Chapter 10
The frigid waters of the North Sea.
The sirens were in the midst of a hunt.
Having dared to trespass into the merfolk's sea,
the sailors would pay for their crime.
Splash, splash—
One by one, the bewitched sailors fell into the sea.
The price of being bewitched by their beauty was gruesome.
Now they would live as slaves in the underwater kingdom.
Until they escaped the sirens' enchantment.
Forever.
“Get a grip! Don't let them enchant you! Cover your ears and close your eyes!”
The few higher-ranking individuals raised their voices, at least.
Zzzzt—Bzzzzzt—
“W-what?! My legs are freezing…! Help me!”
At a single gesture from the Siren mage, they became pillars of ice.
Splash—
Splash—
Before much time had passed,
only one human remained on the deck.
A young man who still looked like a boy.
Terrified, he swung his sword wildly in every direction.
The Siren mage approached him.
“Are you scared?”
“Urgh…. Stay away, you monster…!”
“Don't be afraid.”
Swoosh—
The mermaid gently stroked the young man's cheek.
He flinched at her ice-cold touch, then—
his expression relaxed.
There was no fear left in the young man's eyes.
Love, lust, longing.
A burning thirst welled up inside him.
He wanted to drink something, anything.
Even the mermaid's bodily fluids, even salty seawater.
Splash—
The young man threw himself into the sea.
Watching him, the great Siren mage Parthenope—
the mermaid known as Ice Bat—thought:
Humans were truly weak.
To give everything away after being enchanted by a touch against their skin.
‘Ridiculous.’
Like the elf in Archmage Gallery, she too held prejudices against humans.
The humans Parthenope had seen were all rough, ignorant sailors.
And arrogant mages she'd once encountered.
Her prejudice had only recently begun to ease.
It had started when a human appeared in Archmage Gallery.
Hikki.
A clueless ignoramus who couldn't even use magic.
But Hikki was different from the humans she knew.
‘They're friendly and cute.’
This unfamiliar kind of human made her curious for no good reason.
Her curiosity soon became interest, then affection.
That was why she'd volunteered to be a strict teacher.
And that choice became one of the best things Parthenope had done this year.
Hikki's talent for using multiple elements of magic without a second thought,
along with a drive to improve even further.
It was fun teaching Hikki, in a way.
“They should be out of the Tower by now, right?”
She opened Archmage Gallery.
[Hikki's kinda cracked? This time, I was actually surprised. For real]
[A magical application brain-dead fire mages would never imagine]
[But are you a woman?]
[We, the water-and-ice mages, hereby heartily congratulate Hikki on their achievement—]
Gallery users were already buzzing about Hikki.
Looks like Hikki listened when I told them to record their fight.
She clicked the post by Hikki that had started the discussion.
Amid a post whining that it had been super, super hard,
a video was attached.
The background was a lush green prairie.
It was an unfamiliar place to Parthenope.
Hikki strode through it with spirit.
The hands occasionally caught in the frame stood out.
‘Are those hands? Why are they so small?’
All the humans she'd met had been huge.
Twice a mermaid's size, sometimes even three times.
But Hikki in the video looked less than half Parthenope's size.
About the size of a young mermaid?
With that question in mind, she kept watching.
Hikki could be seen talking to themself every so often.
‘What's this Moo-sang thing? A staff?’
Are they talking to their magic staff?
No, I told them to resonate with it, not play house.
She was exasperated, but
for some reason, she didn't find it annoying.
Her smile, which had crept up without her noticing, proved it.
The video soon moved on to the battle.
Hikki wielded the staff and manipulated mana.
Their mana control was precise, despite their clumsy movements.
They drew out refined mana cleanly and shaped it.
‘All they need is to increase their casting speed.’
Even after their spell missed, Hikki didn't lose their composure.
Hikki immediately cast a second spell.
‘Hmm?’
The stumbling wolf soon regained its balance.
The spell had been cast correctly, yet it hadn't produced the desired effect.
It was the sort of situation that would rattle a mage.
The status window's camera angle began to shake a little, too.
How would Hikki handle it?
“Good, they're already preparing to cast another spell.”
I'd have given them a talking-to if they'd just stood there flailing.
‘I should give them credit for this.’
A third spell shot out immediately.
A small mass of mana moved along the ground.
‘I don't think it'll work at that size.’
Just as worry began to take root,
“Oh?”
Hikki's plan hit its mark.
A spell aimed at only half the wolf's body.
The wolf lost its balance completely, and the little mage didn't let the opportunity slip by.
‘Look at you.’
There was quite a lot to praise.
Their composure, maintained until the very last moment.
Their judgment in quickly deciding what to do next.
Their creative use of skills, and even their nerve.
'For a kid, they've got combat instincts, too.'
A skill only gained after a long time on the battlefield.
Hikki possessed an innate quality some might never develop, even in their lifetime.
‘I want them as my student.’
With just a little more work, I think I could turn them into a fine mage.
Unfortunately, Parthenope's lessons ended today.
Could I teach them for just one more week?
She slipped over to the gallery member scheduled to teach next.
└Ice Bat: Let me teach them for one more week
└Ice Bat: There's still a lot I haven't taught them
└HorsesAreForRiding: Don't even think about it
She was rejected outright.
***
“Yaaawn—!”
When did I fall asleep?
I must've meant to close my eyes for a moment, but ended up conking out.
I must've slept soundly. It was already morning.
Roll, roll—
I rolled around hugging my blanket until I woke up.
Wung, wung—
“Moo-sang, come here too.”
I operated the status window while hugging Moo-sang as well.
Archmage Gallery was lively first thing in the morning.
