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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The First Mana Circle
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Ria reflexively rushed toward him.
[What happened to you! Who did you fight? Did another dragon show up?]
A mere human couldn't have inflicted wounds like these. He must have fought a dragon or someone of similar power.
As Ria reached out to touch his face, Kaizareu visibly recoiled.
He then looked at Ria with a cold gaze.
“This is none of your business.”
[...]
This was strange. Had Kaizareu ever rejected her before? And what was this attitude, so clearly drawing a line between them?
“You said you can’t use healing magic, right?”
[Huh? Oh, uh...]
“I’ll teach you, so learn it. And starting tomorrow, I’m teaching that kid magic.”
Not by name, but ‘that kid.’ Kaizareu gestured toward Lucian with his chin as he spoke.
“...Brother, did I do something wrong?”
Lucian must have sensed it too, because his eyes started to well up. Kaizareu’s fingertips twitched, but his cold gaze remained unchanged.
Kaizareu glanced at the dark bruises on Lucian’s neck and muttered.
Heal.
A light enveloped Lucian’s body at the sound of the Dragon Tongue, and soon, his neck was healed without a single trace of a bruise.
Lucian touched his now-painless neck, looking up at Kaizareu with a confused expression.
“With this, my debt is repaid.”
Lucian’s heart sank. It was as if his words were declaring them strangers from now on.
“Do you hate me? I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me...”
Finally, Lucian burst into tears. Caught between Lucian and Kaizareu, Ria fidgeted anxiously.
Kaizareu’s eyebrow twitched, and he swept his hair back.
“I don’t hate you.”
“...You’re lying.”
“Hating someone requires feeling something for them. Who are you, anyway? You’re nothing to me.”
[Kaizareu!]
She scolded him for being so cruel, but Kaizareu just scowled and turned his head away.
What in the world is wrong with him? What happened in the basement to make him change so suddenly?
Kaizareu was one thing, but she felt she had to comfort Lucian first, so she turned to him. But Ria froze.
Lucian’s eyes were completely empty.
Just as she was at a loss for words, Kaizareu also flinched at the sight. But he clenched his jaw and looked away from Lucian.
Lucian stared blankly at Kaizareu for a moment before lowering his head and walking up the stairs.
It was painfully obvious that he was deeply hurt. She knew she should run after him and comfort him, but for some reason, she couldn’t move.
Click—
The sound of Lucian’s door closing echoed. At the same moment, Kaizareu let out a groan and collapsed.
Ria looked down at him.
[...Why were you so harsh with Lucian?]
“...”
[He was so worried about you. He’s the one who kept telling me not to hate you.]
“Hah... That kid is far too naive.”
[Stop being sarcastic and speak plainly! Are you trying to push Lucian away forever?!]
“...I almost killed Lucian.”
Ria flinched at his words. Kaizareu was looking up at her with eyes full of despair. He, too, was just as wounded as Lucian.
“Even if I wasn’t in my right mind, that doesn’t change what happened.”
[...Lucian said it was like you were possessed.]
“He’s not wrong...”
Kaizareu ran a hand over his face, then clenched his fist. He gritted his teeth, suppressing a surge of emotion.
“I’ll tell you what happened in the basement.”
Kaizareu explained what had transpired in the basement. At some point, he had been seized by the thoughts of a certain wraith and had been on the verge of losing his sense of self.
In the process, he had nearly killed Lucian. He said he fled to the forest because he felt his condition would worsen if he stayed here.
[What was that vision you saw?]
“The wraith’s memories, I suppose. I don’t really want to remember.”
Besides, several scenes had overlapped at once, so he didn’t have a clear memory of it anyway.
“Ria, never go down to the basement again. Seal it off. If this happened to me, something much worse could happen to Lucian if he goes down there.”
[Alright, I understand.]
“I don’t know when something like this might happen again, and if I end up attacking Lucian...”
Kaizareu’s lips trembled.
