Chapter 21

“So you’re saying the orc just withstood your sword with its body, did a short-range charge, and buried its fist in your face?”

A Mana User is fundamentally a master of physical combat.

Teacher Sena immediately understood what I was saying.

“Yes. That seems right. To stand a chance against it, I need to prepare for close-range charges… How should I approach this?”

“Well, you just need to keep gathering magical power to strengthen your body and repeat fights to develop your combat sense.”

Somehow… Teacher Sena’s teachings were generally like this.

It even creates déjà vu when it overlaps with my Earth memories.

How to write well?

Just write a lot.

How to get good at math?

Just solve many problems.

Determination comes first, theory second.

To someone like me with a science geek’s memories, it seems… rather illogical.

What’s the point of having a teacher at all, then?

“But that kind of mastery doesn’t happen in the short term, so let’s approach the problem differently.”

“How?”

“The issue is that your sword couldn’t pierce the orc’s neck, right?”

“Yes?”

“Then you need to learn a technique that can cut through an orc’s neck.”

“Such a technique exists?”

“Of course. The Mana Sword.”

Mana Sword!

The name alone carried an impressive resonance.

“Mana Sword?”

“Yes. Remember when we fought the orc before? Even though it bulged its arm in defense, my longsword still cut halfway through that thick limb? That was the Mana Sword.”

That was certainly true.

By contrast, my sword had barely scratched the orc’s neck.

“But I’ve never heard of this technique before.”

“Well, it’s useless to know about it before becoming a Mana User. Plus, it doesn’t stand out like a Gift, so there’s no particular reason for it to be famous.”

Shing.

Teacher Sena finished speaking and drew her longsword from her waist.

“Watch once before we start.”

She gripped the sword with both hands and concentrated intently.

Rustle rustle.

Other people wouldn’t have seen anything. But to my eyes, it was clear.

The ginseng-shaped mana pattern representing Teacher Sena writhed and connected with the elongated mana pattern of the sword.

With person and sword united, her chaotically flowing magical power aligned neatly and became smooth as glass.

This tightly arranged magical power extended beyond her body and reached the sword blade.

Sword and person connected through magical power.

Half of Teacher Sena’s magical power was red. Like sunset in the sky, her multihued red magical power flowed smoothly and majestically along the blade.

Ah, beautiful.

So this is the Mana Sword.

She’s going to… teach me this now?

…I correct myself. Teacher Sena is an irreplaceable master of learning.

“Phew…”

Teacher Sena wiped away the beads of sweat on her forehead and released the Mana Sword.

Her magical power returned to its tumultuous state within her body, and the mana pattern that had connected to the sword separated back to its original form.

“Haa… my physical condition is terrible, even this much exhausts me.”

Grumbling as she sheathed her sword, Teacher Sena turned to me and asked.

“Did you see anything?”

I nodded enthusiastically.

“The sword’s mana and your mana gradually merged…! Then your magical power aligned smoothly and flowed toward the blade like whooosh!”

Hearing my excited voice, Teacher Sena shook her head.

“So that’s how it looks to your eyes? What an impressive talent you have…”

Despite her subtly sarcastic tone, I nodded vigorously.

“Yes! Yes! It’s amazing. How do I use it? Please teach me.”

She pondered for a moment, hand on her chin, before finally speaking.

“The sensation I use is… I imagine my body becoming a sword. Then I wish… ‘Power, please dwell within my sword’… like that.”

“…”

“W-what? Why that look?”

Teacher Sena flinched upon noticing my utterly unimpressed stare.

“What is that? Like something from a children’s cartoon… You just think that way and it works?”

“Cartoon? No… anyway, that’s right. With that kind of feeling, after swinging the sword ten thousand times… no… maybe a hundred thousand times? It seemed to work.”

“…”

“No. No. Look, the Mana Sword isn’t something anyone teaches you! It’s a technique you develop after training yourself to death! How many Mana Users do you think never master it in their entire lives? I, I just thought you might gain something since you claim to see magical power and mana!”

I slumped my shoulders.

Sigh… right. What profound theory should I expect from this wilderness practitioner filled with determination? I’ll have to find proper theories myself.

Seeing my resignation, Teacher Sena’s pride seemed wounded as she frowned.

“Hey, what’s with that expression? Fine! I actually had a hypothesis after hearing your explanation! Let’s try an experiment.”

Her imposing manner made me suddenly feel intimidated.

“W-what is it?”

