บท 13: Chapter 13 - Overwhelming Talent
Although it was so dark that Leo had to turn on the indirect lighting with his phone's flashlight, he had no doubt that this would be the happiest class in his 21 years of life.
"First, let me explain the basics. You said that mana in the air and magic that is refined inside a living organism are called magic, right?"
"Yes."
Even if knowledge of magic was rare, the level of knowledge was so basic that it could be found on the Internet.
"Then did you know that knights and magicians are divided based on how they use magic?"
"I'm not interested in knights..."
It seemed there was a profession called knight in a fantasy world. Of course, there is one on Earth too. In most European countries, the term knight is a bit more popular than hunter.
"That could be true. To put it simply, knights gather magic in the lower abdomen below the navel, while magicians gather magic around the heart. The place where knights gather magic is called the core, and we call it the heart."
The fact that they concentrate magical power in one place in their body is the same, but the decisive difference that separates knights and magicians is their method of operation.
"Knights who have attained enlightenment through training can release the magical power they have accumulated in their core to the outside, which is called an aura. Auras are divided into various forms depending on the weapon. The black sword is called an aura blade, and the spear is called a spear aura. They are all powerful and sharp uses of magical power, but they only use the magical power as it is. We magicians are different."
After finishing the explanation, a green haze arose above Iris's palm, and a pretty rose flower formed.
"It wasn't that difficult to realize that it was magical power. The magical power became a rose, then a bird, then a jewel. A magician's use of magical power is free. Much more so than a knight. There is no end to its diversity. Instead," Iris began to write something on the stone tablet. Of course, there was no chalk here. She was writing with the magical power that had bloomed at the tip of her fingers.
Leo, who was digging the stone tablet data, muttered, "...?"
"That's a state of suppressing magical power?"
"Leo? Do you know what I wrote?"
A collection of countless equations and shapes inside a straight circle.
"With my knowledge, I have no idea what it means."
However, it's a shape that anyone living in the modern era who has accessed the internet even a little bit cannot help but know.
"It's a magic circle."
"That's right. To be exact, it's the magic circle of Fireball, a fire-type throwing magic belonging to the element series," Iris said with a smile.
"Magic uses magical power and magical circles to create phenomena that would not normally occur. While knights use weapons and magical power, magicians use magic circles to create miracles. With training, auras can also summon big uses, but their range is limited. There's no need to compare what's greater. The direction that knights and wizards pursue are different."
Of course, knights and wizards didn't look at their enemies. Even so, wizards are different from knights.
"One of the prerequisites for using the basic magic, Fireball, is to create a mana circle, which is the alpha and omega of a wizard. A wizard without a circle is not a wizard, but merely a scholar."
The academic approach to magic and the practice of creating a mana circle are both equally important.
However, no matter how well you study, if you can't create a mana circle, you can't become a magician.
"Leo, can you show me your wrist for a moment?"
"Yes?"
"Excuse me."
Iris's slender fingers wrapped around his wrist.
Leo felt his face flush. He had definitely touched her hand before, but why did his heart beat faster every time their skin touched?
"Now, would you like to close your eyes and concentrate?" Iris asked gently.
Leo wasn't sure what she wanted him to focus on, but he closed his eyes anyway.
His already dark vision became pitch black. With his vision blocked and no sound to distract him, his sense of touch became sharper.
The feel of Iris's hand and fingers holding his wrist, and his own heartbeat pounding wildly because of it, dominated his awareness.
"Read, understand, and memorize. That's the structure of learning. Magic is the same. It's about reading, understanding, and accepting mana. Now, focus on your wrist," Iris instructed in a soft voice.
With her soothing guidance, Leo focused entirely on his wrist.
In the place where only his body temperature and hers were felt, something began to stir. It was cool. It was like putting his hand in a cold river in the middle of summer.
"Can you feel it?" Iris asked.
"Yes."
Then Iris guided the energy to flow. Warm water, sunlight, chirping birds, and the river flowing gently—it was as if her energy had followed all the way up to his heart. Naturally, the energy Iris emitted made its way into Leo's body and began to flow down to his shoulder.
At first, only his wrist was cool, but now his entire arm was cold. Then his collarbone and chest. Eventually, even his heart, which had been beating hotly, became cold. It was such a strange feeling that he wondered if he was even alive.
"How is it?" Iris asked.
"Um... I don't know, except that my heart area is cool," Leo replied, surprised by the unfamiliar sensation for a moment. But his senses gradually began to lean toward coolness and pleasantness rather than coldness.
Now, the air in the common area that had felt slightly cold felt just right. It was an ironic phenomenon. Clearly, his entire body had cooled down, but Leo felt warm instead.
"What Leo is feeling right now is mana. It just feels unfamiliar because it hasn't been magnetized yet."
"This is mana...?" Leo said, noticing his body strangely filled with energy.
"As expected, Leo has talent. Even if I injected mana directly, it's not easy to feel mana right away."
"Oh..."
When Iris took her hand off him, the mana didn't move as easily as before. However, there were definitely some remnants of mana left in his body. He could feel it gathering around his heart.
"Would you like to close your eyes again and concentrate?" Iris asked softly.
Leo closed his eyes, and a thick darkness came over him. And then there was the magic that refreshingly energized his entire body. He had only closed his eyes for a moment and opened them, but he felt like a completely different person than he was five minutes ago.
But this was definitely a power that made him a completely different person than he was before.
"Can you feel where the mana I injected is now?"
"...My heart."
"Leo, I told you earlier, right? The mana in your body hasn't gone through the magnetization process yet?"
"Yes."
"As I explained earlier, magicians go through the magnetization process of accepting natural mana and making it their own. The more there is, the more it takes to magnetize, but the amount currently in your body isn't that difficult. So focus."
Leo began to feel the mana swirling around his heart gradually melting into a part of his body.
"Think of it as something that flows through your body from the beginning, like blood flowing through your blood vessels. Don't push it away because it's unfamiliar, but think of it as something familiar. Mana is a magician's companion."
Leo observed the inside of his body with frightening concentration before he could even hear Iris's explanation. A clear blue haze began to bloom in the place where only the light was the flashlight on his cell phone.
Leo was going through the magnetization process where his mana was turning into his magic.
Iris was astonished at the sight.
Although she didn't show it, she was amazed. Leo's connection to mana and guide to it was the best of the best.
The series of processes would have taken her weeks to teach anyone else. Leo was an introductory student that had taken her on, who was praised as a genius, for training.
'What on Earth is Leo's talent...?'
She had planned to just teach the theory today and call it a day. She had planned on leaving it at that, but it was clear he could become a great magician after all this progress.
Leo opened his eyes a little later. Iris was certain.
"...Congratulations, Leo!"
A new magician had been born.
Tiring
[Thank you sincerely for participating in the love consulting curriculum]
[Congratulations on achieving the initial goal of the Become an Male For the Opposite Sex Project]
[☆Achieving 1st Circle Magician☆]
[Check your mailbox for the rewards prepared as a love incentive!]
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