Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Human Magic

"So, what were you doing here?"

"Well, actually, despite my efforts to make up for my grades through supplementary lessons, I ended up failing the year."

"I see. Are you trying to show off your stupidity?"

"No, it's not like that."

It's unclear by what criteria the candidates for Mage Knights are evaluated, but failing a year would imply being a dropout.

Come to think of it, I remember them saying that magic armor only had the effect of preventing oneself from dying and that they couldn't use magic. From a Mage Knight's perspective, they would be considered useless. They seem to have a high amount of magical power, but if they can't use it, it's just wasted potential.

"So? Why did you come to the Eldera Forest again?"

"Well, actually, I was looking for you, Shu-san."

"For me? Why?"

"The truth is, I want you to teach me magic."

"...Huh?"

Shu tilted his head, wondering why it had to be him. If she wanted to learn, it would be best to ask a teacher at school.

As Shu displayed such an attitude, Iris began to explain the reason.

"The teachers at the academy are D-rank Mage Knights. Even the most skilled person can only use magic up to the fourth tier. But Shu-san, the other day, used magic from the sixth tier. That's why I want you to teach me!"

"Even if you say that... My magic is self-taught. I have no intention of teaching."

"Are you telling me you learned all of that by yourself?! True, magic can be learned by ordinary people unlike magic armor. However, to learn such advanced magic on your own..."

Upon hearing that, Shu almost said, "Huh?" out loud.

It was the first time he had heard that magic could be used not only by Mage Knights but also by regular people. And it didn't seem strange for ordinary people to learn magic on their own.

Thinking that Iris could be a source of information, Shu decided to ask her some questions.

"By the way, what kind of system is the magic used by Mage Knights? I don't know the details."

"Huh? Is that so?"

"Yeah, since I'm self-taught."

"Well, in that case, I guess I have no choice. I'll teach you a little."

It seems like he could extract information without raising suspicion.

With a serious expression on his face, Shu listened attentively to Iris' explanation.

"Magic can be divided into four elemental polarities. In addition to the elements of fire, water, wind, and earth, each element has its own positive and negative polarity. Fire has 'destruction' and 'activation,' water has 'corrosion' and 'healing,' wind has 'rupture' and 'protection,' and earth has 'collapse' and 'birth.' Drawing out these elements with magical power and interfering with the principles is what magic is."

"I see. I understand now. Four elemental polarities."

"Basically, you can use any attribute, but most people have a preferred attribute. In my case, it's wind."

From Shu's perspective, he doubted whether magic could be used with such vague concepts. However, since it was being used in practice, it must be possible.

"To activate magic, an incantation is necessary. By completing the magic circle with the incantation, magic is activated. There is also a technique called 'silent casting,' but it is unrelated to me!"

"Are you boasting?"

"It's not something most people can do, even if it's not me! Shu-san used silent casting the other day. That's an amazing thing, you know!?"

Come to think of it, humans who use magic mutter something before activating it. Shu recalls that. He realizes that those mutterings were the incantations.

The magic Shu is interpreting requires both magical power and thinking ability.

Apparently, human magic is slightly different from what he had in mind.

"Are those four attributes the only ones?"

"Yes. The basic ones are these four elements. However, some people can use polar magic."

"Polar magic? What do you mean?"

"For example, the qualities of dark magic are 'destruction,' 'corrosion,' 'rupture,' and 'collapse.' They possess strong powers of curses and destruction, and are commonly referred to as dark magic. The qualities of light magic are 'activation,' 'healing,' 'protection,' and 'birth.' They have strong powers of healing and barriers, and are called light magic. Only a few individuals with exceptional talents can use both of these. They are truly rare."

"I see. That's how they classify them."

This is probably due to humans' interpretation of nature.

Rather than observing natural phenomena with laws and numbers, they understand them as concepts. For example, fire provides warmth to people but is also a symbol of destruction. Water heals and nourishes humans, but it also causes things to decay.

In this way, they fit duality into nature.

For these four attributes, humans add the duality of positive aspects for humans and negative aspects for humans, which is human magic.

Their methodologies are completely different, so it's natural that Shu's magic and human magic are entirely different.

"If that's the case, what about the tiers?"

"Tiers refer to the levels of magic. It's something that only Magic Knights like myself worry about, so regular people don't pay much attention to it. The lower magic tiers are from the First Tier to the Second Tier, intermediate magic tiers are from the Third Tier to the Fourth Tier, upper magic tiers are from the Fifth Tier to the Seventh Tier, and the Great Magic Tier is the Eighth Tier."

"So, are there no Ninth Tier or higher?"

"There are, but the Ninth Tier is considered tactical-level magic, the Tenth Tier is strategic-level magic, and from the Eleventh Tier to the Fourteenth Tier, there are forbidden spells known as military-grade Great Magic. It's rare to find someone who can activate them alone, even among S-Rank Magic Knights. I've heard that forbidden spells require sacrifices to be activated. So, it's pointless to worry about them."

"I see. So there's up to the Fourteenth Tier."

