Chapter 47: Primordial Magic
When I returned to the camp with Rin, it was already nearing the end of the day, but I still needed to train in primordial magic. Previously, I was afraid, but now with my OP skills like Magic Manipulation and Reinforced Memory, I felt that I had a chance of being able to use it.
Besides my own skills, there were two other factors contributing to my confidence: Usagi and Kurama. Their attacks were the Ice Horn and the Fireball, respectively, and they didn't use spells to launch them but manipulated magic directly. In other words, it was not Progressive Magic but Primordial Magic.
That being said, it was Kurama's Fireball that caught my attention the most, so I decided to start with that. With him by my side, I placed my hand on his back and said, "Alright, buddy, go ahead and cast it."
Following my words, he swung his tail, and a fireball appeared at the tip. Like a cracking whip, his tail flung the ball to the ground.
Although there was nothing but dirt at the target location, the flames persisted for a while before extinguishing. Even though the earth became hot, it didn't cause any damage, which meant it lacked explosive power.
"Alright," I said. "Now, tell me how you did that."
Normally, receiving tips from a monster would not be feasible or practical, but that didn't apply to me. With my skill to The One Who Understands Animals and my connection with him as my tamed monster, my confidence was sky-high.
Looking at me for a moment, all Kurama conveyed was something like, 'I just know how to do it.'
Feeling some cracks in my confidence, I said, "Try to be a bit more specific."
After staring at me for another brief moment, all I got was, 'I try and I succeed.'
That wasn't quite what I was expecting...
Taking a quick pause to regain my shaken confidence, I looked up some things in the glossary. I discovered that, even though they were irrational, there were various types of monsters that could use magic for attacks.
Some monsters learn to use magic after living for many years, but that is very rare. The most common types are those born with an inherent ability and those that evolve, gaining that capacity.
The latter was the case for Kurama and Usagi. Their skills came from their evolutions, Flaming Fox and Snow Rabbit. But despite having the ability to freely use such magic, they couldn't create variations of it.
I confirmed this by asking Kurama to try launching flames continuously, but despite his best efforts, he could only launch several fireballs one after another.
It seems to be similar to the skills I can use. Except for the magic arrow, which I learned from scratch, I can't really explain how I use the rest. I simply want to use them, and voilà, I can. To be more precise, it's as if they are already a natural resource of my body.
Anyway, watching Kurama launch so many fireballs was enough to give me an idea of what it feels like to be a fireball.
"Now, the important question is to manipulate the magic well so that no unexpected events occur," I murmured.
Using Reinforced Memory, I brought forth my past experiences with primordial magic, and they were quickly incorporated into Magic Manipulation.
In Progressive Magic, one needs to control mana to form chains of magical sequences in order to create a spell. As for Primordial Magic, one needs to shape mana, making it take form according to the user's intentions.
Although the two forms seem different, what changes from one to the other is the final step. The initial steps rely on the user being able to control the mana that exists within their own body.
With that said, after learning two spells and using them several times, I feel confident that I can control magic much better than the last time I tried.
My only fear is the final step of Primordial Magic, as that's where the danger lies. Last time, I ended up creating a small hole in the palm of my hand. Since I intend to create a fireball, if something goes wrong, I'm sure it will hurt...
*Slap*
Slapping both hands against my cheeks, I gathered all my willpower.
"Come on, this time I can do it!"
With utmost care, I extended my hand with the palm facing upward and began to control the magic within me. The sensation of magical power flowing through my veins was as exhilarating as it was terrifying. I knew that Primordial Magic was dangerous, but I was determined to master it to become stronger.
Quickly, my magic gathered in the palm of my hand, forming a small cluster of mana. Holding an image of Kurama's fireball in my mind, I slowly began to shape the magic, making it take the form I desired.
The cluster of magic in my hand started to emit some heat, and I knew I was close to succeeding. But this was a slower process than I had imagined. Even after who knows how many minutes, my forehead was dripping with sweat, and still, no fireball formed in my hand.
Staying in the same position with heightened concentration, my whole body was trembling with tension. But I was excited.
After managing to channel a small amount of magic onto the palm of my hand, it was finally taking shape. Maximizing my focus, I remained concentrated, molding the magic and attempting to turn it into a fireball.
Finally, a small spark appeared a few centimeters above the palm of my hand. As I continued trying to make something similar to Kurama's fireball, the spark soon turned into a small cluster of fire.