“At the very least, Lucian needs to know how to land a punch and run away. So, starting tomorrow, let’s teach him how to protect himself, whether it’s with magic or swordsmanship.”
[...If you care about Lucian this much, why did you act that way just now?]
Kaizareu froze, avoiding Ria’s gaze.
“Even if I wasn’t myself, the fact that I tried to kill Lucian is real. I can’t be close to him anymore.”
[Is that why you hurt him on purpose?]
“...”
[I understand how you feel, but your method is wrong. You’re not helping Lucian; you’re just hurting him.]
Kaizareu’s eyes wavered.
Ria sighed and sank to the floor, meeting his gaze at eye level.
[You need to think carefully about what’s really best for Lucian.]
Kaizareu’s lips parted as if to speak, but instead, he said he needed to rest and left.
Watching Kaizareu limp away while clutching his arm, Ria let out a frustrated sigh.
* * *
Two days after the incident in the basement. The three of them had to carry on with their daily lives amidst an awkward atmosphere.
Yesterday, Kaizareu had to rest to recover. Today, they were going to teach Lucian magic, which meant they first had to see if he had any talent for it.
The problem was, only Kaizareu could check for that talent.
Lucian and Kaizareu held hands without making eye contact.
Kaizareu checked Lucian’s mana.
“...Fortunately, you have the aptitude. As long as your mana sensitivity is good, you should be able to learn magic.”
[That’s a relief. Right, Lucian?]
“...”
This was the magic he had been so eager to learn, yet Lucian just turned his head away with a blank expression. Then he pulled his hand from Kaizareu’s grasp.
The corner of Kaizareu’s mouth tightened for a moment. But he didn’t get angry and immediately continued the lesson.
“All magic is fundamentally about using the mana in your body to form a formula and manifest it. The amount of this mana differs from person to person, but it can be gradually increased using something called a mana circle. Today, we’re going to create a mana circle.”
To create a mana circle, you must first feel the flow of mana within your body.
There was no way Lucian could feel the flow of mana right away. Someone would have to assist him...
“Ria can do it.”
Lucian refused Kaizareu and turned toward Ria instead. At this, Ria looked at Kaizareu with a troubled expression.
Kaizareu’s eyebrow rose slightly.
He was holding it in well for now, but considering his temper, it was only a matter of time before he exploded.
[Lucian, I’m a ghost, so I don’t use mana from within a body. You have to do this with Kaizareu.]
“But you’re doing it to my body, not yours, so it shouldn’t matter.”
He wasn’t wrong, but...
‘Doesn’t the back of your head feel hot? Kaizareu is glaring at you like he’s about to eat you alive.’
Ria had no choice but to take Lucian by the shoulders and turn him around.
[If you want to get this over with quickly, you’ll just have to master it fast. Right?]
“...Yes.”
Lucian gave Kaizareu a sullen look, then whipped his head away and lightly took just the tips of his fingers.
A vein bulged on Kaizareu’s forehead as he grabbed Lucian’s entire palm.
“I don’t plan on spending all day on this either, so just follow my lead.”
Oh dear, he finally snapped.
As Kaizareu openly sneered, Lucian’s lips jutted out in a pout.
Soon, Kaizareu began circulating his mana, letting it flow through Lucian’s body.
Lucian flinched at the sensation of something squirming inside him.
“What you’re feeling now is the flow of mana. Remember this sensation well.”
The method was for Kaizareu to pave the way, and for Lucian to follow behind and memorize the path.
They repeated this several times, and Lucian also practiced finding the path on his own.
“You’ve got it down now, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Now we’re going to create the mana circle. I’m going to infuse you with my mana, and you just need to think about passing every bit of it through your mana flow and tying it to your heart.”
[Lucian, you might not succeed on the first try. That’s normal, so don’t be too disappointed. If it gets too hard, you can take a break. A dragon’s mana might not be compatible with a human.]
“No. I’ll succeed on the first try.”
[Full of fighting spirit, I see.]
