...
At the Hayeral estate, in Shulim’s room, the spellbook she had practically emptied her savings for lay open in front of her. Beside it sat a dictionary, ready for any word she did not recognize or understand.
"Feel the vitality of the fire element. Picture the way it moves, like a grand ball thrown by flame itself, lively and full of joy..."
"Blend into it. Become one of them. Only then will they accept you..."
Shulim was studying the first spell recorded in the book, the first-circle fire spell, Ignite.
It was, without question, a very weak spell. A slightly stronger gust of wind could snuff it out. Its usefulness was exactly what the name suggested. It was really only good for lighting things on fire.
Still, that was true of most first-circle spells, so there was not much point complaining. The value of first-circle magic was less in practical use and more in guiding someone onto the path of magic in the first place.
Besides the mana circuit and the incantation itself, the spellbook also explained in detail how to understand and master the spell.
Of course, reading about it and actually doing it were two very different things.
"[ᛓᚠᛟᚾᚲתᛖᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃᛜᚣᚲ]"
Shulim tried chanting the spell the way the book described.
Nothing happened.
She refused to give up and kept trying for quite a while, but the little flame she had imagined blooming at her fingertips still did not appear.
After three days of that...
"I can’t use magic..."
Shulim still had no idea what she was doing wrong, and she could not help feeling discouraged.
But then she pictured a certain fairy laughing at her, and irritation immediately flared up again.
So she decided to ask for help.
...
"Huh, how do you use magic?"
"Mm... let me think. Lucia, how did you learn to use magic back then?"
"Me? It kind of just clicked all of a sudden. What about you, Lumia?"
"Hehe, same here. We really are on the same wavelength."
"Exactly, we are."
Watching the twins immediately start snuggling up to each other, Shulim decided to ask someone else.
"Oh, magic?"
Faced with Shulim’s question, Reid wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"It’s been so long since I first learned it that I barely remember. Amon, you answer."
"Don’t ask me."
Amon, sprawled flat on the grass from exhaustion, grumbled back.
"When it comes to magic, I know nine things out of ten... meaning I don’t know the first thing."
"Tch. Useless."
Reid clicked his tongue, but with Shulim staring at him like that, he could not exactly dodge the question either.
"Magic... well, how do I put it. I don’t really remember how I learned it, but I can show you how I use it now. Watch closely. Magic is..."
Reid raised his sword overhead. A faint white glow appeared around both hands, and then he brought the blade crashing down onto the wooden post in front of him.
"...all about spirit."
Slash.
With a single strike, the post split cleanly in two.
A second-circle void spell, Reinforcement.
"Ohhh."
Two people in the yard immediately started applauding.
"What, how do you use magic?"
When Shulim turned that expectant gaze on Ludy, Ludy stopped walking and thought for a moment.
"Mmm..."
Then she smiled softly.
"Magic is simple. If you think of it as your friend and call out to it with love, it will answer you. Like this."
Ludy looked around the yard, picked out a large stone not far away, and aimed at it.
"[ᚷᚲᚠᛏᛗᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃᛜᛃᛏᚠᛞᚲᛜᚹᛚᛖᛗᛜᛖᛗᛃᛞᛋ]"
"Fireball."
Boom.
A blazing sphere of fire formed in front of Ludy, then shot toward the rock.
A second-circle fire spell, Fireball.
It exploded against the stone, blackening the surface and leaving a crater in it.
"Whoa."
Shulim’s eyes lit up, and she clapped enthusiastically.
"Ah, how do you use magic?"
When Shulim turned those eager eyes toward Razelian, sweat immediately broke out on his back.
He could use third-circle magic, but it was third-circle void magic, and void magic had always been seen as the domain of warriors. Mages of the other elemental branches never really considered it the same thing.
And honestly, there was some truth to that. Void magic had always been simple and direct, built around brute force more than theory. Asking a void magic user to explain elegant principles and fine magical logic was basically just making life difficult for them.
"Uh... well, you see... how do I explain it. Magic is... that sort of thing. You know. Incantations, spirit, that kind of thing. That’s magic... basically, magic is magic. Right, exactly. That’s what it is. Did you get all that?"
Shulim just stared at him.
"...?"
Razelian’s face turned distinctly unnatural.
"Ahem."
Then he slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Ah. I just remembered, Lilia asked me to go buy some lamp oil. Look at me, I almost forgot."
He turned back to Shulim with suspicious speed.
"Oh, you wanted to ask about magic? Sorry, I’d really love to explain it, but I have to go buy that lamp oil right now. Why not ask Lilia instead?"
And with that, Razelian made a very fast exit.
...
"Lilia, how do you use magic?"
Faced with Shulim’s question, Lilia thought for a moment, then answered with a smile.
"If you want to use magic, Shulim, the first thing you need to do is recognize it."
"Recognize magic?"
Shulim tilted her head.
Lilia smiled faintly and did not explain right away. Instead, she held up one finger.
"Watch."
Shulim fixed her gaze on that outstretched finger.
"[ᛏᛃᚪᛖᛚᛜᛏᚠᚪᛡᛃᛋקיᛚᚺᛜᛖᚾהᛤ]"
As the incantation left her lips, light bloomed at her fingertip.
"Oh, it lit up."
Shulim’s eyes brightened too.
Lilia rose to her feet.
"Come with me, Shulim."
Shulim followed as she was told.
Lilia led her into the main hall and switched on the chandelier overhead. Bright light immediately flooded the whole room.
"Now look again."
"[ᛏᛃᚪᛖᛚᛜᛏᚠᚪᛡᛃᛋקיᛚᚺᛜᛖᚾהᛤ]"
Once again, light shone from Lilia’s fingertip.
"Oh, it lit up again."
Shulim let out another little gasp.
"Did you notice the difference?"
Lilia asked with a smile.
Hearing that, Shulim looked more carefully.
Then she found it.
"It’s brighter than before."
"That’s right."
Lilia let the light at her fingertip fade away.
"But in truth, I used exactly the same amount of mana as last time."
"Huh? Then why..."
"Because the environment changed."
Lilia pointed up at the chandelier.
"Glowstone is a mineral that stores a large amount of light-aspected particles. Once it’s made into a lamp and lit, those light particles are released in great numbers. They brighten the room, of course, but they also increase the amount of light-aspected particles in the surrounding environment. So even with the same amount of mana, if the environment itself contains more of the right particles to draw on, the spell naturally becomes stronger."
Then Lilia switched off the chandelier.
"So if you want to learn magic, Shulim, it’ll be easier to practice somewhere with a higher concentration of magical elements."
She smiled gently.
"But more importantly, you first need to understand which kind of magic is actually yours to use."
"Watch them closely. The ones that answer you, those are the ones you can use."