Chapter 9
The day after constructing the magical core.
Before lunchtime, Acel went out to Wyheim's downtown with Ena.
Evelyn couldn't come along, as she was learning about mansion duties from Haley. Having no interest in magic, she remained at the mansion without showing any particular regret. Thanks to this, Acel felt a bit more at ease.
"..."
"Ooh..."
Acel went sightseeing downtown, following behind Ena, who was walking ahead.
Magic-powered vehicles ran on the neatly paved roads. A means of transportation that moved using only magical power as its driving force, without horses. All the passenger needed to do was adjust the direction and speed, making it easy to use even without learning horseback riding. It was a common mode of transportation in Wyheim, where magical engineering was advanced.
Golems were also actively moving around the streets. Their forms varied from ordinary stones to those made of elements like fire and water. Most of them were in the process of moving materials needed for magic or research.
Although not particularly fast, considering the number and weight of items they were carrying, they were clearly excellent transporters. Humans couldn't do that. Unless they had awakened to aura, that was.
Such people wouldn't be doing transport work, anyway.
Acel thought this and chuckled. At that moment, Ena turned to him and opened her mouth.
"Disciple, do you remember why we came out today?"
"Ah, yes. I remember," Acel nodded and answered.
Yesterday, the day he constructed his core. After dinner, Ena had called Acel separately and informed him in advance that they would go out together tomorrow.
There were two purposes. One was to receive a membership certificate for the Witch Association, and the other was to determine his magical power attribute affinity. Both were quite interesting to Acel. Among them, Acel was more interested in the magical power attribute affinity.
He understood that the Witch Association was a great organization. He had read a book about the Witch Association yesterday, too. He had already deeply ingrained in his mind how deep its history was, and how many achievements and great people it had produced. He also understood that it was an honor to belong to such a place.
But that was all. Although he understood it intellectually, his heart remained calm. Perhaps because he had only dipped his toes into the world of mages, even when told he would become a member of the Witch Association, his heart didn't flutter much. It might be because he had only scratched the surface with shallow knowledge.
On the other hand, just hearing about the magical power affinity test made his heart swell.
All existing magics are greatly influenced by the mage's affinity.
From the most widely known elemental magic to necromancy and black magic that walked the path of heresy, and various unique magics including lightning magic. Not all of these magics could be learned just because one wanted to learn them. The magic that could be learned differed depending on which type of magic the mage had a high affinity for.
For example, if one's magical power had good affinity with fire, it was easier to learn fire magic, and if it matched well with water, water magic was easier to learn. The power and efficiency of the magic were also quite excellent.
It wasn’t that one couldn't learn magic of other types at all. However, the limit of achievement that could be obtained was clear, and the rank that could be built up was significantly lower. That was why most mages tended to learn magic that matched well with their magical power attribute.
But unique magic was a bit different. This strange magic type was influenced not only by the attribute of magical power but also by individual imagery, talent, environment, and various other factors. The lightning magic that Ena learned was also the same.
I wonder what mine will be.
If possible, I hope it's in the lightning category.
Acel thought this as he walked.
"Let's visit the Witch Association first, then have lunch, and then go for the attribute test. Is that okay?"
"Yes. Whatever is convenient for you, Master."
"Then let's do that. Is there anything you want to eat?"
"Anything but moldy garbage is fine."
"...I'll choose for you."
Ena looked at Acel with pitying eyes and stroked his head. Acel realized he had misspoken and gave a bitter smile. He should have just mentioned any food casually. Now he had made her worry unnecessarily.
"Let's go with steak. I know a good place."
"Yes. That's good."
They continued walking while chatting. After a short while, the two arrived in front of a huge building.
A building that stretched more horizontally than vertically. Countless windows were stuck close together on the exterior walls of the building, and a lightning rod was stuck on the pointed roof.
A black cat was sitting at the main entrance. Unlike ordinary cats, it was wearing a witch hat for cats on its head.
Its yellow eyes were filled with an indelible deep wisdom. The cat was licking its paw and washing its face when it noticed Ena approaching and casually glanced at her. Then, it smiled broadly and stretched its body upright.
"Ena!"
Human words popped out of the cat's mouth. Acel's eyes widened at this unbelievable sight, while Ena, as if accustomed to it, opened her mouth without any particular reaction, "It's been a while, Bell. Have you been well?"
"I've been fine. How about you? You went to catch that bastard Gerbil, didn't you? Did you catch him?"
"Unfortunately, he got away."
"Bullshit!"
The cat called Bell opened its mouth as if hissing and jumped into Ena's arms. Ena skillfully caught her.
"You let him escape? Someone like you could kill him with just a flick of your finger, couldn't you?"
"He was hiding in a kingdom's slum, so I was hesitant to use magic recklessly. He also took a hostage."
"Ha! So he deliberately hid in such a place. That damn bastard. I knew it when I smelled that corpse stench wandering around. Taking a hostage is just like something that bastard would do. He's not some common thug, but a noble mage, what is he doing?"
Bell clicked her tongue and climbed onto Ena's shoulder. Ena gently stroked her back and turned her head towards Acel. At that blue gaze, Acel, who had been staring at Bell with a blank expression, came to his senses and approached her.
