「Then next is you, Alec. Try it」
「Yes… eh?」
Mother tossed in more dead leaves to replace the ones that had burned out, then said it as if it were nothing.
That’s unreasonable… Sure, I saw her use magic, but I don’t think I can.
It’s nothing to brag about, but ever since I was only a few months old, I’ve been trying to use magic and failing without exception.
「Mother, I don’t know how to do it…」
「Ah, that’s right. Listen, Alec. Magic is all about image」
「Image…?」
I see, an image…
As someone reincarnated from another world, I have knowledge and imagination built up from my previous life. Those should give me a big advantage when it comes to using magic.
――Well, that’s how the setting goes, but is it really true…?
Even if watching movies and reading manga made my imagination vivid, can that really be used effectively in the real world?
Isn’t it as unreasonable as saying 『Since I played a lot of romance simulation games, I’ll be super popular in real life』?
As for knowledge… I guess chemistry? Since it’s burning, it’s combustion. Um, it’s oxidation, an oxidation reaction. ――And then what? That’s as far as I can go…
What should I do, should I just imagine oxygen? I don’t know, I really don’t know anymore…
「Hey Mother. What exactly should I be imagining…?」
「You saw how I lit the dead leaves earlier, didn’t you? Just imagine the same thing. Picture the leaves catching fire and send your magic power into it」
「Picture it…」
「Let’s try it. First, hold your palm out toward the leaves」
I did as she said, leaning toward the hole and reaching out my hand toward the leaves.
「Gather magic power into your palm. You always do that, don’t you? It’s easy, right?」
「Yeah」
「Good. Now, just imagine the leaves catching fire. Only that」
Only the fire… focus only on that. I must not think of anything else… This is harder than it sounds. I feel like my mind keeps wandering…
………………
「Alec?」
「Ah, sorry. I-I’m imagining it now」
……Before I knew it, I was thinking about my previous life.
Right now, I’m trying to use a special ability called magic. Maybe that situation triggered the memory of something I’d rather forget.
――Back in middle school, I also longed for special powers and being someone unique.
As a result, I wore an eyepatch even though I wasn’t sick, and sometimes muttered things like 『Silence… silence…』――ahhh, no no no.
This isn’t the time to remember that. No, I should never remember that again.
Damn it… the knowledge and imagination from my previous life aren’t an advantage at all. They’re a handicap.
Focus. Focus. Think back to when Mother lit the fire. Imagine the dry leaves catching fire… the flames…
「Yeah」
「You did it? Then now, pour your magic power into that image」
「Pour it…」
「Like pouring water into a cup. Let your magic power flow into the image you created」
I moved my magic power like I usually did. The only difference was that instead of keeping it inside my body, I extended it just a little past my hand, toward the flame I was picturing.
「Ah…」
I felt my magic power leave my body. I kept concentrating, letting the magic power flow into the image. Guiding it toward the imagined flame…
「You did it. Congratulations」
「Eh? Ah…」
At some point, the flame I had imagined turned into a real flame. The burning leaves spread to the pile beside it, licking at the thin branches――
Soon, my tiny magical flame grew into something that could be called a campfire. I stared absentmindedly at the red flickering light.
Why… do I feel like crying? It feels like a dream I’ve had since childhood has finally come true. No, it’s not just a feeling. That dream really did come true.
「I… I did it… I did it, Mother. Thank you!」
「Yes, I’m glad」
I thanked Mother for teaching me magic.
And when I got overwhelmed with emotion, she gently patted my head.
I see… The reason I couldn’t use magic until now was just because my imagination wasn’t enough, just like Mother said.
I probably had the 『Fire Magic』 skill from birth.
I’ve never studied or practiced fire magic before. That means this wasn’t something I learned in these six years. It must have been there since the very beginning.
I had the skill, I had the magic power, and I could control it…then why couldn’t I use it? Because I wasn’t imagining it. If I had pictured it properly and poured magic power into it, even as a baby, magic should have worked.
To be specific, if I had vividly imagined a scene of the wall or ceiling burning and sent magic power into it, surely it would have…wait, no way.
Like I could do that… I wasn’t insane enough to try burning my house down right after being born.
Oh, and back then I even came up with a plan called the “Magic Power Growth Project.” I thought, “The more you use magic power, the stronger it gets.”
So what, to follow that plan, I’d have to burn the house down every day? I’d definitely get kicked out…
◇
「I’m starting to feel kind of sick…」
「You’re low on magic power」
「Ah… I see」
Just like with the bow, I kept practicing magic over and over.
I set fire to dry leaves, and Mother put it out with a shovel. I set it, she put it out. Set it, put it out…over and over. It made me think of piling stones in the underworld.
Along the way, I started feeling a kind of car-sickness, sluggish and heavy. According to Mother, I had run out of magic power.
I think I only managed to set fire less than twenty times. With a magic power value of 3, that’s all I could do. At this rate, I couldn’t even beat a cheap lighter.
「You’ll recover quickly. Let’s stop the training here for today」
「Okay」
「The bow you used today is yours. If you want to practice, do it here. For bow maintenance… ask your father」
「Really!? Thank you!」
Oh… I even got to keep the bow.
It feels like I finally took my first real step as an elf today. The training was really worthwhile. I’ll keep working hard from now on. The training ground is a bit far, but oh well.
「Fire Magic is forbidden. Now, let’s head home」
「Okay. …Eh?」
「You don’t want to go home?」
「No, I do. But… what? Fire Magic is forbidden?」
「Do you want to use it?」
Of course I want to use it, since I finally learned magic. Sure, right now it’s completely useless, and I even lost to a hundred-yen lighter, but isn’t that exactly why I should practice?
「I want to use it… or rather, I want to practice」
「Then you may practice, but only when either Papa or I am watching… still, I think it would be better to learn a different element of magic」
「Eh… is fire magic really that bad?」
「You’ll never have a chance to use it」
Never? I don’t know anything about the other elements of magic, but if Mother, the Sage, says so, then maybe it’s true…?
「Why can’t it be used?」
「This is an elf village, and it’s surrounded by forest. Do you think fire magic could ever be used in a forest?」
「Ah…」
So that’s why Mother kept warning me about how dangerous fire was during training…
「One day, when Alec goes outside the forest, you can use it then. But until that time, I cannot allow fire magic to be used for anything beyond practice」
「I see…」
Well, that’s reasonable. I get it. I do, but it’s still frustrating.
Come to think of it, when I first looked at my status, Father made a bitter face. Maybe this was one of the reasons. Something like, “Ugh, fire? That’s useless, what now?” Probably the same bitter face I’m making right now…
「By the way, how long would it take to learn a different element of magic?」
「If you’re quick, five to ten years」
「Oh…」
That’s long… Suddenly all the fatigue from training hit me. Let’s go home, I just want to sleep… No, wait. I can’t. I have to make Reversi when I get back.
「Well… anyway, let’s head home?」
「Yes…」
What a day…
next chapter: Infinite Reversi Hell
Leave a Reply