Chapter 2
‘I want to learn magic.’ That declaration set the gallery abuzz.
The discussion split into two sharply divided camps.
One side was opposed.
Those presumed to be elves made up the bulk of it.
└NoWorldTreeNoParty : Is this an academy? You expect us to teach from the basics?
└Elfprpr : The problem is, if we accept this one, it'll never end. If something similar happens later, are we supposed to accept them too?
└DisqualifiedElf : Do what you want. I don't want to get involved.
For some reason, they really hated me.
Fortunately, there were supporters, too.
Maybe everyone else besides the elves?
└Iron Beard : Haha! This sounds like fun! I'm in favor!
└GoodAtHousework : I think it sounds fun, too!
└BearDoorBearDoorBear : I'm not going to be the one teaching them, but I don't see the harm in it.
└HorsesAreForRiding : Sometimes it's nice to have an event like this. The newbies haven't even started flooding in yet. No need to worry already.
The elves were vehemently opposed.
The rest were tentatively in favor.
The elves were the loudest, but.
In terms of numbers, the supporters far outnumbered them.
The head mod, Nyeomnyong, stepped in to calm everyone down.
└Nyeomnyong : Then let's give teaching them a try.
└Nyeomnyong : It's been a while since I had a student. I'm a little excited!
└DisqualifiedElf : Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous.
└Nyeomnyong : Do you have a problem with that?
└DisqualifiedElf : No…. That's not what I meant.
To think the head mod could shut down an elf's spite just like that.
The head mod seemed to have more clout than I'd expected.
Since Nyeomnyong thought well of me, I probably wouldn't get kicked out anytime soon.
└Hikki : So, will you be the one teaching me, Nyeomnyong?
└Nyeomnyong : Ahem, m-me?
└AngryArtist : Lol, newbie, at least learn to read the room.
└That'sActuallyTrue : Going straight to the big boss~
└Hikki : Oh, was it like that? Never mind, never mind.
They'd mentioned having a new student, so I thought Nyeomnyong would teach me personally.
Guess it wasn't that simple.
It was like asking your senior at work who to go to with questions, then heading straight to the CEO.
Then who would be my teacher?
└GoodAtHousework : Should I do it?
└SuitonSuiton : Uh, maybe not you.
└GoodAtHousework : Why not me….
└Hikki : Why can't that person teach me? I don't mind.
└SuitonSuiton : GoodAtHousework specializes in minor magic.
└SuitonSuiton : Cleaning, laundry, washing dishes, cooking, that sort of thing.
└GoodAtHousework : I-I have better fundamentals than any other mage here, you know?
So they really were good at housework.
They'd gotten into the Archmage Gallery through cleaning and laundry.
Just how good at housework were they?
└GoodAtHousework : But why do you want to learn magic, Hikki?
└GoodAtHousework : I need to know what kind of magic you're hoping to learn.
└Hikki : Oh, well….
I gave them a brief explanation.
I told them that our world had Towers and Gates, and that I was now in a position where I'd have to fight in them.
└GoodAtHousework : Oh…. Fighting…. Then I guess I'm not what you need.
└AngryArtist : What?! There's a place where you can fight whenever you want, with no consequences?
└Ice Bat : Give it to me now, give it to me now, give it to me now, give it to me now, give it to me now
Why did they want a Tower so badly?
What was so great about a life where your life was in danger every day?
Anyway, when I said I had to fight, GoodAtHousework seemed a little dejected.
Meanwhile, other gallery members stepped forward to throw their hats in the ring.
└That'sActuallyTrue : Want to learn illusion magic? Illusion magic is so much fun.
└HorsesAreForRiding : I'd like to teach you, too. I'll let you ride on my back!
└Woofwoof : Me too, me too! Pick me, pick me!
I couldn't believe so many people were so eager to become my teacher.
It warmed my heart.
‘Then should I choose this person?’
The decision was easy.
└Hikki : Would you be willing to teach me, GoodAtHousework…?
└GoodAtHousework : Gasp!!!! Me? Really? Why?
└Hikki : Uh…. I think I need to learn the fundamentals?
I couldn't even make a single Fireball right now.
Would it mean anything to learn how to cast Meteor in my current state?
I didn't think it would.
First, the fundamentals.
I thought I needed to learn how to handle mana, one step at a time.
└GoodAtHousework : The fundamentals! The fundamentals are really important! I'll teach you very well!
└GoodAtHousework : Just a moment. I have an old textbook I used to use.
└QueenNeverCries : How long ago was that?
└GoodAtHousework : About 700 years ago?
└QueenNeverCries : What the hell.
700 years?
└Hikki : Whoa, what do you do?
└QueenNeverCries : They're a house sprite. Just so you know, you shouldn't look down on them for being a house sprite.
└QueenNeverCries : They don't kill, but they're a genius among geniuses.
Startled, I quickly replied that I had no intention of doing that.
Judging by the way they put it, house sprites were probably a somewhat scorned race.
And yet they were called a genius.
