CHAPTER 34: MAGIC IS SURELY NOT SUCH AN INCONVENIENT THING

Silvia was an exceptional master who taught her apprentice with great dedication. She was remarkably patient in answering Wayne’s questions, and he was diligent in learning.

He could tell how unusually good his master was.

Given her abilities, it was undoubtedly overkill to have her teach the fundamentals of basic magic, more so than using a cannon to kill mosquitoes. Wayne didn’t want to waste the opportunity. He demonstrated his extraordinary learning ability and memory, absorbing the knowledge she fed him like a sponge.

Actually, it would be more accurate to describe it as him squeezing her dry.

She wiped cold sweat from her forehead. Her apprentice was terrifying. If he were learning from someone else, they would’ve already been completely drained.

Under her instruction, Wayne followed the table of contents to the chapter on the four fundamental elements. The Hexagram Magic Book contained magic closely related to the four elements. There weren’t many spells—three to four for each element, totalling no more than fifteen.

Mastering the four elements and their corresponding basic magic was the introduction course for mages. Faith-related magic and divine arts were in their own category, not included in this book.

There was no point in including them. Those spells were exclusive to certain faiths. Only followers of the corresponding deities could cast them, belonging to the traditions passed down among church members.

Wayne asked many questions, and Silvia answered them all.

He was shocked that mages in this world could all cast magic instantly. Instant casting basic magic relied on proficiency, while instant casting advanced magic relied on faith. Unless their thoughts were confused, mages could use spells seamlessly in battle.

Provided they hadn’t run out of mana, that was.

“As I told you before, everyone’s hexagram differs in focus, so the basic magic they are good at also varies.”

She pointed at lines of incantations, explaining each word to Wayne and analyzing the deeper meanings to give him a more holistic understanding of what incantations were.

“Simply put, incantations are formulas for solving magical manifestations. Using a particular incantation will produce a particular magic.”

“Powerful mages can create their own formulas. They won’t be tied down by the existing ones. Even when using the faith-related spells, they can innovate the incantations with their strong will, developing the manifestations most suited to them.”

“So the incantations aren’t the important part. The thoughts are.”

Incantations existed to represent formulas more concretely. They were the thought processes of the use of magic. The popularization of formulas allowed even beginners to easily master magic.

Using math as an example, the common formula to calculate the area of a right triangle was S=1/2ab. One didn’t have to know why, only to memorize the formula to solve related math problems. With enough solutions memorized, the answers would always be within reach. Thus, it was only natural that mages could use instant magic.

Wayne nodded in understanding. Kristen had said that the way magic changed reality would depend on the mage’s thoughts. Mana was only the lever, while thoughts were the key. There was no need to get hung up on the incantations. Magic was surely not such an inconvenient thing!

Were Kristen here, she would’ve denied having said that.

Wayne stared at the magical formulas in the book and couldn’t wait to try them. He glanced at Silvia, who gave him an encouraging smile. He began chanting for his first spellcasting attempt—the transformation last time didn’t count. He still didn’t understand what happened then.

As expected, his attempt failed.

Silvia chuckled and explained, “You have too little mana. Not only that, the more important reason is your hexagram. You lack the four elements in your body. You haven’t even lit them up yet.”

She seemed to be a little nearsighted. The gold-rimmed glasses she put on masked her fierce beauty and added a touch of intellectual elegance to her charm. She flipped back to the page with the hexagram and pointed at the corners.

“Generally speaking, being able to skillfully use two elements will make one an excellent student. Three will indicate a rare genius...”

“Four is almost unheard of!”

“The difficulty lies in water and fire. Applied to humans, this represents the strength of desires.”

“Those with strong desires excel at fire, and those with low desires excel at water. Those with perfectly balanced desires,.. excel at neither fire nor water.”

“Earth and wind elements are mages’ favorites and are skillfully used by most mages. The former can give mages a powerful physique. Even though we are mages, we’re also melee fighters at heart. I, for instance, am very skilled at close combat... Actually, I’m a special case, but let’s not go into that now.“

“Wind element’s popularity is easy to understand. It’s life’s breath, translating to physical health and eternal youth. Regardless of gender, every living being craves that.”

“In comparison, water and fire are inherently incompatible. Pursuing a perfect balance between these two elements will only lead to double losses. It’s counterproductive and not worth the effort. Being good at either water or fire is sufficient.”

“I came from formal training, and academic mentors tend to have students suppress their desires, meaning mastering the water elements. Strong desire signifies ambition, which is good, but it also severely interferes with a mage’s thinking—the self in the hexagram.”

“A self hijacked by desires will gradually lose sanity, leading to a downward spiral when coming into contact with void, ultimately turning one into a dark mage with an extreme personality.”

She continued gravely, “Young students can’t resist temptation. You’re the same. Don’t have too much contact with the fire elements in the external world. They’ll amplify your desires and make you greedy, angry, lustful, lazy, arrogant, and prone to jealousy of others’ achievements.”