"I'm sorry. I was just surprised for a moment..."
"It's okay. Everyone's like that when they first see Bell."
"Am I some kind of magic beast? Why are you treating me like that?"
Bell lightly bit Ena's shoulder as if complaining about her words. Then she looked at Acel and narrowed her eyes sharply.
"So who's this milk-smelling brat? Why are you bringing him along?"
"Haven't you heard the rumors?"
"What rumors? That's your self-importance talking."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Ena left the squirming Bell alone and looked down at Acel, remaining silent for a moment. Then she smiled and lightly stroked his hair, saying, "He's my disciple."
"...?"
Bell's expression twisted strangely upon hearing Ena's words. Ena slightly raised the corners of her mouth and said once more, "This is my disciple Acel. Say hello, Acel. This is Bell, a mutation mage belonging to the Witch Association."
"Ah, hello, Ms. Bell. I'm Acel."
Acel politely greeted the cat with a blank expression. Bell looked down at Acel's crown, then suddenly struggled and broke free from Ena's arms. Ena let her go without resistance.
"Meow!"
Landing on the ground, she made a cat's cry and raised her tail stiffly upwards. Acel realized that this action was a kind of spell chanting. The wave of magical power that started from Bell's tail soon enveloped her entire body. With a cracking sound, the cat's body instantly returned to human form.
A height smaller than Ena. Purple bob hair grown to the shoulders. She was a girl with impressive sharp, cat-like eyes and golden pupils trembling within them. She looked at Acel with a surprised expression, then immediately turned around and ran into the Witch Association building.
As she ran, she shouted, "The lightning-crazy mage has brought a successor! The sky is going to tear again! Kyaaaah!!"
"Still as noisy as ever."
Ena chuckled as she watched Bell's retreating figure.
"Let's go, Acel."
"...Yes," Acel answered with a disgruntled expression.
Ena tapped his forehead with her finger and slowly started walking into the building. Acel followed behind her.
As they entered the building, the thick smell of books and the scent of wood lingered in their noses. Mixed in were the scents of women's perfume and various reagents. They hadn't noticed it before crossing the threshold, but it became immediately apparent once they did. It seemed designed to prevent those outside from noticing what was happening inside.
Is it barrier magic? I can't feel any magical power at all...
Acel frowned and turned his head in all directions.
Upon entering the building, he could feel the lingering traces of dense magical power. Even the air they breathed contained intense magical power, and the floor, walls, and ceiling were all covered with magic and magical power. These were things he couldn't feel at all from outside. It was fascinating to Acel, who was sensitive to mana and magical power.
"The external and internal spaces are disconnected, but I can't feel any traces of magic. It seems they used a technique other than magic."
"You noticed," Ena said, looking at Acel with a surprised expression.
"When this building was first constructed, they invited a shaman as an external person. That person separated the space at the request of an elder. I heard it was such a delicate work that they focused solely on the ritual for a month."
"You weren't here, I guess."
"Right. I'm often out."
Acel nodded and raised his gaze.
One of the books flying through the air landed precisely on Acel's outstretched hand.
It was a book titled "Revised Edition of Witch Association Fire Magic". Acel slowly read the book and opened his mouth.
"Even for shamanism, techniques dealing with space are known to be rare, so it must have been a quite skilled shaman."
"They were a 7th-rank shaman. Quite old too. They must have learned at least one spatial ritual."
"Even such a person needs to spend a month deploying a technique?"
[This book is a revision of the Ignis Magic Tower's fire magic into a form similar to the unique magic handled by the Witch Association, and differs significantly from general elemental magic.]
"Most spatial manipulators are like that. Not just mages, but warriors as well."
"Time is the same, right?"
"Time is even trickier. There probably aren't any living time mages currently."
[The fire magic dealt with in this book can comprehensively use not only the core but also external magical power and mana, physical flames, sparks, and flames spread by the mage. As such, it requires a very high level of magical power control, suppression, affinity, and flexible magical circuits. If even one of these is lacking, give up quickly.]
"By the way, how far are we going? It feels like we've walked quite a bit..."
"Just a little further."
[Next is basic fire magic. If you can use this magic easily, you may learn the next magic and the magic concepts dealt with in this book. If it's impossible or difficult to manifest the magic, close the book and go back to sleep.]
"There aren't many people on the way."
"Most are probably on business trips or holed up in their research labs. There aren't many people who come to the Witch Association building in the first place... What are you doing?"
"Pardon?" Acel asked back.
Ena pointed at Acel's hand with a serious face and said,
"That... what is it?"
"This? It's a book titled 'Revised Edition of Witch Association Fire Magic'. It happened to land in my hand, so I read it."
"Not that. What's in your other hand?"
"Ah, you mean this?"
Acel raised his hand that wasn't holding the book with an unconcerned expression.
Red flames were dancing above his palm. A spark burning using not only the mage's magical power but also the mana and magical power floating externally as fuel.
"It's a magic called 'Scorching Flame'. It was in the book, so I tried it once."
"...How?"
"Uh, well..."
Acel thought for a moment, then scratched his head and answered in a small voice, "...Just? It worked when I did it."
Ena was at a loss for words.