
What Berga was researching in the basement—
It was none other than the creation of Skillbooks.
“Don’t worry about it, just focus on your studies.”
Once he realized this, everything fell into place.
A living mage in the Last Mage’s Tomb.
Two missing Skillbooks.
Berga was determined to complete his research, create two Skillbooks containing his own magic, and then die.
But Skillbooks no longer meant much to Hio.
If you learned magic, it would just register as a Skill anyway.
“Why is this guy, who hates Skills so much, trying to make Skillbooks?”
“Isn’t it even more important to prove? People call Skillbooks the books of the gods and all that, but in the end, they’re just byproducts of magic.”
“Well, good luck with that, old man.”
“Click, click… The way you talk to your master, honestly.”
As Berga clicked his tongue and went downstairs, Hio shouted after him.
“Ah, I’m going out for a bit, old man!”
Berga just waved his hand as if to say ‘do as you please’ and disappeared below.
Once Berga was completely out of sight, Hio stood up.
“These days, once he goes down, he hardly comes back up…”
Maybe his research was nearly done, because he almost never came back up once he was in the basement.
Now, it was finally time to check.
“Just how flashy will the magic become when it’s a Skill?”
***
The sun sets quickly in the mountains.
By the time Hio left the house, the sky was already dark.
“First, let’s try real magic, not a Skill.”
He moved his mana based on his memory.
What once looked like nothing but meaningless patterns—now, after some studying, he understood the meaning behind a few of them.
“…Fire.”
All the patterns were completed, and the dark surroundings brightened a little.
A flame smaller than his fist.
Given the effort, mana, and concentration it took, its killing power was pitiful.
Which made it all the more baffling.
It had only been a month, but he’d learned the power of patterns from a real mage.
With the patterns that went into this, there was no way such a tiny flame should be the result.
It felt like something very important was missing from the magic.
“…Forget it, let’s try using the Skill.”
This time, he didn’t move his mana himself—he just willed it.
The intention to use the Skill registered in the system.
He raised both hands to the sky.
And soon, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Skill – ‘Fire’ is being activated]
In that instant, a blinding light forced Hio to close his eyes.
When he opened them again, he saw a massive blaze.
A blue flame floating in the direction his hands were extended.
A fireball burning so fiercely red it was almost cold.
It was so huge, he couldn’t even take in its full size from below.
The blue fire floating in the night sky looked like a miniature sun.
“Whoa…”
Hio let out a short gasp at the magnificent sight.
“This is insane, seriously.”