I think I'd chosen my teacher well.
After a while, GoodAtHousework returned.
└GoodAtHousework : All right, I'll start by explaining what mana is!
The lesson went on for quite a while.
GoodAtHousework recited the textbook, but also added their own thoughts here and there.
Even to me, a beginner at magic, the lesson seemed advanced.
They must have thought about magic a lot in their spare time.
└GoodAtHousework : That's about it for the basic theory…. Would you like to try handling mana yourself?
└GoodAtHousework : First, we'll spread mana throughout your body, then try releasing it outside your body!
I closed the gallery for a moment.
I sat cross-legged on the bed and focused.
I closed my eyes.
And looked inward.
The area around my solar plexus tickled.
It felt like that feather from before was still rolling around inside me.
At first, I couldn't control that feather at all.
‘This time will be different!’
I followed the breathing technique and mana-control method GoodAtHousework had taught me.
‘Hmm?!’
Something moved.
The feather began to multiply wildly.
It grew and spread throughout my body.
A warm sensation swept through my organs.
It felt as if I'd drunk some strong liquor.
From my torso, into my arms and legs.
Then all the way to my fingertips.
What was I supposed to do next?
└GoodAtHousework : You need to move the mana that reaches your fingertips into a wand.
└GoodAtHousework : You said you don't have a wand right now, didn't you? For now, try using your finger like one.
└GoodAtHousework : Release the mana through your fingertip.
Release mana through my fingertip.
It wasn't as easy as I'd hoped.
It felt like tearing through tough plastic. I didn't have enough strength to tear it.
Then I just needed to use more strength, right?
I gathered up the mana that was coursing through my body.
And focused it at my fingertip.
“Oh?”
Whoooosh─
“Oooooh!”
The mana came out!
A sky-blue energy shimmered at my fingertip.
Then the mana swelled and began circling around me.
I used the status window to record the flow of mana.
Trying not to capture too much of myself.
Click-
“Hehehe, I should post proof in the gallery.”
[Am I doing this right?]
[Author: Hikki]
(Video)
I gave it a try, anyway
└Illegal : You already did it?
└QueenNeverCries : It looks more or less right, doesn't it?
└GoodAtHousework : Huh? You did it that quickly? I thought it'd take a while, so I was going to take a break!
Oh, the replies were positive!
Maybe I had more talent than I'd thought?
My shoulders puffed up, and I was thrilled.
Magic is fun!
└Hikki : Take a break, teach! I'll review what I learned, hehehe.
My confidence was surging.
I told my teacher to rest, then repeated what I'd learned.
An hour. Two hours.
As time passed and I used mana over and over, my sense of it grew more precise.
“This time, I'll shape it into a ball….”
I could gather and release mana, shaping it however I wanted.
Click-click-
When I finally shaped the mana into an upvote sign.
I took a picture of it and posted it to the gallery.
[You all get an upvote]
[Author: Hikki]
(Upvote picture)
└Water Spirit : What the hell is this lol
└Iron Beard : Kahaha! Newbie, this is incredible! You've got talent to spare!
└Pucky : Hmm…. You said you're human, right? You're talented. With a little improvement, this could be elemental magic.
└Pucky : It depends on which route you send the mana in your body along─
Pucky had suddenly appeared.
Pucky taught me how to use magic at a more advanced level.
Just hearing the explanation, it didn't sound particularly difficult.
This time, too, I started practicing right away.
“At first, you sent the mana along the shortest route.”
To sum up what Pucky said.
If you circulate mana through a specific organ, you can use elemental magic.
‘Is it kind of like letting mana mature inside an organ?’
They said using the heart would let me cast fire magic.
‘Let's try it.’
I drew mana from my solar plexus and sent it around my heart.
The area around my heart grew hotter and hotter.
When it became almost too much to bear, I drew the mana out through my finger.
Fwoosh-
“Oh!”
Something like a will-o'-the-wisp rose above my finger.
I rolled it around this way and that.
At first, the will-o'-the-wisp had danced around on its own.
Then, at some point, I started to control it.
I must have gotten that much more sensitive to the mana.
“Hehehe.”
Should I try something else while I'm at it?
They said the lungs handled wind and air, while the kidneys handled water and ice.
Keeping the will-o'-the-wisp going, I drew out some more mana.
Into my lungs and kidneys.
I didn't know exactly where those organs were, so I looked up pictures on my phone as I worked the mana.
Wind and water.
Maybe because they were cool in nature, they felt different from when I'd made the fireball.
It felt like my body temperature was dropping rapidly.
‘Brrr, I'm cold.’
I immediately released the mana outside my body.
Whoooosh-
Crack- crack-!
In my left hand, a ball of air churned violently.
In my right hand, a lump of ice appeared.
With the will-o'-the-wisp from earlier, I had three balls of mana in total.
I tossed them around and caught them like I was juggling.
Ding-
I should record this, too.
I manipulated the status window to post it to the Archmage Gallery.
“Huh?”
But the mood in the gallery seemed strange.
