Volume 2Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Magic Lessons and Compound Magic

In the event, no seafood at dinner. It takes about three hours by carriage from the port town to Tarzelia, and since ice makers haven’t spread yet, getting it this far is apparently difficult. This season it would probably be fine, but the thinking seems to be that there’s no need to go out of your way to eat something that carries a risk.

Which is fair, and I understand it, and I want to eat things from the sea! Ice makers need spreading, urgently. Commoners can’t buy one, though, so it’d have to be the ducal house buying them and lending them out. And then you need somebody watching them so they aren’t stolen, which means the staff for that, and if they’re used often you need somebody who can put mana into them. That’s quite a lot of work.

There’s also the question of whether the ice makers themselves can be made in quantity. I don’t know how much magic iron and magic stone there is to go around… It’d be good if there were enough to reach commoners as well. The problems are piled up. Well, for now, let’s get to the port town and enjoy what the sea has.

That night I lay down early and went to sleep. Then, the next day.

“Master Leon, good morning.”

Mmm… Roger’s waking me. But I’m still sleepy.

“Master Leon, were you not to teach Lord Lucien magic today? Unless you rise soon you will not be ready in time.”

“Yeah, I’m getting up…”

That’s right, I’m teaching Lord Lucien magic today. I promised him yesterday. Me turning up late won’t do… Right. Up. I got myself out of bed on willpower alone and stretched.

“Morning, Roger.”

“Good morning. A message from Lord Lucien’s valet: Lord Lucien is very much looking forward to being taught magic by Master Leon today, and asks that if possible you come earlier than the appointed hour, as soon as you are ready.”

“Really? So I’d better hurry, then.”

“Yes. Lord Lucien appears to have finished breakfast already.”

Isn’t that far too early?! How much was he looking forward to it? And hold on, that means he’s waiting for me right now! Me waiting is one thing, but keeping him waiting won’t do. Hurry!

“Roger, get breakfast ready right away. I’ll get dressed.”

“Certainly.”

So I got ready faster than I ever have. Tired already, and it’s morning.

“Master Leon is here.”

Roger knocked at Lord Lucien’s door and announced me. Outside would be better for practicing magic, but I’d been called to his room. The door opened and I went in, and Lord Lucien was sitting on the sofa waiting with his gold eyes shining. My first impression of him was keen and dependable, but going by the drawing room yesterday and by this, his real nature runs to curiosity. Well, he’s nine.

“Lord Lucien. Good morning.”

“Leon, morning. Sit down.”

“Excuse me, then.”

“Everyone, once you have prepared tea for Leon, would you withdraw?”

At Lord Lucien’s word the servants briskly set out the tea and nothing more, and went. The guard withdrew without any fuss either, so I seem to be fairly well trusted.

“Leon, you are going to teach me magic today, are you not?”

“Yes. Lord Lucien is fire attribute, I believe. What is your mana capacity?”

“Leon, we are the same age, so there is no need to speak to me as formally as that! You are my first friend, and I want us closer than this.”

Told again… Between Martine and Lord Lucien, do these people understand that I’m a commoner?

“But I am a commoner…”

“That has nothing to do with it. In public, or where others are present, formal speech is certainly needed. When there are only the two of us it is all right, surely?”

I’m already on first-name terms with Martine, so alone with him it’s probably fine. The problem with this is that I get used to talking casually and then let it slip somewhere with people around. I’ll be careful about that.

“Then, only when it’s the two of us.”

“Thank you! And call me Lucien.”

“Got it. Lucien it is, then.”

At that his whole face broke into a grin, genuinely delighted. If it makes him that happy, then good.

“So will you teach me magic? My mana capacity is four. Is that all right?”

“Yeah, any capacity is fine as far as teaching goes. I only wanted to know roughly where you run out of mana.”

I’ve been told I’m not to teach magic until I’ve graduated from the Royal Academy, with the exception that I may teach people who know about every attribute.

“Good. It is fire magic, so outside would be better, would it not? There is a practice ground for magic.”

“You’ve got one of those. Then let’s go there.”

The magic practice ground is behind the house, an open stretch with rocks and targets set out on it. Lucien’s valet and one guard, and Roger, are all waiting some way off. Far enough that they can’t hear us talk.