Most of it was about me.
[Why Hikki should be gallery admin]
[Author: MagicSupremacist]
Everyone here is at least 9th-tier, so all they think about is overwhelming everything with damage.
They're not even willing to creatively apply existing magic.
That's why not only are no new spells being invented,
but the ways they're used are stuck hundreds of years in the past.
But look at Hikki. They learn something in a day and immediately improve on it.
Honestly, for the mages here to improve further, they need to learn from Hikki's attitude, for real.
└FireMage: At least 9th-tier? There are people here who are only 8th-tier.
└└AngryArtist: I'm 9th-tier now, damn it
└IsThatForReal: If overwhelming everything with damage works, then application is pointless, but I agree with your point itself lol
They were even saying I should be the gallery admin?
Even I have to admit I did a good job clearing Floor 6.
I'm pretty proud of myself!
“You did great too, Moo-sang.”
I gave the staff a gentle pat. Moo-sang trembled happily.
I set it on the pillow and focused on the gallery again.
I replied to the posts looking for me.
[Hey, how old are you?]
How old was I?
Hmm….
My physical age was around elementary-school age, but
I was an adult, through and through.
└Hikki: Twenty-seven.
└BestDryad: How old is twenty-seven in human years…?
└Hikki: Fully an adult. Old enough to get married and have kids.
└ElectricityIsntFireMagic: What adult lol You're a total baby in everything you do
Then why'd you ask if you weren't gonna believe me?!
I ignored them and started a new post.
I should thank Ice Bat, who'd helped me clear the previous floors.
[Ice Bat Teach, Please Look]
[Author: Hikki]
Thanks so freaking much for everything!
└Ice Bat: You're welcome
└Ice Bat: What a shame. I wanted to teach you more.
└Hikki: I'll ask you again next time
└Ice Bat: Heh, sure. Ask me if you have any questions.
└HorsesAreForRiding: Oh, if your turn's over, get lost already
└HorsesAreForRiding: Stop being so clingy
└Ice Bat: You heartless horsehead
└Ice Bat: I'll get you for this
└AngryArtist: Why didn't you thank me?
You just make fun of me.
It's not like I'm not grateful, though.
Anyway.
I have class today, too.
Seven days of classes? I feel like a high schooler.
And I'm climbing five days a week, too….
A high schooler and an office worker at once?
‘How did my life end up like this?’
└HorsesAreForRiding: So you don't want to do it?
└Hikki: Of course I do?
Still, magic is fun…!
Let's just think of it as enjoying my hobby every day.
└HorsesAreForRiding: So, how'd it feel using CC? First time you tried it, right?
└Hikki: It was harder to hit than I expected. The ground-targeted spell seemed useful, at least?
└HorsesAreForRiding: That's right. Sending mana through the air is less efficient than you'd think.
└HorsesAreForRiding: If your opponent is sensitive to mana, they'll notice right away.
That's true.
The Dire Wolf had sensed my mana, and so had the goblin shaman.
Then I'd have no choice but to fight an opponent who was already prepared.
That meant starting without the advantage of a surprise attack.
That's a huge risk for a fragile glass cannon like me.
└HorsesAreForRiding: But there is a way to hide your mana.
└HorsesAreForRiding: You've already done it yourself. Sending mana underground.
└HorsesAreForRiding: Unless they're exceptionally sensitive, they won't notice.
I thought that was just a step for using AoE spells.
└Hikki: Guess it wasn't only for that?
└HorsesAreForRiding: You could use an AoE spell by dropping a bunch of fireballs from the sky, right?
└HorsesAreForRiding: Sending mana underground is also largely for concealing it.
I see.
└HorsesAreForRiding: And we nature mages are the best at concealing it.
└Hikki: Ooh….
└FireMage: Newbie, don't fall for it. He's hyping himself up like crazy
└WaterStyleWaterStyle: There's a reason nature magic isn't popular
└NoWorldTreeNoParty: Why not mention that it's a CC bot because it can't deal damage?
└Iron Beard: Hahaha! If you only consider the advantages, no magic could be bad!
The mages immediately jumped on Horse's words.
Seems nature magic wasn't very highly regarded among the Great Wizards.
Still, Teacher Horse didn't seem to mind.
└HorsesAreForRiding: That's because you haven't met a mage who's good at nature magic.
└HorsesAreForRiding: Imagine this.
└HorsesAreForRiding: What if you combined the range of a ground-targeted spell with the long duration of a single-target spell?
└HorsesAreForRiding: That's nature magic.
└Ice Bat: You use it, then
An AoE CC with a long duration!
Wasn't that totally busted?
It hadn't been nerfed?
└HorsesAreForRiding: The spell you'll learn this week is called Tree Bind.
Tree Bind!
I could picture it right away.
A tree stem shooting up from the ground and wrapping around a monster's ankles.
The more it tried to break free, the tighter it would bind it…!
└HorsesAreForRiding: That's exactly it, human mage. To use this, first circulate mana through your liver, then—
Horse was explaining how to use nature magic.
Fire uses the heart, water and ice the kidneys.
Nature magic, which is based on wood, uses the liver.
I followed the magic clumsily while watching the comments appear one line at a time.
└HorsesAreForRiding: It'll be very different from fire or ice.
└HorsesAreForRiding: The method and sensation will both be different, so think of it as learning from scratch. Let's take it slow.
└Hikki: I did it.
└HorsesAreForRiding: Huh?
I uploaded a video to the gallery.
└Hikki: Is this how it's supposed to work?
It was quite a while before Teacher Horse replied.
└HorsesAreForRiding: ……Yeah.
└HorsesAreForRiding: Go to the Tower.