[Pucky: Banned for 31 days (temporary)]
[Author: Nyeomnyong]
You know very well why.
I will decide the final punishment based on newbie Hikki's condition.
Don't pull a stunt like that again.
Pucky, who'd taught me magic, had been banned.
└GoodAtHousework : Hikki, are you okay? Please reply quickly. I'm so worried.
└BestDryad : I haven't even gotten to talk to the newbie yet. Did they leave?
└GoodAtHousework : They haven't left…. They'll come back….
└NoWorldTreeNoParty : Tsk, tsk…. They seemed like a show-off, and now look.
└OuchCold : This is why it's most dangerous when you start getting confident.
└GoodAtHousework : I should've taught you the precautions first…. It's my fault….
└QueenNeverCries : Enough, GoodAtHousework. It's not your fault, so don't cry.
The Archmage Gallery had turned into a full-blown pity party.
What on earth had happened?
Why were they treating me like I was dead?
As I wondered how to let them know I was still alive.
[Training Complete!]
[Author: Hikki]
(Video)
This is doable.
But I'm right here. Why are you all treating me like I'm dead?
Am I too late…?
└GoodAtHousework : You're alive! I knew you'd be okay!
└Nyeomnyong : You startled us. Don't act rashly from now on.
└DisqualifiedElf : You were alive? Tch….
└└AngryArtist : This bastard's crossing the line again
└└Ice Bat : We should ban this one, too
└└Nyeomnyong : This is your final warning. Be careful.
└Iron Beard : By the way, you handled three elements at the same time? That's amazing for a newbie!
They were reacting as if I'd lost a limb and come back.
The only one who commented on the video itself was Iron Beard.
└Hikki : Geez…. So what did I do wrong?
└GoodAtHousework : You're not supposed to use several types of elemental magic at once.
└GoodAtHousework : You could easily destroy your mana circuits and end up unable to use magic for the rest of your life.
└GoodAtHousework : And even if you manage to endure it, it's terribly inefficient.
What?
I'd done something a lot more terrifying than I'd thought.
So Pucky had gotten a 31-day ban for nearly getting me killed.
└Nyeomnyong : Are you feeling all right?
└Hikki : Yes…. I feel completely fine.
└Nyeomnyong : Didn't you feel any discomfort while handling mana?
└Nyeomnyong : Like your circuits were stretched so tight they might snap, or about to break?
└Hikki : Not at all. I felt a little hot and cold, but there was no discomfort in my circuits.
└Nyeomnyong : Hmm…. So that's how it is?
└Nyeomnyong : I think I understand why you were summoned here.
└GoodAtHousework : That's right! I just watched the video. How did you handle three at once?! Amazing….
└BearDoorBearDoorBear : That doesn't look like a newbie. Another masquerade…. I was the only one taking it seriously again….
Ooh!
Was I actually a candidate for a great mage, recognized by the head mod?
└Nyeomnyong : I imagine you're bouncing up and down at home right now.
└Nyeomnyong : Talent is useless if you don't work hard.
└Nyeomnyong : Do you know how many mages have wasted away after relying on their skills and getting lazy?
└Hikki : Yes, sir…. I'll work hard.
You had to be this perceptive to become the head mod.
└Hikki : But what is elemental magic?
└Nyeomnyong : Broadly speaking, it's magic that handles water, fire, wood, air, and earth. There are also more specialized branches beneath each one.
For example, ice and freezing magic branch off from water.
Lava branches off from fire.
Steel and earth magic, among others, branch off from earth.
└Hikki : Then is all magic elemental magic?
└GoodAtHousework : No! Illusion magic, minor magic using telekinesis, summoning and transformation magic, and so on aren't elemental magic.
└GoodAtHousework : But people often learn those as support magic after mastering the basic elements.
└GoodAtHousework : My specialty is water magic, too. You need a lot of water for housework.
So elemental magic was the main course.
And the rest were electives on the side.
└DrGatTroll : There are also things like sorcery and black magic, though.
└└Nyeomnyong: Mind your words.
└└DrGatTroll : Sorry about that….
└Nyeomnyong : Just know that black magic exists, and leave it at that.
Sorcery and black magic did seem a little sketchy.
I asked a few more questions.
└Hikki : Then what should I learn?
A little while later.
└Ice Bat : I was bored, so this is perfect.
└AngryArtist : If you're a talented mage, then of course you should learn fire magic! Magic is all about firepower!
└HorsesAreForRiding : You'd tell a pure-hearted newbie to learn destructive fire magic? Have you lost your mind? Come learn nature magic. Nature will welcome you.
└Iron Beard : Bold young newbie! Why not explore the joys of earth magic with me?
└SuitonSuiton : Aren't humans 70% water? Sounds perfect for you, right?
└DisqualifiedElf : …Well, I'm not teaching you. You think wind magic is a joke?
The comment section was packed with gallery members trying to recruit me.
└Nyeomnyong : For the record, I use fire magic.
Even the head mod was in the running.