Chapter 164 The Potential of Magic
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
To avoid disturbing the training of Ranbaa and Seira, I move a bit away from the two and use magic to create a circular wall with a diameter of twenty meters centered around us.
”For this training, we’ll stay within this area. There are no specific rules, just try to hit your opponent as much as you can and focus on defense against their attacks. Any questions?”
”Um, is there no victory condition or anything like that?”
”This time, it’s a simple training of offense and defense. I don’t want to burden you with too many conditions from the start. It wouldn’t make sense to get caught up in those and neglect the crucial offense and defense, right? We can add those details once you’re more accustomed to combat.”
”Understood.”
”Alright, then let’s start the training—well, I would say that, but…”
I pause my words for a moment and glance around to confirm.
”Unless it’s a duel, it’s not a normal situation where we’re facing each other in a huge open space without any shields. To make it feel more like real combat, should I prepare some obstacles?”
As I speak, I activate my magic, and numerous cylindrical pillars grow from the ground, quickly obscuring our view and making it impossible to see each other.
”T-This is…”
”I imagined a forest. Since the area around the settlement is full of trees, if there’s a chance for real combat, it’s highly likely to happen within a forest. So, I thought this would serve as a rehearsal for that.”
”I see.”
In response to Eurus’s words from a distance, I offer a small wry smile. It seems that even though he understands it logically, the feeling of doubt hasn’t quite sunk in. I don’t want to resort to deceiving innocent children, but I’m willing to be tough to teach them a practical way of using magic in combat.
”Are you ready?”
”Yes, I’m ready anytime!”
”Great, then let’s—start!”
At the signal, I dart toward the right passage. Running through the straight path, I find that its exit leads directly behind Eurus. I reach out and touch Eurus’s back just as they exclaim in surprise.
”Behind you!”
”Whoa!?”
Eurus, pushed suddenly from behind, stumbles forward. Before Eurus can get up, I quickly hide myself. At the same time, I also borrow some magical power from Eurus for my next attack.
The reason for setting up this scenario is to make the training more akin to real combat. That explanation isn’t a lie. But at the same time, I haven’t stated that there’s no ulterior motive. “Simply shooting magic from a distant place isn’t the only way a magician fights,” I was taught this lesson over and over by my teacher. This passage is one of the things my teacher used on me before, a clever ruse to make it seem like there are numerous pillars obstructing the view while secretly providing a direct path behind the opponent. From the opponent’s side, the view of me running through the passage is blocked by pillars. Thus, they would likely assume that I’m moving between the pillars at an impossible speed, circling behind them. Once that assumption takes root, it becomes my advantage. Even if the opponent knows I’m right in front of them, the thought that I might be behind them a few seconds later starts to haunt their mind, making them anticipate possibilities that don’t even exist. All that’s left is for Eurus to not realize the existence of the passage, and if I add pillars to the used passage to conceal evidence, the operation will be a success.
Until I realized this mechanism, every time my teacher disappeared from my sight, I would instinctively be preoccupied with their back, falling right into their trap. In my case, my teacher would scatter magic mines, restricting my movements, or rain down fireballs like a storm. But I’m not planning to be as strict as that. Right now, I’ll limit magical attacks to the sphere of pure white magic, a manifestation of unadulterated magical energy. Constructing magic using the power taken from Eurus, I incorporate another component into it to give it the property of “repulsion.” Unlike attraction, which involves like magical energies coming together, repulsion involves the reaction of different magical energies with distinct qualities. The ground holds natural magical energy, and the pillars I’ve raised with magic contain my magical power. Therefore, if the magic created by Eurus encounters these pillars, it will repel against them, causing the magic to bounce around chaotically in the field, pursuing Eurus while he tries to evade the attacks.
This spell is designed to produce a loud sound, so it’s not just for offense; it’s useful for reconnaissance in situations like this.
As I cast the spell, the sphere vanishes into the depths of the cylinders, and a few seconds later, a loud explosion echoes from the point where I launched the surprise attack. Immediately after, I hear hurried footsteps running away. It seems Eurus was still at the starting point. While wondering if Eurus didn’t move yet because he knew his position was compromised, I head towards the source of the sound to investigate.
”Barely managed to defend, huh?”
A partially collapsed earthen wall remains there. It was clearly constructed hastily; the explosion and impact of that magic weren’t powerful enough to blow off the upper half, but the explosion did scatter chunks of earth around. I extract Eurus’s magical power from the remaining lower half and cast a spell in the direction Eurus ran. This time, I find an intact earthen wall when I head to the location of the explosion. Given Eurus’s skill level, it would have required considerable concentration to create a wall of this strength. In other words, it’s clear that Eurus had already constructed the wall before the magic was launched.
