章 19: Super Short Spell 019
Dusk Manor, the courtyard.
In this small courtyard that forms a ring around the central tower, Reiger, armed with his slender sword as his main weapon, had emerged from the mansion into this space.
Several towers stood tall around him, which affected the lighting in the courtyard, making it not as bright. Although the surrounding flowers and plants were thriving under meticulous care, many shadows lingered in the courtyard.
It caused the illusion that it was still night even though the day had already brightened because the light was not sufficient here.
Fortunately, there were small fountains and magic stone lamp posts set up in the courtyard, and the light from the magic stone lamps was blooming, which made it somewhat convenient for people.
Reiger walked inside the courtyard, heading toward what seemed like a corner.
There, the sound of the air being split suddenly rang out.
It was the sound created by the blade cutting through the air.
Reiger stopped and looked towards the source of the sound.
The next second, Reiger saw the young girl he had arranged to meet here.
The blonde puppet girl was holding a shiny silver saber, currently engaging in training.
Her expression, usually bland, had turned very cold, with her transparent eyes becoming incredibly sharp. Each swing of her saber sharply cut through the atmosphere, sending streaks of silver light flashing at an astonishing speed.
Vertical slash, horizontal cut, diagonal strike, thrust, fierce chop... The girl, beautiful as an elf and mysterious as a goddess, continued to swing her beloved sword on the lush green grass, as if battling an invisible foe or as if she feared stagnation, dancing a fierce sword dance alone.
Watching this, Reiger did not speak or make any unnecessary movements. He stood quietly, watching intently.
He was learning.
Learning Ais's sword and trying to discern the trajectory of her swings.
Unfortunately, Ais's sword was too fast, so fast that Reiger could hardly keep up with her movements. He saw only streaks of silver dancing chaotically in the air, nothing more.
Even so, Reiger did not feel bored. He continued to watch earnestly until the sunlight fell from the sky and illuminated the entire courtyard.
"————"
Ais finally stopped.
She swung her sword upward and, with a "swoosh," sheathed it.
After she had finished her exercise, Ais turned around to face Reiger.
"Sorry," Ais said, slightly lowering her eyelids in a gesture of apology, "I kept you waiting."
"No," Reiger shook his head and calmly replied, "I should thank Miss Ais for letting me observe your training."
"Really?" Ais tilted her head, seemingly puzzled and hesitant, "Was it helpful to you?"
"Of course," Reiger paused, then nodded, "After all, as you see, I, like you, am a swordsman."
Reiger raised his weapon, bringing it into Ais's view.
"A swordsman..." Ais seemed surprised and slightly astonished, "You really aren't a Magic Guide?"
"At least, I am not that kind of pure rear-guard Magic Guide," Reiger considered for a moment, then added, "I prefer to rush into the group of enemies and engage in battle rather than staying at the back using magic."
After all, that would certainly be more thrilling.
Reiger silently mused about this in his mind.
Ais then recalled something Loki had said yesterday.
"This kid must be the same type as Ais, a problem child who absolutely cannot settle down unless they plunge into a group of monsters and wreak havoc."
Remembering this, Ais looked at Reiger and her eyes inadvertently showed a hint of warmth.
She felt that this newcomer, highly praised by Loki, was very similar to her in many respects.
Now, he even wanted to learn her magic.
Thinking about it, Ais couldn't help but feel a mix of complex emotions.
"...Can I ask you a question?"
Driven by her complex feelings, Ais asked Reiger.
"Please do."
Reiger looked as if he had guessed what Ais was about to ask, his expression not changing at all.
"Why me?" Ais pondered her choice of words before continuing somewhat awkwardly, "After all, Revilia is also willing to teach you."
Her implication was asking Reiger why, with Oloria's strongest Magic Guide willing to teach him personally, he did not choose her but instead wanted to learn her own magic.
"My magic is not like Revilia and Rephia's," Ais thought, "it doesn't have such powerful effects and range."
Reiger also knew that if he wanted to use powerful, commonly accepted magic, learning from Revilia would be the best choice.
Her magic was famous for its firepower. Once successfully deployed, it could completely burn an enemy of a higher level on the spot, even scorching a large surrounding area.