"In legends, there's the Fifteenth Tier... called Divine Incantation, but no one knows the effects of such magic, and some even claim it doesn't exist. By the way, I'm on the side that believes in its existence."

"I see."

To be honest, Shu wondered if such divisions had any significant meaning. While the classification made it easy to understand, what mattered most was whether they were practical in combat.

When Shu met Iris before, she referred to his "Zankūryōiki Divider Line" as being at the Sixth Tier. Applying the current conversation, it would correspond to upper magic.

The size of the magic array directly represents the scale and intensity of the magic.

Most likely, that was not a mistake.

"You can learn up to the Fourth Tier in the academy. Beyond that, you'll have to research on your own or rely on connections to learn from active Magic Knights. Well, it's not a story that concerns me, as I can't even reliably activate Wind, which is the First Tier."

"Then don't act all high and mighty."

Despite her age, Iris boasted with a developed chest armor, giving off a somewhat unreliable vibe. She was reasonably beautiful, which made her even more of a troublemaker.

"Well... do your best. I appreciate all the things you've taught me. See you. Take care on your way back."

"Yes, thank you. You take care too."

Shu turned his back on Iris and began to head back into the forest.

However, Iris, who had been waving her hand to see him off, suddenly shouted as if she remembered something.

"...Wait a moment! Please teach me magic!"

"Tch, you remembered."

"Did you just click your tongue? You did, right?"

"It's your imagination. See you."

"I said wait!"

He just wanted to listen to the story and leave, but it seems Iris wasn't fooled. She quickly ran up to Shu and tightly grabbed his arm.

"Pleaseee! I don't want to repeat a year next year!"

"Well, just put in some effort like everyone else."

"I am putting in effort~"

Seeing Iris on the verge of tears, Shu couldn't easily refuse her. Despite being a bit of a klutz, she was a cute girl.

Shu decided to compromise a little.

"Fine. I get it. I'll give you a hint. The rest is up to you."

"R-Really?"

Saying that, Iris released Shu's arm and her eyes sparkled. One might suspect that her tears were fake. Perhaps she was just a simple-minded girl.

"So here's the thing. What kind of magic does Iris want to use?"

"Yes. It's the first-tier spell of wind, 'Impact'. It's a technique to send an invisible strike to a long distance! It's the basics of wind attribute magic."

"Probably an impact wave... In that case, air compression is necessary. I can do it with spatial manipulation and acceleration magic."

Shu mentally constructed the structure of the spell and extended his right hand to draw a magic circle.

Since he had already analyzed acceleration magic, he could draw it quickly just by visualizing it. All that remained was to channel mana. This time, the target to be accelerated wasn't a solid, but a gas. However, that was only a difference in intermolecular bonding forces, so as long as the accelerated target was specified at the molecular level, there would be no problem.

"Like this?"

With the activated spell, air molecules were accelerated in one direction, reaching the speed of sound. As a result, the air experienced a rapid compression, generating a compressional wave. It transformed into a shockwave and was sent out, shaking the chosen tree vigorously.

The surface of the tree had a slight dent.

"That's it! It's amazing how you did it without an incantation!"

Iris was excited, but Shu only did it to demonstrate and explain. The real hint starts from here.

"Do you understand what just happened?"

"You gathered the power of the wind and unleashed it, right?"

"Then, what is the wind?"

"Um... well..."

"What is the wind made of, exactly?"

"I... I don't know."

"I figured as much."

"Then why did you ask?!"

The current question was merely for confirmation. It seems that Iris doesn't have a good understanding of how the shockwave occurs. So, how to trigger the "Impact Impulse" is the issue, but it seems she imagines the result.

Magical power transmits the thoughts of living beings.

The spellcaster conveys the result they imagine to the world, and the magic is activated as the world assembles it.

To illustrate, it's like being told the answer is '2' beforehand, and the world assembles '1+1.'

If the answer were '10,' the assembling options would increase, such as '2+3+5' or '2×5.' Incantations exist to adjust the way it's assembled. In other words, the larger the result, like '1000' or '10000,' the longer the incantation needs to be.

Conversely, if the spellcaster already assembles it as '2+3+5=10,' no incantation is necessary.

That's the rough mechanism Shu understood.

"In magic, the process is more important than the result. In other words, you were trying to use wind magic without even knowing what the wind is. Well, of course, you can't activate it."

"Uh..."

"The incantation should have meaning, not just be mere words. If you imagine each one in your mind, even a novice can manage to activate magic. Probably."

"Probably?"

"Probably."

Shu's advice was based on Iris's story, with his own interpretation added. Rather, if Iris becomes able to use magic with this, it would prove Shu's hypothesis.

Following Shu's advice, Iris began to recite the words of the incantation one by one, picturing them in her mind and considering their meanings.

Muttering the incantation softly, the magic circle gradually took shape.

"Impact Impulse!"

The magic was activated, and a slightly strong wind blew.

Iris widened her eyes in surprise.

Shu sighed and pointed out the flaw.

"That was lacking in the imagined result. Don't lose focus."

"Yes..."

In the end, Shu accompanied Iris until she could consistently activate the "Impact Impulse."