“There’s a common element between what you saw and what I feel! The sword and body becoming one.”

That was a keen observation.

From my perspective, her mana pattern and the sword’s mana pattern merged into one, while from her side, she gives herself the self-suggestion that ‘I am one with the sword.’

“Yes. That’s right.”

But my affirmation seemed to annoy Teacher Sena, who twisted her face further.

“‘Yes, that’s right?’ You really… trying to place yourself above me? Hey! Swing your sword! Vertical cut!”

“Vertical cut!”

Reflexively following her instruction, I raised my sword overhead and brought it straight down. Then I saw her triumphant face.

“See that? See? You became a Mana User too quickly, so your physical training is pathetic. Your sword tip wobbles! If you can’t properly handle a sword, how can you become one with it? Now! We’ll practice vertical cuts! One hundred repetitions!”

Her intensity was frightening. But actually… one hundred? That seems too few.

“Vertical cut one hundred times!”

I lightly echoed her command and swung my sword. Whoosh! The cleanly descending blade made a sound cutting through the air. Feels good!

But then…

Whack!

I don’t know when she pulled it out, but… Teacher Sena swung a slender cane and struck my left shoulder. The sharp pain instantly cleared my mind.

“Zero! You tensed your shoulder! Again!”

“A-again!”

Bewildered, I swung the sword down again.

Whoosh!

An even more pleasant sound than before.

Oh, relaxing my shoulder made it better?

Whack!

But this time, the cane struck my left supporting leg’s calf. The pain made my hair stand on end.

“Zero! Your supporting leg is too weak!”

The caning didn’t end.

“Zero!”

“Zero!”

“That’s big fat zero, you little brat!”

As Teacher Sena grew increasingly enthusiastic, I complained.

“Why do you keep saying zero?!”

“Because you’re not doing it properly, so it’s zero. Again! Vertical cut one hundred times! Do. It. Properly. One hundred!”

Whack! Whack! Whack!

It was a storm of caning.

The training that started at starry dawn only ended when the day was fully bright.

By the time I finally completed one hundred cuts, my entire body except for my face was bright red and swollen.

“Still a complete mess, but I’ll let it slide for now. Shall we continue our Mana Sword research? Remember? Want me to show you once more?”

Looking at Teacher Sena’s face, which seemed refreshed, I barely managed to raise my hand and tap my head.

“It’s fine… I have this…”

I’d had quite enough of the real Teacher Sena.

She made an “ah” expression.

“Oh… you can run simulations over and over, right?”

Then with a slightly disgruntled look, she asked again.

“But then, don’t you have no need to learn from me? Couldn’t you just learn within the simulation?”

I wish that were possible. But that was ‘not yet’ possible.

“No. With you and me together, the condition burden is 2.5 Jun-woos. That limits simulation time to a maximum of twenty minutes. Even then, using it like that would leave me collapsed all day… realistically, just ten minutes or so. Considering learning time, I have to learn out here like this.”

She nodded, apparently accepting my explanation.

“That makes sense. But you’re at a stage of rapid growth, so keep challenging yourself as your time limit increases. Alright, that’s enough for today! Practice more on your own and eat. We depart in 30 minutes.”

“Yes… Oh, Teacher!”

I called out to her as she was about to leave.

“Yes?”

I asked the turned woman.

“I’ve been hearing strange sounds lately. I can’t understand them clearly, but… I think it’s magical powers murmuring. Do magical powers speak? Do you know anything like that?”

In the past, if I’d asked such a question, Teacher Sena would have flown into a rage, calling me delusional and a liar.

But now, things were different.

She put her hand to her chin and pondered deeply.

“Hmm… magical powers murmuring… it’s different, but there’s something called the ‘Primordial Incantation.'”

“Primordial Incantation?”

“Yes. Outstanding mages sometimes hear voices when exploring ancient ruins. They say that if you imitate those voices exactly, your magical resonance increases. The same magic becomes much more powerful. It’s considered a symbol of elite mages.”

“Hmm…”

“That’s a bit different from what you’re describing, isn’t it?”

It does seem different. But… I decided to remember it for now. Primordial Incantation.

“Anyway. Now I’m really going.”

Ungh.

She stretched as she turned around, the real Teacher Sena.

“Yes. Take care.”

I responded with an ordinary farewell.

Woong-

But… suddenly the surrounding magical power rippled ominously.

“Huh?”

