The first time I was cursed at by the magician was when I used magic on the ant monsters for the first time.
The monsters were not gathered in one place; they were scattered throughout the passages.
In the stone chambers, in the corridors, and even toward the blocked-off fork.
“They’re all spread out. They really are searching.”
As I was nodding, the magician spoke to me.
[Good. This is perfect for testing magic. By the way, aren’t you rather slyly dropping the honorifics with me?]
“I was talking to myself.”
[You really hold a grudge.]
We continued our banter as we approached the nearest ant monster.
An ant monster stood in the middle of the dark passage, waving its antennae.
It was not visible since I was not carrying a torch, but I could sense that there was one ahead.
“A soldier ant, maybe…”
[It seems you use a similar name. Yes, it is a soldier ant. Its armor is thick, so when there are many of them, they become quite troublesome.]
“What should I do now?”
If it was just one, I felt I could manage somehow on my own.
But right now, I had to confirm the staff magician’s ability.
Instead of showing me magic, Sof began to talk in response to my question.
[Fundamentally, magic is composed of material and manifestation. On top of that, combat-type magic requires targeting.]
It was a headache-inducing topic right from the start.
Fortunately, I thought I could understand this much.
[The material is the power of the stars—no, from now on, I will call it dark energy.
In any case, this dark energy is used as the material, and manifestation is done through a magician’s spellcasting, or through magic circles using relics and ruins.]
What a relief. I could still follow up to this point.
[As I said earlier, I intend to use the energy you possess. I will create magic using that energy.]
“Then what is my job?”
If I left him alone, he seemed likely to talk forever.
I quickly cut in.
[You simply need not stop me from taking the energy.]
“That’s all?”
[The magic I will use now is lightning magic. This is also a combat-type spell, so it requires targeting. Hold the staff and point precisely at the target.]
“If I have to point precisely… should I aim the spear?”
[What matters is that the magician recognizes the target accurately… If that method is comfortable for you, then do so. However, it is not a spear, but a staff.]
There was less for me to do than I had thought.
As for him drawing away my energy, I simply had to refrain from blocking it, and pointing precisely at a target was something I could do better than anyone.
I raised the spear and pointed it directly at the ant monster ahead.
The distance was far, and I could not see it, but I could feel my gaze, the spear, and the monster forming a straight line.
[You are good. To accomplish targeting right away—you have talent.]
Sof seemed satisfied when he saw me assume the stance immediately.
[Then I will begin. When the energy drains out, you will feel your strength leaving you, but that is natural, so do not try to stop it.]
I only nodded.
[This time, I will cast the magic as slowly as possible while reciting the basic theory and the formulas used in the spell. Since there is nothing in particular for you to do, memorize the formulas I recite.]
It seemed he intended to teach me magic while casting the spell.
At those words, I focused sharply.
Just a moment ago, the magician had said I had talent.
Since I had understood everything he had said so far, I should be able to learn the theory and formulas well enough.
Whoooosh.
I felt the power called dark energy draining out of my body.
It was not like before, when I had pushed energy into the spear; now, the spear was sucking out my strength.
‘Good. I can stop it easily.’
As Sof had said, if I tried to stop it, the suction was weak enough that I could do so simply.
I did not block it and continued to observe.
A considerable amount drained away in an instant, and at the same time, the energy sucked out over the spear began to pour forth.
I could not see it with my eyes, but I could sense it.
A hologram was rising above the spear.
A beautiful pattern.
It was the same pattern I had seen in the ruins and on the relics.
According to Sof, this pattern was a magic circle.
[This magic is lightning magic. Among spells based on electromagnetic force, it is the most fundamental. It grants positive and negative charges respectively to the magician and the target, then uses the difference in charge to generate an electric current. The formula is…]
As Sof had said, there was nothing for me to do while the magic was being cast.
Maintaining the target was not difficult, and I only had to watch as the energy drained away.
So while the magic was being formed, I listened intently to the magician’s words, but I gave up before I had even heard a few sentences.
I could not understand the so-called theory, and as for the formulas that followed, I truly could not make out a single word.
Within the formulas, there did seem to be some content I might have heard in physics class.
‘Was it called Maxwell’s something equation?’
Unfortunately, however, physics was a subject I had given up on in high school. The same went for mathematics.
It was impossible for me to remember formulas that looked even more complicated.
Wooooong.
Even while I was half in a daze, the magic continued to take shape.
The hologram being drawn in midair became a complete pattern.
[…Lastly, the magician must give the activation command. Since it fixes the created image into reality, one must use intuitive words. Like this.]
I had not remembered any of the content, but Sof’s explanation was over.
[Path of Lightning.]
With Sof’s words, lightning raced across the ground.
Craaaackle!
The dark passage grew brightly illuminated.
I saw the ant monster, which had been pointing its antennae this way, become engulfed in lightning.
Kaaaaaak!
The ant monster screamed and trembled.
[As expected of basic magic. It is difficult to finish it in one strike.]
Energy drained out of me again.
‘Urgh.’
The sense of exhaustion was worse than I had expected.
Startled, I nearly blocked the energy from leaving.
Flash!
This time, the magic was cast quickly.
Lightning raced forth again, and the ant monster was engulfed in electricity.
Kyaaaaaak!
After the second bolt passed through it, the ant monster collapsed to the floor.
No more life could be felt from the monster, now cooked to a golden brown.
[About half left, correct?]
“Yes. I think about that much remains.”
I had been surprised by the sudden loss of strength, but when I checked, more than half of my energy still remained.
On top of that, the energy was rapidly filling back up.
[The speed at which it replenishes is also quite fast. If you rest just a little, you will recover completely.]
He had called it basic magic, but the lightning magic he used was more useful than I had expected.
The lightning magic I had seen in the trap had not been this strong.
Though it had dealt with a large number of them, that spell had been unable to kill the soldier ants.
[Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. In any case, as expected, you possess a great deal of energy. Your recovery and potential are both excellent.]
Though he grumbled that it would have been even better if I were a woman, he seemed satisfied.
[You are already at this level before learning magic. If you learn properly, you may become a magician greater than myself.]
This was troubling.
His expectations were growing higher and higher.
Before it was too late, I felt I had to deflate them.
“There is one problem, though.”
[What do you mean? Was there something questionable about the formulas I recited?]
In truth, there had been questionable parts.
It was just that there had not been only one or two.
“I did not understand the magic theory and formulas you spoke of.”
Unlike before, I answered as politely as I could.
[You must have missed my words because it was your first time seeing magic. I will explain once more.]
Sof took my words in a different way.
It seemed he could not accept that I had failed to understand.
After another kindly explanation, he realized the reality.
[Are you an idiot? You cannot remember a single formula? Anyone who is not an idiot can remember this!]
He became truly furious.
Our standards were different.
I had given up on mathematics, but I had still graduated high school just fine.
I had even gotten into university in the humanities.
[Impossible! To possess such talent, and yet… for your head to be in that state. If you were human, that could not happen!]
But in an instant, I had become less than human.
[I thought I had found someone to inherit my magic… When I learned you were not a woman, I should have simply given up then.]
Sof continued muttering in a daze, but now was not the time to comfort him.
The ant monsters were swarming toward us.
Though they had been some distance apart from one another, they were not so far away that they could not hear the thunderclap.
All six monsters nearby were running toward this place.
I quickly began to speak.
“But do I absolutely have to learn magic?”
[What?]
My energy was rapidly filling back up.
It seemed it would be full before the monsters arrived.
“I think we can just do it like we did a moment ago.”
[Like a moment ago?]
Sof did not understand what I meant.
There was not much time, but I explained as thoroughly as I could.
“Even though I don’t know magic, we just used magic and killed a monster.”
[That was because I cast the magic in your place!]
Sof exploded in anger at my explanation.
What Sof said was correct.
But what was the problem with that?
“I think we can keep doing that from now on.”
[What?]
“There’s someone beside me who is good at using magic, so I don’t think I need to learn it separately. Sof can handle the magic, and I can aim well and dodge well. Wouldn’t that work?”
It was a splendid division of labor any modern person could be proud of.
At my words, the ancient man seemed to lose the ability to speak.
[What kind of… That is absurd!]
After being dumbfounded, Sof began pouring out words again.
[Did you not hear me say that I lost my memories? I am a magician who knows only basic magic. What will you do if stronger magic is needed?]
“Either way, even if I try to learn stronger magic, it seems you would need to recover your memories first. It’s not as if it makes sense for me to find a spellbook or something and learn from it.”
[But if you do not learn magic, there will be no way for you to grow from there!]
“Well, I’m sure there’ll be some way.”
In truth, it did not matter even if there was no way.
I was already more than satisfied as I was.
After completely demolishing all of Sof’s arguments, I proudly prepared for the next fight.
There were six ant monsters approaching.
It was a large number, but I was confident.
Because of my poor head, learning magic seemed difficult, but combat was different.
I was a soldier.
A soldier did not need to make bullets.
There was no need to know the structure of a gun or learn how to make ammunition.
There was already someone beside me who made bullets and even loaded the gun.
All I had to do was shoot well and fight well.
And that was something I was very good at.
“I’m counting on you.”
Even while grumbling, Sof prepared magic again.
I held up the spear and slowly began to retreat.
If I lacked energy, I simply had to refill it.
Hit and run.
It was a tactic I liked.
Crackle.
Ever since I had used magic, small sparks had been flickering from my fingers.
However, we did not notice that fact for quite a long time.