“Lucien, do you hold an image when you use magic?”

“I do. I picture fire.”

“So you picture fire burning, and use fire magic. That’s it?”

“That is it.”

“Then I’d like you to add the image I’m about to teach you to that one.”

From there I explained air and oxygen again. He likes swordsmanship, so I’d wondered how his head was, and in fact he was quick about it. His thinking is flexible and his memory is good. Strong with a sword and clever with it: he’s going to be absurdly popular when he gets to the Royal Academy.

“Leon, I think I have the feel of it, so may I try?”

“Yeah, use the spell with that image and put a Fireball into that rock.”

“Understood. Fireball.”

Whoa, that’s got real speed on it. Lucien may have a gift for magic as well.

“How was that? Less mana than usual, I think?”

“Leon, this is extraordinary! It took half the mana I have used until now, or less.”

He managed it, which is the main thing. I let some of the tension out of my shoulders in relief.

“Right, so don’t lose that image. If you can call it up straight away, you’ll be able to use it at a moment’s notice too.”

“Understood! Leon, thank you.”

“It’s nothing. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

When I said that, Lucien’s face lit up all over again. Maybe a lord’s son can’t make friends at the domain either. Being a noble does look harder than I’d expected.

“We are!”

“Then shall we finish up and go back?”

“No, before that, will you show me your magic?”

“Magic? I showed you yesterday…”

“Yesterday was not attack magic, was it? Will you show me attack magic?”

“But your valet and your guard are watching…”

“Those two know about Leon’s every attribute, so it is all right. I have brought nobody who has not been told properly.”

So that’s it. House Townsend apparently tells only the most trustworthy of the servants attached to each master. It’s certainly better than having it come out by accident.

“Right. Fireball, then?”

“Hmm. Leon, you can use the magic of every attribute, can you not? Can you not do a spell that combines them?”

Ugh… For him to notice that is impressive. I can, and the power’s too high. If I showed him that, wouldn’t it frighten him?

“Er… I can’t.”

I denied it, and my eyes wandered a bit while I did, so Lucien could see straight through me. He fixed me with a flat stare.

“Leon, lying is not good.”

“Ugh… but the power’s too high.”

“Then hold the power back and do it.”

Well. That’s fair, actually. Rock Tornado is genuinely out of the question, so if I’m showing him anything it had better be Fire Bullet.

“…Then I’ll try the spell called Fire Bullet. It’s an arrowhead made with earth magic, with fire wrapped around it by fire magic.”

“What is that! That sounds extremely cool!”

“I think so too.”

Getting praise for a spell I invented myself made me quite happy. Until now I’d only practiced in the forest, so nobody’s ever watched me do it. I’m a bit fired up.

Now, how much mana was it for a small one? Lately it’s been nothing but healing practice and I haven’t used this in a while. For now I’ll remember the last time and put in about as much mana as I did then. It only buried itself in a rock that time.

That was the thinking, and I said Fire Bullet out loud and used the spell. Purely because it sounds cooler that way.

“Fire Bullet.”

This is bad! I registered it the instant the Fire Bullet left me, and threw up a solid Wall in front of us with a great deal of mana in it. And at that moment the Fire Bullet crossed to the rock at enormous speed and blew the rock apart.

The bang was tremendous, the Wall got there by a hair so neither of us took any damage, and then the silence came down. This is bad, isn’t it. I have definitely done it now… Why did it come out with that much force? I’m sure I put in about the same mana as last time. Unless my capacity has grown so much that I can’t control it finely any more? Healing magic uses a good deal of mana, and it doesn’t need fine control. I have seriously done it. I should have kept practicing.

Looking around, the ground near where I made the Wall has sunk, and small fragments of rock are scattered everywhere. Off in the distance Roger and the others seem to be standing rooted. I looked beside me, and Lucien’s mouth was open and he was gaping at it.

How am I supposed to clean this up? Somebody help!

The first to come back to himself was Lucien’s guard. He came at a run and stopped in front of Lucien.

“Lord Lucien, are you hurt?!”

That seems to have brought Lucien round at last.

“Ah, no. No, I am not hurt. I am quite all right.”