My eyes gleamed with excitement as I became even more motivated. Slowly but steadily, the fireball grew and transformed into a flickering flame.
"I did it!" I shouted, thrilled and relieved that I hadn't hurt myself.
Caught up in the excitement, I became careless and lost control over the small fireball. In an instant, I felt my skin crackle as it came into contact with the flames.
"AHHH!" I screamed as the fire burned my hand.
After the experiments with Kurama, I knew that magically made flames would take some time to extinguish, so I quickly poured water from my inventory onto my hand. Although they were magical flames, they still couldn't withstand water, and thanks to that, the flames were instantly extinguished.
"Damn it!" I cursed.
Although it was only a few seconds, it was still enough to give me a severe burn.
Under the excruciating pain, I didn't even think about using Veil of Healing. I immediately grabbed a potion and drank a bit. Seeing the skin on my hand regain its original appearance as the pain subsided was a relief.
"That was quite painful," I sighed.
Due to my scream, my tamed monsters quickly gathered where I was.
"It's nothing serious," I said to calm them. "I'm fine."
I knew that this was one of the biggest differences between the ways of using magic. When someone uses spells, even if they are careless, besides the expended magic, nothing will happen. But when manipulating magic directly, that person will always be in constant danger.
"A fireball may seem cool, but I should have started with a water ball..." I grumbled.
Regardless of my thoughts, I didn't intend to stop now. The burn I suffered was due to my carelessness, and I know that if I'm more careful, it won't happen again.
Without wasting time, I tried again, this time managing to form a spark even faster. Maintaining my focus, I formed a fireball that levitated over my hand.
At that moment, I noticed something I had previously ignored—the heat on my hand. As the caster of the spell, I thought I wouldn't feel any heat, but the scorching sensation on my hand proved me wrong. Nevertheless, I had to continue.
Keeping calm, I slowly cut off the supply of mana, and the fireball began to extinguish slowly.
*Ding*
Almost losing focus due to the system notification, I stayed firm as I read the lines in front of me.
---
You have acquired the active skill, Fireball.
---
"Yaaahulll!" I shouted with joy.
With what just happened, it means that even the spells I learn using Primordial Magic will be added to my system. This makes things quite convenient.
Raising my hand again, I attempted to conjure the fireball once more. This time, since I already gained the skill, it didn't take as much time.
As if it was something I had always been able to do, the fireball appeared in my hand almost instantly. At the same time, with just a thought, I extinguished the fire.
By doing this, I noticed something interesting. With the system acting as an intermediary in casting skills, all I need to do is provide the mana. Thanks to this, the amount of mana consumed is much less than when I used it myself.
It seems that the system gives me more advantages than I could imagine.
Opening the system interface, I read the description of my new skill, which was very simple and not noteworthy. But while doing so, I discovered that, unlike the others, I could change its name to whatever I wanted.
There's also another thing that makes me curious: why doesn't Fireball have a mastery to increase?
***
After a few more tests, I found out that, unlike Magic Arrow, which already had a predefined fire power set by the spell itself, Fireball was the opposite. With the help of the system, I can adjust the power of the skill both up and down according to my will.
Of course, increasing the power of it also consumes a lot of mana. This made Fireball much more convenient than Magic Arrow, but if I increase the power too much, it becomes too overwhelming for me to withstand the heat.
It seems that even after being recorded in the system, Primordial Magic still has some dangers for the user. But from what I understand, unlike other skills, I can shape and improve this one while reducing the risks.
I tried to reduce the heat that reached my hand, but it's much more difficult than I imagined. Well, eventually, I'll come up with a countermeasure for the heat, but I'm sure it won't be anytime soon.
I found that when I use my armor, the heat I feel is only like a warm breeze. If I had known that the armor also defended against magical attacks, I would have trained with it from the beginning.
If I ever meet Shadow-san again, I need to have a serious conversation with him about withholding important information.
Having acquired the skill of one element, I tried to create skills with others, but I failed. It seems that having seen Kurama's fireballs helped me have a good mental image of how to do it.
Anyway, I just need to train to improve.
Having completed the day's training, I prepared dinner for everyone, and we went to sleep. As I lay down, before falling asleep, I was sexually assaulted. Initially, I thought it was Rin, but it turned out to be Han. However, after I complained, she backed off and went back to sleep.
Although I thought this would eventually happen due to the nature of goblins, I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Regardless, nothing else happened, and I had a long night of peaceful and satisfying sleep.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone