Fort Geranium

Eleventh Chapter: Magic Theory

[Mariana Von Ulysses’s Point of View]

“Heroes of legend… I mean, even if you describe her as such, without a proper reference I can’t really imagine it,” I shrugged. I turned to Charlotte who timidly clung onto me; not that I couldn’t believe them it was just that I couldn’t see that happening. “Anyway, is it really that rare to find someone with the composite magic talent?” Perhaps it was my Earthly cynicism flowing through but even Grandia here could wield dual elements so the scope of the rarity was lost on me.

“Rare would be putting it rather generously; it’s said only one person with the composite magic talent would be born in a century.” That would indeed make it pretty rare, and how convenient is it that I just happened to purchase a slave with that kind of exception? I shot Aegis who was sitting down on a nearby branch a quick glance, ‘nah, I don’t think he did anything to alter the odds… nope,’ I sarcastically commented to myself.

Charlotte closely examined her own hands with a perplexed look. It seemed to me that the person herself didn’t quite fathom the gravitas of what was being said. I suppose it’s only natural that we didn’t really understand because we had next to zero experience when it came to magic or battles. That being said, it was comforting to know that I had someone with such a high level of talent this close. “I guess this means in the future Charlotte will become a grand figure that’s talked about in legends,” though I couldn’t really see that happening from this meek girl. Then again, the future is home to all sorts of possibilities so who knows? Oh, right the little black bird does.

“E- eh?! M- me, a legend?!” Charlotte furiously shook her head trying to deny that possibility. “T- there’s no way I could become someone like that! Please don’t even joke about such things!” As if pleading would somehow alter the future she clung on with teary eyed.

“Now, now, don’t be so modest Charlotte. Hey, if you become super famous may I’ll also be remembered through history as a brief footnote to your legend,” I roughed up her hair as I joked.

“Footnote? No! Never!” Charlotte suddenly protested.

“Ah… Sorry, I think I went a little too far.” I lowered my head a little but Charlotte protested against that as well.

“No, no that’s not…” Charlotte objected. “Mistress doesn’t have to apologize for anything… um, what I mean is that I would never dare try to outshine you! To me, you will always be the most important person!”

At that kind of sudden confession I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, ‘ah, this child really is too precious,’ I thought to myself as I gently brushed through her hair. The silken smooth sensation felt nice against my hand. She pouted at me, embarrassed that I was laughing at her. “You don’t have to worry about such things Charlotte, if anything I would prefer it if you could treat me as a ‘friend’ rather than a ‘master’. Outshine me or not, I don’t really care about such things, what want more than anything is for you and I to always be friends.”

It took a few moments but Charlotte eventually gave a nod. She understood what I was trying to say but I guess it was a little too difficult to overcome this narrative of ‘master-servant’ that she has of our relationship. That’s fine, baby-steps are fine. Perhaps this is due to a certain kind of loneliness but I never really had an ‘equal’ ever since coming here. My mind and body were radically different so at the very least I wanted Charlotte to be molded into a person who could stand next to me with such a position- a ‘true friend’.

***

In such a manner our class continued on. Over several weeks Grandia visited numerous times to teach both Charlotte and myself the basics of magic. In some ways it was kind of like learning your multiplications for the first time; if you never grasped the concept before it could be a little daunting to get used to but once you did it was easy pickings. Most of our time in class was spent attempting to apply the theories of magic into actual practice- harder than it sounds.

Arguably, it was harder for me to grasp the concepts of magic since I’ve already had a rigid founding knowledge of physical and natural laws. Not only did I need to understand the ludicrous nature of the theories behind magic but I also had to abandon several centuries’ worth of hard scientific research just to get behind this voodoo mumbo-jumbo. As a result of my persistence however, I managed to at least learn enough to cast the rank 1 magic [Ice bolt].

A small glowing white ball with a bluish tint floated gently at the palm of my hands. To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the results. It was nothing more than a block of ice that I could hurl at a particular direction and nothing more. Supposedly the destructive power of these spells depended on a person’s proficiency at magic and the number of times I could cast were based on my mana reserve. Since I had little in the way of talent with magic proficiency, it was rather weak and my mana reserves were pretty low too. Thus my skills turned out fairly lackluster.

Finding out that you have no talent in a fantasy world, what sadistic turn of events.

On the other hand it was amazing to see how Charlotte, who had an infinitely more impressive talent in magic than I, was progressing. She not only learnt all three rank 1 ‘bolt’ spells but also mastered them. Her destructive capabilities were on an entirely different level. If my spells were akin to throwing a rock really hard, Charlotte’s spells were like getting hit by a cannon ball. Even her ‘ice bolt’ spell seemed more refined and prettier than mine. That being said however, it wasn’t an entirely a free upgrade like that, her variations on the spells seemed to expend a lot more mana than mine did.

Higher destructive capabilities at a greater mana consumption rate; according to Grandia this was due to the fact Charlotte was still a novice and didn’t have adequate enough control over her magic. Supposedly this kind of issue will solve itself with more training so there wasn’t much to worry about.

If there was one person who was worried it was, “Mistress, are you all right?” on our small break Charlotte came up to ask me.

“Hmm? I’m fine?” I replied.

“Oh… that’s good, I thought you might be feeling down.”

“Why would I be feeling down?”

“Umm, because… of your magic…” ah, I see what she was trying to say. It is possible that, had I been an ordinary child I would’ve felt some jealousy or enmity towards Charlotte for her potential and talent but that kind of thing didn’t bother me right now. If anything, I was amazed and wanted to see how far she could take her talents. I wanted nothing more than for her to succeed without restraints.

I smiled back at her and gave her cheeks a little pinch- they were like rubbery pudding, so cute! “You don’t have to worry about me Charlotte, I’m fine. Rather, if you slowed down in your progression just to match mine, then I would be upset. You won’t do anything like that, right?” based on the look on her face she seemed a little surprised as if to say ‘how did you know?’

She said nothing in reply but gave me a firm nod.

On the topic of magic, you would be forgiven if you thought that elemental attributed worked off a rock-paper-scissors model. That assumption however, would be incorrect. The elements were more or less well balanced against each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Rather it was entirely up the skill and creativity of the mage utilizing them that decided the fate of a battle.

“Now then, it seems both of you have gotten a firm grasp on what the three elemental attributes are like,” Grandia nods with a satisfied smirk. Yeah, I guess I understand most of the theory he taught me and I’m sure Charlotte understood due to her mastery as well. Grandia then raised four fingers, “actually there is another kind of element, [void] magic.”

Oh~ sounds scary overpowered. Could it be that this was one of those extremely rare abilities that only protagonists of fiction gain when they’re summoned to another world? I got excited, but alas it was for naught, because [void] magic was little more than a fancy name for pure mana based magic. In other words spells that didn’t use a specific set of elemental attributes, for example: healing and physical boosting magic. Don’t get me wrong, those are useful skills to have but the name was very misleading. “Why is it called [void] magic?” I asked.

“Simple answer: because [void] magic doesn’t have a specific element, thus ‘void’; empty of elements.” Grandia replied. Huh? That’s can’t seriously be the only reason for having such a title. If that was the case, wouldn’t [utility] magic be more fitting? The magicians of this world are way too pompous. “Most spells listed under [void] magic are related to healing or physical boosting magic, well there are exceptions here and there but you’re unlikely to encounter them anytime soon.”

***

The Ulysses province was a sizable territory that the Scarletheim Empire had so graciously let use rule in autonomy. For the most part there was only one major city in this region, ‘Amberheim’ a subsidiary portion of the grater Empire, with some small villages scattered here and there. Aside from that one city, it was mostly forests and mountains, of which one particular forest region was known as ‘Dvell Forest’ named after… some guy?

Anyway I bring this up because it’s going to be the main focus. ‘Main focus of what?’ you may ask and I will let Grandia take care of the explanations. “The exam will be a simple but arduous one. I’ve placed a small magic stone at the heart of Dvell Forest and your aim is to retrieve it back.”

Since both Charlotte and I had mastered rank 1 magic, we were given a small test to advance to the next stage. If we were successful, then we’d be allowed to study the next step, in other words rank 2 magic. At this point I was already disappointed at my lack of magical talents but at least I wanted to do this for Charlotte. “A simple search and retrieve quest,” I commented, though knowing Grandia it probably wasn’t that simple.

“Don’t take it too lightly or you’ll get hurt. While not particularly powerful, there are monsters in this forest that will require skill to defeat.” Grandia warned. “Well, since Charlotte’s also going with you, it might not be all that bad. Still, go on and have fun.”

“Have fun… well I suppose you have a point. Let’s go Charlotte.”

“Y- yes, I’ll be right behind you mistress!” Charlotte answered with enthusiasm. Could it be that she really was looking forward to being able to learn rank 2 magic? Guess I’ll take this a little more seriously then.

The entrance to the forest was decorated with a large banner that read ‘Advancement Exam! Good Luck!’ I shook my head as I walked through that embarrassing arch. To be honest, despite this place practically being like my backyard, it was the first time I’ve ever been here.

Although I tried my best to suppress it, on the inside my heart was pounding away with excitement. The opportunity to finally have an adventure in this fantasy world- it had been far too long of a wait. With a suppressed smile I walked in front to not reveal my true feelings to Charlotte.

Greenery more luscious than anything I’ve ever laid my eyes upon, as though everything was made of precious emeralds, reflected in my eyes was the purity of nature. The sounds of distant animals and birds, the gentle swaying of trees all around; this kind of experience would never have been possible back in the industrialized world of Earth. I took a deep breath, “shall we get going, Charlotte?” I held out my hands.

“Y- yes!”