”If that’s the case…”
I search the surrounding magical energies and confirm that Eurus’s magical power is dispersed throughout the field, in a pattern suggesting they are moving counterclockwise. It seems Eurus used earth walls charged with their own magical power as decoys to counter my magic. This means that undoubtedly, before my magic could reach Eurus, it would be attracted to and neutralized by the earth walls. However, until Eurus utilizes these decoys, I extract magical power from the walls while nullifying them and begin accumulating magical energy. Once I gather enough magical power, equivalent to ten walls, I move to the center of the field and start constructing a spell. This time, I prioritize quantity over power; the individual projectiles are smaller and less powerful, probably not enough to even disrupt someone’s stance upon direct impact. However, they should be sufficient to surprise.
”Now then, Eurus’s position… over there.”
Sensing Eurus’s magical power moving, I cast twenty projectiles diagonally upward, all aimed in the same direction. The projectiles slow down rapidly after reaching a certain point in their ascent, as if being pulled, and then they plummet to the ground—
”Whoaahhh!?”
A tremendous sound like an explosion drowns out Eurus’s scream and reverberates across the field. Though I intentionally toned down the power, the noise is a bit unsettling. I head to the point of impact, where I find Eurus on the ground, clutching his head in pain.
”Eurus, are you okay?”
”M-Master Neil…”
Eurus raises his head, tears brimming in his eyes, and it’s clear he has completely lost their fighting spirit.
”Maybe this training was too much for me… I guess…”
”No, no, it’s way too early to make that judgment! We’ve only just started, right?”
”But… even when I strained my ears, I couldn’t hear a single footstep from Master Neil. And then suddenly, you were behind me… And then magic was coming from the shadows of the pillars, and not only could I not counterattack, but I couldn’t even figure out where you were…”
Hmm, this is more serious than I thought. Without much deliberation, it’s clear that Eurus is just a ten-year-old who recently became an adult. While there was a need to be strict, being on edge due to an opponent hiding in a confined space and magic coming from nowhere must have been quite mentally taxing. Then, he was hit by that attack, and Eurus’s tension snapped.
”I can’t do this… I was only taught two spells, and there’s no way I can go against Master Neil…”
”…Well, ideally, you would’ve figured it out on your own, but I guess that can’t be helped.”
After murmuring that, I squat down where I am, meet Eurus’s gaze, and then speak.
”Hey, Eurus, you said you were only taught two spells, right?”
”Y-Yes… I did say that.”
”That’s half true, but also half wrong. I didn’t just teach you two spells.”
”Huh? But…”
”How about this? I used fewer characters in the text I used in this battle than the number you remember.”
”Characters… Oh.”
”Yes, characters. I taught you multiple ideograms to instruct two spells. Magic is built by combining these ideograms. With what you remember, you should be able to create dozens of spells with different concepts.”
Amidst unfavorable battles, I had hoped for Eurus to think, “If I could use this kind of magic in times like this,” and then come up with combinations of characters to construct his own magic. However, it seems my expectations were far too high for a ten-year-old after all.
”Um, Master Neil.”
”Yeah?”
”How did you construct that magic?”
”Oh, you mean that attack magic? That was simply a modification of the magic I used in Ranbaa’s match, with the addition of repulsion characters to ensure it doesn’t collide with anything except what carries Eurus’s magical power.”
”Why did the numerous projectiles you released target only me without interacting with each other?”
”I did use Eurus’s magical power, but I didn’t rely solely on it for everything. I used Eurus’s magical power only for the core components of magic like attraction and repulsion, while I encased them in my magical power on the outside. By the way, the reason you didn’t hear my footsteps was because I repelled the ground with both my feet and magic to eliminate the sound. Also, if Eurus had launched attack magic at me, I would have altered its trajectory using Eurus’s magical power through attraction or repulsion, depending on whether Eurus’s magical power was present or not.”
”…”
”How about it? Even with just attraction and repulsion, you can do so many things. Don’t you think you can create amazing magic with the combinations of characters you remember?”
That’s right, it’s all about how you use it—how you manipulate and combine the characters. Magic can take on countless forms depending on that. Instead of lamenting about not having usable magic, it’s as simple as creating the magic you can use. The potential of magic is infinite. With the right ideas, even ordinary magicians can become great magicians who leave their mark on history.
”Can I do it too? Can I… defeat Master Neil?”
”You can. It’s easy. Just create magic that can defeat me. It’s as simple as that.”
Easier said than done, and Eurus likely understood that, but I intentionally pushed that point. A renewed fighting spirit lights up Eurus’s eyes, expressing both embarrassment at easily giving up and frustration at being held back before.
”It seems like you’ve regained your determination. Well then, let’s resume the training! Just so you know, I won’t stop the training like I did before due to worry.”
”Yes!”
In the end, Eurus didn’t manage to land an attack on me that day, but even after the training ended, they began to show more enthusiasm, working on designing their own magic concepts.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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