Compared to that, Ais's magic, though special, did not have such decisive power and firepower.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, one would generally prefer to learn Revilia's magic.
Ais, thinking this way, was unaware that Reiger had his own schemes.
"As I said yesterday, I personally believe that Miss Ais's magic is the most suitable for me at this stage," Reiger explained, looking directly at Ais.
"It is well known that all magic in the world has a common condition for use — one must vocalize a fixed incantation, known as chanting," Reiger explained further.
Ais nodded in agreement.
Chanting is an essential path for using magic.
It serves as the trigger for magic, the switch that activates the supernatural, steadily stabilizing one's spirit and allowing Magic Power to transform more smoothly into fuel for the magic to be released.
This was true both in the original world and in this one.
Thus, typically, the longer the incantation of a magic spell, the more time it takes to chant and, accordingly, the more astonishing the power and effects of the magic.
However, this does not mean that magic with excessively long incantations is beneficial.
"Magic with long incantations indeed possesses immense power, but conversely, its activation time becomes lengthy, which can lead to many issues," Reiger thought.
"Not to mention potential interruptions during casting or unforeseen events, even in terms of growth in ability values, possessing magic with overly long incantations is not advantageous," Reiger mused.
Magic that takes time to activate inevitably faces many limitations in use, and opportunities to use such magic become rare.
And if the chances to use magic are infrequent, then the growth of ability values becomes rather pessimistic.
It is known that frequent usage is the method to cultivate basic abilities such as 'Magic Power,' 'Strength,' 'Endurance,' 'Dexterity,' 'Agility,' and others.
If one seldom gets the chance to use their abilities, it means the basic ability related to the power and effects of magic, 'Magic Power,' will be difficult to enhance.
Because of this, many Magic Guides are desperate to find opportunities to cast magic, but magic's extraordinary power, being supernatural, can cause immense destruction with just one strike and is generally difficult to use freely in cities.
Even when entering the underground city, casting magic there amid monster attacks poses an uncertainty whether Magic Guides can maintain their composure and mindset to successfully cast the magic.
Therefore, in the industry's perception, enhancing the basic ability 'Magic Power' is acknowledged to be much more difficult than other attributes.
Conversely, once this attribute is improved, it directly enhances one's own magic power and effects significantly.
The reason Reiger chose Ais's magic was that, in his view, among the entire Loki family, only Ais's magic was the easiest to use.
"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Ais's magic belongs to the Super Short Spell type, right?" Reiger inquired.
Ais confirmed Reiger's query with a nod.
Essentially, magic is categorized into Super Short Spell, Short Spell, Long Spell, and Super Long Spell.
The longer the incantation, the stronger the magic power becomes, yet the time and convenience of use decline.
Conversely, the shorter the incantation, the weaker the magic power, but it offers the advantage of being rapidly activated.
Thus—
"A Super Short Spell, as magic, is the easiest to use," Reiger revealed his purpose.
"I want to learn easy-to-use, frequently usable magic so that I can enhance 'Magic Power,'" Reiger said with a calm smile. "Once 'Magic Power' is enhanced, the scale and efficacy of the magic will increase. When I learn other forms of magic later, their power and effects will not be limited by low 'Magic Power.' Instead, because 'Magic Power' has been developed, they will exhibit even stronger powers and effects."
Thus, Reiger had already decided that his first magic must be a Super Short Spell.
Only by mastering a Super Short Spell first could he ensure the growth of his future magical capabilities.
Of course, this approach inevitably presents a problem.
That is, the magic Reiger learns will inevitably not be very powerful.
However, this problem does not exist in front of this female Swordsman's magic.
Because the sole magic Ais possesses, categorized as a Super Short Spell, belongs to an exceptionally unconventional type.
Its effects are not only strong but also recognized as exceptionally powerful.
How powerful?
So powerful that although Ais is only Lv.5 and there are more influential figures at Lv.6 and Lv.7 above her, she still stands out as the strongest female Swordsman in everyone's eyes.
Thus—
"May I ask you to use your magic?" Reiger made his request.
After a moment of silence, Ais responded.
"Awaken (Tempest)."
The wind began to swirl.
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