...Why are you looking at me? I’m not arrogant, and I don’t get jealous.

Silvia emphasized the pitfalls of desires once more before flipping back to the chapter on the four elements. She finished explaining all the incantations, finally going into the most crucial part of tonight’s lesson.

Meditation!

“Meditation can strengthen thoughts and cultivate mana. Let’s start with something simple tonight. Try to communicate with the four elements through meditation. Don’t worry about the void yet. The vast world is too early for you to venture into. It’s dangerous...”

She instructed, “Basic magical knowledge is enough to light up your hexagram. Remember this. Do not cross the line, and do not try to challenge the self. Your thoughts cannot withstand such intense impact yet.”

Wayne nodded obediently. After familiarizing himself with the meditation method, he looked at her with eagerness.

“I can’t say no to that look!” She took off her glasses. “Give it a try. It’s fine if you fail. The meditation method the church passed down is temperate, and with me here, nothing will happen to you.”

Wayne eagerly crossed his legs and sat straight on the sofa. The meditation method didn’t impose strict requirements on posture. Standing up, lying down, doing a handstand, lying on the stomach with the butt rasied—whatever position was most comfortable and easy for the individual to get into the state in was the right position.

He only crossed his legs out of his love for the xianxia genre; he was treating magic like cultivation.

With the meditation method, his breathing gradually became steady. He seemed to have gained an extra pair of eyes—light grey ones. Through them, he saw a monochrome world like an X-ray vision. He saw a grey Silvia and the particles of the four elements coiling within him. More numerous were the particles of elements wandering in nature: the steady earth, restless fire, tranquil water, and lively wind.

Something felt wrong!

The perspective!

He realized that his viewpoint was at chest level, and instead of a pair of eyes, he only had one, one that was much larger than those of normal people.

Shit, I haven’t shaken off the aftereffects of merging with the Book of Greed!

He was about to stop meditating and ask Silvia if he could still be cured when he heard her guiding voice.

“Wayne, extend your hands and embrace the elements of nature. Remember not to communicate with fire. That’s desires, and you can’t control them yet.”

He followed the instructions and tried to extend his sickly, wrinkled hands. He thought it would be difficult, but succeeded immediately.

Only what reached out were slimy tentacles.

...What exactly am I now?

Whatever, let’s just go with it. Tentacles are a perfect match for magical girls!

Terrified, the elements fled from him. Earth ran the slowest, wind ran fastest, and water was close to tears! Fire, on the other hand, stopped after moving a few paces away, seemingly interested in him. After a brief hesitation, the fire elements stopped to snuggle the tentacles.

Taking Silvia’s warning to heart, he only allowed the fire elements to rub against him, but absolutely did not let any thrust in. Rejecting their enthusiastic frottage, he reached the tentacles out to plunder the earth, wind, and water elements.

Yes, plunder.

Got you, got you too, got you three. Hiding over there? Muhahaha, I got you as well!

Wherever the tentacles reached, the three elements fled in panic. Any unlucky ones caught would struggle desperately, crying and begging their fellow elements to free them. The other elements, though, cruelly left the captured ones to his mercy.

Sitting across the table, Saliva stared at him with excitement in her eyes. She did not see his large eye or the vicious tentacles, only the fact that he was drawing particles of elements deftly into his body.

Such a terrifying elemental affinity!

He was already attracting the elements’ favor on his first meditation attempt, and the elements competed to respond to his call. How much further could he go in the future?

She remembered her first meditation. Due to the elements being difficult to communicate with, she had put in a lot of work and still only managed to draw in the earth and wind elements—well, she drew one earth particle and one wind particle, and that was it.

All her classmates had failed to attract any, and the teacher praised her generously as a genius. Her current position as District High Reverend proved her teacher right; she was indeed a genius.

Yet Wayne...

She gulped, her eyes brightening. She was grateful for Nature’s blessing that led to her claiming Wayne, converting him before a Moonlight devotee could officially recruit him.

She was about to praise him, but when the words were right at the tip of her tongue, she thought better of it. She didn’t want him to become conceited, thus compromising his future growth. It was better to knock him down a few pegs first. She could always compliment him later.

After a moment, Wayne awakened from his meditation. Unable to maintain the state for long on his first attempt, he felt his head buzzing, telling him that he needed rest. He looked at Silvia expectantly. He wanted to know how his talent measured up. Was he good, or very good?

“Not bad. Quite standard, barely above average. But don’t get discouraged. You’re slightly inferior to the geniuses, but much better than idiots.”

She put on a serious expression. “A genius like me, during my first attempt, managed to grab thousands of... Never mind. I don’t want to crush your spirits here.”

You already did!

Wayne sighed. He knew it. The elemental particles he had captured amounted to fewer than thirty, inadequate compared to the thousands in Silvia’s case.

It was all the elements’ fault for not cooperating!

“Master, magic is so difficult...”

(눈‸눈)

Say that elsewhere and you’ll get punched, brat.