…I’m about to be shouted at, aren’t I. Because that was endangering a ducal house’s son. I won’t get arrested, will I?! I’d just worked that out and gone cold with it when Lucien turned to me with his eyes shining.

“Leon! What tremendous power!”

“I put in a bit too much mana. Sorry… and I broke the rock.”

“That is nothing at all; one can simply bring another rock. Neither you nor I is hurt, so there is no problem. And it was cool!”

“Thanks. I’m glad you liked it.”

Then it hit me. There was a guard right there and I wasn’t using formal speech! I was looking back and forth between the guard and Lucien in a flap when the guard, who seems to have worked out what I was panicking about, spoke to me.

“I won’t make a fuss about it, so you’re all right. And thanks for getting friendly with Lord Lucien. He’s always acting grown-up, so it’s good to see him his own age for once.”

That embarrassed Lucien, evidently, because he went red and reacted.

“Jacques! Do not say that.”

Jacques, then. Jacques is smiling gently at him. They’ve built a good bond, master and man. Jacques is a good person.

While the three of us were talking, Lucien’s valet and Roger came running over too. And then Lord Richard, Lord Christophe and Lord Frederick came out of the house.

“What has happened?!”

Lord Richard asked it in a considerable flap. There’s no covering this up… Better to apologize honestly.

“Lord Richard, I am sorry! I was showing Lord Lucien some magic and I misjudged the power…”

“What manner of spell produces this?”

Lord Richard asked it carefully, with a slightly rigid face. It is a frightening amount of power, isn’t it. Part of it is that I’m out of practice, but a compound spell uses two spells at once, which makes the power much harder to regulate. And it tips toward the stronger of the two as a rule.

“It is something I call compound magic. A spell that combines the magic of two or more attributes.”

“Combines…? Such a thing is possible?”

“Yes. What I used a moment ago was a spell called Fire Bullet, compounding earth magic and fire magic.”

When I answered, Lord Richard’s face went difficult and he sank into thought. Lord Christophe and Lord Frederick had the same difficult look on.

“Leon, would it also be possible for two people to use magic and compound it between them?”

That’s a thought…! It had never crossed my mind. But with practice it might be possible. And if it were, wouldn’t that be fairly strong?

“I do not know, but it may be possible. Has it never been tried before?”

“When magic is used to attack, it is in war or against monsters. As a rule the fighting is done with swords and magic plays a supporting part. Even at a mana capacity of five, a spell of attacking grade is not one you may use many times over.”

So attack magic hasn’t developed very far. If you can’t use it repeatedly, a sword is better, obviously. A weak attack you can use any number of times beats a strong one you get once, every time. And with a sword, the more you polish the arm the stronger the attack gets.

“I follow. But in that case, will compound magic not go on being unnecessary?”

“No. If Leon comes to be teaching magic, people will be able to use far more spells than they can now, will they not? In that case it may be worth stationing someone in the rear whose specialty is magic.”

If I teach the image, the average person should manage at least three times as many casts as before. In that case attacking from the rear with compound magic might well be worth it.

“That is true. Then shall we try it? I shall make the arrowhead with earth magic, and I would ask Lord Lucien to wrap fire around it with fire magic.”

“Understood. I do it as in the spell I saw just now?”

“Yes. Here we go, then.”

“Bullet.”

“Fireball.”

Lucien wrapped his Fireball around the arrowhead I made in the air.

“Let us send them off on three, two, one. Here we go. Three, two, one.”

There was a sort of thud, and my Bullet and Lucien’s Fireball both flew off toward the rock. Except mine was faster and the Bullet got there first, and the Fireball hit the rock after it. Hmm. Even like that there’s an effect, since the Bullet gets heated, but it’s marginal. And this way the Fireball is only doing the job of heating the Bullet. Matching the speeds is going to be seriously hard. With a lot of practice it might be possible, but using it in a real fight would be difficult. Rock Tornado doesn’t need the speeds matched and it covers a wide area, so that may be the better one.

“Matching the speeds is difficult with this one. There is another compound spell, one called Rock Tornado, and that one may be easier to bring off.”

At that Lord Richard made a face somewhere between astonished and exasperated: “There is another one?”

“Then I should like you to try it.”