Teacher Sena staggered and collapsed. Her face turned deathly pale as she coughed.

“Teacher?”

Cough! Cough!

Splash! Woong! Woong!

Red blood appeared at the corners of her mouth as she coughed violently. Her magical power fluctuated wildly and surged.

“Teacher!”

I hurriedly supported her, shocked. Her body burned like fire.

“Teacher! Your body…!”

“Shh. It’s nothing serious, don’t be alarmed.”

After glancing around to ensure no one was watching, she whispered softly. Her voice lacked any strength.

“Only you should know this. My body hasn’t been normal lately. Because of the fever…”

Magical power overload. Or fever.

According to Teacher Sena, magic practitioners who reach a certain level must always advance to the next stage.

Whether creating a Circle, opening Blood Channels, or crafting a Totem… only the next level of achievement would protect the body from overwhelming magical power.

But because of her aggro level, she had endured for a month without forming a Circle.

She increasingly couldn’t sleep, and her body burned with fever.

Originally, she was confident she could suppress the fever. But what she hadn’t accounted for was her injury from the orc.

Teacher Sena carefully wiped the blood from her mouth with a pale face. I stared at her silently.

Come to think of it… she’s in terrible shape.

Teeth knocked out and broken from the orc’s attacks.

Only a trace remaining of her right ear.

Her left eye, which she always keeps closed, was completely crushed by the orc’s fist and lost its function, and she’s missing her right pinky and ring finger, leaving just three fingers.

Her stomach, which I thought had healed from the beating, apparently hasn’t, judging by the blood she’s coughing up.

She wasn’t an extraordinary beauty, but she used to have a neat appearance… now she looks worse than wilderness bandits.

I couldn’t tell when she had bandages covering everything.

I couldn’t tell when she was displaying her mighty vitality as a Mana User.

But once she started coughing blood and staggering… her injuries became starkly apparent.

She explained that the injuries from the orc combined with the fever were causing these occasional seizures.

Splash.

Once again, magical power erupted significantly from her body. Teacher Sena, who had been calmly explaining, closed her eyes and endured the pain.

Woong-woong-

Each time her magical power surged, the aggro level fluctuated, but fortunately, the mobile barrier I had reinforced handled her aggro well.

The seizure didn’t last long. After a moment, Teacher Sena overcame the fever and opened her eyes again. Her paper-white face regained its normal color. She straightened her back with renewed dignity.

“Whew… Usually this happens at night after the day’s schedule, but today it’s starting in the morning. Anyway, I’m going now. We’re departing soon… but run a few more simulations if you want.”

She spoke as if it were nothing.

I was worried about her condition, but seeing her reluctance to discuss the topic further, I swallowed my intended words.

“Yes. I’ll run a few more simulations.”

“Off you go~”

She waved her hand casually as she walked away, as if nothing had happened.

I watched her retreating figure.

She who had always seemed so imposing now looked somehow small.

Maybe my father’s words were right. Nothing in this world lasts forever. I must protect my own life.

[Simulation]

Before departure, I had much to do.

First, I needed to study Teacher Sena’s Mana Sword again and research its principles.

I also needed to face the orc at least twice more.

I should try facing it once while running away as much as possible, and then practice using my talisman to evade its tracking.

And most importantly,

I needed to research totem magic based on what I’ve learned from Teacher Sena over the past month.

My research topic was already clear.

‘Let’s try imitating other magics.’

I had specific targets in mind.

First, the protective talisman, mobile barrier, auxiliary barrier…

And, primitive magic (Gifts).

Imitating others’ Gifts—

This is the research topic I’ve been most obsessed with lately.

+ – + – +

After waving and turning her back to Baek Jun-woo, Teacher Sena couldn’t help but smirk.

“Ungh… urgh…”

Even without looking, she could clearly imagine.

Behind her, Baek Jun-woo was rolling around with a gag in his mouth.

‘He died again, I see.’

Apparently, he’d been killed by the orc again in the simulation.

“Shhh… shhh…”

A moment later, the pain seemed to subside as he caught his breath, but then immediately.

“Ungh! Urgh!!!”

He rolled around making even worse groans than before.

‘He died again.’

During the simulation, real time doesn’t pass.

So, just a few steps after saying goodbye, Teacher Sena got to enjoy the spectacle of Baek Jun-woo dying twice and rolling on the ground.

A smile formed at the corner of her mouth.

Seen without context, Baek Jun-woo.

Truly…

What an absolute madman.