Lucian’s expression, sullen at first, was now sparkling with its usual brightness.
Thinking it was a good change, Ria nodded at Kaizareu.
Kaizareu calmly transferred his mana to Lucian.
Lucian flinched. Soon, his face contorted, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
If learning the mana flow earlier felt like a gently trickling stream, this felt like a sudden waterfall crashing down, forcibly turning that stream into a raging river.
Rip, tear, pop!
He could feel his mana pathways tearing as they were forcibly widened. The pain was so intense that Lucian let out a groan.
“Ugh...!”
[Lucian, you don’t have to force it. It’s hard to create a mana circle on the first try.]
“We should take a break and try again...”
Kaizareu agreed with Ria and tried to let go of Lucian’s hand. But Lucian gripped his hand tighter, his eyes flashing.
“N-Not yet... I can still do it...!”
Ria and Kaizareu exchanged glances. After a moment of thought, Kaizareu nodded.
“Alright. Since we’ve come this far, let’s finish it in one go.”
Kaizareu infused more mana, and Lucian endured the pain, gathering the mana near his heart.
Lucian was squeezing so hard that Kaizareu’s hand turned white. Kaizareu realized just how much pain Lucian was in.
[Lucian, now draw a circle with the mana you’ve gathered!]
“Keep rotating the circle! This is the last step!”
“Aaaaargh!”
Following Ria and Kaizareu’s advice, Lucian screamed as he formed the mana circle.
At first, the shape was distorted, and it nearly came apart, but Lucian focused all his concentration on his heart.
“Cough!”
Suddenly, Lucian began to cough up blood. Kaizareu’s eyes widened as he focused on Lucian’s mana flow.
“...The mana circle is too big. Lucian can’t handle it.”
[What? You should have put in a moderate amount!]
“I did! The problem is... my mana is just too powerful for a human body.”
At this rate, a mana overflow was only a matter of time. If a mana overflow occurred in a body that hadn’t even formed a circle yet, Lucian’s body wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
They had to either properly drain it or...
[Lucian! We’re going to make two mana circles!]
“What?! Are you out of your mind?”
[Lucian doesn’t have the strength to drain the mana! This is the only way.]
Ria gathered the purest mana she could and pushed it into Lucian’s body. She then acted as a guide, helping Lucian create a new mana circle.
[Lucian! Can you feel my mana?]
“Ugh... yes...!”
[You’re going to take half of the mana from the current circle and follow my mana. You can do it, right?]
“I’ll... I’ll try.”
Lucian was already completely exhausted. On top of that, coughing up blood had damaged his insides, making it difficult to muster any strength. Despite this, Lucian didn’t give up and followed Ria’s lead.
The massive mana circle began to shrink as it started to form another circle.
[That’s it! Just like that! More, just a little more... Stop!]
“Hah!”
Lucian cut off the flow of mana. The two circles intertwined and began to spin. But their forms quickly collapsed.
Rotating at different speeds and in different directions while maintaining their shapes was an incredibly difficult task for a novice who had only just learned to feel the flow of mana.
[It’s okay, Lucian. You can do this. Just follow me.]
Ria didn’t withdraw her mana, instead using it to follow Lucian’s circle and help it maintain its shape.
Lucian, who had been groaning in effort at first, seemed to get the hang of it and slowly began to form the mana circles.
Before long, two perfect mana circles began to resonate and rotate.
“Now, Lucian! Remember the magic circle I taught you?”
When a mana circle is first created, one must immediately manifest a spell on the spot. This is to discharge mana by using magic, calming the overheated mana circles.
Just before creating the mana circles, Kaizareu had taught him the Light spell.
The magic formula was simple, a spell that even a 1st-circle mage could easily cast.
Lucian steadied his spinning vision and copied the magic circle drawn on the blackboard.
A magic circle began to form at Lucian’s fingertips.
“Light!”
After completing the entire magic circle, Lucian shouted loudly, and a flash brighter than the sun filled the room.
The entire world turned white.