“Certainly. This one uses earth magic and wind magic. Is there anyone who can use either?”

“I can use earth magic.”

The hand that went up was Lord Frederick’s. So Lord Frederick is earth attribute.

“Then could you make several arrowheads with earth magic?”

“The things you were making a moment ago?”

“Yes. I shall make a Tornado with wind magic, and I would like you to create the arrowheads inside it.”

“I cannot make a thing created with earth magic float. Would creating them and throwing them in do instead?”

Er… Would throwing them in from outside actually work? I have a feeling they’d be flung back out. And this time there’s no need for the arrowheads to float; they only have to be created inside the Tornado.

“There is no need for them to float this time. Creating them inside the Tornado is enough, but can you create them at a distance?”

“I have not done it often… Let us try.”

Lord Frederick tried his earth magic, and an arrowhead was created in the air a good way off. There was a small click as the Bullet that had appeared in midair dropped to the ground.

“The mana cost goes up, but it seems it can be done.”

“Then that is all we need this time.”

I meant to go straight on and try the spell, and Lord Frederick was staring at me. Er… What is it?

“Is something the matter?”

“What must one do to make a thing created with earth magic float?”

“Er… it is not needed this time.”

“I want to know all the same. Will you tell me?”

…Explaining that is fairly hard work. I looked around for somebody to stop Lord Frederick, and every one of them was waiting for my explanation with open interest. Nothing for it, then.

From there I started with the fact that this world has gravity and worked all the way through to zero gravity. To make a thing created with earth magic float, the image of zero gravity is the best one. Try to make it float with no image and it takes a great deal of mana, enough to be impossible for an ordinary person.

“Then may I try Rock Tornado?”

“Yes. I am sorry for taking us off the track. Please go ahead.”

“Certainly. I shall make the Tornado. Since it would be dangerous if the arrowheads came flying this way, I shall put up a wall with earth magic as well. I shall leave a hole large enough to see through.”

“Thank you.”

“Wall.”

I walled in the place where I was going to make the Tornado. Now there’s no chance of an arrowhead flying out and hurting anybody.

“Here we go. Tornado. Lord Frederick, if you please.”

“Understood. Bullet.”

Lord Frederick made his Bullets appear inside the Tornado I’d raised. There we are, the Bullets are rampaging around inside it. Yes, this one goes together without any trouble. The power would be easier to judge if I threw something in. Could I use one of those targets?

“Lord Christophe, may I put one of those targets into the Rock Tornado? It would show the power more clearly, I think.”

“By all means.”

“Thank you.”

With Lord Christophe’s permission I tossed one of the targets, a scarecrow sort of thing made of wood and cloth, into the Rock Tornado.

There was a splintering, cracking run of noise.

The instant it touched the Rock Tornado the target broke apart into pieces. …This spell really is vicious. Without thinking about where you use it, you’d be left with something horrific.

After that I kept control so the Bullets wouldn’t scatter, weakened the spell by degrees and let the Tornado go. The Bullets were made from real earth, so they’re still lying there.

Earth magic can create earth out of mana, but using earth that’s already to hand costs less mana, so in almost every case you use the real thing. Which is why I can’t make these Bullets disappear. If a Bullet were made from mana alone, the caster could dispel it as he liked.

Right, it worked, which is what matters. Satisfied that the compound spell had gone well, I turned around. And every one of them was frozen with astonishment on their faces. They’re fairly shaken, then. Well, it’s a pretty vicious spell.

“How was that? The spell worked, at any rate…”

“Yes. The power is so great that I am genuinely astonished. This may serve well against monsters.”

When Lord Richard said it the others seemed to come back from their astonishment as well, and then went difficult and thoughtful again. They must be working through the situations it could be used in. But once they start that discussion it’ll run long, won’t it. I’m tired and I want to go back inside. It’s past noon and I’m hungry.

“Excuse me. Might we go back to the house first? It is past noon…”

“Is it that hour already! Yes, let us leave the thinking for later and go back for now. His Majesty will need to be consulted about this as well.”

Lord Richard left that ominous line behind him and went back into the house. So this is another matter that needs taking to His Majesty. I’m trying not to stand out. Why do I keep overdoing it?

Tired, and a little heavy in the legs, I made my way back to the house.